Rep. Steven Palazzo wants to protect Homophobia in the Military?

More mess from GOP in dealing with the DADT repeal. Rep. Steven Palazzo thinks it cute to protect ignorance and homophobia in servicemembers.

The Wonk Room has the key piece of the amendment:

The sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of a member of the Armed Forces that homosexual or bisexual conduct is immoral and/or an inappropriate expression of human sexuality according to the tenets of the member’s faith community shall be accommodated….
[...]
The Secretary of Defense shall issue regulations setting forth guidance to insure that the sincerely held religious or moral beliefs of members of the Armed Forces regarding homosexual or bisexual conduct are protected, accommodated…

 Rep. Steven Palazzo believes that Christians will be under attack once gays and lesbians are open in the military. However, that's not the case:

In reality, the amendment is wholly unnecessary, since the Pentagon has already stipulated that “[t]here will be no changes regarding Service member exercise of religious beliefs, nor are there any changes to policies concerning the Chaplain Corps of the Military Departments and their duties. The Chaplain Corps’ First Amendment freedoms and their duty to care for all will not change.” The existing rules already protect men and women of all races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds who live and work together but have different values, views, or ways of life with which not everyone agrees.

It's amazing what these quacks will do to stop equality.

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter wants to derail the DADT Repeal

This son of jackal plans to introduce amendments to jack up the DADT repeal. But how can this be done? Well, these amendments will require the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to prove that the repeal of DADT won't damage military readiness.  WTF?

Please read his press release:

During consideration of the national defense authorization act this week by the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Duncan Hunter will offer an amendment to require that all four military service chiefs certify that implementation of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT)” repeal won’t impact combat readiness and effectiveness. The amendment mirrors legislation previously introduced by Hunter—H.R. 337, the Restore Military Readiness Act. 


“The four military service chiefs are far more closely connected to the day-to-day realities facing each respective service branch than those who are currently required to sign off on the repeal—including the President,” said Hunter, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.  “The President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs should all take part in the certification process, but excluding the service chiefs is a mistake.  They may agree to move forward with the repeal or they may have other recommendations for implementation and timing.  Either way, their unvarnished perspective is critical to this process—especially as it relates to preserving the military’s high rate of effectiveness. 

“I’ve said before that our priority should be winning in Afghanistan and focusing on the roadside bomb threat, the primary source of U.S. casualties.  The repeal of DADT won’t make our troops any safer or help achieve victory any faster.  Even so, any movement toward implementation must be efficient and show respect for the culture and tradition unique to each service branch and the military as a whole.”

More info about these amendments is here at Washington Blade.

WATCH: Rachel Maddow discuss the Sad & Rejected DADT Training Video

Rachel Maddow had fun with this video

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WATCH: Rick Santorum claim that he would bring DADT back as President

This is really quick, but like his colleagues, Ricky says he would reinstate DADT. I guess he thinks he will change the world with this statement.

VIDEO: Defense Secretary Robert Gates talks to Troops about the DADT Repeal

The DADT Protesters may go to JAIL

Remember the DADT protesters? Dan Choi and the Get Equal folks chained themselves to the White House fence to get the president's attention. Well, it got the court attention and 13 of those folks could be heading to jail.

Thirteen activists arrested last fall for chaining themselves to the White House fence in opposition to the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy are scheduled to appear in federal court Friday.
The group — including gay rights leaders, a Catholic priest and eight veterans discharged for breaking the ban on openly gay and lesbian troops — were arrested Nov. 15 and previously declined to plead guilty to violating the orders of a federal law enforcement officer. The charge carries a maximum six-month jail sentence.

It’s the first time since at least 2006 that protesters have faced the charge, according to Bill Miller, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

Mark Goldstone, the group’s attorney, said his research suggests it’s the first time prosecutors have ever used the charge against protesters at federal sites anywhere in the District.

“Of all the locations to get arrested at in D.C., one would think that the White House location would be where you’re most likely to get prosecuted,” but prosecutors are more likely to press charges against protesters outside the Capitol or Supreme Court, Goldstone said Thursday.

While not unusual, arresting protesters for chaining themselves to the White House fence is not as common as other First Amendment exercises on federal property in the District, according to the U.S. Park Police. Protesters are more commonly charged with violating regulations pertaining to the area, number of participants, and size of signs used in demonstrations, according to Sgt. David Schlosser, a Park Police spokesman.

To be honest, this shouldn't be a surprise. I remember them citing MLK as they were bound to the fence.  Well, MLK got arrested lots of times during his protesting days. So if they are found guilty, they can say they are in jail for justice.

The Army begins DADT Repeal Training

Yesterday, DADT repeal training began in full swing.

The Army's top general kicked off the service's training program Thursday on the new law allowing gays to serve openly in the military, and officials said they hope to have the whole force trained by mid-August.


The largest of the service branches, the Army plans to finish training the active duty force of 565,000 by mid-July and the 567,000 members of the Guard and Reserve by mid-August, officials said.

Gen. George Casey launched the effort with a slide presentation in the Pentagon for most of service's dozen four-star generals.

Mainly due to its size, the Army is scheduled to take longer to complete the training than the smaller services. The Defense Department has given the services a lot of leeway in determining how they conduct the training and on what schedule.

