The Beginning of the End for DADT

Jess · 10-14-2010, 07:37 AM

In case it wasn't all on the previous link. BTW, sorry the direct video didn't link, I am having issues with performing that feature.

I think this segment was taped before her show last night.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...42458#39642458

Jess · 10-14-2010, 05:31 PM

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/us...er=rss&emc=rss

Jess · 10-15-2010, 05:11 AM

From Change.org
Christian Ascher
Oct 14, 2010

What’s it going to take for President Obama to finally step up and make good on the promises he’s repeatedly made to the LGBT community? A little over a year ago he stood in front of 2,000 of us at a Human Rights Campaign gala and swore he’d get rid of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" (DADT). He’s reiterated that commitment multiple times since then. Yet when the bill which would have authorized a repeal of the policy was stalled in the Senate last month, he was silent — no phone calls to senators pushing them for a “yes” vote, no public statements about the importance of the bill. Nothing.

Now, when the law has been judged unconstitutional and a federal judge has placed an injunction on it, the President is apparently happy to have the Justice Department defend it — to not only not help make this hateful, homophobic policy, which even the Pentagon wants to get rid of, go away, but actually to fight for its survival.

How, exactly, does this match up with his promise? How does “I will end the policy known as 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” morph into defending it in court over and over again and refusing to let it die? As Rachel Maddow said last night, the President needs to step up and support us at this point — or else he needs to stop pretending that he supports us at all.

The New York Times has stated in an editorial that the best way for DADT to end would have been through Congressional action. This is what the President wanted, and the vision he is still apparently clinging to. But Democrats in the Senate were unable to overcome the red-faced blustering of Sen. John McCain and his coterie; the Senate chose to stop all funding for the Pentagon rather than afford gay and lesbian soldiers equality.

The next best solution is for the Justice Department to decline to appeal this injunction and to allow the law to die without further drama. Overwhelming majorities of Americans favor allowing gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly in the U.S. military — just as they do, without any problem or incident, in the militaries of all our NATO allies. Even Pentagon leadership has come out in favor of repealing the policy. They all agree with Federal Judge Virginia Phillips when she finds that DADT doesn’t increase military readiness or unit cohesion, and that instead it actually destroys them.

All of us out here in the real world of logic and practicality have been saying that since this discriminatory policy was first proposed 17 years ago, but now that the military establishment, the public, and the courts have all caught up, the right thing for the White House to do — if it can’t provide actual leadership on this issue — is to at least follow along quietly and allow the policy to die under this Federal injunction. To defend it by appealing, instead, is to stand with John McCain and support homophobia.

When President Obama promised us at that HRC dinner that he was going to end DADT, he also called on us to “hold him to it.” Now’s the time.

What’s the problem, Mr. President? Everybody wants this. You say you want it. You promised leadership on this very goal, and now it’s being handed to you. Mr. President, let DADT die.

Link to petition:

http://www.change.org/petitions/view...ce_and_for_all

MsTinkerbelly · 11-05-2010, 06:57 PM

BREAKING: LCR appeals DADT injunction stay to U.S. Supreme Court
By Eden James

Per a bulletin from Rex Wockner, the following news just broke:

Attached please find the Log Cabin Republicans’ application to vacate the Ninth Circuit order and related papers that were just filed with the US Supreme Court. Also find below a quote from R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, and Dan Woods, White & Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Republicans. Also included below is a short Q&A regarding process moving forward that you may find helpful.

R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans:

“It is unfortunate the Obama Justice Department has forced the Log Cabin Republicans to go to the Supreme Court.”

Dan Woods, White & Case:

“We have today filed an application with the United States Supreme Court asking it to vacate the Ninth Circuit’s order staying Judge Phillips’s injunction pending appeal. We argue in this application that the Ninth Circuit order was arbitrary and an abuse of discretion and should be vacated immediately. We continue to look forward to the day when all Americans can serve in our military without regard to their sexual orientation,” said Dan Woods, White & Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Republicans.

Q: Will the entire Supreme Court be involved in considering whether to vacate the Ninth Circuit order?

A: That is up to Justice Kennedy. He may decide himself or he may refer the application to the full court.

Q: How long will the review take?

A: That is also up to the court. The Court may allow the government the opportunity to respond to our application.

Q: What are the next steps if the Court vacates the ruling/doesn’t vacate the ruling?

