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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009

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Matt Taibbi

Palin: Our First WWE Politician

Pick an asshole, any asshole, and she'll rock the house

Nov 22, 09 10:44 AM CST
analysis

Book Tour Shows Palin
Hitting a Nerve

'Going Rogue' phenomenon may foreshadow something bigger

Nov 22, 09 2:46 PM CST
the big plan

Beck Will Host Conventions
to Educate America

He's shifting toward political organizer, plans big DC rally

Nov 21, 09 5:06 PM CST
editorial

NYT to Blankfein:
Your 'Apology'
Is Bull

Editorial board schools Goldman CEO in true meaning of 'sorry'

Nov 22, 09 4:53 PM CST
Palin Pulls in Big Bucks
—for Democrats

'Going Rogue' boosts Dem fundraising to new high

Nov 21, 09 6:50 AM CST
Senate Democrats Clear
Health Care Hurdle, 60-39

Reid gets 60 votes to open full debate after Thanksgiving recess

Nov 21, 09 7:13 PM CST
NO COMMUNION FOR YOU, MY SON

RI Bishop Disses
Kennedy Over
Pro-Choice
Stance

Spat over Patrick's position on abortion escalates

Nov 22, 09 8:23 AM CST
who let the paranoids out?

46 Years After Kennedy, the Virus of Hate Is Back

Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert panders to dangerous paranoids

Nov 21, 09 9:08 AM CST
TALK SHOW ROUNDUP

McConnell:
Dems Proceed
at 2010 Peril

Senators hit the Sunday talk shows after health vote

Nov 22, 09 11:15 AM CST
Billboard Links Obama to Jihad

Colo. car dealership wants this opinion heard

Nov 20, 09 8:42 PM CST
Eyes on 2010

Lincoln
Swings to
Center of
Health Debate

Dems come calling as GOP eyes her seat in 2010

Nov 22, 09 1:03 PM CST
HE'S GOT A BOOK OUT, TOO

Beck to Unveil
'Big Plan' at
Saturday Rally

Righty pundit OK with destroying Dems and GOP

Nov 20, 09 8:07 PM CST
Neglected Ind. Fans Boo Palin

Hecklers accuse her of 'quitting on the job'

Nov 20, 09 3:50 PM CST

|NEXT STORY »

Sign of Change? Pentagon Essay Rebukes Ban on Gays

By John Johnson| Posted Oct 3, 09 10:26 AM CDT|

(Newser) – A persuasive essay arguing against the military's ban on gay soldiers is raising hope among activists that a watershed moment is near. It's not so much because of the essay's familiar arguments—that "Don't Ask Don't Tell" hurts morale and violates civil rights—but because of its publication in a widely read Pentagon journal. "We think it is significant—a breakthrough moment," one opponent of the policy tells NPR.

"This is the first time that repeal has been argued so forcefully in an official Pentagon publication. Period." Military officials caution against reading too much into the decision to place the essay, written by an Air Force colonel, into the Joint Force Quarterly. But given the upcoming efforts in Congress to repeal the ban, along with President Obama's stated opposition to it, activists say the timing is striking.

[Images (1)]

[Quotes (1)]

U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)

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To see that article in an official Pentagon publication, as opposed to hearing an activist on this issue, gives credence to the argument for a lot of people who perhaps wouldn't be sympathetic. It's so incredibly important. - Army veteran Jarrod Chlapowski

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11.20.09

The Health-Care Wars Have Just Begun

11.19.09

Sarah Palin Deserves Some More Attention

25 comments

VIEWING:

WallyEFunk
Oct 3, 09 10:42 AM CDT

About time. They're just as dedicated and patriotic as the next person. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

doingtherightthing
Oct 3, 09 11:48 AM CDT

gays are not the same neither are women the same. Being together in a fox hole is not a good idea in battle.......its a trust factor......gays and men in the same foxhole won't work.........as a ex-GI in my unit, they'd get the crap kicked out of them if they are openly gay........

-16

IN RESPONSE:

schmidtkoff
Oct 3, 09 12:16 PM CDT

@wrong thing - you are so yesterday - you are seriously effed up. take hour prejudices elsewhere.

IN RESPONSE:

Addyp
Oct 3, 09 1:36 PM CDT

@doingtherightthing - What backwards hellhole did you emerge from?

