Amplifications and continuations

•Aspergerians are rarely violent

A couple of folks have pointed out that Asperger's Syndrome normally doesn't include violent behavior. I agree. Based on the material I've read assaults or worse are not the norm for people with Asperger's. The common traits seem to be impaired social skills and obsessiveness. My apologies if I did not state that clearly enough.

Reader Mike has asked me to read this article about famous persons who might have had Asperger's Syndrome. I am recommending you read it, too.

•Woman is target in spy case

Katrina Leung, of my "The Spy They Loved," entry has become the focus of the government's espionage case. Her accomplice, FBI agent James J. Smith, has been granted limited immunity.

WASHINGTON -A politically connected Chinese-American woman accused of being a double agent had 2,100 contacts with Chinese officials during her time as an FBI informant, documents show.

Law enforcement officials are examining whether those meetings compromised investigations into possible Chinese influence on U.S. elections through campaign contributions.

The key question for investigators is whether Katrina Leung, a longtime FBI informant, tipped off potential targets of the investigations or fed the U.S. government false or misleading information from Beijing through her FBI handler, former counterintelligence agent James J. Smith.

Leung is alleged to have said she could 'disappear' in talks with the FBI years ago, which may be part of the government's rationale for denying her bail.

The grant of immunity to Smith relates to his failure to follow agency procedure in storing documents.

. . .Prosecutors have already committed to an immunity deal with Smith that would protect him from charges he may have improperly kept sensitive material at his Los Angeles home. Attorneys for Leung said the deal was further evidence that the retired agent was receiving "preferential treatment."

The two defendants will return to court to face additional charges next week.

•Feminism and the newly feminine

Barry and the gang at Alas, A Blog have moved from discussing intersexuality to discussing transsexuality. To clarify, intersexuals or hermaphrodites are born with physical traits of both genders. Transsexuals are physically normal, but want to become members of the other gender. Men want to become women and women want to become men. Barry's entry is too complex to summarize effectively, so go read the whole thing, including the comments. And make a note that Ampersand's blog is the one with the cartoons where the discussions get really interesting.

The Tacoma aroma

Stink around police scandal worsens

The weird circumstances in the Tacoma, Washington police department are being revealed to be even more weird than we thought. You recall that police chief David Brame shot his wife in the head and killed himself in view of their two small children Saturday. Ray Corpuz, the city manager, who is involved in hiring police chiefs, has said he didn't review Brame's personnel file. Meanwhile, a friend of Brame's, Patrick Frantz, the head of the police union, has threatened an online reporter who wrote about the Brame's divorce.

The president of Tacoma's police union was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday amid an investigation into allegations that he had made an e-mail threat, police spokesman Jim Mattheis said.

. . .John Hathaway, a local bartender and bowling alley lane manager who publishes The New Takhoman, said Frantz sent him an e-mail Monday night saying, among other things, "If you want to throw stones, you had better live in a bullet-proof glass house."

Frantz has been placed on leave. He denies the threat is a threat. However, if I received an email from someone I knew had a gun and was trained to use it, I would interpret those words to mean I was not on his Christmas list.

An area reporter is finally paying attention to what is probably the biggest story out of Tacoma since the alleged D.C. area snipers were discovered to have started their crime spree there. Ken Schram of KOMO is focusing the attention where it should be. He is asking: "What did City Manager Ray Corpuz know, and when did he know it?"

Corpuz response is 'Who me? I don't know anything.'

Corpuz says he never read David Brame's personnel file before appointing him chief last year.

I guess for something as "inconsequential" as naming a police chief, reviewing someone's background wasn't all that important to Ray Corpuz.

The city manager's alibi is not airtight. Other Tacoma officials say they briefed Corpuz about some of the messy details of Brame's life, which include a failed psychiatric exam, a rape accusation and allegations of domestic abuse. Corpuz appears to have ignored those alarming details because he and Brame were part of the same not-so-old boys' club.

Both current and former Tacoma police officers have told me that Brame had long been handled as a 'rising star' in the department.

Brame made it known he was politically connected, and politically protected.

Thursday, Corpuz replaced Catherine Woodard as interim chief of the Tacoma police department, after she had served in that capacity for only five days. Schram believes that move to be further evidence of problems in the department.

Some might see that as decisive.

I see it as a city manager standing in the center of the hurricane, testing which way the wind is blowing, and trying to cover his ass.

