Kim Davis

It occasionally happens that I agree with Lindsey Graham, and this is one of those times.  He says that if Kim Davis feels she cannot carry out the responsibilities of County Clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, she should resign.  (Personally, I don't mind if she uses up her vacation days while she's in jail — it's the kind of thing vacation days are for.)

Her mother was county clerk for thirty-seven years, and Kim Davis worked under her mother.  Her son works in the office now, and probably expects to be elected to his mother's job when she's ready to retire.  That's small town politics.  It's extremely likely she ran unopposed, or against some token Republican candidate.  (Yes, Kim Davis is a Democrat.)

Some states are enacting legislation which would allow public officials to refuse to perform their duties when those duties conflict with their religious convictions.  We can be quite certain that such laws will be invalidated by Federal courts, but the process is likely to drag on and on, and get pretty boring before it's over.

Catholic judges can't refuse to issue divorce decrees, and Muslim postal workers can't refuse to deliver copies of Playboy because the centerfold isn't wearing a hijab.  As Donald Trump says, this is a nation of laws.  I hope Ms. Davis enjoys her moment of celebrity, but the chief significance of this particular instance of conscientious objection is that it is further splitting the Republican party.

Short Subjects for Early April

The National School Shield
The NRA's idea for putting armed guards into every school is, of course, absurd.  The organization, sponsored by gun manufacturers, had to come up with something — and, needless to say, their solution had to involve more guns.  The NRA has offered to "train volunteers," but the cost of just insuring against the risks of some yahoo with a semi-automatic wandering around a school building probably would have to be offset by firing two teachers.

Marriage Equality
While we wait for the Supremes to act, here's a thought: I've always been in favor of Civil Unions.  If you want your marriage recognized by the state, go to a judge or a JP or some other state official.  If you want to get married by a religious personage, well, go do it — but don't expect the state to recognize that personage's authority.  On the other hand, if you think religious leaders should have the right to approve marriages, just let them decide who can get married — gay, straight, or interspecies.  As an ordained minister, I would hesitate to marry a man to a sheep, but if it looked like they really were in love...

North Korea
Well, it looks like Kim Jong Un is striving to outdo both his daddy and his granddaddy in the craziness category, but I suspect his real problem is nobody takes the North Koreans all that seriously these days.  The boy king with the bad haircut can beat his chest like Kim Kong, and nobody pays much attention.  "Okay," say the Americans, the South Koreans, the Japanese and, increasingly, the Chinese, "let him rant.  If the need arises, we can blow his ass right off the peninsula, and we're pretty sure he knows that."  On the other hand, I think we have kind of a moral obligation to keep some of those undernourished kids alive.

Atlanta Cheaters
Okay, the bail seemed kind of high to me for a batch of school administrators — I mean, where in hell are they supposed to go?  Will they join the Colombian rebels, or the Taliban?  Can they drain the "vast" profits from their administrator bonuses to flee?  I don't think so.  It is no secret that I'm not at all a fan of school administrators, but I suspect the main failure of the cheating assholes was less cheating skill and a little more hubris than other cheating assholes who are doing it in the white neighborhoods.

Divorce Lawyers Back Same-Sex Marriage

Okay, I made that up — but you know it's true.

As for Our President's "endorsement," whether or not it was predicated by Joe Biden's alleged "gaffe," it really doesn't matter.  The social/religious conservatives who actually care about the issue — the white ones, that is — weren't going to vote for him in the first place.  The black ones will vote for him anyway — he's still black, kinda.  Well, he's as black as he ever was.

The basic idea we ought to recognize here is that, since most Americans are straight and have straight offspring, not many give a damn about same-sex marriage one way or the other.  Oh, yes, they have opinions, but those opinions will not influence their votes.  However it works out, it will not make a damned bit of difference in their lives (except for the divorce lawyers.)

Since the Wall Street money seems to have taken a major turn towards Romney, Obama has no reason to desist from the populist rhetoric that can help him win in November.  I know that recent polls indicate that Americans say they don't resent the super-rich — and really would like to be super-rich themselves (surprise!) — but, you know, generating resentment is easy.  The Republicans have been doing it for years — against "welfare queens," immigrants (legal and/or illegal), alleged "socialists," and anybody else who might not be white, Christian, or totally ignorant.

Obama might lose in November — but it won't be because he (halfheartedly) endorsed same-sex marriage.  It will be because the real faggots are running his campaign, and he's too limp-wristed to do what he needs to do to win.