Wayne Besen - Daily Commentary
Monday, April 03, 2006
By Chris Lamparello
In a speech given at the University of Freiburg in Switzerland, Judge Antonin Scalia said, "It's absolutely clear that nobody ever thought when the Bill of Rights was adopted that it gave a right to homosexual conduct. Homosexual conduct was criminal for 200 years in every state. Easy question."
The judge is right that it's an easy question, but his insight ends there. Yes, "sodomy" was illegal when the constitution was written. But there's a glaring difference between then and now: sexual orientation was an unknown thing back then. Everyone was thought to be heterosexual.
Fast forward 200 years. (Yep, over 200 years has passed, Judge.) We now know that people who fall in love with members of their own sex exist as a class. This changes the entire debate, and dramatically so! But some people, Judge Scalia among them, don't want to acknowledge this change. The idea that the principles behind the constitution are as worthwhile as the constitution itself are lost on him.
In the Lawrence v. Texas case (why do these things always happen in Texas?) the police, with their flashlights blazing, went into the bedroom of a gay male couple. They ordered the men out of bed, told them to get dressed, handcuffed them and took them to jail.
That's what Judge Scalia's vision of America is. Is it any wonder that even George W. Bush passed him over for the job of Chief Justice? I shudder when I imagine the possibility that Scalia could have been born 50 years earlier. What would he have thought about segregation, for example? After all, 200 years ago, blacks were considered property, and in every state, too!
Judge Scalia took the unusual step of reading his Lawrence dissent from the bench. One of the more interesting things he said was that he "had nothing against homosexuals." I'm glad he cleared that one up. As for me, when it comes to homophobia, I know it when I see it.
12 Comments:
I love how conservatives always talk about taking our country back to 1789. Let us do that for a moment, shall we? 1789: not everyone could vote - only rich, white men. 1789: African slavery legal (and prosperous) 1789: no infrastructure 1789: America loosely united 1789: western border at the Mississippi River 1789: the laughingstock of Europe 1789: unsophisticated military The list goes on and on. Our country has grown and evolved over the years, which is why the founders left the Bill of Rights in some vague terms - the Constitution, as a living document, is up to interpretation. It grows and changes. Justice Scalia should have learned this in Law 101.
posted by Matthew , at
4/04/2006 7:38 PM
runescape money runescape gold runescape gold runescape money buy runescape gold buy runescape money runescape money runescape gold wow power leveling wow powerleveling Warcraft Power Leveling Warcraft PowerLeveling buy runescape gold buy runescape money runescape items runescape accounts runescape gp dofus kamas buy dofus kamas Guild Wars Gold buy Guild Wars Gold lotro gold buy lotro gold lotro gold buy lotro gold lotro gold buy lotro gold runescape money runescape power leveling runescape money runescape gold dofus kamas cheap runescape money cheap runescape gold Hellgate Palladium Hellgate London Palladium Hellgate money Tabula Rasa gold tabula rasa money Tabula Rasa Credit Tabula Rasa Credits Hellgate gold Hellgate London gold wow power leveling wow powerleveling Warcraft PowerLeveling Warcraft Power Leveling World of Warcraft PowerLeveling World of Warcraft Power Leveling runescape power leveling runescape powerleveling eve isk eve online isk eve isk eve online isk tibia gold Fiesta Silver Fiesta Gold SilkRoad Gold buy SilkRoad Gold runescape accounts buy runescape accounts rs2 accounts buy rs2 accounts runescape power leveling rs2 power leveling FFXI Gil buy FFXI Gil gaia gold buy gaia gold buy dofus kamas buy dofus kamas dofus kamas
