Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Go and buy the CD!

The video is out. BUY THE CD. Don’t download this song…

Same Gender Unions - Some Closing Thoughts

by Lyn Perry from Bloggin’ Outloud

If you’ve been following the debate so far (index of posts here), I think it’s clear by now that the majority of my argument against “gay marriage” is based on a biblical foundation (following an evangelical interpretation) and relies without apology on historic and traditional precedent.  As noted in previous entries, I believe this to be a quite compelling position as it requires those who seek to change the status quo to prove that marriage as traditionally understood is not in the best interest of our society.  To put it bluntly, why mess with the standard that has served civilization for millennia?

Some will insist that marriage is in such a deplorable state currently that it needs to be redefined in order to be salvaged or bolstered.  The proposition is made that same gender unions “would strengthen support for the institution of marriage and could eliminate dilution of it through the establishment of alternative arrangements that fall under the umbrella of ‘domestic partnership’ “ (so aTypical Joe).

My response is that in fact same gender unions do dilute the institution and - even further - would open the door to a cultural acceptance of polygamy, incest, and pedophilia.  When gender is arbitrary, so is number, relationship, and age.  And ridiculous accusations that traditionalists are prophesying that “men will be marrying their dogs” (so Andrew Sullivan) is simply an hyperbolic ploy that would deter us from acknowledging the truth that such a slide toward immorality is already taking place.

There, I said it.  Homosexuality and like practices (those mentioned above as well as pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, and pornography) are immoral.  This is not a politically correct position to maintain in a pluralistic society where even tolerance (which implies a judgment that the other is deviating from a standard) must give way to acceptance and eventual endorsement.  But it is, or at least has been, the cultural norm.  That is why we see today an attack on the institution of marriage.  It is a standard that, by its very existence, judges other sexual relationships as out of bounds.

The answer, then, is not to change the definition of marriage to include same sex partnerships, but to address those cultural challenges that threaten its viability.  Misapplication of divorce law, casual cohabitation, physical/emotional abuse, and other issues that do not promote a healthy, lifelong mutual relationship between one man and one woman ought to be addressed to insure the strengthening of marriage.  And in so doing we will honor that one relationship that has served as the core of societal stability for thousands of years.

The political and practical application of all of this?  I understand that we live in a pluralistic society and that the population is not compelled to hold my values. That’s what’s great about a democracy.  We can tolerate differences.  You have the right to be wrong.  So do I.  But I also have the right to defend what I feel is an attack on what has proven best for society - the construct of marriage as historically defined. 

And no, I’m not advocating a theocracy. I simply believe God has set moral laws in place that work like natural laws - if we follow them, things tend to work out, if we don’t, we’re kicking against the goads. Do I want the (or a) Church to rule through the State?  No.  But do I advocate the legislation of morality for the benefit of society?  You bet.  And you do too.  The point is not will we legislate moraltiy - all laws are enacted morals - but to whose standard will we adhere? I affirm it is the standard on which we established our nation centuries ago.  Same gender unions seek to change that.  That is why I can not endorse them.

Thank you for listening these past few weeks as Joe and I have “diablogged” on this topic.

Lyn

Polygamy and Same Sex Marriage

Parsing polgamy:

At Volokh.com, IGF contributor and lawyer David Link explains why, in legal terms, the differences between same-sex marriage are vast. SSM fits neatly within the existing legal framework of marriage; polygamy would require rethinking marriage law from top to bottom. “If the husband died, would the wives continue to be married to each other? Why or why not?...And every question like these leads to others.” Could a wife divorce one other spouse but stay married to the others? Again, why or why not? How many spouses could contest a divorce? What about child custody? Who would be responsible for child support? Who would be liable for debt? The problem isn’t just that the answers are unclear; it’s that no answer makes more sense than any other, because no answer fits within today’s concept of marriage. In that sense, polygamy is literally incoherent.

Sonny Perdue: “I like land”

I would too if I could get me a deal like this:

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue spent $2 million to buy about 20 acres of Florida land just miles from Disney World, purchasing the property from a wealthy Republican donor.

Perdue bought the land from Stanley Thomas, a Georgia mega-developer with a fleet of planes that the governor used at least once to get to a West Coast fundraiser. The 2004 purchase came a little more than a year after Perdue appointed Thomas to the state Board of Economic Development. About a year after the purchase one of Thomas’ companies, Fourth Quarter Properties, donated a whopping $250,000 to the state Republican Party.

