writer activist

feral cat activism

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 18:11:57 GMT

I live in Ridgewood, Queens, so I spoke recently at the Ridgewood Neighborhood Association's monthly meeting, telling everyone how to deal with feral cats that live on their block. TNR (trap-neuter-return) really works to get rid of the problems, while protecting the cats.Here's an article about it.

Mayor Bloomberg was speaking at the same meeting. Here's a pick of me and Mayor Bloomberg on stage having a chat.

Sexual Freedom Award

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:22:04 GMT

Lolita and I gave John Weis the Sexual Freedom Award on Sunday at Folsom Street East. Here's the photos on Lolita's blog. John really deserves the Sexual Freedom Award from GMSMA - he's been an activist for 20 years, founding the Leather Leadership Conference and serving on the NCSF board. He also founded Folsom Street East and produced 10 of the past 13 fairs.

John's latest news is that he was just elected Chairman of Community Board 4 in Manhattan. I'm backing him all the way! We may end up having a leatherman on the City Council if he keeps this up.

feral cats on CBS News

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 12:41:16 GMT

I was filmed for CBS news doing a big trap/neuter/return project for feral cats. Here's the link.

This block in Chinatown has at least 50 cats. We got 16 cats neutered and pulled out 15 kittens. We're doing another project there in a few weeks. Can you imagine trying to sleep with 50 cats all breeding in your back yard?

Stop the Arrests

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 15:34:55 GMT

Lolita came to the Stop the Arrests rally last weekend, and she took some pics of the speakers, including me! Check it out!

UFO Hunters - Area 51 Revealed

Tue, 24 Feb 2009 15:43:14 GMT

I'm going to be on
UFO Hunters on the History Channel on Wednesday night at 10pm EST. I flew out to Area 51 last fall to film the episode and talk about my experience there while researching my book – UFO Headquarters – about Area 51 and UFO history.

I can't wait to see how it turns out. It suddenly turned freezing that day, and tears were leaking out of my eyes as I tried to talk! But I had such a blast being back at Area 51, and I'm sure that comes through in the show.

Reading at New York Review of Science Fiction

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 17:05:06 GMT

I'm giving a reading with Book View Cafe authors Laura Anne Gilman and Sue Lange at NYRSF. It's tomorrow, Tuesday, February 3rd at 12 Fulton St., with doors opening at 6:30. A suggested $5 donation.

I think I'll read from my novel that will be published later this year, Confessions of a Demon.

my story in Star Trek: Shards and Shadows

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 20:23:29 GMT

I haven't written for Star Trek in many years, but my editor Marco Palmieri remembered that I love writing in the mirror universe, and he asked me to pitch a story for the Shards and Shadows anthology. I wrote Bitter Fruit, which is about Kes and B'Elanna going head-to-head – literally – as Kes tries to capture B'Elanna in order to reunite with Nelix.

The anthology came out on January 6th, so I just went fishing around to find reviews. I guess Star Trek isn't what it used to be because I didn't find much. There was one great comment about it on a board called Messages From Earth (very aptly named) by admin Brendan Moody. The post is almost near the bottom, and here's what he had to say about my story:

"If you'd told me a couple months ago that two of the best stories in Shards and Shadows would be by Dave Stern and Susan Wright, I'd probably have encouraged you to go back on your meds, but here we are. 'Bitter Fruit' is a capable extension of KRAD's excellent work in The Mirror-Scaled Serpent, managing both the luridness of the MU [mirror universe] and some genuinely dark character material."

I'm not sure if that meds comment was against my previous writing or because the high caliber of the other writers on this anthology. Either way, it's fine by me!

At the end of the thread, Moody elaborates:

"Overall Shards and Shadows, like so much recent Trek fiction, is competent but seriously lacking in ambitions other than filling in continuity. Most stories that are particularly successful- "The Sacred Chalice," "Bitter Fruit," and to some extent "The Greater Good"- work because they focus on creating (or expanding) characters with specific personal backstories, as opposed to the generic victims of less impressive efforts. The problem with dystopia is that it crushes difference: in oppression, everyone is made alike, which is not that dramatically interesting. Atypical characters like Kes, Deanna Troi, and Christopher Pike provide the greatest interest by breaking with this pattern."

