Ayup. Mind you, the couples who brought the suit are being very politic about this. They're saying they're pleased that the appeals court is expediting arguments, so that the arguments will be heard in a lightning fast four months or so.
These people are saints, by necessity if nothing else.
You're right. It's just so damned maddening. And I have read far too many comments from people who blather on (yes, I used the term "blather") about how the evil court system is contravening the will of the people, without remembering that we are a) a system of law, and that laws are interpreted by the judiciary and that we are a representative democracy - a republic - that doesn't by any stretch of the imagination mandate rule by plebicite.
I have at least one friend who has voiced a few of these comments. I no longer engage with the friend on this issue because the comments now appear rather trollish.
The election is at that point where the two main parties are slagging each other off, just to generate newsworthy sound bites. It's ugly and undignified, so I vote early and then try to avoid all the papers and the TV. I don't know how you guys in the US manage - I can barely stand six weeks of this, let alone months and months and months.
(*ponders* To slag off means to be verbally vicious to another person. Just in case that's Aussie vernacular. I'm not sure I've ever heard it outside of Australia.)
Thanks for the information. I'm a political junkie and a reporter, so the length of time doesn't seem odd to me. And don't worry, the term "slag off" is definitely a familiar one.
~wanders in from a local area~ We don't find we have a problem with this, because we don't have a telly, don't get newspapers, don't listen to the radio and generally avoid any and all online news. For actual useful info, we keep a few reasonably trustworthy friends who are sufficiently into politics to give us the relevant updates :P
I have no idea how my other half intends to vote, but we both feel vaguely sorry for Gillard. Not that that's a good reason to vote for her party. Meh.
As for 'slag off', AFAIK it's a general Commonwealth expression. At least the European part. I'm originally from the UK and I've known and used it for many years!
"Slag off" does tend to be more Commonwealth oriented, now that I think of it, but it's at least common enough in the US not to reap confusion or rolled eyes when used.
I think that I could ultimately voluntarily do without television news. I don't think I could do without radio news (or radio at all, come to that), and I'd hate to do without newspapers.
Nicely put together, indeed. Some of the research could have been done a little more carefully (and of course some commenters who caught some apparent weaknesses in the writer's research were quick to throw the baby out with the bathwater, which is why one should always triple-check one's research), but the overall logic is unassailable.
Ah well, in fairness on the fact-checking front, it's bloggage rather than journalism :-) But it's - as I said - well assembled. We might know all or nearly all of the historical bits there, but as both blogger and many commenters point out, most people (in particular, the Americans who are presumably his primary target readership) don't. And it's presented in a fairly non-threatening manner, so some of it might even get through to some readers. We can but hope!
(People throw birdseed at weddings? What, haven't they heard of confetti?)
If I asked why you have an icon of a Corgi standing in a transparent suitcase lid full of water, would your answer make any sense to me? :D
The blogger did a good job, and you're right; there are far too many people out there who understand that marriage absolutely must be taken into historical and cultural context when considering marriage-related issues. The tone was far less screechy than I would have been, I can tell you!
I'll give you an answer on the Corgi, and perhaps it'll make sense. It's a still from the classic anime series Cowboy Bebop, developed in the mid-90s, but still one of the top 5 or 10 anime series out there, in terms of visual inventiveness, sophisticated story line and characterization. To say that it still holds up at this point in anime history is amazing, given that anime animation has progressed unbelievably far in 12 years. That's like 12 decades in other fields.
The story of a trio of bounty hunters - "cowboys" - living and working on the bounty ship "Bebop" in a future where Mars and a number of Saturn's and Jupiter's moons and the asteroid belt are colonized, is multi-faceted. It's funny as hell, thrilling, a little romantic, and, ultimately, a triumphant tragedy (think John Woo or the better Japanese gangster noir flicks of the 1960s). One of the characters is Ein, a genetically modified Corgi, who's a lot smarter than you might think. Since I love Corgis with a passion (they're probably the only pedigreed dog I'd ever own), and since I love Cowboy Bebop and Ein, when I ran into an icon featuring Ein, I couldn't resist. This was the first time I took it out for a spin.
