National Issues
Update on Perry v Schwarzenegger Case
Friends of Utah Voices,
I wanted to share with you this latest update from the Prop 8 campaign. Obviously, UtahVoices.com provides you bloggers from all sides of the political spectrum. This post shows my strong beliefs for keeping the traditional definition of marriage being between one man and one woman. Since it seems I have been the only blogger to share my opinions as of late you definitely are getting a one sided opinion. If you would rather read a post supporting gay marriage, I recommend Crystal’s post, A Liberal LDS Perspective on Prop 8.
I strongly believe that the institute of marriage has never been, and was never intended to be, merely the union of any two adults who have formed a strong emotional bond. Marriage has always been the way society ensures that every child, to the degree possible, is raised by his or her own mother and father. To destroy this bedrock foundation of marriage is to unravel the ties that bind society together across the generations. Andy Pugno makes this case eloquently in his remarks below. If we are to defend marriage we must understand why it exists, and Mr. Pugno is tremendously helpful in this regard. I hope you enjoy his comments.
Keep up the Fight,
Paul
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Dear Friends,
As you know, we are still in the thick of the Perry v Schwarzenegger trial. Both sides have submitted post-trial briefs to Chief Judge Vaughn Walker for his review. Closing arguments have yet to be scheduled.
Essentially, our post-trial submissions “connect the dots” between our legal arguments and the hard evidence we put forth during the three weeks of courtroom proceedings in January. This email will provide a snapshot of some of those arguments and evidence. Look for more discussion of our legal defense of traditional marriage in coming emails.
A primary foundation of our case is the history of the institution of marriage itself and the central role it has played for centuries in societies all across the globe. Historic marriage has its roots in pairing a man to a woman and has served as the foundation of the family and society as a whole. In fact, across societies, marriage has been defined in both law and language as a union between a man and a woman and acts as the predominate relationship in which to create and support children. As we have noted previously, and one of our expert witnesses spent a great deal of time addressing, the purpose of marriage through the ages has been and continues to be the “guarantee, insofar as possible, that each child is emotionally, morally, practically, and legally affiliated with the woman and the man whose sexual union brought the child into the world.”
And while it is true that the traditional model of marriage between a man and a woman has been disputed of late in the United States, a set of universal functions of marriage remains:
- Complementing nature with culture to ensure the reproductive cycle;
- Providing children with both a mother and a father whenever possible;
- Providing children with their biological parents whenever possible;
- Bringing men and women together for both practical and symbolic purposes; and,
- Providing men with a stake in family and society.
In addition, there are corresponding universal features of the institution of marriage, which include the following:
- High social and legal authority and attractive incentives supporting the institution;
- Maleness and femaleness;
- A definition of eligible partners;
- A public dimension;
- Encouragement of procreation under specific conditions;
- Mutual support between men and women and duties toward children; and
- An emphasis on complementary parental roles and relationships.
Simply put, to change the definition of marriage that has served California, the United States and every other country on Earth to include anything other than one man and one woman would result in such a profound change to the structure and public meaning of marriage as to severely damage society, possibly beyond repair.
As we indicate in our Findings of Fact court brief, “no society has established same-sex marriage as a cultural norm. Leading linguists, lawyers, philosophers, and social scientists have always understood marriage to be uniquely concerned with regulating naturally procreative relationships between men and women and providing for the nurture and care of the children who result from those relationships.”
This is precisely what we are fighting for, what your vote in favor of Proposition 8 was predicated upon, and what we need your support to help preserve. With your support we will continue to put our best legal minds to work throughout this arduous process.
We will continue to share with you, our partners in this epic battle, the core components of our legal case.
Sincerely,
Andy Pugno
General Counsel
Mandatory Political Testing
—Paul
Representative Hank Johnson, a Georgia Democrat, on March 25, 2010 gave a bizarre concern about the island of Guam possibly tipping over (he used the word “capsize”) if any more U.S. troops were stationed on the island. Admiral Robert Willard, the head of U.S. Pacific Command who was testifying, paused briefly and offered a deadpan response: “We don’t anticipate that.”
