🇺🇸 The Legality of Love

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Plus, after the product was discontinued, ice cream trucks nationwide are ringing out their bells in tribute…

Also, looking at screens all day is tough on your eyes. Peep this Flag Find.

FLAG POLLS

📉 President Biden Job Approval: Approve 41, Disapprove 57 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 President Biden Job Approval: Approve 39, Disapprove 59 (Politico/Morning Con.)

📉 Direction of Country: Right Track 22, Wrong Track 78 (Politico/Morning Con.)

TRENDING

Right: Conservatives disgusted after Fauci says his ‘common sense’ advice ‘saved millions’ (Fox News)

Right: Top Federal Reserve Officials With Known Links To China Still Have Their Jobs (Daily Wire)

Right: CNN panel brutally mocks Biden for attempting to change definition of recession (The Blaze)

Left: Democrats’ blatant hypocrisy about the 2020 election and its aftermath (CNN)

Left: Doctors Are Reluctant to Treat the Most Common Pregnancy Complication (Slate)

Left: Pence's Ex-Chief Of Staff Torches Matt Gaetz: 'Likely He'll Be In Prison' By 2024 (Huffington Post)

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QUICK CLICKS

Recessionary Concerns, Russia Out on ISS, Pence and Trump Dueling Speeches

US: Consumer confidence slips for third straight month (CNN)

US: Russia says it will quit the International Space Station amid Ukraine war (NBC)

US: Pence urges Republicans to focus on future elections (Axios) + Trump Says the US Has Been 'Brought to its Knees' (Newsweek)

World: Winter Is Coming in Europe. Russian Gas Isn’t. (The Atlantic)

US: ‘Leave It to Beaver’ star Tony Dow still alive, mistakenly announced as dead (Page Six)

US: Scientists have an explanation why there is an increase of shark attacks off East Coast (ABC)

US: Biden Nearly Fully Recovered From COVID, President's Physician Says (VOA)

US: ‘The View’ Taps Former Trump Staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin as Conservative Co-Host (Variety)

US: Democrat mayor pushing speed cameras refusing to pay her own speeding tickets (Fox News)

US: Trevor Reed: White House should do more to free Griner, Whelan (The Hill)

LEGISLATION

The Legality of Love

Last week the House of Representatives passed the Respect for Marriage Act, which codifies the right to both same-sex marriage and interracial marriage. The legislation was backed by both Democrats and Republicans. If the Senate also passes the bill it would go to President Biden’s desk.

News Coverage from the Left: GOP lawmaker attended gay son's wedding 3 days after voting against same-sex marriage (NBC News)

News Coverage from the Right: House passes bill to protect same-sex marriage. What are its chances in Senate? (Deseret News)

From The Flag: Most agree the desire to protect same-sex marriage is what’s driving this legislation, especially considering the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defined marriage as between a man and a woman in 1996. That said, a 2015 Supreme Court decision ruled same-sex marriage is protected through the 14th Amendment. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Conservatives Offer Wavering Opinions on the Laws of Marriage

• All conservatives should support same-sex marriage because it’s good for the country to encourage lasting relationships and family building.

• Conservatives do themselves a disservice connecting interracial marriage and same-sex marriage in the same legislation, because they’re very different.

• While the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) ran afoul of federalist principles in 1996, this law is more nuanced in that respect.

“Congress Should Codify Same-Sex Marriage” Theodore B. Olson and Kenneth B. Mehlman, Wall Street Journal Op-ed: “These families have relied on decisions affirming their right to marry and its accompanying protections: custody of children, healthcare decisions, right of survivorship, tax status, immigration status and more. … Support for civil marriage is consistent with American values. Strong families and lasting relationships strengthen communities, and marriage is a fundamental freedom deeply rooted in the history and traditions of our country. As conservatives we should promote freedom and limited government. That includes supporting American citizens’ freedom to marry the person they love. … Millions of American citizens are building families, taking on the responsibilities and commitment associated with marriage, and caring for the one they love. Passing the Respect for Marriage Act wouldn’t alter existing rights; it would remove harmful and destructive uncertainty about the future. It treats all American families as each of us would want to be treated.”

