One Small Step For A Gay Couple.....One Huge Leap Back For The Rest Of Us

Well this was a story that kind of came out of nowhere for me. I didn't even know this was happening until today.

Apparently, same-sex marriage was legal in Iowa for, oh, something like the lunch hour today.

A judge had ordered Polk County, the home of Des Moines, to accept marriage license applications from same-sex couples. About 27 couples applied before a stay was granted a few hours later. Only one couple actually got the license, got hitched, and got the paperwork back to the county before the stay was granted. The remaining couples are left out in the cold.

So, you might think I would applaud this bold new step toward full recognition of our relationships, but I'm not.

Why, oh why, in God's name, did these guys have to dredge up the "gay marriage" issue now??? In Iowa for God's sake???? During an election cycle????

Oh yeah, it's great news for these two guys, but what about the rest of us? Don't you remember previous elections, where the "gay marriage" issue stirred up the religious right, and probably contributed to George Bush remaining in office??

This is a potential Pyrrhic victory. A victory that is so costly, it devastates the victor. The "gay marriage" issue has fallen out of the public eye. Now, we have to stir it up again in Iowa. You don't think we've handed the repuglicans a wedge issue once again?

Americans are, by and large, fair. Most Americans believe there should be some legal recognition for gay couples. Remember when civil unions were considered reactionary? Most Americans are now comfortable with that idea. They're just not comfortable with that word "marriage."

Why do we have to go for the throat. Nothing less than full "marriage" will be acceptable to so many gay activists. Well I say, fuck that. Let's fight the battles we can win. And we're not going to win the hearts and minds of Iowa and the rest of middle America by pushing the gay marriage issue now.

"I'm Not Gay....I'm A Man Lovin' Man"

Years ago a friend told me "I'm not gay. I'm a man lovin' man." I couldn't help but think of that statement when I heard the news about Larry Craig, Repuglican Senator from Idaho, who was cited for lewd conduct in a Minneapolis airport men's room.

Of course, Craig is defending himself by declaring that he is not gay. No Larry, you're not gay. You just like sucking cock in an airport men's room.

What is it about these right-wing freaks? They just can't keep their dicks in their pants. And they just can't keep other guys' dicks out of their mouths. And it's always the ones that are the most vocal opponents of anything gay friendly.

And then, when they're caught with their finger in the cookie jar, they come up with the most implausible explanations. Like, "oh I just overreacted and made a bad decision. I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge hoping the matter would go away." Bullshit.

What a bunch of fucking hypocrites!

Well Isn't This Interesting!

According to Live Science, new historical evidence has been uncovered that suggests something akin to same-sex civil unions were officially sanctioned 600 years ago. You can read the article here.

Now I know the right-wingers will say those documents really don't mean what they say. They'll say something like "sharing one house, one purse, etc" just means the two guys were really good friends. Kind of like what closeted guys tell their families about their "roommates." Kind of like those lesbo letters Eleanor Roosevelt sent her girlfriend. Or the biblical references to the love that David and Jonathan felt surpassed that of the love a man feels for a woman. "That's just the way people talked in those days." I can hear it now.

BTW, I found the pic at The Church Of God Daily Bible Study website. Thanks for the homo-erotic picture guys.

Jesus Was A Liberal

I've been watching the CNN series "God's Warriors" this week. The investigative report by Christiane Amanpour. She profiles the radical right-wing fringe of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. I watched the Christian report last night.

As always, when the right-wing Christians get the microphone, they love to trash the liberals. You would think those of us who are liberal are more vile to them then Osama Bin Laden. I guess there's a special ring in Hell dedicated to liberals.

But, I don't get it. Because Jesus was a liberal. He was a radical. That's why the establishment killed him. He challenged the status quo and the religious conservatives of the time. Frankly, I've always believed that today's right-wing Christian leaders like Jerry Falwell (oops he's yesterday's news), Pat Robertson, James Dobson, etc., are nothing more than modern day Pharisees. There's no doubt in my mind that if Jesus came back today and started preaching his gospel, these "men of God" would do everything in their power to run him out of town on a rail.

The gospels are full of accounts of Jesus' liberalism. He fed the multitudes loaves and fishes. He said when you make a feast, you should invite the poor and the lame and the downtrodden. They can't repay you, but your payment will come at the resurrection. I guess that's socialism.

