Smear Campaign

I'm sure everyone has heard about Jeanine Pirro's FBI investigation by now but it merits one more comment. I'm outraged that this has happened to Ms. Pirro and sees it for what it is - a smear campaign. Jeanine Pirro, candidate for attorney general, shouldn't have to explain herself to anyone about staying with her husband Al Pirro nor should she have to defend her conversation with Bernard Kerik. This is a very unfortunate situation but I believe Ms. Pirro will rise above it and go on to win the race.

Smear Campaign

I'm sure everyone has heard about Jeanine Pirro's FBI investigation by now but it merits one more comment. I'm outraged that this has happened to Ms. Pirro and sees it for what it is - a smear campaign. Jeanine Pirro, candidate for attorney general, shouldn't have to explain herself to anyone about staying with her husband Al Pirro nor should she have to defend her conversation with Bernard Kerik. This is a very unfortunate situation but I believe Ms. Pirro will rise above it and go on to win the race.

When I'm asked why I became a Republican I sometimes tell listeners that is was because of this book and its influence on me. Who is John Galt?

It seems that Senator George Allen continues to get himself into trouble. What is really ironic about all of this are the people, some of whom I have a lot of respect for, who are saying that this is a witch hunt. The bottom line here is that his recent slur set tongues a wagging. There are just so many times that you can get away with insulting people. I wouldn't be sad if he lost re-election since he is as nasty towards gay people as is shaping up as his nastiness towards blacks.

Food for thought.

Hurricane Katrina Part I

Race is everything to many in our society and as such the devastation that was hurricane Katrina is yet another example of racism in this country. I'm not sure why this sentiment exists but there are a lot of people not only perpetuating it but making money off this horrible situation. The latest person making money from the devastation is our good friend Spike Lee. Lee's show aired on HBO a few weeks ago, I did not watch it, to the acclaim of conspiracy theorists and members of the get whitey brigade. Unfortunately for this crowd the reality is that Katrina wasn't about racism as eloquently written here by John McWhorter. If McWorther were white he would be targeted as a racist but since he's black he will only be targeted as an Uncle Tom. He is spot on in his assessment of the real problems in New Orleans and many other urban areas in America.

The Confession

On August 14, 2004, the governor of New Jersey, Jim McGreevey, stood next to his wife and before reporters and announced that he was a "gay American." McGreevey made this shocking statement because he was threatened with a sexual harrassment lawsuit by his former homeland security aide. At the time many in the gay community labeled McGreevey a hero and showered him with praise for "coming out." To insure his warm welcome by the community he consulted with and had his message crafted by the Human Rights Campaign. He was in like Flynn. This article speaks volumes.

At the time, unlike other gays and lesbians, I wrote a scathing renunciation of McGreevey and his behavior and suggested that his "coming out" was not in the best interest of the community nor was it anything to celebrate. He was not nor is he now my hero. Unethical behavior is unethical behavior. It seems now that McGreevey has become the gay icon of the day as he prepares to promote his memoir, The Confession on Oprah next Monday. He wanted to start with Oprah because of her "sense of faith and spirituality." What a bunch of hogwash. No, Mr. McGreevey you are not going on Oprah because of these wonderful qualities but rather because Oprah sells books. Going on Oprah to promote your book pretty much guarantees a number one slot on best seller lists. So don't give me the crap about faith and spirituality.

Unfortunately I will not watch the interview due to chemotherapy but I don't think my opinion of McGreevey would change much if I did watch the interview. I don't consider McGreevey a gay hero nor do I feel his pain. He lied to the people of New Jersey and to his wife. The people of New Jersey should be reimbursed for their payment of security for McGreevey as he went on his trysts. McGreevey's book shouldn't be called confession it should be called, "How I Lied To The People of New Jersey."

RECALL MAYOR RAY NAGIN!

