Leading military bloggers support repeal of DADT

Ben Smith explains why this matters:

A group of leading military bloggers has issued a joint statement urging Congress to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

The community of "mil-bloggers" -- often hawkish, critical of White House and military leadership, devoted to both the First and Second Amendments -- isn't easy to define politically, but has proven an increasingly powerful voice from the ranks. The statement, which says that there have always been gay soldiers and that "very little will actually change" with the repeal of "Don't Ask," carries the signatures of the authors of some of the most prominent: Blackfive, Q&O;, Outside the Wire, and the US Naval Institute Blog, among others.

Here's the full statement.

JOINT STATEMENT FROM MILITARY BLOGGERS 12 MAY 2010

We consider the US military the greatest institution for good that has ever existed. No other organization has freed more people from oppression, done more humanitarian work or rescued more from natural disasters. We want that to continue.

Today, it appears inevitable to us that the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy and law restricting those displaying open homosexual behavior from serving will be changed. And yet, very little will actually change. Homosexuals have always served in the US Military, and there have been no real problems caused by that.

The service chiefs are currently studying the impact and consequences of changing the DADT policy, and how to implement it without compromising the morale, order and discipline necessary for the military to function. The study is due to be completed on Dec. 1st. We ask Congress to withhold action until this is finished, but no longer. We urge Congress to listen to the service chiefs and act in accordance with the recommendations of that study.

The US Military is professional and ready to adapt to the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell without compromising its mission. Echoing Sec. Def. Gates and ADM Mullen, we welcome open and honorable service, regardless of sexual orientation.

Matt Burden- Warrior Legacy Foundation & BLACKFIVE

Jim Hanson- Warrior Legacy Foundation & BLACKFIVE

Blake Powers- BLACKFIVE

Fred Schoenman- BLACKFIVE

David Bellavia- House to House

Bruce McQuain- Q&O;

JD Johannes- Outside the Wire

Diane Frances McInnis Miller- Boston Maggie

Mark Seavey- This Ain't Hell

Michael St. Jacques- The Sniper

Mary Ripley- US Naval Institute Blog

John Donovan- Castle Argghhh!

Andrew J. Lubin- The Military Observer

Marc Danziger- Winds of Change

Greta Perry- Hooah Wife

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Is this video, by soldiers, about DADT funny or offensive?

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Army secretary decides not to attend NY commencement due to 'don't ask, don't tell' protest

Let's hope Al Qaeda doesn't decide to hold a protest, since our military leaders apparently can't stomach the heat. Read More...

On DADT, lead lift-the-ban group says it's time for Obama to weigh in

Chris Johnson has an article on the current status of DADT repeal efforts. Barney Frank is back to blaming the community for not making enough calls to Congress. There should always be more calls, more lobbying, more action. But, the biggest stumbling block is the opposition to repeal this year from Barack Obama's Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates.

Before the House and Senate adjourn for Memorial Day, there's a good chance that the Senate Armed Services Committee will pass its version of the 2011 Defense Authorization legislation. Chairman Carl Levin wants to include the repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell in the legislation. That means we need 15 votes in the Senate Armed Services Committee. According to Aubrey Sarvis from SLDN and Alex Nicholson from Servicemembers United, we're not there yet. We're a couple votes short. The key targets are Evan Bayh (D-IN), Scott Brown (R-MA), Robert Byrd (D-WV), Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Jim Webb (D-VA). I think Webb is critical. Given Webb's background, it's assumed he'll be inclined to follow the direction of the Pentagon. But, Obama is the Commander-in-Chief and he needs to take control:

Additionally, Sarvis said President Obama needs to follow through on his campaign promise to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and convince senators to move forward on the issue.

“The person that we need to hear from the most in these closing days is the president of the United States,” Sarvis said. “The president is in the best position to reconcile the concerns that Secretary Gates expressed with the desire of Chairman Levin and others in the next two weeks.”

Aubrey is right. The President has to weigh in.

Here's the full list of the Senate Armed Services Committee members grouped by position on DADT:

YES

Carl Levin (D-Michigan)
Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Connecticut)
Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island)
Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri)
Mark Udall (D-Colorado)
Kay R. Hagan (D-North Carolina)
Mark Begich (D-Alaska)
Roland W. Burris (D-Illinois)
Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico)
Edward E. Kaufman (D-Delaware)
Susan M. Collins (R-Maine)

NO

John McCain (R-Arizona)
James M. Inhofe (R-Oklahoma)
Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama)
Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia)
John Thune (R-South Dakota)
Roger F. Wicker (R-Mississippi)
George S. LeMieux (R-Florida)
Richard Burr (North Carolina)
David Vitter (Louisiana)
Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina)

SWING VOTES. We need three of these Senators to vote Yes:

Robert C. Byrd (D-West Virginia)
Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska)
Bill Nelson (D-Florida)
Evan Bayh (D-Indiana)
Jim Webb (D-Virginia)
Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts)

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Olbermann covers the 'Rentboy Revelations'

Keith Olbermann and Michael Musto discuss George Rekers, Rentboys and Florida Attorney General (and GOP candidate for Governor) Bill McCollum:
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Politico: 'Elena Kagan is not a lesbian'

There you have it:

Elena Kagan is not a lesbian, one of her best friends told POLITICO Tuesday night, responding to persistent rumors and innuendo about the Supreme Court nominee’s personal life.

