Insult to Injury

This sounds like a great headline: U.S. to Extend Its Job Benefits to Gay Partners. But hold your applause:

President Obama will sign a presidential memorandum on Wednesday to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees, administration officials said Tuesday evening, but he will stop short of pledging full health insurance coverage.

Mr. Obama, in an Oval Office announcement, is expected to offer details about which benefits will be provided.

So, what exactly are these extended benefits going to be, if not health insurance? I guess we'll find out soon enough. But hold your applause:

Pam: It gets so much worse. This partner benefit plan is simply an administrative memo - it expires when Obama leaves office! LOLOLOL. FAIL-O-RAMA.

So, basically, this entire maneuver boils down to: Obama wants gay rights advocates to stop yelling at them, so he's offering them a cookie. Except it's not a real cookie—it's just a cardboard cutout with paste masquerading as icing.

Thanks a fuckload, Obama.