Lame ducks

I usually don't write the title to my post before I know what I'm going to say, so this could go anywhere.

I mean, I could write a post about the Oregon football team, and from there pile accolades on Auburn and Cam Newton and Nick Fairley and Gene Chizik.

No one expected Auburn to be in the position they are in today; a number one ranking in the BCS and a confirmed date to play for the national championship in January.

But we watched them win their first game against Arkansas State, and felt good. Then we watched them win their second game, an SEC game against Mississippi State, and felt good. Against Clemson, we felt some good fortune was being bestowed on the team, with an overtime win. Against South Carolina, (the first time), we knew there was some magic. And so on.

My point is, our confidence in our team developed over a period of several weeks, until we had no doubt we could win our final regular season game against Alabama, and follow that with a huge win over South Carolina in the SEC championship game.

Now we face the Ducks. But these are not lame ducks, they are fast paced offense, high flying, high scoring ducks. Auburn is favored by 3 points.

So if I am to write about lame ducks, I guess it will be the ones in Washington.

And because Democrat senators, led by majority leader Harry Reid, want to pass several important pieces of legislation before this congress adjourns, they may have to limp right up until Christmas Eve.



Oh horrors, Republicans scream. "Disrespecting" of one of the "holiest holidays" said Republican minority whip Jon Kyl and "sacrilegious" said Republican Senator Jim DeMint.

But our troops can fight for us on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and our loved ones (or ourselves) can work on Christmas Eve, or Christmas Day (nurses, doctors, police, firefighters, convenience store attendants and others).

Harry Reid does not take such insults sitting down.

I don’t need to hear the sanctimonious lectures of Senator Kyl and DeMint to remind me of what Christmas means. . . . Some of my Republican colleagues have the nerve to whine about having to stay and actually do the work that the American people pay us to do. We make large salaries . . . we could work as most Americans do during the holidays. . . . It’s offensive to me and millions of working Americans across this country for any Senator to suggest that working through the Christmas holidays is somehow sacrilegious or disrespectful.

And remember, it's because of the Republicans' purposeful slowdown of the legislative process that these bills have not been passed already.

And because of the Republicans, the American people have not developed a confidence that the lame duck session will pass meaningful legislation. Every day is a surprise.

But look. We've given the Republicans every thing they asked for in the Tax bill, (which was not a compromise by any stretch of the imagination). If we don't at least get the arms control treaty passed, and Don't Ask Don't Tell repealed, and get the DREAM act passed, Democrats, and most Americans, will be hugely disappointed.

So come on Harry, get moving. Give us something to celebrate this Christmas. Even if we have to wait until Christmas Eve. The rest of America is working. We see nothing wrong with you all continuing your work as well.

Dan Choi

First Lieutenant Dan Choi is an Arabic-speaking linguist who is being fired from the Army National Guard because he is gay. As Commander in Chief, Barack Obama is responsible for this.

Between 1996 and 2006 60 Arabic linguists were discharged for being gay under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. 12,500 otherwise qualified personnel have been discharged under the policy, at a cost of over $360 million.

Ejecting brave men and women with specialist skills is a threat to national security and leads to a dangerously weakened military, as Choi explains: “On Monday, September 10th 2001, a message was intercepted by the State Department: tomorrow is zero hour.

"Despite its simplicity, nobody was able to translate it. Any of the dozens of linguists already discharged for being gay at the time would have done so easily.” pinknews

911 could have possibly been avoided if this discriminatory policy had not been in place.

Here, Aaron Belkin explains why President Obama should and why he can sign an executive order today to stop this practice.

Straight people are really interested in the progress of gay rights, as this report from CNN shows. They start out talking about marriage but turn to DADT during the segment.



The segment points out, correctly I believe, that the gay community is being patient because we understand that there is a lot going on. Don't do anything contentious regarding gays just before you want to get a (hopefully) equality minded Supreme Court justice affirmed.

But, come on Mr. President. Save Dan Choi's job. Our country needs him.

Don't Ask Don't Tell...Hmmm

Supporters of repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and allowing gays to serve openly in the military are wondering "What's the holdup?".

