Mythological Washington Post

Duh. It's on the opinion page. But you would expect a series titled "Five Myths about _____" to have some objectivity.

My naivete was shattered with last Sunday's "Five Myths about Sarah Palin" which was written, not by an objective analyst, but by the partisan Palin hagiographer Matthew Continetti. The piece should be called Five Spins about Sarah Palin. Can you expect straight talk from a guy whose book about the half-term governor is titled: The Persecution of Sarah Palin: How the Elite Media Tried to Bring Down a Rising Star?

Texting Fail

Did the Washington Post really need to text me at 6:14 a.m. to tell me that there was "light snow on the ground" and schools are delayed? I mean, text me when something unexpected happens. Like Michael Steele saying something that doesn't embarass Congressional Republicans.

Dan Balz and the GOP

WaPo writer Dan Balz has a front page piece today that begins:

"One year after hitting bottom in the aftermath of President Obama's elections, Republicans have taken their first concrete steps toward recovery."

Balz's story then goes on to highlight how seriously F'd up the Republicans are, making mockery of his lede. Someone should punch his editor.

Okay, yes, the GOP won in VA and NJ, but those victories were pegged more by candidates than the party. The GOP was lucky that it ran against two lackluster Dems and the Republican candidates ran better campaigns than their opponents. It's difficult to see how you can draw Party-wide "concrete steps" from such victories. Especially when Nov. 3 also saw the loss of a House District that has been in GOP hands almost since the GOP was invented. And, as Balz himself points out:

"But New Jersey and Virginia voted against the party holding the White House in the past six gubernatorial elections and are therefore unreliable harbingers of the 2010 campaign."

Duh. Well, that inconvenient truth doesn't prevent the Washington Post and the rest of the MSM from treating those victories as "concrete steps" towards a GOP rebirth.

I think the portent most important for 2010 is the NY House race. The Republican loss there defied history, while their wins in NJ and VA were with history's tide. The GOP, by giving in to the most scurrilous of the tea baggers and birthers will push away moderating voices. And continue to lose.

Republicans are taking concrete steps alright. Concrete tied to their heels as they step cluelessly on water.

The Washington Post and the Wone Murder Case

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"Openly Gay"

Isn't it time for the media to retire this tired phrase? As in this story:

[DC City Councilman David] Catania, who is openly gay, also complained that the clinic does not have the resources needed to stem the city's HIV/AIDS epidemic.

First of all, is the fact of Catania's sexuality really germane to the story, which is about Catania's belief the clinic is being mismanaged? Yes, HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects the gay community, but this story isn't about that. It's about bookeeping and compliance with Federal laws. If Catania were straight, would the Post have found it necessary to point that out?

And if they need to mention Catania's sexuality, why not just say "gay?" It's not as if they're going to write, "Catania, who is secretly gay..."

The problem I have with "openly" is it implies there is something to hide. As if being "open" is unusual and out of the ordinary. That might have once been the case but hello, Washington Post, they're marrying the gays in Iowa! The closet has vastly shrunk. Worse, the qualifier "openly" makes an important but mundane aspect of Catania's life sound tawdry. It sounds like condemnation. "Catania, who is openly an arsonist..."

Catania. Is. Gay. Not a biggie.

The phrase "openly gay" needs to follow its predecessor "practicing homosexual" to the ash heap of history.

Washington Post Alerts

I signed up for "INAUGURATION & NEWS" alerts (all caps the Post's) to my phone, but so far, other than the confirmation text the only thing I've gotten from them is text asking me for information.

In the End it's About the Drag Queens

At least it's always the drag queens (or leather daddies) that get featured in pics or videos of Pride.

Here's today's photo gallery about Pride...and it's all about, yup, Drag Queens.

Is it 2008 or 1988?

Listen: I don't have a problem with either drag queens OR leather daddies. But our community is So Much More than that. Why are drag queens garnering additional attention...what about the ordinary gay heroes who are changing culture by bravely living their lives openly, as Sean Bugg writes about? Or the under 30 somethings the Blade focuses on?

Drag is not new. It's not at the forefront of what is exciting and new in our culture or community. Drag as a topic is tired and it's definitely not news.

One could fault the Post for resorting to cliche in covering Pride this way. But the Pride organizers did select a drag queen to emcee the main stage.

Mountains, here I come.

Washington Post's Gay Distinctions

The WashPo editorializes today that the California Supreme Court "meddled" in the gay marriage debate in California.

Yes, how troublesome that the California Supremes made a ruling about the California state constitution. Interlopers.

Before I get to the substance of the Post Editorial, let me say this about the "activist judges" nonsense. I could see that term applying if the Court, bored one day said, hey, let's make gay marriage legal! The Gays will be dancing in the streets!

No, what happened here and in other cases, a minority pressed for a legal decision about whether their constitutional rights were being infringed. And the court made a decision in response to the minority. That's their job.

To the editorial -- the Post says that the California supremes:

correctly recognized that government bears the highest burden if it decides to treat differently the relationships between opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

And so the California court ruled that the government did not meet that burden. And the Post wants to second guess -- i.e., "meddle" -- that decision. The Post makes an odd distinction, saying the U.S. Supreme Court acted correctly in finding that separate was not equal when it comes to school segregation (Brown v. Brd of Education) but that rationale can't apply to gay folk wanting to get married:

This is a far cry from the California experience with the rights of same-sex couples. The state's elected representatives passed sweeping legislation in 1999 that gave same-sex couples near legal parity with their opposite-sex counterparts; that landmark legislation has been amended over the years to expand the rights of gay couples. Before the court ruling, same-sex couples in California had virtually the same -- not separate, but the same -- legal rights as heterosexual couples, insofar as state law can grant that.

Emphasis added. The key words here are "near" and "virtually" the same rights. We gay folk are supposed to be grateful we're granted nearly and virtually the same rights as straight people. How dare we question whether or not that's okay in a society supposedly based on the notion of equal protection under the laws.

The California Court looked at the California state constitution and agreed separate is not equal. All three branches of California's government are now on record supporting the rights of gay people not to be discriminated against by marriage.

It's too bad the Post thinks that "virtually" equal is just fine for gay Americans.

The Crack Addict Still Has Bite

Marion Barry, DC's former Mayor for Life and current Councilman, the same Barry who got busted for smoking crack and muttering into the survelliance camera "the bitch set me up" (referring to the prostitute he was with), doesn't cotton to criticisim and proves he's still got the punch to move the Washington Post.

After Barry's communications director sent a blast email to the DC media, including, for some reason, the Washington Post's venerable music critic, Tim Page, Page responded with this missive:

Must we hear about it every time this Crack Addict attempts to rehabilitate
himself with some new - and typically half witted--political
grandstanding?

I'd be grateful if you would take me off your mailing list. I
Cannot think of anything the useless Marion Barry could do that would interest
me in the slightest, up to and including overdose. Sincerely, Tim Page.

Barry put down the crack pipe long enough to call Len Downie, Executive Director of the Post, and get Page suspended.

As Metroblogger wrote, Page didn't say anything that was factually incorrect. So why'd the Post cave?

DC City Paper Panties in a Wad

The poor folks over at DC's City Paper just can't understand why Mayor Fenty gives scoops to the WaPo. Uh, maybe because the Post is a newspaper. And the City Paper is...what?

I mean, an eight-page or so feature story on cat-calls?

City Paper: If you want an example of an excellent weekly rag that covers the community, politics, arts, culture and the DC social scene, check out Metro Weekly.

And stop whining.

From Dan: He Won!

Dan Kaufman, owner of DKG, has won a "redate" with some lucky guy, courtesy of the Washington Post. Here's Dan:

Thanks to everyone who voted for me, and especially to Scott for posting this on his blog (3 entries! I'm honored! :-)

So, I won! I am the top male vote-getter, so the Gay Men's Chorus gets a nice $500 donation courtesy of the Washington Post, and I get another date, also courtesy of the Washington Post.

Keep an eye out for the results in the February 11th edition of the Washington Post Sunday Magazine.

Maybe Dan will give us "inside" scoop after the Post publishes the story.

This has been fun, thanks to everyone who voted for Dan and thanks to Dan for playing along.

The Washington Post Requests Scott's Take Readers To Help Dan Find Love

I posted earlier about a Washington Post series called Date Lab, where random people are sent on blind dates to then have their experiences reported on in the paper. One such person was Dan Kaufman (pictured left), a friend of a friend. As I wrote earlier, Dan's first blind date went well, (you can read about it here) but didn't result in a romantic match.

Well, Dan has been selected to be a candidate for a second chance, if readers make him one of the top vote getters. I made a pitch for him because, if he gets selected, a charity of his choice (in this case the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington) gets a donation from the Post. I think that's a worthy cause.

I said you didn't have to want to date him to vote for him.

To which one of the Washington Post editors for the date lab left the following comment on this blog:

Hi there. I'm one of the editors the WPost Mag's Date Lab. We definitely appreciate the item on the re-Date contest, and Dan is indeed ahead right now. One important thing: While it's true you don't have to want to date Dan to vote, we do want encourage matchmaking. I mean, wouldn't it be great if aside from helping him contribute to charity, we could find him true love? The more nominations, the likelier it is. So c'mon folks: The perfect guy is out there--let's find 'im for Dan!

I figure if the Washington Post needs my help to find Dan a perfect match, who am I to say no?

See, you can not only vote for Dan to get a second date, you can nominate someone to be the potential perfect match he will go out on a date with.

From what I've been able to glean about Dan from the Post story:

• He's 41
• He's lived in DC for 18 years.
• He has his own business which supports gay causes and organizations
• Has a great smile
• Likes Las Vegas
• Playful and adventurous
  
• Prefers an average to muscular build but not gym bots
• He likes Remingtons (a DC gay C-W bar), or meeting guys there
• Wants someone understanding and caring who is clean and organized.

Hmm? Dennis Weaver maybe?


So Dan, if you're reading this -- and you bloody well should be as it's 10:25 pm, I haven't had my dinner yet and I'm writing about you to help you get laid find romance -- give us more to go on here.