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Santorum Staffer Outing Controversy

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All I have to comment on this latest “outing” is: What exactly is all this accomplishing? A lot of wasted energy with absolutely no positive outcomes for gay rights.
Gay-rights opponent Santorum stands by outed aide – Knight Ridder
Santorum’s own words say volumes about who is really hurting individual gay Americans….methodically…..one by one:

“Robert Traynham … is widely respected and admired on Capitol Hill, both among the press corps and among the congressional staff, as a communications professional. Not only is Mr. Traynham an exemplary staffer, but he is also a trusted friend confidente to me and my family. Mr. Traynham is a valued member of my staff and I regret that this effort on behalf of people who oppose me has made him a target of bigotry in their eyes.
“It is entirely unacceptable that my staffs’ personal lives are considered fair game by partisans looking for arguments to bolster my opponent’s campaign. Mr. Traynham continues to have my full support and confidence as well as my prayers as he navigates this rude and mean spirited invasion of his personal life.”

I thought it might be interesting to check out what Keith Boykin, prominent African-American gay liberal activist, had to say about this issue. So I drifted over there…..
Black and Gay and Defending the GOP? – KeithBoykin.com
I’ll close with these observations from one of Keith’s readers (GP edited for typos *grin*):

“If gay marriage is the litmus test for hate, then 80 percent of black people are hateful, and most of the planet! That would also include my Grandmother!
I wish Robert Traynham much success, in his life. Ignore the naysayers and maybe one day Robert will be a Senator! He already gets my vote! I could have only imagined the first black congressional staffers, after the civil rights movement! They did a lot for black rights just by showing up on time and showing there faces!
Stop, hating, and bitchin and grow up!”


Amen.
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

LA Times leaves out key facts in article on Bush Administration’s efforts to discredit dishonest critic

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The LA Times begins its front-page above-the-fold article on the alleged “outing” of Valerie Plame with this sentence:

Top aides to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were intensely focused on discrediting former Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV in the days after he wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times suggesting the administration manipulated intelligence to justify going to war in Iraq, federal investigators have been told.

Well, duh. Of course they’d try to discredit Mr. Wilson given that he lied in that op-ed article. Just over a year ago, the Washington Post reported that this one-time Kerry campaign aide “was specifically recommended for the mission by his wife, a CIA employee, contrary to what he has said publicly.” (Emphasis added.) Not only that. A bipartisan Senate Intelligence panel

found that Wilson’s report, rather than debunking intelligence about purported uranium sales to Iraq, as he has said, bolstered the case for most intelligence analysts. And contrary to Wilson’s assertions and even the government’s previous statements, the CIA did not tell the White House it had qualms about the reliability of the Africa intelligence that made its way into 16 fateful words in President Bush’s January 2003 State of the Union address.

(Emphasis added.) Unfortunately, the L.A. TImes leaves a few facts out of its article. Its reporters don’t mention the bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report as they suggest that there is a difference of opinion as to who sent Mr. Wilson to Niger:

White House officials contended that he had wrongly indicated that he was sent on his mission by Cheney. In fact, Wilson had said in the article that the trip was inspired by questions raised by Cheney’s office.

Note, how the Times uses the expression “In fact:” to distinguish what White House officials said from what Mr. Wilson said. As if Mr. Wilson is giving the facts and the White House is lying.
In fact, Mr. Wilson did say what the Times says he said. But, as I noted above no less a source than the Washington Post–no ally of the Bush White House–specifically noted that the facts of Wilson’s hiring differed from what he had said publicly.
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Climbing Out from Under…

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Whew….. I want to apologize. I have been very neglect in my blogging duties the past few days. And I think I have a couple of good reasons.
First, vacation is always better in the present tense, rather than the past tense… I’m still digging out of work left for me during the cruise. And I’m mad at myself because PatriotPartner (John) and I took some darn good photos during the trip and I wanted to post them. I still will…..
Second, John and I were in Charlotte, NC this past weekend in preparation for our move to the “Queen City” sometime early in 2006.
Yep, we are fleeing the DC metropolitan region. Two words: gridlock and taxes. Okay….and I can move from an outrageous housing market (20% increase in home prices) to a more reasonable one.
So we are moving deeper into Red State America and frankly I cannot wait to truly escape the “Beltway.” Of course we will become the “instant” NASCAR fans required of any new Charlotte residents.
I’m hoping to get back on track with the blog this week…..
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

USS Iowa Follow-Up — TAKE ACTION

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As a follow-up to our first posting on the ‘unwelcome mat’ to the USS Iowa in San Fran… and second one by Patrick (Gryphmon)…. GP Reader Jon says: “I would like to thank you for all of the attention you are giving the USS Iowa issue. There is one person that can change all of this and I believe there is a possibility it could happen. Mayor Gavin Newsom is the man that can make it happen.”