Aha. And thank you for taking the time to explain (I find the concept of 'tl;dr' horrifying - not so much for the sentiment expressed as for the sad reality that it's primarily used by the sorts of people who bash through their little lives ignoring anything larger than an Idiocracy-tailored soundbite, grrrr). It's more than I need to know about that particular anime or ANY anime[1], but I owe a certain debt of gratitude to the Bebop series because it gives income to the Seatbelts, and I love the Seatbelts to itty bitty bits :-)
I also love Corgis. Corgis are win. Even the crochety ones!
[1] This is non-negotiable, so don't try. My lifelong hatred of animated cartoons and cartoon films includes everything from Bambi to One Piece and beyond. Death to Bugs Bunny. Death to Sailor Moon. Hot!leaden!death! to Pixar and Dreamworks and James used-to-be-awesome-but-I-think-he-needs-to-change-his-meds-now Cameron's Na'vi. I think you get the picture... :P
Sorry, I just don't take it the same way. We know the fight is far from over, and we know that the resistance is intransigent. The intensity and thoroughness of Judge Walker's decision was a wonderful surprise. A genuine strict constructionist! Of course it will be fought on for a while, but an overturn would have to explain just what was wrong with the original decision. That would be a challenge, and certainly could be counter-challenged. There's just no getting around the fact that this shit takes time, and only progresses lurchingly.
You're right. Walker's decision is a remarkable thing of beauty, and I'm reasonably sure it will resist reversal because of the care he exercised in formulating it. I believe you're also right that all progress goes lurchingly.
But it still frustrates me. And all I can think of is how I'd feel if I wanted to marry BB, and was told I couldn't, because cultural mores were deforming the laws that allowed me to, and that I should be more patient, just a little more time .... I imagine black Americans had to bite their tongues every time they heard the same thing, even when they knew it was true. Because, while true, it wasn't fair, and they too often heard it from people who spoke from a position of not ever having to sit in the back of the bus, except by choice.
My limited legal understanding of this stage of the process is that the Pro-H8ers have to demonstrate why they should be able to appeal Walker's ruling when the California governor and AG are taking a pass on it. If they can't --beyond saying "nanny nanny boo boo, teh gays are magically hurting us with their rainbow marriage... something..."-- I think it won't progress to the Supremes.
I expect the Pro-H8ers to blather (a perfectly good word) about God, tradition and mawwiage while the same-sex marriage proponents talk about the proper functioning of the appellate process, to wit: the majority just can't use, "Because we don't like it!" as a basis for fucking with the Constitution, CA state or US federal.
(thank you, first!) Many unpleasant and/or unhappy things can be said, mostly true, but it cannot be said that the response to the decision is a surprise. That strongly limits the excitement I can rouse. Yes, I sympathize with the victims, but few are suffering lasting damage, and we still expect the positive outcome.
Ultimately you're right. The problem is that one of my buttons is expecting the worst in a situation, or expecting something that I interpret as a negative outcome, hoping for better, but having the negative outcome happen as sure as gravity. It's a case of "I knew this was going to happen, and it's stupid and useless, and why does the universe/people/particular issues persist in living down to my expectations? GRRRRRRR!"
So ... I need to resist the urge to respond to the button pushing. Until I can completely do it, though, I'm glad I have this forum in which to vent steam.
angry
Comments
*icon refers to federal court judges*
Edited at 2010-08-17 12:36 am (UTC)
Yeah, figured that's what the icon was for. Also, CJ love!
Edited at 2010-08-17 12:40 am (UTC)
DX
These people are saints, by necessity if nothing else.
I have at least one friend who has voiced a few of these comments. I no longer engage with the friend on this issue because the comments now appear rather trollish.
(PS; what's this about an Australian election slag-off? It sounds rather toxic.)
