Drudge has exclusively obtained documents regarding the Scott Thomas Beauchamp “Shock Troops” scandal.  (h/t – GP Reader Peter Hughes).

These US Army documents, including a transcript of a phone call with editors of The New Republic clearly show the folks at TNR were lying to its readers when they repeatedly stated that Scott Beauchamp’s fictional accounts of Iraq were in fact true (CBS’ “fake, but accurate” scenario).  TNR editors also lied when they said that the US Army was censoring him and they weren’t able to communicate with him.

On August 10, the editors at TNR accused the Army of “stonewalling” their investigation into the stories by preventing them from speaking with Beauchamp. The DRUDGE REPORT has since obtained the transcript of a September 7 call between TNR editor Frank Foer, TNR executive editor Peter Scoblic, and Private Beauchamp. During the call, Beauchamp declines to stand by his stories, telling his editors that “I just want it to end. I’m not going to talk to anyone about anything really.” The editors respond that “we just can’t, in good conscience, continue to defend the piece” without an explanation, but Beauchamp responds only that he “doesn’t care what the public thinks.” The editors then ask Beauchamp to cancel scheduled interviews with the WASHINGTON POST and NEWSWEEK.

The DRUDGE REPORT has also obtained a signed “Memorandum for Record” in which Beauchamp recants his stories and concedes the facts of the Army’s investigation — that his stories contained “gross exaggerations and inaccurate allegations of misconduct” by his fellow soldiers.

The third document obtained by the DRUDGE REPORT is the Army’s official report on the investigation into the allegations made by Private Beauchamp. The Army concluded that Beauchamp had “completely fabricated” the story of mocking a disfigured woman, that his description of a “Saddam-era dumping ground” was false, and that claims that he and his men had deliberately targeted dogs with their armored vehicles was “completely unfounded.”

The ultimate Phony Soldier Story has been officially ripped apart (as many of us knew for months it would be).

Will Andrew Sullivan still stick up for his former employer and their pack of liars?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

When I woke on Monday, I looked out on my cousin’s backyard in Denver to see four inches of snow on the ground. As I drove through Denver on my way west, I saw some cars still partially covered in snow. When I returned to LA, a friend, whose work parking lot is outdoors, told me he had had to scrape ash from the car.

The air was crisp and clean in the Rockies and the desert and open spaces of Utah and Nevada. When I returned here, you could smell the smoke (from the wildfires) in the air. The stars were completely blocked at night. I wonder if this is how LA was in the ’70s before people become sensitive to the environment.

On Monday, I had to walk across an icy parking lot in Denver to get to Starbucks for my morning coffee, taking a short cut over a snow-covered traffic island. Yesterday, stopping in Mesquite, Nevada, I had to walk through a casino to get to the Starbucks there. Even at that early hour (just before 9 AM), people were already gambling, mostly senior citizens, many drinking and a good number smoking.

I’ve always found casinos depressing places, maybe it’s the contrast between the sad-looking people so focused on the machines, pulling the levers and pushing the buttons almost like machines themselves, and the images of happy, celebrating people in the prime of life we see in advertisements for such establishments.

One of the many contrasts I noted on my journey.

Well, at about 3:10 PM PST, I pulled into my parking spot here in the outskirts of West Hollywood. I enjoyed the drive for the better part of the day. I loved the desert landscape from the Virgin River Gorge in the northwestern corner of Arizona to the outskirts of San Bernadino. As I drove through I wished I had given myself more time on the trip to hike in some of this beautiful territory.

Just before Barstow, I could see huge clouds of smoke rising from the wildfires just beyond the mountains in the distance on the left-hand side of the road. It seemed as if those on the far side of the ridge were experiencing the apocalypse. The closer I got, the darker it appeared on that side of the car, but if I looked to my right, the day was clear and the sun was shining. Night on one side, day on the other.

I was surprised that I had little difficulty driving back into LA and actually made it home ahead of schedule. It was 100 degrees as I pulled into my building, yet yesterday as I drove through the Rockies it got as cold as 20. An interesting contrast to conclude a journey where I noted many contrasts.

