I Thought Hoffman would Win. Shows You What I Know

The 23rd Congressional district of the State of New York has been a Republican stronghold since the formation of the Republican party, almost one hundred and fifty years ago. It probably will continue to be one for another hundred and fifty years.

When Doug Hoffman gave his concession speech after the election for that Congressional seat last night, in a hotel ballroom, fewer than fifty supporters were there to witness it. His supporters had already left, out of the district, out of the State, out of the region. They had already gone back to where they came from. His supporters were members of the racist, sexist, homophobic, religious fundamentalist, social conservative movement that currently plague our country. They sought to hijack the local electoral process and elect one of their own to the local Congressional seat. They almost did it. That they didn't says a lot about the kind of people that live in this region.

This is not a Democratic party victory. It is a victory for democracy. There was no real Republican running in this race. Next year there probably will be and I hope then, the will of the people prevails.

Gay Marriage

Legal Gay marriage went down in Maine yesterday. It is becoming clear that slightly less than half the population, in most places in America, are willing to legalize Gay marriage. For me, Gay marriage is the same kind of stalking horse against the religious right as abortion. Probably only about 3% of the population is what could be called full time homosexual. Fewer than that would get Gay married if they had the chance.

Gay marriage focuses the attention of the mainstream culture on the issue of Gay rights. It has become the "this far and no farther" barricade behind which reactionary forces against Gay rights make their stand. While the fight over Gay marriage rages, the general population becomes more and more sensitized to the unfairness of the situation and less sympathetic to the religious bigots that fight to maintain the status quo. As the fight continues, under the radar in more and more places, all legal barriers against Gays except marriage are dropped.

In ten years, Gay marriage will be accepted as the norm in all fifty States. The homosexual community will be a more mainstream part of society than it is now. I favor this because freedom denied to one, is freedom denied to all.

Society is always in flux. Demographics are always changing. The young, of all racial, ethnic, cultural, socio economic and even religious backgrounds overwhelmingly favor legal Gay Marriage. Gay marriage will continue to be tested in State after State, over and over again, until it is the law under which we all live. Gay marriage is a cause that promotes freedom for all. It's not only the smart side to be on. It's the right side.

Gold Jumps, Buffet Catches A Freight

Gold broke above $1080 an ounce spot this morning in conjunction with the London close. I expect this was due to a spate of panic short covering. Likely it will retreat to more reasonable levels by the end of the trading day in New York.

Still, gold has been exhibiting a pronounced tenor of upwardness lately. This is a positive sign for gold and also gold equities, many of which are up 7-8% so far this morning alone.

Warren Buffet has purchased Burlington Northern Railway. It's a good purchase. Railways move freight in a much more fuel efficient manor than trucking. This purchase, like many others that could be made now, will eventually pay off. Unfortunately, transportation will be in a slump, possibly for many years, as the economy contracts and America reverts from a service economy to one of production. Warren has the deep pockets to endure a drain of capital until inflation and an expanding economy makes this purchase pay off but the guy's in his eighties. He'll never see the day. Why buy something, the fundamentals of which, you know will get worse before it gets better?

Warren is contemptuous of gold as an investment. Too bad.

Trading Range Established In Gold

It looks like gold has made its new trading range, moving higher when it gets below $1030 then lower above $1070. I expect the next breakout upward will take it above $1100. Gold is still tied to the fortunes of the dollar, for now.

Some people think the price of gold is already in a bubble. That's not true. That will happen eventually, when the stock market next crashes. After that, there is no telling what will happen. I think initially down with the market, then up.

Gold will hit $2000 an ounce. It may take a few years. I honestly thought it would be sooner.

There are better long term investments than gold. Oil will inevitably rise. Right now though there is a glut and they are still pumping like mad. Real estate is also sure fire. The problem with that is, you have to have deep pockets to maintain a money losing asset until inflation and economic recovery make you rich. Agricultural commodities are a no brainer. People have to eat and there are more of them all the time. The big cap financials, if you have the stomach for it, are a good play. They are ruthless criminals with a license to steal. The agencies that are supposed to oversee and regulate them in reality aid them in their criminality.

