From Change.org:

In July 2009, Coakley filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).  In the lawsuit, Coakley said that DOMA undermined states’ efforts to recognize marriages between same-sex couples, and “codified an animus towards gay and lesbian people.”

“Our familes, our communities, and even our economy have seen the many important benefits that have come from recognizing equal marriage rights and, frankly, no downside,” Coakley said when filing the lawsuit.  “However, we have also seen how many of our married residents and their families are being hurt by a discriminatory, unprecedented, and, we believe, unconstitutional law.”

 The primary election for Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat will be held on December 8, with a general election scheduled for January 19, 2010.

“Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) says the Senate is swamped and has little time on the schedule for this fight. The Pentagon brass is reticent and wants a go-slow strategy, while a majority of the rank and file in the military opposes changing the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law. With no Republican co-sponsors for a repeal, key moderate Democrats such as Sens. Jim Webb of Virginia and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas remain uncommitted.

And the Senate’s patron saint of this cause, Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), died before being able to introduce long-promised bipartisan legislation to overturn “don’t ask, don’t tell”.

And absent a big push from the Pentagon and Obama, key Senate Democrats are signaling that there is little appetite to anger some of their more socially conservative voters at a time when election forecasters are signaling a tough 2010 election cycle for the party.”

Still, the Senate Armed Services Committee will hold hearings on the ban this fall – the first since 1993, thanks to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the NY Senator who has become one of our most stalwart supporters after taking over Hillary Clinton’s seat.

1. Anyone NOT going to the October 10-11 DC march? Reasons? I’m 85 percent sure I’ll be there. The 15 of doubt is purely budget issues.

2. Reason 519 why I’m smitten with the day job: on Fridays the office refrigerator is cleaned out by the office manager. Last week he started the throwing out process at 2:30 PM, approximately 30 minutes before I wanted to eat. My lunch ended up in the garbage bin.

3. Anyone else spend Saturday watching the Ted Kennedy funeral and burial?

4. Are you football fans ready for the upcoming season? No fan of the sport. Give me teams to root for, college and pros.

5. Hopefully the killer of Tyli’a “NaNa Boo” Mack is found. If you are of the praying kind, send your thoughts to her family.

6. Finally saw the episode of “American Dad” called Lincoln Lover. What a hoot!

7. For some reason I’m on a Nat King Cole kick.

8. Reason 912 why I have a soft spot for conservatives: they moan and groan when liberal celebrities yap about politics, but reach heights of sexual delight when a conservative actor takes the bus to crazy town. And yeah,  anyone who pushes Obama is making the country “socialist” and  he is “causing civil unrest” memos is loonier than a nutty loon.

9. Finished The Brothers Karamazov. Wish I had something profound to say.

10. Does Dick Cheney understand the role of the Attorney General?

There’s not much to add about the life of Edward M. Kennedy. Youngest in a family of wealth and power, lion of the legislature, flawed father and man, Irish politician who knew the art of the deal, patriarch, weaver of tales. All of those parts were touched upon today at his funeral.

As his body heads to its final resting place—Arlington National Cemetery–its worth remarking that the younger brother of John and Robert had the enduring affection of two communities that squabble too many times in the “oppression Olympics”: blacks and gays.

Considering all the heat generated since the Proposition 8 vote, this is  remarkable and should serve as a lesson. Yes Kennedy was a partisan who could swing with the best of them, but he  understood progress comes about when people reached across the aisle and made deals based on common ground. Look at the number of Republicans who came to honor this man; not because they agreed with him but because they understood he was willing to talk and offer fellowship.

This should be our lesson as his body is returned to the earth. This happy warrior’s memory will be honored if we take his lead.

The son of the country’s most famous Catholic family defied church teachings when he divorced his first wife, then was granted an annulment only after he admitted he wasn’t being honest when he promised her he’d be faithful. His most significant and public break with the church came with his support for abortion rights.

Yet Kennedy also advocated for signature Catholic causes, such as help for the poor, health care and immigration reform, and opposition to the Iraq war. His faith remained a regular part of his life until it ended this week with a priest at his bedside.

The apparently conflicting portrait of a man loyal to the church despite widening disagreement on key issues “almost perfectly represents” the views of most American Catholics, said Boston College professor Alan Wolfe.

“He’s an effect of a process that’s been going on for a very long time that started long before Teddy Kennedy was born and will continue long after Teddy Kennedy is dead,” Wolfe said.

Kennedy’s mother, Rose Kennedy, set the roots of his faith, emphasizing Christ’s teaching in the Gospels that “to whom much is given, much will be required.” When her kids were teens, she made sure they went to a weekend religious camp every year, even if they’d rather be sailing, said Adam Clymer, who worked with Kennedy on his biography. She took them to church during the week, so they knew church wasn’t just for Sundays.

