Happy New Year, you're all doomed to burn in hell

For some, New Year's Day is a time to look forward to the future--to plan, to ponder, to embrace.

For others, though, it's a time to reaffirm your commitment to sticking to the past.

England's senior Roman Catholic leader used his New Year message to criticize the British government's gay equality laws.

That's the way! Nothing underscores your message of "Happy New Year!" like a footnote saying "except for the fags."

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor said the traditional family is central to society's well-being and that most parents did not want their children to be taught that marriage was just "one lifestyle choice" among many.

"Most parents do not want their children to be taught that marriage is no more than one lifestyle choice among many," he said. "They do not want to expose their children to the risk of becoming promiscuous or indulging in drug and alcohol abuse."

Many parents also don't want evolution taught--that doesn't change the fact that it's true. Marriage is just one path in life among many. I should think a celibate priest would understand that better than anyone. And really, I find it disgusting that schools would try to indoctrinate children with the message that marriage is the one true path to take in life. I mean, what's next after that? Teaching them that the only path for a woman is to be a housewife, doomed never to leave the house except to buy groceries?

And as for the last sentence there, cardinal, I don't quite understand why you would think that a gay rights law would mean that children would be taught to be promiscuous or to indulge in substance abuse. Maybe it's nothing more complicated than that you're another homophobic moron who doesn't understand that gays are simply people, and that there's no gay "lifestyle" that involves 400 sex partners a year and sticking needles in any part of your body that's not already stuck with a penis. That certainly seems the most likely option. But in case you think Paul Cameron is a valid

But okay, cardinal, I can compromise when I need to. You don't want children taught about options other than marriage? Then the solution is to let all children marry when they grow up--including the gay ones. I mean, you couldn't really be so sadistic as to insist that everyone must get married in their lifetime to be whole, foist this message on impressionable children, and then refuse to marry certain people. Right? The only solution then is to let gay couples marry like anyone else.

"Yet it is equally true that we are rapidly moving the very structures on which society is built and on which humanity depends; we are gradually destroying the 'ecosystem' that supports the family," he added.

Any evidence for that? It's nice that you recognize that global warming is a problem, but see, your analogy falls apart when you take into account that we know global warming is a problem because there's massive evidence to that effect. And for your contention that we're destroying the "ecosystem" that supports the family? Not a jot of evidence.

Canada has not fallen into anarchy since they allowed gays to wed; Massachusetts' families have not all dissolved; the Netherlands has not become a bevy of people marrying box turtles and dogs. Creating new families that happen to have two people of the same sex as their heads is the opposite of destroying families.

If you or anyone else could possibly give a rationale as to how allowing same-sex couples to wed would destroy the family, society, and humanity itself (or any one of them; I'm flexible), I'd be willing to listen. But remember that merely asserting the platitude over and over again does nothing to show the link you assume to be there.