The elections yesterday had some surprises, and some not too surprising results.

In the local election, the race for King County Executive was a hotly contested one between former newscaster Susan Hutchinson, and King County Council member Dow Constantine.

I found it ironic that after watching the 2008 election where Obama won by promising change from the day to day politics as usual, here in King County, the opposite held forth.  Hutchinson’s ran on a campaign of asking to end the business as usual attitude that has lead to King County’s financial messes.  Constantine on the other hand ran on a campaign of “she’s a Republican”.

Seriously, his closing comments at a debate as well as TV ads said pretty much nothing else, even trying to smear her by likening her to Sarah Palin.  It was one of the cheapest dirtiest campaign ads I have seen.

Well, that apparently is enough in Seattle; either that or a pretty woman need not apply.

The Mayor’s race is still up for grabs.  Hope and Change already  won there with incumbent Greg Nichols getting knocked off the top two primary ballot.

So after making a big production of support for Miss California Carrie Prejean, Trump has fired her anyway, claiming she is not living up to her contractual obligations.

She and her attorney dispute that and claim to have an E paper trail supporting her.  She claims this is the final punishment for her gay marriage comments.

Maybe.

If so, if Trump and the pageant industry was trying to appease Perez Hilton and the gay community, they may not have gotten much traction on that as the new Miss California, Tami Farrell seems to be of similar mind.

New Miss California: Marriage between man, woman

Tami Farrell: ‘The right thing to do is let the voters decide’

Tami Farrell, the newly crowned beauty queen who is replacing the ousted Carrie Prejean as Miss California, apparently holds the same view as her predecessor, Carrie Prejean, and President Obama that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Fox News host Neil Cavuto asked Farrell, who is Christian, on his show today:

“[Prejean] went out and said that a marriage is between a man and a woman. Do you share that view?”

I love when this happens.  When the most vilified man in the Bush administration, Darth Cheney actually says something they agree with, the liberals actually have to dial back their hatred and accept that maybe not all republicans and conservatives are howling homophobes, as they try to make them appear to be.

It’s hard to marginalize someone who is being honest and reasonable, isn’t it?  And I totally agree with him on the federalism issue.

Cheney Hints He Supports Gay Marriage

Former Vice President Dick Cheney told the National Press Club he thinks “people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish.” Cheney said the decision to legalize gay marriage should be up to the states and not the federal government.

I heard this on the radio in passing earlier today, and confirmed it on Hot Air this evening.

This sort of intimidation pisses me off.

Let me say before I post the story details that until I read this, I had no intention of joining the fray for referendum 71, which seeks a public vote to overturn the recently signed same sex partnership laws here in Washington.

If anything, I thought that addressing this out of the marriage arena brought back the reality of what this is about without the rhetoric.

And since so many companies are already providing this, I was not surprised to see it pass the Washington legislature and be signed by the Governor.

When I heard about the attempt to overturn it by Referendum, it just made me tired.  I am all for churches wanting to maintain their religious doctrines but I also see no problem with the State imposing equality in benefits, while leaving marriage alone.

But now…quite frankly even though I don’t really care about overturning it, I plan on signing the petition.

With Prop 8 having passed and now appearing to be ratified by the State Supreme Court, someone in California finally figured out what the real problem is:  Governments controlling marriage in the first place.

Think about it.  If marriages are recognized only as social and religious ceremonies, and the government merely recorded civil unions on a contractual basis, then the problem is solved, right?

So using that logic, a new initiative has surfaced:  Removing the title of marriage from all state sanctioned ceremonies, and calling them recognized civil unions.

California Initiative Proposes Abolishing All Marriage from Law

California same-sex “marriage” supporters are collecting signatures to support a ballot initiative that would remove civil marriage from California law entirely, as well as the provision codifying marriage as between a man and a woman.

The “Domestic Partnership Initiative” proposes to categorize all unions simply as “domestic partnerships,” while retaining all the rights of marriage for heterosexual couples, and extending them to homosexual couples.  According to the initiative’s summary, “Legally speaking, ‘Marriage’ itself would become a social ceremony, recognized by only non-governmental institutions.”

…

Few issues in America bring about the vitriol and emotional upheaval that gay rights do.

