Merry Marrying Maryland...maybe

The Maryland Senate passed the marriage equality bill today by a vote of 25-23!  Both sides are now gearing up for a referendum fight.  Talk to your neighbors. Talk to your friends.  Unless you're for state sponsored bigotry, then just go on about your day...nothing to see here. 

source

So I created this handy flowchart

Maryland Marriage Debate

The hearing begins at 1pm EST. You can listen live here.

A Republican with Family Values

New Rules for Women in Combat

New rules formally allow women to serve in more combat roles. 

The Pentagon opened the door for women to serve in combat Thursday, allowing females to serve in thousands of military jobs that inch them closer, if not directly on, the front lines.
The new rules, slated to go in effect this summer, will open up about 14,000 additional jobs to women and reflect the realities of asymmetrical warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan where there are few "safe jobs." In some cases, the Pentagon is simply lifting restrictions on jobs women have already been doing. As ABC News explains, "Typically, these jobs have been made available at the combat brigade level, but not at the lower battalion level, which was deemed too close to combat situation."  Here are some of the positions now formally available to women:

via The Atlantic

Santorum Fapping over Images of Guillotines

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Cancer Fighting Guardsman Meets with Boehner to Discuss DOMA

From the Huffington Post

Charlie Morgan, the lesbian National Guardsman who is battling Stage IV breast cancer and the Defense of Marriage Act that would deny survivor benefits to her wife, had the opportunity to tell her story on Capitol Hill Thursday in a meeting that came about following a Huffington Post report.
Morgan spoke with Katherine Haley, an assistant to House Speaker John Boehner who focuses on social policy, after meeting with her congressman, Rep. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.). A chief warrant officer in the New Hampshire Army National Guard, Morgan told both how DOMA was hurting her family and other married gay and lesbian service members whose spouses are barred from housing, health care and other benefits that straight couples in the military take for granted.

Go read the whole thing. 

Parenting Trophies

Posted by Scott

   Last I checked, there are NO parenting trophies to be won. Generally, I would encourage anyone who wakes up and finds dependant children in their house day after day to have some semblance of pride in their role of provider, nuturer and protector. But boundaries, man....... There's got to be some boundaries.
   The most recent craze since what I like to refer to as the "pet psychosis" epidemic is the overadvertisement by many people that they are parents. It's almost as though these people had kids for no other reason than to draw attention to themselves. I'll be honest - I had kids for the eventual free labor. So goes the cycle of life. If you don't like it, fire your children. But I digress.... When you are referring you yourself as "mommy" or "daddy" and there isn't a child in sight - you are who I am talking about. Stop it. Just stop. How self centered are you that you need even semi-constant recognition for being a parent? "Mommy" and "daddy" posts on Facebook, the formation of "mommy clubs" and those oh-so-annoying family drawing stickers on minivans and SUVs everywhere is getting out of control. Our parents raised us for the most part without soliciting attention for doing so. They did not gloat amongst themselves as to what proud mommies and daddies they are. They did their jobs, many of them stoically in hopes they did it right. They didn't need the approval of their peers for the simple fact that they gave birth to you. Parenting is a noble job. There's nothing noble about using your kids as tools to feed your narcissism.
  Parenting isn't something you do for self-glorification, nitwits. You aren't the first person to pound out some little spore and successfully keep it from dying. Besides, if you're that desperate for validation that you need to point out that you're a "mommmy" or "daddy", you should probably ask yourself - "How inane is my existence?"

One Step Closer in Washington State

Looks like gay marriage may soon be back in style on the West Coast.

Women are Already in Combat

Interesting article in the Boston Globe today about women in combat.
"Over 130 women have died in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and yet they were not in combat. This paradox - women fight in wars but are not assigned to fighting in wars due to the Pentagon’s exclusionary policy - is at the center of a long-simmering debate that has avoided much of the Lady Gaga-ness surrounding repeal of the military’s ban on homosexuals. But if 2011 was the year of ending the “don’t ask, don’t tell’’ prohibition, 2012 begins with hints about a significant policy transformation regarding women in combat"

SPLC Challenging Doma

The Southern Poverty Law Center just announced the filing of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the cynically named Defense of Marriage Act and the law governing how the Department of Veterans Affairs deals with gay spouses.

 “This discriminatory policy devalues the military service of countless Americans, solely on the basis of their sexual orientation,” said Randall R. Lee, co-counsel in the case and partner-in-charge of WilmerHale’s Los Angeles office, which is working with the SPLC on a pro bono basis. “It sends a disturbing message to gay and lesbian service members that the courage, commitment, and sacrifice they make on behalf of their country are not valued as much as the service of heterosexual military veterans.”

