We love when things fall into place. Or, at least, when we get two like-minded press releases back to back and, thus, can lump them into one super-duper posting. For example, we've just received two briefs on some noteworthy, armed forces-related press releases.

The first, sent by Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund, notified us that fourteen former military officials are raising their decorated fists at the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policies. A brief filed with the First Circuit Court of Appeals reads:

Based on their experience in the military, [these leaders] have first-hand knowledge that numerous gay people serve in the Armed Forces with full awareness by their commands...the experience of numerous foreign militaries culturally similar to the United States uniformly demonstrates that the integration of openly gay service members has no adverse effect on cohesion.
...[The law] undermines the military’s ability to fulfill its primary mission of providing national security by discouraging the enlistment of gay persons qualified to serve their country and by expelling from the military those who have served with honor.

The second release concerns The Center for the Study of Sexual Minorities in the Military: the think-tank dedicated to exploring the trials and tribulations of army queers. The CSSMM, it seems, has had a bit of identity crisis and has renamed itself the Michael D. Palm Center, after the philanthropist who donated one million bones to the organization. Center Director Aaron Belkin said:

Our mission is one that Michael D. Palm believed in very much...The new name of the organization will honor his memory and will reflect his interests, his forward thinking and remarkable legacy.

Michael Palm’s generous donation legitimizes our past efforts and jump-starts us with the resources we need to enhance our organization and continue achieving our evidence-based education goals.

If "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" gets the judicial ax (a fairly big "if"), does that mean the Center - which works to inform government officials on the dangers of the policies - will need more money, or less?

We usually reprint press releases, but considering there are two, we're just going to direct you to the appropriate sites. If you're itching to read the entire "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" press release, click here. If you're interested in delving into the details of the Michael D Palm Center - well, you should go right ahead and click here. Easy as pie...whatever that means.