There's one thing Jesus said that hits home for me on an almost daily basis. It's from Matthew 25. "For I was hungered and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty and ye gave me drink. I was a stranger and ye took me in. I was naked and ye clothed me. I was sick and ye visited me. I was in prison and ye came unto me. Inasmuch as ye have done this unto the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

Jesus preached against the death penalty. "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone." He taught love and forgiveness, and not just second chances, but third and fourth and so on.

He preached against greed and coveting possessions. He told the rich man to sell all his belongings and follow him. He said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven.

He was against war: "Blessed are the peacemakers." He told us to love and forgive our enemies, and told us that when someone strikes us on the cheek, we should turn the other cheek.

He was against the merging of church and state: "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's. And unto God that which is God's." And when asked by Pontius Pilate if he was King of the Jews, Jesus answered "My Kingdom is not of this world."

How does any of this resemble today's right-wing Christians, and by extension, the Repuglican Party? It doesn't. If Jesus were living among us today, he would tell these phony Christians the same thing he told the Pharisee: "You Pharisees clean the outside of cups, but inside you are full of greed and evil. You give God one tenth of your mint, your spices, and your garden herbs, but you ignore justice and the love of God."

Scientists Have Discovered The Middle Of Nowhere.....And It's Not Fresno

Astronomers from the University of Minnesota have made an astonishing discovery. They've discovered a void, or hole, in the universe. It's an area where absolutely nothing exists. No stars, no galaxies, no black holes, not even dark matter.

Astronomers have known for years that there are small voids in the universe. They believe they are caused when the gravitational pull of nearby matter pulls everything out of the voided area. There's one such place only 2 million light years from Earth.

But what is significant about this particular void is the size. It's 1 billion light years across. That's 6 billion trillion miles of nothing. It's between 5 and 10 billion light years from Earth.

I'll remember this the next time I'm traveling across West Texas, and I'll realize that there are places far more void than that.

I went out to dinner with a friend tonight. We went to the California Pizza Kitchen on Van Ness. I joked this was my first time in a California Pizza Kitchen in California.

While we were waiting for our food, these two bears walked by outside and into the restaurant. Both of our gaydars went off. They were stereotypical gay bears. They had "the look." Could have been twins. My friend mentioned they looked European. I had to agree. They had that look too.

When we were done, my friend went to the restroom, and, while I waited in the lobby, I got the other look from them. You know the look. The "I want to take you home and fuck you until your hole screams for mercy" look.

As I pondered that look, I thought to myself about how lucky I am to live in a city where men are completely at ease about expressing interest, and possibly meeting someone, in any area in town, whether it be downtown or the Castro or SOMA. I had the same thought when I saw two guys walking hand-in-hand in front of my building, in the financial district.

It's not the first time that's happened. One time, I was driving down Harrison, still in the downtown area, when a cute guy, walking with another guy, stared blatantly as I drove by. And, turned around and continued to stare until i made a turn at the next street. Then there was the infamous motorcycle incident, where the guy kept pulling up alongside me and beeping, and waving at me in a way that suggested he wanted to meet me. Pity his helmet obscured his face. Maybe he would have been right up my alley. And finally, there was the guy today at the dog park, who, even though he pretended to admire Buster, his eye and body language told me he was admiring something else.

I guess I'm too romantic, but I have this fantasy of meeting that special guy in some non-traditional gay way. Similar to a "Darrin meets Samantha when they bump into each other in the revolving door" kind of thing.
ANYTHING but a traditional meeting place, like a bar, the baths, at some event, or on one of the hookup sites like Bear411. And then, once we do meet and fall in love, we go back to being stereotypical fags as a couple.

Is that too much to ask?

Well, if that fantasy is ever to come true, I guess there is no better place in the world for that to happen than right here in San Francisco.

I saw an interesting Intel ad today, one in which I think Intel inadvertently inserted themselves in the choice debate going on in the country today.

The theme of the ad was "when does a computer become a computer?" Of course, the ad suggested it wasn't a real computer until the Intel parts were installed.

That made me think. As a pro-choice person, I believe it's not really a computer until it has been fully assembled and can live on its own outside the factory.

The anti-choice forces would have you believe it's a computer the moment of conception. But when is the moment of conception? Is it when the first part of the eventual computer is installed, no matter how small and insignificant? Maybe it's when the order was issued by Intel to create the new computer. Or how about when the customer ordered it? Or, better yet, how about when the customer thought to himself/herself, "I think I need a new computer."

