I'm Back!

I'm back from my very brief "vacation" in Arkansas. I nearly froze to death trying to camp near Blanchard Springs in the Ozark National Forest, then it rained for two days, so I gave up and went to my mothers house for a few days. Now I"m back in Memphis and trying to play catch up with all the political news and events of the past week.. where to begin? Well, as I predicted, the Religious Right is calling for a purge of gay Republicans following the Foley Page Scandal, and of course the religious right wing nuts believe the blame for the scandal and cover up should go to the "secret Capitol Hill Homosexual Network" who have infiltrated Gods Party. Read the excellent article by Max Blumenthal in The Nation, The Coming Gay Republican Purge. Frank Rich wrote a similar column in the New York Times on Oct. 15 ("The Grand Old Party Comes Out"), which I cannot find a working link to now, in which he lays out the growing list of religious right leaders blaming the gay republicans, and how some of those gay Republicans have been working on behalf of the Religious Right and their candidates (e.g., Kirk Fordham)! The religious nuts have finally figured out that the Republicans have been using them and never really believed in their religious crusade after all. David Kuo, a former deputy director of the White House office on faith-based initiatives, has written a tell-all book (Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction") describing how Republicans in the Bush Administration mocked conservative Christian evangelicals. I'm sure this will not keep the GOP from continuing to attack gays and lesbians and push anti-gay marriage amendments to continue their courtship with the Christo-fascists who have taken over the GOP across the south and elsewhere. Hopefully, if some recent reports are correct, the anti-gay marriage amendments seem to be losing steam and support in a few states Gay Marriage Losing Punch as Ballot Issue . On some sad news, the first out gay Congressman, Gerry Studds, has died. Studds was outed by an affair he had with a congressional Page back in the 80s, but it should be remembered that the Democratic Party did not cover that incident up, and the page was of legal age of consent in D.C. and continued to support Studds. Studds and his partner recently married when it became legal in Massachusetts, but his partner/spouse will not be allowed to receive any of his congressional pension, since Congress and the federal government do not recognize same-sex marriages (thanks to the "Defense of Marriage Act").
Next: Let's look at the latest news from the campaigns of Harold and Jake Ford, it ain't good...