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Archive for February, 2010

Bill Moyers Journal: The Supreme Court and Marriage Equality

Saturday, February 27th, 2010

The two marquee lawyers who fought each other all the way to the Supreme Court to decide whether Al Gore or George W. Bush would become President are at it again. Ted Olson is a conservative, and David Boies is a liberal. But this time they’re fighting as allies to defend marriage equality.

This is the finest discussion I’ve heard about the marriage equality issue. Moyers takes the devil’s advocate position throughout, posing objection after objection that’s been advanced by the religious right in America. Watch as these two brilliant lawyers deliver absolutely devastating rebuttals. It shows that ultimately, the only “argument” against same-sex marriage is a religious one advanced by those who would, if they could, destroy our democracy and turn it into a theocracy. With them in charge, of course.

Please, listen to this interview and pass it on to your friends. The audio is below, or you can watch the entire show’s video on the PBS web site.

Bill Moyers Journal: Theodore Olson and David Boies

Posted in Philosophy, Politics | 1 Comment »

What’s Up with Ironwolf?

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

If you follow this blog, you know that there’s been times when I’ve posted several times a week, sometimes on trivialities, sometimes on controversial topics that have garnered hundreds of comments. You’ve probably also noticed that I haven’t posted much lately. Well, I haven’t (yet) succumbed to any of the curses that have been put on me by the religious nuts who have sometimes crossed my path. But my life has been rather complex lately, and hasn’t left me a lot of time for blogging… although since I can’t resist surfing, I’ve still been regularly posting cool stuff I find to my tumblelog.

Specifically, I have just concluded my divorce— an emotionally and financially draining process that took the better part of a year. I know what you’re probably thinking, and so I’ll say it for you in the words of a dear friend of mine: “Congratulations, and I’m sorry.”

Fortunately, I have a reasonably cordial relationship with my ex, and our two young boys are dealing well with mostly spending time with mom or dad separately. The one constant in this process has been that we both want what’s best for the children, and they know they have a mom and dad who love them.

While we’ve all been through considerable pain during this time, I now find a sense of relief, renewal, and liberation in finally being able to close that chapter of my life— not unlike the emotional and intellectual epiphanies I experienced when I finally gave up religion almost 15 years ago, near the start of my marriage. My views on family and relationships have evolved significantly over the years, and I plan to write more about those changes in the coming months.

Happy Valentine’s Day, you crazy kids!

Posted in Family | 1 Comment »

12 Reasons Why Gay Marriage Should Be Illegal

Sunday, February 7th, 2010

So a while back I asked for the real reasons for why some people are against legalizing same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, no-one responded and I had to end up debunking an anti-gay marriage web site’s answers. Well, still no-one’s answered so I did a little more digging and discovered the answers are already out there, as seen on Reddit. So finally, here are the top 12 reasons why gay marriage should be illegal:

Homosexuality is not natural, much like eyeglasses, polyester, and birth control.
Heterosexual marriages are valid because they produce children. Infertile couples and old people can’t legally get married because the world needs more children.
Obviously, gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage is allowed, since Britney Spears’ 55-hour just-for-fun marriage was meaningful.
Heterosexual marriage has been around a long time and hasn’t changed at all; women are property, blacks can’t marry whites, and divorce is illegal.
Gay marriage should be decided by people, not the courts, because the majority-elected legislatures, not courts, have historically protected the rights of the minorities.
Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That’s why we have only one religion in America.
Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That’s why single parents are forbidden to raise children.
Gay marriage will change the foundation of society. Heterosexual marriage has been around for a long time, and we could never adapt to new social norms because we haven’t adapted to things like cars or longer life-spans.
Civil unions, providing most of the same benefits as marriage with a different name are better, because a “separate but equal” institution is always constitutional. Separate schools for African-Americans worked just as well as separate marriages for gays and lesbians will.