Lift the ban.
By on Jun 18th, 2007 at 6:10 pm
Lift the ban.
Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films has released a new video at LiftTheBan.org documenting how the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay servicemembers has compromised our national security by worsening our shortage of Arabic linguists. Watch the video:
At least 58 Arabic linguists have been kicked out of the U.S. military because they were gay. Sign the petition to have your Member of Congress sign on to the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, which would repeal the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” ban.
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Ideology trumps everything including security!
June 18th, 2007 at 6:35 pmGreat agrumentum ad misericordiam, LtB.erg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
June 18th, 2007 at 6:41 pmQuid pro quo. Dude.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:47 pmW, KKKarl, The Dick and Scooter did not serve, why should gays with crucial skills willing to serve be an exception?
June 18th, 2007 at 6:50 pmHas anybody documented how many Gays have been killed or wound in Afgan or Iraq?
Then the question is did the bullet or shell that injured or killed them ask their gayness?
June 18th, 2007 at 6:52 pmIt’s always best to get rid of those who would actually be able to communicate with the people in Iraq — especially if you’re not interestd in communicating with them.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:55 pmIt’s clear what needs to happen here. We need to prevent gay people from entering into Arabic language schools everywhere in the world. That would have stopped this problem from happening in the first place. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Besides just killing all the gay people in the world, which makes almost as much sense.
June 18th, 2007 at 6:57 pmHere
I was curious to see the bill’s co-sponsors but the link from SLDN’s website didn’t work for me. Here it is if you want to see if your Rep. is on the list.
Happy to see mine is a co-sponsor. Time to repeal this ridiculous law!
June 18th, 2007 at 6:59 pmexcellent topic, here!
and i, too, made a video today!
i thought it might seem rather
eloquently ironic, to allow then-attorney-
general john ashcroft — in an address to
the annual meeting of the federalists’ society,
on november 12, 2004 — to describe what this
administration says it believes about
the rule of law — and the role of the law — in
protecting individual liberties from government
usurpations. . . in short, its constitutional
theory — its theory on the rights of private
individuals to enjoy their constitutional rights
of free-association, and equal-protection of
law, among many others. . .
watch the federalists & ashcroft mash-up
against cheney & prof. john yoo — the author
of some of the earlier torture policies. . .
and, most of all, don’t miss that
captain jack sparrow!
i am crappin’ you negative — take a look!
June 18th, 2007 at 7:13 pmAt least 58 Arabic linguists have been kicked out of the U.S. military because they were gay.
Wasn’t there supposed to be hundreds of them ?
June 18th, 2007 at 7:15 pmAt least 58 Arabic linguists have been kicked out of the U.S. military because they were gay.
Wasn’t there supposed to be hundreds of them ?
Comment by Kilo — June 18, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
The key term is skilled linguists. I can speak enough German to live on their economy, but I am no Goethe.
June 18th, 2007 at 7:28 pmOut of curiousity,
If I am at work and I kiss a woman in front of others I can be brought up on sexual harrasment charges. If I decide to have a picure of a woman in a bikini on my desktop I could be brought up on charges of sexual harrasment.
If a gay man has a picture of a guy with his shirt off, should they be able to be brought up on charges? Also if they kiss their significant other at work after returning from lunch should they be forced to stop or possibly be fired?
June 18th, 2007 at 7:59 pmIf a gay man has a picture of a guy with his shirt off, should they be able to be brought up on charges? Also if they kiss their significant other at work after returning from lunch should they be forced to stop or possibly be fired?
Comment by Tundra — June 18, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
As to the picture, of course.
As to the kissing of the S.O., of course not.
Common sense, simple common sense.
June 18th, 2007 at 8:06 pmgee, let’s ask the troops that are walking around Baghdad on a fools errand if they wish they had those interpreters? the troops don’t count though in the world of Bush/neocon/cheney.
the troops lives seem to only matter to the extent the loses become a political matter. otherwise, out of site, out of mind.
what a bunch of leaders….
June 18th, 2007 at 8:11 pmthe troops don’t count though in the world of Bush/neocon/cheney.
They did
An October 2006 Zogby International poll of military members, however, showed that 26 percent agreed with the idea of gays and lesbians serving openly, 37 percent disagreed, and 32 percent were neutral.
http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=53188&archive=true
June 18th, 2007 at 8:17 pmWhy are there so many gay Arab linguists?
