I just don't get all this "unchanged for thousands of years" rhetoric about the meaning of marriage. Who's the genius who came up with this piece of bullshit, and why is everyone hopping on board?

Especially bible-based people! I mean, really.

I can't get into the other stuff.

He said more than once during the campaign that he opposed Prop 8.

Laga said in Bitches that she was robocalled by his side to vote for it.

I had no CLUE Pete Seeger was that old! The picture in the link is from 1944, performing for Eleanor Roosevelt as a "noted folk singer"! I thought he was standard issue 60's era folkie, age-wise. IE, radicalized 20-something heir-of-Woody-Guthrie, not fellow-of-Woody-Guthrie.

He worked with the Smithsonian researchers who were gathering recordings of old-timers singing old-timey music in the late 1930s/early 1940s. I knew his music as a kid, of course, but didn't find out about him as a dissenter/activist until I took a college class on the Hoover-era FBI. One of the articles we read was about how the FBI helped to get the Weavers blacklisteded after they had their top-ten hits in the late '40s/early '50s. Between Lee Hays and Pete Seeger, they had enough Communist Party connections from the 1930s to doom them in the McCarthy era.

If you get a chance, PBS had an American Masters documentary on Pete that covers all this.

I love Pete Seeger, and while he looks great for 89, he does look, well, like an old man. And that makes me sad, because we won't have him for much longer. And I love him!

He said more than once during the campaign that he opposed Prop 8.

Laga said in Bitches that she was robocalled by his side to vote for it.

Laga "Spike's Bitches 43: Who am I kidding? I love to brag." Jan 19, 2009 8:38:30 am PST

Tep got to the link first, but yeah, Laga said the robocall was a reminder to vote NO on 8.

On another note entirely, NYCistas can get free Oren's coffee tomorrow between 10:44 am and 12:44 pm:

All nine Manhattan locations of Oren's Daily Roast will be offering free cups of their special Inauguration blend tomorrow from 10:44 a.m. to 12:44 p.m. The new roast is called "Blend 44: Beans You Can Believe In," and we're told it's inspired by Obama’s Kenyan and Hawaiian (Kona) roots, "while paying homage to his lively years at Harvard Law (Ethiopian Harrar beans) and his full-bodied years at Occidental College in Los Angeles (La Minita, Spanish for “Little Gold Mine”)."

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I though he wanted the repeal of both DADT and DOMA. I think he'll have more luck with the former, but I'll do what I can to support him on repealing both (Not that I'll have much luck in Texas).

The Catholic Church didn't get involved in marriage till the early Middle Ages. Before then, it was more a contract between families, and you could have the local priest bless you on the porch of the church if you wanted. On the porch, not inside. Cause marriages were for kids/heirs, and that meant sex, and churches didn't do sex.

Obama on DOMA (and tangentially on DADT) in 2004 when he was running for the Senate:

For the record, I opposed DOMA [ the Defense of Marriage Act ] in 1996. It should be repealed and I will vote for its repeal on the Senate floor. I will also oppose any proposal to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban gays and lesbians from marrying. This is an effort to demonize people for political advantage, and should be resisted ... .

When Members of Congress passed DOMA, they were not interested in strengthening family values or protecting civil liberties. They were only interested in perpetuating division and affirming a wedge issue. ...

Despite my own feelings about an abhorrent law, the realities of modern politics persist. While the repeal of DOMA is essential, the unfortunate truth is that it is unlikely with Mr. Bush in the White House and Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress. ...

We must be careful to keep our eyes on the prize—equal rights for every American. We must continue to fight for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. We must vigorously expand hate-crime legislation and be vigilant about how these laws are enforced. We must continue to expand adoption rights to make them consistent and seamless throughout all 50 states, and we must repeal the “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” military policy.

I know how important the issue of equal rights is to the LGBT community. I share your sense of urgency. If I am elected U.S. Senator, you can be confident that my colleagues in the Senate and the President will know my position.

[link]

On another note entirely, NYCistas can get free Oren's coffee tomorrow between 10:44 am and 12:44 pm:

I think Krispy Kreme is giving away a free donut to everyone tomorrow.