Run Todd, Run!

GLBT Week in Review August 23, 2012
BY ANN ROSTOW


Run Todd, Run!

Before we start, let’s clarify something about the word “rape.” It’s not true that you can’t parse the word. It is true that some rapes are worse than others. Statutory rape involving consensual teenagers is not what we think of when we use the word. And as horrible as it may be, alcoholic fueled date rape seems different from the scenario where a stranger grabs you in an alley and pulls out a knife. Gang rape, meanwhile, seems even more traumatic than other varieties.

Of course, these distinctions don’t really matter. The impact of rape is not tied to the level of physical injury or fear. It’s tied to the profound violation of the act itself, however and wherever it occurs.

That said, the real problem with Mr. Akin is his implied belief that rape is not such a tragic event unless the scenario involves a Christian woman of good character who is suddenly and brutally confronted by a vicious criminal. These are the women with the capacity to shut down their reproductive systems in terror. As for the floosies, the loose women, the feminists, the girls who have had a few drinks, they’re not really damaged during a so-called “rape.” They used bad judgment. And look! The proof is that their bodies didn’t seem to mind the intrusion because they got pregnant just the same.

This Congressman doesn’t just represent an extreme pro-life viewpoint. He represents the extreme misogyny and sexism that we thought we left behind us many decades ago. Witness his overlooked remark that “there should be some punishment” for rape, emphasis on “some” as if the possibility exists that society might simply dismiss the matter. The Akin controversy is not about whether or not Republicans support a rape exception to their anti-abortion policy. It’s about whether or not the Party is infused with a deep disdain for the average woman.

As for Akin, we have also learned this week that the man is a narcissist of the highest order, casting aside the entreaties of his political partners out of blind ego. Democrats around the country are in his debt for that.

But before we leave the subject of Congressmen behaving badly, what do you think of the Kansas guy who took a nude dip in the Sea of Galilee last summer? When I first heard about it, I thought it was pretty funny. What later brought me up short was the news that while a large group jumped into the sacred sea, Kevin Yoder was the only one who stripped down to his birthday suit.

Say what? It’s one thing to break from the crowd, rip off your clothes and plunge into the local waters in a gleeful moment of nighttime spontaneity. It’s another thing when all of your buddies are frolicking around in their boxers and bras, to decide that you alone will expose your member to the members. Why do that?

Finally, I’ve always assumed that when you’re elected to Congress, junkets and boondoggles are part of the job. Fine, fine. Have a little fun as long as you also put in a few late nights drafting legislation, negotiating across the aisle, making a few compromises and passing some bills. For these bozos to do absolutely nothing for over a year, for them to nearly derail our economy for no reason, for them to posture and pose and then fly off to have dinner and drinks on the Israeli coast--- that pisses me off.
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DOMA’s Doomed

Boy, it’s getting crowded over there on the Supreme Court’s petition board. Earlier this week, the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders asked the Court to take direct review of the Pedersen case, a federal challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act out of Connecticut that was recently settled by a lower court judge who found that DOMA was unconstitutional.

The Supremes are now considering petitions for four DOMA cases, of which only one is technically ripe for review. The Massachusetts DOMA case was decided in our favor by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in May. As expected, it was then appealed to the nine justices.

But we didn’t necessarily expect that our side would then ask the Court to take direct review of three other victories against DOMA that had yet to face a federal appellate panel. In California, Lambda asked the Court to hear the Golinski case. In New York, the ACLU asked the Court to take on Windsor. And now, GLAD has petitioned for Pedersen to leapfrog intermediate review. Since each of these suits contain different mixtures of facts and issues, we are hoping that the Court will take them all and give DOMA the fullest possible analysis.

It goes without saying that most legal analysts believe the Court, like almost every federal judge who has evaluated the 1996 law, will find that DOMA violates Equal Protection, and maybe the Due Process Clause.

The justices meet to consider petitions in late September, so we’ll soon discover whether or not they will accept one or more DOMA cases. They will also be considering whether to take review of the Prop 8 case. And finally, they’ll be looking at a Ninth Circuit ruling that upheld a preliminary injunction blocking Arizona from cutting partner benefits for gay state staff.

That last sentence was a mouthful. Or maybe a word-processor-full. But far better to stuff the Arizona details into one sentence than to discuss it at length, don’t you think?

I realize that I am constantly rehashing the contents of the Supreme Court’s gay plate, but first of all, it’s important. And second, we keep piling on new ingredients. If you find it tedious, please know that I am skipping over all sorts of related items, including news of briefs, motions and appellate court schedules that may become moot.

