Two disheartening stories today about lesbians and the U.S. government.

First up, a woman in a DOJ department affiliated with the U.S. Attorneys’ Office might have been fired for being a lesbian.

Second, the U.S. military tried to prevent Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin from bringing her partner with her on a military flight to Europe for an official trip. (Via Deke Rivers.)

It’s 2008. This kind of shit is completely unacceptable.

Everything you were afraid to ask about “Battlestar Galactica.” A complete primer. Season 4 starts on Friday night.

I am SO happy. For the past two months I’ve thought that I was going to owe about $2,500 in taxes to New York State and New York City this year. Today I realized I was wrong – I’d overlooked the boxes on the W-2 form that list the amount of taxes withheld by the city and the state. (Since I work in New Jersey but live in New York, I get W-2s for each state, but for some reason I’d looked only at the New Jersey W-2 and not at the New York W-2.)

So instead of owing the state and city about $2,500, I get a refund from them of about $114. Since I’d already mentally removed the $2,500 from my bank account, I feel like I’ve actually gotten a $2,400 $2,600 bonus.

Note to self: never overlook the “taxes withheld” box. Of course, it would be easier to realize this if the box actually said “taxes withheld” instead of just “taxes.” Leaving out past participles is NOT helpful.