Obama to Ask for End of Don't Ask, Don't Tell?

Might I suggest an opening line for this "controversial" executive order.

"It is rare these days for the president to get to take decisive action to end true discrimination in this country. Today, it is my privilege to join the presidents before me who stood in the face of public pressure and moved our country closer to the ideals in which we ascribe. Today we end the enforcement of DADT via executive order. It is an antiquated and unfair piece of legislation and I call on congress to end it officially in their next session. This will be unpopular among some, but I ask those people to talk to the more than 12,000 American Patriots who this country turned their back on since the inception of this legislation. I defy any man to stand today in the face of freedom and respect for our servicemen in support of discrimination."

Most Americans support the repeal of DADT anyway. So does the majority of the military. It is controversial, but done correctly, no one will dare stand against it.

 

Well said.

 

Too bad it won't be said.

Lex

 

Yup, not a chance. My only point is that it doesn't have to be all that controversial. Just man up and do it because its the right thing to do. Isn't that part of being the damn president?

 

One thing I dislike when it comes to politics (among many), and this just really irks me, is when people say, "He's not going to do this," or even "He will do this." No one can predict the goddamn future so stop pretending you can. I say forget speculation about the negative effects of this or that legislation. At this point, I'm pretty sure we should be welcoming any effing plan someone has to fix the economy/war/whatEVER.

 

Hot off the press (from CNN) - the Department of Defense has scheduled a major announcement for next Tuesday on DA/DT. Secretary Robert Gates himself is delivering it. Could this be it?

 

Source?

 

I just heard it on Rick Sanchez on CNN like 5 minutes ago (I multitask :icon_bigg) - it was "Breaking News". Probably not on their website yet.

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Now they didn't say what the announcement would be, only that it was "about Don't Ask Don't Tell". For all we know it could be an announcement that the military will set up a panel to study the issue with a report due in 11 months, etc. Wouldn't that be unusual...

 

I think -- to a point -- DADT is a good thing.

Meaning, it doesn't MATTER what your sexuality is in the military, you're all fighting for the same thing.

What actually should be done (In my not-so-humble opinion), is to remove being openly LGB (IE being married/civil union) as a reason to discharge someone from the miliitary

 

>>>Yup, not a chance. My only point is that it doesn't have to be all that controversial. Just man up and do it because its the right thing to do. Isn't that part of being the damn president?

When'd that start? It's always been about making the party happy first, your special interests second, and your own personal agenda third. Doing the right thing only comes into play if it fits in with any or all of those.

Lex

 

Ugh... true. :bang::***:

 

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I'm not saying all this to beat up on Obama. I've long maintained that rights for gays won't be obtained from the top down, but from the ground up. We can't look to the people at the top to come to our rescue. We have to do the gruntwork ourselves in order to get the rights we feel we deserve. Lots of doors opened for gays during the last decade, and during most of that, both the president and Congress were solidly Republican (and against the idea).

Lex

 

What the hell, John McCain? What you said contridicted your entire point.

 

Any particular reason it shouldn't be abandoned, Mr. McCain? Besides that it's been in effect for so long--that's hardly a reason at all.

 

Well, the McCain quote does prove that, even if we will have to do a lot of the legwork ourselves, Obama was still the best choice of the two options given (looking from a purely GLBT standpoint).
He might not be doing much to advance the matter, but at least he isn't actively working against it either.

(I think that classifies as "damning with faint praise", though :lol

 

Because in everyone else's world, 'abandoning' the policy translates to "if we think you're gay, or know you're gay, you're out on dishonorable discharge"

(and this why I can't join the military)

 

Actually, you can't join because you're 15. I'm sure DADT will be nullified by the time you're old enough anyways. =P.

 

DADT = My reason why I didn't join the military. I'd probably get kicked out before basic training was over :icon_wink hehe

 

mccain would be out of office quickly if he didnt speak out against repealing DADT.