I slept with a gay man for six months in Afghanistan. No one asked. He did not tell.

A Marine silent no longer on gay marriage
By Roger Dean Huffstetler, Published: April 3
Roger Dean Huffstetler is a former Marine Corps sergeant.



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I believed I knew the men in my B-hut better than I knew most of my friends at home, yet the man sleeping next door had a secret he dared not reveal for fear of being removed from active duty. It never crossed my mind that he was gay — or that I could have done so much more to be his friend.

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Even as a kid, Andy was exceptionally affable, the kind of person who could talk to a trash can. He never met a stranger, and he unfailingly seemed to know where he was going. Andy was surrounded by a close group of friends, always together, always laughing. It’s fair to say everyone enjoyed being around him.

In our teens, Andy and I would go on mission trips around the country, helping to clean or build homes, with a little vacation Bible school on the side. Perhaps Andy knew then that he was gay — it seems likely — but he flirted with girls, same as the rest of us. If he did know, he kept it to himself, and I lived in ignorance about it.

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No, I never gay-bashed. I didn’t bully, I didn’t hate, I didn’t torment.

But I did say “fag” to a fellow Marine in front of Sgt. Santiago. I did stay seated in the pew when my minister challenged, “Don’t let anyone tell you that this church is soft on homosexuality.” Silence is a most powerful consent.

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The rest of this lstory here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/a-marine-silent-no-longer-in-his-support-for-gay-marriage/2014/04/03/48f3caec-b9ea-11e3-9a05-c739f29ccb08_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/04/1289570/-A-remarkable-op-ed-on-gay-marriage

Vote To Declassify CIA's Befouled Bedsheets: Rubio, Risch & Coats Voted Against-Coburn Voted Present

The "Liberal" Press Snubbed Obama-WH Sought Primetime Air For ACA 7 Million Signups

Networks Snub Obama On Primetime Health Care Address
The White House sought primetime air the day Obamacare hit 7 million signups.
posted on April 3, 2014 at 4:24pm EDT

WASHINGTON — White House officials sought valuable primetime air for a rare, impromptu Tuesday night address to tout the accomplishment of signing up more than 7 million people under the Affordable Care Act.

But network officials refused to make the kind of accommodation they did previously for the announcement that Osama Bin Laden had been killed, for instance, and Obama was left instead cutting into the much smaller audiences of Ellen and other daytime shows.

Three sources familiar with the request confirmed the White House asked for the primetime slot in their effort both to emphasize a bright moment following the challenging roll out and, more important, to try to reintroduce the country to a law that remains unpopular. One top White House official referred BuzzFeed to another top official for comment on the conversation with networks, but the second official did not respond to a request for comment.

People familiar with the request declined to reveal which network blocked the primetime address, but broadcast networks have traditionally been much more reluctant than cable networks to provide the White House with evening air time.

MORE:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/evanmcsan/the-white-house-tried-to-get-network-primetime-on

Honey Maid just did another pro-gay video – this one’s a doozy

Here's Why Harry Reid Loved Having A Koch Brother Blast Him In The Wall Street Journal

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Charles Koch, the billionaire conservative megadonor and chairman and CEO of Koch Industries, wrote a scathing Wall Street Journal op-ed Thursday lashing out at Democratic critics who have attempted to make him and his brother, David, a centerpiece of their midterm election strategy.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — who has been at the forefront of the Democratic demonizing of the two brothers — loved it.

Reid discussed Koch's editorial at a press conference on raising the minimum wage Thursday afternoon. He said the op-ed made it clear he is "getting under their skin." Reid also relished in announcing [font color=red]Sen. Jerry Moran, a Republican from Kansas, had just read the entirety of the op-ed on the Senate floor.[/font]*

"I’ve helped make them a little more infamous or famous, and I’m glad I’ve done that," Reid said.



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/harry-reid-charles-koch-brothers-wsj-op-ed-2014-4#ixzz2xr3O1DTp


*When does a Senator read an editorial on the senate floor you ask?
(top campaign contributor just happens to be Koch Industries)
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/summary.php?cid=N00005282&cycle=2014

George W. Bush - Slams Hacker Who Revealed His "Artwork" - Says: "It’s an invasion of one’s privacy"

GEORGE W. BUSH VERY SAD THAT HIS PRIVACY WAS INVADED, BOO HOO
by KAILI JOY GRAY
Back at ya, George

George W. Bush can fuck himself.

Both Fort Hood Shooters Bought Their Guns At The Same Store - "Guns Galore"

Both Fort Hood Shooters Bought Their Guns At The Same Store

http://a1.img.talkingpointsmemo.com/image/upload/c_fill,fl_keep_iptc,g_faces,h_154,w_300/pzodfmtlxjoi4ekbdxaj.jpg

The man identified as the gunman in Wednesday's mass shooting at the Fort Hood military base in Texas purchased his gun from the same store where Major Nidal Hasan purchased a gun he used when he killed 13 people at the base in 2009, according to reports.

Law enforcement officials told CNN that Wednesday's shooter, who has been identified in media reports as Ivan Lopez, passed a background check when he bought a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun at Guns Galore, a store in Killeen, Texas. In 2009, ABC News reported that Hasan purchased a FN Herstal Five-seveN tactical pistol from the same store in August of that year.

Army officials have said the handgun used by Lopez was not registered with the base. Lopez killed three people and wounded 16 on Wednesday before taking his own life.

Reached by phone on Thursday, Guns Galore employee Greg Ebert said questions about Lopez needed to go to the FBI.


the rest:
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/guns-galore-fort-hood

Obama administration opens Medicare to same-sex married couples

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - The Obama administration announced on Thursday that same-sex married couples can qualify for Medicare hospital and physician benefits for the first time.

The decision, coming after a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down a federal ban against same-sex marriage, allows the Social Security Administration (SSA) to determine the eligibility of married gay applicants to Medicare, the federal government's healthcare program for the elderly and the disabled.

"We are working together with SSA to process these requests in a timely manner to ensure all beneficiaries, regardless of sexual orientation, are treated fairly under the law," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)said the government has begun the enrollment process for some same-sex spouses while handling requests for special enrollment periods from others. CMS oversees the $635 billion Medicare program. But SSA determines eligibility.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/03/us-usa-healthcare-medicare-idUSBREA321ET20140403

DURBIN: "Thank You - Rep. Paul Ryan for reminding us what Republicans would do if they had control"

How Mitch McConnell's worn out his welcome with Kentucky voters, in one brutal chart