“I’ve known her for most of her adult life and I know she’s straight,” said Sarah Walzer, Kagan’s roommate in law school and a close friend since then. “She dated men when we were in law school, we talked about men — who in our class was cute, who she would like to date, all of those things. She definitely dated when she was in D.C. after law school, when she was in Chicago – and she just didn’t find the right person.”

Pam Spaulding, as usual, provides some perspective:

And that traditional media dilemma has been the most interesting thing to hear about, since Walzer confirms that the MSM has clearly been probing and dancing around the question with Kagan's friends, but never asking about it directly. It points out the obvious -- too many reporters/editors are squeamish because, when it comes down to it, they believe that asking about the personal life of someone they think may be gay is crossing some sort of line of propriety. A line that, of course, doesn't exist when the person is straight.

Being gay is not bad, nor is it only about SEX, kinds of sex acts, etc. Is there mass MSM cognitive dissonance going on? Honest to god, how many times have we heard more gory details than we care to know about heterosexual newsmakers and their kinks, sex acts and accounts of adultery? Can we say, um, John Edwards? I didn't see the media running from that one. They only kept a lid on it until it was confirmed, then then the reporting burst like a dam.

No media outlet could justify that inquiring about what one does in the bedroom is appropriate to ask a SCOTUS nominee, but if there are rumors floating around about whether one is or isn't gay, why wouldn't you want to ask that to clear the air?

That's just asking about a demographic (and an official one in 2010 as one can indicate on the census whether you have a same-sex partner), such as religion, race, region of birth -- all things that have been discussed widely as Kagan is being compared to sitting justices.

And, if further proof is needed, the Washington Post's ombudsman has been writing about the paper's policy on disclosing sexual orientation. Read More...

A letter about DADT to Obama from Chief Hospital Corpsman Brian K. Humbles, USN (Ret.)

Here's the latest from SLDN's series "Stories from the Frontlines: Letters to President Barack Obama.

It looks like Senator Carl Levin, Chair of the critically important Senate Armed Services Committee, wants a vote in his committee to add DADT repeal to the Defense authorization bill. We need help from the President to get the final votes. His Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, is the main obstacle to repealing the law this year. The President must engage. The Committee vote will happen within the next two weeks.

Hopefully, someone at the White House is reading these letters about the real world impact of DADT on the men and women who want to serve their country:

May 12, 2010

President Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

A “sexual predator” -- that’s what someone in the military called me after 22 years of faithful service.

It was September, 2005. I remember the moment I received notice from the Navy Criminal Investigation Service (NCIS) that I was under investigation and I couldn’t figure out why.

Not long before that day, I was conducting medical exams on two sailors who were being open about their sexual orientation. The rules were clear. If a service member comes “out” to a medical professional or even a chaplain, we were required to report it.

Instead of alerting their command, I made the choice to caution them about the risks of being too open. As a bisexual man myself, I knew the fear they experienced under the law of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

I knew the “ins and outs” of serving silently – even while deployed to Afghanistan. The law, frankly, is a scary thing. The fear of being “outed” – of losing your job – can sometimes be too much to handle.

My good faith efforts in counseling these two young men on their sexual orientation resulted in accusations of molestation. In the course of the investigation, under intense pressure from an NCIS agent and a desire to be truthful, I admitted to being bisexual.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long for NCIS to conclude its investigation and find the accusations by the two men to be without merit. The authorities governing medical ethics at the hospital also launched an independent investigation and concluded the charges were unfounded. And finally, an Article 32 hearing exonerated me of any wrong doing.

Everyone thought the case was closed. I thought the case was closed. But it wasn’t.

The Staff Judge Advocate (SJA) on base, acting without authority, continued her own investigation and convinced the ranking Admiral that regulations mandated that he move to administratively separate me with an “Other Than Honorable” discharge; a move that would result in the loss of my 20+ year retirement.

Acting without the proper authority, she even went over the Admiral’s head and appealed to the Navy’s personnel office, telling them I was taking “sexual liberties” with patients, which she knew was not true.

I wanted to serve my country. Now, I was fighting to not be humiliated by it. At the SJA’s encouragement, the command initiated discharge proceedings. I knew I’d be discharged but my retirement and my livelihood was also on the line.

In the middle of opening statements at my discharge hearing, a fellow service member who also sat on the Administrative Separation Board, lashed out and called me a “sexual predator.” While she was removed from the board, the damage was done.

After a strong push by my faithful defense team, the board ruled that I could keep my retirement benefits and be discharged honorably.

I served for 22 years and wanted only to fulfill the remainder of my time. A promise I made to my country.

The criminal investigation by NCIS took all but six months. But one person -- a JAG officer -- spent the next eighteen months and countless man hours attempting to have me discharged with a reduction in rank and no retirement, all because I was gay.

Sir, those two years were frankly, mental hell, all because one person felt I shouldn’t be in the Navy, a service I loved and still love today.

Mr. President, the men and women in the armed forces need your leadership now. Repeal this law, this year. Help stop the pain of so many people who are currently facing discharge hearings. Help them keep their honor. Help them keep their integrity.

With great respect,
Brian K. Humbles
Chief Hospital Corpsman
Surface Warfare/Fleet Marine Forces
United States Navy (RET)

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