>What I Missed…

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I picked a helluva couple of weeks to be sick. I missed so much; so many things I would have had something to talk about.
Damn.
Still………
No more DADT, Finally, the United States takes a giant leap away from Discriminationville and realizes that LGBT Americans deserve the same rights as all Americans. It was also nice to see our elected officials doing the job for which they were elected, and not playing the usual BS games of party lines and politics. The one thing I miss about the repeal of DADT?
I would have loved to have seen John McCain’s head explode as the vote came in. I would have loved to have seen him eat all those studies, and his own words, about wanting the repeal, when it is quite clear that he is a homophobic bigot of epic proportions.
You lost, McCain. Feels like 2008 all over again, doesn’t it?

Mama Grizzly Bear was awarded MediaMatters Misinformation Award for being an illiterate dumbass who says whatever she wants and calls it the truth because she said it.
Death panels! Remember that old chestnut. She said Obamacare would pick and choose who gets to live.
FoxNews! She joined that bastion of all that is fair and balanced, along with fellow wingnuts and presidential wannabes Mike Huckabee, and the serial adulterer New Gingrich.
The oil spill! She said Obama didn’t care about it. Drill, baby, drill!
The stimulus! She said it didn’t work, but, um, what about eh stimulus money she took for Alaska, and all the independent studies that showed the stimulus did, in fact, help. Not so, because The Bore says not so.
The Circus Tent Show with recovering drug addict Glenn Beck! ‘Nuff said.
Refudiate! Just when you thought no one could mangle the English language worse that W, along comes MGB, who uses the kerfuffle to compare herself to William Shakespeare!
So, if you don’t want the truth, but just want the MGB version, look no further than the Misinformer Of The Year!

I also kissed the annual Christmas tour of lights here in Smallville.
Some folks go all out with these gorgeous light displays on their centuries old homes, garland streaming from the verandas, Christmas trees in every room, silver and gold glistening all over town.
Then there are the Smallvillians who take a string of lights out of a box in the garage, throw it into an oak tree, turn it on and call it Christmas.

Camille soon-to-be-ex-Grammer’s dinner party, on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, with nutjob psychic and sidekick Allison DuBois who chained smoked a fake cigarette and bashed everyone who wasn’t Camille.
And then the following episode where balloon-lipped Taylor was trying on Roaring Twenties costumes for her Roaring Twenties party and literally cringed in horror when her stylist asked if she’d wear costume jewelry.

Spike getting Knifed, literally and figuratively, on Top Chef: All-Stars. Did he not see last season? Did he not know that Angelo doesn’t play fair? And why wasn’t Jamie forced to serve her rock hard chickpeas? I mean, she didn’t even serve a dish and yet she wasn’t Knifed. Between that and her “stitches” a couple of weeks back, Jamie is getting the I Don’t Have To Cook To Win This Thing edit.

The Fashion Show started off strong. I liked the idea of the two houses competing against one another, and the designers seemed to be rather talented–some more than others of course. And then there was Calvin, the Diva Bitch Designer From Hell to add drama, and stern taskmaster Iman to keep me seated at all times.
But in the last couple of weeks the designers have lost all sense of design and it is veering dangerously close to The Fashion No of last season.
Why, oh why, is Calvin, who has won nothing, won’t work with the other designers, and is mostly unintelligible, still on the show?
Iman? Anyone?

And what about the nun who was excommunicated because she allowed an abortion to be performed on a woman when it was clear that both mother and unborn child would die without it?
The Catholic wingnuts went crazy over that, and yet I sat and wondered, Where was the excommunication rule when priests were fucking little boys?
Is the Church saying child rape is okay, but abortion is just not?

I picked a helluva couple of weeks to be sick. Oy!

>Sunday Funnies: DADT-B-Gone

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>Suing To Serve

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Michael Almy, Anthony Loverde, and Jason Knight.

Who are they, you ask? Well, all three are decorated veterans from the US military, and all three have been discharged under DADT. And now, all three joined with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network [SLDN] to challenge the constitutionality of the military policy that bans openly gay and lesbian soldiers from serving.

And if you are still one of those neanderthals that believes DADT is right and fair and just, and don’t believe that DADT harms the military and threatens our national security, then listen up.

Michael Almy was a 13-year veteran who saw four deployments to the Middle East, and has received numerous awards and honors during his Air Force service. Still, he was discharged for being gay.

He served; he fought; he was discharged.

Anthony Loverde also served in the Air Force, for seven years, as a trained C-130 Loadmaster and Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory Technician. In 2008, he was discharged for being gay. These days Loverde works for a defense contractor doing the same job he did for the military, even working alongside his old coworkers. He’s still doing the same job, but because it’s for a business, and not the military, he has job security, regardless of his sexual orientation.

Same job, different boss.

Jason Knight five years in the US Navy as a trained Cryptological Technician Interpretive Linguist, the type of position that many would probably consider critical for the success of U.S. operations abroad. But Jason Knight was discharged in 2005 for being gay.  But, and this is were it gets even more strange. After his discharge, for being gay, he was called up again in 2006, and then discharged for still being gay in 2007.

