You can’t make this up

The National Organization for Marriage has released two new advertisements. You can watch one of them here. Then, notice this still (my underlining):

Same same sex marraige? What's that?

You can watch NOM’s other ad here. Again, notice this still (my underlining):

Same same sex marriage? What's that?

Update: The NOM has removed the first ad (top still) from YouTube; last time I checked, the second one was still working.

Update 2: The NOM has also yanked the second ad (bottom still) from YouTube. Must have been too embarrassing to show the world that bigots don’t know grammar and can’t spell.

Prop 8 decision

It wasn’t what I wanted, but the ruling went as pretty much everyone expected. Considering the circumstances, I suppose it is the best possible outcome. Proposition 8 is legal, but the marriages performed beforehand are allowed to stand.

Sotomayor’s the nominee

Sonia Sotomayor is Barack Obama’s nominee to replace David Souter on the Supreme Court of the United States (hat tip).

Her confirmation is a near inevitability. GOP Senators should not filibuster her because before her nomination, the ideological balance of the court was 4–1–4, and afterwards it will be the same. In other words, the stakes are not very high with this nomination.

Unsurprisingly, Sotomayor has already been called “activist”. I’d just like to add that, by and large, there is almost no such thing as judicial activism; it is just a code word that both sides of the political spectrum use to say that they disagree with a judicial ruling.

Teh seks is evul!

Shorter Sam Schulman: I’m against same-sex marriage because it does not control female sexuality.

Although Mr. Schulman deserves a few points for trying to argue against same-sex marriage without bringing God or Jesus into the mix, he loses points big time through his misogyny.

Hat tip to Sadly, No!

This Victoria Day

Today is Victoria Day, a national holiday here in Canada that signifies the birthday of Queen Victoria. I won’t comment on the fact that Canada is a constitutional monarchy or propose changing it, other than to say that our system is working well enough.

I would prefer that the sexist institution of male–preference primogeniture be replaced with a sex–neutral system. That way, females would have as much chance to inherit the throne as males. However, I don’t expect it to change in the immediate future; the next three people in line to inherit the throne, Princes Charles, William, and Harry, are all male, and changing the succession rules would require the consent of all countries that recognize our queen as head of state.

2009 Pacific hurricane season starts today

The 2009 Pacific hurricane season begins today, and will run until November 30. If you live in Western Mexico, Central America, or California, make sure you’re prepared. You can find updates, warnings, and advisories on all tropical cyclones in the eastern north Pacific at the National Hurricane Center’s website.

This season’s list of names goes as follows:

• Andres
• Blanca
• Carlos
• Dolores
• Enrique
• Felicia
• Guillermo
• Hilda
• Ignacio
• Jimena
• Kevin
• Linda
• Marty
• Nora
• Olaf
• Patricia
• Rick
• Sandra
• Terry
• Vivian
• Waldo
• Xina
• York
• Zelda

In the unlikely event they run out of names, the Greek alphabet will be used to name any additional systems.

Why aren’t you opposed to this too?

Creationists and intelligent design proponents are often opposed to evolution because they claim it results in some individuals being more successful or “more fit” than others because they out–compete those who are less successful or “less fit”. And yet many of these same people are selective in their rejection of systems arising via competition among individuals.

To see why, read the following list. (To make the comparison easier, I have turned the paragraphs into numbered lists): 

1. In nature, individual members of a species are slightly different from each other.
2. The individuals compete with each other for resources such as food and water.
3. The amount of each resource is ultimately limited.
4. Some individuals are more successful at acquiring resources than others.
5. The more successful individuals have traits that cause success, such as speed or size.
6. The more successful individuals acquire more resources, and thereby out–compete less successful ones.
7. The less successful individuals acquire fewer resources, and are thereby out–competed by more successful ones.
8. Since the more successful individuals acquire more resources, they have more offspring.
9. Since the less successful individuals acquire fewer resources, they have fewer offspring, if at all.
10. Since the less successful individuals are out–competed, they will die off unless they evolve.
11. The preceding was a brief, simplified overview of evolution.

 And compare with the following:

1. In society, individual businesses are slightly different from each other.
2. The businesses compete with each other for resources such as customers and supplies.
3. The amount of each resource is ultimately limited.
4. Some businesses are more successful at acquiring resources than others.
5. The more successful businesses have traits that cause success, such as management or business plans.
6. The more successful businesses acquire more resources, and thereby out–compete less successful ones.
7. The less successful businesses acquire fewer resources, and are thereby out–competed by more successful ones.
8. Since the more successful businesses acquire more resources, they have higher profits.
9. Since the less successful businesses acquire fewer resources, they have lower profits, if at all.
10. Since the less successful businesses are out–competed, they will fail unless they adapt.
11. The preceding was a brief, simplified overview of capitalism.

So creationists and intelligent design proponents, I have a question for you. If you are opposed to evolution because it results in some individuals being more successful and “better” than others, why aren’t you opposed to capitalism, which does the same thing and works the same way?