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Let's really get the government out of our bedrooms.
Critics and enthusiasts of Lawrence vs. Texas, last month's Supreme Court decision invalidating state antisodomy laws, agree on one thing: The next argument is going to be about gay marriage. As Justice Antonin Scalia noted in his tart dissent, it follows from the logic of Lawrence. Mutually consenting sex with the person of your choice in the privacy of your own home is now a basic right of American citizenship under the Constitution. This does not mean that the government must supply it or guarantee it. But the government cannot forbid it, and the government also should not discriminate against you for choosing to exercise a basic right of citizenship. Offering an institution as important as marriage to male-female couples only is exactly this kind of discrimination. Or so the gay rights movement will now argue. Persuasively, I think.
Opponents of gay rights will resist mightily, although they have been in retreat for a couple of decades. General antigay sentiments are now considered a serious breach of civic etiquette, even in antigay circles. The current line of defense, which probably won't hold either, is between social toleration of homosexuals and social approval of homosexuality. Or between accepting the reality that people are gay, even accepting that gays are people, and endorsing something called "the gay agenda." Gay marriage, the opponents will argue, would cross this line. It would make homosexuality respectable and, worse, normal. Gays are welcome to exist all they want, and to do their inexplicable thing if they must, but they shouldn't expect a government stamp of approval.
It's going to get ugly. And then it's going to get boring. So we have two options here. We can add gay marriage to the short list of controversies _ abortion, affirmative action, the death penalty _ that are so frozen and ritualistic that debates about them are more like kabuki performances than intellectual exercises. Or we can think outside the box. There is a solution that ought to satisfy both camps, and may not be a bad idea even apart from the gay marriage controversy.
That solution is to end the institution of marriage. Or rather (he hastens to clarify, dear) the solution is to end the institution of government-sanctioned marriage. Or, framed to appeal to conservatives: End the government monopoly on marriage. Wait, I've got it: Privatize marriage. Let churches and other religious institutions continue to offer marriage ceremonies. Let department stores and casinos get into the act if they want. Let each organization decide for itself what kinds of couples it wants to offer marriage to. Let couples celebrate their union in any way they choose and consider themselves married whenever they want. Let others be free to consider them not married, under rules these others may prefer. And, yes, if three people want to get married, or one person wants to marry herself, and someone else wants to conduct a ceremony and declare them married, let 'em. If you and your government aren't implicated, what do you care?
In fact, there is nothing to stop any of this from happening now. And a lot of it does happen. But only certain marriages get certified by the government. So, in the United States we are about to find ourselves in a strange situation where the principal demand of a liberation movement is to be included in the red tape of a government bureaucracy. Having just gotten state governments out of their bedrooms, gays now want these governments back in. Meanwhile, social-conservative antigays, many of them Southerners, are calling on the government in Washington to trample states' rights and nationalize the rules of marriage, if necessary, to prevent gays from getting what they want. The Senate majority leader, Bill Frist of Tennessee, responded to the Supreme Court's Lawrence decision by endorsing a constitutional amendment, no less, against gay marriage.
If marriage were an entirely private affair, all the disputes over gay marriage would become irrelevant. Gay marriage would not have the official sanction of government, but neither would straight marriage. There would be official equality between the two, which is the essence of what gays want and are entitled to. And if the other side is sincere in saying that its concern is not what people do in private but government endorsement of a gay "lifestyle," that problem goes away too.
Regarding children and finances, people can set their own rules, as many already do. None of this would be easy. Marriage functions as what lawyers call a "bright line," which saves the trouble of trying to measure a lot of amorphous factors. You're either married or you're not. Once marriage itself becomes amorphous, who-gets-the-kids and who-gets-health-care become trickier questions. So, sure, there are some legitimate objections to the idea of privatizing marriage. But they don't add up to a fatal objection. Especially when you consider that the alternative is arguing about gay marriage until death do us part.
+ Michael Kinsley, former editor of Slate (www.slate.com), writes a weekly column for the Washington Post. +Special to the Washington Post


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Just like when storm clouds are swept away to let the Sun shine through, the dark molecular clouds that once engulfed the Carina Nebula are now evaporating, with these little brown blobs the last remnants of once mighty cosmic formations.
