FOUR POLITICAL BISCUITS FROM THE PAST WEEK OR TWO

Sorry, I know this has nothing to do with music, but I gotta get this shit off my chest . . .

1.) Props to all those protesting the New York Court of Appeal's cowardly decision this week not to go the way of Massachussetts and overturn our discriminatory marriage laws but rather to defer to the state legislature. Most appalling was Judge Smith's suggestion that "children are better off raised by a biological mother and father, rather than by a gay or lesbian couple." There is simply no evidence that this is true.

2.) Props to all those in Mexico protesting the razor-thin victory of the conservative ruling party's Felipe Calderon in last weekend's presidential election. It would be a mistake to dismiss Calderon's opponent Lopez Obrador and his supporters as paranoid or sore losers. Given the country's long history of goverment corruption and fraudlent elections, its citizens deserve an honest recount.

3.) The New York Times did absolutely nothing wrong by printing a front-page article about the Treasury Dept's tracking of Americans' banking transactions. There is no validity whatsoever to claims that the Times jeopardized national security. This information was already public knowledge. The whole thing is just another example of the Bush Administration's war against a free press -- specifically the NYT (after all, the Washington Post ran the same story!)

4.) Flag-burning is a non-issue. When last did you hear of a flag-burning? It's been a passe form of resistance since the Vietnam era.