Yet another example of why some version of ENDA needs to be passed as soon as possible: an attorney at the Justice Department who received the highest possible reviews may have been let go at the direction of Regent University Law School grad/Christianist wingnut Monica Goodling (pictured at left) based on rumors the attorney was a lesbian. While "purists" who want 100% protection for all LGBT citizens or nothing, people like Leslie Hagan are being fired from their jobs on a daily basis because of anti-gay discrimination. As I have said before, securing employment non-discrimination protections for millions should not be delayed by self-anointed gay rights "leaders" who do not speak for many of us. Meanwhile, Goodling and similar Regent Law graduates symbolize the problem of the policies of the Chimperator and his minions who approve appointees based on religious fanatiscm and/or party affiliation rather than basic competence. If anyone was incompetent for their position, in my opinion, it was Monica Goodling. Here are story highlights from NPR (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89288713):
The Justice Department's inspector general is investigating whether a career attorney in the department was dismissed from her job because of rumors that she is a lesbian. The case grew out of a larger inquiry into the firings of U.S. attorneys and politicization at Justice under former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Several people interviewed by the inspector general's staff described the case to NPR and said they came away with the impression that the Attorney General's office decided not to renew Leslie Hagen's contract because of the talk about her sexual orientation. Hagen received the highest possible ratings for her work as liaison between the Justice Department and the U.S. attorneys' committee on Native American issues. Her final job evaluation lists five categories for supervisors to rank her performance. For each category, a neat X fills the box marked, "Outstanding." And at the bottom of the page, under "overall rating level," she also got the top mark: Outstanding.
Hagen would not comment for this story, but her job evaluation is consistent with what many others have said about her. A dozen former colleagues, inside and outside of the Justice Department, were interviewed for this story. They worked above, below and side by side with Hagen. Each one raved about her work.
Justice Department e-mails obtained by NPR show that Gonzales's senior counsel Monica Goodling had a particular interest in Hagen's duties. A few months before Hagen was let go, according to one e-mail, Goodling removed part of Hagen's job portfolio — the part dealing with child exploitation and abuse. Goodling, who left the Justice Department last year, declined through her lawyer to comment on the matter.
So, what was Goodling's problem with Hagen? The Justice Department's inspector general is looking into whether Hagen was dismissed after a rumor reached Goodling that Hagen is a lesbian. As one Republican source put it, "To some people, that's even worse than being a Democrat." Someone who worked in Hagen's office says that in a 2006 meeting, senior officials were told that Hagen's contract would not be renewed because someone on the attorney general's staff had a problem with Hagen. The problem, it was suggested during the conversation, was sexual orientation — or what was rumored to be Hagen's sexual orientation. One person at the meeting asked, "Is that really an issue?" But the decision had been made.
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