1.  A column in the San Francisco Chronicle has “outed” the federal judge presiding in the suit filed by homosexuals who are trying to overturn the 2008 vote of the people of California for a state constitutional amendment to protect marriage.
 
“The biggest open secret in the landmark trial over same-sex marriage being heard in San Francisco is that the federal judge who will decide the case, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, is himself gay,” wrote Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross.
 
Wikipedia states that Walker was originally nominated to the bench by President Reagan, but his confirmation was delayed.  He was re-appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 1989.  

 
According to Matier and Ross, Walker “has never taken pains to disguise--or advertise--his (sexual) orientation.”
 
Not surprisingly, homosexuals support Walker.
 
Kate Kendell, Executive Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, said, “There is nothing about Walker as a judge to indicate that his sexual orientation, other than being an interesting factor, will in any way bias his view."
 
State Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco, an open homosexual, said, “I have great respect for Judge Walker, professionally and personally."
 
But Andy Pugno, general counsel for the Yes on Proposition 8, the group that sponsored the state constitutional amendment initiative, said Walker has consistently treated the pro-marriage side poorly.
 
"In many ways, the sponsors of Proposition 8 have been put at significant disadvantage throughout the case," Pugno said.
 
Ed Whelan of National Review Online writes, “From the outset, Walker’s entire course of conduct in the anti-Proposition 8 case has reflected a manifest design to turn the lawsuit into a high-profile, culture-transforming, history-making, Scopes-style show trial.”
 
Whelan points out “procedural shenanigans and outright illegality” by Walker that were eventually overturned by U.S. Supreme Court “in an opinion that was plainly a stinging rebuke of Walker’s lack of impartiality.”
 
Walker also authorized “the incredibly intrusive discovery…into the internal communications of the Proposition 8 sponsors,” which was overturned by a panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
 
It gets worse. 
 
Walker authorized an inquiry “into the subjective motivations of the more than 7 million Californians who voted in support of Proposition 8.”  And the judge permitted an array of witnesses “who gave lengthy testimony that had no conceivable bearing on any factual or legal issues in dispute but who provided useful theater for the anti-Proposition 8 cause.”
 
Whelan says, “Walker should have recused himself from the beginning, and he remains obligated to do so now.”
 
 
2.  The Tim Tebow “pro-life” commercial during the Super Bowl turned out to be much milder than expected but exposed the actual pro-abortion mentality of much of the leadership of “pro-choice” organizations.
 
In retrospect, it is understandable that CBS had no problem approving the ad.  It never mentioned abortion and should have offended no one.
 
But in objecting to the broadcasting of the message, the militant abortion rights groups showed that they really are abortion enthusiasts. 
 
Their extremism even alienated some supporters.
 
Writing in the Boston Globe, Joan Vennochi wrote, “In the end, Tim Tebow and his mom made advocates for the serious cause of reproductive rights look silly.”
 
In attempting to stop CBS from airing the commercial, pro-abortion groups like the National Organization for Women (NOW) “generated super-sized pre-Super Bowl controversy that helped anti-abortion forces gain even more publicity.”
 
Even Frances Kissling, former president of Catholics for Choice, liked the ad, pointing out the Tim Tebow and his mother, “came across as affectionate, loving, funny, and happy.”
 
Vennochi concluded, “No supporter of Roe v. Wade can escape the truth. With one choice, you could end up with a strapping son; with another choice, you don’t.  Demonizing the ad featuring this mother and son doesn’t change that. It only helps their cause.”