My first photo-reportage from the Democratic Convention - Former Drug Czar, Anti-gay, and Gambling Hypocrite Bill Bennett

I'm a big believer in using photos to report on events in order to give you a very "you are there" kind of feel. This photo of Bill Bennett, that I took earlier today with my secret cell phone cam on arriving in Boston, is intended to give you the sense that you've just arrived at Logan Airport for the Democratic Convention and friggin Republicans are getting their bags right away while yours are on their way to Timbuktu, only to arrive at 11pm that evening.

But I'm not bitter. More tomorrow. JOHN, live in Boston.

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On John's to-do list...

As John mentioned, the GOP is going to have a substantial presence at the Convention. 

The New York Times reports among the crowd will be Mitch McConnell, the senior senator from Kentucky.   The gay marraige amendment has been big news in the Bluegrass state. 

Maybe John can find Senator McConnell and ask him about the atmosphere of tolerance in his home state lately.
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I've already met Bill Bennett and John McLaughlin on the plane to Boston

Well, pretty productive day already, on the way to the Dem Convention in Boston. I'd barely gotten on the plane, and who was sitting in the front row in business class but none other than former Republican Drug Czar Bill Bennett. I wasn't quite sure what to say to him, but wanted to say something - hey, I am here as a reporter, so I'm supposed to be nosy. So I look at him and said "going to Boston to show your support for the candidate?" He laughed and said he was going to do radio appearances during the convention. He said he expected it to be an interesting week, and a few other things I don't recall.

He was a fairly nice man, considering he's not a nice man at all. He was one of the leaders behind the Gay-Bashing Constitutional Amendment - I totally forgot that until I got back to my seat. I wouldn't have been as nice had I remembered. My friend Michael said I should have asked him "wanna bet on who wins the election?" :-)

Then, after saying goodbye to Bennett, two seats behind him was John McLaughlin of The McLaughlin Group. McLaughlin has been openly opposed to the amendment for a long while now. He also has been no friend of Bush. So, seeing as I was already on a roll harassing Republicans - that is the purpose of this convention, after all - I stopped at Mr. McLaughlin's seat and excused myself for interrupting, then I thanked him for his kind words on his show in opposition to the amendment.

Thus began a 10-minute conversation totally initiated by McLaughlin himself. Boy that man can talk. And you know, I really like him - at least from the 10 minutes I got. He wanted to know more about me, what kind of work I do, issues I cover, etc. I told him I do a lot of TV and he gave me his producer's email (McLaughlin Group here I come!). We had a nice chat about the amendment, he doesn't think it will EVER pass, EVER. And I met a young lady who I believe is his wife. Beautiful woman, and like 35 years old. Mazel tov! Finally, after 10 minutes of talking to him, with him continuing to ask me questions, I had to excuse myself and sit down as I was the last passenger standing.

Then in Logan airport, waiting for my bag that still hasn't arrived 4 hours later (I bet the Republicans wouldn't have lost my bag - one thing they do is efficient transportation, trains running on time, that sort of thing), I saw Senator Harkin (D-IA), one of the Podesta brothers (both are BIG BIG deals in Dem politics), and the French ambassador to the US. I think all of them were on my flight.

So all in all, kind of a fun start to the trip. More to come as the week continues. JOHN Read the rest of this post...

NYT Article -- write those letters

John is off to Boston (he saw George Stephanopoulos jogging while headed to the airport -- an appropriate political sighting to start the day). You've seen the link to the New York Times article about outing that John posted below. Your comments on this blog are so pointed and on the money, please take the time to write the New York Times with your thoughts about the article and the hypocrisy of these politicos who have sold their own souls and now want to sell yours as well -- but get upset when friends take them to task for it. Even if your letter isn't published, the more that weigh in on our side of the debate, the more likely they are to print missives from our point of view.
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Looney over labels

A fun read about the labels that are thrown around during the election, especially the dreaded "liberal" word and the ever-popular McGovern comparisons.  I guess we'll be looking at another campaign where everyone runs like hell from the liberal label.  My favorite part of the column was about McGovern:

He was, and is, a left-liberal. The Republican offering that year was Richard Nixon (with Spiro Agnew for dessert), but it is the Democrats who have been apologizing for their choice ever since.

How true indeed!  Along those lines, why do we allow the right to keep pushing this nonsense?  When I hear "conservative" I think of intolerance, fear-mongering, ignorance and other unflattering qualities.  What comes to mind when you hear someone talk about a conservative?  Let's help make "conservative" a word that makes them run from.
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I'm off to Boston for the convention

Okay gang, I'm getting ready to leave for the airport to head to Boston. I'll be covering the Dem Convention for Sirius Satellite Radio's gay channel, OutQ. You can listen our live coverage online, from noon to midnight eastern, Monday to Thursday at: http://www.Sirius.com/OutQ

Chris in Paris, Michael in NYC, and David in KY will be keeping you amused while I'm gone - though I'll try to check in a few times a day to update you on the goings on at the convention.