Well, I’ll miss the journey, I guess I am glad to be back; I’ll look forward to seeing my friends in the next few days.

“The fact is, equal treatment of gay and lesbian service members is about as conservative a position as one cares to articulate.”

When Bob Barr was serving in Congress he always reminded me a bit of a scrappy street-fighter. That can be a good thing and it seems that his opposition to DADT first outlined in an opinion piece this past June in the Wall Street Journal remains just as strong. Pepe Johnson of Integrity in Service interviewed the former Congressman about the policy restricting gays from openly serving in the military, along with his move to the Libertarian Party. I personally think Barr’s latter move is unwise and fruitless as returning the GOP to more libertarian principles would be more productive in achieving his goals. Nevertheless, a good and interesting interview.

h/t The Frontlines

Finally, an idea has lifted me out of my pre-2008 doldrums.   DRAFT LYNNE CHENEY FOR PRESIDENT!

The beloved wife, mother, and grandmother is an accomplished historian and the author of over ten books, several of them bestsellers.  As a former National Endowment for the Humanities chairman and current American Enterprise Institute fellow who has been married to a White House chief of staff, defense secretary, and vice president, Mrs. Cheney certainly knows her way around Washington.  [GP Ed. Note - Her credentials and experience are already equal to Hillary Clinton and higher than Barack Obama... at the time of their elections to the US Senate.]

<….>

That she had no fear going on Jon Stewart’s patronizing comedy news show is no big surprise. Lynne Cheney is a woman who knows how to make herself heard.

Recall that in a 2004 debate, John Kerry tried to use the Cheneys’ daughter, who is gay, against President Bush, who supports a federal amendment to protect traditional marriage.  Lynne Cheney shot back the next day, calling “a cheap and tawdry political trick” and that Senator Kerry “is not a good man” for lowering himself.

<….> 

The best reason to back Lynne Cheney for president, though, is the sheer fun of it:  She would shake up the race, and she would make watching it a treat. The woman knows what she wants to say and says it well — which would take some stress off her natural allies. Moreover, she has declared herself “uncomfortable” with the thought of Hillary Clinton as president, and has voiced a preference for “politicians that are more in the Dick Cheney mold, who say what they mean and mean what they say”; I’d call that fire in the belly. Run, Cheney, run!

Don’t get me wrong, I enthusiastically support Rudy Giuliani and I think he would be a great leader and President.  And although I think he is the ONLY declared Republican Presidential candidate who has a chance to stand up against the Clinton machine, I do think he would split the Republican Party and should he win — it would be an ugly victory.

And, until the GOP nomination is decided…. there is a Patriot House factional split between GP for Rudy and PatriotPartner for Fred Thompson.

But the idea of Lynne Cheney running for President is one that I could completely embrace.  I would pay good money to see a Presidential Debate between Lynne and Hillary.  One is clearly pro-America, the other clearly pro-United Nations (“It takes a village!”.  It would be a delicious campaign.

Kudos to K-Lo at The Corner for starting the dialogue!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

I doubt it…. but Democrat Jim Neal is giving it a shot.

Jim Neal, a Democrat challenging Republican U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole in 2008, says he is gay. As the only current candidate for his party’s nomination, Neal could make history while also complicating N.C. Democrats’ chances of breaking a streak of Senate losses.

“I am indeed,” Neal wrote Saturday on the liberal blog BlueNC, in response to a reader asking if he’s gay. “No secret and no big deal to me — I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t think otherwise.”

Neal, a 50-year-old investment banker from Chapel Hill, also indicated that he disagrees with laws that do not recognize same-sex marriage.

Such comments could have ended a campaign as recently as a decade ago — particularly in a socially conservative state — but political analysts and activists reacted Monday with less certainty.  Some said Dole’s many advantages mean the race won’t be competitive anyway.

