The Gay Thing: Twin Victories in Marriage Equality

And the hits, they keep on coming. Both the Indiana and Utah cases came up roses for the marriage equality movement, within about ten minutes of each other. In Indiana, a stay was not issued immediately, and so, marriages commenced! In Utah (and the rest of the 10th circuit) there was an immediate stay, but hey, they already had a spate of marriages there this winter. Frankly, I find the stays that have happened irritating, just more roadblocks on the path to equality. But it's all exciting, nonetheless. The marriage map is flowing in from the edges of the country, West Coast, Northeast, Great Lakes, Southwest. It's all going to meet in the middle, and probably sooner, rather than later.

[Excerpt]

U.S. appeals court backs gay marriage in conservative Utah

Image from source, Yahoo!

DENVER (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday that conservative Utah may not ban gay couples from marrying, a decision that capped a day of victories for same-sex nuptials and nudges the issue closer to the U.S. Supreme Court. The ruling by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Denver-based 10th Circuit marked the first time that a regional appeals court has made such a decision in the year since the Supreme Court ordered the federal government to extend benefits to legally married same-sex couples. . .

Read more (with video) at: Yahoo! News

FOX "News" Tries to Change the Story from Christie

FOX "News" is in a bit of a trick bag, news cycle-wise. They wanted to make it all about Robert Gates' Duty book (sounds like "doody" in news reports, which is hilarious). But then Bridgegate, Chris Christie's own personal scandal hit. And FOX is torn on Christie. Sean Hannity seems to despise the guy, but Christie could also be the nominee in 2016, should he survive this scandal. So, when the story broke, FOX "News" only spent the barest minimum of time on it.

But the story--which conservatives obviously hoped to spin as a trifle--isn't going away. What to do? Change the subject! Just this morning, Eric Holder announced that the federal government would recognize the marriages already performed in Utah during the short window where same-sex couples could marry. This isn't particularly noteworthy beyond the people affected. The federal government already recognizes the marriages of everyone else in the country, and these particular marriages have not been nullified by Utah, they're just in limbo. This was a clarification by the federal government, and not much more. But to FOX "News"? It's FRONT PAGE NEWS! And check out the next three, which includes BENGHAZI!!! but no Christie.

 

Breaking News: Federal Government to Recognize Utah Same-sex Marriages

Well, another new wrinkle. Only as long ago as Monday, the Utah State Attorney General said that the set would not recognize the 1000+ marriages of those Utah same-sex couples performed in the short window when it was available.  Then on Thursday, the clerks of court were instructed to complete the paperwork of those marriages that were performed but not yet filed completely. Now the federal government is saying they still recognize the marriages. Utah's case against at least that set of couples is getting weaker all the time.

[Excerpt]

U.S. to Recognize Utah Gay Marriages Despite State Stance

The Obama administration on Friday said that it will recognize as lawful the unions of 1,300 same-sex couples in Utah, even though the state government is refusing to do so. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Utah Man's Hunger Strike Against Marriage Equality Over

Source: Joe.My.God.

Remember that Mormon guy from Utah who went on a hunger strike to protest all the gay marriages that were going down over the holidays? His name--unlikely as it is--is Trestin Meacham, and he claims he got by on water and vitamins for 15 days. He is also, quite clearly a welsher, as he started eating again without getting what he was fasting for.

Meacham is one of those militant states-rights guys, and he was seeking "nullification," in which the State of Utah asserts its alleged right to ignore federal judges and laws. He didn't get that. In fact, all he got to this point was a temporary stay on the issuing of marriage license to same-sex couples. It's not at all clear which way the case will ultimately go.

So, Meacham's pointless, grandstanding stunt is over. He's being hailed as a hero in some quarters, and he didn't even get what he was supposedly seeking. It really doesn't take much to get attention in this country, does it?


 

The Gay Thing: SCOTUS Halts Utah Gay Marriages

I ain't gonna lie to you, this is irritating. After having gotten "gay married" myself in 2008 in California, I went through the legal limbo after Proposition 8 was passed, and it was a long five years before it was legal again. My actual marriage was grandfathered, but it didn't feel 100% "safe," either, until the Supreme Court kicked out Prop 8's supporters' appeal for lack of standing. Edie Windsor's win on the DOMA case was icing on the cake (and money in the bank, frankly).

Marriage map from source, Washington Post.
(Click to embiggen)

I didn't want to see LGBT Utahans go through that. It's pointless. It's a waste of time, and it's a waste of money. Virtually no one expects that marriage equality won't one day be the law of the land in all 50 states. It's just a question of how long groups like the (badly named) National Organization for Marriage fights to delay it, and how many months and years the various cases around the country take to wind their way through the courts.

