Hooray for Iowa!

Over the years I've had a handful of friends who grew up in Iowa.

The first was a military brat. When I met her she was dancing topless at the NAS Oceana officer's club. Then there was Seed, our squadron nickname for a fellow RIO who'd grown-up on a farm. Lastly was a young woman whose divorce I'd handled. She went on to Barnard and then the NY Times.

There was something different about them. Now I know why. Iowans just are more firmly-grounded and seem to embody true American values than most.

Today we have the news that the Iowa Supreme Court has struck-down a 1998 state law that bans same-sex marriage. It figures.

It figures too that an already declared Republican constitutional challenge to the Iowa state constitution is likely to fail. That's because in Iowa the state legislature must first approve a ban on same-sex marriage in two consecutive sessions after which voters would have a chance to weigh in. Compare that to the protocol in supposedly progressive California whose Supreme Court is set to validate the absurd notion that the fundamental right to marry can be denied gay people by a bare 51% of the general electorate -- no intervening legislative vote necessary, thank you.

What a crazy quilt!

Iowa's looking better and better. Did you see "The Bridges Of Madison County?"