Posted on 06/14/2005 5:00:52 AM PDT by Hillary's Lovely Legs
President Bush isn't letting potential howls from the Christian right stop him from nominating an openly gay man as assistant secretary of commerce.
Just in time for Pride Week, Bush has tapped longtime aide Israel Hernandez for the post, which also carries the title of director general of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service. The 35-year-old Republican go-getter has been a Bush acolyte since the President's 1994 campaign for governor of Texas. (Among Hernandez's duties was supplying the candidate with breath mints, prompting Dubya to dub him "Altoid Boy.")
Most recently, the graduate of Texas A&M's George H.W. Bush School of Government served as aide-de-camp to senior White House adviser Karl Rove.
One source tells us Hernandez waited until Bush was sworn in for a second term to formally tell him he is gay. By then, says a source, he'd brought his partner to several official events.
Hernandez appeared yesterday before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Asked by Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) if he'd like to introduce anyone, Hernandez mentioned his sister, mother and father.
Mike Rogers, whose blogactive.com covers gay political issues, was disappointed that Hernandez didn't mention his partner. "You know, if he were married to a woman and she was there, he would specifically mention her," Rogers told us. "Why are people like Izzy Hernandez pushing their spouses and loved ones into the closet when so many have gone before him and stood openly and proudly? This is typical of the Bush administration and its anti-gay, anti-safe-sex agenda."
Hernandez didn't return calls. source
Hillary was quite "shrill" at least twice this week. Not the giggly gal we see on MTP and Larry King...Hope she keeps it up...guess she is trying to sound tough like lil Chuckie who seems to always get to speak first at their joint pressers, hee hee...and who on earth told her to buy a red pantsuit, would love to see a full shot of her in total red...whew, boggles the mind...
Stay cool today...
Bobby Byrd complained (for the umpteenth time) that he couldn't respond to a smirk at the very moment Rummy was writing on his note pad, and looking decidedly "unsmirky." Byrd is beyond senile. Poor Rummy - it was all he could do to refrain from telling off the old coot.
"So, what time should I have my Secret Service guy pick you up? Wear something sexy."
Cruise, Holmes Skip 'War' Party
AP
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in New York.
If they were there, no one saw them.
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes apparently skipped the big after-party for the New York premiere of "War of the Worlds" last night.
No big deal: Sources also say that the Steven Spielberg science-fiction remake is the most expensive film of all time.
My spies — since no press was allowed — did spot Spielberg and wife Kate Capshaw. They also saw actress Amy Irving, the first Mrs. Spielberg, and the couple's son, Max Spielberg.
"Amy even went and got a drink for Kate," said an observer. "It's nice that they're friends."
Alec Baldwin, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon and many movie execs made the move from the Ziegfeld to the American Museum of Natural History.
Pat O'Brien, host of Paramount TV's "The Insider," unsurprisingly scored a ticket. Add Hulk Hogan and Nicole Richie to the mix and you get the idea of who turned out for the big night.
But those who audited the comings and goings of Cruise and Holmes couldn't find them. Funniest part of the night: the overzealous screening process.
Women were not allowed to bring purses into the premiere. Men were told to have nothing but wallets. No cell phones.
Paramount is terrified of piracy. It thought someone in this high-toned crowd would do a "Kramer" and film "War of the Worlds" with a HandiCam. Cruise's sister/publicist, Lee Ann DeVette, was seen waiting on a line for her own handbag after the show.
Meantime, I've got a solid new figure for the budget on "War of the Worlds." Are you ready?
Not counting promotion: $182 million. With promotion, think more like $230 million.
And the word from those who saw the movie? Mixed reviews: The ending peters out, but the special effects when the Martians come were given high marks.
"Tim Robbins steals the movie from Tom Cruise," says a source.
Punky Brewster could steal a movie from Tom Cruise.
Perhaps because the man doesn't wish to throw his homosexuality in people's faces? Who knows Mr. Rogers, why don't you let the man live his life the way HE'D like to, not the way YOU think he should.
Btw Rogers, around these parts we call that freedom. Apparently a concept you liberals aren't a big fan of.
Hillary is the "smartest woman in the world"! Chuckles tried the old, 'age before beauty' ploy and Hilly caught on right away.
That news conf. was a hoot. Hilly was really mad. I guess that liberal label from Karl Rove hit a little too close to home. heh heh heh!
Squeaky Fromme is up for parole after serving 30 years for trying to kill Pres. Ford:
Even if she is granted parole, Lynette (Squeaky) Fromme - once a devoted member of mass murderer Charles Manson's "Family" - will still have to serve an additional 13 months because of a 1988 prison escape. If she's turned down, she will die in prison. Fromme, now 56, has rejected parole hearings since she first became eligible in 1985. But by law a hearing is now mandatory - and she must be freed if a parole board finds she is not likely to commit another crime and has not seriously violated prison rules. ... full story.
More on crazy Tommy:
.... During their public whirlwind courtship, Tom and Katie reminded me of victims in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." They look like regular humans, but as they giggle and bray for the cameras, they seem very odd. Even when they kiss, they don't seem sure where their lips are supposed to go. [I thought the same thing when Tiger Woods won the Masters and kissed his wife, but I digress] .... If you think I'm being too cynical, consider Holmes' announcement - some six weeks after meeting Cruise and a few days before accepting his marriage proposal - that she's converting to Scientology. It had to take more than love to convince the Catholic school-educated daughter of a lawyer to adopt a religion that believes we descended from the spirits of aliens banished to earth by the intergalactic ruler Xenu 75 million years ago.... link to article
To quote James Traficant, "Beam Me up!"
Clinton Honors Graham at Final Revival
Graham called the Clintons "wonderful friends" and "a great couple," quipping that the former president should become an evangelist and allow "his wife to run the country."
Hillary: Ewwww, get those gnarly hands off me!
I would say that Billy Graham honored the Clintons not the other way around. In any case it looks like Hill and Bill got the good seats! I would think more of them if they hadn't had thrones from which to worship and be worshiped. (Come to think of it, maybe I wouldn't think more of them no matter what they did!)
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