You’re welcome!
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Death Be Not Ridiculous

I just read about a U.S. Open tennis referee who has been arrested for killing her 80-year-old husband with a coffee cup. I guess the woman tried to pass off his death as an accident, but eventually police became suspicious. A bizarre piece of news on many levels, but surely not a case of premeditated murder. You simply cannot deliberately plan to kill someone with a mug.

Or who knows? I saw one of the most absurd plots on CSI Miami the other day. This woman lures a giant alligator into a man’s swimming pool using some kind of meat as bait. Later, the man gets in without looking, turns his back and leans over the edge facing away from the pool, and gets eaten by the alligator! But how could she have assumed that her target would not notice a twelve-foot alligator in a small swimming pool?

It’s like the killers in early James Bond movies who try to kill 007 by releasing a cobra or a tarantula into his hotel suite. Why don’t they just shoot him?
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Let’s Get Real

Moving on, we have yet another case of faked gay bashing, this time from a thirty-something former Nebraska women’s basketball star who carved antigay slurs on her own body and presented herself to the world as a bloody victim of violent discrimination. You may remember the man from a week or so ago who got drunk, attempted a Gabby Douglas-inspired back flip on the sidewalk, and landed facedown on the curb. He then told police he was gay bashed, temporarily winning love and support from the GLBT community in Missoula, Montana, until a video of his inept gymnastic appeared on You tube.

This time, the unhinged grandstander is Charlie Rogers, who came up with a wild story to explain her injuries on July 22. Four days earlier, USA Today reports, Rogers wrote a Facebook post that read: “maybe I am too idealistic, but I believe way deep inside me that we can make things better for everyone. I will be a catalyst. I will do what it takes. I will. Watch me,”

Rogers told police that she was attacked in her house by masked men who carved a cross in her chest and slurs on her legs and stomach. But Rogers had already shown someone the cross carving days earlier, and receipts from Ace Hardware showed she herself had purchased the box cutter and gloves that were found at her house. The various “crime scene” items, including the gloves, contained DNA from Rogers, and none from any male.

After weekend rallies in support of Rogers, four statewide gay groups released a statement praising police with doing a thorough job of investigating the incident and urging the community at large not to focus on the actions of any one individual.

Come on, guys! Shooting up the Family Research Council headquarters and inventing hate crimes in not exactly the community image we need, now is it?

But speaking of hate crimes, here’s a nice story from Roanoke, Virginia, where a local college student had his car vandalized four times this year with antigay scratchings. Try as he might, Jordan Addison could not restore the car’s surface, and the estimate for a full repair was an unaffordable $2,500. In stepped auto body shop owner Richard Henegar, who fixed the car for free. Henegar was then joined by a dozen other local business owners, who chipped in for $10,000 worth of extra work to make the car sparkle. Addison said the car looks better than he’d ever seen.

Just as hate crimes are so deemed because they have a visceral impact on a whole community, so lovely gestures like this one operate in reverse, giving a lift to every GLBT person in Roanoke—and beyond I might add. I feel it. Thanks Roanoke.
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A Little Dignity, Please

There’s a story on my list about a mean father who left money for all his grandchildren in his will except for the progeny of his gay son. That son is required by the will to marry the mother of his children in order for any of them to inherit. This means that he and his partner’s son will miss out on a six-figure trust.

But instead of talking about that (because what can you say?) I’m drawn to the openly gay Minnesota state legislator who was caught having sex with a 17-year-old boy in the woods near a highway rest stop. Democratic Rep. Kerry Gauthier did not break any laws, since the age of consent in the Land of a Thousand Lakes is 16. But the man is 56!

And let’s be honest. I know you guys love to trick and treat. But rolling around at the highway rest stop with a teenager that you picked up online is a tad tacky for a 50-something state legislator, n’est-ce pas? Gauthier has not commented on the scandal. And last week, he spent several days in the hospital experiencing shortness of breath, UPI reports.

Let’s wrap this up with the news that Singapore’s highest court will consider whether or not to uphold the nation’s sodomy ban, now that an appellate court has questioned the law. That would be something, wouldn’t it? Isn’t Singapore the place where it’s illegal to chew gum in public?

I was also intrigued and disturbed by the three women at a Delaware child care center who arranged toddler fights and video taped themselves urging the little ones to battle. “He pinched me!” one cried. “No pinching!” warned one of the refs. “Just punching.” Did they place bets?

And more good news about red wine, which can help senior mobility and reduce the likelihood of falls. Bring on the Pinot Noir, by all means. And send a note to the famous committee that’s going to determine how to streamline Medicare costs. Maybe a small wine subsidy would be in order. It’s cheaper than a hip replacement.
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You can reach Ann at arostow@aol.com.