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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 10, 2007 - 08:08 PM



Joined: Sep 06, 2006
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Location: Valhalla Mountains, British Columbia, Canada
Pam Spaulding asks, Another GOP gay scandal brews in murder-suicide case?

Quote:
There is a bizarre story swarming blogtopia, laced with unconfirmed (and confirmed) sources that could lead to another Republican Sexual Hypocrite “outing” and scandal. First, some facts about the weird murder suicide in Orlando in late August that kicked off the whole matter:

A Republican political consultant killed in an apparent double murder-suicide in Florida had worked extensively in Alabama politics including a controversial “Adam and Steve” campaign leaflet that parodied gay marriage.

Ralph Gonzalez, 39, president of The Strategum Group, was found dead Thursday along with his roommate, David Abrami, 36, and a friend, Robert Drake, 30, according to The Associated Press. A motive has not been determined. Weapons and signs of a struggle were found in the house.

[...]

Some articles at the time mentioned a gay love triangle, which caught the eye of several blogs. As Andy at Towleroad noted, Florida Today originally ran the story with the “Lovers’ fight may have sparked three deaths.” He did a screen cap[ture] of it:

[image]

The newspaper later scrubbed all references to the “lovers’ quarrel” from the report without comment.

The fact that it gets even more GOP-scandalous -- it also ties into a male escort service/prostitution ring -- shows it is begging for additional investigation by the MSM, but no one seems to want to touch it. Drama Queen notes:

In both Monday and Tuesday’s posts, my point was that it’s highly suspicious that the traditional media has basically ignored the Florida murder suicide: a sensational story that juicily combines fundamentalist Christian politicians and homosexual consultants, election software tampering and this potential tie to a gay porn-related murder in Pennsylvania.

[...]

The events on the record are noteworthy enough for the MSM to investigate at this point, because the office of right-wing Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC) has gone on the record tying the pol to the shooting. Howie Klein, making a serious charge:

As we mentioned yesterday, Drake, a former marine, also is alleged to have a strong relationship -- both intimate and business/political -- with right-wing Congressman Patrick McHenry (R-NC). When I spoke to McHenry’s office about this they at first insisted they never heard of Drake then, confronted with specifics, admitted they know him. They refused to put Congressman McHenry on the phone. There is every indication that McHenry may have been one of the Republican elected officials who was using the services of the gay prostitution agency connected to Drake. Our pals over at the BradBlog points out the connections between Florida’s ultra-corrupt, vote-tampering congressman, Tom Feeney, and Gonzalez and reports the threat to expose the list of Republican elected officials who were using the gay escort service.

Where will it go? Who knows, but with a story of this potential magnitude, the mainstream news media, which has the resources to investigate and uncover whether the thick smoke does or doesn’t lead to fire, isn’t biting.


Spaudling then goes on to give a link to another site that lists “ the next GOP closet doors that could be kicked open”, including (apparently) those of Rep. Patrick McHenry, Rep. David Dreier, Sen. Lindsey Graham and Sen. Mitch McConnel.

Mucho links available from clicking the top link...

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Rain
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 11, 2007 - 07:01 AM



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Juicy. This goes under "Found While Wankering". I have to think that this is so sordid, so tentacled, and touches so many more people (especially the escort thing) that many have staff members working overtime to keep this off the national radar.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 11, 2007 - 12:17 PM



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This is more of that "Jason Drake" crap that is lampooned in the 'found while wandering' thread. This story may have been taken up by this blogger and that blogger, but it all ultimately comes from one source and not one shred of evidence to supports any connection to this "gay porn-related murder in Pennsylvania."

Now... the Orlando murder did happen. Three men are dead. Now, goodness knows that when you turn over a dead Republican all manner of icky bugs start scurrying about... but tying this thing somehow to some other murder in PA only serves to show both what lurid imaginations Democrats have and how very eager they are to believe the most salacious of gossip when it comes to Republicans.

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 11, 2007 - 01:09 PM



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Deb Price of the Detroit News maintains that the whole Craig story has three lessons:

Quote:
Lesson 1: The political closet is dead. Debating the ethics or value of "outing" is now a waste of breath. It's a weapon that's here to stay. And in the Internet era -- with the pressures of 24/7 news coverage and bloggers often setting the pace -- if politicians are gay, they're foolish not to come out before they get shoved out.

Lesson 2: The Republican Party can expect to keep waking up to the nightmare of Mark Foley-Ted Haggard-Larry Craig headlines as long as gay, bisexual or simply sexually confused Republicans, whether pastors or politicians, feel they can't succeed professionally unless they live double lives.