And here's another review on the Trek BBS, in which LutherSloan gives Bitter Fruit an "A". Yeah!

interview on Technoccult

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:04:05 GMT

This is an interesting website - featuring "high weirdness, the occult, sex, drugs, liberty, mad science, cults, fringe" stuff. Click here to read my interview with Technoccult.

Book View Cafe

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 23:07:53 GMT

I just wanted to let everyone know about a new website I'm involved with. This site, Bookviewcafe.com, serves up fiction for free from over 20 published authors in a number of genres such as romance, science fiction, fantasy, and horror. I'm very excited about this project, not only because I'm working with a dynamic group of people, but because we're using a new model of Internet distribution for our work.

The site promises new material every day, so it's an easy way to get a taste of authors you've never before read. Just a few of the 20 authors are Ursula Le Guin, Vonda McIntyre and Christie Golden. We'll be offering free novels, stories and blogging about writing and our lives.

My out-of-print science fiction novel, Slave Trade, will be available in free chapter downloads every Tuesday:

Slave Trade
by Susan Wright

Human slaves can never defy their alien masters – or can they?

Rose Rico never believed the rumors that the government was secretly selling human beings to the Alphas in exchange for advanced alien technology. The idea that human sex slaves were a luxury item throughout the galaxy was just too ridiculous to take seriously – until Rose found herself, along with hundreds of other human captives, bound for the far reaches of space, and compelled to cater to the depraved desires of her new alien masters.

Check it out: www.bookviewcafe.com

Prop 8 protests heard around the country

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:24:49 GMT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom

Prop 8 protests heard around the country

November 16, 2008 - This week, members of the BDSM-leather-fetish, swing and polyamory communities joined protests in cities all over California against the recent passage of Proposition 8 which outlaws same-sex marriage. In addition, dozens of NCSF board members, staff, volunteers and Coalition Partner representatives attended protests staged nationwide on November 15th by Join the Impact.

NCSF urges community members to go to Join the Impact to submit your photos and stories about the demonstrations.

"NCSF has close ties and relationships with LGBT organizations and has always supported equal rights for everyone," says Susan Wright, spokesperson for NCSF. "We support gay marriage not only on behalf of our own LGBT members in our communities, but also because marriage is a fundamental right that shouldn't be denied to anyone. These protests are an important way to show the world that we stand up for those rights."

NCSF supports the freedom of consenting adults to discover and to practice the intimate relationship structure that best meets their emotional and human needs. We champion the basic human right to do so free of governmental, societal or institutional coercion or favoritism.

###

A joint Project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF

The National Coalition for Sexual Freedom is a national organization committed to creating a political, legal, and social environment in the United States that advances equal rights of consenting adults who practice forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual expression.

National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
917-848-6544
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org

Sex and Sookie Stackhouse

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:54:53 GMT

My agent Lucienne Diver is having urban fantasy week over on her blog, and she posted my piece on Sex and Sookie Stackhouse. I'm loving True Blood, created by Alan Ball, who also did Six Feet Under on HBO. True Blood has plenty of kinky sex, while also showing the persecution of the vampires much like they're a sexual minority.

Check it out!

The Sexies

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:48:29 GMT

Since I talk to the media all the time, I think it's important to make sure reporters cover sexual topics in a balanced, nuanced way. That's why I was glad to join with Miriam Axel-Lute when she came up with the idea of the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards. It's been very rewarding to see the media response as reporters and publications have submitted their work for consideration.

And this Saturday is the first Sex-Positive Journalism Awards!

The awards will be MCed by Lolita Wolf. There will be a silent auction and raffle to support the Sexies, which will include fabulous prizes including original art by Julio Aguilera, Sophy Naess, and David Steinberg; signed copies of books by winners, judges, and supporters; sex toys; gift certificates for sexy pleasures; and more!

Come meet the judges and the winners. Judith Levine will talk about her experiences with media coverage of sexual topics when Harmful to Minors was released. Carol Queen will also be there. See a full list of winners, judges and more at the Sexies website.

