Bill O'Reilly is concerned about the American people, naturally.

Solicitor General Elena Kagan's* nomination to the U. S. Supreme Court on May 10, 2010 has sparked much debate.

I am still reading up on Kagan myself. It's a bit difficult for me to stay fully informed while the last term of my junior year of college is winding down. However, Melissa at Shakesville wrote an informative post before the nomination was official, and here's a link about some of the lesbian rumors that have been coming up around her nomination. If you have any additional links that might provide other useful information about Kagan's nomination, feel free to leave them in comments.

So, while I admit that I am still in the process of learning about Kagan, one thing I can comment on is Bill O'Reilly assertion that knowing the sexual orientation of a nominee to the U. S. Supreme Court is important to the American public. The following quote is one I found yesterday on Shakesville (the video can be found here, also via Shakesville).

"Americans have a right to know if their Supreme Court justice has an orientation that may or may not dictate which way she votes on a vital issue. … Don't Americans have a right to know, on something as important as gay marriage, all right, if there is a Supreme Court justice nominee who is in that world?" - Bill O'Reilly

My analysis of this quote goes in line with what Melissa said on her blog. The Supreme Court does not make its decisions based on the personal preferences of the justices. Yes, personal differences in political ideology among justices may impact how they interpret the Constitution when applying it to cases the Court hears, but sexual orientation has nothing to do with that.

It is also important to note that while cases that make it before the Court may end up influencing public policy (such as whether or not same-sex marriage is allowed), creating that policy is not the end of the Court. The Supreme Court is supposed to interpret the Constitution. The particulars of a case must have the backing of that document for the Justices to make a decision.

Cases heard by the Supreme Court are brought before the Court on very narrow terms, and the only job of the Court is to determine if those terms constitute a violation Constitutionally guaranteed rights. As Melissa noted, Roe v. Wade was decided not based on the fact that the justices liked abortion. It was a matter of the guarantee of privacy and due process that just so happened to make abortion legal in the United States.

And really, it's just annoying for Bill O'Reilly to make such a big deal out of the possibility that Kagan is not heterosexual. If he honestly believed it was such an important thing for the American people to know (as opposed to just a reason to put doubts about her in the minds of those people), then why does he seem unconcerned about the orientation of the other sitting justices?


*This link is to the page for the Solicitor General. While that currently means that the information here is specifically about Kagan, the information found here may no longer be relevant to this post in the future.

Freedom to marry and freedom of religion have a lot in common

On some earlier posts regarding gay marriage, discussion has often come to an impasse because I think homosexuality isn't a choice and some people think it is. People are entitled to their opinions just as much as I am.

Basically, because some people think that homosexuality is a choice and race isn't, marriage equality doesn't fall under the same guidelines as the previous ruling of Loving v. Virginia that said banning interracial marriage is unconstitutional. For the sake of argument, let's say that homosexuality is a choice and gay people everywhere are simply choosing to be queer.

The United States Constitution protects certain inalienable rights, many of those which we are unable to determine (race, age, disability). However, the Constitution also protects rights which we do choose. According to the First Amendment, I can choose to worship anything I want and the government protects my right to do so. The Framers included rights for things unable to change and those that could.

To those who say that sexual orientation is a choice, I want to know this:

In light of fact that some inalienable rights we're able to choose, how can you still deny marriage equality on a Constitutional level? Take into account the changing/unchanging nature of the protected rights of race and religion and the decisions of the Supreme Court to grant marriage as an inalienable right when answering.

I'm interested to see what people have to say. I have some thoughts on the issue, but I want to start some dialogue first.

Dear Conservatives, I'm Pro-Abortion! And You Know What That Makes You?

Anti-American!

I really tire of the abortion debate. Even so-called liberals that I have contact with through various political groups always claim to understand the motivations behind the Anti-American clusterfuck that is the conservative party and their holy quest to deprive women of fundamental freedoms.

I'm talking, specifically, about reproductive freedom.

You dudes: us women, well, we don't rape people in the same numbers you do. We can also chalk our violence up to mental deficiencies, rather than the self-perpetuating prophecy of masculinity. If you weren't content with the free pass the justice system has given men to rape women that I detailed exhaustively in my last post, your penis-buddies on Capitol Hill also would like us women to know that they value the "life" of a clump of cells, a fetus, or whatever you want to call it, more than freedom.

Because in case you haven't gotten the message: America's "freedoms" only apply to white men. Also, because I'm having a bad day, I tire of talking points and meaningless posturing.

So here it is, for everyone who cares to know: I'm Pro-Abortion. I don't dress my opinions up with fancy terms like "pro-choice" to distance my stance from the fact that I am supporting the systematic termination of a pregnancy that will result in the "death" of a fetus, embryo, fertilized egg, or a sack of cells that might be a human depending on your political agenda.

So, I admit that I am Pro-Abortion. Which means that if we wish to dispose of loaded phrases and cut to the heart of the issue, we're going to redefine "Pro-Life".

Note: graphic shamelessly lifted from Andy Singer's No Exit

First, you are not pro-life. Most conservatives support the death penalty, and holding enemy combatants in Guantanamo Bay until presumably the Apocalypse or nuclear winter. Killing people and torturing them isn't pro-life. Conservatives also shoot down any efforts to expand affordable health care, even to children. That's not pro-life either.

To liberal dudes who sympathize with conservatives: you might be pro-life. Sure, you might oppose the death penalty. You probably think water-boarding sucks. Your trendy liberal sentiments might also require you to admit that reducing the cost of health care is instrumentally important to the thousands of children who go without. However, you do share something fundamental with anti-abortion conservatives:

You're Anti-American.

Nothing is more intrinsic to the idea of Americanism than freedom. Not the hijacked definition of freedom which is used to mount submachine guns on a suburban Hummer, but the kind of freedom to go where I want and do what I please, provided I am not impeding anyone's rights. Probably the best and most basic exercise of freedom is that over your own body. Someone that does not even have the right to control their own body would, obviously, be a slave.

Now we've arrived at a point where sound bites are irrelevant. If I wish to be honest, then I must say that I am firmly and completely Pro-Abortion. If you wish to be "pro-life", you must oppose the unnatural and purposeful death of all of humanity. Your policies, instead encourage or allow war, torture, grueling child poverty, or a complete dismissal of the rulings of the Supreme Court. Anti-abortion activists and sympathizers are firmly and completely Pro-Slavery (of the reproductive variety) and Anti-American.

So let's just cut the bullshit, okay? I admit that I love abortion. Now you admit that you love reproductive slavery, and that you hate freedom. Fair is fair, after all.

(Cross-posted)

180 Days

That's how long you have to report pay discrimination. In six short months after a pay discrimination decision was made, you must report that discrimination. Any reports about past pay discrimination or long term discrepancies will be legally ignored.

Oh, you don't feel comfortable asking your co-workers what they make in comparision to you the day you begin your job? Or, wait, you're not even supposed to talk about pay? Too bad...for you.

Thanks to Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire and Rubber Compay, companies can continue paying women less than their co-workers. As long as the women don't find out about it.