Reactions to story from Think Progress

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  DADT: Pray It's not the Train

  http://rayrandomly.blogspot.com/2008/05/dadt-pray-its-not-tr...
  7 days ago in Randomly Ray · Authority: 5

  Too many times, both personally and politically, gays and lesbians (not unlike straight people) are willing to settle for the quick fix instead of digging in their heels, sticking to their proverbial guns and not giving up until they get what they really want and deserve (and yes, I include myself). Gays and lesbians were a formidable part of Bill Clinton's election in 1993, spurred on by promises he made to our community and a supposed solidarity with our struggle for equality. What we got for our efforts and our naivete was DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act, 1996) and DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell, 1993). More than a decade later and we are now struggling to overturn what we were once so willing to settle for. Nor have we learned our lesson: This past fall, after much heated divisiveness in our own community, a non-inclusive ENDA (Employment Non-Discrimination Act) was passed, defended by none other than openly gay Congressman Barney Frank: "The current manifestation of this is the difficult set of decisions we face regarding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. We are on the verge of an historic victory that supporters of civil rights have been working on for more than thirty years: the passage for the first time in American history by either house of Congress of legislation declaring it illegal to discriminate against people in employment based on their sexual orientation. Detracting from the sense of celebration many of us feel about that is regret that under the current political situation, we do not have sufficient support in the House to include in that bill explicit protection for people who are transgender. The question facing us – the LGBT community and the tens of millions of others who are active supporters of our fight against prejudice – is whether we should pass up the chance to adopt a very good bill because it has one major gap. I believe that it would be a grave error to let this opportunity to pass a sexual orientation nondiscrimination bill go forward, not simply because it is one of the most important advances we’ll have made in securing civil rights for Americans in decades, but because moving forward on this bill now will also better serve the ultimate goal of including people who are transgender than simply accepting total defeat today...Passing ENDA in part and then moving on to add transgender provisions when we can is clearly preferable.." So, with almost certainty, we will still be struggling to get what we really wanted because we were too willing to take what we could get. As my friend Del used to say, "Keep your eye on the light at the end of the tunnel. And pray it's not the train." But, they say (whoever they are), there's always hope. This past Sunday at a graduation ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen expressed a willingness to accept gay and lesbian service men and women should DADT be repealed. This, of course, will not happen under a McCain presidency; and even though the Democratic candidates have expressed favor for repealing the policy, we have heard similar promises in the past. Still, Mullen's comments offer a glimmer of hope should the Military Readiness Enhancement Act pass. There is no evidence, as claimed by opponents, that gays and lesbians in military service in any way diminish military capability or morale or that their presence in the armed services threatens national security. The assertion, as we all know, is preposterous and merely feeds on outdated prejudices and homophobia. The British military is a prime example:Since allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in 2000, initial concerns have been laid to rest and it has become a "non-issue," as it should be. But in the U.S. we are still waiting. The end we want may be coming soon; bipartisan support of MREA is high. And there are the promises of Clinton and Obama to hold on to yet. Still, it is not entirely up to them. It is up to us. If they are ready (as they say they are) then we must be ready too. We cannot back down this time. The goal is too close at hand; the light is within reach. Let's just pray it's not the train again.
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  About Time

  http://localpundits.com/kentucky/2008/05/08/about-time/
  7 days ago in Kentucky Local Politics · Authority: 1

  About Time By Drinking Liberally Louisville | May 8, 2008 I guess the Military is so short on "troops" that they are prepared to enter the 21st century! For quite some time, U.S. troops have supported repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. A December 2006 poll of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.” A 2004 poll found that a majority of junior enlisted servicemembers believed gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 16 percent in 1992. * The military’s leadership is finally catching up to its troops. On Sunday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy that the military was ready to accept gay servicemembers if Congress repeals DADT: No more excuses! Just do at and re-hire all the good folks who were kicked out for being who they are. Topics: Uncategorized
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  About Time

  http://drinkingliberally.org/blogs/louisville/archives/2008/...
  7 days ago in Drinking Liberally Louisville · Authority: 40

  I guess the Military is so short on "troops" that they are prepared to enter the 21st century! For quite some time, U.S. troops have supported repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. A December 2006 poll of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.” A 2004 poll found that a majority of junior enlisted servicemembers believed gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 16 percent in 1992. * The military’s leadership is finally catching up to its troops. On Sunday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen told graduating cadets at the U.S. Military Academy that the military was ready to accept gay servicemembers if Congress repeals DADT: No more excuses! Just do at and re-hire all the good folks who were kicked out for being who they are.
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  Joint Chiefs Chairman Mullen: Military Ready To Accept Repeal Of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’

  http://blogrevolution.com//archives/2008/05/08/3681915.html
  7 days ago in BlogRevolution! · Authority: 10

