Gay shame

I have never been a fan of parades. I don't remember ever deliberately going to attend one. I have, however, accidently come across a few. I happened to go to downtown Orleans, France on one Joan of Arc Day. I must have left quickly, because I don't recall any of the features. I assume there was a teenage girl on a horse.

I have been briefly caught up downtown in our pleasant little town when I had gone to the post office and a parade broke out, and I remember one 4th of July when the kids and I found ourselves in a tiny town in some midwestern state whose name probably ended in -as. That parade was about 50 yards long and featured a bad school band, the obligatory fire truck, and a teenage girl on a horse.

Although in none of those parades did I see any naked people, the AP reports, "The 41st annual gay pride parade filled downtown San Francisco with color, music and more than a little nudity on Sunday." What is it with their obsession with embarrassment?

FYI: Free Speech TV (Dish 9415) is having its latest pledge drive. You know what free speech is, don't you? It's articulating what they believe, and pointing out how stupid you are if you disagree. I do enjoy their Aljazeera News, however.