Lutherans Allow Gay Pastors

Today, I found that the Lutherans have formally allowed openly gay clergy. They suspect that it will "prompt individual congregations to split off from the denomination," but they don't seem to mind. I wouldn't mind either--if a congregation splits off now there's no questioning their prejudice.

For the few that break off anyway, I bet the rest of the Church will not be sad to see them go.

Conservative Advocate Supports Gay Marriage

That's right, Theodore B. Olson, the man who secured Bush's first term by urging Florida to stop recounting their votes, is now fighting Proposition 8 and pushing the Supreme Court to legalize gay marriage nation-wide. He has no gay relatives, he claims but is pushing for marriage equality because it "could involve the rights and happiness and equal treatment of millions of people." Mr. Olson now has colleges who won't speak to him about the issue, and he receives regular hate mail. Even his own mother is worried he will lose the support of conservative voters due to his work on gay marriage. However, Mr.Olson is not daunted. He argues that "You have to make peace with this because it is sure to happen, and you will see it in your lifetime."

Those aren't just words--Mr. Olson is a heavy-weight lawyer who has won 44 out of 55 Supreme Court battles, so we'd better keep tabs on this guy!

Is Marriage a Federal or State Issue?

Recently, the Obama administration said that the Defense of Marriage Act (1996) is unfair. It's startling to look at just how this "conservative" law affects state rights over the definition of marriage.

Most people know that the DOMA limits the federal definition of marriage to "a legal union exclusively between one man and one woman." What this does is allow the government to deny any benefits of marriage to gay couples, even if they are married by their state. So even in states that decide to allow gay marriage, their gay couples cannot claim social security benefits of their spouse, file joint taxes, ect.

It seems a huge conflict that states can be allowed to selectively perform and recognize marriage (as if it were a state right) but then the federal government can turn a blind eye to some of those marriages created by the states. The DOMA effectively makes the federal government the final authority when it comes to marriage. You know something is wrong when a conservative law actually increases federal power.

It will be very interesting to see what Obama does next about DOMA. Although he has a lot of liberal supporters, Obama usually backs down on issues that would lose him a majority of popular support. Gay marriage and anything attached to it are one of the touchiest subjects in America. With Obama's approval ratings sinking towards 50%, what can he do here to maintain popular support? To remove all federal restrictions on marriage and allow each state full authority on the issue would be the truly conservative way of dealing with it.

Emo Music Tragedy

This is why you shouldn't listen to emo music:

Comment on Burn This City Down Lyrics

Tears | Reviewer: Amber | 12/8/2007

"I use to love this song. Now when I hear it, all it does is bring back painful memories of my dead boyfriend.... He jumped of a bridge cause we got in a fight.... I LOVE YOU DEVIN! I'M SO SORRY!"

Maxine Waters & Other Crazy Socialists

Watch this ridiculous 70-year old California Democrat stumble over the word "socialize" as she threatens an oil executive:



Maxine Waters is basically a liberal version of George W. Bush: cringe-worthy speaking skills and constantly pushing extreme goals that embarrass most of her party. Known as one of the "most liberal members" of Congress, the media loves to mock her every bit as much as they did Sarah Palin and our late President Bush.

Maybe Waters's claim to fame is just that she's a member of most traditionally disenfranchised groups in the US; black, female, and elderly. Maybe we shouldn't be surprised that her supporters have even more extreme views on big issues like healthcare;

"They [Blue Dog Democrats] should be more concerned about people who are dying than about their basic philosophy, which involves simply money. Which is more important, money or live human beings with flesh and blood running through their veins, who cannot get health care?"
---Hank Johnson (D-Ga.)

Wow, saving lives instead of saving money? That sounds more like bleeding-heart liberalism than scary socialism. But wait, could those two extremes actually be related?

Texas Rewrites History

Would you like all the value of sending your kids to Sunday school, without having to pay any tuition? Then you may be interested in moving to Texas, the first state to consider making Christian values a priority in public schools.

The Texas Board of Education appointed six experts to review the state's social studies curriculum. My favorite is Reverend Peter Marshall, an evangelical minister who preaches that Watergate, the Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina were God's judgments on the nation's sexual immorality. The other reviewers are not as exciting, only half of them identify as conservative. Their goals include a desire to "emphasize the roles of the Bible, the Christian faith and the civic virtue of religion in the study of American history." These 3 members say the new curriculum "should clearly present Christianity as an overall force for good -- and a key reason for American exceptionalism, the notion that the country stands above and apart."

Will these changes actually take place? Well, it's still early in the process. The above recommendations will go to Texas teachers who are meeting this summer to write new standards. They can accept, modify, or reject any suggestions from the expert panel. Whatever the teachers deem best will be sent to the Texas Board of Ed, the only group who can actually revise the standards. Bur for those of you unable to afford Catholic school, there's still hope. The 15-member Board of Ed is known as a conservative-dominated body.