The House was hopping yesterday as five witnesses took the stand to discuss Don't Ask, Don't Tell with the Armed Services Committee.

Among the witnesses one could find Eric Alva, a gay man who was also the first soldier wounded in Iraq, Capt. Joan Darrah and Army Maj. Gen. Vance Coleman, both of whom are retired. They all back a DADT repeal, as do the majority of Americans.

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While presidential hopeful John McCain continues to support Don't Ask, Don't Tell, a vast - and growing - number of Americans are coming out against the discriminatory policy:

Public attitudes about gays in the military have shifted dramatically since President Bill Clinton unveiled what became his administration's "don't ask, don't tell" policy 15 years ago today.

Seventy-five percent of Americans in a new Washington Post-ABC News poll said gay people who are open about their sexual orientation should be allowed to serve in the U.S. military, up from 62 percent in early 2001 and 44 percent in 1993.

Majorities of Democrats, Republicans and independents alike now believe it is acceptable for openly gay people to serve in the U.S. armed forces.

See? Americans aren't as dumb as people think!

Mitt Romney's nothing but a stubborn old mule.

The failed presidential candidate, who some say may be John McCain's top veep pick, appeared on CNN yesterday and, despite former military leaders' opposition opinion, backed Don't Ask, Don't Tell.

Said Romney when asked about whether it's time to repeal the discriminatory measure:

You know, I don't think so. I think particularly at a time of conflict, as we're experiencing in Iraq and Afghanistan, this is not the time to be putting in place a major change in policy and trying to accommodate all of the adjustments that that would require. That's something which clearly we'll learn from the military and the people who are responsible for managing our troops down the road. But certainly now is not the time to make a change of that nature.

Really, Mitt Romney? Because four retired military men oversaw- and backed - a study saying repealing the law would not hurt unit cohesion. But, for some reason, Romney, a millionaire political scion, thinks he knows more than people who were actually in the military. Good God, Mitt! Have you no brain?

Video after the jump…

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Don't Ask, Don't Tell took a severe blow today. A study released today asserts that openly gay soldiers do not threaten unit cohesion.

Such a statement wouldn't normally be a big deal - we've all seen that Britain and Israel's respective militaries haven't crumbled to the queers, a point that comes up in this study.

The most signification aspect of this report is that the coordinators came in the form of four retired military officers, including a Republican who helped implement the discriminatory military measure…

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The military's anti-gay Don't Ask, Don't Tell remains a blight on our nation's armed services. Especially for the women:

The Army and Air Force discharged a disproportionate number of women in 2007 under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits openly gay people from serving in the military, according to Pentagon statistics gathered by an advocacy group.

While women make up 14 percent of Army personnel, 46 percent of those discharged under the policy last year were women. And while 20 percent of Air Force personnel are women, 49 percent of its discharges under the policy last year were women.
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Over all, the number of gay men and lesbians discharged from the military in 2007 rose to 627 from 612 a year before, according to Pentagon statistics. Those figures represent a drop of about 50 percent from a peak in 2001, before the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Pentagon released the numbers after Servicemember's Legal Defense Network invoked the dreaded Freedom Of Information Act, which forced the government to confess their disgraceful sins.

Admiral Mike Mullen's definitely trumping his Joint Chiefs predecessor Peter Pace. Former Chairman Pace, of course, went out on a low note soon after calling gays "immoral."

Now, less than a year after taking over as head of the military and saying they're ready for same-sex soldiers, Mullen's making more homo headway.

From Servicemembers Legal Defense Network:

Speaking at West Point on Sunday, Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told graduating cadets that Congress, and not the military, is responsible for the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law banning openly lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans from military service. Admiral Mullen’s answer came in response to a cadet’s question asking what would happen if the next administration were supportive of legislation allowing gays to serve openly.

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Don't Ask, Don't Tell gets fresh life today. And it's not a military matter.

