Will Herman Cain Self-Immolate?

I won't lie - I don't like Herman Cain. Not at all. He's a pompous bastard even if one over looks his anti-gay statements and political positions. Worse yet, as today's constantly changing story lines confirmed, Cain's either a pathological liar or he's suffering from advanced Alzheimer’s if he can't remember charges of sexual harassment, not to mention not insignificant cash pay outs to settle the sexual harassment charges. Not that a history of sexual harassment and hush money settlement payouts will shake the belief of the Kool-Aid drinkers in the GOP base who may well write this whole scenario off as attacks from the left wing media. With he GOP base, objective facts and objective reality never seem to get in the way of the base's world view. Politico - which first broke the story on Cain's sexual harassment history - has an update on Cain's flip flopping story lines. Here are some highlights:

Herman Cain backtracked on a central part of his story about the sexual harassment allegations leveled against him in the 1990s, telling PBS and Fox News that he recalled details of a financial settlement with one of the women involved.

Changing his tune on the question of cash settlements was only the most glaring of several shifts in Cain’s comments Monday on the harassment charges leveled when he was president of the National Restaurant Association.

Only hours before, Cain said he was unaware of any “settlement” related to sexual harassment – a reversal he attempted to explain away through verbal hair-splitting.

Those comments clashed dramatically with Cain’s repeated assertions earlier in the day that he was not aware of any settlements that had been reached with women who said they felt harassed by Cain.

It’s difficult – if not impossible – to explain Cain’s reversal from earlier Monday, when he said he wasn’t familiar with cash payouts, period, with his later admission that he had discussed terms of settlement with the NRA’s general counsel.

In his public appearances Monday, Cain said categorically that he had “never sexually harassed anyone.” But in the interview with PBS, Cain left some wiggle room on a question about whether he had ever behaved in an “inappropriate” way.

Cain’s shifting set of answers Monday followed an even more disastrous reaction Sunday night, when Cain spokesman attacked POLITICO’s story as an assault on him from “inside the Beltway” – without denying the substance of the report.

Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon told the Associated Press Sunday night that the campaign was denying the POLITICO report, only to have the candidate confirm much of the substance a day later.

Target Donates $150,000 to Anti-Gay Politicians

I have long thought that Target stores offered good value for the money and have shopped there frequently - at least until now. Hence forth I will be avoiding Target like the plague. In fact, knowing what I know now, I am glad that on my last shopping outing a week or so ago, I found what I was looking for before going to Target. It seems that despite the what I suspect has been a high level of expenditures and support financial by the LGBT market, Target has donated $150,000 or more to anti-gay politicians and basically told the LGBT community to go f*ck itself. I am a strong advocate for the LGBT community using its immense purchasing power to punish corporations that prefer to kiss up to Christianists and others who would maintain religious based discrimination in the CIVIL laws. Target has made its choice and not a penny of my money will find its way to Target. Both Change.org and SFist have details on Target's anti-gay contributions. Here are highlights from SFist.com:
*
The story goes like this:
*
Bradlee Dean, the frontman of a Christian rock band in Minnesota called You Can Run But You Cannot Hide, recently said that Muslim countries that execute LGBTs are "more moral than even the American Christians," plus some mouth-foaming about gays engaging in abominations and child molestation. Ugh.
*
So what's the Target connection? Well, Bradlee's ministry received money and support from Tom Emmer, an anti-gay Minnesota Republican running for Governor. And Tom Emmer's campaign got a boost from Minnesota Forward, a PAC running TV ads on his behalf. And Minnesota Forward got $150,000 -- which amounts to about a third of all of their donations -- from Target.
*
So, to follow the money: Target gave $150,000 to Minnesota Forward, which bought TV ads for Tom Emmer, who says "I believe marriage is the union between one man and one woman," and who hangs out with a guy who thinks killing gays is moral.
*
Tom Emmer seems to like Bradlee Dean -- as in, really like. "These are nice people," Tom said of the band. Meanwhile, Bradlee told an interviewer, "On average, they molest 117 people before they're found out. How many kids have been destroyed, how many adults have been destroyed because of crimes against nature?"

