DISGUSTING

Sen. Larry Craig’s arrest for soliciting gay sex in an airport men’s room is still in the news, and the word that keeps coming up is “disgusting”. Republicans are literally tripping all over one another in the rush to get their statements on the air and on the record that Craig’s behavior was disgusting. Several have called for his immediate resignation. Even former Congressman Tom DeLay, currently under indictment for money laundering and conspiracy to violate election laws, said he hoped Craig would do the “right” thing. Too bad Mr. DeLay couldn’t.

You know what I think is disgusting - a tight-ass society marching in lock-step to a single tune, rejecting any melody it didn’t write and doesn’t recognize; a vicious society, so insecure in the values it espouses that it must condemn all others. These aren’t the actions of a democratic society but of a schoolyard bully, someone who may call you four-eyes one day and faggot the next, anything to make you smaller and him bigger.

What’s disgusting is a closed society, so thick with fear that a man seeking affection must risk everything by going to a public bathroom to get it. This is the same society that allows its leaders to spy on people and torture people, and feel righteous about it.

And what’s really disgusting is a political party, supposedly built on the bedrock of American values, whose first reaction to a drowning friend is to turn its backs and publicly condemn him, not just ignoring his cries for help but actually pushing him under. These are politicians for whom compassion is never a choice, for whom re-election will always trump friendship and loyalty.

To quote Sen. Craig, “I am not gay and I have never been gay,” but I have marched from time to time to a different drummer. And I have been a coward, allowing political bullies to steal my freedom while I sat in comfort and watched it on television. I have allowed them to persecute gays, liberals, immigrants, and minorities, while I hid in the shadows, grateful that Jews were not in season. I have been a coward, and I am ashamed. Now that’s disgusting!

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CANCELLED FLIGHTS

Just when you thought air travel couldn’t possibly get any worse - any more crowded, more inconvenient, more humiliating, or less pleasant - Senator Larry Craig is arrested for soliciting gay sex in the men’s room at the Minneapolis airport. What the hell is that about?

This isn’t just any senator, mind you. The Idaho conservative and long-time public servant (maybe that’s why the public rest room) is the Senate’s scourge of everything gay in America, the champion of family values and, can you stand it, the Senate liaison for the Mitt Romney presidential campaign. Well, he was on the bus until today, though now he can probably be found under the bus, which is where Mr. Romney threw him.

Tell you the truth, I saw the police report – God, is there no privacy left – and I thought the evidence was kind of thin. Craig was accused of using some sort of “gay code” foot taps to signal the man in the next stall, an undercover cop as it turns out, that he was interested in sex. No words were exchanged. I don’t know; I tap my foot in the john sometimes. It’s a nervous habit. Doesn’t seem very conclusive to me.

In his own defense, Senator Craig began his public remarks in Idaho by saying, “I thank you all for coming out today.” As Keith Olbereman noted, he might have found a better choice of phrases. Unfortunately, Craig did plead guilty to a reduced charge at the time, a plea he now regrets.

Honestly, I feel sorry for Senator Craig. Imagine this poor shlub, terrified of being gay, terrified of being caught, but so desperate for male affection that he seeks it out in public rest rooms. That will make ou old. I hope he finds peace somewhere.

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GOING, GOING, GON-ZALES!

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has finally given up the ghost. Announcing his resignation in a speech at the Justice Department this morning that lasted less than three minutes, he thanked his wife and President Bush, made not reference to his legal battles of the last eight months, took no questions from shouting reporters, turned on his heels and fled.

Like the Geneva Convention, the notion of justice is quaint. I doubt that the American people will get any concerning Alberto Gonzales. Perhaps we should just breathe a sigh of relief that he's gone.

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NEWT'S CHALLENGE

Don’t ever sell Newt Gingrich short. The former speaker of the House who fell from grace under the weight of dozens of ethics charges (see Wikipedia for gruesome details) only to return a decade later as a respected elder statesman and favorite talk-show guest, has issued a challenge to the winners of the Democratic and Republican primaries to participate in “Nine Nineties in Nine,” a catchy title for nine televised debates in nine weeks, each one being ninety minutes long. Love ‘em or hate ‘em, conservatives have a natural gift when it comes to titles.

The prospsal is not without merit. Using a minimum of ground rules, each debate would begin with a specific subject but wouldn’t be restricted to it. Candidates might be forced to abandon preconceived talking points in favor of in-depth conversations, revealing their vision for the future, or lack of it.

