"Nah, there's no oral sex involved...or white trash from the local trailer park."

What is it you really hate about Andrew Sullivan? Yeah, he's an asshole, but with a little imagination, you could attack him, for once, for something other than being queer. Like, maybe, pick apart his idiotic rhetoric without resorting to redneck bullshit namecalling a la "Viscount of Virus."

You can say whatever you want, of course. Far be it from me to come between a redneck bigot and his or her fag-bashing. Still, I can say whatever I want, too.

Hildegard of Meanderthal

Hey, Julie, thanks for posting. I don't know how long you've been reading Jo's blog. I've been reading and occasionally posting for nigh on two years. FWIW, my perception of Jo's "attacks" as you put it, is that they're more in the nature of a very sardonic critique. I'm not sure that homophobia is at the root of Jo's commentary on Little Roy's bloviating. Mind you, Jo does spread the ridicule on pretty thick.

I happen to approve of that personally. These Fascists (and I include Andy in that group) are cowards and bullies. I learned many years ago in grammar school that the ONLY way to deal with people like that is to go after them immediately. And no half measures. You have to be mentally prepared to go for the throat. That will always make a bully back down.

Now, Jo's a little more civilized than I am. I'm sure it's got something to do with having been a O-5. I also don't think he's a redneck. But we're all pretty progressive around here, and extend courtesy to just about all.

But I find Sullivan to be one of the most disgusting, contemptinble pieces of trash around. The hypocrisy and fraudulence just oozes from him like the residue of Amyl Nitrate on Sunday morning. He's also dishonest, since it's been well-documented that he edits his blog after publishing when some of his more ludicrous comments have turned belly up like a dead trout.

And I apologize, but "The Princess of Provincetown" is just too alliterative to pass up. LOL

welcome aboard the reality train, andy. oh by the way, preznit yale turd is also an illiterate deserter.

As a 44 year-old gay man, I will say that I find nothing homophobic or fag-bashing about the comments made about the Duchess Andrew. I can only guess that you (Julie) are unaware of Sullivan's history in writing and practice. Here's a few choice examples for you:

Sullivan was well-known for writing articles very critical of gay men for engaging in promiscuous behavior (he is HIV+ but claims he got infected through oral sex--possible but very rare). In fact, one could make the case that those articles were instrumental in his success in the media circus. Then it came to light that he had been posting personal ads on a website called Bareback City, trying to hook up with other guys in order to have unprotected anal sex with them (this was after he was diagnosed, mind you). When this fact was exposed, he claimed he was being persecuted, that his critics had no right to drag his personal life into the public sphere. Pretty much the definition of hypocrisy, if you ask me.

Sullivan, whose viral load has been kept in check via drug cocktails, also wrote a very prominent article a few years back claiming that, thanks to the drug companies, the AIDS crisis was over. It's articles and attitudes like that which have resulted in large numbers of younger gay men to think they do not have to take protection, resulting in a rise in HIV infection. When a prominent journalist/commentator makes statements like that in major news publications, it is nothing less than immoral.

My personal favorite of Sullivan's "*hit parade" was his column whining about drag queens and drag shows. He claimed that no gay men enjoyed them (he fancies himself part of the ulta-manly leather and bear crowd), that they were just entertainments for straight people and he looked forward to the day when gay men could be free to express themselves without feeling like they had to dress like a woman. I can not even begin to tell you how ignorant, backward and disgusting a statement like that is, that is an attitude that many of us hoped died in the 1960's, at least among gay men.

These are but a few examples of his writings with regards to the gay community. I'm not exaggerating when I say that Andrew Sullivan is the most reviled homosexual since Mary Cheney. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone within the gay community that doesn't look forward to dancing on his grave.

Lurch,

Thanks for your reply. I emailed Dem Vet earlier admitting that my post was written in anger; so, my categorizing someone I don't even know as a redneck was unfair. And in view of his other progressive views, he and everyone else on this blog may very well be cool as ice.

Except about one thing.

I'm not taking up for Sullivan. He is a scumbag. Plain and simple. He deserves to be exposed as a coward and bully - I used exactly those words to describe him in my email.

And I'll concede - "Princess of Provincetown" IS funny. But if you don't get the diff bw that and the virus joke and lurid suggestions about trolling trailer parks for dick, then you just don't get. Whatever.

