Daily archives: May 15th, 2008

Gay marriage around the corner

Gays and lesbians will soon have the irrefutable right to marry. It’s inevitable. Even John Roberts’ Supremes won’t be able to stop it as a matter of law.

Today California’s Supreme Court ruled that state laws prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages violate state constitutional rights of gay people. The 4-3 opinion came from three Republican and one Democratic appointee.

According to Lisa Keen at the Windy City Times:

The legal issue before the court was whether state laws banning the legal recognition of same-sex marriages in California violate the state constitution’s guarantees of equal protection, freedom of expression, right to privacy or the fundamental right to marry. The laws banned both the licensing of same-sex marriage in California and the recognition of same-sex marriages licensed elsewhere.

The 172 page opinion comes in a case that consolidated six appeals. The court acknowledged the magnitude of the present moment:

We are in the midst of a major social change. Societies seldom make such changes smoothly. For some the process is frustratingly slow. For others it is jarringly fast. In a democracy, the people should be given a fair chance to set the pace of change without judicial interference. That is the way democracies work. Ideas are proposed, debated, tested. Often new ideas are initially resisted, only to be ultimately embraced. But when ideas are imposed, opposition hardens and progress may be hampered.

We should allow the significant achievements embodied in the domestic partnership statutes to continue to take root. If there is to be a new understanding of the meaning of marriage in California, it should develop among the people of our state and find its expression at the ballot box.

Same-sex marriage is as inevitable as the next network broadcast of The Wizard of Oz.

We’re not in Kansas any more.


House votes to cut off funding for war in Iraq

According to Ilya Sheyman at TrueMajority.org, the U.S. House of Representatives has just voted 149 to 141 to cut off funding for the war in Iraq. According to Sheyman, “This was followed by votes to put significant restrictions on President Bush’s war policy, including a timeline for withdrawal, and creating a new GI Bill to help returning veterans.”

Sources listed are:

I have no more right now, and will update as more information becomes available.


Obama’s “Sweetie” Nightmare

Barack Obama called reporter Peggy Agar “Sweetie,” and now he’s apologizing for it. That bodes well for America. We have yet to hear the first apology from George “Great job, Brownie” Bush.

This is all absurd, yet another sanctimonious diversion from real-world issues.

Saying “Sweetie” is so “Chicago” of Senator Obama.

I moved here from Pittsburgh in 1990. I remember begin surprised when I would go to restaurants and the waitress would call me “Hon,” “Honey,” or “Sweetie.” Turns out it’s all over Chicago, too easily slips off our tongues.

I can see that it might sound odd to the ears of others outside the Chicagoland area, but, here, well, Sweetie, it’s all the rage.