The Marines said their instruction officially began Feb. 7. Some commanders, chaplains, recruiters and military police have received training and officials expect to complete the entire force by the end of May.

Good luck with the training.


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READ the Pentagon's DADT Repeal Plan

The Pentagon releases their plan to repeal DADT.

The Washington Blade reports...

In a redacted memorandum dated Feb. 10, Undersecretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness Clifford Stanley provides the military service secretaries with the repeal plan and pledges to work with them to “solidify the format of progress updates as well as the frequency of leadership meets.”


The four-page memo states that the secretaries have until March 1 to provide their first progress update to Stanley.


Last month, Defense Secretary Robert Gates tasked Stanley with devising a plan by Feb. 4 to “facilitate the timely and orderly realization” of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal.


The plan breaks down the path for “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal into four stages: pre-repeal, certification, implementation and sustainment.


In the pre-repeal phase, activities include Tier 1 and Tier 2 level training of military leadership and reporting to Obama administration officials on the progress of implementation. For example, the undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness must have a monthly meeting and report to the defense secretary and the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the status of repeal.


To reach the certification phase, the Repeal Implementation Team must provide appropriate documentation to the defense secretary and chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and provide their recommendation to the president.

Here's the document
Pentagon's Plan to Repeal DADT

USMC Commandant promises to follow through with DADT Repeal

Please watch

Gates wants a DADT Repeal Plan by Next Week

Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he needs the repeal plan developed and rett to go by February the 4th.

Washington Blade reports:

In a five-page memorandum dated Jan. 28 and obtained by the Blade, Gates tasks Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel & Readiness Clifford Stanley with devising a strategy to “facilitate the timely and orderly realization” of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal by next Friday.


Gates emphasizes that open service will be implemented throughout the services at the same time, squelching concerns about whether repeal would happen in the military in a graduated process.


“This is not, however, a change that should be done incrementally,” Gates writes. “The steps leading to certification and the actual repeal must be accomplished across the entire Department at the same time, and consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces.”


President Obama on Dec. 22 signed legislation allowing for repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” but open service won’t take effect until he, the defense secretary and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff certify that the U.S. military is ready. After certification takes place, a 60-day waiting period must pass before gays can serve openly without fear of discharge.

Please read the memo below
Implementation of Repeal from DADT

Robert Gates: Get DADT Done!

Robert wants the DADT process to hurry up and move on

Now John McCain WILL support the DADT Repeal

After throwing the biggest fit of his career over DADT, McCain claims he will support it.
The Hill reports:

McCain signaled that he had made peace with the lame-duck bill to do away with the military's ban on openly gay and lesbian service members, of which he had been an outspoken critic.

"I think I have to do everything I can to make sure that the [impact on the] morale, retention, recruitment and battle effectiveness of the military is minimized as much as possible," McCain said on Fox Business. "It is a law and I have to do whatever I can to help the men and women who are serving, particularly in combat, cope with this new situation. I will do everything I can to make it work."

Something must have clicked somewhere in his head. Either, Cindy threaten to leave his ass or he realized what a major asshole he was about it... Something happened.

WATCH American Family Association blame the DADT Repeal for Capt. Owen Honors' Video drama

via Towleroad

Interesting Quote: Bill James, a County Commissioner in North Carolina

“Homosexuals are sexual predators. Allowing homosexuals to serve in the U.S. military with the endorsement of the Mecklenburg County Commission ignores a host of serious problems related to maintaining US military readiness and effectiveness not the least of which is the current Democrat plan to allow homosexuals (male and female) to share showers with those they are attracted to. The US Government would not allow Hetero men and women to share showers and other personal facilities yet the leading homosexual in Congress (Barney Frank) thinks it is OK for homosexuals to do so allowing enlisted men and women to fall prey to higher ranking or more powerful homosexuals who ogle them (or worse).”

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Behind the Scenes Video: Signing the DADT Repeal

This is from the White House blog:

Rachel Maddow reviews the DADT Drama of 2010

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DC Cardinal Donald Wuerl says the Catholic Church will leave DADT alone

WATCH Ann Coulter Mock the DADT repeal

Trifling Heifer!

As promised, Sen. Harry Reid gives Dan Choi his West Point ring back

This happened 5 months ago

And now Reid gives it back

Right on Cue, Hate Group Family Research Council vows to stop DADT

Watch this joker talk about stopping DADT

And they even mention that they have Sen John McCain to help them in their foolish efforts

As for FRC, who will take great pleasure in seeing this lame-duck finally limp out of town, we'll be spending the next couple of weeks reassessing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" debate. In fact, I've already been in conversations with Hill leaders about holding hearings in the New Year, as well as statutory and legislative oversight steps that can be taken to turn back aspects of the repeal and slow down--if not stop--the rest. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and others will be working with FRC to put a strict evaluation process in place. We want to ensure that the Pentagon is monitoring the effect of this radical change on the men and women in harm's way. One way to do that is demanding specific measurables--like tracking the sexual assaults, dips in recruitment and retention, combat distractions, and more. If there's the slightest disruption to the military's mission, you can bet that FRC will be on the Hill, demanding to revisit this repeal. And unlike the Senate Majority Leader, we won't consult Lady Gaga first. 

You ain't slick, cretins!


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