Tuesday, October 12, 2004

Gay Marriage and Afghanistan

Sounds like the Taliban's nightmare, doesn't it.

Paul, thanks for jumping in. Yes, ; )'s are ok in blogging and I love intemperate. I actually agree with you on gay marriage. I'm generally skeptical of the courts but I think gays face so much irrational discrimination that they can't get a fair shake in the normal democratic processes and need the courts to protect their rights. There's no way to make a legitimate distinction between heterosexual and homosexual marriages without relying on prejudice. Palooka (if you don't know who Palooka is, you'll soon find out) says that heterosexual marriage has shown its utility for 1000 years. Fine. Let's have homosexual marriage for 1000 years and if it doesn't work, I'll admit I was wrong.

As for Afghanistan, if you read the blog, I've been critical of the Bush administration on several points. Would Gore have done the same in Afghanistan? Probably. Could Bush have done a better job in Afghanistan? Certainly. Nonetheless, the Afghan election is a significant step forward by any measure and Bush deserves credit for that. Like the economy, presidents get credit for what happens on their watch whether or not they had 100% influence. For example, was Clinton totally responsible for the economy in the late 1990s? No. Could he have done a better job? Certainly. Do I give him credit for what successes there were? Sure.

Anyway, thanks for the post.

1 comment:

Philip Klinkner said...

Palooka,

Thanks for making my point.