When you think about it that way, it kind of gives you a god-like complex doesn't it?

Sunday was my birthday, so I did something different and had my Tarot cards read by famous San Francisco psychic Avis Marie Sander.

She had me shuffle the cards and pull three cards. I did not discuss my questions with her before the reading.

The first card represented my past. She gasped when she turned it over because it was the cruelty card.
She said that someone had been cruel to me in the past, and the pain from that cruelty had affected how I felt about myself, and it was holding me back.

The second card represented whatever action I need to take now. It was the death card.
By this time I'm thinking "I don't like these cards," but she reminded me that I picked them. She said the death card does not represent physical death, but death of a relationship, death of a way of life, death of a way of thinking, etc etc. She said the death card is actually a good card because it represents a clearing away of things that are holding us back. The death card represents transformation.

Finally, she turned over the third card, which represents my future. It was the queen of swords.
She said this card represents a cutting away of masks, of things that are holding us back. It's also a card of slaying our monsters. She holds the monster's severed head in her hand.

In a nutshell, she said I need to put the past behind and then the good stuff will find its way to me. She said she expects within 1-3 months of the reading, I'll be living a life that is completely different than what I live now.

Sounds like it will be a good year. That will be nice after the year I've had.

I came across a story in the San Francisco Chronicle that is somewhat disturbing.

The new chair of the California Air Resources Board, Mary Nichols, has substantial stock investments in several oil, coal, and utility companies. She also has holdings in a Bermuda tanker company. And her attorney husband represents Exxon in the ongoing Exxon Valdez case.

Is there nothing about this that screams CONFLICT OF INTEREST???? Nichols is chair of the regulatory agency whose decisions can directly impact companies in which she has a substantial interest.

She says she's going to place her holdings in a blind trust to avoid the conflict of interest. Oh, that makes me feel better. Just because she doesn't have control over the stocks doesn't mean she isn't aware that she owns them, and that she will get them back when she's out of office.
I'm sure that blind trust will never enter her mind when she is serving in her position.

What was Arnie thinking of when he appointed her? He's done a pretty decent job on environmental issues, but on this one he took his eye off the ball. Talk about the fox guarding the hen house!

Way To Go David!

Kudos to NBC's David Gregory. He interviewed Karl Rove on Meet The Press this weekend, and the interview was 180 degrees different than the powder puff interview Chris Wallace did with him on Fox News.

He asked fair but tough questions. He wouldn't let it go when Rove tried to dodge the question, which was most of them. You could tell Rove wasn't accustomed to being interviewed by a reporter who wasn't a lapdog. Several times he appeared flustered and resorted to "well if you would just let me answer the question, I'll tell you." Then he would go on and completely dodge the question.

We need more reporters like David Gregory in tv journalism.

Fresno! Oh No!

There's a reason it's called Fresno, and not Fresyes. And I discovered that reason this weekend. I don't usually get into city bashing here, but after the night I spent in Fresno, I feel it's deserved.

I was looking for something to do this weekend, and the bear club down there was having a small bear event. So I decided to go exploring and check it out. Should have stayed in San Francisco. That's a night that I'll never get back.

The ride down was horrendous. If you MUST go to Fresno, don't believe Mapquest. It told me to take the 580 to the 205, and then go down 99. That took me through one city after another full of Saturday shopping mall goers and road construction. Added a full hour to my expected trip time. If you MUST go to Fresno, take the 5 down to 152, then take 152 to 99. That's a much better trip.

So anyway, I was already in a somewhat surly mood because of all the delays on the road. Then I pulled off the freeway to go to my hotel. The gang graffiti along the buildings in the area didn't inspire confidence in my surroundings. The hotel was ok. Nice, clean room. My only complaint was the door to my room was about 10 feet from the freeway entrance ramp. It was pretty noisy. At one point I thought we were having an earthquake when the room started to rumble and shake. But then I realized it was merely an 18-wheeler cranking it up to get on the freeway.

I don't really want to get into the bear club events but I didn't have the greatest time in the world. One would have thought that people would have been more friendly to a stranger in their midst. But they weren't. The San Francisco boys are much friendlier and welcoming than what I felt in Fresno.

The bear/leather bar there has a unique anti-DUI device. It's called "let's have one bartender working a crowd of 200 guys." It takes so long to get a drink there, you'll never get drunk.

By about 10PM, I was thinking to myself that this night was going to be a dud, and if I left then, I could be back home by 1AM, But I wanted to give it a chance, so I stayed. By midnight I was clicking my heels together and saying to myself "there's no place like home." But it didn't work. I was still in Fresno.

As far as the city goes, I was completely underwhelmed, at least by the parts I saw. Nothing interesting. For a city of 485,000 it was pretty uninspiring. As Gertrude Stein said of Oakland, "there's no there there." That's exactly how I felt about Fresno.

As I was leaving this morning, I crossed the Fresno River. As I looked at it, I realized how appropriate it is to be called the Fresno River. There was no water in it. Just a dry, empty, dusty, trench in the earth. What a perfect metaphor for the city that is called by its name.

What A Hack

I almost hurled today watching Chris Wallace verbally jack off Karl Rove on Fox News Sunday. He was cumming all over himself. "Oh Mr. Rove, it's so great to have you here" blah blah blah.

Now, I will admit, I didn't see the entire interview, so perhaps my perception is tainted by that. But, in the portion I saw, I heard no hardball questions, like he asked Bill Clinton. The toughest question I heard was when he asked "how do you feel about Joe Wilson?" Rove simply said, "I'm not going to talk about that. Nice try Chris." Any follow-up to that? Any probing? Hell no, Wallace just moved on to show an embarrassing video clip of Rove doing a sketch as a rap singer at a White House dinner.

What really pains me is that Chris is the son of Mike Wallace, a true journalist. Someone for whom I have the greatest respect. The apple certainly fell far away from the tree on that one.

Oddly, I was fairly impressed with Rove himself. Like the devil, he can be very charming. I took great interest in what he had to say about turning perceived strengths into weaknesses. He said that candidates frequently exaggerate their strengths, and if one digs deeper, one can find that the perceived strength can actually be a weakness.

I think the Democrats should learn a lesson from Rove. George Bush was perceived as the country's best hope against terrorism, and that's why he won. But, who was asleep at the wheel in the month before 9/11, vacationing in Texas? Who ignored CIA briefings that were titled something like "Al Qaeda plans to use airplanes to attack inside the US" a full month before 9/11????

Today, Rudy Giuliani claims to be the best candidate to handle terrorism. But, who insisted that New York's Emergency Management Office be placed in the World Trade Center, over the objections of the experts, and despite the fact that the World Trade Center was a high-profile target that had been attacked once before?

Karl Rove is right. When you dig under the surface, you find the real truth. Actions speak louder than words. The Democrats would do well to follow his example.

Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead

Today is a great day for American democracy. Karl Rove has announced that he is leaving the administration to return to Texas and "spend more time with his family" (wink wink).

Whatever his reasons, this is the best thing to happen to our democracy in a long time.

Karl Rove was a cancer on American democracy. We are good to be rid of him.

He played dirty. That, in and of itself, is not enough to inspire my hatred for the man. After all, many politicians play dirty, including Democrats. It's part of the game.

I hate Karl Rove because he believed, and worked tirelessly toward, the concentration of power in one political party. He bragged about creating a Republican control of the government that would last for generations. That is evil. That is exactly what the founding fathers warned us against.

I am a Democrat. But I would never want to see the Democrats control all three branches of government. Absolute power brings about the corruption and the arrogance that finally brought Karl Rove down.

So George Bush doesn't even want to consider raising taxes to help pay for maintaining our nation's aging infrastructure.

Now is the time, after the bridge disaster in Minnesota, where everyone has infrastructure on the mind. Tell me you haven't thought about it recently as you've crossed an old bridge, or driven through an old tunnel.

But not George. It's more important to him to keep taxes low for big business and his billionaire friends than doing what is right for the country.

George isn't thinking that our entire economy depends on our infrastructure. Imagine how high your grocery bill would be if trucks couldn't reach the store because the roads crumbled, or a bridge collapsed. I know that's an extreme example, but it's possible.

On Labor Day weekend, the Bay Bridge is going to be completely shut down for retrofitting work. That means drivers going into the city from the East Bay will have to take the San Mateo Bridge, a 30-50 mile detour depending on where you're coming from. Or, you can take BART, which thankfully will be running 24 hours a day that weekend. Or the ferries. But for drivers, it will be a taste of what life without the bridge would be like.

George is also not thinking about how that kind of infusion of public works money would send the economy soaring. Imagine all the jobs that would be created.

But George doesn't care about that because it would help the little guy. What a retard!

Is It Really?

I was walking downtown today, and I noticed that all the city buses have a sign on the back that says "zero emissions vehicle." That's because they all use electric power lines that run down the middle of the street.

At first I thought, well that's nice. But then I thought, is that really true?

Somewhere, there's a power plant belching something into the atmosphere to power those buses. So can we really say these are zero emissions buses?

It's just an example that, no matter how benign we try to be, our modern technology has some kind of negative impact on the environment.

There was a recent controversy in California about windmill farms. Now, what can be more benign than a windmill? Well, apparently windmills are not so benign to birds, and our California windmills have been decapitating birds by the thousands.

The Audubon Society got involved. Lawsuits were filed, etc etc etc. So now, the most egregious bird killers have been shut down. And they are trying to determine the best places to locate the windmills to spare our feathered friends.

I'm not, in any way, suggesting we return to horse and buggy days. I couldn't stand that. But I make this post to remind everyone that the environment is something we need to worry about. Everything you do has the potential to negatively impact our planet. We need to worry more about it.

Last day on the road. Spent last night in Bakersfield, and it was, well it was Bakersfield. An easy place to stay out of trouble.

I did make a new friend last night. A hot Japanese chaser who lives in the Bay Area now. Even though he is Japanese, he has a wonderfully American personality. None of that shy, easily offended shit:

XXXX (8/6/2007 2:02:50 AM): belly belly...
XXXX (8/6/2007 2:03:04 AM): oops, should I say berry berry?
houstonhuskybear (8/6/2007 2:03:12 AM): oh you're funny too
XXXX (8/6/2007 2:03:17 AM): lol
houstonhuskybear (8/6/2007 2:03:23 AM): you love me long time?
XXXX (8/6/2007 2:03:57 AM): yea me love you long time by the way sucky fucky 5 dorra

Well, time to hit the shower and make a mad dash for San Francisco.

My Mormon Adventure

So I'm at this gas station, about 20 miles west of Tucson. And guess who comes up to me while I'm filling the tank? A couple of Mormon Elders trying to save my soul.

One looked a little creepy. He looked like a Stepford boy, with this huge insincere smile on his face. Fortunately, he didn't say much. But the other one, grrrrrrrrrrrr. He was hot. Looked like that guy that used to play Doogie Howser, only hotter.

So they're all over me like white on rice, with their slacks and button-down shirts and ties in the 90 degree heat. I, on the other hand, was dressed in shorts, flip-flops, and a purple "San Francisco Pride '07" t-shirt.

So they start talking about Joseph Smith, and how he was a prophet and shit. I asked, "oh was he now?" To which he replied, "absolutely." To which I replied, "then why don't you have 15 wives? Because he taught polygamy was God's will, and if he was, indeed, a prophet, his words would be as true today as they were 150 years ago." No real good answer to that one.

By this time, we've been standing there for a few minutes, and I notice the other customers are watching and grinning.

Finally, the hot guy said, "well we'd love to sit down with you and talk about this when you have time," and he proceeded to get out his pad to write down my info. I said, "the next time you're in San Francisco, you look me up." And he said, "oh we have many missionaries in San Francisco." And I replied, "and I'm sure they're very welcome there" with a big grin on my face.

At this point, he smiled, bade me a safe trip, and moved on to some farm workers in a truck.

God, he was hot. I would like to convert him LOL.

Impermanent Things

One of the nice things about being on a long road trip is that I get a chance to be with myself and my thoughts. It helps me put things in perspective. Helps me clear the air.

I also get a chance to listen to a lot of music. And, unlike a trip to work or the store, I actually find myself listening to the words. Many times, I'll stumble across a song that really speaks to me. This trip has been no exception. I've had a lot on my mind. A lot of crap to clear out of my brain.

And I was listening to Sirius Coffeehouse, and this song came on that I've never heard before. And it hit the nail on the head regarding many aspects of my life right now. Here are the lyrics:

Impermanent Things
From the album From Strength to Strength (1991)

All these impermanent things
Oh how they fool me
Dominate and rule me
They keep me waiting here forever
All these impermanent things
Well their beauty's never aging
But their worthlessness's enraging
You know we all stand alone when we're together

Why keep hanging on
To things that never stay
Things that just keep stringin' us along
From day to day

All these impermanent things
Present yet elusive
Passive yet abusive
Tearing out the heart in utter silence
All these impermanent things
Well they point in all directions
Like secondhand reflections
And they're leading us to subtle shades of violence

Why keep hanging on
To things that never stay
Things that just keep stringin' us along
From day to day

All these impermanent things
Well they're trying to convince me
Baptize my soul and rinse me
Purge my mind of honesty and fire
All these impermanent things
Well they all add up to zero
They make-believe that they're my hero
Then they fill my mind with doubt and false desires

Why keep hanging on
To things that never stay
Things that just keep stringin' us along
From day to day

Heading Back To San Francisco For The Labor Day Weekend Show......

I love that opening line from Jimmy Buffet's "Come Monday." That's like the only Jimmy Buffet song I like, and I bought the CD just for it.

Anyway, I used it to announce I'm on the road back to San Francisco.

I left Houston Thursday night. Spent the night in San Antonio. Stayed at the Red Rood Inn out on 281. The drive from San Antonio to El Paso seemed particularly long and boring yesterday. I don't know why. The scenery through there is particularly striking and beautiful.

Spent the night in El Paso last night. Got here early enough to relax and have a little fun. Went to the Briar Patch downtown. It was nice. There was a nice crowd. Great music. Beautiful patio. Met a couple of people.

When I left the bar I was having a craving for Taco Cabana. Since this is my last opportunity to get Taco Cabana for awhile, I pigged out.

Today, I'm off to Phoenix. Then Sunday it's LA. And Monday I'll be in San Francisco

Too Much Celebrity News????

Well, this is kind of interesting. I read a story today about a Pew Research study which shows that the vast majority of Americans believe the media spends too much time covering celebrities and scandals, and not enough time covering serious news.

87% of the respondents said the media spends way too much time on celebrity gossip. Only 8% felt the media gets it right when balancing gossip and real news.

As a person employed in the media, I hate what my profession has become. We spend way too much time on shit that doesn't matter, while ignoring the important things, or burying them somewhere. Investigative reporting went out the window years ago.

For instance, at this very moment, a constitutional crisis is brewing because the White House is defying Congress in refusing to let White House staffers testify in the Attorneys General firings. This is serious stuff, but how much have you seen or read about it?

If today's media existed in 1972, Watergate would have never happened. Richard Nixon would have gone on to serve out his second term, and probably left office as a fairly-respected ex-president. If the media of 1972 existed now, George Bush would have been impeached long ago. Or better yet, he probably wouldn't have been in office at all, because the media would have shed light on the shady goings on in Florida in 2000.

Not only is the media ignoring important matters, it's sensationalizing trivial matters. In any major city in this country, there's a cop chase every single day. It's not news. But every time there's a cop chase, the tv stations have to launch their choppers and break into programming with wall-to-wall coverage. It's unbelievable.

The tragedy that happened in Phoenix was bound to happen. All these choppers flying in close proximity to each other, trying to get the best shot, was a disaster waiting to happen.

All of this sensationalism is desensitizing all of us. Back in the day, "BREAKING NEWS" was reserved for serious shit. When you turned on the tv and saw that banner, you knew something serious was going on. Today, tv stations break in for the most trivial thing.

But, having said all of that, I also have to say that the public shares at least 50% of the blame. The public eats this shit up. It leads to higher ratings, and higher revenues for the media. The media is merely feeding the habit of the public. We're the dealer selling the drug of pablum to the audience. If you would quit watching, I guarantee this shit would stop, and the media would get back to what it's supposed to be doing.

The media is supposed to serve a vital function in our democracy. It's not supposed to be all about game shows, and reality shows, and entertainment. It's supposed to be the watch dog of our government. And this watchdog has fallen down on the job.

Whew! I am so relieved that Rupert Murdoch is buying the Wall Street Journal. I am completely confident that he will uphold the high journalistic standards of the paper. I have absolutely no concern that he would use the paper to support his business interests. There's no doubt in my mind that WSJ will have the same journalistic integrity and be fair and balanced like Fox News.