SUCKED OUT

Nothing like a Tuesday -- and a balky Blogger -- to get the doldrums going. Thank God it's not just us; plenty of our fellow humans are having bad-err days.

President Bush's nomination of Gen. Michael Hayden to lead the CIA is in trouble, thanks to pesky Republicans who are a bit troubled by Hayden's active-duty military status. Not to mention his OK of an illegal domestic surveillance program. Such a Trailblazer, that Hayden.

Speaking of the Bush Administration, it continues to inject politics into science, much to the distress of, um, scientists. An upcoming National STD Prevention Conference, sponsored by, among others, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been "sanitized" to talk up abstinence. From the story in Slate:

The symposium that's been meddled with was originally titled, "Are Abstinence-Only-Until-Marriage Programs a Threat to Public Health?" Its convener, Bruce Trigg of the New Mexico Department of Public Health, proposed a skeptical look at abstinence education, which the Bush administration is funding to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars. As moderator, Trigg promised to ground the critique in scientific evidence. His panelists were to be John Santelli of Columbia's School of Public Health and William Smith of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, a well-regarded sexual-health organization. Santelli recently wrote a position paper on abstinence-only education for the Society for Adolescent Medicine in which he argued that abstinence programs are medically unethical because they misrepresent and withhold basic health information.

Trigg's symposium proposal went through all the steps of peer review, including an expert panel, and was accepted. This week, however, a different title and lineup were announced on the conference's Web site. Now called "Public Health Strategies of Abstinence Programs for Youth," the program will no longer be moderated by Trigg, though he and Santelli will still present. Smith, by contrast, has been bumped from the program.

Taking his place are two staunch proponents of abstinence-only education, Eric Walsh and Patricia Sulak. Walsh is a family physician affiliated with Loma Linda University, a Seventh-day Adventist institution in California. His approach to public health is explicitly ideological. "Dr. Walsh seeks to serve the Lord through medical missions and the preaching of the Gospel in all the world," an online bio explains. Sulak, meanwhile, is an obstetrician-gynecologist at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Texas and the founder of "Worth the Wait," an abstinence program noteworthy for its negative messages about condoms and stereotypical statements about girls and boys.

Who needs science when stern talk will do the trick?

In more-trivial pursuits, gamers grieve after Sony announced, on Monday, that the new PlayStation 3 will sell for 500 clams -- unless you want a bigger hard drive, in which case you'll pay $600.

One of those days. Who sucked out the feeling, indeed.

Look at me, I can write a melody
But I can’t expect a soul to care

AN ARMY OF ONE AUTISTIC

In Oregon there lives a young man named Jared Guinther, 18 and ready to graduate from high school. Ready to join the U.S. Army and fight in Iraq.

Guinther, however, is autistic. He's been diagnosed since he was 3, has been in special-ed since starting preschool.

His parents didn't worry when their disabled son said he wanted to join the military; they knew there was no way the Army would take Jared.

You see where this one is going. The Oregonian has quite the story on desperate recruiters and their underhanded ways:

Last month, Jared came home with papers showing that he not only had enlisted, but also had signed up for the Army's most dangerous job: cavalry scout. He is scheduled to leave for basic training Aug. 16.

Officials are now investigating whether recruiters at the U.S. Army Recruiting Station in Southeast Portland improperly concealed Jared's disability, which should have made him ineligible for service.

Jared's story illustrates a growing national problem as the military faces increasing pressure to hit recruiting targets during an unpopular war.

Tracking by the Pentagon shows that complaints about recruiting improprieties are on pace to approach record highs set in 2003 and 2004. The active Army and the Reserve missed recruiting targets last year, and reports of recruiting abuses continue from across the country.

Brenda Guinther -- Jared's mother -- told the newspaper a couple of disquieting anecdotes about the recruiters:

Brenda said she spoke to Cpl. Ronan Ansley and explained that Jared had a disability, autism, that could not be outgrown. She said Ansley told her he had been in special classes, too -- for dyslexia.

"I said, 'Wait a minute, there's a big difference between autism and your problem,' " Brenda said. ...

Jared scored 43 out of 99 on the Army's basic entrance exam -- 31 is the lowest grade the Army allows for enlistment, military officials said.

