Well folks, it's been weeks in the making and tomorrow the rally to end all rallies (seriously, do we really need so many rallies?) takes place tomorrow at 12:00 noon on the grounds of the Washington Monument in DC. Visit (RallyToRestoreSanity.com for details.) 
Image via WikipediaMy favorite lesbian, Rachel Maddow did a piece Thursday night on the early results of the dreaded year long Pentagon Working Group study on the impact of repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. The results were allegedly "leaked" just two days after the president met with DADT repeal activists at the White House.
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| Blogger Joe Sudbay, of AmericaBlog |
Q I was glad to hear that you and your staff appreciate constructive feedback.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, that’s something we enjoy. (Laughter.)
Q We’ve been more than willing to offer that. We’ve certainly been more than willing to offer than from AMERICAblog, particularly on issues related to the LGBT community, which, you know, there is a certain amount of disillusionment and disappointment in our community right now.
And one of the things I’d like to ask you -- and I think it’s a simple yes or no question too -- is do you think that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is unconstitutional?
THE PRESIDENT: It’s not a simple yes or no question, because I’m not sitting on the Supreme Court. And I’ve got to be careful, as President of the United States, to make sure that when I’m making pronouncements about laws that Congress passed I don’t do so just off the top of my head.Sudbay followed up by asking the president about reports resulting from a White House meeting on Tuesday with representatives of Servicemembers United, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network and Log Cabin Republicans, that there is a plan to push the senate to vote on the Defense Authorization Bill after the elections. The DAB includes language to repeal DADT:
I think that -- but here’s what I can say. I think “don’t ask, don’t tell” is wrong. I think it doesn’t serve our national security, which is why I want it overturned. I think that the best way to overturn it is for Congress to act. In theory, we should be able to get 60 votes out of the Senate. The House has already passed it. And I’ve gotten the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to say that they think this policy needs to be overturned -- something that’s unprecedented.
And so my hope and expectation is, is that we get this law passed. It is not just harmful to the brave men and women who are serving, and in some cases have been discharged unjustly, but it doesn’t serve our interests -- and I speak as Commander-in-Chief on that issue.
Let me go to the larger issue, though, Joe, about disillusionment and disappointment. I guess my attitude is that we have been as vocal, as supportive of the LGBT community as any President in history. I’ve appointed more openly gay people to more positions in this government than any President in history. We have moved forward on a whole range of issues that were directly under my control, including, for example, hospital visitation.
On “don’t ask, don’t tell,” I have been as systematic and methodical in trying to move that agenda forward as I could be given my legal constraints, given that Congress had explicitly passed a law designed to tie my hands on the issue.
And so, I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think that the disillusionment is justified. (emphasis mine)
Now, I say that as somebody who appreciates that the LGBT community very legitimately feels these issues in very personal terms. So it’s not my place to counsel patience. One of my favorite pieces of literature is “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” and Dr. King had to battle people counseling patience and time. And he rightly said that time is neutral. And things don’t automatically get better unless people push to try to get things better.
So I don’t begrudge the LGBT community pushing, but the flip side of it is that this notion somehow that this administration has been a source of disappointment to the LGBT community, as opposed to a stalwart ally of the LGBT community, I think is wrong.
Q Is there a strategy for the lame-duck session to --Sudbay managed to get another question in about same-sex marriage, pointing out our victories to the President, how attitudes have changed and how much progress there has been in the country:
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q -- and you’re going to be involved?
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q Will Secretary Gates be involved?
THE PRESIDENT: I’m not going to tip my hand now. But there is a strategy.
Q So I just really want to know what is your position on same-sex marriage?
THE PRESIDENT: Joe, I do not intend to make big news sitting here with the five of you, as wonderful as you guys are. (Laughter.) But I’ll say this --
Q I just want to say, I would be remiss if I didn’t ask you this question.
THE PRESIDENT: Of course.
Q People in our community are really desperate to know.
THE PRESIDENT: I think it’s a fair question to ask. I think that -- I am a strong supporter of civil unions. As you say, I have been to this point unwilling to sign on to same-sex marriage primarily because of my understandings of the traditional definitions of marriage.
But I also think you’re right that attitudes evolve, including mine. And I think that it is an issue that I wrestle with and think about because I have a whole host of friends who are in gay partnerships. I have staff members who are in committed, monogamous relationships, who are raising children, who are wonderful parents.
And I care about them deeply. And so while I’m not prepared to reverse myself here, sitting in the Roosevelt Room at 3:30 in the afternoon, I think it’s fair to say that it’s something that I think a lot about. That’s probably the best you’ll do out of me today. (Laughter.)
"Just now realized that I drew Rorik without his helmet. I guess when he gets naked, he gets naked ALL THE WAY."
