"Marriage is not a right: If it were, even minors would be allowed to marry at will." -- DurableAlloy

There appears to be a misconception in America that if something is a 'right' then there can be no rules restricting it. Even laws restricting political speech or based on race may be acceptable if those laws can pass "strict scrutiny". If the reason justifying the law is strong enough, any right can be restricted. Of course, there few laws making a race-based distinction are capable of passing strict scrutiny, so few of those laws are constitutional.

There really are few laws regarding who may marry and under what conditions. You don't have to pass a physical fitness test (although in most, if not all states, you must get tested for syphilis), or undergo a 'marriage training' course. Mental fitness considerations are generally limited to whether you are capable of giving consent. In most states, you may marry any adult of the opposite sex who is not a closer relation than second cousin (i.e., no siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, first cousins). You may marry if you are a convicted felon and you may marry a convicted felon. There are laws, varying from state to state, regarding age limits, but all states allow "adults" as defined by those state's law to marry.

Personally, even if one said that laws concerning marriage only needed to pass rational basis review, I would find an anti-gay marriage law unconstitutional as there is (to me) no rational basis for prohibiting two adult men or two adult women from marrying. Even a law merely needing to pass rational basis review must have a rational basis. I just don’t see that there is a rational basis for laws restricting gay marriage.

I know as a lefty I'm supposed to love the public schools and hate the private schools, but why shouldn't the Obamas want to send their kids to private school? Isn't Sidwell Friends supposed to be pretty good? Should he have turned down Punahou School because it's private, just to make a statement about social justice and go to a crappy Hawaiian public school? I say, let's dismount from the high horse on this issue.

Death would end his misery. No, I think a much better end would be for Vic to end up as a friendless, powerless operative for the Fed. His wife betrayed him. He betrayed Ronnie. Shane's done, even if Vic would take him back, which Vic wouldn't. He will have no friends from the police, nor the gangs he used to push around. He burned Olivia. He is alone and powerless, after all those years of scheming and playing people off one another. That, I think, would be the most fitting end for him.

King, I've been so hard up since you ended your daily that I have seriously considered working harder. Your work is missed!

The day a president of the United States of America serves cheap wine and Costco snacks at a White House party is the day I'll know America is done and I need to start thinking of how to sneak into Canada.

At least now I have the name for my Christmas-themed porno.

Reminded me of the cursed video from The Ring.

Sorry about your bad experience in junior high, but what you described is not socialism. You just gave them your money. It was charity. Apparently, they were ungrateful at your charity. Socialism would be more like if you all owned equal, indivisible shares in the tools of production (a rake and lawnmower, for example) and all performed work (say, one mowed, one raked and the other organized and planned the jobs) and all shared in the food purchased with the money. Obviously, that's not a perfect example, but that should get the general point across.

"$4.1 billion to provide for preventative care and to evaluate the most effective healthcare treatments."

While I agree that this may be a good use of government funds, I am not sure how this will stimulate the economy and help get the U.S. out of the recession.

My favorite thing about the conservatives today is that they talk like the alternative to the New Deal was small government, or libertarianism. They're daft. The alternative to the New Deal was radical political ideas like communism or national socialism and violent revolts or revolution. It's maddening how context-free their thinking is.

I agreed with at least 50% of your post. These are crazy days indeed. I would say, however, that I don't think the salary limit talk is related to TARP, not the stimulus bill. Also, letting the American financial industry collapse might end up costing more than saving it, so I guess I'm more on board with the bailouts. But still, finding common ground wiht you is quite scary ;)

It's like we see shitty, rundown, dying small towns too poor or conservative to strive for aestetic beauty and think, "Why can't all of America look like this!"

Sigh.

Have you used facebook? Some of my friends live within a couple of miles of my place. Some live thousands of miles away. Some of my friends I talk to regularly. Some, I lost track of and haven't heard from in years and years -- but I still care about them. For people who move around a lot, which is a lot of people, facebook is a great way to connect and reconnect. It is about writing to people you know, or knew. Why you think that isn't "genuine human interaction" I have no idea.

What intimate details? It's 25 random things, not 25 dark shameful secrets of your past. One of my 25 was that a long time ago I used to belong to a conservative fundraising group. Ok, that is dark shameful secret from my past. Touche!

No kidding! I'll never forgive Joss Whedon for killing Joyce in the lamest re-telling of the mother-death cliche.