WE'RE NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THE WHORING.
WE HAVE A DYSFUNCTIONAL PRESS THAT HAS SPENT OVER 2 YEARS NOW PASSING FANCYING ITSELF A FAN CLUB. WE'VE MADE JOKES AND TRIED TO BE SILLY.
THAT MEANS YOU, A.P.'S MARK SHERMAN, WHEN YOU WRITE:
There is a long tradition that the Justice Department defends laws adopted by Congress and signed by a president, regardless of whether the president in office likes them.
This practice cuts across party lines. And it has caused serious heartburn for more than one attorney general.
NOW BARACK OBAMA IS ENDORSING HOMOPHOBIA AND WE'RE NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THE WHORING OF THE AMERICAN PRESS CORPS.
THERE IS NO DEFENSE FOR WHAT HE'S DOING WITH DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL. JUDGE VIRGINIA PHILLIPS PUT IN PLACE AN INJUNCTION ON DISCHARGES UNDER DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL AFTER FINDING IT UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
THE ADMINISTRATION IGNORED THE ISSUE WHEN THEY DIDN'T WANT TO, IN THE WORDS OF POLITICO, PUT ELENA KAGAN IN "AN UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION." THIS TIME THEY EMBRACED HOMOPHOBIA.
THEY DIDN'T JUST APPEAL THE DECISION, THEY CALLED FOR AN END TO THE INJUNCTION -- WHICH WAS GRANTED LATE YESTERDAY.
BARACK OBAMA HAS REFUSED TO HALT DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL WITH AN EXECUTIVE ORDER. NOW HE'S ATTACKED A JUDGE'S DECISION.
IT'S NOT CUTE, IT'S NOT FUNNY. IT'S SHAMEFUL. AND SHAME ON ANYONE IN THE PRESS EXCUSING IT OR DEFENDING IT.
EVERYONE OF YOU DIRTY WHORES WILL BE REMEMBERED 10 YEARS FROM NOW AS THE HOMOPHOBE YOU ARE FOR DEFENDING AND MINIMIZING AND JUSTIFYING THIS HOMOPHOBIC DECISION.
WHO KNEW "K.K.K." WAS JUST ANOTHER WAY TO SPELL "U.S. PRESS CORPS"?
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Turning to the US, in July, Lt Dan Choi was discharged from the military for the 'crime' of being gay. With federal Judge Virginia Phillips issuing a halt to discharges under Don't Ask, Don't Tell and the Pentagon telling recruiters that while Phillips' injunction on discharges is in place, they must not discriminate in recruiting against gays or lesbians (see Rebecca's "don't ask barack because he will tell" from last night), Dan Choi took action yesterday.
I'm headed to the Times Square Recruiting Station. http://bit.ly/94JZuE #DADT I'm gonna try to enlist in the Marines today. Anyone else can meet me at NYC Times Sq now. Walking through Chelsea about to enlist; reminded of our beautiful diversity. This is what makes America worth defending. In the recruiting station. Apparently I'm too old for the Marines! Just filled out the Army application. Joining AC360 tonite on my recruitment back to the Army! #DADT #itgetsbetter
Metro Weekly has video of Dan outside the recruiting station. As Dan Tweeted, he was on Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN) last night -- here for transcript, here for video (and you have to navigate on that page, go to TV, and then choose Anderson Cooper). Excerpt:
COOPER: There's breaking news on the Pentagon's don't ask, don't tell policy, which bars gays from serving openly in the military. Tonight, a federal judge in California denied the Obama administration's request that she suspend her own ruling, which struck down the policy as unconstitutional. Now, the administration will most certainly appeal the decision, but it comes on the same day that we learned of a stunning recruitment change by the Pentagon. For the first time in the history of this country, the U.S. military is now telling its recruiters that they can accept openly gay and lesbian applicants. They made the change because of the federal judge's ruling. Former Army Lieutenant Dan Choi went to a recruiting station in New York today to re-up. He's a veteran of the Iraq war, an Arab linguist, and a West Point graduate who was discharged earlier this year after announcing he was gay. A short time ago, I spoke to Dan Choi. I also spoke to Alex -- Alex Nicholson, founder and executive director of Servicemembers United, who was also discharged under the policy. He's a plaintiff in the case the judge ruled on. And our own Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst, joined in the discussion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Dan, you were discharged from the Army, what, a couple of months ago. Today, you actually went back to reenlist. What happened?
DAN CHOI, DISCHARGED UNDER DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL POLICY: They allowed me to reenlist. They allowed me to sign up.
We know that don't ask, don't tell has been dead for a week now, seven days. And they're allowing people to sign up and be openly gay.
COOPER: So -- so, I mean, you walked in to, what, the Times Square recruiting office today?
CHOI: That's right.
COOPER: And you -- you tried to join the Marine Corps, but you were too -- you're too old for that.
CHOI: A couple months too old. So...
COOPER: A couple months too old. So -- so, what did you sign up for?
CHOI: The Army took me. And they're processing my paperwork right now. I was an officer before. I graduated from West Point and served in Iraq, but now I get to follow my dreams. I want to be enlisted.
