I was originally writing something up on the conservative response to Lt. Dan Choi's arrest when I wrote this sentence: "If conservatives want us to stop equating their homophobia to the racism that the civil rights movement experienced, they should stop using the same talking points." I decided to write the following instead of a typical conservatives-freak-out-at-liberal-activism post.
Let us play a game. I am going to give you a quote about the bigotry of the armed forces. I will redact all names, dates, and any words along the lines of "homosexual", "gay", "sexual orientation", "black", "negro", "race." You try to guess what kind of bigot these perfectly rational arguments came from, homophobic or racist! Sounds fun, right?
Originally posted at Sum of Change, with lots more pictures available here
Over the weekend, you probably heard about tens of thousands of people standing up for LGBT rights at the Equality March in Washington, DC. It got some decent coverage, mostly on C-SPAN, but for the most part, the MSM really missed the scene. They missed the personal stories attached to this event. Our own Laura Gilbert was there to speak with the protesters.
When Ellen Tauscher announced she was headed for the State Department it seemed there would be no shortage of Democrats running to replace her in this safe district, including California's Lt. Gov, John Garamendi, who ducked out of the race for governor when he got no traction and decided not to contest Republican held CA-03. Recently though, CNN's Campbell Brown (bleck!) interviewed a candidate I hadn't heard anything about until now, and after watching the clip I walked away impressed.
OK, so today's Mothers' Day. I'm planning to stop by my mom's house shortly and check up on her. But before I do that, I must address this:
President Barack Obama's national security adviser says allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly in the military is in the early discussions.
But retired Marine Gen. James Jones says it's very preliminary in a very busy administration.
Jones said Sunday he's not sure if the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy would be overturned, although Obama has said he wants it eliminated. Jones said the decision to go forward lies with the president.
For now, Jones says, "We have a lot on our plate right now."
Mr. Jones, President Obama, and members of Congress, you just allowed this fine patriotic soldier to be fired. And believe it or not, we've already lost too many thousands of good soldiers simply because they're queer. Now's the time to lift the military service ban. Seriously.
Federal court rules against military's gay policy Some believe ruling could mean the end of 'don't ask, don't tell'
Associated Press
updated 1:21 a.m. ET, Thurs., May. 22, 2008
SEATTLE - The U.S. military cannot automatically discharge people because they are gay, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday in the case of a decorated flight nurse who sued the Air Force over her dismissal.
The three judges from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not strike down the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. But they reinstated Maj. Margaret Witt's lawsuit, saying the Air Force must prove that her dismissal furthered the military's goals of troop readiness and unit cohesion.
Cleverly done if I may say, by leaving DADT standing in principle but placing an onerous burden on the Military to demonstrate why each individual homosexual had to be discharged for morale reasons.
Naturally I want DADT gone as an indefensible relic of bigotry against homosexuals (and women should be allowed to serve in combat roles), but there's merit in this approach if it avoids being overturned by the Supreme Court.
Which brings me to the Supreme Court, and its salience for Democrats, and the potential for Obama to use it as a unifying issue.