posted by , at
3/13/2008 11:41 PM
wow gold cheap wow gold buy wow gold world of warcraft gold wow world of warcraft wow gold WoW Warrior WoW Hunter WoW Rogue WoW Paladin WoW Shaman WoW Priest WoW Mage WoW Druid WoW Warlock power leveling powerleveling wow power leveling wow powerleveling wow guides wow tips google排名 google左侧排名 google排名服务 百度推广 百度排名 网站推广 商业吧 机床 LED灯 电池 塑料 摄像机 移民 甲醇 染料 福州热线 体育博客 股票博客 游戏博客 魔兽博客 考试博客 汽车博客 房产博客 电脑博客 powerlin518 logo design website design web design 商标设计
posted by , at
3/18/2008 9:59 PM
wow gold cheap wow gold buy wow gold world of warcraft gold wow world of warcraft wow gold WoW Warrior WoW Hunter WoW Rogue WoW Paladin WoW Shaman WoW Priest WoW Mage WoW Druid WoW Warlock power leveling powerleveling wow power leveling wow powerleveling wow guides wow tips google排名 google左侧排名 google排名服务 百度推广 百度排名 网站推广 商业吧 机床 LED灯 电池 塑料 摄像机 移民 甲醇 染料 福州热线 体育博客 股票博客 游戏博客 魔兽博客 考试博客 汽车博客 房产博客 电脑博客 powerlin518 logo design website design web design 商标设计
posted by , at
3/19/2008 9:35 AM
提供升降机 产品,包括升降机服务,众多的升降机信息、升降机咨询,尽在升降机网,提供塑料托盘 产品,包括塑料托盘服务,众多的塑料托盘信息、塑料托盘咨询,尽在塑料托盘网,提供仓储笼 产品,包括仓储笼服务,众多的仓储笼信息、仓储笼咨询,尽在仓储笼网,提供货架 产品,包括货架服务,众多的货架信息、货架咨询,尽在货架网,提供文件柜 产品,包括文件柜服务,众多的文件柜信息、文件柜咨询,尽在文件柜网,提供垃圾桶 产品,包括垃圾桶服务,众多的垃圾桶信息、垃圾桶咨询,尽在垃圾桶网,提供工作台 产品,包括工作台服务,众多的工作台信息、工作台咨询,尽在工作台网。
posted by SEO , at
3/31/2008 5:54 AM
提供升降机 产品,包括升降机服务,众多的升降机信息、升降机咨询,尽在升降机网,提供塑料托盘 产品,包括塑料托盘服务,众多的塑料托盘信息、塑料托盘咨询,尽在塑料托盘网,提供仓储笼 产品,包括仓储笼服务,众多的仓储笼信息、仓储笼咨询,尽在仓储笼网,提供货架 产品,包括货架服务,众多的货架信息、货架咨询,尽在货架网,提供文件柜 产品,包括文件柜服务,众多的文件柜信息、文件柜咨询,尽在文件柜网,提供垃圾桶 产品,包括垃圾桶服务,众多的垃圾桶信息、垃圾桶咨询,尽在垃圾桶网,提供工作台 产品,包括工作台服务,众多的工作台信息、工作台咨询,尽在工作台网。
posted by SEO , at
3/31/2008 5:54 AM
i coming from Singapore,To a person 團體制服 here. I was an excellent credit咖啡 staff.Many well-known in the credit 徵信社 company to work, and excellent credit 徵信 performance. I love this job;I work brought endless fun.I hope that the formal減肥 I appreciated the boss .I hope to continue to work in the credit徵信 . I work seriously,Peaceful coexistence with colleagues.The company has no particular request, 徵信社 I can only hope that the wisdom I 燈光音響 play.
posted by , at
5/20/2008 4:34 AM
dg20mh gtk06ywow gold wow gold wow gold 美国签证 全教振 中高年 転職 大智慧 股票软件 股票软件 进口轴承 NSK轴承 TIMKEN轴承 法国签证 炒股软件 水洗厂 全教振 炒股软件 大智慧 深圳网页制作 深圳网页制作 进口轴承 NSK轴承 干洗设备 朗阁培训 英国签证 中高年 転職 FX 黑马股 毛穴 黒ずみ TIMKEN轴承 出会い系 コスメ wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold wow gold
posted by , at
6/20/2008 4:57 AM
shanghai hotel guangzhou hotel shenzhen hotel beijing hotel china hotel guangzhou hotel 回转支承 转盘轴承 slewing ring slewing bearing slewing bearings 中国自动化
posted by 北京现代 , at
8/03/2008 10:46 PM
フローリング データ復旧 横浜 賃貸 害虫駆除 発電 医師 求人 医師 転職 ウエディング オーク 投資 お取り寄せグルメ RMT データ復旧 データ復旧 テレマーケティング 株式投資 ショッピング枠 現金化 復旧 釣り 釣具 結婚指輪 結婚式 演出 介護 看護師 バイアグラ 横浜中華街 会社設立 データ復元 ウィークリーマンション 転職 パソコン自作 アフィリエイト ブログアフィリエイト 多重債務
posted by , at
8/20/2008 3:37 AM
