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I am beside myself. I just stumbled onto CSpan covering the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" hearings.
An Admiral, a General, The Defense Secretary, and some other guy, have just testified that the policy should be changed. Done, and done, right? What more is necessary?
Each Senator on the committee now feels a need to bloviate ad nauseum. Sen. McCain would like to extend the hearings longer so that they can have MORE TIME to bloviate. ARRGGH!
No wonder nothing ever gets done.
I am beside myself. I just stumbled onto CSpan covering the "Don't Ask Don't Tell" hearings.
An Admiral, a General, The Defense Secretary, and some other guy, have just testified that the policy should be changed. Done, and done, right? What more is necessary?
Each Senator on the committee now feels a need to bloviate ad nauseum. Sen. McCain would like to extend the hearings longer so that they can have MORE TIME to bloviate. ARRGGH!
No wonder nothing ever gets done.
Funny, I believe the Army and Marine heads claim it will not be welcome in their ranks, especially those in the front line, in combat.
At today's Senate hearing, three of the four service chiefs expressed opposition to repealing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) policy on gays in the military. "My recommendation is that we should not implement repeal at this time," said Marine Corps commandant General James F. Amos (watch his opening statement here).The Pentagon's survey showed that 67% of Marines in combat arms units--infantry, artillery, armor--believe repealing DADT would have a negative effect on their unit's performance.
I guess we should put trust in the politicians instead of the boot on the ground?
I guess you didn't watch ALL of the broadcast - how could you miss this?
Only in America could something so simple take months, at best, years at worst, and millions upon millions of dollars in "studies" to accomplish, when the reality is it's just common sense. You don't need studies for common sense. You just need to say "there, we changed it".
Instead we've got guys like Harry Reid turning it into a political football by taking a vote that would have passed and tacking on Dream Act into it so it would fail, McCain waffling on whether he would listen to the commanders or not (because he misjudged what the commanders would say), Obama trying to play chess when all it is is a game of Tic-Tac-Toe with all of his "strategies" and challenging court rulings, etc.
It's a shining example of why this country is going down the tubes.
It should be noted that during Bush's nightmare, there was heavy infiltration by evangelical theocrats. That's why you can have have some people saying there would be no effect, and others screaming hysterically that it would be the end of the world.
It should be noted that during Bush's nightmare, there was heavy infiltration by evangelical theocrats. That's why you can have have some people saying there would be no effect, and others screaming hysterically that it would be the end of the world.
I never could figure out why this is an issue. In the service you will follow the rules they set forth, end of story. You follow them or you are out. Nothing else matters. If someone can't be molded into whatever the service wants to mold them into then they don't belong there but I don't think the hows and whys of their sex lives ever figured into it.
Only in America could something so simple take months, at best, years at worst, and millions upon millions of dollars in "studies" to accomplish, when the reality is it's just common sense. You don't need studies for common sense. You just need to say "there, we changed it".
Instead we've got guys like Harry Reid turning it into a political football by taking a vote that would have passed and tacking on Dream Act into it so it would fail, McCain waffling on whether he would listen to the commanders or not (because he misjudged what the commanders would say), Obama trying to play chess when all it is is a game of Tic-Tac-Toe with all of his "strategies" and challenging court rulings, etc.
It's a shining example of why this country is going down the tubes.
Mccain did not misjudge what "commanders" would say. The discrepancy is that some commanders are not being heard, and some commanders are being politically correct. It is true that the military does not care whether a soldier is gay. What is also clear is that (gay or not) all soldiers must put service before self. The Don't ask policy is a fair compromise... BUT, the gay rights people want more.
The military succeeds when members put aside their individualism, and fight for the team. By allowing gay soldiers to "tell" you are opening up a can of worms that doesn't need to be opened. The military culture (and the military law) is a lot different than civilian life. By telling gays that they can be "gay' you are giving them a false sense of reality. yes, they can admit that they are gay... NO, they can not really act gay because the military will still not allow ANY behavior that does not fall in line with military policy.
here's some things to consider...
Do you think we should allow gay pride parades on military installations?
Do you think that servicemen should be allowed to participate in any public gay events? (i.e. parades)
Should rainbow flags be flown on base?
If a soldier had a gay marriage, (i.e. Massaschussets) what is his status in the military? single? married? other? What about benefits?
As you can see, there are many issues that will need to be addressed if they just change the law. It's not a simple matter.
Mccain did not misjudge what "commanders" would say. The discrepancy is that some commanders are not being heard, and some commanders are being politically correct. It is true that the military does not care whether a soldier is gay. What is also clear is that (gay or not) all soldiers must put service before self. The Don't ask policy is a fair compromise... BUT, the gay rights people want more.
The military succeeds when members put aside their individualism, and fight for the team. By allowing gay soldiers to "tell" you are opening up a can of worms that doesn't need to be opened. The military culture (and the military law) is a lot different than civilian life. By telling gays that they can be "gay' you are giving them a false sense of reality. yes, they can admit that they are gay... NO, they can not really act gay because the military will still not allow ANY behavior that does not fall in line with military policy.
here's some things to consider...
Do you think we should allow gay pride parades on military installations?
Do you think that servicemen should be allowed to participate in any public gay events? (i.e. parades)
Should rainbow flags be flown on base?
If a soldier had a gay marriage, (i.e. Massaschussets) what is his status in the military? single? married? other? What about benefits?
As you can see, there are many issues that will need to be addressed if they just change the law. It's not a simple matter.
It actually is very simple. Stop the hate, Stop the bigotry. Stop the venom, let them serve.
As far as any behavior that does not fall in line with military policy, someone who breaks military policy should be subject to discipline whether they be gay or straight. No one is trying to argue that. However, it shouldn't be one set of rules for gays and another set of rules for straight people.
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