(*ponders* To slag off means to be verbally vicious to another person. Just in case that's Aussie vernacular. I'm not sure I've ever heard it outside of Australia.)
OOOOoooo! Platypus!
I have no idea how my other half intends to vote, but we both feel vaguely sorry for Gillard. Not that that's a good reason to vote for her party. Meh.
As for 'slag off', AFAIK it's a general Commonwealth expression. At least the European part. I'm originally from the UK and I've known and used it for many years!
I think that I could ultimately voluntarily do without television news. I don't think I could do without radio news (or radio at all, come to that), and I'd hate to do without newspapers.
Says the newspaper reporter.
Edited at 2010-08-17 03:21 pm (UTC)
Luckily for me, the writing I occasionally do is limited to pop-culture op-ed. No hard news needed!
http://archielevine.blogspot.com/2008/11/traditional-marriage-perverts-tradition.html
(People throw birdseed at weddings? What, haven't they heard of confetti?)
If I asked why you have an icon of a Corgi standing in a transparent suitcase lid full of water, would your answer make any sense to me? :D
I'll give you an answer on the Corgi, and perhaps it'll make sense. It's a still from the classic anime series Cowboy Bebop, developed in the mid-90s, but still one of the top 5 or 10 anime series out there, in terms of visual inventiveness, sophisticated story line and characterization. To say that it still holds up at this point in anime history is amazing, given that anime animation has progressed unbelievably far in 12 years. That's like 12 decades in other fields.
The story of a trio of bounty hunters - "cowboys" - living and working on the bounty ship "Bebop" in a future where Mars and a number of Saturn's and Jupiter's moons and the asteroid belt are colonized, is multi-faceted. It's funny as hell, thrilling, a little romantic, and, ultimately, a triumphant tragedy (think John Woo or the better Japanese gangster noir flicks of the 1960s). One of the characters is Ein, a genetically modified Corgi, who's a lot smarter than you might think. Since I love Corgis with a passion (they're probably the only pedigreed dog I'd ever own), and since I love Cowboy Bebop and Ein, when I ran into an icon featuring Ein, I couldn't resist. This was the first time I took it out for a spin.
tl;dr there ya go!
Edited at 2010-08-19 05:11 pm (UTC)
I also love Corgis. Corgis are win. Even the crochety ones!
[1] This is non-negotiable, so don't try. My lifelong hatred of animated cartoons and cartoon films includes everything from Bambi to One Piece and beyond. Death to Bugs Bunny. Death to Sailor Moon. Hot!leaden!death! to Pixar and Dreamworks and James used-to-be-awesome-but-I-think-he-needs-t
The intensity and thoroughness of Judge Walker's decision was a wonderful surprise. A genuine strict constructionist! Of course it will be fought on for a while, but an overturn would have to explain just what was wrong with the original decision. That would be a challenge, and certainly could be counter-challenged.
There's just no getting around the fact that this shit takes time, and only progresses lurchingly.
But it still frustrates me. And all I can think of is how I'd feel if I wanted to marry BB, and was told I couldn't, because cultural mores were deforming the laws that allowed me to, and that I should be more patient, just a little more time .... I imagine black Americans had to bite their tongues every time they heard the same thing, even when they knew it was true. Because, while true, it wasn't fair, and they too often heard it from people who spoke from a position of not ever having to sit in the back of the bus, except by choice.
I expect the Pro-H8ers to blather (a perfectly good word) about God, tradition and mawwiage while the same-sex marriage proponents talk about the proper functioning of the appellate process, to wit: the majority just can't use, "Because we don't like it!" as a basis for fucking with the Constitution, CA state or US federal.
Many unpleasant and/or unhappy things can be said, mostly true, but it cannot be said that the response to the decision is a surprise. That strongly limits the excitement I can rouse. Yes, I sympathize with the victims, but few are suffering lasting damage, and we still expect the positive outcome.
So ... I need to resist the urge to respond to the button pushing. Until I can completely do it, though, I'm glad I have this forum in which to vent steam.