A: If the Court vacates the stay order, DADT is dead pending the appeal, and we have for all intents and purposes won. If it doesn’t, we will next move in the Ninth Circuit to expedite the Judge’s decision.

Jess · 11-09-2010, 06:44 AM

Keeping up with this issue after mid-terms. I ran across a couple articles of interest. Will continue watching and sending every petition in I come across.

One from Huff Post:

Dems To Cave On DADT Repeal In Lame Duck

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_780371.html

Another from Metro Weekly/ Poliglot:

The (Military) Brass Tacks of Lame-Duck DADT Repeal

http://metroweekly.com/poliglot/2010...-military.html

From the Wall Street Journal:

Drive to Repeal 'Don't Ask' Policy All but Lost for Now

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...961320666.html

Cyclopea · 12-18-2010, 04:15 PM

Oiler41 · 12-18-2010, 04:26 PM

WOOOOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOOOO

DADT has almost seen its last days!!!!!!!!

Senate vote, 65 to 31 in favor of ending the policy!!! It will be signed next week by Obama,,what a Christmas present!!! They will leave it in place for 60 days (I think that is what I read earlier). What a day for all active duty GLBT people and veterans!

Glynn

10-14-2010, 07:37 AM	#1
Jess Timed Out - Permanent How Do You Identify?: decidedly indifferent Preferred Pronoun?: other Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Patrick Springs, VA Posts: 2,812 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,247 Thanked 5,700 Times in 1,682 Posts Rep Power: 0	More Maddow In case it wasn't all on the previous link. BTW, sorry the direct video didn't link, I am having issues with performing that feature. I think this segment was taped before her show last night. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540...42458#39642458

10-14-2010, 05:31 PM	#2
Jess Timed Out - Permanent How Do You Identify?: decidedly indifferent Preferred Pronoun?: other Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Patrick Springs, VA Posts: 2,812 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,247 Thanked 5,700 Times in 1,682 Posts Rep Power: 0	Obama Seeks Stay on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Ruling http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/us...er=rss&emc=rss

11-05-2010, 06:57 PM	#4
MsTinkerbelly Timed Out - TOS Drama How Do You Identify?: ... Preferred Pronoun?: ... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: ... Posts: 6,573 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 30,737 Thanked 22,907 Times in 5,017 Posts Rep Power: 0	From the Prop 8 Trial Tracker BREAKING: LCR appeals DADT injunction stay to U.S. Supreme Court By Eden James Per a bulletin from Rex Wockner, the following news just broke: Attached please find the Log Cabin Republicans’ application to vacate the Ninth Circuit order and related papers that were just filed with the US Supreme Court. Also find below a quote from R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, and Dan Woods, White & Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Republicans. Also included below is a short Q&A regarding process moving forward that you may find helpful. R. Clarke Cooper, Executive Director, Log Cabin Republicans: “It is unfortunate the Obama Justice Department has forced the Log Cabin Republicans to go to the Supreme Court.” Dan Woods, White & Case: “We have today filed an application with the United States Supreme Court asking it to vacate the Ninth Circuit’s order staying Judge Phillips’s injunction pending appeal. We argue in this application that the Ninth Circuit order was arbitrary and an abuse of discretion and should be vacated immediately. We continue to look forward to the day when all Americans can serve in our military without regard to their sexual orientation,” said Dan Woods, White & Case partner who is representing Log Cabin Republicans. Q: Will the entire Supreme Court be involved in considering whether to vacate the Ninth Circuit order? A: That is up to Justice Kennedy. He may decide himself or he may refer the application to the full court. Q: How long will the review take? A: That is also up to the court. The Court may allow the government the opportunity to respond to our application. Q: What are the next steps if the Court vacates the ruling/doesn’t vacate the ruling? A: If the Court vacates the stay order, DADT is dead pending the appeal, and we have for all intents and purposes won. If it doesn’t, we will next move in the Ninth Circuit to expedite the Judge’s decision.

