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Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Here it is....

Raw Story has a story about the ad. I am really proud of this... I hope you can help me push it out there. From Raw Story:
A new ad, set to debut at 3:30 today will parody an ad accused of race-baiting Tennessee Democrat Harold Ford by gay-baiting Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman. An advanced copy of the ad has been acquired by RAW STORY, and is viewable below.

The ad, produced by Proud of Who We Are and BlogActive, is a parody mocking the the RNC's now-infamous 'call me' ad. That spot, which the RNC eventually pulled this month, showed a scantily clad white actress saying she met Ford at 'the Playboy party.' It ended with her asking the congressman to call her. Many analysts believe it was produced to play on racist fears of interracial relationships.



Thanks to those of you who helped make it happen. Want to help us get it on TV? Click here.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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PROJECT UPDATE: blogACTIVE's response to Ken Mehlman and his race-baiting of Harold Ford

What a political season it's been. In addition to watching the Democrats finally getting some traction in the national political debate, it appears we are headed for a big victory in one week and a day.

BlogACTIVE visitors have supported the site's work on reporting about right wing closeted members of congress. And we're not done. There are plenty more of these jokers to expose after the election, too. And, as the media covers more and more of this, it's clear we're having an effect. (Click for clips from O'Reilly, Tucker and Nancy Grace.)

Over the past two years, we've seen this topic, one that radio and TV hosts avoided like the plague to one that is now affecting the right:

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) - Just three days after he was 'outed' Bill Maher was talking about Craig by name on his show with Barney Frank.


Ex-Rep. Mark Foley - The site first reported that Foley was a danger to the gay community in March of 2005. His former Chief of Staff, Kirk Fordham was one of the very first cases reported on the site. At the time, Kirk, a gay man, was working to elect Mel Martinez to the US Senate. Martinez is a vehement homophobe.


Ex-Rep. Ed Schrock - BlogACTIVE posted seven audio recordings of Schrock seeking sex with men. At the same time he was doing that -- a felony at the time in Virginia -- Schrock was beating up gays and telling constituents that Don't Ask, Don't Tell was too lenient!


In addition to blogACTIVE, I've established Proud Of Who We Are, an organization which calls upon closeted gay officials to come out of the closet and be proud of who they are and to be honest with the American people.

As head of Proud of Who We Are, I am spending hours each day calling evangelical and social conservative leaders to inform them just howmembers many membrs of what they call the "homosexual lifestyle" are asking them for their support and votes on Election Day. I take my message to leaders like James Dobson, Tony Perkins and Gary Bauer. I've also spent time calling such leaders in places like Idaho (home of Larry Craig).

It's odd being one of the people on the left engaging the far right. But trust me, when they have a chance to hear audio confirmation of a gay man who had sex with an elected GOP official, they become very concerned. Of course, most of them are truly surprised to learn how many closeted gay men are in the highest echelons of the Republican Party they are being asked to support next week. It's quite an education for them.

A blogACTIVE.com response to Ken Mehlman and his race baiting of Harold Ford:

Hey, Ken, two can play your game, pal. By late Tuesday afternoon BlogACTIVE will have produced and posted a response to your ad, which I suspect will get as much play as the original ad you used to interject your own brand of hate into the election.

I have engaged a writer, director, cameraman, actors, actresses, post production team and a publicity team to help push this top-notch video into the mainstream as quickly as possible.

Here are some of the screenshots. The original RNC is on the left... My response ad is on the right:





How you can help:

1. Blog, Blog, Blog - When the ad comes out tomorrow, tell everyone about it. Blog and email about it.

2. Email, email, email - Help me push the ad far and wide. I've seen the final draft. It's fantastic!

3. Support the ad with a donation via PayPal - Every penny helps. The creative team behind the ad hopes you will have trust in the accomplishments of blogACTIVE and Proud Of Who We Are to take a gamble on this response ad. The video will be made widely available, for free, in multiple formats. We are researching placing the ad on in selected media markets as well.

It would ruin the effort to give too many specifics away, but you can see a couple of screenshots above that we're taking the fight right back to the on their home turf. I hope you will take a moment to help this effort out with even small gift toward the ad. To donate via PayPal, click here.

Thanks!!!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Sunday, October 29, 2006

A little tease

It really sucks when the weather outside is gorgeous and I have to sit inside all day working on a brand new site to shock the political establishment this week. At least I also got some work done on a new video that promises to be a lot more fun than any you have seen here before.

Well, it's late...back to work for me. I'll explain more on Monday.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Saturday, October 28, 2006

Times editorial page on the GOP's broken record

It's an odd place to be one of the few people of my political beliefs to be reaching out to traditional conservative leaders on the issue of hypocrisy in the government. As I do my outreach across the political spectrum each day, I am amazed at how few of the nation's mega-church leaders had any suspicions about Ken Mehlman. They are finding the video clip interesting. That, coupled with my presentation of evidence about Larry Craig, is enlightening A LOT of folks from all over the political spectrum.

An editorial in the New York Times slams the Republicans and Bush over their homophobia and hypocrisy:
All this is, as everyone knows, just a show for rousing the base. If the last month has taught us anything about the Republican Party, it is that homophobia is campaign strategy, not conviction. Congressmen who trust their careers to gay staffers vote for laws to enshrine second-class citizenship for gays in the Constitution. Gay appointees and their partners are treated as married people at official ceremonies and social gatherings. Then whenever an election rolls around, the whole team pretends it’s on a mission to save America from gay marriage.

Mr. Bush and his faithful acolytes seem perfectly willing to stoke fears that create division and sorrow in a country that doesn’t need any more of either. The president has just a little more than two years left in office. You’d think that for once he’d want to consider devoting his time to making things better instead of worse.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Knock, Knock....Ken, are you in there?

When I was interviewed by GQ a year and a half ago it became obvious that the Bush-Cheney '04 spokesman and Ken Mehlman had not gotten their answers in synch.

And Ken has given conflicting statements, himself:
"[You] have asked a question people shouldn't have to answer"
- Gay People's Chronicle (Cleveland), 3/25/05

"I'm not gay. But those stories did a number on my dating life for six months."
- NY Daily News, 5/2/06
So, I decided it was time to confront Ken directly -- alongside a friend with a video camera doesn't hurt either! A blogACTIVE reader tipped me off that this past Monday that Ken would be the guest of honor at a fundraiser at a residence on Capitol Hill.

