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Today at the Judiciary Committee’s hearing on the Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the odious Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and allow the federal government to recognize state marriages between same-sex partners, Senator Al Franken queried witness Thomas Minnery, Senior Vice President for Public Policy at Focus on the Family the definition of “nuclear family.”
In exposing Mr Minnery’s basic error in understanding the definition of “nuclear family” in the HHS study Minnery cited, Senator Franken made clear that such a fundamental mistake in reading the report made all of Minnery’s testimony suspect and unworthy of consideration by the committee.
Franken: Mr Minnery, on page eight of your written testimony, you write quote “Children living with their own married, adoptive or biological mothers and fathers were generally healthier and happier, had better access to health care, were less likely to suffer mild or severe emotional problems, did better in school, were protected from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, and almost never live in poverty compared to children in any other family form.
Franken: You cite a Department of Health and Human Services Study, that I have right here, from December 2010, to support this conclusion. I checked this study out. [laughter] And I would like to enter it into the record, if I may. [so ordered] And it actually doesn’t say what you said it says.
Franken: It says that NUCLEAR FAMILIES, not “opposite sex married families” are associated with those positive outcomes. Isn’t it true, Mr Minnery, that a married same-sex couple that has biological or adoptive children would fall under the definition of a nuclear family in the study that you cite?
Minnery: I would think that the study, when it refers to a NUCLEAR FAMILY, refers to a study headed by a husband and a wife.
Franken: It doesn’t. [laughter] The study defines a nuclear family as “one or more children living with two parents who are married to one another and are each biological or adoptive parents to all the children in the family.”
Franken: And I frankly don’t know how we can trust the rest of your testimony if you are reading studies this way.
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Live blog of today’s hearing can be found here:
http://www.prop8trialtracker.com/2011/07/20/doma-repeal-live-at-the-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing/
Kirsten Gillibrand: Momentum for DOMA repeal continues to grow, at Pam’s House Blend.
http://pamshouseblend.com/diary/19648/momentum-for-doma-repeal-continues-to-build
HRC press release on today’s hearing:
http://www.hrc.org/15774.htm
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force press release here:
http://www.thetaskforce.org/press/releases/pr_072011
The Williams Institute’s testimony and statement today on the hearing:
http://rennacommunications.com/press/doma-repeal-testimony-submitted-by-leading-lgbt-think-tank
Freedom to Marry’s press release on Executive Director Evan Wolfson’s testimony at today’s hearing:
http://www.freedomtomarry.org/press/press-release/evan-wolfson-testifies-at-first-ever-congressional-hearing-on-repeal-of-mar
Photos from today’s hearing:
http://talkaboutequality.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/photos-doma-repeals-first-senate-hearings/
Co-sponsor Dianne Feinstein’s (D-CA) statement on Respect for Marriage Act to repeal DOMA (youtube):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_Ha3mLZms
Dianne Feinstein’s note at Huffington Post today after the hearing:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sen-dianne-feinstein/walking-the-walk-on-the-d_b_904947.html
And after he was done filleting Minnery, Al proceeded to draw a map of the United States on his forehead.
I really like my junior senator.
Thank you Teddy.
Good for Sen. Franken. Gee, isn’t SPLC calling FOTF a hate group these days? Why are the wingnuts in the Senate relying on hate groups to make their (alleged) arguments?
Focus on Family PWNED!
He is, without question, the very best Senator.
You are welcome! This was great fun to transcribe; Patrick told me about it quite a bit ago today, and Lisa sent the video along from ThinkProgress.
Yes, Focus on the Family, along with the Family Research Council, are Hate Groups designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center, specifically for their anti-gay rhetoric and campaigns.
You made me laugh out loud and hard. Thanks.
Yay AL!
Maybe Mr. Minnery read it as Nucular Family. Who knows?
Funny projection, I think. How else?
Hate groups! I love it. It’s perfect.
Can anyone explain the reasoning for misspelling “Owned” as “Pwned”?
Does the “P” have any actual meaning?
Is it similar to misspelling “The Gay” as “Teh Gay” for no reason?
