Simianbrain: February 2004 Archives

George Bush, Strict Constructionist

Yesterday, George W. Bush staked his position on the gay marriage controversy. The strict constructionist is throwing his weight behind an attempt to amend the constitution to prevent the possibility of gay and lesbian Americans from ever attaining access to this fundamental right.

Andrew Sullivan, long-time champion of gay marriage rights and gay conservatism, is personally hurt. Talking Points Memo has become very partisan.

Hey, I'm kind of pissed and excited all at once.

I say: Bring it on. Try to enshrine American discrimination in our Constitution. Make an amendment so seemingly bland, and yet so solid in the wall it builds that it flies through the Congress (not entirely certain, Mr. Bush) and through the state legislatures (more certain). Tack it up in America's courthouses. Do it, Mr. Bush. Let this be your legacy.

Bring it on. Because all you will do is create a bulwark of sand. We will focus all of our energy on this one point of law. We will march on the cities of America demanding the repeal of the Amendment. We will enter the homes of Americans at dinnertime every evening via their televisions and explain to them who our families are and why your legacy is detrimental to us and to them. We will not tire, we will not rest, and we will not go away.

Your children will debate this continuing controversy in their schools. Many, many of them will decide on the merits that it is a hateful and discriminatory measure. They will think of you, Mr. Bush, and know what a disgrace your administration was. They will look at America's polarizing churches and realize that religion and politics should never mix.

Bring it on, Mr. Bush, because this amendment will be the last stand of the anti-gay forces. It may take us a while to pull it out of that most beautiful of documents, our US Constitution, but it will fall away. This is not a fight you can win, and your allies know it, so they will take this one last step before the forces of history relegate them to a bad joke, just like you.

Like the bigots of the old South, future generations will look back and see your ignorance and the ignorance of your backers. An amendment, indeed. Bring it on, Mr. Bush. We will be equal citizens in our own country, and there's nothing you can do but delay the inevitable. Bring it on.

Posted by shamanic at 4:50 PM

February 20, 2004

Ashcroft in a Froth

Eleanor Clift brings us a piece in Newsweek about John Ashcroft issuing subpoenas for the medical records of women who've had late term abortions in the last five years.

No, much to his own dismay, it isn't to prosecute them. Hospitals have filed suit against the "partial birth" abortion ban and Ashcroft is seeking documention to defend it.

Meanwhile, Josh Marshall has an interesting scenario playing out about all those documents that Republican staffers stole from insecure Democratic computer systems late last year. Turns out it was going on for a long while, maybe as long as a year and a half, and involves around 5,000 documents. Marshall is calling for outside help on this one, charging that the White House, Justice, and Hill Staffers all strategize together on judicial appointments and would likely have been aware that this activity was going on.

More, I'm sure, soon.

Posted by shamanic at 4:55 PM

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.

Posted by shamanic at 2:02 PM

"An odd point of view to say the least."
UNCoRRELATED

Typing loudly from Atlanta, GA, since 2003.

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