Welcome to the Monday edition of your semi-daily open thread. It’s a rainy Monday today but if feels like autumn. Are you ready to find out what this week in the rollercoaster of Delaware politics will bring?
Is there anyone more conflicted (and lonely) than a gay Republican? GOProud invited the hateful Ann Coulter to give a speech at their convention. Were they surprised that she was mean and hateful?
After a series of jokes about conservative that sounded — and were received — more like a stand-up act then a political speech, Coulter told the assembled (and predominantly wealthy) conservative gay crowd why they should oppose same sex marriage, adding, “I should warn you: I’ve never failed to talk gays out of gay marriage.”
And then she did.
First, she ran down the stereotypical stand-up comedian’s list of reasons, including that lacking the legal right to marriage allows the less-committed partner to weasel out of it. But in a more serious note, she parroted the losing arguments of the lawyers supporting California’s Prop 8 and told the crowd that the reason she opposes (and they should oppose) same sex marriage is that it is strictly for procreation.
In one of a series of racially insensitive remarks that pervaded her speech, Coulter added, “Marriage is not a civil right. You’re not black.” It was part of a larger argument on which she later elaborated, telling the crowd that the 14th Amendment only applies to African-Americans and that it does not, in fact, apply to women, LGBT people or other minorities.
That’s the Scalia argument. Coulter and Scalia are people who talk about “original intent.” I’m not sure if they determine intent by conducting seances.
This is just a sad and bizarre story – the owner of the company that makes Segways dies while riding one.
The multi-millionaire businessman, 62, fell into the River Wharfe while inspecting the grounds of his North Yorkshire estate on a rugged country version of the Segway.
The Segway is a motorised scooter which use gyroscopes to remain upright and is controlled by the direction in which the rider leans.
A passer-by found Heselden alongside his Segway in the Boston Spa area at about 11.40am on Sunday.
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said today: “Police were called at 11.40am yesterday to reports of a man in the River Wharfe, apparently having fallen from the cliffs above.
Apparently Jimi Heselden gave a lot of money to charity. Condolences to his friends and family. He had just taken over the company at the beginning of the year.