In his eulogy during her 1995 funeral, Kennedy called his mother’s faith “the greatest gift she gave us.”

A commitment to Catholicism was not always evident in Kennedy’s personal life, which was marred by problems with alcohol and philandering. In 1983, he was forbidden from receiving communion after his divorce – which the church forbids – from his first wife, Joan.

The public learned more than a decade later that he’d been granted an annulment after he was seen accepting Communion at his mother’s funeral. Joan later said that Kennedy requested the annulment, which she did not oppose, on grounds that his marriage vow to be faithful had not been honestly made, Clymer said.

Kennedy never discussed his annulment and also rarely spoke publicly of his Catholicism.

“I think faith oftentimes is deeply felt in the marrow of your bones, it’s a matter of the heart,” said Kennedy’s friend, the Rev. Gerry Creedon, a Washington-area priest. “He had trouble articulating his inner feelings, his deepest conviction and matters of emotion, the heart.”

One of Kennedy’s longest discussions of his faith came in 1983 in an unlikely place – political foe Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University:

“I am an American and a Catholic; I love my country and treasure my faith,” Kennedy said. “But I do not assume that my conception of patriotism or policy is invariably correct, or that my convictions about religion should command any greater respect than any other faith in this pluralistic society. I believe there surely is such a thing as truth, but who among us can claim a monopoly on it?”

In the same speech, Kennedy referred to abortion, criticizing some religious people for wanting government to “tell citizens how to live uniquely personal parts of their lives.” His pro-abortion rights stance was a flip from early in his career and tough for many Catholics to accept, even those who admire his other work in other areas they consider “pro-life” – such as anti-war, anti-poverty and anti-death penalty causes.

“There’s this big, ‘What if?’” said Catholic author Michael Sean Winters. “If Ted Kennedy had stuck to his pro-life position, would both the (Democratic) party and the country have embraced the abortion on demand policies that we have now? And I don’t think so.”

Russell Shaw, former spokesman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said when Kennedy defied the church on issues such as abortion and later, gay marriage, he reinforced a corrosive belief among Catholics that they can simply ignore teachings they don’t agree with.

Kennedy’s differences with the church never kept him from Mass. When he was in Washington, Kennedy would attend Blessed Sacrament Church in Chevy Chase, Md., and sometimes stop in at St. Joseph’s on Capitol Hill, said Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Washington Archdiocese. In his last days, Kennedy leaned hard on his faith. Creedon said he visited with Kennedy last Friday, offering him a blessing and praying the Lord’s Prayer with him.

“He just was a man of deep piety and devotion, as well as public commitments in the area of the Gospel,” Creedon said.

Kennedy’s relationship with the Catholic church was rocky, Shaw said, but there’s no doubt it was enduring. Judging the quality of Kennedy’s faith isn’t for him, he said.

“Now it’s up to God,” he said.

Rachel, still bravely battling a touch of the flu, started us off with RNC chairman Michael Steele’s adjective-defying interview on National Public Radio Thursday morning. Does he not know that you can practice before the interview, and that it might be a good idea to practice with someone who pretends to disagree with you?

In his own special way, Steele is a national treasure. Or at least a national clearinghouse of demonstrably false statements.

Threat Level

If there is one bit of 80’s nostalgia I do not need, it’s Randall Terry screaming on the news again. And yet, there he is.

Rachel pointed out that Operation Rescue, the organization Terry helped found, is now sending out some pretty damned scary literature that specifically names women’s health care provider Dr. Leroy Carhart, who bravely went on the air to talk about the planned protest of his clinic this weekend.

I was heartened by the number of people who were offended enough by Tiller’s murder to ask for training in late-term procedures. While I respect the principles of the pro-life movement, these terrorist tactics have nothing to do with principles.

How does one rectify being so disingenuous about death when it’s your one big issue? Cherishing the sanctity of all human life except for people you really disagree with doesn’t cut it.

And are true spiritual warriors supposed to be that coy with the literature they’re passing out? Doesn’t that sort of thing make you more of a spiritual spinner? Do you get the same neato box seats in Heaven for that?

Ms. Information

Remember how we were supposed to let all of those inconvenient revelations about our country’s torture program slide because, hey, it was so very long ago?

And a bunch of conservative pundits who spent the six months leading up to the election screaming about Bill Ayers suddenly developed a Zen appreciation for letting go of the past and living entirely in the present moment?