Perdue said there was nothing improper about the deal. The Republican governor said that he bought the land in Florida because purchasing property in Georgia while he was governor would have created a conflict of interest.

So waht’s THE BIG DEAL?

The land is adjacent to a new toll road that is being constructed that will run directly to Disney World about 6 miles away. The road is set to be completed in December, Florida transportation officials said.

Real estate experts in Florida said the area around Disney World has been experiencing rapid growth and property like Perdue’s will almost certainly skyrocket in value. [...]

Lots of a half acre or less at the nearby Reunion Resort have sold for up to $650,000, according to property records. Conservative estimates show that if Perdue sold half-acre lots on just half of his property he stands to make millions of dollars.

Via Steve Benen who reminds us that while the details of this deal aren’t black and white, Perdue is in good Republican company:

In addition to Purdue, there's Senate candidate Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.), Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), Rep. Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.), and, of course, former Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.), all of whom have been involved in dubious real-estate controversies lately.

Did I mention that the Whitewater probe, which showed no wrongdoing on the Clintons' part, cost $70 million and lasted seven years?

You start out stealing songs, then you’re robbing liquor stores and selling crack and running over s

Weird Al Yankovic’s anti-RIAA anthem:

You don’t want to mess with the RI-double-A

They’ll sue you if you burn that CDR

It doesn’t matter if you’re a grandma

Or a seven year old girl

They’ll treat you like

the evil hard-bitten criminal you are…

Don’t download this song!

Via Tailrank.

Randall Terry’s estrangement from gay son

The Advocate:

Randall Terry, a leading conservative Christian, actively promotes “family values issues” in his Florida state senate race, but his gay son, Jamiel, says things are not what they seem. Among the senior Terry’s pledges are preserving traditional marriage and opposing adoptions by gays. He has touted efforts to stop abortions. His campaign mailers sum up the value he puts on family: They show a picture of him with his wife, a daughter, and three grinning young sons; the photo was taken before a fourth son was born this summer.

But Jamiel said the picture is missing two people: him and his sister, Tila, both of whom are adopted. Both have been estranged from their father since Jamiel came out as a gay man and Tila had a child out of wedlock.

Jamiel said the self-image that his father is crafting and the campaign message about strong families ignores part of his own family history. He said voters have a right to know about that.

“He is very big on image,” Jamiel said. “In a large way Tila and I mess up that image.”

iPod woes

Has Apple Computer hit a wall?

The company hasn’t had a significant update to its product line this year, with the only change being the addition of a smaller-capacity 1GB iPod Nano in February.

“It’s possible that we’re at a point where the path to taking the next step is less clear and less straightforward, even for a company with the technology expertise and creativity of Apple,” said IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian.

Other reasons could explain the radio silence out of Cupertino, Calif., Kevorkian said, including the fact that Apple has decided to phase out the PortalPlayer processor from its next-generation Nano and reports that the company has faced design challenges with the successor to its video iPod.

Whatever the reasons, the competition is moving forward.

RELATED: Sony - who missed the iPod boat by dropping the Walkman ball - buys a video site.

Wexler, The Hill & Johnson

Like Stephen Colbert, I like Robert Wexler - not least because of how he handled his own Colbert interview. Today The Washington Post has a story on “The Hill,” a documentary set in Wexler’s office:

Over the course of its six half-hours, “The Hill” (debuting tonight on the Sundance Channel) captures several aspects of official Washington that scripted dramas—with their emphasis on scandal, corruption and power-mongering—usually don’t. One is that the town can’t run without the smarts and hustle of some very young people.

One of these people is the putative star of the series, Eric Johnson, Wexler’s chief of staff. “I’m 33,” he tells a tour group in the series’s opening scene, “and I’m past my time. People look at me and go, ‘What are you still doing here?’ ”

Later we learn that the “glimpses of the staffers’ personal lives” work only intermittently. Those with Johnson are best:

Much stronger—probably because the filmmakers had access—are the domestic sequences involving Johnson, a gay man who is raising a baby with his partner.

Here’s a profile of Johnson. At age 19 he ran for the school board. As a Republican?