CA: Fresno priest comes out against Prop 8 during Mass

by: Pam Spaulding Mon Oct 06, 2008 at 07:30:00 AM EDT

Father Geoffrey Farrow of the Saint Paul Newman Center on the campus of the University of California (Fresno) is a brave man because he delivered what was likely his final Mass on Sunday -- a homily on love, acceptance and fellowship -- and spoke out against Proposition 8. He is bucking the recommendation of his bishop, placing 23 years of service to the church on the line. (ABC30, there is video): "In directing the faithful to vote yes on proposition 8, the California Bishops are not only entering the political arena, they are ignoring the advances and insights of neurology, psychology and the very statements by the church itself that homosexual is innate," says Fr. Geoff. The priest acknowledges his controversial comments will have consequences. "I know that these words of truth will cost me dearly. But to withhold them would be far more costly and I would become an accomplice to a moral evil that strips gay and lesbian couples, not only of their civil rights but of their human dignity as well."

And he was not finished.

We sat down with Father Geoff before mass, and he answered the question many are probably wondering... Is he gay? "It's a secondary issue. But yes, I am. And when I was a boy I asked God please make me normal and the prayer never got answered and I realized why. Because God would've made somebody else he wouldn't have made me."

There was a mixed reaction by parishioners to the homily (about half stood to give a standing ovation. There were also familiar protestations of "Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." Bishop John Steinbock, the head of the Diocese of Fresno gave a limp answer, knowing that Farrow's public position will have grave consequences, saying "Proposition 8 is not a homosexuality issue rather about the institution of marriage which is the basis of our society."

Read the entire homily of Father Farrow -- (CLICK HERE)

--

In a follow up to this story. I spoke with my Mom yesterday (81 year old Catholic) who complained that the priest gave a speech on getting out and voting cuz the Bishop ordered him too. "I thought about getting up and walking out."  Funny how this lady gets a little brave late in life when it comes to politics.

Noonan Says Palin's Type Of Populism Is Bad For Country

Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, conservative columnist Peggy Noonan said that the "populist" tactics being deployed by Sarah Palin was "not helpful to the country" and painted her candidacy as built on class warfare.

"She is a natural," said Noonan, "But I will tell you, I feel increased concern about... what she thinks of as populism, as her populist approach. There are two ways, you know, her stuff about, 'I'm main street, you are the elite, I'm Joe six-pack.' She actually says 'I'm the Joe six-pack candidate.' This has me thinking, gosh, would Lincoln say 'I represent the backwoods type?' Would FDR say, 'the New York aristocracy deserves another moment in the sun, vote for me?' There's something weird about it. But there is also something, for me, concerning. Populism as a tactic is justified often in politics. 'I need this program, the people want it.' Populism as a strategy, 'we're the good guys, you're the bad guys,' is not good. And if that's the road they are going, that's not a good road to be on. It is not helpful to the country."

Noonan has been skittish about Palin's candidacy from the get-go, though not always publicly demonstrative about her concerns. She was caught, off camera, calling the vice presidential pick as cynical. But she has also, on occasion, praised Palin for energizing the Republican base and for her debate performance.

On Sunday, Noonan expanded on those compliments, arguing that Palin did an effective job on Thursday night but one that amounted to a political infomercial.

"I'll be frank, she convinced the American people -- though they had seen her crater in the interview after interview in the previous few weeks before that debate -- that she was capable of coming forward and simply debating," said the Wall Street Journal columnist. "I think she showed that she is a woman of great and natural competence about the show-business of politics, if you will: the ability to look over the camera, to think that the camera is your friend, all of that stuff. But there are questions about other areas."

Ifill: Palin "Blew Me Off"

On "Meet the Press" Sunday morning, vice presidential debate moderator Gwen Ifill said Palin "more than ignored" some of her questions -- she "blew me off." She added that Palin decided to "give a stump speech" instead of a debate, and that there's "little a moderator can do" to stop that. Watch VIDEO:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/05/ifill-palin-blew-me-off_n_132028.html

Who is Palin? We Still Don't Know.

Sheryl Crow, Huffington Post
Posted October 3, 2008 | 02:25 AM (EST)

First, let me say that John McCain's choosing Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate is not my idea of putting country first, but instead seems to me to have been a strategical tactic to save his flailing campaign at a time when Senator Obama's attention was at a peak.

Secondly, I'll say that, darn it, Sarah Palin is cute. However, my frustration with Governor Palinnever answering a question was exasperating. She certainly was down-home and sassy. Certain statements she made struck me as ironic -- statements such as John McCain representing change and reform, when he has been so deeply aligned with George W. Bush.

