Okay, famous people shouldn’t be held responsible for the misdeeds of their adult progeny. But what if the parent in question has built his entire career out of thumping this connection between fathers and sons, promoting an agenda of prudery and homophobia—calling it “family values”—on the theory that “the children” must be protected by an intact family unit from exposure to sexual items? Thus do we cite the case of pastor T. D. Jakes and his son Jermaine, who was recently arrested for, well, exposure of a sexual item. The police report described the circumstances of the arrest with Henry Miller precision (as reported by CBS11tv.com): “Detective X and Detective X entered the wooded area. Suspect Jakes walked directly over to where Detective X was, and stood next to Detective X with his penis exposed through his unzipped pants. Suspect Jakes then began to masturbate his erect penis with his left hand for several seconds while making eye contact with Detective X. … Suspect Jakes masturbated his erect penis in order to gratify himself and Detective X. Suspect Jakes made no attempt to conceal his erect penis from Detective X, or any other person who might be offended by his actions,” whereupon the two detectives identified themselves and made the arrest. Given the one-to-one correspondence, in Rev. Jakes’ world, between early socialization in the home and the development of homosexuality or other perversions, we are forced to wonder what specific events or family dynamics led to such a shocking display on the part of the son.

A brief but intense kafuffle erupted last week over a campaign contribution received by Senator McCain from one of his supporters, culminating in the refund of the $2,300 donation to the contributor. What could cause the campaign to part with precious monies at this crucial time in the fund-raising season?

It seems the donor, Jonathan Crutchley, was the co-creator of Manhunt.net, the ultra-popular on-line site for gay men interested in meeting other men for casual relationships and more. Once word of Mr. Crutchley’s gift got out, the gay Blogosphere lit up in angry red at the idea that America’s most popular gay website—which it is by far—was owned by Republicans. That allegation was countered by Manhunt’s other founder, Larry Basile, a lifelong Democrat who disavowed any connection to or affection for the Republican Party. He also announced Crutchley’s resignation as chairman of the company.

The fact that Crutchley felt that he had to take this step underscores a) the extent to which partisan politics has infused all areas of life, such that Manhunt actually did lose customers in the wake of this revelation; and b) just how radioactive the Republican Party has become for gay voters—and vice versa. That the McCain campaign took the unusual step of returning the donation speaks volumes about the Party’s attitude toward GLBT voters. To reject a gift given in good faith is an extreme act of social censure. The implication is that the gift is tainted by its source, which is unworthy even to pay tribute to the recipient.

On the other hand, returning the gift probably did Manhunt a big favor, allowing the company to forget it ever happened and return to doing what it does best.

A largescale study conducted in two parts of the world has revealed that roughly one in four heterosexual men have anal human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The condition is traditionally associated with women, who undergo the familiar “pap smear” to detect its presence, while the incidence in men was assumed to be much lower. Until recently, there was no effective test for HPV in men, but now there is and, guess what? According to a report in the June 15th issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, samples of men in the Netherlands and Brazil found rates of anal HPV infection (in both the anal canal and the perianal region) to rival women’s vaginal rates. Since men are, in today’s curious lingo, the “vector” of this infection for women, this finding does raise an intriguing question, which research leader Alan Nyitray posed with classic scientific undertatement: “There are a number of questions this study raises. For instance, how was HPV transmitted to the perianal region and anal canal of these men.” How indeed? Are we to conclude that vast numbers of Dutch and Brazilian men are going down on other men on a regular basis? Perhaps not, but it’s a puzzlement, that’s for sure. The hunt for a vector is on.

Source: Reuters Health Information 2008

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_67111.html