The Great Moral outrage...

I am angered and outraged that a debate that focused on major issues of the United States, that will decide the future of this country has been hijacked by the fake "horror" of calling someone who is proudly and openly "out" as a lesbian, a lesbian. It is NOT an insult to call someone a lesbian. It is like calling someone who is black, black.

The last two mornings I have watched Good Morning America to hear the spin of the last few days, I have heard nothing else but a soundbite (repeatedly) of John Kerry saying that Dick Cheney's daughter is a lesbian. Well, since Dick Cheney himself has said (repeatedly) that his daughter is gay, this isn't much of a surprise to me. Do people not know that being a lesbian and being gay are the same thing? Where is the news here? Perhaps that people are outraged when an openly gay homosexual is called as such? I thought the country was beyond that. If I called "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" a show that stars five gay people, would that be horrific and shocking, a moral outrage? No, it is simply the truth.

The real news to me is that if the media hadn't been spoon-fed this issue from the Republicans on the so aptly named "Spin Alley" after the debate, it would never have been a big issue to the American people. What a great power the media has. The big news to me is how important it is to me to be sure that the media uses that power honestly.

The media has failed the people of the United States. Instead of focusing on the issues, the issues that are going to affect peoples lives, they are focusing on the mock-outrage manufactured by the Republican spin machine to take the focus off of the issues. How will calling Mary Cheney a lesbian affect people's lives. It will not.

With the groundbreaking reporting of Brian Ross of ABC News about the injured soldiers coming back from Iraq, with the news from Ted Koppel that John Kerry's account and the official account of how he won his Silver Star was verified by everyone who witnessed it in Vietnam (which goes directly against a republican attack ad that greatly affected the election so far), with the reports coming out of Iraq where more than 20 of our brave soldiers have lost their lives in the last few days, where we have a record deficits with no end in site after having surpluses only 4 years ago, why is the focus on this instead? Where is the news? Where is the reporting?

The media has failed the American people with their exclusive coverage of this non-issue from the debate. It has failed me, it has failed you. The media has a responsibility and they need to use it wisely. They should be ashamed of themselves. At least Fox News has an excuse for being the spin machine of the Republican party.