ohhleary

“Best 19 cents I ever spent!”

thedirtycanuck:

— The Dirty Canuck, on purchasing one limited edition cherry-flavored timbit (via schwartzy)

true effin’ story.

Ooh. Considering I’m going home to my parents’ place tonight, and they have two Tim Hortons (yet no Dunkin Donuts) in their town, I might have to partake in this.

Democracy in Albany

icanseenewyorkcityfrommyhouse:

Yesterday the New York State Senate allowed a vote to come to the floor on gay marriage.

I repeat, yesterday the New York State Senate allowed a vote to come to the floor!

Democracy was practiced in Albany yesterday. The grand tradition of 3 guys going into a room and brokering a deal was cast aside! The New York State Senate actually voted on legislation!

Wheels of Democracy keep on turning! Civil unions 2010! The arc of progress, etc!

Please don’t give Albany any credit. Hiram Monserrate, a staunch supporter of gay rights, voted against the bill to “save face” and try to salvage his political career that was doomed by his misdemeanor assault conviction for beating up his girlfriend last year. Of the “gang of four” that tried to rip the Senate apart this summer, the two Democrats that did not receive leadership positions - Ruben Diaz and Carl Kruger - both voted against the bill.

Of the 38 votes against the bill, 37 came without explanation. Only one Senator - Diaz - spoke on the Senate floor against the bill. The rest stayed silent out of fear of sounding like bigots, but their votes speak volumes. This was pure political cowardice.

As far as I’m concerned, these people can all still rot in hell for their political stunts.

Sorry 'bout that

I was in a pissy mood tonight and trying to find some sort of scapegoat… some explanation as to how something so simple as granting someone’s civil rights could become such a debacle. I’m better than that.

I think yesterday was an emotional day for everyone. I’ll calm down and think first. That post was meant to be motivating (in the worst of possible ways), not denigrating, but emotions got the best of me.

Meanwhile, New Yorkers, this fight is on hold while Albany’s on recess, and it’s going to be harder to get this through the legislature in an election year. How about dedicating yourselves to another fight - the fact that in 29 states, it is still perfectly legal to fire someone or deny them housing because they’re gay. In fact, in 19 of those states (including two that went for Obama in 2008), the state government can fire you because you’re gay.

The fact that this vote even happened shows how far the fight has come in such a short time. Let’s all be grateful for the protections we have in New York.

100 notes

On a political post, which I try to avoid, about fighting for a civil right that I am already entitled to. I am humbled, and hope that you all take the actions I suggest.

But it feels odd that I - with Alice’s help - had to issue the call to action to publicly shame these Senators who opposed gay marriage. It was disheartening tonight that I saw plans for a protest in Times Square circulate among my gay friends, only to pass through Times Square and see nothing an hour after its supposed start. If people whose lives are directly impacted by this denial of civil rights can’t stand out in a light drizzle for more than an hour, just how important is it them? If a group who is the victim of institutionalized discrimination cannot mobilize on the very day that equal rights are snatched away from them, when will they? How much anger will it take before my gay friends and their compadres rise to the occasion and fight in a public setting?

Much like Proposition 8, this was too little, too late. You should have called them months ago, or even yesterday, but at the very least, call your Senators and Assembly members now.  Fight tooth and nail to defeat those eight Democrats in primaries next year. Heck, you’re smart people… run yourselves. Encourage your friends to run. Tell your friends to vote. Let your friends know that their support for your civil rights means something to you.

I believe in equal rights and justice for all, and I will fight for your rights. But please stop making me do your dirty work for you.

With one exception - Toby Ann Stavinsky - every State Senator in Queens voted against gay marriage.

Yes, I see the irony in the fact that a borough named “Queens” single-handedly shot down gay marriage in New York.

These Senators need to hear from their constituents. (Basically, if you live in Queens, DO THIS NOW.)

