I Voluntarily Date This Man

JOHN: did you want to get something to eat?
KOBES:  i dunno, maybe
KOBES: but upon reflection
KOBES: maybe i will just get take out and eat at my desk tonight
JOHN: ha, lonely female lawyer
JOHN: at least she's not single! with a cat!

Thanks. 

Be a Fighter.

You know it's an election year when both sides start trotting out the same old culture war tactics.  Ever since the calendar officially flipped into "2012", the frenzied scare mongering has clicked into annoying overdrive.  I have to say, however, that these past few weeks have felt especially bad, and left me humming with outrage.  Personally, I am so over minorities getting stepped on in the name of politics, religion, or any other cockamamie excuse.

First, there was the Komen v. Planned Parenthood debacle.  Komen pulled its pink ribbon-ed funding from Planned Parenthood.  They claimed the move was the result of a "new policy" to avoid funding any institutions embroiled in legal battles.  Only idiots bought this excuse.  After a firestorm of bad press, Komen sheepishly reinstituted its Planned Parenthood funding.  As a result, Komen's Senior Vice President of Policy, Karen Handel, resigned because she hates abortion and thinks that funding an organization which provides women with contraceptives, cancer screenings, sex education, and opportunities to properly plan their parenthood is the moral equalivalent of killing babies. Right.

Then, yesterday, there was the abysmal and embarassing House hearing on Obama's contraceptive coverage healthcare initiative.  Obama declared that employers should pay for the pill, but allowed churches and religious organizations to opt out of this requirement.  This wasn't enough!, religious organizations cried.  Obama relented, and said hospitals and health clinics funded by churches or other religious organizations could also opt out.  NO, STILL NOT ENOUGH, the religious right caterwauled.  To demonstrate their outrage, Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) held a hearing yesterday entitled: "Lines Crossed: Separation of Church and State.  Has the Obama Administration Trampled on Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Conscience?"  (Did FoxNews write that fun diddy?)  Then, Chairman Issa promptly kicked out the only woman slated to tesitfy on the issue, Georgetown Law Student, Sandra Fluke.  (In all fairness, House Dems, you couldn't find, you know, an actual female lawyer to testify on the issue?  Anywhere?  In DC?  The lawyer capital of the United States?  Sounds to me like a staffer got lazy and asked a friend to come testify.)  Either way, this lead to further proof that overwrought, old, white men still want the last word concerning women's bodies and our reproductive capacities.

And finally, in local politics, Maryland is on the brink of being dignity-shamed by the state of New Jersey.  Yes, New Jersey.  The state best known for the Jersey Shore, the "Drunk Train", and a legal case about other states, literally, shipping its trash to NJ landfills.  Yesterday, NJ managed to pass a measure legalizing same-sex marriage.  Huzzah!  Despite my geography hopping, I have always been proud to call Maryland my home state.  I love Old Bay, crabs, Ocean City, Natty Bo, and claiming Balimore (muuuurrrrder) as my former stomping grounds.  Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley has sponsored a same-sex marriage bill, Civil Marriage Protection Act, that's been kicking around since 2011.  A vote was supposed to occur yesterday (the same day as New Jersey), but MD pushed our vote back to this afternoon at 12:30 p.m.  Right now, most MD Dems have their eyes tilted to Dem. Sam Arora, who appears to have Notebook-inspired Alzheimer's about his former support for gay-marriage.  After some embarassing gaffes last year, Arora persists in being coy about how he'll vote this afternoon.  Honestly, Arora, let's be clear about a few fun facts:

• If 2-3 Maryland GOPers have publicly stated their support for an equality bill, you should probably vote for it.
• If Gov. Martin O'Malley has sponsored a bill, you should probably vote for it.
• If you previously told the LGBT community that you would support an equality bill, and then proceeded to take their money, you should probably vote for it.
• If Kal Penn is calling you out and simultaneously twitter-shaming your LD, you should probably vote for it.

Sam Arora's contact information follows below.  I encourage anyone reading to start getting in touch:

Twitter: @Sam_Arora
FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sam-Arora/334183772314
e-mail: sam.arora@house.state.md.us
e-mail: sam@samarora.com
(410) 841-3528, (301) 858-3528
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3528 (toll free)

Honestly.  I am full of Friday outrage. FULL OF IT.

Currently Listening: Kelly Clarkson - Stronger.