Read Carefully

I would like to respond to a recent comment from one of my readers. Doctorj2u made the following comment, "I didn't see The View but check out the link below and tell me WHY my home town of New Orleans should not be spoken of." First, let me say thank you to doctorj2u for the comment and I'm not delusional to think that every reader will agree with me but I do expect them to read my posts carefully. In my post I did not state that we should not speak of New Orleans. That would be sheer stupidity on my part. What I said was that we shouldn't make this the focal point of this administration. I also said that this should not be a color issue but that it has become one because of the likes of Rosie O'Donnel and other liberal elites. The fact that this devastation is now seen as a black issue is outrageous and flies in the face of reality as seen here.

Second, the federal government is not a first responder. Third, why isn't governor Kathleen Blanco and mayor Ray Nagin being raked over the coals as is Bush? Why is Nagin not berated for not calling a mandatory evacuation? Why is Nagin not being raked over the coals for leaving hundreds of buses empty when they could have been used to evacuate the mostly black evacuees? Why was Nagin re-elected? We will never get the answers to these questions because "race" is top billing in the wake of this devastation and because Nagin is black and a vicitm as are the evacuees.

Should we talk about New Orleans - most definitely. Should it be the number one issue for this administration - no. Should we hold our leaders responsible for their less than perfect response - yes. Should we make this a black issue - no.

Gay Ally Or Disingenuous Heterosexual?

I find it somewhat disingenuous when folks like Brad Pitt and Charlise Theron say they won't get married until "all people can get married." At first glance it may seem great that we have allies in the fight for equality but in actuality they are simply making an excuse for not being responsible to their partners. One of the many arguments made by same-sex advocates is the need to accept responsibility for their partners and their relationship and that marriage alows them to do just that. To assume that "putting off" getting married is somehow helpful to gays flies is idiotic at best. Second, it makes for big headlines and nothing else. Third, Brad Pitt cheated on his wife to be with Jolie. This is not what I want in an ally. Thanks but no thanks Brad.

Expectations

I have this problem, I have expectations of myself and everyone around me. I expect adults to behave as adults which means that they do not take advantage of nor harm children. I expect adults to know the difference between good and bad, right and wrong. I expect adults to treat children as children and not as peers. I expect children to be seen and not heard but that's another story for another time. I expect adults to be adults. Unfortunately, my expectations are often misguided at best when adults chose to behave in ways that run counter to these expectations. This story is just one example of how naive I think I have become in holding out expectations of good behavior.

We can blame this kind of heinous behavior on what LaFave refers to as "sex sells" or we can blame it on a belief system that has crept into our society that says bad behavior is to be overlooked because of "problems" in life.

And The Numbers Are In

With the exception of Yvette Clark winning by 31% in Brooklyn's 11th district there were few surprises last evening as the primary results rolled in. Spitzer, Clinton, Cuomo and Spencer raced to victory here and here.

I was very disappointed, however, in Ms. Clark's win. It seems to me that Yassky's moving three blocks into the predominantly black district was more of an issue for voters than Ms. Clark "forgetting" that she did not complete a college degree. Race wins again.

Off To The Races

As of 9:00pm tonight we are off to the races. The midterm elections will be in full swing come tomorrow morning and many are hoping that the GOP lose their control of both houses of Congress. I for one hope that Rick Santorum goes down in flames because I think he is an evil man. With that said, I will be focusing more on the races in the next several weeks and offer my humble opinion on who I think should win or lose. For the time being here are several interesting articles on why the GOP should lose in November. (hat tip to Andrew Sullivan for first publishing these articles).

My View of The View

Ok, I admit it I was actually watching The View this morning before leaving to do somehting important like take my partner to the doctor. I got caught up in Rosie O'Donnel comments on president Bush's address last evening. She was practically salivating as she went on to berate Bush on the war in Iraq and everything else she could thing of to throw at him. Her comments that New Orleans should be the most important concern of this presidency is typical liberal gibberish. It is typical because like everything else, the devastation in New Orleans has become a racial issue as opposed to a human issue. I never knew that hurricanse selected the race of its victims but liberals like Rosie see race wherever they go. I was surprised, however, to see that there was someone there to challenge Rosie and her assumptions and that was Elisabeth Hasselbeck. I'm not sure what her political affiliation is but it was nice to see someone oppose or speak over Rosie. I'm not a fan of The View because I consider it trash tv but I had to watch Rosie just once to reinforce my dislike of her.

