Tangents.

More on the Foley thing, specifically on what the deal really is (or maybe isn't) instead of what his political cronies are trying to make it.

1. It's not about pedophilia. Foley's alledged crime is a violation of the Adam Walsh Child Protection& Safety Act of 2006 - ironically, legislation he sponsored - specifically the increased protections against using the internet prey on children. Cut from The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006 (PDF):
   

   "(7) EXPANSION OF DEFINITION OF ‘‘SPECIFIED OFFENSE AGAINST A MINOR’’ TO INCLUDE ALL OFFENSES BY CHILD PREDATORS.—The term ‘‘specified offense against a minor’’ means an offense against a minor that involves any of the following:
   {snip}
   (H) Criminal sexual conduct involving a minor, or the use of the Internet to facilitate or attempt such conduct."

   His alleged misconduct has nothing to do with pedophilia; it's because he used the Internet to attempt to facilitate potentially criminal sexual conduct with a minor. There's not been, to my knowledge, any accusation that he actually *succeeded* in facilitating such contact, just that he attempted to arrange it. A secual predator he may be; a confirmed pedophile.. at least not yet.
   
   
2. It has nothing to do with his homosexuality. You'll note that the text above does not mention anything about the gender of either predator or prey. And no, there's NO empirical research out there that "proves" homosexual or bisexual men are more likely to engage in child sexual molestation or abuse.
   
   
3. It's also got nothing to do with age of consent in DC - which is 16. The above-mentioned act also defines "minor" as follows:
   

   "(14) MINOR.—The term ‘‘minor’’ means an individual who has not attained the age of 18 years."

4. I don't think I can even come up with a suitably scathing comment related to the "gay cabal" theory.. McCarthyism, anyone? All I can say is that I can't wait for this one to back fire because .. well.. doesn't it seem odd that the party that's so opposed to homosexuals has so many of them in their employ? Do you think all those voters out there who stand tall in their superiority are going to think this is a good strategy to detract attention from the sexual predator part of this story..? Which do you think they think is worse..?
   

Cate is better at finding words to express her outrage on this one than I am. She's also more active in the fight to effect who our political leaders will be in the future, and she even gives you a link so you can be, too. (And there's a picture of cute kids, to boot!)

That all said, on a different tangent, it's reassuring to know that in the midst of all this, parents still love their children, even if they're bisexual. This was the story I needed this morning to reaffirm that this country isn't really full of bigots and hate-mongerers (if that's even a word..). A daddy's love is a strong thing, even if it's not your daddy.