Tomorrow

It would be nice if the Democrats came out of the off year elections tomorrow with a solid showing but I fear it is not to be. All indications are that a well groomed Pat Robertson University alumni and wingnut of the first water named McConnell, will win the governorship of Virginia. The other prominent races are close but I think the Republicans have the inside track in all of them. Gov Corzine in New Jersey is a real dickhead and deserves to lose. Hoffman, in the NY 23rd Congressional race, is riding a strong wave of upward momentum in the polls, even though he is a poor choice for the constituency, not in touch with their concerns and doesn't even live in the district.  If the race went a couple more weeks, he would get creamed but right now tempers are running high and that favors him. The other big contest is a measure that would repeal a Gay marriage law in Maine. It will be close, which in itself is amazing but I think it will pass easily. There still aren't too many places where Gay marriage can muster majority support. If you look how far, how fast Gay rights have come, the advancements are impressive and will likely continue even more rapidly. The odiousness of Gay rights opponents helps the cause even more than it's necessity and inevitability.

I am distressed that the social conservatives are now the dominint force in the Republican party. It is little consolation that this leadership will surely bring about the destruction of the Republicans in the future.

Scozzafava Endorses Democrat

This story just keeps getting better and better.

Break out the cutlasses and boarding pikes. Spread some sand on the decks. Not all of us will be going home to Mother.

We have a lot of pro choice Republicans that aren't homophobes here in Sunny California.

Here's a link to a post Sarah Palin left on Facebook, about how all Republicans in NY 23 should unite now, in solidarity, after she led the mob gutting the local Republican candidate for Congress. That'll go over big with the Republican voters upstate. I mean, she thanked Dede politely for stepping aside. That should be enough, right? After all, Dede wants to kill babies and let sodomites marry. That'd against God's natural law. She also supports, you know, union membership. (Shudder) She's no real Republican.

When Economists Lie, You Know It's Bad

Geithner is lying and Greenspan before him.

Money is a medium of exchange but in fact has no real intrinsic value. At one time, you could present money at a bank and exchange it for a set amount of gold or silver. After that stopped being true, the only value money represented was the trust that those using money as a medium of exchange had in the issuing entity. In this country, that entity is the United States Treasury. When there is no actual backing of the currency by anything of real value, great care must be taken to control the amount of currency introduced into the monetary system and even then, the Treasury can get into trouble.

A government must not abuse it's authority to issue money. The money that a government spends, must be no more than the amount it takes as revenue from the fees and taxes that it levees. If the government must spend more money than it currently has, it must borrow that money like anybody else and pay it back at the agreed upon rate of interest in a timely manner.

Governments exist to provide order and organization in society. By doing so, they enable the citizens to live together peacefully. The citizens engage in all of the various enterprises of industry and commerce that allow society to continue and prosper. When industry and commerce are no longer sufficient to allow society to prosper the people suffer and become discontent. They may blame the government for their suffering and in truth, if the government has been remiss in its management of its own finances, it may bear some of the blame. Government can become fearful that the populace, in it's discontent, will rise up against it. When this happens, they can do a couple of things. They can institute repressive and coercive measures upon the people in an effort to control any rebellious behavior. They can attempt to buy the people off by providing the necessary resources that the people need to exist at what they perceive to be an acceptable level, that they used to obtain by engaging in industry and commerce. In the end, neither of these actions is effective.

Currently, our government is afraid of it's citizens. It is attempting to buy the citizens off by injecting debased currency into the system, although I'm not sure how you can debase currency that isn't really worth anything in the first place. This won't work for long. They know it won't. This makes them more scared. The repression will come next.

This Post Didn't Go Anywhere I Was Trying To Go But I'm Not Going To Delete It

Whether or not social conservatives are correct in their beliefs is one question. Whether a more socially conservative Republican party is a good political strategy is an entirely different question. Whenever a political party moves farther toward one end of the spectrum or another it tends to satisfy supporters on the end of the spectrum towards which it is moving and alienate supporters in the middle of the spectrum who lean least toward the moving party. This doesn't mean that parties should never move farther towards the end of the spectrum. If the true believers at the far end get disenchanted, they become apathetic, participation, donations and eventually voter turnout will be adversely effected.

To exert maximum influence, political parties must walk a fine line. Often, in a governing coalition, nobody is very happy with the resulting government. This is the situation that the Republican party found itself in three years ago. Even though they had put together a controlling coalition in national politics, a lot of their supporters became critically dissatisfied. What followed was not a resurgence of support for the liberal values of the Democratic party but a lack of support for the Republicans. The Democrats won control of the executive and legislative branches of government because Democrats ran a nation wide campaign of bland, cheerful, centrist apathy, promising all things to all people. Now that the economy is going into a shit storm, nobody's going to feed a quarter into the juke box to hear that song again.

