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01/16/2008
Video: The wrong song on 'Solomon'
You know what was really annoying about last night's Democratic debate? The part where they unequivocally agreed that colleges that colleges who don't allo military recruiters on campus should lose their federal funding, yet completely ignored the reason why the colleges protest in the first place -- the military's flawed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Here's a clip of the portion to which we're referring:
(begins at 2:10)
So they're referring to the Solomon Amendment and the respect it shows toward soldiers, but are dancing around the reason for the protest and the disrespect that DADT shows towards gays and lesbians! They didn't make even one mention of the gay soldier ban or how its elimination (which they all claim to support) would make the discord over military recruiters a moot point in the first place. Tim Russert set them up with an opportunity to be leaders on this issue and to help explain a complex issue to the American public. We kept waiting on equality-loving pins and fairness-loving needles for Hill-Bar-John to take the righteous stand. Instead, they fostered the idea that those colleges who protest recruiters because they feel DADT is in violation of their nondiscrimination programs are being "disrespectful" to the military. It's both unfortunate and enraging.
We sincerely hope that as our Dem buddies keep marching down the road to the White House, they will address this particular issue by TALKING ABOUT THE ACTUAL ISSUE AT HAND. Making this look like a situation in which there is only enough respect rations on hand to serve one side or the other completely misses the boat (just like openly gay soldiers keep missing the navy's). The truth is that there is plenty of honor to go around, but the only way to equitably distribute it is to honor ALL not SOME!!!
MSNBC Democratic Debate in Las Vegas Jan. 15, 2008 Pt. 8 [YouTube]
Your thoughts
Keep in mind that in Rumsfeld v. FAIR, the Supreme Court held (unanimously) that the funding question was actually irrelevant -- that Congress could order even colleges that received no federal funding whatsoever to admit military recruiters.
Apparently colleges losing their freedom is a small price to pay in order to defend the Land of the Free. Go figure.
Posted by: KipEsquire | Jan 16, 2008 2:44:33 PM
Thanks for that, Kip. It's a situation with such a frustratingly easy situation!
Posted by: G-A-Y | Jan 16, 2008 2:52:47 PM
So, why don't we see you on shows like CNN or others as a person with these viewpoints. I would love to see you responding to these things on TV. I'm tired of seeing these people that don't speak to the real issues.
It's time we see you debating these issues in the televised world.
How do you become a pundit? :)
Thanks!
Posted by: Mikey | Jan 16, 2008 5:57:08 PM
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