Sam Adams Should Resign

photo: Ross William Hamilton

Portland Mayor Sam Adams

Savannah, Ga. Newly elected Portland, OR Mayor Sam Adams should resign his office. He has lost that ineffable quality so necessary for successful politics: Trustworthiness. The honesty and truthfulness exhibited as a Portland City Commissioner where Mr. Adams sought media publicity, scrutiny, column inches, was supplanted by mendacity over a personal relationship in his past, during his mayoral campaign. He lied to voters--and to that same media covering his election, on several occasions. A mentoring relationship with a young man had turned romantic once the 18-year-old legal threshold of consent had been crossed. Legal niceties aside, the articulate, bright, Mr. Adams knew full well that just because an action is licit, it doesn't of necessity make it right. A political reputation built on transparency and openness was set aside because candidate Adams felt the public couldn't handle the truth and elect him to office at the same time. Mr. Adams' assessment may be a sad certitude, but that same public has every prerogative to wonder what uncomfortable fact in the future this Mayor may also deem necessary to keep from them.

Sam Adams should resign.

South Carolina Continues to Bat 1000

Sparing the Rod and Spoiling the Child

Savannah, GA. Just days after S.C. Rep. Dave Thomas became hysterical over "gays," some 49-year old father in Anderson, S.C. apparently took after his 18-year old son after the young man returned home from a gay pride parade. As reported in the Independent Mail and the blog Towleroad, daddy went batshit crazy and "tried to cast the demon of homosexuality out [of his son.]" Cussin' and screamin,' this poor excuse for a mature adult allegedly assaulted his son with a Louisville Slugger. According to Deputy S.C. Weymouth, the teenager told deputies his father--let's use the term lightly--"has a problem with him being gay and that is why he hit him with the baseball bat." Really? A problem?

As usual, the comments section of the story in the online version of the paper carry some real nuggets of enlightenment. Someone using the handle 'Mom2Shelties' [sic] referred to parts of the story as "sensationalism" and a "so-called crime." I'll wager ole Mom has those Shelties well in line. My favorite was "scmom" [sic] posting, "how do you know his son hadn't done anything before that? how do you know he wasn't defending himself? you don't." Well, that may be technically true, but we've a pretty good idea that, along with the teenager's father, you're a horse's ass.

South Carolina: The Hits Just Keep on Coming