Mayor Gavin Newsom
City Hall, Room 200
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Telephone: (415) 554-6141
TDD: (415) 252-3107
Fax: (415) 554-6160
Email: gavin.newsom@sfgov.org

Go to it, folks!
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

SF Supervisor replies on opposition to berthing battleship Iowa

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Patrick (Gryphmon) who originally alerted this blog to the City of San Francisco’s vote against berthing the WWII battleship Iowa on the city’s waterfront received a response from a member of the city’s Board of Supervisors who voted with the board’s majority against the Iowa. While Patrick was pleased that Supervisor Beven Dufty responded so quickly, methinks the supervisor is dodging the issue, especially as he suddenly brings up the costs of the endeavor. Check out Patrick’s post on the topic where he includes both the full text of Dufty’s e-mail as well as his own sharply worded reply.

The conservative position on gay marriage

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Since Andrew Sullivan first published his piece, “Here Comes the Groom: A conservative case for gay marriage in The New Republic in August 1989, many people, including a good number of straight conservatives, have come forward to support Andrew’s thesis as articulated in his subtitle–that support for gay marriage is a conservative position. I might agree with his conclusion if those advocating gay marriage moved beyond the rhetoric they are currently using and focus instead on the meaning of marriage, that is, they need to get beyond the demand for equal benefits.
Support for gay marriage would only be conservative if we could be sure that by granting the same benefits to same-sex couples who choose marriage as we do to those who elect traditional marriage that those couples agree to the same responsibilities, including the commitment to monogamy.
In the current debate, few from either side seem to be addressing the real issue in the debate. Advocates of gay marriage feed us nostrums about “equality” and benefits while opponents ominously warn that recognition of same-sex unions will destroy the institution of marriage. Few wish to debate the issue seriously and consider the meaning of the institution. And as I have in the past, I recommend the first chapter, “What is Marriage for,” in the book, Gay Marriage : Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America by Jonathan Rauch, one of the few advocates of gay marriage who has (considered that meaning).
Until advocates of gay marriage (of which I am not (at present) one) follow Jonathan’s lead and talk about the meaning of marriage, they are not making a serious effort to promote the positive social benefits of monogamous relationships to gay people — and to society at large.
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US Military Not Welcome in San Fran

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Thanks to Patrick (Gryphmon) for the heads up on this outrageous example of the LiberalDemocrat ideology run amok.
SF Supervisors Reject WWII Battleship – NBC11.com

In turning away the Iowa, supervisors cited opposition to the war in Iraq, the treatment of gay and lesbians in the service and the city’s reputation for embracing the peace movement.

Fine, let the city suffer in its own liberal martyrdom. Patrick says…. Boycott San Francisco!!
Boycott San Fran — The Iowa – Gryphmon.com

Look, the military and I have obvious deep disagreements. But the fact is that it’s not the pacifists, or even the gay activists, who have provided freedom for Americans, and yes, even Gay Americans. It was those that were willing to die to protect it. The means they get my respect. (Of course, I still reserve the right to bitch). Hell, I might even have had relatives serve on the Iowa, like my great Uncle Cliffy, a Marine in WWII.
So this incident, a part of Navy history, and a part of our gay history, is not welcome in San Francisco. Besides the slap at the military, its a slap at the gay community as well. If we don’t make sure that our own history is remembered, both the good and the bad, its going to disappear.

For once, Patrick and I agree wholeheartedly. This is a cheap publicity stunt by ignorant liberal supervisors who have no clue about the world outside the Bay. I would be more than happy to spend my hard-earned money in a city like San Diego which celebrates our military men and women, not insults them.
Boycott San Francisco!
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Sajak: Democrats Hit ‘Bankrupt’ Spot on Wheel

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Whoa baby… check out this smoking piece by none other than Pat Sajak! I’ve known he was a conservative for quite sometime. His name adorns the wall of big time donors at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. But it looks like he is becoming more vocal.
The Unhinged Minority – PatSajak.com

And so they go on and on about a majority party which has the temerity to govern according to the precepts which made it a majority party in the first place. They rant about the lack of bipartisanship as if they had cornered the market on olive branches, while spouting some of the most partisan bile heard in Washington in decades. And, as they become more wild-eyed and maniacal, they turn off more and more voters who can only figure out what they?re against (anything President Bush is for) while wondering what they?re in favor of (other than returning them to power). The Democrats are simply not a viable alternative for most ?centrists?.

