Same Sex Marriage Heating Up in New Jersey

The fight for same sex marriage is heating up in New Jersey. After Iowa, Vermont and now DC accepting out of state same sex marriages (thank you magda) the fight is turning to New Jersey and New York for that matter. Opponents, however realize this and are slamming $1.5 million dollars into the state to stop it. "The National Organization for Marriage" is leading the charge and its goal is to "activate those people who already agree with us."

The organization's television commercial, called "Gathering Storm," asserts same-sex marriage advocates "want to change the way I live" by forcing everyone to accept that same-sex marriage is acceptable. That means wedding photographers and marriage counselors could be labeled bigots and sued if they oppose working with same-sex couples, the group said.

The problem you see, is when I go to these websites and try and find out just what these "traditional marriage" advocates believe, it is a tough task. What exactly do they believe? That same sex marriage hurts regular marriage? That is an obvious claim, but why? That question is much more difficult to find. Basically, the argument is that traditional marriage is defined by a man and a woman, not by same sex couples and it has been for millenniums. That is it. Nothing else. It is pure and simple homophobia. Traditional marriage up until 1967 was also defined by people of the same race only until Loving v. Virginia changed that.

There is also something wrong with the traditional argument. It does not hold up to scrutiny. According to a book: "Marriage, a History: How Love Conquered Marriage" an exhaustive look at marriage across all cultures, marriage for love goes back about 200 years and that might be pushing it. Putting aside for a moment the gross disproportionality impact that "traditional marriage" has placed on women, Coontz says marriage was an economic and political institution, not to be decided by something as trivial as love. This is why marriage was left up to the community, neighbors and parents so they could choose the "right" partner for you. A union that would work for economic and political reasons as well as reproductive reasons. We see this today in many cultures who still practice this type of arrangement.

Not until the late eighteenth century (1780's) did individuals in Europe start marrying for personal affection and even these marriages were at the behest of the male, an institution that purely and profoundly placed women in a secondary role well into the 20th century and arguably still today. Coontz says that many men sought out women who came from wealthy families so as to acquire "standing" in society. This is where the notion of "marrying up" comes from. Our own beloved George Washington owned almost nothing until he married Martha.

The argument is a farce, a pure and simple farce. Yet, our laws based on this notion cloaked in homophobia reflect it. Yes, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont and now New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island close behind we are breaking the cycle of nonsense. It is slow, however and the draconian law of DOMA which denies couples federal benefits even if the state allows same sex marriage stands with no end in sight.

As long as we know we are living in a farce. It isn't the only one.

Chris Dodd and the Rule of Law

BILL MOYERS: Remember “The Lives of Others” - the movie that won this year’s Academy Award for best foreign language film….a story of life under East Germany’s secret police. The critic Roger Ebert said: “The movie is relevant today, as our government ignores habeas corpus, practices secret torture, and asks for the right to wiretap and eavesdrop on its citizens. Such tactics, he said, did not save East Germany; they destroyed it, by making it a country its most loyal citizens could no longer believe in.” You want to say it couldn’t happen here but we’ve been close before. During the cold war with the Soviet Union and then the hot war in Vietnam, a secret government mushroomed in this country.

Watch Chris Dodd and his speech on why the rule of law is important.

Habeus Corpus Passes in the Senate, but not the Filibuster

It becomes more embarrassing by the day to wonder what America has become and continuing to become, or watch as it devolves into a dictatorship with the approval of Congress. The Senate rejected a bill today trying to restore Habeas Corpus - that would have given military detainees the right to protest their detention in federal court.

Senator Patrick Leahy said of the failed attempt:

"The truth is that casting aside the time-honored protection of habeas corpus makes us more vulnerable as a nation because it leads us away from our core American values," Leahy said. "It calls into question our historic roll as a defender of human rights around the world."

In 2006 Congress passed and Bush signed (gleefully) the Military Commissions Act, which established a military-run tribunal system for prosecuting enemy combatants. The provision barring habeas corpus petitions means that only detainees selected for trial are able to confront charges against them, leaving most military detainees in custody without a chance to plead their case.

The majority of Congress voted to restore habeas corpus, which means "you have the body" prisoners often seek release by filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. A writ of habeas corpus is a judicial mandate to a prison official ordering that an inmate be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not he should be released from custody.

The measure passed 56 - 43, but fell four votes short of 60 votes needed to end debate. No democrats voted against it, but Joe Lieberman did, that soul sucking wannabe Republican. Any centrist Democrats want to discuss why anyone in their right mind was supporting Ned Lamont last November? Would anyone like to have that debate now? And Susan Collins of Maine also voted against it, the centrist Republican who will be in the political fight of her life next November. The full roll call is here.

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty, nor safety." -Benjamin Franklin-

The Webb Amendment failed by the same margin 56-44.

Police use Taser on kid asking John Kerry tough questions

It seems Kerry tried to answer a student's question, but was interrupted by the campus police. Is this how we treat those who disagree with us? Are we not allowed a platform to speak?

Kerry said of the event:
"In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way," Kerry wrote in a statement. "I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention. I asked the police to allow me to answer the question and was in the process of responding when he was taken into custody."

"I was not aware that a taser was used until after I left the building," Kerry added. "I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were injured. I regret enormously that a good healthy discussion was interrupted."

Klein adds, "Kerry, who was the Democrats’ nominee in 2004, is no longer assigned Secret Service protection, and does not bring his own security to events. That left University of Florida police in charge of security -- to notable results on Monday."

Do We Have Religious Freedom?

Crooks and Liars has this great video on their site today to remind us that we still are not able to worship or not worship as we wish. Mary Wohlford, 80, of Decorah, Iowa, had the words “DO NOT RESUSCITATE” tattooed on her chest [last year, tattoo shown to the right] to make her medical wishes clear, but at least one doctor thinks that isn’t enough to stop medical personnel. Dr. Mark Purtle of the Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines told the Des Moines Register that state law defines when caregivers are permitted to end life-sustaining measures, and a tattoo isn’t enough. Wohlford noted that she also has a living will hanging on the side of her refrigerator.