  For quite some time, U.S. troops have supported repealing the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy. A December 2006 poll of servicemembers who had served in Iraq or Afghanistan found 73 percent of those polled were “comfortable with lesbians and gays.” A 2004 poll found that a majority of junior enlisted servicemembers believed gays and lesbians should be allowed to serve openly in the military, up from 16 percent in 1992. The military’s leadership is finally catching up to its troops. http://thinkprogress.org/2008/05/07/mullen-dadt
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  U.S. Military Ready to Accept Gays

  http://www.johnjudy.net/blog/?p=609
  8 days ago in John Judy’s Blog · Authority: 2

  At least according to Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. I guess it was accept gays and lesbians or start actively recruiting in jails and mental institutions.  Weird to think that, thanks to his decimation of the U.S. military, we will have George W. Bush to thank for finally getting rid of a ban that should never have existed in the first place. Way to go, Decider! ShareThis
• 

  Wednesday’s Mini-Report

  http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/15467.html
  8 days ago in The Carpetbagger Report - Commentary and Analysis on Politics in America by Steve Benen · Authority: 2,246

  Today’s edition of quick hits. * Staggering: “The death toll from the cyclone that ravaged the Irrawaddy delta in Myanmar may exceed 100,000, the senior U.S. diplomat in the military-ruled country said Wednesday. ‘The information we are receiving indicates over 100,000 deaths,’ the U.S. Charge D’Affaires in Yangon, Shari Villarosa, said on a conference call. The U.S. figure is almost five times more than the 22,000 the Myanmar government has estimated.” * On a related note, take a look at the satellite image of Burma before and after the cyclone. It’s reminiscent of New Orleans after Katrina, but with even more devastation. * WaPo: “The Bush administration has not found disaster recovery files for White House e-mails from a three-month time period in 2003, according to court documents filed this week, raising the possibility that messages sent before and after the invasion of Iraq may never be recovered. The White House chief information officer, Theresa Payton, said in a sworn declaration that the White House has identified more than 400 computer backup tapes from March through September of 2003 but that the earliest recorded file was dated May 23 of that year. That period was one of the most crucial of the Bush presidency. The United States launched the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003, and President Bush declared the end of major combat operations on May 1.” * McClatchy: “The Iraqi government has all but given up on hopes it can persuade Iran and the United States to meet again to discuss security issues, the Iraqi foreign minister said Wednesday. Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said that his government has proposed four dates to the U.S. and Iran for tri-lateral talks, but that each has been rejected. He said the government will not propose another.” * The Hill: “The Senate Judiciary Committee announced Wednesday that Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) plans to hold a hearing with oil industry executives on the high cost of oil. ‘American consumers continue to pay the price at the pump, while oil companies post record profits,’ said Leahy. ‘With food and transportation prices rising with the exploding price of oil, it is important to hear what the multibillion-dollar oil companies are doing to help ease the crunch, and consider what actions the federal government should take to help consumers.’” * I admit it; I love the OSC soap opera: “Since 2005, Special Counsel Scott Bloch, whose office is charged in part with protecting federal whistleblowers, has been under investigation for retaliating against whistleblowers in his own office and generally politicizing the OSC. Now government watchdog POGO says they’ve discovered evidence that Bloch’s apparent motivation for launching a very well publicized probe was to make himself invulnerable.” * I don’t know what he’s basing his optimism on, but I hope he’s right: “The worst of the nation’s credit crisis may have passed, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday, though he acknowledged rising gas prices will blunt the effect of 130 million economic stimulus checks.” * This housing-bill fight is worth watching: “On the eve of a House floor debate on a plan to help homeowners in danger of foreclosure, the Bush administration said on Tuesday that it opposed the measure and that White House advisers would urge the president to veto it.” * Gingrich’s tough love for the GOP: “Gingrich chastised an electoral strategy congressional Republicans are using to ‘nationalize’ the election by tying local races to national figures. ‘The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti-Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail,’ Gingrich warned.” * If you missed the Brazile-Begala smackdown on CNN last night, it made for some interesting political drama. * Not that it really matters, but some emailers noted this afternoon that Clinton’s win in Indiana yesterday is now closer to a one-percentage-point margin instead of two. * I’m always glad when Nazi-friendly Republican candidates lose primary races. * The Gallup Daily Tracking poll shows Obama rebounding against McCain. * Fred Barnes might want to be more careful when talking about “class.” * The Defense Department has released a bunch of documents relating to the Pentagon Pundits controversy. There’s bound to be some interesting nuggets in there. * Speaking of the Pentagon, support for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” may not be as strong as it was. * I often wonder the same thing: “I gather that it’s conventional wisdom that there would be some tremendous backlash if Congress tried to do away with the penny, but I find that a bit puzzling. Do people love amassing large amounts of almost worthless spare change? Is it resistance from the dreaded Big Penny lobby?” * And finally, I’ve watched this Iron Man vs. Batman clip more than once, and I laugh every time. It’s not for everybody, but I thought it might be a pleasant way to wrap up a busy day. Anything to add? Consider this an end-of-the-day open thread. Share This

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