Vermont Gets It Right

In a perfect world the government would be forbidden from interfering in the rites of marriage. So would fundamentalist bigots and their ilk. Until that day comes we shall have to rely upon people of courage in state legislatures to do the right thing by the people of their state. That's exactly what has occurred today in Vermont as they have legalised gay marriage and shunted aside the petty compromise of civil unions.

DUXBURY, Vt. — After 17 years together, Bill Slimback and Bob Sullivan couldn't wait another minute to get married. So they didn't.

With Vermont's new law allowing same-sex marriage only a minute old, they tied the knot in a midnight ceremony at a rustic lodge, becoming one of the first couples to legally wed under a law that took effect at midnight Monday.

Dressed in suits, saying their vows under a large wall-mounted moose head, the two Whitehall, N.Y., men promised their love, exchanged rings and held hands during a modest 17-minute ceremony. Moose Meadow Lodge co-owner Greg Trulson, who's also a Justice of the Peace, presided.

"It feels wonderful," said Slimback, 38, an out-of-work Teamster who is taking Sullivan's last name as his own. "It's a day I've been long waiting for, and a day I truly honestly thought would never come."

Slimback said he and Sullivan, 41, have long wanted to cement their relationship with a wedding, but since they couldn't legally marry in New York they chose to wed even before Vermont's gay marriage era officially dawned.

Vermont is one of five states that now allow same-sex couples to marry. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa are the others. New Hampshire's law takes effect Jan. 1, 2010.

Even though government is still involved in the issue, at least they came down on the side of rights for individuals, rather than the bigoted side of rights denial. Someday's you actually think there's some hope for this country and the people who inhabit it. Of course, tomorrow's another day. But, for today I'll "hold some faith in the goodness of humanity".

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Libertarian, Vermont, Gay Marriage

For All The People Doing The Hard Work

Promoting freedom is a thankless job and those folks in Vermont who have worked so hard deserve a lot of credit. Even their politicians, who managed to get something right. For once.




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Vermont, Gay Marriage

Even A Broken Clock Gets It Right Sometimes

Colour me surprised that some anonymous blogger at Kos managed to actually get something right where libertarians are concerned. These guys are wrong on almost everything that comes out of their pie holes and on the one subject that is anathema to their little, stunted collectivist souls they are normally so off base that it would be pathetic. If I felt anything about them, other than contempt.
In a post titled "Top 10 Signs You Might Not Be A Libertarian" the poster manages to correctly call out many of the new crop of people who dare to call themselves libertarians. (Avoid the comments section, there's real world lunacy going on in there). I've met a few of these people over the years and frankly, I'm surprised it took a Progressive collectivist to call the mark on the issue. Libertarians should have been calling it out long ago, instead of welcoming the infiltration. I find it distasteful that it took a collectivist to make this call.

10. If you think Ron Paul isn't conservative enough and Fox News is fair and balanced, you might not be a Libertarian.

9. If you believe you have an inalienable right to attend Presidential townhalls brandishing a loaded assault rifle, but that arresting participants inside for wearing a pink shirt is an important public safety precaution, there's a chance you're dangerously unbalanced, but no chance you're a Libertarian.

8. If you think the government should stay the hell out of Medicare, well, you have way, way bigger problems than figuring out if you're really a Libertarian.

7. If you rank Anthonin Scalia and Roy Moore among the greatest Justices of all time, you may be bug fuck crazy, but you're probably not a Libertarian.

6. You might not be a Libertarian if you think recreational drug use, prostitution, and gambling should be illegal because that's what Jesus wants.

5. If you think the separation between church and state applies equally to all faiths except socially conservative Christian fundamentalism, you're probably not a Libertarian.

4. You're probably not a Libertarian if you believe the federal government should remove safety standards and clinical barriers for prescription and OTC medications while banning all embryonic stem cell research, somatic nuclear transfer, RU 486, HPV and cervical cancer vaccination, work on human/non human DNA combos, or Plan B emergency contraception.

3. If you think state execution of mentally retarded convicts is good policy but prosecuting Scott Roeder or disconnecting Terri Schiavo was an unforgivable sin, odds are you're not really a Libertarian.

2. If you argue that cash for clunkers or any form of government healthcare is unconstitutional, but forced prayer or teaching old testament creationism in public schools is fine, you're not even consistent, much less a Libertarian, and you may be Michele Bachmann.

And the number one sign: if you think government should stay the hell out of people's private business -- except when kidnapping citizens and rendering them to secret overseas torture prisons, snooping around the bedrooms of consenting adults, policing a woman's uterus, or conducting warrantless wire taps, you are no Libertarian.

It's time to take a look at what's been going on. Not everyone who claims to be a libertarian is. Glenn Beck and Neal Boortz aren't libertarians, no matter how much they'd like us to believe they are. They're both self admitted Conservatives, a philosophy that is incompatible with libertarianism's core values.

Conservatives who are disenchanted with their chosen party have deserted it in record numbers, some have decided that their philosophy is somehow compatible with ours. Boy are they in for some disappointment. Unfortunately, too many people are willing to extend a hand to them, hoping they'll bring in votes for political candidates. This is not a winning policy, unless you're willing to burn down your house to gain a few votes in an already rigged electoral system. Personally, I'm not. Most will never be able to pass the litmus test. And that's fine with me.

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Libertarian, Daily Kos

Delusional Monday

It seems as if delusion is the watchword these days, from the Right and the Left. So let's go with that theme and a blast from the past. Golden Earring's paean to delusion, "When The Lady Smiles".