The blogger at the Freedom Journal, Linda Martin, has a completely different perspective in regard to this story. She blames the media for David Brame's actions.

Another case where too much truth in the media led to murder. I wonder how the couple's two children felt, witnessing this trauma. How does the reporter feel, having written the article...or the editor who published it? Do we media folk have to tell everything?

In other words, if the decades long coverup of Brame's troubled history had continued, everything would be fine. I have no idea how this person is part of the media, by that she is is not a reassuring thought. The problem is not that Brame was exposed. In fact, we should rue that that didn't happen sooner. The problem is that he had a long record of dubious and violent behavior no one ever questioned or disciplined him about. If he had been stopped from becoming a cop 20 years ago, or really investigated when accused of rape in 1988, or probed in regard to Crystal Brame's abuse allegations, he would not have turned up armed at a strip mall to wreak havoc last weekend.

Is there a 'New South'?

•Scalia mocks black voting rights

As Atrios observes, talk of repealing the Voting Rights Act has become a joking matter.

Congress must decide in 2007 whether to renew part of the law which justices are interpreting in this case.

"Maybe if we make it bad enough, they'll think about repealing it," Justice Antonin Scalia said to laughter in the court."

SCOTUS was discussing Georgia v. Ashcroft, which is premised on the need to redraw voting districts after the 2000 census.

The politics of the case are unusual. The Bush administration, along with Perdue, contend that the Democratic-controlled Legislature went too far in reducing minority voting strength in those heavily black districts. The Voting Rights Act discourages dilution of minority voting strength.

If African-American voters are confined to majority minority districts that makes it easier for the GOP to pursue its Southern Strategy of attracting the votes of conservative Southern whites. The current governor, Sonny Perdue, was elected as the first Republican chief executive there in 130 years, using the strategy and a promise to try to bring back the state's flag featuring a large symbol of the Confederacy. Against that background, claims that race is no longer a political issue in Georgia seem rather ridiculous.

Georgian Drew, of So Far, So Left reminds us. Gov. Perdue tried to prevent the redistricting case from ever reaching SCOTUS.

On Friday, Republican Governor Sonny Perdue asked Fulton County Superior Court to answer whether he or Democratic Attorney General Thurbert Baker has the power to withdraw Georgia's appeal in Georgia v. Ashcroft. He also asked the Supreme Court to delay hearing Georgia v. Ashcroft until after that court rules - or to dismiss it entirely.

Perdue failed and the rest, as they say, will be history.

The Supreme Court has held that race cannot be the predominant factor in the drawing of voting district lines. However protecting the interests of minority voters can be considered as a factor.

•A neo-Confederate Christian

Do you remember Terry Oglesby of the Possumblog, who I described asking why he was disseminating a blogroll with the blatant racist Fred Reed on it throughout the blogosphere? Oglesby refused to respond to my very polite emails, but turned up on to the 'scientific' racism site Gene Expression to whine about someone having the nerve to ask him about his offensive acts. I've happened across Oglesby, who claims to be a devout Christian, again. He was saying this:

I have never actuall [sic] visited Diva's site, but have on a few occasions read some of the unintelligible drivel posted by him/her/it on other sites. Diva really, really is one dumb asshole, as indicated by the latest Diva posts in this thread. At times it seems as if the ability of any useless idiot like Diva to pollute the blogosphere with their lunatic ravings is the biggest downside to this new form of communications.

-- Terry Oglesby

And, people wonder why I am not a churchgoer. With hypocrites like Oglesby taking up the space in the pews, I believe I am better off sitting in the park reading a good book.

•Jump Jim Crow

Something Oglesby can agree with is about to occur, in Georgia again, a high school prom party for whites only three decades after the school was finally integrated.

ALBANY, Ga. -- A year after holding their first integrated prom, some students at Taylor County High School (search) have decided to again hold a separate, private party for whites only,

While many whites say they still plan to attend next week's integrated prom, the decision to hold the whites-only prom this Friday saddened senior Gerica McCrary, who helped organize last year's dance.

"I cried," said McCrary, who is black. "The black juniors said, 'Our prom is open to everyone. If you want to come, come."'

The purported reason for the separate proms is to prevent interracial dating between white Southerners and black Southerners, who often already have a mixed racial heritage.

An African-American parent, Glenda Latimore, blows the whistle on her white peers.

"It seems like it's something secret," she said. "The white people are afraid to speak up against the separation."

Welcome to 1903.