Seriously, has anyone thought about requiring a mandatory testing for our politicians?!?! We have to take a drivers test to show that we are capable of driving a vehicle. I think being in the drivers seat of our country is much more serious and should require a test of competence. If failed, the island of Guam would have to take the politicians, and hopefully America might get lucky when Guam “capsizes” due to all the failed politicians stationed there!
http://forwardeverforward.com/vids/Hank-Johnson-Guam-Tip-Over.flvDoes Liberalism Equate to Socialism?
…it does for this Liberal
http://internetpaul.com/vids/InTheirOwnWords.flv—Paul
Keeping Things Civil – by Orson Scott Card
O.S. Card’s comments here are brilliant. Take a minute to read the whole thing.
But any rational observer has to see that the Left and Right in America are screaming the most vile accusations at each other all the time. We are fully polarized — if you accept one idea that sounds like it belongs to either the blue or the red, you are assumed — nay, required — to espouse the entire rest of the package, even though there is no reason why supporting the war against terrorism should imply you’re in favor of banning all abortions and against restricting the availability of firearms; no reason why being in favor of keeping government-imposed limits on the free market should imply you also are in favor of giving legal status to homosexual couples and against building nuclear reactors. These issues are not remotely related, and yet if you hold any of one group’s views, you are hated by the other group as if you believed them all; and if you hold most of one group’s views, but not all, you are treated as if you were a traitor for deviating even slightly from the party line.
Obama and the Nobel Peace Prize
—by Paul Wilson
So, last night I posted this on facebook:
My wife, Lindsey, warned me that I was stirring an angry nest with this status, and in all honesty, I knew I was. Yet, I strongly believe in what I posted and it is apparent by the overwhelming response to my status that many disagree with me.
Regardless what my friends may think, I am not an evil plotting liberal/progressive. In fact, on most moral issues I stand in opposition with the liberals and Mr. Obama. Key issues as abortion and gay marriage make it impossible for me to ever be in that camp of belief.
So, why would I feel that Obama deserves the Nobel Prize? For me, my feelings on who should receive this distinguished award are independent of my political stance. I sincerely believe that the many people scoffing at the notion of Obama receiving this prestigious award, are basing their opinions on their political feelings. Many are not looking at what our President has accomplished in his short time in office.
My previous post highlights almost 80 acts of note worthy, Noble Peace Prize deserving, behavior—and that is only for nine months in 2009. It amazes me that people are willing to cast a blind eye to these achievements because they stand on opposites sides of the debate. For me this seems the underlying problem of America’s politics, we choose not to understand the other side or even be amiable to it.
With that all said, I do have to agree with my friend Katie (concerning both her statements 
) when she said:
I seriously felt awarding the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Al Gore the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for “their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change,” was, well, um….interesting to say the least. Don’t get me wrong, I am sure “An Inconvenient Truth,” was probably an inspiring movie, but was it worth the highest award for peace?
This example could feasibly support my friend’s Katie’s assumption that the Nobel Peace Prize is more of a liberal platform. Understanding this, I can see why some may feel that Obama’s award was more political than anything. However, when deciding who should be the worthy recepitant of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize I have to ask the same question Thorbjoern Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Committee, asked when he stated, “The question we have to ask is who has done the most in the previous year to enhance peace in the world. And who has done more than Barack Obama?”
Timeline of Obama’s Achievements for the Nobel Peace Prize
—Paul Wilson
With much of the uproar about President Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, I thought I would highlight all the things that he has done which make him worthy of this award. The timeline starts when Obama took office and goes until the end of September, 2009. February 1st is the deadline for when nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize must be submitted. However, the committee actually doesn’t choose the winner until October.
JANUARY
January 20 – In one of his first official acts, President Obama enacts a pay freeze for Senior White House Staff making more than $100,000 per year, as well as announces stricter guidelines regarding lobbyists in an effort to raise the ethical standards of the White House.
January 21 – Obama revokes Executive Order 13233, which had been initiated by the Bush administration to limit access to the records of former presidents.
January 21 - Obama issues instructions to all agencies and departments in his administration to “adopt a presumption in favor” of Freedom of Information Act requests, reversing earlier policy set by former Attorney General John Ashcroft.
January 22 – President Obama signs an executive order announcing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp within a year, and signs a prohibition on using torture and other illegal coercive techniques, such as waterboarding, during interrogations and detentions, requiring the Army field manual to be used as a guide.
