Towleroad is on top of this. Apparently Lt. Dan Choi spoke at Kathy Griffin/HRC’s rally about ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and then lead a march to the White House where Choi and Captain Jim Pietrangelo are reportedly both handcuffed to the White House fence. Choi and GetEqual’s Robin McGehee were subsequently arrested. (Photos via Towleroad, via Twitter)
Raw AP video of Pietrangelo and Choi’s arrest.
… The irony of the placement in the speech did not escape me. President Obama, in the same breath, was proposing to allow openly LGBT people to serve their country and to make sure women get fair pay for a day’s work. Why is either of these things even an issue? And why are we still talking about them in major policy speeches?
The simple answer is simple: no matter what promises are made, no matter how far our society advances to accept the concept of women in the workplace and LGBT folks in the military, in practice, structure, and – in the case of LGBT service members – the law, inequality still remains.”…
Scottish poet Sir Walter Scott once wrote: “Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.” Please – I beseech you – try to follow the logic of this Family Research Council minister who tries to make it OK to hate gays, as long as it’s done with Christian love. Pray on it, in fact. FRC sends out regular missives to their Christian “Prayer Warriors” specifying what “targets” to pray at each week. These guys are making it really, really hard to believe that old Sunday School song, “Jesus loves me, this I know – for the Bible tells me so.” You decide.
Dear Praying Friends,
Opposing the radical homosexual rights agenda is distasteful to Bible-believing Christians and leaders. Eager to follow the law of love, they sometimes sympathize with those who accuse opponents of homosexual rights as guilty of “hate.” These believers prefer to hold their tongues regarding this and other cultural sins that Scripture condemns, preferring to preach “grace.” But without God’s law there is no grace. And God’s warnings to society must not be ignored. We genuinely love those caught in this and other aberrant sinful addictions, but we cannot cease to warn society of the consequences of approving such behaviors. We must neither keep silent, nor compromise, nor succumb to those who seek to “normalize” homosexuality. The consequences are simply too great. Bible-believing Christians are motivated by love, not hate. But in a culture in which speaking the truth in love on such matters is viewed as “hate,” we must risk the accusation and speak the truth in love, accompanied by much prayer (see Mt 10:12-42; Eph 6:1-20; 2 Tim 2:24-4:5).
Please click inside for more on the prayer.
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Be your own Rachel Maddow! Fans of the brilliant MSNBC commentator know that one reason Maddow is so popular is because she confronts lies with the truth. Now LGBTs and their allies can do the same thing when it comes to the debate about the military’s antigay policy, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
On Wednesday, the watchdog group Media Matters for America – founded by openly gay politico David Brock in reaction to the “Republican Noise Machine”– published a special report correcting the myths and lies perpetuated by biased or ignorant journalists – or reporters who slant coverage to keep access to powerful sources. That’s what many of us suspected was the agenda behind NBC’s Lisa Meyers’ devastating coverage of the original gays-in-the-military story in 1993. (See the video of Meyers report as part of this story. )
Consider, for instance, the February 23 edition of Fox News’ Special Report where Bret Baier uncritically reported that Gen. George Casey stated that repeal of the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) policy “might … adversely affect readiness.”
Lest anyone shrug this off as just another Fox News-Republican spin machine story, remember that the father of modern political conservatism – the late Arizona Republican Sen. Barry Goldwater – also called for lifting the ban against gays serving openly, crystallized in this famous quote: “You don’t have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.”
It’s one thing that the Fox News reporter didn’t know about Goldwater. But he should have known and reported that Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, appeared two days earlier (Feb 21) on NBC’ Meet the Press and was asked whether “soldiers on the ground in the field care one way or the other if their comrades in arms are gay or lesbian.” Petraeus said: “I’m not sure that they do….I served, in fact, in combat with individuals who were gay and who were lesbian in combat situations and, frankly, you know, over time you said, ‘Hey, how’s, how’s this guy’s shooting?’ Or ‘How is her analysis,’ or what have you.”
Please click inside to read more and see how you can help.
Could that odd sound you hear be the creaking hands of time clicking over to a new day?
Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) announced on Monday that he will soon be introducing a bill in the U.S. Senate to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
“I will be proud to be a sponsor of the important effort to enable patriotic gay Americans to defend our national security and our founding values of freedom and opportunity.