Understanding Asperger's Syndrome

I recently had the unpleasant experience of dealing with someone with severe Asperger's Syndrome. At first I just thought she had gone off the deep end -- completely. I had noticed symptoms that seemed to fit mental illness over a four-month period. Rudeness. Self-preoccupation. Lengthy rants that made little or no sense. Claims of being victimized when there was no objective evidence of that. Then, out of the blue, she really went too far. Bonkers, I decided. Then someone reminded me the woman has Asperger's.

What is Asperger's Syndrome?

Asperger's Syndrome, also known as Asperger's Disorder or Autistic Psychopathy, is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) characterized by severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, and activities. These characteristics result in clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

. . .Adults with Asperger's have trouble with empathy and modulation of social interaction -- the disorder follows a continuous course and is usually lifelong.

The condition is more likely to impact males than females and is usually diagnosed later than the norm for other children with autism related problems. It is often noticed after they begin school. Though Asperger's is thought to be neurological in origin it is also defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Most of the news stories on the web about the illness relate to crime, though it has not been established most Aspergians are at risk to beome criminals. A fairly typical sample of the ones I've read is about Martin Milam of the United Kingdom.

A man suffering Asperger's syndrome, who terrorised volunteers at the Samaritans with threatening and obscene telephone calls, has been given 100 hours community service.

Winchester Crown Court heard, over a five-year period from 1995, Martin Milam, 33, made thousands of calls to mainly female volunteers at numerous Samaritans offices across southern England.

. . .Action was finally taken in January this year when a call was taken at the Amersham branch and Miss Lamb said Milam had told the volunteer he was looking to go out and rape someone.

Similar obsessive behavior is part of the modus operandi of a New Yorker enthralled by the subway. The obsession has continually landed the Asperger's sufferer behind bars.

Darius McCollum first came to the attention of legal authorities as a 15-year-old when he was arrested for "borrowing" a subway train and driving it to the World Trade Center. Since then he has been arrested 18 times, always for crimes related to his obsession with subways. Most recently, he pulled a subway emergency brake during rush hour, and then impersonated a transit worker investigating the incident. . . .Their [Aspergians] lives tend to revolve around unusual preoccupations, and many - like McCollum - become fascinated with maps, trains, and transportation schedules.

There are other 'markers' for Asperger's in addition to obsessiveness.

Often someone with Asperger's may be obsessed with complex topics such as music, history, or the weather, and have above average verbal skills.

But in some cases, the voice appears to be flat and lacking in emotion, speech can be stilted and repetitive, and conversations tend to revolve around self rather than others.

Many have dyslexia or writing problems - and can appear to lack common sense.

Some more severe examples of Asperger's can be prone to depression or even aggression.

It is the latter aspect of condition that gives me pause. I recall a man who carried every known bus scedule and obsessively lectured the driver on a bus I used to take to work a few years ago. He was odd, but not frightening. I will guess that he had Asperger's. I've also encountered people who talk endlessly about themselves. Boring, but not scary. However, there was a case in the Pacific Northwest in which a totally self-centered young woman pushed her boyfriend off a mountain, killing him. The reason? He took time away from her preoccupation with herself.

Malice, an aspect of that crime, is another characteristic associated with worst case scenarios for Asperger's. It was first identified by Asperger himself.

A young man with Asperger syndrome rang his favourite Aunt to say that her husband had been killed in a road traffic accident on his way home from work. The report was a complete fabrication as became apparent an hour later when his Uncle arrived home.

The Aunt was disgusted at her nephew's action because she did not feel it was explicable. It challenged her sense of what could be expected in the world. Moreover, she had always thought that she was close to the young man and had, indeed, recently helped him out.

That is eerily similar to what I experienced, except for the 'feeling close' part. It is so obvious other people don't exist for the woman, I doubt anyone feels close to her.

The commentator goes on to say:

Acts of malice like this include creating unnecessary uproar which stops a social activity from taking place, calling a person names or revealing embarrassing information about them, being spiteful to them in other ways, for example damaging their property, or hurting others. These hurts can range from surreptitious pinching through to serious violence.

He describes other episodes of malicious behavior by sufferers of Asperger's, including the story of Alice.

Alice's parents had split up when she was in her early teens, and her father had remarried a younger woman. Her father and his new wife had a daughter, and Alice was very interested in her. The parents were pleased and several times left the baby with Alice. Alice on two of these occasions mixed ground glass into the baby's food before feeding the baby with it. Alice knew that this could cause the baby serious harm, even kill the baby. Alice explained her actions by saying that she wanted to see what would happen. She also said that she did not want the baby to die, but did feel excitement after she had fed the baby the poison.