People have already asked Ken if he's gay and he has given conflicting answers. Knowing he is now prepared for such questionon, I knew I had to come at it from a different angle. "You've given so many confusing answers to questions about your own sexuality...How do you think it will affect right wing...," I started. For the rest of the clip, click on the image for WMV or the MOV link below.



[WMV]
[MOV]

Today, I challenge to James Dobson to ask Ken directly: Are you a member of the so-called "homosexual lifestyle" and do you expect my followers to support you at the polls?

Update: Who is Phil Berg? Phil Berg is an out gay attorney who Mehlman is friends with. In other words, he has no problem being close friends with gays personally, as long as they don't mind him beating he crap out of gay people at the office. Oh, his friend from law school also went to the 2004 Inaugural events with Ken.

By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Friday, October 27, 2006

Race-baiting by GOP leaders

The GOP just got done race-baiting Congressman Harold Ford with the help of many in the mainstream media. Its operatives wanted the MSM to run a picture of a white actress to inflame racial prejudice in Tennessee, and, of course, they complied. And, as we have seen far too often, national GOP operatives sit through meeting after meeting social conservative leaders like James Dobson, crafting a strategy for turning gay people into political punching bags to re-elect George Bush.

There's just one problem with all of this. There are leaders in the GOP who themselves have big unanswered question about their own personal lives. Questions I think people like Dobson probably don't want to know the answers to.

Thanks to a tip from one of my readers, I was able to ambush interview one of those leaders -- and trust me... on Monday night, less than a week after the Larry Craig report, I was the last person this guy wanted or expected to encounter.

I've been at this work a while and I can't think of a single straight man in American who when his sexuality was questioned, wouldn't respond with something between indignation and hostility. Not a one. And yet from this leader we've seen over two years of conflicting answers.

I'm going to be laying down a challenge to James Dobson today. I'll be posting a short video clip later on today. And I'll make sure that Dobson's PR team, led by Gwen Stein, knows about the post as well. As we know, James Dobson says that homosexuality is "a disorder" and "a descent into depravity." As the Republican Party gets ready to launch its much-vaunted 72-Hour program leading up to Election Day, Dobson has to ask a serious question of himself:
Do I have a Republican Party gay problem on my hands? Should I be leading people to the polls under the banner of combating the "homosexual lifestyle," when many powerful Republican leaders and officials are leading that "lifestyle," too?
Just like they did with the Larry Craig outing last week, We know many in the mainstream media will again torture themselves about whether they should cover questions of gross hypocrisy and lies that just happen to deal with sexual orientation. That is their problem, not mine.

However, at some point, the mainstream media is going to have to get used to the fact that Democrats are not going to sit back and, as Chris Matthews asserted, not fight back. We are fighting back. And, the mainstream media will just have to get over the idea that gay people and gay intimacy are dirty or a pejorative. And, as GOP leaders are seeing, more and more media outlets stand ready to help move this message.

Look for the video clip later today...
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Thursday, October 26, 2006

Boise Weekly - Not Your Everyday Newspaper: News: News Shorts: How To Crash A Web Site

Boise Weekly - How To Crash A Web Site:
The Boise e-mail lines were already buzzing last Wednesday afternoon, when gay activist Mike Rogers decided that he was ready to accuse Sen. Larry Craig of having sexual relations with other men. Rogers made his allegations on a nationally-syndicated radio talk show. BW had already gone to press, so a brief story about the accusations went onto our Web site.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Counting down...

Some great advertisers are on board with the site and with PageOneQ. Every few days, I'll thank some of them and I hope you use it as an opportunity to check out their sites. Not only is it great to support the sites' advertisers, but it's also good karma for blogACTIVE to be a referring site.

Click on the link or the image to visit these advertisers:


HRC's 4 Days 4 Equality site is about making sure
Election Day benefits the LGBT community



separate but equal was wrong in Plessy v. Ferguson
and it's wrong for lesbian and gay couples in New Jersey.
Sign Lambda's Contract for Equality
.

Thanks!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Shimkus Chief of Staff is gay...

One name we haven't heard about in Foleygate is Craig Roberts. Roberts is Chief of Staff for Rep. John Shimkus. What's interesting here is that Roberts, a gay man working for a homophobic House member, has yet to be mentioned in the news at all. Shimkus, of course, is on the House Page Board and was one of the first members of the House to learn about the emails and, as we now know, he was involved in the effort to coverup the information.



Shimkus, as you may recall, was the GOPer on the Page Board who CONCEALED from the Democrat on the Page Board the very existence of the emails.

I have heard over and over from some of these guys how they are 'working from within the party to make things better for gay people.' In some rare cases, it's true -- and I don't report on those guys here. That clearly can't be the case with Shimkus' staff. According to the HRC Scorecard, his rating dropped eight percentage points from the 108th congress:



Thanks, for nothing, Craig.

I have written a letter (PDF) to the chairs of the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct to encourage them to take a look at this guy.

And I'm not sure which is worse... To be a closet case and work against us, or to be out as a gay man and work for a dope like this. If anyone doubts Roberts is gay, click here.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Back up

The site is back up for new posts.

Shimkus senior staffer soon...
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Someone ought to tell this guy to shut up

N.J. gay ex-governor wants to wed partner
Former Gov. James McGreevey, who resigned after acknowledging a gay affair, said he would tie the knot with his partner if state lawmakers decide to allow gay marriage.

Marriage would offer the ability to bless our relationship in a committed way,' McGreevey, 49, told The New York Times.
Let's make sure that this guy doesn't become the poster boy for marriage equality... He doesn't have a very good record and there's no need to give the other side ammunition by allowing a corrupt guy to be the most visible one in our community.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Charlie Crist has some questions to answer...

Crist Denies Trysts:
A young rising star in the Republican Party has boasted to witnesses of his sexual relationship with Charlie Crist, the frontrunner in the Florida governor's race who has repeatedly denied that he is gay.

The GOP staffer, 21-year-old Jason Wetherington, told friends at separate social functions in August that he had sex with Crist, according to two credible and independent sources who heard Wetherington make the claim first-hand.

Wetherington, who recently worked as a field director for U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris and currently works for state representative Ellyn Bodganoff's reelection campaign, also named a man whom he said is Crist's long-term partner, a convicted thief named Bruce Carlton Jordan who also recently worked for Harris in her long-shot Senate bid.

