It's time for some daylight between Libertarians and the Gay Rights movement

Why are libertarians trying to force their will on other people when it comes to gay marriage?

It's not intentional (at least, I don't THINK it is), but the problem is this fight has become about forcing people to say the M-word.

Take prop 8 as a prominent example, It was one line of legislation. Yes, one. It read, in its entirety;

"Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

Nothing about nullifying civil unions, blocking adoptions, or rounding up gays into internment camps. Just the M word.

"But wait!" I've heard many times, "A civil union isn't the same as a marriage!" Actually, it is. In the state of California, civil unions have the same protections and privileges as a marriage.

Prop 8 was literally only about the M-word.

And in that paltry petition, it failed. It lost because the supposedly liberal people of California didn't want it.

Sorry, it wasn't because ZOMG TEH MORMENZ, or because the Pope pooped in the woods. It was because the people of California, when asked, said "No."

Now we get to libertarian crazy town.

Because at this point, libertarians started arguing that the government should overrule the people's decision and force them to use the M-word in describing the union of two people of the same sex.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Larry "The Big L" Libertarian says, "You act as if gangs of gays are beating up religious people until they say the m-word! No one is being put upon by this legislation!"

If that's the case then why do they keep voting it down? Over and over and over again, in state after state after state?

"Because they're bigots and hate gays!"

Supposing you're right, do libertarians advocate forcing people to agree with us? Do Libertarians demand uniformity of thought? Or is that only for beliefs that you believe are dumb?

Technically the real issue here is that the vote keeps going to the people, and the people have spoken, just not the way libertarians apparently wanted. So libertarians are arguing that people should change to suit the will of others.

Does that seem libertarian to you?

"People's religious beliefs don't trump personal freedom. Majority opinion should be overruled when it comes to personal rights."

I'm glad you brought up rights, Strawman o' mine, because the people who voted "no" were freely exercising their religious beliefs. That's actually inside the 1st amendment. Which amendment is the right to have the fedgov anoint your marriage?

"But the majority shouldn't impose its will on a minority, no matter the reason. America is a republic to defend the rights of minority. The state should overrule them!"

From a perspective of federalism, yes, the state should be able to do whatever it likes, and actually, it can.

California could try to pass it legislatively, but they go to the people because they know gay marriage is unpopular, and they like getting reelected.

"Then the supreme court should tell the states and the people what to do!"

This is where the libertarian support of gay marriage seems to go full retard.

Since when do Libertarians run to the supreme court, and ask them to force a state whose people agreed on a course of action, to overrule the state and its people?

While we're talking about the supreme court, I'd like to remind us all that nine people in robes didn't give us our right to keep and bear arms, so they can't take it away.

I celebrated the Heller decision like everyone else, but only because it extended Claire Wolfe's awkward phase. It was not a magic bullet, nor was it validation. If I elect myself ruler of your life, and magnanimously deign that you may go about your business, would you feel relief at my benevolence? Or would you just chuckle?

"Alright, fine, lets be honest... We all know this is more about getting the government out of marriage than it is about gay marriage."

This is the crux of my concern. Two groups joined up to fight for the same ground with different destinations in mind. Once that ground is gained, libertarians will lose.

The fight has become over the top and, dare I say, flamboyant. A win on this ground is a loss for libertarians who hitched their wagon to this fight and are destined to suffer from its failure.

Yes, failure. This is not a popular fight. Gay marriage has been deeply unpopular even in deeply liberal states. Many failed pieces of legislation have proven that.

Libertarians shouldn't be running to the supreme court for justice. We should be appealing to the people with common-sense and rational arguments.

So raise your hand if you think there's been an abundance of common sense and rationality in this debate.

Bueller? ... Bueller? ... Bueller?

"The ends justify the means. Getting the fedgov out of marriage would be a huge win, no matter how we get there!"

Ok, lets imagine victory. Say the fedgov threw up its hands and said, "FINE! GO BE GAY IF YOU WANT! I DON'T EVEN CARE ANYMORE!" and got itself out of the marriage business. Say it deferred to the states, accepting any state marriage certificate as a union with the same protections.

Do you think this fight would be over?

Of course not! There'd be gay riots in the streets! How DARE the fedgov not FORCE every state to allow gay marriage! It's about rights! Except... which right would being infringed upon at this point? The right to force other people to say a word? The right to force people to vote against their religious beliefs? Then, when libertarians celebrated it as a victory, gay activists would turn on them for not sharing their goal.

