(h/t – Instapundit & Internet Scofflaw)

My view is that no one is above the law, and that when a society based on law prosecutes the powerless and excuses the powerful, it is corroding its own soul.

Andrew Sullivan – April 17, 2009

I wonder why Andrew changed his mind so quickly?

Political commentator, author and writer for The Atlantic magazine Andrew M. Sullivan won’t have to face charges stemming from a recent pot bust at the Cape Cod National Seashore — but a federal judge isn’t happy about it.

U. S. Magistrate Judge Robert B. Collings says in his decision that the case is an example of how sometimes “small cases raise issues of fundamental importance in our system of justice.”

While marijuana possession may have been decriminalized, Sullivan, who owns a home in Provincetown, made the mistake of being caught by a park ranger with a controlled substance on National Park Service lands, a federal misdemeanor.

The ranger issued Sullivan a citation, which required him either to appear in U.S. District Court or, in essence, pay a $125 fine.

But the U.S. Attorney’s Office sought to dismiss the case. Both the federal prosecutor and Sullivan’s attorney said it would have resulted in an “adverse effect” on an unspecified “immigration status” that Sullivan, a British citizen, is applying for.

Stupid is as stupid does, I suppose.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Go get ‘em, Glenn.  The wolves are in the henhouse!

The American people stood up and demanded answers. Instead of providing them, the Administration had Jones resign under cover of darkness. I continue to be amazed by the power of everyday Americans to initiate change in our government through honest questioning, and judging by the other radicals in the administration, I expect that questioning to continue for the foreseeable future.

We must keep fighting against the statist aims of those in Washington — Republican and Democrat alike.

Remember folks, it is WE, THE PEOPLE who are our government.  That is the essence and the difference of the idea of America.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Just when you think the American liberal left can sink no lower to weaken their own nation….

WASHINGTON POST: The Justice Department recently questioned military defense attorneys at Guantanamo Bay about whether photographs of CIA personnel, including covert officers, were unlawfully provided to detainees charged with organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

Investigators are looking into allegations that laws protecting classified information were breached when three lawyers showed their clients the photographs, the sources said. The lawyers were apparently attempting to identify CIA officers and contractors involved in the agency’s interrogation of al-Qaeda suspects in facilities outside the United States, where the agency employed harsh techniques.

If detainees at the U.S. military prison in Cuba are tried, either in federal court or by a military commission, defense lawyers are expected to attempt to call CIA personnel to testify.

The photos were taken by researchers hired by the John Adams Project, a joint effort of the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, to support military counsel at Guantanamo Bay, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the inquiry. It was unclear whether the Justice Department is also examining those organizations.

Both groups have long said that they will zealously investigate the CIA’s interrogation program at “black sites” worldwide as part of the defense of their clients. But government investigators are now looking into whether the defense team went too far by allegedly showing the detainees the photos of CIA officers, in some cases surreptitiously taken outside their homes.

American liberals want to defend terrorists at all costs and provide them with Constitutional protections.  But in doing so, they deny those same protections to American citizens.  The irony is rich if it weren’t so serious.

Abraham Lincoln would have called these acts of treason.  I doubt the self-proclaimed reborn Lincoln at 1600 Penna will feel any sympathy, except for the ACLU.

As Michelle Malkin says:  Privacy for jihadi, but not for thee.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

(Not My) Speaker & Crazy Harry had their say in today’s USA Today.

‘Un-American’ attacks can’t derail health care debate
By Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer

Here’s my response folks:  how about you buy this bumper sticker and slap it right on your car?

UPDATE: James Taranto at the Wall Street Journal adds this perspective about the Pelosi-Reid smear column today:

All we can say is, America is very lucky that George W. Bush was president.  Had he not been, we might never have found out that dissent is patriotic.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

The anti-Second Amendment hysteria by Chuck Schumer was bad enough, but Sen. Claire McCaskill takes the cake:

Today, GOProud, the nation’s only organization representing gay conservatives and their allies, condemns U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) for comments she made after voting against the conceal carry amendment offered yesterday by U.S. Senator John Thune (R-SD). “Claire McCaskill should be ashamed of herself for using baseless, anti-gay scare tactics to justify her vote against the conceal carry amendment,” said Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of GOProud.