January 22 - Obama issues an executive order entitled “Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Personnel,” governing the limitations on hiring of employees by the executive branch to qualified individuals only, and placing very tight restrictions on lobbying in the White House.
January 29 – Obama signs his first bill, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which promotes fair pay regardless of sex, race, or age.
FEBRUARY
February 4 – Obama signs the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 reauthorizing and expanding the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
February 10 – President Obama temporarily halts a Bush midnight regulation that opens the Outer Continental Shelf to offshore drilling for oil and gas.
February 17 – Obama signs into law the $787 billion Recovery and Reinvestment Act in Denver, Colorado. The White House launches Recovery.gov to explain the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery.gov is the U.S. government’s official website providing easy access to data related to Recovery Act spending and allows for the reporting of potential fraud, waste, and abuse).
February 17 - President Obama approves a deployment of 17,000 additional troops to Afghanistan (Yes, this should be considered. The American focus is no longer in Iraq, under false pretenses of weapons of mass destruction).
February 19 – Obama makes his first trip abroad as president to Ottawa, Canada, where he speaks with Prime Minister Stephen Harper about environmental issues, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and other US-Canadian relations.
February 25 – Obama cancels leases for oil shale development on 1,900,000 acres of federal land in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
February 27 – Obama delivers a speech at Camp Lejeune on his plans for troop withdrawals from Iraq.
MARCH
March 2 – The White House pledges $900 million of humanitarian and development aid to the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
March 3 – Obama restores a provision of the Endangered Species Act requiring that federal agencies consult the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service before taking actions that could harm endangered species.
March 4 – Obama issues a memorandum limiting the possibility to grant no-bid contracts to private businesses.
March 9 – President Obama orders all executive officials to consult with the Attorney General before relying on any signing statement previously used to bypass a statute.
March 19 – Just before midnight Obama releases a video message to the Iranian people and government to coincide withNowrūz (Nowrūz, meaning “New Day,” is the traditional Iranian new year ceremony).
March 24 – Obama holds his second prime time press conference in the East Room of the White House, to discuss economic hardships, as well as the government’s intentions to solve the global economic crisis.
March 26 – Obama holds an online town hall at the White House, a historic first in American Presidential conveyance.
March 27 – Obama announces a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
March 30 – Obama signs the Omnibus Public Land Management Act into law.
APRIL
April 3 – Obama meets French President Nicolas Sarkozy and holds a town hall meeting with French and German students.
April 5 – Obama gives a thoughtful speech on nuclear proliferation disarmament to a public crowd in Prague. Earlier the North Korean government had launched a long-range multi-stage rocket.
April 7 – Obama finishes his trip in Istanbul, including a town hall meeting, and makes a surprise visit to Baghdad, Iraq (his first as president), where he meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
April 9 – In a presidential first, Obama hosts a White House Seder for the second night of Passover.
April 12 – Richard Phillips, captured by pirates in the Maersk Alabama hijacking, is freed by Navy Seals after Obama approves military action.
April 13 – Obama signs a presidential memorandum eliminating limits on Cuban-Americans governing family visits and remittances sent to the island.
April 16 – Four memos are released by the Obama administration on enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA on Al Qaeda suspects.
April 16-17 – President Obama states the US is a “full partner” with Mexico in its fight against the Mexican drug cartels.
April 21 – Obama signs the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law (the bill reauthorizes and expands the AmeriCorps program first established in 1993)
April 23 – Obama speaks at a Holocaust remembrance ceremony at the capitol sponsored by the National Holocaust Museum.
April 27 – Obama addresses the National Academy of Sciences and announces that more than 3 percent of the GDP will be devoted to research and development. He also announces a doubling of the budgets of NSF and NIST, and a goal of reducing carbon pollution by more than 80 percent by 2050.
MAY
May 5 – Obama meets with Israeli President Shimon Peres in the Oval Office of the White House to discuss the foreign affairs of Israel, the relationship between Palestinians and Israelis, and the prospects of a two-state solution.
May 6 - President Obama holds a summit with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari at the White House.
May 16 – Jon Huntsman, Jr., the current Republican Governor of Utah, is named United States Ambassador to China by President Obama, to replace Clark T. Randt, Jr. of Connecticut (go Utah, oh yeah, nice partisan Obama).
