Boy, oh boy, Baltimore Sun staffers sure did pen a blistering analysis of Don't Ask, Don't Tell!

While the Sun editorial doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the table, but does offer quite the scathing conclusion:

This policy of pointless discrimination perhaps serves only cowards in Congress and demagogues on the campaign stump. Anyone who truly supports the troops will vote to treat all of them with the dignity and respect they deserve.

Remember top Republican candidate Mike Huckabee's previous comments on Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Oh, and don't forget his uniform response at the CNN/YouTube debates. As for the demagogues, well, that may very well be the Democrats.

By the way, today's the 66th anniversary of Pearl Harbor. Just thought you should know that…

It's been 14 years since Bill Clinton's administration enacted Don't Ask, Don't Tell, the discriminatory measure barring out gays from serving in the military. To mark the bill's anniversary, 28 retired admirals and generals have sent Congress a bit of an anti-birthday card. There's no "many more" on this one:

…28 retired generals and admirals plan to release a letter on Friday urging Congress to repeal the law.

"We respectfully urge Congress to repeal the ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy,” the letter says. “Those of us signing this letter have dedicated our lives to defending the rights of our citizens to believe whatever they wish.”

The retired officers offer data showing that 65,000 gay men and lesbians now serve in the American armed forces and that there are more than one million gay veterans.

“They have served our nation honorably,” the letter states.

Human Rights Campaign and gay activists, meanwhile, are showing their indignation by flying 12,000 flags on the National Mall. Those flags, of course, represent 12,000 soldiers booted for being bent. 12,000 sure is a conveniently round number, huh?

Oh, and be sure to watch HRC's video about the flag flying - it's very patriotic.

Barack Obama offered a straight answer to HRC's straight-forward question: “If you are elected President, what concrete steps would you take to overturn ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell?'”.

Unlike John Edwards, Chris Dodd and Joe Biden, the Illinois Senator actually tells voters what he'll do to overturn the military's gay ban: sign the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, among other things.

And, like a good politician, he slyly reminds us that a Democrat - Bill Clinton - helped enact the discriminatory act. Clever.

Read all about it, after the jump…

CONTINUED »

The CNN/YouTube debates sure were straight last night, huh? We had to wade through immigration, Iraq and the economy before we got our 'mo moment.

For those of you who came and went before the blessed event, we'll fill you in: homosexual and Retired Brigadier General Keith Kerr inquired:

I'm a retired brigadier general with 43 years of service. And I'm a graduate of the Special Forces Officer Course, the Commanding General Staff Course and the Army War College. And I'm an openly gay man.

I want to know why you think that American men and women in uniform are not professional enough to serve with gays and lesbians.

Well said, if you ask us.

We break the candidates down, after the jump.

CONTINUED »

Mark your calendar, readers, because November 30th marks the 14th anniversary of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. And, in honor of this dishonorable event, HRC asked Democratic presidential hopefuls how they'll end the military's gay ban.

The non-profit will feature a new response each day, starting with John Edwards.

CONTINUED »

The United States spent 24 of its precious hours honoring our veterans yesterday. As millions came together in militaristic remembrance, retired Navy Capt. Sandy Geiselman lamented one of America's most conspicuous pieces of discrimination: Don't Ask, Don't Tell. As part of her piece, Geiselman points out three of the law's fundamental flaws…

First, DADT threatens our national security by prohibiting able-bodied and intelligent gays and lesbians. Second, it's fucking rude. We'll let Geiselman make the third and final point:

Don't Ask, Don't Tell" flies in the face of family values. As the mother of two daughters, I know just how difficult it can be to maintain a family while serving in our forces. This law, however, makes it doubly so. There are no benefits or support for same-sex families in the armed forces, and for those deployed abroad, keeping a family unit intact while serving in the shadows of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is nearly impossible.

That should get conservatives', but oh-so-many of them don't consider gays "family".

Those poor, ignorant apes.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell got a judicial probing yesterday in Seattle.

Former military major Margaret Witt and her lawyer are appealing Witt's dishonorable discharge. Witt had spent eighteen years serving her country and had even garnered two decorations from President Bush when an anonymous tipster blew up her lesbianic spot, thus leading to her aforementioned discharge.

Witt fought the 2004 decision, but lost during the first round of July 2006 hearings. Now Witt's fighting back hard in Seattle, where her lawyer's playing the Lawrence v. Texas card. That case, of course, dismantled our nation's anti-sodomy laws. Witt's lawyer, however, insists that ruling also applies to Don't Ask, Don't Tell because it makes gay sex a "fundamental right". DADT violates those rights by enforcing gay silence.

A Justice Department lawyer says otherwise, telling the appeals panel, The court very clearly stops short of…recognizing a fundamental right."

Witt, who appeared in uniform during yesterday's hearings, describes DADT as "irrational". We describe it as "discriminatory," which violates more than just Lawrence v. Texas, but our constitution.

The Don't Ask, Don't Tell debate seems to be heating up. Less than a week after five Democrats came out against the discriminatory anti-gay military ban, the Washington Post has also voiced their opposition.

