Thank you too Tony, you have brought much value to this site as well. Will you return to Middle Earth? (Just kidding of course, but I could certainly marry one of those hunky elves.)
I have not been posting much for the last several months, but I have often wanted to post something, but someone quicker and more articulate than I usually beat me to it. Anyway one thing I will post although it has been said before is to thank you for the immense wealth of information you have provided regarding ME in Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands. It's amazing how you can stay on top of so many developments. We are all enriched by your contribution. Now for one impolite question ... are you really as terrific looking as your icon?
Strong agreement from this lapsed Catholic. Everything I was brought up believing during the Vatican II years incorporated a strong belief in decency and equality, treating everyone with love and compassion, and that God hated and punished bigotry and injustice. I'm not much of a believer anymore, but the ethics I was taught still guides my outlook, and hopefully, most of the time, my actions. I don't understand how so much of the Catholic Church hierarchy chose to navigate down the wrong path in the last 20 or 30 years.
I think that a lot of people overlook the fact that just as many if not more people were praying that the members of their family circles would be able to marry. And everyone of those people believes that God did listen to our prayers and help the Supreme Court arrive at a decision that was morally and constitutionally sound and both ethical and compassionate as well. Almost everyone I know was praying intensely that justice would be upheld, and now we are all praying that Ruth Bader Ginsberg will outlive Scolia and Thomas.
I was confused too, and am so happy that Lee is fine, although sorry your earlier relationship had ended with your partner's passing in 2002.
Off topic, but interesting. Spotted this article discussing the in-fighting among the lawyers working on Marriage Equality cases and the dearth of funding for the lawyers representing the Michigan case at the Supreme Court.
http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/features/2015-0...
It's been a long time since I dropped out of law school in 1979 after 1-1/2 years of that torture, but I do remember some Con Law from my rigorous teacher, Prof. Greene (graduate of Hastings). So, Roberts is limited to persuasion as his only possible means to narrow the final opinion if the 5 justices we are counting on stick together and grant us a broad ruling.
If Kennedy and the 4 liberals are in agreement, would not their majority opinion be the opinion of the court and Roberts individual opinion be considered to be a concurrence? After all, the 5 justices in agreement become the majority, and the senior judge of those 5 would then be the one to assign the writing task.
Your grandchild must be quite the entrepreneur. When she's a bit older perhaps she will become a volunteer fund-raiser for her grandmothers' pro-LBGT causes.
We will all need to focus our attention on housing and employment protections for all LGBT people once ME is the law of the land. Housing and employment discrimination can affect anyone and can damage a person in often even worse ways that marriage discrimination does. We have a lot to keep working on.
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