Daily news sites

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

Dr. Benjamin Carson, a world renowned neurosurgeon. A man whose character and integrity has heretofore been unquestioned. A man who quite possibly has given the world more than any number of less capable individuals ever has or ever could.

Because of ill advised remarks on gay marriage (ill advised from the PC perspective anyway) Dr. Carson has come under fire by progressives. Because of this he has apologized for his remarks. Even though I personally disagree with his remarks I wish he had not apologized for his beliefs.

Clarifying the meaning of his remarks for those who failed to understand them is fine. Something that occurs throughout the day across the USA in schools, businesses, and in the homes of families everyday.

The fine Doctor and Surgeon is not a politician. He represents no constituency. His entire adult life has been about finding ways to improve the human condition and the preservation of life. We should have nothing but admiration for this man.

THE BALTIMORE SUN - Dr. Benjamin Carson, the famed Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon, apologized Friday for his "choice of words" and use of examples in discussing gay marriage on Fox News earlier in the week.

During Sean Hannity's show on Tuesday, when asked about the matter before the Supreme Court, Carson said, "Marriage is between a man and a woman. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA, be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn't matter what they are. They don't get to change the definition."

The comparison of gays to members of the North American Boy/Man Love Association and those who engage in bestiality set off a backlash of criticism in the media, online and on campus. There is now a petition circulating at Johns Hopkins Medical to have Carson removed as commencement speaker in May at the School of Medicine.

"I think people have completely taken the wrong meaning out of what I was saying," the 61-year-old surgeon said in a telephone interview Friday. "First of all, I certainly believe gay people should have all the rights that anybody else has. What I was basically saying is that as far as marriage is concerned that has traditionally been between a man and a woman and nobody should be able to change that."

"Now perhaps the examples were not the best choice of words, and I certainly apologize if I offended anyone," he added. "But the point that I was making was that no group of individuals, whoever they are, whatever their belief systems, gets to change traditional definitions. The reason I believe the way I do, I will readily confess, is because I am a Christian who believes in The Bible."

The Bible, he explained, "...says we have an obligation to love our fellow man as ourselves, and I love everybody the same -- all homosexuals. Everybody who knows me knows I would never say anything to intentionally hurt someone."

Given the "if I offended anyone" tone and language of the apology, it will be interesting to see how it's received. I hope readers will weigh in here.

The Sun has also obtained a copy of the petition aimed at getting Carson, who is on the eve of retirement this spring, removed as a speaker at the School of Medicine graduation ceremonies in May.

"At the time of his nomination, Dr. Carson was known to most of us as a world-class neurosurgeon and passionate advocate for education," the petition says. "Many of us had read his books and looked up to him as a role model in our careers. Since then, however, several public events have cast serious doubt on the appropriateness of having Dr. Carson speak at our graduation. If you believe he is an inappropriate choice of speaker at a ceremony intended to celebrate the achievements of our class please complete the petition below."

When asked about the petition Friday, Carson told the Sun, "I've caught wind of it and I've sent back a message that this is their graduation, their big day, and if they think me being there is going to be a problem, I am happy to withdraw." {Read More}

We see how the progressive and closed minded at the university has reacted. Dr. Carson, in his response to the graduating class displayed both humility and class.

Lets just chalk it up to youthful intolerance and hope the 2013 graduating class grows up.

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


Always liked Willie Nelson, even his country western music. Thinking back to Willie and Waylon. I always thought of Willie as a kind of maverick. Just a bit ahead of his times and not too worried about all that judgmental stuff. You know, the kind that doesn't really impact anybody but those involved? Maybe Willie has always been thinking outside the box of religious driven judgmental-ism. Sometimes I think the personal religious stuff somehow finds a way to influence the government. I hear Willie isn't real big on state tyranny either. I guess Willie is consistent. Something to be admired I'm thinking.

