Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

They spent the last eight months firing professionals and replacing them with ideologues.

Conservatism: there are people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

They punch you in the face and then start crying because their fist hurts.

Sadly, there is no cure for stupid.

Republicans do not trust women.

Hell hath no fury like a farmer bankrupted.

“Everybody’s entitled to be an idiot.”

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

Let’s not be the monsters we hate.

Never give a known liar the benefit of the doubt.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

“woke” is the new caravan.

Everybody saw this coming.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

All hail the time of the bunny!

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

The willow is too close to the house.

Today’s gop: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

I would gladly pay you tuesday for a hamburger today.

Not rolling over. fuck you, make me.

Consistently wrong since 2002

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

You are here: Home / Justice / LGBTQ Rights / Gay Rights are Human Rights / Coming Out of the Closet

Reader Interactions

83Comments

  1. 1.

    Martin

    Yes, Frank is awesome. I would have truly enjoyed him as minority leader.

    Speaking of which, how long before FDL climbs all up on Obama for dissing the gay community for failing to repeal DOMA?

  5. 5.

    c u n d gulag

    ‘You think you catch if from the mist?’
    And, “We don’t get dry cleaned – we shower after we work out.”
    Jesus, he’s the best!
    BTW – this “reporter’s” name is Ballesy (Ballasy?).
    Really!
    I guess Ballesy thought he’d get ballsy with Barnie, and ended up nuetered by Congressman Franks rapier-like wit.
    Ya gotta love that gasp at the beginning. That’s when you know Barnie’s got a good one coming back atchya. The kid should have run away right there.

  9. 9.

    david mizner

    Hee, hee. Barney’s smart. Too soft on Wall Street, though.

    CNS: that’s one of Brent Bozell’s outfits, in case you’re wondering.

  10. 10.

    baldheadeddork

    NPR’s Planet Money podcast gets universally glowing reviews, but as someone who follows this stuff closely a lot of their pieces make me want to punch my iPhone. (See this execrable interview with the spokesman of Goldman Sachs for example.)

    That is why their interview with Barney Frank is one of my favorite clips ever. Enjoy.

  11. 11.

    Woodrowfan

    I’m still mad at Obama for scheduling the eclipse of the moon for 3 am! Clearly he doesn’t care about his base!!!

  15. 15.

    monkeyboy

    In some US high schools, girls have seperate shower cubicles with curtains.

    I’m not sure how common this is. Presumably this is to keep girl’s gym teachers (who everybody knows are lesbians) from ogling them in a communal shower, or because girls are more phobic about other people seeing them naked.

    Do any gyms provide this accommodation? Maybe all military showers should be converted to separate cubicles.

    [ When I was a kid, my father took me to the swimming pool in the Pentagon. Everybody there swam naked, the fags. ]

  17. 17.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    In the past two weeks, alone:

    ■ DADT passed

    ■ 9/11 First Responder bill.

    ■ A landmark Food Safety bill passed.

    ■ START passed.

    ■ Umployment Benefits passed.

    ■ Tax cuts for students passed.

    ■ Tax cuts for parents with children passed.

    ■ Community Radio bill passed.

    ■ 19 Judges were confirmed.

    Congressional scholar Norm Ornstein told NBC’s First Read. “I think this one (Obama Agenda 2009-2010) edges the Great Society. It is at least on par with the Great Society.”

    “For all the dysfunction (in Congress), it was just astonishing what they were able to get done.”

  20. 20.

    gnomedad

    Interesting that they aired this bit. Perhaps they are marveling at the brave reporter risking catching teh gay and have no perception that he got pwned.

  21. 21.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    START Treaty vote underway on CSPAN II. Vice President Biden is presiding over the session.

  22. 22.

    Lesley

    Ironically, the reporter in this clip is spitting image of Willie Garson’s character in Sex & the City, Stanford Blatch. TEH GAY!

  23. 23.

    Tom Levenson

    My Congressman. I think I’ll keep him.

    Seriously: I door-to-doored for him this time, happy to do it, and so pleased that he represents me down in that den of iniquity we call the Capitol.

  24. 24.

    Ken Pidcock

    I wish I could find the video of Frank at a presser, basically mocking every Republican for voting against something because Pelosi was mean to them.

    Somebody please find it, and I promise I’ll save the link this time.

  26. 26.

    Martin

    @monkeyboy: It has a lot to do with when the school was built. Pretty much since the 70s, give or take a decade, all school showers are built that way. Similar reforms in respective men’s/women’s room design occurred in the late 80s when architects finally relented and gave more square footage to the ladies.

    Having lived in CA his whole life, my kid is used to things that have only been built in the last 30 years. Hell, you have to work really hard to find a non-low-flow toilet here. When we went to the Indy motor speedway, he was equally amused and horrified to see that the infield mens rooms don’t have urinals – you just line up and pee in a enormous trough. I told him it seems less unusual (and is easier to tolerate the smell) when you’re falling-down drunk, as is the norm in the infield at Indy, but that treating men like livestock scales well.

