chicken

One rabbit or many? What do you believe? What do kids believe?

Does the Easter Bunny deliver all those eggs all by itself, in one time-space-continuum-defying night of herculean work, or is there a bevy of bunny helpers, a whole warren full of helpful little paws?

Similarly, is Santa also physics-defying, or does he just have lots of Elf helpers?

If the prevailing societal myth in both cases is actually the Lone Faster Than Light Rabbit/Santa, which of the two myths stays believable longer, for children? If one topples, does the other then automatically fall as well?

These are some thoughts I had today whilst hop-staggering down the hall to deliver only half a dozen small eggs. The bunny has some stamina! (I know I don't.)

Also, P.S., this is the perfect weekend (other than Halloween) for re-watching "The Curse of the Were-Rabbit". I'm just saying.

Gay marriage legalized in Vermont. The vote in the House was 100-49, which I thought meant some last-minute scrounging for a very few votes, and indeed, the story behind four of those five votes is quite fascinating. I love the guy who changed his vote from "I am a Catholic and have to vote against gay marriage" to "I am pissed off at being dissed by the governor so nyeh, diss ya back!"

And it's very moving to see how they got that very last vote, the good old-fashioned way, people calling their legislators. “Many supporters – mostly straight and many not historically political – have stepped up to the plate,” Robinson said. That just about makes me cry.

So soon after the Iowa victory, this is such good news.

And check it out, D.C. Council Votes to Recognize Other States' Gay Marriages. That's enough to make me want to move, in spite of the expense. WOW. That would mean our Massachusetts marriage license would be recognized. That's just amazing. With the District's relative disenfranchisement (not having Representation in Congress), and with the stupid federal DOMA still in effect, I wonder what the tangible benefits would be? Just not being in Virginia, which is so actively hateful toward gay people, would certainly be one tangible effect.

Now of course I'm wondering about Rhode Island, which I consider my home state. This New York Times article has some things to say about Rhode Island, including, Advocates of same-sex marriage in Rhode Island said they were aiming for legislative approval in 2011. That is when Gov. Donald L. Carcieri, a Republican who is against same-sex marriage, will leave office because of term limits.

Furthermore, the legislative landscape in Rhode Island has changed a lot since the last time around, and according to kerri9494, there are a lot of interesting candidates for governor in 2011, including Lincoln Chafee, who is so much more liberal than Carcieri, it's dizzying.

All of this definitely makes the whole Prop. 8 thing less horrifying.

Tell the President to allow same-sex partners of federal employees to receive health benefits.

The timing of this is really interesting, especially in light of the recently-launched GLAD case.

It's also possibly an opportunity to start moving on the DOMA issue a lot sooner than even Barney Frank estimated in this recent interview. Of course what that also means is increased and vociferous Bible-thumping on the part of the right wing.

In Another Angle on Media Bias, Shawn Zeller of the Congressional Quarterly writes about studies showing that the liberal media bias accusation is a myth, and that in fact the opposite is true.

This is about "image bytes" and body language and the relative merits of flattering or un-flattering camera angles. I'm not sure I buy all those as assumptions, but it's interesting food for thought.

Via a plurk friend: Not honourable! And he didn't even steal any prune juice, the warrior's drink.

If you'd like a famous chicken and rabbit holiday card and you haven't already done so, please comment on my wife's entry:

http://bunnyohare.livejournal.com/160457.html?mode=reply&style=mine

Thank you very much!

A hilarious review of the Twilight movie.

Yes, I'm still going to go see it, with really low expectations. Snakes on a Plane, indeed.

I'm the most cynical person I know. Now this might not be true. I've even been extremely cynical about Obama's message of hope. But right now his speech has turned that around a bit. I think I actually cried tears of relief.

Veg acquired at the Penn Quarter farmer's market:

Salad greens
watercress & arugula
basil
cilantro
green onions
broccoli x 3
spinach
green and red bell peppers
crimini mushrooms
3 varieties of apples
asian pears
seckel pears
red bartlett pears
turnips, 2 kinds
carrots, 2 bunches
savoy cabbage

Missing Veg, must acquire elsewhere:

Sweet potato/yam things
tomatoes
parsnips
rutabaga
onions