Inside the Belly of the Beltway Beast

Super diva Donna Summer, 63, passed this week. I should have known I was gay when I enjoyed dancing to her inspirational and soulful singing when I was 10 years-old. Beyond her glorious days of disco, Ms. Summer never quite made a successful comeback, nor was she ultimately successful in battling cancer. That's the beautiful and sad reality of many lives; great but often unfulfilled and over far too soon. On the activism front, I am still on my sabbatical, however, a few weeks ago a major highlight thus far this year for me was attending a pre-trial court hearing for Pvt. Bradley Manning , the greatest government whistle blower since Daniel Ellsberg. He is once again being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, although his own government is trying to put him away for life. I was overjoyed to see Bradley smiling in court and engaging in detailed conversations with his attorney. He seemed engaged and a bit hopeful during the proceedings. At one point, Bradley entered the court f