*

Change.org has similar coverage, plus a means to communicate to Target one's unhappiness with Target's backing of gay-hating Christo-fascists. Here are highlights and details on how to voice your displeasure to Target:
*
What makes this move all the more troubling is that Target openly markets to the LGBT community, and has previously incorporated a number of LGBT-specific corporate policies. For them to filter money, let alone such a high amount, to an organization funding a candidate with ties to an anti-gay hate group flies in the face of their corporate practice, and sends a message that a politics based on fear and hatred toward LGBT people is acceptable.
*
Please email Target today to demand that they stop funding political candidates with a track record that runs counter to LGBT equality. In this particular case, the Minnesota politician in question, Tom Emmer, has clear ties to a group advocating violence toward LGBT people.
*
Please sign the petition (I already have done so) and make it clear that Target's talking out of both sides of its mouth is NOT acceptable. Again the link to sign the petition is here.

The Day After

Pretty much anyone who is not on drugs or delusional is finally figuring it out that its over for Hillary's campaign. True, out of meanness, an ego and sense of entitlement that knows no limits, and a refusal to accept the hand writing on the wall, she will likely persist a while longer, spreading nastiness wherever she goes. But hopefully, the superdelegates will find some balls and tell her point blank that it's over and she needs to hang it up. The American citizenry is suffering from Clinton fatigue and wants both Hillary and Bill to fade away. Change is afoot and they are not the agents of change wanted and needed. Bob Felton at Civil Commotion has a good analysis of this reality, although I do not agree with some of his views on where Obama will lead us. Here are some of Bob's comments I agree with:

*

Between Barack Obama’s shellacking of Hillary Clinton in North Carolina, and her razor-thin margin in Indiana, there is now all but universal agreement to the prediction I made months ago: Barack Obama will be the Democrats’ nominee. We don’t know when or how evil-tempered will be Hillary’s withdrawal, but there can no longer be any serious question that she is finished. That’s the good news — but it’s not an unmixed blessing.

*
The pathologically nasty politics perfected by James Carville and exemplified by the Clintons’ has been rejected, and rejected decisively. Good. Our public life has been fouled for too long by their cynical, Goebbels-like, shout-loudest dishonesties. Invariably, however, propagandists come to believe their own lies — and that is, just as invariably, the thing which undoes them. They fail to recognize that propaganda does not persuade anybody, that what it does is serve as a lens that focuses already-latent discontents.

*

The malcontents exploited by the Clintons, and their doppelgangers on the right, will remain discontented and susceptible — but the meaning of Hillary’s defeat is that the discontents of the majority are now focused on the propagandists and noisemakers themselves. Obama was first to recognize that, and has exploited it with extraordinary skill, with the result that the efforts to slime him according to the now-standard Carville play book have done him no injury while furthering irritation at the Clintons et. al.

*
The noisemakers understand clearly that there is something afoot in the public mood, and they understand clearly that the locus of the threat to their cynical manipulations is Barack Obama, and that is why the noisemakers of the left and the noisemakers of the right have so easily joined hands to trash him. Their business — Sharpton, Jackson, Limbaugh, Hannity, on and on — is keeping simpletons unbalanced with rage, and Obama threatens the good times. So they will ramp-up their already-cynical, noisy, and dishonest attacks on Obama and, probably … elect him, because they just can’t ‘get,’ or accept, that disgust with them is Obama’s secret, right-out-in-plain-sight weapon.

Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment Introduced in Pennsylvania

First Florida, then Arizona, and now Pennsylvania – faced with a potentially disastrous general election in November, the Republicans are once again trotting out wherever possible anti-gay marriage constitutional amendments to induce the wingnut fundies to come out and vote against us Godless faggots. I guess the concept of winning elections based on the quality of a political party’s policies, proposals and ideals (not to mention the concept of treating all citizens equally) are utterly unknown to these folks. Here’s a portion of the bill introduced in Pennsylvania on Valentine’s Day of all days (all but two of the sponsors are Republicans):

SENATE BILL
No. 1250 Session of 2008

INTRODUCED BY BRUBAKER, MUSTO, GORDNER, SCARNATI, KASUNIC, ARMSTRONG, CORMAN, EICHELBERGER, FOLMER, REGOLA, MADIGAN, ROBBINS, PICCOLA, WAUGH, RHOADES, PUNT AND WONDERLING, FEBRUARY 14, 2008

REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 14, 2008

A JOINT RESOLUTION

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, providing for marriage between one man and one woman.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania hereby resolves as follows:

Section 1. The following amendment to the Constitution of Pennsylvania is proposed in accordance with Article XI: That Article I be amended by adding a section to read: § 29. Marriage. No union other than a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage or the functional equivalent of marriage by the Commonwealth.

Christo-Fascist Huckabee Also Visits This Area

After attending the wonderfully inclusve Obama rally last night in Virginia Beach, it is a bit disconcerting to have Mike Huckabee visit the area since his Christianist mind set immediately works divisions between citizens. What a contrast from last night!! Based on his religious views and statements on immigration, in my opinion, the Huckster would like to either exterminate or ship many of us out of the country. It is telling that Huckabee was accompanied by Mike Farris, a complete kook and Kool-Aid drinker and unsuccessful former candidate for Lieutenant Governor more than a decade ago (he lost badly at the polls because he was considered a Christian Right extremist). How men like Huckabee and Farris who condemn so many can claim they are followers of Christ baffles me. Here are some highlights from the Virginian Pilot ( http://hamptonroads.com/2008/02/huckabee-tells-supporters-virginia-beach-hes-still-race):

VIRGINIA BEACH - Mike Huckabee urged his supporters in Virginia to send a loud message to political pundits: John McCain does not have the nomination sewed up. Huckabee brought with him two Republican leaders: Mike Farris, chancellor of Patrick Henry College in Northern Virginia, and U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter of California, who dropped out of the presidential race last month.

Huckabee repeated his position on abortion, saying he is “unalterably and absolutely pro-life.” In another indirect reference to McCain, he added, “If we get that wrong... then we will get everything else wrong.” Huckabee is the last major candidate to visit South Hampton Roads or send a surrogate. Huckabee, 52, was governor of Arkansas from 1997 to 2007. He is a former Southern Baptist minister and former president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention.

President Huckabee

From Magic Bellybutton

Mike Huckabee Still Wants to Legislate Who is a Family

According to his statements on CNN's American Morning on Monday, February 4, 2008, Mike Huckabee - or Mike Fuckabee as per my Aussie friend at Magic Bellybutton - STILL cannot grasp the concept of separation of church and state. Likewise, he cannot seem to grasp that the Constitution was never intended to allow the Christianists to impose their religious views on all other citizens. Moreover, while he makes meally-mouth statements about the "intrinsic value of each human life" (both on CNN and during the last GOP debate), gays are somehow in actuality excluded from being so valued. We somehow do not merit such valuation based on Huckabee's past clearly stated anti-gay positions.

In short, he needs to be honest and flat out state that in his view, gays are not fully human and stop the platitudes that he doesn't really believe in or support. Of course, if he did that people would recognize that Huckabee is not a very nice person notwithstanding his "aw shucks" nice guy routine. The guy is a menace and it is scary that he did as well as he did in yesterday's primaries. Here is a short summary via PageOneQ (http://pageoneq.com/news/2008/Huckabee_props_up_traditional_marriage_and_sanctity_o_0204.html):

GOP presidential candidate and former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee reiterates his stance on amending the Constitution to reflect his values. Having previously expressed a desire to align the country's values with "God's standards," to the delight of anti-gay pundit Tony Perkins, Huckabee stresses the "sanctity of life" and the desire to officially adopt the "traditional" definition of marriage on a national level.