TexasMonthly - Willie Nelson loves love. "Love is what I live on. Love is what keeps me going," he wrote in his 2006 book The Tao Of Willie. And Wednesday night, in an interview in Austin on his tour bus, Willie said he believes love doesn't discriminate, "and it shouldn't be discriminated against."

Nelson has been watching the Supreme Court arguments over same-sex marriage and the Defense of Marriage Act, the federal law defining marriage as the union of a man and a woman. "[Gay people] should be just as miserable as the rest of us," quipped Nelson, before giving a more nuanced explanation of what he says has been a life-long, unwavering belief that all people deserve equal protection under the law.

After the interview, and just before heading into Austin's ACL Live at the Moody Theater to play a fundraiser for the Darrell K Royal Research Fund for Alzheimer’s Disease, Nelson posed for a Texas Monthly photographer with a series of signs created by the Austin-based design agency Helms Workshop and printed by Austin's East End Ink. The first is a straightforward reproduction of the pink equal sign—the logo of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy group the Human Rights Campaign—that has gone viral on Facebook and Twitter over the past few days. Helms also designed two Willie-specific variations on the image, one with his trademark braids and another with a pair of marijuana cigarettes. Both images are available for download below for use as avatars on your Facebook or Twitter account. Or whatever else you want to do with them. It’s a free country, you know.

Texas Monthly: You're closely following the Supreme Court's consideration of gay rights and same-sex marriage.

Willie Nelson: I am. And it's ridiculous to me that this is something we're having a conversation about this in this day and age. I thought it was something that was settled a long time ago.

TM: Clearly not.

WN: Clearly not. And obviously, even the Supreme Court doesn't know what to do about it. They say, 'Don't ask me. Ask somebody else.' They don't want to get in the middle of the states on it. And what are they going to do, come in and override states that have said it's okay? It's a mess.

TM: With same-sex marriage legal in some states and not in others, equality means different things different places.

WN: For same-sex couples, taxes are different, benefits are different, survivor benefits are different. It's crazy.

TM: You've been a supporter of LBGT issues over the years. Outspoken even.

WN: I never had a problem with any of it. I've known straight and gay people all my life. I can't tell the difference. People are people where I came from. (Emphasis mine.) {The Rest of the Interview}

Via: Memeorandum

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny

John Huntsman - Former Governor of Utah and Ambassador to China

There are many things to like about Jon Huntsman. A fiscal conservative Republican with libertarian leanings on some issues he has come out strong for marriage equality. This is one issues the republican leadership and representatives in Congress would do well to follow his lead.

THINKPROGRESS - Former GOP Presidential candidate and Utah governor Jon Huntsman has endorsed marriage equality. Huntsman, a Mormon whose previous support for civil unions set him (and libertarian Gary Johnson) apart from an otherwise virulently anti-gay field, came out in favor of equal marriage rights in an essay in The American Conservative entitled “Marriage Equality Is a Conservative Cause.” In the piece, Huntsman argued that if the Republican Party wants to survive, it needs to be able to appeal to gay Americans and the growing majority of all Americans that support marriage equality:

"[I]t’s difficult to get people even to consider your reform ideas if they think, with good reason, you don’t like or respect them. Building a winning coalition to tackle the looming fiscal and trust deficits will be impossible if we continue to alienate broad segments of the population. We must be happy warriors who refuse to tolerate those who want Hispanic votes but not Hispanic neighbors. We should applaud states that lead on reforming drug policy. And, consistent with the Republican Party’s origins, we must demand equality under the law for all Americans…"

"Today we have an opportunity to do more: conservatives should start to lead again and push their states to join the nine others that allow all their citizens to marry. I’ve been married for 29 years. My marriage has been the greatest joy of my life. There is nothing conservative about denying other Americans the ability to forge that same relationship with the person they love." {Read More}

I don't normally link to ultra progressive site like Think Progress, but when you're right you're right. On this issue they are,well, right.

Via: Memeorandum