Click the image to enlarge. Visit VikingZombieBoyfriend.com for past strips, character back stories and cool merchandise."As for Alexandru, our wannabe sybarite has once again proved himself a complete and utter failure, which weirdly helps him to be sympathetic. I’m glad I finally landed on a way to write the li’l fucker. He’s the Charlie Brown of vampires! (And he provides his own narration, like Snoopy’s World War I flying ace.)"
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The groups were at the White House to discuss a legislative repeal of the law with senior Obama administration officials. The president stopped by the meeting "to directly convey to the participants his personal commitment on this issue," a senior official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
President Obama is opposed to the ban on openly gay men and lesbians serving in the military, and he wants Congress to repeal the law through legislation.
Those invited to the White House were representatives of the Center for American Progress, the Human Rights Campaign, Servicemembers United, the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the University of California Santa Barbara's Palm Center, Third Way, Stonewall Democrats and the Log Cabin Republicans, according to meeting participants.
They met with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Messina, senior adviser Valerie Jarrett and other officials. Participants would not discuss details of the exchange.
Cover of American GigoloIn 1980 the new wave/punk band Blondie, featuring lead singer Debbie Harry, was riding high on the charts with "Call Me", from the movie American Gigolo, starring Richard Gere as a high priced escort who gets caught up in murder mystery when the husband of his client, played by Lauren Hutten, turns up dead. The film captured the late 70's/early 80's mood of sex, drugs and designer everything.
According to the ASA, six people complained at the gay priests ad, which had the tagline “We believe in salivation”.
The ASA said that it “considered the portrayal of the two priests in a sexualised manner was likely to be interpreted as mocking the beliefs of Roman Catholics and was therefore likely to cause serious offence to some readers”.
Antonio Federici, which is a Catholic company, argued that the ad did not mock Catholicism but reflected “grave troubles” in the church such as the issue of gay priests.
The company said it believed many people found these issues more offensive than an ad which “celebrated” homosexuality and added that it would continue to challenge the “troubled” Catholic Church.Personally, as a recovering ex-Catholic, I love it any time the Catholic Church is the target of some much-deserved satire, especially when it hits so close to home. Besides, the two guys in the ad are obviously too old for each other. Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.
"The new advice for schools and colleges comes shortly after President Obama recorded a video for the It Gets Better project, which aims to encouraged bullied gay teenagers.
Officials said that the new advice does not break legal ground. Instead, it is a comprehensive guide to how civil rights law applies to schools, colleges and university campuses.
My first response to this overture is that every step forward counts, but the cynical part of me says that this is just one more case of the president appearing to do something for us, while actually doing nothing. Obama knows he has let us down. He knows we're pissed off. That's why he sent his senior adviser Valerie Jarrett to the annual HRC Dinner a few weeks back and sends her out to face the music for him in the press.It also tells teachers and university officials how federal law regards situations of harassment and discrimination, and how institutions should deal with cases."
Dear Mr. President:
Years from now, students of the movement for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality (LGBT) will no doubt see this fall as a pivotal period in the history of our struggle for fundamental fairness. In January, we were all inspired by your State of the Union pledge to end our nation’s discriminatory ban on open service by gays and lesbians. Equally inspiring was the testimony in support of repealing the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law by the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We have come so far, but the only true measure of success is whether the thousands of brave gay and lesbian Americans who are serving their country, and the many more who want to serve their country, can do so openly and honestly. We have not yet met that goal, and without your leadership and unparalleled efforts, this historic opportunity to remove a stain of discrimination from our nation will pass all of us by.
Last week, lawyers for your administration asked for an emergency stay from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, seeking to end a worldwide injunction of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law while they work to overturn a federal judge’s conclusion that this law – one that you have called discriminatory and contrary to our national security on many occasions – offends the protections of our Constitution. I continue to struggle with how your administration can defend a law you oppose, and how it could be even remotely constitutional for a statute to single out one group of brave Americans, because of who they are and who they love, and order them serve in silence and deception. How can our government have a duty to defend a statute that is clearly so contrary to our Constitution’s guarantee of equality for all?
The Ninth Circuit’s decision to stay Judge Phillips’s decision further frustrates repeal advocates and puts a bright spotlight on you to reconcile this endless legal wrangling with your public promise to end “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” While we continue to call on your Administration not to appeal, if the Justice Department does insist on defending this discriminatory law, I strongly urge you to instruct government lawyers to inform the appellate court that the Executive Branch believes that the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law is unconstitutional. I agree with the esteemed lawyer and former head of the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice, Walter Dellinger, that such a move would send the Ninth Circuit a critically important message.
