Fox News' Chris Wallace Calls Out Rick Santorum On His DADT Arguments (Video)

After Sunday morning, I want to know, how in the hell is Chris Wallace still on Fox's payroll?

Wallace asked Santorum, a Republican candidate for President, and perhaps the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell's most outspoken critic, for some clarification on his position.  Democrats have compared him to those in the 1940s that have rallied against the inclusion of African-Americans in the armed forces.  Santorum insists that the repeal of the statute is experimenting with social policy.

In the clip below, Wallace asks the former Pennsylvania Senator if he would agree with the following words:

"The army is not a sociological laboratory.  The experimenting with army policy, especially in a time of war, would pose a danger to efficiency, discipline and morale and would result in ultimate defeat."

Watch the impending fail...



Rick Santorum is using the same line or reasoning concerning gays and lesbians in the military that many people used when it came to blacks in the armed forces nearly 70 years ago.  At that time, critics argued for segregated barracks, showers and restrooms.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  Bravo to Chris Wallace for going against the status quo at Fox News and calling out Santorum on his bigoted, naive and backwards mindset.

The more sound bites I hear from Rick Santorum, the more I start to believe SNL.  He "seems confused and flabbergasted by modern day life.  It seems like if there were a time and place in history that best fit your values, it would be Salem, Mass, in 1692".

"Why stick your neck out and run for President, little guy?"

Today In "Are You Fucking Kidding Me?"

At last night's Republican Presidential debate, a question was asked by Stephen Hill, a gay soldier serving in Iraq.  At the time his question was submitted via YouTube, he would have had to have asked it anonymously.  However, since the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell went into effect on Tuesday, Hill is now able to serve openly.

He asked, "Under one of your presidencies, do you plan to circumvent the progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?"

Listen to the reaction from some members of the crowd:



Of course the question went to Rick Santorum, who by far spews the most anti-gay rhetoric of all of the GOP candidates.  He said that "any type of sexual activity has no place in the military", which is true, but has absolutely nothing to do with allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly.  This is the man that said that gay marriage would lead to "man on dog" relationships.  In his mind, the repeal of DADT is an anal rape free-for-all in the barrack's showers.

What's worse?  Not one of the candidates spoke up to defend the soldier.  I don't care if you disagree with someone's lifestyle.  I don't care if you disagree with the policies of this administration.  I don't care if you disagree with the concept of war or the reasons why we are currently in the Middle East.  YOU DO NOT BOO A SOLDIER.  PERIOD.  Those men and women are risking their lives every day, doing a job that most Americans are unwilling to do.  What a vile thing to do.

Well, at least this time the crowd wasn't shouting to let the uninsured die:

It's About Fucking Time...

Earlier this afternoon, President Obama signed the certified repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.  Although the measure was signed into law with the best of intentions nearly 18 years ago, the repeal of this flawed set of regulations is long overdue.  Implementation of the repeal will start immediately after a 60 day waiting period.

The president released the following statement regarding the certification:

"Today, we have taken the final major step toward ending the discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law that undermines our military readiness and violates American principles of fairness and equality.  In accordance with the legislation that I signed into law last December, I have certified and notified Congress that the requirements for repeal have been met.  ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ will end, once and for all, in 60 days—on September 20, 2011. 

As Commander in Chief, I have always been confident that our dedicated men and women in uniform would transition to a new policy in an orderly manner that preserves unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness.  Today’s action follows extensive training of our military personnel and certification by Secretary Panetta and Admiral Mullen that our military is ready for repeal.  As of September 20th, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country.  Our military will no longer be deprived of the talents and skills of patriotic Americans just because they happen to be gay or lesbian. 

I want to commend our civilian and military leadership for moving forward in the careful and deliberate manner that this change requires, especially with our nation at war.  I want to thank all our men and women in uniform, including those who are gay or lesbian, for their professionalism and patriotism during this transition.  Every American can be proud that our extraordinary troops and their families, like earlier generations that have adapted to other changes, will only grow stronger and remain the best fighting force in the world and a reflection of the values of justice and equality that the define us as Americans."

We've come a long way as a community in just the last few years.  I am so proud of this nation's more accepting views, and especially proud of the men and women that have been serving for their country in an atmosphere that was less than friendly.  They have been much braver than I could ever imagine.  Today is for you.  Below is a copy of the certification.

Hey LGBT Community: Obama Is On Our Side

In the months leading up to the repeal of DADT, President Obama got a lot of crap from gay Democrats.  Many said they weren't going to vote during the 2010 midterm elections.  Dan Choi even had the balls to call him the "worst U.S. President in history".  Well, Don't Ask Don't Tell was eventually passed, and now the gay community is turning on Obama for not mentioning the Defense of Marriage Act or EDNA in tonight's State of the Union address.  A number of the blogs I read have an attitude of "If he doesn't mention it as a top priority, then he doesn't get my support anymore".

Check this out:  The Windy City Times released copies of questionnaires that the President filled out while campaigning for state senator in 1996.  In one survey, Obama adamantly pledged his support for legalized same sex marriage, state funded AIDS treatment, and adoption rights for same sex couples.

 Had Barack Obama platformed on these viewpoints for the 2000 Presidential race, he would have been slaughtered.  We would currently been in our third year of a McCain/Palin administration.