Rachel reported on new revelations that the CIA was using extreme sleep deprivation – up to five or six days at a time – as late as November 2007. Is that recent enough for anyone to get concerned about? It’s certainly more recent than several measures the government took to make it very illegal.

Rachel also noted that the new, terribly grassroots organization FACES – the Federation for American Coal, Energy, and Security – seems to have put down most of its roots in the stock photo modeling industry.

And then the eight-year-old that lives inside her popped out and made her say that she hopes there’s not a European branch. Well played, ma’am. And ew.

Revisionist History

Rachel gave us an update on the tragically ironic news that some Republicans are now claiming that they totally would have voted for health care this time around if only Ted Kennedy were alive.

Wow. They were finally ready after only 40 years of resisting his efforts. What a cruel trick of fate!

But now they couldn’t possibly vote that way. They just couldn’t. We can all see the logic of that, right?

Oh, well. See you in another 40, everyone!

Rachel also took issue with the idea that Kennedy shouldn’t be called a liberal, and with the idea that being a liberal is at all a bad thing.

One More Thing:

U.S. News suggested that Mitt Romney might go up for Kennedy’s Senate seat.

Apparently someone’s flu meds should have “blunt assessment of questionable ideas” listed as a side effect.

American Liberal

Rachel drove a few choice nails into the attempts at creating a “Kennedy the Centrist Who Was Never Ever Ever a Librul” myth by running a recently rediscovered keynote speech on civil rights from 1968.

If you’re interested, you can download it from Alaska’s state archives. It’s pretty cool.

If I were to have a child I would name her Megan. That’s not really true. Any future girl child will be saddled with Billie and a boy Ulysses; however, today I’m all about Megan. Specifically Megan McArdle.

McArdle went after our love for the word fascism, especially when describing those on the opposite end of the political aisle. Whether it’s conservatives crying that everything President Barack Obama does has a fascistic bent (morning Glenn Beck), or liberals convinced that to be a Republican is to have an affection for black boots (hey there Keith Olbermann).

As Atlantic blogger McArdle points out using the term for politics you don’t approve of is silly, hyperbolic, and ahistorical.

“Fascism is a particular thing, not the amalgam of everything you happen not to like. ”

Ahh, but what better way to get our choirs all ginned up, nodding their heads in righteous indignation?

Wanting a moratorium on the f bomb does not mean political disagreements have gone the way of the do-do; however, persuasion does not come about by calling your opponent as a black boot thug.

Look at the long Senate career of Edward Kennedy. No one would question his liberal street cred; however, did he ever demean his Republican foes with the f epithet? Probably not because he understood you can’t insult an opponent on one day and work with her the following.

Please do me a favor? Don’t leave any comments about how you are a “student of history” and how the fascism charge sticks because of X,Y, or Z reason. Using the word without talking about the real ones, shows how you and history have never been close friends.

RIP Dominick Dunne.

Sen. Ted Kennedy’s video

While last night will be remembered for Michelle Obama painting the lives of her and her husband in hues  middle America understands (which is sort of annoying because black-American life and history is as American as baseball and apple pie), the night really belonged to old lion Ted Kennedy. Recovering from complications due to brain cancer, the Democratic stalwart promised the cheering crowd that come early 2009 he “will be there next January on the floor of the United States Senate.”

Kennedy’s presence was all about passing the torch and he made it clear his political struggles and dreams have been picked up by the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

“There is a new wave of change all around us and if we set our compass true, we will reach our destination, not merely victory for our party but renewal for our nation,” Kennedy said. “This November the torch will be passed again to a new generation of Americans . . . With Barack Obama, and for you and for me, the country will be committed to his cause.”

And one cause is to mend the breach that has convinced us how different we are from each other.

“Barack Obama will close the book on the old politics of race and gender and group against group and straight against gay.”

Like any political titan, Kennedy was willing to throw a curve because I’m willing to bet most in the audience were not expecting to hear a nod to gay inclusion. But maybe that is why Senator Kennedy has earned so much good will among rank and file Democrats. Ultimately they understand he’s going advocate for those who have been pushed aside.

“Barack will finally bring the change we need,” seconded Obama’s wife, Michelle, casting her husband – bidding to become the first black president – as a leader with classic American values.

She pledged he would end the war in Iraq, revise a sputtering economy and extend health care to all.

Democrats opened their four-day convention in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains as polls underscored the closeness of the race with Republican John McCain. And there was no underestimating the challenges confronting Obama.

He faces lingering divisions from a fierce battle with Hillary Rodham Clinton for the nomination, tough ads by McCain and his Republican allies, and a reminder that racism, too, could play a role.