Hammer Storage, a division of Bell Microproducts, has released a new line of network storage devices based on Zetera’s Z-SAN SoIP (Storage-over-IP) technology. The storage devices are 4-bay configurations, which are available as either desktop (Z-Box Model HZD4B) or 1U rackmount (Z-Rack Model HZR1U) enclosures. Targeted at the small to medium-sized business storage market, the Z-Series line offers an economical approach to SAN storage. IP is the only storage fabric used, eliminating the requirement for host bus adapters, TCP offload engines, dedicated switches, and RAID controllers. wow gold world of warcraft gold buy wow gold cheap wow gold wow power leveling wow powerleveling wow gold world of warcraft gold buy wow gold cheap wow gold wow power leveling wow powerleveling wow gold world of warcraft gold buy wow gold cheap wow gold wow power leveling wow powerleveling The Z-SAN architecture affords solution providers an inexpensive, fast, scalable storage alternative. The rackmount version is particularly well-suited for use with Exchange, SQL, backup, video surveillance, video production, and medical imaging applications. ffxi gil final fantasy xi gil maple story mesos maplestory mesos maplestory meso lotro gold lotr gold lord of the ring gold ffxi gil final fantasy xi gil maple story mesos maplestory mesos maplestory meso The desktop configuration lends itself to backup, shared storage, and Web server apps. Administrators can typically install a Hammer device in about 20 minutes. The Z-Series devices appear as local drives, enabling them to be easily mounted on a backup server or serve as a backup source or target devices.lotro gold lotr gold lord of the ring gold lotro gold lotr gold lord of the ring gold maple story mesos maplestory mesos maplestory meso ffxi gil final fantasy xi gil runescape gold runescape money The configurations can be tuned to expand volume sizes and aggregate over a common switch. The SoIP Z-Series supports file- and volume-sharing and block-level applications on a single device. Volumes and RAID constructs can be built from devices in different physical locations.runescape gold runescape money runescape gold runescape money silkroad gold buy silkroad gold silkroad gold buy silkroad gold city of villains infamy cov infamy wow leveling Private volumes are hidden from view by other clients on the network. Both versions use up to four SATA I or SATA II drives to provide 1TB, 1.6TB, and 2TB configurations, which can scale to 128PB per volume across enclosures (subject to OS restrictions). wow gold dofus kamas kamas dofus dofus kamas kamas dofus dofus kamas kamas dofus age of conan gold aoc power leveling age of conan power leveling aoc leveling age of conan gold age of conan gold age of conan gold age of conan gold age of conan gold age of conan gold Performance of over 10GBps can be achieved across multiple enclosures. Data transfers of up to 80MBps are possible, and both configurations come equipped with a 1GB Ethernet interface. The current release is compatible with Windows 2000/XP/2003. Both configurations are compatible with any IP network and come with a one-year warranty.tibia money vanguard gold wow gold wow power leveling wow powerleveling wow gold wow power leveling wow powerleveling age of conan gold aoc power leveling age of conan power leveling aoc leveling age of conan gold aoc power leveling age of conan power leveling aoc leveling A 9TB version is forthcoming later this year, and Linux support and RAID constructs 0, 1, 0+1, and 10 will be available soon, the company says. While the Iomega 400R Series , the IBM TotalStorage DS300 , age of conan gold aoc gold aoc power leveling age of conan power leveling aoc leveling age conan gold age conan gold age conan gold buy ffxi gil buy ffxi gil buy ffxi gil the Dell/EMC AX100 , and the Snap Server 4200/4500 all offer competitive alternatives, the Hammer Z-Series product line is a simple, economical, scalable, high-performing leader.