JOHN Read the rest of this post...

YOUR top GOP campaign slogans to reach out to African-Americans

You wrote 'em:

7. Welcome to the big tent! Please use the side door and step to the back.

6. We have a lot of work to do reaching out to the black community and we need the slaves.

5. Vote for us. Some restrictions may apply.

4. The Republican bus is ready to roll and there's plenty of room in the back.

3. Republicans... you don't have to call us "Massah"... no wait, you do.

2. Compassionate Conservatism... we're so sorry that you're black.

And the top GOP campaign slogan to reach out to African-Americans is...

1. Republicans... we're not just racists anymore. We hate everybody.

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Sunday NYT on the "outing" campaign (that isn't really an outing campaign since they're all out already)

The Sunday New York Times did a story on the "hypocrisy" campaign (I'm trying not to call it an "outing" campaign as Michael in NY gets ticked at me since, in reality, I don't think anyone's been outed who wasn't already "out"). The article is interesting in that is show a larger mood change in Washington, one in which the gay community (and hopefully our straight allies) is starting to stand up to members of our own community who have sold their souls, and our own, to the devil.

My favorite two paragraphs:

A gay press secretary for a House Republican who refused to be named because his boss asked him not to speak publicly on the marriage debate said that the 'barbaric tactics' of gays attacking other gays had reinforced his partisan commitment. He felt the pull most recently, he said, during the emotional June weekend marked by both President Ronald Reagan's funeral and Washington's annual gay pride parade - a parade, he said, that seemed less about pride and more about polarizing politics.

'It put it into focus,' said the aide, whose name and telephone number have been posted on Mr. Rogers's Web site. 'If there is a spectrum of things that make up who I am, the things that draw me to work for Republicans are more important than anything related to my sexual orientation.'

Like I've been saying all along, these people turn their back on a community so abhorrent to them that they don't even want to be associated with it, yet they expect our protection while they try to destroy us. Read the rest of this post...

Protest groups complain about freedom of expression at DNC in Boston

The complaints may be valid but where were these people in recent years when those on the left argued against similar treatment for anti-Bush protestors?  Now that the shoe is on the other foot they are suddenly upset.  I'd like to see this policy change but for now, let them taste what the left has been living with in the Bush era and see how they like it.

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A cool tool for calling

OK, it has nothing to do with politics but I recently started using a free and reliable new tool called Skype for phone calls and it is so much easier to use than Messenger for internet phone calls.  A friend of mine is even doing conference calls with it.  PC-to-PC calls anywhere in the world are free but I think you can buy minutes to phone land lines.  I have nothing to do with Skype but really love it.
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Bush threatens veto over NASA spending cuts

Guns & Butter Take 2 isn't working any better than it did the first time.  How does Bush think that the US can afford to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere plus fund new NASA projects?  If we are supposed to be at war, how about a little sacrifice somewhere?

The veto threat was issued after the House Appropriations Committee voted Thursday to cut President Bush’s 2005 budget request for NASA by $1.1 billion, a move that would leave the space agency with $229 million less than it has this year.

Bush to consumers: Go fuck yourselves

So who out there still believes that the Bushies don't want to completely scrap our right to sue big business?  Bush takes the position that since the FDA approves something, it must be OK.  What he seems to forget is that the FDA approval process does not operate in a vacuum.  Companies spend millions and millions on lobbying the FDA, politicians and their politican campaigns so to hold up the FDA approval process as one of perfection is nonsense.  This is payback time for Pioneer contributors.

The Bush administration has been going to court to block lawsuits by consumers who say they have been injured by prescription drugs and medical devices.

The administration contends that consumers cannot recover damages for such injuries if the products have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In court papers, the Justice Department acknowledges that this position reflects a "change in governmental policy," and it has persuaded some judges to accept its arguments, most recently scoring a victory in the federal appeals court in Philadelphia.

In the Pennsylvania ruling, issued Tuesday, the appeals court threw out a lawsuit filed by Barbara E. Horn, who said her husband had died because of defects in the design and manufacture of his heart pump. The Bush administration argued that federal law barred such claims because the device had been produced according to federal specifications.

Kimberley K. Witczakof Minneapolis said her husband, Timothy, 37, committed suicide last year after taking the antidepressant drug Zoloft for five weeks. "I do not believe in frivolous lawsuits," Ms. Witczak said, "but it's ridiculous that the government is filing legal briefs on the side of drug companies when it's supposed to be protecting the public.

The administration has also joined Pfizer in opposing a lawsuit filed by Flora Motus, a California woman who said her husband had committed suicide after taking Zoloft. Mrs. Motus argued that Pfizer had not adequately warned doctors and patients that the drug could increase the risk of suicide.