COOPER: Did you tell them today that you were gay?
CHOI: Yes. I said that I was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." I have no intention of keeping it secret. I want to sign up and serve with the full measure of integrity and honor and tell the truth of who I am. I don't intend to keep that part of my life silent.
COOPER: And what was the reaction in the office among the soldier you were talking with?
CHOI: Very professional, motivating and very inspirational. Told me all about what the Army is and...
COOPER: They gave you have the regular spiel? Really? That's kind of fascinating.
CHOI: Well...
COOPER: And did you kind of say like, "Yes, I know that part. I went to West Point."
CHOI: They were excited because it's rare to see people who have prior service to come back and particularly in a time of war. They need people of all different skills. And being able to speak Arabic and wanting to be a linguist, they also told me, you know, it's the needs of the Army. It's whatever the Army needs. I said, I've also been through airborne, air assault training, Rangers school and infantry training.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Dan, you were discharged from the Army, what, a couple of months ago. Today, you actually went back to reenlist. What happened?
DAN CHOI, DISCHARGED UNDER DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL POLICY: They allowed me to reenlist. They allowed me to sign up.
We know that don't ask, don't tell has been dead for a week now, seven days. And they're allowing people to sign up and be openly gay.
COOPER: So -- so, I mean, you walked in to, what, the Times Square recruiting office today?
CHOI: That's right.
COOPER: And you -- you tried to join the Marine Corps, but you were too -- you're too old for that.
CHOI: A couple months too old. So...
COOPER: A couple months too old. So -- so, what did you sign up for?
CHOI: The Army took me. And they're processing my paperwork right now. I was an officer before. I graduated from West Point and served in Iraq, but now I get to follow my dreams. I want to be enlisted.
COOPER: Did you tell them today that you were gay?
CHOI: Yes. I said that I was discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." I have no intention of keeping it secret. I want to sign up and serve with the full measure of integrity and honor and tell the truth of who I am. I don't intend to keep that part of my life silent.
COOPER: And what was the reaction in the office among the soldier you were talking with?
CHOI: Very professional, motivating and very inspirational. Told me all about what the Army is and...
COOPER: They gave you have the regular spiel? Really? That's kind of fascinating.
CHOI: Well...
COOPER: And did you kind of say like, "Yes, I know that part. I went to West Point."
CHOI: They were excited because it's rare to see people who have prior service to come back and particularly in a time of war. They need people of all different skills. And being able to speak Arabic and wanting to be a linguist, they also told me, you know, it's the needs of the Army. It's whatever the Army needs. I said, I've also been through airborne, air assault training, Rangers school and infantry training.
COOPER: By any traditional benchmark for the military you would be a great candidate. CHOI: That's right. So a week ago, even with all these qualifications, I would have been turned away if I would have said that I'm gay, and I intend to be honest about it. Today was very different.
COOPER: And they handed you a pamphlet, too.
CHOI: They said, "Stand up, stand out and stand Army strong." I was very excited.
COOPER: So your paperwork is going through?
CHOI: It's going through, and they're processing it. I'm very happy about it.
COOPER: And they handed you a pamphlet, too.
CHOI: They said, "Stand up, stand out and stand Army strong." I was very excited.
COOPER: So your paperwork is going through?
CHOI: It's going through, and they're processing it. I'm very happy about it.
Feminist Wire Daily notes that "over 13,000" service members have been kicked out of the US military under the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy. GetEQUAL issued the following this morning:
WASHINGTON -- Today, Robin McGehee, co-founder and director of GetEQUAL -- a national, direct action lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization -- issued the following statement in response to the ruling by a federal district court judge refusing to stay an earlier injunction in Log Cabin Republicans vs. United States of America. The stay was being sought by the Department of Justice against an earlier ruling ordering the U.S. military to immediately stop enforcement of the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law:
"This evening, Judge Phillips has once again shown the courage and leadership that has evaded so many of our political leaders -- including President Obama. We applaud Judge Phillips for this fair-minded, common sense ruling and continue to urge President Obama and the Department of Justice to immediately cease their unnecessary appeal of the Federal Court's ruling.
It is past time that President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder act in accordance with nearly 80 percent of the American people, distinguished military leaders, active-duty servicemembers, and courageous veterans to ensure that this ruling is carried out immediately. President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder have the opportunity to act on the right side of history and to stop appeals of this decision."
GetEQUAL is a national, direct action lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization. Emphasizing direct action and people power, the mission of GetEQUAL is to empower the LGBT community and its allies to take action to demand full legal and social equality, and to hold accountable those who stand in the way. For more information on GetEQUAL, please visit: http://www.getequal.org. You can follow GetEQUAL on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/getequal, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GetEQUAL, or on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/getequal.