Lesson 3: Gay and bisexual men, many of whom are married, are swept up every day in outrageous police sex stings. Bumping shoes in a men's room stall signals interest; it's not actual public sex and shouldn't be treated as criminal. Countless men have had their lives ruined by overzealous cops.


She also adds:

Quote:
The Craig scandal, Rogers says, has resulted in 500 new tips. Plenty of self-respecting gay Americans are in no mood to protect closeted anti-gay politicians.

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Rain
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 11, 2007 - 08:56 PM



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Quote:
Plenty of self-respecting gay Americans are in no mood to protect closeted anti-gay politicians.


I suspect they never have been. This is an odd statement. Self-respect, of any sort, would induce anyone to call a fag a fag. Wouldn't you think?
 
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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 13, 2007 - 04:27 PM



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Rodgers is backing off...

Quote:
Closeted gay congressional staffers can rest easier. Their worst living nightmare, vigilante gay outer and activist blogger Michael Rogers, has called a truce of sorts: he says he'll stop targeting Capitol Hill aides and will instead limit his campaign solely to publicly elected officials and candidates.

"Enough readers expressed concerns that I have decided to now focus on elected officials, those running for office and to high level political appointees in the administration," Rogers tells the Sleuth.

His tactical change comes in the wake of Sen. Larry Craig's (R-Idaho) arrest and guilty plea in connection with a men's room sex sting at the Minneapolis airport, a saga in which Rogers played a central role. Craig said he pleaded guilty to the charges because of a "witch hunt" carried out by the Idaho Statesman newspaper, which was following up on reports by Rogers that Craig cruised men for sex in public bathrooms, including the Union Station train depot in the District.

Until today, in addition to targeting politicians, Rogers had been aggressively either naming or threatening to out scores of gay staffers who he deemed to be hypocritical because they either pushed anti-gay rights agendas or worked for members of Congress with anti-gay rights voting records. His first threat was sent in the form of a mass email to congressional aides in 2004 warning them: if you are gay, secretly or openly, and you or your boss are pushing legislative agendas seen as unfair to gays and lesbians, then watch out.

(It was that year that Rogers caught his first big fish: former conservative Rep. Ed Schrock (R-Va.), who was forced to abandon his re-election bid during the 2004 GOP party convention after Rogers unearthed audiotapes of Schrock, a married man, soliciting men for sex on telephone sex lines.)

But now, from his throne at blogactive.com, the king of outing is giving aides on Capitol Hill a reprieve. "It has become obvious to me that my message on Capitol Hill has been received loud and clear," Rogers explains, adding, "and with so many tips coming from across the country, I will be able to focus on elected officials and those seeking office."

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Rain
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 13, 2007 - 05:00 PM



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Quote:
Closeted gay congressional staffers can rest easier. Their worst living nightmare, vigilante gay outer and activist blogger Michael Rogers, has called a truce of sorts: he says he'll stop targeting Capitol Hill aides and will instead limit his campaign solely to publicly elected officials and candidates.


Can you say "quid pro quo"? Ha ha ha! Mmslle Rogers is ever the crafty bitch. How convenient to declare a truce with the staffers when the ones you need dirt on are their bosses.

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 15, 2007 - 02:08 PM



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Was Strom Thurmond a swinger, too?

Quote:
In an unfinished manuscript left at his death, Laud Humphreys described meeting with a prominent Dixiecrat politician and his wife in 1948. When the politician left the room, his spouse began undoing Humphreys's tie so that they could all have a little party -- as, she explained, was their wont.

The biography of Humphreys explains that "this archconservative longtime segregationist served as U.S. Senator from South Carolina from 1954 until shortly before his death in 2003."

Anti-gay segregationists have sex with other men and black women in private, while persecuting them with gusto in public. Craig and Vitter are traditionalists after all.

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berto
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 15, 2007 - 02:10 PM



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Was Condi Rice shacked up with a woman?

Quote:
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice co-owned a home and shared a line of credit with another woman, according to a new book by Washington Post diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler.

According to the book, "The Confidante: Condoleezza Rice and the Creation of the Bush Legacy, "Rice owns a home together with Randy Bean, a documentary filmmaker who once worked with Bill Moyers. Kessler made the discovery by looking through real estate records.

Bean explained the joint ownership and line of credit to Kessler by saying she had medical bills which left her financially drained and Rice helped her by co-purchasing the house along with a third person, Coit Blacker, a Stanford professor who is openly gay. Blacker later sold his line of credit to Rice and Bean.

