Year: 2007

Is Bush’s Penchant for Torture Tied to a Secret Sado-Masochistic Past?

Jon Ponder

In her book, “Lustful Utterances: Cohn to Bush 1981-1986,” Leola McConnell, a retired “muscle dominatrice,” claims to have participated in BDSM sex with George W. Bush back in the day when he was just a superannuated fratboy and son of the vice president. Here’s a quote from the book’s online promotional material:

Through “Lustful Utterances,” the reader can take a safe journey into the world of BDSM and into the very disturbed psyche of Alfred Bloomingdale, Roy Cohn and George Bush. Through Leola’s keen observations regarding BDSM, readers will look into the twisted psyche of these three men from a vantage point never before revealed by a dominatrice.

Her lean muscular, but feminine physique established her in the 1980’s as the go-to dominatrice for those in need of the real thing when severe punishment of the flesh was required.

While their professions differed, all three men were (and one still is) men of power that liked taking and/or giving pain in sexual scenarios involving domination and submission.

Both Bloomingdale and Cohn were very influential players in the New York/Washington D.C political scenes throughout their lives, while in 1984, George Bush was [then] the simple minded bisexual son of the seated Vice President of the United States, George H W. Bush.

[The description of Bush as “bisexual” refers at least in part to unsubstantiated gossip that Bush had an affair many years ago with Victor Ashe, a Tennessee Republican.]

Leola exposes them to the light of day, while explaining scientifically their psychological need for punishment, what it is rooted in and how the end result of those needs did and would result in a pathological predisposition for poor political polices, both in the US and abroad.

“Lustful Utterances” will leave many readers with knots in their stomachs but will provide clarity as to why the homoerotic-sado-masochism of Abu Ghraib prison could only have manifested itself on George Bush’s tenure as leader of the free world.

McConnell’s allegations against Bloomingdale, the husband of Nancy Reagan’s BFF and a member of Reagan’s kitchen cabinet, and Roy Cohn, the prototype self-hating Republican gay man, are in line with what is known about these fellows’ sex lives. But it’s hard to square kink with Bush’s history of fratboy loutishness and the absence of evidence that he possesses a functioning imagination. On the other hand, you never know. (See update below.)

What is evident is that McConnell has no hard copy evidence that she whipped the future president and called him bad names. Proof of this: She is not fabulously wealthy, nor is she dead.

All kidding aside, Bush may be into rough sex but the real reason he approved torturing prisoners is serious. He has a sociopathic indifference to the suffering of others.

Update: Interesting note from Mark at BuzzFlash, recalling a 2004 Associated Press article about “Doonesbury” cartoonist Gary Trudeau:

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O’Reilly in Uproar Over Gay Dumbledore

Buck Banks

It was, I suppose, predictable that professional bloviator Bill O’Reilly would get his panties in a twist over author J.K. Rowling’s (yawn) revelation that a character in the Harry Potter novels was gay. Rowling told an audience at Carnegie Hall last week that the headmaster of Hogwarts Academy, Albus Dumbledore, was gay.

Despite the fact that Rowling offended my English major’s sensibilities by telling something outside the novel (“So, Mr. Twain, what career track did Huck follow when he grew up?”), O’Reilly is trying — very hard, apparently — to cast Rowling as a “provocateur” who is pushing “gay indoctrination” by saying a character in her novels is gay, even though he apparently never did anything gay-like in the novels. Here’s Bill at his usual, courtesy of Media Matters:

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Huckabee, Media’s Nice Guy, Was the First Republican to Smear Gays in ’08 Debate

Jon Ponder

New York Times columnist Gail Collins perfectly captures the conventional wisdom about Mike Huckabee in today’s edition:

Why would the family values crowd prefer a batshit crazy adulterating New Yorker, a Hollywood actor/abortion lobbyist or a Mormon to one of their own?

Like Bill Clinton, Huckabee was born in a town called Hope and became a pretty good governor of a state that doesn’t make it all that easy. (Plus, you have to love the fact that he lived for a while in a mobile home on the Arkansas Statehouse grounds.) He’s extremely inclusive, defending minorities who are illegal immigrants as well as the ones registered to vote.

Inclusive? Preacher Huckabee was the first and only ’08 candidate (so far) to slur a gay person, who also happens to be a member of Congress:

“Let’s face it,” he recently told a crowd of Christian conservatives in Iowa… “In our lifetimes, we’ve seen our country go from ‘Leave It to Beaver’ to ‘Beavis and Butt-head,’ from Barney Fife to Barney Frank, from ‘Father Knows Best’ to television shows where father knows nothing.”

Collins continues:

On the downside, I think he’d be a terrible president. He doesn’t know beans about foreign affairs, he wants to replace the income tax with a national sales tax, and his positions on social issues are far to the right of the general populace. But why aren’t the social conservatives rallying around this guy? Unlike any of the major candidates, he’s still on his first wife and first position on abortion.

Why would the family values crowd prefer a batshit crazy adulterating New Yorker, a Hollywood actor/abortion lobbyist or a Mormon to one of their own?

Because the Cheney-Bush crowd has spent the last six years scaring the bejesus out of them. These feeble-minded souls are convinced that Osama has an army of suiciders on its way to blow up every Walmart store in America. They want someone who will protect them.

Perhaps types Establishment (or maybe non-Southerners) can’t see Huckabee as his own peeps do. They sense weakness, or at least a decided lack of toughness. (His signature accomplishment is losing 110 pounds.)

Huckabee’s jab at Barney Frank, which was briefly a soundbite from a debate in March, was a pathetic attempt to pander to the haters. It didn’t work because it was way too mild.

If he can’t smear a queer better than that, how can he protect me Osama bin Laden?

California’s Top Dem: Bush’s Fire Photo Op Will Interfere with Firefighting

Jon Ponder

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi:

“How about sending our National Guard back from Iraq, so that we have those people available here to help us?”

“I’ve got some doubt about the value of President Bush coming out here. How many times did he go to New York or to New Orleans and still made promises but hasn’t delivered. We have the Terminator out here, Gov. Schwarzenegger is doing a good job, and we’ll see.”

Asked if Bush’s trip is about PR: “Of course it’s public relations. The actions taking place by the hard working firefighters, the men and women and the police that are out there on the line, and the community that’s pulling together to support wach other, that’s where the action is taking place. I know, okay, President Bush comes out, we’ll be polite, but frankly, that’s not the solution. How about sending our National Guard back from Iraq, so that we have those people available here to help us?”

Asked if Bush’s visit will distract from fire fighting efforts: “Absolutely, no doubt about it. The president goes some place, you’ve got a huge entourage, you’ve got secret service all over and all the chaos that comes with whenever the President arrives, wherever the President happens to arrive. But listen, what we really need are those firefighters, we need the equipment, we need, frankly, we need those troops back from Iraq. We’ll get on here, whether he comes or not, that’s not really the issue. I just hope if he does come, he brings more than he brought to New Orleans” (“Hardball,” MSNBC, 10/23).

Colorado Rockies Only Hire Players Who Are Born-Again Christians

Jon Ponder

I’m not a baseball fan, but I will be rooting against the Rockies in the World Series this year:

“We truly do have something going on here. And God’s using us in a powerful way.”
— Keli McGregor, club president

In a remarkable article from Wednesday’s USA Today [June 2, 2006], the Colorado Rockies went public with the news that the organization has been explicitly looking for players with “character.” And according to the Tribe of Coors, “character” means accepting Jesus Christ as your personal lord and savior. “We’re nervous, to be honest with you,” Rockies general manager Dan O’Dowd said. “It’s the first time we ever talked about these issues publicly. The last thing we want to do is offend anyone because of our beliefs.” When people are nervous that they will offend you with their beliefs, it’s usually because their beliefs are offensive.

Club president Keli McGregor said, “[We] truly do have something going on here. And [God’s] using us in a powerful way.”

One ex-player said team officials inspected the lockers to ensure players weren’t hiding “Playboy” magazines or other immoral contraband on the premises.

League of Fans, Ralph Nader related resource, reports that the Rockies received a $161 million subsidy from Colorado taxpayers to build Coors Field, which opened in 1995. It’s doubtful those taxpayers knew they were supporting a private organization whose membership would be restricted to Christian extremists.

Should They Put Al Gore on the Florida Ballot?

Buck Banks

‘To be or not to be.’

Co-editor Trish is all in a dither these days over the state of Democratic politics in Florida. Since her ballot would not be counted in Florida’s (in the eyes of the national Democratic Party — illegal) Jan. 29 vote, she says she’s not sure she’ll even vote in the presidential primary. But maybe there’s something that would get Trish to cast a ballot for a presidential candidate after all: Al Gore.

It’s almost Shakespearean.

The St. Petersburg Times’ Buzz column suggests that leaders of Florida’s Democratic Party easily could add Gore to the ballot they draw up this weekend:

Heck, most of the other Florida-snubbing Democratic candidates say Florida’s primary is so meaningless they won’t even send their spouses to mix with party regulars in Orlando this weekend. Why not have some fun with it then, and add a Nobel Peace Prize winner to the Florida ballot? Call it a favor to those Palm Beachers who accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan in 2000 and want another chance to vote for Gore. Hillary and company probably wouldn’t love the idea, but she and the rest of the field haven’t exactly been dolling out favors lately to Florida Democrats.

Why not, indeed. Although Buzz does admit to making the suggestion just to create some, ahem, buzz at this weekend’s state convention, it makes this piquant observation:

Al Gore back on the Florida ballot, after the national Democrats opted not to count Florida’s Democratic votes. It’s almost Shakespearean.

As he Bard himself might have suggested: hoist the Democratic candidates on their own petard and be done with it.