Monday, July 30, 2007

Snow Job

You know, I wasn't going to talk about the Iraqi parliament ducking out of town until September, as I'm hardly the first guy to be annoyed in this arena.

But you know, let 'em never come back for all the good they're doing us so far. Whether they're hunkered down in Baghdad or sunning their buns in Dubai, I could care more.

What's really unforgivable in all of this was how Tony Snow, the president's spokesliar and former Fox News shill, handled the press questions about it. In response to a reporter's question asking if they'd tried to talk the parliament out of their vacation, he said, "You know, it's 130 degrees in Baghdad in August. I'll pass on your recommendation."

And his tone said, "It's hotter than hell over there. They need a break from that shit hole."

No, really. Thanks to the magic of YouTube, you can see it right here:




To her credit, the reporter launches into him with, "...it's 130 degrees for the U.S. military also on the ground ..."

You know, I'm just gonna say this:

There's a special kind of hell for someone like Tony Snow who makes comments like that and for anyone who takes part in a government that allows such vicious cynicism to reign victorious. And unfortunately, we're currently living in it.

Friday, July 20, 2007

America's Doctor. America's Homophobe. Same Diff.

No one in the country but me seems to be bothered by this. So I'm submitting the following for your information. Get pissed, folks. They're counting on you to not pay attention. And so far, it's working.

Recently, Dr. Richard Carmona resigned at the end of his term as Surgeon General after accusing the current administration of interfering with his views on stem cell research, global warming and abstinence-based initiatives (which ... shocker ... they didn't quite agree with).

On May 24, George Bush proudly announced his new nominee for Surgeon General, one Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr. Dr. Holsinger hails from Kentucky ... which might be concern enough ... and I can say that because I have family from there. I wouldn't trust any of those people with a prescription pad, let me tell ya.

But even better is Dr. Holsinger's 1991 position paper for the Methodist church titled "Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality."

I'll save you having to look up the 50-cent word. Pathophysiology is "the physiology of abnormal or diseased organisms or their parts." (Emphasis mine.)

Nice. In case you want to read this horror show, it's online here.

But the title should be enough for anyone but George W to realize this guy's a whack job. And then there's the little sentence on page two that reads, " ... the varied sexual practices of homosexual men have resulted in a diverse and expanded concept of sexually transmitted disease and associated trauma."

Jealous much, Dr. Holsinger?

Whatever trauma we've endured as a result of our sex lives, it's nothing compared to the associated trauma someone like Dr. Holsinger is sure to visit upon us. (I'm not so certain, but I believe it includes bringing back pink triangles as an accessory.)

When he wasn't busy cooking up six pages of homophobia shellacked with a thin but shiny coat of widely disputed "science," Dr. Holsinger and his wife were founding the Hope Springs Community Church, widely reported to be intent on helping cure gays and lesbians of their pathophysiology.

The church is now denying that they ever had programs to help those poor self-loathing homers who're trying to pray the gay away, saying the claim was a smear by the gay mafia or something. (For being so organized, you'd think we'd have that marriage thing taken care of by now. What the hell are we doing wrong if we've got all this power at our disposal?)

Someone might want to share that with their own Reverend David Calhoun, who on June 1 told the Lexington Herald-Reader "We see [homosexuality] as an issue not of orientation but of lifestyle. We have people who seek to walk out of that lifestyle."

And you ... what? Pat them on the back and tell them to save their aching arches? No.

Who knows what will happen with the nomination in the Senate. At least Ted Kennedy's on the case.

But in a way, I hope it all works out. If Dr. Holsinger succeeds, he could help cure Mary Cheney, the VP's lesbian shill ... I mean daughter. It'd mean one less hypocrite on the dais for all of us.