The blog can now be found at http://nightshiftla.blogspot.com, and I can assure you, the best is yet to come. This includes the riveting story of how Anne Hathaway fell to No. 2 on my celebrity crush list (and Regis to No. 3!).

It's been great having the back-and-forth with readers, and I hope you continue to participate in this great social experiment that I call "venting."

So come along with me on this journey... you can hold my hand if you get scared.

The blog can now be found at http://nightshiftla.blogspot.com, and I can assure you, the best is yet to come. This includes the riveting story of how Anne Hathaway fell to No. 2 on my celebrity crush list (and Regis to No. 3!).

It's been great having the back-and-forth with readers, and I hope you continue to participate in this great social experiment that I call "venting."

So come along with me on this journey... you can hold my hand if you get scared.

I would answer yes. A gay man against gay marriage is like a woman who believes she's too emotional to be given the right to vote. Very few of us try to deny ourselves rights that others have; doing so is suspicious at best.

Even so, the hypocrisy isn't so much in his stance on gay marriage. The fact that Craig is a Republican means he's part of a party that has used homosexuality as a wedge issue, presented gays as different than "regular" Americans, and sought to deny them the ability to marry.

The reason liberals like myself chuckle when Republicans are outted is that it does away with the whole idea of gays being the "other." When a gay Republican comes to light, it drives home a point no doubt very disturbing to hard-core right-wingers: Gays are as American as apple pie, and from the halls of Congress to your most conservative evangelical institutions, they walk among you.

R.L. White, president of the Atlanta NAACP, said of Michael Vick, "As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football ... We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."

I'd have loved to sit in on that office meeting:

NAACP Official: Hey, I've got an idea. Let's come out in support of one of the most-hated men in America!

R.L. White: Brilliant! You're getting a corner office! And after that, let's try and bail out the Enron guys!

White ought to be less concerned with Vick's football career and more worried about the character of the man he's supporting. A guy who severly abuses dogs probably doesn't turn into the perfect gentleman away from the ring; associating with Vick is like water-skiing off the Titanic.

You're going to get your heart broken, R.L. White. Mark my words.

One visitor, identified as "Bro. Donohue" in his post, comments on the church's position on homosexuality and tries to back it up by bringing in a bit of a scientific twist.

Concerning the Bible Thumpers and gays, don't forget The Catholic Church in the Catechism 235758 states that the condition is a "grave depravity...contrary to natural law." The Darwinists would also say that evolution would quickly eliminate homosexuality since it works against survival of the race(gays don't reproduce).

I can't comment on what the Catholic Church believes... they've got a long history of "laying down the law," so to speak.

However, the second point doesn't hold water.

Evolution by no means rules out homosexuality. If this were the case, it would also have eliminated infertility.

Homosexuality arises spontaneously in individuals. It doesn't require a gay person to reproduce gay offspring. In short, as long as people keep having babies, homosexuals will exist.

The same argument applies for the persistent presence of really ugly people, though that could also be attributed to our slipping standards as we age.

In any event, I'm glad we got a small discussion going, and encourage everyone to send in their thoughts.

The Rev. Gary Simons of the nondenominational High Point Church explains: "We did decline to host the service - not based on hatred, not based on discrimination, but based on principle."

He went on to explain that the church didn't want to be seen as condoning homosexuality, though how having a respectful memorial does that was left unclear.

Perhaps the reverend feared hordes of leather-clad men descending on his sanctuary? In any event, the takeaway is that bigotry can reach beyond the grave.

What's most sad is that the congregation of the church envisions a diety so harsh and judgemental that it won't even allow them to pay their respects to a dead man.

To paraphrase the old saying, "With a God like that, who needs the Devil?"

I seem to forget the John Wayne movie where he fights off the Nazis by coming up with really catchy campaign slogans for his wealthy pops, but I only have a tenuous grasp on the classics.

Not to be outdone in the redefining of the word "hero," Rudy Giuliani is now claiming that he spent as much time at Ground Zero as the rescuers and construction workers.

I fail to remember the scenes of Rudy digging through wreckage searching for survivors, but maybe I was tuned to one of those "secular progressive" news stations.

If you're keeping score, Mitt's sons are working valiantly to get him elected, Rudy is a true American hero, and Al Gore invented the Internet.

With Anne Hathaway's new film "Becoming Jane" in theatres, she's on the cover of magazines and in newspapers almost daily. I even heard a rumor that this weekend LA.com will have an interview with her - oddly enough, I wasn't invited along.

From what I can gather so far, "Becoming Jane" is the story of an alleged romance between author Jane Austen and an English guy who wears funny clothes. Come to think of it, they're all wearing funny clothes. And everyone is English.

Instead of writing on their laptops and meeting dates online, they court each other in the classic romantic fashion, which sounds like it involves a lot of talking and hardly any car chases.

It's not my normal taste, but I may have to take this one in in hopes of receiving some class through osmosis. I've already got funny clothes - now I just have to work on the accent.