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vanrozenheim
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 25, 2007 - 06:49 PM
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All Politicos Now Classed as Sexual Deviants
Quote:
was talking about the Larry Craig sex scandal with a friend of mine from Brooklyn who has run for office many times and lost. He's pretty thankful that he lost. "Most elected officials are sexual deviants," my friend explained.

A ridiculous judgment, seemingly...but as a would-be politician who had failed to craft his image according to the whims of the electorate, it had taken my friend years to identify the perversity that defined his campaigns, a perversity and deviance and self-torture that, I would agree, defines the daily suffering and ultimately the secret madness of the elected official. "Now I'm not saying homosexuals are deviants .... but closet homos who hate homos are," my friend went on.

[..]

The list of these sad sacks grows and grows: Larry Craig; Jeff Gannon; Ted Haggart; Mark Foley. Consider the rumors about Karl Rove: they call him Miss Piggy in the underground gay scene in DC.

My would-be Brooklyn politico continues the argument: "Listen, it's clear that all priests are gay. There's no way around that. They're all gay. Every one of 'em. But they can't recognize it, because they're sick. That's why they become priests. They feel sick, so they choose a sick job. Why sick? Praying to a god that doesn't exist! [..] In any case, it's a perverted existence, a double existence."
Emphasis my.

Miss Piggy? What has that lovely creature done to be compared with Karl Rove?

Like in so many other professions, a politician becomes a politician because he loves the job, not because he was forced to do it. I am certain it is totally possible to be a politician and not become a hypocrite. Sure, there is some maneuvering expected in this profession, but it is entirely possible to join the political corner which best represents one's views.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 25, 2007 - 08:34 PM



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vanrozenheim wrote:
I am certain it is totally possible to be a politician and not become a hypocrite. Sure, there is some maneuvering expected in this profession, but it is entirely possible to join the political corner which best represents one's views.


Now, Herr Doktor... you cannot just declare yourself certain on these points without supplying at least some argument to support it.

I am, myself, quite prone to suggesting that many things are possible. I've even been known to get downright 'supportive' in encouraging others to do something that everyone just knows is impossible...

However... this idea that it is possible to be a politician and not become a hypocrite... why, it flies in the face of some twenty-five years of personal experience with politicians of many stripes. They are, from time to time, useful creatures, these politicians. They are like Rottweilers... occasionally useful, best kept on a leash, and inevitably, you reconsider your willingness to pick up quite that much shit.

One can certainly stake out a corner that IS one's views. That would require an act of creation, though, and who has the time or energy to do that? (It is, after all, one of the things we most hope to achieve... creating this corner that represents our views to even a limited extent.)

To get into politics at all one must marshal a fair army of allies just to get elected. Ah... the things a politician will say and do to add just one more ally to his panoply... Is there really a limit? In US politics, at least, there seems to be nothing the politicians will not consider saying (so long as not too many people are listening). Certainly there is nothing at all that politicians will not consider refraining from saying if he thinks some microscopic advantage might be gained by his silence.

Once elected, the game changes focus slightly. They like to call it "being reasonable." Under the name of "compromise," they transmute hypocrisy into a virtue. These alchemists are quite fond of barbaric words of power, too... words like "bipartisan" and (gods help us all) "multilateral."

I should very much like to hear about how one goes about being a politician without ever dipping one's toe into that pool that is hypocrisy. In theory, of course, many things really are possible. I'm just not seeing this one.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 25, 2007 - 09:08 PM



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Quote:
The list of these sad sacks grows and grows: Larry Craig; Jeff Gannon; Ted Haggart; Mark Foley. Consider the rumors about Karl Rove: they call him Miss Piggy in the underground gay scene in DC.


Would it be too dreadfully pedantic of me to point out that Jeff Gannon is hardly a politician? He's a writer, a journalist. There are, of course, those who question the merits of his writing and the sense of applying the word "journalism" to his typing. Questions of whether he's a "real journalist" (as opposed to a person who types things one does not enjoy reading) aside... he's no politician.

Would it be flogging a dead horse to point out that Ted Haggart is not a politician? He was a minister. Ministers may share the trait of employing oratory with politicians. Hold on... totally unfair... most (though not all) ministers are a whole lot better at oratory than most politicians. And the shear mass of this oratory... I know of no politician who speaks as well or as often as even a country pastor. Anyway... Haggart was and is no politician and does not belong in a discussion of the faults of politicians.

And then someone remind me again about what outrageous example of "hypocrisy" Mr. Foley was guilty of. Was it that federal law against soliciting minors he sponsored... the one he so cleverly refrained from breaking? Now... Foley was a politician, to be sure. Such creatures are little more than packets of hypocrisy wrapped tightly in human skin.

Lastly... they call Rove "Miss Piggy" in the underground gay scene in DC, do they? Just who is this "THEY"? Just which "underground gay scene" would this be? Lots of people call Mr. Rove any number of unflattering names... as many as they can think of. I do not doubt that there are areas of the country (perhaps even outside the country) where one's vocabulary is judged only on the number of unflattering names one can conjure for "the turd blossom." But when one goes alluding to some semi-secret underground network of 'mos and tossing around back-handed hints that this Rove creature is SO in with them that he has his own quaint sobriquet... Then I'm afraid I must have details. You see... It sounds quite made up, fabricated, a scurrilous concoction of drug-fueled fantasy. Are we talking about the underground scene inhabited by hustlers and escorts? Or is it that underground scene populated by largely by embassy staff that moves in a more rarefied atmosphere? Perhaps it is the private parties in private homes circuit that is being referenced... now there's a posh pit to fall into. Perhaps the concierge at the Watergate Hotel knows who this author is talking about. Or maybe... you know... the "underground gay scene" in Alexandria is just immense. Reston's no children's playground either, if you know your way around. And let's not forget Chevy Chase (the city, not the actor). That would be in Maryland, not Virginia or DC. Oh, my yes... the number of oft-rumored but rarely found venues for this "they call him Miss Piggy in the underground gay scene" positively explodes exponentially if one presumes (not too frightfully impudently) that the physical location of this 'scene' is not actually IN the District.

This Ketcham fellow would make a fair replacement for Perez Hilton, should one become necessary.

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vanrozenheim
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 26, 2007 - 04:15 AM
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Feral wrote:
Now, Herr Doktor... you cannot just declare yourself certain on these points without supplying at least some argument to support it.


Well, I just know a very small number of politicians who have managed to remain integer over the time. Their secret is to speak clear talk without offending the opponent, a talent which I really admire. Such people have a natural talent to explain difficult issues in simple terms and gain respect of adversaries.

Sadly, your humble servant lacks this rare talent and had often become guilty of hypocricy himself -- but always for the right cause, never for personal advantage. I hope this will be taken into account when the time will come to be shipped down the Acheron.

Feral wrote:
I've even been known to get downright 'supportive' in encouraging others to do something that everyone just knows is impossible...

You too, Brutus? Wink

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 26, 2007 - 03:18 PM



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Fortunately, I am what people call (disparagingly, to be sure) a "mystic." I am by no means a politician. I have no desire to be one.

There are but two important questions: "Who are you?" and "What do you want?" It is best to answer them thoroughly and with some promptness before proceeding much further. Then, of course, you can branch off into "What are you willing to do to get what you want?" This is, of course, just a modification of "Who are you?" If you've already answered the question, it is a simple matter.

The bulk of politicians I have any familiarity with (I've met a few) seem to have decided to skip this portion of the class. Either that, or they've taken on way too many extra-curricular projects in lying... both to others, and to themselves. Sometimes I can even believe that they have fallen for their own deceptions. Perhaps they even think they are saying something resembling the truth.

The same thing happens to activists, too. Perhaps they are some sub-species of politician. It happens to organizations as well. There seems to be no limit to the amount of folding, bending, spindling, and mutilating of "the truth" when it comes to gathering in as many accomplices as possible. They call it "the big tent" for some reason. Hell... if you cannot persuade the people to join you based upon your position, then simply change your position and join the people. They like to call that "evolution." They call it "democracy" too... when it suits them.

Even organizations should know who they are and what they want with some completeness. Whether or not they then act in accordance with the answers to those questions then becomes a simple matter of efficiency. It just does not do to spend too awful much time engaged in side projects that have nothing to do with who you are and what you want.

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"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer


Last edited by Feral on Sep 27, 2007 - 11:38 PM; edited 1 time in total
 
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vanrozenheim
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 26, 2007 - 11:31 PM
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You have right, of course -- I shall take this to heart.

Politician of all sorts, the larger and the smaller ones among them, are only tools in the hands of others. Those "others" are sometimes a couple of wealthy and influencial people, sometimes a crowd of have-nots. This way or the other, politicians are instrumentalized by their supporters to push certain causes, and they are expected to make things happen -- no matter how. Activists, of course, are some sort of politicians, too. What they do is nothing else than attempting to achieve something for the polis, for the res publica. Depending on the means they have at hand, their dedication, and their ability to mobilize their supporters, the results of those activities can be very different, from greate changes to zero effect.

One thing should not be forgotten, however - some couses require certain means to achieve them. Facing a brick wall, one is best advised to look for a gate somewhere around, instead of banging with the head against the damn thing. An army required to cross a river will be ordered to build a bridge first, being engaged for a while with nothing more heroic than gathering woodstock and putting it together. Certainly a side project in terms of military handywork, but yet a necessary step to achieve the larger goal.

Similarly, to be able to tell people something inconventional, one must first turn them into listening to you at all. Is this hypocricy? I think not.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 27, 2007 - 12:21 AM



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I agree. Sometimes you have to start way out at the tips of the twigs before you can trace a path back to the trunk of a tree.

Politics can be described as the mechanism by which you get what you want. So... knowing what that is and keeping a clear focus on it is rather important. Sometimes all manner of games must be played. Rather than pound one's head against a brick wall, of course one must look to see if there is a gate. Should one find the gate guarded and a toll being charged, it is worth considering whether it might not be better to simply pay the toll rather than hatching schemes to overpower the guards. One might even have to turn back from the wall for a time in order to acquire the funds to pay this toll. There are all manner of games that must, from time to time, be played. Even the insistence on pounding a new opening through this wall with one's head is a form of this game (a stupid form, to be sure).

And then there are those for whom the game is all. Having achieved some objective, they do not enjoy the enviable position of possessing what they desired. Instead, they must rush off to some other conquest. They no longer want anything other than the pursuit, and any pursuit will do. These people are dangerous. There can, I think, be nothing more dangerous than a hunter in a forest who has lost all concern for his quarry and is focused instead on just "the hunt" as a pure act.

There are admirable politicians (or at least politicians who were, for a time, admirable). They have a tendency to be forced into their positions, usually kicking and screaming the entire time. If they are wise, they achieve their goals and then sit back, put their feet up, and enjoy their achievements. Of course, there are also those admirable politicians who never quite succeed. They don't get to sit back. They usually die quite miserable deaths.

In the main though, politicians are a disturbing creature. Despite all the disagreements I have with Mr. Ketcham's article, he is quite right about one thing -- there is definitely something "wrong" with politicians if only because they want to be politicians in the first place. This game is not some tool to get them what they want; the game itself is what they want.

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vanrozenheim
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 27, 2007 - 09:21 PM
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You have right, Master. For some, it is time to go into meditation, I guess.

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Feral
Post subject:   PostPosted: Sep 28, 2007 - 12:04 AM



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Do not mistake my rambling mutterings for specific advice. It is just a topic that has been much on my mind of late.

I can think of no more typical example than of certain Gay Pride events. (I don't have any particular city in mind... the example is drawn from a number of different accounts I've read in the news.) A gaggle of well-meaning people gather together and put on a parade. It's far more difficult than might be imagined, this putting on of parades. To everyone's great pleasure (and considerable shock), all goes well. They expand their efforts and put on ever better displays. It's really quite a fine party. (There is, at times, nothing on this Earth more important than a fine party.)

The gaggle has gotten good at their craft. Unfortunately, as has played out time and time again in city after city, they decide to branch out into other affairs. Summer is no longer enough... there must be an Autumn event as well. The apparatus of paying for such extravaganzas takes on a life of its own: soon any number of charities have been somehow linked to the whole matter. The organizing of the various fund-raising events comes to overshadow the organizing of the parade itself. The parade turns into just one more fund-raiser in a perpetual calendar of begging sessions.

It goes still further (if the whole house of cards has not yet collapsed): some bright-eyed fool thinks the parades need "a message." Some starry-eyed idiot thinks the party is a waste of "human capital" and that these efforts should be turned toward some political objective. Sometimes this particular species of rot sets in earlier than the others. They start deciding who is and who is not "fit" to be seen at the events, whose name can be associated with the efforts and whose cannot.

...And it used to be a really quite a fine party. And they wonder why no one comes to it anymore.

It is what happens when party-planners confuse themselves with politicians.

One could, with a whole lot more paragraphs, go on in the same vein about activist organizations. There is nothing sadder than a gaggle of activists who, more or less, get what they want. There are people, you see, who are just addicted to shaking their fists. It's become who they are. The demonstration (it hardly matters for what cause) was a success... how wonderful. But it isn't enough, and can't be enough because the demonstration was was never the point at all. It was just the convenient excuse for another bout of fist-shaking. Once the party is over, the activists want to "build the movement" and seek out some new windmill to tilt at.

This is not living. This is a masquerade ball. There's nothing wrong with masquerades... they can be quite entertaining. There should be more of them. You oughtn't live in one though.

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