Aravosis beat me to it

I was going to rip Russia from stem to stern this morning, but John Aravosis at AmericaBlog beat me to it. Just go read this.

Take that, Vladdy!

More on the strange Johnny Weir

This fellow, Johnny Weir, is a real piece of work. Rather than rehash the story, I'll cede the floor to John Aravosis. G'wan over there and read his piece. And remember, Johnny Weir is going to be one of NBC's commentators at the Sochi Olympics. Ugh.

Weir is an odd combination of things: he's a mash-up of out-gay and closet-case. He tries to live the life of the former, while acting like the latter.

We need allies, not frenemies. I wish he'd get lost.

New IOC head

Thomas Bach, a gold-medalist in his time, has been elected as the new head of the IOC (International Olympic Committee). The link leads to Spiegel Online, but the story is minimal. No mention of...you know.

"I want to thank all my friends and colleagues who voted for me," Bach said after the decision. "I know of the great responsibility of an IOC president. This makes me humble."

That's nice, Tom. Now go straighten out this Russian gay-pogrom thing -- and get back to us right away. The world is waiting.

Simple is best

What do I think the athletes should do at Sochi? One simple thing: mention your significant other when you're being interviewed. This applies to both gay and straight athletes. Just be who you are.

If everyone involved reveals his or her sexual orientation, no one can be singled out for violating the rules. Hug your honey while the cameras are rolling. Speak of the support your girlfriend provides. Mention you're about to marry the greatest guy in the world.

In my years as a human rights worker, I learned the value of a good comparison. Ideally, you want the other group, in this case the straight people, to be doing exactly what you're doing. This makes it easy to note disparities in responses, should they occur. Under this plan, each athlete at Sochi will be doing the same thing: acting naturally and thereby revealing his or her sexual orientation.

The lack of different behavior patterns among straight and gay athletes will create a powerful learning experience for the TV audience and spectators. And if there are repercussions for the gay athletes, I suspect most viewers will say, "But they all did the same thing". Indeed, they did. That's the point.

Any other suggestions out there?