It's always something - and it usually involves Massachusetts. You have Senator John "Swift Boat" Kerry parking his yacht in Rhode Island or someplace in order to avoid paying taxes in Massachusetts (odd, for a guy who supports increased taxes for everybody else), and then there's Lieawatha, who also aspires to the US Senate, with (as a couple of folks have described it) a Swift Canoe loaded with Cherokee Indians ticked off over her self-described "minority status".
Now the Federal Appeals Court in Boston has ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law in 1996 by President Clinton, is unconstitutional. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley (does she ever just go away?) immediately jumped into the middle of it, praising the ruling. Although most Americans live in states in which homosexual marriage is not recognized, the ruling appears to conclude that federal benefits, such as Social Security spousal payments, must be afforded to both heterosexual and homosexual couples residing in states in which homosexual marriage is legal.
Meanwhile, in The City Of Brotherly Love, a disabled, retired Marine was attacked by three guys as he walked down the street. He managed to pull out a knife, and one of the attackers was fatally wounded. Although he remained at the scen and cooperated with police, the 57-year-old victim was nonetheless charged on multiple counts, despite the fact that the state's "Castle Doctrine" specifically permits use of deadly force in self defense.
The judge ruled that despite having been attacked by three men, Jonathan Lowe committed a criminal act in stabbing one of them.
Lowe, who wears a pacemaker and has survived two strokes and two heart surgeries, could face up to 12 1/2 to 25 years in prison when Lerner sentences him Aug. 16.
And of course, there's the whole Brett Kimberlin/terrorist thing in Maryland, and the Causeway Cannibal in Florida.
There's something in the water on the east coast....
