Somehow or other I wind up on the opposite side of every argument with Barack Obama (Iran, Honduras, healthcare, the economy, you name it) – and that includes gay rights, where I am in agreement with left/liberal gay bloggers like John Avarosis and conservative gay bloggers like Dan Blatt that the President has been pretty much all talk and no action. (So what else is new?) Furthermore, Obama has been considerably weaker on the same-sex marriage issue than the supposedly-reviled Dick Cheney.

Therefore, as one of those on the right (or sort of on the right – you know I don’t care for such distinctions) who supports gay marriage, I was pleased to invite those two gentlemen on PJTV yesterday to discuss the recent blogosphere brouhaha that stemmed from some Obama minion dissing left-bloggers who criticized the President’s views and actions on the issue as (once again!) “pajama-clad.”

Are they trying to give us publicity? Never mind. I thought both John and Dan were extremely good on the show and we would welcome them back to continue the discussion any time.

Meanwhile, it gave me the opportunity to float a personal “hobby-horse.” I think marriage should be taken entirely out of the hands of the government. The state should only do civil unions with all consenting adult couples treated equally before the law irrespective of sexual orientation. Furthermore, as Avarosis pointed out, under current legislation, married couples have a number of preferences over those with civil unions. That should end. (It should end now anyway.)

Then non-governmental organizations – churches, synagogues, mosques, other groups – could determine which couples they would like to “marry” of whatever sexual preference. Marriage is, after all, an emotional/spiritual bonding between two people, usually accompanied by a celebration of family and friends. Why do we need the government for that? Indeed, as an adamant backer of the separation of church and state, I would like the state to keep its manipulative and self-interested mitts out of it.

Of course, as Blatt quickly reminded me, this is about as likely to happen as Kobe Bryant is to marry Shaquille O’Neal. (No, he didn’t use that analogy. But you get the point.)

Once again, you can check out Dan and John here.

For a guy who just won the Nobel Peace Prize, Barack Obama is sure suddenly playing rough with his enemies.

First he goes after his left flank, sending out minions to accuse liberal bloggers who criticized his administration on gay issues of being pajama-clad children or something; now he’s going after the right-wing devil-incarnate — Fox News – all in less than two days.

Wow, things must be pretty insecure Chez Obama. Wouldn’t it have been easier to fire Axelrod or Emanuel (pick one)? This strategy, seemingly ripped from the Clinton-Morris-triangulation playbook, actually appears weak in this instance. And if I were Roger Ailes, I’d be laughing up my sleeve. As Brit Hume just said on the network, Fox News may be the most powerful of the cable news outlets, but it has nowhere near the power of the presidency. Having the executive branch go after it, just puts Fox on the same plane as the president.

But that’s Media 101. Why did these supposedly smart guys not know that? Or am I missing something? Perhaps, I am, but I doubt it. Obama looks to be ‘runnin’ scared,’ as they used to say in the Village Voice. His healthcare program – or is it Max Baucus’ – is taking body blows. It could crash and burn or diminish to so little not even the slavish MSM will be able to find anything good to say about it. And then what’s left? Cap-and-trade? Given the way global warming currents have been cooling, I wouldn’t place any heavy bets on that – or any bets at all.

So I can see why the Obama people are slashing around, firing frantically in all directions. But at times like this especially, they should realize it’s necessary “to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” I’m surprised those guys from Chicago, of all places, didn’t read The Godfather more closely.

Now that it’s October and vacation seems far away, I console myself by remembering Italy. The photo above is of a place we stayed outside Parma, the Antica Corte Pallavicina. It’s an old tax station on the Po River refurbished by well known chef Massimo Spigaroli and turned into an inn cum restaurant where they serve the culatello ham (from black pigs) and, of course, parmagiano. They took Sheryl, Madeleine and me to a parmagiano factory to see how the great cheese was made, photo below:

I wonder if I’m wrong all the time, but does Al Gore? In his heart of hearts, doesn’t he occasionally think to himself he might even be a bit off about the anthropogenic global warming thing? When he’s making a speech that is so “upbeat about the climate bill” to a crowd in Madison, WI, does he consider that it’s only 41 degrees outside in early October and that a baseball game has just been snowed-out in Denver?