I have opposed the current policy of preventing gay Americans from openly serving in the military since its enactment in 1993. To exclude one group of Americans from serving in the armed forces is contrary to our fundamental principles as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and weakens our defenses by denying our military the service of a large group of Americans who can help our cause. I am grateful for the leadership of President Obama to repeal the policy and the support of Secretary Gates and Chief of Staff Admiral Mullen.”
Please click inside for more on DADT and the CPAC conference.
But back to that creaking clock of time. Who would have ever imagined that an antigay message delivered from the podium of the conservative CPAC stage would ever be met with the sweet sound of boos? And what prompted the boos? This guy condemning CPAC for allowing GOProud to participate. Best line: “The lesbians at Smith College protest better than you do. Bring it!” This video should be on the laptop of every LGBT person who lobbies Congress for LGBT rights.
Despite support from President Barack Obama, Sec. of Defense Robert Gates, top Pentagon leaders and former Vice President Dick Cheney for a repeal of the military’s antigay policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the Associated Press reports that a repeal “is probably years away.”
That’s not good enough, says a coalition of LGBT and straight bloggers who want readers to call HRC to pressure the Administration, Congress and the military to move faster.
Please click inside for more info, including who’s swarming, why and other ways to respond to DADT. UPDATED with new information and resource.
All this talk about repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – and the spotlight on Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain’s very public and embarrassingly obvious flip-flop over gays and lesbians serving openly in the military made me think about McCain’s predecessor – the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, the political “father” of the conservative movement. Perhaps his most famous quote from the early 1990s is, “You don’t have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight.”
But few remember that Goldwater wrote an op-ed calling for the ban on gays serving openly in the military to be lifted immediately. Click inside to read more about Goldwater and his entire op-ed.
The LGBT blogospher exploded Wednesday morning with reaction to the historic Senate Armed Services hearing Tuesday during which Defense Sec. Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mullen announced their desire to repeal the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy, pursuant to President Obama’s State of the Union address saying he wanted to repeal DADT this year.
Retired General Colin Powell, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who supported congressional passage of DADT in 1993, also issued a statement Wednesday saying he supported the new approach.
The reaction to the repeal has been excitement that the end of DADT seems in sight mixed with cautious pushback over why the high commanders didn’t announce a suspension of enforcement while the policy is under review.
But for me – a military brat who’s been covering this issue since David Mixner first raised the prospect of lifting the ban on gays serving openly with presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1991 – two developments I never thought I’d see also happened Wednesday: Mullen posted his opinion about DADT on his blog on the Joint Chiefs of Staff website (with a link to the full hearing transcript, video is coming) and the Pentagon featured a “straight” news report about DADT.
And here’s Rachel Maddow’s interview with Lt. Col. Fehrenbach:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Please click inside to read the roundup.
Secretary of Defense Gates says changes to “don’t ask, don’t tell” process will take over a year. In 45 days, a report is due back on how to make current policy “more fair.”
Watch the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing live now here:
http://armed-services.senate.gov/Webcasts.htm
UPDATE: ARCHIVE OF HEARING HERE: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/291857-1
David Dayen BLOGGING AT FIREDOGLAKE:
Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the first Congressional hearing on the military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy in 17 years that “my personal belief is that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly would be the right thing to do.” However, he cautioned that a year-long process in studying the effects of repealing the policy would be necessary.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates, saying that “the question is not whether the military prepares to make this change, but how we prepare for it,” named two Pentagon officials to head the study, which would focus on a variety of issues. Jeh Johnson, the legal counsel for the Defense Department, and Gen. Carter Hamm, the commander of US Army Europe, would lead that process.
Mullen’s statement, which Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) said would be “long remembered for its courage,” stands in sharp contrast to the response of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the beginning of the Clinton Administration, the last time this policy was reviewed. Saying that he “understands perfectly the President’s desire to see the law repealed,” he stated his personal belief that the current policy “forces young men and women to lie about who they are.” In the end, Mullen said, “It comes down to integrity.”
SENATE ARMED FORCES COMMITTEE CHAIR CARL LEVIN LATER SPOKE TO REPORTERS :
Tony Perkins, head of the antigay Family Research Council, is hosting a webcast tonight to enable “the people” to respond to President Obama’s recent State of the Union address. Since Obama spoke about working with Congress and military leaders to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – and the Senate Armed Services Committee is holding a hearing on DADT today – one might image DADT might come up during the webcast tonight. Here’s the invitation to join:
Webcast Tonight at 8 p.m. ET: The State of The Union, The Voice of the People
February 01, 2010
Last week, you heard President Obama’s take on where we are as a nation after his first year in office. Now hear the American people respond! Tonight at 8 p.m. (EST), FRC headquarters will be the site of a special webcast, “State of the Union, Voice of the People,” hosted by Herman Cain and tvTownhall.com. FRC and seven other organizations will give their response to last week’s address by the President, along with select video responses from across the nation.
