When I recently visited Hong Kong, one of my old friends there asked me why my blog always refers to Andrew Sullivan , whom he had never heard of. Liberal friends of mine ask me why I even read Sully at all. They all hate him. I remember many years ago how thrilled I was to learn that Andrew Sullivan was going to become its editor. He was young, something of a wunderkind, Oxford-educated, and open about his sexuality β something that at the time was simply unprecedented for such a visible position.
I felt betrayed, and I often felt like shouting back at his columns, I disagreed with him so vehemently. But whenever he wrote about social issues, I was always in total agreement. As much as he bothered me, I read him religiously.
I was a daily reader of his site long before the word Blog became part of the popular parlance. As usual, when he is on target he is the best commentator out there. When he goes into Republivcan attack-dog mode, which is sadly more the rule than the exception, I thoroughly loathe him.
I sometimes feel a twinge of guilt when I blast a Sullivan post, as I often do. Also, he was the one who put me on the map by linking to one of my most heartfelt posts back in January. I want to believe that he really knows, deep in his heart, how pooI guess maybe I hope that if I say it loud enough, Sullivan will hear me and, eventually, renounce his Republicanism and see the light.
The police insisted it was a model bust. After a one-hour trial, the judge announced his sentence: death. Before Jing could be executed, however, fortune handed him a reprieve. Lanzhou police arrested a dealer who admitted that he had helped officers set Jing up for a drug rap. Jing won a second trialβand the real story came out. The arresting officers had planted the heroin. Another shocker. I suspect we cannot begin to imagine. I need reminders like this every now and then to appreciate how fortunate I am to live in a free country.