Jordan made headlines recently when the Miami Herald learned that the felon was working as Harris's travel aide. The newspaper noted that Jordan, 42, was reported to be close friends with Charlie Crist, whom he convinced to attend an annual Florida Funeral Directors Association meeting in 2003."
Sorry, Charlie... Looks like you closet door has been busted open.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Denial? Where?

Journalists keep writing that Craig has issued a denial. When? Where? I sure haven't seen one. Sure there was that statement from his office that was a "non-denial denial," but I want something abit more concrete.

So, let's up the ante. I'll pay $500 to anyone who asks the following question of Senator Larry Craig:

Senator, have you any sexual encounters with one or more men in the past ten years?
Here's what you need to do to get the prize:
1. You must ask the question on legally obtained video, which you must give to BlogACTIVE.com to run on this site.
2. Craig needs to answer or clearly acknowledge that he has heard the question and declined to answer.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Sunday, October 22, 2006

Yet again, Sully supports right to closet hypocrisy

Hill Republicans Air Out the Closet - Washington Post:
You have to separate the marketing from the reality. The reality is, these members are not homophobic. For the most part, they're using this marketing to play to our base and stay in power. They have to turn out the votes,' said David Duncan, once a board member of the Lesbian and Gay Congressional Staff Association and a former top aide to Rep. Robert Ney (R-Ohio), who last week pleaded guilty to corruption charges linked to the Abramoff scandal.

Andrew Sullivan, the openly gay conservative columnist, calls the Republican leadership 'closet-tolerant.'

'They're tolerant of gay people but they have to keep quiet about it because their base would go crazy if they ever express it. That's the bottom line,' Sullivan said. 'They have this acute cognitive dissonance, which is a polite way of saying hypocrisy.'"
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Saturday, October 21, 2006

Thanks, ADVOCATE readers

A big thanks to Advocate readers picked their favorite blogs... Plenty of them are my favorites, including Joe My God, who I am honored to be listed next to:

By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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The tent splits over a little honesty

The San Jose Mercury News editorial board weighs in on the GOP breakup. On one hand there are the closet cases who work against the rights of gay people. On the other hand, there are nut jobs like these guys in the party too.

In the words of Lincoln (a man who was intimate with men), "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I say, divide away.
SJ Mercury News: Foley scandal no excuse to tear holes in Republicans' `big tent':
Gay blogger Mike Rogers upped the stakes by appearing on radio to accuse a married Republican senator of having sex with men. The senator denied it.
You know, a great paper like the Mercury News ought to fact check. The Senator didn't deny anything and a spokesman gave an obsfucatory response.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Richard Rothstein on Queen For a Day

One of my favorite bloggers -- and a brilliant writer -- on my work:
Proceed at your own risk: QUEEN FOR A DAY 2006:
Mike is the present day Jack Bailey, a man none of you remember because you're all so fucking young. Bitches.

The trouble with growing older--other than falling apart and dying-- is the 'nothing new under the sun' syndrome blues. And all Mr. Rogers has done is delivered yet another remake of yet another classic American TV show in the tradition of The Addams Family, Bewitched and Charlie's Angels.
Queen For a Day!

Thanks, Richard!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Video: Bill Maher and Barney Frank on Larry Craig...

The story that people told me would get no traction continues to get traction. It was a topic on tonight's Bill Maher show. Not only did Maher mention my work on Larry Craig (he even said Craig's name on air), but one of my personal heroes, Barney Frank, had some great things to say:
Bill Maher: I was looking at what is going on in Washington these days and now I see a lot of these gay Republicans being outed. This Larry Craig character from Idaho. You must have met him at least, what does your gaydar tell you about him?

Barney Frank: I actually served in the House with him and my sense tells me...
For the rest, watch the video:
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Friday, October 20, 2006

Audio from Ed Schultz Show...

Here's the audio from today's appearance on the Ed Schultz show...
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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TAKE ACTION: Tom Coburn's legislative director is gay

Here's What Senator Tom Coburn says about gay people:
The gay community has infiltrated the very centers of power in every area across this country, and they wield extreme power. ... That agenda is the greatest threat to our freedom that we face today. Why do you think we see the rationalization for abortion and multiple sexual partners? That's a gay agenda.
Well, Tom, gay men do wield a LOT of power. In fact, your legislative director, Roland Foster is gay. I'm not sure which is more ridiculous, a gay legislative director for Coburn or a gay communications director for Santorum.

And just how bad for gay people is Mr. Foster? Well, here's what the Human Rights Campaign thinks about his boss, Senator Coburn:



He's a big zero!

Roland makes a nice chunk of change, too:



That's an annualized salary of $102,500. Not bad for a self-loathing homophobe who happens to be gay.

TAKE ACTION: Tell the team at Coburn's office what you think of Roland Foster being a gay man working for Tom Coburn. Just copy and paste the email addresses below and send off a note.


You can also try to click here, but not all email programs will open properly.

And, just so everyone knows, I talked to him on the phone and he didn't have much interest in chatting back with me. (On the call he knew it was a 'Mike Rogers' calling and he picks up the phone as if he is very familiar with me... I wonder if he thought I was one of the two members of congress named Mike Rogers.) When I gave him an opportunity to answer questions and tell me if my information was wrong, he hung up on me.

PS: Get this...When Coburn saw a cover of Poz magazine with naked people on it he cancelled his Senate office's subscription. I wonder what would happen if he imagined Mr. Foster naked with other men. (And, for the record, Poz founder Sean Strub has committed a hell of a lot more to this country and the LGBT community than Roland Foster has.)
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Poor Karl....

Cue: Violins...
Poor little Karl, getting beaten at his own game....

Conservative voters likely to stay home, The Washington Times:
Until the Foley scandal broke, there wasn't even a mathematical possibility of a Democratic takeover of either body of Congress,' South Dakota-based campaign consultant Paul Erickson said. 'But Foley introduced a concrete voting-base suppression factor that is immeasurable until election night.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Last time elevation

This will be the last time I elevate this post to the top. If you're support were not so important, I wouldn't bother. The next week is the home stretch.... THANKS! - Mike

Thank those of you who made a gift to my work. It's with the support of blogACTIVE's readers that I am able to conduct the research necessary to report on the lives of hypocritical politicians. If you have not made a gift, I hope you will consider clicking here to head over to PayPal to support blogACTIVE.

Next up, I need to hire a researcher to review over 1500 pages of disbursements made by a member of Congress.... quite interesting information is in there... I know it because I've already seen one set of documents that raise a lot of questions. And let there be no doubt, I already have some of the documents I will be using to report on this member of Congress.

