CULTURAL REVOLUTIONSrnREPUBLICAN CONGRESSMANrnSteven Gunderson of Wisconsin, whornhosted the homosexual “circuit” partyrncalled the Cherry Jubilee at a federalrnbuilding in Washington last April 13, wasrnupset by our article about the event writtenrnby Marc Morano (“Sex, Drugs, and arnRepublican Party,” July 1996). WhenrnCongressman Robert Dornan (R-CA)rnread the Chronicles article into the CongressionalrnRecord, and the subject becamernthe topic of national talk radio,rnGunderson exercised the seldom usedrn”point of personal privilege” to seize thernHouse floor and denounce Mr. Moranornand his article. Gunderson called Moranorna bigot who had distorted the facts inrnan effort to smear the “gay community,”rnand he blasted Dornan for sanctioningrnsuch bigotry.rnMorano videotaped much of whatrnwent on at the party, and though thernlighting was poor in the areas he wasrnfilming, several witnesses—including arngay reporter for the City Paper—havernconfirmed his account. Nevertheless,rnGunderson charged that Morano’s reportrnwas riddled with lies. In return,rnMorano issued a point-by-point rebuttal.rnFor example, Cunderson charged thatrnMorano gave false information aboutrnhimself in order to attend the party, thatrnhe did not purchase a ticket, and that hernattended it without any press credentials.rnBut Morano did try to obtain a pressrnpass, only to be told that none were beingrnissued. In order to attend, he wasrnforced to buy a ticket outside the entrancernto the Andrew W. Mellon Auditoriumrnand another one inside.rnGunderson insists that “security reportedrnno fights, no harassment, norndrugs, no smoking, nor any sexual activity.”rnSeveral guests at the party, however,rnhave boasted about the illicit activityrnthey engaged in. Morano points to JohnrnCloud, a homosexual reporter for thernCity Paper, who admitted to seeing “a fairrnnumber of people using drugs,” and to arncolumnist for the Metro Weekly whornbragged that “We spent much of ourrntime out on the dance floor trying to coprna feel, or back in the sponsor’s lounge tryingrnto cop a feel, or outside in the designatedrnsmoking area trying to cop a feelrnand a smoke.” Morano’s video recorderrndid not pick up all of this activity becausernsecurity personnel forced him to removernit from the premises.rnGunderson also maintains that thernouter stairwell of the Mellon Auditoriumrnwas closed for “construction,” not forrnsexual rendezvous. This may be true,rnbut as Morano points out, this arearnserved another purpose at the GOPrnevent. It was “screw alley,” as one guestrnindelicately put it.rnBOB DOLE, in what we were assuredrnwas an “emotional moment,” read thesernwords (reportedly written by novelistrnMark Helprin) when announcing his decisionrnto leave the Senate: “I will seek thernpresidency with nothing to fall back onrnbut the judgment of the people of thernUnited States and nowhere to go but thernWhite House or home.” Only a politicianrnis incapable of writing his own letterrnof resignation when quitting a job.rnBy “home,” Helprin the ghost soughtrnto conjure up golden wheatfields andrndusty roads and the sun setting on Russell,rnKansas, as Bob and Liddy sip lemonadernon the front porch, serenaded b)’rncrickets, serene in the bosom of homernsweet home. But what “home” means tornDole, the future Archer Daniels Midlandrndirector, is a cab ride to the Watergate orrnan occasional hop down to the condo inrnBal Harbor.rnOf postrepublic Presidents, onlyrnDemocrats (Truman, LBJ, Carter) retiredrnto their natal states. It’s easy tornimagine ex-President Bill Clinton, footloosernand Hillarv-free, contentedK’ goingrnthrough the “sweet sweet Connies fromrnLittle Rock,” but come what may mrnNovember, I do not think the boys atrnthe Russell Rotary Club should plan onrnsetting an extra plate for prodigal brotherrnBob.rnFor Senator Dole, Russell, Kansas,rnseems to have faded to just a picturesquernbackdrop for tearful speeches ghosted byrnvirtual strangers. Once there was a wayrnto get back home—but not anymore,rnnot for Bob Dole.rn—Bill KaijffmanrnT H E ANTI-GANG statute of Harvard,rnIllinois, which has served as a modelrnfor similar statutes in many Chicagornsuburbs, was recently struck down by anrnIllinois appellate court. The Harvard lawrnmade it a crime to displav gang colorsrnand symbols—such displays lead to frequentrnclashes, violence, and murder.rnThe challenge came from an admittedrngang member arrested in March 1993 forrnwearing a six-pointed star—the symbolrnof the Gangster Disciples. (In an Illinoisrnhigh school, a gang member recentlyrnprotested his suspension on the groundsrnthat his six-pointed star expressed his solidarityrnwith Judaism!) The judges ruledrnthat the proliferation of gang colors andrnsymbols made the application of the lawrn”not merely broad . . . but open-endedrnand potentially limitless.”rnFree speech is at a premium in thernUnited States, but it is hard to see howrnthe display of gang colors is a FirstrnAmendment issue. Gangs are, by definition,rncriminal conspiracies, and it shouldrnbe easy to distinguish between a studentrnwearing a football jersey and a gangbangerrnflashing his colors. In a doubtfulrncase, the burden of proof should be onrnthe state, but when the case involves anrnadmitted gang member, as it does inrnHarvard, then the judges, in ruling tornprotect the colors, have joined the gang.rn—Thomas FlemingrnC H I L D C A R E is back in the news,rnthanks to a new study conducted by thernNational Institute of Child Health andrnHuman Development, a division of thernNational Institutes of Health. Preliminaryrnresults of the study, which has beenrntouted as the “most far-reaching andrncomprehensive” examination of the effectsrnof childeare to date, were releasedrnon April 20, and they appear to contradictrnearlier studies on the adverse effectsrnof childeare.rnThe results, as Joan Lunden said onrnCood 4orning America, may surprisernyou. They shouldn’t. The federal governmentrnhas a vested interest in maintainingrnthe daycare industry. Daycarerncenters are a remarkably efficient way tornremove children from the influence ofrntheir parents, and to substitute government-rnapproved indoctrination for thernnatural transmission of culture from onerngeneration to the next. Moreover, doubtsrnabout daycare might cause some womenrnto reconsider their decision to entrustrntheir children to strangers, and in thernprocess expose the dirty little secret ofrn6/CHRONICLESrnrnrn