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Oct 3, 09 4:22 PM CDT

I knowgay men who could stomp the shit out of you, non-christian doingthehypethang, and each one could do it with one limp wrist tied behind his back. The only reason gay men get "stomped" is because the closeted homo's like you who beat them up have to do it as a crowd. None of you are man enough to do it alone...

IN RESPONSE:

Forderon
Oct 3, 09 4:41 PM CDT

Other brilliants comments from rightthing: who cares what the muslims feel!-------- the dairy Queen Barney the bubble boy jumped all over his own.-------- Himmler at the white house! ------- She's stayed the course and told the ungodly; stick it in your ear, I'm saying what I believe. Thats faith in Gods word about marriage between a man and a woman Gen 2:24.....the ungodly will get there's in the end (about Prejean) -------- 3 billion; thats peanuts compared to what the US gives to Acorn and other un-American groups............at least these guys see Iran for what they are "terrorists"..........they call a spade a spade while were to busy trying to appease these A-holes in the mid-east. (actually ACORN got about $50M in funding) --------- Many more in his comment history

-1

IN RESPONSE:

DJM420
Oct 3, 09 4:46 PM CDT

@addy...his mom's

| 0 minutes ago

schmidtkoff
Oct 3, 09 10:52 AM CDT

time to repeal. change has been in the wind for a while now. what's the fear? that gays will enlist to have trysts with their comrades? get real. that gay folks are to woosey to fight against an enemy? that they might influence others to engage in what? the whole topic is so antiquated and outdated yet fueled by the homophobes who are probably mostly on the christian right. are they less patriotic than heteros? obviously not or they would not enlist in our volunteer army. get over it congress, repeal. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

BlahBlahBlah
Oct 3, 09 11:40 AM CDT

Being in the military I can say that the issue has two sides. Yes, homosexuals should be able to serve if they see the need to do so. On the other hand you have a very strong contingent of people in the military who adhere to bible driven rhetoric and believe that homosexuals are incapable or honorably serving their country. It is sad but it is a very real situation. I am 100% for the right of every person regardless of sexual orientation, race, national origin, or any other classification being able to serve the country. It is just a sad fact that even in a military structure people still use their personal ideals against others. I know, I am an atheist and have dealt with my fair share of hate. It is not a comparison to homosexuals, it is simply a tool to explain that the military along with society have a long way to go. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

schmidtkoff
Oct 3, 09 12:11 PM CDT

atheists are as reviled as the gays. most unfortunate. the christians cannot accept anything that challenges their narrow world view. i feel sorry for them for they are limiting their own humanity. is not life about expansion? learning and evolving and ultimately accepting another's world view without condemnation? too bad some cannot do so.

IN RESPONSE:

Snarfeh
Oct 3, 09 4:24 PM CDT

Evidently, it is the hateful christians who should be banned from our military....

IN RESPONSE:

So_Cal_Larry
Oct 3, 09 4:39 PM CDT

All military branches have been undergoing 'evangelization' since the Bush Administration arrived. There have been scandals at the Air Force Academy regarding these 'religious right' evangelicals harrassing those who are not. There is an office inside the Pentagon which 'evangelizes' the entire military. This is very serious stuff, and should be shut down in its entirety throughout the entire military establishmemt.

| 0 minutes ago

cornelison
Oct 3, 09 12:00 PM CDT

This is overdue. Someone at The Pentagon must be realizing that they need gays to enlist in order to help with the Afghanistan effort. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

paulkraft
Oct 3, 09 2:30 PM CDT

dotherightthing sounds like the classic closet case. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

Jayster999
Oct 3, 09 5:12 PM CDT

Not sure why gays would want to be in an environment in which they are so unwanted. Don't ask don't tell works on the principle that it "ain't nobody's business" unless one makes it so. If they do, they bring down consequences. If these guys come in openly flaunting their homosexuality, they are liable to become a "friendly fire" statistic. Reply