Libertarians need to acknowledge that we don't share the same goal with the gay rights movement.

There is no victory here.

Either gay marriage wins, and libertarians become a group that opposes religion and forces their will on others, or gay marriage loses, and libertarians lose the momentum they've built getting the feds out of our marriages.

"So what do we do then? Give up the partnership? Lose all we've gained?"

Not really. I think we just need a slight course deviation. Not a 180, just, like, five degrees off to one side. We're going in the same direction, but we don't have the same destination (or convoy!)

So when a gay rights advocate fights for legislation to force all 50 states to acknowledge gay marriage, just say,

"Getting the government out of the marriage business is the root of this issue, and where we should be focusing. Because it would empower the individual residents of each state to chart the course of the state, and win the freedom they seek without nine unelected people in robes thousands of miles away telling them what to do."

"You just hate gay marriage."

Actually no, I think gays should be allowed to marry. I don't think the fedgov can provide a service to one taxpayer and deny it to another. However, if it weren't in the fedgov's hands, I'd defer to the states.

"How can you 'defer to the states' when widows of gay service members are being denied benefits!"

Yeah, I keep hearing that, and I think it's wrong and distressing (again, a service to one taxpayer, but not another), but I don't think it's happening enough to warrant all this pressure on the issue. Which begs the question--

What is this fight actually about?

Love is a personal experience, and I never understood what impact a piece of paper stamped or signed by another person could possibly have on it.

There are many gay men in committed, loving relationships right now, living happily, regardless of their union status as applied by the federal government (or lack thereof!).

Look at it from a gun rights perspective. The supreme court doesn't protect my rights. I do. With my rifle, my skill, and my willingness to use it. My freedoms are extremely personal.

If Obama stacked the court with liberals and they all but nullified the second amendment, that wouldn't mean the inalienable rights endowed to me by my creator ceased to exist.

So why would a bureaucrat stamping a form have some effect on your deep, abiding love and personal commitment to your soul mate?

It doesn't make sense, and I ask again; what is this fight REALLY about?

Personally? The only thing that makes sense to me, is that it's about wanting to be normal.

If the feds made a new classification of marriage called "Super Marriage," and only allowed to a select group of couples to apply for that status, I think there'd be plenty of excluded couples clambering just as desperately for the privilege.

But I think the only couples who thought they needed a Super Marriage would be the ones that were in trouble already.

The union of two people who love each other doesn't magically improve when you call it a marriage, or a "civil union with all the protections of a marriage," or a Super Marriage, or a jelly donut.  It is what it is.

And it isn't what it isn't.

If you're not happy with your Honda Civic, forcing all your friends to call it a Lamborghini isn't going to help.

The Bard said, "The lady doth protest too much" and methinks the flamboyant and viciously vocal section of the gay rights movement is getting in our faces so it doesn't have to look in the mirror.

BREAKING NEWS! TERRORISTS DIDN'T FOLLOW LAW!!!

EVERYONE STOP THE PRESSES! THIS IS BREAKING NEWS!
Reuters: Boston Bombing Suspects Did Not Have Valid Handgun Licenses

Oh man! They're in for it now! You know the fine for that? I mean, sure the whole terrorist bombing and everything, but Reuters is ON THE BALL when it comes to these guys not having permits to own guns in the town they're from.

THAT'S ILLEGAL! It's like they didn't even care about breaking the law! OBVIOUSLY what we need is another law about guns, making it even MORE ILLEGALYER to not license your guns AND use them in the commission of a terrorist act. Like a mandatory add on of-- like-- 2 years! Thank you, Reuters, for pointing out that criminals have broken the law!

NEW BREAKING NEWS!
Boston bombing suspects BROKE THE SPEED LIMIT while fleeing the police!
FULL STORY SOON, THIS IS BREAKING NOW!!!

It's spreading...

For some reason in our day and age, when a crazy person does something crazy with a Beretta 92 9mm handgun, the news reporters camp out Beretta's headquarters and charge employees as they leave work shouting, "WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY ABOUT WHAT YOUR HANDGUN DID?!"

I never thought we'd see that transfer to other objects...

