Two Things I Know for Sure

1) Lately the GOP has perpetuated a culture of shame around sex*. A growing faction of the party paints premarital sex as destructive, single parents as irresponsible, women who have abortions as evil, ditto women who take birth control. Of course, in their eyes, gays make the short list of threats to family values too. I’m guessing it’s ‘cause we have non-heterosexual sex, outside of wedlock, how shameful**.

2) Larry Craig’s exposed genitals have been getting more, er, coverage than they deserve. It is important for Americans to know when our leaders don’t hold themselves to standards to which they would hold others. Also there is perverse pleasure in watching the hypocrisy of moral majority types unfold. Even so, does this minor story really need to fill a news cycle? If it must, can we make things more exciting by filling in details. Exactly what is lewd & lascivious conduct anyway? But really, Craig’s marital infidelity is worth way less airtime than actual news like, say, the attorney general’s resignation, the war in Iraq, mismanagement of Katrina clean up funds.

Ps. Craig, thanks for clarifying that you're not gay. The (alleged) cruising had me confused. I’m glad to know you aren’t, ‘cause you sure are creepy.

*Okay, they’ve been doing it as long as I’ve been alive. Wait, Wait, not doing “IT,” mind you, it’s only okay to “do IT” for procreative purposes. Unless you are a powerful (preferably white) man who acts like sex is immoral. Then, “doing IT” for pleasure is okay.

**All the flap around gay marriage does suggest that queer sex inside of wedlock would be just as threatening to them. Go figure.