The Next Great Evolution....

Today the Supreme Court announced that there was still some value to the Constitution of the United States and to our signature at the Geneva Convention. In the process, the court struck down the President's assertion that he had the right to try "Enemy Combatants" in military tribunals that do not follow the rules of our judiciary system, and were not authorized by Congress. So why is this a big deal? Well there are several reasons why (fair rights for those being held, the right to face ones accusers, etc etc), but the most important reason is that this is a major victory in the "war" against terrorism.

I know, many of you are not following me here, and those of you that fall on the right side of the political spectrum are cursing me at this moment, but it is true. Despite what Fox News, Tony Snow, Rush Limbaugh, and the rest of the Bush Administration want you to believe, holding prisoners indefinitely, convicting them in makeshift courts, and shipping them to prisons in other parts of the world to be tortured is not effective in fighting terrorism. The idea that by doing these things it will deter terrorist from attacking is ludicrous. You have a cadre of people who are so ardently and preferences entrenched in their beliefs that they are willing to die for their cause and therefore will not be deterred by this kind of treatment. On the contrary this type of treatment only helps the terrorist cause. Still not following me? Let me lay it out again.

Terrorists are helped in two ways by the recent behavior of the Bush Administration. The first and most important is that they have succeeded in their mission. They have brought about change in the American system and proven that our government and judicial systems do not work (think how happy the communist would have been if we would have began restricing markets). Secondly, our reaction to terrorists, and our continued mistreatment of Muslim civilians around the world gives terrorists everywhere a rallying cry. When I watch TV at night and see ads for the US Army that are professionally produced, using and ad agency, marketing firm, and millions of taxpayer dollars I laugh. I laugh because I know that the terrorists networks around the world don't need to go to so much trouble to recruit, they simply show speeches given by George Bush, they show the torture at Abu Graib, the killings in Haditha, and the complete breakdown of the legal process in America. There is an old saying, "Don't cut off your nose to spite your face", I never really understood it before, but I think I do now.

Now of course reading the above one some would say that I am in favor of appeasing terrorists. This is not the case, however, at some point in time we have to come to the realization that we are fighting an unconventional war and therefore must use unconventional means. I recall hearing Benjamin Netanyahu speak when I was in college. He talked about the differences between having Russia as an enemy during the Cold War and now having radical Muslims as our foes. He spoke of the Bay of Pigs and how both countries came to the realization of the consequences of mutual destruction and therefore chose not to engage. He then reminded us that radical Islamic terrorist have no fear of death, and therefore they must be dealt with in a different manner. These were interesting words coming from a hard-line hawk like Netanyahu, but he understood his enemy.

For years we have had the doctrine that we will not negotiate with terrorists. We draw the line in the sand and say that no one will hold a gun to our head. Israel has done the same since it's inception. Here we are over five decades later and Israel still experiences incidents of terrorism routinely. We have been hit by terrorist attacks in the United States, Europe continues to have to deal with violence, and the incidents of terrorism in US occupied Iraq occur everyday. What I am saying here is that we need a new strategy. Simply saying that we will not negotiate does not work. For as steadfast as we are in our beliefs, the radical Islamic are in theirs. This is a contest where someone either has to blink or there will continue to be casualties on both sides. The essence of human and cultural evolution is our ability to continuously come up with better ways to solve problems. Throughout history we have continuously improved our ability to handle difficult situations without resorting to violence. It is time for logic to intercede, for the great minds of this generation to use their gifts to bring an end to what has become the most pressing global emergency. Intelligence and ingenuity have brought the human race this far, why stop now?

The Most Important Issue Ever! or Not

So it is very rare the congress actually takes on important issues, but over the past few days they have keyed in on what I believe is quite possibly the most important issue of our generation. They have been debating about and voting on an issue that effects almost every person in the country.

Yes this issue is so big, so important that it trumps many of the smaller, pettier issues of the day. In perspective, the looming nuclear crisis in Iran looks petty. The escalating violence in Iraq that continues to take American lives seems unimportant. Even the ongoing investigation into congressman William Jefferson falls down the priority list.


For those of you who aren’t with me yet, I’m talking about banning gay marriage. Oh wait. Did I catch you off guard with that one? Yes it is an even numbered year, that means that at some point this fall we will be voting, and of course that means that the number one thing on everyone’s mind is Gay Marriage. The Republican’s dug up this issue in 2004 and were very successful in using it to get out the vote. See it seems the GOP’s leadership believes its members are all idiots who will rally around any cause no matter how unimportant or inconsequential. In fact they were able to drum up enough hype about this issue that congress took several days to debate a Constitutional Amendment, the President gave several speeches on the matter and CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, and CSpan could not possibly give it enough coverage.