Is THAT the reason the House member's press secretary won't take my calls?

I hope you'll consider supporting this work of exposing hypocrites in our government by clicking here to make a gift via PayPal or sending support to Mike Rogers, PO Box 21190, Washington, DC 20009.

Thanks!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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From this week's National Journal

This is a big deal for Washington. From the National Journal:
Murmurs
Building on his claimed success in "outing" gay congressional Republicans, including ex-Rep. Mark Foley of Florida, Washington blogger Mike Rogers says he will name another prominent GOP official before the November 7 election. "I will have documents" on the next one, he added. A Democrat, Rogers said he will continue to oust Republicans from the closet so "we can have an honest political dialogue." He is eager to force a showdown with the Christian Right, whose leaders have said that they don't want gays in the GOP.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Another day.... Another report...



Back to the Ed Schultz Show today...
5:40pm EST... It will be a quick one...
If you thought Traynham working for Santorum is strange... wait till you hear this one!
Ed is one of the few people I want to hear "straight talk" from.
Check out Ed's book Straight Talk from the Heartland, here.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Questions, Questions, Questions...



The Cup of Joe:
I don't know whether this is true or not. This is why I believe this "votes like he hates the gays" Senator should go on Meet the Press Sunday to discuss the matter.

Here are some potential questions for Tim Russert.

1) Senator, welcome to Meet the Press. What's your favorite Madonna album?
See the rest of this hysterical list at Cup of Joe.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Another (supposed heterosexual) hypocrite

Congresswoman on page board buried file on husband's child abuse allegation:
A file allegedly suppressed by Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM) has been obtained by RAW STORY.

In 1995, just three days into her tenure as Secretary of the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department, Wilson removed a routine working file alleging that her husband had engaged in inappropriate contact with a minor. The file was then transferred to the department's attorney in her own Albuquerque office, where it soon went missing.
...

More than ten years later, RAW STORY has uncovered and confirmed the authenticity of the police incident report believed to be contained in the missing dossier. Filed as a case of child abuse in 1993, it contends that Wilson's husband Jay Hone, an Albuquerque attorney, touched a then-16 year old boy 'in a manner that was not welcome.'
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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CBS chimes in on Larry Craig

Out, Out Damn Rumors - Public Eye:
On Wednesday, the Spokane Spokesman-Review made the controversial decision to run a story about rumors swirling around Idaho Senator Larry Craig -- a story that likely never would have seen the light of day a few short years ago. The basics of the story are as follows: Gay-rights activist Mike Rogers claimed on his blog and a syndicated radio program that confidential sources had provided him information concerning consensual homosexual relationships involving Craig. The senator responded to the story through a spokesperson, calling it 'completely ridiculous.'
Just so we are clear... I, too, think it's "completely ridiculous" for an anti-gay Senator to have sex in Union Station bathrooms. See, Craig's office and I do agree on something.

It's interesting to see that we have only heard "non-denial" denials
.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Thursday, October 19, 2006

Santorum

We will beat Santorum, if we fight hard enough. I hope you'll take a moment to visit the HRC 4 Days 4 Equality website.

By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Was about to...

I was about to post another senior staffer for a major homophobe. Then I remembered the tracton I got on Santorum with Traynham. So, I decided to contact press people from throughout the southwest... Always better to do these things with the press standing by.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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There are non-gays in the George Allen campaign

George Allen's office is often referred to as the "gayest place on Capitol Hill." Maybe that is why the straight guys there get mistaken for being gay...even by the Los Angeles Times:
Gay Republicans: An article in Section A on Wednesday about friction in the Republican Party between gays and religious conservatives said Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) had a campaign manager who is gay. The Allen staff member who is gay is his communications director."
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Gay Republicans Fight Perceived Oxymoron

Gay Republicans Fight Perceived Oxymoron:
[Family research Council president Tony] Perkins said the GOP shouldn't worry about losing votes of gays because their numbers are dwarfed by Christian conservatives. He predicted that any GOP presidential hopeful deemed a gay-rights supporter would be denied the 2008 nomination.

By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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USA Today on the Larry Craig report by BlogACTIVE

Blogosphere buzzes with anonymous 'outing' - USATODAY.com:
"Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, vigorously denied the claim made by self-described gay rights blogger Michael Rogers that Craig has had sex with men for years. Rogers claimed, on his blog , that he interviewed four men who said they had sex with Craig. Rogers said it was a legitimate posting (he also made the claim on the nationally syndicated liberal talk show of Ed Schultz) because Craig supports an anti-gay rights agenda. But Rogers did not identify the men he talked with. Still, despite Craig's denials and the anonymity of the accusers, some bloggers immediately accepted Rogers' assertion as fact."

Well, of course there are bloggers that accept it as fact. I've never been wrong yet.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Who would have known?

The right wing has used sexual activity for political gain? No way!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Permeating the news....

Yes, it's true... Some notable liberal blogs have not mentioned a word on the Larry Craig story. But for another day... it's what the blogosphere is buzzing about...



Lots -- and I mean LOTS -- of bloggers are chiming in and the coverage in the print media and radio has definitely been pushed, in part, by the blogosphere's huge reaction to the story.

Who would have thought two years ago that national radio shows would have me on to talk about these hypocrites by name?

Oh, it's day three and we still haven't heard from Senator Craig himself. And where is Ken Mehlman?
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Prompting newsroom discussions across Idaho

UPDATE: I'm working to locate the proper archive video. I'll link it as soon as I have it.

This is quite interesting... It's a video archive of the Spokesman Review's Editorial Board discussions about the decision to run the story on my report about Larry Craig.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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White House declares National Character Counts Week, 2006

From the White House
National Character Counts Week, 2006:
America's strength is found in the spirit and character of our people. During National Character Counts Week, we renew our commitment to instilling values in our young people and to encouraging all Americans to remember the importance of good character.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Family Research Council: Republicans are clowns

Some Seek 'Pink Purge' in the GOP - Los Angeles Times:
The long-simmering tension in the GOP between gays and the religious right has erupted into open conflict at a sensitive time, just weeks before a midterm election that may cost Republicans control of Congress.

'The big-tent strategy could ultimately spell doom for the Republican Party,' said Tom McClusky, chief lobbyist for the Family Research Council, a Christian advocacy group. 'All a big-tent strategy seems to be doing is attracting a bunch of clowns.
He ought to know, he's one of those who the GOP attracts to their big tent.

