A Passion for Getting it Right

A piece about the conflicted history the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany. If you guessed it has to do with Hitler, you would be right.

What's more, Stückl's staging depicts Jesus' Jerusalem as an oppressed, occupied city, and Pontius Pilate is now the first person, not the last, to demand that he be silenced. Stephan Burkart plays Pilate with a sardonic, Nazified swagger that would be perfect for "Inglourious Basterds," and it's easy to remember that this Bavarian village is only a couple of hours away from the Dachau concentration camp: a Golgotha on German soil. Oberammergau may be remote, but it's profoundly in touch, keeping the faith in surprising new ways.

Shakespeare American Style

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival simply rocks. Read about their new American history project, inspired by who else? Shakespeare!

The United States History Cycle. Shortly before he took over in 2007, the festival’s artistic director, Bill Rauch, announced a 10-year plan to commission 37 new plays — a nod to the number in Shakespeare’s canon — about critical moments in American history. Up to 15 will get full productions at the festival; others, it is hoped, will be produced elsewhere.

In an interview Mr. Rauch said he was inspired by the role that Shakespeare, through his history plays, filled in helping his fellow citizens confront the major political questions of their day. “He lived in an age of anxiety about who would replace the childless monarch Elizabeth,” Mr. Rauch said. “He dramatized stories from his country’s past to study the transfer of power and to entertain and move and provoke people, and that got me thinking about our own country’s

history.”

The Question of Standing

Another article and some other points of view on the ruling of "standing" in the Prop 8 case. From the Orange County register:

Some advocates of gay marriage won't be satisfied if same-sex couples are allowed to marry in California because of the technical issue of standing. They want a Supreme Court precedent on a national level. And that's what the two high-powered attorneys challenging Prop. 8, Ted Olson and David Boies, were after when they entered the fray.

"The standing issue is just a distraction from the main issue," said Douglas NeJaime, who specializes in law and sexuality at Loyola Law School. "What the Olson-Boies team really wants is a decision on the merits."

So instead of first asking the appeals court to throw out the appeal on the basis of standing before arguing the merits, Olson and Bois could choose to argue the case on merits and standing simultaneously, NeJaime said.

But Katherine Darmer, a Chapman Law School professor, thinks Olson and Bois would be content to win the case on the issue of standing.

"I suspect they would take a standing victory and go with it," said Darmer, a Prop. 8 opponent who's legal committee chairwoman of the Orange County Equality Coalition. "I also think it would be far less risky than going all the way to the Supreme Court on the merits. This is a safer route to equality for the largest state in the U.S., which will impact not just the country, but the globe."

The Performance of Gay Marriage in the Polling

Public Policy Polling has a new entry about their polling on gay marriage:

Most Americans still think same sex marriage should be illegal...but they think it will be legal within a generation.

Our newest national survey finds 57% of Americans think it should be illegal while 33% think it should be legal and 11% have no opinion. Republicans are pretty universal in thinking it should be illegal, 81/12, while Democrats only narrowly favor it 47/40. Independents array slightly against it by a 48/41 margin.

Lots more data in the piece.

Gay Marriage in the Heartland

Hat tip to Andrew Sullivan on his The Daily Dish blog for this item from the Carroll County, Iowa Prairie Advocate:

Donald Fair and Warren “Butch” Dollinger were united in marriage on July 23, 2010 at the chapel in the VA Hospital in Iowa City, IA. The ceremony was performed by Pastor John McKinstry of the First Christian Church of Coralville, IA. A World War II veteran stood up for the couple. The couple are both Navy veterans of the Vietnam Wr. The couple are surrounded and supported by family and friends. They have been together 40 years and wanted to honor their love for each other by pledging to be “together till death do they part.”

The couple are proud to be gay and happy to be able to marry and solidate their love for each other.

The couple will reside at their home at 8732 South Hummel St., Savanna, Illinois 61074.

Don and Butch are my inspiration for a long day of work ahead on the "Prop 8 On Trial" play.

Dr. Laura All N-Words and Miscegenation

Adam Serwer in The American Prospect writes:

In actuality, it's the rest of her rant that drips with racial animus. To recap: Dr. Laura immediately dismisses her caller's problems, uses a racist joke to prove her non-racism, insists that black people voted for Obama over nothing but racial solidarity (as if pre-Obama, African Americans never voted for Democrats), strongly resents the fact that "black guys" can use the "N-word" but she can't, and declares that "If you're that hypersensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry outside of your race." Dr. Laura isn't known for her sensitivity, but this is an impressive display of raw racial resentment.

Levi on Campaign Trail

Levi Johnston, after his announcement that he will run for mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, visits the Jimmy Kimmel show.

I want to congratulate you on is the torment you have – it’s like there’s this huge bear and you’re this little mouse, just pecking away at the bear’s feet. And the bear would like nothing more than to swat you and crush you and literally kill you, but you will not be killed.