Awww, Is Justice Scalia Having A Bad Day? Good.

• You've probably heard by now that yet another state -- this time, the Kansas-shaped one -- has gone and gotten itself all gayed up and equalified, thanks to a very brief "yup, go ahead and marry whomever you want, we are so bored with this conversation" order from the Supreme Court on Wednesday. It's hardly even news anymore when you think about it, because, AHEM, this is what is happening right here in these United States in this, the 21st century. But there's one interesting little thing to note about this particular order, per SCOTUSblog :

  The Court has issued a series of orders in same-sex marriage cases over the past eleven months, but the Kansas order marked the first time that members of the Court had recorded dissents. Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas noted only that they would have granted the delay sought by the Kansas attorney general.

  We're not even going to bother with all the legal ins and outs of this case, though of course you can and should read all the words good ol' Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog writes for you. We're just going to have ourselves a good little chuckle that this time, Justice Antonin Scalia and his sockpuppet Clarence Thomas wanted iton the recordthat they were none too happy about it.

  If you are the betting type, it would be a pretty safe bet that the Supreme Court will be ruling on the unconstitutionality of bans on marriage equality. And probably soon. Since the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals decided to distinguish itself earlier this month by issuing a heinous decision to uphold bans that all the other courts have said are, duh, totally not constitutional, the Supreme Court is basically guaranteed to take up the matter again. And while we have our fingers crossed that the court will spell it out, in very small words even the 6th Circuit can understand, that all Americans, even the gay kind, are protected by the Constitution, we are also pretty sure there will be a real temper tantrum of a dissent from Justice Scalia, probably with Justice Thomas scribbling "me too!" on it.

  But here's the great thing. No matter how much Scalia and Thomas would see things differently, they are in the minority. They are part of a dwindling little teeny tiny minority of bigots who still have a problem with The Gay. While Scalia might still be cringing at the thought of two dudes, like, doing it , everyone else in America has moved on.

  It's coming, folks. Equality is coming. No matter how much Scalia and Thomas might wish it weren't so.

• That time Ronald Reagan apologized:  

  A recorded conversation between an apologetic Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher over the invasion of Grenada has been published for the first time.

  "We regret very much the embarrassment that's been caused to you," the US leader said during the call.

  Baroness Thatcher was angered that she was not consulted before the Americans invaded a Commonwealth state.

  United States troops were sent to Grenada in 1983 to topple the Caribbean island's Marxist regime.

  While US forces were still in action, the president phoned Lady Thatcher to explain the action he had taken.

  "If I were there, Margaret," he said, "I'd throw my hat in the door before I came in."

  The saying refers to a Civil War-era practice in which a visitor might throw his hat into a room before entering - if he was unwelcome, it might be thrown out again or even shot at.

  "There's no need for that," Lady Thatcher replied.

• Our friends at Happy Nice Time People ask a very important question:  

  Did you know there are good people in the world?

  We'd only heard rumors, but go on:

  No, really, it’s true. Sam Simon, for example, is co-creator ofThe Simpsons-- which you’d think would be enough awesome for one life, but he’s not done yet. He’s preparing to give away his entire $100 million fortune before he dies, and—here’s the horrible part—that’s not very far away.

  Simon has already outlive the three-to-six months his doctors originally gave him after being diagnosed with colon cancer in 2012, but he knows his time is limited. With no dependents and confident that his loved ones are financially secure on their own, he’s spending his final days throwing millions of dollars at his favorite causes with gleeful abandon.

  Go read the rest of it to find out how and where Sam Simon is giving away his money. It'll make you smile.

• NOT BREAKING: Wendy Davis's campaign for governor of Texas went less-than perfectly. 

  Consultants for Democrat Wendy Davis warned her campaign months ago that the Fort Worth senator was headed for a humiliating defeat in the Texas governor’s race unless she adopted a more centrist message and put a stop to staggering internal dysfunction.

  The warnings are contained in two internal communications obtained by The Texas Tribune and written at the beginning of the year by longtime Democratic operatives Peter Cari and Maura Dougherty. [...]

  “The campaign is in disarray and is in danger of being embarrassed,” Cari and Dougherty wrote in a lengthy memorandum on Jan. 6. “The level of dysfunction was understandable in July and August, when we had no infrastructure in place — but it doesn’t seem to be getting better.”

•  As Digby says:  

  It may surprise you to learn that Blue Dogs were not organized around regional, social or cultural concerns. They were organized exclusively around ... money. And it will also not surprise you to learn that while they've been going extinct, the Democratic Frankensteins have cobbled together a new hybrid monster to take their place. And they've let it loose to run all over the country.

• You wanna see pictures of that time we landed on a comet? There are some way cool pictures of that time we landed on a comet.

• You know that bookGo The Fuck To Sleep? Sure you do. You know how it was narrated by Bad Motherfucker Samuel L. Jackson? Yeah, of course you knew that. Did you know it had been turned into a song?

  You're welcome.