Andrew highlights a fascinating interview with Ted Olson, the conservative Bush v. Gore lawyer now fighting to overturn the California gay marriage ban:
I hope some people will open their eyes to the decency of getting to the point where we allow gay and lesbian individuals to be married and have a happy life… I am getting comments from some segments of the society who feel that it’s the wrong thing to do and I’m betraying the conservative cause and things that I’ve stood for in my life. Some of it is quite hostile. But that goes with the territory. On the other hand, I’m hearing from people, including plenty of Republicans, who are very, very grateful. It has been overwhelmingly gratifying to hear from very decent people who are touched by the fact that we’re trying to help.A woman came up to me in our library in our law firm and said, “You and I haven’t worked together, but I’m a lesbian. My partner and I have two children.” And she burst into tears. I put my arm around her and she put her arms around me. This stands for what we’re trying to accomplish here. It’s a principle, but it’s a principle that deeply touches human beings. If we’re successful, we can help the lives of literally millions of people. And what a great service that would be.
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Politico parodies itself (via): The Senate, once the chamber of deliberation and reason, is getting its own extreme makeover. Moderates such as Maine Republican Olympia Snowe and Democrat Ben Nelson are bolting an institution that barely resembles the one they entered as idealistic deal makers. Ben Nelson? Idealistic dealmaker? These are words that should not be in the ... (1 comments)Despicable Quote of the Day - Icky Gay Sexytime Is A Threat To National Security
“Given the propensity for members of the homosexual community to engage in frequent and anonymous sexual encounters, the risk to national security of having a homosexual in a high-ranking position with access to secret information is obvious.” Bryan Fischer, Nutbag (0 comments)Newsweek Hearts America. Seriously. They Really F*cking Mean It.
I guess a cover featuring Uncle Sam hungrily masturbating to a painting of Jesus wearing an American flag was deemed to be insufficiently patriotic.
[Embiggen]
(1 comments)Paul Ryan Suddenly Realizes That Ayn Rand Was A Rabid Atheist
Republicans Cave Again: Student Loans Edition
Mississippi: A Shining Example Of Limited Government
Ah, the land of Mississippi – that shining bastion of God-fearing, limited-government conservatism. Well, unless you want to father illegitimate babies — then the government will throw you in jail. (5 comments)Over in the UK, Labour is now up big over the ruling Tories. Part of that is almost certainly a stalled, ailing economy, but what’s sort of interesting because a big part of their drop is due to implementing a cap on charitable deductions, which is essentially what Obama wanted to do here to cut ... (0 comments)Death Penalty Loses Another One
Connecticut ends the practice. I have to say, this is one of those social movements that is regularly winning big victories, but almost nobody seems to be paying attention. Which is fine by me–under the wire is probably the best way for this thing to go for now. (0 comments)Look, Mitt, I know you want to get women back on your side, but the notion that women have lost 92.3% of jobs in the recession may be technically correct in some manipulated and spun context, but it’s not correct, and it’s not even a good bullshit statistic. You might have been able to get ... (0 comments)What Do You Want Schwarzenegger To Write About In His Memoirs?
The Santorum Has Officially Been Mopped Up In The 2012 Race
I think this gets it right. Additionally, though, while I find Rick Santorum’s beliefs to be pretty risible, and his inability to accept that his ideas had some less-than-ideal results during the ’00s is a personal failing, but at the very least he seemed to possess some sense of personal honor and integrity. Not as good as ... (0 comments)I hadn’t used Instagram because I’m not so much a pictures sort of guy, but an article in the SF Chronicle article makes an interesting point that they were a much bigger threat to Zuckerburg’s empire than the other commonly named competitors. (0 comments)Fun Friday: Robocop Is Filmed In Front Of A Live Studio Audience
(THE GRAPEVINE
As long as the bigots who disguise themselves as Christians can preach hate and distort the facts we will be fighting an uphill battle to recognize a same sex civil ceremony.
Sigh, I think this is wrongheaded in three respects:
- Bigotry and Christianity are not exclusive.
- Bigots--Christian or otherwise--will always be able to preach hate and distort facts--at least insofar as we're operating under the Constitution I'm familiar with. What matters is how others respond.
- I don't see grounds for thinking the fight against such hate is an uphill battle. On the contrary, over time--and especially over generations--I think people are persuadable by reason. In the case of homosexuality and same-sex marriage, I would think Generation Y is proof enough of this.
In other words, while the arc of history may be long, it is not uphill. It bends downhill. Towards justice.
hmm, i like that construct. it makes me think of a river slowly eroding its way down a canyon over time.
Of course bigotry and Christianity are not exclusive but as a Christian I have a great deal of difficulty in bigots preaching hatred getting away with calling themselves Christians. If you are a Christian then you cannot be a bigot and remain true to your faith. And I know they are allowed to preach their hatred under the constitution and part of my response to their hatred is my objection to them using Christianity as a cover for their hatred. And I am happy that you seem complacent enough in your thoughts that we are making progress for I do not have your confidence in mans ability to use reason to overcome hatred. We are trying to overcome a systematic knee jerk response of hatred.
I know that the libertarian tucker carlson is also for gay marriage…I think as long as we explain the cause and be respectful, we can convince conservatives that gay marriage is not the end of the world.
oh jeez, tucker carlson is as much of a libertarian as i am a Flying Walrus Popsicle Meteor. never accept the labels people put on themselves without skepticism
I don't know much about Tucker, but here's Wikipedia:
Anyhow, show me a 'libertarian' who's against gay civil marriage but for straight civil marriage and I'll show you a non-libertarian.
who knows, maybe tucker has seen the light, maybe it's all just strategic PR. but when it comes to tucker's commentary during the bush years, he was a vocal proponent of all the statist excesses of the Bush administration and was a reliably shrill voice on the right for the notion that Republican hegemony could do no wrong. i suspect he may be trying to shrink back from an association with the GOP now that so much of what he advocated for turned out to be horribly wrong. it's much more fashionable to be a libertarian today than it is to be a republican.
It really bothers me that someone will use Wikipedia as a source because anyone can change the entrees in it. At least if you use Fox or the National Enquirer the source material cannot be changed by someone else.