I could care less about Lebron…
That said, the letter that was written by Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavs, Lebron’s former team, was published using the Comic Sans font.
Do people still actually use that thing? Egads.
What?! You mean the power of the federal government isn’t unlimited? Shocking.
A federal judge ruled today that part of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional.
Judge Joseph Tauro, of U.S. District Court in Boston, issued rulings on two separate cases today.
"This court has determined that it is clearly within the authority of the Commonwealth to recognize same-sex marriages among its residents, and to afford those individuals in same-sex marriages any benefits, rights, and privileges to which they are entitled by virtue of their marital status," Tauro wrote in the decision for Massachusetts v. Health and Human Services.
"The federal government, by enacting and enforcing DOMA, plainly encroaches upon the firmly entrenched province of the state, and, in doing so, offends the Tenth Amendment. For that reason, the statute is invalid," he wrote.
In the other case, Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, Tauro ruled that DOMA violates the equal protection principles in the Fifth Amendment, according to Bay Windows. From his decision (PDF):
via Federal Judge Rules Part Of DOMA Unconstitutional | TPM LiveWire.
The exchanging of jerseys at the end of a soccer match is a longtime ritual that is well established in the sport, even as it has evolved. With each swap — like the ones that take place after games in this World Cup — there is usually a story.
Often the tales are personal, speaking to a player’s standing in the game or marking a chapter in his career.
As for the jerseys themselves, sometimes they are washed, sometimes not. Sometimes they end up being given away, auctioned off, framed for display in a player’s home, boxed up in storage, or — as Berhalter learned — who knows where?
via Jersey Swaps, a Ritual That Comes With a Story – NYTimes.com.
And he’s posting Over at the DailyKOS of all places – in this piece Why Liberals should love the Second Amendment:
When it comes to discussing the Second Amendment, liberals check rational thought at the door. They dismiss approximately 40% of American households that own one or more guns, and those who fight to protect the Second Amendment, as “gun nuts.” They argue for greater restrictions. And they pursue these policies at the risk of alienating voters who might otherwise vote for Democrats.
And they do so in a way that is wholly inconsistent with their approach to all of our other civil liberties.
Those who fight against Second Amendment rights cite statistics about gun violence, as if such numbers are evidence enough that our rights should be restricted. But Chicago and Washington DC, the two cities from which came the most recent Supreme Court decisions on Second Amendment rights, had some of the most restrictive laws in the nation, and also some of the highest rates of violent crime. Clearly, such restrictions do not correlate with preventing crime.
So rather than continuing to fight for greater restrictions on Second Amendment rights, it is time for liberals to defend Second Amendment rights as vigorously as they fight to protect all of our other rights. Because it is by fighting to protect each right that we protect all rights.
The author goes on to write quite an impressive piece. There’s already nearly two thousand comments as of the time of this writing, I’m sure there will be more soon.
You see, I don’t believe in patriotism.
You can call me unpatriotic if you’d like, but really I’m anti-patriotic.
I’ve been studying fascism lately, and there is one inescapable fact about it:
- Nationalism is the egg that hatches fascism.
- And patriotism is but the father of nationalism.
- Patriotism is not something to play with. It’s highly toxic. When ingested, it corrodes the rational faculties.
- It gulls people into believing their leaders.
- It masks those who benefit most from state policy.
- And it destroys the ability of people to get together, within the United States and across boundaries, to take on those with the most power: the multinational corporation.
- Plus, it’s a war toy, wheeled out whenever a leader needs to improve his ratings by attacking some other country—often after invoking God’s name, too.
Who knew!
It’s been three years since I’ve written about What’s in my Bag, so it’s finally time to update this list of what I decide to tote around with me.
Four years ago, I switched from my trusty Brenthaven bag of several years over to a Tumi Nylon Briefcase capable of holding my then-17″ Macbook Pro. Four years later, I’m still trekking along with the indestructible Tumi bag. It has nary a tear or a blemish. Hands down the best bag that I’ve ever owned.
Unfortunately, the bag isn’t always suitable for some cross-country trips. In those cases, I switch to a Swiss Army backpack with a laptop padded compartment.
Between the two bags, we’ve been to several states, the UK, Germany, France, and India together over the past four years – and we’ll see some other places together before my time here ends. Both have served me well.
What’s in your bag?