Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

Shallow, uninformed, and lacking identity

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

The truth is, these are not very bright guys, and things got out of hand.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

My years-long effort to drive family and friends away has really paid off this year.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

“Squeaker” McCarthy

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

You are here: Home / Civil Rights / LGBTQ Rights / Gay Rights are Human Rights / A song I heard about same sex marriage

Reader Interactions

51Comments

  2. 2.

    Steeplejack

    I have a fainting couch prepared and some smelling salts at hand, because when AsiangrrlMN hears this she is going to swoon.

    Just got home from a weird midshift at work.

    Steep + ¼

  4. 4.

    Steeplejack

    Have been struggling (happily, so far) with my new Droid Incredible today, and so far it is kicking my ass. Any general advice? The manual “documentation” that came with it is similar to that which came with Bazooka bubble gum.

  8. 8.

    ChrisZ

    I don’t know what Lilith Fair stuff is, so I don’t know if I usually go for it or not, but I love that song.

  10. 10.

    burnspbesq

    @Steeplejack:

    Have been struggling (happily, so far) with my new Droid Incredible today, and so far it is kicking my ass.

    That strange, garbled sound you’re hearing is a million iPhone owners trying not to laugh out loud.

  15. 15.

    ellaesther

    @donnah: I was just going to say that I don’t know how it is that I’ve not noticed that tag before, but that’s the truth right there, in five little words.

    Nice.

  17. 17.

    Steeplejack

    @burnspbesq:

    Tut, tut, none of your Apple fanboi exuberance, please. Phone is working just fine. I am just temporarily overwhelmed by all that it can do. It’s a big step up from my previous phone.

  19. 19.

    Steeplejack

    @Punchy:

    Okay, here’s why I don’t like the little WordPress floaty “Reply” thing. On your message–at least on my screen–the “Reply” thing hovers almost completely over the “gay” hyperlink, and I can’t click on that to save my life. I had to copy a whole phrase to Word, then do a “copy hyperlink” from there. Bummer.

    I liked the old permanent “Reply” button better.

  25. 25.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Steeplejack:

    Okay, here’s why I don’t like the little WordPress floaty “Reply” thing.

    I’m not a fan of the floating reply button, either, but frankly that’s not a part of standard-issue WordPress. And while we love the FYWP, neither is the hyphen-bomb or making things *bold* with asterisks – that’s part of Textile.

  26. 26.

    Steeplejack

    @Corner Stone:

    Are you scared to touch the gay?
    __
    Cooties through the tubes?

    I was trying to “touch the gay.” The “Reply” button was in the way.

    Reading for comprehension is a good thing. You should work on it.

  28. 28.

    Steeplejack

    @arguingwithsignposts:

    I think it’s tacitly understood here that when we say “FYWP” we mean the whole tangled morass of WordPress, add-on scripts, various jetsam and unreliable barnacles that constitutes the Balloon Juice commenting experience. At least that’s what I mean.

    But thanks for the clarification. Fuck you, Textile! Does that work better for you?

  31. 31.

    Corner Stone

    @Steeplejack:

    the “Reply” thing hovers almost completely over the “gay” hyperlink, and I can’t click on that to save my life.

    Sounds pretty self explanatory to me.

  33. 33.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @Steeplejack:

    But thanks for the clarification. Fuck you, Textile! Does that work better for you?

    I think the floating reply button would be FYAJAX, since I’m assuming it’s some javascript stuff.

    And yeah, FYWP should probably reflect that idea in the lexicon:

    FYWP- Fuck You, WordPress. Usually indicates that the writer has just lost a long, well-thought-out, incredibly witty post to the vagueries of WordPress Error. A particularly severe period of such posting failures will lead to remarks about “my favorite blog, WPE” or “Wordpress > Error = Balloon Juice’s default front page”.

    I’ve never had that happen. I usually see people moaning because they got caught in moderation.

  34. 34.

    Texas Dem

    I hate to be the skunk at the garden party, but I believe this analysis from con law expert Gordon Silverstein, as quoted by J. Chait in TNR, is spot on:

    Judge Vaughn [R. Walker] is probably right, but by drawing the sharpest possible line in the sand, his principled decision might possibly prove to be a moral victory but one that could undercut the deeper social policy goals advocates had in mind in pushing this forward as a legal and constitutional case.

    Vaughn took the strongest line imaginable—Prop 8, he said, can’t even pass the lowest, least demanding constitutional test there is for any sorts of rules that discriminate: The Rational Basis test. If you can show even the barest rational justification for a law, you can survive this test. Prop 8, Vaughn ruled, fails.

    This means, of course, that if you measure it against the far tougher standard that is typically applied in cases involving suspect classification (like race, or religion) it would, of course, fail miserably.

    This ruling, though, leaves the Supreme Court little wiggle room. Yes, they could of course agree with Vaughn, and strike down Prop 8—along the way fundamentally raising the barrier to any rules that might adversely affect homosexuals or same-sex couples. They could do that—but hard to believe they will.

    At the other extreme, Vaughn’s line-in-the-sand invites the Supreme Court to make a clear statement, to draw their own line, which would formally and explicitly carve out areas where such discrimination would in fact be constitutional. And by opening the door for such a ruling, those who brought this case to Vaughn’s court in the first place may live to regret that choice.

