November musings

  In 2016, my birthday and Election Day were the same day. It started out with Mom, Dad and me going to the polls to vote. I wish I could say that things turned out well, election wise, but that didn't happen. In a show of unprecedented stupidity, we elected Trump to be the next president. This man insulted Mexicans, Muslims, women, the disabled etc. and was rewarded with the highest office in the land. He offered to pay the legal fees of any supporter that attacked people protesting him and selected as his running mate the man responsible for SB 101. For my take on SB 101, look here. His candidacy was endorsed by both the KKK and the NeoNazis. This is the man that's going to be our next president. And to make matters worse, after running what had to be the most divisive campaign in history, Trump has the unmitigated gall to ask everyone to unite with him. But enough of this fucktard.
  Election Day afternoon was spent at Red Lobster indulging in an Ultimate Feast. This dish consists of breaded shrimp, shrimp scampi, crab legs, rice pilaf and a lobster tail. Add to that some mashed potatoes and a warm apple crostada and you have one incredible meal. My birthday movie this year was the latest Marvel movie Dr. Strange. I'm not going to go into detail about the movie because I have no wish to spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it yet. I do highly recommend seeing this movie though. The Marvel movies and tv shows form an integrated universe where events in one movie or tv episode have ripple effects that turn up in other movies and tv episodes.
  November 29th would've been my brother Scott's 56th birthday. It's hard to believe he's been gone 6 years. I still mourn your loss and wish you were here with us.

Religious Freedom Acts

  Gov. Pence stirred up quite a hornet's nest of protest when he signed SB 101, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. Despite what he said, this law was nothing more than a blatant attempt to give right wing Christian bigots the freedom to discriminate against LGBT people on religious grounds without having to worry about being sued. The Christian bigot portion of this country is constantly looking for ways to lord it over the rest of us and they get real whiny when they don't get their way.

  Gov. Pence initially supported the bill and said that its detractors simply didn't understand the bill's intended purpose. It should be noted, however, that Memories Pizza announced that if they were asked to cater to a gay wedding, they would refuse. Follow the link for more information on that. This is exactly what Gov. Pence said wouldn't happen when SB 101 became law.
  The backlash was swift and brutal. The NCAA announced that it would no longer hold any March Madness tournaments there if the law isn't amended or repealed. Angie's List, which is based in Indiana, has held off a planned expansion of their business there because of this bill. Gen Con, one of the largest gaming conventions going, made it clear that they will take their business elsewhere if they feel that some of their attendees will be discriminated against because of this law. Even the Disciples of Christ have made it that they will move their convention because of SB 101. So many businesses and organizations have weighed in on the matter that Gov. Pence had no choice but to add a clarification to the bill stating that businesses could not use it to discriminate against LGBT people. It should be noted that although the bill has been amended, parts of Indiana still allow people to be fired because they're gay so there's still work to be done here.