Of course it is. But if you haven't realized that our government is made up of a bunch of criminals by now, you haven't been watching the news. You may be thinking to yourself, didn't Obama sign a bill in February declaring that the Department of Justice can no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act (which states that marriage is strictly between one man and one woman)?
Why yes, he did.
And yet he did not sign a bill saying that John Boehner, Speaker of the House, couldn't hire a private attorney to defend this ridiculous law.
That's right, people! Not only is the GOP spending money to infringe on other people's human rights, but they're trying to divert money from the Department of Justice to do so! To justify this idiotic measure, they are claiming that since the DOJ will no longer have to incur the expense of defending DOMA, the GOP can use that money for other purposes. Mainly, defending DOMA. Which is the very action Obama was trying to prevent when he signed the bill in February.
So let's recap: Our government is in shambles. We barely have enough money to keep the government from shutting down, we're paying outrageous gas prices so that NATO can help grossly overestimated Libyan rebel forces fight against a grossly underestimated Gaddafi regime, and we're taking money from the Department of Justice to defend a stupid law that says that a man who loves another man or a woman who loves another woman cannot be legally married?
Something's not right. If the Department of Justice has a little extra money, we should be using that money to track down federal criminals. You know, murderers, rapists, terrorists. Instead, Boehner wants to use it to defend a law brought in by Bill Clinton, which is ironic, when you realize that the same man who signed a bill in 1996 "defending" marriage between a man and a woman is also the same husband who cheated on his wife with a White House intern.
As I've said before, these are the people who we choose to run our government. One can only hope narrow-mindedness and idiocy will be eradicated as the generations advance. But things are changing, slowly but surely, and for those of us who are fighting for justice, let's keep fighting! And for those of you who aren't, maybe it's time to break out of your comfort zone and start.
That said, I hope no one who reads this blog is a homophobe who thinks that gay marriage should be illegal and that the institution of marriage is some sacred rite between a man and a woman, but if you are, let me give you a few pearls of wisdom (Warning: This is a rant.):
- Legalizing gay marriage is not going to result in gay people taking over the world and turning you into some kind of gay zombie. In fact, you probably won't even notice a change. Your narrow-minded life will remain the same.
- Marriage between a man and a woman will not be compromised. And if you think that this is the case, you probably only feel this way because your heterosexual marriage is already a mess.
- Maybe you think same-sex relationships are appalling, or gross, or Satanic. Well breaking news: allowing same-sex couples to get legally married and enjoy a nice tax break, some insurance discounts, and the pleasure of being recognized as a loving couple by the federal government isn't going to correlate with a rise in public displays of affection. And let's be honest, I doubt anyone really wants to see you making out with your spouse either.
- And here's another tidbit of knowledge for you: If there is a god, s/he made gay people too! That's right, we're all in this together.
Legally declaring your love for someone isn't a privilege; it's a right. And it shouldn't be something that can be brought down by a piece of paper, or a vote, or a narrow-minded politician, or a religious fanatic. It should be something that we are all afforded, no matter our race, orientation, gender, or religion.
And someday it will be. And if enough of us fight for it, that day will come sooner than later.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/18/house.defense.of.marriage/
It was fun while it lasted. Anarchists all over the world are laughing at a country whose government was brought down--not by rebellion--but by lack of cash. That's right! As I write this, Republicans and Democrats are racing to reach an agreement on how to scrape together enough money to keep the federal government going. Oh wait, actually they're probably at home on their couches. But they will resume their talks in the morning.
And by talks I do mean their desperate attempts to bargain with each other and coerce each other into supporting their own private political agendas. Like Republicans saying they should put a halt to abortion funding in the District, which will undoubtedly be shot down by Democrats, thereby making them the perfect scapegoats for the long-awaited government shut down.
Don't get me wrong--Republicans aren't the ones at fault here--it's the entire system. We have a room full of people who gather together on opposite sides of an arena to pray together and then battle each other for control of a budget cut that should have been taken care of months--maybe years--ago!
It's disgraceful. This isn't how a government should be run--by a bipartisan group of people who aren't willing to compromise without getting something in return. We have a Speaker of the House who is openly saying that while he thinks Obama is a nice guy, he just isn't the best leader. Somehow I don't think people voted for Obama because he was "nice".
And so now we sit back, wondering if the government will be able to stay afloat for the rest of the year, wondering if the people who came over from Japan for the Cherry Blossom Festival will actually be able to participate, wondering if the streets of DC will be filled with rotting trash bags, wondering if government workers will be forced to sit at home without pay, wondering if small businesses will be able to pay their bills when their federal loans are put on hold.
The worst part is, we're running around trying to help other countries bring down their oppressive governments, and we can't even afford to pick up the trash in our capital. We can't even afford to keep our monuments--the symbols that represent the values on which our country was built--open to the public. Meanwhile, as mid-April looms before us, we're preparing our taxes, seeing how much we've contributed to our nation's piggy bank, and wondering--where has all of our money gone?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/hill-negotiators-struggle-to-reach-budget-deal-to-avert-shutdown/2011/04/06/AFh8KjpC_story.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/government-shutdown-potential-furloughs-for-800000-federal-workers-disruption-of-dc-services/2011/04/06/AFRItOqC_story.html
