On why voters cannot ban gay marriage:
That the majority of California voters supported Proposition 8 is irrelevant, as "fundamental rights may not be submitted to [a] vote."
On why the state has an interest in fostering marriage:
Marriage is the state recognition and approval of a couple's choice to live with each other, to remain committed to one another and to form a household based on their own feelings about one another and to join in an economic partnership and support one another and any dependents.
On whether homosexuality is a choice:
Individuals do not generally choose their sexual orientation. No credible evidence supports a finding that an individual may, through conscious decision, therapeutic intervention or any other method, change his or her sexual orientation.
Like opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples have happy, satisfying relationships and form deep emotional bonds and strong commitments to their partners.
On why domestic partnerships are an inadequate substitute for marriage:
Domestic partnerships lack the social meaning associated with marriage, and marriage is widely regarded as the definitive expression of love and commitment in the United States.
On social stigmas involved in the case:
Proposition 8 singles out gays and lesbians and legitimates their unequal treatment. Proposition 8 perpetuates the stereotype that gays and lesbians are incapable of forming long-term loving relationships and that gays and lesbians are not good parents.
On the judge's response to the definition of marriage as between a man and woman:
Gender no longer forms an essential part of marriage; marriage under law is a union of equals.
Walker's original nomination to the bench by Ronald Reagan in 1987 stalled in the Senate Judiciary Committee because of controversy over his representation of the United States Olympic Committee in a lawsuit that prohibited the use of the title "Gay Olympics". Two dozen House Democrats, led by Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, opposed his nomination because of his alleged "insensitivity" to gays and the poor. Years later, the San Francisco Chronicle noted the irony of this opposition due to Walker's sexual orientation.
Judge Walker's ruling overturning Prop 8 is an outrageous disrespect for our Constitution and for the majority of people of the United States who believe marriage is the union of husband and wife. In every state of the union from California to Maine to Georgia, where the people have had a chance to vote they've affirmed that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.
14th Amendment, Section 1:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
And this isn’t just a victory for gays and lesbians. Walker’s ruling is made on explicitly feminist grounds. The restriction of marriage to heterosexual couples, he finds, “exists as an artifact of a time when the genders were seen as having distinct roles in society and in marriage. That time has passed.” The religious right has always known that gay rights and feminism are deeply intertwined, because both threaten the idea that gender roles are God-given, sharply delineated and immutable. Part of the brilliance of Walker’s decision is the way it roots out the premises of the anti-gay marriage argument and demolishes them.
Quote by TriSec:
I have an unusally strong sense of foreboding today...feels like something bad is about to happen.
Either that, or it's my annual birthday depression, which has been rather strong the past 3 years or so.
![]()
Quote by Raine:
HiVel! Will you marry me???
![]()
![]()
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
I Give Up - 9/11 Responders Bill | ||||
|
Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
HiVel! Will you marry me???
![]()
![]()
OHHH! Can I have two wives????!!!![]()
Quote by wickedpam:Quote by TriSec:
I have an unusally strong sense of foreboding today...feels like something bad is about to happen.
Either that, or it's my annual birthday depression, which has been rather strong the past 3 years or so.
![]()
please don't say that, I've been depressed for a week now and can't shake it
Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
HiVel! Will you marry me???
![]()
![]()
OHHH! Can I have two wives????!!!![]()
Quote by Raine:Ok you two.Quote by wickedpam:Quote by TriSec:
I have an unusally strong sense of foreboding today...feels like something bad is about to happen.
Either that, or it's my annual birthday depression, which has been rather strong the past 3 years or so.
![]()
please don't say that, I've been depressed for a week now and can't shake it![]()
The beatings WILL continue until morale improves.
Quote by Raine:
Regarding the 9/11 responders bill...
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c I Give Up - 9/11 Responders Bill
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party
Quote by BobR:Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
HiVel! Will you marry me???
![]()
![]()
OHHH! Can I have two wives????!!!![]()
yes, but you'll have to become a Mormon.
Quote by Raine:
Ok you two.![]()
The beatings WILL continue until morale improves.
Quote by velveeta jones:
Like Glenn Beck?
Oh.... damn.
![]()
Quote by TriSec:Quote by velveeta jones:
Like Glenn Beck?
Oh.... damn.
![]()
Is he really ? That's going to move him up a few clicks on my enemies list.
