No longer justified

I'd normally be at bell rehearsal on a Tuesday evening, but the weather outside is frightful. Rain began as I was finishing teaching this afternoon. By the time I got to my car it was mixed with sleet. As I was turning in to my neighborhood the sleet had turned to snow. We could get 2-6 inches by noon tomorrow. The college has already cancelled morning classes and my department has cancelled the faculty meeting scheduled for noon.

So on to stories of the day.

The Morning Edition show on NPR did a segment on the words that are used to frame a debate. I had commented earlier on the switch from "gun control" to "gun violence prevention." The NRA has already found that "gun rights" polls well among their constituents.

This isn't a new phenomena. The choice of words pulls in all kinds of secondary relationships with shared values. That's why "estate tax" became a "death tax," "oil drilling" became "energy exploration," Democrats shifted from "liberal" to "progressive" and are shifting back again, "pro-choice" isn't being used so much by those who favor abortion rights, and the word "reform" is being tacked on to everything even if the change isn't positive.



Keith O'Brien, Cardinal of Scotland, was accused by four priests of inappropriate behavior. This wasn't pedophilia because all the accusers were adult. So it implies O'Brien is gay. But I won't go anymore into that. O'Brien resigned and the Pope quickly accepted his resignation. That means two things: (1) The upcoming Conclave will have no Cardinals from Britain. (2) There are now no credible voices in Britain speaking against gay marriage as that bill works its way through Parliament.



The GOP got raked over the coals for not renewing the Violence Against Women Act because it included protections for gays and immigrants. So the House created a version of the act without those extra protections. Their challenge to the Dems is "Your choice: protection for women or no protections for anyone." Or, "Women or gays, take your pick." Didn't they learn anything from the last election?



In sharp contrast. more than 75 current and former GOP elected officials have signed a brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Calif. gay marriage ban. This is huge. It allows the conservative Supremes to say there is conservative backing for gay marriage.

Ari Ezra Waldman notes a difference between the briefs written by the team actually challenging the gay marriage ban and the one offered by the GOP. The good guys say that such a ban could never be justified. A right to marriage is fundamental, has been there all along, and should have always included gays. The GOP version says a ban is no longer justified. That implies it had been justified and now that we have better social science the ban is "outmoded." Waldman likes their conclusion, but not their reasoning.



The GOP had its Michigan state convention over the weekend. The proposal to redistribute Michigan's Electoral College votes according to the vote within each congressional district was discussed. By a vote of 1370-132 the members thought it was a dandy idea. Gov. Snyder repeated his opinion that now isn't the right time. Which translates to, "But if a bill happens to land on my desk I'll sign it."