I don't want to inconvenience you

I tried to "publish" a few of these posts yesterday, but the Blogger site apparently went down in the middle of my first attempt.

I mentioned in my previous postings that Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum to provide more benefits to gay federal employees. I also mentioned the exercise fell flat. Here are some reasons why:

* A Presidential Memorandum (different from an Executive Order) lasts only while that particular president is in office.

* This particular memo essentially tells the heads of various agencies, "Please, would you mind trying to find some benefits to give to gay employees, ones that don't run afoul of the Defense of Marriage Act? If it's not too much trouble…"

* Most department heads already grant all the benefits they can and have done so since the Clinton era.

* These benefits are mostly on the order of bereavement leave and relocation expenses.

* Those department heads that didn't (such as State) have already announced new benefits (gay partners of DoS employees can now use American medical facilities while overseas).