VOLuntarilyConservative

Here are a few stories that deserve reading if you have the time:

• My colleague Jordan Lorence, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund and the man who gave the VOLConWife her first behind-the-scenes tour of the U.S. Supreme Court, has an excellent historical argument for the marriage amendment that the Democrats and the herd of RINOs refused to vote on today. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins put out this release on the vote. I agree with Tony, except for the unrestrained praise of Rick Santorum. I'm not sure how one can applaud his vote when he worked to retain Arlen Specter, who crossed party lines to cancel out Santorum's "yes" vote. It's a shame that Santorum may be remembered more for that fatal political play than any of the substantive good that he has done in the Senate.
• Meanwhile, Alabama (which, my orange blood regrets to say, is ahead of the curve on so many conservative issues) actually allowed a vote on a constitutional marriage amendment. Like all amendments of this sort that are sent to the voters, it passed, but the overwhelming numbers are staggering. 81% of Alabama voters approved of protecting heterosexual marriage. Wow...
• Even Pennsylvania, which is trending more liberal with each passing day, saw their marriage amendment pass the House, 136-61.
• Meanwhile, four Republican state senators who voted against South Dakota's cutting edge abortion restrictions were defeated yesterday. Good. It's high time we started getting our house in order, whether its on the national, state, or local level.
• There is an excellent column in The Atlantic by Stuart Taylor, Jr. and Benjamin Wittes entitled, "Of Clerks and Perks: Why Supreme Court justices have more free time than ever - and why it should be taken away." (You can link to this column here, but this link will expire in a few days, so click it now if you want to read on.) A colleague recently asked me if I would accept a judicial appointment if the opportunity was presented to me. After reading this column, I might want to rethink my answer. (Hat Tip: How Appealing)
• "Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion business, made nearly $900 million dollars last year, according to its most recent annual report." If that's not enough to make you read on, try this: "The report showed the pro-abortion group made its second-highest profit ever and set new records for the number of abortions it did and the lowest rate of adoption referrals compared to abortions." Of that total, at least $272.7 million came out of the taxpayers wallets. That's $272.7 million from government coffers. Absolutely stunning.
• We'll learn soon whether Tennessee's version of the marriage amendment will be sent to the voters, as the case brought by the ACLU to stop the democratic process was heard today in the Tennessee Supreme Court. As I have noted previously, this is a two-for-one deal due to the lottery amendment being passed in the same manner. If the ACLU wins, the lottery is done for under the same logic. So the ACLU is really up against two popular amendments here. I'm sure that will help fundraising this year.
• The Sporting News' Tom Dienhart believes that Tennessee Coach Phil Fulmer needs to produce results now or face the firing squad. SportsTalk's Jimmy Hyams said as much a few weeks ago, stating that Fulmer needed at least 8 wins to keep his job. I think Hyams is probably right, and Dienhart's predictions of 9 wins or more is probably a stretch with our schedule this year. (Next year, however, UT plays an embarrassingly weak schedule, and double-digit wins should be expected.) At least one thing is positive for UT - we have a rockin' stadium. ESPN ranks it #1 again this year, just as The Sporting News and CNNSI did last year. Sigh, I wish it was September and Football Time in Tennessee...

That should be enough to keep you busy for now.