The Republicans just lost another member of Congress to hypocrisy. Virginia Rep. Ed Schrock, co-sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment and ranked by the National Journal as the second most conservative member of Congress, abruptly resigned today. It appears he was outed on a website for being gay.

...several voicemail messages he left on a phone sex service came into the posession of gay activists, who posted one on their blog. Schrock said only: “In recent weeks, allegations have surfaced that have called into question my ability to represent the citizens of Virginia’s Second Congressional Distict.” He would not elaborate on the allegations.

Raw Story’s transcript of the tape is as follows (click here for audio file.

“Uh, hi, I weigh 200 pounds, I’m 6′4″ (inaudible) blond hair….very muscular, very buffed up, uh, very tanned, uh, I just like to get together a guy from time to time, just to, just to play. I’d like him to be in very good shape, flat stomach, good chest, good arms, well hung, cut, uh, just get naked, play, and see what happens, nothing real heavy duty, but just, fun time, go down on him, he can go down on me, and just take it from there… hope to hear from you. Bye.”

Atrios, Brian and Tom of Campaign Desk , Markos of Daily Kos , Matt Yglesias, Jerome of MyDD --we're all here at the Tank with our laptops--the Wi-Fi works great, there's pizza, beer and cokes, and its so much more relaxed than the Fleet Center. No security police, no long wait lines to get from point A to point B, no repetitive theme songs blaring and we can have actual conversations.

When the speeches start they will be displayed on the wall. But, by then we'll be gone. We're heading to the Planned Parenthood event featuring Moby, Lewis Black and others.

Best t-shirt tonight: "No Bush, No Dick."

For anyone who's interested, here's where the Repubs will be congregating tonight--before heading to the Garden:

• Karl Rove parties with the College Republicans at Windfall Bar and Grill (23 W. 39th St., 5 p.m.)
• Grover Norquist hails pols who've signed his tax pledge at the New York Yacht Club (5 p.m.)
• Ed Gillespie is the guest of honor at Guastavino (409 E. 59th St., 6 p.m.)
• Wachovia serves up cocktails for Eric Cantor at the New York Public Library (5th Ave. & 32nd St., 6 p.m.)
  *Newsweek takes over the Four Seasons Grill Room (99 E. 52nd St., 6 p.m.)

(from the National Journal Convention Alert)

TalkLeft and the TL kid will be blogging from The Tank in about an hour.

Thanks to all of you who contributed to TalkLeft's New York blogging trip. I will be sending each of you a thank you email as soon as I return. As they did last month for Boston, TalkLeft readers made this trip possible and I am thrilled and humbled that readers think highly enough of the site to help out.

Send good thoughts to Josef Gräßle-Münscher, the chief criminal defense attorney for accused terrorist Mounir el Motassadeq . He had a serious motorcycle accident this weekend. According to reports in the German press it is unlikely that he will survive.

He was born in 1946 in Bavaria and is practicing in Hamburg. His is one of the main criminal defense attorneys who have specialised in defending accused
terrorists.

Lawyers who fight to protect the rights of the most despised among us are ensuring that those rights will be there for you when you need them. Our prayers go out to him and his family.

It was only a matter of time. Remember, this is the city Rudy Guliani cleaned up by throwing the little people in jail--from National Journal Convention Alerts:

The New York City Police Department has evicted street vendors from 24 square blocks in the vicinity of Madison Square Garden. In banning street sales between 27th and 35th streets, from 6th to 9th avenues, city officials say they acted out of worry about pedestrian traffic. Vendors note that other businesses were not shuttered, and complain that the GOP is costing them money. "We've got to pay the rent at the end of the month," grumbled hot dog vendor Abdul Prince. "Mr. Bush is not going to pay the rent."

For up to date coverage of the protests, check out the Nation's New York Minutes--Street Heat.

Say hello to Culture Kitchen with up to the minute scheduling events:

At 4pm is the Shut-Up-Athon and at 8pm is the Evildoers remix at Postmasters Gallery (19th Street, 9/10 avenues). There's a big bloggers event with John Perry Barlow, Wonkette, Jeff Jarvis and others at PS 122 and a whole lotta parties throughout the week as well. And we need guerilla dancers for Barlow's gig.

I'm going to be wandering around the streets for a few hours. Here's an open thread for convention-related thoughts.

[For new readers, please refrain from name-calling and profanity, and if you post urls, please put them in html format.]

Can you imagine if every U.S.Independence Day we released all the rehabilitated prisoners--- if our Government put humane considerations above the economic benefits of the prison machinery? On Independence Day in Vietnam,

Vietnam has released nearly 9,000 prisoners, including 10 inmates whose cases it says had drawn international attention, as part of traditional pardons granted ahead of independence celebrations on September 2.

Foreign ministry officials told a news conference the release of the 8,611 prisoners reflected their ``good rehabilitation records'' and the ``humane tradition'' of Vietnam. Fifty-one foreigners were among those released.

I really hadn't planned on listening to, let alone writing about the Republican Convention speeches. I have a particlular visceral dislike for Rudy Guliani, who speaks tonight. I'm much more interested in what the Democrats' response will be and in any security and law enforcement issues that arise.

But here's a heads-up for those of you who feel compelled to watch: The speakers are expected to be far more moderate than the very conservative delegates to whom they are speaking. The Republican platform is very conservative on social issues like gay marriage and abortion. Mainstream media is predicting tension between the delegates and speakers on these issues that may become evident during the speeches.

There was no such disharmony during the Democratic convention. The speakers and the delegates (with rare exception) were one.

Unable to portray itself as a party of unity, the Republicans now say they are a cohesive unit "under a large and diverse tent." I don't think you will see any dissension during the speeches. Republicans are too good at hiding the truth.

Joshua Kinberg of Bikes Against Bush was showing his technologically equipped bicycle to MSNBC's Ron Regan when he got arrested. Reagan tried to tell the cop that Kinberg didn't do anything illegal while he was being interviewed, and that since the cop arrived in the middle of the interview, he couldn't have seen what he claimed to have seen, which was Kinberg's bike streaking white chalk messages on the pavement.

Kinberg spent more than 24 hours in jail and then returned to Herald Square where the MSNBC team is headquartered, to blog his experience for Hardblogger, including a description of his stay at "The Tombs."

For journalists covering the convention, don't think NYPD's finest will give you a pass. The National Journal convention alert wants you to know that if it happens, help is a phone call away--24/7:

There already have been more arrests in New York than during the entire Dem convention, but to date no reporters have landed in the can. Just in case, though, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press has arranged legal help for credentialed press covering the convention. Attorneys from Levine, Sullivan, Koch & Schulz, LLP will be available via the 24-hour "Media Hotline" to offer cost-free legal advice and representation with regard to convention access and coverage. The hotline phone number is (212) 850-6122.