Pending signature by the Governor, New Hampshire votes to legalize same sex marriage

In a 13-10 vote today, the New Hampshire Senate passed legislation that would allow same sex marriage in the state.  An amendment was added to the bill that allows clergy members to refuse to marry gay couples.

The storm is coming.

Civil marriages will now be for both opposite sex and same sex couples.  Before the bill passed clergy could refuse to marry couples for any variety of reasons.  Let’s say I want to get married to a Catholic girl, in a Catholic Church, but refuse to raise my children Catholic.  The priest would refuse to marry us.  In other words, the additional amendment is just to appease religious types.  Clergy have always had that right.

Democratic governor John Lynch still needs to sign the bill, but he’ll get enormous pressure from fellow Democrats to do just that, even if he claims that he “personally believes marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

Congrats to the people of New Hampshire.  Now more gay-tolerant than the entire west coast.

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Full Story: Concord Monitor

New Hampshire committee recommends medical marijuana bill

A bill that would allow medical marijuana use in the state of New Hampshire has received the green light from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.   The bill will arrive at the full Senate floor next week.

Legalize it.

If it passes, New Hampshire will be the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana.  Patients will be able to legally smoke on January 1, 2010.  Seems a bit late, eh?

Now we just need to stop federal prosecutors from busting up perfectly legal medical marijuana dispensaries.

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Full Story: Union Leader

“I feel like someone just shot Santa Claus in the face.”

Anschutz Company has sold the Ski Train and local lobbyist Benjamin Waters feels “like someone just shot Santa Claus in the face.”   The Ski Train is a train that takes skiers from Denver’s Union Station to Winter Park, a ski resort favored by locals 56 miles from the city.

SOLD!

Anschutz Company spokesman Jim Monaghan said that the train had operated at a loss for the last 21 years.

Now I realize that this is an odd thing for me to blog about considering that the Ski Train was owned by a private company, but just for a second we realize that lobbyists around the nation are real people.  Sometimes they are the scapegoats for political expediency, but sometimes they just really care about a local tradition.

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Full Story: Denver Business Journal

Quick Link: North Carolina booze laws are outdated

It seems as though many states across America have odd alcohol laws.  Utah isn’t the only one.   North Carolina is looking to change there “private club” policy because of its inconsistent application.

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Full Story: Charlotte Observer

Quick Link: Utah leglislature probably won’t override veto of video game bill

Looks like Utah gamers may be in the clear for this one.  It doesn’t appear as though the Utah legislature is going to override Jon Huntsman Jr.’s veto of a controversial video games bill.

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Full Story: http://www.sltrib.com/utahpolitics/ci_12067131

Vermont overrides Governor, legalizes same-sex marriage

Well, that was quite the turnaround from the doom and gloom of yesterday.  After Republican Governor Jim Douglas vetoed a same sex marriage bill, the Vermont state legislature overrode him and passed the law anyway.

OVERRIDDEN

This once again proves my point that bans on same-sex marriage are going to die out within the next decade.   All the armies in the world can’t stop an idea whose time has come.   Congrats to Vermont.

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Full Story: Burlington Free Press

Texas bill could ban trans fats from restaurants

Home to some of America’s fattest cities, Texas needs to shape up, that is, if Democratic lawmakers have their way.  Senator Eliot Shapleigh and Representative Carol Alvarado are pushing for legislation in Texas that would ban trans fats from restaurants.

Is it wrong that I want to immediately cover these in ketchup?

If passed, the law would gradually require restaurants to phase out foods that contained trans fats from their menu.  Often, this can just mean tinkering with the way it is prepared.   In order to push his bill, Shapleigh made fun of fat adolescents, saying “What it will do is cause restaurants and others to use healthier substances and cooking products to make healthier Texans.  You see 200-pound fifth-graders, you know we’ve got to do something about it.”

Responding to the Senator, fat kids from around the state could be heard yelling back “Shapleigh?  More like Shap-Gay!”

Put down the cheese fries and pick up the carrots, tubbies.  If your parents can’t prevent you from gorging, the state will have to try its damnedest.

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Full Story: Dallas News

Iowa legalizes gay-on-gay marriage

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled today that it is unconstitutional to restrict marriage to one man and one woman.  The court upheld a decision made by a Polk County judge in 2007.

Gay couples in Iowa will begin to be allowed to marry starting April 24, 2009.  Congrats!

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Full Story: Des-Moines Register

Quick Link: Obama tries to save the spotted owl in the Northwest

Obama is the fourth president to pledge support for creating a more livable forest for the spotted owl, even though it’s pretty obvious that god hates all endangered species.

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Full Story: Oregon Live

Obama gives Queen Elizabeth a freaking iPod

Obama is big on technology related gifts.  When Obama visited Queen Elizabeth, or as I like to call her Queen Elizabeth of Hottington, at Buckingham Palace, the two exchanged gifts.

This is giving me nightmares.

Our fearless leader gave Queenie an iPod with pictures of her last visit to the United States pre-loaded.  She gave him an autographed picture of herself.  It goes without saying that the Queen’s gift sucked.  She doesn’t exactly have a face like Angelina and tits like Salma Hayek, so a photograph doesn’t really cut it.  But let’s dive a bit into Obama’s gift.

Despite my headline, and the dumbass reaction you’ll get on Fox News, I think it was a pretty nice gift.  Let’s think about it for a minute.  All of the sudden you’re President of the United States and you have to meet the Queen of England and present her with a gift.  What the fuck do you buy her?  It can’t be anything material because the bitch is loaded.  You’ve got to come off as being sentimental with a person you’ve never met.

Obama did quite well on this one.  The iPod he gave her came preloaded with several pictures from her last visit to the United States in May of 2007.   I bet there were even pictures of the Queen with Bush.  It’s not like Obama gave her a mix tape of all his favorite Stevie Wonder songs.  Think of it as a modern version of a scrap book.

But that doesn’t stop the dumbasses over at The Fox Nation from endlessly railing on this “gift gaffe.”  One member notes:

this man and his administration is an embarrasment to the country.  if he does not have the class himself can’t he at least surround himself with people with class

What does that even mean?  If Bush were to give Queenie a gold lasso and a bottle of whiskey they would have complimented him for his heartland values.  In any case, this isn’t even in the same realm as the time Obama gave Gordon Brown a collection of region-locked DVDs.  Now that was fucked up.

Better gift for the Queen?  Three hundred forty two chests of tea and an apology letter for chucking the last shipment into the Boston Harbor.

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Full Story: Fox Nation