I am not a very patient person. So, it would be difficult for me to deal with even the minor behaviors described. In addition, there is no help in understanding from the Aspergerian. The person feels no remorse or regret for his bad acts. That is like the behavior of sociopaths and sometimes leads severe Aspergians to be diagnosed as having borderline personality disorder.

Blogger Wowbagger describes his efforts to cope with Asperger's.

Being an "aspie" doesn't mean I can't improve my situation, of course, and I have been trying to read social cues and be [more] polite, but so far with mostly disastrous or merely embarrassing consequences. Sounds ridiculous, but I reckon I was far worse some years back. Some incidents still make me grimace when I chance upon them in the ruins of my memory.

Bagger's description of his symptoms suggests a typical Asperger's Syndrome sufferer, somewhat stymied -- but coping. However, I happened to encounter someone with the more severe form or either Asperger's and mental illness my first time knowingly dealing with such a sufferer of the disorder. So far, the worse thing she has done is engage in a bizarre virtual attack against me and send me threatening emails. However, she could be capable of worse.

Is Asperger's treatable?

There is no one specific medication for Asperger’s syndrome. Some are on no medication. In other cases, we treat specific target symptoms. One might use a stimulant for inattention and hyperactivity. An SSRI such as Paxil, Prozac or Zoloft might help with obsessions or perseveration.

Of course, with adults, the responsibility to take the medication falls on them. As is the case with many mental health patients, they may choose not to.

Training in social skills is suggested for children with Asperger's Syndrome. However, if adults are still engaged in malicious and aggressive behavior that suggests that, if available, the treatment did not work or the effects have worn off.

I have no solution to the problem of dealing with a person with pathological behaviors associated with severe Asperger's. In the future, my coping mechanism will be to avoid anyone who has the same traits I identified in the woman who has been harassing me. However, I would have preferred not to have been caught off guard in regard to Asperger's. If I had been more aware of what I could expect from someone with the condition, I would have either not have become involved with her or severed the relationship sooner. Fortunately, my only contact with her was virtual. With this information available, you won't be caught off guard.

From the silver mailbag

•Stefanie wrote to say:

I would particularly like to thank you for your vigilant work exposing the race-genetics folx. my sweetie is finishing his dissertation on some big names in eugenics and we never cease to wonder that people still buy that line of garbage. but buy it they do, and thanks to fighters like you, they can't just say "it's science" and leave it at that.

Thank you, Stefanie. I believe it is very important to separate the nonsense of 'scientific racism' from real science. As it continues to invade the blogosphere, I, for one, will continue to refute it. I believe there is something wrong with the character development of many people who are attracted to such rubbish. Feelings of inadequacy may make them want to feel superiort to most of the other people on Earth. Declaring oneself racially superior is an easy way to achieve that. Sad. But, that doesn't mean we should cut them any slack.

•Will, a fellow Tarheel, comments:

Aloha J -        Also, long ago I was a high schooler in Greensboro (Grimsley).  Lumbee Ken Oxendine was one of our football coaches.  His family was in the tree trimming business in Greensboro.  I do not think I knew any other Lumbees. 

The Lumbees still tend to hang around Robeson County though the tribe is starting to spread out. I recently heard of a Lumbee in Maine!

My reference in our correspondence to the Whirligig is not a 'test,' Will. It is just something I remember from Greensboro.

•Prometheus, a new blogger, is curious about the liberal/conservative lines in the blogosphere. In my opinion, liberal in the blogosphere is pretty Rightward. That may be because the blogosphere supposedly started out very Right Wing. Kind of like FreeRepublic from what I've heard. I will hazard restarting the great centrality debate by saying I consider Kevin Drum, the CalPundit, typical of a blogosphere liberal. He is a moderate who is considered a liberal in this milieu. If there is a liberal centerpoint, that person would be Atrios of Eschaton to me. Left leaning? Barry, i.e., Ampersand of Alas, A Blog. Radical? The IndyMedia folks maybe. We all disagree about who is what.

Abuse victim deserves spotlight

In one of those developments that make you ask '"What the hell ails these guys?' city officials in Tacoma, Washington, are still not listening to the story of Crystal Brame, who was seriously wounded by her police chief husband in an attempted murder-suicide. Instead, reports say she has remained in the shadow of David Brame, who killed himself. The Tribune has a source with an intriguing revelation.