Gays are in the military now, alongside heteros. Gays have been fighting for our country since the Revolutionary War. Gays are willing to put their lives on the line for our country. The first soldier wounded in Iraq, Eric Alva, was gay. Here he is testifying before a house committee last year.



Now these army guys claim to be straight. But at least they can have a little fun while deployed. Plus, the music is Journey and who doesn't like them. From my friends at OMGblog. Be sure to see the credits at the end.



Don't ask, don't tell for sure!

I'm pretty sure they aren't gay. At least, not good gays, judging by the mess in that room! But with a little training...

Secretary of Navy

Some progress has been made on locating family members of Andrew Barfield, the WWII veteran whose sweetheart bracelet was found in a forest in Belgium. I spoke with a 93 year old woman who says she is his third cousin, and is going to provide me with closer relative's contact info this week. I will keep you posted.

While on the subject of the military, this old news (anything over 48 hours ago is "old news" these days) is interesting. There has been a suggestion that William White be appointed Secretary of the Navy.

White is the chief operating officer of the Intrepid Museum Foundation. He's also openly gay, in fact, his bio on the web site indicates such, as it mentions his partner's name. White has a lot of support from retired members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and from members of congress.

Appointing White would send the right signal, that gays and lesbians (who already play an important role in our nation's military, although hampered by the antiquated and discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy) are a vibrant part or the fabric that makes up our country.

And before anyone brings up DADT as a reason not to appoint him, the Secretary is a civilian position, so White's appointment would not violate the policy. But it would be a big step in getting the policy overturned.

And before anyone jumps to the conclusion that White is not qualified because he does not have navy experience, Donald Winter, the current secretary, appointed by W, does not either. Nor did Gordon England, who preceded Winter. Remember, it's a civilian position.

All that being said, I will believe it when I see it. Plus, I have overcome my temptation to paste a video of the Village People's "In the Navy" here. Besides, I already used that video here, in June.

Larry Craig and Mitt Romney (Not together...Just Comments)

I mean it really wouldn't surprise me if they were together in the past. What with Craig's history being revealed and Romney's confusing views on gay equality.

Why doesn't Larry ("I am not gay. I never have been gay") Craig just be honest with himself and the rest of America. Well I know why. When you are that deep in the closet it is hard to see that being honest will in the long run make your life so much easier, so much more peaceful.

Eight more men have come forward who were targeted by Craig for sex or actually had sexual encounters with him, according a report in The Idaho Statesman .

Included is Mike Jones, the former male prostitute who outed Rev. Ted Haggard. Mike gets around, doesn't he?

You know, it really doesn't matter who is having sex with who. It is the hypocrisy that is is doing Larry Craig in. His high profile anti-gay record and votes in the Senate don't play well when he's out there ...well, read the report above and you will know exactly what he did and can even see how he felt guilty with himself, becoming agitated after at least one encounter.

And then there is Mitt Romney. There was a debate question last week about "Don't Ask Don't Tell, and Romney really made a fool of himself flip flopping on that answer. Here is Anderson Cooper asking Romney a question (later removed from the CNN re-broadcasts).

COOPER: [Former Massachusetts] Governor [Mitt] Romney, you said in 1994 that you looked forward to the day when gays and lesbians could serve, and I quote, "openly and honestly in our nation's military." Do you stand by that?

ROMNEY: This isn't that time. This is not that time. We're in the middle of a war. The people who have watched --

COOPER: Do you look forward to that time, though, one day?

ROMNEY: I'm going to listen to the people who run the military to see what the circumstances are like, and my view is that, at this stage, this is not the time for us to make that kind of a change.

COOPER: Is that a change in your position from --

ROMNEY: Yeah, I didn't think it would work. I didn't think "don't ask, don't tell" would work. That was my -- I didn't think that would work. I thought that was a policy -- when I heard about it, I laughed. I said, "That doesn't make any sense to me." And you know what? It's been there now for, what, 15 years? It seems to have worked.

COOPER: So, just so I'm clear, at this point, do you still look forward to a day when gays can serve openly in the military or no longer?

ROMNEY: I look forward to hearing from the military exactly what they believe is the right way to have the right kind of cohesion and support in our troops, and I'll listen to what they have to say.