The Burqini isn't new - it's a swimsuit designed by Muslim women, for Muslim women, that covers most of the body. But according to Time magazine, some non-Muslim women are beginning to wear it instead of a traditional bikini or one-piece. And when you start messing with bikinis at the beach, you start messing with an American pasttime.

A trip to the beach without revealing swimwear would be like drying off at a vegan In N' Out. In short, what's the point?

If you're compelled by your faith to wear a Burqini, I suppose you don't have much of a choice if you want to remain in the flock.

But if you are uncomfortable with your body, there are at least two other things you should consider before purchasing the Burqini: 1.) Be proactive and try to solve the issue instead of resorting to a totally not-cool solution. 2.) Think like a man. We all think we're God's gift to women, no matter what our body type.

So let's not mess with our summer traditions. Bikinis, BBQs and questionable water quality all combine to make these few months some of the best out of the year.

Before I get dozens of messages about how this is a voluntary army and "Hey, why didn't you enlist?" it should be noted that I don't claim, as these college students do, that the Iraq war is our generation's callng.

If it's true that Iraq will be the decisive battlefield in the war on terror, then all able-bodied people, including college Republicans, should enlist. They can always re-enroll in college after their time is up. Heck, they'll even have some stories to tell the ladies.

Stangely enough, most seem content with staying in the relatively care-free world of the university. It reveals that they have at least one thing in common with their liberal classmates: they'd rather hit the next kegger than risk their lives for Bush's folly.

A new study finds that wives dominate marriages and often have a level of control over their husbands.

The study's lead auther, David Vogel, noted "[Women] were communicating more powerful messages, and men were responding to those messages by agreeing or giving in.”

I'd be interested to see how he distinguishes between "giving in" and just "zoning out." I mean, if your wife spends a lot of time "communicating more powerful messages," you could probably be forgiven for caving on a few of them.

It begs the question of whether men like to be told what to do or simply lack the grey matter to argue for their positions. My own philosophy: If you're single, you win every argument.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, dogged by fallout from his affair with a Telemundo newswoman, told friends today that he's "done with chicks, man," and locked himself in his bedroom at Getty House.

"He seemed really distraught," said Paul Verbin, one of Villaraigosa's close friends. "He said women were more trouble than they're worth, and that from now on he'd be content with a six pack of beer and his Xbox 360."

Villaraigosa, known nationally for his charisma and seemingly infinite energy, spent most of Friday afternoon watching "Three's Company" reruns and eating stale Ritz crackers, said Verbin.

"I haven't heard from him in days," said a city staffer who wished to remain anonymous. "His cell goes straight to voicemail and his e-mail inbox is full. He hasn't even updated his MySpace page this week."

"He'll have to get back on the horse eventually," Verbin said. "Right now he just needs some time for Antonio."

No one even knows why Moore is overweight. Maybe he has a condition that is hard to control, or he eats a decent diet but has a really slow metabolsim. Who's to say he gorges himself on steak, hot dogs, or the occasional PETA protester?

The saddest part of this is that PETA needs to piggyback off another activist to gain attention for itself. Apparently the "eat-healthy-but-never-enjoy-another-meal" mantra isn't bringing in supporters like it used to.

Meat may not always be the best choice, but it is OUR choice, PETA. Michael Moore doesn't come down to your office and tell you to turn down the Joni Mitchell album, so please don't attack him for whatever personal problems he may have.

By Greg Sidor, Satirical Correspondent

A Newsweek poll shows President Bush's popularity at a new low of 26%. This makes Mr. Bush the least-popular commander-in-chief since Richard Nixon.

More ominous, it marks the first time a president has fallen below the notorious Binks line, a measurement used by pollsters that compares one's popularity to universally loathed "Star Wars" character Jar Jar Binks.

"Pollsters usually mark Binks' approval rating at a steady 27%," said analyst Richard Gibbons of Numbers, Inc. "That's usually made up of people under various forms of mental distress, and we think a percentage of them may not even know who Binks is, so they haven't developed the proper sense of disgust the general population maintains."

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow was quick to try and spin the bad news.

"It may seem bad at first, but let's not forget that Binks went on to rise up the ranks in 'Star Wars,' eventually becoming an important member of the Galactic Senate," Snow said.

Snow wouldn't comment on other results of the poll, which revealed that 56% of Americans would rather have a beer with Jar Jar Binks.

"It certainly calms my mind a bit," said filmmaker George Lucas. "For a time I was afraid I'd created the most disappointing, wildly incompetent character in history. It's good to see the boys in Washington still have the gusto to surpass the best in Hollywood."

Apparently the Israelis are disturbed that young American men seem disinterested in their country, and hope this will pique their interest.

Naturally, many in Israel say the move is tasteless, and that there's plenty to promote about the country without showing skin.

Someone always has to rain on the parade, don't they?

On the plus side for Israel, Hamas will probably stay out of this conflict. I doubt Maxim even operates a Gaza bureau.

My philosophy: If it gets the kids to read, it can't be a bad thing.