CBS News: Pressure cooker maker: Our pots "not intended" for bombs

Fagor America, Inc ... released a statement Wednesday saying it has been contacted by investigators and is fully cooperating. The pressure cookers "are not intended to be used for any other purpose other than cooking,"

Well shit! Why didn't you say so! I'll bet money they didn't even have "No Terrorist Bombings" on the warning label! THEY'RE CULPABLE! WHAT DID YOU KNOW, AND WHEN DID YOU KNOW IT?!

But it gets better! The maker of a battery used to power the device speaks out!

"We were appalled to discover that one of our off-the-shelf products was used in such a horrific and senseless act of hate,"

So, now we need to investigate the these high capacity rapid fire electron holders?

This is utterly silly, the only thing that could make it worse is some stats about the previous products to strongly imply the danger we are all in at the hands of these merchants of death!

The battery company said the product, a 1.25V 3000mAh Sub-C siz Nickel Metal Hybrid, is widely available on the retail market and they have sold tens of thousands of it over the past year. Fager America said they sell over 250,000 pressure cookers annually.

This is sad.

Called it.

We win another battle.

There were a number of things Obama could have done by executive order that would have been illegal.

He didn't do any of them.

There were a number of things he could have done by executive order that would have been perfectly legal and within his power has president.

He didn't do any of them.

We win.

They lose.

Keep up the pressure.

Republican Party: "We're pointless as a political party! Please replace us!"

It's funny, everyone keeps advocating the death of the Republican party in favor of a conservative libertarian party.

I just never thought the leaders of the Republican party would be the ones making the most convincing arguments.


"What are you trying to convince me of, exactly? That you're as useless as an asshole [on my elbow]? Well guess what, Buddy. I think, you just fucking convinced me!"

What it if went the other way?

I know it's probably WAY too soon to speculate on this, but the tagline under my blog name reminds me that I am a serial optimist.

What if the result of this horrible tragedy went the other way?

I've suggested that we've reached a tipping point where a majority of the voting (or just polling) population recognizes that private ownership of guns has value in a civilized society.

With that in mind, I've been thinking about Obama's beautiful flowing gun control coat that everyone keeps talking about, but all I see is a naked man.

Think about it; his plan is to name a head of a committee to select individuals to lead a discussion to find common ground to finalize an idea for proposed legislation to go through the various committees and sub-committees of the senate and the house in order to bring a vote that will fail the first time, sending it back to those committees and sub-committees, until finally... It either reaches some sort of gun control nirvana and is approved and signed by Obama, OR... it finds no agreement, and allows Obama to blame a do-nothing congress for his failings (past performance indicates future failure).

These things lead me to believe Obama's polling shows the gun control argument is still a losing one, and give me a sliver of optimism that maybe, just maybe, the American people saw this tragedy and instead of knee jerking:

This is absolutely horrifying. We need to ban guns NOW.

...thought about it a bit more, and said:

This is absolutely horrifying, there are no safe places, and no safe people. Maybe we really should all carry guns.

Like I said; waaayy too early to call, but just think about it.

You really have no idea what you've just done.

I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed.

Ok, maybe a little mad too.

Voting yourself free stuff without creating anything doesn't work. Actually, it's worse than it not working, it actively sets you up for a terminal failure.

Not long ago, hurricane Sandy victims were crying out for the government to give them food because it had been... three... days...

These people, literally, did not have the ability to survive on their own for 72 hours.

I feel sorry for 50% of America, because they really have no idea what they've just done.

Folks like us? We'll be fine. We're survivors. We're hard to dissuade, we persist, we emerge victorious, even if it's only because we refuse to surrender.

Folks like you?

You'll be dead.

But that's not a threat; because you won't be dead by our hands. You'll be dead by your own machinations.

This election was just the opening act of a mass suicide.

The truth is too important to ignore, and if you ignore it long enough, you will fall victim to it.

I don't know if you'll starve to death waiting for FEMA to save you after a natural disaster (when they've closed their office due to inclimate weather), if you'll be stabbed with a screwdriver by a recently paroled lifer because you just voted down the three strikes law that brought crime stats down to 1950s levels, if you'll fall victim to simple government incompetence, or if you'll just sing kumbaya in a circle until you waste away.

The point is, we will win because you reject reality.

I just feel sorry that I won't be able to help all of you. (Not that you'd dare ask for help from neighbors or from a *gasp* church, that's what the government is for)

A hard rain is going to fall, and you people don't believe in umbrellas.

