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May 19 , 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels March 22, 2004 Constitution should not be muddled with ban When an overpopulated world is being ruined by pollution and over-consumption of resources, and our president's only response is war, tax cuts, stepped up exploitation, and half-trillion dollar deficits, the issue of gay marriage seems awfully trivial. Yet an unbelievable number of straight people are like dogs with a bone about it. I don't get it. No one has been able to explain to me how gay marriage is any sort of a threat to anything or anyone. All you get from the president and the pope is empty platitudes. The pope calls it "degrading" but how can love and commitment degrade? One thing I do think degrades marriage, and that is divorce. Statistically, over half of the heterosexual marriages end in failure. Who knows? Maybe gays and lesbians can do a better job of sticking together. Many, including the president, favor a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. What disgraceful pandering! The idea of fouling the Constitution with such tripe is outrageous. Every American should be treated as a first-class citizen, but if you think about it, we homosexuals additionally deserve some thanks, as well. After all, most of us are not adding to overpopulation, and 60 percent of our state taxes go to schools. Thus we subsidize the families-with-children lifestyle, and I don't hear anyone complaining about it. So get over it. Let those marry who want to, and wish them the best. It's time to focus on more urgent and consequential issues. Nicholas Follansbee Ashland Flip-flop rhetoric lacks credibility It seems that the main John Kerry criticism George Bush has come up with is that Kerry's an indecisive waffler who changes his mind on issues. Basically, George Bush is trying to present himself as a straight-thinking kind of guy who tells it like it is. Therefore, Bush views himself as someone who doesn't waffle since straight talkers like him are often decisively right. However, for all of his down home straight talk, it's clear that Bush has waffled and changed his mind and policy countless times during his administration. There are many clear examples to show that Bush is a waffler. Some of the best examples of this administration's waffling and subsequent position changes are shown by how Bush and Cheney changed their mind on such issues as "nation-building" as part of their foreign policy, a proposed constitutional amendment on gay marriage, and protectionist measures for the steel industry. All of the above mentioned items go against what both Bush and Cheney outlined during their 2000 campaign. Also, all of the above mentioned items go against many tenets of their traditional conservative thought which tends to be somewhat isolationist with foreign policy, has a hands-off view of amending the constitution, and is hands-off when it comes to protecting industry. Ironically, if Bush's rhetoric inspires us to catalog his waffling, one may find that Bush has waffled and changed positions to suit his political mood maybe more than Kerry has. Perry Casilio Talent DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams