Saturday Male Beauty

A Conservative Call to Dump Palin

It seems that those who first applauded putting a Christianist nutcase in the VP slot for the McCain ticket are beginning to worry that the stunt is going to backfire and/or should McCain somehow win, leave the country at severe risk should McCain die or become disabled. Several conservative columnist have begun making damning public statements and now Kathleen Parker at National Review has flat out called for Palin to be removed from the ticket, something that would be good for the country but cause the lunatic Christianist base of the GOP to foam at the mouth. All they care about is that Palin is one of them. Nothing else matters. Here are highlights from National Review:

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If at one time women were considered heretical for swimming upstream against feminist orthodoxy, they now face condemnation for swimming downstream — away from Sarah Palin.To express reservations about her qualifications to be vice president — and possibly president — is to risk being labeled anti-woman.

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As we’ve seen and heard more from John McCain’s running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem. Quick study or not, she doesn’t know enough about economics and foreign policy to make Americans comfortable with a President Palin should conditions warrant her promotion.

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Palin’s recent interviews with Charles Gibson, Sean Hannity, and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League. No one hates saying that more than I do. Like so many women, I’ve been pulling for Palin, wishing her the best, hoping she will perform brilliantly. I’ve also noticed that I watch her interviews with the held breath of an anxious parent, my finger poised over the mute button in case it gets too painful. Unfortunately, it often does. My cringe reflex is exhausted.

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If BS were currency, Palin could bail out Wall Street herself. If Palin were a man, we’d all be guffawing, just as we do every time Joe Biden tickles the back of his throat with his toes. But because she’s a woman — and the first ever on a Republican presidential ticket — we are reluctant to say what is painfully true. What to do?

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Only Palin can save McCain, her party, and the country she loves. She can bow out for personal reasons, perhaps because she wants to spend more time with her newborn. No one would criticize a mother who puts her family first.Do it for your country.

More Friday Male Beauty

LGBT Teen Homelessness is an Epidemic

I have touched on this topic before and to me it is so very, very sad that LGBT teens continue to find themselves homeless often because their allegedly pious, religious parents, be they Christian or some other faith, toss their own children away as if they are garbage simply because God created them differently that the majority. This topic is dear to the heart of my blogger friend Justin from the west coast and just the other night we talked about how wonderful it would be if we had the means to set up a home for homeless gay teens. As a parent, it is beyond my comprehension how a parent can discard their child, particularly in the name of a supposedly loving God. It is these parent, not their LGBT children, who are the ones God will punish. Here are highlights from a 365gay.com article that details the problem:

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As National Coming Out Day approaches, I find myself wondering if the LGBT community is failing too many of the teens who come out. When a teen comes out, and their parents are able to accept them, it is a wonderful thing. However, recent studies have shown that as many as 25 percent of teens face rejection by their parents and families when they come out. Our nation’s homeless youth population is swollen with LGBT youth who have been thrown to the streets as a punishment for their honesty and integrity in coming out.

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In last year’s report “An Epidemic of Homelessness,” the Task Force cited studies showing that up to 40 percent of all the homeless youth in the United States are LGBT. It is upsetting and disturbing to hear the stories kids tell us when they seek help from the Ali Forney Center. We hear of kids being battered and beaten by their parents and family members. We hear of kids being told that they are damned and unloved by God by their religious leaders.

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A common theme I hear in the stories our kids tell us is how, in the eyes of their families and communities, their being LGBT cancels out their human value. They become no longer worthy of love and protection in the eyes of their parents. This is where the broader LGBT community must come to the table. We need to show our kids that they are loved and cherished for who they are. We have an obligation to our youth to create and support structures that protect queer youth when their parents refuse to do so.

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In every city we need to be advocating that youth shelters be safe for LGBT youth, and that distinct programs be created and funded to meet the needs of LGBT youth. Paying closer attention to the needs of our kids needs to be a higher priority for us as a community on local and national levels.

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There are only a small handful of programs in our country dedicated to housing LGBT youth - there are tens of thousands of LGBT youth enduring the terrors and humiliations of homelessness on our streets. The protection and safety of our youth must become a central priority of our community. We need to show these kids, and ourselves, that they are valued. When a kid is thrown to the streets for being gay, it is an assault against each one of us.

Ex-McCain Adviser: McCain Blinked

The last two days have been a bizarre psycho-drama generated by John McCain and/or his campaign. Between the faux suspension of his campaign, his wordless attendance at the White House meeting yesterday and now his capitulation to proceed with tonight's presidential debate one can only wonder whether McCain has gone crazy or had a bad mixture of meds. Whatever grandstanding he was trying to accomplish seems to have blown up in his face in the opinion of rational adults (admittedly, that category omits most of the religious based fanatics who now make up the GOP base). Even conservatives seem to realize that whatever McCain's intended ploy, it has not worked as planned. Here are highlights of comments from a former McCain adviser via Huffington Post:

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After days of saying that John McCain would not attend Friday's presidential debate unless an agreement on a bailout package for the markets was "locked-down," the McCain campaign has gone back on its word. On Friday, it announced that the Senator would head down to Mississippi even though, as they readily admit, much work remained needed on the bailout agreement.

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The whole episode left even conservatives admitting that the McCain campaign looked erratic and a bit foolish with no apparent direction or guiding principle."It just proves his campaign is governed by tactics and not ideology," said Republican consultant Craig Shirley, who advised McCain earlier in this cycle. "In the end, he blinked and Obama did not. The 'steady hand in a storm' argument looks now to more favor Obama, not McCain."

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Shirley added, "My guess is that plasma units are rushing to the McCain campaign as we speak to replace the blood flowing there from the fights among the staff." Adding to the rocky perception was a McCain campaign web ad released this morning declaring "McCain Wins Debate!" -- put out even before the candidate had announced he was planning to debate.

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[S]aid Howard Wolfson, formerly the communications director for Hillary Clinton, "John McCain's presidential campaign has been in a death spiral since the Wall Street collapse and this summit gambit was an attempt to pull out of it. But it hasn't succeeded because McCain hasn't done anything to move the ball forward."

Friday Male Beauty

The Danger of "Palinism"

UPDATED: As a point of clarification, I am no out to demonize Sarah Palin as a person even though I disagree with her on nearly everything. The point is that to be VP in today's world, she needs to - to quote Andrew Sullivan - be able to take over as president in an instant and cope with three wars - in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan - and a potential reprise of the Great Depression. Clearly, she is NOT up to the task and McCain needs to be held accountable for his insane selection of Palin.

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Roger Cohen has a column in the New York Times that both describes the mental vacuousness of Sarah Palin and the anti-knowledge and egocentricity that are the hallmarks of Christianists and the "America - Love it or Leave it" crowd. As I have noted before, it is dumbfounding in some ways that a supposedly educated populace can be so ignorant and gullible to demagoguery. But for this phenomenon, the GOP would have lost power years ago and the country would likely be far better off today. The big question, is how best to defeat this mindset and outlook. Here are some column highlights:

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Sarah Palin loves the word “exceptional.” . . . This is the idea, around since the founding fathers, and elaborated on by Alexis de Tocqueville, that the United States is a nation unlike any other with a special mission to build the “city upon a hill” that will serve as liberty’s beacon for mankind. But exceptionalism has taken an ugly twist of late. It’s become the angry refuge of the America that wants to deny the real state of the world.

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American exceptionalism has morphed into the fortress of those who see themselves threatened by “one-worlders” (read Barack Obama) and who believe it’s more important to know how to dress moose than find Mumbai. That’s Palinism, a philosophy delivered without a passport and with a view (on a clear day) of Russia.

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Behind Palinism lies anger. It’s been growing as America’s relative decline has become more manifest in falling incomes, imploding markets, massive debt and rising new centers of wealth and power from Shanghai to Dubai.

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The damn-the-world, God-chose-us rage of that America has sharpened as U.S. exceptionalism has become harder to square with the 21st-century world’s interconnectedness. How exceptional can you be when every major problem you face, from terrorism to nuclear proliferation to gas prices, requires joint action?

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But, let’s face it, from Baghdad to Bear Stearns the last eight years have been a lesson in the price of exceptionalism run amok. To persist with a philosophy grounded in America’s separateness, rather than its connectedness, would be devastating at a time when the country faces two wars, a financial collapse unseen since 1929, commodity inflation, a huge transfer of resources to the Middle East, and the imperative to develop new sources of energy. Enough is enough.

Coordinator of Iraqi LGBT has Been Assassinated

The U.S. presence in Iraq continues to do nothing to reduce fundamentalist religious extremism, particularly when it comes to the brutalization and murder of gays. Now, Peter Tatchell is reporting that the coordinator of safe houses for gays seeking to hide from religious extremists looking to hunt them down has been assassinated in Baghdad. It is depressing that gays continue to die because of evil manipulations of religious belief that turn religion - both Christian and Islamic - into such a source of evil, hate and destruction. My thoughts go out to Bashar's family and loved ones who will feel a great loss. Here are highlights from UKgaynews:

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This morning, I received news from Iraq that the coordinator of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad, Bashar, aged 27, a university student, has been assassinated in a barber shop. Militias burst in and sprayed his body with bullets at point blank range.

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He was the organiser of the safe houses for gays and lesbians in Baghdad. His efforts saved the lives of dozens of people. Bashar was a kind, generous and extremely brave young man – a true hero who put his life on the line to save the lives of others.

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Gayswitoutborders further reports in part as follows:

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Sexual cleansing in Iraq - Islamist death squads are hunting down gay Iraqis and summarily executing them.
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STOP PRESS: This morning, news came from Iraq that the coordinator of Iraqi LGBT in Baghdad, Bashar, aged 27, has been assassinated in a barber shop. Militias burst in and sprayed his body with bullets.The so-called improved security situation in Iraq is not benefiting all Iraqis, especially not gay ones. Islamist death squads are engaged in a homophobic killing spree, with the active encouragement of leading Muslim clerics, such as Moqtada al-Sadr, as Newsweek recently revealed.http://www.newsweek.com/id/155656One of these clerics, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the spiritual leader of Shia Islam, issued a fatwa urging the killing of lesbians and gays in the “worst, most severe way possible.”

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The short film, Queer Fear - Gay Life, Gay Death in Iraq, produced by David Grey for Village Film, documents the tragic fates of a several individual gay Iraqis. You can view it here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6vbpr Watch and weep. A truly poignant and moving revelation about the terrorisation and murder of Iraqi lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Since this film was made, the killings have continued and, many say, got worse.

More Thursday Male Beauty

Carl Bernstein Savages McCain

Carl Bernstein , the former Washington Post reporter of Watergate fame, has a column that is nothing short of a brutal in his assessment of the craven, dishonorable figure John McCain has become. Not only are his campaign tactics worthy of a slimy used car salesman, but his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate becomes less defensible with every passing minute that she opens her mouth. Again, I am not anti-woman and have two extremely intelligent and capable daughters. From watching Palin's interviews and reading the transcripts, my 19 year old college student daughter is (a) more savvy (and more honest), and (2) knows a hell of a lot more about issues, both domestic and foreign.

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Palin calls herself a hockey mom. Candidly, she strikes me as a cold weather version of the mindless soccer moms of this area who worry about children's sports events and piss ant PTA fundraisers, yet are oblivious as to the larger issues in the state, nation and the world. And I reach that assessment without even having to factor in her lunatic religious beliefs. With Palin on the national ticket, no wonder there is talk of America's fading empire. We must look like absolute morons - what McCain and the GOP apparently are counting on - to those living in educated foreign countries. Here are highlights from Bernstein's column:

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Three weeks after the 2008 Republican convention, on the cusp (maybe) of the first presidential debate, it is time to confront an awkward but profound question: whether in picking Sarah Palin as his running mate, John McCain has committed -- by his own professed standards of duty and honor -- a singularly unpatriotic act.

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[W]hat does John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin -- the cavalier, last-minute process of her selection and careless vetting; and her over-briefed, fact-lite performance since -- reveal about this military man who has attested to us for years that he is guided by his personal code of honor?

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It does not take a near-death experience to know that Sarah Palin is not qualified to be commander in chief, or that -- in choosing her -- McCain has ignored his own oft-avowed code of conduct. "McCain made the most important command decision of his life when he chose Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee," noted David Ignatius in the Washington Post. "....No promotion board in history would have made such a decision."

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The conservative commentator George Will has been especially incisive of late about the "dismaying," "un-presidential temperament" of McCain and the sleazy tenor of his campaign. Karl Rove (!) has responded to the incessant lying of McCain's ads (one claims falsely that Obama has promoted "comprehensive" sex education for five-year-olds -- he had, in fact, endorsed legislation to insure that kindergartners were warned about sexual predators), by saying, yes, the McCain camp's mendacity has "gone one step too far."

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The issue of Palin's relative ignorance about international affairs and the larger world beyond America's shores (compared to previous vice presidential nominees), her attending arrogance in seeming to revel in it, and McCain's decision to subject the country to it in choosing a possible president -- is the biggest question in this election, or perhaps ought to be.

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Ultimately it is the choice of Palin, made in the moment when action speaks loudest, that may undermine a quarter-century of assertions by John McCain about the preeminence of duty, honor and country in his political schema.

Sarah Palin - The Real Face of Christianists?

It is increasingly obvious that Sarah Palin, a darling among the lunatic fringe who now control the Republican Party, is way, way out of her league and that John McCain, if he actually selected her himself, is as well. Unfortunately, Palin appears all too typical of the Christianists who are dogmatic, act as if they were geniuses, utterly out of touch with real world reality, and unable to address serious issues outside of right wing slogans. The reviews of her appearance with Katie Couric appear almost universally damning and her simpleton like approach to important issues is truly frightening. Admittedly, with its small population, running for statewide office in Alaska is akin to running a local election campaign in many areas of the country. But one still has to ask how the Hell did see ever get elected? Here are highlights from Glenn Greenwald's take at Salon:

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Three weeks ago -- before Sarah Palin's interview with Charlie Gibson was announced -- I mocked the idea that the McCain campaign was afraid to have Palin face our mighty press corps, and I defended Palin. . . . I was so wrong about that -- the parts about Palin, that is, not the press (though, in fairness, Gibson was far more adversarial than I expected and Katie Couric was even better). Just watch clips from her interview last night with Katie Couric. I'll be honest: watching this, I actually felt sorry for Sarah Palin.

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But Sarah Palin's performance in the tiny vignettes of unscripted dialogue in which we've been allowed to see her has been nothing short of frightening -- really, as I said, pity-inducing. And I say that as someone who has thought from the start that the criticisms of her abilities -- as opposed to her ideology -- were much too extreme. One of two things is absolutely clear at this point: she is either (a) completely ignorant about the most basic political issues -- a vacant, ill-informed, incurious know-nothing, or (b) aggressively concealing her actual beliefs about these matters because she's petrified of deviating from the simple-minded campaign talking points she's been fed and/or because her actual beliefs are so politically unpalatable, even when taking into account the right-wing extremism that is permitted, even rewarded, in our mainstream. I'm not really sure which is worse, but it doesn't really matter, because with 40 days left before the election, both options are heinous.

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What seems most likely is that she's perfectly conversant in the exceedingly narrow and parochial range of issues she's concerned herself with as Wasilla Mayor and Alaska Governor -- oil drilling on the North Slope, specific local budget items, corruption issues inside the Alaskan State GOP, and evangelical and religious matters. She really doesn't seem to have any thoughts about anything outside of that -- or if she does, she is suppressing them -- and is thus capable of spouting little more than empty right-wing slogans.

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What's really sobering is that the McCain campaign continues to block Palin from answering questions even though it's now resulting in reams and reams of bad press for the McCain-Palin ticket. That suggests McCain advisers know that letting her answer even the most elementary questions in an uncontrolled environment is so dangerous that it's worth weathering the current media drubbing they're taking in order to prevent it from happening at all costs.

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[C]ombined with McCain's age -- and what really do appear to be legitimate and growing questions about his health (those are mere suspicions, but appropriate ones that should be answered by McCain) -- makes Sarah Palin's candidacy a very real hazard, something that, by the day, I'm convinced is as important as any other issue in the campaign.

More Thursday Male Beauty

White House Caught Napping on Financial Crisis

I am gaining a new respect for Campbell Brown who seems to be growing a set and willing to be more that a mere parrot for sound bites issued by others. Now she's going after the Chimperator for being asleep at the wheel on the financial debacle that has occurred on his watch and mostly under a Republican economic model. Would that more in the media would remind the public that the ground work for the crisis and lack of regulation occurred under a GOP White House and GOP controlled Congress. Despite his stunts and theatrics, McCain is part and parcel with the group that allowed this mess to occur. Many of the problems in this country can be traced to a failure of the media to do its job and ask hard questions, expose lies and demand accountability. Here are highlights from Brown's recent commentary on CNN:

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NEW YORK (CNN) --

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"I have great, great confidence in our capital markets and in our financial institutions. Our financial institutions, banks and investment banks, are strong. Our capital markets are resilient. They're efficient. They're flexible."

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, March 16, 2008

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"Our policy in this administration -- laws shouldn't bail out lenders, laws shouldn't help speculators."
President Bush, May 19, 2008

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"Our economy has continued growing, consumers are spending, business are investing, exports continue increasing and American productivity remains strong. We can have confidence in the long-term foundation of our economy...I think the system basically is sound. I truly do."

President Bush, July 15, 2008

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Those were the words of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and President George W. Bush just a few months ago. Today, of course, they have been proven completely wrong. They are now telling us we are in a dire crisis, and that we must hand over hundreds of billions of dollars so they can lead us out of this mess.

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What's amazing to me is that the administration seems a little surprised that Congress and the American people are not marching in lockstep with them on this and not fully appreciating the urgency. Well here's why, in one word: accountability.

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This administration missed the boat on this crisis. They didn't see it coming. That's why when Bush goes on TV in a few minutes, he will face a very wary audience. And Secretary Paulson, frankly, you didn't help the situation with your initial, imperious request to Congress that you be handed this money and that your decisions "may not be reviewed by any court of law or administrative agency." Seriously, what were you thinking?

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We need serious scrutiny and debate, and that should happen whether we are talking about a giant piece of legislation that is going to affect us all, or whether we are talking about presidential and vice presidential candidates.

Palin Was Blessed to be Free From 'Witchcraft'

I had previously done a post about Sarah Palin and her delusional pastor buddy from Kenya who believes in witches and hunts down supposed witches. Until now, most coverage has been limited to the blogosphere. Now, the Associated Press has done a story and, hopefully, more people will be gin to understand just how whacked out Ms. Palin is in terms of her religious beliefs. With each passing day, Palin demonstrates that she is unfit for high office as is McCain for having selected her (or having knuckled under to the Christianists, if applicable). The thought of Palin being potentially a heart beat away from the presidency sends shivers of terror down my back. The rest of the world must think America has gone insane. Here are highlights from the AP story:

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A grainy YouTube video surfaced Wednesday showing Sarah Palin being blessed in her hometown church three years ago by a Kenyan pastor who prayed for her protection from "witchcraft" as she prepared to seek higher office.

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The video shows Palin standing before Bishop Thomas Muthee in the pulpit of the Wasilla Assembly of God church, holding her hands open as he asked Jesus Christ to keep her safe from "every form of witchcraft."

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"Come on, talk to God about this woman. We declare, save her from Satan," Muthee said as two attendants placed their hands on Palin's shoulders. "Make her way my God. Bring finances her way even for the campaign in the name of Jesus. ... Use her to turn this nation the other way around."

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A spokesman for the McCain campaign declined to comment. A person who answered the phone at the Wasilla church confirmed the video was from May 2005 but declined further comment.

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On a visit to the church in June 2008, Palin spoke fondly of the Kenyan pastor and told a group of young missionaries that Muthee's prayers had helped her to become governor.

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"Pastor Muthee was here and he was praying over me, and you know how he speaks and he's so bold," she said. "And he was praying 'Lord make a way, Lord make a way' ... He said, 'Lord make a way and let her do this next step.' And that's exactly what happened."

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The Rev. Zipporah Ndiritu, who studied under Muthee in the Kiambu, Kenya-based Word of Faith Church, said the bishop is revered among evangelicals there. In a phone interview from Mombasa, Kenya, she said church doctrine focuses on ridding the world of demons — and witches.

Thursday Male Beauty

Harold Meyerson: McCain's Ploy

Apparently, I am not the only one who see's John McCain's bogus "suspend my campaign" and delay the debate charade for what it is. As I posted last night, this is ALL about avoiding facing the press and tough questioning and finding a reason to NOT have Sarah Palin debate Joe Biden who will be able to demonstrate his fitness for the VP slot and at the same time show Palin to be a mindless pagent girl who is unfit to govern anything larger than a small village. What is truly disturbing about McCain's disingenuousness is that he and his advsors apparently believe all Americans are cretins. I hope voters recognize how badly they have been insulted. Here are some highlights from Meyerson's Washington Post column:

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Slipping in the polls? Concerned that Americans may be paying more attention to the declining economy -- and even supporting economic regulation again -- than to your own stellar leadership abilities? What's a Republican presidential nominee to do?

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If you're named John McCain, the answer became apparent yesterday afternoon -- make the solution to the economic crisis all about you. Suspend your campaign. Pull out of tomorrow's debate -- a trivial exercise merely allowing Americans to judge the two candidates side by side. Change the terms of the nation's economic discussion from the course we should take, and the defects of the laissez-faire model that got us here, to the indispensability of John McCain, leader of leaders.

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Yesterday's Post-ABC News Poll showed Barack Obama opening a nine-point lead over McCain, chiefly because of the economic anxiety flooding the nation and the belief of most Americans that Obama is more in touch with economic realities than McCain is and has a better sense of how to navigate both the current crisis and America's long-term economic challenges. But the McCain plan for victory this November never counted on Americans picking McCain on the basis of the issues.

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As his strategists saw it, they had to confine the discussion to a comparison of the character of the two candidates. Alas for McCain, reality intruded over the past week, distracting the public from McCain's stellar attributes as a decisive leader with news of an impending economic collapse. So the task for his managers has been to diminish this new story to just one chapter in the ongoing saga of John McCain, the man who rides to the rescue.

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Can McCain pull this off -- persuading the public to forget how he and his fellow Reagan Republicans changed the nation's economic rules in ways that allowed Wall Street to run amok, and refocusing its attention on his decisiveness at this moment of crisis? I doubt it.

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For one thing, America may be a republic of amnesiacs, but deep in some seldom-used brain lobe, it does recall that its two political parties have differed on questions of regulation and stimulating the economy, a comparison that does not now work in Republicans' favor. For another, presidential debates aren't distractions from the business of the nation.

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McCain's ploy was transparent. To counter the public's preference for Obama's economics over his own, he would get both of them in a room and emerge proclaiming that they had reached agreement, that they had no differences. In fact, they have very real differences.

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Comparisons such as these are odious, however, to McCain's prospects. He cannot win on the strength of his positions. He can only win on the strength of his character. Problem is, McCain's character, as we have seen in his selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate, is heavy on decisiveness and weak on judgment. In this, despite his campaign's protestations, a McCain presidency would be very much an extension of George W. Bush's. . . . . Obama, Lord knows, has his flaws, but he does not seem to believe that the nation's crises are primarily about him.

Nights in Rodanthe

I am not sure how good the movie Nights in Rodanthe with Richard Gere and Diane Lane will be, but I plan on seeing it for a simple reason: I've been in Rodanthe on Hatteras Island many times and actually stayed in the house, Serendipity, used in the film many years ago when the shoreline was some 500-600 feet further to the east and a sand dune still protected the house and a group of neighboring houses, all the rest of which are now gone, lost to the encroaching ocean. The "S Turns," just to the north are a popular surfing spot. As the Virginian Pilot notes, the house has become a curiosity due to its movie roll:

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The house stands alone on the edge of the ocean at one of the most vulnerable spots on Hatteras Island, where water frequently washes over and cuts off N.C. 12. The house has been condemned since March, but preparations began several weeks ago to get the house into compliance and back on the rental market. The house has become something of a curiosity for sightseers because of its role in the movie.

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A Canadian Press review said the movie was so-so, but also noted on a topic us older guys coming out later in life might identify with:

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If there's any benefit to "Nights in Rodanthe," it's in the film's depiction of the possibility of finding love later in life. (Gere is 59 and Lane is 43 - ancient by starlet standards, of course, but she's never lost her fastball and actually looks lovelier than ever here with her natural good looks shining through.) This ought to resonate with audience members who've lost a loved one after a long marriage or are hesitant to get out and date again after going through a divorce. It's not exactly a topic that Hollywood bothers with very often.
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The final irony is that we are getting a northeaster right now, so the house is no doubt going to be in an area of likely overwash from the storm tides.

McCain's Disingenuous Debate Ploy

Let's see - this week he is quickly sinking in the polls, to the dismay of his Christianist supporters, his chief 0f staff has been outed as gay, the National Inquirer has dropped the bomb of an adulterous affair allegation on Sarah Palin, it has been reported that his campaign chief was receiving payments - dare we say bribes - from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac up until a month ago despite his (and McCain's) denials to the contrary, and on top of that, Palin just bombed in an interview with Katie Couric. Oh, and, how did we get from "the economy is fundamentally sound" as McCain recently stated to the economy is on the verge of collapse? Yep, I think I'd want to avoid a debate that might leave me open to questions about one or more of the foregoing nastily inconvenient issues. Especially since McCain has voted with Bush 90+% of the time and opposed increased regulation of the financial markets. Here are some highlights from the Washington Post:

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NEW YORK -- The financial crisis on Wall Street overwhelmed the 2008 presidential race today, as Republican presidential nominee John McCain this afternoon said he would suspend his presidential campaign tomorrow to return to Washington to work on the proposed $700 billion bailout plan. Democratic rival Barack Obama declined to follow suit, saying he would return only if congressional leaders requested his presence and said there was no reason to suspend the campaign or delay Friday night's presidential debate.

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But Democrats blasted McCain's action as a political stunt, delivered as the economy has surged to the forefront of voters' concerns, and to Obama's advantage. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said McCain's move was "the longest 'Hail Mary' in the history of either football or Marys.'' The chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, which was holding a hearing on the bailout, added "I'm not particularly focused on Senator McCain. I guess if I wanted expertise there [from the GOP ticket], I'd ask Sarah Palin."
A president, Obama said, "is going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time."

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Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada had a similar reaction. "It would not be helpful at this time to have them come back during these negotiations and risk injecting presidential politics into this process or distract important talks about the future of our nation's economy," Reid said. "If that changes, we will call upon them. We need leadership; not a campaign photo op." He added: "If there were ever a time for both candidates to hold a debate before the American people about this serious challenge, it is now."

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Unlike his Democratic supporters, Obama declined to say McCain was playing politics. He said he wanted to go forward with the debate. "That's what I'm preparing to do. My general view is that the American people need to know what we intend to do." He added: "Senator McCain is running his campaign, I'm running mine,"
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P.S. The McCain campaign has accused the New York Times of being "150 percent in the tank" for Barack Obama, but has been unable to demonstrate factual errors in the newspaper's reporting on ties between campaign manager Rick Davis and failed mortgage giants.

More Male Beauty

An Example of A Gay McCain Supporter - It's About Money

I recently reaffirmed that I would in general no longer post comments by those who chose to be "Anonymous." I did so for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that I believe that if someone wants to leave their opinion on a post, they ought to have the guts to identify themselves. Not surprisingly, I have received a number of complaints about the policy. One such complaint was from an apparent gay Republican who stated as follows:

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I posted a reasonable rebuttle to the asset story concerning McCain and Obama, but you didn't post it. Why? I made some valid points. I don't have a google account and don't feel like I need one to offer an opinion. I think I have been in bounds with my posts. I AM GAY, but I do have some different opinions than yourself but I don't try to be mean about it. I am fortunate to make good money and I am concerned about my tax situation under Obama. Plus I do worry about his experience. I don't hate him. It seems like if you are gay and would possibly vote republican you get trashed.

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My thoughts? First, for background, I regularly work with LGBT clients who (1) get screwed on income taxes because they cannot marry and/or file joint tax returns, (2) often are severely penalized on estate taxes because there is no marital deduction allowed for gay couples, (3) can be summarily fired from their jobs simply for being gay since there are no federal non-discrimination statutes (or state protections either in Virginia), and (4) frequently face social discrimination and are the targets of Christianist hate.

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And where does John McCain stand on these issues? He apparently thinks the continuation of these problems faced by LGBT citizens is just fine and dandy since he opposes recognition of gay marriage, opposes recognition of same-sex dependents, and has voted against every hate crimes bill and opposed ENDA. Moreover, he has his nose so far up the ass of anti-gay bigots like John Hagee, et al, that it's a wonder he hasn't suffocated. In contrast, Obama takes an almost 180 degree different position on these issues. And where is anonymous? Anonymous apparently doesn't give a flip about other gays either since he merely worries about "my tax situation under Obama."

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And when it comes to experience? John McCain has experience alright - the WRONG experience. Experience that consists of pushing deregulation and many of the policies that have created the economic crisis that he now wants to use as an excuse not to debate Obama on Friday. As for Sarah Palin? She is an utter joke and an insult to every intelligent rational voter. Obama has intelligence and an ability to critical analysis - something neither McCain or Palin can come close to offering. God help the USA and the world if she should ever occupy the presidency.

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It's a free country and, yes, Anonymous can hold whatever opinions he wants. But that doesn't mean I have to help him disseminate them or not challenge what I think are selfish and/or wrongheaded ideas. I'm sure OneNewsNow or CBN News would like his comments far better than I. At some point the larger needs of the country and human rights for ALL citizens need to trump personal selfishness. I have paid a huge financial price being totally out, but at least I haven't sold my soul for money or lower taxes.

National Enquirer Reports on Alleged Palin Adulterous Affair

Whatever the merits of the National Inquirer's story, it ought to be fun watching the gyrations of the McCain campaign. What with the news about McCain's gay chief of staff and now this, Daddy Dobson will be none too happy. I have no doubts that Palin has many enemies - when you trample over people and/or fire them so you can have your cronies hired, you'd best have no secrets that they can carry.

Here are the lead in from the Inquirer: No less than three members of the man’s family including one by sworn affidavit have claimed that Sarah Palin engaged in an extramarital affair with hus­band Todd’s former business partner, Brad Hanson. These sources have named Hanson as Palin’s secret love, and say their affair nearly wrecked both their marriages.

Regent Law School Attorney Indicted for Real Estate Fraud

Former attorney and Regent Law School graduate, Troy A, Titus, has been arrested on a federal indictment, charging him with defrauding at least $1.5 million from former clients. One of Titus' tactics to gain clients' trust is reported as taking them to dinner, taking them to church and praying with them and talking up his religious faith. In my experience as an attorney, whenever an attorney talks about religion in the context of their legal representation of a client, the smart thing to do is run and watch your wallet as you flee. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot:

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The FBI on Tuesday arrested disbarred lawyer Troy A. Titus on a federal indictment, charging him with defrauding at least $1.5 million from former clients, including onetime R&B star Teddy Riley. Agents arrested Titus, 42, at his Chesapeake home about 7 a.m. following a lengthy investigation into his real estate dealings. Titus made a brief appearance that afternoon in U.S. District Court, where the 10-count indictment was unsealed.

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The indictment says Titus solicited funds from clients for real estate projects by making false representations and promises as to where the money would be invested. In addition, according to the indictment, Titus used "funds obtained from one set of investors or other sources to make 'lulling' payments to other investors" in order to create a false impression that funds were invested properly and yielding profits. . . . Earlier this year, The Pilot reported that Titus faced at least a dozen lawsuits from former clients who claim he bilked them out of a total of between $2 million and $3 million.

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Titus also is accused of preying on a widow. Doris Addenbrook and her husband, Robert, had been longtime Titus clients. When Robert Addenbrook died in 2001, "Titus began dining with Doris, taking her to church and praying with her, activities he had never previously engaged with Doris," the indictment says. "He told Doris that he wanted to ensure that she would have no further worries," the papers say.

More Wednesday Male Beauty

Mitchell Gold Tries to Break Cycle of Gay Teen Suicide

Like so many of us, successful furniture company co-founder, Mitchell Gold, asked himself growing up "Why did God create me this way?" It is a question that has no ready answer and which can leave one with a feeling that life will never get better. As a result, suicide all too often seems the best option to end the suffering. I felt that way myself in the past. Deb Price has a piece in the Detroit News that looks at Gold's efforts to help gay teens to find help and avoid the decision that death is the only solution to what family, church and society all too often say is a problem, abnormal or a sin. No one should be made to feel that they are garbage or not worthy of living a full and happy life. I applaud Gold's efforts and hope he helps save teens from making a tragic mistake. Here are highlights from Deb's column:
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"Why did God create me this way?" That's what Mitchell Gold asked himself as a teenager in the mid-1960s as he hid his homosexuality from family and friends. The better he got at the hiding game on the outside, the more torn up he became on the inside. What he called "the black cloud" swallowed him up. And he found himself thinking of ways to kill himself -- from overdosing on sleeping pills to driving off a cliff.

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Gold felt completely alone, but the sad truth is that countless other gay and lesbian teens were feeling just as painfully isolated. Unlike Gold, many gay and lesbian teens of his generation didn't make it. Many gay teens are still not making it. And this tragic pattern won't change unless all of us -- gay and heterosexual alike -- help break the cycle.

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Gold came to believe that the root of all discrimination against those of us who're gay -- whether in the military or in high school -- is religion. Not God. Not faith. But religion twisted to enable otherwise good people to rationalize their anti-gay prejudices. If only he could get folks to understand how religion is misused, Gold decided, gay people would stop getting so damaged by our society.

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He started Faith in America in 2005 to do just that, running cutting-edge ads in newspapers around the country to spotlight how religion was used in the past to defend prejudices against African-Americans and women. Now Gold focuses on gay teens with a book, "Crisis," in which 40 gay men and lesbians -- from college students to the actor Richard Chamberlain -- tell about the depression, loneliness and fear they felt growing up gay.

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Along with the book's many firsthand accounts of the difficulty of growing up gay are two powerful stories by moms. One of them, a fundamentalist Christian who rejected her daughter's lesbianism before the young woman killed herself, recalls being told, "Perhaps your daughter's death is an indictment of the homosexual lifestyle." The devastated mother, Mary Lou Wallner, says she and her husband have learned "what it was like to be the object of the church's hatred for gay people."

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[T]oo few stop to ponder whether leaning on religion to justify anti-gay discrimination is any different from how religion once was used to harm women and racial minorities. Good-hearted people who come to realize that there is no difference are well on their way to being supportive of gay teens. And that's what keeps Mitchell Gold motivated.

An Inadequate Case for the Bailout

For over a year I have discussed the collapse of the U.S. real estate market and the havoc that I believed it would cause to the larger economy. Sadly, most in Washington paid little or no attention to the problem until it became a catastrophe. Now the Chimperator's crew have proposed a huge bailout which has as its main features (1) no accountability on the part of the Secretary of the Treasury, (2) no punishment for those in the investment banking and mortgage industries who recklessly caused the mess, and (3) no help for the average homeowner or business owner who has been swept up into the maelstrom. Moreover, the $2.5 billion in the bonus pool for Lehman Brothers, now in bankruptcy, and golden parchutes of CEO's of failed firms, are nothing short of obscene. The New York Times has a good editorial that lays out why the current administration proposal does not fit the bill for what is needed. Here are some highlights:

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Under skeptical questioning in the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, gave no ground in defense of their $700 billion proposal to bail out the financial system. They also gave little reason to believe that their proposal would protect taxpayers from huge losses.

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Rather than rushing to approve the $700 billion bailout, lawmakers need to examine alternatives. They should look for one that ideally would let taxpayers share in the gains from any postbailout revival, along with the bankers and private investors who will make money if the bailout succeeds. Several ideas have been advanced that Congress should examine.

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Prominent among them is a plan to make a direct investment of taxpayer dollars into financial firms, rather than buying up their bad assets. With that money, the firms could absorb the losses that they are bound to take as their investments go sour and avert failure and panic. Once the firms begin to recover, taxpayers would earn a return.

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Another proposal, advanced by Senator Christopher Dodd, would buy up bad assets, as proposed by the administration, but would give the government the option to acquire stock in the firms receiving help. The danger is that private investors, fearful of seeing their ownership stakes diluted if the government becomes a shareholder, might be reluctant to invest money. That would deprive the firms of investments they need to recover.

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One thing is certain. If taxpayers do not share in the potential profits from a bailout, someone else will. On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve announced that it was relaxing rules that require investors who take large stakes in banks to submit to longstanding regulations on transparency and managerial control. Private equity firms have pushed for the changes because they would like to become big investors in beaten-down banks but do not want to be regulated.

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Relaxing the rules invites more of the same type of opacity and risk-taking into banking that caused many of today’s financial problems. Politically, the Fed’s timing could not have been worse. Taxpayers are being asked to buy up banks’ junky assets, with little expectation of return. At the same time, private equity firms are being invited to make what are likely to be highly profitable investments in the same banks. That’s not a plan that lawmakers and voters can support. Congress has more work to do.

Wedensday Male Beauty

Christianist Hysteria Over Possible Proposition 8 Defeat

With polls suggesting that the anti-gay initiatives in both California and Florida may be headed towards defeat, the Christianists are pulling out all the stops in terms of disseminating lies and false information in an effort to shake as much money as possible from the pockets of the sheeple who make donations in response to their fear tactics. Leading the way is the always disingenuous and dishonest Tony Perkins at Family Research Council. Perkins - pictured at left - definitely fits the premise that if his mouth is moving, then he's lying. Here are highlights from a scare tactic letter signed by Perkins reported by Pam's House Blend:

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I want you to hear something a California pastor said to me recently:"If we lose, we go to jail. "It's just that simple, says Pastor Jim Garlow-if marriage loses in California, religious liberties everywhere will be next.

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Family Research Council has been pouring resources into a national campaign to defend marriage and religious freedom, and . . . I'm writing today to ask you again to stand with us. We still must raise $600,000 before the close of our fiscal year on September 30. I know many Americans are feeling the pinch of a tight economy. As you prayerfully consider a gift, rest assured that FRC carefully stewards every dollar you give to the defense of marriage, religious freedom, parental rights, and human life. The stakes are enormous. We face a national menace to religious liberty.

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Twenty-six states already have constitutional protections for marriage. We pray that California, Florida, and Arizona will be added to that list once voters learn the truth about the lies the Left uses to justify counterfeit marriage.

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The fight for marriage in the states is our first priority.But we can't take our eye off Washington, D.C. politicians. Your support is vital as we stand up to liberals who want to criminalize your religious speech . . . threaten the religious liberties of employers . . . silence conservative and Christian broadcasting . . . raise taxes . . . and impose taxpayer funding of abortion and embryonic stem cell research.

Clay Aiken (Finally) and Lindsay Lohan Come Out

Two celebrities have advised the media that they are gay: Clay Aiken and Lindsay Lohan. Hopefully as more successful celebrities and professionals come out the number of gays who feel compelled to live in the closet will diminish. I wish both Aiken and Lohan well and hope they find the liberation and self-acceptance I have found through being totally and apologetically "out."

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First, the news on Aiken - my gaydar went off years ago when I saw Aiken filmed up close in a TV interview - Clay Aiken is admitting that he is gay in a story to be featured in People magazine. No doubt some of his fans will be bent out of shape, but that's their problem, not Aiken's. What is sad is that Aiken like so many other felt that he had to remain officially closeted in order to be accepted and/or marketable. Here are some highlights from Reuters:

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After years of dodging questions, former "American Idol" singer Clay Aiken will acknowledge he is a gay man in an interview with People magazine set to run on its Web site Wednesday, according to media reports.

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Celebrity site Perez Hilton.com on Tuesday published a photo of the cover of People magazine's upcoming issue on which Aiken cradles his new son, Parker Foster Aiken, in his arms. The caption reads "Yes, I'm Gay," and underneath is a quote from Aiken on his decision to come out of the closet that says: "I cannot raise a child to lie or to hide things."

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For years, Aiken has dodged questions about whether he is homosexual despite persistent rumors on the subject. He has said, generally, that his sexuality was nobody's business but his own. In 2006, ABC television's Diane Sawyer asked Aiken and he shot back that it was a "really rude" question. He also dodged it in a previous interview with People magazine saying that readers "are going to believe what they want."

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In the case of Lohan, the news is not necessarily a surprise based on recent rumors, but having it official will perhaps cause more people to rethink their prejudices. Here is what the Chicago Sun Times is reporting:

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In other closet-opening news, many online outlets are reporting that Lindsay Lohan has "confirmed" a lesbian relationship with DJ Samantha Ronson. Lohan and Ronson rarely have been seen apart for several months, and they too have dodged direct questions about the nature of their relationship.

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But Lohan called into the Los Angeles-based radio show "Loveline" last night to comment on the recent fatal plane crash that injured former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and DJ AM. Host Ted Stryker asked Lohan how long she and Lohan had been "going out." "Like two years? One year? Five months, two months?" he asked. Lohan chuckled, then said, "A long, a very long time." Stryker ended the conversation by saying, "Well, I hope you stay together. You are a very lovely looking couple." Lohan thanked him.