Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyMay 26th, 2010
Senator Byrd has released the following statement:
U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, released the following statement announcing that he will vote for a compromise amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Byrd worked successfully with interested parties to include some additional language that would give Congress an additional 60 days to thoroughly review the implementation policy once certified:
“I did not want to blindly assent to repealing this law without giving the Congress an opportunity to re-examine the concerns of our Armed Forces and the manner in which they are being addressed.”
“Therefore, I worked with the Senate and House Leadership, Senators Lieberman and Levin, Congressman Murphy, the Administration and the Department of Defense to include a provision in the proposed compromise amendment that would delay the repeal of the ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy for 60 days after receipt of the findings of the Pentagon Review and the determination of the proposed policy and regulation changes.”
“This period of time will allow the Congress, along with the American people, to thoroughly review the proposed policy recommendations to ensure that these changes are consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention for our Armed Forces.”
“With these changes, I will support the amendment expected to be offered by Senator Lieberman to the Department of Defense Authorization bill.
With Byrd’s promised vote, the bill now has more than the required votes for attachment to the Defense Authorization Bill and for passage out of committee.
It now appears that the timeline will be repeal of DADT language this week, completion of study by December 1, then some undefined period for drafting of policies to be followed by sixty days for Congressional review. I don’t know if there is a provision by which Congress would have to vote again, but this delays implementation until after the swearing in of the next Congress.
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Tommy
May 26th, 2010
Ugh. In the field of comic books characters are often sixty to eighty years old. In order for Superman to still seem like Superman after all this time, it is an unwritten rule he can not change too much and must, eventually, return to the status quo. Stories are therefor crafted to give the illusion of change while in reality changing nothing.
And that is what this entire “compromise” (by the way, this is something that should not be compromised) is. It is the illusion of change, the illusion of action. The reality, I feel, is that we are being thrown under the bus by the Democrats again.
They have constructed such a byzantine maze of legislation so with as many ways out as possible. Now not only can the military chose to carry the policy (due to the lack of a non-discrimination clause), but the president and the joint chiefs have to sign off on it, and now congress can squash it too. It is nothing more than an never-ending series of delays, literally infinite delays. Frankly it is unclear if this new legislation removes sodomy from the UCMJ.
This is nothing more than an attempt to get the protests to stop, and the gays to open their wallets and go to the voting booths. We’ve clearly been sold out.
John in the Bay Area
May 26th, 2010
With 15 votes already, I would have declined Byrd’s vote.
Burr
May 26th, 2010
Is there precedent for such a convoluted change?
Stop making this rocket science.
paul j stein
May 26th, 2010
Remember we are dealing with a group consisting mainly of LAWYERS! The delay gives the “newly elected” members a chance to make side deals to gain a better stature from the start. DADT will be repealed, but all the side deals need to be in place for all the retiring members to get “PORK” for their respective districts. Politics (LAWYERING)as usual.
Rob
May 26th, 2010
“Ugh. In the field of comic books characters are often sixty to eighty years old. In order for Superman to still seem like Superman after all this time, it is an unwritten rule he can not change too much and must, eventually, return to the status quo. Stories are therefor crafted to give the illusion of change while in reality changing nothing.”
That’s when it’s time for a ‘universe reboot’ in the comics industry. Byrd is long due for retirement.
Steve
May 27th, 2010
Ugh. In the field of comic books characters are often sixty to eighty years old. In order for Superman to still seem like Superman after all this time, it is an unwritten rule he can not change too much and must, eventually, return to the status quo. Stories are therefor crafted to give the illusion of change while in reality changing nothing.
And that is what this entire “compromise” (by the way, this is something that should not be compromised) is. It is the illusion of change, the illusion of action. The reality, I feel, is that we are being thrown under the bus by the Democrats again.
They have constructed such a byzantine maze of legislation so with as many ways out as possible. Now not only can the military chose to carry the policy (due to the lack of a non-discrimination clause), but the president and the joint chiefs have to sign off on it, and now congress can squash it too. It is nothing more than an never-ending series of delays, literally infinite delays. Frankly it is unclear if this new legislation removes sodomy from the UCMJ.
This is nothing more than an attempt to get the protests to stop, and the gays to open their wallets and go to the voting booths. We’ve clearly been sold out.
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