If only more Hollywood conservatives would have the courage of Pat, maybe we wouldn’t have Oliver Stone making ‘the definitive’ movie about 9/11, or having Hollywood casting Islamists as ‘heros’ in the terrorism flicks.
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Acceptance Cannot Be Legislated

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Sadly, Dale Carpenter is right on the mark here with his column, Heart of Darkness. (Please read the whole thing!)

At the zoo, walking down the street, and in the mall, we held hands at several points (always at my date’s initiative). Each time we got nasty looks. We would pass someone, then I’d turn my head and see that they were looking back at us and whispering to each other. A few parents turned their children away from us, as if we were contagious, harmful on sight.
Sad as I was about that, I was mostly stunned. Though I knew things weren’t perfect here, I had not experienced anything like it in the five years I’d lived in Minneapolis. Had all this really happened in my cocoon of tolerance and acceptance, my liberal bastion? Had it been a fluke, an unlucky weekend of chance encounters with the only ignoramuses around?
The truth is, there’s a deep aversion to gay people that will not be eliminated by enlightened laws. It’s a gut-level disgust that defies rationalization, that resists education, that fears without thinking. The laws that rule our lives are not written on statute books; they are written on hearts. And the heart of this country, in the heart of this country, is still darker than many of us had hoped it would be by now.

While this is an unfortunate reality, it also shows how flawed the court-forced gay marriage strategy has been… and why it backfired at the polls when America’s voters have their say.
Until the Human Rights Campaign, Log Cabin Republicans and National Gay and Lesbian Task Force wake up to this reality, and get out of their inside-the-urban-beltway mentality… their flawed strategy of forced acceptance will continue to fail.
It is hearts we need to change first, not laws. Otherwise all that will result is resentment.
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Terrorists In Their Midst

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Britons in the city of Leeds, north of London, are simply shocked that the terror bombers lived all around them.
Police Raids Shock Neighbors of Alleged Bombers – Washington Post

One friend of Tanweer, Azi Mohammed, told the Guardian newspaper that the two had played cricket only 10 days ago. “The idea that he was involved in terrorism or extremism is ridiculous,” Mohammed told the Guardian. “The idea that he went down to London and exploded a bomb is unbelievable.”

This reminds me of some of the comments of Americans after the 9/11 attacks. They had interacted with the 19 terrorists and had no clue they were in our midst. And then we heard reports that Mohammed Atta and his crew were even heavy drinkers and gamblers during their stay in the Land of the Infidels. (Great Muslims, eh?)
Perhaps the Brits who played soccer with the terrorists forget that they were trained to act “normal” and blend in. That is the idea.
But sure, let’s keep stopping babies and little old ladies at airports instead of focusing on real profiling of a group of people who have consistently committed crimes in the War on Terror.
You decide which makes more sense: They are integrated among us to take lives. We need realistic profiling of them to save lives.
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

President Seeks Democratic Senators’ Advice on Supreme Court vacancy

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In a pretty silly column in the New York Daily News, New York’s other Senator, Charles Schumer, suggests that President Bush convene a summit with senators from both parties where participants “would roll up their sleeves, loosen their ties and have a serious discussion about potential nominees” for the Supreme Court. (Hat tip: Powerline.) Schumer notes that when he was president, Bill Clinton “consulted regularly with Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), the lead Republican on the Judiciary Committee at the time.” And he suggests that the current president “consult meaningfully with senators of both parties to arrive at a consensus nominee, not only because the Constitution contemplates it.”
I’m not sure where Mr. Schumer gets this notion that the Constitution “contemplates” a “consensus nominee.” To be sure, the federal constitution stipulates that when the president appoints “Judges of the Supreme Court” he shall do so with “with the Advice and Consent of the Senate.” And as this morning’s Los Angeles Times reports, he is indeed seeking the advice of the Senate, even that of the Senate’s minority party, Mr. Schumer’s party. The president and his chief counsel, Harriet Miers, have talked with a number of Senators. President Bush himself has a breakfast meeting yesterday “four Senate leaders: Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and the committee’s senior Democrat, Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.).”
Democrats and their allies in the MSM have worked themselves into a lather about the vacancy on the Supreme Court, demanding that the president pick a consensus nominee. Or, by suggesting (without any evidence from the authors of the Constitution or its advocates at the time of ratification) that our founding charter “contemplates” a process whereby the president can’t pick someone the minority party doesn’t like. Well, I will only take those Democrats (and their allies) seriously who can point to statements they made to the same effect the last two times we had vacancies on the U.S. Supreme Court, back when we had a Democratic president (Bill Clinton) and a Democratic Senate (in 1993 and 1994).
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Is Hollywood Being Punished for “Blue” Bias?

