The United States Congress led by

          Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D- CA)

and

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV)

The Senate was gaveled to order at 9:30 a.m. the Friday before the Christmas weekend, and shut down 26 seconds later. Then on Sunday the Democrats convened another nanosession, and again the day after Christmas — for nine seconds. This affectation will continue through January. At least Congress is operating with abnormal efficiency.

Need we say more?

Moonbat is a special feature of Liberally Conservative and posted each Saturday. For previous awards visit Moonbat Awards. 

In the 1993 hit movie, Mrs. Doubtfire, Robin Williams play Daniel Hillard finds himself suddenly divorced without custody of his kids. To solve this problem, he disguises himself as an old Scottish nanny to get hired by his ex-wife and be closer to his kids.

Mrs. Doubtfire was a comedy but real life transgendering is now becoming a political issue for Liberals.

A California state law that takes effect in January says schools not only can’t discriminate by sex but also can’t take into account “a person’s gender identity and gender related appearance and behavior whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth.”

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm has just issued a similar order in her state, barring discrimination against state workers based on their “gender identity or expression.” And members of Congress have been trying for several months to add crimes against the transgendered to the list of categories punishable under federal hate-crimes law.

The transgendered are now grouped with gays, lesbians and bisexuals in the abbreviation GLBT. It is estimated by the National Center for Transgendered Equality that between 0.25% and 1% of Americans place themselves in the transgendered category.

As one such individual recently wrote to the San Francisco Bay Times:

“My medical condition was not a matter of nurture and/or a choice but was caused by a biological error in the womb.”

John Nemecek, a business professor at Spring Arbor University, an evangelical college in Michigan, was demoted earlier this year because he started wearing makeup and earrings and calling himself Julie. Mr. Nemecek was diagnosed by a doctor with “gender-identity disorder” and started hormone therapy.

A Christian group called the Advocates for Faith and Freedom has launched a lawsuit to stop the aforementioned California law from going into effect. Robert Tyler, a lawyer for the group, asks:

“What will prevent the 250-pound linebacker from deciding he wants to share the locker room with the cheerleaders?”

A couple of years ago, Pauline Park, a man who feels he is a woman, was stopped by security officers coming out of the ladies room of New York City’s Manhattan Mall. Mr. Park filed a complaint with the city. Under the terms of the settlement, Advantage Security adopted a policy allowing people to use bathrooms “consistent with their gender identity.”

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) notes that

“many transgender people do not experience their transgender feelings and traits to be distressing or disabling, which implies that being transgender does not constitute a mental disorder per se.”

Michael Bailey, a psychologist at Northwestern University, published a book in 2003 suggesting that some men who want to change genders are living in a kind of fantasy. They are motivated by an erotic idea of themselves as women. Dr. Bailey was chastised for his writings with one critic even posted pictures of Mr. Bailey’s children on the Internet with sexually explicit captions under them.

Atlanta hosted the nation’s first transgender career fair in September. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the expo drew representatives from 20 major corporations. But logistical questions came up. Should applicants list both their male and female names on résumés? What if a potential employer called an old reference who didn’t know about an applicant’s “change”?

An article in the New York Times revealed how parents of children with gender confusion are now being encouraged to dress their children as members of the opposite sex. “At the Park Day School in Oakland [Calif.], teachers . . . are urged to line up students by sneaker color rather than by gender.”

When officials in Port Ewen, N.Y., decided to let a school principal stay on even after a sex change, most parents didn’t protest. But one resident of a neighboring town told a reporter: “God makes things perfect and people want to screw it all up.” It’s a passing remark but it raises an interesting question. What does it mean that, once conceived, a person was somehow given the wrong body? Should we hold God responsible? And what bathroom does he want us going into?

Source: Naomi Schaefer Riley in Taste at The Wall Street Journal [Subscription]

Happy New Year!

1. In New Hampshire, a late surge in the polls by Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) shows that the original frontrunner’s long-shot strategy is paying off. McCain, as he did in 2000, has written off Iowa, and he is hoping a poor finish in the caucuses won’t hurt him in New Hampshire five days later — especially if Huckabee, and not Romney, wins the caucuses. A win in New Hampshire could aid McCain in third-in-the-nation Michigan on Jan. 15.
2. If Romney finishes behind Huckabee in Iowa and behind McCain in New Hampshire, he’s seriously wounded and probably finished (with a big win in Michigan a week later his only hope to hang on). He still has the most money and the strongest campaign team, but those two early losses would devastate his strategy of winning big early to get ahead of Giuliani, who still leads (though barely) in national polls.
3. Rep. Tom Tancredo‘s (Colo.) decision to drop out of the race at the last minute equally helps former Sen. Fred Thompson (Tenn.) and Romney, with some of his support likely going to Representatives Ron Paul (Tex.) and Duncan Hunter (Calif.). Romney garnered Tancredo’s endorsement, which has some value, but immigration voters will be most attracted to Thompson. That said, Tancredo’s supporters were a small bunch to begin with.
4. Thompson is counting on a late surge in Iowa. He’s shown some superficial signs of success, garnering the backing of Iowa’s two grassroots conservative heroes: an endorsement from immigration hawk Rep. Steve King (R) and the support of Tancredo’s former Iowa chairman, Bill Salier, who challenged liberal Rep. Greg Ganske (R) in the U.S. Senate primary in 2002. However, it’s not yet clear whether Thompson is connecting with Iowa voters on the ground.
5. The campaign of former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is looking imperiled. His New Hampshire poll numbers, like his national poll numbers, have steadily fallen since mid-November. He can’t count on a strong showing in Iowa or South Carolina, and so all his hopes will rest on big wins in Florida (January 29) and on February 5 Mega-Tuesday after a month of losses. His best hope is if Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Michigan go four different ways, which is very possible.
6. If Huckabee does not win Iowa, his run may be over, especially if he has to compete with Thompson in Southern states. Even if Huckabee wins Iowa, his chances at winning the nomination are slim. His coffers are too empty, his conservative credentials too flimsy, and his campaign infrastructure too sparse.
7. For Ron Paul, a third-place finish in Iowa is not out of the question.

Source: Evans-Novak Political Report