Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

How long are Americans going to let these political hacks use wedge issues like gay marriage and immigration to keep our focus off the real problems this country is facing?

I'm a gay man. I admit that I would like to be able to legally marry my partner of 17 years. We've done the California domestic partner thing, the wills and powers of attorney, and our community of faith has sanctified our union. We'd like to see the laws change so that we don't face the discriminatory financial and legal challenges we encounter today. But, right now, I'd really like our members of Congress to focus on the forces that truly are bankrupting our nation, the ones that are killing people, and the ones that will harm the planet and us for many generations to come.

My wish, right now, is that the Democrats find some way to keep this stupid, discriminatory, and mean-spirited amendment off the floor of Congress. But, if it does land on the floor, I hope that each of them stands up and says:

"Mr. President, I rise in opposition to this ill-conceived and mean-spirited gay-bashing amendment. The nation is at war with no end in sight. 15,000 of our service-members have been wounded, several thousand are dead, and over 100,000 are suffering from PTSD. Iraq is burning while the White House fiddles. The national debt has skyrocketed and the trade and budget deficits are soaring. We're about to sign a pact with India that will increase the proliferation of nuclear weapons at the same time as we are saber-rattling against Iran and North Korea for their nuclear programs. Hundreds of thousands of Africans are dying from AIDS or starvation while genocide is happening right before our eyes in the Sudan. Members of Congress are being investigated, indicted, and convicted along with their crooked corporate sponsors. The President is spying on Americans without warrants and imprisoning people without due process. The EPA is gutting environmental protection laws, the Department of the Interior is selling off our national parks, and the Transportation Security Agency can't seem to notice weapons being snuck through airport security checkpoints or keep radioactive suitcases out the country. Millions of Americans have fallen below the Federal poverty level, millions more have lost their health coverage, and over 2 million Americans are languishing in jails. Is now really the time we should be talking about gay marriage? I think not and I yield back my time."