The party will be Saturday October. 4, 6:30-9:30pm, in the downstairs lounge of Splash, 50 W. 17th Street, NYC. $5 cover.

If you want to volunteer to help, let me know.

DSM Revision Petition

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:38:40 GMT

This is a project I've spent the past few months working on. If we can get the American Psychiatric Association to remove Sexual Sadism, Sexual Masochism and Transvestic Fetishism (males who cross-dress) from the Diagnostic & Statistic Manual it would have a historic impact on our subculture. I deal with people who are discriminated against all the time, and the DSM is used against them in the courts and when legislators make laws. People have been denied a security clearance because of the DSM, and parents have lost custody of their kids because some judges misinterpret the diagnoses in the DSM.

I'm working with NCSF on a multi-prong approach that includes presenting current research which debunks many statements currently in the DSM. This petition is the populist PR part. I need to get signatures, thousands and thousands of signatures, so we can have an impact on the APA. So I'm asking everyone to spread this around:

Kinky is NOT a Diagnosis!
DSM Revision Petition

The DSM Revision Petition is gathering signatures from individuals and organizations calling on the American Psychiatric Association (APA) to adhere to empirical research when revising the diagnoses in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Statements currently within the DSM Paraphilias criteria are contradicted by scientific evidence therefore NCSF must conclude that the interpretation of the Paraphilias criteria has been politically not scientifically based. This politically motivated interpretation subjects BDSM practitioners, fetishists and cross-dressers to bias, discrimination and social sanctions without any scientific basis.

Petition:
"We, the undersigned, support the American Psychiatric Association's (APA) own goal of making its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) a scientific document, based on empirical research and devoid of cultural bias. A diagnosis of a mental disorder can have a severe adverse impact on employment opportunities, child custody determinations, an individual's well-being, and other areas of functioning. Therefore we urge the APA to remove all diagnoses that are not based upon peer-reviewed, empirical research, demonstrating distress or dysfunction, from the DSM. The APA specifically should not promote current social norms or values as a basis for clinical judgments."

To sign, go to: www.thepetitionsite.com/1/DSMrevisionpetition
(You can make your signature anonymous on this secure petition site so it doesn't appear on the Internet)

To find out more about the DSM and the Paraphilias section, read the NCSF & ITCR: The Foundation for NCSF's "White Paper on the DSM Revision" at www.ncsfreedom.org

For more information, email: susanw@ncsfreedom.org

Please distribute to organizations and individuals and ask them to sign on!

I'm in Kitty Beat

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 14:05:03 GMT

One of my rescues is featured in Kitty Beat, the e-newsletter of the NYC Feral Cat Initiative. Poor little Galahad was deep down in a moat that surrounds a block-long industrial building near the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I had to climb out on a steel beam to secure a ladder, then go down into the trash and vermin-infested moat and walk around the building to get to where the kitty was hiding. Then I caught him. Kel and I are expert cat-trappers now. Last week we also caught a hyperplasia kitty who was stranded in a traffic triangle nearby for the Feral Cat Initiative. I love doing work to help these cats!

Why are they killing the cats?

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 12:04:45 GMT

They're killing the cats at JFK again. I rescued 2 of the cats that were trapped last fall and taken to the ACC for euthanasia. I put them in my feral cat colony at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I see one all the time - a pretty little gray tortoiseshell who rolls at the feet of the queen bee of that particular colony. The other one disappeared. If Port Authority would only let us trap/neuter and return all of the ferals to the airport, the cats could live happy lives and keep the airport rodent-free at the same time.

The Port Authority has claimed that feeding the cats attracts rodents (and birds!) but that's not true. I know rodents, believe me, from my work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Those are rats! I've created several colonies throughout the Navy Yard and I work with a handful of dedicated feeders to fill automatic feeders and waterers once a week in the feeding stations. The workers love the cats because they no longer see the rats that used to overrun those areas. The cats are fixed so there's no noise, no smell, no fighting and no kittens. The fixed cats fill their territory, and new intact cats that appear move right on through, so the population grows smaller gradually from natural demise.

