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October 21, 2007

ENDA don't MENDA

On a scale of one to Betty White, the Ellen DeGeneres Iggy Custody Story, unlike the off-the-charts Michael Vick dog-fight gambling story, is about a seven. And this is not just me talking. The home office has run the story through a rigorous, impartial, sampling process that included the Mitt Romney “Irish Setter in the Dog Carrier on Top of the Family Car Going on Ten Hour Ride to the Family Vacation” Story. They’ve been very thorough. The needle on the meter never even brushed eight.

Thanks to YouTube, I caught up on Ellen’s story. When I first heard about the dogfight, the cynical me wondered if it was Sweeps Week. This despite the fact that I have been treating my cyno-malaise with drugs and hot rocks massage. On day #3 of the saga, Ellen delivered a deftly impassioned call for acceptance and forgiveness and let’s move on dog org opening monologue. She mentioned the death threats and violence toward the Mutts and Moms Dog Rescue Shelter and said flatly, “It’s not okay.”

Ellen’s reasoned plea for everyone to sit and stay, could be a blueprint for warring factions everywhere. Condoleezza Rice who is doing the traditional, end of term, desperate, diplomatic shuttling for a Mideast solution might have learned a thing or two. I hope Condi has Tivo.

Watching the intensity of the first day, when Ellen broke down, I marvelled that she had shared none of this intense emotion when she came out, lost her sitcom, and surely struggled with the consequences of coming out. But that’s a lot to ask and really none of my beeswax.

And, full disclosure: I am not a dog person. When I was three, a big German shepherd jumped in my stroller and scared the bejesus out of me. A year later I saw a Boxer tear another dog’s ear off in a dusty, adrenalized swirl in my otherwise placid neighborhood. Dogs know I’m not a dog person, and each one tries to prove that she is not like those other dogs.

For the last few months I have been advocating that the genuine outrage dog lovers and the people who love them evince in these stories should be harnessed for other events people don’t seem to care about at all. I tried to get Nancy Pelosi to use, “Puppies don’t have healthcare,” to override W’s veto of SCHIP.

Ironically, while this Iggy top story rules the week, in Washington DC, GLBTs are trying to pass ENDA, the Employee Non-Discrimination Act. Or actually, they are trying NOT to pass ENDA. How weird is that? The bill had languished around for years under the slobbying efforts of HRC, but suddenly gained a new leash on life, when Rep. Barney Frank tried to get it out of committee, minus the provision for ending discrimination against our Ts, transsexuals. And why now? I bet you can get ENDA with a T when W is gone.

On a scale of one to Renee Richards, it’s not okay.

Three hundred and two organizations have signed an endorsement to re-introduce transsexual protection to the bill. Wisconsin’s fearless Rep.Tammy Baldwin motioned to put trans protection back in the bill.

It’s a wicked mess. How about “Labradoodles need rights too!”?

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