If they think this stuff is splitting them up now...wait till they see what I have in store for them next.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Hey, larry....

By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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We're number one

And they said no one would pay attention...

By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Today's fact of the day

The media are quick to point out that Larry Craig is married and has two children. This is true. In the wake of the Congressional sex and drug scandal of 1982 (see the video in yesterday's post), he married his staffer Suzanne Scott and adopted her kids.

Anyway, since when did marital status mean a thing to these guys, right Mr. Schrock?
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Daily Briefing :: spokesmanreview.com

Traction starts slowly...
If our reporters had uncovered this information, it's unlikely we would run a story. However, because this information is already circulating through other media, it's a different situation.

'We can't ignore it,' said managing editor Gary Graham. 'If we start ignoring that kind of discussion in a media context, we take ourselves down a slippery slope.'

The story will include a reaction from Sen. Craig, who denies the assertions.

'We actually do Craig a service by letting him respond in print,' Graham said."
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Tuesday, October 17, 2006

Well, we're having an impact

At least that's what the blogosphere is saying:

By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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The audio from Ed Schultz

Here's the audio from the Larry Craig story on Ed Schultz.

There's a reason Ed Schultz is the number one progressive talk show host in America... While Air America didn't return calls, Ed, who has a much larger audience, also has guts. Thanks, Ed!

And a thanks to Ed would not be complete without thanking Ed's producer, Holmey. Radio could use more producers like Holmey -- and my other producer friend, Terri, out of KABC Los Angeles.

What seems like three hours of chit chat on the radio requires more coordination than most people imagine. It's producers that pull it all together... So a special thanks to them!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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And... the pitch... Another case coming soon

Stories like this do not come cheap. Flights to places like Seattle, Boise and other places are not free. Digging up video from twenty-six years ago costs money. Running websites and having people design sites at a moment's notice costs money, too. And, for those of you in DC, you know how much legal advice costs! If you believe in this work, please support it today.

There's more research to do... There is at least one more member of Congress to report on within the next few weeks -- and with some very intertesting documents, no less... And let there be no doubt, I already have some of the documents I will be using to report on this member of Congress.

I hope you'll consider supporting this work of exposing hypocrites in our government by clicking here to make a gift via PayPal or sending support to Mike Rogers, PO Box 21190, Washington, DC 20009.

Thanks!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Senator Larry Craig.... What's with the gay bashing?



UPDATE: Click here to listen to me talk to Ed Schultz about Larry Craig.

Since the Mark Foley scandal broke earlier this month, increasing attention has been paid to the hypocrisy of Republican leaders. Every election year, these party leaders make what many of us see as anti-gay appeals to religious conservative voters who object to what they disparagingly call the "homosexual lifestyle." What these party leaders don't tell these voters is how many of them actually lead secret lives which include sexual encounters with members of the same sex. Recent stories in USA Today, National Journal, the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times have discussed this GOP messaging problem. As readers know, my work is bipartisan. The recent use of gays by the Republican Party during this election makes it necessary to focus on the Party and how it facilitates keeping gay men closeted.

My tactics at blogACTIVE have taken a new path from those of the past. Reporting on hypocrisy within the gay community has been going on for years.

My goal with this site and my companion site, Proud Of Who We Are, is to take that message further. To educate not just gays and lesbians about these homophobes, but to educate the electorate at large. Because of this, I find myself in the odd position of being one of the few people who seems to be willing to tell religious conservatives, who don't approve of people like me, just how many conservative political leaders are like me.



gay and lesbian health information
or any medical info concerning
lots of gay health
issues check us out.

I have been calling on gay Republican representatives, senators, and high-level staffers to stand up and be proud of who they are, to level with voters about the truth, and to let people decide on their politicians based on truth, honesty and openness.

As this message is posted, I have appeared on the Ed Schultz Show, a nationally syndicated radio program broadcast in more than 100 cities and on Sirius Satellite. On the show I have called on Senator Larry Craig to end his years of hypocrisy by leveling with Idahoans about who he really is. I am also calling upon several prominent Idaho social conservative leaders to ask them how they square their anti-gay positions with their support for this leader.

I have done extensive research into this case, including trips to the Pacific Northwest to meet with men who have say they have physical relations with the Senator. I have also met with a man here in Washington, D.C., who says the same -- and that these incidents occurred in the bathrooms of Union Station. None of these men know each other, or knew that I was talking to others. They all reported similar personal characteristics about the Senator, which lead me to believe, beyond any doubt, that their stories are valid.

Larry Craig being mentioned as possibly connected to Congressional scandals is nothing new. Check out these video clips from 1982 when he preemptively denied his involvement in a Congressional sex and drug scandal. (I love what he says about unmarried people back then and how often do politicians issue preemptive denials based on rumors?)






Senator Craig has consistently relied on the support of Idaho's "values voters," but he has not been honest with them about his own conduct. Conservatives and liberals are both standing up and recognizing the hypocrisy of elected officials like Senator Larry Craig. The time for treating Americans one way and behaving in another is over.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Monday, October 16, 2006

Clarification

People asked me "What's the deal with this list?" Here's what it's about.

The case about an anti-gay US Senator having sex with men has been discussed here, but never fully reported on. At one point I thought it would be fun to make the list a process of elimination, removing, for example, anyone who voted against the Federal Marriage Amendment.

Through the process of elimination, twenty possibilities remain. I will be revealing which one of the 20 it is tomorrow on The Ed Schultz Show.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Busy day...

Regular readers know that I have not reported on a number of figures over the past two years because they don't engage in advocacy against the LGBT community. This post is not about one of those poeple.

Multiple sources have confirmed for me that one of the Senators listed below has sexual encounters with men and, at the same time, votes against the gay community.

Regular visitors know I have been whittling down the list from 100 to 1. Well, tomrrow I will eliminate nineteen more, leaving just one. Who is left on the list?
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT)
Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Richard Burr (R-NC)
Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)
Thad Cochran (R-MS)
Norm Coleman (R-MN)
John Cornyn (R-TX)
Larry E. Craig (R-ID)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Michael B. Enzi (R-WY)
James M. Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Mel Martinez (R-FL)
Pat Roberts (R-KS)
Jeff Sessions (R-AL)
Richard C. Shelby (R-AL)
John Thune (R-SD)
David Vitter (R-LA)
George V. Voinovich (R-OH)
Tomorrow evening I will be on the Ed Schultz Show snd I will take 19 off the list in one fell swoop. If you're in DC, listen to the Ed Schultz Show on AM 1260 between 3:00 and 6:00pm. You can find your local station here, or click the listen live link on this page.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Friday, October 13, 2006

Congressman David Camp's Chief of Staff is gay

You can't go much lower than zero. That's what Congressman David Camp scored on the latest Human Rights Campaign Congressional Scorecard:



So, who is the loser who keeps it all together for Congressman Camp? Jim Brandell, a gay man!



