AdamSmith

Just heard a new wrinkle on NPR that would seem to argue for overturning the still-standing part of DOMA, which allows states that do not recognize same-sex marriage to not give effect to same-sex marriages from other states. The story was of a same-sex couple married in D.C. who now reside in Virginia. Their income status is such that they would benefit from filing federal taxes jointly. However, Virginia (1) requires that they file state taxes individually, because the state does not recognize same-sex marriage, and (2) has a law requiring that state taxes and federal taxes must be filed in the same manner: that is, either individually or jointly. SO the result is that Virginia law effectively prohibits them from filing federal taxes jointly. This looks like excellent grounds for a full-faith-and-credit challenge to strike the rest of DOMA.

Hah "In Gold We Trust." Mencken

ROFL

Heh heh heh...

The ever-dependable Pat Robertson can't help wondering if Justice Kennedy has "some clerks that happen to be gays": http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3511238/

...Wonder if Snowden knows how to hack into airport body-scanner files?

Oz, thanks for this report. hitoall, thank you for these reports of iCloud's "silent spam filtering." This is even more pernicious than AOL's long-noted priggishness over email content it did not approve of. I have not to date used Apple email (or cloud-storage) services, and now know not to.

Likewise. Maybe Townie knows something...?

Poetry by Google. I love it. http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/06/26/google-the-poet.html

To keep his ass the fuck out of the solitary confinement and torture routine currently enjoyed by Bradley Manning?

"Chris Christie helpfully reminds us that he's a Republican": http://m.dailykos.com/stories/1219480

Just received from a black friend on Facebook...

...Just in case!

Japan's public broadcaster sued over use of English wordsElderly viewers confused by increasing trend to use anglicised terms instead of their Japanese equivalent Justin McCurry in Tokyo guardian.co.uk, Thursday 27 June 2013 02.57 EDT Japan's public broadcaster, NHK, is in a spot of toraburu with a disgruntled viewer who has filed a damages lawsuit against the company for the "mental distress" caused by its excessive use of words derived from English. Hoji Takahashi, who says he represents a pressure group that protects the Japanese language, is seeking 1.41 million yen (£9,300) in damages from NHK, reports said. In his suit filed with the Nagoya district court, Takahashi said the deluge of English words used in NHK's news and entertainment programmes had caused him emotional distress, and accused the broadcaster of ignoring its responsibility to use Japanese alternatives. Among the words he cited as particularly troublesome were kea (care), toraburu (trouble), risuku (risk) and shisutemu (system). He also noted the frequent use of loan words in programme titles, such as BS Kosheruju (BS Concierge) and Sutajio Paaku Kara Konnichiwa (Hello from Studio Park). The 71-year-old claims he and other elderly viewers had been left baffled by some of NHK's content. "I contacted NHK to inquire about this, but there was no response so I decided to take the matter to court," Kyodo News quoted him as saying. "I want the broadcaster to take into account elderly viewers like me when it is creating shows." The frequent use of words derived from English, plus a smaller number whose origins can be found in Portuguese, Dutch and other languages, is not confined to NHK. But Takahashi said that given its considerable reach and influence, the company had a responsibility to remain neutral and appeal to as many viewers as possible. NHK said it had yet to study the complaint and declined to comment. The presence of English words in Japan has increased dramatically since the end of the second world war, when the country embraced American pop culture. The modern Japanese lexicon is littered with borrowed words. Most have been around for decades and are immediately understood by people of all ages: sarariiman (salaryman), terebi [television], pasokon (personal computer) and konbini (convenience store). English is not the only foreign language to have influenced Japanese: tempura comes from Portuguese, while part-time work is known as arubaito, from the German word Arbeit. "Personally, I think the lawsuit is ridiculous, but it does at least draw attention to a problem," said Makoto Yamazaki, an associate professor at the National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics. "There has been pressure on the Japanese government and media to rein in the use of loanwords since the early 2000s. It's OK for people in the same company or group to use, say, specialised words, but when they are picked up by the media it becomes a problem." Yamazaki noted the increasing use in Japanese of corporate and political buzzwords such as accountability, governance and compliance, which many people above a certain age find difficult to understand in their borrowed form. "Politicians are particularly fond of them," he said. "It is possible to use alternative words in Japanese, but they think that by using the borrowed version they are offering something new and exciting. "But politicians and the media have a responsibility to avoid creating 'word minorities' among their audiences." http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/27/japan-broadcaster-sued-english-words

Changing Perspectives on Gay Marriage Gay-marriage proponents believe that American attitudes towards gays and lesbians are on the cusp of a change. See a breakdown of support for gay marriage among different demographic groups over time. Note: Data for these tables represent averages of multiple Pew Research Center surveys, including seven surveys from 2003-2004, six surveys from 2007-2008, three surveys from 2011-2012 and two surveys from 2013. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323689204578569973776975916.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories#project%3DGAYWED_HIGHER%26articleTabs%3Dinteractive

Kevin Slater writing on the other forum made this observation: "One need not ever marry to benefit from today's ruling. By affirming fifth amendment rights of life and liberty upon the LGB community, the court establishes precedent against any manner of law which seeks to discriminate against gays. This case happened to involve marriage, but the protections affirmed therein likely apply just as well to employment discrimination, healthcare policy, criminal and family law, etc. Just as one doesn't need to use contraception to benefit from Griswold v. Connecticut's establishment of the constitutional right to privacy, one needn't walk down the aisle in order to benefit from the underlying rationale and precedent of this case."

Summary of "Scalia's dissenting DOMA rant": http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3503706/

"Thank you, John Boehner, for DOMA's repeal": http://m.dailykos.com/stories/1219086

Sotomayor sided with the minority on Prop 8. She did not issue a separate opinion, so no direct view into her thinking other than what the minority opinion, written by Kennedy, said: http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/26/politics/scotus-prop-8/index.html?c=&page=1 But here a piece that looks at the "strange bedfellows" who made up the group of dissenting justices: http://m.theweek.com/article.php?id=246191

Epigonos notes on the other forum that the DOMA ruling left intact that part of DOMA that allows states that do not recognize same-sex marriage to not recognize the validity of same-sex marriages performed in states that allow them. So a future challenge to this portion of DOMA on full-faith-and-credit grounds can likely be expected.

Worth noting with a thankful sigh that Kerry's Senate seat stayed Democratic with yesterday's election win by Markey. http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3499592

Obama: "...So we welcome today’s decision, and I’ve directed the Attorney General to work with other members of my Cabinet to review all relevant federal statutes to ensure this decision, including its implications for Federal benefits and obligations, is implemented swiftly and smoothly." My accountant is watching to learn whether I will be entitled to recoupment of any federal taxes paid during years I was married but unable to file jointly due to DOMA.