As reported earlier this week, the inspector general for the federal Department of Injustice (DOJ) has concluded that the department refused to consider attorney-applicants because of their rumored sexual orientation. The department also announced on Monday that it would investigate whether a hate crime was committed when a man opened fire inside the Unitarian Church in Knoxville, Tenn. The suspect wrote a note suggesting his motive for the killings was, in part, based upon his hostility toward gays and lesbians.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey said he was “disturbed” about the DOJ report. He has not said anything publicly about the shootings in Knoxville; however, he should use these two instances to voice his support for Congressional bills that Republicans have opposed because they haven’t seen proof that gays and lesbians suffer from job discrimination or hate crimes.

The hate crimes bill should mirror California’s, which makes it a hate crime to attack those who “associate” with gays and lesbians.

Mukasey should also reverse the recent Census Bureau’s decision to not count same-sex couples as married.

Mukasey is the first Jewish U.S. Attorney General, a former federal judge, and the son of Holocaust survivors. In his first week on the job, he reversed a policy put in place by former Attorney General John Aschcroft that prohibited a group of gay and lesbian DOJ employees from having the same privileges as other groups. He also made public two weeks ago an opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel concluding that a federal law barring federal agencies from recognizing “same-sex” unions (DOMA) does not apply to the children of a same-sex union in terms of receiving Social Security benefits.

It came as no surprise last week when Copley Press announced that the Union-Tribune is for sale. Circulation is way down because most newspapers now appear free online, and the ad revenue produced via the Internet is only 5 percent of total ad revenue.

But the Union-Tribune’s problems began long before the Internet. They began because of the paper’s unwillingness to move from a ’50s-type “family newspaper” into a media service that responds to the changing complexion of San Diego. We lost our local paper years ago when it forsook in-depth investigative reporting and became a “we-hate-Mike-Aguirre” newsletter.

Some are quick to say “good riddance” to the Union-Tribune. Many in the GLBT community, for instance, are livid with the paper because of its editorial conservatism and its lack of support for GLBT civil rights, particularly on its editorial pages.

But on balance the Union-Tribune has been fair. Rather than kiss it goodbye, we should be concerned with how to establish a newsgathering entity that keeps watch on those who run the city and criticizes corrupt politicians, regardless of their party affiliation.

The best model for the Union-Tribune would be a non-profit corporate entity, such as the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). Ironically, the Copley family has contributed handsomely to our local PBS. Now it may be fitting for it to donate the paper and its real estate.

Non-profit entities do not exist to make profit or provide investors with a return on investment. Rather, the 1.1 tax-exempt entities that exist today in the U.S. operate to generate enough revenue to cover expenses. These entities do not pay taxes on revenues generated.

Newspapers provide an educational function for the community, so non-profit is the best model for a news service.

After all, look at the alternatives: We could get no paper; we could get a paper like Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News, driven by flavor-of-the-day drivel like “American Idol,” or we could get a San Diego version of the Los Angeles Times.