Yeah, if you’re going to base your conclusions on official government reports, you can’t really change the definitions of its basic terms. But their side did this in the Prop 8 trial with impunity, although they were always caught out in it under oath. It’s one reason I believe so many of their witnesses withdrew; they redefine terms for their own purposes.
Truly a remarkable moment, and such a delightful conclusion:
It has the sweet sound of “At long last, have you no decency sir?” from the Army/McCarthy hearings.
they redefine terms for their own purposes = funny projection.
That’s what I was trying to say.
It’s an important and worthwhile item to drop into a conversation when anyone mentions them: “Oh, are you referring to the HATE GROUP?” Here’s SPLC’s whole list, organized into a map of the US showing all 1,002 hate groups:
http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/hate-map
Yes, exactly. Minnery can’t conceive of a ‘nucular family’ as anything but one headed by a married husband and wife. That’s why he perceived the report that way, but that’s not actually what it said. It was a perfect example of him projecting his own views/values into the data in a government report.
And he got caught red-handed.
The stuped, it burns.
Those folks – yes, I’m painting with a broad brush, basically including everybody on the right, because it really does seem inclusive, true that “they all” do it….lie and misrepresent facts like this all the time.
If only more of our elected representatives would take the time that Sen. Franken did, to follow up on these silly claims and see if they are even quoting/describing them accurately, we wouldn’t be in the terrible spot we’re in now on so many issues.
Thomas Minnery would claim that Gawd made him do it.
I guess that’s what happens when someone has the audacity to hold their hands to the fire of truth.
I think that’s the most charitable interpretation, certainly.
Mine is a bit less so: he twisted the facts to fit his/FOF’s narrative. IOW, he lied. Probably didn’t think he’d get caught.
Guess he didn’t realize he’d be facing Al Franken.
And that, my dear friends, is a perfectly civil, completely devastating take-down!
Thank you, Senator Al, for showing how it’s done.
Confirmation bias. He has a result he is looking for, filters the report through his prejudices, and really thinks it says what he wants it to say.
I would personally like to express my thanks to the 300 or so extra Minnesotans who made the effort to get to the polls and vote for this guy. Usually our votes don’t mean much, but every once and a while you find a pearl.
Hey, FD2002! Long time no see!
And, yes, I think he was lying. They lie all the time. I saw it in the courtroom in San Francisco, and I bet Al Franken knew where to look for this lie as well.
tejanar,
you took the words right outta my mouth! They _do_ “all do it”.
iirc from High School-level debate class, shifting basic definitions in this way is formally called equivocation.
It’s a very common species of goal-post shifting, with which vocal atheists, among others, are all too familiar.
But I guess when facts have a well-known liberal bias, lying, misrepresentation and appeals to peoples’ baser emotions are what they’re left to work with. And that only works because they basically own the Establishment Media.
The only one listed down here is the FLDS, and the category is “General Hate”. I suppose he’s the commander for “Major Jerk” and “Captain Douchenozzel”.
Yeah, it’s a internet thang.
+2
also, too.
Great to see the concept of confirmation bias pointed out here at FDL.
FunnyDiva
science nerd
How could doG make him bear false witness, though?
Does. Not. Compute.
Hey, Teddy!
I lurk a lot, just don’t comment much.
But I do read your diaries. And very much appreciate your work here!
BTW, PZ Myers over at Pharyngula posted this video earlier today as well. And that’s a primarily skeptic/reason/logic/science/humanist (atheist) blog. Folks tend progressive there because of the humanist aspect…among other things.
I thought you were a music nerd. My bad.
Nice to see you around here again, FunnyDiva.
The idea that “married parents living with one or more children related to them biologically or through adoption” would include non-opposite-gender parents simply did not occur to him. It was easy, therefore, to mis-summarize (or lie) about the report’s conclusions about married parents.
They simply aren’t used to the word “married” legally including same-sex parents in America. It simply defies their belief system and therefore skews their comprehension.
And it’s wonderful to watch Al knock it down with one swing.