I know, I know – climate has nothing to do with weather (or so I’ve been told ad nauseum). But what does it have to do with? Somebody’s computer model? According to the BBC, the world has been cooling since 1998, although some claim the warming is only in hiatus. What do we make of that? The issue has been so politicized that it is hard to find rational scientific judgement. For someone like Gore – a non-scientist – to be so adamant about it feels almost off-putting. It makes me want to believe in global warming less. He’s the exact wrong person to be delivering this kind of message, especially since there are scientists who write well (many better than Gore). But his narcissism and greed have placed Al out front.

If the science starts to turn solidly against him, will he admit it? Will he have a breakdown? Will he return his Oscar and Nobel? Do we care? Not really. But it should be a warning that when politicians talk about science, we should beware. But on a more complicated level, this presents a dilemma for our democracy as society becomes more technological. Who will make the judgements?

UPDATE: Since October temperatures in Montana are already down to single digits, maybe Newsweek was right back in 1975.

Lionel and I mull over the Letterman Affair and other matters on the new Poliwood.

Meanwhile, it’s “business as usual” at the United Nations (and CNN) as the (again) “usual suspects” are accusing Robert Micheletti and the interim government in Honduras of the over-use of unnamed “mercenaries”:

The experts noted that the recruitment, use, financing and training of mercenaries is prohibited under the International Convention on the issue, which Honduras has signed. The panel was established in 2005 by the Commission on Human Rights, which has since been succeeded by the Human Rights Council.

It consists of five members: Shaista Shameem of Fiji, Najat al-Hajjaji of Libya, Amada Benavides de Perez of Colombia, Jose Luis Gomez del Prado of Spain and Alexander Nikitin of Russia.

Yes, indeed. For those of you who missed it, the UN Commission on Human Rights has become the UN Human Rights Council. “Four legs good, two legs bad,” as a wise man once said.

But speaking of wise men, who is “David Kahane,” the pseudonymous Hollywood writer posting on The Corner? I have my suspicion, but I won’t tell.

OSLO, October 9 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – In an update, the Nobel Peace Prize Committee has announced they have rescinded their awarding of this year’s prize to United States President Barack H. Obama. The Committee took this action in responding to criticism that their website states the deadline for Peace Prize nominations was February 1, 2009, which gave Obama less than two weeks in office before being nominated. Accordingly, the Committee has decided to give the award to its runner-up – US Representative Charles Rangel of New York.

Political corruption is as old as politics and crosses party lines as easily as the proverbial chicken crosses the road. Everyone knows that except some Internet trolls (see amusing examples in posts below) who assume because you criticize a politician in one party you think politicians in the other are exempt from criticism. Yawn.

I add that preface because I am interested why Charlie Rangel – who happens to be a Democrat – has been able to maintain his position as Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, despite being so publicly corrupt. Now admittedly Rangel is a smalltime chiseler – a tax cheat of the garden variety sort, no Madoff by a long shot. But he is the US Congressman who chairs the committee that oversees the writing of our tax laws. Even so, a huge majority of his peers (most Democrats and even some Republicans) voted to allow him to continue in this position yesterday, during the investigation of his malfeasance, however many millennia that might take.

I suppose the excuse given by his defenders is indeed that this is still under (endless) investigation. In such circumstances, however, the normal thing would be to suspend his chairmanship until such time as a final decision is made. I imagine if you polled the public, you would get such a reaction by a large margin. Not from our Congress. Sleaze is fine with them. Is it because they don’t fear the public or have a majority of them been playing the same corrupt games themselves? When will they act like grown-ups? When Burnham Wood comes to Dunsinane? [That happened.-ed. Read your MacBeth. Okay, when Chicago comes to Rio.]

Perhaps the solution is serious public humiliation. Instead of being stripped of committee chairmanships or similar punishments, corrupt public officials should be stripped literally. I remember reading somewhere in Thomas Hardy – I think it was The Mayor of Casterbridge – that in rural England of that time adulterers were stripped and tied on carts, to be paraded naked in front of the entire community. It was called a “skimmity ride.” How about “skimmity rides” for corrupt Congress critters (no, not adulterers – the real deal)?

[We could start with Rangel and Murtha.-ed. Deserved but we need at least one Republican. Too bad Tom Delay’s out of office. He’s been punishing himself, breaking his foot on ‘Dancing with the Stars.”)

Last week, Polanski. This week, Letterman.

