Skirmishes

Easy Call

So the County Clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky, a woman named Kim Davis, continues to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges and a district court ruling that she must comply with that decision. She claims "God's authority" is the basis for her refusal. She forbids other clerks in her office from issuing them, either, and in fact her office has stopped issuing licenses to anyone in an attempt to avoid a discrimination charge.

"If you've got a problem with my decision, take it up with God."

Unfortunately, Ms. Davis is not working for God, she is working for the government of Rowan County, Kentucky. If she cannot in good conscience do the job the voters elected her to do, nor allow others in her office to do so, she ought to resign.

Ms. Davis is arguing that she is somehow entitled to keep her position even though she refuses to obey the law and prevents her employees from obeying it because "God's law" trumps man's law. Regardless of what her religious beliefs are, however, she cannot use the instrumentality of the state to enforce them. To attempt to do so is not licit, and is ethically suspect as well.

This woman should be sent packing, at once. And while she's sitting at home looking for another job, perhaps she can re-read Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, and Luke 20:20-26.

This doesn't really have anything to do with one's views on same-sex marriage (I'm fine with it, but I also think government should get out of the marriage-sanctioning business altogether). The issue here is whether an employee of the state can use religious belief as a pretext for refusing to carry out the duties of their office.

This is an easy call, folks...

Things That Make Me Happy: Home Cooking Edition

Tonight my beloved Kansas City Royals return to Kauffman Stadium to begin a nine-game homestand. They begin September with a record of 80-50, by far the best record in the American League, and lead the Central Division by 13 games with only 32 games left to play.

I make no such concession, and you should shut your pipe before you jinx them...

Rejected Career Option No. 461

From the delightful comic strip Non Sequitur, by Wiley Miller, which you should read every day, as I do (even though he's a squishy liberal).

Until Next Time...

Sometimes in classical music a composition takes on a life of its own after its debut, becoming so popular that the original title is all but forgotten in favor of a simpler title embraced by those who love the piece. This was certainly the case with Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor. If you used this title with most casual classical music listeners they probably wouldn't know which piece you were talking about. If you called it the "Moonlight Sonata," though, there would be smiles and nods of recognition. It is, after all, one of the most beloved works Beethoven ever wrote...

Today's send-off is a performance of the famous sonata by the talented Valentina Lisitsa. Enjoy...