In her charmin' demeanor, she managed to turn around questions so many times that she was almost believable as knowing what she was talking about. Unfortunately, for Joe Biden, Governor Palin was able to baffle him several times and at points, put him in the defensive position. She certainly is a quick study, but she could not possibly hold her own in foreign policy with Biden. However, so many times she turned Biden's answers around on him, cleverly inserting her own coached message without regard for the original question. It is almost impossible to believe that she was not heavily coached for this debate when the interviews with Katie Couric were so telling. So, who is she? We still do not know, even after this debate, because of what looks somewhat like a cover-up, in that she has never been able to speak extemporaneously, with the exception of the Couric interview, which was revealing.

I, for one, am terrified that all the "soccer moms" and the "Joe six-packs" will fall for the likable candidate as being qualified to lead our country. I don't want someone who is likable, I want the smartest, most prepared team, and that does not include the spunky Sarah Palin. The major component she has working for her is that she knows exactly when to throw in the statement, "John McCain and I are Mavericks!," a self-appointed label. She has embarrassed me as a woman who knows how to deliver a strong message or idea without having to be sarcastic, snarky, cutesy, or condescending with a down-home affectation. She gets my vote for Miss Congeniality though. Darn right!!

Palin Misquotes Albright: "Place In Hell Reserved For Women Who Don't Support Other Women"

At a rally on Saturday in California, Sarah Palin offered up a rather jarring argument for supporting the Republican ticket. "There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't support other women," the Alaska Governor said, claiming she was quoting former Clinton Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

The statement came after Palin had recounted a "providential" moment she experienced on Saturday: "I'm reading on my Starbucks mocha cup, okay? The quote of the day... It was Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State [crowd boos] and UN ambassador. ... Now she said it, I didn't. She said, 'There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't support other women.'"

Actually, Albright didn't say that. The accurate quote is, "There's a place in Hell reserved for women who don't help other women." (Sourcesmade the same point to CBS's Scott Conroy.)

Palin seemed to realize that the line could be viewed as grating. As the audience cheered, she remarked: "Okay, now, thank you so much for receiving that well. I didn't know how that was gonna go over. And now, California, let's see what a comment like I just made, how that is turned into whatever it'll be turned into tomorrow with the newspaper."

Albright responded to Palin's remarks in a statement to the Huffington Post on Sunday. "Though I am flattered that Governor Palin has chosen to cite me as a source of wisdom, what I said had nothing to do with politics. This is yet another example of McCain and Palin distorting the truth, and all the more reason to remember that this campaign is not about gender, it is about which candidate has an agenda that will improve the lives of all Americans, including women. The truth is, if you care about the status of women in our society and in our troubled economy, the best choice by far is Obama-Biden."

Tina Fey on SNL as Palin

Translation: I don't read.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/9/30/palins-news

Come on!! How hard is it to come up with a newspaper or magazine? um.. TIME, Newsweek, New York Times, Washington Post... sounds like Bush.. they DON'T READ!

Got $12 Million? John McCain's Arizona House Is For Sale!

Would you pay a "celebrity premium" to scoop up the former Phoenix house of John and Cindy McCain? The current owner is selling the abode (Cindy's childhood house, and the McCain's residence for 20 years) for a cool $12 million — four times more than the current owner paid Cindy for it in 2006. That's a lot of air conditioning. Though the decor has been updated from the McCains' time, the jungle bedroom is . . . specific. If it's your taste, you're in luck: the furniture (including leopard-print dining chairs) is included.

The 14,000-square-foot home, with 13 bedrooms and 15 bathrooms, could leap in value if the senator is elected. Not to mention, the McCain family handprints in the cement outside are pretty precious. What do you think — would you move in?

Bill Maher on The Daily Show

This girl cracks me up!!

New Yorker Cover

Palin Is Ready? Please.

FAREED ZAKARIA

Editor of Newsweek International, columnist

PostGlobal co-moderator Fareed Zakaria is editor of Newsweek International, overseeing all Newsweek's editions abroad. He writes a regular column for Newsweek, which also appears in Newsweek International and often The Washington Post. 

Palin Is Ready? Please.

Will someone please put Sarah Palin out of her agony? Is it too much to ask that she come to realize that she wants, in that wonderful phrase in American politics, "to spend more time with her family"? Having stayed in purdah for weeks, she finally agreed to a third interview. CBS's Katie Couric questioned her in her trademark sympathetic style. It didn't help. When asked how living in the state closest to Russia gave her foreign-policy experience, Palin responded thus:

"It's very important when you consider even national-security issues with Russia as Putin rears his head and comes into the airspace of the United States of America. Where--where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there. They are right next to--to our state."

There is, of course, the sheer absurdity of the premise. Two weeks ago I flew to Tokyo, crossing over the North Pole. Does that make me an expert on Santa Claus? (Thanks, Jon Stewart.) But even beyond that, read the rest of her response. "It is from Alaska that we send out those ..." What does this mean? This is not an isolated example. Palin has been given a set of talking points by campaign advisers, simple ideological mantras that she repeats and repeats as long as she can. ("We mustn't blink.") But if forced off those rehearsed lines, what she has to say is often, quite frankly, gibberish.