Obviously, the Republicans cannot revitalize their party by offering the people the same thing that Obama, Pelosi and Reid are touting. They have to offer something in opposition. The functional move would be to offer a platform of austerity and strict fiscal conservatism then dial the religious and moral mania of the social conservatives way back but that's not what their true believers want to hear and that's not the way they are going. Besides, the Republicans may regain power no matter what they do, just because the Democrats are so fucked up, so why offer anything actually constructive. Pander to the base.

Most people understand that America as a country and as a people have been writing checks they can't cover for a long time. They understand that there is going to be some suffering involved in getting the economy out of the red. There is going to be inflation. There is going to be a decrease in living standards. There is going to be a decrease in government services. There will be high unemployment as people shift out of service jobs and into production. Somebody is going to have to coin a term a little harsher than stagflation to describe it. It's going to happen whether anybody likes it or not. It would work out better if we all went into it at the same time, together, in an organized manner. It's not going to happen, at least right now. This is not something the Republicans are willing to admit. You can't blame them. It's a pretty depressing idea and harkens back to the Jimmy Carter national malaise days. The Democrats are also aware of this and no more willing to introduce this kind of rhetoric than the Republicans. Everybody is more comfortable hearing that the economy is getting back on track but it will be a slow process and we should all be patient. We fill the time debating the basic human rights that should be accorded to all the little, soon to be aborted, pre born souls and whether or not global warming is real. Like anybody really gives a shit about either one of them.

America needs a great leap forward on the same scale as China started in the last days of Mao Tse Tung. The problem is, that no matter how dark it's getting or how quickly it's falling over the land, nobody willingly starts a journey like that while sitting comfortably in an air conditioned, four bedroom rambler with all the trimmings, in a well manicured suburban development, even if you can't afford it and it's in foreclosure. The electricity is still hooked up and the toilets still flush today, baby. We ain't goin' nowhere. It doesn't mean the journey's not coming, just not right now.

My advice to the Republicans is walk with Jesus. Dig that bunker in the back yard. Keep buying the guns and ammo. Take the grandkids to Disney World.

My advice to Democrats is take a hike in the Sierras. Spend a week camping out under the stars. Adopt a polar bear. Save the Whales.

We're stalled out here. All the choices we make from here on out are likely to be bad ones. So make as few as possible. Things are going to get a lot worse, no point rushing it. The good part is, it's not that bad right now. They're still printing money. They're still cashing the bad checks. Write a few more when you get a little short. Just don't get crazy about it. Stretch things out as long as possible. Enjoy life. Go to a hockey game. Have a beer. Buy the kids hot dogs. You may not have many more chances and there isn't anything you can do to help right now. No use making yourselves miserable. That will come soon enough.

Curiouser and Curiouser

In an amazing turn of events, Dede Scozzafava, the controversial Republican candidate for the 23rd Congressional district for the State of New York, has dropped out of the race, three days before a special election to fill the seat for the last year of the current term. This leaves the race between Democrat Bill Owens and third party candidate Doug Hoffman, who had been a Republican before he lost out on his bid for the Republican nomination for the seat to Scozzafava.

Socially conservative Republican forces have deluged Hoffman with money, campaign workers, media resources and outspoken support in recent days, after deciding that Scozzafava did not embody the kind of image consistent with their vision of future, socially conservative, American Republicanism.

This is now a huge crap shoot for the social conservatives. If Hoffman wins election to Congress, the social conservatives will have effectively taken control of the National Party, its platform and slate of candidates, in next years mid term election and then likely, also in the Presidential year of 2012. If they lose in the 23rd next Tuesday, they will likely be seen, within their own party, as hysterical meddlers, who lost a seat in Congress that the Republicans desperately need and could easily have kept.

I guess I don't really care who wins or loses or even who controls the Republican Party. In the long run, American politics for the next generation is going to be all about shifting demographics. A situation like this though, is beautiful to watch as it unfolds, revealing the Byzantine internal machinations of the American political system.

This is turning out to be one of the the most pivotal off year elections in American history.

Do You Have Cats?