posted by , at
8/21/2008 5:00 AM
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Banks in the United States kept tightening lending standards and terms for both business and consumer loans over the past three months out of concern about a weakening economic outlook, according to a Federal Reserve survey issued on Monday. ADVERTISEMENTThe April survey of senior loan officers at 56 domestic banks and 21 U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks also underlined that demand for loans from businesses and consumers was weaker -- though not as markedly as in January."Substantial majorities of domestic and foreign respondents pointed to a less favorable or more uncertain economic outlook and to a worsening of industry-specific problems as reasons for tightening their lending standards on C&I (commercial and industrial) loans over the past three months," the Fed said.Harm Bandholz, an economist with UniCredit Markets, said the Fed findings implied that a broad-based credit crisis "has spilled over to the real economy and will continue to weigh on investment and consumer spending for some time."diablo 2 cd key diablo 2 cd key diablo 2 cd key wow gold wow gold wow gold world of warcraft gold world of warcraft gold world of warcraft gold buy wow gold buy wow gold buy wow gold cheap wow gold cheap wow gold cheap wow gold wow power leveling wow power leveling wow power leveling wow powerleveling wow powerleveling wow powerleveling maple story mesos maplestory mesos maple story meso 2moons dil 2moons gold age of conan gold aoc gold aoc power leveling age of conan power leveling aoc leveling aion gold buy aion gold aoc gold aoc power leveling aoc leveling aoc gold aoc power leveling aoc leveling aoc gold aoc power leveling aoc leveling That will be accentuated by declining job opportunities, Bandholz suggested. Jobs have been lost in each of the first four months of 2008, according to government statistics.Fed policy-makers may have had the outlines of the loan officers' report when they decided last week to reduce official interest rates another quarter percentage point. At the time, anarchy online credits anarchy online credit archlord gold buy archlord gold city of heroes influence coh influence city of villains infamy cov infamy eve isk eve online isk the Fed hinted it might halt its rate-cutting campaign while it assesses whether the 3.25 percentage points by which it has lowered benchmark U.S. rates since September will spur growth.The loan survey shows the tight lending continues to be a problem for the U.S. economy,flyff penya buy flyff gold flyff money gaia online gold gaia gold ge money granado espada vis granado espada gold guild wars gold gw gold hellgate london palladium hero online gold last chaos gold pirates of the burning sea gold potbs doubloon ragnarok zeny ro zeny rappelz rupee rappelz gold rf online gold scions of fate gold second life linden second life money which has grown at only a 0.6 percent rate during each of the last two quarters due to the drag from a deep housing crisis."About 35 percent of domestic banks and 45 percent of foreign institutions -- somewhat larger fractions than in the January survey -- noted that concerns about their banks' current or expected capital position had contributed to more stringent lending policies over the last three months," the Fed said. PUMP PRIMINGThe Fed -- the U.S. star wars galaxies swg credits the sun online the sun online gold sword of the new world vis sword of the new world gold tabula rasa credit tabula rasa credits tales of pirates gold vanguard money buy vanguard gold voyage century gold warhammer gold 2moons dil 2moons gold central bank -- and its counterparts in major industrial economies around the world have taken measures to pump liquidity into the banking system while policy-makers have urged financial institutions to keep aion gold buy aion gold anarchy online credits anarchy online credit archlord gold buy archlord gold The survey shows banks are still lending but they are charging more, which to some extent thwarts the Fed's purpose in cutting rates and pumping money into the banking system."About 70 percent of banks -- up from 45 percent in the January survey -- indicated that they had increased spreads of loan rates over their cost of funds," city of heroes influence coh influence eve isk eve online isk flyff penya buy flyff gold flyff money gaia online gold gaia gold ge money granado espada vis granado espada gold guild wars gold gw gold the Fed said.Reduced lending potentially worsens any deceleration in the broader economy because it restricts credit that businesses need for investment in such things as new equipment, and that consumers need for purchases such as new homes.The survey cited, hellgate london palladium hero online gold last chaos gold pirates of the burning sea gold potbs doubloon ragnarok zeny ro zeny rappelz rupee rappelz gold rf online gold scions of fate gold second life linden second life money silkroad gold buy silkroad gold as a reason for reduced loan demand, less need on the part of banks' customers to finance investment in plant and equipment or to carry inventories."star wars galaxies credits swg credits the sun online the sun online gold sword of the new world vis sword of the new world gold tabula rasa credit tabula rasa credits tales of pirates gold vanguard money buy vanguard gold voyage century gold warhammer gold All foreign respondents noted a decrease in customers' needs for merger and acquisition spending," the Fed said.Some 80 percent of U.S. banks and 55 percent of foreign banks -- about the same proportions as in January -- said they were imposing tougher standards for making commercial real estate loans than they had been in the prior three months.2moons dil 2moons gold anarchy online credits anarchy online credit archlord gold buy archlord gold city of heroes influence coh influence city of villains infamy cov infamy eve isk eve online isk COSTS AND TERMS UPA majority of banks were also toughening standards for not only prime mortgage loans but also for nontraditional and subprime residential mortgages. Some 65 percent said that there was less demand for subprime loans, flyff penya buy flyff gold flyff money gaia online gold gaia gold ge money granado espada vis granado espada gold guild wars gold gw gold hellgate london palladium hero online gold the type made most frequently to borrowers with spotty credit records. One reason that banks cited for becoming wary about lending was concern about their current or expected capital position, a sign that they are worried about their loan portfolios.last chaos gold pirates of the burning sea gold potbs doubloon ragnarok zeny ro zeny rappelz rupee rappelz gold scions of fate gold second life linden second life money star wars galaxies credits swg credits sword of the new world vis sword of the new world gold With the U.S. housing sector still in steep decline, lenders are bracing for a rising wave of foreclosures that is expected to top two million homes this year and for an inevitable increase in loans that go bad. Notably, the survey found that 70 percent of U.S. banks had stiffened their lending standards for approving applications for home equity lines of credit since January.tabula rasa credit tabula rasa credits tales of pirates gold vanguard money buy vanguard gold voyage century gold Fifty percent of banks said that for customers who already had lines of credit, ffxi gil mmorpg online games wow leveling they had tightened terms because the value of the collateral securing them -- the homes on which credit lines were issued -- had declined significantly below appraised values.