May 18 – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Obama and Sec. of State Clinton in Washington.
May 19 – President Obama announces plans to create new automobile fuel efficiency standards requiring cars, as well as light trucks to have an average of at least 35.5 miles per gallon, by 2016, in an attempt to curve emissions and reduce the United States’ contributions to global warming.
May 20 – The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009 and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act are signed into law by President Obama to help alleviate burdens caused by the economic financial crisis in the United States.[
May 22 – Obama signs the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act (an act that was created to reform the way the Pentagon contracts and purchases major weapons systems).
May 22 – Obama signs the Credit CARD Act into law, to reform legislation and aim “…to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan, and for other purposes.”
May 25 – President Obama continues the long standing tradition of the U.S. President sending a wreath to the Confederate Monument at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day and garners praise from Sons of Confederate Veterans Commander Chuck McMichael.
May 30 – Plans for a CyberSpace Czar to help prevent web crimes such as identity theft and other breaches of computer security networks are announced by the President.
May 31 – Obama denounces and condemns the killing of medical director and abortionist George Tiller, saying he was “shocked and outraged” by the assassination and death of Tiller.[
June
June 2 – President Obama holds a press conference announcing legislation honoring the achievements of former President of the United States Ronald Reagan.
June 3 – President Obama visits with King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia on his way to Cairo, Egypt to make a speech introducing himself to the Muslim world (I would love to see President Bush try this).
June 4 – President Barack Obama gives a speech in Cairo, Egypt, as a part of a worldwide attempt to repair the image of America around the world, a promise he made during his campaign for President of the United States. During the speech, Obama notably references the Bible, the Torah, the Qur’an, and other Muslim texts in his address to the more than one thousand Cairo University students in attendance.
June 5 – Obama visits Buchenwald, a former Nazi concentration camp used during World War II, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and survivor and activist Elie Wiesel, during his trip through Germany.
June 6 – Obama commemorates the 65th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France, along with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Prince Charles and President Nicolas Sarkozy.
June 17 – Obama announces sweeping proposals to rework financial regulation and move the country toward financial stability.
June 19 – Along with other prominent fathers, Obama holds a town hall meeting at the White House to commemorate Father’s Day, and bring awareness to the relationship of American fathers and children. Obama notably identified his father as one of the greatest influences in his own life, in the short time that they were together.
June 22 – President Obama signs legislation granting authority over tobacco products to the United States Food and Drug Administration in the Rose Garden of the White House.
June 22 - Obama also announced an $80 billion, 10 year offer by drug manufacturers to close the gap between Medicare prescription drug coverage and comprehensive health care reform.
June 23 – President Obama holds a press conference to discuss the issues of the recent Iranian election protests in Iran.
June 26 – The President signs the “Cash-for-Clunkers bill” into law to increase national fuel efficiency, as well as stimulate the automobile industry, after both Chrysler and General Motors had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
June 27 – The removal of American combat troops from major Iraqi cities begins.
June 30 – The President delivers remarks at an event in the East Room to highlight programs that have been able to make a difference in communities across the country.
July
July 6 – The President and First Lady Obama arrive in Moscow to meet with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, to discuss diplomatic progress in regards to nuclear weapons, as well as the situation in Afghanistan.
July 7 – President Obama meets with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, in a continuous attempt to restructure the U.S.–Russian relationship. Obama also meets with former President of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev in Gostinny Dvor, Russia.
July 8 – President Obama visits the quake zone in Italy that was struck in April, 2009.
July 10 – On the final day of the G-8 Summit, President Obama meets with South African president Jacob Zuma, Obama also visits Pope Benedict XVI in Vatican City. The President then heads to Ghana in Africa, his first visit to any sub-saharan African nation since he was elected president.
July 14 – Obama speaks at Macomb Community College, and proposes a $12 billion effort to help two-year institutions to “train more people…for the jobs of the future.”
July 22 – The President holds a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in the Oval Office, and hold a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden.
July 27 – Obama and Chinese leaders Wang Qishan, Chinese Vice Premier, and Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo, attend the U.S.–China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Washington, D.C.
July 30 – President Obama and Vice President Biden hold a “beer summit” at the White House with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates and the arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambride Police Department, in order to address the issue of race in America and discuss the arrest of Gates in his Massachusetts home on July 16, 2009. Obama also discusses remarks he had made during his news conference on July 22, in which he stated that the police department had “acted stupidly” in arresting Gates.