He was in, he was out, he was in, he was out.

So, Michael Almy, Anthony Loverde, and Jason Knight, along with SLDN and the law firm Morrison & Foerster, are challenging the constitutionality of DADT in a California federal court. And if the US Senate fails to repeal DADT before the body breaks for the holidays and a new Congress takes over, they’ll leave the fate of DADT up to the courts and an aggressive litigation strategy by repeal advocates.

Aubrey Sarvis, the director of SLDN and himself an Army veteran: “This filing is a shot across the bow as we prepare to pursue and sustain an aggressive far reaching litigation strategy if the Senate fails to act this month to repeal the law. This dispute can be resolved by Congress or by the courts. With this filing we put Congress on notice that a cadre of service members and our national legal team stand ready to litigate strategically around the country. We are also preparing litigation on behalf of young people who would enter the armed forces to serve our country but for this terrible law. Another suit we’re working on involves clients discharged under ‘Don’t Ask’ who want to enter the reserves or a guard unit, and we plan to file such cases early next year if Congress fails to act. Clearly there is an urgent need for the Senate to act on legislation this week.”

It seems everyone wants it done, but no one wants to step up. Obama says he wants it done, but is leaving it to the courts ands the Congress. Many in Congress want it done, but they are saying Obama should issue an executive order. Nearly 75% of Americans want it done, as does the majority of our military personnel.

Get it done.

source

>One Step Back, But……..

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Well, discrimination is still in fashion and that inequality rules.

The Senate rejected the Defense Department appropriations bill that contained a measure approving repeal of DADT by a vote of 57-40

GOP goosesteppers Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, Mark Kirk, Lisa Murkowski, and Democrat Joe Manchin all voted “No” on the measure. Brown had originally said he’d vote Yes, but apparently flip-flopping along party lines is what he does best. Senator Susan Collins, after leading the Republican charge against the bill, also changed her mind, and voted “yes”.

It disgusts me that, in this country, we cannot see discrimination for what it is, and where it is, and have politicians choose to legislate it. We are so beyond the time that sexual orientation is something to be feared. I am writing to both honorable [sarcasm] senators from South Carolina, Lindsay Graham and Jim DeMint, to tell them what i think of their bigoted, homophobic vote.

I am angry that we have no leadership in this country to stand up against discrimination. I am tired of our politicians simply dancing around the issue, and playing word games so as not to anger conservatives. There was no leadership from the President or Congress on the issue; it was all rhetoric.

And it disgusts me. But……..

Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former U.S. Army interrogator who was discharged under DADT, said in a statement: “This was a major failure on the part of the Senate to simply do its job and pass an annual defense authorization bill. Politics prevailed over responsibility today, and now more than one million American servicemembers, including tens of thousands of gay and lesbian troops, are worse off as a result. Since the votes are there in isolation, the Senate should still consider a stand-alone bill to repeal the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law before adjourning for the winter holidays.”

Which is what Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins are planning. they hope to introduce a stand-alone DADT repeal bill, and Harry Reid Promises a vote on it. And I am hoping these are not just empty promises, but the real deal.

Let’s hope we get two steps forward before this session of Congress ends.

>Odds’n’Ends

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I haven’t talked about this whole TSA scanning mess because, well, everyone else was doing it, and doing just fine. But now, since it’s the story that won’t die, and since there is an ALLEGED plot to shut down the system tomorrow, the biggest travel day of the year, by having everyone ask for the pat down, I thought I’d throw in my two-cents. So, here there are:
Build a fucking bridge and get over it.
Seriously. If you’re that worried about you scanned image being seen, and laughed at, or titillating a TSA agent, then opt out and go for the pat down. If you are that worried about the pat down, that a TSA agent might touch your junk, or that you might get a little aroused, then opt out of that and find the nearest bus station, train  station, or car rental agency and travel unscanned and unfondled to your heart’s content.
See, I think the people that are the most enraged are actually people who don’t fly often. And I think the people that fly often are more upset about any added delay rather than a scan and a hand job. As for this National Opt Out Day, do you really think the airlines are going to hold flights because everyone is getting a TSA massage? No; you’ll just miss your flight and bitch about that.
Grow a pair, or strap a pair on.
One more thing, the very people complaining about this invasion of privacy are the very same people who would file a lawsuit against an airline if a family member died as a result of a terrorist attempt on board a plane.

Well, it looks like Grampa McCain might have to eat his words. According to the Pentagon there were no discharges under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell last month. And there were no stories of a lack of unit cohesion or morale or gays hitting on guys in the shower.
Grampa? You’re old. You’re out of touch.

I still get the giggles when I think of Mama Grizzly Bore’s assertion that she believes she can beat Barack Obama in 2012. I mean, does she think they’ll be competing on Dancing With The Stars or something? I just read a new poll that, while it shows that some 49% think Obama shouldn’t run for reelection, it shows that if he did, he’d beat The Bore by about 8-percentage points.
I believe she can run, back to Alaska to find more ways to scam the American people out of their hard earned dollars by “writing” another book.
Sidenote: Mama Grizzly Bore says she won’t ever do another interview with Katie Couric because Katie is biased against her because she asked tough questions about the Constitution and what books or newspapers MGB reads. And then MGB goes on to say that she got a degree on communications from one of the many colleges she attended before finally graduating, so she knows how to be a good journalist. She knows how to ask the Who, What, Where, Where, Why and How questions…..she just doesn’t know how to answer them.