"States," says Huckabee, "are enacting laws that, in fact, really create a confusion about whether same-sex marriage is legal or not." He goes on to call the "human life amendment" a "defining issue for our civilization and culture." "Are we going to be a culture of life," Huckabee asks, "or a culture of death?" Americans should recognize the intrinsic worth of each human life, he continues.

Attorney General Reverses Curbs On Gay Group at Justice Department

Thankfully, the Washington Post is reporting (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/04/AR2008020402761.html?hpid=sec-politics) that some of the Christianist policies of former U. S. Attorney Generals Ashcroft and Gonzales have been reversed by Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey. Fortunately, Mukasey seems more capable of separating the civil laws and basic concepts on non-discrimination from fundamentalist religious views. What a refreshing concept. Here are some story highlights:

Five years after a gay advocacy group was told that it could no longer use the e-mail, bulletin boards and meeting rooms at the Justice Department, Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey has reversed that decision and issued a revised equal-employment-opportunity policy barring discrimination against any group.

Mukasey informed leaders of DOJ Pride last week that the department would give it the same rights as all other DOJ employee organizations, said the group's president, Chris Hook. In a statement, Mukasey said the department will "foster an environment in which diversity is valued, understood and sought" and maintain "an environment that's free of discrimination."

DOJ Pride and its 110 members had been barred from holding an annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Month celebration since 2003, when then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft told the group that the Bush administration observed an unwritten policy of not sponsoring events without a presidential proclamation, Hook said. The group also was told it could not post notices of general meetings and events on department bulletin boards, he said. The policy continued under Ashcroft's successor, Alberto R. Gonzales, Hook said.

"I do not know of any other employee-recognized groups that were denied access under these same conditions," Hook said. As a result of "what some would term a hostile environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees, the membership rolls have suffered."

Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr declined to respond to the specific allegations made by Hook. He said that Mukasey now will permit DOJ Pride to use bulletin boards, easels and the department's e-mail system.

Iowa Republicans Press For Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment

It would seem that the GOP is reduced to gay baiting as its principal tool to garner voter turnout. Why not try some innovative ideas and proposals to address real problems one might ask. To me the answer to that question is simple: by being married to Bible thumping, anti-science Neanderthals, the GOP has slowly but surely driven away thinking individuals, leaving only those afraid to think for themselves or innovatively in the party. Here's 365gay.com's coverage of yet another GOP attempt to inflame wingnut voters at the expense of LGBT citizens (http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/01/011508iam.htm):

(Des Moines, Iowa) Republicans are demanding that Democrats who control the legislature take up a proposed amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Wednesday hundreds of conservative Christians bussed in from across the state added leverage to the call. The protestors held a prayer session at the legislature in support of traditional marriage. Iowa already has a law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples but supporters of the amendment say it could be overturned by "renegade" judges.

The issue already is before the state Supreme Court but Democrats say it is premature to take up the proposed amendment. "We don't see the courts in here trying to subvert the Legislature," said House Speaker Pat Murphy (D). "We shouldn't be trying to subvert the judicial process, either."

Last August Polk County Judge Robert Hanson struck down Iowa's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act ruling that it violated the constitutional rights of due process and equal protection of six gay couples who had sued. Later that day he stayed his ruling to allow for an appeal to the Supreme Court, but not before several dozen couples applied for marriage licenses.

