I do think, though, that if the Justices would actually read the Constitution, then read the writings of the founders on the subject of corporations, they could see that this ruling is the opposite of what those fine gentlemen intended.

I prefer to think of myself as the opposite of an atheist, in that I approach all religions with equal amounts of looking for glimpses of ethical truth and watching out for utter nonsense. When it comes to Yeshua ben Yosef, I like most of his teachings and think it would be a much better world if people tried to live by them, but I only have contempt for the organized religion that was foisted off on him by the likes of “Saint” Paul, Constantine/Eusebius, and the Catholic Church in general.

On the other hand, I don’t like encouraging the notion that Christianity is the primary place we should look for standards on marriage. Marriage existed as a civil and economic contract long before Christianity was invented. It is not entitled to claim any special rights in regards to defining marriage.

And to look realistically at the issue in the present, let’s not forget that a heterosexual couple that stands in front of a preacher for a wedding is not a legal couple until they get a marriage license, but one that gets married by a Justice of the Peace with no participation by a religious authority is a legal couple. Doesn’t that prove that marriage is a civil matter and not religious one?

I’d like to see him give it some teeth by issuing an executive order to all federal agencies and state governments that they must recognize any marriage that is legal in the state where it was performed as the Constitution requires.

I thought you might like this.

My best,
Joel

I took notes at a reading of Billy’s in Berkeley in 2005. This was his lead-in to “Forgetfulness”:

And the poem about forgetting begins with a species of forgetting that I’ve heard called literary amnesia. That just means you’ve forgotten everything you’ve read pretty much. Or you’re forgetting as you read, something else is going while you read. I think when I read a new book these days I can feel another book kind of being pushed off the shelf. There’s only so much space there. The title of the poem is “FORGETFULNESS.”

Your blog is still one of the most stimulating places on the web, I try to see what you’re up to every day. Happy Birthday, and may you be up to interesting things for many more years!

-Ray L.

http://ectstatistics.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/have-scientists-in-aberdeen-solved-the-riddle-of-how-electroconvulsive-therapy-works/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-peter-breggin/electroshock-treatment_b_1373619.html?ref=tw

Talk about big shoes to fill… That band would be more popular than Muhammad!

I believe this familiar entry means it’s your blog’s birthday? If so, happy birthday and may you have many more!

-Ray L.