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In a previous posting, I ranted about news reports that the Obama administration planned on delaying action on repealing the deceptively named "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." (Military witchhunts routinely occur under the policy where the service members didn't come out to the military.)
Christopher of From the Left called my attention to the Bush family crony and still Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying that no action will be taken to lift the military ban. From the 3/29/09 AFP article:
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates Sunday ruled out an imminent change in the "Don't ask, Don't tell" policy on gays in the military, saying President Barack Obama believes the Pentagon has "a lot on our plates right now."
Gates comments in an interview on Fox television were in response to an assertion by White House spokesman Robert Gibbs in January that Obama would end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military.
"We will follow the law, whatever it is," Gates said. "That dialogue, though, has really not progressed very far at this point in the administration."
"I think the president and I feel like we've got a lot on our plates right now, and let's push that one down the road a little bit," he said.
Considering that Gates and Obama plan on keeping the Iraq War going at least until the end of 2011 and the Afghanistan War going on for the foreseeable future, it is difficult to imagine a time when Gates' and his underlings won't have "a lot on their plates."
A lot of hetero Obama supporters and a few queer ones were dismissive when many in the lgbt community loudly condemned Barack Obama's viciously heterosexist and misogynistic decision to involve Rick Warren in the inauguration. Some even said it was "just a prayer." When so many Democrats gave Obama a pass on an act of naked aggression and bigotry against queers, the Obama administration interpreted it as a blank check to be as bigoted against us as they want to be. Although he has thrown queers a few crumbs, President Obama has maintained the Pink Ceiling on cabinet level appointments.
Now, this has happened.
Those of us who have been involved in lgbt activism for a couple of decades have started to see a repeat of the heinous history we experienced under Bill Clinton. If we don't start fighting back against Barack Obama's heterosexism, we will be doomed to who knows how many years of oppression by a President of a party that claims to support us when they want our votes, our volunteer time, and our campaign contributions.
I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt. Be it regular folks, or famous folks.
Obama ran his campaign with the promise of repealing DADT and this is one of the reasons I supported him and not the Borg Queen.
I am friends with several people at SLDN and I know how important repealing DADT is to them, and how honoring the more than 13,000 gay and lesbian service members who have been kicked out of the military for no reason other than their sexual orientation is an appalling act of cruelty informed by blatant homophobia.
I believed Obama and I trusted he would do right by them and for them. I was wrong. Oh well, it won't be the last time I trusted someone only to be made the fool.
I am still hoping that we'll see some movement on DADT (and DOMA, ENDA, etc) before his term is up. Remember, there are still nearly four years left until the next president takes office. I'm not quite ready to write him off on LGBT issues just yet.
this country needs to grow the fuck up -
i would personally like to give a kick in its ass. The whole damn country. Ignorance, hate - BULLSHIT and i am so sick of it.
(on the positive side from my point of view is ok, fine, good smooth move exlax, more of us the lgbtq to live and live well, (it is the best revenge) - and not dying in some rich man's war. Why should we be their fodder. fuck em !
While Obama's opponents try to smear him as a far leftist, this only goes to prove that he is definitely right of center.
I don't like war and, by extension, I don't like the military-- but, the fact is, people chose to enter the military out of a sense that they wanted to serve their country.
and now, these same people have had their careers destroyed.
so, like the military or not -- we all have a duty to kick the gummit in the arse.
so come join me -- I'm going over to
http://change.gov/page/s/yourvision
and register my deep disappointment with these folks.
and tell them that if they want me to work to get someone ELSE nominated next time they'll just keep on reneging on what they told us they would do.