“We might not get a real test of that in the race because Neal is not known very well at all,” said N.C. State University political scientist Andy Taylor.

This is Neal’s first run for office in North Carolina. He has spent much of his adult life outside the state, though he is a Greensboro native who went to UNC Chapel Hill.

Few openly gay candidates in North Carolina have run for so prominent an office. Former Mecklenburg judge Ray Warren ran for U.S. Senate in 2002 before pulling out and running unsuccessfully for U.S. House.

There could be at least one other openly gay candidate for statewide office in 2008: N.C. Court of Appeals Judge John Arrowood of Charlotte — recently appointed by Gov. Mike Easley — is expected to run for a full term.

Other Democratic candidates could still file for Senate until the February deadline, though the party has had trouble recruiting.

Neal wrote Saturday he doesn’t think sexual orientation will keep him from winning.

“When people meet me, they’ll see beyond the labels and into my character.”

That’s the strategy he should have, said Ian Palmquist, executive director of Equality North Carolina, which advocates for gays and lesbians.  “I believe that if a candidate has a strong message that is relevant to North Carolina voters, and the experience to show they’re qualified for the job, their sexual orientation is not going to matter much to most voters,” Palmquist said.

Hey, you gotta admit this Neal guy has a brass set.  Good for him — I hope he is the Democrat nominee.  I’d like to see what kind of campaign this would turn into.  I predict that from both NC political parties we would see peoples’ better angels and ugly devils.

I’m voting for Elizabeth Dole regardless.

[Related Story - Good Morning, Jim Neal - Blue NC]

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Driving-wise, today was the hardest of the trip. I did not sleep well last night and had to drive the most difficult piece of I-70, across the Rockies in Colorado. And the drive was made even more challenging by the snow storm that blew through town yesterday (Sunday). I actually drove through it Sunday as I crossed into Colorado.

Today, I had to deal with the ice and sand still on the roads, sand that got blown onto my windshield when fast-moving trucks without mud-flaps passed me as my wiper fluid froze up.

It was kind of odd that after having passed through a snow-covered landscape to get a phone call from a friend in LA that I should check the reports on the fires in LA as certain highways may be blocked.

From ice to fire in just 24 hours.

Well, I’m less than an hour away from LA and am feeling kind of sad that the trip is almost over. At the same time, I am looking forward to seeing my friends in LA and returning to a more regular routine, preparing for my dissertation and blogging on the news of the idea and other ideas I might have.

My greatest regret about this trip is that I haven’t had enough time to visit with friends and family as I would like. And now, I’m so drained from the drive on so little sleep I don’t have as much to say as I had expected.

I sit in front of this screen waiting for the ideas to come.

I should comment on something I left out of a previous post. When I stopped for gas in Lawrence, Kansas on Saturday night, I noted that the it was taking forever to fill up my tank. The guy across from me commented that his pump was slow as well. Soon, we fell to talking.

Turns out this guy is a serviceman just back from Iraq. He commented on the difficulty of the endeavor, that the enemy hides in schools and hospitals and that he has had to shoot at terrorists who fire on US troops then plant themselves between children.

When the news media reports on the deaths of civilians in US attacks, I wonder how frequently they report on the cravenness of our adversaries. How very evil are our opponents in Iraq.

I will miss the open road when I return home tomorrow. And on this trip, I have not only regretted that I did not have as much time as I would have liked with family in friends, but did not have enough time to explore the natural beauty of this great nation, a regret I felt repeatedly today as I crossed the stunning landscape of southern Utah with massive red cliffs rising up from an oftentimes desolate landscape, sometimes sprinkled with snow or decorated with trees or other foliage.

