General: January 2006 Archives

This was sent to me by a frequent reader on this site (thanks Dave!).

Why let homosexuals destroy marriage. Aren't heterosexual Republicans doing a good enough job?

Ronald Reagan - divorced the mother of two of his children to marry Nancy Reagan who bore him a daughter 7 months after the marriage.

Bob Dole - divorced the mother of his child, who had nursed him through the long recovery from his war wounds.

Newt Gingrich - divorced his wife who was dying of cancer

Dick Armey - House Majority Leader - divorced

Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas - divorced

Gov. John Engler of Michigan - divorced

Gov. Pete Wilson of California - divorced

George Will - divorced

Sen. Lauch Faircloth - divorced

Rush Limbaugh - Rush and his current wife Marta have six marriages and four divorces between them.

Rep. Bob Barr of Georgia - Not yet 50 years old, Barr has been married three times. He had the audacity to author and push the "Defense of Act." (The current joke making the rounds on Capitol Hill is "Bob Barr...WHICH marriage are you defending?)

Sen. Alfonse D'Amato of New York - divorced 3 X's

Sen. John Warner of Virginia - divorced (once married to Liz Taylor.)

Gov. George Allen of Virginia - divorced

Henry Kissinger - divorced

Rep. Helen Chenoweth of Idaho - divorced

Sen. John McCain of Arizona - divorced

Rep. John Kasich of Ohio - divorced

Rep. Susan Molinari of New York (Republican National Convention Keynote Speaker) - divorced

I received this email today from Rob Simmons. He is my representative (Republican) in Congress.

January 19, 2006

Dear Bill:

As Congress has adjourned for 2005, I wanted to update you on some important things we’ve accomplished in just the last few weeks.

Improving Our National Security: Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass legislation providing our armed forces with the resources they need to fight and win the War on Terror. Members of Congress also took a bipartisan, principled stand against torture and voted twice in overwhelming support of our troops fighting the war in Iraq.

Improving Our Economic Security: Last month, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act which is going to protect workers and employers. We have passed the Deficit Reduction Act, which makes much needed reforms and helps government run better. And, we have already passed more of the pro-jobs tax relief policies that have already sparked solid economic growth.

Increased Heating Assistance: Congress worked in a bipartisan fashion in passing more than $2 billion in low-income home heating assistance, or LIHEAP. This record funding will provide thousands of seniors and working families with much-needed assistance during this upcoming New England winter..... (deleted by me because I couldn't stand the rest)

But all-in-all, 2005 was a year when Congress put partisan politics aside to make progress on the issues important to eastern Connecticut’s working families. If you no longer wish to receive my updates in the future, please let me know.

Have a safe and happy New Year.

All the best,

Rob Simmons
Member of Congress
Second District, Connecticut

And this is a member of Congress. If he thinks that Congress has not been partisan in 2005, I'd hate to see his version of partisanship.

I may just take him up on his offer to get off his mailing list, however.

So it is not surprising to see the Florida Republican Party support an amendment for the November ballot that would ban gay marriage. Actually, it goes beyond that. It also would stop gay couples from going steady, getting pinned or even making plans for brunch next week.

As much as conservatives profess horror at the promiscuous gay lifestyle, even more disturbing to them is the thought that gay couples might settle down, watch The O’Reilly Factor and argue about in-laws. (source)

Interesting. I’m not sure how you can prevent people from going steady or making plans for brunch. Can you say.... Nazi Germany... all over again. Scary, isn’t it?

The biggest threat to these Republican bigots is our truth. They are fighting a losing battle. It’s interesting to me that before we had any hope of recognition in law with our relationships, they were willing to let us be and simply characterize us as a disease upon society, right up there with venereal disease.

Now, we are just a little too close to achieving recognition for their comfort. As Mr. Thomas states, “You would think Bush’s record on issues such as school accountability and job growth would be sufficient for Republicans to run on, without resorting to this nonsense.” It’s hard to teach an old bigot new tricks it would seem.

And I think this point is probably the most important of all:

It seems this measure should be a slam-dunk for the ballot. But the petition drive is falling far short of the required signatures to get it before voters. You’d think they were trying to pass an amendment banning barbecue. This has the Florida Republican Party quite concerned. So it tossed in $150,000 to revive the effort.

