DADT IS REALLY, REALLY DEAD

FINAL VOTE TO REPEAL

DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL

65 to 31

**********

That is better than a 2 to 1 majority. WOW !!! What an amazing turn-around.

Yes, it does not go into effect immediately. First, both Secretary Gates and President Obama have to certify that the military is ready for the change. Then Congress has 60 days to . . . what?

I'm not quite sure what they have the power to do at that point. It's probably primarily a face-saving strategy, as is the certification. Nevertheless, it means that gay and lesbian service persons need to stay closeted for a little while longer. Although I seriously doubt there will be any discharges processed from now on.

Now, what about Obama's strategy? He could have ended it by executive order, or at least ended enforcement of it, from day one of his presidency. He chose not to, and I have come to agree that this was the wisest course.

Here's what happened instead. He ordered the extensive survey, which showed that the majority of the military and their spouses say that letting gays serve openly will cause little or no problem. A large majority in another poll said that they had knowingly served with a gay person at some point in the past -- and the majority of them found no problem with that.

Consider what a difference this made in the deliberations, particularly in the Senate, which held hearings and its vote after the report came out. Also consider that Obama had the support of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Secretary of Defense, Gen. Petraeus, Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Colin Powell. Would they have all been as actively supportive if Obama had ended it with an executive order?

Waiting for the December 1st report also gave more time for getting politicians used to the idea that it might not hurt them with voters. As more and more individual congressmen began to express support, it encouraged others to do so.

In the end, it was clear that there was a consensus building that this was the right thing to do, and that it can be done. This is an example of the approach Obama brought to the office and what he has been trying to do in other areas as well. It hasn't always worked, often has not; and there are some issues he would have done well not even to try it. But this time, it worked.

What would likely have happened if he had "fought harder for it" with Congress is that it would have hardened resistance. It would have been defeated. And then we would have a court decision that would have imposed the change on an unprepared military instead of giving the military time to decide it was the right thing to do, with all the rancor of "activist judges" and claims that civilians just don't understand what it's like on the battlefield, etc. Much better to have the main meme be that the rank and file troops support it, and even those who don't will adapt -- or they can just leave, according to Gen. Petraeus.

Here is one time, at least, when I am convinced that Obama's way was the right way.

Ralph

PS: A few days ago, a headline framed the Senate vote as a replay of Obama vs McNothing. We know how that turned out. McNothing's opposition was about as effective as a wet noodle before the invention of Viagra.

I think I'll have to change my most-favorite headline to "John McNothing is dead."

DADT *** IS *** DEAD

Just five minutes ago around 11:45am, the Senate took a cloture vote to move the repeal of DADT to debate and final vote. The vote to invoke cloture was:

63 for, 33 against

Debate and final vote will likely be this afternoon. This procedural vote almost certainly indicates that repeal will pass.

Stay tuned.

Ralph

DADT is dead #16

The Senate will vote tomorrow. This letter from an anonymous gay soldier about to deploy to Iran was posted on Huffington Post today, having been previously posted on Jezebel.com.

If there is any debate before the vote tomorrow, I wish someone would read this poignant letter and then let John McNothing and his ilk cast their repugnant votes against repeal.

I don't know if this was actually written by a soldier or perhaps by a good writer who used the opportunity to make a point. It doesn't matter. The letter speaks truth, whoever wrote it.

Maybe tonight is the last night anyone will have to endure the silence. Let us hope so.

I'm writing letters to my loved ones in case I don't return from Afghanistan. I hope my partner never has to open his. If he does, it will ask him to tell who I was, because I couldn't.

I was a teenager when my brother came home with an American flag draped over his coffin, so I understand the fragility of life and the dangers of serving. And the additional burden of Don't Ask, Don't Tell is one I choose to carry. I volunteered for deployment, and I continue to serve. It's my deepest core value, whatever the cost.

The silence is the hardest part. I listen intently as my fellow soldiers talk about facing the reality of leaving their loved ones for a year and all the life events that will be missed. I don't talk about my own experience at all, because it's easier to come across as cold and removed than to risk slipping and mentioning that my loved one is of the same gender. For all I know, there are other gay soldiers in my unit, ones who understand what I'm going through. My gay friends in civilian life are supportive, but they don't often understand the military or soldiering. That camouflage is another burden I carry as I prepare to leave.

It's also difficult knowing that this policy is nothing more than politics. I try not to think too much about DADT and how destructive it is to peoples' lives, to military units, readiness, and to the progression of our country to a better place. But when I do let myself think about these things, I seethe with anger.

I am angry at the politicians who have for several years talked the talk on the policy, heightening the awareness of homosexuality among military personnel, and then done little to nothing to actually change it. We gay soldiers are the ones who suffer but can't openly participate in the debate.

I am angry at certain senators -- John McCain comes to mind -- who have obviously lost touch with any understanding of the current generation of service men and women, who, as we all know, support repeal at overwhelming numbers. They hide behind a vitriolic rhetoric fraught with illogical arguments and innuendo, smothered by their obvious fear.

And so we wait to see what the Senate will do. In the meantime, I have to remind myself to look elsewhere for comfort, to remember the courage of people like Dan Choi and his consistent devotion to changing this policy, at a very personal cost. Or Katie Miller, who made public at West Point who she really is, but would seek return the moment the policy is overturned. I also remind myself of the moral courage of Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen, thankful that some at the highest level of military leadership get it even as others call our plight a "distraction."