The Mayor's Alliance for Animals and Neighborhood Cats registers the colonies in their database and trains us how to trap, and the ASPCA Mobile Clinics fix the ferals for free – yeah, New York City! It's been proven the only way to control the horrible rodent problem here is to create feral cat colonies.

So why is Port Authority killing the cats at JFK?

There's a rally at Union Square next week:

An In Defense of Animals Action Alert:

Stop Roundups of Cats at JFK Airport - July 24

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's board of commissioners has demanded that Port Authority and JFK Airport staff explain on Thursday why the agency is continuing to round up feral cats at JFK Airport, and why they continue to refuse offers of assistance from the NYC Feral Cat Initiative to implement a humane Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. Please join us for a rally outside of Port Authority headquarters to voice your support for stopping the cat roundups at JFK Airport, and demand that they allow a pilot TNR program.

What: Rally for feral cats at JFK Airport
When: Thursday, July 24th - 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Port Authority Headquarters in Union Square, 225 Park Avenue South, (between 18th & 19th St.), New York City

Reading from A Pound of Flesh

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 00:22:40 GMT

I'm giving a reading Thursday evening at In the Flesh, hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
July 17th at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue)
Happy Ending Lounge
212-334-9676

Admission: Free!

In The Flesh features a range of authors, from erotic writers D.L. King, editor of Erotica Revealed, and Susan Wright (A Pound of Flesh) to letter lover Samara O'Shea (Note to Self, For the Lover of Letters), memoirist Scott Pomfret (Since My Last Confession), Jeremy Edwards, (Clean Sheets, F is for Fetish), novelist Anna David (Party Girl) and playwright/memoirist Rachel Shukert (Have You No Shame?). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Spanked, Rubber Sex, Dirty Girls). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

I was also interviewed by Audacia Ray for the Naked City blog for the Village Voice. Check it out!

ball lightning

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 16:19:46 GMT

Last night my cat almost got hit by ball lightning. There was a huge thunderstorm that came in repeated waves, with lightning hitting all around our house. Our neighborhood is up on a ridge along the border of Brooklyn and Queens, hence the name Ridgewood. A couple of times the ground shook like lightning hit the school at the end of the block.

Kel and I were sitting on the couch watching the flashes through our front windows. During one loud strike, I was looking over at our computer which was still on. There was a loud snap or pop, and I saw a bright white sphere near the top of the hutch. It flashed as it disappeared.

My cat Bobert was sleeping behind the guitar case on top of the hutch. We stared at each other wide-eyed. Bobert saw the ball lightning, too! He was stunned so it took him a moment to jump off the top of the hutch. Then he took off and I didn't see him for a while.

Kel heard the popping sound, too. He claims it was an electrical spark, like a short. He was looking out the windows in the other direction. So he's being very noncommittal in an effort not to insult me. When I offered to take a lie detector test (since Bobert can't) he said UFO conspiracists believe what they believe. Which I think is even more insulting. So now I'm delusional, huh?

Bobert and I saw ball lightning. I swear.

A Pound of Flesh reprint

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:38:50 GMT

I'm very excited - the reprint of A Pound of Flesh was just released in mass market paperback!

A POUND OF FLESH
by Susan Wright
Fantasy
Roc/Penguin Group

Between dominance and subservience lies a power no amount of pain or pleasure can extinguish: Freedom.

"A masterpiece." Affaire de Coeur

"Spellbinding... [with] plenty of political intrigue and battle scenes." –Alternative Worlds

"Featuring vivid cultures and lots of action, this should appeal to the fans of Jacqueline Carey, Terry Goodkind, and Storm Constantine." – Library Journal

Marja was once Lexander's pleasure slave – until the master found himself enslaved by her love. Together, they have vowed to free all slaves by destroying pleasure houses throughout the world. But this undertaking requires Marja to disguise herself as a slave once more and infiltrate one training house after another to sow the seeds of revolution - and risk losing the man she loves in the process.

You can order online at my website.

Or go directly to Amazon.

I'll be signing books at TES Fest over the July 4th weekend and at In the Flesh on July 17th, NYC.

Love Letter to Anderson Cooper

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:49:47 GMT

Oh, Andy...

