With the Oscars over, we are entering a period of award show withdrawal. The Golden Globes are done... The Tonys aren't until June... The Emmys are in August. What's an award show junkie to do? We invent one out of thin air! So here we have the Hypocrisy Awards (Hypos for short) for the political set.

The winner in the "self-loathing" category goes to Roy Ashburn, state senator for CA. He has been a loud staunch advocate for Prop 8, and has a history of anti-gay votes. So naturally he's gay, right? Of course - he was arrested for engaging in sex while driving. The person he was doing the deed with was also a man. How is this different than Larry Craig, et al? They continued to aver (to great hilarity) that they were straight. Roy Ashburn, however, acknowledges he's gay, but is still voting against his own nature and his right to act on it, and will continue to do so. He's also the father of 4. Family Values anyone?

Speaking of Family Values, we have a tie between US House Republicans, and selected Republicans in the Oklahoma state house.

First up, the party that cares so much about the fetus, and wants to prevent a woman and doctor from acting on a personal medical decision doesn't seem to care so much about that clump of cells once they develop into school-aged children. Remember the news item about the child in the special needs school who hung himself after being locked in a room by himself several times for most of the school day? The Democrats want to ensure that sort of "punishment" doesn't occur again, so they've proposed a law to ensure that a minimum standard of decency is maintained:

Since the Dems proposed it, the Reps are against it. They claim to be worried about a "government takeover" of public schools. Not buying it guys - it seems that politics are more important than children's lives. Typical...

The other Family Values offender winner is the Republican wing of the OK state house. The party that claims to want to protect the "sanctity of marriage" by using government rules to prevent gays from marrying (in most cases by amending state constitutions) is fighting a bill that will require one hour of counseling before couples can divorce. One of them had the gall to ask "How far do I want government to come into my home and your home about private personal matters?" It would be interesting to find out his positions on gay marriage and recreational drug use.

The Best of Show award, however, goes to Sarah Palin (at this rate, she'll get the Lifetime Achievement award at the youngest age ever). Leading the charge against health care reform (she is credited with launching the term "death panels" into the zeitgeist), it should come as no surprise then that she was the beneficiary of single-payer healthcare when she was younger. On top of that, Todd Palin is considered "Native American", so he and his family can take advantage of free healthcare (ie: socialized medicine) that is provided via the tribes. Of course, you can't fault her for what her parents did when she was young, or the accident of Todd's birth. However, you can point out that she has (and is) enjoying the type of health care that she is actively trying to deny to her fellow Americans.

The common thread through all of these? No self-recognition of their hypocrisy (no Sarah, it isn't "ironic", it's "hypocritical" - there's a difference).

So that's hour show for today. Join us for the next awards show, ... when we happen to notice another synchronicity of shamelessness.