After learning that Jared had cleared this first hurdle toward enlistment, Brenda said, she called and asked for Ansley's supervisor and got Sgt. Alejandro Velasco.

She said she begged Velasco to review Jared's medical and school records. Brenda said Velasco declined, asserting that he didn't need any paperwork. Under military rules, recruiters are required to gather all available information about a recruit and fill out a medical screening form.

"He was real cocky and he says, 'Well, Jared's an 18-year-old man. He doesn't need his mommy to make his decisions for him.' "

What happened when the mainstream media started asking some questions?

On Tuesday, a reporter visited the U.S. Army Recruiting Station at the Eastport Plaza Shopping Center, where Velasco said he had not been told about Jared's autism.

"Cpl. Ansley is Guinther's recruiter," he said. "I was unaware of any type of autism or anything like that."

Velasco initially denied knowing Jared but later said he'd spent a lot of time mentoring him because Jared was going to become a cavalry scout. The job entails "engaging the enemy with anti-armor weapons and scout vehicles," according to an Army recruiting Web site.

After he had spoken for a few moments, Velasco suddenly grabbed the reporter's tape recorder and tried to tear out the tape, stopping only after the reporter threatened to call the police.

With the Guinthers' permission, The Oregonian faxed Jared's medical records to the U.S. Army Recruiting Battalion commander, Lt. Col. David Carlton in Portland, who on Wednesday ordered the investigation.

After trying to rip up the reporter's tape, Ansley visited the Guinthers and basically begged them to stop the Oregonian's story, saying he'd lose his recruiting gig -- maybe even drummed out of the service. That would be a shame. Better that he be ordered to join the cavalry scouts in Iraq.

APPLE BESTS BEATLES

The Fab Four sued the computer company, claiming iTunes made Apple a music company -- a definite no-no for the band that created Apple Records.

Monday, a judge ruled no harm, no foul. The BBC reports:

Mr Justice Edward Mann ruled that the computer company used the Apple logo in association with its store, not the music, and so was not in breach.

The ruling means iPods and iTunes will still be able to carry the Apple name and logo.

The Beatles' label, which wanted London's High Court to award damages and stop its rival using the Apple logo in its music operations, will appeal.

Mr Justice Mann ruled iTunes was "a form of electronic shop" and not involved in creating music.

"I conclude that the use of the apple logo ... does not suggest a relevant connection with the creative work," he wrote in his judgment.

Still missing from iTunes: Any music by The Beatles.

SUSPICIOUS DEATH IN SPRINGFIELD

An autopsy is scheduled Monday on the body of a man discovered in his vehicle by passers-by.

The 53-year-old man, whose name isn't being released until his family is notified, was in the car near College and Hayden around 6:20 p.m. Sunday.

Two passers-by saw the man inside the car and noticed he wasn't breathing. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are calling the death "suspicious" until an autopsy is performed and a cause of death is discovered.

NEWSPAPERS WITHERING

The nation's largest newspapers, they aren't so large anymore. According to Editor & Publisher:

For the six-month period ending March 2006 compared to the same period a year ago, circulation at newspapers in major cities across the country continued to drop. Most notable so far: the San Francisco Chronicle, which experienced a dramatic 15% decline in daily copies, to 398,246.

Daily circulation at the Los Angeles Times dropped about 5.4% to 851,832. Sunday proved better for the paper, down 1.8%. The San Jose Mercury News, which McClatchy intends to buy, also showed decreases in daily circ, down 7.6% to 242,865.

The Washington Post reported that daily circulation slipped 3.6% to 724,242.

On the national front, USA Today reported slight gains -- despite a price increase last fall - up .09% to 2,272,815. Daily circulation at The New York Times was up 0.5% to 1,142,464. The Wall Street Journal was down 1% to 2,049,768 for Monday through Friday.

As expected, daily circulation at The Boston Globe dropped 8.5% to 397,288. The paper experienced declines after releasing subscriber information in February.

In Florida, the Orlando Sentinel also dropped 8.2% to 229,368 daily copies. The Miami Herald was down 5.8% to 294,172.

Newspaper execs will say their websites are drawing millions, billions of readers. But it isn't the same, and they know it.

