Free Republic

<p>San Jose became the first city in California to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, although the decision only applies to municipal workers.</p> <p>The city council defied objections from conservatives and voted 8-1 Tuesday to pass a motion that could provide more comprehensive health and retirement benefits to partners and family members of gay and lesbian city workers who get married in San Francisco or other cities that allow same-sex marriages.</p>

<p>While it may appear spontaneous, Mayor Gavin Newsom's leap onto the national stage has been a controlled performance from the get-go -- complete with story line, image control and attention to detail aimed far beyond the San Francisco audience.</p> <p>From the minute Newsom lifted the curtain with his call for gay marriage licenses, to his cross-continental debate with President Bush, Team Newsom has done its best to manage the image coming out of City Hall.</p>

…but that's not possible. Here's how the Washington Post's Dana Milbank began his Page 1 analysis of the White House's newly announced position on gay marriage: "With President Bush's embrace yesterday of a marriage amendment, the compassionate conservative of 2000 has shown he is willing, if necessary, to rekindle the culture wars in 2004." This neatly encapsulates everything that's wrong with inside-the-Beltway discussions of the culture war we currently find ourselves in. Presidents do not start culture wars; they react to them. They can fan or soothe passions, but they cannot create divisions that don't already exist. Indeed, both Bush...

O'Donnell Ridicules President, First Lady for Supporting Traditional Marriage By Jimmy Moore Talon News February 27, 2004 SAN FRANCISCO (Talon News) -- Gay comedian and former talk show host Rosie O'Donnell ridiculed President George W. Bush on Thursday for his support of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. As Talon News reported on Wednesday, Bush announced this week he would support a constitutional definition of marriage. Bush told reporters on Tuesday that his support for this constitutional amendment is necessary because of efforts to subvert the law by liberal judges and elected officials. "In...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO — The first of two judges to listen to objections to gay marriage in San Francisco delayed until at least Friday whether to block the city from continuing to issue same-sex marriage licenses.</p> <p>The second judge will take up a different petition Tuesday afternoon.</p>

<p>It was only his 12th day as mayor of San Francisco, but Gavin Newsom decided that night -- the very night he attended President Bush's State of the Union address in Washington, D.C. -- that he was going to defy California law.</p> <p>And turn the nation on its ear.</p>

Governed by rules, not men Posted: February 11, 20041:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 Creators Syndicate, Inc. Having been deserted by her husband, my mother worked. That meant that my one-year-younger sister and I often lunched by ourselves during our pre-teen years. Being bigger and stronger than my sister, quite often there wouldn't be a fair division of the food, especially the desserts. Coming home from work, Mom would be greeted by sob stories about my lunchtime injustices. There came a time when Mom got fed up with the sibling hassles – but she didn't admonish us to be more caring, fair, sensitive...