RANGER AGAINST WAR: Busted <

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Busted

So why don't you stay for the night? Or maybe a bite?
I could show you my favorite obsession.

I've been making a man with blond hair and a tan

And he's good for relieving my tension

--
Sweet Transvestite, Rocky Horror Picture Show
_______

This is getting tijious, to use the southern phonological [tedious].

"Senator Larry E. Craig (R-ID) pleaded guilty earlier this month to misdemeanor disorderly-conduct charges stemming from his June arrest by an undercover police officer in a men's restroom at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, a court spokeswoman and the senator's office said yesterday
(GOP Senator Pleaded Guilty After Restroom Arrest .)"

Apparently, the news just trickled down to the Senate. The Singin' Senator recently paid $500 in fines to Hennepin County and was placed on one year's probation beginning August 8, 2007.


Three-term Senator, Craig, 62, was a member of the Singing Senators barbershop quartet, which broke up when member John Ashcroft became the singin' Attorney General, and ran unsuccessfully in 2002 to become the
GOP whip. A pity, that.

"While he was being interviewed about the bathroom incident, Craig gave police a business card showing that he is a U.S. senator.
'What do you think about that?' Craig asked the officer." Yawn. Just another hypocritical, anti-gay rights, pretty face from the Republican roll call.

If Craig doesn't run again, (former Governor Jim)
"Risch has said he is interested in Craig's seat."

One has to be careful about the wording of these things.

--Lisa

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20 Comments:

Blogger The Minstrel Boy said...

my take

which, is little more than a double link to my old friend, Susie Bright

from now on anyone who makes a campaign issue of fighting gay marriage is presumed to be gay.

if they are crusading against child porn, i want a warrant to seach their hard drives.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 7:55:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The doth protest too much, methinks--Shakespeare.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 8:34:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I have to agree with the minstrel boy, mainly because it has become good practice to find the truth simply by inverting any statement of any member of the Bush-Cheney Crime Syndicate.

Although I do find myself believing without inversion the notion that a gay-bashing GOP operative would want to get into Larry Craig's seat.

Absolutely correct, Lisa. One must be careful about wording.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 at 9:11:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

possibly the congress would pass a gay rights marriage law if it contained the proviso that the ceremony had to be performed in an airport or any type of terminal toilet stall. ranger jim

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 6:22:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

incident puts a whole new meaning to Craigs list. ranger jimthis

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 6:23:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"If Craig doesn't run again, (former Governor Jim) "Risch has said he is interested in Craig's seat."

"One has to be careful about the wording of these things."

Nice, Lisa.

Nothing like good old "family values" to make one want to get out there and vote Republican. Especially if one's family hangs out in public restrooms. Ranger also has a good idea. Exactly what's wrong with performing marriage ceremonies in a toilet stall?

Just think, thirty years ago, before airline deregulation, Craig might have had to work Greyhound bus stations or interstate rest areas. Deregulation allowed classy guys like him to troll in higher class settings.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 8:20:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

publius,

Their venues run the gamut, and their playground is wherever the boys are.
Mustn't forget Foley's folly at the VA park bathroom down here is FLA.

A WaPo commentator noted today that if Democrats are also engaging in these liaisons, they must be more secretive about it. Better at hiding things than Republicans. . .?

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 9:39:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

mea culpa, publius.

That was Rep. Bob Allen paying to fellate at the VA park. (They're coming fast and furious now, and I sometimes get them confused.)

Wednesday, August 29, 2007 at 10:29:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

A WaPo commentator noted today that if Democrats are also engaging in these liaisons, they must be more secretive about it. Better at hiding things than Republicans. . .?

No doubt the Democrats play such games, Lisa. It would be very naive to assume otherwise.

We don't hear/read/see as much about the Dems and sexual shenanigans because (1) most journalists lean Democrat when the chips are down; and (2) the Democratic Party is expected to be the party of sexual liberation. Therefore sexual chicanery is not news when a Democrat does it.

My experience growing up in DC with a parent who was politically appointed and worked in federal political positions her whole working life is that the issue of sexual shenanigans receives bipartisan support. BIPARTISAN.

Apparently, the mainstream infotainment media enjoys the "hyposcrisy" angle that attaches to hypermoralist anti-gay GOP members being guilty of sleazy homosexual trolling.

Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 10:17:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lisa -- if you know any gay men who have spent time in DC, ask them about "P Street Beach" and how random sexual liaisons occur there.

When I lived last in DC, there were lots of under-the-radar stories about police arrests of gay men having sex in that "P Street Beach" area of Rock Creek Park. The area is directly below a section of DC called Dupont Circle, which has historically been the gay epicenter for DC residents.

The Washington City Paper used to run brief blurbs on who was most recently arrested at P Street Beach in the "homosexual raids" conducted by the DC Metro Police. The Democrats didn't escape the handcuffs.

Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 10:21:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, Sean, you've brought back a memory to me.

I know Rock Creek Park from when I was a girl living in the area. I will avoid particulars, but I think the place was developing at that time,

Lisa

Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 10:37:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Sean,

You say, "Apparently, the mainstream infotainment media enjoys the "hypocrisy" angle that attaches to hypermoralist anti-gay GOP members being guilty of sleazy homosexual trolling."