I'm sorry. Really. I did all I could to help you, but you are hell-bent on seeing how deep the rabbit hole goes. If you stare into the Abyss long enough the Abyss stares back into you.

Prepare yourselves, because you're pulling back the veil on humanity, civilization, and socialism, and

it

will

be


EXCRUCIATING.




Good luck to you. You're going to need it.

The Summer Soldier & the Sunshine Patriot [Intellectual Froglegs #12]

Good.

Voting for love of country

I was the first one at a the polls in my precinct.

Up early, I finally saw Orion for the first time since we moved. At no other time, early morning or 2am had I found The Hunter since we moved here over four months ago. It was a cathartic experience.

I overdressed for the cold, wearing my heavy coat over the shirt I set out for today. "TAKE BACK YOUR REPUBLIC" and under the striking snake: "TIME'S UP." Normally a little too provocative for my taste, but this is America, so if you don't like it, you don't have to look at it.

It was about 30 degrees, enough for the cold to sting, but not enough for it to bite. One person arrived shortly after me. We stood outside the door and talked about how glad we were to get it over with, while we rocked and fidgeted to keep warm.

Another man joined our vigil. Then another. Then another.

By the time the polls opened there were over 30 people lined up. There were even more by the time I left.

You don't have to bust the doors to vote. They're open from 6am to 6pm. Absentee and early voting is easy. So why did everyone show up?

You know why.

Catching up to the new normal

We're moving out of the in-law's basement into an apartment, so we've been busy packing and taking loads over when we can. Mrs ET is getting more preggers but she's doing quite well.

Moving out is a great feeling. Even though we are going to be on a narrow budget, there's something comforting knowing that you are in charge of your living space. Don't get me wrong, the mother in law was a great host, there's just an intangible dull pain you get living under someone else's roof. Maybe it only happens to libertarians.

The gun shop is going well, we had a run on shotguns and carry pistols for a while, but that seems to have abated, which seems to indicate it might have been Sandy-related. The shop has been pretty busy, but not nearly as busy as it was the last election. I think everyone already knows what's going to happen.

I'm still expecting the job front to kick into overdrive the day after the election, but I've stopped taking things for granted, and know that we'll be able to keep on keeping on even if it takes much longer. It's hard to go from making more than enough money to making barely enough, but it's a small price to pay when I remind myself that we live in Kentucky.

This place really is special. Lexington in particular. I have a hard time putting it into words, and will give it its own post where I can try to do it justice, but suffice to say: I still catch myself staring at the beauty around me. I can't wait for winter.

There have been a few must-haves, but nothing too fancy. The shop actually wound up with a Microtech Troodon, which has been on my want list for a long time, but I didn't want it nearly as much as a Mcusta that blew me out of the water. I went home, posted a shotgun on Armslist, took the first offer, met up and sold it the next day, and drove straight to the shop to buy it. I can't believe it's a production knife. This thing is art. A R T. It bumped the 940 I carried since I was 16 from the EDC slot. The Mcusta is so good that not a single fuck was given.

I managed to keep my hands off of all the pretties in the shop (being broke helps!), but just had to have a beautiful Glenfield 25 bolt action .22. I sold another shotgun to a friend and picked up the Glenfield for $80. The spiral rifling is incredibly sharp. So sharp that someone either never fired it, or meticulously cleaned it after every range trip. The sights are a welcome relief from the usual "classic 22" style, which consist of a round bead front sight and horns covering a tiny slider with a notch on the rear sight. I can't stand those sights, so I loved that the Glenfield had a square front sight post, and a flat open rear leaf sight, making the sight picture crisp and clear. Speaking of crisp, the trigger is a short, semi-heavy break that still manages to catch a seasoned trigger finger such as mine off guard. Overall style is wonderful. The stock has a classic cut and the long heavy barrel really adds to the appeal of the rifle. The front sight is screwed in close to the crown, making the prospect moving the sight back and getting the barrel threaded quite straightforward. The receiver is thick enough that tapping it for an aperture sight wouldn't be hard, but so far, I'm enjoying the additional visibility offered by the open sights. I can't wait to shoot it, and will update when I do. Being in varmit country, a long barreled .22 bolt gun can be very useful. Especially one with a can. The bolt is turned down near the receiver, making it more difficult to run lefty, but it's not really built for speed, and I think I'd like it less if the bolt was sticking straight out. The only thing bugging me about it is the balance, which, given the heavy stock and long heavy barrel, is right on the magazine, making for uncomfortable one-handed carry. I have plans to cut into the stock, either to lighten it or to put in a compartment for ammo à la the M6 survival rifle. Oh yeah, that reminds me...

