Blue State Blues

Washington state, otherwise dependably liberal (at least close to the Coast) has joined New York and Connecticut in ruling against gay marriage. Each of these states' highest courts has essentially punted on the issue. When it comes to correcting this injustice, these three states are "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."

What makes the Washington case even more depressing is that two of the plaintiffs (technically, the "respondents" in the case) are friends of mine. One of them grew up with my domestic partner (husband!) and has been in a committed relationship for 20 years. Peter and David are two of the best human beings you could ever hope to meet. They deserved far better than the cowardly opinion delivered by the Supreme Court of Washington.

The fact that good and decent people like this are denied equal rights is a bloody stain on America's history. How shameful it is that we have to struggle for basic equality in our own land.

Heaven Bound

We are heading off for {cliché alert} a well-deserved vacation. Hopefully, Canada will be cooler than DC. We already know it is more rational and peaceful.

One worry I have is that the Rapture will interrupt our vacation. With all that is going on in the Middle East, in general, and the "Promised Land," in particular, now seems as good a time as any for the Apocalypse. I mean, how are we supposed to cross the border if half the guards have been called back to heaven?

Apparently, I'm not alone is such concerns -- or should I say "hopes"? Texas televangelist John Hagee preaches that the end is nigh, at least for all you heathens out there. I've actually been on Capitol Hill when his lobbying organization, Christians United for Israel, was going around urging politicians to ... what? Pray for nuclear holocaust? Other than that, I can't think of anything America doesn't already do in support of Israel -- regardless of what the Israeli government does.

My only hope is that Congress is as slow to grant Hagee's wishes as it is doing everything else. Then again, being in Canada when the civilized world goes *BOOM!* might be a better idea than staying home in DC ....

God of the Month Club

Just in case you feel your faith wavering, or you want to learn more about gods and goddesses, you can now search for your favorite deity at godchecker.com (via PZ Myers at Pharyngula).

With all that's going on in the world these days, it's probably wise to cover your bases a bit further than Pascal's Wager. And you can afford to be fickle -- they have over 3,000 entries and a "god of the day" feature.

Split-Screen Reality Check

Flag Burning

I was going to say something important about the debate over the flag-burning amendment but I was too busy at the time. Fortunately, Scott Adams picked up the slack. (Go there -- it's a classic)

Needless to say, not all flag desecration requires a match. For example, our very own president likes to autograph flags. Of course, when you wrap yourself tightly in the flag, it's OK to sign it. Kind of like putting your name in your underwear when you go to summer camp.

Tax The Rich

The Estate Tax, a.k.a. the "Death Tax," debate is being driven (literally funded with millions of dollars) by a small group of extremely wealthy families including the Wal-Mart billionaires, the secretive Mars candy empire owners and the Cox family media moguls. Some of the key individuals arguing against taxing large estates have grown wealthy themselves by servicing these families (e.g., Grover Norquist). However, most of the folks fighting to eliminate the Estate Tax are just ideologically opposed to taxes in general, and this tax in particular.

Many Republicans simultaneously oppose an increase in the minimum wage (unchanged since 1997) and support total repeal of the tax on estates. Pundit Charles Krauthammer claims it is wrong to tax money once and then tax it again after someone dies. It makes a good sound bite but is almost completely wrong. Most taxes in America are collected on "transfers." That is, when you receive a paycheck from your employer, it is taxed. When you receive interest on your savings account, it is taxed. And when you die and transfer your estate to someone else, it is taxed. The difference for really large estates is that most of the wealth has never been taxed. For almost all sizeable (several million dollars and up) estates, a huge proportion is generated by appreciation in values (for stocks, art, real estate, etc.). Until there is a transfer, this increased wealth is not taxed. And if Krauthammer and friends don't like double taxation, let's eliminate sales taxes, gasoline taxes and state income taxes.

This potential problem can be overcome without creating billion dollar loopholes for Bill Gates and Paris Hilton. Just increase the size of the exemption that already exists (currently $2 million, effectively $4 million for married couples). There is no need to give $800 billion in tax cuts to a small group of people who are members of the lucky sperm club.

Let's Vote On Their Rights

There is a recurrent theme among conservatives that (to take two prominent examples) they are not really opposed to abortion or gay marriage. No, no, no. They are not anti-choice or anti-gay, they just oppose "unelected judges" imposing their decisions on society. "In fact", they say, "if only the courts would wait until the legislature passed a law that (fill in the blank: "allows gay marriage" or "permits abortion"), society would not develop these antagonistic political divisions."

