Proposition 8, Unicorns, and Lunges...Lots of Lunges

In a landmark decision, U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker ruled that California's Proposition 8, passed by voters in November 2008, is unconstitutional. In his ruling, Judge Walker stated that Proposition 8 "fails to advance any rational basis in singling out gay men and lesbians for denial of a marriage license. Indeed, the evidence shows Proposition 8 does nothing more than enshrine in the California Constitution the notion that opposite-sex couples are superior to same-sex couples. … Because Proposition 8 prevents California from fulfilling its constitutional obligation to provide marriages on an equal basis, the court concludes that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional.”] The entire ruling can be found here.

Opponents of the ruling have already gotten the ball rolling on the appeals process, and it appears inevitable that the issue of gay marriage will soon find itself on the Supreme Court's docket. It's hard for me to understand why the opposition to gay marriage is so vociferous. I'm pretty sure this is how those who support Prop 8 view the daily life of a homosexual man:

3:00am: Continue sleeping with my eyes open while wearing colorful, feather nipple tassels.
5:00am: Wake-up in a cold sweat and immediately jot down the details of my dream where I finally figured out how to convert my neighbor's child to homosexuality.
5:07am: Go back to sleep...creepily.
6:30am: Wake-up, put on "Faith" by George Michael, and cut the legs off my jeans to make some fab Daisy Dukes!
7:00am: Stretching. Lots of erotic stretching.
10:00am: Choose to continue being gay.
10:01am: Lay on a bear skin rug, have a few cocktails, and think about new ways to threaten the "traditional marriage."
12:30pm: Have a good cry.
1:00pm: Grab my boombox, put on a David Bowie cassette, and meet Lance Bass down at FAO Schwarz to dance and recruit locals to homosexuality.
3:00pm: Run through a meadow flailing my limp arms.
3:30pm: Steal a horse from a sexy cowboy, paste a horn on its face (because we LOVE unicorns), and ride it toward the horizon until I find a rainbow.
3:57pm: Reach the rainbow and have a good cry.
4:30pm: Lose all innate abilities to raise children unless supervised by someone of the opposite sex.
4:45pm: See Satan at the grocery store and say "hi."
5:00pm: More erotic stretching.
5:30pm: Flirt with men that I know are straight because I'm gay and I have no social tact or common sense.
6:15pm: Watch "Glee" on Tivo.
6:55pm: Hand wash and hang dry my feather nipple tassels. 
7:30pm: Watch "S.W.A.T." starring LL Cool J and Sam Jackson because I'm pretty sure that's what straight dudes do and, obviously, I wish I were straight.
7:47pm: Turn off "S.W.A.T." because if that's what it takes to be straight, I'd rather suffer the persecution of being gay.
7:53pm: Start rewriting "S.W.A.T." as a musical starring Nathan Lane, Betty White, and Christopher Walken.
7:54pm: Realize writing "S.W.A.T.: To Protect and Sing" will not make me any more straight. Cease production.
8:00pm: Speak with a lisp.
9:00pm: Apply nipple tassels and take an ice bath.
9:35pm:  Fall asleep and dream about how to destroy Christianity.

Contrary to the beliefs of some, the only accurate representation listed above is the penchant for erotic stretching. But staying limber is important regardless of your sexual orientation. What this boils down to is that marriage is a fundamental right, and the ruling by Judge Walker is a huge step toward true equal rights as defined by the Fourteenth Amendment. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will agree.

How Liberal/Conservative Are You? Take the Test and Find Out!

Check out this website that tests your "political compass." From the home page click the link that says "take the test?" or "click here to start." DO NOT read the "Analysis" section first as it may prejudice your answers. I recommend Googling any terms from the questions that you may not understand so that your results are as accurate possible. The results will show where your beliefs fall on an economic scale and social scale. When you have received your score, read the "Analysis" carefully so that you understand what the numbers mean. To see where you rate in comparison to the 2008 U.S. presidential candidates, click the "U.S. Primaries 2008" link at the bottom of the "Analysis" section. As you will see, Democrats and Republicans typically score positive on both scales, however, Republicans tend to score higher in both instances. Republicans tend to be more to the "right" economically and more "authoritarian" socially. Dennis Kucinich and Ralph Nader were the only candidates who rated "negative" economically and socially. Enjoy.

WikiLeaking the Obvious

A diverse collection of nearly 100,000 documents was released to the website WikiLeaks last week regarding the U.S. war in Afghanistan. The source of the leaks is unknown, but the breadth of information contained in the documents is far-reaching and indicates a rather severe breach of information security. Nonetheless, all of the information released thus far is rated 'secret' or below (as opposed to more highly sensitive intelligence rated 'top secret') and none of the information is particularly shocking to those who have closely followed the United States' involvement in the region.

The leaked information paints a picture of the Taliban as a highly capable fighting force, a claim that appears self-evident considering the Afghan campaign represents the longest war in U.S. history. What may appear more surprising is the claim that Pakistan, a key U.S. ally in the conflict, has been providing supply line assistance and sanctuary to Taliban fighters that are killing American troops while denying the U.S. the right to pursue those fighters into Pakistan. Why would Pakistan allocate resources to helping the U.S. effort in Afghanistan while simultaneously undermining that effort by aiding the enemy? The answer is simple if you understand the geopolitical situation facing Pakistan and is described eloquently in this article by George Friedman.

The war in Afghanistan began in response to 9/11 in an effort to root out the Taliban government that was providing refuge to al Qaeda. Al Qaeda now operates autonomous cells in approximately 100 countries, therefore, a strategy aimed at eliminating the Taliban will do little to affect the durability of al Qaeda. The Taliban has never expressed any desire nor will to attack the United States as al Qaeda has, and when the United States withdraws from Afghanistan the Taliban will pose little threat to their national security.

Pakistan, on the other hand, will be drastically affected by the government that rules Afghanistan when the United States leaves. While the Taliban has technically been ousted from the government, they maintain a great degree of power and influence in the country. As Pakistan wishes to exert their influence on post-war Afghanistan, they are inclined to maintain an operating relationship with the Taliban as they will inevitably play some role in the country's future government. Thus, Pakistan has a strong incentive to play a two-pronged strategy: support U.S. and NATO forces in the country, while quietly remaining in the relative good graces of the Taliban. There is no amount of pressure that can be applied on Pakistan to change this incentive structure, and defeating the Taliban will do little to change the threat that remains from al Qaeda. Therefore, continuing the war in Afghanistan is an uphill battle that is being subverted by our own ally, demands incredible resources that we cannot afford, and which has no tangible benefit for U.S. national security. The WikiLeaked documents may have raised some eyebrows, but they did not reveal anything new about the war in Afghanistan.