“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.” – Galadriel, The Fellowship of the Ring

This is Andree Dumon, a Belgian grandmother. She doesn’t look very strong, does she? Yet this woman at the tender age of 17 showed just how strong a spirit she has when in the face of brutal Nazi occupation of her homeland and the terror of war, she joined others in the heroic efforts of the Comet Line. This resistance group didn’t kill anyone, wasn’t responsible for sabotaging anything, nor was it a source of great intel for the Allies. Yet the bravery of Dumon and others like her provided an invaluable service to the war effort as they are credited with rescuing and sheperding to safety 800 Allied soldiers and airmen. Many lost their lives, like Dumon’s father, while others were betrayed and endured the horrors of concentration camps, like Dumon did herself. A remarkable story of compassion, heroism and stiff resistance in the face of evil. Take a few moments and read about the Comet Line and people like Dumon, along with other experiences in occupied Belgium during the terrible days of World War II.

– John (Average Gay Joe)

“The debate is not over.”

Good report by ABC’s John Stossel on the alleged man-made global warming hysteria:

h/t Hot Air

– John (Average Gay Joe)

Looks like I’m not the only one blogging on Cross Country Odyssey. Shortly after my meeting with Gateway Pundit at Kaldi’s Coffee House in St. Louis he made mention on the visit.

We had a great conversation about a great variety of topics, including the basic decency of George W. Bush and the general disappointment many conservatives feel about that man. Faulting Log Cabin for its ad attacking Mitt Romney, this fine Missouri blogger observed that the group needs do a better job of convincing Republicans that they are committed to the GOP, especially because many rank-and-file GOPers might be skeptical of gay people claiming to be Republicans.

A good point, especially given Log Cabin’s history of public criticism of the party it claims to support.

After meeting that Midwestern pundit, I headed west, crossing eastern Missouri while listening to the conclusion of Joseph Ellis‘s course on Patriots: Brotherhood of the American Revolution. I wish more Americans were familiar with the greatness of the founding and understood better the contrast between the differing visions of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, a tension we see even in contemporary debates. While these great men were often at odds over a great many issues, they worked together to secure our independence, were united in their love of our nation and renewed their friendship in the last decades of their lives.

Then, it was onto Beowulf, first listening to Robertson Dean’s reading of the Robert Gordon translation, then to Seamus Heaney’s reading of his own translation. I’ll have to say that while I thought I’d prefer the former, as it strives to more accurately translate the Old-Saxon language, I actually preferred the latter, even though the translation is less accurate. It’s just better poetry.

As I entered into Kansas, driving a stretch of I-70 I had driven numerous times, this being the first time I crossed eastern Kansas in the dark, my friend Sean called me to inform me J.K. Rowling told an audience recently that Albus Dumbledore of the Harry Potter books “is gay.” When I heard the news, it just made sense. There was something in the wise wizard’s manner which suggested a certain gay sensibility, but also a sense that he had somehow sublimated its sexual aspect.

Rowling said that the Hogwarts headmaster had once fallen for the charming Grindelwald who figures in the latest Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. “Let down” when he learned of his one-time beloved’s fascination with the Dark Arts, Dumbledore would work to destroy this man for whom he once had the most tender of affections.

A mark of that great wizard’s character–choosing to do what is right even it meant hurting the one he loved. I may have more to say about this at a later date.

As my journey nears its end, I’m beginning to wish it were longer, not only so that I had more time to spend with my family and friends, but because I do enjoy the open road, the chance to see this country and talk to people I might not otherwise meet. Even the banter tonight while checking into my hotel here in Salina, Kansas.

Tomorrow, it’s off to the Centennial State to have an early dinner with a dear aunt in Colorado Springs, then to overnight with her younger daughter in Denver before crossing the Rockies on Monday and returning to the Golden State.

Well, I thought we were in an era of GOP decline. But, as I arrive in Salina, Kansas, I read that Republican Bobby Jindal was just elected Governor of Louisiana, a pickup for the GOP. He won with over 50% of the vote against 11 opponents, “more than enough to win outright and avoid a Nov. 17 runoff.” I guess citizens of the Bayou State aren’t blaming the GOP for the flawed response to Hurricane Katrina.

His closest competitor, Democrat Walter Boasso didn’t even reach half the Republican’s total.