On Monday, I'll be sending out a new edition of blogACTIVE Confidential. It will have take action links for these new staff reports and we'll be laying the groundwork for a very big announcement.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Then-closeted Jim Kolbe did stupid things

Ed Schultz was great. In a few minutes I'll post about the Chief of Staff to congressman David Camp. In the meantime, I've been thinking about this Kolbe stuff and realized that when he took the camping trip in July of 1996, he was (duh!) still in the closet. Kolbe didn't come out until a month after the trip and only after being prompted to by rumors that he was to be outed in the Advocate.

Congressmen, straight or gay, should not be off on camping trips with pages or recent former pages. I don't care if they are 16 or 19 or 21. Period. Legal or illegal, I don't care. Its' immoral and it's unethical. It's wrong. And, as we know, often it's the pressure of the closet and not being gay itself that leads gay men to make unhealthy and inappropriate choices.

And now, this new tale of outrageous, predatory is a problem for everyone. For gay Americans like me, it means more conservatives will equate being gay with being a predator. For Ken Mehlman, it means anti-gay social conservatives will question even more a party that covered up Foley's behavior, kept Jim Kolbe in the closet for years, and has a lot of other gay men secretly in its ranks.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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And this too...

4:30PM EST... I'm on NPR's All Things Considered.

The press are getting it. The nation is getting it. Woo Hoo!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Today's reports...

Tonight. Coast to coast radio. 5:30pm EST - Ed Schultz Radio. New Chief of Staff named for right wing congressman! Was HE involved in Foleygate? Who knows?
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Another huge audience hears about Dreier and Mehlman

On Alan Colmes' radio show tonight it was more of the topic that is on everyone's mind: The huge Republican losses coming down the pike as a result of GOP office holders looking like the Keystone Kops.

Two years ago the thought of me mentioning David Dreier living a gay life on national radio made producers shudder everywhere. Today, David's relationship with his Chief of Staff and frequent travel companion Brad Smith is talked about on radio

Yup. There are gays everywhere... And now millions of people know about the one from California's 26th Congressional District.

Of course, I made sure to dedicate time to our favorite missing party chairman... Ken Mehlman. Plenty of chat on national radio again tonight about how Ken has all but disappeared from public view as his party reels from a huge scandal involving closeted men at the highest levels of the GOP!

Where is Ken Mehlman?

[AUDIO: Mike Rogers on Alan Colmes' radio show]
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Thursday, October 12, 2006

By ten minutes

I just got in... spent the day out... and am going on Alan Colmes
radio show at 11:00... five minutes... Then back to the blog for the name of a new Chief of Staff to a right wing anti-gay congressman and a reminder story about a guy who works for a horrid organization. I'll post the audio soon.

I'll make it as much fun as I can!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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To be expected...

Because so many people are new here, I am trying to minimize the "insider baseball" posts about the internal workings of the liberal blogs. Knowing, however, some of my fellow bloggers do visit, I thought it was important for them to highlight this.

This is what happens when you hire an internet consultant who used his website to dupe people into investing in stock he artificially pumped up the price on:
Political Radar: "Two Democratic sources confirm to ABC News that former Gov. Mark Warner (D-VA) will announce today that he will not be a candidate for president in 2008. "
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Wednesday, October 11, 2006

David Dreier is not gonna be happy about this...

Ooops... Well. I am late again. Darn! Just when the right wingers were coming by in droves all worried about who is next in Congress or the Senate.

AUDIO: Mike Rogers on KABC on David Dreier and Ken Mehlman

Instead of the Wednesday report of staffers, I have a real treat. Tonight I spent thirty minutes on Los Angeles station KABC radio, the second largest L.A. AM radio station. Right in the middle of Los Angeles "radio drive time," I spent almost the entire half hour educating the entire Los Angeles region about David Dreier's life as a closeted gay man. What a sea change from two years ago, when Los Angeles stations barred me from mentioning Dreier's name.

The host of the show, Al Rantel is a gay conservative. We had a blast.

And when I wasn't talking about Dreier, I was raising questions about Ken Mehlman. They are on the defensive, yet they have no morals or ethics to count on.

[Mike Rogers of blogACTIVE.com on KABC Radio, the Al Rantel - 26:17]
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Thanks, Queerty!

I know a lot of folks have seen the O'Reilly video. It's gotten picked up by a lot of blogs, including one of my favorites, QUEERTY.

QUEERTY is a lot of fun. If you haven't seen the site, check it out here:
Mike Rogers Holds His Own Against O'Reilly / Queerty
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Joe tresh writes to Mark Foley on National Coming Out Day

"Dear Mark Foley,

It really is a shame that as an out gay man you are spending your first National Coming Out Day today in 'rehab' (wink, wink). But really, Mark, perhaps it's best that you stay out of the limelight for now, because besides the fact that gays don't want to claim you, your coming out story is a tragic tale."
Read the rest of Joe's letter here.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Missing Person Alert!

Where is Ken Mehlman?


The Republican Party is under its biggest attack in the past six years and the Chairman of the Republican National Committee is missing!

How come I have not heard the Chairman of the Republican National Committee speak out about the fact that closeted gay men are in the highest echelons of the GOP?

Where is the very single Ken Mehlman? Who, incidentally, MANY people think is gay! (See: The Architect by James Moore and Wayne Slater, authors of Bush's Brain)

Where is the man who thinks it's OK to use sexual orientation in elections to wedge people?

Can anyone find Ken Mehlman?
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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SPECIAL POST: National Coming Out Day

Short version:
Click here to see this must read essay on National Coming Out Day

Long version:
I was in my apartment about a year ago, when I turned to a new neighbor and said, "So, are you gay?" For me, asking such a question -- unless you're a closeted, anti-gay hypocrite -- is not really a big deal. But for my guest, who I had only know for a few weeks, it took on a whole different angle.

"I'm trying to figure all that out," he said, as tears welled up in his eye, reminding me, yet again, that our struggle is never easy and that our most important work we can do is to hold the hand of a friend or family member who decides, above all, to just be honest.
Today is the day!

