Archives – January, 2010

Polygamy Obsession

By Julia Rosen

It’s always interesting to read a mainstream media report of an event you watched unfold, or in this case read. Invariably, the media chooses to focus on a sidelight or misses the most important moments. In this case it is the former. For some reason both the LA Times and SF Chronicle both spend an inordinate amount of time today talking about David Blankenhorn’s testimony about polygamy.

We all know the argument. If you let gay people marry, than what’s to stop polygamy, incest etc. etc.

In the LAT’s case they spent about a third of the article wrapping up this phase of the trial on polygamy. Here is a snippet.

Blankenhorn, however, insisted that polygamy satisfied the principles of marriage because it involves a man who marries one woman at a time.

Boies asked whether Blankenhorn was testifying that a man with five wives is consistent with his rule that marriage involves two people.

Blankenhorn said yes, adding that the marriages did not occur at the same time, and “each marriage is distinct.”

Ok, I get that this is loony toons and probably will sell newspapers, but what about Blankenhorn admitting that legalizing marriage equality “would be a victory for, and another key expansion of, the American idea”?

How about when Blankenhorn stated that same sex marriage “would probably increase wealth accumulation and lead to higher living standards for these couples as well as help reduce welfare costs (by promoting family economic self-sufficiency) and decrease economic inequality”?

Big Love is a great show and all, it’s on my DVR scheduler. But Blankenhorn talking about polygamy truly was a sidelight to the hours upon hours of David Boies dismantling him as any sort of an expert or scholar and Blankenhorn unwittingly making the plaintiffs’ case for them.

Media coverage of this trial has been extremely light. That is due in part to some enormous stories like Haiti and more recently the President’s State of the Union address and quite frankly the fact that there is no video of the proceedings. However, that increases the importance of the quality of the articles that are produced. The Trial Tracker has received a ton of traffic, but it pales in comparison to the mainstream media’s reach.

Any of the Trial Trackers seen articles lately that don’t match what really went on in the trial? Please throw the links in the comments.

83 Comments January 28, 2010

Liveblogging Day 12: Daily Summary

By Julia Rosen

This is the last daily summary for a few weeks.

Here is the timeline we are looking at… Amicus briefs are due on February 3rd. Judge Walker is bringing the lawyers in to go over these briefs on Feburary 26th. He indicated as they were wrapping up today that at that time (the 26th) he will schedule the closing arguments. That likely means we will not have closing arguments until early March, with the ruling several weeks after that, depending on how long Judge Walker takes.

I know, the wait stinks, but I’d much rather Judge Walker be deliberative about this process and his ruling than it be rushed. No matter what way this goes, the wording in his ruling will influence what the appeals court and eventually the Supreme Court will say and do.

The hiatus does not mean we will be stopping around these parts. There will be fresh content throughout this break, so keep coming back and join in the comments. (more…)

68 Comments January 27, 2010

Get your “Lesbians Love Boies” t-shirt

By Julia Rosen

David Boies became a hero around these parts for his thorough embarrassing of both Dr. Kenneth Miller and David Blankenhorn during his epic cross-examinations. One of our regular Trial Trackers in the comments, the poster formerly known as Barb, even changed her username to “Lesbians Love Boies”.

We loved that phrase so much that we made it into a t-shirt. It’s available on Skreend, with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the Courage Campaign. Think of Skreened as a more ethical Cafepress that prints all of their gear on American Apparel. So all of you gay boys can buy one too and fit your gym bodies. Or if you haven’t been to the gym in a while, there are some sweet hoodies and tote bags available.

If you are wearing one and ever run into David Boies, please do take a picture of the two of you together. We’d love to post it.

[UPDATE] You asked for it in the comments and you got it. “Boys <3 Boies" is now available for purchase!

76 Comments January 27, 2010

Trial Trackers: Stay involved with the Courage Campaign

By Julia Rosen

After Wednesday’s proceedings, our minute-by-minute liveblogging of the trial will pause until the trial resumes again for Judge Walker’s final question-and-answer session with the plaintiffs and defendants.

Meanwhile, keep checking back at the Trial Tracker for new analysis and updates as we wait for the closing arguments. There will be new content up here every day.

Of course, just because the trial will be on hiatus doesn’t mean that our work ends, or even pauses. The Courage Campaign Institute and the Courage Campaign were hard at work fighting for equality before this trial started and will continue long after Judge Walker rules.

We’d love to have you join us. Here are some ways to stay involved and get to work:

In addition, we are going to be collecting all of your wonderful personal stories, so keep your eyes out for that.

Thank you to everyone who chimed in on Rick’s “Trial Trackers: We need you” thread. There were some excellent ideas that we will be considering in the coming days.

Feel free to keep the suggestions coming in the comment thread on this post. We really enjoy hearing from you!

55 Comments January 27, 2010

The burning question: Who was the worst witness?

By Julia Rosen

Brian thought that he had the question of the day “This is a Witness for the Defense?”, but that was a little too rhetorical.

I’ve got a better one. Who was the worst witness for the defense, Dr. Kenneth Miller or David Blankenhorn? Which one did the most damage to their case. Or put another way, which one was the most helpful for our side?

I know, it’s a tough call. I’m sure we can all agree the real winner was David Boies and the plaintiffs.

Go vote!

[polldaddy poll=2604296]

This won’t be the last poll we put up. After all, there is a lot of time to kill between now and February 26th. If you have ideas for future polls you want to see run on the Trial Tracker, please chime in the comments.

174 Comments January 27, 2010

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