As women's rights coordinator of Tacoma's Human Rights Department, Judie Fortier has headed the city's domestic violence task force from its inception.

During that time and in that position, she has worked with every Tacoma police chief except one: David Brame.

"He has never contacted the domestic violence office for the city," she said. "His staff has, but we have never had personal contact with him."

That, she said, was unusual, even troubling.

Perhaps we can now understand why, unlike every other chief before him, Brame did not work personally with the Domestic Violence Task Force. It came too close to whatever it was in his heart and his life that allowed him to put a gun to his wife's head and pull the trigger, then fatally shoot himself.

According to the article, city officials are still focusing on David Brame and ignoring his wife, though she is the survivor.

Civic leaders and colleagues have, since Saturday afternoon, painted Brame as a fine chief, a high achiever, a tragic figure. The woman he shot has come off as little more than a bit player in a nasty divorce.

Her medical situation has improved somewhat and her children, who witnessed the shooting, are being cared for.

On Tuesday, she was upgraded from critical to serious condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

The couple's two children, Haley, 8, and David Jr., 5, were receiving counseling and remained in the care of their mother's parents, Lane and Patty Judson.

Ms. Brame anticipated what might happen if she left he busband, who is described in divorce papers as so controlling he insisted on watching her use the toilet.

"Specifically, Mrs. Brame's major fears are that if she proceeds with the divorce process, her husband will use his power and resources to destroy her reputation, will continue to pursue her and retaliate against her for years, or will kill her, leaving her children to grow up without their mother," Knauss wrote.

Maxwell Knauss is Ms. Brame's therapist.

Ms. Brame's lawyer emphasizes her efforts to avoid conflict as much as possible by filing the divorce case in a different county and rarely discussing the abuse she had suffered.

In the Brame's divorce file, Crystal said that even though she had experienced years of abuse.... she originally chose not to file for a restraining order, over the objections of her attorney, knowing it would embarrass her husband and potentially affect his job.

Crystal's attorney [Joe] Lombino says even though the divorce became public, that did not lessen David Brame's responsibility for Saturday's attack.

The picture that emerges is one in which one person, Ms. Brame, behaved responsibly while her violent spouse was protected by the system he was an important part of.

Need I say that someone in Bloggersville has totally missed the point when it comes to this story?

Do we need gun control for the police? by Ravenwood - 04/27/2003 10:42 AM

FOXNews.com reports on the tragedy of a police chief who was going through a divorce, and resorted to murder-suicide.

Tacoma Police Chief David Brame was killed and his wife was critically injured in an apparent murder-suicide attempt Saturday, a day after abuse allegations in the couple's divorce case were publicized in media reports.

Pretty soon gun grabbers will be trying to take firearms away from police officers too. Oh wait, some leftists already are.

You wouldn't want to miss the comments to that um, very special, reasoning.

Fucking liberals. Out to control everyone -- even those who protect the citizens.

Posted by John Mays at April 27, 2003 05:59 PM

What an asshat! The Idiots want to take guns away from everyone 'cept criminals. After tall [sic] THEY have rights...

Posted by Dave at April 27, 2003 09:28 PM

This is an issue we really need to work on or people like the three above just might prevail.

For information about abusive relationships, contact the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence at www.ncadv.org.

Inequality and interracial marriages: Revisited

I have received inquiries from readers who believe they are trapped in unequal interracial marriages, i.e., relationships in which the white partner has racist beliefs and treats his wife as an inferior. I am not qualified to offer anything other than general advice on this topic.

If you are an American citizen, you have the same right to a divorce without immigration consequences as anyone else. There are cases in which the men try to have their estranged wives' citizenship revoked by claiming the marriages were fraudulent, but I don't believe they prevail very often. So, the greater issues are safety and economics. Women who are in abusive relationships are in the most danger right after they leave their husbands or lovers. So, a woman leaving needs to have a place to stay that is protected, a restraining order against the man if he has ever been physically violent and to be very vigilant. She will suffer a significant loss of income upon leaving, especially if she has been a stay at home wife.

If you have not yet become an American citizen or a permanent resident, the situation is more complex. Your husband may use the possibility your immigration status could change as a weapon against you. The Immigration and Naturalization Service may believe him, burdening you with proving you married in good faith. In addition to taking the precautions above if you leave him, you will need to hire a good immigration lawyer to protect your interest in remaining in the United States. Organizations that assist immigrants and ethnic organizations in your city should be able to help you find a reliable lawyer and, possibly, interim housing.