To mark National Coming Out Day 2006, my friend and essayist, Richard Rothstein recounts a personal tale of homophobic and self-destructive Closet behavior. Richard believes that "the gay community has few enemies more dangerous or treacherous than a gay man in the closet." And he stands guilty as charged of such behavior.

But the essay, which also describes his brief flirtation with suicide attempts as a way out of the Closet, actually is an amazingly uplifting story of coming out in the late 80s and the powerful impact that coming out by one very courageous man can have on the life of another gay man struggling with the desperation and dysfunction of the Closet, Twenty years ago, as you'll learn from Richard's essay, he would have been one of my targets; today he is one of my friends and a fellow activist.

Proceed at Your Own Risk:
TALES FROM THE CLOSET: THE CHICAGO COP AND THE PURPLE PEOPLE EATER
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Happy National Drag the Anti-gay Men Out of the Closet Kicking and Screaming Day...

Meet Thomas Bowman.
Thomas has a Friendster profile:


Thomas works here:




But, Thomas apparently, doesn't share all the same values as the right wingers in the White House he works for:


Oh, Thomas is gay. Works at the Bush White House.

And... I promised a visit from a previous case. I'm warning the Committee about Ed Schrock. Since he's still on the staff of Congress (the ONLY former member who is on staff) and was looking for sex with men outside of marriage during the time Foley was protected. He needs to be hauled into the committee and asked what he knew and when he knew it.



I wrote another letter:



I will be adding more take actions so visitors can help spread the message. I'll also be mailing blogACTIVE Confidential, my newsletter, a list of 5,000 people, including thousands of staffers inside the Capitol.




By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Still working on it...

I've been crazed busy... And that's just looking at the right wing spin out of control. O'Reilly said the story is losing steam... He must not know what I know....

I'm running late (a familiar theme in these parts) but will post the names of staffers before bed.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Straight GOP Rep. has gaydar

Republican Rep. Chris Cannon from Utah is a real right winger... And he apparently has gaydar too!
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Video: I went on to the O'Reilly Factor...


Click here or on the image to watch
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Monday, October 09, 2006

Call them out.....








Update: I've read in the comments that Meachum left the House staff recently. That doesn't mean the Ethics Committee should let him off the hook. What did Meachum know and when did he know it? He worked for a FLORIDA GOP Congressman and I have a feeling he wasn't exactly naive to the situation.

Better haul them into the ethics investigators, just in case.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Yep..It's coming today

What a day and night... Radio, TV...and lots of phone calls....I am writing the final steps and will be reporting TODAY... before midnight, as promised.

Mike
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Timing

TONIGHT: I'm on the O'Reilly Factor.... In the No Spinzone 8pm... EST

NEW CASES: When I get back from the taping up will go the names of a Hastert senior staffer, and I mean the kind of senior staffer making over $150,000 a year.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E-L-Y B-R-I-L-L-I-A-N-T

FINALLY, THE MSM IS GETTING IT!!!!!!

By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Sunday, October 08, 2006

Anyone know where to find?

Anyone know where I can find a list of interns from 2002 in the House? I have a case I am looking at and would be interested in learning the names of interns for a member's office. (If you do, drop me a note at tips(at)blogactive.com

and NO! I am not going to emails them or chat with them via IM as Mark Foley did.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Saturday, October 07, 2006

Don't blame the Democrats...

HE WAS ONE!!!!!!!!

Palm Beach Post goes mushy on the man who hit on underage teens:
"A former Foley aide noted that the congressman, who switched from the Democratic Party early in his political career..."
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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George and Mark compare notes


By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Mr. Speaker, I have a point of information...

Hey, Dennis, on Monday I'll be telling everyone about the high level closeted staffer in your office.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Starting Monday... Investigate these closeted staffers

I am very concerned what these CLOSETED high level staffers have done. This site first reported on the danger Kirk Fordham was to gays OVER TWO YEARS AGO. Before anyone gets out the violins for poor Kirk, remember he was the money chief for US Senator Mel Martinez's campaign. You know Mel, he's the one who equaled marriage equality with living under "totalitarian rule in Cuba."

It's not that Kirk is gay that got him in trouble. It's that he was hiding in a closet and facilitating Mark Foley's actions.

Well, America, I want other closeted staffers questioned. I want all entities investigating this matter to look at every other closeted staffer who may have contributed to this national disgrace.

So.... Beginning Monday, and every weekday thereafter, I will be identifying the name of a closeted senior staffer in Congress with the hopes that those investigating this matter will make sure to include them in their questioning. And I hope the press looks for them as well. It's time to rid the government of those that would harm us.

I will also highlight a past case from the site's history. I will ask you all to join me in sending emails to the ethics committee and media about these staffers who are putting the very stability of our government.

Some have said this is a purge of gays from the government. No my friends, this is NOT about gays. To suggest that there will be a purge of gays from the government is preposterous. Now, if you want to talk about a purge of anti-gay closet cases facilitating the hard Right's agenda... I say purge away.

It's about the hypocrisy. The know it. We know it. They want to change the focus. As the boss himself says:
Like soldiers in the winter's night
With a vow to defend
No retreat, baby, no surrender


By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Click....Click...Click...

I was walking out of my favorite place to grab a bite in DC and my friend says to me, "Don't look toward the newsstand across the street, there's a guy taking pictures of us."

"No way," I replied.

"Yep" he said.

I got nervous, but also knew there is nothing illegal about taking pictures on the street. As we walked away there was no doubt that we were the subject of the photographer's lens. Instead of leading the photographer to my residence, we went to my friend's house and I sought some good advice from people who know what to do better than I do.

And they say I play nasty?
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Taking a breath

Wow!

And some have told me this is not even the end of it.

I'll be using the weekend to catch up on some posting and editing PageOneQ, which has been neglected in the media swirl. Faithful readers know this site isn't exactly the place to come for hourly postings... but I'll be doing a quick bunch of em over the weekend.

To all of those that have helped me keep it together, THANKS from the bottom on my heart.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Bust 'em open

Salon gets it right with Open the closets on Capitol Hill:
That era has passed, despite the fondest wishes of some conservatives, and it is time that the American media -- and, yes, the closeted culture of official Washington -- awakened to that fact. It is time, in short, to end the hypocritical double standard that shields gay politicians from the implications (and the promise) of who they are. Let the doors open wide.