Couric asked her a smart question about the proposed $700 billion bailout of the American financial sector. It was designed to see if Palin understood that the problem in this crisis is that credit and liquidity in the financial system has dried up, and that that's why, in the estimation of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, the government needs to step in to buy up Wall Street's most toxic liabilities. Here's the entire exchange:

COURIC: Why isn't it better, Governor Palin, to spend $700 billion helping middle-class families who are struggling with health care, housing, gas and groceries; allow them to spend more and put more money into the economy instead of helping these big financial institutions that played a role in creating this mess?

PALIN: That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the--it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans. And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity. All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

This is nonsense--a vapid emptying out of every catchphrase about economics that came into her head. Some commentators, like CNN's Campbell Brown, have argued that it's sexist to keep Sarah Palin under wraps, as if she were a delicate flower who might wilt under the bright lights of the modern media. But the more Palin talks, the more we see that it may not be sexism but common sense that's causing the McCain campaign to treat her like a time bomb.

Can we now admit the obvious? Sarah Palin is utterly unqualified to be vice president. She is a feisty, charismatic politician who has done some good things in Alaska. But she has never spent a day thinking about any important national or international issue, and this is a hell of a time to start. The next administration is going to face a set of challenges unlike any in recent memory. There is an ongoing military operation in Iraq that still costs $10 billion a month, a war against the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan that is not going well and is not easily fixed. Iran, Russia and Venezuela present tough strategic challenges.

Domestically, the bailout and reform of the financial industry will take years and hundreds of billions of dollars. Health-care costs, unless curtailed, will bankrupt the federal government. Social Security, immigration, collapsing infrastructure and education are all going to get much worse if they are not handled soon.

And the American government is stretched to the limit. Between the Bush tax cuts, homeland-security needs, Iraq, Afghanistan and the bailout, the budget is looking bleak. Plus, within a few years, the retirement of the baby boomers begins with its massive and rising costs (in the trillions).

Obviously these are very serious challenges and constraints. In these times, for John McCain to have chosen this person to be his running mate is fundamentally irresponsible. McCain says that he always puts country first. In this important case, it is simply not true.

POSTED BY FAREED ZAKARIA ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2008 10:56 PM

Wall Street Crisis

Palin Claimed Dinosaurs And People Coexisted

The LA Times reports:

Soon after Sarah Palin was elected mayor of the foothill town of Wasilla, Alaska, she startled a local music teacher by insisting in casual conversation that men and dinosaurs coexisted on an Earth created 6,000 years ago -- about 65 million years after scientists say most dinosaurs became extinct -- the teacher said.

After conducting a college band and watching Palin deliver a commencement address to a small group of home-schooled students in June 1997, Wasilla resident Philip Munger said, he asked the young mayor about her religious beliefs.

Palin told him that "dinosaurs and humans walked the Earth at the same time," Munger said. When he asked her about prehistoric fossils and tracks dating back millions of years, Palin said "she had seen pictures of human footprints inside the tracks," recalled Munger, who teaches music at the University of Alaska in Anchorage and has regularly criticized Palin in recent years on his liberal political blog, called Progressive Alaska.

The idea of a "young Earth" -- that God created the Earth about 6,000 years ago, and dinosaurs and humans coexisted early on -- is a popular strain of creationism.

Though in her race for governor she called for faith-based "intelligent design" to be taught along with evolution in Alaska's schools, Gov. Palin has not sought to require it, state educators say.

In a widely-circulated interview, Matt Damon said of Palin, "I need to know if she really think that dinosaurs were here 4000 years ago. I want to know that, I really do. Because she's gonna have the nuclear codes."

Tina Fey Nails it Again!

oh my

LUCY LAWLESS TO APPEAR IN THE FINAL SEASON OF THE L WORD — LET LOOSE YOUR BEST XENA BATTLE CRY
Xena and Battlestar Galactica star Lucy Lawless has been added to the ever-growing list of celesbians slated to pop up in the final season of The L Word.

Oh sure. Bring out the big guns now.

This is no information about Lucy's role in Season 6 yet, beyond this last sentence from her post on her fan club blog: "Also, look for me on The L Word at some point. Can't tell you anything about that — it's deep in the closet."

Gear up the atomic speculator machine. "At some point?" How many episodes is that, exactly? "It's deep in the closet?" Wink, nudge. Drop hints much? So, Lawless is going to play a closeted lesbian? A storage system consultant? An old pair of Uggs? What?

In a recent interview with The Bay Area Reporter, Lucy teased us some more, saying "Oh, I don't know if it's been announced, but I'll give it to you: I'm going to do a guest spot on The L Word." But as for whether she'll be playing a lesbian, she said, "I don't know. They've sent me several scripts, and I haven't been through them all, which I must do soon!" (thanks to AE reader Natalia for the tip!)

