Bloch Head

This is utterly ridiculous:

Special counsel Scott J. Bloch told a Senate panel yesterday that he lacks the legal authority to enforce the Bush administration's ban on discrimination against federal employees based on sexual orientation.

If a federal manager fires, reassigns or takes some other action against an employee simply because that employee is gay, there is nothing in federal law that would permit the Office of Special Counsel to protect the worker, Bloch testified before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs subcommittee on oversight of government management, the federal workforce and the District of Columbia.

"We are limited by our enforcement statutes as Congress gives them," Bloch said, responding to a question from Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.). "The courts have specifically rejected sexual orientation as a class protection."

Right. It has nothing to do with the institutionalized homophobia of which the Bush administration reeks, or Bloch’s own personal issues with gays and lesbians, even though Bloch (who was appointed by Bush in January of last year) has been repeatedly accused of failing to enforce the long-standing federal employment policy against bias based on sexual orientation and taking punitive action against whistle-blowers. It’s just those darn courts. And I think Block really proved that it has nothing to do whatsoever with his personal biases when he was asked whether he would recommend that Congress extend protections to include sexual orientation but declined to take a position. He might as well have said, “See, if you do that, though, I won’t be able to claim my hands are tied anymore!” Disingenuous prick.

Referring to Bloch’s “insensitive” ultimatum issued to 12 career employees that they either accept reassignments to Dallas, Oakland, and Detroit offices with 10 days’ notice or be terminated, Senator George Voinovich (R-OH) noted (rather limply):

"I hope that because of this incident you've learned something in terms of taking a little more time in doing it."

Bloch’s response?

"Yes, Senator…I'm learning new things every day."

Well, my little learnin’ friend, here’s a lesson for you: STOP DISCRIMINATING AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS.

Okay, I guess that’s not as much a “lesson” as a “demand.” Tomato, tomahto.

Just knock it off, Bloch, you smug, arrogant, nasty homophobe.