BDSM RTV MEDIA NEWS!!!!



31 jan 2010



Tough titties for bondage columnist running for office



Source: trueslant.com  - True/Slant - USA


The 2010 40th district race for State House rep has been called historic for two reasons: this is the first time two openly gay candidates are running against each other (there are 14 gay candidates on the ballot this February 2nd), and second because this is the first time a bondage columnist is running for office.


Joe Laiacona, a part-time computer science teacher at Columbia College by day and leather master named Jack Rinella by night, is running against incumbent Deborah Mell. If that last name sounds familiar, it’s because Deb Mell is Blagojevich’s sister-in-law, and was the only one to vote against the governor’s impeachment. Deb Mell is also the daughter of Alderman Richard Mell, the driving force” behind Blagojevich’s win as governor.

You would think that given the choice between more family dynasty (especially a family associated with Blago) and an outsider, you’d think the public would choose the outsider. You would think that given the choice between a millionaire’s daughter” and someone from the middle class, the public would vote for the person from the middle class. Except there’s that whole bondage issue that no one talks about, just giggles about over drinks.

Chicagoans are more comfortable with a family associated with Blagojevich than they are with kinky sex.
The Chicago Reader has been the only media outlet to write a whole article on Laiacona, and they even question his “viability” in an under-the-table sort of way:

Even some people in his own community are debating Laiacona’s political viability. In the inaugural edition of DungeonPlace.com’s FetishCast podcast, after a segment on whether sadomasochists should be considered experts on military torture, hosts Meow, Gryphon, Goddess, Tutivillus, and DarlingEvil discussed his campaign and what impact his work might have on his bid for state representative.

“This is a man that’s been open in the community,” said DarlingEvil. “[I]s the mainstream . . . going to look at that and say, ‘Is this someone we want representing us in our government?”

Then again, Gryphon joked later, in Chicago politics, he just might be “the lesser evil.”

via Chicago Reader, A Kink in the Campaign”
Except no one thinks Laiacona is the lesser of two evils. Last fall, it looked like Deb Mell would be kicked off the ballot because she wasn’t registered to vote in her district, causing Laiacona to file a petition to remove her. It was ultimately unsuccessful:

"And how did this “open-and-shut case” go Mell’s way? Well, according to Goodman’s reading, “There is no express requirement in . . . the election code that specifically requires that a candidate be a registered or qualified voter,” Goodman wrote. “Even if there is an implied requirement that a candidate be a registered or qualified voter, there is no requirement that the candidate be registered to vote at the address listed on the candidate’s nomination.”

via Chicago Reader, ” Who Deserves to be Disqualified?”
And Mell continues to rack up the wins. Gay Chicago Magazine recently endorsed Mell, for reasons I say have to do with Mell being the safer gay. The gist of Gay Chicago Magazine’s reasoning had more to do with her being effective at governing because of all her connections, and while that is a valid point (she knows how to work the system and that’s a good thing?) I’m not buying it. The general public is afraid to talk about anything that has to do with sex, god forbid we start talking S&M! Gay Chicago Magazine endorsing Mell must be a slap in Laiacona’s face, considering he used to write for them.

Besides Gay Chicago Magazine, the Chicago Tribune has also endorsed Mell. Joe Laiacona has not been interviewed by either the Chicago Tribune or the Sun-Times, nor has either publication written more than a blurb about him in relation to Mell. I guess neither paper finds him newsworthy?

Recently, The Lavender Menace over on ChicagoNow wrote a piece on how “Mell needs OUR support”, because goodness, it’s not like Mell has enough support already! Every other house in my neighborhood has a Deb Mell sign, and I have yet to see a Laiacona sign any where.

When I ask people in my neighborhood if they know about Laiacona, they either blink and ask who that is, or laugh and say “That bondage guy. Right. He’s not going to win”.