This Is Not A Gift!

Melissa Etheridge has been quoted as saying, "With cancer, you start looking at your whole life and cutting the dark things out of it. I often say that cancer is a gift in that way. " I wish I could agree with Etheridge but I can't. Cancer is not a gift it is a ripping away of your very soul. It is a sapping of energy that you once took for granted.

On April 8, 2005 I was told by my doctor that I had colon cancer. The news hit me like a ton of bricks and as they say, my life changed forever. I called my sister to tell her and she broke down and started to scream that I was goign to die. I had to calm her down while wondering to myself, who is the sick one here. I then called my girlfriend and broke the news to her. She was quiet as she always is and simply told me she was there for me. I then drove slowly, the slowest I have ever driven, to my sister's house where I was met by my sister and my brother in law. The rest of the day was spent wondering if this was indeed happening to me. I tried to get drunk that night but that failed miserably as my body had failed me that day. I awoke the next morning feeling like I had travelled to another world.

In the year since my diagnosis I have undergone chemotherapy and have endured side effects that one can only read about. I didn't lose my hair but I lost a lot more as my body was ravaged by cancer drugs. I would have gladly traded hair loss for some of the side effects I experienced. Through it all my partner stayed with me and loved me. She saw me through retching, pain and prolonged nausea. Throughout all of it I never thought it a gift nor did I think there was a lesson to be learned as a family member insisted there was. The only thing I was grateful for was that I was still alive.

A year later I have a re-occurance of cancer and have undergone liver resection and am back on chemotherapy. If there is a lesson here someone please fill me in. A year later I'm feeling angrier than I have felt in my life. The chemotherapy is worse and I'm sick for three to four days of my treatment. This is not a gift.

As I move through my days I have to accept my limitations which reinforces my anger. I have to accept the nausea, the constipation, the smell of cancer drugs from my pores, the inablility to concentrate, and the feeling that this may be for naught. All of this and more is what a cancer patient goes through on a daily basis. But, and there is a big but, I have my partner, family and friends that will not let me give up when I think of giving up. I also have an oncologist who believes that the drugs will work and for that I'm grateful.

On this the 5th anniversary of 9/11 I wish to express my heartfelt sorrow for those who lost their lives on that dreadful day. America owes you much more than we can say in words. We are all stronger because of you.

Its Showtime For Katie Couric

So its official, Katie Couric devut as the new anchor on CBS nightly news and her much anticipated debut was just average. But its her first show so there will be more to write about. On her first night Couric tried desperately to get away from her perky demeanor that made her so famous on the Today show but it still came across during her debut last evening. I heard from a friend that she hates being referred to as "perky" but what the hey. In any event, I was ready to hand her her head when she had Thomas Friedman on to share his disgust of Bush but then backed off when she said she will be interviewing Bush tonight. Maybe my fear of her partisan view coming across, even though this is suppose to be a news show, is unfounded for now. But we will have to keep tuning in for awhile to break that fear.

Provincetown MA Come Alive

I had the opportunity to take a break from chemotherapy to celebrate my partner's birthday last week in Provincetown, MA and it was wonderful. We had a great time celebrating her birthday by having great food, sharing meals with good friends, went whale watching and attended some lively shows. One such show was Rand Roberts Live. Randy is a female impersonator and one of the very best I have seen in a long time. P'town has some of the best drag shows so this is the place to go. Randy is the best in my book for the simple reason that he sings live and has a wonderful voice. He is also quite a beautiful woman when made up to look like Cher, Bette Midler and others. We saw his show on Thursday night at the Crowne and Anchor and absolutely loved it. So if anyone is heading to Cape Cod in the next several weeks be sure to check out Randy at the Crowne and Anchor for one of his shows and if not check out his website at randyroberts.net for other performances. I promise you will not be disappointed.

Recall Mayor Ray Nagin!