Look for Jindal, soon to become the nation’s youngest Governor, to be a rising star in the GOP. A principled conservative, he is the son on Indian immigrants.

Coupled with Jim Ogonowski’s “near upset” in Massaschusetts’ Fifth Congressional District earlier this week, Jindal’s victory indicates that we should not yet count the GOP out for 2008. Ogonowski ran well despite visits from such Democratic celebrities as Bill Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Tedy Kennedy and John Kerry in a district the latter carried by 16 points.

Read Michael Barone’s piece on the Massachusetts special where that sage pundit notes that the Republican did well running against the Democratic Congress, “the first time since 1994 that Republicans have been able to campaign against a Democratic Congress” and for “holding down taxes.”

Sounds like a recipe for GOP candidates to follow in the coming year. And if they run as far ahead of W’s 2004 numbers as did Jim Ogonowski, we could see a banner year for the GOP in 2008.

Yesterday was one of those days when I wished I had budgeted more time for the trip. As I did in New York, I woke early so I could see nieces (well, in this case one niece) off to school. Only my siblings’ progeny would cause me to wake so long before sunrise while on vacation.

But, since that niece goes to school in Kentucky (just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati), I added another state to the roster of those visited on this trip (now at 20). Indeed, by the end of the return journey, I’ll have slept in a different state in each of 9 successive nights. (On the way east, a more accelerated voyage, I slept in a different time zone on each of 4 successive nights, losing an hour each way.)

Before meeting my Mom for lunch at a Cincinnati bookstore, my step-sister met me to deliver two necklaces she made especially for my adorable cousins in St. Louis. Those sparkling jewels helped bring out those girls incredible natural beauty. Kelly (my step-sister) does a great job!

Despite roadwork in southern Indiana and horrible traffic (though not by LA standards) on the Indianapolis Beltway (if so they call it), I really enjoyed the drive, still listening to Joseph Ellis‘s course, Patriots: Brotherhood of the American Revolution. His voice remained soporific and I caught several errors, but appreciated this refresher course on our nation’s founding, history which all Americans should know, but with which, alas, too few of us are familiar. By studying the Revoluntionary Era, we might better understand our own nation, its founding principles and the difficulties of establishing a new republic as well as see similarities to our own time.

As I drove across western Indiana and into Illinois (while briefly talking to our occasional co-blogger, John when I could get a cell phone signal), I delighted in the natural beauty of my native Midwest, the spectacular fall foliage, trees in various shades of orange and yellow, with some still green lined up along the Interstate. If I wasn’t rushing to meet my cousins for dinner, I might have stopped to take in this wonder.

In my own wonder at the natural beauty of our native land, I wondered at how the original European settlers first experienced this region two centuries ago and more. As the rays of sun light came down from a layer of darkening clouds, I could see how they felt God had willed this land to them. And this feeling became stronger as the forested landscape opened up to rolling and then increasingly flatter farmland in Illinois.

I had little trouble finding my cousins’ house, then delighted in goofing around with my exceedingly exuberant and energetic cousins. And I did love it when the elder of the two kept referring to me as “uncle.”

Later, as they went to bed, I played Scrabble with my cousin, then had a chance to talk, sharing details of our lives since last we had time we had been together. And yet again, I regretted that I have so little time in each city to visit with family and friends.

He’s out playing tennis now while his wife is helping their elder daughter make a Hallowe’en costume.

Alas, that I need to be back in LA on Tuesday. I wish I could linger longer here as I wish I could have stayed a few more days in my hometown. Soon, once again, I’ll have to deal with the difficulty of saying good-bye as I look forward to seeing a dear aunt in Colorado.

For Southern Conservatives the question is…. what’s worse than a pro-choice Republican?  

Answer: President Hillary Clinton.

Southern Conservatives Open Wallet for Rudy Giuliani – NY Daily News (hat tip – GP Reader and PatriotFriend Dan Moho.)

The White House hopeful has raised more money than any other Republican across much of those Christian conservative strongholds.