The Southern Poverty Law Center [SPLC] has recently added a couple of mare na\mes to their list of hate groups. and they are: the Family Research Council and the American Family Association.
Yes, these two morally superior organizations that preach to know what’s best for this country are now listed as hate groups.
Sounds about right.

>It’s Not Over

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US District Judge Virginia Phillips ruled yesterday that DADT is unconstitutional and that all discharges of gay servicemembers must stop immediately.

Good news, right? Great news?

Well, there are some hitches, as always, on the path toward equality.

US Department of Justice attorneys have 60 days to appeal, though legal experts say the department is under no obligation to do so and could let Phillips’ ruling stand. 

But, and this is where it gets dicey, and this is where we need to focus.

If Democrats lose seats in the upcoming elections, repealing the ban through Congress could prove even more difficult–if not impossible–next year. 

So, while we take a moment to cheer Judge Phillips’ ruling, we must still be aware of the roadblocks ahead. And if there was ever a reason to vote Democratic this November, this is it.

>A Win Against DADT

>A DADT smackdown, even after the repeal of the homophobic policy failed in Congress last week.

In Washington state, a federal judge has ruled that Major Margaret Witt, a decorated flight nurse discharged from the Air Force for being gay, must be allowed to return to service as soon as possible.

Witt was first suspended in 2004 and then discharged under DADT after the Air Force learned she had been in a long-term relationship with a civilian woman, and Witt immediately set about suing to get her job back.

U.S. District Judge Ronald Leighton: “Today you have won a victory in that struggle, the depth and duration of which will be determined by other judicial officers and hopefully soon the political branches of government.”

Judge Leighton’s ruling marks the second smackdown of DADT in as many weeks. Recently, a federal judge in California ruled the law unconstitutional and is considering whether to immediately halt the ban. This kind of injunction will instantly halt any dismissals of gay servicemen and women, but it does nothing for the 13,000+ who’ve already been discharged because of their sexual orientation.

Gay rights advocates see Leighton’s ruling as a death knell for the policy, because they believe the government must now justify each and every discharge under DADT.

The Justice Department has yet to comment on the ruling, but James Lobsenz, Witt’s attorney, said he expected an appeal. And the Leighton ruling is somewhat of a surprise, considering that back in 2006, he rejected Margaret Witt’s claim that the Air Force violated her rights, following precedent that the military policy on gays is constitutional. 

But then an appeals court panel overruled his ruling two years later, determining that DADT does in fact intrude on the constitutional rights of gay service members; that panel said that, for the government to discharge gays, it must prove that their firings further military goals.

Armed with this new ruling, Leighton decided that Margaret Witt’s discharge “advanced no legitimate military interest”and, instead, hurt morale within her unit and weakened the squadron’s ability to carry out its mission: “There is no evidence that wounded troops care about the sexual orientation of the flight nurse or medical technician tending to their wounds.”

Nor should there be.

source

>As Americans, We Should ALL Be Ashamed

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As of yesterday Lieutenant Dan Choi was officially released from the United States military for being gay.

Such a proud, proud day, America.

Now he joins the ranks of the other 14,000-plus LGBT American men and women who served their country, fought for their country, and protected their country, being unceremoniously discharged because of their sexual orientation.

Proud proud day.

Choi’s National Guard unit has notified him via mail and phone that he had been fully discharged and is no longer able to serve his country as an American solider.

According to Gay City News:

Choi lost his battle with the Pentagon on June 29 when his discharge from the Army under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was finalized. While Choi’s National Guard unit informed him by registered mail and with phone messages, he has not disclosed the action. He did not respond to an email seeking comment.

A proud proud day for all of America, all Americans, and for President Obama who PROMISED to end DADT upon his election, and still promises to do so to this day.

>He’s For It….Against It….For It

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Senator Scott Brown swings both ways.

Okay. Now I have your attention, but, still, it is true; but he doesn’t swing both ways like some of you are thinking. He swings both ways like a pair of beach sandals.

Flip.

Flop.

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Brown opposed the amendment that called for a quick repeal of DADT, saying he wants to wait for the Pentagon to complete a review on how the ban will be lifted.

But then, Senator Brown voted for the full defense authorization bill, which includes the DADT repeal amendment; Brown has also said he will not join with fellow Republicans to mount a filibuster to prevent a Senate vote of the defense bill. With Scott Brown refusing to filibuster, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine supporting the repeal amendment, his fellow Republicans will have a tough time sustaining a filibuster.

Flip.

Flop.

He’s for a filibuster on the financial regulatory bill, then against it.

He’s against a DADT, then, sort of, for it.

He’s a swinger all right.

>Sunday Funnies

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