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PatriotPartner came upon this very interesting column in yesterday’s LA Times.
Box Office Blues Stem from Blue-State Bigotry – LA Times
First off, I have to note with amusement that the LA Times headline writer screwed up the Red versus Blue pairing up. Even though I grew up in a sea of blue (the 1984 Reagan landslide map), since Clinton the MSM has “assigned” ‘Red’ to Republicans. Is the LA Times reversing the trend??

Hollywood’s box office has hit the skids, and the entertainment media are in overdrive trying to explain why. The most obvious explanation for box office malaise is consistently overlooked: Hollywood’s ruling liberal elites keep going out of their way to offend half their audience.
Constant gibes about Republicans, Christians, conservatives and the military litter today’s movies and award show presentations like so many pieces of trash on theater floors.
Did we need to hear from “War of the Worlds” screenwriter David Koepp that the aliens in his movie are stand-ins for the U.S military ? and the innocent Americans they attack are stand-ins for Iraqi civilians? Or that Americans are guilty of post-9/11 anti-Muslim “paranoia”? (A question to Koepp: Were we “paranoid” after Pearl Harbor too?)

Interestingly, in my review of War of the Worlds (link here), after viewing the movie I couldn’t help come to the conclusion that the aliens were in fact representing hidden terror cells in the USA.
Many pundits also felt the “anti-Bush” bias noted in the pre-Star Wars, Episode III hype was not borne out after viewing that film either.
But I think this column has a point… Hollywood has long been out of touch with conservatives.
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Bloggers Want Media Exemption from FCC

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As someone who has spent a small fortune on legal expenses related to blogging, I’ll be following this story closely.
FCC Hears Bloggers’ Bid to Share Media Exemption – WashPost (subscription required)

A growing number of the online pundits of various political persuasions are urging the Federal Election Commission to explicitly grant them the same wholesale exemptions from regulations governing contributions to political candidates that mainstream reporters, editorial writers and pundits get.
Mike Krempasky, who runs a Republican blog called RedState.org, said at the hearing, “What goal would be served by protecting Rush Limbaugh’s multimillion-dollar talk radio program — but not a self-published blogger with a fraction of the audience?”

-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Hatemail Alert!

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I spit out my coffee this morning after reading this piece of email. Then, I quickly ran upstairs to pack my bags for the inevitable (and much predicted) trip to Montana to the “gay concentration camps.”

Subject: (no subject)
Date: 7/6/2005 11:54:32 PM
From: [XXXX]@verizon.net
To: gaypatriot2004@aol.com
Boy oh boy. I just came from the Jews for the holocaust website,but this one takes the cake.

If you are going to be a critic… at least come up with something ORIGINAL! Ignorant re-spouting of hateful talking points is just boring…. especially from the “tolerant” gay leftist community. Creativity, people! Please!
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Oregon Senate Passes Civil Union Legislation

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From Log Cabin Republicans’ Press Release (not yet up on their website):

(Washington, DC) ? “Log Cabin Republicans applaud the bi-partisan passage of civil unions and non-discrimination legislation in the Oregon Senate. Log Cabin calls on the Oregon House Majority Leader, Karen Minnis, to bring this bill to the floor, and for the House to follow the Senate?s lead and pass this important legislation that provides basic fairness for all families,” said Log Cabin Republicans President Patrick Guerriero.
The legislation, SB 1000, would provide basic fairness to all Oregon families by establishing civil unions for gay and lesbian couples and prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in housing, employment, public accommodation, and public services. The legislation was co-sponsored by Republican State Senators Frank Morse and Ben Westlund. Senator Morse (R-Corvallis) asked the Senate to refuse ?”ntolerance and hatred” and to “cast a vote for acceptance.” Senator Morse noted that his Christian belief in equality and his experience knowing gays and lesbians guided him to co-sponsor the legislation.
Civil unions would provide hundreds of important protections and responsibilities for gay and lesbian families in Oregon. “All families deserve basic fairness, including gay and lesbian families. Opinion surveys repeatedly show that the vast majority of Oregon voters favor civil unions for same-sex couples. Support for civil unions is so broad that even a majority of voters who supported Measure 36 say they support civil unions that provide all of the rights, responsibilities, and protections of marriage,” continued Guerriero.
“Log Cabin proudly joins with Basic Rights Oregon and other organizations in supporting this important piece of legislation. We will continue working for final passage in the Oregon House,” concluded Guerriero.