Join me tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST for this live webcast, which will provide a voice to the American people and an opportunity for them to give their own State of the Union response.
Let’s face it: the Commander-in-Chief and Congress are secretly afraid of the old men in the military. And the old men in the military, so accustomed to automatic deference by all branches of the US government, are afraid of losing their power as times and the culture change. They cannot fathom that younger soldiers and leaders, the ones the old men are sending to fight two wars, are no longer afraid of dropping their soap bar in the shower.
How else explain the compromise the Obama Administration, the Pentagon and Congress are expected to announce at Tuesday’s Senate Armed Services Committee hearing?
The military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was a so-called “compromise” cooked up 17 years ago after Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn and Republican Sen. John Warner decided to teach the upstart new President Bill Clinton – who escaped military service during the Vietnam War – exactly how Washington worked. In an unprecedented publicity stunt that ignored eons of the military’s top-down structure, Nunn (angry at not being named Secretary of Defense) and Warner went into the bowels of a submarine and asked for the opinions of sailors whose training drilled into them that their opinions do not matter, they must only follow orders.
Here’s how that first hearing went, as reported by NBC’s Lisa Meyers (hat tip to the site devoted to Leonard Matlovich):
Please click inside to read my essay previewing the hearing Tuesday.
At the historic August 2007 forum in which Democratic presidential candidates were questioned about their beliefs and policies on LGBT issues, singer Melissa Etheridge talked to Sen. Hillary Clinton about how wonderful gays felt finally being recognized under President Bill Clinton.
“We were very, very hopeful – and in the years that followed, our hearts were broken. We were thrown under the bus. We were pushed aside. All those great promises that were made to us were broken. And I understand politics. I understand how hard things are, to bring about change. But it is many years later now, and what are you going to do to be different than that? I know you’re sitting here now; it’s a year out — more than a year. A year from now, are we going to be left behind like we were before?”
Please click inside to see where I’m going with this. UPDATE: THE WASHINGTON POST REPORTED LATE THURSDAY THAT THE SENATE ARMED SERVICES WILL HOLD A SEPARATE HEARING WITH DEFENSE SEC. ROBERT GATES AND ADMIRAL MIKE MULLEN, CHAIR OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF ON DADT. RACHEL MADDOW LATER SAID THE RESULT COULD BE A DADT-LITE WITH RESTRICTIONS PLACED ON THE INVESTIGATORY PROCESS.
This just in from Log Cabin Republicans. Their lawsuit is the only federal challenge to DADT with an actual court date, June 2010. Here’s LCR’s release:
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ASSERTS THAT RECENT STATEMENTS BY PRESIDENT IN SUPPORT OF REPEALING ‘DADT’ POLICY HAS HAD ZERO IMPACT ON ACTUAL POSITION OF U.S. GOVERNMENT
(Los Angeles, CA) – In a ruling delivered on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday, U.S. Federal Court Judge Virginia Phillips handed Log Cabin Republicans a major legal victory by denying the Obama Administration Justice Department’s last-minute appeal, which sought to stay proceedings and block discovery in the leading federal case challenging the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy.
Barring any kind of extraordinary tactics the Obama Justice Department may try to use to derail this case, the trial is scheduled to begin in June 2010.”
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Longtime LGBT and HIV/AIDS activists remember Steve Schulte as an original city councilmember after West Hollywood became a city or as the executive director of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Services Center, or his work with Project Angel Food. Over the years he has shifted his focus to healthcare and is now a licensed health insurance agent with is own company, Health Advocate Solutions and his own blog. Here he says our struggle for full equality must also include healthcare. Click inside for his POV.
The Palm Center reports that Army Secretary John McHugh thinks the military is ready to lift the gay ban. But there is an interesting twist to this important announcement. There is a HUGE battle within the Republican Party over who will replace MCHugh in a special election in the conservative 23rd District Congressional seat from upstate New York. Could the timing indicate who McHugh wants to be the GOP candidate? Click inside to see the Palm Center’s press release and possible context for the statement.
President Obama is speaking at the HRC dinner on Saturday. Here’s my take on it – plus others weigh in.
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