In comments made after her vote against the 2nd amendment provision, McCaskill said, “this is a foot in the door that would require, for example, the laws in Vermont on gay marriage to be enforced in Missouri.” (Audio of the McCaskill comments can be FOUND HERE.)

“McCaskill’s anti-gay rhetoric is not only shameful, it’s also a complete and total fallacy,” continued LaSalvia. “The conceal carry amendment wouldn’t have forced a single state to change its laws. Indeed, the amendment specifically spelled out that reciprocity would only be granted to individuals who met the requirements of the state they were traveling to.”

“We hope other gay groups will join us in condemning Senator McCaskill’s baseless, anti-gay scare tactics,” concluded LaSalvia.

We won’t hold our breath, will we GayPatriots?

UPDATE: Missouri gay-rights group blasts McCaskill…

In a statement defending her opposition to this bill, she [Sen. McCaskill] stated: “This is a foot in the door that would require, for example, the laws in Vermont on gay marriage to be enforced in Missouri.”

This is a problem. A state’s rights argument is valid in this situation, however it is inconceivable that an ally can support Hate Crimes legislation- which recognizes the LGBT community is a target of increased abuse, intolerance and aggressive force- but uses a touchstone issue for the community as a shield rather than stand alone on an anti-gun sentiment.

In a time when we have seen incredible strides on a state by state basis, we have turned a corner and will not tolerate being used as a shield.

…but the HRC and NGLTF have been silent to this anti-gay language from a leading Democrat US Senator.  Come to think of it, have any gay bloggers besides GayPatriot condemned McCaskill?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

We have reached the tipping point in the public waking up about the dangers (at home & abroad) of the Obama Administration.

The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Sunday shows that 32% of the nation’s voters now Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Thirty-four percent (34%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -2. That’s the President’s lowest rating to date and the first time the Presidential Approval Index has fallen below zero for Obama.

Uh oh…. the minority of wingnuts can’t keep their incompetent President afloat any longer.

I wonder if his chilly reception to democracy and free elections in Iran has been the last straw for Americans who support liberty and freedom around the world?

UPDATE: And so much for the “demise” of the Republican Party.  The GOP & Dems are TIED for the second straight week in Congressional preference.  These are the same levels seen right before the 1994 GOP tsunami, by the way.  Sorry, Buckeye.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Imagine if a conservative Supreme Court Justice nominee had said the following… wouldn’t that be grounds for automatic dismissal of his appointment in the court of public opinion as well as the United States Senate?  In fact, it almost sounds like something Robert Byrd would have said at sometime in his life.

“I would hope that a wise white man with the richness of his experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a Hispanic woman who hasn’t lived that life.”

Well, The Architect of “Hopeandchange” has picked a SCOTUS nominee who made this doozie of a statement of her belief system:

“I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”

As Seth & Amy would say on Saturday Night Live – “REALLY, JUDGE SOTOMAYOR?  REALLY.”

If anyone is looking for a SCOTUS nominee to follow the Constitution and not their feelings, this “borderline” racist statement the video below are enough to disqualify Sotomayor in my book.

I don’t feel as white man that she will have my feelings at heart.  And as an American, she obviously disregards 2/3 of the American system of government.

Finally, I cannot wait until a GOP Senator asks: “Do you believe marriage (straight or otherwise) is a Constitutional right?”   And I know for a fact that question is coming.   *big grin*

UPDATE: GOProud weighs in:

This morning, President Barack Obama nominated Federal Court of Appeals Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States. In response, GOProud’s Executive Director, Jimmy LaSalvia, released the following statement:

“This morning President Obama missed an important opportunity to select a Supreme Court nominee that could enjoy wide, bi-partisan support. Instead of selecting such a nominee, President Obama instead chose to play identity politics and select a highly controversial nominee in Judge Sotomayor.

“Judge Sotomayor’s nomination to the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals was held up in the Senate for more than a year and her nomination was eventually opposed by 29 Senators. It is clear that President Obama placed identity politics above all else in his nomination of Judge Sotomayor.

“Judge Sotomayor’s record, both on and off the bench, is troubling. GOProud will closely scrutinize the entirety of Sotomayor’s record before making a decision to endorse or oppose her candidacy.