If any of you are currently suffering physical abuse from a lover or a spouse, I don't believe there is much reason to stay with him. However, the resources available to battered women are not sufficient. You may have to plan ahead and save money to finance your departure. For additional information, contact the emergency services hotline in your area or visit this site. It will direct you to services designed for victims of domestic violence.

There is a domestic abuse web log called 'I am here and I am not silent.' Though not very active right now, back issues of it might prove helpful. Blogcritics has a fairly recent roundup of information from the media on the topic, including the documentary Domestic Violence.

News from the Right

•Jeb Bush embraces the NRA

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush oiled the National Rifle Association this weekend. He credited the far Right organization with helping elect [sic] his brother president.

The governor said he and his brother both support the NRA's contention that the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which contains "the right to bear arms," is an individual right with few restrictions.

"The sound of our guns is the sound of freedom," said Bush, to thunderous applause from the gun group.

SCOTUS has never interpreted the Second Amendment to protect gun ownership by individuals. The provision applies to the modern equivalent of militias, i.e., the National Guards.

The presence of the NRA in Florida did not go unnoticed by gun control advocates.

Members of the Brady Campaign and the Million Mom March were protesting the NRA's legislative agenda, which includes allowing a ban on certain assault weapons to expire in 2004 and giving gun makers immunity from product-liability lawsuits.

"We believe the public does not want Uzis and AK-47s, with large magazines that hold dozens of rounds, back in their neighborhoods," said Mary Leigh Blek, director of the Million Mom March.

Michael at Left of Center has an interesting question: "Why doesn't he thank the Supreme Court as well?"

The current occupant of the White House was, of course, appointed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

•Newspaper claims French aided Hussein

The Sunday Times says it has unearthed evidence of French perfidy in Iraq, alleged transmissions of secret information about the United States' plans for the war to Iraq.

BAGHDAD, Iraq — France gave Saddam Hussein (search)'s regime regular reports on its dealings with American officials, documents unearthed in the wreckage of the Iraqi foreign ministry have revealed.

The first Iraqi files to emerge documenting French help for the regime show that Paris shared with Baghdad the contents of private transatlantic meetings and diplomatic traffic from Washington.

The first Iraqi files to emerge documenting French help for the regime show that Paris shared with Baghdad the contents of private transatlantic meetings and diplomatic traffic from Washington.

My inclination is to wait and see. So many false news reports have been produced during this war I am surprised some folks are still slurping them right up. And, the French, who the regime has been gunning for just happen to be the villians of this one. Sounds way too pat. The information the story describes is dated and run-of-the-mill, the kinds of things a non-comatose person would know without secret briefings.

It seems rather clear the Bush administration invaded Iraq as retaliation for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, despite the fact there is no evidence linking Iraq to that tragedy. Must people continue to try to manufacture other reasons?

•Straight from Santorum's mouth

Sure you've heard about Sen. Rick Santorum's scandalous remarks, but have you read the transcript? Among other bon mots, Santorum explains why liberals are responsible for Catholic priests who molest children.

AP: Speaking of liberalism, there was a story in The Washington Post about six months ago, they'd pulled something off the Web, some article that you wrote blaming, according to The Washington Post, blaming in part the Catholic Church scandal on liberalism. Can you explain that?

SANTORUM: . . .In this case, what we're talking about, basically, is priests who were having sexual relations with post-pubescent men. We're not talking about priests with 3-year-olds, or 5-year-olds. We're talking about a basic homosexual relationship. Which, again, according to the world view sense is a a perfectly fine relationship as long as it's consensual between people. If you view the world that way, and you say that's fine, you would assume that you would see more of it.

Atrios finds much about Santorum's perspective, including "his view that priests raping 7 year olds can be accurately described as consensual homosexual relationships" bizarre. He will not allow Santorum's supporters to take the 'anything goes because it is religion' out.

If you want to claim that Santorum is simply a theocrat and not a bigot -- as if a religious belief cannot be bigoted regardless of what it is -- feel free to nurse that little fantasy. But, Jeebus, I didn't know so many people were happy about politicians who want to tell them what they can and can't do with their bodies.

Santorum has a very eerie world view with us at the center of it, causing everything he considers wrong. Read the transcript. Then read Atrios.