Wayne Bsen on Mike Huckabee's Christian Reconstructionist Movement Ties

My friend Wayne Besen, a long researcher on the Christian Right and it's anti-gay agenda, has a column (http://www.waynebesen.com/2008/01/is-mike-huckabee-closeted-stoner.html) that looks at some of the far, far right Christian Reconstructionists with whom Mike Huckabee has ties. In addition to Wayne's column, good information on the Recostructionists can be found at Theocracy Watch (http://www.theocracywatch.org/). These people , in effect, want the Christian equivalent to the Taliban to rule in the USA and other countries. Here are some highlights from Wayne's column:

It is scary to imagine, but the jovial Huckabee is linked to leaders of the Reconstructionist movement, which is so far to the right it makes Pat Robertson look like Ted Kennedy. The late RJ Rushdoony, a prolific writer that sought to replace the Constitution with the Old Testament, founded this school of religious thought. In essence, they want a Christian version of Iranian or Saudi Arabian sharia law in the United States. The Bible would govern every action, whether religious, personal or civil.

These fanatics believe that in order for Jesus to return, we have to create their view of the Kingdom of God on earth. I know this may be surprising, but their plan doesn't include gay people and Hillary Clinton would be in the kitchen fixing trail mix instead of mixing it up on the campaign trail.

America has a right to know why he has cavorted with several extremists and why he scrubbed the record of his preaching days."On the campaign trail, it is the Lost Decade of his life. No one can find, or get access to, texts or video of his sermons," writes Howard Fineman in Newsweek Magazine. It seems that Huckabee has shed his prayer papers faster than he shed those much-ballyhooed pounds that first put him on the national radar. What is he hiding? Many of us fear the happy-go-lucky preacher is whitewashing a controversial past that includes views that would disqualify him in the minds of many people for higher office.

It is critically important that the media ask Huckabee tough questions because he has based his entire campaign on being a "Christian Leader." He whizzed to victory in Iowa by galvanizing social conservatives on the phony issue of Christmas being under attack. If we end up with a religious zealot as President and the cabinet stacked with kooks, the media can't say they did not have ample warning.

Iraq Prisoner Amnesty To Exclude Gays

Wow, it sure is nice to know that Iraq's puppet government equates gays with terrorists - I guess they must have read the Pope's New Year's release that says gays are an obstacle to world peace. As I have said many times before, where are the international bodies decrying what is being done to gays in the Muslim world? For that matter, where is the USA on this issue since the Iraqi government is being kept in power by the US military presence? Here are some highlights from 365gay.com's coverage (http://www.365gay.com/Newscon08/01/010208iraq.htm):

(Baghdad) The Iraq government is considering the release of some 5,000 prisoners but a spokesperson said it would not include terrorists or homosexuals. The Iraqi government has about 20,000 people in custody, while the U.S. military holds about 25,000. Homosexuality itself is not illegal in Iraq, but police regularly arrest gays on other charges often trumped up. The amnesty bill drafted by the Shiite-dominated government falls far short of Sunni demands. About the only thing on which the two sides agree is that imprisoned gays not be freed.

The total number of gays being held is not known. And, they may be the lucky ones, according to some LGBT activists. Death squads imposing strict Islamic law are reportedly responsible for the murders of hundreds of gay men across Iraq.

Last year the leader of an exiled Iraqi LGBT rights group told a London conference on homophobia that that militias blamed for the murders of hundreds of gay men and women are sanctioned by the government and the US-led coalition is doing little to stop the killings. (story) Ali Hili said that the Badr and Sadr militias - the armed wings of the two main Shia parties that control the government of Iraq - are routinely rounding up men and women, primarily in Baghdad, suspected of being gay. The men and women are never heard from again.

In 2006 the Iraq government strongly criticized a U.N. report on human rights that put its civilian death toll in 2006 at 34,452, saying it is "superficial" because it included people such as homosexuals.