I believe that the “gay marriage” issue is going to be raised once again in the next presidential election. Undoubtedly, some will try to still gain whatever mileage from the issue they can. My prediction (at lease, my hope) is that people are getting tired of hearing about it. I also believe that people have some time to think about it. When you think about the issue, it’s not too far from reality to realize that you are talking about denying rights to someone you know personally - perhaps a relative. That can change everything. Suddenly, it’s personal.

I also believe that more and more people are seeing the issue of putting us into second class status as just down right mean spirited and hateful. That turns a lot of people off.

If I’m wrong about this, this is no longer America. It is on it’s way to becoming a fascist state. The issue is ultimately not about gays. We are only the catalyst. The issue is the concept that it is ok to make a class of citizens into a less-than-equal status. Once you’ve accomplished that, anything is possible. If Hitler were alive, he would tell you that, because that is exactly what he did.

Unlike Nazi Germany, we have a government that supposedly answers to The Constitution, a powerful document that speaks of equality on more than one occasion. But of course, the interpretation of this great document is left to the judicial system - our Supreme Court. Everything is interpretation! It wasn’t that long ago that the Supreme Court ruled that gays had no right to privacy (Bowers vs Hardwick). Fifteen or so years later, the high court reversed itself. Why? They stated because public opinion had changed. So it would appear that the law is not absolute and the Constitution can be changed or interpreted to mean anything, that is deemed “constitutional” by the Supreme Court. This is the war we are engaged in now; the seeding of conservative judges into the Supreme Court to kill a myriad of social issues that are against conservative values.

In the middle of all of this is us. People. That is what gets lost. Will people like me end up fleeing America for freedom when it all comes down? That could very well happen, just as people left Nazi Germany to save their very lives.

You’ve probably been hearing about this for a few days now. People for the American Way have published a report on the dangers of confirming Judge Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. It goes into great detail. You can pick the report up from them. I have also put the report on my site for your convenience.

If confirmed as the next Associate Justice, Judge Samuel A. Alito would bring dramatic, sweeping change to the Supreme Court. While his words are carefully chosen and his demeanor is measured, Judge Alito’s ultraconservative judicial philosophy is nothing short of radical. He would join Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia at the center of a radical right-wing bloc that would change the direction of the Court and the country for decades to come, and threaten fundamental rights and legal protections. He stands in sharp contrast to the justice he would replace: Sandra Day O’Connor, a mainstream conservative whose swing vote has helped to preserve hard-won progress on civil rights, reproductive freedom, environmental protections, and a host of other issues preserving equality and justice for every American. [...]

Judge Alito’s quiet demeanor cloaks a far right ideology that places him among the most conservative judges on the federal bench. If he replaces Justice O’Connor, he would be a consistent vote to turn back the clock on decades of progress in civil rights, civil liberties, health and safety, environmental protection and religious liberty. His extreme judicial philosophy threatens fundamental rights and legal protections for all Americans -- for decades to come. The Senate should reject his confirmation to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court. (source)

You have to love this President. I spotted these interesting stories concerning him.

Support for Bush Drops Among US Military: Poll

Support for President George W. Bush's Iraq policy has fallen among the US armed forces to just 54 percent from 63 percent a year ago, according to a poll by the magazine group Military Times.

In its annual survey of the views of military personnel, the group reported on its website that support for Bush's overall policies dropped over the past year to 60 percent from 71 percent.

While still significantly more supportive of the president than the broad US population, the fall in support by military personnel tracks a similar decline in the president's popularity among the general public. (source)

And this...

Bush Pulls the Plug on Iraq Reconstruction

The Bush administration has scaled back its ambitions to rebuild Iraq from the devastation wrought by war and dictatorship and does not intend to seek new funds for reconstruction, it emerged yesterday.

In a decision that will be seen as a retreat from a promise by President George Bush to give Iraq the best infrastructure in the region, administration officials say they will not seek reconstruction funds when the budget request is presented to Congress next month, the Washington Post reported yesterday.

The $18.4bn (£10.6bn) allocation is scheduled to run out in June 2007. The move will be seen by critics as further evidence of the administration's failure to plan for the aftermath of the war. (source)

So the Republican Party thinks that the likes of Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is too tolerant of gays to be considered a Republican presidential candidate?

I wish I could be alive 100 years from now and look back at how they will view their party at this point in time.

(Boston, Massachusetts) He opposes gay marriage, refuses to allow out-of-state same-sex couples wed, and supports amending the state constitution to bar gay nuptials, but for many in the the right wing of the Republican Party Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney still is too tolerant of gays and lesbians to get their support for a presidential bid. (source)