I found your video, you naughty man, right where you left it on YouTube. I love it when you get that masterful gleam in your eye, the way your glove caresses the whip, giving it a firm smack that sings to my soul... as only your hand can

The last time I saw you was at the Kathy Griffin show at Madison Square Garden. I paused near you in the exit hallway. Andy, you looked so pale. Are you working too hard, traveling the world, delivering your dire bulletins like the never-ending beat of doom?

You had a very cute young man with you who urged you to go backstage to see Kathy. I called out – "Oh, yes, you have to go. Kathy will be disappointed if you don't." You must remember me – I waved when you looked over.

BTW, I like your friend. I'd be happy to work him into our scene. (Call me.)

Susan

A protest march that worked

Thu, 08 May 2008 14:15:14 GMT

I was driving out of Manhattan yesterday after picking up 2 sick foster cats from PetCo at Union Square. Yes, that's how I spend too much of my time. About two blocks from the Midtown Tunnel, I heard on the radio that people were protesting last month's verdict on the shooting of Sean Bell (the unarmed black man who was shot by three police officers, of which two of them were black). The protesters had just blocked the onramp to the Queensborough Bridge, shutting down traffic. As I crossed 2nd Avenue on 36th Street, I saw a dozen police officers standing there staring south.

Down 2nd Ave, a block away, a crowd of people were marching towards me. It looked like at least a hundred people spilling off the sidewalk into the avenue. They were carrying white signs without the sticks, because that's illegal in NYC. I zipped into the tunnel just as they were arriving to shut down traffic behind me coming in from 36th Street.

I have to say my first feeling was relief. I really didn't want to get blocked from getting out of Manhattan during rush hour. I had to get these cats to the vet, go pick up my thyroid prescription, blah, blah, blah. I'm sure the drivers who got blocked behind me felt the same way – "Why inconvenience me? I had nothing to do with the Sean Bell verdict."

But as I drove home, I realized it was a really smart move. How many protests have I attended that got NO attention whatsoever from the media or officials? I remember the huge peace march near the United Nations that Kel and I went to prior to the US invasion of Iraq. There were at least 100,000 people. Block after block of 1st Avenue was filled with protesters and late arrivals were being routed up to the 60's to get onto 1st Ave. But we were orderly and didn't block cross streets or the bridges and tunnels.

Afterwards I had to search to find the briefest mention of the enormous protest. Only local rags in NYC carried it. And the number of people was grossly underestimated by the media and police. CNN showed a few stragglers, completely misrepresenting the scope of the march. It sucked in every way possible that our message was blocked by those in power.

But I woke up this morning and found that under a thousand protesters had done such a good job in shutting down the rush-hour commute that it's a top news story today. Al Sharpton got arrested. I'm not a big fan of his, but whoever thought up this idea for a protest – a peaceful pray-in at the onramps of bridges and tunnels – is brilliant in my book.

What do you want to bet that the people who were blocked from leaving Manhattan don't feel the same?

Hanging in suspense

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:38:52 GMT

I went to SINSations in Leather in Chicago last weekend with Kel, then came home and promptly got so sick I've been in bed ever since. I'm still feeling punky, but there was one thing I saw at the event that I keep thinking about. Actually, I saw LOTS of wild and wonderful things - Lovely Rita and Femcar top the list!

But this one was new to me. Self-suspension bondage. Have you ever seen it?

Kel and I wandered back to the play space late on Saturday when it was nearly empty. There was one woman there alone – with Lochai
and another guy practicing body harnesses on Kate and her friend nearby. This lone woman proceeded to tie herself up and suspend herself, stretching up to her toes to get the rope through the hoop. At one point she dragged a chair over with her foot to stand on it. She ended up hanging upside-down with one foot bound to her butt. It was graceful, like a silent ballet. And she did it really fast. Wow! Kel and I were mesmerized, and the remaining people in the ballroom ended up gathering with us to watch.

You can see some of Lochai's suspension photos here.

I seem to be going from event to event lately. Tomorrow, Wednesday evening, I'll be at GMSMA's Forum on Erotic Fiction at the Center (13th Street and 7th Ave in NYC). I'll be reading from one of my books – maybe I'll read the suspension scene from To Serve and Submit.