Mike Huckabee Scares Me

The Concord New Hampshire Monitor has a long article that reviews Mike Huckabee's history on gay related issues (http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071224/FRONTPAGE/712240303). While not a demagogue like Jerry Falwell, this guy is NO friend to the LGBT community and as I stated at Christmas dinner to my family, if he somehow were to get elected president, I am leaving the USA. On civil rights for gays - and I suspect everyone else - his mindset is that the majority gets to set the rules. The Hell with minorities. The man truly needs to read some history, starting with Jefferson's statute for religious freedom. Here are a few highlights (The added emphasis is mine. I recommend a read of the entire article):

In 2004, when a conservative group successfully lobbied to get a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the ballot, Huckabee took a similar approach. The Arkansas Marriage Amendment Committee announced its intentions at a news conference in the governor's reception room at the capitol. Huckabee, however, wasn't there. He was on a nine-day economic development trip to Asia. Huckabee lent his support to the group and its cause through a spokesman, press accounts said.

"This isn't a ban on 'gay marriage' since, for those of us who believe in the biblical and historical definition, there's no such thing as 'gay marriage,' " said Huckabee, a former Baptist minister. "We can disagree yet respect a homosexual relationship between two consenting adults. But when government is asked to approve the relationship, the people have a right to maintain the traditional definition of marriage." Barth said Huckabee let other Republicans lead on gay-rights issues. The amendment passed with 75 percent of the vote.

[I]n 1998, Huckabee co-wrote a book called Kids Who Kill: Confronting Our Culture of Violence. It was published three months after the fatal school shooting in Jonesboro, Ark. In it, he said the shootings were the result of a decaying society beset by "abortion, environmentalism, AIDS, pornography, drug use and homosexual activism." He also lumped homosexuality with pedophilia, sadomasochism and necrophilia as "publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations."

Australian Prime Minister One Week from Oblivion

If this story proves true, some of my Australian blogger friends will be celebrating, particularly Magic Bellybutton who holds John Howard in at least as low of regard as I do the Chimperator. From following some of the Australian newspapers, etc., Howard has appeared to have tried to impose a regime agenda very much parallel to that of the Chimperator. Like Bush, he seems to be no friend of the LGBT community in Australia. Thus, I hope he goes down to defeat - the Aussies deserve someone more progressive. Here are some highlights from the Sydney Morning Herald (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/one-week-left-to-save-pms-political-skin/2007/11/15/1194766869599.html):

JOHN HOWARD has a week to engineer a dramatic shift in voter sentiment or suffer defeat at the ballot box, the latest Herald/Nielsen poll shows. It confirms the Coalition has made gains since the campaign began five weeks ago, but not enough to win the election if it were held now. Conducted from Monday night to Wednesday, the poll shows the Coalition campaign launch failed to deliver a significant boost and Labor still holds an election-winning, two-party preferred lead of 54 per cent to 46 per cent. It leads on the primary vote by 47 per cent to 43 per cent, a slight improvement for the Coalition since the last poll a fortnight ago.

As if this was not bad enough for the Howard Government, a week from polling day a report arrived from a global committee of scientific experts on global warming. The findings of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change do little to take any pressure off Howard. On the contrary, the panel's summary assessment only adds urgency to the global negotiation to set up a new action plan.

"If there's no action before 2012, that's too late," said the panel's chairman, Rajendra Pachauri. It just so happens that Howard has proposed that carbon trading, the mechanism for tackling emissions in Australia, should begin in 2012. Howard's allies in the Bush Administration tried to remove some of the more alarming elements of the report in negotiations with the panel, but failed. "We have to make sure that scientific truth is not suppressed," Pachauri said.