Stop taunting us with your skimpy tank top and panties, you give us some details, woman. On second thought, don't stop.

Does anyone remember that, had things gone differently, Lucy might have embodied the role of Marina? Karman would have had to come up three octaves and throw in a Kiwi accent for our WGN re-enactments. "G'dday, Jenny. I'm using my sexual mind control on you ..."

In an Advocate interview in October 2006, Lucy talked about being approached by Chaiken and company:

They came to me about The L Word early on. Then they got some girl with a Xena haircut [Karina Lombard]. That's what often happens to me. They came to me about [the 1999 movie] Pushing Tin, and then at the last minute they said, “Oh, never mind,” because Billy Bob [Thornton] had met Angelina [Jolie]. So what did they do? They gave her the haircut! I can't use that haircut anymore, because everyone else has done it.

I didn't know Lucy held the patent on long, straight locks with bangs, but I do know what it might have looked like had she been offered the role of Jenny's hypnotic, exotic, erotic obsession.

Jack Cafferty: If Sarah Palin Being One Heartbeat Away "Doesn't Scare The Hell Out Of You, It Should"

Huffington Post | September 26,

Jack Cafferty unloaded on Sarah Palin's "disastrous" interview with Katie Couric Friday afternoon on CNN, telling Wolf Blitzer, "There's a reason the McCain campaign keeps Governor Palin away from the press."

After showing a clip of Palin stumbling over Couric's question about the bailout and offering an answer connecting the bailout to healthcare, Cafferty asked, "Did you get that?"

He warned the viewers: "If John McCain wins this woman will be one 72-year-old's heartbeat away from being President of the United States. And if that doesn't scare the hell out of you, it should."

Watch:

Later, Cafferty continued, calling the clip "one of the most pathetic pieces of tape I have ever seen from someone aspiring to one of the highest offices in this country."

Note: If the above video didn't play for you, the below clip should work.

Cafferty's concerns were echoed by "a growing number of Republicans," according to Politico's Alexander Burns and David Paul Kuhn:

A growing number of Republicans are expressing concern about Sarah Palin's uneven -- and sometimes downright awkward -- performances in her limited media appearances.

Conservative columnists Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, says the vice presidential nominee should step aside. Kathryn Jean Lopez, writing on the conservative National Review, says "that's not a crazy suggestion" and that "something's gotta change."

Tony Fabrizio, a GOP strategist, says Palin's recent CBS appearance isn't disqualifying but is certainly alarming. "You can't continue to have interviews like that and not take on water."

"I have not been blown away by the interviews from her, but at the same time I haven't come away from them thinking she doesn't know s--t," said Chris Lacivita, a GOP strategist. "But she ain't Dick Cheney, nor Joe Biden and definitely not Hillary Clinton.

McCain Camp Doesn't Let Palin Spin After Debate

via Huffington Post

As the New York Times reported before Friday night's debate, Sarah Palin would not be providing post-debate spin for John McCain on the major TV networks:

After Barack Obama and John McCain stop talking on the debate stage Friday night, their surrogates will start spinning. But one high-profile supporter of Mr. McCain will be missing: his running mate Sarah Palin.[...]

Ms. Palin is scheduled to be at a debate-viewing event in Philadelphia, covered by a limited group of reporters, and she is not listed by any networks as a post-debate guest. On NBC and CBS, the former Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani will be commenting on the debate performances.

As The New Republic's Michael Crowley noted during the post-debate coverage, Palin's absence looked particularly awkward given the fact that Joe Biden was appearing all over the place:

Amusing moment on CNN just now. Wolf Blitzer, coming out of a commercial:

"We've been getting some emails from views out there wondering why we spent some time interviewing Joe Biden, the Democratic vice presidential nominee and not Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee. We would have loved to interview--we'd still love to interview Sarah Palin. Unfortunately we asked, we didn't get that interview...We're hoping that Sarah Palin will join us at some point down the road."

I'm told that Biden appeared on every major network tonight except ABC (which only turned him down because Palin wasn't available, on an equal-time sort of basis).

It's pretty strange when a candidate can't trust his own running mate to be out there spinning on his behalf.

Here's my prediction regarding Palin

ok, you heard it from me first. I think McCain will keep Palin (to keep the Christian Right vote) until after the election. They'll do all they can to keep her from the press and get out of the debate. Then IF he wins the election, some scandal or something (probably planted by McCain) will come up so she has to drop out. I think she's clueless to this plan and that she's being used. THEN he'll select Liberman to replace her. I think this has always been the plan. Thoughts?