August
August 3 – The President meets with Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, in the Oval Office.
August 5 – Obama visits Elkhart, Indiana for the second time in his presidency to hold a townhall meeting about unemployment in the work force and new jobs being created.
August 10 – President Obama meets in Guadalajara, Mexico with President Felipe Calderón of Mexico and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada for a trilateral meeting to discuss the global economy, climate change, security and safety, as well as the H1N1 pandemic.
August 18 – President Obama, along with Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton, meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Oval Office.
September
September 8 – Obama speaks at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia to promote education.
September 9 – President Obama outlines his healthcare proposal in a speech to a joint session of Congress, amidst controversy in regards to a public option, illegal immigrant’s access to healthcare and “death panels”.
September 10 – President Barack Obama meets with Prince General Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi in the Oval Office.
September 11 – President Barack Obama addresses family members and friends who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, in the September 11 attacks, at The Pentagon.
September 14 – President Obama speaks about the financial crisis at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City.
September 22 – President Barack Obama addresses the Climate Change Summit at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
September 24 – In a first for an American president, Obama chairs a U.N. Security Council summit dedicated to nuclear disarmament and proliferation.
September 25 – While at the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, Obama and the leaders of France and the UK make a public statement accusing Iran of constructing a secret nuclear facility near Qom.
Inner Conflict Concerning Gay Marriage
—by Paul
You may have already heard, but the California Supreme Court upheld the decision of its citizens today by not striking down proposition 8. However, they did state that they would still recognize the 18,000+ gay marriages that happened before the amendment took place.
Upon the ruling, the LDS Church issued a press release. Here is a paragraph I particularly liked from the release:
“The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognizes the deeply held feelings on both sides, but strongly affirms its belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The bedrock institution of marriage between a man and a woman has profound implications for our society. These implications range from what our children are taught in schools to individual and collective freedom of religious expression and practice.”
I like this statement because it helps feed the debate that rages on within me concering this issue. Often, I have been wondering if it is right or not to restrict people from rights that others have. You can’t make an argument that it is right for someone to murder but not someone else. Either everyone has the right or no one has it.
Also, I look back at the last 100 years with the great power of retrospect and see that there was not a single issue that harmed our society when we gave rights to a minority. For me, I wonder how much gay marriages differ?
Personally, I think homosexuality is not genetically or religiously right. On the scientific angle, when you impede the process of passing on DNA from one generation to the next, you genetically harm the species. Religiously, we can see that all historical religious text (Bible or non-Christian canon) condemn the act of homosexuality.
However, it seems that all these lines become blurry when you talk about people’s rights. Does someone have the right to be an alcoholic? As long as they do not hurt someone else—unequivocally yes.
I guess for me, gay marriage does cross the line of infringing on others rights. As stated by the LDS Church, allowing gay marriage in our society causes problems that “….range from what our children are taught in schools to individual and collective freedom of religious expression and practice.”
I do not agree with homosexuality and do not want my children to be taught that it is okay. I also do not want to be punished by the government because I chose to believe that homosexuality is a grievous sin.
Honestly, I cannot see a resolution that is possible to appease both sides. As I look at all the facts and arguments, I have to wonder if history will see me on the same side as those who fought against women and blacks from having equal rights. I hope this is not the case, but even if it is, my children will know that I fought for them to have the right to not have a loud minority redefine what they believe is right or wrong.
The 8th Amendment and Gay Marriage
—By Paul Wilson
It has been very quiet here at UtahVoices. I think with the downturn of the economy most of us authors here have been a bit preoccupied with other things than blogging.
I have been actually meaning to write this post for a couple of months. Even though California’s Proposition 8 has passed I still think we are just at the beginning of this topic. Unfortunately, the incivility we’ve seen the last few months from the gay community is most likely only going to get worse.
I saw first hand this disrespect to other people and organizations having a different viewpoint when I went to Salt Lake to support the LDS Church’s stance against gay marriage. The gay community had decided that they were going to target the Mormon church because it was the Mormon’s fault for Proposition 8 passing in California.
