Globe Editorials
Short Fuse
July 12, 2009
- |
Coakley: Tough stand against a bad law
When Congress passed the so-called Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, proponents said it would let states define marriage as they chose - by allowing them to ignore same-sex marriages from other states. But another section of the law denies all federal recognition to such unions, even in states that treat same-sex and opposite-sex couples equally. Last week, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley filed a federal lawsuit that lays the problem bare: Many federal programs are administered by states, and DOMA forces Massachusetts to maintain “two distinct and unequal categories of married persons.’’ Coakley deserves credit for seeing the law for what it is - an attempt “to codify animus against gay and lesbian people.’’ Congress should repeal the law. But at the least, Massachusetts shouldn’t be forced to discriminate.Iran: Evolution of a police state
The world got a glimpse of the police state forming in Iran thanks to cellphone videos taken by Iranians protesting last month's phony election. But now an even darker picture is becoming visible. Human Rights Watch has collected testimonies of detainees who describe how they were beaten until they signed blank confessions of involvement in foreign plots to overthrow the Islamic Republic. And Iranian doctors have told the French daily Le Figaro how security agents demanded lists of the injured from Tehran hospitals and took them away. Brutal forces are consolidating their power and abandoning any pretense at democracy.Healthcare: Making Harry and Louise sound honest
Dishonest ads are starting to pollute the healthcare debate. One new conservative spot features Shona Holmes, an Ontario citizen who says she would have died had she waited for surgery in Canada rather than coming to the United States for brain-tumor treatment. The ad then warns: "Now, Washington wants to bring Canadian-style healthcare to the US." Actually, a single-payer plan like Canada's is not under serious consideration in Washington. The most that's being talked about is having a public plan as an option. Perhaps Patients United Now, the ad's sponsor, could use a prescription for sodium pentothal -- or, as it's more commonly known, truth serum.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