Of course, unlike the clouds on Earth, these molecular clouds actually provided much of the raw material that helped form the surrounding stars in the first place. That adds a bit of extra poignancy to their coming disappearance, considering its those stars that are the main drivers of the clouds' disappearance, as NASA explains:
The unusual blobs found in the Carina nebula, some of which are seen floating on the upper right, might best be described as evaporating. Energetic light and winds from nearby stars are breaking apart the dark dust grains that make the iconic forms opaque. Ironically the blobs, otherwise known as dark molecular clouds, frequently create in their midst the very stars that later destroy them. The floating space mountains pictured above by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope span a few light months. The Great Nebula in Carina itself spans about 30 light years, lies about 7,500 light years away, and can be seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of Keel (Carina).
Via NASA.

subset: commoncrawl


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Superior Edge is a student development program at Northern Michigan University that provides students with the opportunity to combine in- and out-of-the-classroom experiences in a way that will provide them with an edge with employers or graduate school admissions counselors. Superior Edge was developed as a university-wide initiative by a committee comprised of faculty, staff, and students. Superior Edge develops citizen-leaders for the 21st century. Watch this video to find out more.
About Superior Edge:
Superior Edge consists of four "edges"
- Citizenship – Become an engaged, involved citizen
- Diversity – Develop sensitivity and awareness of global and domestic diversity issues
- Leadership – Become a competent, ethical and effective leader
- Real World – Relate classroom theory to workplace practice in real-world settings
To complete an edge, students document 100 hours of relevant activities/experiences and write a reflection paper articulating what they have learned through the process as well as a short survey.
After completing an edge, a student enrichment transcript documents each edge. The student enrichment transcript gets sent out with a student's academic transcript. If students finish all four edges, they get the distinction of having the "Superior Edge" and get to wear cords at commencement.
Characteristics of Superior Edge:
- Participation is open to every student at Northern Michigan University.
- Students can progress at their own pace; progress towards an edge can be made throughout their years at NMU.
- Superior Edge combines in- and out-of-the-classroom experiences.
- Students can choose their level of participation; they can elect to complete one, two, three, or all four edges for the Superior Edge.
To get started with Superior Edge, students attend a one-hour orientation session where criteria for the program is explained and they receive instruction on logging their hours.


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The protest was held in Clark Park in West Philadelphia.
Hundreds Protest Rally Planned By Far-Right Neo-Fascist Group Proud Boys In West Philadelphia
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MLB Notebook: Miggy rewriting record book
Teammate Scherzer making run at unparalleled season totals
The 1932 season saw the Philadelphia Athletics come up short in their bid to capture a fourth straight American League pennant, but it could hardly be pinned on the efforts of their first baseman, AL MVP Award winner Jimmie Foxx. Foxx topped the circuit in runs, slugging, OPS, extra-base hits, total bases (with 438, still the fifth-highest total all-time), and also captured two-thirds of the Triple Crown, pacing the league with 58 homers and 169 RBIs.
Foxx came up short for the batting title due to Dale Alexander, another first baseman, who just outdistanced Foxx, .367 to .364. So Foxx came back the next year, and although his numbers in all three Triple Crown categories were lower than in '32, his 48 homers, 163 RBIs and .356 batting average were all good enough to lead the league.
Ty Cobb won two of the three parts of the Triple Crown in 1908, the year before he led the league in homers, RBIs and batting. In 1921, Rogers Hornsby took two-thirds of the crown and then followed with all three pieces in 1922. And in 1941, Ted Williams preceded his Triple Crown in 1942 by leading in batting and homers, but not RBIs. In 2013, Miguel Cabrera is turning this narrative around, making a very real run at leading the league in batting, homers and RBIs a year after establishing himself as a Triple Crown winner.
- Cabrera hit his 40th home run of the season and also drove in three runs to push his league-leading total to 120.
- Cabrera -- who clubbed 44 homers and drove in 139 runs in 2012 -- is the third Tigers player to post back-to-back 40-120 seasons. Hank Greenberg did it in 1937-38, hitting .326 with a 1.113 OPS in those years combined. In 1990-91, Cecil Fielder did it, with a .269 batting average and a .912 OPS over those two seasons. Cabrera's average from 2012-13 stands at .342, and his OPS for the two seasons is 1.059.
- Cabrera leads the AL in batting by 27 points and leads in RBIs (over Chris Davis ) by five, while he trails Davis in homers by five. So far in this season's second half, Cabrera has hit the most homers (10); in the second half of the 2012 season, Cabrera hit the most homers (26).