The former mayor has collected more campaign cash than his GOP rivals in reliably Republican Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, North Carolina and South Carolina, an analysis of fund-raising records shows.

He’s also tops in Bible Belt states such as Oklahoma, West Virginia, Florida and Texas, giving the ex-mayor a clear majority of Southern states.

Giuliani’s dominance in the Southern money race – while not necessarily translatable into votes – underscores his surprising strength in places where many may recoil at his pro-choice, pro-gay-rights views, experts say.

And it comes at a critical time. He heads tomorrow to a Values Voter Summit in Washington, where many of the nation’s top evangelical leaders will be listening closely to Giuliani’s comments on abortion, gun control and other social issues.

Some experts believe Southern voters are increasingly being swayed by Giuliani’s stance on other pressing issues – principally his conservative views on anti-terrorism and the economy, as well as a growing sense that he may be the best-equipped to take on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

“Some people are surprised by the Southern support he has, but it’s not that surprising to me – given the importance of national security and economic issues,” said Prof. Earl Black of Rice University in Texas, an expert on Southern politics.

“That’s particularly true if Hillary Clinton is the nominee,” added Black. “Giuliani may not look that good, but she’s going to look even worse to these voters.”

The more likely Hillary seems as the Democrat nominee, the more independents and conservatives will want a strong candidate to stop four years of Clinton Nightmare, Part II.  We are already making that clear by talking with our wallets.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

My, my, my… (h/t – GP Reader Peter Hughes)

Want to know why Nobel Laureate Al Gore likely doesn’t want to debate any of the myriad of scientists and politicians that have challenged him to such a tête-à-tête regarding his manmade global warming theories?

Could it possibly be because Gore was a terrible science student, and clearly never excelled at anything relating to what folks in Norway and in the media consider him to be so expert at?

The following was reported by the Washington Post on March 18, 2000 — and conveniently ignored by media ever since Gore began lecturing the world about subjects he practically flunked as a student! — in an article [1] marvelously titled “Gore’s Grades Belie Image of Studiousness” (h/t NBer dscott, and tangentially Greenie Watch [2]):

For all of Gore’s later fascination with science and technology, he often struggled academically in those subjects. The political champion of the natural world received that sophomore D in Natural Sciences 6 (Man’s Place in Nature) and then got a C-plus in Natural Sciences 118 his senior year.

Yet, this is the man liberals and dolts in the media are willing to bet their very lives on when it comes to complex scientific issues surrounding meteorology and climatology. On a regular basis, such folk have the nerve to suggest that Gore is more knowledgeable when it comes to these matters than scientists who have spent their entire lives studying and educating others at the finest colleges and universities around the world.

And just why should we believe Gore’s wild-eyed message of doom on global warming climate change now?  After all, it was Gore that said this too in 1998:

[T]his is a man [Saddam Hussein] who has used poison gas on his own people and on his neighbors repeatedly.  He’s trying to get ballistic missiles, nuclear weapons, chemical and biological weapons.  He could be a mass murderer of the first order of magnitude.  We are not going to allow that to happen.  We are going to win this confrontation.”

Why did Gore’s view change after he lost the 2000 Presidential Campaign and after 3,000 Americans died as the result of eight years of Gore-Clinton inaction against the growing worldwide Islamic terror threat?

Gore lied, trees will die. 

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

In a major development in the GOP nomination campaign, Governor Rick Perry of Texas yesterday became the first sitting governor in the nation to endorse a Presidential candidate.   Perry’s choice:  Rudy Giuliani.  (Hat tip: GP Reader and Patriot Friend Dan Moho.)

As Governor of the great state of Texas, I know the value of experience and proven leadership.  Over the last few months I studied all of the candidates, and in the end, I knew that Rudy Giuliani was the man most qualified to unite America and lead with a clear sense of purpose and vision for moving our country forward.  The next four years will present our great nation with many challenges.  To overcome those obstacles we will need an experienced leader.

