About the only thing sadder than the death of civil rights leader Rosa Parks (which I commented on yesterday) is the usual spectacle of current American political mis-leaders lining up to shed their crocodile tears for her. People such as Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Arnold Schwartzenegger and Detroit dictator (oops I mean mayor) Kwame Kilpatrick.

If only these and other Duly Elected Jackasses had even a sliver of the integrity, humanity, and true social consciousness of Rosa Parks, we would all be so much better off.

In other news, WNBA star Sheryl Swoopes has come out of the closet as a lesbian. This is in my opinion a very courageous move on her part and I now have even more respect and admiration for her (she has always been one of my favorite non-Detroit Shock WNBA players). Although I am a major sports fan, I am also more than willing to admit that the sports world has a number of serious problems that need to be dealt with and the treatment of gay athletes is one of them. In recent postings I have reported on Rene Portland's anti-gay stance as coach of the Penn State women's basketball team. Of course, sports does not exist in a vacuum and the homophobia there is in large part merely a reflection of that in society as a whole.

I applaud Sheryl Swoopes for her brave openness, and hope that this serves as a step towards greater acceptance of gay and lesbian athletes. As well as greater acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in general.