links for 2008-11-18

Many gay-rights activists are wary of the current Supreme Court, but five of the justices who formed the majority in Romer vs. Evans remain on the bench. As with so many cases, a ruling likely would hinge on the views of Kennedy, and there is no reason to believe that his judicial opinion has changed in any fundamental way. Besides, any constitutional challenge will take years to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. By that time, the broader political change that swept over the nation Nov. 4 may have reached the Supreme Court as well.

But even if it hasn't, this 12-year-old precedent from a conservative high court could be the key to reaffirming that fundamental civil rights must be available to all citizens, regardless of race, sexual orientation or other intrinsic human qualities.
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Then, the federal constitution will be amended. 30 states have already signed onto a ban. Need just a few more.
And….the two issues as presented here are quite different

Now David Frum, a prominent conservative writer who enmeshed himself in a minor dustup during the campaign by turning negative on Governor Palin, is leaving, too. In an interview, he said he planned to leave the magazine, where he writes a popular blog, to strike out on his own on the Web.

“The answers to the Republican dilemma are not obvious and we need a vibrant discussion,” he said. “I think a little more distance can help everybody do a better job of keeping their temper.”
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Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Frum.

Had the protesters organized a march and sought the proper permits, Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAPD chief William Bratton, the city council, the police commission, indeed the entire municipal apparatus, nearly all of whose members are left-leaning and sympathetic to the same-sex marriage cause, would have moved heaven and earth to accommodate them, bringing large sections of the city to a halt if necessary, just as they have done to facilitate large-scale marches on behalf of another politically favored group, illegal aliens.

PROPOSED INTERVENOR CAMPAIGN FOR CALIFORNIA
FAMILIES’ PRELIMINARY OPPOSITION TO PETITION FOR
EXTRAORDINARY RELIEF

San Francisco, CA – Today Liberty Counsel filed its preliminary opposition summarizing its position regarding why the California Supreme Court should not consider petitions seeking to overturn the California Marriage Protection Act (Proposition 8). The Court has asked each party to provide these today. Liberty Counsel previously filed a motion to intervene on behalf of Campaign for California Families, and Liberty Counsel is submitting its preliminary opposition proposed by interveners.
For the second time in eight years, more than 50 percent of California voters have confirmed that what has been true for thousands of years still remains true today: Marriage is the union of one man and one woman. And, for the second time in eight years, same-sex marriage advocates are seeking to thwart the will of the people by asking the California Supreme Court to overturn Proposition 8.
Liberty Counsel argues that the Court should dismiss the petitions, because Proposition 8 is an amendment

You've gone to the dentist for some needed oral maintenance. But after the drill's whirrrrr has quieted and you're out the door, the anesthetic lingers on in your unfeeling cotton mouth.

Talking is very difficult while the mouth is anesthetized. Safety is also a concern —- without the warning sense of pain, some patients are prone to bite their tongues.

A new drug from Novalar, a Carmel Valley-based dental pharmaceutical company, solves this familiar problem. Called OraVerse, it's due to reach the market in October, coinciding with the American Dental Association's annual meeting in San Antonio.

OraVerse speeds the time for recovering normal sensation by more than 80 minutes, as measured in human clinical trials, reducing the recovery time by about half. The drug was approved for sale in the United States in May.
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Routinely used – probably not…..

Let's see if I got this straight: Hundreds of supporters of gay marriage, opponents of California Proposition 8, have picketed a Mexican restaurant in L.A. and shouted vulgarities at innocent customers just because one employee – a daughter of the owner – gave a modest $100 donation in support of the measure protecting traditional marriage. Opponents of Proposition 8 have threatened and harassed several other businesses – including a radio station, a theatre, and a chain of health food stores – because employees gave money in support of Prop 8. Opponents of Prop 8 have knocked a cross from the hands of an elderly woman and stomped on it during a demonstration in Palm Springs. Suspicious white powder has been sent in an envelope to a Mormon temple in Westwood. (Mormons were big supporters of Prop 8.)
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And, the Yes on 8 folks won an election.

