And from right under the Pope's nose, comes this tidbit...
In other news from the Vatican...

Another contact, Lorenzo Renzi, is heard explaining the job to a potential client. “Do not break his cock!! You need the money ... put a little music, you take out the [inaudible] … you drop the Viagra there. And away!”

Republican state Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield has taken leave from his elected position until at least Monday, after his arrest on suspicion of drunken driving here started a firestorm over his sexual orientation.

Ashburn, 55, has served in the Legislature since 1996 and consistently has voted against bills that would expand legal protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Californians. The single father of four is among lawmakers with the staunchest records against those issues.

Ashburn was arrested and booked into Sacramento County jail on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol just after 2 a.m. Wednesday and a local television station cited unnamed sources in reporting that Ashburn had spent the evening at Faces, a large gay dance club a few blocks from where police stopped him. Ashburn was driving his state-issued vehicle.

There has been no confirmation of Ashburn being at the club that night, which drew large crowds for a Miss Gay Latina, Sacramento, competition. But, three sources have told The Chronicle that they have seen Ashburn regularly at gay clubs and bars near Faces. Capitol staffers say it is an open secret that Ashburn frequently visits Sacramento's gay establishments.
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Ashburn has voted against bills establishing same-sex marriage, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation in businesses and strengthening anti-bullying and harassment protections for gay kids in public schools.

Equality California, the state's leading gay rights lobbying organization, has consistently given Ashburn a zero percent rating in its annual scorecard of lawmakers' votes on gay rights. Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, said Ashburn has "one of the worst records of anyone in the Legislature" on expanding rights for LGBT people.

Along with a Supreme Court ruling allowing greater influence of money in our political dialogue, and a likely upcoming ruling allowing greater presence of guns during that dialogue...

The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several States, and without regard to any census or enumeration.

The Congress shall have power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises [ . . . ] but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States [ . . . ][1]
Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers [ . . . . ][2]
No Capitation, or other direct, Tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the Census or Enumeration herein before directed to be taken.[3]

What I meant to imply is that I do not believe the Constitution extends the right to own a gun to everyone, nor does it equate speech with spending money.

Ownership of a gun has a designated purpose, and we already restrict the expenditure of money in many ways. One of them is income tax collection.If these tax provisions were applied wisely and fairly we would not have the current financial crisis.The tax cuts imposed during the Bush administration so distorted the income tax burden in this country that we may never see another balanced budget until the progressive income tax is restored. That is particularly poignant now because the monitoring and collecting of personal income taxes would be far more fair and efficient due to the availability of computer technology. What is preventing that is lack of transparency determing incomes which is encouraged by over regressive tax rates.

"[I]f a prohibition of slavery in a Territory in 1820 violated this principle of [due process], the ordinance of 1787 also violated it." Further: "[W]hen a strict interpretation of the Constitution, according to the fixed rules which govern the interpretation of laws, is abandoned, and the theoretical opinions of individuals are allowed to control its meaning, we have no longer a Constitution; we are under the government of individual men, who for the time being have power to declare what the Constitution is, according to their own views of what it ought to mean."

Update!
Roy Ashburn: "I am gay."

As is the case with every right, from the First Amendment's Free Speech to unwarranted searches, and more, no right is absolute.

Joe Racalto, Massa's chief of staff, was uneasy that Massa, 50, was living with several young, unmarried male staffers and using sexually explicit language with them, one source said. But what finally prompted him to call Pelosi's director of member services, the source said, was a lunch date that Massa made with a congressional aide in his 20s who worked in the office of Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.).

According to a person briefed on the call, Racalto was concerned that the lunch followed a pattern by Massa -- who is married and has two children -- of trying to spend time alone with young gay men with no ostensible work purpose.

The scandal around Rep. Eric Massa is worrisome, due to how it may impact the repeal of DADT. Because of allegations that he groped and made unwanted sexual advances on junior officers when he was in the Navy, opponents of repealing DADT may use his case to tar gays and lesbians who serve.

To be blunt, I fear this may turn into a witch hunt.

Massa has resigned, but I see a hounding of him from many quarters that goes beyond his resignation. Clearly he is closeted. In a strange way I feel sorry for the guy. His closeted life is unravelling, and it is being done on the front page and on national television. I hope someone intervenes with him before it turns worse for him.

Well they SHOULD dig up whatever they can on Massa. So should the Democrats. I want idiots and/or criminals exposed and rooted out of our governerment. I'm not calling for witch hunts. But this guy is clearly a sleaze. And if he was willing to use his power as a naval officer to force himself on his underlngs. God only knows what kind of shenanigans he's been up to with the power of the US Congress behind him.

If he did anything illegal then he should be held responsible, but the real problem is that electorate doesn't investigate candidates BEFORE they vote. I'd include the press on that too. IMHO the navy guys that are coming out and saying something now should just be quiet. If what he did was sooooooooo bad they should have said something before. Like at the time.

Reporting something like that when you are in the armed forces is a whole lot different than in other professions. While it would be nice if they had reported him when it happened, it's a whole lot easier said than done when it comes to the military.

I think the notion that a superior officer might use his position to sexually harass or assault a same-sex soldier under his or her command is an argument against eliminating DADT is idiotic and hypocritical.

Massa's behavior only emphasizes why DADT is such a tragic policy.

I think the notion that a superior officer might use his position to sexually harass or assault a same-sex soldier under his or her command is an argument against eliminating DADT is idiotic and hypocritical.

Massa's behavior only emphasizes why DADT is such a tragic policy.