I am sure his views have not changed much since 1996, but you must realize, he is but one man.  Even though he is the President of the United States, he doesn't have a magic wand.  He still has to compromise with 535 other people.  435 in the House of Representatives, and 100 Senators, the majority of which want us to have no rights whatsoever.  The race will be won in steps, not in giant leaps.  The civil rights movement of the '60s was not won overnight.  This is the civil rights movement of this millennium.  And we have one hell of an ally in President Obama.

And for those who have any doubt...

Dan Choi, Shut The Fuck Up

Dear Dan,

Over the last week, I haven't been able to turn on a television without seeing your face.  It seems that every 10 minutes, you're on a different cable news network, talking about DADT.  I don't follow you on Twitter, yet somehow I know your every move.

I understand that you were devastated when you were discharged.  The Army was your life, and this country needs more linguists like you.  You've made your point.  Now would you please shut the fuck up.  You're a drama queen and an attention whore, and you're starting to make straight people think the rest of the gay community is full of drama queens and attention whores.

You always have to go over the top.  Dan Choi can't quietly protest with the rest of the crowd in front of the White House, he has to chain himself to the front gate.  Dan Choi has to go on a hunger strike (I still don't understand what that accomplished).  Dan Choi can't reenlist quietly like all the other gay and lesbian service members that have been discharged.  NO.  You have to alert the media beforehand, and reenlist in Times fucking Square.  While other servicemen and women are having to endure ridicule and torment while filing for their reenlistment, yours was easy and pain free.  Of course it was.  You had CNN behind you on the other side of the glass.  And on your reenlistment papers, why couldn't you have just said you were discharged for being honest about your sexual orientation, and leave it at that.  Why would you ever put something so melodramatic as, I "refused to lie about my cherished partner"?  Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?

Do you realize that your actions not only affect every one of the 14,000+ that have been discharged under DADT, but the country's perception of the gay community?  This is not about you.  You are a drop of water in an ocean.  You are not our spokesperson, and you sure as hell won't be our martyr.  When the history books are written about DADT , your name won't even be mentioned.  Do us a favor.  Quit before you embarrass us any further.

Sincerely,

Twitch

Whoa....

From Wil Wheaton's blog:

McCain Defends DADT

In an interview immediately following the Senate vote, John McCain insists that DADT works.  According to McCain, gay servicemen and women are not singled out and proactively investigated.  Despite a grocery list of examples of discharged soldiers, some of whom have had private emails and phone records gone through, McCain sticks to his guns. "It is not the policy."

A Message For Senate Republicans:

From the gay community:



Thanks for considering our rights, fuckers.

Video Of Lady Gaga's Speech At DADT Rally

Courtesy of CNN:

Support For Gays In The Military Depends On How You Ask The Question

CBS News released an interesting poll last week. In it, they polled two groups of people and asked the same question, "Do you favor or oppose BLANK serving in the military?" With one group, they used the term "homosexuals", and with the other, they used the term "gay men and lesbians". The results were fascinating. When using the term "gay men and lesbians" people were more likely to say favor or strongly favor. Take a look at the results:



They also asked, "Do you favor or oppose BLANK being allowed to serve openly?" Here is what they found:



Why the difference? Some think ingrained prejudice. Years of church sermons have given people a prejudice toward the word "homosexual" that they normally wouldn't have toward "gay" or "lesbian". Homosexual, then, becomes a more negative sounding word.

I remember growing up, being told by my mother never to use the gay or lesbian, because "those are the words they want to be called". "God calls them homosexuals. That's what you call them." I never had the balls to tell my mom that God didn't speak Latin, so for all we know he could have called them cantaloupes using that line of thinking.

What about you? Think about it. Do you support homosexuals in the military? Or gays and lesbians in the military? Or both?

This Valentine's Day

This post was inspired by a comment I read on Andrew Sullivan's blog.

When I think about myself, it's hard for my wife's name to not come up in conversation. She is such a huge part of my life, I cannot describe who I am without bringing her up. Especially, if you start talking about fatherhood, or about how I have changed as a person since having my little girl. I'm just speaking for myself, but after just five years of knowing each other it has come to this point. I cannot imagine what it is like for people that have been together for 20, 30, or 40 years.

With that in mind, think about the person that you're with. How long have you been with them? Now, imagine when you go into work tomorrow, taking down any pictures of your life together. Any vacations. Any holidays. All pictures of their family or of them with the kids. When people ask you how your weekend was or what you did, lie. Where you went to dinner, who you were with...you weren't there and they don't exist. In fact, from now on, when you do go out to dinner, you go to places far out of the way and you're always looking over your shoulder. Or, you order in.

You no longer take any personal calls at work. All people in your life no longer have pronouns attached to them. It's no longer "he, her, him, his, she". All people in your live become "them" or "they". Your children lose their mother or father; as far as the world is concerned, you're a single parent. These are just a few of the many tracks you have to keep covered every minute of every day. Sounds degrading, doesn't it. Worst part is, what if you were told that if you made one little slip, you lost your job and faced a lifetime of public ridicule. This is the harsh reality that thousands of gay and lesbian soldiers live with daily.

Admiral Mullen said that repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell(DADT) was a matter of "human integrity". As you can see here, it's also a matter of human dignity. Thankfully, under the Obama Administration, it is getting more difficult to be discharged from the military for being gay. But, you can still have a court martial and eventually be dishonorably discharged under the "offense".

This Valentine's Day, give your significant other a kiss, knowing that in many places across the world, others cannot.