Some of you have asked me what I think about the campaign to out closeted staffers for Republican senators who may vote for the FMA. In a word, I think it’s wrong. The people perpetrating it are the usual suspects – people who are only truly happy when persecuting others. The viciousness of the campaign, the way it demonizes individuals whose own consciences are unknowable to any outsider, is a mark of authoritarianism and cruelty. You cannot force people to be honorable, let alone heroes. You cannot force people to have self-respect. I do believe, however, that those gay men and women who are supporting some Senators in this war against gay citizens are acting dishonorably. I can see compromises that are inevitable in politics – even on the issue of marriage. But the Constitutional Amendment seems to me to be in a class of its own. It’s an unprecedented attack on the citizenship of an entire minority of Americans. On a personal level, I try and persuade closeted gays working for the homophobic parts of the GOP – I know some who are even working for Ralph Reed, for goodness’s sake – to stand up against this, to quit if they are required to go along, and at the very least to come out to their bosses and make a case internally. But if they cannot do this, it is their loss. In the end, we will all have to live with our consciences. That’s hard enough to do with our own, let alone everyone else’s.
A KERRY WHOPPER: More African-Americans in jail than college? Not even close.
WAITING FOR MARSHALL: And waiting … And waiting …
QUOTE FOR THE DAY: “We come now to create our album of life. Throughout our individual and collective journeys, sometimes through pain and conflict, we’ve discovered the true meaning of family. As we accomplish ultimate togetherness, we become healers of ourselves and the countless who embrace us and our message. We have learned and we understand. Now we must share.” – the “Mission Statement” for heavy metal group Metallica’s new album, drafted by their “performance-enhancement coach.” (Taken from the latest GQ review of the new documentary, “Some Kind of Monster.”)
The Dish 