Derrick Burts, 24, started working as a porn-film actor in June. By October, he'd contracted the HIV virus. The AP story on Burts contained this jaw-dropping sentence: "He said he began to have doubts about the business after contracting chlamydia, gonorrhea, and herpes in his first month of work, but was convinced to keep working." Burts claimed "I wasn't stupid or oblivious, I knew what was out there. But it's not something you think about when they fill your head" with lucrative offers and promises that the work is safe. Lured into the porn world with the promise that he... continue reading
On December 7, the notorious radical mastermind of "WikiLeaks," turned himself in on a sexual assault charge in London. But in the liberal media, the condemnations are few. There are no real enemies to the media elite's left, especially if they can be (very loosely) identified with journalism. Julian Assange may be highly motivated to cripple American "imperialism," but his relentless efforts to disrupt American foreign policy is a good thing when the media are manipulating the government's reaction by choosing which leaks they will publish and promote. Time magazine editor Richard Stengel, for example, told Charlie Rose on PBS... continue reading
The curator elites at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery were happily abusing the trust of the American taxpayer, with radical gay activists pushing a gay agenda, replete with the religiously bigoted, sadomasochistic and homoerotic fare, all under the auspices of "art." Then something happened. The public complained. Now these radicals are shocked - shocked! - that the "censors" are out to destroy their "artistic freedom." It's like a bad rendition of "Groundhog Day." How many times must we relive this foolishness? The sponsors tell us that "Hide/Seek" is "the first major exhibition to examine the influence of gay and lesbian... continue reading
America was founded on the principle of representative democracy: the government would make policy based on the consent of the governed. Liberal elitists have grown increasingly impatient with this unenlightened system, and more and more, they are relying on judicial activists to remake society in their desired image. Far from being tribunes of the people, these judges are honored by the media elite for going around public opinion - and the Constitution - whenever the liberal impulse beckons. CBS's "60 Minutes" earned the title "Syrupy Minutes" on November 28 with a thoroughly one-sided tribute to the "great" liberal Supreme Court... continue reading
Columnists who prize equality of the sexes in college athletics often scowl at how men's athletic programs get more money and media attention. But a new frontier on the battleground of men's and women's athletics is upon us: When is a female jock really female, and a male really a guy? Kye Allums, a shooting guard on the George Washington University women's basketball team, has decided that she is a he. Changing her name from "Kay-Kay," Allums is believed to be the first Division I college basketball player to go public about being a "transgender" person. The obvious question is... continue reading
Nobody expected that George W. Bush's book "Decision Points" was going to compare to the memoirs of Ulysses Grant. As expected, book reviewers found it wanting as a literary work. But still, every book by an ex-president is seen as an opportunity for legacy-polishing and the press is most accommodating. In the summer of 2004, the networks celebrated Bill Clinton's memoir as a momentous news event. They even employed a ridiculous adjective for the man - "candid." Certain soon-to-be-disgraced news anchors aggressively promoted the 957-page Clinton opus. On "Larry King Live," Dan Rather obsequiously boasted he'd read Clinton from cover... continue reading
When it comes to the increasing sex, violence, and profanity in entertainment media, the social libertines are indifferent. They insist that children will hardly be warped or ruined by the media they consume. They chortle at the paranoia of Hollywood critics. Their mantra: If you don't like it, just turn the channel. But if the issue isn't indecency, but instead, say, obesity - so many of those titans of "tolerance" suddenly become the censors. Behold San Francisco, the paradise of permissive sexual attitudes. The city council may welcome flowers in your hair, but they have just voted to ban "Happy... continue reading
Liberal Democrats show no signs of reading their washout at the polls as a reason to shift to the center. President Obama told "60 Minutes" his only mistake was he passed some major legislation, but he didn't focus enough on the messy "how" - as in "how it's risky to pass an ObamaCare bill that a majority says it doesn't want." Nancy Pelosi is the other face of the eviscerated Left. A Gallup poll in mid-October found 56 percent of Americans have a negative opinion of her, almost double the percentage that feels negatively toward incoming House Speaker John Boehner... continue reading
On Election Day, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case Schwarzenegger vs. Entertainment Merchants Association. The irony of this case name was obvious: the celebrated violent-action-hero governor of California had signed a bill into law in 2005 forbidding the sale of ultraviolent video games to minors, a law that lower federal courts prevented from ever going into effect. Why should the Supremes care about this? After all, a year before that, Gov. Schwarzenegger signed a law making it illegal for anyone under 14 years old to tan indoors under any circumstances. (Children from 14 to 18 can tan -... continue reading
In one of his latest attempts to get his face on every television network in America before the election, President Obama appeared on "The Daily Show" with Jon Stewart to plead his case to the hip, young, leftist voters who love that show. Obama claimed he had done so much, "We have done things that some folks don't even know about!" In a more serious interview, Obama told the Los Angeles Times the economic mess he "inherited" required him to take so many rapid actions that he could not "communicate effectively to the public in any coherent way." This has... continue reading