Interesting thought, even though the Mormon vote only accounted for 2.4% of the overall vote. However, this percentage was large enough that the opponents against Prop 8 decided to rally Temple Square (without a legal permit) and vent their frustration. I went to make a stance against such religious bigotry. I was surprised however, that when I got to Temple Square how large the gay protest was. There was most likely a thousand plus people that marched on Temple Square screaming their hatred to the church.
I was with a very small group standing quietly to protest the march. Our quiet passiveness was in stark contrast to the chanting and screaming by the gay community supporters. Due to this unusual approach I was interviewed by KSL, Salt Lake’s local television station. In my interview I stated that even with Amendment 8 passing that no rights of the gay community were lost (my interview appears between 3:13 and 3:36 of the below video).
That’s right I said “Amendment” and not “Proposition.” I was nervous and without thinking I interchanged my words. I didn’t see my mistake until later that night on television. I am grateful to KSL for correcting my slip in the text of the article, but I still felt foolish for making such a simple mistake.
However, my quite visible mistake can easily be used as a metaphor for legalizing gay marriage. The 8th amendment states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.”
The passing of Proposition 8, if upheld, will make sure that the California citizens shall not be at the mercy of the legal system inflicting an excessive bail on marriage. If gay marriage becomes a civil rights issue, those of us who feel that homosexuality is immoral and wrong will be at the mercy of those who do not.
If marriage had been redefined to be between any two consenting adults, it wouldn’t have added rights to the gay population, but it would have taken away rights from adoption agencies, churches, schools, and other organizations whose moral agencies didn’t agree with same-sex partnerships. Here are just a few examples how legalizing gay marriage would create an excessive fine imposed upon our society.
Adoption services: A same-sex couple in California applied to Adoption Profiles, an Internet service in Arizona that matches adoptive parents with newborns. The couple’s application was denied based on the religious beliefs of the company’s owners. The couple sued in federal district court in San Francisco. The two sides settled after the adoption company said it will no longer do business in California.
Housing: In New York City, Yeshiva University’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine, a school under Orthodox Jewish auspices, banned same-sex couples from its married dormitory. New York does not recognize same-sex marriage, but in 2001, the state’s highest court ruled Yeshiva violated New York City’s ban on sexual orientation discrimination. Yeshiva now allows all couples in the dorm.
Parochial schools: California Lutheran High School, a Protestant school in Wildomar, holds that homosexuality is a sin. After the school suspended two girls who were allegedly in a lesbian relationship, the girls’ parents sued, saying the school was violating the state’s civil rights act protecting gay men and lesbians from discrimination. The case is before a state judge.
Medical services: A Christian gynecologist at North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group in Vista, California, refused to give his patient in vitro fertilization treatment because she is in a lesbian relationship. He claimed that doing so would violate his religious beliefs. The doctor referred the patient to his partner, who agreed to do the treatment. The woman sued under the state’s civil rights act. The California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in May 2008, and legal experts believe that the woman’s right to medical treatment will trump the doctor’s religious beliefs. One justice suggested that the doctors take up a different line of business.
Wedding services: A same sex couple in Albuquerque asked a photographer, Elaine Huguenin, to shoot their commitment ceremony. The photographer declined, saying her Christian beliefs prevented her from sanctioning same-sex unions. The couple sued, and the New Mexico Human Rights Commission found the photographer guilty of discrimination. It ordered her to pay the lesbian couple’s legal fees ($6,600). The photographer is appealing.
Youth groups: The city of Berkeley, California, requested that the Sea Scouts (affiliated with the Boy Scouts) formally agree to not discriminate against gay men in exchange for free use of berths in the city’s marina. The Sea Scouts sued, claiming this violated their beliefs and First Amendment right to the freedom to associate with other like-minded people. In 2006, the California Supreme Court ruled against the youth group. In San Diego, the Boy Scouts lost access to the city-owned aquatic center for the same reason. In June 2008, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals asked the California Supreme Court to review the Boy Scouts’ leases. Meanwhile, the mayor’s office in Philadelphia revoked the Boy Scouts’ $1-a-year lease for a city building
While these cases do not directly involve same-sex unions, they presage future conflicts about whether religiously oriented or parachurch organizations may prohibit activities or events which go against what they hold sacred.
