The Dish

Here’s a quote worth pondering:

Someone with access to fresh Polonium 210 (read: less than a year old, hot from the reactor) decided to use it to bump off an enemy. And the terrorism alert status hasn’t risen a notch? Pull the other one.

If Putin ordered the hit, it means we have a head-of-state prepared to use nuclear material to kill enemies, and spread it globally. If someone in the Russian nuclear network did it without Putin’s permission, we have an even bigger problem on our hands. Here we were worried that Saddam could hand off nuclear material to rogue actors. And we didn’t think of Putin.

Professor Bainbridge adjudicates a blog-war; and one blogger gets parodied. This is what free speech looks like.

Here’s a quote for K-Lo:

"[As] we seek to establish full equality for American gay and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than [Ted Kennedy]."

Barney Frank? Nah. That’s Mitt Romney, running for governor US senator in Massachusetts, in a 1994 letter to the Massachusetts Log Cabin Republicans. The Bay Windows op-ed that brought up that quote also contained the following facts that attendees at the Republican Governors’ Association might want to take note of:

During the same campaign, when he was accused of having once described gay people as ‘perverse’ during a religious meeting of Mormons, Romney‚Äôs campaign issued a forceful statement decrying the accusation as false and reiterating that Romney respected "all people regardless of their race, creed, or sexual orientation."

During his 2001 run for governor, his campaign distributed bright pink flyers at the June Pride parade declaring "Mitt and Kerry wish you a great Pride weekend!" During his inaugural speech, he said it was important to defend civil rights "regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or race." He appointed eight openly gay and lesbian people to high profile positions in his administration. And before he decided to run for president ‚Äî that is to say, before he needed to establish some strong anti-gay bonafides ‚Äî Romney doubled the budget line item for the Governor’s Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth.

Here’s a simple test: can a Republican candidate in 2008 repeat Romney’s words of 1994: that he respects "all people regardless of their race, creed, or sexual orientation." Bush has never been able to say those two words: "sexual orientation". Romney has. Will he ever say them again? Let’s keep an open mind, shall we?

(Photo: Associated Press.)

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 9.45 am. Santa had a rough night.

A reader writes:

In the last couple of days you have given valuable space to an Australian atheist, a British/Kazakh observant jew, a stylish Catholic pontiff, an evangelical Democrat possibly running for President, a messianic Christian (that would be our President) and countless Mormons.

I truly like your spirit of inclusiveness.

It looks as if the Conservative Jewish Movement is about to sanction gay rabbis and same-sex unions, following the Reform Jewish Movement’s lead. Money quote:

Rabbi Kula, author of "Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life," said the move toward liberalisation among Conservatives "is not something that came down from the top. It came from Jews in the pews … Jews who had homosexual children and wanted them to be rabbis."

Rabbi Gerald Zelizer of Neve Shalom, a Conservative congregation in Metuchen, New Jersey, a former president of the Rabbinical Assembly who is a contributing columnist for USA Today, said in an essay in that newspaper this year that he backed the 1992 position but now had a different view.

"Conservative Judaism has always taught that we must upgrade our biblical understanding with new scientific knowledge. Contrary to the biblical assumption that gayness is a sinful choice, our best knowledge today indicates that it is as determined and irrevocable as blue or brown eyes …" he wrote.

As so often, American Jews lead the fight for civil rights. I, for one, am grateful.

A reader writes:

Thanks so much for the slide show of Benedict on the runway. My favorite is the velvet toque trimmed in white fur. When I was a young gay boy in the 50’s I told myself I loved going to mass because I was good, but I was really just entranced by all the fabulous appurtenances: stained glass, a cornucopia of unheard-of saints, lace surplices, candles, incense, flower-banked altars, the gold ciborium, crosiers, colorful vestments. LOVED the little Infant of Prague doll which changed costume throughout the liturgical year. Great theater!!

Viva the Prada pope!

I’ve often wondered how many straight Catholics fully appreciate how gay their church has always been. Especially in the old days. High Mass was, in its heyday, more elaborate and choreographed than a very melodramatic Broadway musical. Do people really believe that gay priests and religious had nothing to do with it? They had everything to do with it.

The first time I walked into a gay disco, with all those lights, music, ritual and smoke, my immediate thought was: church! Madonna gets this, whatever Jonah says. Because she’s a born-and-bred Catholic, which Jonah isn’t. It’s theater, sweetie, theater. And the Church once understood that – which was part of its beautiful Catholicity. Gone, now, alas. But Benedict is helping nudge it back. And although I tease him about it, it’s a wonderful thing. More incense, please. And lace.

A reader writes:

I just want you to know that there’s at least one active Mormon "out there" who appreciates and supports what you are doing.  I blogged about it here and I discussed it on a local Utah radio show, which you can listen to here.

Ultimately the more candid, open, and honest discussion there is about Mormonism–and frankly, the more awareness that can be broadly generated about some of the more controversial and damaging aspects of our history and doctrine–the greater the likelihood that the top leadership will make positive progress in improving on the weaker parts of our faith and culture (renouncing the loopiness, etc.).  Ultimately, sunshine is the best antiseptic, as they say.

He’s not alone, it seems:

I’m a long-time LDS reader of your website.  Am still enjoying it.

Yes, your publishing the garment photos was a tad offensive to most of us. But you’re right that our taboos need not be your own. And truth be told, we Mormons are really hypersensitive about criticism (or even discussion) of our faith in the media. (Bad experiences in the 19th Century, misrepresentations of our doctrines in the 20th, etc.). The Romney candidacy, as well as public discussions of Mormonism on blogs such as yours, can only do a service to the Mormons in the long run.  So many in our community don’t want to discuss various aspects of Mormonism even amongst themselves, much less with outsiders.  But the more exposure we get, and the more that various Mormon "oddities" are scrutinized in the press, the more we’ll have to think about various doctrinal and historical issues, as well as talk about them.

As far as this Mormon is concerned, that’s a very good thing. At least it will make my otherwise stale Church meetings a bit more interesting. For that, you have my eternal gratitude.

George W. Bush is incapable of dealing with reality. He may be psychologically incapable of self-correction because it entails self-criticism. But if this Newsweek story is correct, we have a truly dangerous situation on our hands.