First it was accusations of incompetence and cronyism. Then, an endless stream of failed policy initiatives and scandals, which led over four years to a general public malaise; a perception that, with tacit support from the administration, corporations were raiding the cookie jar and destroying the middle class. Now, it seems that President Homa's advisors have come up with yet another 'sure thing' - a constitutional change that would make civil mating agreements between 'sexually undifferented' [same sex] individuals illegal.
The initial response to this initiative has been fairly muted. There are many, however, even in the President's own party, who regard it as nothing but a cynical attempt to re-energize the support of the fundamentalist religious groups who were instrumental in getting Homa elected. Thus, it would seem that this policy is doomed to fail, but not for the reason that one might think.
Macoma's population is, generally, well educated, self-indulgent, free spending, liberal, up to their eyeballs in debt, and in complete denial as to the fact that all is not well with their world. Huge trade deficits with other worlds, both in the Macoma and nearby star systems, resource shortages, and a burgeoning bureaucracy are being financed by printing money and selling high interest government bonds to whomsoever is crazy enough - or can be bullied - to buy them. The list is not a long one, and gets shorter every year. The populace has a lot of things on its mind, and undifferentiated sexual attributes union is not one of them. And now, it seems, all is not as it would appear to be with Jonis Homa. Rumors are starting to appear that not only has he had an extra-marital affair with one of his own cabinet members, but that El Presidente is also a closet swish. If this is so, Jonis Homa would, indeed, be living up to his claim that he is a President for the people. All of them, in fact, regardless of their sexual attributes. And that has his fundmentalist supporters in a quandry. If they attack him, his ability to put their agenda forward will cease. If they do not attack him, they will be seen in no less a cynical light than he is. It's a no win situation.
Accusing someone of being less than straight with the electorate is a serious matter in itself. To then accuse them of being indifferent to the gender of the individual they are harpooning, or being harpooned by, is beyond serious. It is..... WONDERFUL! So, how did this rumor arise?
The gubernatorial candidate for Kufi Province is a member of Macoma's Loyal Opposition Party. An ex-Dominatrix, she knows a thing or two about bondage, whipping, foot kissing, ass licking... oh, and non-differential harpooning. She has a gift, one might say. Well, I would, actually, since I'm a pretty good harpooner myself, once I strap on 'Big Red'! She's watched Homa for years, and has noted his prediliction for the word, 'FABULOUS'. Can it be as simple as that? Is that all she has? Well, no, as it happens, it isn't. She also claims to have provided undifferentiated harpooning services to him, prior to his election, and also worked him over more than once with her own, 'Big Red'. And if that wasn't bad enough, the extra-marital affair is alleged to have been with his own Secretary of Environmental Affairs, Tula Meech. Meech is known to be an adherant to a newly emerging religious sect, who dispute the claim put forward by the fundamentalists that the universe was created two thousand years ago, and is scheduled to end in fourteen years, six months, and three day's time. Now, this shouldn't be an issue, since it's never been much of a secret, and shouldn't preclude her from office, anyway. But it is a problem for those who take the religious scriptures seriously, and an even bigger problem for Homa if he's actually harpooning her.
