Let’s compare headlines from around the Web:
* New York Times – The Road to Gay Marriage in New York
* Wall Street Journal – Gay Marriage Voted In
* Washington Post – New York Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
And who, you might be wondering, would be so irresponsible as to portray this in a pessimistic, “glass half full” light? You guessed it:
* Fox “News” – Same-Sex Marriage Advocates Face Uphill Climb in Building on N.Y. Vote
If the President were a Republican and the Democratic House voted this way, the right-wing pundits, talk radio and Fox “News” would be going through the roof about how the Democrats support Gadhafi and want the Libyan rebels to die.
The US House of Representatives has voted against a resolution giving President Barack Obama authority to order US operations in Libya.
The Republican-dominated House voted it down by 295 votes to 123.
Read on at the Beeb.
Georgia’s HB 87 was designed to drive illegal workers out of the state. The result was… wholly expected.
Gov. Nathan Deal welcomed the TV cameras into his office as he proudly signed HB 87 into law. Two weeks later, with farmers howling, a scrambling Deal ordered a hasty investigation into the impact of the law he had just signed, as if all this had come as quite a surprise to him.
The results of that investigation have now been released. According to survey of 230 Georgia farmers conducted by Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, farmers expect to need more than 11,000 workers at some point over the rest of the season, a number that probably underestimates the real need, since not every farmer in the state responded to the survey.
In response, Deal proposes that farmers try to hire the 2,000 unemployed criminal probationers estimated to live in southwest Georgia.
The Economist estimates 46% of farms will have too few workers, leading to a $300M loss as unpicked produce rots in fields.
The point of the bill, of course, was to drive out the illegals who are stealing all those jobs that should be going to Americans. So why aren’t Americans stepping up to fill this void? Here’s a hint:
…more than 6,300 of the unclaimed jobs pay an hourly wage of just $7.25 to $8.99, or an average of roughly $8 an hour. Over a 40-hour work week in the South Georgia sun, that’s $320 a week, before taxes, although most workers probably put in considerably longer hours. Another 3,200 jobs pay $9 to $11 an hour. And while our agriculture commissioner has been quoted as saying Georgia farms provide “$12, $13, $14, $16, $18-an-hour jobs,” the survey reported just 169 openings out of more than 11,000 that pay $16 or more.
An interesting article at Time’s Swampland:
The Public Religion Research Institute released a report on Thursday about the Millennial generation (roughly those ages 18 to 29) and where they stand in today’s culture wars, particularly concerning abortion and religion. One finding was that Americans in general, and particularly Millennials, have “decoupled” part of the traditional conservative values agenda, showing more support across the board for same-sex marriage while keeping in tact the preceding generations’ split over abortion.
The article includes these interesting points:
* Having watched MTV’s shows about young unmarried women who are pregnant or have children made people feel more positive about abortion.
[...]
* Excepting white evangelical Protestants, majorities of all major religious groups say abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Here at Bray we have a category called “Lies”. It was practically invented for clips like this.
…if it can manage to get up off the couch first.
Watch this video, and imagine if instead the question was, “Should the theory of gravity be taught in school?”
He had no gun but handed the teller a note that said, “This is a bank robbery, please only give me one dollar.”
…So, why did he do everything he could to get arrested? He says he did it for medical reasons. Verone has a growth on his chest, two ruptured discs and a problem with his left foot. At 59 years old, no job and a depleted bank account, he thought jail was the best place he could go for medical care and a roof over his head. Verone is hoping for a three-year sentence.
How do you make words that come out of Michele Bachman’s mouth tolerable? Easy. Add pugs.
Finally! A GOP Congressman stands up and says it’s un-American to curtail our rights to defend against terrorism:
Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said tightening… laws to address the threat would be to surrender to terrorists at the expense of Americans’ rights.
“We’ve seen time and again that terrorists will use anything, including our own rights and freedoms, to plot attacks against innocent Americans,” Smith said in an email. “But simply because terrorists abuse our liberties doesn’t mean that we should limit the rights of law-abiding Americans. On the contrary, to limit our rights is to give in to terrorists and the fear they try to spread.”
Of course, now it’d be great if he and his ilk would apply this philosophy to, say, the First or Fourth Amendment, or even all of the Bill of Rights… and not just the Second, which was the only one Smith was talking about, of course.
Which is worse: children growing up without a home, or TEH GAYS?
In Illinois, the Catholic Charities of Rockford have their answer:
Catholic Charities of Rockford announced Thursday that the agency will halt its state-funded foster care and adoption services Wednesday — the day civil unions take effect in Illinois.
…In Rockford, the decision could displace about 350 foster children served by Catholic Charities and put 58 employees out of work.
Officials cited a lack of clarity in the Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Unions Act, which does not specify whether religious child welfare agencies must place children with couples in civil unions.