If you live in Astoria, Long Island City, Woodside, or Sunnyside in Queens, call and e-mail your Senator:

George Onorato
onorato@senate.state.ny.us
518 455-3486
718 545-9706

If you live in Jackson Heights, Corona, or East Elmhurst in Queens, and e-mail your Senator:

Hiram Monserrate
monserra@senate.state.ny.us
518 455-2529
718 205-3881 

If you live in Middle Village, the west side of Forest Hill Gardens, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, or Ozone Park in Queens, call and e-mail your Senator:

Joseph Addabbo, Jr.
addabbo@senate.state.ny.us
518 455-2322
718 738-1111

If you live in Kew Gardens, the east side of Forest Hills Gardens, Jamaica, Richmond Hill, or Laurelton in Queens, call and e-mail your Senator:

Shirley Huntley
shuntley@senate.state.ny.us
518 455-3531
718 523-3069

If you live in Parkchester, Hunts Point, Castle Hill, or Melrose in the Bronx, call and e-mail your Senator:

Ruben Diaz, Sr.
diaz@senate.state.ny.us
518 455-2511
718 991-3161

If you live in Brighton Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Midwood, Mill Basin, or Manhattan Beach in Brooklyn, call and e-mail your Senator:

Carl Kruger
kruger@senate.state.ny.us
518 455-2460
718 743-8610

A brief profile of "Democrat" and gay marriage opponent Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr.

Díaz is one of three Democratic Senators, known as the “Gang of Three”, who threatened to abandon the Democratic majority elected to the New York State Senate on November 4, 2008. A fourth, Senator-elect Hiram Monserrate [ed’s note: you know, the asshole who beat his girlfriend yet stayed a Senator], backed out of the group in early November.According to a memorandum leaked to the New York Times in December 2008, the remaining “Gang of Three” tried to use their leverage to have one of them named Senate majority leader and another named chair of the Senate finance committee, and to obtain a guarantee that the Senate would not vote on the issue of same-sex marriage.

In a March 2005 speech on the State Senate floor, Senator Díaz made the following remarks: “Abortion is the American Holocaust…. The comparison is plain: six million Jews were exterminated by Hitler in Germany; Almost 48 million babies have been exterminated in the abortion clinics of America. We have simply been in the killing for a longer period of time than Hitler…. Hitler used the ashes of the Jews to make bars of soap. In America, we are selling fetal tissue to be used in: the manufacture of cosmetics as well as for medical research…. Do not point your finger at Hitler; we are worse.” In 2008, when a colleague proposed legislation that would expand abortion rights in New York, Senator Díaz described the bill as “one of the most dangerous and radical pieces of proposed legislation in New York State that I have ever seen.”

In 1994, while on the Civilian Complaint Review Board, Díaz was critical of the city hosting the Gay Games, claiming that doing so would lead to an increase in AIDS cases and to wider acceptance of homosexuality by young people. Díaz wrote that hosting the Games would lead children “to conclude that if there are so many gay and lesbian athletes then there is nothing wrong, nor any risks involved.” The other members of the Board issued a unanimous rebuke of Díaz’s comments.

(And that’s just his Wikipedia page… that’s not even the good stuff.)

Ladies and gentlemen, your eight New York State Senate Democrats who voted against gay marriage.

Because of the backroom deals and back-scratching in committee, virtually nothing fails on the New York State Senate floor. But on a bill to legalize Gay Marriage, supporters asked for a floor vote so their opposition’s ignorance could be documented on the Senate record.

Thanks to that, here are the eight Democrats who do not support fairness and equality, and prefer to stand for bigotry and hatred:

Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr.
Sen. Darrel Aubertine
Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr.
Sen. Shirley Huntley
Sen. Carl Kruger
Sen. Hiram Monserrate
Sen. George Onorato
Sen. William Stachowski

You know what’s even more sickening? These aren’t DINOs representing backwoods districts in Upstate New York. Six of these Senators represent districts within New York City’s five boroughs.