We have cats. Two castrated toms. My wife really likes to have a couple of cats around. We got them from the local pound.

In the old days pound cats were mostly alley cats. Grey tabby, black, tuxedo, calico, short hair or long. Every once in a while you'd see a Manx. Most cats get neutered these days, so a lot of the cats in shelters are breeders mistakes or pure bred with some kind of conformation problems that make them worthless for sale.

One of our cats is a brindled, big stripe, bull's eye, ginger tabby, serval/domestic hybrid. They market them under the name of Savannah cats. They're supposed to have graceful long necks and limbs. Ours doesn't. He also has a very short, serval like, tail, which is not preferred. He has a small head and weaselly face with huge, bat like ears, that he can swivel around almost 180. They frequently fill up with thick, viscous wax and require deep swabbing. He doesn't meow. He makes chirping noises, like a cricket. He's a burrower and will spend hours at the bottom of a pile of laundry or old newspapers. Servals are notorious for not using a litter box and spraying huge quantities of foul urine all over the house, because in the wild they are solitary, constantly marking off ever changing territorial boundaries. Most cats shit in a litter box because they like to bury it and unless you have large planters, there's no place else in most houses that work. Servals have no burying instinct. That can be an issue too. We haven't had a problem yet. If we do, he's history. Servals are much larger than domestic cats. Ours doesn't look that big but weighs about 20 pounds, which is a lot for a cat. He's probably no more than a quarter serval, maybe even a sixteenth. Servals can weigh 45 pounds. We've had him about 10 years, so he might be twelve. He was full grown when we got him. His previous owner was a crazy lady that left him alone for long periods when she got hauled off to the rubber room, so he's pretty resourceful and independent. He also has food issues and tends toward the portly persuasion.

Our other cat is a purebred Rag Doll. These are big, clumsy, hairy beasts that tend to sleep even more than regular cats. I think he went to the shelter because because his color patterns are mottled and non standard. That and his eyes are crossed. A lot of these cats have this problem but he's really wall eyed. It noticeably affects his visual acuity. When he bats at something, he usually doesn't even come close until after several tries and he also missteps and falls from high places a lot. He doesn't seem to have the usual cat talent for landing on his feet. He spends a lot of time limping around.

They're good boys. I don't mind them. They don't crave drugs, contract incurable venereal diseases, get obscene tattoos, steal money from my wallet or want to go to expensive private colleges.

Headstone Decoration

Did you know that the Veteran's administration has authorized the Wiccan Pentangle for inscription on your GI issue tombstone, if you so desire? I just found that out.

I don't think I'm interested. It looks too much like some kind of Devil worship thing. That's way to serious for me.

I kind of like the yin yang symbol but that's not authorized. Buddhists get the Wheel of Life instead. I told my wife once I wanted that one. It's kind of nice. It reminds me a little of the Navy Quartermaster rate badge, is why I chose it.

There may be several additional religious symbols available since I checked last. It's been several years, since I went to order a headstone for uncle Hugh. He was an Army clerk in World War II. He was a pianist and could also type like the wind. Spent a few years in London. He had a good time there. They were pretty open minded about Gay boys, compared to the States.

Does anybody know if there are any new, cool symbols available for display on headstones? A Druidic All Seeing Eye might be classy. It's too bad there isn't really an appropriate one for me. I guess I could spend a little of my own money and have somebody chisel a broken bar stool into it. It's not like I'll be needing the money at that point and there is bound to be at least a little left. The whole point of it is that it's free though. It just wouldn't be right.

Are You A Social Conservative?

I'm pretty sure I'm not one but I'm not entirely sure I understand what it entails. As far as I can tell, it's this.

1) Opposition to abortion, contraception, fetal stem cell harvesting, artificial fertility procedures, any personal end of life decisions that could be interpreted as suicide or euthanasia or any other medical procedure that is unnatural, immoral or against the will of the Christian Triple God, his enforcing Angels and watchful Saints.

2) Support and legal institutionalization of the nuclear family, consisting only of a male head of household, a female wife and children.

3) A strict belief in the Christian Bible as the literal revealed word of God and as a basis for natural law and science, that should be incorporated into civil life and human endeavor by all members of society and adhered to whether they believe it or not. The founding fathers intended for America to be a Christian nation and anything else is unconstitutional.

4) Elimination of any social entitlement programs by government.