Maybe homos have something in common with the terrorists.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:23 pmgee, let’s ask the troops that are walking around Baghdad on a fools errand if they wish they had those interpreters? the troops don’t count though in the world of Bush/neocon/cheney.
I guess they didn’t count on a Democratic president and a Democratic congress enacting DADT, either.
Then again Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell told Slick Clinton what a terrible idea homos in the military was. So Clinton prompty retired him from service in the first year of his Presidency.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:26 pm4 times as many people have been discharged for being overweight compared to the number discharged for being guilty of homosexuality.
Wait, maybe we should get rid of the weight limits too!
June 18th, 2007 at 9:29 pmNot the gay thing again…
I’m starting to see a lot of TP articles more or less championing gay issues. Most people could care less if someone is or isn’t gay- they just don’t like it in their faces. Nor do they want to see anyone but themselves and their interests receiving special treatment. Whether true or not, people perceive special treatment is what gays are seeking. Homosexuality is an emotional issue that has become highly political. The rethugs have unfortunately polarized this issue to the point where they are “against†gay issues and democrats “champion†them.
Democrats need not wonder why they lost their “traditional†base- the working class. The last election was more anti-BushCo than pro-democrat. Hard to argue that dems represent “special interest†more than they do the working class. Both parties have sold the working man/woman down the road. (Remember that Clinton did sign NAFTA- the beginning of the end for the American worker.)
And yeah it sucks that the military is losing out because it doesn’t accept openly gay individuals for no “good†reason. But that’s the way it is like it or not- (what happened to the landmark “don’t ask, don’t tell†anyway?) I think part of where the military is on this has much to do with the protection of the gay individuals themselves. Sexually confused young men (as many young men are) are the worst kind of homophobes- they tend to beat the crap out of people they perceive as gay. You don’t hear much about people over 25 beating up “queers†because by that age folks are comfortable with their sexuality-gay or not.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:41 pmjust cause ur a fudge packer doesn’t mean you can’t defend our country.
June 18th, 2007 at 9:49 pmComment by fourdogs — June 18, 2007 @ 6:59 pm
Thanks for the link to Thomas. My rep will be hearing from me, because he’s not on the list.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:13 pm.
.
.
But…but…
What happens if the “Gay Bomb” is dropped too close to these troops?!
tsk…tsk…
reality check, people.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:14 pm.
.
.
At least 58 Arabic linguists have been kicked out of the U.S. military because they were gay.
Wasn’t there supposed to be hundreds of them ?
Comment by Kilo
There are, Kilo, there are. They’re ‘embedded’, biding their time, waiting… just waiting, for YOU to finally show your cojones and enlist… and then, they’ll wait until you’re taking a shower, all alone, and STRIKE!
June 18th, 2007 at 10:38 pmMaybe homos have something in common with the terrorists.
Comment by m12
Might be true, but it’s definitely a fact that m12 has the screamin’ hots for KKKarl…
June 18th, 2007 at 10:40 pm4 times as many people have been discharged for being overweight compared to the number discharged for being guilty of homosexuality.
Wait, maybe we should get rid of the weight limits too!
Comment by m12
Good idea, m12. Then you could FINALLY enlist to fight the war you love so much… the War on Twinkies, and Hoho’s, and especially the dreaded Double-Fudge Sundaes that frighten us so…
June 18th, 2007 at 10:42 pmMaybe homos have something in common with the terrorists.
Besides being human? And being more intelligent than thou?
But I digress. If having adequate information-and-analysis of an adversary is necessary for prevailing over that adversary; and if those who can provide such information-and-analysis are dismissed for reasons irrelevant to their performance of such critical tasks; then does doing the dismissing are providing AID ANA COMFORT TO THE ENEMY. That is the definition of treason. Anti-gay administration and military officials, obstructing such information-and-analysis efforts, are TRAITORS, and deserve the most severe penalties. Remember, a noose can be re-used.
June 18th, 2007 at 10:44 pmComment by Mycelium — June 18, 2007
The gay thing? Yeah, it’s not about civil or human rights, we’re just being whiny for the sake of it. You caught us.
You do have a point, that nobody should care if you’re gay. That would be ideal, if we were treated like all other Americans, but the thing is, we AREN’T. The Democrats took on civil rights in the sixties despite the idea that race shouldn’t matter and that everything was separate but equal. They did that because they saw through the illusion; race did matter, to the racists. Things were separate, but not equal.