In 1999, Beck married his second wife, Tania. After they went looking for a faith on a church tour together, they "settled on Mormonism", and joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in October 1999, partly at the urging of his daughter Mary. Beck would be baptized by his old friend, and current-day co-worker Pat Gray, in an emotional ceremony. In 2008, Beck created the CD/DVD An Unlikely Mormon: The Conversion Story of Glenn Beck, detailing how he was transformed by the "healing power of Jesus Christ."
The couple have two children, Raphe (who is adopted) and Cheyenne. Beck currently resides in a $4.2 million dollar colonial mansion in New Canaan, Connecticut, with his wife and four children.
Beck announced in July 2010 that he had been diagnosed with macular dystrophy, saying "A couple of weeks ago I went to the doctor because of my eyes, I can't focus my eyes." The disorder can make it difficult to read, drive or recognize faces.
Quote by TriSec:Quote by velveeta jones:
Like Glenn Beck?
Oh.... damn.
![]()
Is he really ? That's going to move him up a few clicks on my enemies list.
Quote by TriSec:Quote by Raine:
Ok you two.![]()
The beatings WILL continue until morale improves.
![]()
:shuffles off obediently:
![]()
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Some good news.
First, I have a screening interview on Monday for a middle school teaching position. Mind you, if I get the job it will be a haul from where I am living, but I would not have a problem with that at all. (I can always move closer to the job.)
Secondly, some of you may know that Nicole Sandler is still broadcasting at 6 PM to 8 PM Eastern at Radio or Not from Monday through Thursday. Kenneth Picklesimer, along with Danielle "the Left Nick Check" and Shane-O will be on "Turn Up the Night With Kenny Pick" at that time on Friday. I will be on the show sometime between 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM Central commenting on the issues.
Quote by Will in Chicago:
Some good news.
First, I have a screening interview on Monday for a middle school teaching position. Mind you, if I get the job it will be a haul from where I am living, but I would not have a problem with that at all. (I can always move closer to the job.)
Secondly, some of you may know that Nicole Sandler is still broadcasting at 6 PM to 8 PM Eastern at Radio or Not from Monday through Thursday. Kenneth Picklesimer, along with Danielle "the Left Nick Check" and Shane-O will be on "Turn Up the Night With Kenny Pick" at that time on Friday. I will be on the show sometime between 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM Central commenting on the issues.
Don't think for one minute this approach hasn't changed from the RW. If you Do think it has, show me proof.
I believe that EVERYONE should vote. EVERYONE. I believe Every vote should be counted, and that everyone should get off their ass and make use of their constitutional rights.
When progressives say they aren't going to vote because they aren't getting everything they wanted, remember one thing: you are doing the Right Wings work.
Progress only promises one thing: moving forward.
Quote by BobR:
I think the "he went against the will of the people" complaint is the most specious of all. 100 years ago, the will of the people in the south was to keep blacks "in their place". The will of the people can't override the guarantees of equal treatment written into the Constitution.
Quote by livingonli:
Cross posted the Weyrich clip on my FB page.
I've seen Mondo on facebook even if he hasn't been on the blog much.
Quote by Raine:Quote by livingonli:
Cross posted the Weyrich clip on my FB page.
I've seen Mondo on facebook even if he hasn't been on the blog much.
Thanks Liv and Mala.
Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
HiVel! Will you marry me???
![]()
![]()
OHHH! Can I have two wives????!!!![]()
Quote by Al from WV:Quote by velveeta jones:Quote by Raine:
HiVel! Will you marry me???
![]()
![]()
OHHH! Can I have two wives????!!!![]()
It appears to me that nothing stops you now, if this decision stands. The words range much farther than a man marrying a man and a woman marrying a woman and only that.
The sad part is that he just relegated the Constitution to be subject to prevailing perceived public opinion. Ergo, the words written on paper that are cited and referred to herein mean little, unless perceived public opinion of the day (or hour) back it up. We have long been a nation abandoning her founding charter bit by bit, and this decision is a little bit farther along that path.
There are real reasons to make this decision, reasons that preserve the Constitution, but he chose to chink away at the strength and validity of the words of the Constitution as he decided it. He has lost my respect in total, for whatever that's worth. If I had my way, he'd be removed for violation of his oath, and the decision vacated and reconsidered by another judge.
Quote by Al from WV:
The sad part is that he just relegated the Constitution to be subject to prevailing perceived public opinion. Ergo, the words written on paper that are cited and referred to herein mean little, unless perceived public opinion of the day (or hour) back it up. We have long been a nation abandoning her founding charter bit by bit, and this decision is a little bit farther along that path.