Recently I have spent a great deal of time with Rudy, talking about his beliefs and his vision for America.  I was fully convinced that Rudy is the one who will keep this nation safe, move our economy forward, secure our borders and put strict constructionist judges on the Supreme Court.

But don’t just take my word for it.  This week both USA Today/Gallup and CNN came out with polls showing Rudy as the clear frontrunner and the only candidate capable of beating Hillary next November.  Rudy’s double-digit lead demonstrates that his optimistic vision for change in America is resonating with voters all across the country.

I am proud and excited to do everything I can to make sure Rudy becomes our next President.  I’m asking you to do the same. It doesn’t take much.  Any support you can give will help Rudy win the nomination and defeat Hillary next November.

I’d also ask all of my readers to do their part to help Rudy’s campaign.  Click here to donate or volunteer for our next President.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Sometimes I forget how exhausting driving can be. As of today, I have driven just over 4,000 miles. Yesterday was the turning point of the trip when I started heading west after spending a day in Williamstown to visit my alma mater, America’s finest small college.

I had hoped to blog from there, but needed a password to use the wireless in the new student center and didn’t know (until yesterday morning) that there was a coffee shop in town with wireless. It was great being back, but I really missed being a student. I did get to meet with my French Professor (and major advisor), now emeritus, who was one of the few conservatives on the faculty when I was there. Alas, that my favorite Political Science professor, a Marxist, also alas emeritus, was in the Bahamas (alas for me, not him).

I had hoped to blog last night from Erie, Pennsylvania but was too exhausted after driving across New York State. Today was a much nicer drive, mostly across my home state while I listened to Joseph Ellis lead a course on Patriots: Brotherhood of the American Revolution. Despite his soporific voice, the lectures were interesting, mostly offering his perspective on information already mostly familiar to this patriot, but knowledge I constantly delight in rediscovering.

I was reminded that the Revolutionary War was the longest in US History (lasting over 8 years from Lexington and Concord until the signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783) and that over 1,000 British troops died at Bunker Hill.

I had a most pleasant lunch with a blog reader near Columbus.

I have since arrived in Cincinnati where I had a chance to visit with my Dad before coming over to my brother’s house and then having the great honor of taking the Second Eldest PatriotNieceWest out for dinner. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed being able to tell this wonderful and most intelligent young lady that she could order anything on the menu, then taking her next door to Graeter’s for the finest ice cream in the Midwest and again letting her order whatever she wanted. Back home at her Dad’s house, she read some of The Hobbit to me while I delighted that she enjoyed this most magnificent work.

I regret that I have not had more time to write on this trip, but here (as in New York), I would rather have spent time with my family than blogging.

I have had many (what appear to me to be) blogworthy insights on this trip and hope I can decipher my notes when I do get time to blog.

I guess the big thing I have learned is that I should have taken more time on this trip. I would have liked to have lingered in Williamstown, delighting in the beauty of the fall colors on the hills of western Massachusetts as I was reminded that I saw similar colors when I first visited the college, a beauty which helped me to decide to apply to that fine school.

Well, tomorrow, I’m going to spend some time with my family, taking my niece to school, then breakfasting with my Dad and brother before seeing the latter’s new house (currently under construction) and then lunching with my Mom. After that I head off to St. Louis to see a cousin and his two very adorable daughters (my first cousins once removed).

The only people who miss violent deaths in Iraq more than its cemetery workers…

A drop in violence around Iraq has cut burials in the huge Wadi al Salam cemetery here by at least one-third in the past six months, and that’s cut the pay of thousands of workers who make their living digging graves, washing corpses or selling burial shrouds.

Few people have a better sense of the death rate in Iraq .

“I always think of the increasing and decreasing of the dead,” said Sameer Shaaban, 23, one of more than 100 workers who specialize in ceremonially washing the corpses. “People want more and more money, and I am one of them, but most of the workers in this field don’t talk frankly, because they wish for more coffins, to earn more and more.”

…. are McClatchy Newspaper reporters and the American Democratic Party leadership.