posted by , at
8/21/2008 5:00 AM
<< Home
Archives
January 16, 2005
January 23, 2005
January 30, 2005
February 06, 2005
February 13, 2005
February 20, 2005
February 27, 2005
March 06, 2005
March 13, 2005
March 20, 2005
March 27, 2005
April 03, 2005
April 10, 2005
April 17, 2005
April 24, 2005
May 01, 2005
May 08, 2005
May 15, 2005
May 22, 2005
May 29, 2005
June 05, 2005
June 12, 2005
June 19, 2005
June 26, 2005
July 03, 2005
July 10, 2005
July 17, 2005
July 24, 2005
July 31, 2005
August 07, 2005
August 14, 2005
August 21, 2005
August 28, 2005
September 04, 2005
September 11, 2005
September 18, 2005
September 25, 2005
October 02, 2005
October 09, 2005
October 16, 2005
October 23, 2005
October 30, 2005
November 06, 2005
November 13, 2005
November 20, 2005
November 27, 2005
December 04, 2005
December 11, 2005
December 18, 2005
December 25, 2005
January 01, 2006
January 08, 2006
January 15, 2006
January 22, 2006
January 29, 2006
February 05, 2006
February 12, 2006
February 19, 2006
February 26, 2006
March 05, 2006
March 12, 2006
March 19, 2006
March 26, 2006
April 02, 2006
April 09, 2006
April 16, 2006
April 23, 2006
April 30, 2006
May 07, 2006
May 14, 2006
May 21, 2006
May 28, 2006
June 04, 2006
June 11, 2006
June 18, 2006
June 25, 2006
July 02, 2006
July 09, 2006
July 16, 2006
July 23, 2006
July 30, 2006
August 06, 2006
August 13, 2006
August 20, 2006
August 27, 2006
September 03, 2006
September 10, 2006
September 17, 2006
September 24, 2006
October 01, 2006
October 08, 2006
October 15, 2006
October 22, 2006
October 29, 2006
November 05, 2006
November 12, 2006
November 19, 2006
November 26, 2006
December 03, 2006
December 10, 2006
December 17, 2006
December 31, 2006
January 07, 2007
January 14, 2007
January 21, 2007
January 28, 2007
February 04, 2007
February 11, 2007
February 18, 2007
February 25, 2007
March 04, 2007
March 11, 2007
March 18, 2007
March 25, 2007
April 01, 2007
April 08, 2007
April 15, 2007
April 22, 2007
April 29, 2007
May 06, 2007
May 13, 2007
May 20, 2007
May 27, 2007
June 03, 2007
June 10, 2007
June 17, 2007
June 24, 2007
July 01, 2007
July 08, 2007
July 15, 2007
July 22, 2007
July 29, 2007
August 05, 2007
August 12, 2007
August 19, 2007
August 26, 2007
September 02, 2007
September 09, 2007
September 16, 2007
September 23, 2007
September 30, 2007
October 07, 2007
October 14, 2007
October 21, 2007
October 28, 2007
November 04, 2007
November 11, 2007
November 18, 2007
November 25, 2007
December 02, 2007
December 09, 2007
December 16, 2007
December 23, 2007
December 30, 2007
January 06, 2008
January 13, 2008
January 20, 2008
January 27, 2008
February 03, 2008
February 10, 2008
February 17, 2008
February 24, 2008
March 02, 2008
March 09, 2008
March 16, 2008
March 23, 2008
March 30, 2008
April 06, 2008
April 13, 2008
April 20, 2008
April 27, 2008
May 04, 2008
May 11, 2008
May 18, 2008
May 25, 2008
June 01, 2008
June 08, 2008
June 15, 2008
June 22, 2008
June 29, 2008
July 06, 2008
July 13, 2008
July 20, 2008
July 27, 2008
August 03, 2008
August 10, 2008
August 17, 2008
August 24, 2008
August 31, 2008
September 07, 2008
September 14, 2008
September 21, 2008
September 28, 2008
Daily Commentary
RSS Feed: