Senator Craig Resigned To Fate, published here first By Heloise
p>While I wrote this weekly wrap up Senator Craig resigned to his fate, making plans to quit. He won’t be alone in that stall. He has much company and sadly most of it in the GOP camp.
This past week full of messy surprises got scarier for this writer when she realized that folks are surprised about the "gay-sex" scandals among the D.C. elite. I put that in quotes because that is purely addictive behavior (one can pay a shrink to fix it) and is different from being born, or whatever, gay or homosexual. It seems to this observer that the down low is alive and well in Washington. I call it the home of the handsome and those on the take. They are taking more than just money on the Hill, they are taking chances with their careers. It matters not when the unnatural call comes--they answer it. And it is probably easier to count the men on the Beltway who are living the straight and single bliss. It is not anecdotal that black men made the "down low" infamous. Harlem, not far from D.C. and D.C. have a bevy of black beautiful men who are gay, and who love men who are straight. Yes, Craig and others might be straight (in their minds) but crooked in the restrooms. Listen, I once worked for a man, married with children, who kept a log of the "gay sex" encounters he had on work time! Needless to say he was found out because he kept a damn journal, in his desk, on the type of sex, when, where and how good! My boss found the diary and naturally he got fired. But this was a white, straight male seeking out black men for sex. It is a big and growing trend among both races. Who started it, your guess. Who wants to take credit for that?
While Bush did not publically shun Sen. Craig others in the party will. This week sees Karl Rove’s relocation back home. He chocked up as he left the building for the last time. Gov. Otter (Idaho) will have to name an interim replacement if (read: when) Craig resigns. Will that tip the balance on the Hill? It will. Because it means loss of clout pure and simple for that state and for the GOP.
Foreclosures closing in on folks
Will Bush bailout the balloon payments low-income folks are facing? It seems so. He plans to help those who are just now facing foreclosure and have a chance at refinancing with the bank. But bank bailout is out of the question—we’ll watch that. The idea of this making big news in the wake of two years and counting since Katrina hit my mom’s hometown of New Orleans. We are still holding our collective breath. Can government fix it? Should government fix it?
The Washington Post reports that the Justice department will investigate the lies we know that Gonzales told under oath about the warrantless surveillance or knowledge about the firings of the other attorneys. It reminds me of the expensive studies that states buy to find out why kids are getting fatter or dumber! Come on, they eat too damn much, and sleep even more. And what does not kill you will make you fat.
And it’s Snow joke, Tony Snow tendered his resignation and will be leaving his post as White House press secretary in mid September. He needs to make more money for his family. Don’t we all need to make more than href="68,000 a year? Bush tried not to stumble over his words as he lauded yet another leaving appointee.
In Texas political news--It did not make the front page of the Star Telegram, but on page two, the first Straw Poll held in Fort Worth this weekend, and already Brownback and Huckabee pulled out at the last minute for the set date of September 1st. It seems that Texas will once again retain it status as the ATM of the South. The primary here will be in March, after most of the other primaries have run. The top-tiers of both parties will be in Iowa, South Carolina and New Hampshire Labor Day weekend. Ron Paul (Texas) and Duncan Hunter plan to attend. Naturally, Ron Paul, whom I like, should win Texas.
Gov. Perry on Friday just hours before Kenneth Foster executed for driving a getaway car (1996), commuted his sentence to life. There was global outcry on this Texas man’s destiny with death. Kudos to Perry who also wants to change the law that creates a death penalty for someone who did not pull a trigger or kill someone. One of my Mississippi in-laws (he’s black, she’s white) killed his wife and got 20 years, and will be out in about 10. There is a deep inequity across states as well as across the color line. Hopefully, this governor will take leadership on the issue. It also rings true that people who kill people they know or love get a lesser sentence than if one kills a stranger. Does that make sense?
One of the big stories locally is a gas. Gas drilling in the Barnett Shale has been causing sleepless nights with explosions, and unexpected gas releases and big rigs sitting urban setting. It is called "urban drilling," but the green people think it is more like "urban killing." And many who have pricey homes are vowing to fight it. But with eminent domain do they have the clout to challenge these laws? I have already signed on the dotted line. I think it’s inevitable, not Hillary Clinton.
Finally, in global news there were two memorial ceremonies commemorating the death of the people’s Princess Diana (died at 36) held today in London, England.