  28. 28.

    Tsulagi

    Someone needs to compile a greatest hits with all of Barney’s beatdowns.

    My fave was at one of those HCR townhalls where unlike virtually all other Dems who were apologetic looking down at their shoes in the face of teabagger fauxtrage, he asked one teabaggeress which planet she was from. Didn’t back down. Surprisingly, the world didn’t end. Exactly how other Dems should have handled teaidiots in those townhalls.

  32. 32.

    gnomedad

    @Martin:

    you just line up and pee in a enormous trough

    Wrigley Field used to have these (probably no more), and I tried to convince my wife that you were expected to keep moving as you used them.

  34. 34.

    rikyrah

    Barney Frank, even though he can get on the nerves, and the lisp takes awhile to get used to…when Barney gets on a roll, he’s hilarious. I will never forget how he bitchslapped that woman at a townhall during the healthcare debate.

  35. 35.

    cathyx

    John-
    First you title this “Coming out of the Closet”, then you say you love Barney Frank. Are you trying to tell us something?

  36. 36.

    Cat Lady

    Yay Barney! I claim him too. You should see him live. His town hall meetings always seem to have a coterie of LaRouchtards, so he gets a lot of practice with the smack downs.

  37. 37.

    Sasha

    @Martin:

    Yes, Frank is awesome. I would have truly enjoyed him as minority leader.

    I dunno about him as minority leader. His jeremiad meltdown when HCR initially faltered didn’t endear me.

    But as official minority party bulldog — he’s got my vote.

  38. 38.

    monkeyboy

    @monkeyboy:

    Maybe all military showers should be converted to separate cubicles.

    Some of the comments to the story at the CNS site – Barney Frank: Straight Soldiers Must Shower With Gays, But Not Women With Men – are telling. There is much railing against the Homosexual Agenda and I saw one titled Install Stall Walls!!.

    I guess some consider the US military similar to HS girls – some of whom would rather not shower than to be seen naked by others.

  39. 39.

    Martin

    @david mizner: Time was that progressives would praise progressive victories. Now you’re an Obot for even mentioning them?

    My daughter routinely gets pissed at me for some slight – not giving her enough ice cream, and she’s very determined to stay pissed at me. I’ll make her laugh, but she’ll fight it in order to remain being pissed at me. I always have to remind her that I don’t mind that she get pissed at me, but she needn’t work so hard to stay pissed at me that she denies herself the happy stuff.

  40. 40.

    General Stuck

    Hold the homophone

    Obama comes out full metal for gay rights for repealing the other bigot laws.

    “Repealing DOMA, getting ENDA [a bill to protect LGBT people from discrimination] done, those are things that should be done,” Obama told The Advocate the night before signing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal into law.

    I doubt Congress is quite ready for that to occur, especially DOMA, but Obama is saying he’d sign such repeals. Bring on the ObamaFail troll protection. My blood pressure thanks you Mr. President, for this total ravaging of the right wing Senate these past few weeks and days. You even made Lindsay and Boenher cry for bonus points.

    Now we can enter the coming Apocalypse with a sense of achievement.

  44. 44.

    Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther

    I love — no, strike that, I lovelovelovelovelove the look on Frank’s face when he gasps. Absolutely golden!

    I believe the problem here is that Real Men don’t want Pansy Men looking at their junk. If I’m not mistaken. Not sure what happens to the Real Men’s junk when said lookage takes place, but apparently, it’s a problem.

  46. 46.

    Shadow's Mom

    OT – START treaty has just been ratified, and a 9/11 responders billed (reduced in scope from 7 to 4.9b has passed.

    START – 71/26
    9/11 – Voice vote

    @Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther: Barney’s face was too priceless. The whole exchange was too priceless. BTW, the CNS News guy kept quoting a statement about showering standards from the report as a ‘recommendation.’ As I recall, didn’t the report recommend repeal?

    Patrick Leahy just called senate out for holding up a judicial appointment for months.

  47. 47.

    General Stuck

    @handy:

    After months of non stop ObamaFail spamming every thread, a little different flavor spam is welcome in my book.

    edit – and since when is reporting success for a dem president “junk”?

  50. 50.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    @Martin: these wackos dislike obama so much they want him to fail, even if it means killing historic progressive. they’re like suicide bombers.

  51. 51.

    Svensker

    @monkeyboy:

    Presumably this is to keep girl’s gym teachers (who everybody knows are lesbians) from ogling them in a communal shower, or because girls are more phobic about other people seeing them naked.

    Oh, god, every girl I knew in high school (including myself) would have paid a million dollars to have that. We weren’t afraid of the gym teachers (we knew they were lesbians but what did that have to do with us?) but of having other girls see us. Not sexual at all, just cringingly painfully embarrassed and shy. What if somebody said your butt was too big? Or your tits were too small? Or, who knows? but it would be the end of the world, whatever it was.

