(no subject)

So everyone was excited to see Ohio and some other states go blue . . . but why is nobody excited about Indiana??? (OK, I know, we have only 11 electoral votes, but still.) Indiana voted democrat for the first time in 44 years. Woohoo!

(Still at 99% reporting, and Obama only ahead by about 30,000, but it's been called everywhere.)

I'm still watching the numbers come in on prop 8 for California, fingers crossed.

question about constitutional amendments . . .

Is the California process weird? I thought that in most states you needed at least 60% of the vote for a constitutional amendment to pass. Is it 50% in CA?

a quote that explains exactly how I feel

From a commenter on this metafilter thread (thanks quigonejinn), emphasis mine.

I wish we could separate religious marriage from legal unions. Give people all the rights and benefits of marriage, but make the religious aspect something akin to baptism or confirmation: a ritual that has no ramifications outside that religion. Then people could discriminate against whomever they wanted in their place of worship but would have to act like fucking grown-ups the other six days of the week.

via a friend on facebook

Proof that the founding fathers did not consider the US a Christian Nation. See Article 11, and note at the top that this document was presented by John Adams in 1797.

For those too lazy to click the link, this is Article 11 of the Treaty of Tripoli, relevant text bolded: As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext, arrising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.