Report: McCain Aides Complain That Palin Is "Clueless"

The Huffington Post | Rachel Weiner | September 26, 2008 12:40 PM

Radio talk show host Ed Schultz reports:

Capitol Hill sources are telling me that senior McCain people are more than concerned about Palin. The campaign has held a mock debate and a mock press conference; both are being described as "disastrous." One senior McCain aide was quoted as saying, "What are we going to do?" The McCain people want to move this first debate to some later, undetermined date, possibly never. People on the inside are saying the Alaska Governor is "clueless."

On Friday, conservative columnist Kathleen Parker said that after seeing Palin in interviews, she thinks the vice presidential nominee should drop out.

A Breakthrough Night for Obama

Madeleine Albright, Huffington Post
Posted September 26, 2008 | 11:02 PM (EST)


"Tonight was a breakthrough for Senator Obama, who showed himself truly ready to be president. He responded knowledgeably, thoughtfully and confidently to the toughest questions on the economy, Iraq, and terror. Meanwhile, Senator McCain spent so much time attacking his opponent, he neglected to show how a McCain-Palin administration would differ from Bush-Cheney. As a result, Obama answered the threshold question about his candidacy; McCain did not."

Chris Rock: It's simple, vote for the guy with one house

Republican presidential candidate John McCain is just holding on like a boxer before he gets knocked out, comedian Chris Rock says.

Rock, an avid supporter of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, spoke with CNN's Larry King on Thursday. He said Obama is more grounded with your average American -- not somebody like McCain with "12 houses."

"The other guy [McCain] can lose five houses," Rock said.

"I'll go with the guy with one house. The guy with one house is scared about losing his house."

READ MORE

Sounds Like A Disney Film

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

An Alaskan hockey mom becomes Vice President in the wackiest family comedy of the year! Sound familiar?

CNN's Campbell Brown Rips McCain Camp's "Sexist" Treatment Of Palin

In a fiery commentary, Campbell Brown laid into John McCain for casting a "chauvinistic chain" that ran over his running mate. Punctuated by a call to "Free Sarah Palin," the CNN anchor highlighted the attempt Tuesday by the McCain campaign to ban editorial reporters from covering Palin's visit with world leaders at the UN, as yet another gender-demeaning move in a campaign highlighted by sexist behavior.

"Tonight I call on the McCain campaign to stop treating Sarah Palin like she is a delicate flower that will wilt at any moment," said Brown. "This woman is from Alaska for crying out loud. She is strong. She is tough. She is confident. And you claim she is ready to be one heart beat away form the presidency. If that is the case, then end this chauvinistic treatment of her now. Allow her to show her stuff. Allow her to face down those pesky reporters... Let her have a real news conference with real questions. By treating Sarah Palin different from the other candidates in this race, you are not showing her the respect she deserves. Free Sarah Palin. Free her from the chauvinistic chain you are binding her with. Sexism in this campaign must come to an end. Sarah Palin has just as much a right to be a real candidate in this race as the men do. So let her act like one."

WATCH VIDEO

CNN Demolishes Every McCain Campaign Lie

The View’ Has Its Eye on Politics This Year

Watch the Clinton interview.. just hearing him talk about the economic crisis.. makes me long for a smart president again!!

http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/video

Barbara Walters said she left the set of “The View” on Sept. 12 believing that she and her fellow panelists had conducted a fair on-the-couch interview with Senator John McCain, and later in the episode one with him and his wife, Cindy. That was the live conversation in which Whoopi Goldberg asked Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, if she should fear “being returned to slavery” if he won, and Joy Behar complained to him about the untruths she saw in his campaign advertisements.

READ ARTICLE

Palin Press Pushback: Rachel Maddow

McCain Loses His Head

By George F. Will ( a Republican.. by the way )

Tuesday, September 23, 2008; Washington Post

"The queen had only one way of settling all difficulties, great or small. 'Off with his head!' she said without even looking around."

-- "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

Under the pressure of the financial crisis, one presidential candidate is behaving like a flustered rookie playing in a league too high. It is not Barack Obama.

Channeling his inner Queen of Hearts, John McCain furiously, and apparently without even looking around at facts, said Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, should be decapitated. This childish reflex provoked the Wall Street Journal to editorialize that "McCain untethered" -- disconnected from knowledge and principle -- had made a "false and deeply unfair" attack on Cox that was "unpresidential" and demonstrated that McCain "doesn't understand what's happening on Wall Street any better than Barack Obama does."

To read the Journal's details about the depths of McCain's shallowness on the subject of Cox's chairmanship, see "McCain's Scapegoat" (Sept. 19). Then consider McCain's characteristic accusation that Cox "has betrayed the public's trust."

Perhaps an old antagonism is involved in McCain's fact-free slander. His most conspicuous economic adviser is Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who previously headed the Congressional Budget Office. There he was an impediment to conservatives, including then-Rep. Cox, who, as chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, persistently tried and generally failed to enlist CBO support for "dynamic scoring" that would estimate the economic growth effects of proposed tax cuts.

