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Dont Ask Dont Tell

Will Gay Troops Get to Join the Debate About Their Own Service to America?

Nathaniel Frank | Posted 12.02.2009 | Politics

Read More: Palm Center, Robert Gates, Gays in the Military, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Congress, Alcee Hastings, Kirsten Gillibrand, Politics News
Nathaniel Frank

Without explicit protection, gay troops could be fired for sharing their views and experiences with senators and representatives, since current law calls for discharging anyone who says they are gay.

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Thankful That Obama Has Helped Make Dissent And Debate Patriotic And Safe Again

Steve Clemons | Posted 11.26.2009 | Politics

Read More: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Thanksgiving, Jobs, Iraq, Chuck Hagel, Race, Political Debate, Barack Obama, Arianna Huffington, Iran, Economic Policy, Tom Delay, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, Afghanistan, Dave McCurdy, Dont Ask Dont Tell, Gregory Craig, Greg Craig, Politics News
Steve Clemons

Of all things to be thankful for this Thanksgiving -- I'm thankful that challenging the government's course and trying to put better ideas on the table are unabashedly patriotic again.

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The Pentagon's Awkward "If" Problem

Aubrey Sarvis | Posted 11.25.2009 | Politics

Read More: Mullen, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Sldn, Gates, Servicemembers-Legal-Defense-Network, Dadt, "Don't Ask, Politics News
Aubrey Sarvis

That we can or should allow gays to serve openly only after -- or iff -- we end one or both wars is the most obvious of red herrings. It will take years for the wars to "end."

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A Roadmap For 2010 DADT Repeal

Aubrey Sarvis | Posted 11.24.2009 | Politics

Read More: Lgbt, Sen. Carl Levin, Joseph Rocha, President Obama, National Security Council Advisor Gen. James Jones, Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Department of Defense, Senate Armed Services Committee, Rep. Patrick Murphy, Afghanistan, Congress, Iraq, Sen. John McCain, Politics News
Aubrey Sarvis

President Obama has said he would sign legislation overturning the ban on gays in the military. Here's a roadmap to make sure that happens in 2010.

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Senate Puts Off Action On 'Don't Ask Don't Tell'

AFP | Posted 11.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Hearing Dont Ask Dont Tell, Repealing Dont Ask Dont Tell, Dont Ask Dont Tell Repeal, Dadt, Senate Dadt, Senate Dont Ask Dont Tell, Dont Ask Dont Tell, Politics News

A planned November hearing by the US Senate Armed Services Committee to consider ending a ban on gays serving openly in the US military will be postpo...

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Corzine on My Mind

Deborah Jacobs | Posted 11.16.2009 | New York

Read More: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Marriage, Expectations, New Jersey, Corzine, Progressives, Obama, 2009 Elections, Voting, New York News
Deborah Jacobs

Corzine has weeks to seal his legacy, and the Democratic legislature has to push through its most powerful members' agenda items as well, before it faces unknown terrain with Chris Christie.

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DADT Likely To Be Part Of Defense Bill: Barney Frank

The Advocate | Posted 11.11.2009 | Politics

Read More: Frank Dadt, Frank, Barney Frank Dont Ask Dont Tell, Dadt, Dont Ask Dont Tell, Barney Frank, Barney Frank Dadt, Politics News

Repealing "don't ask, don't tell" will likely be included as part of next year's Department of Defense authorization bill in both chambers of Congress...

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AMA Votes To Seek Repeal Of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

AP | LINDSEY TANNER | Posted 11.10.2009 | Politics

Read More: AMA Dadt Repeal, AMA Don't Ask Don't Tell, AMA Gay Rights, Gay Rights, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gays in the Military, Dadt Repeal, AMA Dadt, Dadt, American Medical Association, AMA Dadt Vote, Ama, Politics News

CHICAGO — The American Medical Association on Tuesday voted to oppose the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, and declared that gay marri...

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President Obama and Gay Rights: Forgetting the Lessons of the Campaign

Nathaniel Frank | Posted 11.05.2009 | Politics

Read More: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Don't Ask, Glbt, Youth Vote, Gay Rights, Maine, Enda, President Obama, Risk Aversion, Democratic Party, Presidents, David Plouffe, Gay Marriage, One Year Later, Timidity to Govern, Barack Obama, Politics News
Nathaniel Frank

Those presidents who are both remembered by history and re-elected have been those who stuck their necks out to fight for the rights of the vulnerable. The gay community is still waiting for Obama.

