Fun times

Once again, a chance for my not-so-secret pleasure known as schadenfreude, this time at the expense of my good friends at the Republican Party.

Whip it good

The “chairman” of the Republican National Committee is in hot water over the money the party spent on questionable items, as listed in their filing with the Federal Election Commission. Part of it was having spent $12,691 on limousines and $17,514 on private aircraft in the month of February alone (no similar spending on private aircraft could be found in the expense report relating to the chair of the Democratic National Committee, Tim Kaine, going back three months).

But what has Republicans all in awhirl is the revelation that just under $2000 of party money was spent at a bondage-themed adult club where topless women simulate lesbian sex (the RNC chair was not there). This in the “family values” party.

If the folks with the “bad judgment” (as the people doing such things are inevitably called) have to pay back the money, maybe they could do as we do in New Zealand: Have a whip-round.

Okie haters hate so much they don’t know who to hate

The Oklahoma state senate, in a huff of hatred and self-righteous homophobia, decided that they would decree that the recently enacted Matthew Shepard Act, combating hate crimes, would not apply in Oklahoma. Well, not the entire law, silly, just the part protecting GLBT people.

So the haters, led by the Republicans, of course, passed a law: Their law enforcement professionals would be barred—forbidden—from cooperating with federal law enforcement officials, and any evidence relating to anti-GLBT hate crimes would be destroyed after a short time.

One slight, tiny little problem: The haters cited the wrong section of the Act. So, instead of refusing to cooperate in the prosecution of anti-GLBT hate crimes, they decreed that Oklahoma will refuse to cooperate in investigation and prosecution of hate crimes motivated by race and religion. GLBT people remain protected.

You just can’t make this stuff up—but it makes for a really, really good laugh at their expense.