REAL JAMAICAN RUM

The next time you're mixing a rum-and-Coke, think of this:

Hungarian builders who drank their way to the bottom of a huge barrel of rum while renovating a house got a nasty surprise when a pickled corpse tumbled out of the empty barrel, a police magazine website reported.

According to online magazine www.zsaru.hu, workers in Szeged in the south of Hungary tried to move the barrel after they had drained it, only to find it was surprisingly heavy and were shocked when the body of a naked man fell out.

The website said that the body of the man had been shipped back from Jamaica 20 years ago by his wife in the barrel of rum in order to avoid the cost and paperwork of an official return.

According to the website, workers said the rum in the 300-litre barrel had a "special taste" so they even decanted a few bottles of the liquor to take home.

The wife has since died and the man was buried in a proper grave.

Yo ho ho!

ROY BLUNT CALLING

The congressman from southwest Missouri was Mr. Telemarketer on Thursday, ringing households across the Ozarks to invite people to a telephonic town hall meeting. At one point in the "meeting" Blunt said he'd like to have several face-to-face gatherings, but the telephone gimmick gave him the chance to "meet" a lot of constituents.

The questions were soft. The answers were generic. The effect was impressive. Blunt doesn't need to campaign, shake hands, kiss babies. He can simply let his fingers do the walking.

A MAN MUST BE TOUGH

But a woman? She has to be a bitch.

So appears to be the belief of John Podhoretz, a well-known conservative writer and author of a new book, Can She Be Stopped.

"She" is Hillary Clinton, and it's clear the GOP is afraid of her.

In his book, Podhoretz claims a woman president has "to be a bitch" to deal with tyrants. "And Hillary is a bitch."

A man, of course, can be tough, wily, strong, firm, tenacious, resolute. But a tough woman? John Podhoretz wouldn't know one if she kicked his sexist ass.

MOUNT MERAPI READY TO ERUPT

This sounds like trouble. From The Associated Press:

Red-hot lava began flowing from the crater of Indonesia's rumbling volcano Mount Merapi early Thursday as vulcanologists warned residents an eruption may be imminent.

Burning streams of molten lava started pouring down the slopes at about 2 a.m. local time, said Subandriyo, the chief of Merapi's Volcanology and Monitoring offices, who goes by a single name.

Residents still near the 9,700-foot peak were urged to leave immediately, even though officials said they were not yet raising the alert to the highest level.

"The volcano has shown significantly more activity," Subandriyo said.

Merapi is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" - a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia.

It last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that burned 60 people to death. About 1,300 people were killed when it erupted in 1930.

It burns, burns, burns.

SNOW BLOWS

The freshly appointed White House spokesman hasn't done a briefing, but he's got plenty of ideas on how to improve press relations with the Bush Administration. According to ABC's The Note, Snow is all about window-dressing. Or so it seems, based on this memo from Snow to his new bosses.

A few grafs:

The number one thing we need to do is RE-HUMANIZE THE PRESIDENT. All my other suggestions are just variations on that theme. People WANT to like this President, and we need to give them more chances. They love the regular guy thing that worked so well for you in the first campaign, and we need to tap back into that on a regular basis as a fundamental part of our communications strategy, not a when-can add-on.

There's nothing the Press shop can do about facts on the ground, but we can HELP people remember why they originally liked the President so much. In December and January, Dan and Nicolle did a great job of getting the President out more, talking to the pool nearly every day and answering all those questions from the good red-blooded, red-stated Americans who come to our events ...

The President looked strong and decisive swinging a hammer down in New Orleans for a few minutes the other day. If he wants to, and I bet he'd be thrilled, let's suggest that he spend a whole day working down there, and really have something to show for it.

In other words, the president is a prop, so let's get him a hammer and make him pound some wood in New Orleans.

Snow is also pushing for gee-whiz graphics at White House press briefings:

[L]et's take a page from the Pentagon and the mega-churches and include some electronic and graphic elements in our presentations. We don't want to be predictable, and a clip that provides a preview of the next day's event might give us two pops where we would have gotten only one.

One upside to the terribly cynical Snow memo is his dismissal of removing cameras from the briefing room. "Obviously, we can't do that," Snow writes, "because it would make the White House look like it was going backwards instead of forwards, and like we had something to hide."