[Related Story - "Iraq War is 'Lost': US Democrat Leader - - Breitbart.com, April 19, 2007 ]

[Related Story - Baghdad neighborhoods sees 85% reduction in violence - Multi-National Force, Iraq, October 14, 2007]

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Are you kidding me?  

This was part of the transcript released tonight by NBC News of Matt Lauer’s interview with US Senator Larry Craig.

Matt Lauer: They had a laundry list of accusations. There was a guy back when you were president of your college fraternity who said you came onto him; that there was a rumor you were discharged from the National Guard because you were gay. And that there was a guy who says you cruised him, whatever that means– a store in Boise.
Larry Craig: I was president of a fraternity. I had to make tough choices sometimes about leadership roles. There was a young man who was bounced from our fraternity for getting involved in drugs. I believe that was the gentleman. He was not very happy with Larry Craig and the leadership role that I had to play.
Matt Lauer: So– vendetta? That was a little bit of–
Larry Craig: It– it’s very possible that that was a vendetta.
Matt Lauer: How about the National Guard?
Larry Craig: The National Guard– I have a medical discharge based on my feet.

*jaw drops*

Does this man’s brain perform any actual biological THINKING function before his mouth produces words?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

I’m sorry I haven’t had much time to blog, reporting on my journey, but have been very busy. The eldest PatriotNieceWest did an absolutely amazing job at her Bat Mitzvah and I had a great time visiting with family in New York and friends in Washington.

I even met with Log Cabin President Patrick Sammon while in DC. In the twelve years that I have been involved in the organization, this is the first time its leader has met with me to hear my concerns. Perhaps that has something to do with this Patrick and his manner of leadership. Or perhaps it has something to do with the power of the blogosophere. More likely a combination of the two.

But, I will say this. With blogs, Log Cabin now has to deal with gay conservatives who now have a media platform. The group can no longer even presume to claim to speak for all right-of-center gays.

It was interesting how today in New York when I had the choice between walking and taking the subway, I preferred to walk, me the Angeleno who has driven to the corner hardware store when in LA. And boy did I enjoy wandering about the Big Apple, seeing some pretty amazing glass skyscrapers going up and discovering new ones that I may not have noticed before or which had been built since last I was in town.

And I had time to visit with my Dad and dine with my sisters while discovering a nifty device which allows me to charge my cell phone with a AA battery. I was impressed by the friendliness today of most New Yorkers, something I had not previously experienced in the city.

Wish I had more time to blog and share the details of my journey, including some political aspects and a meeting with one of the most famous readers of the blog while in DC. Hopefully, I’ll get to that stuff in short order. Tomorrow, it’s off to western Massachusetts to visit my alma mater which U.S. News has rightly ranked (yet again) America’s finest liberal arts college.

President Bush is spoiling for a veto battle with Democrats over spending bills, but Congress has done such a poor job completing its budget work that the showdown could be weeks away.

The Oct. 1 deadline for completing the 12 annual spending bills funding next year’s budgets for 15 Cabinet departments is just a week away, but the Democratic-controlled Congress has yet to send him a single bill. The last time Congress failed to clear a single spending bill by the Oct. 1 deadline occurred in 2002…

Bush vows he won’t be muscled into signing a foot-tall “omnibus” bundle of bills.

“If they think that by waiting until just before they leave for the year to send me a bill that is way over budget and thicker than a phone book, if they think that’s going to force me to sign it, it’s not,” Bush said Monday. (Associated Press)

Wait a sec, President Bush has a veto pen?!? When the heck did that happen? Which damn drawer has it been hiding in for all these years? I’m not sure which amuses me more, Bush trying to act ‘fiscally responsible’ for probably the first time ever, or the Democrats who despite their whining against the GOP last year cannot seem to pass a budget on time let alone one that even approaches being balanced. Ain’t our system grand? Well, I suppose since this involves whether the Feds should take more of my money or not I’ll have to cheer the man on even though I apparently “don’t want to do what’s right for America” some of the time…

– John (Average Gay Joe)