I know that this thread is about “marriage”, but may I point out there are couple who are not married but who are dedicated to each other and the children they raise together. A parent is the one who feeds you and holds you and reads a bedtime story and rubs your back when you are vomiting and helps you build a bird feeder. (and other stuff.)
Thank-you Al Franken. Lets clone and elect 60 more of you.
BOTH!
Oh, crud, does that mean I’m just a nerd?
Prolly. *sigh*
Yes. Absolutely needs to be pointed out.
perhaps the study also defined “married” as well as “nuclear family”?
I’m sure (OK, I suspect) they couldn’t leave out the “married to each other” part of the definition because of the political climate.
Well, elect 60 more rational, logical thinkers like him, anyway!
I wish that such fact-checking and reading comprehension weren’t so rare!
I just can’t imagine Al having a conversation with about half of his co-workers. Poor guy, needing to actually to talk with Jon Kyl or Jim DeMint.
Fortunately, he’s a writer and an actor too. Politicians with benefits.
Somehow I doubt that DeMint would give Franken the time of day. Probably won’t even make eye contact in the hallway.
Because Al knows DeMint started the recession.
Sorry, wrong Al.
Yeah, so what?
What does Franken bring to gay issues, or any of the rest of this?
Where’s his voting record?
Sorry Teddy, I tire of any boost to these faux proggys.
They ain’t serving we the people, the masses or the needy.
Not in their votes, not in their aspirations.
Why would you champion this asshat and any of them?
If you have AN INKLING of faith or belief in SciFi on gay issues and let her off the hook for all the other issues for the masses . . . .
Well, Teddy . . . sorry.
She sucks for humans, alwAYS has, always will.
You have wasted yer proggy stance.
On this we disagree, mightily.
I despise the Senator, for all her votes and actions.
She’s a faux friend to the LGBT’s, too, I hope you know this.
You were A City Boy In Her District for a long time, as I am as her constituent.
I shoulda voted against her long ago . . . .
Al introduced an amendment to the financial reform that would have prevented securities underwriters from hiring rating agencies based on which ones proved most willing to give their deals the highest possible ratings.
Went nowhere, of course. Too sane.
Larue
I live in Minnesot-ah.
Thank you. Al Franken is a fraud. Just like all the rest of the Democrats. When proferssor Jack Nelson Palmyer ran against big Al Franken in the primary race, he unwittingly exposed big Al for what he really is.
A shill for the corporate wing of the Democrats. Al Franken was challenged on his non positions on
Single Payer
Impeachment of Bush/Cheney
Support of the Patriot Act
Support of the Iraq War (yes he did and was quite public when it began)
Israel
Obama
AIPAC and a whole bunch of other issues.
Al Franken is a corporate shill for a political system corrupted to it’s very core.
I am running against a real Blue Dog Dem Senator Amy Klobuchar. I will bet Teddy $100 right here that when our campaign gains steam (it will) that our “progressive” Senator Al Franken will be pushing and supporting Blue Dog Dem Amy Klobuchar.
Hell Teddy. I will give you 100/1 odds that he will. I even bet that you will be supporting Amy Klobuchar as well.
Speaking of the gay rights issue.
Each year I run as a Street Medic for the Trans March. As a proud breeder ally. Gay Pride is now being called Gay Corporate Pride.
The Trans march thru the corporate fest chanting things like
DON’T BE QUIET
STONEWALL WAS A RIOT
That defines me. Thank you, demi, for pointing that out. I was sitting here fuming (again) about not even being part of the definition of “nuclear”. Not even after 27 years.
You, Nurse Mike, are tiresome.
Your bets and dares are old and musty.
Teddy
They are also always unanswered.
Hey Ted. How about that betrayal of Governor Dayton on the Minnesota Shut Down thing, eh? Oh sure, the poor will pay, schools will pay, teachers will pay.
The rich will not.
Folks are now saying that “At least Dayton did not cave as quickly as other Democrats usually do.”
last night on fox channel 2 a clip from the hearing was shown which was brief and only expressed the falsehood. i feel this was a purposeful lie given the testimony was repudiated. boycott channel 2 fox advertisers
And let’s not forget everyone’s favorite mid-level officer, “Major Asshole.”