That said, I stand by my main point that it is redneck and wrong to make an AIDS joke out of anybody, or to make sex jokes about somebody because he or she is gay. What it says is, plainly, that you think Sullivan's gayness is a character defect to be ridiculed. Otherwise you wouldn't make fun of it. This is something I have no doubt of, based on explicit posts and comments on this blog.

Hey, I'm not saying you guys can't feel that way. (And certainly, I defend your right to express your embarrassing degree of hostility in as vile and bilious ways as you see fit.) I'm just saying I reserve the right to express my bitter objection to AIDS jokes or homophobic slurs. Here I point out that "Alice Marshall's" one comment to an earlier post by Dem Vet(which legitimately had thrashed A.S. for a number of Sullivan stupidisms) merely quoted the virus quip and said, "Perfect." (Ha ha! Dude's gonna get really sick and die in pain. Yayyyyy.)

I just think that's a really nasty, shitty, bigoted way of thinking. And I wanted to point it out, and now I have, so I'll leave y'all alone.

Sorry...back to reply to Danno.

Just so we're all on the same page: I'm a lesbian. I didn't make it an issue because I didn't want people to think, "Oh, so THAT's why she's raising hell about it."

Please read my reply to Lurch for other responses, such as the assumption that I don't know who Sullivan is or entirely understand his villainy.

Nobody gets my point. OK, I give up.

Oh, well, Dem Vet just cleared up some things. First of all, I was visiting this blog for the first time when I saw the "Viscount of Virus" tag. I had no idea there was a tradition here of giving Sully silly titles. Nor did I realize, as Dem Vet has explained, that this was a send-up of Sully's tendency to make a big heroic deal out of his HIV status, which, on recollection of A.S.'s vast catalog of narcissistic musings, I have to admit is true.

It was my first view of this blog, so I got really incensed and indignant, and finally blew up.

Oh, well, I guess I was out of line, and I've learned yet another lesson about controlling my infernal temper. But it did give me the opportunity to make some otherwise fine points, if I do say so myself.

I apologize for stirring up so much shit for what turns out to be no reason.

Uhm,, Julie. I can't speak for others, but I certainly have no issue with your lifestyle gender choices. I don't have any with Asshat Sullivan's either. I'm fairly broadminded in the sex thing, although I draw the line at deliberate misrepresentation, as Danno pointed out above. I'm also not down with bestiality, pedophilia, unsafe practices life scat play, and as my friend Arlo mentioned, "father-raping" whether on the Group W bench or otherwise.

You said "...That said, I stand by my main point that it is redneck and wrong to make an AIDS joke out of anybody, or to make sex jokes about somebody because he or she is gay..." That's a good rule. But Sullivan is something I normally scrape off my shoe on a curbstone before I enter my house. As far as I'm concerned, he's fair game, and anything anyone says about him is OK.

But that's me.

It's the fucking hypocrisy of the Fascist Party and their fellow travelers and enablers that gets us pissed off. That, and their demonstrated hatred of American Democracy.

Sullivan endorsed Kerry...not familar with the "back...whatevering" issues...I thought this site was for Veterans of the Military who are Democrats...maybe I dropped in the wrong place for me...

Okay, now I'm confused. I thought

"...there's no oral sex involved..."
was an obvious reference to Bill & Monica;

and

"white trash from the local trailer park"
meant Paula Jones (viz: Carville's crack about trolling trailer parks with $100 bills).

Surely that's what Sullivan was referring to?

Sully is a punch clown of hypocrisy. That is why he gets the treatment he's earned.

By the way, has anyone asked Sullivan if he took any money to blog/write from Bush? Any idea whether he falls into some kind of Health dep't grant in return for his stories?

Freeps would sizzle to find that out. FOIA on Sully to get the info. Think about most of what he says is so bad his editor has to be on the take to publish it. He did really rise to prominence bloviating on Clenis(tm).

The kerning on the (tm) is authentic by the way.

He endorsed Kerry, so if Bush paid him...?

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3. Webb wins
   
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5. Bunnypants in Bagdad
   
6. Outage
   
7. Filthy Lucre Watch
   
8. Playing the numbers
   
9. My letter to Countdown
   
10. Jefferson's Nigerian Scams