It’s a compendium of ugly Hollywood Habits with the second one coming up soon on the next Poliwood. Of course, Letterman is merely opera bouffe compared to Polanski’s serious crime of child rape. All the talk show host did was cheat on his wife a few times – or did he? I am confused here. When was the guy married and when wasn’t he? Does having a kid with someone while not being married, but still cheating on her, count as adultery? Who knows and, frankly, who cares?

My problem with Letterman is this: I don’t find him funny. For all the Letterman writers composing those lists of ten and the fancy guest like the president, etc., I’d much rather watch “Red Eye,” which probably doesn’t have much of a writing staff and so far hasn’t had any administration guests, to my knowledge, but has a much cleverer host and funny sidekicks. Letterman’s predictable comedy (with its pathetic and inaccurate nastiness about other people’s private lives, i. e. Palin) is an indication of how square liberals have become. Greg Gutfeld, the putative conservative, is considerably more hip – and more decent.

Of course, right now the Letterman Show is hotter than a Michael Moore movie (a lot hotter than the latest one) with ratings for his talk show going through the roof and acing competitors Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien. It’s all about the scandal. Maybe they can admit affairs of their own and catch up!

It’s all rather like bear-baiting. Watching Geraldo discussing the subject on his late night show (yes, I was desperate) was beyond self-parody. When it comes to adultery, he may be the TV king. But he’s relegated to weekend now. Yesterday’s adultery is yesterday’s adultery. The rabble yearns for more. Fortunately for Geraldo, Letterman, etc., they don’t live in Saudi Arabia.

Has there been a worse president in our lifetime than Barack Obama? Well, that depends on your longevity. But no one I know has lived as long as Andrew Johnson.

Even his enablers-in-chief at the New York Times are getting nervous (Frank Rich?!). Their editors are concerned with the lack of promised transparency. Hint to the editors: Don’t worry about transparency. There’s nothing (of substance) to see. Here’s a short list (I’m missing plenty):

The healthcare plan is an ever-shifting pile of papers from the secretarial pool. Was there ever really a plan? Everything is being done in such a rush it makes the Mad Hatter seem like a slow poke.

The stimulus plan is mostly unspent and what is spent has gone for the most part to cronies. (Sen. Thune says we should use the unspent 330 billion to pay down the debt and he’s probably right.) Moreover, it’s not working and the president seems to have no idea what to do.

Afghanistan — supposedly Obama’s war — is a mess with the president apparently furious at his own general for being honest.

The Olympic fiasco — I won’t even go there.

Democracy movements in Iran and Honduras are dissed in favor of cozying up to dictators. (This is the most disgusting and reactionary to me.)

Israel given the back of the hand.

ACORN, Chicago, etc., etc.

And now (ht: Fred Siesel) even the Dalai Lama gets left out in the cold!

In an attempt to gain favor with China, the United States pressured Tibetan representatives to postpone a meeting between the Dalai Lama and President Obama until after Obama’s summit with his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, scheduled for next month, according to diplomats, government officials and other sources familiar with the talks.

For the first time since 1991, the Tibetan spiritual leader will visit Washington this week and not meet with the president. Since 1991, he has been here 10 times. Most times the meetings have been “drop-in” visits at the White House. The last time he was here, in 2007, however, George W. Bush became the first sitting president to meet with him publicly, at a ceremony at the Capitol in which he awarded the Dalai Lama the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress’s highest civilian award.

Well, that’s it for now. [Are you really sure he's lost the Richard Gere vote?-ed. No, some toadies will always be toadies.]

My sympathies go out to frequent commenter and Houston fan David Thomson – it’s NBA season time again and things are looking might good for the Los Angeles Lakers. As Mike Bresnahan reports in the LAT: “Kobe Bryant says he feels better than ever. Just what the rest of the NBA wanted to hear.”

Bryant seems to have gotten about six weeks rest for the first time in a decade and has come back refreshed to join his partner in crime Pau Gasol, fresh off the European championship. And the Lakers now have Ron Artest into the bargain. Scary. You’re not going to make a lot of money in Vegas betting on the Lakers… Still, be careful what you wish for, as the saying goes. It wasn’t too many seasons ago the Purple & Gold had Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Shaq and Kobe all on one team and imploded. But I’m not banking on it. I’m looking forward to the season. We all need at least a few hours of distraction with this looming.