I'm glad Andrew Sullivan responded in writing today on his website. Now we can clear the air about what the read story is all about. Just as I suspected all along, it was the subtext story of Sexual McCarthyism that is the real story.

Why should anyone in public life be forced to respond to such things? Our own country's history with Senator Joseph McCarthy tells us why. McCarthyism is a method of political intimidation where someone is accused of something alledgedly shameful, not told who his accusers are, and is forced to respond.

Two weeks ago, Michael Signorile sent Andrew Sullivan an instant message telling him (Sullivan) "... that I should think twice before I "attack gay people" again if I wanted my private life to remain private." As Sullivan rightly concludes, these tactics would be blackmail and intimidation.

So, now we know why Michael Signorile made the attempt to use blackmail and intimidation to coerse Andrew Sullivan to be silent. Michael Signorile believes that the most intensely personal details of a person's private life can and should be used for political purposes. So here we have it in black and white. The end result justifies the means to accomplish it. The end result, as intended by Michael Signorile, was to silence Andrew Sullivan. The means Signorile used was blackmail and intimidation by publicly disclosing somebody's legal, consensual, adult private life to achieve a political purpose. Yes, indeed, the end result certainly does justify the means to achieve that result.

If indeed there is common agreement by everyone that the end result always justifies the means to achieve that result, then we should acknowledge that nobody can claim the moral high ground in justifying whatever means it takes to achieve their political goals.

There is a very slippery slope here, so watch out if you try to make distinctions without a difference.

And, since we are now sanctioning blackmail and intimidation as tactics to achieve those means, the issue of privacy and sex is no longer an issue of privacy. No-one's legal, consensual, adult private life should be plundered, exposed, and exploited
unless there is a political reason.

The awful truth here is nobody has a right to privacy. You have no right to privacy or to a personal space. This is particularly true if you don't toe the partyline or if you simply rub one of the activist the wrong way. If you do, you risk being outed in the most personal manner.

I am reminded of the adage ...What goes around, comes around.At least nobody will being left standing on the moral high ground when the next volley of shots are fired.

For those of you who missed seeing Andrew Sullivan tonight on MSNBC's Hardline political commentary television show, you missed a very good show. If these gay activist thought they could intimidate Andrew Sullivan from writing and thinking freely, they were sadly mistaken. Andrew's appearance on Hardline should put that silly notion to rest. Why is it that Michael Signorile has never appeared on a national syndicated television show with the same regularity as Sullivan? Oh well, the end result always justifies the means. The subtext has always been Sexual McCarthyism and it is alive and well in gay politics.