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One Year After Obama's Election: Still Smarter...Than The Alternative

Chris Weigant | Posted 11.05.2009 | Politics

Read More: George Bush, Albert Alligator, White House, President Obama, Washington, Progressive Utopia, Iraq, Obama, Mccain, Media, Campaign, Anniversary, Sarah Palin, Republican, Alligators, Bush, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Change, Dadt, Gay Rights, Clinton, Rock Star, 2008, Disillusionment, Governing, Politician, Castles in the Air, Candidate Obama, Pogo Possum, Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Left, Lefties, Bill Clinton, Right, John McCain, Pogo, One Year, Democrat, Swamp, Democrats, Campaign Promises, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Election, Vrwc, Progressive, Chris Weigant, Change We Can Believe In, Palin, George W Bush, Afghanistan, Republicans, Doma, Partisanship, Gay Marriage, Partisan, Righties, One Year Later, Obama One Year Later, Politics News
Chris Weigant

What puts this first year in perspective for me is that: Obama may not be smarter than all of us, but he sure is smarter by a long shot than McCain would have been. And that, for now, is enough for me.

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One Year Later: A Return to Normalcy

Lincoln Mitchell | Posted 11.03.2009 | Politics

Read More: White House, Michelle Obama, Afghanistan, War, George W. Bush, Democratic Party, Barack Obama, Recession, Afghanistan War, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Change, Pennsylvania, One Year Later, Chicago, Fox News, Obama One Year Later, Lincoln Park, Republican Party, Health Care, Guantanomo Bay, Politics News
Lincoln Mitchell

Th Obama normalcy is a welcome relief from eight years of the Bush administration, but it is only a start. If Obama builds on this start with true reforms, much of the hope will come back.

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Obama and LGBT Rights: A Year Since Election Day

Emma Ruby-Sachs | Posted 11.03.2009 | Politics

Read More: President Obama, Obama, Gay, 2008 Election, Barack Obama, Defense of Marriage Act, Maine, Lgbt, California Gay Marriage, Gay Rights, Obama LGBT, One Year Later, Maine Gay Marriage, LGBT Rights, Dont Ask Dont Tell, Gay Marriage, Politics News
Emma Ruby-Sachs

Looking back on a year of LGBT rights activism under the Obama umbrella, I wonder just how much we have done to make LGBT rights a priority for Americans. The president himself has done little.

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Marine Commandant Defies White House on Gay Troops

Aaron Belkin | Posted 11.02.2009 | Politics

Read More: Gays in the Military, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Barack Obama, US Marines, Gay Rights, James Conway, Gay Issues, Politics News
Aaron Belkin

Commandant General James Conway's opposition to the president on "don't ask, don't tell" could have many underlying implications. Some would say he should be taken out to the woodshed.

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James T. Conway, Marine, Leads Fight To Keep "Don't Ask Don't Tell"

The Washington Times | Rowan Scarborough | Posted 11.02.2009 | Politics

Read More: Repeal Dadt, Gay Rights Movement, Gay Rights, Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gays in the Military, Dadt, James T. Conway Dadt, James T. Conway, Politics News

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway has emerged in internal Pentagon deliberations as the most outspoken opponent of permitting gay men and w...

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On Don't Ask Don't Tell, Army's Ready, So What's the Hold-up?

Jon Soltz | Posted 10.30.2009 | Politics

Read More: Mark Udall, John Mchugh, votevets.org, Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Victor Fehrenbach, Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, Military, Barbara Boxer, Army, Steven Green, John Kerry, US Army, Votevets, Tim Walz, Obama Don't Ask Don't Tell, Kirsten Gillibrand, Patrick Murphy, Joe Sestak, Dadt, Politics News
Jon Soltz

Here's an idea: Let's just keep our best troops, no matter what their background or orientation. Momentum is picking up in Congress behind that notion, but we still need the President to make his move.

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LGBT Rights: The Time Is Now

State Rep. Julie Hamos | Posted 10.29.2009 | Chicago

Read More: LGBT Rights, 10th District, Congress, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Matthew Shepard Act, Hate Crimes, Dadt, Religious Freedom, Illinois General Assembly, Matthew Shepard, James Byrd Jr., Chicago News
State Rep. Julie Hamos

I hope the abolition of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is immediate. But there is still one crucial step that this country needs to take: We must make civil marriage equality the law of the land.