I will not be told to not rock the boat because it makes you uncomfortable. I will not be told to keep my life a secret to make you feel better.
And lastly, you wanna talk about people’s “lifestyles” being shoved in people’s faces? Switch my place around with yours. Imagine that all you ever saw on TV was gay sex on all of the tv shows; a straight couple showing up once in a while and creating an uproar. Your parents constantly ask you when you’re going to marry some nice guy and adopt them some grandkids. All of your other friends are in relationships different from yours. It’s YOUR straight “lifestyle” that constantly gets thrown in MY face, and I don’t complain about it, so you take that take tired old line and burn it.
June 18th, 2007 at 11:11 pm#24
KKK? Is that you, Senator Byrd?
June 18th, 2007 at 11:13 pmwhat if they break a nail?? lose a dildo?? ohh my hair? what if they tried to hit the dooke shoot of a str8 guy?
June 18th, 2007 at 11:24 pmWhether it’s Sen Byrd or KKKarl Rove, it’s all the same, and you clearly get wood in your Depends over ‘em, m12.
June 18th, 2007 at 11:28 pmThat would be ideal, if we were treated like all other Americans, but the thing is, we AREN’T.
The only thing worse than the government passing a law advocating homosexuality is the government passing a law against it.
Laws or policies either way are just created to divide as opposed to unite.
June 18th, 2007 at 11:29 pmwhat if they break a nail?? lose a dildo??
Comment by Chris
Anyone loses a dido around here, they’ll just ask you to give it back, Chris. Oh, and by the way, Jeff Gannon wants his wristwatch back, too.
June 18th, 2007 at 11:30 pm“Maybe homos have something in common with the terrorists.”
I am guessing you have a whole lot in common with “homos” considering you phrased it that way. The closet is no place to be, friend.
June 18th, 2007 at 11:36 pmOh my god, what a discovery! Homos and terrorists! That makes so much sense! I can’t wait to hear your sound analysis of the connection between gays and islamohomofascist terrorists!
June 19th, 2007 at 1:10 amI say don’t lift the ban. Ban more people from going to Iraq. I say ban both homosexuals and heterosexuals from killing and dying in Iraq.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:27 amWell, no you can’t. Unless the woman is some random employee you shouldn’t be kissing in the first place that’s nothing of the sort.
June 19th, 2007 at 5:09 amMaybe homos have something in common with the terrorists.
Comment by m12
actually pal, radical islam is violently homophobic, just like fundamentalist christians are. in truth, people like you and those you support have much, more in common idealogically with religious than people like us do.
http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/iraq/iqnews003.htm
“The Islamic faith was largely left to be interpreted by the conservatives and fundamentalists who required a legal-social system of traditional heterosexual marriage, no sexual activity before marriage, and the treatment of homosexuality as a crime so horrible that it must not be named.
The result of these factors meant that in the Muslim world homosexuality was to be treated as an unspeakable vice, a serious crime, a disease, and gross obscenity. Up until the introduction of satilight television and the Internet, gay people in the Muslim Middle East had no means to explain their orientation [other then what they clergy said], much less the ability to see themselves as a downtrodden underclass. Most gay people married [often arranged], and lead double lives.
June 19th, 2007 at 6:46 am“
They must be hard up for a root if they’re planning years in advance how to get their end away.
And I guess they can’t even hook up with some locals because all the gay translators have been booted out.
They’ll probably get booted out of the army for carpal tunnel syndrome at this rate.
June 19th, 2007 at 7:23 am#27 – “KKK? Is that you, Senator Byrd?” Comment by m12 — June 18, 2007 @ 11:13 pm
Naw, it’s Sen. Strom Thurmond! You know, the guy who’s NEVER APOLOGIZED FOR BEING RACIST! NOT EVEN ONCE!
Then again, it’s the Republican Party platform: never apologize for screwing up. Ever.
June 19th, 2007 at 8:16 am#30 – “The only thing worse than the government passing a law advocating homosexuality is the government passing a law against it.” Comment by Tundra — June 18, 2007 @ 11:29 pm
I’m curious, Tunrda. Could you give me one example of the government passing a law that advocates homosexuality?
June 19th, 2007 at 8:19 amAnd having a gay translator damages the troops… how?
June 19th, 2007 at 8:22 am#38 – I guess the lisp scares straight people.
For all of those who are ’sarcasm impaired’, I was joking.
