-----Original Message-----
From: Luke Sent: Friday, March 19, 2004 11:36 AM
To: Michael
Subject: we have a new winner


i need some duct-tape to keep my head from splitting.

i think this is the story (as reported by gay365 at least)

1. there is 'law, 5 USC 2302(b)(10), prohibits discrimination against federal employees or job applicants on the basis of off-duty conduct that does not affect job performance.'

2. the OSC's (Office of Special Counsel) primary mission is "to safeguard the merit system in federal employment by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially reprisal for whistleblowing."

3. Before being nominated by President Bush as Special Counsel, Scott Bloch was deputy director of the Justice Department’s Task Force for Faith-based and Community Initiatives.

4. bloch sez “People confuse conduct and sexual orientation as the same thing, and I don’t think they are,”

5. he then acknowledges that it would be against the law to punish someone for going to a pride march (eg) becuase conduct isnt relevant.

6. now carefully watch the switcheroo - becuase conduct is protected, he splits off sexual orientation as being separate to conduct, and now *any federal employee* can be sacked - not cos what they do outside the office, but simply becuase they are gay. (its not clear whether he thinks sexual orientation is fixed - more probably a disease.)

these articles miss the 2 scary larger points tho:
a) the precedent is set that people can be discriminated against by what they "are". the same logic can presumably be used against anyone. "of course you are allowed to protest, you just arent allowed to be a protestor" (or a liberal or a peacenik or a foreigner or a woman)
b) im not sure how one measures 'sexual orientation', and im not sure which orientations are prohibited, and im not sure where the burden of proof lies. self-nomination? blacklist? if 'orientation' is the crime, then 'dont ask, dont tell' wont be sufficient. you dont even have to be out. u could be celibate. you could be a virgin. or unmarried at a suspicious age. but if john ashcroft can divine your sexuality ("i can just tell"), then u are toast.



shit shit shit - i just lost a lot of my email somehow.... damn! im sure u can guess the rest...



creepier by the minute