And I'm reminded of the moral courage of my partner, who encourages me everyday to continue to put on that uniform; who believes that some things are worthy of our energies; who quietly plods along and prepares for my deployment as I do the same. I know as a soldier, it is the people we leave behind who bear the real brunt of deployment, who hold it all together, who send the care packages and pray for our returns. He'll have to do it on his own though. There are no support groups for the gay partners left back home.

In the meantime, gay soldiers who are still serving in silence will continue to put on our rucksacks and do what our country asks of us -- and wait.

Amen.

Ralph

Proof of the obvious

A study done at the University of Maryland has shown that viewers of Fox News are significantly more likely to believe misinformation about current issues.

Compared with viewers/readers of other news outlets, FoxNews vieweres were:

12% more likely to believe that the stimulus caused job losses.

31% more likely to believe that the health care law will worsen the deficit.

26% more likely to believe the economy is getting worse.

30% more likely to believe that most scientists deny that climate change is occurring.

14% more likely to believe the stimulus legislation did not include any tax cuts.

14% more likely to believe their own income taxes have gone up.

And, of course, it's what people believe, not the actual facts, that influence how they feel about the ones they think caused it -- usually the same ones that should be getting credit for the actual, opposite, true situation.

I would put this -- deliberate misinformation being sold to/bought by the American people -- alongside the influence of money in our governance as the two biggest obstacles to bringing about progressive change in this country.

Ralph

Truman/Dewey deja vu

Remember the big newspaper headlines "Dewey Wins !!!" which the next morning had to be changed to "Truman Pulls Surprise Upset"?

This morning conflicting headlines on Huffington Post are still posted as of noon:

12/16/10 9:53 pm. "Tea Party Win: A New Era Begins as Conservatives Help Kill Major Bill." The article details how the GOP congressional leaders bowed to the pressure from the new insurgent group, led by Sen. Jim DeMint, and refused to allow debate on the appropriations bill.

12/17/10 4:03 am. "Tax Cut Passage Passed by Congress." The bill is now on its way for President Obama's signature. There must have been some intense negotiating in the dead of night. Obama was directly involved, making phone calls to key senators.

Aside from the off-again, on-again status of the bill, leading to conflicting headlines; and as much as we hate the gratuitous give-away to the wealthiest Americans -- the bill contains much that the Democrats wanted as well.

My guess is that this will prove to be the pivotal point in Obama's presidency and will ensure his re-election in 2012. You may disagree with him, but I think he no longer looks weak and ineffective. I predict that this is the first step in some real cooperation from the new GOP leadership in the House. We may actually begin to see some bipartisan success.

We would all like to see more forceful leadership from Obama on getting progressive legislation passed. But the fact is that we have nearly equally divided congressional houses -- and I'm willing to give Obama credit for playing his hand the way he thinks is going to be most productive in the long run -- at least, I'm willing to give him some more time in this new climate to prove himself.

As Charles Krauthammer pointed out in his AJC column today, Obama has recovered from his mid-term shellacking a full year sooner than Bill Clinton did in a comparable situation. And we call Clinton "the comeback kid."

Ralph

DADT is dead #15

My silence lately has been mostly due to the worst cold I've had in a decade, and I just couldn't get motivated to write something -- plus, the awful idea of extending tax cuts for the very rich just added to my feeling dispirited.

So, I'm going back to the topic that may, just may, turn out to be -- at long last -- a happy success. And, Richard, please, this time . . . don't rain on the parade by greeting my happy report by asking: don't I fault Obama for not fighting harder for it? Let one happy occasion go by without your obligatory trashing him who has disappointed you. If this moment of success comes, let's just savor it. It has been a long, hard process -- and DADT is only a small part of a much longer and harder road for gay people.

And, of course, the homophobic old men in the Republican party could pull defeat out of the jaws of victory here. Texas Congressman Louie Gohmert said in the House debate that letting gays serve openly would be a threat to the existence of America. "He Who Shall Not Be Named" doestn't go quite that far -- just that we shouldn't introduce such big changes in a time of war.

Why does anyone pay any attention to him anymore? On this issue, look who disagrees with him: Commander in Chief Obama and VP Biden, Sec. of Defense Gates, Chm of the Joint Chiefs Mullen, top general in Afghanistan Petraeus, Chm of Joint Chiefs and President when DADT was instituted, Gen. Colin Powell, and Pres. Bill Clinton.

Poor shrinking McNobody; he is so small compared to them-- no integrity and no credibility left.

Consider this, in addition to the simple fact that repealing DADT is the RIGHT thing to do:

1. All those top military leaders think it should be repealed, now.

2. Even the head of the Marines, who is himself opposed, said that if it is repealed the Marines will adapt and, in their characteristic fashion, do the best job of all in doing so. No defiant, undermining spirit there.

3. Something like 77% of Americans now believe it should be repealed.

4. Something like 70% of those 140,000 who responded to a poll of military and their families said it would pose little or no problem.

5. On Wednesday, the House passed repeal by 250-175.

6. Steney Hoyer, the #2 Dem in the House, has said that his counterparts in the Senate say that they now have sufficient votes to pass it there.

So: This would be a very significant, historic milestone in gay rights -- to have Congress voluntarily -- without court order (although there are signs that would be coming soon), they will have voted in favor of letting gay men and lesbians serve openly in our military organizations.

That is HUGE.

Ralph