“Let me be clear, however, GOProud will not support a nominee that fails to understand the proper and limited role of the federal judiciary, and will not support a nominee who fails to protect the rights enshrined in our Constitution.”

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Bwa-ha-ha.

CREW [Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington] learned today that the Obama administration is opposing our request that the Supreme Court reconsider the dismissal of the lawsuit, Wilson v. Libby, et al. In that case, the district court had dismissed the claims of Joe and Valerie Wilson against former Vice President Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Scooter Libby and Richard Armitage for their gross violations of the Wilsons’ constitutional rights.

Agreeing with the Bush administration, the Obama Justice Department argues the Wilsons have no legitimate grounds to sue. It is surprising that the first time the Obama administration has been required to take a public position on this matter, the administration is so closely aligning itself with the Bush administration’s views.

And yeah, I KNOW that Joe’s last name is technically “Wilson” — but you KNOW *he* wants it to be Plame (more attention and $$) and frankly she wears the pants in the family from what I can tell.

Man, this is toooooo rich.  Obama Voters=SUCKERS!   LOL.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Bravo.

GOProud Unequivocally Opposes “Outing”
Statement of Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director

(Washington, D.C.) – In light of the latest debate regarding “outing,” sparked by the release of the film “Outrage,” Jimmy LaSalvia, Executive Director of GOProud, issued the following statement:

“GOProud is the only national gay organization that is unequivocally opposed to outing. We stand for the proposition that an individual’s personal life isn’t relevant to policy – period.

“We want the government – as well as liberal activists – out of people’s bedrooms. The sex police is just as distasteful coming from the far left as it is coming from the far right.”

This blog was originally formed to combat the intrusion of liberal activists in the personal lives of gay Republican Congressional staffers. Log Cabin (Republicans) has a history of selectively opposing “outing”. It is time that we take a stand on personal liberty and oppose these gay fascist tactics. And we can’t be afraid to call it out as such. These are bully, brownshirt tactics meant to suppress free speech and individual decision-making.

Here is a very good CNN segment about the new film.

Notice how Charles Moran of Log Cabin is steamrolled by both Don Lemon and Michelangelo Signorile. I would note that I once appeared on Signorile’s SIRIUS radio program. He was one of the most angry, hateful individuals I have ever encountered. So I’m not surprised he plays bully in this CNN segment. He is a bully 24/7. Very typical of the rest of the self-righteous Gay Left activists.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

It really leaves you speechless…..

During a House Judiciary Committee meeting, Congressman Steve King (R-IA) offered up an amendment to the hate crimes bill to exclude pedophiles from being a protected category under the hate crimes legislation.

Every single Democrat voted it down.

In the same meeting, Congressman Tom Rooney (R-FL) offered an amendment to include veterans as a class protected under the hate crimes bill. Not only did the Democrats vote it down, but Cogresswoman Debbie Waasserman Schultz attacked the Republicans for even thinking veterans might need protection under hate crimes legislation. After all, who but Democrats in Congress hate veterans?

And, after all, the Dept. of Homeland Security has all but declared veterans as “right wing extremists” intent on violence. So I guess Congressional Democrats are just trying to be consistent with Gestapo Janet.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Although we have touched on this many times here, a number of bloggers and even MSM figures (including WaPo’s Dana Milbank) are suddenly “discovering” the vitrolic nature of American Liberals.

Here was a particularly good point from earlier this week:

They Won

So why is the left still angry? Glenn asks: “maybe it’s become a habit.”

“Become” a habit? It seems to me it’s an intrinsic feature of leftism, which is based on a permanent state of envy, class warfare and seeking “social justice” and “equality.” Which is why it is leftists (from Hitler to Stalin to Mao and Pol Pot) who have been responsible for hundreds of millions of violent deaths over the past century. You have to break the eggs to make the social-justice omelette through the collective will. It’s not individualists who do that kind of thing.

Maybe it is a genetic issue? I mean they even were rooting for the USA to lose in Iraq.  They were rooting for insurgents to kill our own troops.  WTF?

I also think that the Left became clinically insane on December 12, 2000 … and they haven’t recovered.  Not even an attack on their nation has stopped their progression into insanity.

IMHO.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Just released today from GOProud Executive Director Jimmy LaSalvia….

