Saturday night open thread

From your favorite fundies over at WingNutDaily.

What do think the future holds for marriage in America?



Thread away... Read More......

Massachusetts bar exam flunker drops his lawsuit over marriage equality question

L-O-S-E-R. Boston resident Stephen Dunne has asked a federal court to dismiss his ridiculous lawsuit that claimed his religious rights were violated when he was presented with a question on same-sex marriage. His 268.866 score on the November 2006 bar just missed the passing score of 270 points.

This is the question that offended Mr. Dunne:

"Yesterday, Jane got drunk and hit (her spouse) Mary with a baseball bat, breaking Mary's leg, when she learned that Mary was having an affair with Lisa. As a result, Mary decided to end her marriage with Jane in order to live in her house with (children) Philip (and) Charles and Lisa. What are the rights of Mary and Jane?"

In July I blogged about this suit, after Dunne launched a website, christianlawsuit.com (it only goes to his dismissal document now), he put up a batsh*t insane statement:

My dream is to become a Lawyer, but I cannot defile my Christian faith simply to pass an examination. I will not pay the price that the Defendants are forcing me to pay in order to practice law in Massachusetts. There is no price tag on my faith. It is not for sale.

He also modestly proclaimed:

I am challenging the constitutionality of Homosexual Marriage and Homosexual Parenting in Massachusetts. In 2003, four unelected judges legalized Homosexual Marriage in Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health, 798 N.E. 2d 941 (Mass. 2003). I sincerely believe that this ruling is profoundly undemocratic and un-American.

I have preemptively fired the first shot that has been heard around the world.

Uh, not really.

A question of this nature was not included in the most recent bar exam, so Dunne tries to claim victory much in the same way the American Family Association's Don Wildmon likes to think Ford is being hurt by his fundie boycott:

In court documents, Dunne said he wanted to drop his suit because the July bar exam didn't include what he called the "patently offensive and morally repugnant" gay marriage question. He characterized that as a "corrective action" by the board.

In a move to quickly smack down that assertion...

[I]n court documents filed yesterday, the board's attorney said the board has "not agreed to limit the content" of any future bar exams. The board's decision not to include the same question on the July exam "merely reflects their standard practice of not repeating questions on successive bar examinations," the court filing said.

...The board maintains that the question was a legitimate one regarding current Massachusetts law.

Read More......

Cliff's Corner

The Week That Was 9/07/07

Another Week. More preposterousness to report.

What a week for Republicans, or as I call them, the party of more closets than Imelda Marcos' shoes. It's not easy to create this many scandals. No sir/ma'am. One has to be more industrious than Larry Craig's scheduler planning campaign rest stops. So let's summarize what we learned about our favorite low-level primates this week, why don't we:

1) Being a Republican means not only that Bin Laden is "Wanted Dead Or Alive," but also that "Bin Laden Is Going To Pay And He Will Die" (Romney), you'll "Follow Bin Laden To The Gates Of Hell" (McCain) and he is "more symbolism than anything else." Say what? Who the hell said that last one?

Why 'Ole Frederick Of Hollywood, who has officially dragged his golf-cart-attached, 147-year old carcass into the campaign. That one should play well with, well, everyone in this country. Welcome to the party pal!

2) Larry Craig is resigning. No he's not. Yes he is. This guy is more undecided than George Allen having to choose whether to burn a cross at the local chapter of the NAACP or B'nai B'rith. Jeez. Resign and go on a vacation already pal.

Hint: In England they're called WCs.

3) Rudy Giuliani thinks he can continually lie about the fact that once people see the facts, they realize he was to New York on 9/11 what the Maginot Line was to France or Gavrilo Princip was to Serbia.

Command Center in the World Trade Center? Good call. It's not like it had been attacked before. Why don't you guys just sell our ports to The Arab Emirates. Oh, right...

4) Being a Republican means you love going on the smutiest of smut-filled channels, also known as Fox. And that's before things get really wacky after a few Appletinis when Brit Hume adjusts his hair helmet and starts stripping for Sean Hannity.

NOTE TO GOP: STFU About how television is so horrible with all the sex and the nudity and the other elements of an average Republican poker game at the Watergate. At least until you tell your friends at Fox to clean up their seedy act. Oh, and your elected representatives.

Until next week, and three more GOP scandals erupt... Read More......

It's a gorgeous day in Paris

It was cloudy and kind of rainy all of August, really. Today, however, was exceptional. Chris (in Paris) and his wife, Joelle, took me to a little chocolate bar/bike rental place in the 19th arrondissement, Velo et Chocolat, that has the best hot chocolate in town. To. Die. For. 3 euros, and you can not finish a large cup. On the way, we stopped and got some melons. Here's Chris.



Feel free to insert your own caption. Across the street was a horsemeat butcher. For real.



We came to this neighborhood to see the canals. Really quite lovely, and a neighborhood of Paris I'd never seen (the light was tremendous).



It's a rather mixed neighborhood - Arab, yuppie, Asian and Orthodox Jewish mixed together. We witnessed an interesting exchange of looks when two Orthodox Jewish guys with their kids walked through a group of Arab guys sitting in the park. Nothing happened, but the looks exchanged were priceless. There were also a group of Asian men playing some game (majong?) with ivory-colored blocks with symbols on them.



As I mentioned, we didn't hit the area until 6pm or so, so the evening sun was just gorgeous.



Read More......

