Think nationally, act locally

Sorry for the dearth of posting lately. Work has seriously been kicking my ass backwards and forwards. I've been thinking more about the despair and futility that we on the left side of the playing field seem to be feeling. My friends bitch about the extreme right taking over our government but then finish by saying "but there's not a whole lot we can do about it." That's disappointing. I'm not saying I know what to do, but damnit, something has to be done. Something other than bitching (though bitching is a great cathartic tool). With that in mind, I'm going to focus mainly on what I can do here in Alabama. And God knows there's a lot to do around here. In no particular order:

• State Supreme Court Justice Tom Parker's religious leanings and how they may effect his decisions. Here's part of his statement from his swearing in ceremony:
  

  Just moments before I placed my hand on the Holy Scripture, Justice Thomas soberly addressed me and those in attendance. He admonished us to remember that the worth of a justice should be evaluated by one thing, and by one thing alone: whether or not he is faithful to uphold his oath _ an oath which as Justice Thomas pointed out is not to the people; it's not to the state; it's not even to the Constitution, which is one to be supported, but is an oath which is to God Himself

  
  Orcinus writes in detail and much more lucidly than I could acheive. Go read his entry.



• Roy Moore's gubenatorial campaign should be starting up any day now. I've said ever since his very first 10 Commandments debacle (which was a plaque in his courtroom when he was a state circuit judge) that the whole thing was a political move. It looks like I've been proved right. A poll of likely Republican primary voters shows Moore with an 8-percentage-point lead over Gov. Bob Riley in a hypothetical 2006 primary matchup.
  

  "The very idea that 70 percent of (Republicans support) a judge who was removed from office for placing himself above the law is truly shocking," he said. "I think it's pretty clear that they don't understand the concept of separation of church and state. But instead of educating the electorate regarding these most important tenets of democracy, our politicians continue to pander to the public for their own political gain."

  
  Just so everyone's clear: Moore was not removed from office because he's a Christian, but because he defied a federal court order. Here's an informative (if biased) timeline.



• Marshall County Sheriff Mac Holcomb has a nice jeremiad on the Marshall County website. Here's a sample:
  

  During this era [1950's Alabama], love of God, family, and country abounded. Men were men and women were women and there was no mistaking which was which. Both were proud of their individual roles. Homosexuality was very queer and a despicable act… an abomination.

  
  Again, the problem is not that Sheriff Holcomb has these views (well, that's not a legal issue, at least), but that he's using county resources to promulgate those views. It's simply not the correct platform to do so. A transcript of talk show host Mike Signorile's interview with Sheriff Holcomb here.



• Of course, we still have the 10 Commandments Robe (TM). I haven't heard anything new on this lately. I originally commented on this here. I'll try to dig up some info and pass it on.



• Then there's State Rep. Gerald Allen (R-Cottendale) and his attempt to banish the Color Purple and the Picture of Dorian Gray along with any other media which shows homosexuality in a "positive light" from public libraries and schools. Here's my original post on it. Here's an example of activism! Yay! Interesing response from Rep. Gaines. Go read.



• And finally we still have ol' Amendment 2. Unfortunately the recount shouwed it failed to pass. Moore, Parker and others campaigned against it, saying that it would have opened a loophole for "activist judges" (there's that GOP buzzword again) to create new education taxes. But that's bogus:
  

  Wayne Flynt, a professor of history at Auburn University and member of Auburn's First Baptist Church, accused Giles, Moore and their allies of willfully misleading voters in a Dec. 5 guest column for the Birmingham News.
  
  "They know a circuit court judge in 1993 struck down the amendment they cherish," Flynt wrote. "They know the state Supreme Court twice upheld that ruling. They know the state recently passed an amendment requiring that any court-authorized tax increase be referred to a statewide referendum so no judge can unilaterally raise taxes. And they know the consequence of their demagoguery will be a national campaign of ridicule unparalleled in recent Alabama history."
  
  Indeed, the Alabama Supreme Court -- including Moore -- in 2002 upheld both the idea that the right-to-education provision was null but that judges could not impose new taxes without legislative approval.

So, I'm still here fighting the good fight. Or at least shadow boxing. If anyone out there has any ideas on how to be more effective, let me know.