Michigan GOP Gay Rights
In a turn of events that doesn’t surprise me all that much, it’s being reported that Michigan’s Republican leadership is hinting at supporting LGBT equal rights. More than half of Michigan residents support LGBT equal rights according to a recent poll. There are many gay Republicans living in Michigan who want equal rights, as well as Republicans who have gay friends and family members. In other words, the world is round; fire is hot.
“This is an opportunity for the Governor to lead a bipartisan effort addressing a growing threat to our economy and families by amending Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to include equal protections for LGBT workers and families,” said Emily Dievendorf, managing director of LBGT advocacy group Equality Michigan.
In spite of how much I hate the fact that same sex marriage is still not legal in Pennsylvania, and I’m not legally allowed to marry my partner of twenty years in the state where I reside (and please don’t tell me I can marry in another state and still receive the same equality: NOT), I do think that President Obama was correct in supporting same sex marriage and LGBT equal rights without actually demanding it from the people. This is something that is still going to take time, from state to state. But I don’t think it’s going to take as long as we thought. And I think what’s going to bring this on is the way people react in polls like the one they did in Michigan. As I said, there are a lot of gay Republicans and Republicans with gay family members out there we don’t hear from often.
Jeff Bezos Buys Washington Post
I hate to find this so amusing, but I can’t help it, especially when I think about how many people were stunned to actually discover the Washington Post was for sale. Forget about the fact that Jeff Bezos is the one who purchased it. In the same respect, I can only imagine the thrill that must have been going up Bezos’ leg all through that deal.
I can only imagine what’s going on at the water cooler at the WP this week.
At $250 million for a paper that is in its 7th straight year of declining revenues, the Post doesn’t come cheap, but Bezos has more than enough money to not only cover the cost of the purchase, but also any losses that might come in a difficult news environment. FORBES estimates Bezos’ net worth at $28 billion, up $3 billion since March and $5 billion since the 2012 FORBES 400.
It should be interesting to see what Bezos does with this purchase. And even more interesting to see what he buys next. I’m betting on something TV or film oriented…something in Hollywood. Or maybe even the failing CNN network. But you never know with Bezos. I wish he’d buy Russia and put an end to all the LGBT discrimination. I doubt that will happen.
Young Adult Books for Grown Ups
I’ve posted reviews here for YA books I’ve read and loved, specifically for author Michael Northrope’s YA books. But this article in HarperCollins to which I’m linking gets into all this with more involved examples.
A lot of YA is reading candy. It’s short, sweet, and entertaining. But just like any other genre (that’s right…YA is a genre), there are works that move you and change how you look at life and the people around you (I’m looking at you The Fault in Our Stars and Tiger Lily).
I never did bother with Harry Potter, but that’s because HP fell into a sub-genre I wouldn’t normally read in adult books. I’ve never been big on the fantasy genres. However, I find myself getting more involved in YA and New Adult books these days for pure simple reading pleasure. And I find the authors who write in these genres highly professional from a pure writing POV. They seem to know what they are doing and they aren’t winging it or pretending to be writers without having a clue…”she fingered her pearls.”