mjhinton posted a photo:
Normally, I wouldn’t post a photo so out-of-focus. However, it’s clear enough what’s going on — this Cooper’s hawk had enough of me and dropped off its limb and came straight at me, before pulling up to pass over my head. Wonderful!
Wisconsin’s recall election on Scott Walker: A bid for regular order – The Washington Post by EJ Dionne
Walker is being challenged not because he pursued conservative policies but because Wisconsin has become the most glaring example of a new and genuinely alarming approach to politics on the right. It seeks to use incumbency to alter the rules and tilt the legal and electoral playing field decisively toward the interests of those in power.
The most obvious way of gaming the system is to keep your opponents from voting in the next election. Rigging the electorate is a surefire way of holding on to office. That is exactly what has happened in state after state — Wisconsin is one of them — where GOP legislatures passed new laws on voter identification and registration.
Wisconsin’s recall election on Scott Walker: A bid for regular order – The Washington Post
The following letter is a cogent and thorough argument for marriage rights for all adults. Marriage is a contract. Indeed, Merri has made this argument for 25+ years. Kudos to David Paul Blacher.
A different letter insists Americans bow to Leviticus as the law. Not in America, bub. We have the Constitution. You are free to let the Bible rule your life, but not to force that rule on the rest of us. Amen. peace, mjh
Contract Law Applies To Marriage Licenses
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER’S comments (“The Same-Sex Marriage Dilemma,” May 19) are interesting, but he misses the fundamental issue— marriage is a contract. In fact, in America, it is most often actually two contracts: one civil and one religious. I absolutely support the right and obligation of religious organizations to define, pursuant to their own doctrines, who may enter into a contract that they validate and recognize.
However, the civil contract — usually in the form of a “marriage license” — automatically provides the individuals who sign and register the document with several unique and valuable government- issued and -sanctioned advantages. First and foremost is a significantly lower income tax rate, both federal and state. Add to this the way married couples may choose to own real property — usually as community property — and the inheritance advantages which are thereto attached.
Also, married couples have access to a capital gains deduction upon sale of the primary residence that is double that of a single owner. Add to this the general inheritance rights and tax levels provided by governments to married couples but not single couples.
Furthermore, the ability for hospital visitation, treatment and health-decision participation are treated differently for married and unmarried couples. The list of civil rights available only to married couples is extensive. … Most, if not all, governmental entities have laws that disallow discrimination on the basis of sex in the fulfillment contracts — both oral and especially written. The most significant contract that most people will ever sign is their civil marriage contract.
To abrogate a contract based on the sex of the signatories goes totally against the grain of the history of the United States as to the sacrosanct nature of contracts — see Article I, section 10, clause lof the U.S. Constitution that forbids the states from passing any “Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts.”
DAVID PAUL BLACHER
Albuquerque
[Curiously, this letter is not available on-line. What’s up with that, abqjournal.com?]
Our friend, Ann Prince, visited in April.
Merri and Ann camped and hiked in the area that is currently burning in the Gila.
As in other contexts, I’d rather be progressive.
Key to the Highway by Mark Halliday | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." G. K. Chesterton (books by this author), born in London (1874)
Key to the Highway by Mark Halliday | The Writer’s Almanac with Garrison Keillor
Romney’s distortions about Obama do us a disservice – The Washington Post
Even by this lax standard, Romney too often fails. Not to put too fine a point on it, he lies. Quite a bit.
“Since President Obama assumed office three years ago, federal spending has accelerated at a pace without precedent in recent history,” Romney claims on his campaign Web site. This is utterly false. The truth is that spending has slowed markedly under Obama.
Romney’s distortions about Obama do us a disservice – The Washington Post
Grisham has one constituent: herself. peace, mjh
Lujan Grisham should stop unfair attacks | NMPolitics.net
Rather than focus on the issues…
Rather than focus on the issues, Michelle has used her staff, surrogates and her allies in the conservative media to bring up old issues related to traffic tickets, Eric’s work on children’s issues, and even his hard work taking on establishment politicians in the Senate. …
The best person to fight for women and families
Michelle Lujan Grisham and her surrogates have suggested that only she can fight for women and families. I resent that as a woman. Eric has spent his career on the front lines of fighting for women and families as an advocate, an elected official and an active member of his community.
I hope other women and mothers will reject the attacks that Michelle Lujan Grisham and her conservative allies in the media and elsewhere have launched against Eric. I know him best. I have watched him as a loving father, dedicated husband and passionate fighter for kids who came from families like his. Those who know his heart know he is the best person to fight for women and families in Congress.
Kim Griego is Eric Griego’s wife, mother to Lucas their 3-year-old son, and has worked with and for young children with special needs and their families for 20 years. She currently works for the Albuquerque Public Schools in the Special Education Department.
