Facets of Our Lives

When I started writing the posts for this week, I had planned my usual diversity of articles discussing all the topics I usually do. But it's been a remarkable week politically. Tuesday saw the resignation of Karen Handel from Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure , after the defunding then refunding of Planned Parenthood . The Republican voters also handed victories to former Pennsylvania Senator and far-right conservative Rick Santorum (R), giving renewed life to his campaign. Wednesday saw the Ninth Circuit of Appeals affirm the federal court ruling that California's Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage, is unconstitutional. And all week, the talking heads on the various networks have been discussing the Obama Administration's decision to require insurance coverage for birth control, even for so-called religious institutions who may believe differently. Since this post is prepared in advance, who knows what today may bring? But if nothing else is true, it is a f...

‎ "Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gays and lesbians in California, and to officially reclassify their relationships and families as inferior to those of opposite-sex couples." -Judge Stephen Reinhardt, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 07-Feb-2012 Proposition 8, voted into law in 2008, was California's ban on same-sex marriage. The campaign was largely bankrolled and supported by the Catholic Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, various Protestant evangelical sects, and various conservative groups from around the country, including the National Organization for Marriage. The ruling yesterday upheld the earlier federal court ruling that the law violates the U.S. Constitution. As I discussed yesterday with respect to the liberal/conservative paradigm, this is another case of conservatives denying rights to someone. For the moment, this is a losing proposition with res...

One of the things I miss about living in the New York media market are stations like 1010 WINS. The Phoenix market has no such station. The closest we get is KTAR 92.3 FM, which is euphemistically publicized as "news talk"; it is primarily conservative talking heads, but they do have local weather and traffic. I went out to grab some lunch last week and was flipping through the stations when I found myself listening to Glenn Beck, formerly of Faux Fox News. His guest for those few minutes was a conservative writer who claimed to have been unofficially blackballed in Hollywood due to his conservative political views. Apparently, he had written a series pilot, secured representation, and then was dropped by that representation for being an unsellable quantity, again, due to his conservative political views. The interview continued and included a soundbite from Marc Cherry, the creator of Desperate Housewives , as he discussed the inclusion of gay neighbors on Wisteria Lane a...