Pentagon Budget Key to DADT Repeal

The other day I was talking to a friend who believed that DADT is the only time that the department of defense practiced discrimination. Before DADT the military made a practice of actually asking if there was any history of same sex activity, answering yes obviously would disqualify one from entering the service. So when Clinton inacted DADT, all that changed was them asking the question, the policy of discharging homosexuals has remained the same. I was discharged in 1986 for being gay and at that time there were witch hunts going on with large numbers of people being discharged. It was ridiculous, especially considering that the gay guys were usually the victims of sexual advances or sexual violence from "hetero" men, many of whom were married with children. There are no words to express what a shame it is that the united states of America has continued to practice discrimination and turn their backs to our brothers and sisters. It needs to stop NOW!!

I am tired of hearing how someone can't move until someone else tells them to move. This is such bullshit! Someone do something! The leaders aren't leading, the followers aren't following and NO ONE is doing anything except to point fingers and say "I can't do anything until they tell me too" I'm telling ya, move your asses and do SOMETHING!

There is an openly gay candidate, Jacob Meister (meisterforsenate dot com) running for Obama's open Senate seat in Illinois. He' an excellent progressive candidate with a comprehensive economic plan and has said he's willing to spend political capital on LGBT issues. His website has a good overview, but on the home page you can click thru to his YouTube Channel. He has a good chance (again see the home page). People can same day register and vote thru Jan. 26 and the Primary is Feb. 2. Spread the word, volunteer, donate.

Anyone who believes that DADT repeal is still possible in 2010 is detached from reality. All of the polls for the 2010 mid-terms suggest a large anti-incumbent backlash in the November elections. The House of Representatives and Senate are not going to touch a single piece of controversial legislation between now and November. It doesn't matter what sort of bill it is attached to. The saddest part of this whole scenario is that there is very little that is going to stop Republicans from gaining seats back in both legislatures. That will only further complicate the goal of repeal in the years ahead. Gay and lesbian service members need to take a deep breath and prepare for a much longer stay in the closet since our politicians are too cowardly to take on this issue. I mostly feel for the partners of gay servicemembers, who live an anonymous life as an invisible military spouse -- separated from all of the support mechanisms afforded to all other military families.

“Nineteen percent of the military's active-duty enlisted force is black, compared to 13 percent of the country's population”. This quote is from a CBS News on-line article titled “Fewer Blacks Enlisting In Military”. The article was dated 6 March 2006.

"Greg from Denver" you are wrong. People of color do not have a higher than average involvement in the armed services. That is an outdate sterotype from the 1960s. Rep Rangle from New York wants the public to think blacks are being taken advantage of -- but the numbers aren't there.

Don't forget that some of those being kicked out are both Black and Gay or Lesbian. When ones makes comparisons between race and sexual orientation it makes it sounds like we all aren't part of the us. That just isn't so. I haven't seen statistics on what percent of those kicked out under don't ask don't tell are people of color, given the higher than average involvement of people of color in the armed services there is good chance that the man or woman being separated isn't someone of mostly european ancestry.

Actually, approximately 88% of Americans want it repealed, the last time I checked.

Throwing 2 gay/lesbian soldiers a day out of the military is wasting our tax dollars and weakening our military. Now is the time for us to DEMAND that the people whose salaries and benefits we pay with our tax dollars STOP THE INSANITY. 70% of Americans want this unconstitutional policy called DADT to end, and not three years from now, NOW. Obama needs to pretend that black people are being thrown out of the military rather than gays, and as commander in chief put an end to this discrimination now. If the Republicans try to block it (and they will), he needs to label them unAmerican (as Bush did to anyone who disagreed with him) and against the US military.