Slow Day in the Workplace

Well, as my one or two readers know, I have found a good job and I've been a little swamped for the last six or eight weeks. Slow day today, so some reflections:

Since I last posted, Howard Dean has gone from eventual nominee to defeated washout. As you know, I supported Dean and I still love the guy (even with the scream). He stayed in too long, though. I'm taking him at his word that he's going to continue to work his butt off to unseat George W., and if he doesn't I will consider myself to be one very pissed off former Dean supporter.

Residents of John Kerry's home state have learned that in May, their gay and lesbian neighbors will be allowed to be married just like them. This is understandably shocking for some, ho-hum for others. My delight is in watching Republicans across the country suddenly jump up and say, "I am a strong supporter of Civil Unions, but Marriage is for a man and a woman." A year ago, these people were not supporters of Civil Unions. Today, in fact, they aren't, they just would rather see queers CU'd than married.

For my part, I think it's rather stupid to be sitting here in America in the 21st century discussing the concept of separate but equal. The fact that thousands of couples have rushed to the one place in America where they can, for the moment, get married, demonstrates the desire within the gay community to have stable, long term commitments. Inherently, it doesn't matter what they're called; but inherently, creating a parallel institution to marriage so as to deny a segment of the population the right to marry the person they love is wrong.

I'm warming to John Kerry, and still really like Edwards. I think a Kerry/Edwards ticket (but not, incidentally, an Edwards/Kerry ticket) would be very powerful. I'd back that ticket, and then vote for John Edwards in eight years when he looks like he's just turned 40.

The rovers on Mars are doing well and are expected to outlast their 90-day operational window. I don't think that the constitution will be amended to ban gay marriage (though I may be wrong). I think that the city of San Francisco has a point about Prop 22 being a violation of the state Constitution. I think George W. Bush looks weaker and more inept with each passing day.

But mostly, I'm swamped at work and will, for the moment, only have infrequent contact with this blog that I think about every day. I apologize for that. My life has been in such disarray for the last couple of months, it's been what sports teams refer to as a "building season." Things look to be coming together, which has been an interesting contrast to the world as a whole, where things are coming apart in ways I would not have predicted and which will allow us to build fresh new things in their place. Exciting, tiring, satisfying. God bless to the folks on the left coast and up north who are changing the fundamental discussions in this country. I'll be back through here as I can.

Good links today: Joshua Micah Marshall's Talking Points Memo is brain food every day.
Plastic.com is also brain food every day. Wasted time? No such thing.

More soon, and thanks for noticing that SimianBrain was becoming defunct.