5) Unlimited right to own weapons.

6) A belief in capital punishment.

7) A strong Christian military that works around the World to protect American political interests, promote Christian values, suck up local alcohol stocks and produce half American bastards.

8) Stop and punish illegal immigration.

9) Human right to dominion over the Earth and denial that human actions can adversely effect climate or natural ecological balance.

A person could go into a lot of specifics but that seems to be about it and in order to be a social conservative, you need to believe in all of these things, otherwise you are a closet liberal.

If you are a social conservative I would like to hear from you. Are there more things you believe are basic to the movement? Are some of the things I've listed in error? Speak up! Clueless liberals everywhere need to know.

Age Appropriate

This is an amazing story. I'm not going to go on about the morality of this marriage. Different strokes, ya' know. Do you realize that if this young girl lives very long, the combined span of a husband and wife could be almost two hundred years? That would be like from the French Revolution to the Moon landing.

The passage of time is not so pronounced in Somalia. It's the same there as it was in the Stone Age. In another hundred years it likely still will be. It won't happen anyway. They'll probably kill her and bury her with her husband and women don't live too long there in any case.

Miracle In Poland

Once again, miraculous proof that Jesus and the Lord Jehovah are one.

All My Children

Wing nuts are upset because it is now possible to make sperm and eggs out of stem cells. This could provide people who no longer have functioning gonads the opportunity to be parents.

What would be really cool is if they learn how to make eggs out of sperm and sperm out of eggs. Then a person could have children who, while genetically different from the parent, would only have one parent.

That's the ultimate ego trip. Man, I'd want hundreds of kids to inflict on the World.

Wonderful Life

I think Hugh Hefner is smart. I don't think he is any kind of genius. All he ever really had was a fantasy of how he would live his life if he could and an unshakable belief that a large number of other men, around the World, would want to share that fantasy with him. It turned out that he was right. In just a few years, his magazine went from nothing to the most recognizable, discussed and profitable publication in the world. From the middle Fifties to the middle Sixties, it was probably the most influential vehicle for the spread of affluent American culture and what they used to call, before feminism, the Sexual Revolution. The magazine spawned a chain of night clubs and vacation resorts. Hugh hosted music festivals, movie festivals and television shows. The career of a young man or woman who had verifiably been to the Playboy mansion and met Hugh Hefner was made.

By the late sixties Hugh Hefner was no longer young. The Hefner fantasy life began to be considered dated by some. The Playboy empire began a long slow decline. I think that this was highly appropriate. I'm not sure Hugh Hefner wanted it any other way.

The thing that I find most impressive about Hugh Hefner is that it was his personal vision that he was merchandising. It was the vision that he desired to live. When society changed, he didn't feel obligated to change with it. The decades of indulgence never dissipated him or perved him out, as happened to so many who acquired so much, so quickly, for so long

The resorts closed, then the clubs. Magazine sales shrank and the demographic became less sought after by big money advertisers. Through it all, Hugh lived the same life, his dream.

Today, Hugh Hefner is a very old and frail man. People make jokes about him. He has several air headed, young, blond girlfriends at a time, that he dodders around the mansion with and changes regularly. He takes a lot of naps and enjoys soft, bland food. Still, in most ways, it's the same lifestyle he's always had. It's kind of anachronistic now and modified to what his frail, old body can tolerate, yet still enjoy.

You got to ask yourself this. Has anybody else, in the history of the World, ever enjoyed such a good life, for so long, with so little negative blow back? I can't think of anyone. Most people born with the resources to live any way they want burn out early. Those that have to strive for what they desire slave away the best years of their lives and are too old to spend much time enjoying it when it's finally achieved. Not Hugh Hefner. Would you have been willing to trade your life for Hugh Hefner's? I bet a lot of guys would have. I remember discussing that exact thing with my bunk mates at summer camp, fifty years ago. I would have swapped lives with him, on any given day over the last fifty or so years. I'd do it tomorrow if asked and never look back.

I don't think that Hugh Hefner's empire will outlast him and that's good. When he dies they should lay him out nice, lock him in the mansion with his minions, sycophants and retainers and fire it up. No Viking funeral for this boy. Suttee!

Fountain Of Youthful Looks

Does this bother you? It doesn't bother me that much. It apparently does a lot of people, judging from the comments. I'm old and look like shit. I don't mind because it's pretty much in sync with how I feel a lot of the time. I guess I wouldn't be interested in just looking better.