“There are people who are not going to vote for him because he’s black,” said James Hoffa, president of the Teamsters union. “And we’ve got to hope that we can educate people to put aside their racism and to put their own interests No. 1.” He spoke in an Associated Press interview.

Kennedy and Obama’s wife were the bookends of an evening that left the delegates cheering, one representing the party’s past, the other its present.

“The work begins anew, the hope rises again and the dream lives on,” Kennedy said in a strong voice, reprising the final line of a memorable 1980 speech that brought a different convention to its feet. The senator has been undergoing treatment for a malignant brain tumor.

Obama’s wife said it was time to “stop doubting and start dreaming.”

Moments later, Obama appeared via satellite from Missouri, drawing cheers from delegates.

Convention planners hoped the prime time address by Obama’s wife would begin the work of casting the Illinois senator as a leader with classic American values.

Among them, she said: “that you work hard for what you want in life, that your word is your bond and you do what you say you’re going to do, that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them, and even if you don’t agree with them.”

The convention’s opening gavel fell with Obama and Clinton still struggling to work out the choreography for the formal roll call of the states that will make him the party nominee.

Michelle Obama included a tribute to her husband’s former rival, crediting her with having placed “18 million cracks in the glass ceiling” that constrains women’s ambitions.

“There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that this is Barack Obama’s convention,” the former first lady told reporters early in the day. And yet, she said, some of her delegates “feel an obligation to the people who sent them here” and would vote for her.

Kennedy’s speech was an implicit appeal to her delegates – and the 18 million voters who supported her in the primaries – to swing behind Obama.

He said the country can meet its challenges with Obama. “Yes we can, yes we will,” he said, echoing the presidential candidate’s own signature refrain.

In one of their first orders of business, delegates ratified a party platform tailored to Obama’s specifications. It backs “complete redeployment within 16 months from Iraq,” as well as health care for all, a new economic stimulus package and higher taxes on families earning over $250,000 a year.

“The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right,” it said.

As the delegates took their seats in the Pepsi Center, Obama campaigned in Iowa, the first in a string of swing states he is visiting en route to Colorado.

Obama delivers his acceptance speech on Thursday at a football stadium, before a crowd likely to total 75,000 or more. Then he and Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, his vice presidential running mate, depart for the fall campaign.

If the opening night’s convention program had a feel-good quality, not so the intensifying campaign outside the hall.

Obama struggled to quash a television commercial financed by an independent Republican group that linked him to a 1960s-era radical – before it could damage his candidacy as the infamous Swift Boat ads helped sink John Kerry four years ago.

He also shipped a new commercial that used humor to depict McCain as an extension of the Bush administration, the latest in a series of negative advertisements by both sides.

“Really can’t explain the price of gas, or what has happened to the middle class,” the announcer sings to the tune of Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World.” With McCain and Bush appearing together on the screen, the announcer says, “Do we really want four more years of the same old tune?”

While the White House is the biggest prize of the election year, prominent Democrats expressed optimism in Associated Press interviews about major gains in the fall in races for the House and Senate.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said 70 or more House seats are competitive, the majority of them currently in Republican hands.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said fashioning a 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority was a stretch. But he added that Democrats lead for five seats currently in Republican hands, and several others are competitive.

Howard Dean, the party chairman, rapped the opening gavel precisely on schedule at 3 p.m. Mountain Time – before only a smattering of delegates.

“We are ready to compete in all 50 states in November,” he said, even though Obama has already written off large portions of the South and Mountain West.

Schumer and Van Hollen said only a small fraction of Clinton’s delegates remained unreconciled to Obama’s triumph in the bruising primaries of the winter and spring.

Perhaps so, but they were vocal about it, and officials said one of the issues under discussion was whether to permit a noisy floor demonstration by Clinton’s supporters when the former first lady’s name is placed in nomination on Wednesday night.

Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, the eldest child of the late Robert F. Kennedy and a former lieutenant governor of Maryland, said the animosity that some Clinton delegates feel toward Obama is worsening. “There’s a moment that you want to enjoy your bitterness,” she said, although she emphasized that she is supporting Obama.

Obama told reporters that his former rival and her husband, former President Clinton, “couldn’t have been more clear” in their support for his candidacy.

But the sniping was impossible to miss.

“I’m getting a lot of calls and e-mails, especially from women, who are quite upset that she was not vetted (for vice president) even though senator Obama said she was on the short list,” said Lanny Davis, a longtime Clinton loyalist.

All the talk about disunity was grating on some.

“To stay wallowing in all of this is not productive,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.

“So we can talk about this forever, or we can talk about how we’re going to take our message to the American people, to women all across America, to see the distinctions” between Obama and McCain.