Lt. Dan Choi: No cause for celebration & no need to trumpet 'mission accomplished' on DADT

[Bluebear]

"My question still remains, and I've yet to find anyone who signed off on yesterday’s compromise able to give me a direct answer to, “when exactly will the discharges stop?,” said Lt. Dan Choi, an openly gay Iraq war veteran and Lieutenant in the United States Army. “Until the President signs the papers that fully and immediately end the firing of patriotic, gay and lesbian service members, then there is no cause for celebration and no reason to trumpet mission accomplished for a job not yet done...

From getEQUAL: While we're glad that there is movement on DADT, it is not enough for the servicemembers who have been discharged under the legislation -- some of whom stood with us as we handcuffed ourselves to the White House gate on April 20. For the two of us -- and many more who have been working for the repeal of this legislation for months and years -- this effort is simply a way for Congress, the White House, and the Pentagon to shift responsibility to one another indefinitely.

We hope that you will join us, along with thousands of other GetEQUAL members, to hold the President, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretary of Defense, and our LGBT organizations accountable to enact repeal this year and, in the meantime, to issue an Executive Order to end military discharges immediately. Our Commander-in-Chief made a promise this year in the State of the Union address to repeal DADT this year -- and we hope that you will lend your voice to calling him and others to make good on that promise.

Join us in calling for an Executive Order to stop military discharges now -- not later: www.getequal.org/dadt.php

[ShortnFiery]

1. Yes, we all should encourage President Obama to use an Executive Order.

Except that he's already said that he will not do so. I wish he would just release this Executive Order.

Let's hope our pressure can help to change his mind? :thumbsup:

[Cant trust em]

2. Dan Choi always strikes the right tone for me.

I think he's able to maintain the good balance between holding people accountable and showing displeasure, but not sounding impatient or whiny.

What a great spokesperson.

[ShortnFiery]

3. At some point you should not worry about being "out there" and "whiny" ...

The old adage, "the squeaky wheel gets the oil" rings true - especially in politics.

[zipplewrath]

4. He's shut us all down for 6 months

This process inside the DoD will go on basically "in private". We'll get nothing for 6 months. A fairly effective way of getting us "off his back". His supporters will get to claim "congress has already done that", or "that will be done in december". But we won't know WHAT will be done in December.

Leaves me a tad worried. And if Obama's resistence to this somehow succeeds in preventing its passage, he'll get to claim that he "tried to work with congress but they wouldn't pass it".


Yup, leaves me as worried for this as the public option last July.

[ShortnFiery]

5. I would be so proud of President Obama if he could somehow manage to take this stand

and draft an Executive Order. We don't know if we even have the votes in the Senate?

I fear that this is just an exercise in going through the motions with no results.

It's sad to lose all those good military people just because the right wing has a stranglehold over our political process. :(

[theHandpuppet]

6. That pretty well nails it

Unfortunately. :(

[zipplewrath]

7. Congress should include a suspension of investigations

When they pass this DADT Lite bill, they should place a provision suspending all investigations and expulsions until 30 days after the completion and delivery of this study.

[Bluebear]

12. +++

[gratuitous]

8. Now, Lt. Choi: Change isn't easy

And if you're going to get all agitatey and impatient, maybe we'll just have to slip this issue back to the bottom of the pile. It's not like more than three-quarters of the people have consistently polled their approval of letting gays serve openly in the military (http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/05/25/rel8bt6.pdf) over the last three years. It's real hard! You just don't understand the 12th-level game of Vulcan chess that's going on here. And while the situation goes on, yes, the conclusion can be drawn that some Americans just can't be trusted, and there's some blowback from that, it's not like people are at risk for getting beat up or murdered just because someone thinks they might be gay. Well, not a lot of people, at least.

You just have to appreciate the fine political nuances and strategems involved here. I've found it really helpful to adopt an attitude that I would have formerly considered to be that of a callous, cynical fuckwad, but which I now know is really the only proper way to conduct myself.

[chill_wind]

9. K & R.

[msongs]

10. Obama could suspend DADT investigations but he doesnt want the association with gays nt

[Bluebear]

11. Kick to counteract the misinformation from an obsessed poster elsewhere

[joeybee12]

16. Uh-oh, you sort of called someone out!

Good for you!

[Overseas]

13. K&R ! //nt

[David Zephyr]

14. I love and honor this fellow.

Still, Obama giving the signal to Congress to move forward does pull yet another pillar out from under this travesty. And, while it is political, I believe that after November, we will see President Obama, if Congress doesn't give him the law, issue that Executive Order. DADT is in its death throws now.

[jonnyblitz]

15. K & R. nt

[Bluebear]

17. You

:hi: :)

[donheld]

18. Right on Dan