WATERLOGGED

The storms alone weren't that bad, and brought much-needed rain to the Ozarks. The tornado sirens wailed -- the worst storms hit north of Springfield, around Ash Grove -- and lightning zipped around the sky, but no big.

Except for the power, which went out last night before 9 p.m. and stayed off for several hours. As one media outlet put it, "storm-related technical problems" prevented further posting last night, and we're only now back online. Sorry for the delay. At least your daily CHATTER isn't sitting in a puddle of water in the driveway.

TUT'S TOOL

Dammit. While waiting for a tsunami that never came, we failed in our mission to bring you the latest news about missing members. Thank God for the Snarling Marmot, who delivered news that -- like the grace that is amazing -- King Tutankhamun's penis once was lost, but now is found.

According to Discovery News, via Marmot:

Photographed intact by Harry Burton (1879-1940) during Howard Carter's excavation of Tut's tomb in 1922, the royal penis was reported missing in 1968, when British scientist Ronald Harrison took a series of X-rays of the mummy.

Speculation abounded that the penis had been stolen and sold.

"Instead, it has always been there. I found it during the CT scan last year, when the mummy was lifted. It lay loose in the sand around the king's body. It was mummified," Zahi Hawass, chief of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Discovery News.

A wee wee wee.

LA REUNION ANTI INMIGRANTE EN SPRINGFIELD

Una demostración anti inmigrante se tendrá en 3 de la tarde. El viernes en la frente de Graneros & Noble en Springfield. Oímos a un cierto tipo tres-denominado de la radio -- e inmigrante canadiense -- dirigirá la reunión contra sus inmigrantees prójimos. ¿La ironía deliciosa, sí?

WHEN CHIMPS ATTACK

Humans get hurt. Chimps are much stronger than their non-hairy, biological brothers. And their attacks on humans are on the increase -- 15 in the past seven years in Uganda, compared to only six incidents in the previous 40 years.

The Hartford Courant reports:

A chimp attacked and killed a Sierra Leone man who was driving Americans to a wildlife refuge Sunday. Another man lost part of his hand in the attack.

Some news reports said a group of up to 20 chimps that had broken out of their enclosures gang-attacked the men, while other stories have pinned responsibility on one animal, possibly a chimp named Bruno, the undisputed alpha male of the Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary. The powerful ape reportedly punched out a window of the taxicab the men were in and assaulted the driver, Issu Kanu, before attacking the passengers.

"This thing was on a rampage, and it acted like it wanted to kill every one of us," Gary Brown, one of the Americans in the cab, told an Austin, Texas, TV station recently. "And it had hatred in its eyes."

We've seen this movie before, and it doesn't have a happy human ending.

Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!

NEWS-LEADER EXODUS

What will the News-Leader do without James Goodwin? He's gained a solid rep as a good political reporter; now he's leaving to head to St. Louis, according to our sources. Not the best way to staff a looming election season.

Also leaving the paper: Nina Rao, whose name last appeared in this space on Tuesday. We'd type more, but Ms. Rao's supporters might again claim she's being pilloried. Can't have that.

IMMIGRATION CONSTERNATION

Ah, the Wednesday newspaper does not disappoint. So far, so good for new editorial-page editor Tony Messenger; the opinion page has lotsa red meat, especially on the issue of immigration.

An example: This letter from Steve Allen of Springfield, who said the May 1 "day without immigrants" should be duplicated:

We should have many more. Better yet, let's just make it permanent.

The newspaper's forums on the immigration issue are an extension of Allen's succinct bigotry. One thread -- about KSFX offering a Spanish-language newscast -- is awash in guttural cries: The Mexicans are coming! The Mexicans are coming!

Dammit, some of them might be gay, too. Better build that wall around the Queen City.

LOUIS RUKEYSER DEAD AT 73

The Associated Press says he "delivered pun-filled, common-sense commentary on complicated business and economic news." We just recall his head of hella hair.

JJ caught the news on Tuesday night; Smitty -- an original diver in our Dead Pool -- flagged us at dawn on Wednesday.

According to AP:

Rukeyser died at his home in Greenwich after a long battle with multiple myeloma, a rare bone marrow cancer, said his brother, Bud Rukeyser.

