This is actually just another Alternet blog post, but I think it bears reading and watching. It’s so indicative of the double-speak used by so many on the rrr. And yes, I know double-speak goes on all over the political spectrum. It goes on all through life in all walks of life. But the Republicans and the rrr have taken this to new heights.

Apparently Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi thinks so. And so does the government of Italy.

Berlusconi, whose government survived a “no confidence” vote last week, was “involved” with a then-17 year old Moroccan runaway who was arrested for theft. Berlusconi had government officials “take custody” of her. When questioned about his involvement, Berlusconi told attendees at a trade fair in Milan  that it was “better to be passionate about a beautiful girl than a gay.”

So a homophobic, womanizing cheater is who the Italian government wants to represent them around the world. That’s fine. That’s their right. But his comments and the comments of his party who jumped to his defense demonstrate that the view of gays around the world is still very dire in many countries, even those considered “civilized”. (Well, hell, we knew that! Just look at how people in the US view gays— especially those in the rrr (radical religious right) and their mouthpieces.)