Do I mean 'outing'? Yes -- within limits. I hold no brief for those hysterics on the far right who want every homosexual working in the Republican Party to be called out by name -- as a precursor, presumably, to being expunged. Nor do I think that gay congressional staffers forfeit all rights to privacy simply by virtue of their jobs. But I do believe that every man or woman who courts public office must be held to some public standard of honesty -- of coherence.
Exactly right.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Friday, October 06, 2006

Wow, Foley gave advice on my work to closet queers

NATIONAL JOURNAL: A Calamity For Gay Republicans
Several gay Republicans who worked for other lawmakers found his [Foley's] suite of offices to be a safe zone and would drop by to kibitz. Others benefited from his advice. He counseled one in his dealings with blogger Mike Rogers, who publicly disclosed the identities of a dozen gay Republican staff members.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Video: I was on Tucker Carlson



There's a lot of smoke and mirrors to television news. Rarely do you have more than 20 to 30 seconds to chat with a show host through a microphone and earpiece.

Appearing on the Tucker Carlson show was a little bit different. And while I don't agree with a lot of what Carlson has to say, he's actually a reasonable guy. Remember when our nation had reasonable debate about the issues?

Tucker had a substantiative chat with me before the show and he was completely respectful of my work and while we didn't agree on everything it was nice to be able to go on a show and have an actual discussion of the issues.

As always, I am grateful to David Edwards for the video assist. I don't know how he does it, he seems to capture about every great video out there.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Thursday, October 05, 2006

On Nancy Grace

Nancy Grace had me on yesterday. She wasn't really interested in talking about the political effects of the Foley scandal. Do you think that stopped me?


By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Get me this list and I will publish it

Foley, Gay Republicans, And The List - Public Eye:
One senior House Republican tells CBS that there's a lot of anger at what he describes as 'a network of gay staffers and gay members who protect each other and did the speaker a disservice.''

The New Republic's Michael Crowley picks up on Borger's comment. He argues that 'it's becoming clear that some people on Capitol Hill are promoting a storyline that involves gay Republican staffers--apparently led by [Tom Reynolds's chief of staff Kirk] Fordham--covering up for Mark Foley.' Crowley suggests 'maybe this is how Dennis Hastert and his compatriots are explaining themselves to the base.'

He also notes David Corn's report on 'The List' – a document being passed around political circles of high-level Republican congressional aides who are gay.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Wednesday, October 04, 2006

Please Help....

As you can imagine, I am overwhelmed. Sean Hannity used me as a punching bag all afternoon, World Net Daily and Free Republic have posted articles full of lies.

Here's the truth: I never withheld anything. They are desperate for someone to attack. I say you've attacked my community for years!! All I can add on that front is BRING IT ON!!!!

I'll be on Nancy Grace of an hour tonight on CNN letting those that hate gays know we are not going to take it any more.

Please help me with this effort. We have five weeks to save our nation from these right wing homophobes in the closet -- and there are more in Congress!

Sit tight... this is just lovely to watch from atop my Washington apartment building.

If you've ever thought of supporting blogACTIVE, this is the time. Five weeks.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Tuesday, October 03, 2006

So...

Which is it, Mark? Are you Mel Gibson or are you Lyle Menendez?
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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So...

Which is it, Mark? Are you Mel Gibson or are you Lyle Menendez?
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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I've been Freeped

My very own freeper story.... WOW!

Is Gay Activist Mark Rogers Behind The Foley “Outing”?

Frankly, I thought their comments were less harsh on me than I expected.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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A word of advice...

Mark, when the entire nation learns your AOL chat name because you hit on underage kids, it's time to block others from seeing you online:


By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Monday, October 02, 2006

ABC News: The Politics of 'Outing' Politicians

ABC News has done a great job on Foley. Here's my thoughts on the matter as I expressed them to ABC:
'I don't actually call it outing. I call it reporting,' explained Michael Rogers, whose Web site, www.blogactive.com, has reported on Foley's homosexuality for three years.

'I put it there because Foley had a record that was against the gay community. He refused to denounce his vote on the Defense of Marriage Act. It's not about being gay. It's about the hypocrisy.'

Rogers also believes that alleged sexual advances toward underage boys could have been circumvented if Foley wasn't in the closet.

'I do believe that he had unhealthy sexual advances to these guys because he was living his life as a closeted gay man,' Rogers said. 'And that's what informs his actions. Had he lived his life honestly and openly and been proud of who he is, this would never would have happened.'
Is' about the hypocrisy, stupid.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Andrew Sullivan, still confused

Sully:
Your psyche is so split by decades of lies and deceptions and euphemisms that integrity and mental health suffer. No one should excuse Foley's creepy interactions; they are inexcusable, as is the alleged cover-up (although we shouldn't jump to conclusions yet about who knew what when). But there's a reason gay men in homophobic institutions behave in self-destructive ways.

Or think of it another way: what do the Vatican and the RNC have in common? Here's one potential list: entrenched homophobia, psychologically damaged closet cases, inappropriate behavior toward teens and minors ... and cover-ups designed entirely to retain power. The parallels are looking a little creepy. And the source is the same."
And Sully wants to take these psychologically damaged people and facilitate their closets? No thanks, Andrew... you got us into this mess by your alliance with Rove and the likes of these haters. Get out of the way now that we are using his techniques to fight back.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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Sunday, October 01, 2006

Good news... Bad news...

Well the good news is that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is finally getting it. I called their Director of Communications, Bill Burton, before the Foley story broke to let him know about Foley (and another case) were coming down the pike. While Burton promised to have someone email or return my call and didn't, I am glad he followed up on my call and was ready on Friday to come out of the gate running.

The bad new is they are still not paying enough attention... There are others within reach... If the Democrats would only fight half as hard as the Republicans.

I posted comments at the DCCC website on the Foley entry. Not only do their promises of returned calls and emails never come to fruition, but now they are deleting my comments from their blog, The Stakeholder.

Luckily the comments were cached before they axed them.

Here's the one I put up at 9:55pm:



Here's the one I put up at 10:02pm:



Well, at least they are paying attention.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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From The Hill

Mark Foley writes in 2002:
I’m deeply disappointed the High Court sided with pedophiles over children. This decision has set back years of work on behalf of the most innocent of Americans.

This was my immediate reaction on April 16 when the U.S. Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling struck down a bipartisan congressional ban on virtual child pornography. The 1996 law I voted for banned all child pornography, real or virtual.
By: Michael Rogers | permanent link
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