A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Yesterday the documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition debuted at the Sundance film festival in Utah as two dozen anti-LDS protesters rallied outside the venue.
The activists were there to show their support for the film and to protest the efforts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to pass Proposition 8, the successful 2008 California ballot initiative that eliminated the right of same-sex couples to marry in the state. Conservative Christian groups opposed to the film also had been expected to demonstrate, but none showed up. "We are not here to be anti-LDS," rally organizer Eric Ethington said Sunday, outside the documentary's premiere at the Racquet Club venue in Park City. "We are here to share our own stories." During the 2008 election season, the LDS Church was part of a coalition of religious groups that pushed the "Yes on 8" campaign. The church encouraged its members in California to donate time and money to the effort, sparking protests near LDS temples after the measure passed. "We think it's a shame -- a very big shame," demonstrator Joe Baker-Gorringe said Sunday. "If [Mormons] would have channeled [their time and money] into something more constructive, they would have helped a lot of people."
Perry vs. Schwarzenegger lawyer David Boies tells the Wall Street Journal today that his side will rest their case tomorrow.
"We're pleased with the way it has gone," said David Boies, an attorney for the gay couples who want to wed. He said he set out to prove that marriage was an important right, that gays were harmed by being denied that right and that marriage wouldn't be hurt by extending it to same-sex couples. "We've proven all three of those," he said. Judge Vaughn Walker will decide whether the 2008 voter initiative that limited marriage to a man and a woman codified discrimination or protected a legitimate state interest. This is the first federal challenge to state gay-marriage bans. Defense lawyer Andrew Pugno said his side would present evidence from experts that traditional definitions of marriage between heterosexual couples have special benefit for children and for society.
The bigots are expected to present a short defense as four of their six witnesses have withdrawn over claims that violent homosexuals will attack their families if they do.
The Prop 8 trial continued this week and we kept up our daily coverage and live multi-source Twitter feed. That wasn't the only major story this week though. Check out some of the great posts we ran this week:
Subject: Stop the Hostile Takeover of the Constitution
Yesterday, by a single vote, the conservative majority in the Supreme Court staged a hostile takeover of American democracy on behalf of corporations.
Alternatives like public financing can help a little, but no matter how many tax payer dollars the government uses to try to offset corporate influence it will never be enough to compete with the bottomless coffers of corporations. For this reason and many more, we must amend the Constitution.
As you may know, People For the American Way has spent many years fighting against destructive amendments to the Constitution proposed by the Right Wing around issues like flag burning, school prayer and banning gay marriage, (you remember those) so our decision to support an amendment to the Constitution in this instance was not taken lightly. As you also know, People For the American Way has spent almost 30 years fighting hard for freedom of speech. But yesterday's decision is a perversion of the First Amendment and a departure from over 100 years of established legal precedent. The very foundation of our democracy could depend on our ability to overturn it.
Yesterday the documentary 8: The Mormon Proposition debuted at the Sundance film festival in Utah as two dozen anti-LDS protesters rallied outside the venue. 
