New Hampshire welcomes marriage equality!

In a world of change (not the least in Iowa), there is interesting news Iceland:

...voters overwhelming selected as prime minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, who’d first taken the job in February, replacing David Oddsson, who’d shepherded the nation into a free-market bankruptcy....
Siguarsdottir is also the first openly gay prime minister, though voters are likely more concerned about economics than labels.

(This came via a useful site, http://www.womensvoicesforchange.org/)

Just a reminder about the false threat to "freedom of religion" conservatives are now claiming, since the Iowa Supreme Court decision. (If you think there's not a lot of money being spent, check out HRC's website:
http://www.hrcbackstory.org/2009/04/national-organization-for-marriage-creates-fake-ad-for-fake-problems/.)


In fact, gay marriage poses no more threat to religions which preach homosexuality is a sin than civil divorce impinges on the Catholic doctrine which forbids it. Freedom of religion cannot include the freedom to impose your religious beliefs on other. It allows discrimination only within the faith, not against "non-believers."

You can keep me out of your Church, but not your hospital or the hall you rent for profit to the public. You can hire only Catholics in good standing with the Church to work in your school, office, hospital, which would, of course exclude any married homosexuals from CT, but if you employ any people who are not Catholic, you cannot only discriminate against qualified homosexuals, married or not.

You can't take all patients except homosexuals, accept all students except the children of homosexuals, or allow all people to have a marriage in your hall except for homosexuals.

You can't send your children to public school and prevent them from hearing teachers say that gay marriage is legal in CT, MA, and VT. You have plenty of home schooling and religious school options if you want them to follow your religion instead of secular law -- or science.

Don’t assume that misleading ads and silly talk-show media won’t really affect the way people vote. While religious freedom crosses all state borders in America, my civil right stop outside my region of New England.

I couldn't find a better piece on gun violence than today's opinion by NYT Reporter Timothy Egan:

http://egan.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/08/the-guns-of-spring/?th&emc=th

Does it strike any one else strange that all these husbands murdering wives and children isn't seen as a social problem, but marriage equality in Iowa threatens the foundations of democracy?

Legal in THREE STATES!

WASHINGTON, April 7 — The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force hails the Vermont Legislature’s override today of Gov. Jim Douglas’ veto of a bill extending the freedom to marry to same-sex couples. The Senate passed the measure by 23 to 5 and the House by 100 to 49. Vermont is the first state in the nation to extend the freedom to marry through the legislative process.

I had forgotten how wonderful CBS Sunday Morning News is! Today, I saw an incredibly inspiring program, Holding Court And Performing Miracles, profiling Bob Hurley's 40 years successfully coaching HS basketball at a small parochial school without its own gym. All but 3 of his inner city players have gone to college during those decades.

This is another of those "things that work" news stories that we don't talk enough about.

I just found a very interesting progressive blog which today reports on the drive for marraige equality across New England, as covered in today's New York Times article:

http://www.ablueview.com/2009/04/new-england-once-again-the-leader-in-abolishing-unjust-laws.html

I first heard on NPR about the positive results that Missouri has with rehabilitating juvenile offenders. Last week, the NYT had an an article about how other states, like Florida, are also finding the benefit of similar programs which keep young criminals out of jail, where they consistently grow up to be (expensive, as well as dangerous) adult felons.

In the category of "things that work but we don't talk about them, even when they could make us feel good and save taxpayers money," you can't find a better example than this story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/27/us/27juvenile.html