All posts tagged "Dadt"

Rachel Maddow did this extremely convincing report last night on how the Obama administration is setting themselves up to let DADT go on for years with their current strategy of ruthlessly pushing for enforcement while pleading with the Senate to overturn it. You know, even though they have the tools at hand---simply not appealing this federal decision---to make DADT go away tomorrow. What was going through my head the entire time was, "Is the administration being stupid or arrogant?" The facts seem indisputable. When was the last time the Senate actually passed a bill that explicitly guaranteed equality for a minority group that was being routinely bagged on in public forums? Maybe you could say Lilly Ledbetter, but that was more of a smaller bill shoring up pre-existing rights---rights that even hard right pundits are often loathe to attack. (Instead of arguing openly that women should be paid less, they just impugn women's abilities, and suggest unequal pay reflects that.) But something on this level? I'd have to say that the closest is the Voting Rights Act of 1965? If I'm wrong, please let me know. I'm curious.

NOTE FROM PAM: One of my co-bloggers at PHB, Autumn Sandeen was arrested during GetEqual's military veterans protest today where they chained themselves to the White House fence, with Dan Choi. The action was about the slow-motion effort to repeal DADT this year by this administration. As I knew well in advance about this direct action, I asked Autumn to share her thoughts about what she was about to do. I'm proud of her, particularly because as a member of the transgender community, she has steadfastly stood by the progress and pain that affects LGBs, I wants that to be remembered when trans issues come to the fore, something we all know garners much less attention, and much less activism by LGBs. Autumn puts not only her military pension at risk; being arrested now subjects her to detention; being transgender, will be placed in harm's way many will never know. Thank you, Autumn.

With the clear support for repeal of DADT in almost every demographic imaginable, and clear calls for repeal from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mullen, and the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, it's almost incomprehensible that this Administration, through its Department of Justice, is continuing to defend the constitutionality of the law. Joe @ Americablog:

DADT repeal a 'radical social experiment'

In the wake of yesteday's Senate hearing on DADT repeal, there are two reactions out that drew my attention. One was the lunatic WSJ op-ed by foreign policy journal editor Mackubin Thomas Owens. He took umbrage at the thought that heterosexual soldiers were capable of serving openly with gays and lesbians. The old saw of unit cohesion came up again, with this infantile, *sshat statement by Owens:

NOTE: There's a lot of buzz going on about the Senate hearings regarding DADT, which start today. The tentative (to be kind) moves by the Obama administration to signal he'd like to repeal it -- with just a little more study and stroking of insecure manhood protective military egos -- is something that has been met with derision by many in the LGBT community, given the amount of study and polling on this topic has had for some time now. With people like Elaine Donnelly screeching bogus talking points like these, it's clear Congress needs to just scrap DADT and move on. (Tanya Domi, a former Captain in the U.S. Army, who served for 15 years, enlisting as a Private, rising to the rank of Captain before leaving the service honorably, will be a guest correspondent over at my pad, Tweeting the hearings. A widget to follow has been placed in the right-hand column.