DADT vote happening now

[Jess]

Originally Posted by AtLastHome

I am mad as hell about what happened in the senate yesterday!

Ferfucksakes, they held up resources for our troops serving based on the politics around DADT!! But it is just fine for gays and lesbians serving to be killed and injured!

I am so tired of thr right wing GOP! And the fact of the matter is that I bet I personally fall on a pretty moderate scale on many issues overall. I'm not all that radical to the left most of the time. I also deeply support those in the military. No, I don't like war, but, these people are putting their lives on the line for us.

This just makes me sick on a human level.

I totally agree with "not liking war", hell, my old motto was " if they don't want gays to serve, then don't draft them" or denied for not being flat foot but "light in the loafer".
When I hear stories of folks actually willing and desirous to risk all for my rights ( whether I have them all or not) I have to place my support with these men and women.
I am pretty moderate also and do actually try to research my candidates and issues as I get older and try to become more informed.
I don't think anyone thought this would really pass on to the debate stage because why? Mid term elections.... Everything has to wait until then. Unfortunately, any decent politicians will only have about nine months to get anything done before what? 2012 elections....

I am only 46, but I swear, our system could not have always been this party driven, could it? Wasn't there a time when our representatives actually placed THAT responsibility first?

Perhaps we need a radical movement such as the Tea Party for those of us simply fighting for human rights. Maybe the Disco Party. I think it is time our electorate realizes that they can be voted out as easily as they were voted in. I would love to see the fat cats replaced with truly grass roots candidates who don't spend millions on ads or channels running 24/7 with their "message".

It becomes more difficult to retain hope for our future when our present is so crappy and doesn't seem to be heading into a brighter direction. Sorry for sounding so glum.

Thanks, At Last!

[christie]

Originally Posted by Jess

I totally agree with "not liking war", hell, my old motto was " if they don't want gays to serve, then don't draft them" or denied for not being flat foot but "light in the loafer".
When I hear stories of folks actually willing and desirous to risk all for my rights ( whether I have them all or not) I have to place my support with these men and women.
I am pretty moderate also and do actually try to research my candidates and issues as I get older and try to become more informed.
I don't think anyone thought this would really pass on to the debate stage because why? Mid term elections.... Everything has to wait until then. Unfortunately, any decent politicians will only have about nine months to get anything done before what? 2012 elections....

I am only 46, but I swear, our system could not have always been this party driven, could it? Wasn't there a time when our representatives actually placed THAT responsibility first?

Perhaps we need a radical movement such as the Tea Party for those of us simply fighting for human rights. Maybe the Disco Party. I think it is time our electorate realizes that they can be voted out as easily as they were voted in. I would love to see the fat cats replaced with truly grass roots candidates who don't spend millions on ads or channels running 24/7 with their "message".

It becomes more difficult to retain hope for our future when our present is so crappy and doesn't seem to be heading into a brighter direction. Sorry for sounding so glum.

Thanks, At Last!

Disco Party? Please tell me that polyester suits (ala Travolta in SNF) and those hideous hairstyles aren't required? I'm also opposed to sequins.

I think something like the "Has some Goddamn&d Sense" Party might be nice.

[Jess]

All I got to say.. is NO FAG, NO FLAIR!

[Jess]

An on line petition from GET EQUAL. It only takes a second to send!

http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/...tition_KEY=666

[Jess]

Judge Orders Lesbian Reinstated To Air Force

by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 24, 2010
A federal judge ruled Friday that a decorated flight nurse discharged from the Air Force for being gay should be given her job back as soon as possible in the latest legal setback to the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.


The decision by U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton came in a closely watched case as a tense debate has been playing out over the policy. Senate Republicans blocked an effort to lift the ban this week, but two federal judges have ruled against the policy in recent weeks.


Maj. Margaret Witt was discharged under the "don't ask, don't tell" policy and sued to get her job back. A judge in 2006 rejected Witt's claims that the Air Force
violated her rights when it fired her. An appeals court panel overruled him two years later, leaving it to Leighton to determine whether her firing met that standard.


Witt, of Spokane, joined the Air Force in 1987 and was suspended in 2004 just short of retirement after her commanders learned she was in a relationship with a civilian woman. She was a flight nurse with an aeromedical evacuation squadron responsible for transporting and caring for injured soldiers.

Her attorneys, led by the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington, insisted that Witt was well respected and liked by her colleagues, that her sexuality never caused problems in the unit, and that her firing actually hurt military goals such as morale, unit cohesion and troop readiness. Several members of the squadron testified to that effect and said they would welcome Witt back to the unit.

Lawyers for the Air Force said such evidence was irrelevant.

Military personnel decisions can't be run by unit referendum, they said.
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Former Marine Sees 'Long Way To Go' For Equality

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...toryId=4516989

[iamkeri1]

I am totally jazzed by this decision. There is little likelihood that it will ne over turned in appeal since it was referred b the appellate court back to the lower courts for reconsideration. The talk on the news could be that this will bring an end to DADT since the court ruled that each person could only be fired following proof that they caused harm to the goal of the military or to the morale of the unit.

A little bit of progress made today
We shall overcome,
Smooches,
Keri

[theoddz]

Here's the decision of Maj. Witt's case as covered by Rachel Maddow.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908...52146#39352146

I'm totally thrilled with this. I look at each one of my own Drill Instructors from Parris Island, SC, (1979) who were discharged for simply being gay (all but one of 4) and I wonder where they are now. I know they're watching this and I can't help but feel that they are smiling. After 31 years, change is coming and justice is finally on the way.

I also wonder if they, like so many others who were discharged for no more cause than who they love, were among those who received administrative discharges that were "under conditions other than honorable". That was common back then, and it stripped these good people of all VA benefits and marred their records for life.

When DADT is finally overturned and things are put to right, I hope these past heroes will be able to submit application to correct their military discharges that will allow them full benefits as United States Veterans. I will keep these honorable men and women in my thoughts and prayers for justice and final resolution of this terrible wrong.

~Theo~