-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Give Something Back to US Troops — AirMiles

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Just found out about this from PatriotPartner. A very nice gesture from American Airlines.

American Airlines is celebrating our nation’s Independence Day by teaming with its AAdvantage members to help members of the U.S. armed forces who have been injured or wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. American will guarantee donation of at least 17,760,000 AAdvantage? miles to Operation Hero Miles, which supports hospitalized service members and their loved ones who have sacrificed to ensure United States freedom and independence. American will match its AAdvantage member donations mile-for-mile until the goal is reached. The donation campaign will continue throughout the summer, concluding on Labor Day, September 5, 2005.

Link is HERE.
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

Why so much abortion stuff on HRC’s Supreme Court webpage?

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Seems like HRC President Joe Solmonese‘s background as chief executive officer of the pro-abortion group Emily List is influencing HRC’s attitude toward the Supreme Court. Eva Young e-mailed me to note that “there is too much abortion stuff” on HRC’s Supreme Court website. And she’s right.
Why is a gay group so concerned about the stances on abortion of three of the four judges listed in their “snapshot” portraits of the president’s potential nominees (as identified by “Court watchers“)? Not only that. HRC has listed a number of groups with which it is working on judicial nominations through something called “he Coalition for a Fair and Independent Judiciary.” It seems more a selection of liberal interest groups than anything else, including such well known leftist outfits as People for the American Way, Alliance for Justice and Earth Justice.
It seems that despite some positive changes at HRC in recent months, it remains committed to a liberal agenda — rather than limiting itself to gay and lesbian issues. HRC is thus not living up to its own Mission Statement defining it as a “bipartisan organization.”

NBC News Thanks Secular God for Hurricane Dennis

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(**Satirical Posting**…. aboard the Disney Magic….headed for Los Angeles)
Heard this morning at the morning meeting of NBC Nightly News editorial staff:
Brian Williams, managing editor (to staff): Let’s all bow our heads and say a little prayer to our Secular God who has blessed us today. Had Hurricane Dennis not gone to a Category Four storm…. this would have been a terrible news day for us.
First, we would have had to report about the amazing American economic turnaround taking place under President Bush (Unemployment drops to 5%….lowest since 9/11)
And second, we would have had to devote even more resources today to talk about the attacks on London and Western Civilization by Islamists who we all believe are Freedom Fighters, after all. But when we report on them, sympathy for the War On Terror grows. So we have to be balanced!
So thanks to our Secular God, Edward R. Murrow, for blessing us with a Hurricane today so we can continue our fine tradition of averting the eyes of the public away from stories we don’t want them to know more about. This may also give us a chance to talk about Global Warming….the biggest threat to mankind since the Republican takeover of Congress in 1994.
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com

24 Hours Later For A Londoner

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(POSTED ABOARD THE DISNEY MAGIC OFF THE COAST OF MEXICO)
As we prepared to leave on a land excursion from the Disney Magic yesterday (Wednesday), the organizer of our event was a young British crew member. He was stuttering and messing up the instructions because he was SO excited that his hometown of London had just been awarded the 2012 Olympics. I’d say he is around 20 years old, has a very young face, and was just so ecstatic over the news that it very enjoyable to watch his glee.
And then came the attacks on London today.
This afternoon we saw him for the first time. He stood at the end of the pool and dove feet first straight in, sunglasses still on his head. The joy was no longer on his face.
I extend my sincere sympathies to our civilian brethren in the United Kingdom, Spain, Bali, Australia, Afghanistan, Iraq….all of whom have been touched by the evil hand of Al-Qaeda.
Freedom and liberty will prevail. But we need to have the perserverance of Winston Churchill to make sure we are on the right side of victory.
For those who live in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, I would encourage you to visit the British Embassy and sign the condolence book and leave red, white and blue flowers. (We did that at the Spanish Embassy after the Madrid bombings last year).
Those of you outside of DC, please visit your local British consulate to pay your respects. Here is a link showing where the consulates are across the USA.
Today is a day of mourning. Tomorrow, World War Three continues whether some care to realize it or not….
-Bruce (GayPatriot) – gaypatriot2004@aol.com
UPDATE (from GPW): For a great roundup of Bear Flag League postings on the London bombings, click here.