Now for those of you not well versed in the workings of our fine government, passing a constitutional amendment is the most permanent and lasting action that any congress can take. It inserts a new law into the Constitution of the United States-the ultimate law that governs our nation. Over the past 200 plus years there have been only 27 amendments to the Constitution (the first ten comprise the Bill of Rights that were ratified with the original constitution). Of these 27 amendments only two have been written to explicitly outlaw a given behavior or action: the 13th Amendment that prohibited slavery, and the 18th Amendment that prohibited the production and consumption of alcohol. As we all know the 18th Amendment was later repealed by the 21st Amendment. My point here is that passing a Constitutional Amendment to make something illegal is a wholly new proposition in the history of our country. The entire point of the Constitution is to protect the rights of the people. The Bill of Rights (along with several of the later Amendments) was written expressly to protect the rights of the citizenry, not to limit them.

Now as a social liberal I cannot understand the need to ban gays from marrying. There are several arguments brought forward by the right wing conservative movement. Perhaps the most prominent argument is that the Bible defines marriage as a bond between a man and a woman. Fortunately for all of us our forefathers had the insight to form our government separate of any particular religious group. Therefore, we are not bound by Biblical law (if you would like to see the results of countries that are bound by religious law then take a trip to the Arabian Peninsula). Secondly, many argue that allowing gays to marry would be an assault on traditional marriage in this country. Well as someone who is married myself, I cannot possibly see how having gays marry will assault my marriage. Will they come in my home and beat me up? Will having married gays plunge us into war, create more terrorist attacks, raise gas prices to ridiculous levels, or precipitate the explosion of the national deficit? No, no, no, all of those conditions have been caused by a Republican Administration and Aided by a Republican Congress. Perhaps if they had spent more time focusing on these real important issues than our country would be in a better place now. So I have give you two good reasons why this Amendment was a bad idea, so here is the third and most important: It had absolutely no chance of passing. That’s right, congress just sat and had debates and the President gave speeches, and all about an issue that the majority of Americans either don’t support, or don’t care about, and the majority of Senators were not going to vote for anyway.

The bottom line here is that I don’t care what someone does in the bedroom. I do not care whom they choose to love or live with, and I don’t want the government telling me whom I can spend my life with. Not so long ago there were laws against interracial marriage; one would think that our country had evolved. Banning gay marriage leads us down a slippery slope. It says that government can regulate whom we associate with, and whom we choose to partner with. What’s next banning marriage between social classes, between different races, different religions? I can respect the views of those who believe that homosexuality is wrong based on their religion. However, they have no more right to impose their religion on me, than the radical Islamic terrorist have to impose their religion on America.

Aside:
The sponsor of this amendment was Colorado’s own Wayne Allard. Yes this is the same Wayne Allard who was recently chronicled in TIME Magazine as one of the five worst Senators in the United States (April 24, 2006 p.28 The Invisible Man). The article discusses Allard’s total lack of action in his 10 years in the Senate. Well at least Allard who’s claim to fame during his tenure in the Senate has been his post as overseer of the Capital Hill Visitor Center has now added some real substance to his resume. Please feel free to contact Senator Allard and let him know your thoughts on the issue.

Senator Wayne Allard’s Offices:
Washington, D.C. Office521 Dirksen Senate Office BuildingWashington, DC 20510Phone: (202) 224-5941Fax: (202) 224-6471
Colorado Springs Office111 S. Tejon, Suite 300Colorado Springs, CO 80903Phone: (719) 634-6071Fax: (719) 636-2590
Denver Office7340 E. Caley, Suite 215Englewood, CO 80111Phone: (303) 220-7414Fax: (303) 220-8126
Grand Junction Office215 Federal Bldg.,400 Rood Ave.Grand Junction, CO 81501Phone: (970) 245-9553Fax: (970) 245-9523
Loveland Office5401 Stone Creek Circle,Suite 203Loveland, CO 80538Phone: (970) 461-3530Fax: (970) 461-3658
Pueblo Office411 Thatcher Bldg.,5th & Main Sts.Pueblo, CO 81003Phone: (719) 545-9751Fax: (719) 545-3832
Durango Office954 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 107Durango, CO 81301Phone: (970) 375-6311Fax: (970) 375-1321