I ran into a Savage 42 at a local shop, and began scoffing immediately. I picked it up and scoffed, I shouldered it and scoffed, I checked the sights and scoffed, I balanced and handled it and scoffed, I looked at the price and scoffed. By the time I was done scoffing, much to my chagrin, I liked it. Alright Savage, you did kind of alright. It's not the right kind of style, but it is a kind of style.

More detail on all of the above will follow as things slow down. See you guys on the other side.

PJNews Break: Employment Manipulation? Jobs Numbers Magically Improve Right After Obama's Dreadful Debate

Funnier than NewsBusters

Hold your nose rifle and vote for Romney

The tiniest thread of support was all that allowed me to vote for McCain. That thread was the supreme court justices and the Heller case.

When the highest court in the land was able to find a right to bear arms in the constitution BY ONE STINKIN' VOTE I realized that we were in worse shape than I was willing to admit. So I voted for McCain solely because of the supreme court justices.

But after Roberts found the government has the power to tax you for NOT doing something, that thread snapped, and all bets were off. The highest court in the land was now subject to popularity contests and political considerations. So nuts to them.

With that final tether gone, will I hold my nose and vote for Romney?

Not technically.

I've considered "throwing my vote away" on a third party, and were Obama not the alternative, I likely would. If this election were McCain vs Hillary, I'd vote Libertarian with smile.

But we're not facing the usual flavor of liberal. We're up against one so hopelessly lost in ideology that he will drive us off the cliff and tell us we'll be fine all the way to the ground. He's such an amateur that he can't even recognize his destructive actions will doom himself along with everyone else. He is so arrogant that he almost lives in a dream world where he is the hero and literally everyone else is wrong and against him.

He's an existential threat to this country, and I honestly believe the country we love won't survive another 4 years of him.

I'm voting for Mitt Romney, not because I'm holding my nose, but because I'm holding my rifle, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to use it to defend my family in the civil unrest that will unfold after 4 more years of spiraling debt, dangerously incompetent management, and the unspeakable horrors not even Obama felt safe unleashing before his second term.

The reason I'm voting for Romney because I don't want to shoot anyone.

That said, we've been building some of these problems for decades, and I have no illusion that Romney or anyone would be able to stop The Great Correction from taking place, but I'm positive that Romney will buy us more time than Obama. While many advocate taking your medicine now instead of later, taking it later means more time to buy food, water, and ammo, so I'll take every second I can get.

Time for an impromptu draw Mohammad day!

Yeah, I know it's my old pic, but twitter killed it for offending Muslims violation, so now it's hosted here, nice and safe.

I just think now is a good time to remind everyone in the world that in America, we have freedom of speech, and are free to say, print, or draw any stupid, idiotic, offensive, nonsense we want without fear of the federal government coming to our house and making us stop.

If anyone from the white house is reading this, please mention this to the agents who "investigated" the douche who wanted to burn a Koran, and the (literally) brown-shirted agents who suddenly had an interest in questioning the guy who made an anti-muslim video that looked like a middle school film class project about possible parole violations that had nothing to do with the film.

If this is my final post, check google maps for the smoking crater from the drone strike on my house.

If you see Franz Ferdinand, tell him to duck!

American soil in Libya is invaded as our embassy is burned and our ambassador is dragged through the street, possibly raped, and murdered.

Our embassies in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan, Lebanon, India, Balgadesh, Indonesia, and Afghanistan are coming under different degrees of attack.

Japan and China are developing some serious bad blood.

Israel says Iran will have nukes in 6-8 months (while we sat on our hands) and that they will strike before this time (HOPEFULLY) leading us into a war to support our ally.

We're starting some international joint war games within spitting distance of Iran.

And if all that wasn't enough, Helicopter Ben will be dropping (read: PRINTING) $40,000,000,000 into the US economy to "stabilize it." But this printing of money will be different from the last two, because this one will print $40,000,000,000 EVERY 30 DAYS until things improve.

There has never been a better time to check your preps.