11-09-2010, 06:44 AM	#5
Jess Timed Out - Permanent How Do You Identify?: decidedly indifferent Preferred Pronoun?: other Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Patrick Springs, VA Posts: 2,812 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,247 Thanked 5,700 Times in 1,682 Posts Rep Power: 0	Keeping up with this issue after mid-terms. I ran across a couple articles of interest. Will continue watching and sending every petition in I come across. One from Huff Post: Dems To Cave On DADT Repeal In Lame Duck http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/1..._n_780371.html Another from Metro Weekly/ Poliglot: The (Military) Brass Tacks of Lame-Duck DADT Repeal http://metroweekly.com/poliglot/2010...-military.html From the Wall Street Journal: Drive to Repeal 'Don't Ask' Policy All but Lost for Now http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...961320666.html Last edited by Jess; 11-09-2010 at 06:48 AM.

12-18-2010, 04:15 PM	#6
Cyclopea Member How Do You Identify?: Butch Lesbian Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Exit Zero Posts: 1,267 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,694 Thanked 1,615 Times in 632 Posts Rep Power: 226200	__________________ http://forum.axishistory.com/images/...arious/eye.jpg

10-15-2010, 05:11 AM	#3
Jess Timed Out - Permanent How Do You Identify?: decidedly indifferent Preferred Pronoun?: other Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Patrick Springs, VA Posts: 2,812 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 9,247 Thanked 5,700 Times in 1,682 Posts Rep Power: 0	The Audacity of (Destroying) Hope? From Change.org Christian Ascher Oct 14, 2010 What’s it going to take for President Obama to finally step up and make good on the promises he’s repeatedly made to the LGBT community? A little over a year ago he stood in front of 2,000 of us at a Human Rights Campaign gala and swore he’d get rid of "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" (DADT). He’s reiterated that commitment multiple times since then. Yet when the bill which would have authorized a repeal of the policy was stalled in the Senate last month, he was silent — no phone calls to senators pushing them for a “yes” vote, no public statements about the importance of the bill. Nothing. Now, when the law has been judged unconstitutional and a federal judge has placed an injunction on it, the President is apparently happy to have the Justice Department defend it — to not only not help make this hateful, homophobic policy, which even the Pentagon wants to get rid of, go away, but actually to fight for its survival. How, exactly, does this match up with his promise? How does “I will end the policy known as 'Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,'” morph into defending it in court over and over again and refusing to let it die? As Rachel Maddow said last night, the President needs to step up and support us at this point — or else he needs to stop pretending that he supports us at all. The New York Times has stated in an editorial that the best way for DADT to end would have been through Congressional action. This is what the President wanted, and the vision he is still apparently clinging to. But Democrats in the Senate were unable to overcome the red-faced blustering of Sen. John McCain and his coterie; the Senate chose to stop all funding for the Pentagon rather than afford gay and lesbian soldiers equality. The next best solution is for the Justice Department to decline to appeal this injunction and to allow the law to die without further drama. Overwhelming majorities of Americans favor allowing gay and lesbian soldiers to serve openly in the U.S. military — just as they do, without any problem or incident, in the militaries of all our NATO allies. Even Pentagon leadership has come out in favor of repealing the policy. They all agree with Federal Judge Virginia Phillips when she finds that DADT doesn’t increase military readiness or unit cohesion, and that instead it actually destroys them. All of us out here in the real world of logic and practicality have been saying that since this discriminatory policy was first proposed 17 years ago, but now that the military establishment, the public, and the courts have all caught up, the right thing for the White House to do — if it can’t provide actual leadership on this issue — is to at least follow along quietly and allow the policy to die under this Federal injunction. To defend it by appealing, instead, is to stand with John McCain and support homophobia. When President Obama promised us at that HRC dinner that he was going to end DADT, he also called on us to “hold him to it.” Now’s the time. What’s the problem, Mr. President? Everybody wants this. You say you want it. You promised leadership on this very goal, and now it’s being handed to you. Mr. President, let DADT die. Link to petition: http://www.change.org/petitions/view...ce_and_for_all

12-18-2010, 04:26 PM	#7
Oiler41 Member How Do You Identify?: Human Preferred Pronoun?: He/Him Relationship Status: Happily Single! Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Nunya Posts: 1,225 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 2,355 Thanked 2,574 Times in 789 Posts Rep Power: 18276167	WOOOOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOOOO DADT has almost seen its last days!!!!!!!! Senate vote, 65 to 31 in favor of ending the policy!!! It will be signed next week by Obama,,what a Christmas present!!! They will leave it in place for 60 days (I think that is what I read earlier). What a day for all active duty GLBT people and veterans! Glynn