I understand what Justice Sonia Sotomayor was doing here. By referring the decision to the full court, she didn't have to be the "lone voice" responsible for either allowing marriages to continue (risking a perceived backlash), nor personally block marriages herself (damaging her reputation with liberals). And as a judicial "pause button," there has been no damage, other than to delay, except perhaps to any potential brides and grooms who might--you know--die in the interim.

I have very little doubt that one day, this will be a non-issue, and same-sex marriages will be just another fact of life. The Utah case might stall at the 10th Circuit, it might go to SCOTUS, or the high court might just refuse the case, preferring for this to play out a state at a time for now. I keep hearing that SCOTUS doesn't like to "get ahead" of public opinion on hot button issues like this. They like for the wave of public opinion to much bigger than it is on this issue (though this one has picked up momentum like gangbusters over the last year). And while I understand the point, I disagree with its premise. Justice shouldn't depend on public opinion. Equality shouldn't be delayed because Mississippi or Alabama or Utah isn't "ready."

[Excerpt]

Supreme Court halts same-sex marriages in Utah pending appeal
 
The Supreme Court halted same-sex marriages in Utah on Monday, returning to center stage the question of whether there is a constitutional right to marry that states may not withhold from gay men and lesbians. The court’s two-sentence order stayed a decision from a federal judge in Salt Lake City that had cleared the way for same-sex marriages. About 1,000 such weddings were performed in the 17 days that followed — unions that the state’s attorney general said are now in “legal limbo. . .”

Read more at: Washington Post

The Gay Thing: Man Protests Gay Marriage in Utah by Fasting

Sorry that I haven't been a little more prolific on the blog of late. Still trying to get back into the swing of things after the holidays, and with the new exercise and diet regimen (my New Year's resolution). I'll try harder.

Meanwhile, I think I'll point and laugh at this guy. Yes, I understand that Utah is a little put out by the sudden legality of marriage equality for gay people in their state. But this is ridiculous.

[Excerpt]

Desperate Utahn Vows To Starve Self Until Gays Can No Longer Marry




Trestin Meacham, a 35-year-old unhinged whackjob former Constitution Party candidate for the Utah State Senate, says he is fasting to stop same-sex marriage in Utah. Meacham, who claims to have begun his fast on the day that U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby ruled Utah's marriage discrimination amendment unconstitutional, says he's lost 25 pounds so far. . .

Read more at: The Bilerico Project

BYU Suspends Star Player for Having Consensual Sex

Image from source, AOL

I'm not a sports fan. No, that's an understatement. Except for the Super Bowl, it is unlikely that I catch more than five minutes of sports in any given year. Until a couple of years ago, I had no idea that "March Madness" had anything to do with basketball, let alone college basketball. Sports are just out of my orbit. But not as much as religion is.

As little as I understand sports fandom (except for a brief dalliance with hockey, spurred by my friend Stupid Monkey Planet and my new in 2004 HDTV), I understand religious belief even less. Religious people think that unbelief (disbelief?) is a form of belligerence, a deliberate denial. It isn't. It is a total lack of interest. It rates somewhere with my belief in Santa Claus or gnomes. It doesn't ever cross my mind that there might be something to it. In fact, it rarely even crosses my mind at all outside of political discussions.

So, when in 2011--a year when the world was supposed to look like The Jetsons--we've got a lauded college with a prestigious basketball team who boots their star player right before March Madness, it wouldn't cross my mind that it was for religious reasons. But, aapparently, if you live in Utah, whether you are Mormon or not, you've got to tolerate a near theocracy. And if you go to school at Brigham Young University, you've really got to comply. But I've got a little newsflash for the "elders" at BYU: college kids have sex. Even Mormon college kids have sex. Some of 'em even have the gay sex! It's true! And you can't suspend them all.

[Excerpt]

BYU's Davies suspended for having premarital sex

The Salt Lake Tribune is reporting that leading BYU rebounder Brandon Davies was booted from the team because he engaged in premarital sex, a violation of the school’s honor code that says students must remain “chaste and virtuous. . .”


Read more (with video) at: AOL

Another Oil Spill, This Time Chevron in Utah

Image from source, Salt Lake Tribune

Are they getting any actual oil to the refineries any more?  Oil companies should be required to put a percentage of their profits into cleanup research, development and of course deployment.  Thanks to Stupid Monkey Planet for the link.

