Republican Sam Walls in happier times

An obscure Texas House race became slightly more interesting this past week when voters learned that one of the candidates, conservative businessman and former Republican Party chairman Sam Walls, had a little, itty bitty secret which, much to his chagrin, became very public, indeed. Walls is competing in a Republican primary runoff tomorrow, April 13th, in House District 58, south of Fort Worth.
When cross-dressing photos of Walls were published in the Dallas Star-Telegram, party leaders urged the candidate to withdraw. Mr. Walls, 64, rejected the calls, saying he would not give in to “blackmail” from opponents trying to use “very old, personal information” to force him out of the race. “Now my opponent is using the private information in an attempt to intimate that I am a homosexual, which I am not,” Walls said. Mr. Walls did not indicate why he’s a cross-dresser and a homophobe.
When asked to comment, Texas County GOP Treasurer Roy Giddens, Jr. said of the candidate, “I don’t have a problem with cross-dressing. There are lots of them. People think J. Edgar Hoover was one of the greatest Americans that ever lived. He was a cross-dresser.”
Update: Sam Walls lost the race for a Texas house seat on Tuesday night.

Below, please find a poem, sent in by Kaisa, a reader located on Canada’s east coast. The poem is made up entirely of actual quotations from George W. Bush. These have been arranged, only for aesthetic purposes, by Washington Post writer Richard Thompson.

I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It’s a world of madmen and uncertainty.
And potential mental losses.
Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet
Become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being
And the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope,
Where our wings take dream.
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society! Make the pie higher! Make the pie higher!

Beckham mistress Sarah Marbeck

Hey, it’s a slow Saturday night at VanRamblings, the blog is hitting an all-time low in visitors (this damn holiday weekend), and what the heck. Sure, Condi and Bushie may be all over the news, and there are gosh darn important things happening across the globe, but even though you’ll never read anything to do with sports in VanRamblings — I mean, why would I bother, when that particular diversion is covered so well by the conventional media — it seems to me that there must be a huge audience of readers out there who are just dying to know what Posh Spice’s soccer playing hubbie is up to.
Then again, maybe not. But you gotta admit that the photo, from Sunday’s News of the World online, is something provocative, huh? No? Okay.
Oh, so what’s the story (as if you didn’t know)? You’ll have to read all about what Beckie’s been up to here. Poor Posh Spice.
And before the flames begin to roll into the VanRamblings comments section, consider this: If Dylan can sell out to Victoria’s Secret, VanRamblings can certainly afford to publish a little bit of titillating cheese.
Then again, maybe not.

Sarah Champion

For weeks the literary world has been kept guessing as to the identity of a prostitute whose web diary, written under the name Belle de Jour, has attracted a worldwide cult readership.
The writer’s sexual frankness — which appeared to lay bare a world of loveless sexual encounters and cash exchanges — has garnered both shock and praise.
But now a literary detective claims he has identified the person behind the Belle de Jour diary through a close analysis of her writing style.

Continue reading Media speculation about the call-girl blogger →