BTW - Choi has been asked to rejoin his infantry unit by his commanding officer (who never wanted to let him go anyhow, but had to follow rules) since Obama's speech calling for DADT's end.

Here are two views on how the "Massa Mess" or "Massa Disasta" may have an impact on the repael of DADT.

New York Daily News Article

View from The Nation

In the midst of his 2002 congressional campaign, Utah House Majority Leader Kevin Garn paid $150,000 to a woman threatening to go public with a past relationship.
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After the House adjourned Thursday night, Garn addressed Maher's allegations directly, saying the incident 25 years ago "was clearly inappropriate and it was my fault."

With his wife Tanya by his side, Garn admitted to the payments and said the news is now coming back to haunt him.
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Maher's story is this: In 1985, then 15 years old, Maher worked for then 30-year-old Garn at his business, Pegasus Records and KSG Enterprises.

She said Garn, who was married, struck up a relationship with her and one night took her to a location in Salt Lake City where they hot-tubbed together nude.

Utah congressman admits to having a nude hot tub with a 15 year old girl (he was 30 at the time) and then paying her $150,000 to keep it a secret--which she did (the incident took place in 1985), until now.
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Representative Mark Souder, a conservative Indiana Republican, said Tuesday that he was resigning as of Friday after having an extramarital affair with a staff member in his district office, as events continued to roil the midterm election landscape.

“I sinned against God, my wife and my family by having a mutual relationship with a part-time member of my staff,” Mr. Souder said in a statement. “In the poisonous environment of Washington, D.C., any personal failing is seized upon, often twisted, for political gain. I am resigning rather than to put my family through that painful, drawn-out process.”

I have mixed feelings about these kind of stories. Does infidelity really mean you cant hold public office? Aren't public officials still entitled to a private life?

I have mixed feelings about these kind of stories. Does infidelity really mean you cant hold public office? Aren't public officials still entitled to a private life?

Sad.

If there was one word -- one sentiment -- that defined discussions in Indiana political circles Friday, that was it.

Those discussions were prompted by an Indianapolis Star report detailing personal emails suggesting that state Rep. Phillip Hinkle, R-Indianapolis, responded to a posting on Craigslist and offered to pay $80 for a young man to join him in a Downtown hotel.
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The emails were sent Saturday from Hinkle's publicly listed personal address in response to a Craigslist posting asking for a "sugga daddy." The response from phinkle46 @comcast.net offered the young man $80 for "a couple hours of your time tonight" at the JW Marriott hotel, with a tip of up to $50 or $60 "for a really good time."

When contacted by The Star, Hinkle did not contest the emails but said he was "aware of a shakedown taking place," though he would not elaborate. He has referred all questions to his lawyer.

Kameryn Gibson, 18, has told The Star that he posted the Craigslist item. He said he met with Hinkle but tried to leave the hotel after Hinkle told him he was a state lawmaker. Gibson said Hinkle grabbed him in the rear, exposed himself to him and later gave him an iPad, BlackBerry cellphone and $100 in cash to stay quiet.
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Hinkle is far from the first lawmaker to have his personal life surface in news reports. In February, U.S. Rep. Chris Lee, R-N.Y., resigned after photographs surfaced of him posing shirtless on Craigslist. His colleague Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., resigned in June, admitting he sent lewd pictures to women via Twitter.

Indiana's no stranger to sex scandal, either. U.S. Rep. Mark Souder, R-Fort Wayne, stepped down last year when an extramarital affair became public. Also last year, Andrew Miller resigned as head of the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles one day after he was arrested and accused of masturbating in front of an undercover police officer and asking the officer to touch his genitals.

“If u want to consider spending night u might tell ur sis so she won’t worry. Would have u back before 11 tomorrow. No extra cash just free breakfast and maybe late night snack.”

Indiana State Rep. Phillip Hinkle, the anti-gay marriage Indiana Republican accused of offering to pay a young man he met over Craigslist for "a good time," admits that he paid the man but contends that they didn't do anything illicit — they just talked about "baseball and the view."
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He admitted to the Indianapolis Star on Tuesday that he did exchange e-mails with 18-year old Kameryn Gibson through Craigslist, on the section of the site meant for "casual encounters" between two men. Hinkle also admitted that he paid Gibson $80 "for a good time," but denied Gibson's allegations that he tried to prevent him from leaving the hotel room, exposed himself, and tried to pay him off with $100 cash, an iPad and Blackberry to keep quiet.
* * *
Hinkle said that when Gibson got there they just talked about "baseball and the view," and that when Hinkle came out of the bathroom Gibson had left, and stole the money, the iPad and the Blackberry. "I went to the edge," Hinkle said, "but I didn't fall over the edge."

"I got everything back but the iPad," Hinkle told the Star, "and quite frankly, if that makes them feel good, so be it." He noted that he won't be filing a police report.
* * *
"I say that emphatically," Hinkle also said. "I'm not gay."

Last week, images from Puerto Rican senator and GOP cheerleader Roberto Arango's alleged profile on gay hook-up app Grindr surfaced. When a Puerto Rican TV show confronted him, Arango neither confirmed nor denied making the profile but offered this excuse:

You know I've been losing weight. As I shed that weight, I've been taking pictures. I don't remember taking this particular picture but I'm not gonna say I didn't take it. I'd tell you if I remembered taking the picture but I don't.

Meanwhile, in Puerto Rico: Republican Politician Naked, Bending Over on Gay Sex Site

Are these guys nuts? What the hell is wrong with them? Don't they have a clue as to what frickin' hypocrites they are (among other things)? Disgusting. Just disgusting.