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Gillibrand Talks "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Gay Rights

gaycitynews.com | Paul Schnidler | Posted 10.29.2009 | New York

Read More: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Lgbt, Dadt, President Barack Obama, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Gillibrand LGBT, Gay Rights, LGBT Rights, Gillibrand Gay Advocate, LGBT Community, New York, New York City, New York News

"For himself, I think, he's going to take all the time he believes he needs in order to be successful, because it's all about being successful." Thos...

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President Obama Gives In to Pressure; Orders 40,000 Gay Troops to Afghanistan

Lee Stranahan | Posted 10.27.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Orrin Hatch, Gay Rights, Afganistan Troop Increase, Rahm Emanuel, Afghanistan, Barney Frank, Comedy News
Lee Stranahan

President Obama said the move was both a victory for human dignity and for pointless wars we can't possibly win.

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Army Secretary: Military Ready To Lift Ban On Openly Gay Service

Posted 10.27.2009 | Politics

Read More: Dadt, Don't Ask Don't Tell, John Mchugh, Army, Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, Military Policy, Politics News

In an interview with the Army Times published Sunday, Secretary of the Army John McHugh indicated that the army would be ready to lift the ban on gays...

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Time to Repeal DOMA

Sen. Arlen Specter | Posted 10.27.2009 | Politics

Read More: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Repeal of DOMA, Doma, Gay Marriage, Defense of Marriage Act, Same-Sex Marriage, Politics News
Sen. Arlen Specter

Enacted 13 years ago when the idea of same sex marriage was struggling for acceptance, the Defense of Marriage Act is a relic of a more tradition-bound time and culture.

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New York For Gillibrand

Ryan J. Davis | Posted 10.26.2009 | New York

Read More: Lgbt, Politics, Kirsten Gillibrand, New York, Gay Marriage, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Dadt, Gay Rights, Senate Democrats, New York Politics, David Paterson, Same-Sex Marriage, New York News
Ryan J. Davis

It's time for New Yorkers to rally around their new senator, regardless of their feelings on lame-duck Paterson. Gillibrand seems ready to provide us with progressive leadership.

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Obama: Don't Ask, Don't Tell How I Feel About Public Option

Andy Borowitz | Posted 10.26.2009 | Comedy

Read More: Borowitz Report, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Andy Borowitz, Public Option, Health Care Reform, Kate Hudson, Barack Obama, A-Rod, Comedy News
Andy Borowitz

As the negotiations over health care reform reach a crucial stage, Mr. Obama said that for his own part he was in favor of "the silent option."

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Homophobia: Healing It From The Inside Out

Jason Mannino | Posted 10.23.2009 | Living

Read More: Government, Lgbt, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gay Rights, LGBT Issues, Gay Hendricks, Doma, Enda, Homophobia, LGBT Rights, Dadt, Gay, Defense of Marriage Act, Byron Katie, Living News
Jason Mannino

We still live in a world where too many LGBT people have unconsciously held onto the poisonous, negative beliefs about sexual orientation that our society, churches, and government still force feed us.

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Refuting the Latest Arguments Against Gay Troops

Nathaniel Frank | Posted 10.20.2009 | Politics

Read More: Don't Ask Don't Tell, Ethics and Public Policy Center, Gays in the Military, Honor, James Bowman, Barack Obama, Weekly Standard, Palm Center, Politics News
Nathaniel Frank

Defenses of the military's gay ban have long been rooted in the moral belief that homosexuality is wrong, but its champions cast their defense of the policy in terms of the famous "unit cohesion" rationale.

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Lt. Choi Won't Lie for His Country

Amy Goodman | Posted 10.14.2009 | Politics

Read More: Lgbt, Don't Ask Don't Tell, National Guard, Army, Rachel Maddow, Urvashi Vaid, Amy Goodman, Human Rights Campaign, Breaking the Sound Barrier, Lt. Dan Choi, Hrc, Democracy Now, Politics News
Amy Goodman

Lt. Dan Choi's pre-existing conditions -- being gay and being honest about it -- may be enough to keep him out of the Veterans Affairs health care system for life.

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