If they could mix something up that made me feel young again, even for a little while, I would be first in line. I couldn't care less if it came from aborted fetuses. I mean, they would just be going down the drain anyway. Sounds like green technology to me. Hey, save the bay, right?

How Much Of An Asshole Do You Have To Be Not To Beat Yourself Up Over It

I don't get up in the morning with the idea that I'm going to be a real son of a bitch today. I always try to be a pretty good guy but it never has worked out that well for me. I always appreciate it when people are honest with me, even if I don't like what they have to say. I try to return the favor but a lot of the time it's too easy to just tell people what they want to hear and avoid the hurt and drama that the truth is going to cause. I try not to take advantage of people when they're vulnerable but that's kind of the basis for the entire free enterprise, survival of the fittest society we've set up for ourselves and so admire. Truth be told, though, I've never survived all that fitly.

I had this girlfriend once. We were both still teenagers, just left home. I was a year older. She was a really nice girl, clean, smart and pretty. I couldn't figure out why she was interested in me. I still don't. She could have done a lot better but for what ever reason she let me hang around a lot.

Anyway, this girl had a real block about any sexual behavior. She enjoyed a lot of physical and emotional intimacy but as soon as it started to get overtly sexual she shut down. It was kind of sweet and quite a challenge. Eventually, through trial and error, I figured out that if I bathed her in the evening, dressed her in a flannel nightgown and brushed her hair out, she'd go into a kind of happy fugue state and enthusiastically participate in whatever twisted carnal behavior I could think up.

I wasn't stupid. It was pretty clear to me why she was like that. Her mother had died when she was very young and she had been raised by a doting father that never remarried. She wouldn't tolerate a bad word about him. Once I had it figured out, the situation deteriorated pretty quickly, even though she was having a great time. I began to need liquor to be around her. That's never a good sign. I had enough of a conscience to slink away but not enough of a conscience to force the issue and make her confront it. I saw it could lead to all kinds of unpleasantness and I didn't want to be in the middle of it.

That girl and I don't keep in touch. I hear things about her from time to time. It's pretty clear that she's never dealt with the father issue. I try not to think about it too much but I'm not likely to forget it either. This kind of thing is like being in a train wreck and walking away but guilty ever after that you never did anything to save anyone else involved.

Showdown Upstate

They are having a special election next month, in the 23rd Congressional district, State of New York. There are parts of this district which haven't been represented by anybody but a Republican Congressman since before the Civil War. These are Northeasterners, fiscally conservative, not so socially conservative. The Republican candidate is a woman named Dede Scozzafava. She is no homophobe and believes that legal abortion is settled law. These are not radical beliefs. They are the law of the land and have been for some time.

The Republican party has broken ranks over her candidacy. Newt Gingrich and most of the old guard, Republican establishment, inside the beltway, support her. Sarah Palin, Fred Thompson, Dick Armey and the maverick heartland crew, have lined up behind a fundamentalist third party candidate.

None of these things is going to make any difference to the voters in the twenty third district of New York. They're going to vote the same way they would have anyway, probably for Dede.

The important thing here is the assertion now, by the fundamentalist, tea party faction of the Republican establishment, that there is no room for social moderates or a big tent in the future.

In time, the social conservatives will destroy the two party system as it has previously existed in American politics.

Pope Lover's Mother Expires

The Vatican community mourns the death of Gertud Ganswein, mother of Georg Ganswein, homosexual life partner of Pope Benedict. Everyone is sad about her death but glad that the Pope has found love and companionship in his old age. It cannot help but make him a better man and better Pope.

The Pope should address the Catholic laity openly and honestly about his sexuality and how he expresses it in his everyday life. All priests should be required to do this on a regular basis, so that those entrusted to their care can know whether they have legitimate concerns about the safety of themselves or loved ones from inappropriate sexual molestation, when alone in the presence of individual priests.

The Pope should announce the eligibility of women for ordination into the priesthood. He should also announce the end of the policy of so called priestly celibacy and allow priests to enter into marriage. It is unfair that currently, only homosexual priests are able to easily engage in sexual relationships and even these are necessarily covert and not always free of coercion.

Doesn't the Pope want all priests to be as domestically happy and sexually satisfied as he is? If not, why not?