In any case, McCain's smear -- that Cox "betrayed the public's trust" -- is a harbinger of a McCain presidency. For McCain, politics is always operatic, pitting people who agree with him against those who are "corrupt" or "betray the public's trust," two categories that seem to be exhaustive -- there are no other people. McCain's Manichaean worldview drove him to his signature legislative achievement, the McCain-Feingold law's restrictions on campaigning. Today, his campaign is creatively finding interstices in laws intended to restrict campaign giving and spending. (For details, see The Post of Sept. 17; and the New York Times of Sept. 19.)

By a Gresham's Law of political discourse, McCain's Queen of Hearts intervention in the opaque financial crisis overshadowed a solid conservative complaint from the Republican Study Committee, chaired by Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas. In a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, the RSC decried the improvised torrent of bailouts as a "dangerous and unmistakable precedent for the federal government both to be looked to and indeed relied upon to save private sector companies from the consequences of their poor economic decisions." This letter, listing just $650 billion of the perhaps more than $1 trillion in new federal exposures to risk, was sent while McCain's campaign, characteristically substituting vehemence for coherence, was airing an ad warning that Obama favors "massive government, billions in spending increases."

The political left always aims to expand the permeation of economic life by politics. Today, the efficient means to that end is government control of capital. So, is not McCain's party now conducting the most leftist administration in American history? The New Deal never acted so precipitously on such a scale. Treasury Secretary Paulson, asked about conservative complaints that his rescue program amounts to socialism, said, essentially: This is not socialism, this is necessary. That non sequitur might be politically necessary, but remember that government control of capital is government control of capitalism. Does McCain have qualms about this, or only quarrels?

On "60 Minutes" Sunday evening, McCain, saying "this may sound a little unusual," said that he would like to replace Cox with Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic attorney general of New York who is the son of former governor Mario Cuomo. McCain explained that Cuomo has "respect" and "prestige" and could "lend some bipartisanship." Conservatives have been warned.

Conservatives who insist that electing McCain is crucial usually start, and increasingly end, by saying he would make excellent judicial selections. But the more one sees of his impulsive, intensely personal reactions to people and events, the less confidence one has that he would select judges by calm reflection and clear principles, having neither patience nor aptitude for either.

It is arguable that, because of his inexperience, Obama is not ready for the presidency. It is arguable that McCain, because of his boiling moralism and bottomless reservoir of certitudes, is not suited to the presidency. Unreadiness can be corrected, although perhaps at great cost, by experience. Can a dismaying temperament be fixed?

Lindsay Lohan Confirms Romantic Relationship with Samantha Ronson

After months of refusing to comment on the public speculation about their relationship, actress Lindsay Lohan and DJ Samantha Ronson finally publicly confirmed their relationship in a L.A. radio call-in show last night, in a short, casual exchange confirming that they've been together "a very long time."

READ ARTICLE

Clay Aiken Gay... duh

New dad Clay Aiken comes out of closet

NEW YORK (AP) -- Clay Aiken is finally confirming what many people suspected: He's gay.

The cover of the latest People magazine shows Aiken holding his infant son, Parker Foster Aiken, with the headline: "Yes, I'm Gay." The cover also has the quote: "I cannot raise a child to lie or hide things."

The magazine has an interview with Aiken and confirmed that he was on the cover but refused to release the article until Wednesday.

The baby's mother is Aiken's friend and record producer Jaymes Foster.

Aiken, who gained fame as the runner-up on "American Idol" in 2003, rarely addressed the frequent rumors about his sexuality. He said two years ago, "I don't really feel like I have anybody to answer to but myself and God and the people I love."

The multiplatinum singer recently released the CD "On My Way Here" and made his Broadway debut this spring in "Monty Python's Spamalot."

Networks Revolt Against Reporter-Blocking Palin UN Meeting

UPDATE: The McCain campaign gave in and agreed to let a CNN producer into the UN meetings.

The New York Times adds that reporters were let in for the preliminary part of Palin's meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Here's what they got:

(READ)

This might be worth seeing....

Oliver Stone's "W." Movie: An Exclusive Clip (VIDEO)

Oliver Stone's "W." comes out October 17 and below is the first look at a television spot for the film. With Josh Brolin as the president, Thandie Newton as Condi, Richard Dreyfuss as Cheney and more, the below clip shows everything from a presidential press conference to a pretzel choke and introduces the main characters.

WATCH:

California Plea

Quotable

"I think [Palin] is the worst thing to happen to America since 9-11. Someone who has no thoughts about women's rights and who wants to send women back to the Stone Age? You might as well not let women vote. I came out of the Democratic convention feeling so proud and excited, but now I fear that our country is so backwards in so many ways and the ignorance that exists is greater than we can even imagine.

The reach of homophobia and hatred is so wide, it's disturbing how deep it is. Now with Sarah Palin, who is so anti-gay and advocated camps for them to go to be brainwashed, she is a real sign of something very wrong with this country, a real problem. We are battling homophobia on so many fronts."