    The alternative, of course, is politics. Change minds. Elect candidates. The original Prop 8 passed in large measure because so many Californians who did not favor Prop 8 failed to participate, failed to vote. A political campaign is the sort of thing that can persuade and change minds—and that is, in the long run, the only way to truly lock in change. Judicial rulings can change behavior, but not minds. At least not by themselves.

    An adverse ruling from the Supreme Court would only make it that much harder to effect change through political channels.

    Vaughn might well say that his job is to read the constitution. Period. And he’s right, as was his decision, I think. But Vaughn didn’t force gay marriage advocates to bring this case—that was their choice. They will probably savor their moral and constitutional victory in the short term, but may regret it down the road.

    This case is a stark reminder of a harsh choice that rights advocates often have to make: Is it right to sacrifice moral and constitutional claims in the short term to achieve long-term policy goals? Or, insist on the moral high ground, regardless of the practical costs?

    Could be, though, that Vaughn has drawn his line so starkly that even the Roberts Court will be persuaded. Could be. But not likely.

    The end result of the lawsuit brought by Olson and company will likely be a 5 to 4 supreme court decision permanently enshrining in our constitution the “right” of states to abolish gay marriage, and it may be even worse than that. I understand the frustration with the political process, but the only way to achieve lasting progress on gay rights is through the political process, and that will require winning elections.

  37. 37.

    Steeplejack

    @Yutsano:

    Where is that certain Asian bisexual tonight? She has been absent lately. Or else my schedule has not been overlapping very well.

  38. 38.

    Yutsano

    @Steeplejack: She was about earlier but I missed her as well. Knowing her odd sleep schedule she’s more than likely passed out and poised to just start waking up. Or maybe she’s out getting lucky. Or she’s acting tonight. Hard to say for sure.

  39. 39.

    Steeplejack

    @Yutsano:

    Well, she’s about to miss me. I am tired and about to pack it in. Don’t have to work until 4:30 tomorrow, but I do need to get up in the morning and do my puttering around.

    Really thought the Edie clip from Peter Gunn would strike a chord with someone. Jeez, this is a tough crowd.

  40. 40.

    asiangrrlMN

    WTF? Test. Test. One two three.

    First part of post:

    DougJ, first of all, I would gay-marry you if you were a woman. I love love love love love Vienna Teng with a passion that is not entirely wholesome. Unfortunately for me, she is happily ensconced with a male. Second of all, she is not Lilith Fair material. Third of all, thank you again. Did I mention I love VT?

    @suzanne: I love Magnetic Fields. I got to see them perform while they were in town.

  41. 41.

    asiangrrlMN

    Fuck you, WP! Didn’t save this time.

    Steepman and Yutsy, you both know me too well. I took a nap and felt warmed by the love I got in my absence. Steep, I dig the song you posted. I think people were just trying to share their love. Sleep well! I miss you. You, too, Yutsy.

    @James F. Elliott: Do tell! I met her at her concert in VA. She really is very sweet, and so gorgeous, too!

  43. 43.

    BrighidG

    Vienna Teng’s stuff is really good. Catchier and deeper (without being too weird) than most Lilith Fair fare.

  44. 44.

    thalarctos

    @Steeplejack: A hack to get what you want with less effort–though still a hack–is to use CMD + or CMD – to change the size of the type on the screen. Different type size means different line breaks, and the unholy union of Reply and the link you want is severed.

  45. 45.

    Pseudonym

    I knew C—, um, “Vienna Teng” back when we slept through our Stanford undergrad CS lectures—not together or anything, but I had an unhealthy obsession with her music even then. Something that strikes me as Nick Drake meets Joni Mitchell but with a slightly more mature and detached view of the world. I think I embarrassed myself when I tried to talk to her at a performance though… at least she still facebook friended me.

  46. 46.

    someguy

    @burnspbesq:

    That strange, garbled sound you’re hearing is a million iPhone owners trying not to laugh out loud.

    And the reason it’s garbled is the million iPhone owners accidentally touched their phone while they were trying to talk, rendering the phone inoperable. Whooops… Guess you didn’t get the message that iPhone is yesterday’s news. Not a shocker you didn’t, given the paucity of AT&T 4G services. Whoops again…

  47. 47.

    RedKitten

    @asiangrrlMN:

    This is my song for the night. It’s not a love song; it’s a song of thanks (sorta) sung by the luminous k.d. lang.

    I remember seeing that on TV that night, and my husband and I just stood there in the middle of the living room, gobsmacked, listening to her and the incredible amount of emotion she put into that song — I swear, it was coming all the way from her toes. The crowd just went nuts afterward, and rightly so.

    Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. I have that video permanently bookmarked, and watch it often. I’m so happy that you like it too. :)

  48. 48.

    RedKitten

    @someguy: Hubby just bought a Samsung Wave and absolutely adores it. User-friendly, reliable, and plenty of apps — definitely a keeper.

  50. 50.

    asiangrrlMN

    @RedKitten: I adore her version. I mean, I love Leonard Cohen’s, Jeff Becks’, and John Cale’s versions as well, but there is something about k.d.’s rendition that just absolutely moves me.

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