June 19th, 2007 at 9:28 amAny homo who would want to serve is fu*kin STUPID. Can’t you retards see we have not served in the past becuase weve been deemed UNFIT TO SPILL OUR BLOOD FOR THIS FORSAKEN NATION!!! WHAT THE HELL HAS CHANGED?????? NOTHING!!!…..They want you to serve because they need BODIES TO DIE, ..YOU STUPID FU*KIN JERKS..When you come back….do you think you’ll get equal treatment afforded to the breeders?? DO YOU THINK IDIOTS WHO HATE HOMOS TODAY AND WORK TIRELESSLY TO RESTRICT OUR RIGHTS WILL ALL OF A SUDDEN HAVE THE RESPECT FOR YOU BECAUSE YOU “SERVED”????? WAKE UP, WAKE UP, WAKE UP!!!! I say do everything to get the ban lifted THEN, have a big …F**K YOU, WERE NOT JOINING PARTY!!!!
June 19th, 2007 at 9:53 am#43 – Dude, unpucker for heavens sake!
I spent four years serving (86-90) and I never expected people to accept me for being gay.
It’s not about other people accepting you for who you are or what you did. It’s about having the same rights as other people, and not being a “second class citizen” for being who you are.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:09 am#44 – Dude…
Re-read the post, jack. I say NOTHING about accepteance. EQUAL rights requires TOLERANCE (and RESPECT especially after serving…which is what you wont get) NOT ACCEPTANCE.
You must have comprehensive issues.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:32 am#45 – I might have “comprehension” issues when I’m expected to read your post, with multiple mis-spellings and mixed upper/lower case thrown about.
I do see your point, though. We live in a society that claims to support equal rights while actually supporting double and triple standards by which people are treated and which rights they are afforded.
Personally, I didn’t serve in the Army to get respect from others. To me, serving was something I felt I had to do. It was well before Pres. Bush went out of his way to s#!t upon the military, and intentionally under-fund the VA.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:54 amAND ANOTHER THING………
I’m so sick and tired of military personel CONSTANTLY blowing their toot about their service. “I served and I’m better than you and what I say counts more than what you say. “I served so I have a right to talk”.
Example: demo soldier- “I spent four years serving (86-90)” ……..
Why list the years?? Is there a point?? Do I care?? Would it be different if you served (76-80)?? Is it like a high school Class of ‘__ thing??
The point in listing the years is extra added useless info for no other reason than to BLOVIATE on your extrodinary, courageous service.
Just like your name. Let me guess…I’ll bet you even have a tattoo stating your service lest you be mistaken for a worthless nothing who hasn’t served. Served at the hest of a country whos main military tasks have turned out to be BLUNDERS.
Then theres the P.O.W………..Like Mccain. These people deserve praise????
THEY WERE CAPTURED!! A sign of a job NOT well done.
You know what…..I cant….Im working myself up for nothing. I obviously dont have the popular opinion and don’t really care. Write what you want about me. I’m a traitor and disrespectful, blah blah blah. I’m sure I don’t care.
June 19th, 2007 at 12:07 pm#45
Multiple mis-spellings???? I count one…. Genius….By the way…Its a typing mistake, as you can see I spelled it correctly the 2nd time I used it….GENIUS!!!… And you cant read when letters go from lower case to upper case??..
TyPiCaL iNtElLiGeNcE oF sOmEoNe WhO hAd To JoIn ThE mIlItArY.
You like that dont ya?… ala John Kerry?? LOL!!!
June 19th, 2007 at 12:21 pm#48 – “TyPiCaL iNtElLiGeNcE oF sOmEoNe WhO hAd To JoIn ThE mIlItArY.” Comment by ExterminateRepiglicans — June 19, 2007 @ 12:21 pm
Oh, my! You’re one of those kind of people: the ones that refuse to believe that people of intelligence wish to serve their country by joining the military.
It’s really sad that people such as yourself are as prejudiced as you obviously are. You should consider joining the neo-cons. As quick as you are to assert your bias and prejudice, you’d fit in with them quite easily.
June 19th, 2007 at 2:25 pm#49
Thank you for continuing to prove my point. LOL.
June 19th, 2007 at 3:32 pm#30
How is Rove linked to the KKK?
June 19th, 2007 at 4:57 pm#50 – No problem, as you have continued to prove my point as well! ;-)
June 19th, 2007 at 10:39 pm#52 -
June 20th, 2007 at 6:09 amyou haven’t made one you dumb shit.