For all its value, however, Newt’s challenge may be a little less patriotic and a little more self-serving that it appears at first blush. As a potential candidate himself, it’s worth remembering that the Newtster holds both a masters and a PhD in modern European history. Well educated and well spoken, this debate format would suit the former teacher to a tee.

As Donald Trump said, “Everyone deserves a second chance.” Personally, I think Mr. Gingrich has gotten all the chances he deserves, but I wouldn’t mind seeing these debates.

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A BETTER ANALOGY

In a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars Convention the other day, President Bush put another nail in the coffin of his pro-war argument. Seeking favor with Viet Nam vets at the convention, Bush compared the war in Iraq to the war in Viet Nam. Wrong.

Mr. Bush, who claims to believe in victory at any cost, would do well to remember that he was personally unwilling to pay any cost at all during the Viet Nam war. He hid out in an Air National Guard unit reserved for pro athletes and the sons of government VIPs. Apparently, the cost is intended to be paid by others.

He also said that failure in Iraq would surely produce the same disastrous results as failure in Viet Nam. I’m not exactly sure what that means, unless the president fears a sudden invasion of tens of thousands of Iraqi manicurists. We left Viet Nam and the world did not fall apart as predicted. I think the president should poke around for a better analogy.

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TOY BOAT

It would appear that the rubber chicken has come home to roost. Matel chose to increase its profits by moving production overseas. Their CEO used the TODAY Show to try and convince viewers that strong safeguards were now in place, but the second massive recall in less than a month may spell b-a-n-k-r-u-p-t-c-y for the toy giant.

There is an old saying in business, as true now as ever: You get what you pay for. Thousands of American companies have tried to side-step this old adage by outsourcing labor, only to discover that cheap labor produces cheap (and unsafe) products. When it’s made in Hong Kong instead of Kansas, it’s hard to control production quality.

This might be a good time to take a deep breath and rethink our national business plan. Maybe greed isn’t quite as good as we thought. Perhaps integrity and unselfish compssion will produce larger profit margin . It’s worth a try.


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NOTES FROM THE 2ND TIER

Who knew there was a gay TV channel? Golf, I know about. Even Home and Garden. But gay? LOGO hosted a presidential forum yesterday; six Democrats appeared; not surprisingly, all the Republicans declined. Four of the six Democrats would have been better off following the Republican example, ‘cause they had nothing to bring to the table other than a little political suave.

Richardson, Obama, Edwards, and Clinton all said pretty much the same thing: Some of my best friends are gay. They gushed about civil rights and civil unions, but stopped short of gay marriage, which is, after all, what the forum was about. Not being psychic, I wouldn’t presume to know why they stopped short – but I can guess. Richardson and Edwards seemed to have religious problems with the notion of same-sex marriages; lame, but probably sincere. Obama and Clinton would probably embrace the idea, but for the millions of votes it might cost them. Can you be more disingenuous than that?

Hillary took the biggest hit. Singer Melissa Ethridge talked about the excitement of “coming out” during Bill Clinton’s inaugural week. Everyone in the gay community was so hopeful, she said, because of promises made during the campaign, only to be bitterly disappointed when those promises went unkept. If Hillary were elected, she asked, how long would it take her to made good on those promises? Hillary shucked and jived and finessed, but really had nothing to say.

Enter Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel. The Ohio Congressman and the former Alaska Senator let everyone know exactly where they stood. No hemming and hawing – just a simple yes vote. Kucinich said it all when he noted that gay marriage wasn’t really the issue at all; the issue was equal rights, and if everyone didn’t have ‘em they weren’t equal.

At first blush, both of these “2nd tier” presidential candidates seem to be extremist in their views, but a closer look reveals that is only in comparison to the cautious behavior of the top contenders. Gravel, who left office a quarter century ago, seems a bit further out on a limb. He is angry that the media has marginalized him and he doesn’t hesitate to say so. In the process, though, it makes him look looney. As interesting as he is, he does seem to be just a hair too old for the job.

Kucinich, on the other hand, is the same age as me and a real firecracker. He’s had a colorful career, including being rated as one of the worst mayors of all time and then being honored twenty years later for having been such a forward thinker. I encourage you to go online and read his profile in Wikipedia. His presidential platform includes such radical ideas as: universal health care; immediate withdrawal from Iraq; withdrawal also from NAFTA and the WTO; and repealing the Patriot Act, among other things. He has also sponsored a bill for the impeachment of both Bush and Cheney.

Obama is infinitely more appealing. Richardson is more qualified. Edwards is sexier by far, and Hillary has all those international connections. But Dennis Kucinich, a 2nd tier candidate, is a straight talker who deserves first rate consideration.

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