“We want more freedom. For 25 years we have lived without any freedom. We want social freedom, economic freedom and political freedom” – an Iranian protestor speaking to the New York Times. The news from Tehran is exhilarating. Why it isn’t on the front pages of the papers I don’t know. Here we have the possibility of a full-scale revolt against the Islamo-fascist dictatorship in Tehran, one brewing for a long time and given m omentum by the liberation of Iraq. If the revolution can happen before the regime acquires nuclear weapons, we have a chance to avert a catastrophe for the West and the people of the Middle East. We need now to keep the pressure on, send money and support to the protestors, fund aggressive Persian-language media, and generally let the people of Iran know whose side we’re on. The president has said the right things so far, but needs to do more. As Michael Ledeen would say: Faster, please.
WHY CANADA MATTERS: I’m a little stunned by how little coverage there has been of the Ontario decision to grant equal marriage rights immediately. Gay marriage is now a reality a few miles away from the United States. More to the point, unlike Holland and Belgium, there is no nationality requirement for these Canadian marriages. Two Americans or a Canadian-American couple or two Chinese for that matter can now get legally married in Canada. The United States routinely accepts foreign marriages as valid; and Canada’s ties to the United States couldn’t be closer. Will the U.S. refuse to acknowledge a legally married Canadian couple? Will the U.S. refuse to acknowledge an American’s marriage if she is married to a Canadian? There are all sorts of permutations to come. I’d love to read a good legal analysis of the implications.
The Dish 