[DM] "An addendum on demographics and American politics"

I make a brief post about the reported racist remarks of Bill O'Reilly.

[PHOTO} Cafe on the Go, gone

One of the two coffee chains that used to operate in the sublevel of the Bathurst TTC station, Cafe on the Go, has closed. A more upscale Fit for Life will be opening up. (Bakery on the Go was my favourite--excellent pastries.)

This makes a period piece, sadly, of Dave Bidini's National Post article comparing and contrasting the two.

The station I pass through most often, it seems, is Bathurst, the slumping, overall’ed cousin of spit-washed Spadina to the east. Even though its car yard is the most open and unguarded of any station — Spadina’s, by comparison, hides its vehicles coquettishly below ground — there’s never enough sunlight to warm the hordes of passengers waiting to catch a ride.

The day I last visited, it was minus-15 outside, forcing people to press their hands in coat pockets while gathering on benches inside the terminal, leaving the grounds to a dozen pigeons fighting over the remains of a chestnut bag.

Seeking warmth, I descended to the subway platforms, stopping in the middle of the landing while considering whether to turn to Cafe on the Go to my left or Bakery on the Go to my right. Directly in front of me, the newsagent saw me standing there. I went over and asked him which stand provided him with his morning coffee. “Neither,” he said, proving no help. Then he added, “Both,” making my decision even more complicated.

[BRIEF NOTE] On the political progress of GLBT rights in the United States

Deborah Jacobs' Forbes article outlines the success of same-sex marriage referenda in the United States. It's always nice when support for GLBT rights becomes a winning issue at the ballot box everywhere.

Gay-rights advocates scored a major and unprecedented victory at the polls yesterday as voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington approved same-sex marriage. In Minnesota they defeated a proposed constitutional amendment, modeled on federal law, that would have banned same-sex marriage in the state.

With that, nine states—Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington—and the District of Columbia—have solidly approved same-sex marriage. Another 12 states permit “domestic partnerships” or “civil unions,” which provide varying degrees of rights. (The laws in New Jersey, California and Oregon give same-sex couples virtually all the state law rights opposite-sex married couples have.)

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Maine Voters Approve Same Sex Marriage Kenneth Rapoza
Contributor
This was a dramatic reversal of fortune for gay and lesbian advocates, who historically have not done well at the polls. During the past decade 30 of the 31 measures put to the voters have banned same-sex marriage, according to the nonpartisan Initiative & Referendum Institute at the University of Southern California.

Still, a tough battle lies ahead for those who would like to achieve marriage equality for same-sex couples. The most significant hurdle is the federal Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA, which defines “marriage” and “spouse” as limited to one man and one woman, and bars federal recognition of all same-sex marriages. DOMA prohibits all types of federal benefits to spouses of same-sex marriages, even in states that have recognized gay marriage.

With DOMA on the books state laws allowing same-sex marriage are of limited use. For example, a same-sex couple who gets married in New York or Massachusetts (which have no residency requirements) may find their new marriage disregarded by another state they live in or move to or might receive an inheritance from. For a rundown of other practical issues, see my FORBES magazine article, “Same-Sex Couples Face A Raft Of Planning Issues.”

[LINK] "Americans were really voting to become more Canadian"

Postmedia News' Michael Den Tandt, writing in the Montreal Gazette, makes an argument I'm not at all sure about. Thoughts, Canadian readers, Americans, and others?

The United States is becoming, well, Canadian.

That will seem like a wild exaggeration to some. But consider.

The campaign itself was as nasty and divisive as always on the advertising side, and at street level. But at the presidential level, especially, there was courtesy. Romney-haters will disagree. But at no time in this campaign, certainly not in public, did Romney bare his fangs in anything like a Rush Limbaugh-style display of rage. He was aggressive but respectful. More to the point, his policy positions – during the campaign at least – were centrist. But it was too little centrism, too late.

[. . .]

This is a historic, demographics-driven shift, captured – ironically – by GOP backer Clint Eastwood in his excellent 2008 film, Grand Torino. In the movie, Eastwood plays a salt-of-the-earth white Republican of Eisenhower vintage, beset by Asian, Hispanic and black neighbours on all sides. His car, the mythical Grand Torino, is a metaphor for and homage to the old America – white, blue-collar, Christian, conservative, and able to build things that last forever – that’s disappearing. The movie may as well have been crafted as a prelude to this election.

But it’s the state-by-state propositions, non-presidential ballot items, that truly jump out. In Michigan, voters turned thumbs-down in overwhelming numbers to billionaire Matty Moroun’s cockeyed scheme to stop a new bridge being built between Windsor and Detroit. That may not be explicitly a vote for Canada, but it’s certainly not isolationism or protectionism.

In Maryland, Maine, Washington State and Colorado, meanwhile, Canadian-ness is spreading like a bad rash. The first three jurisdictions approved same-sex marriage by plebiscite – the first time this has ever happened. The latter two have legalized recreational marijuana. These outcomes have national import: As the Associated Press’s David Crary points out, the U.S. Justice Department must now determine how to deal with legalized pot, which it still considers illegal, and the Supreme Court will be expected to consider new state precedents in future hearings on same-sex marriage.

Ah, I hear you say – but Canada hasn’t legalized pot. In fact, the Harper government moved in the opposite direction with omnibus crime bill C-10, imposing harsh new sentences for growers of as few as six plants. That may be so – but as Americans have once again shown, popular sentiment leads. The Harper government has gone all Grand Torino on crime, because it’s one area where it can court social conservatives in its base without sparking a fierce backlash among progressives.

[LINK] "Transport minister says path clear for Detroit-Windsor bridge"

I've been following the bizarre odyssey of the Detroit-Windsor bridge that the owner of the current bridge has been blocking. I was very pleased to read the CBC report that the bizarre campaign was defeated in last night's election.

During U.S. elections Tuesday, Michigan voters defeated Proposal 6, which would have called for a statewide vote on plans for any new international crossing, including the proposed new bridge over the Detroit River. Slightly more than 60 per cent of voters turned down the proposal, which would have been entrenched in the state's Constitution.

Proposal 6 was one of the final hurdles that needed to be cleared for the building of a new bridge to proceed, and provide competition for the 83-year-old Ambassador Bridge, Canada's busiest border crossing, owned by billionaire Matty Moroun.

[. . .]

Moroun was behind the ballot proposal. He spent more than $30 million in advertising to promote it to sway voters.

Some observers believe Moroun will now take his battle to court on both sides of the border.

"We can’t say what will happen. I will not speak about what Mr. Moroun will do in the future," Lebel said. "We’ll do this bridge, I’m sure of it."

[. . .]

"It is clear the voters resisted amending the Constitution, but it would be a mistake to assume taxpayers support a flawed government bridge that puts taxpayers at risk," committee spokesperson Mickey Blashfield said in a statement. "We have full confidence that the citizens, legislature and financial community will continue to hold any bridge to its promises of 'not one dime of taxpayer money.'"

[. . .]

Matt Marchand, president of the Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce, is pleased, saying business groups on both sides of the border campaigned to ensure people heard the facts, in spite of Moroun's advertising blitz.

"We're just looking forward to new cross-border infrastructure and if there are hurdles thrown at it, so be it," he said. "At the end of the day, there's an agreement signed by the prime minister and the governor, along with the voters from Michigan giving the go-ahead."