That Was The Week.....

No matter how you want to take the news, this past week was a remarkable week….a week that, in the truest sense of the word, WAS.

Between the decimation of the voting rights act and the striking down of DOMA, Supreme  Court sounded more like the Supremes singing’ their broken hearts out: 

·You Keep Me Hangin' On by sending affirmative action back to the lower courts

·Everybody's Got the Right to Love – and now we might even have the right to federal benefits

·Stop! In the Name of Love – Prop 8 is an unconstitutional challenge.

·Your Heart Belongs to Me …but your DNA belongs to you.

In the end, it’s all about class. Is this a class…and does it warrant equal protection under the law? When the LGBT community began to exert its influence as a class rather than a movement, the wheels on the GOP Hate Bus started to fall off.  The discrimination was so blatant that even Justice Roberts had to side with them…but don’t let that fool you. Neither the striking down of DOMA or the refusal to  overturn Prop 8 contained an opinion that members of the gay and lesbian community have a constitutionally guaranteed right to marry. Scalia was apoplectic:

All that, simply for supporting an Act that did no more than codify an aspect of marriage that had been unquestioned in our society for most of its existence— indeed, had been unquestioned in virtually all societies for virtually all of human history. It is one thing for a society to elect change; it is another for a court of law to impose change by adjudging those who oppose it hostes humani generis, enemies of the human race.

All SCOTUS did with Prop 8 was to state that they would not overturn the Californian courts nor the 9^th Circuit because the challengers had insufficient standing to bring the suit…not that the class is experiencing discrimination. In fact, the fight to prevent it has already started up again. As for DOMA, the only thing the court ruled on was the extension of federal benefits to a same-sex spouse. SCOTUS did not to touch on whether or not a same-sex couple can be legally bound in the United States.On Friday, Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-Kansas) has introduced a federal amendment to the Constitution that would ban same-sex marriage across the country. The scope of both decisions is extremely narrow and still leaves the door open to banning same sex marriage no matter what Justice Scalia intimted

in that unique piece of street theatre. These decisions are less about letting people find partners and share legal responsibility than they are about setting up a chain of events in which personal freedoms will continue to come under attack. This is but the tip of an iceberg liable to for a couple of decades since the chief justice is only 58 and this is a lifetime appointment. Given that people live and work longer, it’s not inconceivable that he will still be heading the court in 2033 when he is 78 years old. Chief Justice Roberts is cagy…and crazy like a fox. 

Sit back, relax....and wait for it. 

Aunty Bonny & Uncle Mike

Meanwhile, all this talk has turned my thoughts to marriage markers. This past weekend, I was at a 50^th Anniversary party. Bonny and Mike aren’t just friends; they were our family here when we didn’t know we had any family here. They are godparents to our kids. They’ve been at every simcha….and they stood with me and the boys at the saddest time. Aunty Bonny and Uncle Mike are part of the skeletal structure of this family and I was rather overwhelmed at the party. I saw people I’d not seen in many years (including one who asked, “Hey! Where’s Steve? Is he out parking the car?” I laughed. What else could I do? It was a surreal experience, but I would not have missed being there...even though it was held across the river. It was reassuring to see Bonny and Mike with the kids and grandkids. I listened more than I talked…it was hard to say anything that didn’t include Steve…and that was just  a tad harder than I anticipated. But no matter. I was just glad to be there and boy, did I laugh a lot!

We don’t always view anniversaries with the same awe as we do birthdays. I think anniversaries are even more august because it means two people have survived living together and not killing each other. My folks, come November, will have been doing this for 70 years. Talk about astounding!

This week would have been 36 for me and my old man. We had our moments, our highs, and certainly our share of lows….no marriage is ever perfect….but I guess the one I had worked out okay. 

Wifely Person’s Tip o’the Week

Just because it hasn't rained for a couple of days, it does not mean your lawn is dry.