Results tagged “senate”

During opening remarks by Sen. Dianne Feinstein in the Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Judge Sonia Sotomayor this morning, an anti-abortion protester stood up, shouted something about genocide and the unborn, and was promptly dragged out of the room. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who's presiding over the hearing and therefore in charge of the gavel, was having none of it. The man's name is Robert James, and he's been charged with unlawful conduct and disruption of Congress. No word on whether the God Hates Fags-famed Phelpses -- who never met an event that they couldn't relate back to homosexuality and God's wrath -- have shown up.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has just declared, in a 32-page unanimous decision, that Al Franken won the state's seat in the U.S. Senate in the contested November election against Republican Norm Coleman. The governor, Tim Pawlenty, has already said that he was ready to certify the comedian and liberal pundit just as soon as the court made up their mind, however there is still a 10-day period in which Coleman may concede or in which a federal court could issue a stay. So long as Coleman doesn't care to spend more than the $11 million already spent on the recount or the $50+ million spent on the campaign, this would give Democrats their coveted, filibuster-proof 60th vote in the Senate.

We don't think there are many people who would consider politicians as containing much in the way of a sense of humor or any sense of irony, but in an awesome move of political satire, Republican Senator Libby Dole of North Carolina added an amendment to an AIDS bill now winding itself through the Senate that would name it after recently deceased senator Jesse Helms. The bill would give about $50 billion dollars in funding to fight AIDS and other diseases around the world and with it, a possible lifting of a travel ban on people with HIV. What makes the amendment such a great bit of political satire (right up there with the New Yorker cover) is that Helms was a long time racist and homophobe who said any number of things against gay people and people with AIDS and fought any and all funding to try and help people with it. In fact, it was Helms who created the travel ban on people with HIV Oh wait...this just in....it's not a bit of satire. Dole is completely serious about what she's doing.

Mark Leno and Carole Migden, please step forward.

SF city supervisor Chris Daly penned an open letter to the folks over at SFBG today, asking them to endorse la Migden for reelection.

The airtight smiles. Awesome. For those of you somehow not tempted into becoming a part of Van Santian art -- or, you know, if you sport a vagina -- might we suggest catching round II of the Leno vs. Migden smackdown? Sponsored by the Harvey Milk Club, this meeting is sure to ruffle a few plumes and have local politicos affectedly scratching their chins for days to come. That's right, kids, it's on. It is...