  52. 52.

    Martin

    @handy: Yeah, and Wyldpirate and mclaren spam every thread with Obama ~= Bushitler bullshit.

    I didn’t realize a factual list of achievements with no personal commentary rose to the level of an assault on the commentariat here. It’s not like the Obots are piling on and making an argument out of it, so why get pissy about it?

  56. 56.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    @handy: don’t be such a sore loser. I know passing DADT and START hurts, but don’t be a party pooper.

    I can’t wait for the firebagg/teabagg 2012 convention.

  57. 57.

    che

    @General Stuck: This. I will never understand the so-called progressives who get incensed at any mention of good or positive news wrt Obama. I saw this a lot in BWD’s diaries over at GOS. Oh my, the hissy fits the poutrage crew threw every time her diary was posted.

  58. 58.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    In yet ANOTHER defeat to progressives, the senate has passed the 9/11 First Responders bill. The bill now heads to the House for passage and then for Hitler’s signature.

  61. 61.

    Elizabelle

    Why are we only hearing this from Barney Frank?

    Why can’t other Democrats message this well, on this and other issues?

  63. 63.

    Mike Kay (Democrat of the Century)

    @che: It angers them to see obama receive any credit because they hate obama, It’s no different than the wingnuts who try to block legislation, not because they disagree with it, rather because they want to deny Obama any victory.

    In the final analysis, these nihilists aren’t real progressives, because no true progressive would be butt hurt over a historic progressive win.

  66. 66.

    Martin

    It’s amazing how productive Congress can be when catered Christmas family celebrations are at risk. 10% unemployment? Health care? Oh, they can wait a few months…

    Lazy fuckers.

  67. 67.

    jrosen

    Barney was my congressman for several years. Also a classmate at Harvard Law with my oldest friend from HS (back in the 50’s: same HS that “produced” Jerry Bruckheimer BTW), and said classmate tells me that Barney had that wit and balls back then.

    I live next to Barney’s hometown now, Bayonne NJ, so I know a bit about it. I can only guess that growing up Jewish and gay in Bayonne and surviving, let alone thriving, makes you proof against almost anything not carrying a shotgun.

    It was quite unfair, I thought, and actually stared to feel sorry for the kid, like Mark Sanchez in the 4th quarter against the Pats.

  68. 68.

    JCT

    @Svensker: My husband and I have had this discussion a hundred times. Apparently men walk around locker rooms completely naked. Women tend to cover themselves with towels. He thinks this is bizarre.

    And my high school experience was identical.

  70. 70.

    scarshapedstar

    @JCT:

    Apparently men walk around locker rooms completely naked.

    Most guys wear a towel in this day and age. The only guys who walk around naked nowadays are

    A) phantoms in the adolescent memories of baby boomers

    and

    B) There’s always one or two creepy old fucks who just think everyone else ought to suffer, and will parade naked around the locker room for hours, taking conference calls, balancing their checkbook, etc.

  71. 71.

    Frank

    I also love the outraged reactions he gets from the media. After Frank won re-election he trashed the Boston Herald for failing to dislodge him, despite its best efforts. This led to a local media review show panel,(Greater Boston), to break out the smelling salts. They even had an etiquette “expert” on to lecture Frank on how grateful he should be that we have a free press- whatever the fuck that has to do with anything he said.

  74. 74.

    Bex

    @Martin

    My high school was buit WAY before the 70s and the girls’ shower room had cubicles, TBTG. It was bad enough trying to get that small, scratchy towel around yourself when you had to go grab your clothes and get dressed.

  76. 76.

    twiffer

    personally, i liked frank’s comments that DADT meant you just didn’t know who was gay and showering with you; the repeal only means now you do.

  77. 77.

    Poopyman

    “We don’t get dry cleaned – we shower after we work out.”

    There’s a shrinkage joke in there somewhere, but it’s late enough in the thread that you’ll just have to find it yourselves.

  79. 79.

    ItAintEazy

    @Svensker:

    I know that back in high school us guys had a solution for using the shower rooms: we simply didn’t shower after gym. Oh, and if it was pool class we just showered in our shorts and put on our undies while wearing our towels.

    Maybe the girls had better hygiene than us, but that’s how it went.

  81. 81.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Svensker: Agreed. It really is an incredibly painful time of life for budding girls. Ugh.

    @Emily L. Hauser/ellaesther: Well, you gotta admit that Joe L. came up big on DADT repeal. Even if it does leave a sour taste in your mouth.

    I love Barney Frank. I love him so much, I would gay-marry him and have his babies (I know, it’s hypothetical, all right?).

    @gnomedad: I really think they think the reporter got the best of Frank. It’s their world–we just live in it.

  82. 82.

    abscam

    I, for one, am all in favor of the recommendation that straight soldiers shower with gay soldiers…how do I enlist?

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