As host of "Wall $treet Week With Louis Rukeyser" on public TV from 1970 until 2002, Rukeyser took a wry approach to the ups and downs in the marketplace and urged guests to avoid jargon. He brought finance and economics to ordinary viewers and investors, and was rewarded with the largest audience in the history of financial journalism.

BLOG FLOG

If you haven't sampled their wares, wander over to:

•Brown Bag Blog, where Bucky's FAQ includes these wise words:

Like him or not, Bush is the president; believe in his legitimate election or not (I don't), he's the president. I respect people and I respect the institutions of my country. I believe a citizen ought to put his country first and always follow thru on those beliefs, which is yet another reason why I'm not a Republican.

That pretty much explains where we are with the current administration; George W. Bush occupies the office of the president and it commands respect, so we take pains to refer to him as "President Bush" on first reference. The pain involved in taking pains motivates us in the current campaign season.

•Also worth your time is Liberal Agit-Prop, where Andy is ruthless with his Photoshop skeels. Feel that we're too genteel in how we treat the president? Liberal Agit-Prop thankfully has no such qualms.

Find both blogs -- and many of the Usual Suspects -- in the CHATTERWORTHY sidebar.

MOST CONSERVATIVE CITIES IN AMERICA

Human Events publishes the list of the 10 most-conservative cities list in the United States.

Springfield, Mo., is right where it belongs -- nowhere in the Top 10.

Human Events sees it thisaway:

10. Cincinnati, Ohio

9. Boise, Idaho

8. Mesa, Ariz.

7. Clarksville, Tenn.

6. Wichita, Kan.

5. Colorado Springs, Colo.

4. Abilene, Tex.

3. Oklahoma City, Okla.

2. Plano, Tex.

1. Provo, Utah

Some radical locals like to claim Springfield, Mo., is the buckle of the storied Bible Belt. We're not even a hole in the leather, thank God.

A CRACK TOO FAR

Corey Johnson is an honors student at New Brighton Area High School in Colorado.

He's also in danger of being kicked out of school. For good. KDKA has the story:

At an all-school assembly, a motivational speaker told Corey Johnson he looks like Osama Bin Laden.

Johnson says he was teased about it for two straight days, and finally snapped, saying if he were Osama he'd have pulled a "Columbine" -- referring to a deadly school shooting at Columbine High School.

A teacher overheard the and the school expelled him.

Johnson may not graduate in June and he was forbidden from attending the prom.

The school board will make the final decision on whether Johnson will be kicked out of school for good.

The school does have a zero tolerance-policy.

The motivational speaker ought to be slapped. The kid doesn't look anything like Osama.

SOW AND SIN NO MORE

In her story about the impact of immigration protests in the Ozarks, Nina Rao of the News-Leader typed:

Spanish-language band Banda La Arrolladora El Limon sings a popular song with the lyrics that translate as "They say Mexicans are stealing their jobs. I didn't know they liked to sow and clean bathrooms."

Or sew, either.

JOHN DALY: THE $60 MILLION MAN

In a new book, the big golfer from Arkansas says he's lost close to $60 million to gambling. In 12 years. The autobiography -- John Daly: My Life In and Out of the Rough -- is due out May 8.

According to Sports Illustrated:

He told one story of earning $750,000 when he lost in a playoff to Tiger Woods last fall in San Francisco at a World Golf Championship. Instead of going home, he drove to Las Vegas and says he lost $1.65 million in five hours playing mostly $5,000 slot machines.

"If I don't get control of my gambling, it's going to flat-out ruin me," he says in the book, co-written with Glen Waggoner and published by HarperCollins. The book got the attention of PGA Tour headquarters, and commissioner Tim Finchem met with Daly on Monday at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C.Finchem said the book does not violate PGA Tour regulations, although "it is clear that he continues to be concerned about and grapple with significant personal challenges."

Excluding endorsements, Daly has earned $8.9 million playing golf.

HOOKERS AND POLITICIANS? PERISH THE THOUGHT

As astute reader kornzakrackin noted in an earlier posting:

[Y]ou need to start exploring the "Hookergate" scandal IMMEDIATELY!

And how right korny is.