(Washington, D.C.) — “In the next few days, the Democratic controlled House of Representatives will do exactly what the Republican controlled House in the 108^th Congress did — pass hate crimes legislation.  In their cynical never-ending quest to lower expectations, the gay left will undoubtedly hail the passage of hate crimes legislation as ‘historic.’  While the passage of hate crimes may be laudable, its passage, and indeed even its enactment into law, is not historic.

“The truth is that Democrats have spent no political capital on moving on important election year promises such as the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the partial repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.  Instead of making excuses for the lack of action by Democrats in Washington, the leaders of the gay left should be demanding that Democrats commit to living up to the promises they made.”

That will be the day.  Oh, if you haven’t joined GOProud, please sign up and donate today.  Our group is the only one engaged in the issues that matter to gay conservatives in America.

I have committed $2,000 to the new organization.  Please help us spread the word!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Once again, the Washington power elites are above the law and stick together.  Jack Murtha faces no accountability for his actions — because he is in Congress. (h/t – Instapundit)

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Rep. John Murtha cannot be sued for accusing U.S. Marines of murdering Iraqi civilians “in cold blood,” remarks that sparked outrage among conservative commentators.

The appeals court in Washington dismissed a defamation lawsuit brought by a Marine who led the squad in the attack. The judges agreed with Murtha that he was immune from the lawsuit because he was acting in his official role as a lawmaker when he made the comments to reporters.

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich of Meriden, Conn., claimed Murtha damaged his reputation by saying the squad he was leading engaged in “cold-blooded murder and war crimes” in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005.

At a Capitol Hill news conference in May 2006, Murtha predicted that a Pentagon war crimes investigation would show the Marines killed dozens of innocent Iraqi civilians in Haditha.

<…>

Wuterich’s attorney Mark S. Zaid said that despite the appeals court ruling, Murtha should apologize for his statements.

“It is disappointing that the court has placed members of Congress on a special pedestal and granted them carte blanche immunity to defame anyone they choose as part of their official responsibilities without even allowing a victim to expose the actual facts that are known only to the perpetrator,” Zaid said.

And the courageous Americans who volunteered to defend this nation and its principles are on the butt end of this court’s ruling.

Of course, the “racists” in Johnstown, PA (Murtha’s words, not mine) re-elected him.  So they deserve their traitorous Congressman.  But the rest of us don’t.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

For those of you who don’t remember after eight years, this is what loyal opposition looks like.

And it also draws a very stark line between what it means to be on the political Left in America and on the Political Right. Witness:

THEN
A Republican president leads two broad international coalitions to liberate 50,000,000 Muslims in a far-away place from tyranny and despotism. In so doing, he works diligently to thwart terrorism on our own shores and in our own homeland. The Left’s reaction? To call him a war criminal, to demean him, to mock him, to call him a liar and a murderer and a torturer, too insular to consider any other type than simple cowboy diplomacy. To level the completely insensible incongruity of describing him simultaneously an evil genius and a world-class ignoramus.

NOW
A Democrat president, without the consultation of any allies, authorizes unilateral shots fired on citizens of a foreign country to save the life of a brave captain whose peril represents equal parts bravery (to even attempt escape) and selflessness (to offer himself to free his ship, crew, and cargo of charity food for starving Africans). The Right’s reaction? Praise and applause (albeit, from many quarters qualified and muted).

After eight years of continual vilification of a personality rather than policies, it is tremendously gratifying to see, for a change (YES! CHANGE!) a loyal opposition whose politics actually DO end at the water’s edge (and on it, too).

I join with my freedom and America loving conservatives today in congratulating President Obama on a cool hand and a job well done.

-Nick (ColoradoPatriot) from HQ

I’m not sure I’ve seen a more succinct summary of why most Americans oppose the strategy, tactics and language used by the Gay Left in the marriage debate than this excellent comment by GP Reader Ashpenaz in Dan’s posting yesterday.

Here’s why—gay advocates want to undermine the traditional understanding of marriage as a lifelong, sexually exclusive relationship and change it to include multiple partners, open relationships, and serial monogamy. They are not trying to be included in the tradition—they are trying to warp the tradition because they believe they are victimized by a cruel patriarchy who uses marriage as a tool of oppression.  Attempting to justify their inclusion in an established tradition would be contrary to their desire to destroy that tradition.  It’s that simple. Now you know why.

