Today , (unannounced) presidential contender Newt Gingrich comments on Iowa's Supremes allowing gay marriage in the state:
"It's the height of judicial arrogance," Gingrich said. "You have seven lawyers who have decided, on their own, to fundamentally change Iowa."
He didn't use the traditional "activist judges" meme, but the next best thing.
But, being the arrogant ass that he is, and never having attended law school, Newt had the sheer audacity to say this:
Gingrich said he sees the beginning of a "major movement" to bring the judicial branch into check in the wake of last Friday's Iowa Supreme Court decision. The ruling said a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman violates the constitutional rights of equal protection.
So here's the deal according to Newt: The only people that get equal protection are those that have it. The door is closed, no need to apply.
Apparently, judges in this country are not allowed to follow constitutional law or thinking. They MUST follow theocratic lines of thinking, especially those of a Baptist recently converted to Roman Catholicism which is odd given his affairs and three marriages.
From the rather conservative US News and World Report, read here.
So screw you Newt (but not your little dog, too).
You'll be reading a lot about Newt here in the future given I think he may turn out to be the GOP pick and is most certainly positioning himself to be just that.
Desmoinesdem over at Daily Kos does an excellent job of covering Iowa state's litigation on same sex marriage in this piece, Recap and analysis of Iowa Supreme Court's gay marriage hearing. I highly recommend it.
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Then read this very sweet and powerful diary of a child of assumed het parents that divorced, raised by a loving lesbian couple. VERY powerful. Very wonderful.
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Big week for two of my lovely minions.
Hank, the dobie/hound mix, is leaving for his new home Thursday, and today is the first day he has had his cone off... so he got smothered in fun toys (they can't play with toys with a cone on because they can't hold the toys between their feet!).
He's all worn out now after having a super fun time.
And he has a whole 'nother pile of toys to take with him he hasn't even tested yet. What a lucky dog!
And by lucky I mean lucky. His adoptive parents have a therapy dog already and Hank is already signed up for classes to do the same thing. This, after being on the death list at the shelter is quite a change.
Little wee Timmi, the kitten of a homeless man living in a container, is now fully vetted and spayed and healthy and is getting transported *by a volunteer* to a rescue I foster for that will be taking her in to place. Lucky girl. I wish they all had such a chance. What a lucky kitten.
This kitten is going to a Persian Breed rescue... and note, she is hardly a Persian! More like a DLH tiger or at best a Maine Coon Mix.
I thank God every single day that there are people to help these animals from the Samaritan that picks them up out of the gutter to those that help them through their health needs (in sickness and in health), the wonderful veterinarians that have low cost spay and neuter clinics (believe me, this isn't just about money, some really do care!), and those that are willing to haul them from one location--sometimes hundreds of miles or perhaps a series of people collectively taking them thousands of miles--to their rescue or perhaps their furrever home.
ANYONE that says animal rescue work doesn't take a village hasn't done it!
There are two things I am pretty sure apply to life in the U.S.: First, there are two sets of laws, one for rich and one for poor. If you fall into the latter category, God help you. Second, the saying 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall' is fanciful bunk. They may fall over temporarily, but big-wig politicos are resurrected by other big-wig politicos and helped into new lives. Scooter Libby and Oliver North are two that come to mind.
Take Carl Rove, considered President Bush's top advisor, for instance. Rove resigned last August. He's rich and powerful (so apply a different set of laws), and the monolith of a man just doesn't crumble let alone fall.
Despite the subpoena issued to him to testify before Congress on July 10, Rove refused to appear invoking a protection twisted to the breaking point in doing so. In essence, Rove has given congress a single-digit salute.
Like Rove, former White House counsel Harriet Miers, and former Chief of Staff Josh Bolton have also refused to testify when subpoenaed. Both their cases are currently in federal court. The House has voted to hold Miers and Bolton in contempt. Let us hope Rove is added to the House contempt list.
Others, however, have contended that Rove should be jailed. Four such people, one a retired Methodist minister and three Catholic Workers, attempted to make a citizens arrest on Rove today where he was speaking at a Des Moines, Iowa GOP fund-raiser. Instead, the four were, themselves, hauled off to the clink. The four cited Rove's refusal to testify before Congress, his involvement in manufacturing evidence to promote the Iraq war, and the outing of CIA operative Valerie Plame as reasons for their act of conscience.
If you love Bush, you probably love McCain. Or McSame as many are now calling him. More and more, Bush staff are becoming McCain advisers, including Rove.
God help the world if "Bush's Brain", a term applied to Rove, ends up in the White House as an adviser again. We are cracking and falling apart after eight years of Rove's thinking. An irony, indeed, that he's not.
Big week for two of my lovely minions.
Little wee Timmi, the kitten of a homeless man living in a container, is now fully vetted and spayed and healthy and is getting transported *by a volunteer* to a rescue I foster for that will be taking her in to place. Lucky girl. I wish they all had such a chance. What a lucky kitten. 
photo: sendrovetojail.com
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