Eccentric Flower talk:200911/Not Bitter No

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Comments on Eccentric Flower:200911/Not Bitter No

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Xeney:

I agree with you, 100 percent. (Does that ever happen?) When my crazy religious right wing aunt is on Facebook joining pro-gay marriage groups, then I am going to feel okay about calling people who want to mind other people's business bigots and homophobes.

But what is the box turtle remark?

-- 18:39, 12 November 2009 (GMT)

Nonelvis:

I have a policy of never reading Jeff Jacoby's columns, especially when he's foaming at the mouth about gay marriage. I see that, as usual, my policy remains sound.

-- 19:09, 12 November 2009 (GMT)

Patrick:

There is honestly no other reason to oppose gay marriage beyond bigotry. If you're opposing it on religious grounds, then you're intolerant of other religions. If you're opposing it on "moral" grounds, then you're against it based on nothing but discomfort at other peoples' identities.

It's so tiring to constantly bash one's head against a wall over an issue that quite literally doesn't affect the people who oppose it in any way whatsoever.

-- 19:13, 12 November 2009 (GMT)

Platypus:

On the box turtle remark:

http://www.boingboing.net/2004/07/18/gay-marriage-compare.html

-- 19:27, 12 November 2009 (GMT)

Columbina:

Xeney: It's a remark Senator John Cornyn of Texas theoretically made in 2004. Jon Stewart and others had a whole lot of fun with it. Theoretically, because it was apparently from the planned text of a speech and Cornyn never did actually deliver the line.

The inimitable Charles Pierce, writing for The American Prospect:

Anyway, in the prepared text of a speech he planned to deliver to the Heritage Foundation, Cornyn explained:

"It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. But that does not mean that it's right .... Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife."

Later, a spokesperson for Cornyn explained that Cornyn had not read the passage in his actual address. In other words, at the last minute, on an issue of mighty national import, Senator John Cornyn choked. Pure cowardice. Naked -- you should pardon the expression -- political expedience wins out again over principled leadership. Where is the outrage?

(OK, it's in Atlantic City, waiting by the slot machines for Bill Bennett to finish up, but you get the point.)

As a matter of fact, it matters a great deal to my daily life if my neighbor marries a box turtle. Granted, it doesn't matter as much as it did to my old college buddies who went out and got drunk one night and woke up married to snapping turtles. That didn't end well, although they both can hit the high notes in the national anthem now. However, having a neighbor who's married to a box turtle presents its own set of problems. For one thing, father-son softball games are pretty much impossible, if one of the dads takes several days to leg out a grounder to shortstop.


-- 19:28, 12 November 2009 (GMT)

Columbina:

P.S. I think my link is better than Platypus', but hers does show the really fabulous slide Stewart displayed on "The Daily Show," so don't miss that.

-- 19:30, 12 November 2009 (GMT)

Platypus:

Your link is much better; mine was of the quick and dirty 'did he ever really say that?' variety.

Jon Stewart's piece on it was awesome, though.

-- 19:50, 12 November 2009 (GMT)

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