Went to the Blue Angels exhibition in SF today.

Movie Plot:
The President attends a 911 Memorial where the Blue Angels put on an honor guard exhibition. We see the Blue Angel pilots parting from the wives, their pre-game huddle - they are presented as a good-natured, close team.
They are lead by a strong, patriarchal leader. The team will perform an unusually dangerous and spectacular piece of choreography during the show. The team's young hotshot (our hero) fully expects to fly lead during this move, but their leader plans to do it himself. They clash.
Their performance begins, and we see the team pushing themselves to the limit. The climactic move arrives, and they begin the special move. As the planes maneuver over the Hudson, a missile is fired from the Statue of Liberty. Caught of guard, the team's leader is shot down before the entire crowd.

The President shows up at the funeral and makes a speech. He announces that an operation against the terrorists responsible has already begun. He brings the other Blue Angels pilots on to the stage. We see that the young hotshot has been promoted to leader. The hotshot boldly asks the President to let the Blue Angels - a demostration squad - to participate in the combat operations to avenge their leader.

The President can't say no. The farce begins...

The Blue Angels insist upon flying in their tight trademark formations, even in combat. Of course, the operations against the terrorists involve espionage etc. The Blue Angels, walk in tight-formation, drive in tight-formation, and carry demonstration weaponry like smoke guns, etc.

The terrorist(s) responsible were part of a special branch of Al-Qaeda called Blue-Qaeda, the demonstration squad of terrorism...

And so forth...

Interesting article article in the NYT: Foley Case Upsets Tough Balance by Capitol Hill’s Gay Republicans.

The article says gay hill staffers are afraid that due to Foley, loss of the house/senate will be blamed on gays.

"Some conservative groups blamed the “gay lifestyle” and the gathering force of the “gay agenda” for the scandal. Others equated homosexuality with pedophilia, a link that has long outraged gay men and lesbians."

...

"Conservative blogs and Web sites pointed out that gay staff members played principal roles in investigating the Foley case, suggesting that the party was betrayed by gay men trying to hide misconduct by one of their own."

Log cabin Republicans have always had to reconcile cognitive dissonance, but its one thing to use gays as a social wedge issue, its another to persecute your staff.

It makes me think of The Dreyfus Affair. It is said that the Dreyfus Affair was a signal moment that catalyzed the Zionist movement, by making it much harder to believe that eventual eradication of anti-semitism would be possible (though the wikipedia article linked above specifically disputes this). That is, European Jews until that moment had - in the face of a centuries of vicious anti-semitism - believed in the possiblity of assimilation.

In my personal experience, cognitive dissonance is usually resolved by some revelation or turn of events that makes one side of the equation impossible to maintain.

There will always be Log Cabin Republicans - but I think it would matter in the long run if high level Republicans couldn't or wouldn't have gay staff.

Alpha Zeta - Here Comes The Judge
Amy Winehouse - Fuck Me Pumps (Mylo Mix)
Anita Ward - Ring My Bell (Kitty Kat Mix)
Astrud Gilberto - The Gentle Rain (Rjd2 Remix)
B. Fleischmann - Broken Monitors
Denise Darlington - Feel So Good (Superb)
Diplo - Glory Days
Dj Z Trip - About Face
Erma Franklin - Piece Of My Heart (Classic)
Ismael Lo - Tadieu Bone
Johnny Guitar Watson - Lovin You (Love it)
Louis Prima - Just A Gigolo & I Ain't Got Nobody
Luciano - Dont Go Away
Muallem - Are You Ready (Turn Off The Lights) Feat. Amazon
Nelly Furtado - Say It Right
Romanowski - Speaking Of
Strangers - Love Rock (Very good)
The Field - Over The Ice
The Knife - We Share Our Mother's Health