Some people think the question of whether homosexuality is biologically determined has some bearing on whether it’s ok to discriminate against gays. Legally, there might be something there, but morally and socially, it’s all the same to me. Bigotry is never cool, even if you can twist up some limp rationalization for your hate.

The people that say gay people choose to be gay never identify the mechanism of that choice. They make it sound like there are guys who wake up one day and decide to fall in love with men. They make it seem like lesbians should just learn to love men. It’s a strange viewpoint, and those that hold it describe people so unrealistic that you wonder what kind of person thinks anybody else is wired that way.

Here’s another bit of evidence that homosexuality is all about the nature, not the nurture.

Do you every wonder just how goofy the people over in England can be? I do. Ever wonder about where some of the goofy ideas the UN comes up with?

Maybe they come from places like the The Euston Manifesto.

Here are a few snippets:

A. Preamble

We are democrats and progressives. We propose here a fresh political alignment. Many of us belong to the Left, but the principles that we set out are not exclusive. We reach out, rather, beyond the socialist Left towards egalitarian liberals and others of unambiguous democratic commitment. Indeed, the reconfiguration of progressive opinion that we aim for involves drawing a line between the forces of the Left that remain true to its authentic values, and currents that have lately shown themselves rather too flexible about these values. It involves making common cause with genuine democrats, whether socialist or not.

3) Human rights for all.

We hold the fundamental human rights codified in the Universal Declaration to be precisely universal, and binding on all states and political movements, indeed on everyone. Violations of these rights are equally to be condemned whoever is responsible for them and regardless of cultural context.

It is worth a read and there is some good stuff in it. There are still Utopian dreamers. Do you think we will see some of this “manifesto” in future UN proposals?

Didn’t the human race already figure out that socialism doesn’t work?

Cam Edwards:

A remarkable thing happened at the United Nations yesterday. We, the United States, told the world “no”. The messenger was Robert Joseph, the Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. Speaking before the dozens of nations that have gathered for the review conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Joseph told the world in no uncertain terms where the United States stood.

“The U.S. Constitution guarantees the rights of our citizens to keep and bear arms, and there will be no infringement of those rights,” he proclaimed to the dignitaries and functionaries. “The United States will not agree to any provisions restricting civilian possession, use or legal trade of firearms inconsistent with our laws and practices.”

Now, if this sounds familiar, it should be. It was five years ago that UN Ambassador John Bolton said something similar during the first conference on small arms. Then, as now, many countries wanted the conference to discuss and implement controls on the civilian possession of firearms.

One quibble regarding the quote The U.S. Constitution guarantees the rights of our citizens to keep and bear arms, and there will be no infringement of those rights. Well, no infringement unless it comes from our own government, of course.

It’s not real comforting to know that the US Senate is only one vote from abject stupidity.

GLN rounds up coverage of the UN anti-gun summit.

Ned Ferguson, who I thought was MIA, notes that the .gov can shut down churches using eminent domain:

Churches are tax exempt, hence virtually any “use” except a church generates greater tax revenue for the government and therefore makes the property subject to seizure. See how easy that is?

He even has a sample.

Since some readers (including one who is going through the same thing) have asked:

No smoking since Monday morning at roughly 6:30a.m. Kind of jittery, chewing lots of gum and eating the shit out of candy and, well, anything else I can get my hands on. If I start turning into a fat ass, maybe smoking isn’t so bad. Kind of a toss up in terms of what’s worse for you, I suppose.

Also, I’ve made it this far and not killed anyone. It’s a good thing.

I dig the looks of the Sig X-Five 226.

Take the poll: Do you believe the U.N. is trying to outlaw gun ownership in the U.S.?

Via Josh

I’ve covered the plight of Sunshyne Video (link is not work safe) before. Sunshyne is a local adults only store and, according to local politicos, a den of debauchery and iniquity. They’ve had a heckuva time battling the local Adult Entertainment Board, which is a sham of a political body (see my posts here, here and here). I even interviewed the owner, David Anderson, here. Heck, I even link to their blog (link is not work safe) some times.

Well, yesterday I happened to be in that direction (I never knew where the place was) and decided to stop in. I went in and expected to see naked, dancing women and live sex shows because that’s what the local press and politicos keep telling me was there. They had none of that and I was disappointed. All I saw were three-dimensional devices designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human genital organs, dirty movies, and a variety of novelty items. Oh, and a sign that said No Public Restroom, which is a good thing to have if you sell porn.

I introduced myself to David and told him who I was. We had a good laugh and he told me they’re still fighting in court due to not having a license to be an adult business because the sham adult business board won’t give them one. He also told me that each employee has to be approved by the local adult business board, which obviously is intended to make it hard on (heh) such businesses to get help. He was trying to get someone approved now.

By the time we got done talking, I had no time for browsing.

Good luck in the fight, Dave, and tell us how it goes.

Blogcritics takes a look.

Pete notes Citizen Against Government Waste isn’t a fan of the drug czar:

As the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), established in 1988 by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, approaches its eighteenth year of existence, it continues to demonstrate its inability to either achieve its core objectives or function efficiently.

…

The government also exhibits its obsession with containing marijuana use by continuing to throw unnecessary funding and unavailable resources towards tracking down and persecuting patients using medicinal marijuana in states that have legalized the substance for medical use only. Not only does this undermine federalism, it also proves that the government is incapable of exercising any kind of fiscal restraint.

Ayup.

Head is really calling it quits. Bummer. Your blog will be missed.

Including Dick Cheney.

Michael abandons his ordinarily calm demeanor and yells at the left.

Jeff has the latest on anti-gun bias in the press.

You Tube has a business plan?