San Diego diocese to shell out $198 million for abuse claims

A settlement betwee 144 childhood sexual abuse victims and the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego has resulted in Papa Ratzi's boys having to pay out $198 mil. It was already in Chapter 11 over the heinous scandal, but as part of the settlement, the diocese gets to ask for its bankruptcy cast to be dismissed. (San Diego Union-Tribune):

Another important part of the agreement was the diocese's promise to release church documents about priest abuse, said Irwin M. Zalkin, an attorney for 33 victims in the case. He said that without that concession, the victims would not have agreed to settle their claims.

..."This has been a journey for some people, in some cases, 30, 40 years, who have suffered an immense harm that is difficult for anyone to comprehend," Zalkin said. "This is their day. This is their time. This is their vindication. This is their moment of truth.

...Among them was Michael Bang, a 46-year-old Atlanta resident who says he was abused by a priest in San Diego from 1971 to 1979..."It'll never be fair. My life has been up and down, up and down," he said. "It's unconscionable. I mean this is supposed to be the church of God. They're supposed to be people that are looking out for the welfare and the goodness of the children of the church. And all they're worried about is the bottom line."

The article notes that Bishop Robert Brom asked the victims for forgiveness, repeatedly apologizing. One might ask why it took the threat of going to court (and surely a bigger payout) to get someone to admit and apologize. Since 1950, the church has paid out up to $2.1 billion on cases like this. That's a lot of tithing (and insurance).

There has been a a steady stream of high-profile bankruptcies and payouts since the raping, molesting Roman Catholic priest scandal broke big in Boston in 2002. Is this part of God's plan for the church, as it wastes hot air condemning gays, and persists in an abstinence-only message as HIV/AIDS ravages poor countries around the globe? Via the AP:

* Archdiocese of Los Angeles, 2007, agrees to pay $660 million to about 500 people.
* Diocese of Orange, Calif., 2004, $100 million for 90 abuse claims.
* Diocese of Covington, Ky., 2006, up to $84 million for more than 350 people.
* Archdiocese of Boston, 2003, $84 million for 552 claims.
* Diocese of Oakland, Calif., 2005, $56 million to 56 people.
* Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., 2007, agrees to pay about $52 million to 175 victims to emerge from bankruptcy protection. The diocese sets aside another $20 million for any future claims.
* Diocese of Spokane, Wash., 2007, agrees to pay $48 million for about 150 claims to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
* Diocese of Sacramento, Calif., 2005, pays $35 million to 33 people.
* Archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., 2003, $25.7 million to 243 victims.
* Diocese of Tucson, Ariz., 2005, agrees to fund a settlement trust worth about $22 million for more than 50 victims to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Read the official pastoral statement here (PDF). Read More......

Nebraska's Chuck Hagel retiring from Senate, not running for Pres.

The NY Times just sent me a "Breaking News Alert":

Senator Chuck Hagel to Retire at End of Term

Mr. Hagel, the Nebraska Republican who had been mulling a run
for president, will not make a bid for the White House but
instead will retire at the end of his term in early 2009.

Former Senator Bob Kerrey is thinking about running for the seat. Nebraska could be a Democratic pick-up. At the very least, Mitch McConnell is going to have to fight very hard to keep a Republican seat in a very Republican state. Read More......

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Yep, it's the weekend.

What do you have to say? Read More......

APEC summit concludes "aspirational goals" on climate change

And to think some people say these events are an expensive waste of time that never really produce tangible results. What incredibly bold leadership by Bush and his friend, John Howard.

Asia-Pacific officials agreed yesterday to a draft climate statement that reaffirms the United Nations convention as the primary vehicle for fighting global warming, while setting non-binding, "aspirational targets'' for themselves to reduce greenhouse gas reductions.

Some analysts saw it as too little, too late.

"The issue of climate change is so severe that aspirational goals are too late,'' said Mark Diesendorf, senior lecturer at the Institute of Environmental Studies at Australia's University of New South Wales.

"Real goals and real targets are really needed and you cannot reduce energy intensity by raising emissions and lowering energy consumption.''

Read More......

Troubled mortgage lender fires 12,000

Just a bit of "froth" as Mr Greenspan might say, huh? The jobs report from Friday which announced an August payroll drop of 4,000 was only part of the problem.

In addition to the August job losses, the Labor Department revised down its estimates for hiring in June and July by a total of 81,000. It said 68,000 jobs were added in July rather than 92,000 and 69,000 in June instead of 126,000.

The Bush administration must be trying to set a record for one of the most miserable jobs growth records in modern history because month after month, year after year the story is always the same. With about 150,000 new job seekers coming into the market every month, try counting how many months we have witnessed jobs growth at or above that number and then try counting how many times Bush and his GOP Congress managed to pass 200,000 new jobs in a month. Well, at least America's CEO's have been setting record highs and are resting well at night. Read More......

It's a matter of years before most polar bears are dead

Here's something to chew on over night. In less than 50 years, 43 actually, most polar bears will be wiped out. Gone:

Two-thirds of the world’s polar bears will disappear by 2050, even under moderate projections for shrinking summer sea ice caused by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, government scientists reported on Friday.

The finding is part of a yearlong review of the effects of climate and ice changes on polar bears to help determine whether they should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. Scientists estimate the current polar bear population at 22,000.

The report, which the United States Geological Survey released here, offers stark prospects for polar bears as the world grows warmer.

That's some legacy for Bush, Cheney and the GOP. They must be very proud of this accomplishment.

One of the first posts I ever wrote on AMERICAblog, back in November of 2004, was about the polar bears going extinct. Three years later, nothing has changed. Read More......