Say, What Chu Looking At?

It’s the day after Christmas, I hope you’re at home relaxing! Here’s the rest of the Tachikoma Christmas set.

Hey everyone…

Happy Holidays!

Hi everyone!

Coming out of relative silence to say… Happy Holidays!

Have you been feeling a little down? Need a treat that perks you up? Try this.

How do you get there? First off, if you don’t know about it, read up on Black Blood of the Earth – the wonderful result of what happens when a mad scientist decides to make his own concentrated brew of coffee.. Then pop on over to the gallery for the recipe in a series of pictures.

Details and photos here.  

Yahoo! News : New York town clerk quits over gay marriage licenses
HUDSON, New York (Reuters) – A town clerk in western New York has resigned to avoid being forced to sign marriage licenses for gay and lesbian couples, citing religious objections to same-sex marriage.

I’ve heard it argued by Anti-Gay Marriage groups that the “Gay Agenda” seeks to force a change in beliefs, thus violating separation of church and state.  Whenever I hear this I get extremely fustrated, because to my mind these people seem blind to the fact they’re doing the exact same thing.   The distinct argument is the State cannot tell these people what their religious beliefs should be.   Why do these groups have the right to tell a gay couple what to believe?

Here, this town clerk is resigning because she believes, “the Bible takes precedence over man-made laws” — how do you square that belief away against your appointment to enforce and execute your civil duties, when one of the core aspects of that is separation of church and state?   As Cuomo appropriately stated – “When you enforce the laws of the state, you don’t get to pick and choose the laws.”

To my mind, every political argument that falls back on claiming “*Insert Religious Symbol or Dogma here* says this is so” falls apart.   I actually am glad this person stepped down, being clearly unable to square away this conflict.   However, it has been sitting on my mind lately.  Thoughts?