Really interesting development in the lawsuit filed against Queen of Mean
Leona Helmsley by her former hotel manager, Charles Bell. Bell alleges he was
fired because of anti-gay bias. As this is New York City, that allegation
would make the firing illegal. However, Leona has defended herself by
pointing out that she has openly gay men among her most trusted long-time
staff. (There was even a horrifying picture of her trusted long-time staff in
the New York Daily News. Horrifying only in that I'm praying that there's not
a floral print waistcoat in my future.)

The front page of the Daily News today carries the enormous headline, "Leona's
Leather Nightmare." It seems that the 'other' aspect of Leona's defense is
that her former employee Charles Bell was not of the floral-waistcoat-wearing,
Manolo Blahnik loafer sporting, Cosmopolitan cocktail sipping, Barbra adoring
ilk of gay men, but rather was a leather clad, satyr-like goatee sporting,
shaved head gay men. In other words, he was into kink. And the Big Crime was
apparently filling up one of Leona's hotels with similar leather-clad gay men
for last year's Black Party.

The plot thickens. And so, we get snipets in the News such as Charles Bell
being grilled about just why exactly he shaves his head, and whether he was
aware that Leona became frightened while riding in the elevator with Mr.
Bell's 'friend' when he was decked out in heiffer skin.

Y'know, that's pretty alarming. I mean, here we are with the ink from the
Governor's signature not yet dry on New York State's Sexual Orientation
Non-Discrimination Act, when it becomes evident that if you indeed suspect
that your employee is kinky, you can fire him or her on the spot.

Fascinating.

In general, I think that discrimination laws can be disastrous. Why? Because
if you have an employee who is a member of a protected class (racial or ethnic
minority, female, older, disabled, and now, lesbian or gay), and that person
'just isn't working out' for whatever valid reasons, it's really, really
difficult to fire him or her. So, many employers, unless they're 100%
confident that the person is not going to be a problematic employee down the
road, will think twice about hiring a member of a protected class in the first
place. And, as American society has tended to become more and more tolerant
over the years, these laws can quickly become anachronistic. So, in an
environment when no employer would hire a 58-year-old African American
lesbian, they could help that woman get a job. But, in a society where the
average employer would not think twice about hiring someone because of age,
race or ethnicity, sex, or sexual orientation, those laws suddenly are working
against the woman.

So, I don't know that I'd be advocating laws protecting the rights of
people--such as me--who engage in 'alternative consensual sexual practices or
lifestyles,' but it does seem to me that there is a lot of education that
could be done. Yeah, even here in New York City.

* * * * * * *

A tearful goodbye this morning when I left the house. I won't see my boy-boy
(my Dog, that is) until I get back from MAL on Monday night. He will be in
the custody of our friends at Pet People. Once I'm down in DC, I won't be
thinking about it much. But I sort of dread coming home tonight, opening the
door, and walking into an empty apartment. He, of course, loves his Pet
People pals, and is perfectly happy to go spend a few days with them.

As with much of dog ownership, it's all about me.

* * * * *

Two replies so far to SingleTails' Snowball Road Rage contest. One snowball
hurling tyke was gunned down in Detroit (lotsa snow, lotsa guns), and the
other in the UK. Which surprises me. Not a lot of snow or guns there. So,
that's two Starbucks coffee cards I owe.

I'll post the text of the stories sometime soon. Duplicates don't qualify for
getting yourself a Starbucks Card.

And I guess I should be more clear about the other qualifications for me to
spend my hard earned money on a Coffee Card for you.

1. The snowball thrower must have been shot, and it must be fatal.
2. It had to have happened this winter, i.e., at some point since October.
3. The snowball thrower must be a miscreant youth. Therefore, I think that
18 would be the uppermost age limit. The fact that he or she is miscreant
goes without saying. The little prick was throwing snowballs, right?
4. It must have been reported by a generally recognized media outlet based on
factual reportage.

A special bonus will be awarded if there is anything in the article about the
snowball thrower "getting what he/she deserved."

Nota Bene: SingleTails readers are advised against either packing heat in the
hopes of assasinating a snowball throwing lad or lass, calling in a report to
the local news outlet, and thus earning yourself a coffee card; or in the
alternative, trying to get the local street youth riled up when the next
snowstorm hits and heading off to pelt the local drug dealer, Mafia don, or
unstable local nutjob whom you know to carry a sidearm. I'll know.