2 posts tagged “equality”

Federal judge taking long look at Prop. 8

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article...

(06-30) 19:00 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- A federal judge said Tuesday he's inclined to leave California's ban on same-sex marriage in effect for now, but wants an early trial to determine whether the voter-approved prohibition violates the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equality.

Unlike the last attempt to knock down Prop. 8, this one looks promising--and since it's happening at the federal level, the results could be massive.  Basically, the defense will need to prove that there is a real and substantial reason to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry.  This will most likely include an attempt to show concrete damage to the foundation of male-female weddings, coupled with arguments that a child is best raised by one man and one woman.  If this can't be done, and done solidly and conclusively, then the judges will announce that the law exists only as a tool for one group of people to discriminate against another group, and is therefore unconstitutional and thus invalid.

Attorney for the defense Brian Raum has already gone on record as saying he doesn't see the need for a trial, as Prop. 8 doesn't prohibit gays and lesbians from marrying--provided that they marry someone of the opposite sex.  Yeah, things are looking up.

Free speech threatened.  Amnesty International is asking bloggers to blog about free speech and threats to it whenever possible.  Remember, the government you can't criticize online may soon be your own.

Who needs government?  The Czech Republic has been without a government for five months, and people are starting to wonder if they even need a government in the first place.

Torture, U.S. style.  Torture is flourishing worldwide following new U.S. laws which permit ultra-harsh interrogation practices while denying appeals in federal court.  "We are collaborating with the United States so it can't be wrong if it is also done by the United States," the entire nation of Jordan was quoted as saying.

Czech police not allowed to come arrest U.S. neo-nazi website creators.  Back to the Czech Republic again, where racist speech is illegal.  Police there recently traced hate speech which they didn't like to a website based in Atlanta, Georgia.  When they recently offered to come "assist" us in dealing with the problem, U.S. authorities denied the request.  In related news, anyone worldwide who publishes material the U.S. doesn't like should be arrested, and this isn't ironic at all.

"Dilbert" creator reprograms his own brain.  Scott Adams, creator of the Dilbert comic strip, was recently diagnosed with Spasmodic Dysphonia, a rare condition where the parts of the brain which control normal speech just shut down.  Oddly enough, sufferers can usually still sing or perform other speech-like activities.  Although no one had ever recovered from this condition, Scott remained hopeful, believing that if he could just find an unaffected manner of speaking similar to normal speech, he could retrain himself from this foundation to speak normally.  Then one day, he discovered that he could speak normally in rhyme....  Scott claims he has recovered at least 95% of his speaking ability now.

U.K. bans ad because model doesn't "look legal."  The commercial shows a side view of an adult woman, nude but posed in such a way as to conceal her breasts and genitals, sitting under a lemon tree.  The camera then cuts to a close-up of her face, and she says "Ten real lemons help make one zesty bottle of Original Source shower gel."  Claiming to have received 29 complaints from people who thought they were showing an underaged nude model acting in a sexually provocative way, the Advertising Standards Authority has insisted the original ad not be played on British television again under Harm and Offence codes.

Bush administration pushes pro-segregation stance in schools.  Wouldn't little Nazi Skinhead Junior be getting a better education if he didn't have to put up with all the negroes, fags and jews at his school?  We're now one step closer!  Remember... we must put the children first!

Montana principal suspended six days over "wedgie."  Following a special meeting, it was decided the action was not grounds for termination.  Many bemoaned the principal's desire to be seen as an equal by his students and a "loss of traditional authority structure."

Lamb mixed into ground chuck to make delicious burger.  A coarsely-ground cheeseburger made of 20% ground lamb is praised for having a tangy, "aged beef" flavor.  It was topped with white cheddar and served on a grilled English muffin which had been slathered in parsely-scallion butter.