Shame on the NY Post

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:37:00 GMT

In case you haven't seen it, the NY Post ran an article about a man who suffered a mishap while in bondage at the Nutcracker pro-domination house in NYC. He was left alone while in bondage (a big no-no!) and his foot slipped out of his high heel shoe, causing him to choke on his collar that was tied to an eye-hook.

Okay, this is a newsworthy story - certainly questions of whether this happens often (no, or there would be stories every day about BDSM accidents), whether pro-domination is legal in NYC (yes it is) and whether there are safety standards to keep people from being harmed (definitely, including the standard practice that you're not supposed to leave someone alone when they're in bondage).

But the Post didn't ask those questions. Instead, their reporters managed to get the guy's real name and details of his life and outed him, along with contacting his wife to tell her what had happened.

And the Post's response to this invasion of privacy? According to the paper's spokesman, Howard Rubenstein: "The Post will happily name every adult caught in a dog collar."

Shame on the NY Post!

Here's the links to Conde Nast's Portfolio Media Blog which condemns the Post's practice.

And the latest Post article.

My sister Lisa, the author

Sun, 10 Feb 2008 15:14:34 GMT

My sister Lisa Wright DeGroodt is also an author. She's written several books in her Quest series, fantasy novels about an alternate land where good battles evil with the help of ordinary humans.

Lisa was just featured on the Leaky Cauldron’s weekly Pottercast. Leaky Cauldron is the official Harry Potter podcast and is one of the top podcasts on I-tunes. The episode is now available for downloading: http://pottercast.the-leaky-cauldron.org

She mentions how I sent her the first Harry Potter book and told her she had to read it because it was the same genre she was writing in. I'm just editing her 5th book now, Land Quest, and it's great. Charm Quest, the 4th book is going to be published in a couple of weeks. Her website is here. Check it out!

Busy, busy

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 16:38:19 GMT

If you're wondering why I don't update my journal very often, here's everything I did for NCSF in the last quarter of 2007...

Media Report – Sept-Dec 2007
by Susan Wright

I responded to 6 Incident Response requests – dealing with 2 individuals, a hotel trying to break a contract, and attacks on 2 clubs and a large event.

I did 6 interviews – Including with the Associated Press in Boston, The Bay Area Reporter, 1010 Wins in NYC, and The Colbert Report about Leather Weekend Street Fair in NYC. I agreed to alert the TCR producer about any large media incident we would be willing to discuss on-air with them.

I gave 3 media trainings via the phone, and arrangements were made for me to give 1 in-person media training for the board of a large BDSM organization in April 2008.

I responded to 11 inquires for information on BDSM statistics for: the Hawaii Department of Health, a PhD dissertation, a student documentary, and a clinical psychology student. Plus an inquiry about removing Sexual Sadism, Sexual Masochism, and Fetishism from the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistic Manual IV-TR.

The Media Committee approved 6 press releases that I wrote which included information about what NCSF does for the community. I broadcast 1 Action Alert in support of Folsom Street Fair calling for letters in support of Miller Brewing for being a sponsor of the Fair.

Newsflash from the campaign trail

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 18:16:45 GMT

Mother Jones reports that Republican Presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee hates sadomasochists (as well as homosexuals, pedophiles and necrophiliacs). And environmentalists, pornographers and atheists.

Huckabee wrote in his 1998 children’s book, Kids Who Kill: Confronting Our Culture of Violence: "It is now difficult to keep track of the vast array of publicly endorsed and institutionally supported aberrations — from homosexuality and pedophilia to sadomasochism and necrophilia." He also wrote, "Abortion, environmentalism, AIDS, pornography, drug abuse, and homosexual activism have fragmented and polarized our communities." Huckabee also claims that "equality in the workplace has ironically worked against women in innumerable ways."

Since I'm a woman who happens to be a kinky, bi, atheist, environmentalist who helped file a lawsuit challenging obscenity law on the Internet... do you think he's talking about me? If so, where's my institutional support? Where's my public endorsement, god damn it?