Obama to fire gay military officer. Martinus pops vein.

Started by MadImmortalMan, May 08, 2009, 02:56:07 PM

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MadImmortalMan

May 08, 2009, 02:56:07 PM


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/aaron-belkin/obama-to-fire-his-first-g_b_199070.html

Quote from:
Obama To Fire His First Gay Arabic Linguist

Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and officer in the Army National Guard who is fluent in Arabic and who returned recently from Iraq, received notice today that the military is about to fire him. Why? Because he came out of the closet as a gay man on national television.

Some readers might think it unfair to blame Obama. After all, the president inherited the "don't ask, don't tell" law when he took office. As Commander-in-Chief, he has to follow the law. If the law says that the military must fire any service member who acknowledges being gay, that is not Obama's fault.

Or is it?

A new study, about to be published by a group of experts in military law, shows that President Obama does, in fact, have stroke-of-the-pen authority to suspend gay discharges. The "don't ask, don't tell" law requires the military to fire anyone found to be gay or lesbian. But there is nothing requiring the military to make such a finding. The president can simply order the military to stop investigating service members' sexuality.

An executive order would not get rid of the "don't ask, don't tell" law, but would take the critical step of suspending its implementation, hence rendering it effectively dead. Once people see gays and lesbians serving openly, legally and without problems, it will be much easier to get rid of the law at a later time.

I spent a day with Dan Choi last month, and he is not someone we want to fire from the military. He loves the armed forces. He served bravely under tough combat conditions in Iraq. His Arabic is excellent, and he used his language skills to diffuse many tough situations and to save lives, both Iraqi and American. All of his unit mates know he is gay, and they have been very supportive of him. But he doesn't want to live a lie.

Obama has been praised for delaying efforts to get rid of "don't ask, don't tell," and some major gay rights groups are actively lobbying to delay consideration of the issue. They seem to believe that Obama should focus on other gay-rights issues first, and that he shouldn't spend his precious political capital trying to ram a repeal bill through Congress.

This misses the point. Obama could sign an executive order today. With roughly three-quarters of the public, including a majority of republicans, in favor of open gay service, a meaningful public backlash is unlikely. A slight majority of service members prefer that the policy be left in place, but polls also show that only a tiny minority of them care strongly about the issue, and that the vast majority of service members are comfortable interacting with gays.

Obama may believe he has nothing to lose by waiting. But what about Dan Choi's career? Is this really the right time to fire military officers who are fluent in Arabic?

"Stability is destabilizing." --Hyman Minsky

"Complacency can be a self-denying prophecy."
"We have nothing to fear but lack of fear itself." --Larry Summers

Razgovory

#1
May 08, 2009, 02:58:26 PM
Yes!
I've given it serious thought. I must scorn the ways of my family, and seek a Japanese woman to yield me my progeny. He shall live in the lands of the east, and be well tutored in his sacred trust to weave the best traditions of Japan and the Sacred South together, until such time as he (or, indeed his house, which will periodically require infusion of both Southern and Japanese bloodlines of note) can deliver to the South it's independence, either in this world or in space.  -Lettow April of 2011

Raz is right. -MadImmortalMan March of 2017

Valmy

#2
May 08, 2009, 02:59:19 PM
Damn it!  What are the chances so many gays know Arabic?
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

Ed Anger

#3
May 08, 2009, 03:00:21 PM
DAMN BUSHITLER!  :mad:
Stay Alive...Let the Man Drive

Admiral Yi

#4
May 08, 2009, 03:01:43 PM
Quote from: Valmy on May 08, 2009, 02:59:19 PM
Damn it!  What are the chances so many gays know Arabic?
No shit. :D

DisturbedPervert

#5
May 08, 2009, 03:03:03 PM
Quote from: Valmy on May 08, 2009, 02:59:19 PM
Damn it!  What are the chances so many gays know Arabic?

Know your enemy.

Admiral Yi

#6
May 08, 2009, 03:04:08 PM
Spanky knows Arabic. :ph34r:

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

derspiess

#7
May 08, 2009, 03:06:33 PM
:nelson:
"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Syt

#9
May 08, 2009, 03:10:55 PM
Quote from: Admiral Yi on May 08, 2009, 03:04:08 PM
Spanky knows Arabic. :ph34r:

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

AND he's in the NAVY.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.
—Stephen Jay Gould

Proud owner of 42 Zoupa Points.

garbon

#10
May 08, 2009, 03:11:05 PM
Quote from: Valmy on May 08, 2009, 02:59:19 PM
Damn it!  What are the chances so many gays know Arabic?

Well considering that Arabic has been stated as a useful language for the US's current military struggles, it wouldn't surprise me if people took to learning it to get a leg up.

/I think you were being sarcastic but I'm unclear on Yi's angle.
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."

I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

crazy canuck

#11
May 08, 2009, 03:13:45 PM
So this guy went on national television to force the Presidents hand?

Phillip V

#12
May 08, 2009, 03:14:18 PM
Why did he have to come out on national television? He deserves to get kicked just for that. Wait till you resign, get discharged, or retire before you speak against the military publicly.

garbon

#13
May 08, 2009, 03:21:37 PM
Quote from: Phillip V on May 08, 2009, 03:14:18 PM
Why did he have to come out on national television? He deserves to get kicked just for that. Wait till you resign, get discharged, or retire before you speak against the military publicly.

His declaration would have much less of an impact(or less oomph rather) if he did that. :contract:
"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."

I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Valmy

#14
May 08, 2009, 03:22:57 PM
Quote from: Phillip V on May 08, 2009, 03:14:18 PM
Why did he have to come out on national television? He deserves to get kicked just for that. Wait till you resign, get discharged, or retire before you speak against the military publicly.

Well the army does talk about developing courage and honor.  Maybe that idiocy led him to do that.
Quote"This is a Russian warship. I propose you lay down arms and surrender to avoid bloodshed & unnecessary victims. Otherwise, you'll be bombed."

Zmiinyi defenders: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."
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