Comments on: DADT update: McCain looking more extreme

By: justsearching

justsearching — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 15:43:34 +0000

I learned an interesting fact about the Marines in a NYT article’ ( http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/11/26/us/AP-US-Gays-Marine-Corps.html?hp )

Both the Marines, and General Amos, are probably less accepting of the idea of repealing DADT because it has “many of its roughly 200,000 members hailing from small towns and rural areas in the South.”

By: customartist

customartist — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:10:25 +0000

Keep those emails rolling daily!

Email The Whitehouse:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

Email Congress:
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

Email Senate:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Call the Congress and Senate: (202)224-3121

*The Operator will direct you if you do not know your representative

*IMPORTANT* Be polite and to the point.

By: tavdy79

tavdy79 — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 09:58:05 +0000

One of my favourite quotes is this corker by J. M. Straczynski:

“I’ll tell you one thing, if the primates that we came from had known that someday politicians would come out of the gene pool, they’d've stayed up in the trees and written evolution off as a bad idea.”

In McCain’s case those primates would have gotten rather confused, however. Evolution is supposed to go forwards. McCain’s attitude seems to have less in common with enlightened thought, and more in common with the bone-headedness of long-extinct creatures like the Pachycephalosaurs.

By: Jon

Jon — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:09:00 +0000

“In April he objected that the survey was studying whether the repeal would have impact on the troops and how best to go about it rather than whether the ban should be lifted.”

Isn’t studying whether repeal would have an impact on the troops the same as studying whether repeal should happen? The only justification for keeping the ban that is not purely rooted in bigotry is the argument that letting gay people serve openly will have a negative impact on unit cohesion. Which is why the Pentagon was studying whether letting gay people serve would have an effect on other servicemembers. So this study seems to have asked exactly the right questions.

By: Timothy Kincaid

Timothy Kincaid — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:54:24 +0000

McCain is failing to realize that this survey is a referendum of sorts. When asked a host of questions about repealing DADT, about 70% couldn’t care enough to respond, even with the Pentagon calling for participation.

Of those who bothered, about 70% said that they have no concerns about repealing DADT.

So there’s your answer, Sen. McCain: about 9% of servicemembers and their families oppose the repeal enough to say so.

By: Taylor Siluwé

Taylor Siluwé — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 17:45:26 +0000

John, thats exactly what he’s trying to do – a referendum.

Sadly such polls on human rights weighs opinions of the progressive and the troglodytic, with the latter always being the most vehement. Fortunately the military (despite the infuriating nature of polling for equality) seems to be leaning progressive.

And people wonder why Dan Choi got so upset (almost to point of incoherence) on Hardball. I wonder if the average, non-LGBT American would keep their cool if their equality was put up to the consensus of the masses?

By: John

John — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:47:30 +0000

It sounds like what McCain is trying to do is have the military vote on whether or not to repeal DADT much as states have voted on same-sex marriage. Presumably because he figures that it would be voted down. As others have stated, the military is not a democracy, they don’t get to vote on things.

By: Priya Lynn

Priya Lynn — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:18:28 +0000

Jim said “Why are we even listening to this?…Live you life the way you were meant to live it.”.

Jim, suppose a gay person thinks they were meant to live their life as a member of the military? That’s why people are listening to this.

By: Taylor Siluwé

Taylor Siluwé — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:55:25 +0000

Yes, John McCain’s legacy will be his spending his waning years clinging to ol’ school (George Wallace style) hate — however, we should give him major kudos for bestowing on American culture a true national treasure, that thing that makes us smile daily, everyone’s favorite Mama Grizzly.

I mean c’mon, how can you not love someone after watchin’ her bludgeon a halibut?

**end sarcasm**

By: JimInMa

JimInMa — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 12:59:09 +0000

blah blah blah
Why are we even listening to this?
Why does everyone think their sole existence is to mollify and appease John McCurmudgeon???
In fact, why are gay people acting as if they give a crap what anybody else even thinks? Live you life the way you were meant to live it. It’s YOUR life, and you’re not living it for anybody else’s pleasure or comfort.