-2

IN RESPONSE:

armywife
Oct 3, 09 6:17 PM CDT

jay, i dont think you, or many others, have taken any time to imagine the full ramifications of what it means to be gay in the military under DADT. it's not as simple as "just dont tell anyone and everything will be hunky-dory". what this means is much bigger than that. it means you cant have any romantic relationship within the military, and it is nearly impossible to have one outside of the military in such a way that no one you work with would find out. you cannot date. can you imagine what that would be like? beyond that, you cant make any friends within the military, because you cannot really be yourself around anyone. being an army wife, i am aware how miserable life could be if you couldnt really have any real military friends, these people are who you spend like 80% of your life with. it is very isolating to be so alone around so many people and that creates severe depression. but beyond that, soldiers take an oath to defend the constitution against any enemy, foreign or domestic, and DADT is an enemy of the gay person's liberty. soldiers are honor-bound to defend the liberties and freedoms of every american, even the gay ones. so if anyone should have to shut up and deal with it or get out of the army, it should be the people who arent willing to do their job - upholding all the principles of the constitution. maybe some of the first openly gay people to serve, like the first women and black people before them, would become victims. but i thinkt hat is a risk these dedicated and patriotic people are willing to take. someone always has to be first and blaze the trail. what kind of american thinks the trail isnt worth blazing?

IN RESPONSE:

I_hate_to_say
Oct 3, 09 6:17 PM CDT

They said that about blacks in the rnilitary too, and President Trurnan proved thern wrong with his e Executive Order.

| 0 minutes ago

metalworldorder
Oct 3, 09 8:32 PM CDT

I don't think there's so much a concern about dudes banging each other in foxholes as there is a challenge to the military culture. It's rough, rugged, and masculine. And I'm sure when military higher ups think of homosexuals they think of those dudes wearing thongs and being half-naked in parades. Not trying to sleight gay people, but stuff like that seems contrary to what the military is. With that said though, do I consider it right that DADT is in place? No, because even those half-naked dudes in rainbow scarves have the right to defend their country. Even though I can't claim to understand the more "flamboyant" part of gay culture, that doesn't mean it's right for me to dictate what they can do and whether or not they can serve. As far as I'm concerned, everyone who lives here has the right to defend their country. Reply

IN RESPONSE:

Aelius28
Oct 4, 09 1:05 AM CDT

Most gay people are nothing like that. Your neighbour could be gay and you'd never know unless he told you, that's how ordinary most of them are.

| 0 minutes ago

yesno858
Oct 4, 09 1:06 AM CDT

dotherightthing...so, who has the problem? The gay who wants to fight for and protect our country? Or the other folks in the foxhole who feel it's appropriate to kick the crap out of a fellow soldier? And yeah...it's every gay person's priority to get some action in a FOXHOLE in the middle of a WAR... because the only thing gay people think about is sex (extreme sarcasm). Any person who would engage in any inappropriate conduct in the military should be subject to disciplinary action, but don't punish those who have done nothing except express the desire to protect the ground your sorry self walks upon. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

yesno858
Oct 4, 09 1:21 AM CDT

dotherightthing...So who has the problem? The gay who wants to fight for and protect our country? Or the other folks in the foxhole who feel it's appropriate to kick the crap out of a fellow soldier out of pure paranoia? Kind of sounds like the people in your foxhole should have been more thoroughly psychologically evaluated before being allowed to carry weapons. And yeah...it's every gay person's priority to get some action in a FOXHOLE in the middle of a WAR...because all gay people think about is sex...(extreme sarcasm). Any person who would engage in inappropriate conduct- gay, straight, male, or female, should be subject to disciplinary action, but don't punish those who've done nothing but express the desire to protect the ground you walk upon. Reply

| 0 minutes ago

yesno858
Oct 4, 09 1:24 AM CDT

sorry about the double post... apparently you can't delete your own comments? Reply

| 0 minutes ago

MarkMcJackoff
Oct 4, 09 7:37 AM CDT

When the Duke of Wellington, just before the battle of Waterloo, was informed that some of his men engaged in homosexual practices, he was heard to say, Put them in the vanguard (ie right in front) they will probably scare the enemy, they certainly scare me" Reply

IN RESPONSE:

So_Cal_Larry
Oct 5, 09 2:07 AM CDT

And Winston Churchill once said something to the effect that the greatness of the British Empire was directly related to wooden ships, iron men, grog & buggery. And he was exactly correct.

| 0 minutes ago

HarloweThrombey
Oct 4, 09 3:05 PM CDT

Why is it that Foreign soldiers have gay troops, and everyone seems fine with it? Is there something ugly or immature about Americans that we can't handle it? Reply

| 0 minutes ago

View all 25 comments »

gay rights • Pentagon • Don't Ask, Don't Tell • US military • homosexuality • gays in the military • homosexual rights

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