America's Largest State Gets Marriage Equality

The map changes again:

Breaking: America's Largest State Gets Marriage Equality
DailyKOS,com | By JP Massar | FRI OCT 17, 2014 AT 12:00 PM PDT

The Supreme Court just refused to grant a stay of an Alaska judge's decision that Alaska's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.

The existing stay, put in place by by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, was to "dissolve" at Noon, Pacific Time today (Friday), unless the Supreme Court acted on it. It did not.

That should mean that marriages in Alaska can begin immediately. (At least one marriage took place already, before the stay by the Ninth Circuit was put in place.)

Just hours ago, Arizona's ban on same-sex marriages was ruled unconstitutional by Federal District Court Judge Sedwick and the Attorney General of the state, Tom Horne, has said that there will be no appeal.

The map of the state of marriage equality in the United States

Update. Apparently the Supreme Court did issue a last minute denial, rather than letting the clock simply "run out."

Keeping its reasons to itself for doing the same thing again, the Supreme Court on Friday afternoon rejected a plea to stop same-sex marriages from going ahead in Alaska. By denying the state’s plea for postponement, in a one-sentence order giving no explanation, the Court’s action had the effect o making that state the thirty-first in which gays and lesbians can marry legally.
The Court released its order just moments before a temporary delay imposed by a federal appeals court was due to expire. With that expiration, a federal trial judge’s order finding Alaska’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional went into effect, allowing the issuance of marriage licenses in that state.

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great news

Joyful news. Excellent reason to celebrate. But the above map also indicates the sad state of politics in the U.S.---the "Civil Cold War," as some have coined it.

Without the southern bloc and the Midwest Bible Belt retarding progress, as they have now for several decades, the beleaguered nation might have universal health care, a less militaristic foreign policy, more comprehensive immigration and energy policies, less income inequality, less tyranny from the financial sector, a more progressive tax code, more reinvestment in crumbling infrastructure, and so many other desperately needed things.

It is mind-boggling and disgusting to consider that not quite 150 years ago, the southern bloc relied on slavery, an economic system even more primitive than feudalism. According to Churchill, it takes 200 years for a nation to recover from civil war. But how long does it take to recover from slavery? The U.S. is in the process of finding out.

At least life is better for gays now. I hope Neo-Conservatism withers away soon. Too bad it will never disappear entirely. I would welcome that, as I subscribe to John Kenneth Galbraith's definition of conservatism: "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness."

There is a very important election coming soon in the U.S., but I'm pretty convinced liberals will not get out to vote, which will tragically cede even more power to conservatives. The 2016 presidential election will likely have more successes for the progressive cause, but I won't be surprised if there are some pretty disappointing setbacks in the upcoming 2014 midterms. Ebola could easily help the conservative cause. If so, the next two years will be more of the same: total gridlock, with utterly no hope of anyone lifting a finger to solve America's problems.