Attacks on Independent Courts Are Attacks on America

Kevin Cathcart, Lambda Legal Executive Director, has a good op-ed on 365gay.com (http://365gay.com/opinion/oped/oped.htm), that looks at the attempts by the Christianists to undermine an independent judiciary. Contrary to what the Christianists contend, the Courts should be the last defense of minorities from the tyranny of the major and the last protectors of equal rights of all individuals. That is certainly the concept that the Founding Fathers had in mind. Disingenuous politicians would totally reverse this equation and support unfettered majority rule, thereby making equal rights available to some, but not all citizens. To be candid, these people disgust me, especially since most of them cynically whine about an "out of control judiciary" when they know damn well that they are lying to pander to bigots. Here's a portion of Carthcart's column:

We knew it wouldn't take long before the Iowa judge who struck down the state's ban on marriage for same-sex couples was pegged an "activist judge" by the usual suspects. They say they are defending "traditional" marriage and our democracy itself. But their attacks on the judicial system are about as un-democratic as you can get. What is going on here? It's old-fashioned antigay sentiment wrapped up in attacks on America's independent courts. The problem is these tactics are as dangerous as the homophobia that inspires them.

When politicians attack judges who are simply doing their job enforcing the Constitution, it is a strike against our government itself. The founders of this country recognized the danger of placing too much power in any one part of the government. To avoid this, they separated authority into three branches, the legislative, executive and judicial. The branches exercise "checks and balances" over one another, to ensure that the law of the land is upheld and that the core principles of liberty and equality are available to everyone.

Within this system, the courts have always been the appropriate place for people to seek help when their constitutional rights have been denied. America's founders agreed that there were certain rights so fundamental that they cannot be taken away, regardless of majority sentiment. Whether the issues invoked are considered controversial or not, even the fervor of 99 percent of the public does not entitle people in power to deprive those in the 1 percent minority of their fundamental constitutional rights.

The Constitution protects us all against the ardor of those who believe passionately in the rightness of their cause. Regardless of the strength of their belief or how many may join them, they are not entitled to impose their will on others. Nor can they attack a court that rules in favor of fairness with desperate cries of "activist judge."Politicians' strong words against the courts may win them support from some people at the polls, but this comes at great risk to the system of government upon which this country was founded. That means anyone who attacks independent courts is, in essence, attacking America. We need to stand up and denounce these attacks in Iowa and anywhere else they occur. Our courts, our Constitution and our country depend on it.

The Most Feared Man on the Hill?

This is a good interview in today's Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/03/AR2007090301396.html) with my friend Mike Rogers at BlogActive.com and PageOneQ.com. I believe that Mike is doing a great service in exposing closeted anti-gay politicians and their staffers. In my view these people are akin to Jews working for the Nazis or segregationists having affairs with blacks. They are hypocrites and they need to be exposed for their self-serving demonetization of gays. Hopefully, in time they will learn that gay bashing is counterproductive for self preservation, if nothing else:

Soon, a new name will pop up on Mike Rogers's hit list. Larry Craig wasn't "the first on my list," the gay blogger says. And the Idaho senator, who announced his resignation Saturday, "won't be the last."

For three years now, he's been a feared one-man machine, "outing," he says, nearly three dozen senior political and congressional staffers, White House aides and, most damagingly, Congress members on his blog. On Capitol Hill, a typical phone call from Rogers -- "Are you gay?" he'd ask -- is "a call from Satan himself," says a former high-ranking congressional staffer whose name is on the list.

In Rogers's mind, if you're against gay rights in your public life and you live a secret homosexual life, all bets are off.

In 2004, one of the first public officials he targeted was then-Virginia congressman Ed Schrock because of his voting record on such issues as gays in the military, same-sex marriage and gay adoption. In 2000, for instance, Schrock told the Virginian-Pilot: "You're in the showers with them, you're in the bunk room with them, you're in staterooms with them." Schrock decided not to run for reelection because of the rumors.

In the coming months, he plans to post the names of "a few more" closeted Congress members on his blog, he says, all of them Republicans. There are 33 names on his published list, most of them men, 30 from the GOP. That fact reveals more about the Republicans, he says, than about him. Although a registered Democrat, he says he is bipartisan.

"I write about closeted people whose records are anti-gay," he says. "If you're a closeted Democrat or Republican and you don't bash gays or vote against gay rights to gain political points, I won't out you."