-- Margaret Cho on Sarah Palin, in a Washington Blade interview.

'John Adams' sets record

Story Highlights

• NEW: "Mad Men" is best drama
  
• NEW: "30 Rock" is best comedy; Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin also win
  
• "John Adams" has 13 Emmy wins overall
  
• "Colbert Report," "Daily Show" win Emmys

(CNN) -- "John Adams" set an Emmy record Sunday night, with 13 wins overall -- eight Creative Arts awards and five on the prime-time presentation, including outstanding miniseries.

HBO's "John Adams" has won 11 Emmys overall. The miniseries received 23 nominations.

The HBO program, which led all nominees with 23 nods, also earned trophies for Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Tom Wilkinson and writer Kirk Ellis.

"Mad Men" was named best drama.

The NBC sitcom "30 Rock" was named best comedy series as part of its seven Emmys overall. Creator Tina Fey got two -- one for writing, one for acting -- and lead actor Alec Baldwin also won. Gallery: See the stars on the red carpet

"The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" ruled the Emmys among variety/comedy/music programs, with "Colbert" winning for its writing and "Daily" winning best overall.

The award was the sixth straight for "The Daily Show." Blog: Behind the scenes at the Emmys

A predecessor in the topical "Daily"/"Colbert" tradition, "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," earned an Emmy 40 years late.

Comedian Tommy Smothers, onetime "Smothers Brothers" scribe Steve Martin pointed out, left his name off the list submitted to the Emmys for the writing award in 1969 so as not to inflame their attitudes at a time when the ever-topical Smothers show was the subject of controversy. When the show's staff won, Smothers was left out.

Smothers accepted emotionally, concluding his speech, "There's nothing more scary than watching ignorance in action. So I dedicate this to add the people who feel compelled to speak out ... to speak truth to power."

Another comedy veteran, Don Rickles, picked up an award for "Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project."

"I've been in the business 55 years, and the biggest award I got was an ashtray from the Friars in New York," Rickles said, offering several more zingers in his acceptance. Earlier in the evening, when Rickles came out with Kathy Griffin to present an award, Griffin demanded the audience "GET UP!" -- and it responded with a standing ovation for the 82-year-old comedian.

In a surprise, "Breaking Bad's" Bryan Cranston defeated "Mad Men's" Jon Hamm and "House's" Hugh Laurie to win best actor in a drama.

Glenn Close won best actress in a drama for "Damages."

Jeremy Piven won his third straight Emmy Sunday night, for best supporting actor in a comedy for his performance in "Entourage." Interactive: List of winners »

Piven poked fun at the odd opening by five reality show hosts before thanking the audience for his award.

"What if I just kept talking for 12 minutes -- what would happen? That was the opening," he said.

The five hosts began the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards by doing ... nothing.

Ryan Seacrest, Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and Jeff Probst -- with the 5-foot, 9 ½-inch high-heeled Klum towering over her fellow hosts -- spent a few minutes doing some bizarre vamping, admitting they hadn't prepared an opening. They followed a gracious Oprah Winfrey, who paid tribute to the television medium by observing that "television helped open up my world."

Probst won the award for best reality show host. "The Amazing Race" was named best reality-competition show for the sixth straight year.

Ricky Gervais received more laughs than the hosts for a segment in which he berated Steve Carell for stealing the Emmy Gervais won last year.

"Have you been to see 'Ghost Town' yet?" he demanded, referring to his new movie. "I went to see 'Evan Almighty.' Give me my Emmy."

Another nice ad

Gov at First Sight

Marry me Jon Stewart!!

One thought pushes Florida fence-sitters to the left: Palin

"That was almost insulting," Democrat Rhonda Laris of Temple Terrace, another strong Clinton backer skeptical of Obama, said of the Palin pick. "Do they think we're really stupid? … I'm definitely leaning toward the Democratic side now. Sarah Palin scares ... me."

READ >>

Alaskans angered that Palin is off-limits

"Why did the McCain campaign take over the governor's office?" the Anchorage Daily News demanded in an editorial Saturday. "Is it too much to ask that Alaska's governor speak for herself, directly to Alaskans, about her actions as Alaska's governor?"

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If Obama could talk to Barlett (Prez from West Wing)

Op-Ed Columnist - Aaron Sorkin Conjures a Meeting of Obama and Bartlet

What if Barack Obama turned to former President Jed Bartlet of the “West Wing” for some fatherly wisdom?

OBAMA: What would you do?