Highlighting the "absurdity" of the military's gay advertising, the Post editors write:

Since 1993, more than 11,000 people have been discharged from the services because of their homosexuality. Of those, 800 were in positions deemed "mission-critical" by the Pentagon.
…
According to USA Today, which informed the Defense Department of its unusual advertising venue, the Navy is looking for Arabic translators and intelligence analysts, the Air Force is looking for social workers and nurses, and the Army and Army National Guard have infantry and artillery positions available. Mind you, the military didn't go to GLEE.com directly. The ad placements involved a mix-up with the military's private ad agency. And the listings were removed once the Pentagon was informed.

The whole sorry episode highlights the absurdity of the ban on openly gay people in the military. Israel, Australia, Britain and 21 other countries have no problem with gays and lesbians serving openly in their armed forces. With its military stretched to the breaking point, the United States should follow their wise lead. That it doesn't is as shortsighted as it is unjust.

Now, we doubt this editorial will make the military rethink its backward policies, but it's nice to know the paper's got our back.

Five Democratic representatives from telling it like it is: Don't Ask, Don't Tell ain't right. Via Servicemember's Legal Defense Network:

Five additional Members of the House of Representatives have signed on as co-sponsors of The Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1246), a Congressional bill to repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual military personnel.

Representatives Al Green (D-TX), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (D-IL), Ron Klein (D-FL), Patrick J. Murphy (D-PA) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) bring the total number of co-sponsors to 136.

Murphy's involvement may be the most compelling: the Pennsylvania politico served in Iraq and he once taught at West Point, the educational heart of our armed forces. Oh, and he's on the House Armed Services Committee, which will help things a bit.

Christopher Mastromarino must have a guard-ian angel:

A soldier with an exemplary service record will be allowed to finish out the remainder of his term after he was apparently targeted for dismissal by his Army superiors because they think that he is gay.
…
The charges alleged that Mastromarino sexually harassed other male soldiers in his unit with unwanted touching and verbal comments — charges the decorated service member denies. He was ultimately convicted of three counts of simple assault.

But the Maryland native told PageOneQ that the prosecution's case was filled with conflicting testimony, here-say and rumors, and a questionable timeline.

In addition, according to sworn testimony during the trial, two prosecution witnesses said that they did not consider the physical contact between themselves and Mastromarino to be an assault, although the command chose to bring those charges forward against him.

"In the Army, we hear a lot about Army values," Mastromarino told PageOneQ. "I don't see that in this case. I don't see Army values being put towards me."

Well, the army needs as many men as it can get, so we suspect they bent their archaic rules a bit.

All these wars and altercations are making the Army even looser than before:

The Army last year again increased the number of its recruits who have prior criminal records by granting them special exceptions.
…
In the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 18 percent of recruits needed waivers for problems with the law - up from 15 percent the previous year, Maj. Gen. Thomas Bostick, commander of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, told a Pentagon news conference. He said 87 percent of those were for misdemeanors such as joy riding or violating curfew.

Taking it up the butt, however, simply won't be tolerated.

Conservative journalist Robert Maginnis on why we should keep Don't Ask, Don't Tell:

Sexual tensions and sex-based favoritism in intimate settings destroy cohesion, whether they involve opposite- or same-sex attraction. If we respect women’s need for privacy from men, then we ought to respect the same need on the part of heterosexuals with regard to homosexuals. Protecting privacy in a military with open homosexuality would necessitate recognizing essentially four sexes and would severely disrupt units.

If that's the case, why don't we have four types of bathrooms? Or, actually, six (for the trannies).

Prestigious Yale University recently lost a fight to keep military recruiters off its sprawling campus. Determined to make their case, however, about forty Yale Law School students came out yesterday to silently protest Don't Ask, Don't Tell: the discriminatory law barring openly gay soldiers from fighting for our nation.

Though Yale never barred the military from its campus, it objected to recruiters attending the employer interview program for students. The government, however, threatened to withhold $350 million in funds unless the school gave them access. Unable to fight back, the school agreed. The students, however, refuse to back down.

Who says all Yalies are assholes?

Not two weeks after pleading guilty to lewd conduct, Republican Senator Larry Craig defended Don't Ask Don't Tell: the discriminatory policy barring gays from serving in the military. In an August 17th letter obtained by PageOneQ, Craig write to a voter:

I am glad you shared your suggestions with me. As you know, the Department of Defense's policy on this issue is commonly referred to as a "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy and would not allow for singling out homosexuals. In addition, I don't believe the military should be a place for social experimentation. The sole mission of the armed forces is to defend the United States.

…The issue is not fairness, but military effectiveness. The armed forces exist to wage war. It is unacceptable to risk the lives of American soldiers and sailors merely to accommodate the sexual lifestyles of certain individuals.

If Craig's so interested in protecting human life, he would not continue to support the war.

Also, what's this "social experimentation" bullshit? Does he not live in America? Gays have been out and open for decades now. Have we crumbled like Sodom? No. Have we become a more secular, pagan nation. No. Are we headed toward disastrous ruin? Maybe, but not because of the gays.

Actually, America's destruction will mostly likely come from people like Craig.