Update...
SLDN's statement on the suit:

"SLDN welcomes today's filing by the Southern Poverty Law Center and looks forward to coordinating in any way they deem appropriate.  We have worked with the plaintiff, Tracey Cooper-Harris, in the past, and we believe the merits of her case are compelling.  This filing today advances the cause of equality for gay and lesbian service members and veterans."

The Saddest Story You'll See All Day

Condo board inacts breed ban that includes pit bulls. Not unusual. Breed bans don't work but idiots think they do and idiots like to feel safe. So breed bans are as common as idiots. Moving on.... Nick Santino, a struggling soap actor, lived in said condo with Rocco, a pit bull mix he rescued, though according to Nick, Rocco rescued him. The condo board grandfathered Rocco and he was allowed to stay. But that didn't stop Nick's shitty neighbors and the board from constantly harassing Nick about his dog. Eventually, the struggling actor felt he had no choice but to put Rocco down. A few hours later, racked with guilt over betraying his best friend, Nick took his own life.
Good job you bastards. Hope your breed ban makes you feel all warm and fuzzy at night.

Has Maryland Reached a Tipping Point?

It has according to a new poll by the Washington Post.  The number I find interesting is the over 50 crowd is finally coming our way. Which is awesome. Because they vote. And because they vote in overwhelming numbers, they tend to get whatever they want. There's surely a lesson in that. Wonder what that could be.

Hero of the Day

The Virginia Senate pandering, fuckwit, misogynists passed a law today requiring women to undergo an unnecessary and expensive ultrasound before having an abortion. They are not your heroes of the day. So who is? Give it up ladies and gentlemen for Fairfax County's own Janet Howell. You, madame, are a motherfucking hero. Senator Howell recognized the complete, utter bullshit that is SB484 and decided to add a little "gender equity" as she put it. She added an amendment (which the aforementioned pandering fuckwits did not pass). The amendment would have required men to undergo a rectal exam and cardiac stress test if they want penis pills.
Yay Senator Howell.


And, in case you were wondering, the pandering fuckwits aren't done yet.

One presently in the House would end state subsidies for needy women to terminate a gravely troubled pregnancy.
The bill, from Del. Mark Cole, would eliminate that financial support even when a doctor believes an unborn child “would be born with a gross and totally incapacitating physical deformity or mental deficiency.”
Less than $2,800 in public funds was spent last year on 10 abortions that qualified for subsidies.

What I'm Reading

No, this is where I get to write about what I'm reading, not what you're reading. If you got through more than two chapters of Twilight, this is not the post for you. There might be a My Little Pony tumblr you'd enjoy.

Moving on.....

The Innocent, by Taylor Stevens

Damn it's good. I've gotten so tired of formulaic novels. See, there's a big, bad conspiracy. And then there's this unlikely hero. And he saves the day. And gets laid in the process. No character building. Nothing new. I know the bad guys 'cause they're always the same. I know the good guy and he's as interesting and surprising as a mall food court's fried rice.

And then I picked up this book. At an airport, no less. I'd accidentally brought a book I'd already read and cruised the airport book store with little hope of finding anything. So I bought this. I sorta flipped through it. It had some promise. Cults fascinate me in the same way serial killers fascinate me. But good books on either are rare.

Stevens has serious talent as a storyteller. Novelists are everywhere. Storytellers are not. When I find one, it's a beautiful feeling. The characters have depth I rarely see. She takes the time to build them, slowly, without slowing down the pace of the story and that takes some skill. The story is dark but not hopeless and doesn't leave you with that feeling of a needed shower like so many do. She draws you in and constantly surprises you. The heroine, Michael Munroe is complex, violent, intriguing and inviting. She's the friend you want when you need not just someone to help you hide the body, but a friend to plan the attack. Child-kidnapping is a subject that doesn't often make for a thrill ride. It is, in and of itself, too horrible an idea for entertainment. And yet, Stevens makes it work. The cult, The Chosen, is clearly not some fantastic caricature conjured for an easy straw man. That it's so believable makes it all the more terrifying as the villain.

I'm not going to tell you the story. Buy the book. You won't put it down and when you finish it, you'll do exactly as I did and go buy the rest of her books.

How to Maximize Your Tax Refund the Spitballer Way

Tax Time!!!

Have some old tax forms laying around? What the fuck is wrong with you? You save old movie tickets too don't you? Toss that shit. Now log onto your tax filing rip-off site of choice. Oh, you bought the software? Fucking moron.

Moving on: Find your W-2s. They're in one of those mail piles. Probably the pile on the dining room table where you stash the really important mail. If not, they're in the bathroom under the Crate and Barrel catalog.
While you're at the dining room table clear off a space to work. The dishes go in the sink for your roommate to wash. Jesus people. We're gonna need some booze. I recommend Jim Beam Rye, neat. Any vodka will do nicely as well. Set that down by your laptop and let's get started on some taxes. You pumped? Me neither.

Alright then, find a blank piece of paper. The back of an envelope will do.