A number of shareholders will tomorrow ask the board of Well Fargo to remove sexual orientation from their anti-discrimination policy. Rather than railing entirely against "gay sins," as Ken Hutcherson did against Microsoft, these clever little homophobes insist that "gay" can't be seen, like race, and therefore fagalas should just keep a lid on it:

Whereas, it is similarly inappropriate and legally problematic for employees to discuss personal sexual matters while on the job.

Whereas, unlike the issues of race, age, gender and certain physical disabilities, it would be impossible to discern a person's sexual orientation from their appearance.

Whereas, unless an employee chooses to talk about their sexual interests or activities while working, the issue of sexual orientation is, essentially, moot.
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Whereas, the Armed Forces of the United States is one of the largest and most diverse organizations in the world. They protect the security of us all while adhering to a "don't ask, don't tell policy" regarding sexual interests.

You can be sure, of course, that the shareholders' resolution brings up a bit of Biblical reference, saying that all three major religions "condemn" gay ways.

This isn't the first time Well Fargo has felt the anti-gay backlash. Focus On The Family ended their business relations in 2005 after the bank contributed dough to GLAAD, which the Christian right basically regards as a Satanic covenant.

Today marks Don't Ask, Don't Tell's 15th anniversary. May this year be its last…

The Pentagon ain't about telling. Not when it comes to Don't Ask, Don't Tell, at least.

Government officials insist they're still booting bent soldiers, yet they refuse to "speculate" on why discharge numbers dropped since the war began. Gay activists claim the military no longer wants to fire flamers, but the Pentagon maintains its doing its discriminatory duty. From an official statement:

The Department will continue to follow congressional mandate on homosexual conduct. This law requires the Department of Defense to separate from the armed forces members who engage in or attempt to engage in homosexual acts; state they are homosexual or bisexual; or marry or attempt to marry a person of the same biological sex.

This does nothing to explain why openly gay soldier Darren Manzella continues to fight alongside his straight comrades.

Soldier Darren Manzella broke new ground by coming out on 60 Minutes. While one would expect some repurcussions for such a public rejection of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Manzella says he's been greeted by official - and welcome - silence. What's more: he's learned he's not alone:

"I thought I would at least be asked about the segment or approached and told I shouldn't speak to the media again," says Manzella, 30, a medic who recently returned from Kuwait and plans to hold a news conference today in Washington to discuss the military's silence.

He says he is among a growing number of servicemembers who have told other troops and even commanders they are gay and have not been discharged.
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Manzella says he was invited to join more than 600 members of an invitation-only MySpace group, Guys and Gals Like Us, for gays who don't hide their orientation from their units. The members use pseudonyms because some gay servicemembers have been discharged for acknowledging their sexual orientation elsewhere online.
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"A lot of servicemembers are getting 'wink-wink' treatment from their commanders," says Aaron Belkin, director of the Palm Center at the University of California, Santa Barbara…

While the military establishment keeps mum, rabble-rousing Elaine Donnelly from the Center for Military Readiness wants military injustice: "[Manzella's] commanders should be disciplined appropriately for failing to do their duty." Said commanders have yet to return Donnelly's call.

Long shot presidential candidate Duncan Hunter took some time to smear queers on this weekend's Don't Ask-oriented 60 Minutes. The Republican reiterated his homophobic ideology, saying that gays shouldn't serve in the military because we're not "hardened warriors". Hunter also took aim at those gay-loving Brits, a key ally in our Iraq invasion:

The Fallujahs of the world, the Ramadis of the world that require heavy combat and lots of fire-fighting capability - those are the places the Americans go. The other countries tend to go to the so-called peacekeeper zones, where they have fewer fire fights and less contact with the enemy. And the European nations show little will to send large contingents of their military people into dangerous places.

Admiral Sir Alan West defended his nation's bravery, "I think American troops are very brave and I think British troops are very brave." He also reminded Hunter that homos can fight with the best of 'em:

You read about the Spartans, they were all homosexuals, the whole lot of them. And I don't think anyone would suggest for a second that the 500 Spartans fighting against the Persian Army were not pretty macho.

No one in their right mind, at least…