Furthermore, the litigation strategy challenging “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is made all the more critical by the challenges a legislative repeal has faced in Congress. While the House approved repeal by a wide margin, the Senate’s first and second attempts to move forward on the critical Defense Authorization bill were stymied by Republican obstructionists looking to score political points before the midterm elections. There is still an opportunity for the Senate to send the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” to your desk in the lame duck session, but it will not happen if you do not put the full weight of the Office of the President of the United States behind it. Republican opponents would rather see the Defense Authorization and everything in it – military pay raises, critical armor and equipment for our troops, health coverage for their families on the home front – fail than let gays and lesbians serve their country openly. This is an outrageous insult to our troops, to their Commander-in-Chief, and to the Defense Department charged with their operations and their care. You and Secretary Gates must be full partners in making clear to Senators that it is doubly unacceptable to hold hostage the needs of every soldier, sailor, airman and Marine in a desperate attempt to preserve a law that flies in the face of the American ideals they sacrifice to protect every day.
It is because “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is contrary to our core values as a nation that it must end. And we must have a durable solution – legislative repeal or a solid judicial decision. But if those fail, you must not allow another day to go by in which a brave gay or lesbian service member is discharged based simply on sexual orientation. HRC has urged your administration, privately and publicly, for more than a year to use every tool at your disposal as Chief Executive to at least significantly reduce discharges, if not end them entirely. More can be done in this regard.
You can and should issue a stop-loss order suspending enforcement of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” This discriminatory law has already deprived our military thousands of service members, many with critical skills in fighting terrorism. You have acknowledged that it harms our national security. If we fail to achieve legislative repeal this year, and if you will not abandon the defense of this discriminatory law in court, then it is imperative that you use your clear authority as President to end the discharges. Anything less is unacceptable.
We have fought long and hard to get this close to ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We pledge to continue that fight, every step of the way, until this unjust law is gone for good. Future generations will look back at this moment – we must not let it become a setback in the long march toward full equality, but instead make it the turning point it is poised to become.
Sincerely,
Joe Solmonese
President
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In a brief order, Judges O'Scannlain, Trott and W. Fletcher wrote:
"This court has received appellant’s emergency motion to stay the district court’s October 12, 2010 order pending appeal. The order is stayed temporarily in order to provide this court with an opportunity to consider fully the issues presented.
Appellee may file an opposition to the motion for a stay pending appeal by October 25, 2010. To expedite consideration of the motion, no reply shall be filed."
This means that a temporary stay of the trial court injunction of DADT has been granted until the Ninth Circuit can decide whether to issue a stay pending the appeal of the case to the Ninth Circuit.
This does not immediately change the military's policy of not enforcing DADT, as the Oct. 15 guidance from Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford Stanley stated that, while seeking a stay, "the Department of Defense will abide by the terms of the injunction" and stated that "additional guidance" would come if a stay is granted.
This is not, however, a stay of the order that will last through the appeal. This is only a temporary stay granted through the time when the Ninth Circuit can decide -- sometime after the Oct. 25 deadline given to the LCR attorneys to respond to the stay request -- whether to issue a stay pending the outcome of the appeal.
If a stay is granted pending the appeal, though, DADT would likely go back into effect in the interim, as the appeal is not even scheduled to complete the briefing process until the second week of March 2011.This just in from The San Diego Gay and Lesbian News:
SAN FRANCISCO – Attorneys for the Department of Justice this morning asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay of Judge Virginia Phillips’ permanent injunction that prohibits enforcement of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
"We respectfully request that the Court enter an administrative stay by today October 20, 2010, pending this Court's resolution of the government's motion for a stay pending appeal, which would maintain the status quo that prevailed before the district
court's decision while the Court considers the government's stay motion," the DOJ attorneys wrote in their filing with the court.
The legal action was expected.
On Tuesday, Judge Phillips had denied the DOJ’s request for an emergency stay and DOJ attorneys said they would appeal that decision.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon is allowing gays and lesbians to enlist. Dan Choi, who was drummed out of the military because of DADT, tweeted this morning that he passed the Army's written test today. But the legal mess could complicate the future service of any enlistees who declare they are gay or lesbian, should DADT policy go back into place.
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WHAT IS SPIRIT DAY?
The idea behind Spirit Day, first created by teenager Brittany McMillan earlier this month, is a simple one, not dissimilar to the idea of "Spirit Week" held in many high schools, and can be summed up in three words: Everyone Rally Together.
Spirit Day honors the teenagers who had taken their own lives in recent weeks. But just as importantly, it's also a way to show the hundreds of thousands of LGBT youth who face the same pressures and bullying, that there is a vast community of people who support them.
Purple symbolizes 'spirit' on the rainbow flag, a symbol for LGBT Pride that was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978.
As one of the event's Facebook pages says: "This event is not a seminar nor is it a rally. There is NO meeting place. All you have to do is wear purple."
Wearing purple on October 20 is a simple way to show the world that you stand by these courageous young people and a simple way to stand UP to the bullies. Remember those lives we've tragically lost, and show your solidarity with those who are still fighting. 'Go Purple' today!
WEAR PURPLE ON OCTOBER 20 FOR SPIRIT DAY [GLAAD]GLAAD has a devised an application you can use to change you Twitter and FaceBook profile picture to purple as a show of support. You can visit the site here.
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