Plunderbund

As usual, California leads the way on issues of civil rights.
California’s top court has ruled that a state law banning marriage between same-sex couples is unconstitutional.
The state’s Supreme Court said the “right to form a family relationship” applied to all Californians regardless of sexuality.
Hey Ohio- you want the rest of the country/world […]

Apparently, Americans don’t know anything about the Constitution.
The study by the new McCormick Tribune Freedom Museum found that 22 percent of Americans could name all five Simpson family members, compared with just one in 1,000 people who could name all five First Amendment freedoms.
…
The survey found more people could name the three “American Idol” judges […]

From TPM:
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) cloture vote failed 48-45 just now, well short of the 60 votes necessary.
In the end, four Dems crossed over to vote with the Republicans: Sens. Mark Pryor (D-AR), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) was the lone Republican to vote […]

It seems Saudi Arabia has decided to grant women the privilege* of driving, but it’s not as well-intentioned as it might seem.
Saudi Arabia is to lift its ban on women drivers in an attempt to stem a rising suffragette-style movement in the deeply conservative state.
Government officials have confirmed the landmark decision and plan to issue […]

Yeah, no joke.
If you’re planning to vote in Virginia’s February Republican presidential primary, be prepared to sign an oath swearing your Republican loyalty.
The State Board of Elections on Monday approved a state Republican Party request to require all who apply for a GOP primary ballot first vow in writing that they’ll vote for the party’s […]

Our government is sullying perhaps the last honorable profession left and training firefighters to be domestic spies for Big Brother.
A year ago, Homeland Security gave security clearances to nine New York City fire chiefs and began sharing intelligence with them. Even before that, fire department personnel were being taught “to identify material or behavior that […]

George Bush, after meeting Vladimir Putin in 2001:
I was able to get a sense of his soul, a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country.
But this weekend…
The OSCE’s election monitoring unit announced earlier this month that it would not attend Russia’s election, saying Moscow had refused to provide visas […]

In what might be the least surprising development ever (after all, we already knew Bush wanted to attack Iraq before 9/11), it appears Qwest was approached by the government to spy on Americans several months before that big event that allegedly “changed everything”, and has been used to justify virtually everything this Administration has attempted.
A […]

Well, not directly anyway. Speaking about the uprisings in Burma in a White House press briefing:
Q And the protests, themselves, seem to have been stilled. What do you make of that?
MS. PERINO: Well, unfortunately, intimidation and force can chill peaceful demonstrations. And reports about very innocent […]

It seems that real life got in the way of dogma. Thankfully, in a tearful, emotional press conference, dogma lost to love.

If only we had more Republicans like this, the world might be a better place.

Well, anything that impugns on the separation of church and state infringes on freedom of religion, so it’s not exactly like this is a new thing for these guys. But this is pretty blatant. Prisons Purging Books on Faith From Libraries:
Behind the walls of federal prisons nationwide, chaplains have been quietly carrying out […]

No comment needed except… 1) Wow! and 2) It will be interesting to see how this story will play out alongside the presidential primary election cycle. Surely there will be a hailstorm of commentary on that over the next few days.

DES MOINES, Iowa - A Polk County judge on Thursday struck down Iowa’s law banning gay marriage and ordered the county recorder to permit gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Less than two hours after word of the ruling was publicized, two Des Moines men applied at the Polk County recorder’s office for a marriage license, and for the first time the application was accepted. The process of granting a license to marry in Iowa takes three days.

Go figure.
Historical evidence, including legal documents and gravesites, can be interpreted as supporting the prevalence of homosexual relationships hundreds of years ago, said Allan Tulchin of Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania.
If accurate, the results indicate socially sanctioned same-sex unions are nothing new, nor were they taboo in the past.
�Western family structures have been much more varied […]

You know, it’s natural to get frustrated when stuff like the “Protect America Act” manage to get passed in a Democratic Congress. But before you get too worked up, check this out.

Still think there’s no difference between the GOP and Democrats? CorrenteWire generated the chart, and has some analysis as to what’s going […]