zeekjr

What are some books or movies that you love but that I've probably never heard of?

Please allow copyright terms to actually end at some point. A public domain is vital. Please do not allow Hollywood, Chris Dodd and the RIAA to write all copyright laws.

In Eric Posner's post on Kennedy's DOMA opinion he says that while he (presumably) likes the outcome of the ruling, Kennedy really doesn't make a clear constitutional argument for why it was struck down. In your response you didn't really defend Kennedy's logic so much as affirm the outcome. You said, "Good. I’ve been tired of these tests and tiers since law school. In fact, Scalia doesn’t like them either. I think what really matters is that Kennedy’s opinion passes the common-sense test."

Could you elaborate on this a little bit? If Kennedy didn't need a clear Constitutional basis for striking down DOMA, but rather just needs to have common sense, how do we go about defining "common sense?"

Also how do you feel about Kennedy's assertion that those who enacted DOMA could have only been motivated by malice? Do you think Bill Clinton might have a more nuanced explanation than "yeah back in 1996 I pretty much hated gay people?"

I don't think Francis has ever given any indication that he supports same-sex relationships.

Why do you think the Catholic church has, for the most part, given up control of its universities? With the exception of Notre Dame and Villanova very few major Catholic universities seem to be in line with the teachings of the church.

On a related note, what do you think of the gap between Catholic leadership and the average Catholic? In my personal experience the smartest and most intellectually consistent Christians are those in Catholic leadership. Next would be most Protestants (both leadership and lay). And last would be the average person who claims to be Catholic but often knows almost nothing about God, the Bible or the church's teachings.