Of course, if debates go away after an election, why do we keep voting every few years? And when the California legislature actually passed a law recognizing gay marriage, Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed it and left it to the courts. Hey, nobody's perfect, right?

Pure democracy is a ticket to hell -- at least for any disfavored minority. A good definition of democracy would be "the power of a bare majority to cook and eat the children of the out-voted minority." Just look at how democratic votes turn out in garden spots like Gaza and Iraq. That is why we don't live in a "democracy" in America. We live in a "democratic Republic." The US Constitution is specifically designed to restrict the powers of government -- and therefore the powers of the majority. Individual rights are listed in order to remind future generations that there are limits to what they are permitted to do to their fellow citizens.

So I'm sick and tired of hearing conservatives (and quite a few media pundits) proclaim that if only the Supreme Court had not decided in favor of a woman's right to control her own body in Roe v. Wade we wouldn't have the kind of controversy over abortion that we have today. What a load of crap. They are just frustrated that they aren't able to impose their will on others. So they fall back on the good old "unelected courts" argument. If we left abortion up to majority rule most women in America would no longer have access to it. In other words, the majority would vote to strip them of their basic human rights. As for the argument to "leave it to the legislature" there is no principle at work other than a desire to disguise your true motivations. Either you believe in equality or your you believe in majority rule. And believing in majority rule makes you objectively anti-liberty.

The same is true of those who say they support gay marriage but want to "wait" for individual legislatures to acknowledge gay equality. To have the courts do so (as in Massachusetts) is, they argue, to impose a "permanent political debate" on society. It's a bogus claim -- the debate won't go away simply because the legislature says "boo!" Of course, we have already seen a majority of states vote to impose a ban on gay marriage. Waiting for the majority to give up on petty bigotry can be a long wait, indeed. Just ask African-Americans. Or Native Americans. According to conservatives, waiting a few centuries for your share of justice is a small price to pay so we can have "democracy."

UPDATE: Even as I wrote this, anti-abortion efforts in Jackson, MS triggered a counter-protest rally to save the last clinic in the state that still provides abortion services. And they're fighting over state legislation. The Mississippi House passed a complete ban of abortions in March 2006. Flip Benham, leader of the anti-abortion group, said, "[W]e are out here to bring the gospel." Maybe they read a different bible, but I find it odd that a "bomb threat halted the rally ... the Jackson Police Department cleared the park and blew up a package found by a bomb squad."

Dilbert's Dad

Scott Adams, the author/creator of the Dilbert comic strip, has a blog. I just added it to my favorites but you can also click here to see it. Here's a recent sample from his site:

Yesterday I was trudging the 47-second commute from my office to my home and passed a father taking his two-year old son for a walk. On a leash. ... My first reaction to the kid on the leash is that it was humiliating and wrong. But the kid seemed happy enough. And so it made me wonder if the father is ever tempted to take it to the next level, i.e. walking the kid naked and picking up the turds with a plastic bag. That has got to be easier than changing a diaper. If it weren’t, dogs would wear diapers. I think that’s obvious. And once you’ve decided that humiliation isn’t an issue, all bets are off.

New York State of Mind

It looks like heterosexual marriage has dodged another lavender bullet. As Richard Kim explains in his blog at The Nation, New York's Court of Appeals rejected the idea of equal constitutional rights for gay and lesbian couples. Whew! That was a close one.

For those who just can't get enough legalese, Dale Carpenter discusses the New York court opinion here and here.

You know, hearing people argue that equal protection of the law doesn't apply to gay couples kind of reminds me of "Christians" who support wars. You simply can't read the bible's quotations attributed to Christ and come away thinking that some wars are OK. Similarly, where do the words "due process" and "equal protection" hide an exception for gays and lesbians?

UPDATE: Dale Carpenter continued his analysis of the New York case here. And Evan Wolfson, of the Freedom to Marry project, discusses the case here. Carpenter also discusses other court setbacks here, here and here.

A Wiz of Invention

What will they think of next? Why the talking urinal, of course.

Wizmark, the interactive urinal communicator ... advertising you can't help but look at. As a one-of-a-kind, fully functional interactive device, Wizmark can talk, sing, or flash a string of lights around a promotional message when greeting a "visitor".

Blue Roofs

A post-Katrina painting by Theresa James of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.