Tag Archives: DADT News Update

Robert Gates Tells Defense Dept.To Speed Up ‘DADT’ Repeal As McCain Flip-Flops To Supporting It

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According to Stars and Stripes Magazine Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered the Defense Department to speed up the  the steps it will take to begin training to begin as soon as possible for the DADT repeal to take affect.

Gates in a Pentagon press conference revealed a three-step plan: finalize changes in related regulations and policies, and get clearer definitions on benefits; prepare training materials for chaplains, lawyers, commanders and troops; and then begin to train servicemembers worldwide.

“We’re trying to get the first two phases of that process done as quickly as possible,” Gates said, adding he has instructed Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley to accelerate his efforts. “My hope is that it can be done within a matter of a very few weeks so that we can then move on to what is the real challenge, which is providing training to 2.2 million people. And we will do that as expeditiously as we can.”

And in what appears to be news from the Bizarro world.  Rabid homophobe Senator John “Grandpa Munster” McCain, DADT’ repeals fiercest opponent in the Senate, now says that he will work to make the DADT repeal work.

Via The Hill

McCain signaled that he had made peace with the lame-duck bill to do away with the military’s ban on openly gay and lesbian service members, of which he had been an outspoken critic.

“I think I have to do everything I can to make sure that the important moral, retention, recruitment, and battle effectiveness of the military is minimized as much as possible,” McCain said on Fox Business. “It is a law and I have to do whatever I can to help the men and women who are serving particularly in combat cope with this new situation. I will do everything I can to make it work.”

I guess the nurse finally brought Senile, I mean Senator, Grandpa Munster his JELLO so that he’d stop yelling at the imaginary kids on his lawn.  Either that or McCain has a dastardly evil anti-gay plan up his short little Napoleon like sleeve. 

I think the latter. 

The Curse of John McCain is far from over, at least not for 6 more years.

DADT UPDATE 12/18/2010 – 5:57 EST: DADT Repealed For Over 2 Hours – United States Not Smote By God, Republic Still Stands

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It’s been over 2  hours since the United States Senate voted 65-31 to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, defeating a 17-year policy of banning gay and lesbian service members from serving openly in the military and America has not been stuck by the wrath of God a some Christian conservatives would have had you believe.

Republicans ran through the usual list of arguments against repealing DADT, claiming it would hurt unit cohesion and that troops had not been given an adequate chance to voice their opinions on the bill. A survey on ending DADT was sent to 400,000 service members, at least 100,000 of whom responded. Of those who responded, 70 percent said they would “work together to get the job done” if there was a gay service member in their unit — and 69 percent said they know or suspect there is a gay service member serving with them already.

Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) said the reason survey results were mostly positive because troops already thought the repeal was “a done deal” because politicians had said they planned to repeal it. Repealing DADT would harm recruitment and retention, he said. “I was shocked at how well this has worked for a long period of time,” Inhofe said. “We have a saying in Oklahoma, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ Well, this isn’t broke, it’s working very well.”

Republican senators said their opposition was not related to homophobia or lack of appreciation for those who have served or are serving in the military. “This has nothing to do with the gays and lesbians who have given valuable service to our military,” said Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.). “That’s a given.”

Still, they rejected the idea that the military could adjust seamlessly to a more open policy. “Some people will say this is about civil rights and its time has come. The Marine Corps doesn’t have that view,” Graham said. “This is about effectiveness on the battle field, not about civil rights.”

Blah, blah blah blah blah and FUCK YOU all who voted NAY.

And Congratulations to everyone who helped make this historic day happen!

(I am sure John McCain is for sure sitting at his desk, stroking his cat, and calling Cindy a c*nt right about now and planning to take over the world and Lindsey Graham coming soon via Mike Rogers is pictures of a certain male friend who loves yo have sleepovers at your house!)

DADT UPDATE: Judge Virginia Phillips DENIES Stay AGAIN, Department Of Defense ADMITS "No Enormous Consequences" From DADT Halt, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Spokesman Says There Is "NO Gaurantee’s" For DADT Repeal Vote During Lame Duck Session Or Next Year and Dan Choi and Alex Nicholson Talk to Anderson Cooper (VIDEO)

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So much DADT News overnight,  Here’s a morning update.  Hold on to your hats.

*  Federal District Judge Virginia Phillips has once again rejected the government’s request for a stay on the injunction  barring enforcement of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.  The Obama administration can now ask the Ninth Circuit for a stay — and he Obama administration most probably will which would be a travesty and unconstitutional in its own rights. 

*  A Pentagon spokesman said Monday that no disciplinary problems or mass-resignations have been reported  since last week’s judicial injunction even though for years, defenders of the policy predicted chaos and dissension in the armed forces if gay discharges were halted.

*  While the White House keeps lying and insisting that DADT must and will be repealed by Congress soon.  A spokesman from Majority Leaders Senator’s Harry Reid  had said there are “no guarantees” the votes will materialize to repeal the law in a post-election session of Congress or next year, when Republicans are expected to have more seats in both chambers.  Also Congressional observer Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute doubts Senate Democrats will overcome another filibuster in the so-called “lame duck” session of Congress. “There simply will not be the time or the inclination to take this all the way to the limit,” said Ornstein. “And so I suspect we are going to have to wait for another day to see a real resolution of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ question.

If you have read Back2Stonwall in the past, AmericaBlogGay, Pam’s House Blend, or many of the other LGBT blogs out there we have all wrote and warned over and over that if LGBT issues were not taken care of within the first few years of Obama’s tenure that there would be a good chance that they wouldn’t be due to Senate and House midterms.  A few of you listened, but many of you trusted, and even apologized and defended both the Obama administration and the HRC,  Now I’m not saying this to rub it in.  Actually I wish I would have been wrong.  But I really hope that we all have learned a lesson that the LGBT Community needs to form its own political Caucus and PAC and ONLY endorse and support PROGRESSIVE Candidates.

*  Dan Choi who re-enlisted in the Armed Forces yesterday talked last night to Anderson Cooper on AC360 as did Alexander Nicholson, the sole named plaintiff in the Log Cabin Republican case which led to the striking down of the discriminatory measure.  Watch the video below.