How can you go from "looking forward" to the day when gays and lesbians can serve to believing equality is not important enough to think about changing the policy because we are in a war. Oh, I know. Because then you can say that the day will never come because we are in a war (on terror) that can never end?

And the policy "works?" When over 12,000 men and women have been expelled from the military solely because they are gay? Yet it's OK to be in gay and be in the military...until you reveal you are gay. Or, as Larry Craig might say (because of his experience there) "as long as you stay in the closet." (Not that he said that, but it is the way he is thinking).

Here is a picture by chip py the photo guy along with others. The 12,000 flags were placed there, as I said the other day, in homor of the 12,000 service men and women who have been discharged because of their sexuality.

Mitt Romney ... discovering that if you run too fast in flip flops you will trip!

Artur Davis, Don't Ask Don't Tell, and New Orleans Levees

The Birmingham News mistakenly reported that Congressman Artur Davis would hold his town hall meeting at Bessemer's City Council Chambers tonight. The meeting will actually be at the Bessemer Civic Center...from 6 to 8 PM. I spoke to someone in the congressman's office this morning and confirmed that the meeting would indeed be at the civic center. This is a good chance to hear our congressman speak and ask questions and maybe get answers regarding some of his questionable votes. (or maybe you support all of his votes...still a good chance to go and see him).

From The Human Rights Campaign:

Translators fluent in 5 languages. Doctors trained in trauma medicine. Pilots prepared to save lives.

We all know "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is wrong. But do you know just how wrong? In the 14 years since it was introduced, the U.S. military has discharged no fewer than 12,000 American troops under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

This includes hundreds of specialists whose skills are badly needed in our current military conflicts. Their commitment and expertise have gone to waste.

Starting Friday, we're honoring these men and women by placing 12,000 flags on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

See HRC's ad about this event here: One Minute ad

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In New Orleans we would hope that recovery is continuing, and with the opening of the St. Charles street car line and tourism rebounding you would think so. But will they be protected from the next storm? The Army Corp of Engineers would lead us to believe they would, but are they the ones we should be listening to?

Dr. Ray Seed, one of the chairs of the Univeristy of California Berkeley committee that is investigating the failure of the levees in New Orleans following hurricane Katrina, has filed an ethics complaint which documents how the Corp of Engineers systematicaly and intentionally hid their mistakes and intimidated anyone who attempted to intervene.

His complaint alleges that this was done with the help and complicity of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). This is the same group the Army Corp chose to review the Corp-sponsored levee investigation. Interesting.

If the Corp was at fault for the condition and/or the design of the levees which failed, why should we believe what they tell us about the levees now?

Concerned goups are calling for an "8/29 Investigation," a truly independent and truly complete analysis of the flood protection failures in metro New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Visit
Levees.org to find out how you can support this effort.

See you tonight at the Bessemer Civic Center!

Let's Ask, and Tell; and The Race for the Cure

If I had known it just took a little publicity to run the litterbugs out, I would have done this long ago. But not one empty bottle or chicken box was tossed out here since my post yesterday. But the reality is...it's cold and their windows were just rolled up. Auntie Litter, I've said it before, and I will say it again...we need you here.

From the "something's not right" category...from 2003 through 2006 the military allowed 4,230 convicted felons to enlist under the "moral waivers" program.

Total waivers, inlcuding serious misdemeanors along with felonies, for 2006 were 8,129, and for the three years over 125,000 such waivers were granted.

But be a law abiding gay or lesbian seeking to enroll, and you will be denied. The Human Rights Campaign Legacy of Service Tour is hoping to change that. Former marine staff sergeant Eric Alva (the first U. S. serviceman wounded in Iraq) and others are telling their stories. Just one more date is currently on the schedule, in Dallas, but I am sure others will be added. We need to drop "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and allow everyone who wants to put their life on the line in service to our country to do so.

That's what Canada, Israel, Britain, Australia and most other allies do.

Tomorrow is the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in Birmingham, to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. Not running? Already donated? Here is a way to help and it won't cost you a dime. Go to The Breast Cancer Site and click on the button to help provide free mammograms for women. You click, sponsors donate. And you can do it each day. So far over 2700 mammograms have been provided by clicking, and even more from store purchases from their site. And if you still have money to give, Carol could use a few more online donations before she runs tomorrow. And what a great day it will be for running.