friday morning

The members of the Senate Judiciary Committee come across as a bunch of crazy old men (imagine that?) in Dana Milbank's column from yesterday. And they're apparently boring Jane Roberts, because, according to Milbank, she managed to catch a little shut eye during Wednesday's hearings.

On Wednesday, the Massachusetts legislature voted to reject a constitutional ban on gay marriage. I congratulate them for acknowledging that they have yet to spontaneously combust and head straight to hell for allowing gay couples to marry. According to the Post, folks in the state have come to realize that nothing has changed. No floods or locusts and the world just keeps on turning. Of course, Mitt Romney, the guy from Utah who happens to be the governor of Massachusetts, wants to outlaw legalization of any form of same-sex unions -- for the kids. "The ideal setting for raising a child is where there is a male and female," says Romney, basing his comments on absolutely nothing at all.

I'm not sure it was such a good idea to attach it to an act that aims to protect children from sex offenders, but seemingly out of nowhere, the House has managed to expand current hate crime law to include crimes involving sexual orientation, gender and disability. Folks have been trying to make this a reality for YEARS and have gotten absolutely nowhere. It's a big deal, folks, if only because it acknowledges the discrimination that gay men, lesbians and transgender folks experience.