BARTLET: GET ANGRIER! Call them liars, because that’s what they are. Sarah Palin didn’t say “thanks but no thanks” to the Bridge to Nowhere. She just said “Thanks.” You were raised by a single mother on food stamps — where does a guy with eight houses who was legacied into Annapolis get off calling you an elitist? And by the way, if you do nothing else, take that word back. Elite is a good word, it means well above average. I’d ask them what their problem is with excellence. While you’re at it, I want the word “patriot” back. McCain can say that the transcendent issue of our time is the spread of Islamic fanaticism or he can choose a running mate who doesn’t know the Bush doctrine from the Monroe Doctrine, but he can’t do both at the same time and call it patriotic. They have to lie — the truth isn’t their friend right now. Get angry. Mock them mercilessly; they’ve earned it. McCain decried agents of intolerance, then chose a running mate who had to ask if she was allowed to ban books from a public library. It’s not bad enough she thinks the planet Earth was created in six days 6,000 years ago complete with a man, a woman and a talking snake, she wants schools to teach the rest of our kids to deny geology, anthropology, archaeology and common sense too? It’s not bad enough she’s forcing her own daughter into a loveless marriage to a teenage hood, she wants the rest of us to guide our daughters in that direction too? It’s not enough that a woman shouldn’t have the right to choose, it should be the law of the land that she has to carry and deliver her rapist’s baby too? I don’t know whether or not Governor Palin has the tenacity of a pit bull, but I know for sure she’s got the qualifications of one. And you’re worried about seeming angry? You could eat their lunch, make them cry and tell their mamas about it and God himself would call it restrained. There are times when you are simply required to be impolite. There are times when condescension is called for!

READ>>

A Reminder to Celebrate Life

As I celebrate my good friend Carolyn's heroic year of kicking Cancer's Ass!

Easy, Breezy, Gay... CoverGirl

DOES THIS LIP LINER MATCH MY TIE?

Last week, we reported the widespread rumors that Ellen DeGeneres might be the next celebrity to represent CoverGirl cosmetics.

Then, faster than you say "Powder me!" DeGeneres announced on her show that the rumors were true.

You know how I always like to share what's going on in my life with you all, and I was going to give you some news, and unfortunately rumors started circulating all over the internet ...I am here to set the record straight right now. I am not pregnant. It just turned out to be a bump. I went and had it checked out. ... That's not the news. I am the new face of CoverGirl.

She added, "I am very, very excited about it... It’s a very cool thing…I’m honored and the photo shoot was ‘easy, breezy, beautiful…CoverGirl.'"

DeGeneres is making history as an out lesbian celebrity representing a major cosmetic line. And in addition to being not straight, she is also not girly, which makes the selection of DeGeneres for the role a fascinating cultural statement—regardless of whether or not that was ever CoverGirl's intention.

Sure, DeGeneres is popular. In fact, according to Ad Age, "Ms. DeGeneres ranked as the most popular celebrity in the U.S. in a poll by Harris Interactive earlier this year. She edged out talk rival Oprah Winfrey, who generally enjoys higher ratings but saw her popularity dinged after her strong endorsement of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid."

But in addition to being popular, she also challenges conventional notions of femininity (and, arguably, feminine beauty) every time she dons a vest, adjusts her tie or marries Portia de Rossi.

The response to the news has been pretty tame. In AOL's WalletPop blog post, "Are cosmetics companies the new anti-glam?" the writer observes:

Ellen, of course, wears a ton of makeup in her daily job as a talk show host, but she is not the first person you'd think of when you think about glamor. She's also not exactly a runway model. She looks like a real person and dresses in a true anti-glam fashion — a pant suit is still a pant suit even if you wear it to host the Oscars.

While Rihanna appeals to teens who want to look their best, Ellen will appeal to older women who still want to look their best, but maybe realize that they are who they are and they don't need to cover up anything or change anything about themselves. That's, at least, the message I'd be getting as somebody in the target audience. It strikes me as something akin to Dove's "real women" campaign, which picks regular-looking women to advertise beauty products. And it's a refreshing trend from the rail-thin models who had become so prevalent on magazine covers.

Pop-culture analysts may say what they will about pant suits, but there's been no substantial amount of public snark aimed at CoverGirl for selecting an out, soft butch lesbian as a spokesmodel. If anything, the only hint of a backlash has been against DeGeneres for aligning herself with a company known for animal testing.

And lesbians weighing in on the subject don't even seem surprised by the progressive nature of CoverGirl's casting.

On our own forum, AfterEllen.com reader Sista says, "She's natural, she's dynamic, she's 50, she's the new face of CoverGirl. And, she's a lesbian! How cool is that???" And Dorothy Snarker mused, "If we can explode the myths about lesbian femininity and redefine traditional beauty norms, can the total eradication of the mullet be far behind?"

Snarker also wrote on her blog, "You’ve come a long way, lesbo," and it's true. Back in the early days of lesbian feminism, lesbians were considered "fierce" when we made the personal political, established collectives to record women's music, and wrote blistering manifestoes about dismantling (or dismembering) patriarchy.

In today's Tyra-fied world, the ability to "smile with your eyes" might be the only requirement.