Scherzer just as hot as teammate
- Max Scherzer allowed two runs on five hits and no walks in eight innings, improving to 18-1 on the season.
- Scherzer is the fifth pitcher to win at least 18 of his first 19 decisions in a season. In 1912, Rube Marquard opened his season 19-0; in 1955, Don Newcombe began 18-1; in 1959, Roy Face was 18-1 with all 19 decisions coming in relief; and in 2001, Roger Clemens opened 18-1.
- Scherzer lowered his WHIP to 0.899. That number, along with some of his others (aside from winning percentage) could place him in some lonely company when the season is complete. Among AL pitchers in the DH era:
- Only one pitcher -- Pedro Martinez, with his 0.737 in 2000 -- finished with a lower WHIP than the one currently being authored by Scherzer.
- Only eight hurlers have finished a year with a lower hits-per-nine than Scherzer's current 6.11 mark.
- Only five (Pedro Martinez three times and Johan Santana twice) have finished a year with a strikeout rate at or above nine per nine and a walk rate below two per nine (Scherzer is at 9.66 and 1.98). *Felix Hernandez and Chris Sale currently have numbers that fit these criteria, as well.
Davis doing his thing
- Davis and Adam Jones each doubled and homered in the Orioles' 7-2 win, with each also contributing two RBIs.
- Davis now has 80 extra-base hits in 123 team games, a rate that projects him to reach 100 for the season. The franchise record for extra-base hits is 92, set by Brady Anderson in 1996. Anderson's total is tied for the 23rd most in AL history, with six players in league history having reached the century mark. Two did it in the 1920s (Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig), three did it in the 1930s (Foxx, Gehrig and Greenberg) and Albert Belle did it in 1995.
- Davis and Jones have combined for 204 RBIs, the second most in the Majors for any pair of teammates. Cabrera and Prince Fielder have 205. The most for a pair of Brewers/Browns/Orioles in a season is 264, by Ken Williams (155) and Marty McManus (109) in 1922.
D-backs enjoying extra time on field
The D-backs defeated the Pirates, 4-2, in 16 innings, improving to 13-5 in extra-inning games this season.
- The 13 extra-inning wins are the most for the franchise, and with a .722 winning percentage in these games, the clubs is threatening the team record for that category. In 2002, the D-backs played .750 ball (9-3) in extra-inning games.
- Arizona allowed a run in the first and third innings and then held Pittsburgh scoreless the rest of the way. With two in the sixth and two in the 16th, Arizona picked up its 36th comeback win -- second most in the NL, behind the Braves' 38.
- The Pirates used only four pitchers, thanks in large part to Kris Johnson, who was making his Major League debut. Johnson went the final six innings, and with the two runs allowed in that final frame, took the loss. Johnson is the 70th pitcher since 1916 to have a relief stint of at least six innings in his Major League debut, and the first to do it since Mike Bacsik on Aug. 5, 2001. Fifty-nine of the 70 occurrences took place from 1916-59. Johnson is the third Pirates pitcher to make this list, joining Hal Carson (April 13, 1917) and Bill Werle (April 22, 1949).
Around The Show
Reds leadoff hitter Shin-Soo Choo had a pair of singles and three walks as Cincinnati cruised by Milwaukee, 9-1. Choo's day at the plate gave him an .894 OPS as a leadoff hitter this season -- the highest for any payer with at least 400 plate appearances in that slot. The .894 mark would be the second highest for any Reds leadoff hitter since 1916, with Pete Rose owning a .941 mark in 1969.
After Cole Hamels gave them seven innings of two-run ball, the Phillies enjoyed a walk-off win over the Dodgers and Jonathan Papelbon picked up the win. Hamels has seven non-wins this season in which he has finished his start with seven-or-more innings and two-or-fewer runs allowed. Those seven tie him with Matt Harvey, Gio Gonzalez, Patrick Corbin and Matt Cain for the most in the Majors. Dating back to 1916, the most such games in a season is 11, a mark shared by Roger Craig in 1963, Claude Osteen in '65 and Jose Rijo in '93.
Oakland's Jed Lowrie and Josh Donaldson combined for four hits, two runs, and three RBIs and the Athletics defeated Indians, 7-3. Lowrie owns 41 extra-base hits, while Donaldson has collected 45. They are one of three shortstop/third base combinations in the Majors to each have at least 40, with the Orioles' J.J. Hardy and Manny Machado and the Tigers' Jhonny Peralta and Cabrera the other two.