As a gay American, it is hard to argue with those points.

And if you are a straight American, it is easy to see why you would recoil at judicially mandated gay marriage when anyone with honest intellectual capacities can figure out the real agenda.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Barack Hussein Hoover is morphing this week into Richard Milhouse Obama.  The focused, surround-sound attack on Rush Limbaugh seems awfully familiar. 

So, now we know.  President Obama’s mentions of Rush Limbaugh are no accident.  Democratic strategists have discovered that Rush has low approval ratings with the general public.  So they have devised a strategy to paint Republicans with the Rush brush in order to marginalize conservatism and the Republican party.  In the Nineties, they demonized Newt.  Now, they’re after Rush.  And the media is happily going along, as it so often does.

Wasn’t this the same kind of ”aggressive” personal attack that drew wails and beating of chests by the American Left when allegedly-covert CIA agent Valerie Plame was “outed” by Richard Armitage?

So every day, Obama looks more and more like the media’s characture of President George W. Bush.  Ironic, no?

But to me, there seems to be another every-building analogy that fits better:  Enemies Lists.  Political skullduggery from inside the White House.  Tax Cheats evading the law.  How very 1972.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Um, when do we get to exercise our rights given to us in the very first clause under our Founding Document?

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Just askin’.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Oh wait, we have THREE brewing this week…. I forgot.

BREAKING:  Charges Against Stanford a Long Time Coming, Offshore Banking Experts Say – ABC News

Offshore banking experts say that the fraud charges this week against accused financial scammer R. Allen Stanford have been a long time coming.

“There’s no surprise at all,” said Washington lawyer and IRS consultant Jack Blum. “This man has been on law enforcement’s radar screen for the better part of 10 years.”

<….>

The federal investigation, however, did not stop Stanford from using corporate money to become a big man at last year’s Democratic convention in Denver.

A video posted on the firm’s web-site shows Stanford, now sought by U.S. Marshals, being hugged by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and praised by former President Bill Clinton for helping to finance a convention-related forum and party put on by the National Democratic Institute.

“I would like to thank the Stanford Financial Group for helping to underwrite this,” Clinton said to the crowd at the event.

Can we all just universally agree that Nancy Pelosi is a lying rhymes-with-witch at this point?  “Culture of corruption” my ass.   She’s the Queen Bee!  [UPDATE:  More on Stanford and Democrats’ drug money. – h/t Instapundit.)

Item number TWO:

There’s a potentially big story brewing on Capitol Hill…  Apparently 104 members of Congress of both parties — 42 Republicans and 62 Democrats — secured earmarks for a lobbying firm linked to Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) in a single bill. The earmarks were inserted in a bill Murtha controlled as the defense appropriations subcommittee chairman.

The firm’s executives and clients are among Murtha’s biggest sources of campaign contributions.

Oh and who could forget Blago – The Illinois STD.  You know, the gift that keeps on giving.   Burris still hasn’t gotten his penicillin yet…

This is getting out of control.  Is this the HopeandChange that Chairman Obama promised?

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

Shouldn’t that be now be the rallying cry for the Sixties wackos who have been protesting, sans bathing, for the past seven years?

Welcome to Obama’s War!

U.S. President Barack Obama announced Tuesday that he is sending two additional combat brigades to Afghanistan, marking the start of what many believe will be an escalation that will ultimately see the U.S. forces there double.

There are some 36,000 U.S. troops already in Afghanistan, and the additional 17,000 alone represent a nearly 50 percent increase.

No Blood For Opium!  No Blood For Opium!

-Bruce (GayPatriot)

I just have to…. I can’t stop myself from doing it….. here it is…. (h/t – Michigan-Matt who saw it in comments section at American Spectator.)

Please join me in prayer:
Heil Obama, who art in Washington,
Hallowed be your Fame.
Your kingdom won.
Your will be done,
In the red states as it is in Congress.
Give us this day our mortgage paid.
And forgive us our conservative talk radio,
As we condemn those who speak out against You.
And lead us not into great depression,
But deliver us from the evil Bush.
For Yours is the kingdom,
and the media, and the podium,
for at least another 4 years.
Amen.

Ah, the Liberal Prayer for Bigger Government.

-Bruce (GayPatriot)