Where does this conflict between the two opposing mindsets end? Why should one minority’s ‘rights’ override the majority’s legal and religious rights and views? In turn, this same minority feels that others’ ‘bigotry’ and ‘narrow-minded thinking’ are trampling on their views and rights.
Is there even a common ground available to settle on? There has to be, but right now I can’t see one.
Jon Huntsman – For President?
by Phil
Wednesday evening, I spotted a very interesting posting by Jonathon Martin in his blog on Politico. The headline read: Add to the 2012 prospect list: Jon Huntsman.
This peaked immediate interest (for obvious reasons) and Martin makes a strong case for Jon Huntsman – something I have been bantering about for weeks.
Huntsman, 48, cuts an impressive figure and has a fascinating personal and political story to tell, including the sort of foreign policy background most governors lack. The scion of a prominent Mormon family, he served as U.S. ambassador to Singapore for Bush 41 when he was in his early 30s, did trade stints in the Commerce Department and was a deputy U.S. trade representative under the current Bush, overseeing trade with Africa and Asia.
The two-term Governor is an impressive figure. But Martin points out that his pedigree isn’t the only thing that puts him in the Presidential mix for 2012.
As any Utah governor would be, Huntsman is in line with the GOP base on social issues. But he takes a more centrist tack on the environment, and had some blunt words for his party on an issue he believes is hurting them with younger voters.
“We as Republicans can’t shy away from speaking the word ‘environment,’ and we shouldn’t shy away from speaking the words ‘climate change,’” Huntsman told reporters at a press conference this afternoon. “When you’ve got a body of science that already is rendering certain judgements about what is happening in our world, for us to shy away, say it doesn’t matter as an issue, I think is foolhardy, it’s short-sighted and it’s bound to do us damage in the longer-term.”
Huntsman also talked fluently about education, energy and health care, making the case, as many of his fellow governors have, that the GOP needs to come up with practical solutions on such day-to-day concerns.
Huntsman represents the sensible faction of the new GOP. The side that George F. Will so fondly deemed the “ABP Republicans” (Anyone But Palin). He’s pretty impressive, especially by Republican standards. There is no denying that Huntsman has done a superb job as Governor. I like Jon Huntsman, and I voted for him twice. I like him because he’s a true moderate and he takes business seriously without giving too much.
He’s worked for more modern liquor laws in Utah, but he’s stayed out of the messier moral issues. He’s not a moral police man – he’s more of a statesman. I like his international ties and his stance on the environment, and although he found himself on the wrong side of the school vouchers issue, that was not a huge deal for me.
The key with him is his ability to manage. He reduced the state budget BEFORE the shortfalls started rolling in. He knew we were having an economic downturn, so he reduced spending prior to the bottom dropping out on the State. That’s pretty gutsy, and quite intelligent. He understands the role of government, and he also understands the role of ACTUAL budgeting. He’s not like the rest of the GOP morons who spend like drunken sailors…he’s smart and he runs the budget like a family does. No money? No buy!
However, I don’t think the GOP will be ready for a serious run for the Whitehouse in four years. The walk through the wilderness is going to take at least eight. In two years, the Mormon issue will still be a caustic one, especially with the Prop 8 blowback. He will get killed by the newly empowered environmentalists because he used to run a chemicals company, and there’s no denying that his resume was padded by a father who was a generous donor to the Reagan campaign. The son of a billionaire Mormon chemical magnate that has had life pretty much handed to him on a silver platter will have a hard time relating to every “Joe the Plumber” that Republicans seem to be so hot and bothered over.
None of this is fair, but that’s politics.
He’s already stated that he won’t return for a third term as Utah’s Governor. Could it be a run at the Presidency? Could be. My hope is that he has designs on taking over for Orrin Hatch when he retires in four years.
Until then, at least we have a Governor who won’t have to borrow money from the RNC for shopping sprees.
The Death of an Ideology
by Phil
Ronald Reagan is dead.
That may be a shocking revelation to many, but the Gipper has left the building. And for the first time since his death in 2004, we can finally send his molested political ideology with him. I admire President Reagan, but it’s time for us to move on.
As I joyfully watch the current Republican party begin their long journey through the wilderness, I am struck by my thoughts of Ronald Reagan. He was MY President…the man who was in charge through the greater years of my youth. I trusted him, I admired him, I felt safer with him and I will always feel a bit angry when those bastards went after him during the Iran-Contra hearings. He was the perfect leader for the perfect days of my youth. Maybe I’m just sentimental, but he deserves his face on a coin or a bill.