The Duke Cunningham scandal -- he was a California congressman (and former ace fighter pilot) who took bribes from defense contractors -- is much more than just money. It's got hotel-room parties, hookers -- and a spook nicknamed "Nine Fingers."

According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, the feds are giving the looksee to records at two D.C. hotels rented by Brent Wilkes, one of the contractors who bribed Cunningham:

The suites -– first at the Watergate Hotel and then at the Westin Grand Hotel -– had several bedrooms where lawmakers and other guests could relax.

Federal investigators are trying to determine whether Cunningham and other legislators brought prostitutes to the hotels or prostitutes were provided for them there, according to a report in yesterday's Wall Street Journal and confirmed by the Union-Tribune.

A source close to the bribery case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the ongoing investigation, told the Union-Tribune that Mitchell Wade, who pleaded guilty in February to bribing Cunningham, told federal prosecutors that he periodically helped arrange for a prostitute for the then-congressman. ...

Wilkes hosted parties for lawmakers and periodic poker games that included CIA officials as well as members of the House Appropriations and Intelligence committees. Cunningham, who sat on both committees, was a frequent guest, according to some of the participants in the poker games.

People who were present at the games said one of the regular players was Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, who has been Wilkes' best friend since the two attended junior high school in Chula Vista in the late 1960s. In October, Foggo was named the CIA's executive director -– the agency's third-highest position.

Another player was a CIA agent known as "Nine Fingers," so named because he lost one of his digits while on assignment.

CIA honcho Porter Goss denies being at any of the liquor-poker parties. Foggo has stayed quiet. Frodo -- pardon us, "Nine Fingers" -- sounds like a guy we ought to know.

TAGGING IN BAGHDAD

Where's the last place you'd expect to see U.S. gang graffiti? In Saddam-less Iraq, naturally. The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

The Gangster Disciples, Latin Kings and Vice Lords were born decades ago in Chicago's most violent neighborhoods. Now, their gang graffiti is showing up 6,400 miles away in one of the world's most dangerous neighborhoods -- Iraq.

Armored vehicles, concrete barricades and bathroom walls all have served as canvasses for their spray-painted gang art. At Camp Cedar II, about 185 miles southeast of Baghdad, a guard shack was recently defaced with "GDN" for Gangster Disciple Nation, along with the gang's six-pointed star and the word "Chitown," a soldier who photographed it said.

The graffiti, captured on film by an Army Reservist and provided to the Chicago Sun-Times, highlights increasing gang activity in the Army in the United States and overseas, some experts say.

Jeffrey Stoleson, an Army Reserve sergeant in Iraq, is seen in front of a barricade tagged with gang graffiti in March in Iraq. Stoleson, who has been in Iraq for almost a year, says he has taken hundreds of photos of gang graffiti there.

Military and civilian police investigators familiar with three major Army bases in the United States -- Fort Lewis, Fort Hood and Fort Bragg -- said they have been focusing recently on soldiers with gang affiliations. These bases ship out many of the soldiers fighting in Iraq.

"I have identified 320 soldiers as gang members from April 2002 to present," said Scott Barfield, a Defense Department gang detective at Fort Lewis in Washington state. "I think that's the tip of the iceberg."

Gangs outta Fort Hood. You can't make this stuff up.

DANFORTH: GAY MARRIAGE BAN FOOLISH

Jack Danforth, the former U.S. senator, made his comment over the weekend, during a speech to the Log Cabin Republicans.

According to the Associated Press:

"Once before, the Constitution was amended to try to deal with matters of human behavior; that was prohibition. That was such a flop that that was repealed 13 years later," Danforth said.

Referring to the marriage amendment, he added that perhaps at some point in history there was a constitutional amendment proposed that was "sillier than this one, but I don't know of one."

The Senate is scheduled to vote in June on a constitutional amendment that its supporters hope will head off any decision in the federal courts that could legalize gay marriage. The measure would need to be approved by two-thirds of those voting in the House and Senate and then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.

But Danforth said he is opposed. "The basic concept of the Republican Party is to interpret the Constitution narrowly, not expansively, so that legislatures, and especially state legislatures, can work out over a period of time the social issues in our country," he said.

Marriage: One person gets hitched to another person. Who can be against that?