Where there is an equality victory, there is Barack Obama trying to put the brakes on. AFP reports, "US Pesident Barack Obama's administration asked an appeals court Wednesday to immediately suspend a judge's decision to repeal a ban on gays serving openly in the military. [. . .] The Justice Department urged the appeals court in San Francisco to immediately suspend Phillips's repeal of the controversial 'Don't Ask Don't Tell' policy, while it considered a reversal of her stay decision." And, NO, there was no need to appeal it. And liars and whores who rush to rescue Barry better check themselves with the public record. They're insisting, as David G. Savage (Los Angeles Times) reports, "The Justice Department said it has a duty to defend the laws enacted by Congress, even though President Obama is urging Congress to repeal the law and to allow openly gay men and women to serve in the military.
Really?: Did they appeal an appeals-court ruling on the ban in 2009? No. Jess Bravin and Laura Meckler (Wall St. Journal) reported in real time (May 19, 2009), "The Obama administration has decided to accept an appeals-court ruling that could undermine the military's ban on service members found to be gay." This is the Margert Witt case. The same issue and they didn't appeal that ruling. Why was that? As Josh Gersein (Politico) explained earlier this week, Barack's concern then wasn't with the law it was with Elena Kagan:
In May 2009, the Obama administration faced a decision about whether to ask the Supreme Court to take up a 9th Circuit ruling that sharply limited the Pentagon's ability to discharge gay service members. The court's opinion in the case brought by Air Force Maj. Margaret Witt was clearly at odds with a 2008 ruling from the 1st Circuit that upheld "don't ask, don't tell."
The Witt case could have produced a definitive ruling from the Supreme Court on the constitutionality of "don't ask," but the case could also have put Solicitor General Elena Kagan in the exceedingly uncomfortable position of arguing in the nation's highest court in favor of a statute that she once excoriated as "a moral injustice of the highest order."
Oh, it might have made Elena Kagan uncomfortable? That's the difference? For the comfort level of a public servant who elected to accept a job, Barack will bend his so-called rules but for the millions of gays and lesbians in this country and around the world, they're on their own. For CNN, Jeffrey Toobin (link has text and video) offers this legal opinion, "They are in a very bizarre position, frankly, of their own making."
Like millions of Americans, I was terribly saddened to learn of the recent suicides of several teenagers across our country after being bullied because they were gay or because people thought they were gay. Children are particularly vulnerable to the hurt caused by discrimination and prejudice and we have lost many young people over the years to suicide. These most recent deaths are a reminder that all Americans have to work harder to overcome bigotry and hatred.
I have a message for all the young people out there who are being bullied, or who feel alone and find it hard to imagine a better future: First of all, hang in there and ask for help. Your life is so important -- to your family, your friends, and to your country. And there is so much waiting for you, both personally and professionally -- there are so many opportunities for you to develop your talents and make your contributions.
And these opportunities will only increase. Because the story of America is the story of people coming together to tear down barriers, stand up for rights, and insist on equality, not only for themselves but for all people. And in the process, they create a community of support and solidarity that endures. Just think of the progress made by women just during my lifetime by women, or ethnic, racial and religious minorities over the course of our history --- and by gays and lesbians, many of whom are now free to live their lives openly and proudly. Here at the State Department, I am grateful every day for the work of our LGBT employees who are serving the United States as foreign service officers and civil servants here and around the world. It wasn't long ago that these men and women would not have been able to serve openly, but today they can -- because it has gotten better. And it will get better for you.
So take heart, and have hope, and please remember that your life is valuable, and that you are not alone. Many people are standing with you and sending you their thoughts, their prayers and their strength. Count me among them.
Take care of yourself.
You have value to your friends and family, your community and your country. She's certainly the first in this administration to get that across and a far cry from Valerie Jarrett who was insisting this month that being gay was "a lifestyle choice." It's not just Val. Robert Gates, Secretary of Defense, is not the hero on this issue so many try to make him. We were at that hearing where he first gave testimony. Only NBC Nightly News got his testimony correctly. CBS, ABC and other outlets lumped him with Adm Mike Mullen. Mullen was speaking only for himself. And the fact that they weren't able to quote Gates or show a clip of him speaking passionately on the issue should have been a clue to all. What he said was, he would follow any order from the president. For those who are confused, Gates isn't in the military. He's in the presidential cabinet. Damn straight he will follow any order from Barack. If he doesn't, he'd be fired. What Gates advocated for -- and no one wants to pay attention to this -- is a study. Not, as Barack keeps saying, to determine how to repeal it but to determine whether to repeal it.
We've gone over this and yet last week you had a bunch of idiots making fools of themselves online at the New York Times praising Robert Gates for his strong support of the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. That's not his position. We're going to try to make that point one more time. No one in the social scene in DC is mistaken about what Gates' actual position is. He's hardly been silent semi-privately. But if you still don't get it, if the basic still elude you, former Lt Col Robert Maginnis is interviewed by Melissa Block on NPR's All Things Considered today. Listen to it. Listen to what he's saying, grasp that he knows Gates' postion (he knows Gates' position very well, the two know each other). Listen to what he's saying. And then you'll grasp why suddenly the Pentagon that was just supposed to be studying how to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell decided to start surveying the husbands and wives of straight (or straight-passing) service members. There was no point in that ever. Unless you were trying to game the study so as to continue Don't Ask, Don't Tell.
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