Month: March 2011
American Catholics Support Gay Marriage
43%
Of Catholics favor allowing gay and lesbian people to marry, 31% favor civil unions and 22% said there should be no legal recognition of a gay relationship, according to a report from the Public Religion Research Institute. Key finding: 39% of Catholics approve of the church’s treatment of the issue of homosexuality, and 56% of Catholics believe that homosexual sex is not a sin.
Assault On Florida: Does Deregulation Increase Freedom or Danger?
Part of the series, Assault on Florida.
This is the first installment in an ongoing series, “Assault On Florida,” that chronicles Rick Scott’s disastrous tenure as governor and the antics of the Republican-dominated state legislature.
Buried in an article in the South Florida Business Journal that ran Tuesday was a whole list of businesses that stand to be deregulated if House Bill HB 5005 passes.
The bill seeks to deregulate dozens of industries by deleting provisions establishing the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s oversight of dozens of occupations and professions. Some businesses — not to mention us consumers — are concerned that the lack of regulation could lead to practices that could tarnish the image of some industries (and screw consumers). Here are the professions and occupations listed in the House bill for which regulation by the state would end:
Yacht and ship brokers, auctioneers, talent agencies, community association managers, athlete agents, employee leasing companies, home inspectors, mold assessors and remediators, professional surveyors and mappers, persons practicing hair braiding, hair wrapping, or body wrapping; interior designers, landscape architects, professional geologists, professional fundraising consultants and solicitors, water vending machines and operators, health studios, ballroom dance studios, commercial telephone sellers and salespersons, movers and moving brokers, certain outdoor theaters, certain business opportunities, motor vehicle repair shops, sellers of travel, contracts with sales representatives involving commissions, and, strangely, television picture tubes.
Nearly Half of Americans Favor Second term for Obama
47%
Of registered voters say they would like to see Barack Obama reelected, while 37% say they would prefer to see a Republican candidate win the 2012 election, according to Pew Research.
Less than Half of Republicans Recognize ‘Pawlenty’
41%
The amount of name recognition former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, the first major Republican to announce the formation of a presidential exploratory committee, has among Republicans. His Positive Intensity Score among those who know him is 16, similar to that of better-known politicians Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.
An Extraordinary Woman
My Mother was an extraordinary woman who lived life to the fullest, with great passion, humor, and love. Though her loss is devastating to those of us who held her so close and so dear, we will always be inspired by her enduring contribution to our world. Her remarkable body of work in film, her ongoing success as a businesswoman, and her brave and relentless advocacy in the fight against HIV/AIDS, all make us all incredibly proud of what she accomplished. We know, quite simply, that the world is a better place for Mom having lived in it. Her legacy will never fade, her spirit will always be with us, and her love will live forever in our hearts.
– Michael Wilding, on the passing of his mother, the Academy Award-winning actress and pioneering AIDS activist, Elizabeth Taylor
Post-Convention Wrap-Up: California GOP Said to Be on the Verge of Extinction
That assessment came after CalBuzz spent the weekend covering the state GOP’s biannual convention.
A former Republican leader agreed. “It’s on life support,” he said.
But why is the California GOP in decline at the same time that the tea party has invigorated the the party just about everywhere else? CalBuzz suggests that the root of the party’s problem is its self-delusion — they think their candidates have not been conservative enough — as well as their dim view of, well, people:
The prevailing attitude at the convention seemed to be the Republicans lost every major statewide race and have been reduced to a strident minority because Republican candidates were too weak on conservative principles and besides, people are lazy and stupid.
The convention was notable for a couple of things that did not happen:
