Thacker Wacked

That was quick. Jerry Thacker, Mr. "Deathstyle," and the most controversial nominee to President Bush's advisory committee on HIV and AIDS, has withdrawn from his position under pressure from advocacy groups. Thacker claims to have contracted HIV from his wife after a 1986 blood transfusion (and was apparently horrified that anybody might suspect him of being light in the loafers), and has spoken about using reparative therapy to cure the sin of homosexuality at his alma mater Bob Jones University. "Many people believe that AIDS is the judgment of God on our nation," reads a summary of Thacker's BJU speech, "but Mr. Thacker believes that homosexuality is the judgment of God on America." In front of the story as always, the Bush administration says, "The views that he holds are far, far removed from what the president believes… The president's view is that people with AIDS need to be treated with care, compassion." So Thacker's resignation may have been a done deal anyway. Thacker also has a black belt in karate and a brown belt in judo, and you can get an enormous picture of him here.