From Bush’s recent radio address on the federal marriage amendment:

In our free society, people have the right to choose how they live their lives. And in a free society, decisions about such a fundamental social institution as marriage should be made by the people

…we’re in a free society?

Another portion:

These court decisions could have an impact on our whole Nation. The Defense of Marriage Act declares that no state is required to accept another state’s definition of marriage. If that act is overturned by activist courts, then marriages recognized in one city or state might have to be recognized as marriages everywhere else.

Perhaps not.  There’s no legal statute that requires states to recognize traditional marriages made in another state.  They just simply do it.  To the best of my knowledge (and I did a few searches to double-check), there exists NO law requiring that one state recognize a man and woman’s marriage that was made in another state.  They simply do. *shrug*

Read the entire entry …

John Courage, who’s running for Texas Congressional District 21, put out a press release last week lambasting his opponent, Lamar Smith, for voting against the Internet Freedom and Discrimination Act of 2006, which requires broadband providers to adhere to Network Neutrality rules.

Smith, who claims a residence in Bexar County but spends most of his time on Cape Cod, practices Christian Science and is a Yale alumni.

In his press release, John Courage had this to say about Smith:

“Smith’s vote sends a clear message to his constituents that he believes it is acceptable for major providers to monopolize access to the Internet. Smith either does not understand that people’s access to the Internet is in danger, or just does not care. His vote against Net Neutrality underscores his disconnect from his constituents who use the Internet everyday.”

In his opposition to the bill, Smith said he would prefer “to leave these decisions to the courts to work out on a case-by-case basis under the anti-trust law”. So much for tort reform reducing the strain on the courts, eh? He also complained that the bill is too regulatory, and could “put a straightjacket on this important sector of the economy”. Important meaning, of course, that all the big boys (see Eric’s list below) will have a stranglehold on it and boast record profits, while small businesses will have more of a struggle breaking into the market.

Courage also recognized the Save the Internet campaign:

The SavetheInternet.com Coalition launched a little over a month ago, the group’s spokesman said. Â Since then, more than 700 groups “spanning the political spectrum” have joined, including MoveOn.org, the Christian Coalition, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Gun Owners of America, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the American Library Association, and Craig Newmark of Craigslist.

It should also be noted that Smith opposes all efforts to offer any form of legal status to immigrants who have entered the country illegally, and in September of 2005 a fax intended for Karl Rove was intercepted in which Lamar Smith stated:

“Immigration needs to be considered in the context of: (1). Media Bias, (2). Animosity toward the president and (3) the feelings of the Republican base.”

Smith also suggests that “Liberals can easily and accurately be painted as opposing enforcement.”