He’s a former Navy Pilot
So you know he’s got the stuff
He has prosecuted homicides
That ought to be enough
He’s a commonwealth attorney
Who has shown he’s really tough—
What’s the reason he was voted down today?
Though the governor supported his
Appointment to the job
There’s a group of House Republicans
(Well, “group” pronounced as “mob”)
Who were following their leader
(That’s Prince William’s “Sideshow Bob”)
Who decided he’s unfit because he’s gay.
Via the Washington Post, the story of Tracy Thorne-Begland, whose nomination for a judgeship was denied today because Thorne-Begland is gay.
…for House Republicans, and for the Family Foundation, an anti-gay group that stirred up opposition to Mr. Thorne-Begland’s nomination, his sexual orientation trumped his copious professional qualifications. Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), who last year expressed the view that gays are “intrinsically disordered,” denounced the nominee as “an aggressive activist for the pro-homosexual agenda.”
Mr. Marshall — known in Richmond as “Sideshow Bob” — said that, as a gay man living with a domestic partner, Mr. Thorne-Begland had a lifestyle that would impede him from upholding Virginia’s constitution, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. As if the nominee’s sexual orientation would cripple his ability to preside over traffic cases and misdemeanors.
It was also claimed that Thorne-Begland showed his true colors by lying–not admitting he was gay, when to do so would have kept him out of the Navy. The nerve! Putting his life on the line for our country when our country wouldn’t treat him as a human being! He’s clearly not fit to be a judge!
Dear goodness. I can’t even. Even though it shouldn’t surprise me any more, I am still shocked to discover that people can really be that hateful and bigoted. The only people I see who are “disordered” are those republicans.
I too am a liar. I joined the army when I was 18, 2 years after I realized I was a lesbian. I served for 8 years and left the army with an honorable discharge. I felt that what I sacrificed by lying about who I was, was worth it. Even with the pain and punishment that came with it.
That there are people who think we sacrificed less because off who we are, while living by THEIR rules, is… It makes my sick.
“The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.”
United States Constitution, Article VI, Paragraph 3.
Anyone willing to go through the whole appeals process would probably find this useful.
@ tynk:
May we always endure such liars. Thank you.
Tynk, thank you for your service; I’m sorry that this country cannot find its common decency sooner.
Maybe I should quit reading these kinds of stories, they make me so POed, wanting to throttle the lot of them, it is too easy to forget how fast homophobia is evaporating, no one would have guessed a few years ago that a paper like the Washington Post would call this bigotry in an editorial. The frequency of such stories appears on the upswing, but I take heart knowing its a sign of their growing desperation and horror how badly they’re loosing the fight, and how most of their children look on them in disgust. That kinda takes the sting off.
What is this metric/poetic form called?
Martin, I’m sure this is generic enough that it really has no name. One could figure out what the basic metric foot is, and how many of them per line, and that stuff, and that would give a sort of name, but really a description.
Or I could be completely wrong, and there is a name for it that I don’t know.