Be careful how you attach the adjective "sleazy". It is not the homesexual liaison which is deemed such but rather, the hypocritical behavior on the part of the elected trollers. These men are usually outspoken opponents of gay rights.

Now, as for what in our society forces such hypocrisy and exclusionary attitudes, and promiscuous behavior--you can develop your own ideas. Religion plays a part.

--Lisa

Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 10:45:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with your explanation of the hypocrisy, Lisa. What I was trying to convey was that the focus on hypocrisy seems to be a bit one-sided.

The word "sleazy" was my way of saying that trolling is sleazy -- not that homosexual men as a category of humans are, by their nature, sleazy.

In any case I understand the media's focus on hypocrisy, I just don't think they're even-handed in looking for or reporting on hypocrisy. Certain kinds of hypocrisy escape their attention... most kinds, in fact!

Friday, August 31, 2007 at 1:19:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Right, Sean--we're all about "fair and balanced here." No excusing hypocrisy, no matter the stripe.

But one has to be particular when discussing something, and we are specifically discussing the hypocrisy inherent in the hardcore republican fundy platform re. homosexuality.

Liberal democrats do not tend to crusade against sexual proclivities; republicans do. So when they are caught with their pants down, it fairly reeks of hypocrisy, of the the gagging sort.

Just curious: when you say "trolling is sleazy," are you also referring to heterosexual behavior in bars, or wherever they hook up these days?

Friday, August 31, 2007 at 1:35:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ranger,

I guess if I had to define what I imagine when I think of "trolling" I would mean to say anyone who's out seeking homosexual encounters while holding him/herself out as a straight person.

And I would imagine the troller to be seeking pure sex, not human attachment and emotional investment.

Basically I was thinking about that "P Street Beach" place in Rock Creek Park in DC, and the reputation it had when I last lived there (early 90s). Back then it was the place where people like Larry Craig were said to go when they needed to get their "gay fix" while maintaining their "straight image."

That's what I'd call trolling. I suppose that heterosexual trolling exists, you know, like "Looking for Mr Goodbar" -- but I'm unaware of a "P Street Beach" for straight folks, in DC or otherwise.

Why that is, I do not know. Not being gay, I haven't any first-hand experience in that realm of sexuality.

Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 10:56:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sean,

"I would imagine the troller to be seeking pure sex, not human attachment and emotional investment."

I'm with you that trolling implies this, and though unsavory, I do not believe it is illegal.

You also define it as "anyone who's out seeking homosexual encounters while holding him/herself out as a straight person."

That is not trolling, but pure hypocrisy. Why hypocrisy is incumbent upon people is a matter of speculation--individual bent, societal prohibitions, you wanna be a republican. . .

As to why there are no P Street Beaches for straight folks, well, they're called "bars," and you can find one on any corner, usually across from a church. It is a joke here in the South: every block has a Baptist church and a bar.

Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 1:53:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, I agree with you on that reference to bars, Lisa -- but with one clarification.

My understanding of "Po Street Beach" is that not only did people get "hooked up" there, they had sex there.

I've never been in a heterosexual bar where people were randomly having sex in the bar.

I've seen movie footage of gay sex clubs ("Irreversible" by Gaspar Noe) and if that footage is true to life, it makes me think there's some gaps between hetero culture and gay culture when it comes to the meaning of "hookup."

There is a bar here where I live that has a reputation for occasional less intrusive sexual behavior in the dark back corners. There are rumors of drunken underage girls doing something that apparently looks like bobbing for apples, without the water and apples.

Those rumors are the closest I've seen or heard to a hetero equivalent of P Street Beach.

And I'd agree that trolling probably isn't illegal unless it is designed to pick up someone under-age, we can probably agree on the fact that the law doesn't always reflect morality or a standard of behavior on which most people agree.

To quote some long-ago legal scholar,

"The law is an ass."

Saturday, September 1, 2007 at 5:07:00 PM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sean,

I was going to say that the promiscuity of gay liaisons seems sad, but then, society's prejudicial attitude towards gays is also depressing. Is the promiscuity an outgrowth of prohibition? I dunno.

The fact that many hetero couples tend to go to an apartment or a car a few hours later to consummate the hook-up--does that somehow redeem the act?

You say, "The law doesn't always reflect morality or a standard of behavior on which most people agree"

The law should not be in the business of legislating morality. What constitutes morality is up to each individual, providing the behavior is not predatory or abusive in nature.

Perhaps you mean the application of the law is often uneven, based upon one's means, influence, etc.

Sunday, September 2, 2007 at 7:14:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Sean,

Ranger is not concerned with moral issues; I am concerned with the hypocrisy involved here.

The only moral issue that matters, is the immorality of this world.

Monday, September 3, 2007 at 10:53:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

~~ERRATUM~~

Typos abound!

To Sean's last comment:

What I meant was, the only thing that matters is the immorality of this WAR.

We would not pretend to tar the world with that brush. We are focused at RAW; the war, that's the thing.

Tuesday, September 4, 2007 at 1:35:00 PM GMT-5  

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