While I will not deeply delve into my detailed beliefs about gay rights in this forum, take it as a given that my position on the subject is nuanced and complex because I believe the issue itself is not a simple one. 

The issue has grown in attention over the years, and now has hit the International stage in the UN.

Now…let me say that in my opinion, the UN is the single most corrupt, useless and meaningless organization in our world’s history.  I have had little to say positive about the organization, and I think that the UN’s history of vile corruption, particularly when you look at the rampant corruption during the oil for food scandal, bears me out.

So now the UN has taken on the issue of gay rights, something else they can dither on and do nothing….which is what they do best:

U.N. divided over gay rights declaration

Let me pause and interject something:  The article does not list what the declarations said, nor does it list which countries support which.  This will be relevant shortly….

So as I read through my many daily reads, there were too many stories I wanted to talk about to do them all, so here is a quick mask up.

Suppression of free speech in New York?

Apparently.  Specifically this is a buffer zone for protesters, and mandatory prosecution of harassment.  Of course this is all those rabid anti war nutbags protesting the Military recruiters, right?  No, it is to praying abortion protesters at abortion clinics.

You can stand in front of a church yelling “Mormon scum,” but if you pray in front of a taxpayer-subsidized abortion clinic, watch out.

Emily L. e-mails:

I thought you might find this interesting. NYC is considering legislation to create a 15 foot buffer zone between abortion protestors and the clinics. The legislation would also enable the clinics to press harrassment charges against protestors, even if the patients don’t wish to pursue charges. This is one opinion piece about the proposal: link.

Even more interesting was the flurry of Letters to the Editor sent to the Daily News today. This is from Planned Parenthood:

Free choice protected

It seems strange but in reality it appears that is the eventual destination for marriage in California.

Via Orb:¹

“Brides” and “grooms” are no longer allowed to marry in the State of California.

That privilege is only extended to individuals who allow themselves to be called “Party A” and “Party B” on marriage licenses.

Pastor Doug Bird of Abundant Life Fellowship in Roseville, Calif., was alarmed to find the state now rejects the traditional terms after he officiated his first marriage ceremony last week following the California Supreme Court decision to overturn Proposition 22.

The couple had written the words “bride” and “groom” next to “Party A” and “Party B” because they wanted to be legally recognized as husband and wife.

However, the Placer County marriage license was denied.

“I received back the license and a letter from the Placer County Clerk/Recorder stating that the license ‘does not comply with California State registration laws,’” Bird said in a statement from the Pacific Justice Institute.

It was an “unacceptable alteration,” the County Recorder’s Office claimed the State Office of Vital Records determined.

The ruling comes as no surprise, really. 

The California Supreme Court, striking down two state laws that had limited marriages to unions between a man and a woman, ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.

The 4-to-3 decision, drawing on a ruling 60 years ago that struck down a state ban on interracial marriage, would make California the second state, after Massachusetts, to allow same-sex marriages.

Again, is anyone actually surprised?

The decision, which becomes effective in 30 days unless the court grants a stay, was greeted with celebrations at San Francisco City Hall, where thousands of same-sex marriages were thrown out by the courts four years ago.

And the issue will not go away…

It was denounced by religious and conservative groups that promised to support an initiative proposed for the November ballot that would amend the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriages and overturn the decision.

And that brings up a serious question:  Is a mandate from the people really the important factor here?

I swore when this first broke I would not blog it, as I thought it patently absurd.  But I also had the sinking feeling that too many people would not let it be, and that I would end up seeing so much stupid bloviating that I would feel compelled to take my shot at it.

And here we are.

I am speaking of the news that JK Rowlings has decided that master Wizard Albus Dumbledore was gay.

Rowling: Potter’s Dumbledore Gay

Harry Potter fans,  the rumors are true: Albus Dumbledore, master  wizard and Headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay. J.K. Rowling, author of the mega-selling fantasy series that ended last summer, outed the beloved character Friday night while appearing before a full house at Carnegie Hall.

After reading briefly from the final book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” she took questions from audience members.

She was asked by one young fan whether Dumbledore finds “true love.”

“Dumbledore is gay,” the author responded to gasps and applause.