Everybody, all together now: "All statements from Barack Obama come with an expiration date. All of them."
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Bet so…..

The official proponents of Proposition 8 and the campaign committee responsible for its enactment by voters today urged the California Supreme Court to accept original jurisdiction of three cases challenging the measure's validity and have petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene in the cases as Real Parties in Interest. Expressing confidence that the Supreme Court will uphold the validity of Proposition 8, the authors of the measure urged the Supreme Court to deny requests to stay implementation of Proposition 8 pending resolution of the legal issues.

1. The Republican Party suffered a death blow.
2. A wave of black voters and young people was the key to Obama's victory.
3. Now that they control the White House and Congress, Democrats will usher in a new progressive era.
4. A Republican candidate could have won the presidency this year.
5. McCain made a huge mistake in picking Sarah Palin.

You may remember the document widely circulated during the weeks leading up to November 4th entitled, “The Six Consequences if Proposition 8 Fails”. It was used by Prop 8 supporters to remind voters that changing the definition of marriage would have far-reaching consequences. It wasn’t a simple vote about giving a group equal rights. Well, look where we are now! Twelve days after the election (Can you believe it’s only been twelve days?) and even though Proposition 8 passed, it feels like we’re in worse shape than before. Let’s review “The Six Consequences” in light of recent events:
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And Proposition 8 passed!

An unreleased, experimental track by The Beatles could be made public 41 years after it was recorded at Abbey Road studios, ex-member Paul McCartney has said.

McCartney, one of two surviving members of arguably the most successful pop band in history, told BBC Radio that "Carnival of Light" was The Beatles at their most free, "going off piste."

"I said it would be great to put this on because it would show we were working with really avant-garde stuff," McCartney told Radio 4's Front Row culture show in an interview to be broadcast on Thursday.

That’s what happens when a depression begins on your watch and when you can’t offer a coherent explanation of how and why it occurred and what you are going to do differently. That’s what happens when instead of having such an explanation, you spend decades in quarrels between pragmatic but unimaginative moderates who seek to be better tax collectors for the liberal welfare state, and principled but fanciful conservatives who hope for a wholesale rejection of that welfare state. And the fact that there were many successful Republican governors in those years didn’t much change the party’s status nationally.
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The GOP needs to find a coherent economic message and deliver it quickly

"It used to be that a handful of editors could decide what was news-and what was not. They acted as sort of demigods. If they ran a story, it became news. If they ignored an event, it never happened. Today editors are losing this power. The Internet, for example, provides access to thousands of new sources that cover things an editor might ignore. And if you aren't satisfied with that, you can start up your own blog and cover and comment on the news yourself. Journalists like to think of themselves as watchdogs, but they haven't always responded well when the public calls them to account."

The speakers and panels are of course the principal attraction. Moderated by NR regulars such as K-Lo and John Miller, who asked good questions and got out of the way, the panels were outstanding. One of the best was the final panel on assessing the Bush administration, featuring John O'Sullivan, Bill McGurn, Shannen Coffin, Senator Thompson, Pat Toomey, Mona Charen, Ed Whelan, and Deroy Murdock. As you might expect, the assessment was mixed.
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Now the onetime front-runner for the Republican nomination is schmoozing influential party insiders on the National Review's annual cruise — a gathering of 700 conservative activists and the same forum where Palin wowed the movement's media elite last year, beginning her meteoric rise from obscure governor to vice presidential nominee.

But even as Romney publicly declares he has no intentions to run again, several former aides said they believe he will, and this week's get-together with leading conservatives is only the latest sign the man who spent more than $50 million of his own money to vie for the party's nomination last year is itching to do it again.
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California Governor in 2010 first? Or the US Senate?

Obama's days of walking on water won't last indefinitely. His chroniclers will need a new story line. And sometime after Jan. 20, they will wade back into reality.
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And, the harder the fall when the media realizes he is not the second coming.