[Excerpt]

Residents to Chevron: Clean up the mess

A leak from Chevron's underground oil pipeline may have gone undetected for hours as it spilled 50 gallons of crude a minute Saturday into Salt Lake City's Red Butte Creek.



The oil blackened the east-side creek, stained scores of birds, prompted the closure of Liberty Park and sent oil as far west as the Jordan River.


"This is extremely harmful," said disgusted resident Peter G. Hayes, a biology teacher who showed oily rocks from his creek-side home to Chevron officials at Liberty Park. "I want to know when are you going to send someone to my backyard and clean up my mess because I can't even live in my house because of the smell."


Chevron pledged to clean up the 6-mile mess, but the company could not quantify the damage. . .

Rread more at: Salt Lake Tribune

Orrin Hatch For Reconcilliation Before He Was Against It

Politics can get very tiring sometimes. The lame "pot v. kettle" projection ploy is one of the most irritating. It's where whatever one side is loudly criticizing about their competition turns out to be something they themselves are guilty of. And somehow, there seems to be no public consequence to the person using it. Often times, there is even audio or video evidence that they themselves have participated in exactly the thing they are condemning. It just doesn't seem to matter.

If it's a right-wing politician (and it usually is) and he is called on his behavior on The Daily Show or Countdown with Keith Olbermann, the right-wing base will immediately dismiss the claim along with the source. If he's called on it on Meet the Press or another Sunday show, as long as the politician can evade the question when rephrased two or three times, he's in the clear. He's just got to get six or eight days down the road, until something new hits the news cycle, and voila! he's home free.

Now, I'm not saying that only the right does this. They just seem to do it more often, and more flagrantly. Remember the "nuclear option?" The threat by Republicans to eliminate the filibuster in the Senate, on the grounds that Democrats were abusing it? Now that the tables have turned, Republicans are using the filibuster more than Democrats ever did. Remember all that crappy talk about "up or down votes?" Doesn't seem to be an issue when Republicans obstruct is it? I guess the big difference is, Republicans are especially good at getting their message--no matter how untrue or hypocritical--into the "conventional wisdom" jetstream. Democrats suck at messaging. Even when they have the truth on their side.

[Excerpt]

Hatch Vows Reconciliation Will Lead To Permanent “War” Between Parties — But He Backed Many Reconciliation Bills

GOP Senator Orrin Hatch is now warning that if Dems pass health care reform via reconciliation it will lead to permanent “war” between the two parties — even though he voted for more than a half dozen GOP bills passed through the process known as…reconciliation.

Here’s Hatch, in an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, claiming that if Dems use reconciliation it would constitute one of the most despotic acts in the history of the republic. . .

Read more at: PlumLine

Sunday Frivolity: Mormon Erotica!

Okay, last day of the big four-day weekend already. For all this talk of unemployment, and "people just not looking for work," I kinda get it. I like the part of the week where I don't have to work! Of course, I also like to eat and pay the bills. Oh well.

Blogging has been extremely light the past couple of days, ironically, since I have been home more and have had more time. So, this post has no real relevance to anything. I'm posting it because I think it's funny. "Mormon" and "erotica" aren't words a lot of people would put together. But they should! In fact, this video doesn't go far enough in my opinion. The first time I opened a book of Mormon, I was sort of astonished how much the paintings inside looked like they could be romance novel covers. GAY romance novel covers!

Mine Tragedies

I haven't said much about the mine tragedies, which seem to be multiplying, because they're already saturating the news. But I do want to say a couple of things. First, my heart goes out to all who have been hurt, killed, or are still missing. I can't even imagine what they and their families are going through.

As for the news coverage, it's pretty spotty, as all developing stories tend to be. But I have to say, it's heartening to see the "big news" story that is enveloping all coverage is actually news. No Anna Nicole, no Brittney or Lindsay. This is actually news. So I will not fault them for the wall-to-wall coverage, especially with the latest developments.

Now, I'm sure as blame is assessed, we're going to hear a lot of people saying, "this is not the time for finger pointing," and "we're not going to play the blame game." Bunk. Now is exactly the time for assessing blame. In our culture, times of calm--no mine collapses in this case--is a time when we turn it off. We don't get energized about fixing problems, and making sure they don't happen.

The only time for figuring out exactly what went wrong, and if there is anyone to blame, is now. End of rant.

For the latest news, a link:

2 Rescue Workers Killed at Utah Mine - ABCNews.com

Just in from MSNBC (at 10:41 PM 08/16/07): Third rescue worker dies.