“The ‘Respect for Marriage Act’ Deserves No Respect” Andrew T. Walker and Carl Trueman, National Review: “Supporters of the bill promote it not only as codifying ‘marriage equality’ for federal purposes, but protecting interracial marriage as well. It should be noted, for argument’s sake, that interracial marriage is not like same-sex marriage in any respects. Interracial marriage possesses the attributes necessary to form a marriage — maleness and femaleness. Same-sex ones do not. Skin color is utterly irrelevant to one’s ability to form a marriage, whereas sex is essential. … So conservatives should brush off hysterics that opposition to the Respect for Marriage Act is akin to wanting interracial marriage banned or voided. That is hogwash. Race is a social construct. Male and female are biological realities, and the relationship of marriage, which requires sexual consummation and therefore involves a sexual complementarity, is not something that can be transformed by mere manipulation of the dictionary definition.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Federalism and the Respect for Marriage Act Ilya Somin, Reason

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Congress Shows It Can Protect Vulnerable Americans, Now Finish the Job

• This should be passed by the Senate to protect marriage and assure the LGBTQ community during what’s been a difficult period.

• It’s encouraging that the House passed this bill, because it shows Congress isn’t totally broken.

• Married LGBTQ couples could have their lives upended if the Supreme Court ever decided to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges.

“Senators, pass the Respect for Marriage Act” Editorial Board, Washington Post: “The Respect for Marriage Act would formally repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defined marriage as between a man and woman. Although that definition was struck down in the courts, DOMA was never removed from the books. The new bill would also require state governments to recognize marriages legally performed in other states, and would give the attorney general the authority to bring civil action against figures who do not. It was written to encompass both same-sex marriage and interracial marriage. … It comes at a particularly trying time for the LGBTQ community. From Florida’s ‘don’t say gay’ law barring teachers from bringing up sexuality and gender identity in classrooms, to Texas’s targeting of gender-affirming care for transgender adolescents, a number of jurisdictions have enacted policies designed to exclude and stigmatize. And right-wing activists and politicians are increasingly relying on dangerous rhetoric around sexuality in an attempt to stoke a culture war.”

“Bipartisan Gay-Marriage Vote Marks a Breakthrough” The Editors, Bloomberg: “Indeed, after the court’s decision last month in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization striking down abortion rights, progressive activists warned that other court decisions covering sodomy laws, gay marriage and contraception could be next for repeal. Democratic lawmakers promptly introduced bills to codify protections on those issues… On gay marriage, however, nearly one-quarter of the House Republican conference voted in favor, and there’s a realistic prospect of finding the 10 Republicans necessary to produce the 60 votes to guarantee Senate passage. Given current levels of partisanship in Washington, this is a significant achievement, particularly in an election year. It’s also how the system is supposed to work. Public support for gay marriage has never been higher… Responding to such changes in public sentiment is — and always has been — a job for elected legislators. Yet for too long, lawmakers have instead surrendered decisions about controversial social policies to unelected judges… Better late than never.“

One more opinion piece from the Left: At Least 25 States Are One Supreme Court Decision Away From Banning Same-Sex Marriage Arianna Coghill, Mother Jones

FLAG THIS

Widespread Support, Including GOP Members

Polling from Gallup indicates 71% of Americans support same-sex marriage, which is a new high. When the polling organization first tracked the issue in 1996, just 26% were in support.

As of 2021, the majority of Republicans support same-sex marriage (55%).

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

Nixon Impeachment, Too Responsible, Signing Voice

On July 27, 1974, the House Judiciary Committee recommended that America’s 37th president, Richard M. Nixon, be impeached and removed from office. Above is a photograph of the members and staff of the House Judiciary Committee in 1974.

Harvard Business Review: Are You Too Responsible?

Big Think: The only way to beat the speed of light

Wired: Humans Have Always Been Wrong About Humans

Today I Learned that in 2017 an 8-year-old learned how to drive on YouTube and successfully drove to Mcdonald's while following traffic laws.