Crazy or Sad? I report, You decide

Any news nerds remember Jeff Gannon?

For those who don't—he's a former White House correspondent from around 2003–05 for a new and not completely real news agency who gained a reputation among other correspondents for gently tossing softballs full of shill to George W during press conferences.

As people started looking into this new bald-domed man in the press corps, a few interesting facts about Jeff Gannon started to surface. One such fact being his real name was James Guckert. Jeff/James claims that the White House Secret Service was aware of his name alteration, and did not see it as a threat to presidential safety as lots of media types alter their family names for the sake of their professional careers. Barbara Walters, for example, would never have made it to national TV if she still went by Nosferatu Bunnyslayer.

It also came to light that the Jeff/James was gay. And that's fine too—there are lots of bald homos in the world (they keep the fancy hat industry afloat). But really, the more confusing point is why would J.J.'s still choose to run with the right-wing lockstep on social issues as he does. It seems something akin to a black guy from the south questioning the wisdom of The Voting Rights Act because of its possibility of shifting the balance of federal and state powers—thus placing his personal interests at bay during a critical historical juncture for the sake of the status quo. There weren't too many folks like that.

It's one thing to be gay and want limited government and a strong military, it's another to think that your lifestyle—one that you apparently feel at peace with—does, in fact, have the power to bring western civilization to an end.

But beyond the questionable credentials, the name changes, and the conflicting lifestyles, what got James finally booted from the White House press room was the sensational public uproar around the fact that he was a gay prostitute who sold his services on sites such as Hotmilitarystud.com (if any of you entrepreneurs out there were wondering, it's currently listed as being "reserved for sale").

It was kind of sad that someone who was not out of the closet was forced out in such a public and sudden fashion. Nowadays, Jeff/James, with more time than he may want on his hands, self-publishes books, and runs a political blog (which allows no commenting). The weird thing is, J.J. has (on his political, non-gay-escort site) gone on several anti-gay rants , including his latest exercise in surrealness: "Mike Rogers: Violent Femme: Conducts Homosexual Jihad Against Republicans; Refuses To Condemn Gay Toilet Culture" (with Mike Rogers being the gay blogger who publicizes the long and sorted history of closeted, but anti- gay republicans, including stories on Larry Craig long before his bathroom adventures became public).

The rant includes such gems as:

Rogers and his ilk are the epitome of hypocrisy. Christians love the sinner and hate the sin; the ungodly liberals of the Democratic Party love the sin and hate the sinner. Larry Craig did not invent the toilet culture for which he has been accused. Gays did. Not only did gays invent anonymous rendezvous – the practice is a significant part of the homosexual subculture.

Not being gay, I'm not sure exactly how "significant" these aspects of gay culture are (and are they of any kind of significance in gay female culture?). But being someone with access to a dictionary that has the word "hypocrisy" included in it, I can honestly say that, within the confides of the whole Craig saga, "the practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess" is not on the side of ungoldy liberals.

J.J. has apparently officially (though perhaps not voluntarily) come out of the closet and is even a columnist for the loud and proud Washington Blade. This leads us to the conclusion that J.J. is a gay man who doesn't let that aspect of his life define him. Fine. But at the same time can he really see no problem attaching his name to such keepers as:

Gay activists making a federal case out of Larry Craig’s alleged misconduct are making a big mistake. Do they really want mainstream America to know about the pervasive and perverted toilet culture gays espouse, promote, enable, encourage, facilitate and celebrate? Do they want the public to know how many bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol and the congressional office buildings are listed in gay guides as places for men to have sex with each other?

None of the gays activists bleating about Larry Craig say that what he did was wrong – only that he was a Republican. That’s hypocrisy!

I don't know, it seems to me—and probably most people—hypocricy would be working to demonize and regulate lifestyle through the law of the land, while participating in the forbidden fruits you so wish to squash. I don't know, that just seems like that might be the bigger problem for gays, and the rest of us to worry about.