For further reading and links check Tam and Zero Hedge

Obamacare summed up in one sentence

We're going to be gifted with a healthcare plan we are forced to purchase and fined if we don't, which purportedly covers at least 10,000,000 more people without adding a single new doctor, but provides for 16,000 new IRS agents, written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a congress that didn't read it, but exempted themselves from it, and signed by a president who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, for which we will be taxed for 4 years before any benefits take effect by the government which has already bankrupted social security and medicare, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that is broke.

What could possibly go wrong?

~Dr. Barbara Bellar

The one with Bush stung.

I'll bet this one burns.

For the second consecutive election...

... why must I find myself looking for a bumper sticker that reads;

Romney / Heart attack 2012

It was cute with McCain, but the base will only hold its nose for so long before losing interest in the Grand Ancient Party.

The Obama presidency seems to be doing serious damage to the Democrat party, what if Romney gets a landslide, and the Dems realize they've lost a lot of standing, then Romney proceeds to Romney up the presidency, leaving BOTH parties severely weakened?

I'd call that a perfect storm for a third (or fourth?!) party candidacy!

Yeah, I know, but shut up a minute, ok? I can dream, can't I? Let me have this moment...

Quote of the defeating North Korea

Saw this at HotAir, and it was too good to keep to myself...

A response to a comment about the upcoming Red Dawn remake modified to make the aggressors North Korea instead of the original antagonist, China.

assuming the Norks could get here, they’d be invading grocery stores and fast food joints.

Yep. We could throw up a defensive line of mobile KFC outlets and set off open barbeque pits upwind of their rear areas.

crosspatch on August 10, 2012 at 7:14 PM

Aww, that's just... Gee...

"Why we lined up at Chick-fil-a"

National Review: Why We Lined Up at Chick-fil-A

Lee Habeeb, VP of content at Salem Radio Network, has an excellent article which says all the things I've been trying to turn into ones and zeroes.

I went to Chick-fil-a on appreciation day even though I support gay marriage, because my gut said it was the right thing to do. Afterwards, I read many articles on the topic to see why people went or stayed home, trying to find hints to how and why I felt the need to go, because I wasn't completely sure of my motivations.

I was very happy to find this article which Lee apparently wrote for me :). It says all the things I wanted to say perfectly, and thinking about it helped me solidify other thoughts.

I don't like it when people tell me to boycott something, and I like it even less when I'm attacked for refusing to participate. I don't like tearing down, I like building up. Show me a buy-cott I can support, and I'll show you my wallet. But when self-righteous groups and politicians try to stop me from doing something, I feel a sudden drive to do the opposite. I'm just an onery libertarian like that.

It is a shame that the LGBT community's boycott was overshadowed by politicians trying to score points through constitutionally repugnant threats, but that's the way it turned out. If it's any consolation, they felt the burn, and will think twice in the future.

I am a big believer in voting with your dollars. I think it's every citizen's right to support or not support companies with their hard-earned cash. But there are many corporations, non-profits, comedians, actors, production companies, video game publishers, religions, orangutangs, and breakfast cereals that I patronize who don't match my beliefs.

It would be impossible to only give money to people who match your beliefs 100%, so we all have our personal thresholds.

Chick-fil-a, and countless other Christian groups, do great work for the poor. They donate their time and money to great causes that I agree with. To me, their positive impact on America and the world is not negated by the fact that they don't agree with me on gay marriage.

Churchill said, "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." I know there are homosexuals out there to whom gay marriage isn't the sole deciding issue in their politics. If Osama Bin Laden wanted to destroy America, subjugate women, and rule in an oppressive theocracy, but was totally on board with the whole gay marriage thing, I wouldn't expect the LGBT organizations to support him. (Though I can't help but wonder in the world of politics.) There are degrees of value that must be measured to maintain some level of intellectual honesty.

The day may come when Chick-fil-a's values do more harm than good in my estimation, but that day was not August 1st.

Evaluate the breadth of contributions and damages before you decide your personal threshold of support. We're not simpletons who can only formulate blanket yea or nay positions based on one minor subject.

Yes, "minor subject."

Whether or not a bureaucrat in your state capital stamps a form with a certain word on it that confirms your deep love and personal commitment to your soul mate IS a minor subject in the grand scheme of things. Deep love and personal commitment don't come from a form.

ROMNEY HITS THE TEE-BALL OUT OF THE PARK!

Romney team counters felon charge with reminder that Obama has publicly admitted to doing drugs.

That's right folks, stuffed cat just leaped onto the mouse! Or maybe the wind blew it over and it fell onto the mouse. Whatever.