Now that the dust is settling around the Marriage Equality palpitations/ vows to resist compliance/ general apoplexy of those who fear anyone who is not them, most places are returning to normal everyday activities. Here in Texas it is a mixed bag of good and bad with the usual cast of villains: Governor Gregg 'Fuckhead' Abbott, AG Ken 'Lapdog' Paxton and every one's favorite Senate Nut Job Ted 'Holier than thou' Cruz getting in on the verbal sparring. Senator Cruz went on Glenn Beck's show and spouted bile and bull shit about the propaganda effort by Hollywood that has set America on the Path to Destruction. Of course Glenn Beck is no friend to the LGBT community, far from it. So when the two of them get together the bs gets deeper than the deepest ocean trench. You can watch it here if you have the stomach for that much bile and bs in one sitting.
Meanwhile, there are still 5 Texas Counties that are resisting compliance with the SCOTUS Ruling in Obergefell: Hamilton, Irion, Hartley, Loving and Roberts. In fact Irion County Clerk Molly Criner issued a “Declaration of Obedience to Law and Defense of Natural Marriage,” in which she wrote:
1. I will continue to defend Natural
Marriage as recognized by the People of Texas, in the Constitution and
Laws of the State of Texas, consistent with the Declaration of
Independence; the written United States Constitution; the Ninth, Tenth,
and Fourteenth Amendments; and higher Natural Law..
2. Natural Marriage between one man and
one woman remains the law in Texas, regardless of any court decision to
the contrary. Any court decision purporting to strike down Natural
Marriage, including Obergefell v. Hodges, is “unauthoritative, void, and of no force.”
3. I, as County Clerk, in faithful
execution of the laws of Texas, shall resist unlawful federal or state
court encroachments upon the prerogative of the People of Texas to
protect Natural Marriage, and shall only issue marriage licenses
consistent with Texas law, so help me God.
4. With a firm reliance upon the
providence of Almighty God and the support of my fellow citizens, I call
upon all of the Officers of the State of Texas, the Governor, the
Attorney General, and the members of the Texas Legislature, to join with
me, and utilize all authority within their power to protect Natural
Marriage from lawless court opinions, wherever the source.
Of course none of these statements will hold water in court and sooner or later MS Criner and the other four County Clerks who are resisting compliance will either comply or be swatted bown by the government. like Orville Faubus and George Wallace before them. Then there is right wing media darling and nut job Mat Stave of the Liberty Counsel who had this to say in a press release:
“The Supreme Court has historically made a
number of bad rulings that time and justice have been able to realize
and overcome,” said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel.
“The opinion of five lawyers regarding marriage is another example of
an unjust law that will be overcome as people stand together,
individually, and as States,” Staver continued.
“Like Molly, each of us should vow not to
be intimidated but, instead, to stand united for our God-given
liberties and the Rule of Law,” Staver advised.
If any of these Neanderthals were actually interested in the 'Rule of Law', then they would understand that their God-given liberties end where mine begin. The 'Rule of Law' states I have Freedom of Religion, that is to believe or not to believe as I so choose with the government forbidden to make any law restricting that freedom. I can be religious or not, but no one else has the right, express or implied to force their beliefs on me or any other person. Of course they are only interested in the 'Rule of Law' as long as it agrees with their position, warranted or not.
There has been some positive news here in Texas as loving couples are joining together in matrimony all over the state. Even the Hood Count Clerk Katie Lang relented and allowed one of her Deputy Clerks to issue a license to a gay couple of 27 years, Jim Cato and Joe Stapleton who had sued her for failure to do so. And then there is the hunky Gay County Clerk in the small conservative town of Paris, TX who is delightedly issuing licenses to all who come. So soon or later, everyone will have to comply whether they like it or not. They can not like it, they have that right, they just don't have the right to deny me my rights. Progress, one step at a time, or maybe one pulled tooth at a time would be more appropriate, when dealing with nut jobs and homophobes.
Just for curiosity's sake, you may want to take the quiz over at Slate to see if you can tell which of 15 different statements by various nut jobs was made about segregation or marriage equality. You will find most of the statements very similar in vein, so read carefully. I got the average score of 9 out of 15 correct. How well will you do?
Moving on to the Music for today, I have featured the talents of Anne-Sophie Mutter on many occasions in these pages, but I have yet to feature any Music by her former husband, Pianist, Composer/Conductor Andre Previn. So today I thought I would feature both. Previn composed two Violin Sonatas, the second of which leads off this play list with a performance by Anne-Sophie and frequent accompanist Lambert Orkis. While Previn was married to Mutter, he composed a Violin Concerto appropriately entitled "Anne-Sophie". To my knowledge Ms Mutter is the only artist to record this Concerto. Today's performance has Previn at the Podium with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and of course Anne-Sophie as the Soloist. For a little different take on Previn's Music, over on my tumblr you may join the Xavier de Maistre for his performance of Previn's Harp Concerto accompanied by the Vienna Philharmonic under the baton of Danielle Gatti.
Finally for today, Random Hotness abounds in the post down below as well as in the Hottie of the Day! over on my tumblr who is a 'Mahogany Man of Mystery' ready to lead you on a secret adventure! Thanks for the visit, see you again soon. Until next time as always, Enjoy!
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