“Normally, I don’t think coming out of the closet is a big deal in this day and age. But when you’re a well known Russian or a world class athlete, you deserve a tip of the hat at the very least.”
CAREFUL WHAT WE WISH FOR
Woah Nelly! I was just chasing some stories before starting this column and I came across this gem of a quote from Doug Mastriano, a real keeper who won the GOP governor’s primary in Pennsylvania, with the help of strategic Democrats:
“You degenerate pagans and atheists and non-believers went way too far with the COVID nonsense, with shutting down our churches and forcing our kids to be masked, and forcing us to get vaccinated with some mystery goop in order to keep our jobs and provide for our families. You pushed us too far, and now we’re going to take dominion of this country, of our culture, of news, of entertainment, of technology, of education, of everything for the glory of Jesus Christ, our king. It’s just that simple.”
Settle down there, brother!
Mastriano is running against state attorney general Josh Shapiro, who leads by about six points and has an 80 percent change of winning, according to the guys at fivethirtyeight. That sounds good but I still wouldn’t mind it if someone caught him in the back room of a gay sex club covered with mystery goop one of these days. As I mentioned, he was one of those primary candidates who was backed by Democrats under the theory that he’d be easy to beat in a general election. They damn well better be right.
A FEW CLOUDS BLOCKING OUT THE SILVER
Joe Biden’s Health and Human Services Department has finalized a policy mandate that restores GLBT anti-discrimination protection to Obamacare, and also extends it to Medicare Part B, the main section of Medicare that covers health care outside a hospital. Before you jump up and down with glee, there are a few clouds blocking out the silver.
First, just as Trump reversed Obama’s interpretation of anti-bias language in the Affordable Care Act, the next GOP president can reverse Biden’s rules. Second, even without such a step, the current High Court has frowned on the idea that courts should take their legal cues from governing agencies. Third, most everything that Biden does is followed by rightwing lawsuits, and this will be no exception. Indeed, it’s already been challenged before a hard right judge in Texas, who said a lawsuit against the directives could proceed even though the policy had not been formalized and the plaintiff doctors did not practice in the area.
In another recent example from our litigious enemies, a federal judge blocked enforcement of the Biden administration’s trans-friendly view of Title IX, the ban on sex discrimination in public education. Both the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Office and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said last year that Title IX’s language automatically covers gay and transgender citizens, much as the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that Title VII’s ban on sex discrimination in the workplace includes sexual orientation and gender. These opinions were like water on a duck’s back to Trumpy judge Charles Atchley, who issued a preliminary injunction against the policy on July 15 from a Tennessee federal court. Later that day, he spent the afternoon on his porch, sitting in a rocking chair in a white suit drinking whisky and shooting at a litter of barn kittens with an antique pistol.
No, of course that’s not true, but you wondered for a second. The bottom line is that everything Biden does can be forestalled by conservative courts and/or reversed by future conservative administrations. And even when the High Court appears to issue definitive guidance, hostile lower courts can distort or ignore that guidance through semantic games or pure argle-bargle. Only an act of Congress has staying power, and we have seen how easy it is for Democrats to pass progressive bills through the Senate.
Before we end this subject, I had a pleasant surprise while browsing through legal headlines this morning. On July 21, a federal court in Maryland ruled that tax exempt private schools are subject to the aforementioned Title IX since the exemption amounts to a receipt of public funds. Back in the day, Oral Roberts University lost its tax exempt status due to an array of racist policies such as a ban on interracial dating and the like. I won’t hold my breath for gay bias to cost one of these Christian colleges, but it’s a step in the right direction…assuming Title IX means what we all think it means.
THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS
Did you see that Daria Kasatkina, Russia’s top woman tennis player came out of the closet the other day? Normally, I don’t think coming out of the closet is a big deal in this day and age. But when you’re a well known Russian or a world class athlete, you deserve a tip of the hat at the very least. Kasatkina is the 12th best female tennis player, and reached the semifinals at Roland Garros a couple of months ago. “Living in peace with yourself is the only thing that matters, fuck everyone else,” she told an interviewer, according to the Associated Press. “I believe it is important that influential people from sports, or any other sphere really speak about it. It is important for young people who have a hard time with society and need support.” Speak your mind, Girl. Nice!
Meanwhile, Russian politicians are thinking of expanding their rigid laws against “promoting homosexuality.” Currently, the law that forbids any talk or protest that would encourage gay activities is directed to minors. Now, the plan is to enact a blanket ban on any and all positive discussion of GLBT culture anywhere in society. “We propose to generally extend the ban on such propaganda regardless of the age of the audience (offline, in the media, on the internet, social networks and online cinemas),” said the head of the State Duma’s information committee, Alexander Khinshtein, on Telegram. n