But, the Gipper has passed, and he can now take his politics – or the current, perverted version – with him.
This past election has created more than its fair share of historical significance. Undeniable. But one thing many of us are witnessing is the death of an ideology. We watched a political party fall from the tree of America this November, and it was well overdue. What was once was bright and colorful, is now brittle, frail and ready to be added to the compost heap. It’s time to rake the leaves, prune the tree, and move forward into the coming spring. They had it coming, and Ronnie must be rolling over in his grave.
But, before we look forward, we must look back. What happened? Where did it all go wrong?
Ronald Reagan was the perfect leader for America and the world in the 1980′s. He was gilded by the age of McCarthyism and the very real threat of communism. He was elected at a time when an untested, brilliant-minded Democratic President (!) just couldn’t get anything done. He came in and restored a country to economic stability and a new place as the shining city on the hill. He fought the evil empire, and he won.
The amazing ideological victory for Ronald Reagan was his ability to turn the fight against the Soviet Union and communism into a moral battle. He was a very conservative, God-fearing President, and he brought his faith with him to the White House. He used it to rally his country behind a common enemy. This enemy was real, it was foreign and it had nuclear weapons. We believed and we trusted him…and honestly, we didn’t have any reasons not to. And you know what? We won.
The way politics work; the party of record will always take what has been successful recently, and try and apply it to new problems. It has been this way for generations. The Republican Party took the ideology of Reagan and applied it to everything they stood for. This worked for a while, but with a change in times come a change in the challenges. Eric Hoffer once said, “Every great cause begins as a movement, becomes a business, and eventually degenerates into a racket.” This is what has happened to the Reagan ideology under the modern the Republican Party. Under George H.W. Bush, it became a business, then under the Gingrich-led congress, and, eventually, under George W. Bush, it became the corrupt racket that it is (was).
The mistakes came not exclusively in the Reagan philosophy itself, but in the way it was applied to different problems in a different time. In the 80′s we all had a common enemy, and a common goal. ANYONE could get behind the fight against communism. But after 1988, the world changed…literally! Cold war philosophies work during the cold war, but when the world changes, so must the way we govern.
Over the next two decades, the Republican Party used this moral battle to fight on a number of fronts. They fought big government (while still growing the government), the environment, abortion, liberalism and Bill Clinton. The problem was, in turning all of these issues into moral battles, they alienated people. It’s one thing to use morals against communism – a lifeless, Godless political ideology of evil – but it’s something entirely different to use the same tactics against your own citizens and their beliefs.
Out of this culture came the Limbaugh’s and Hannity’s of the world, a group of ghouls hell-bent on propagating hate and destroying all that was unclean and unholy – in their own minds. The witch hunting and culture wars that we have seen over the past eight years have shred the very fabric that Reagan wove. This is where the Republicans and their hit-men greatly underestimated America. It worked for a while, and it was given new life when 9/11 hit. But you can only create fear and loathing for only so long. Even when you find a new common enemy – terrorism – the Republicans botched it. The GOP had gotten so used to creating fear to win battles, we turned our fear-mongering towards the world, and one of its largest religions. The new war is not a cold war, it’s a holy war. And now the world views America much differently. So much for being the city on the hill.
Demonization is no way to win elections or trust in your own people, at least not in the long term. That was not what Reagan had intended when he brought his moral fabric to the office. In his speech at the 1992 GOP Convention, he said, “And whatever else history may say about me when I’m gone, I hope it will record that I appealed to your best hopes, not your worst fears, to your confidence rather than your doubts.” That sounds a lot like the newly elected President, not the party of Reagan!
What the GOP has done over the past 20 years is destroy the very thing that inspired them. They turned it into a racket, and they are now being punished for it. Reagan inspired people, built a trust and a renewed sense of pride in America. This ideology created an entire generation of political thought, but now it’s played out its course. A new direction was charted on November 4th, and it will usher in a new generation of political thought. The irony is it was formed on much the same foundation set forth by Reagan – youth, hope, change and a better tomorrow.
Rest in peace Mr. President. We’ll take it from here.