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Ear to the Ground

High Court Upholds ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’

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Posted on Jun 8, 2009
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Flickr / Darren and Brad

Flags flutter on Washington’s National Mall in November 2007 in an event called 12,000 Flags for 12,000 Patriots, recognizing the servicemen and women discharged under the Pentagon’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of maintaining the U.S. military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on Monday, which bars openly gay men and women from serving. The decision came after 12 former service members filed a lawsuit for being discharged because of their sexual orientation.

AP:

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed with the Obama administration and upheld Pentagon policy barring gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military.

The court said it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The federal appeals court in Boston earlier threw out a lawsuit filed by Pietrangelo and 11 other veterans. He was the only member of that group who asked the high court to rule that the Clinton-era policy is unconstitutional.

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RAE's avatar

By RAE, June 9, 2009 at 4:47 pm Link to this comment

johannes wrote: “...so I think its not wise to mix people up, of differend sexuel directions, thats all.”

It seems to me that English is not your first language so I congratulate you for participating on an English language site. English must be very difficult to learn as a second or third language. I guess that’s because it’s such a flexible, fluid language… always changing… always borrowing words and phrases from other languages… always inventing new terms and words. And we who use it all the time often don’t follow the rules because it adds much color and variety and expression - interest - in our communications.

It is most important that we “mix up the sexual orientations.” Why? Because the ONLY way we will, as you say “... lets be human and write and speak with each other to get closer in our way of living to gether and in our ways of thinking.” is to BE together and TALK together and WORK & PLAY together (even if we don’t sleep together!)

The more people are separated, or separate themselves, from others, the easier it is to discriminate against them. One of the reasons discrimination against gays and lesbians continues in the 21st Century is because most references to homosexuals are ERASED from the literature taught in schools. When truth is not taught it’s easy to continue the lies.

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By johannes, June 9, 2009 at 9:43 am Link to this comment

Dear Mister RAE

I must say I don’t know what an glib is.

My comments come all ways from the hart, I don’t want to hurt some one, thats so easy on an anonymes site.

Behaving is the same for every body, but I KNOW how
people behave, and they like to hurt other people, so I think its not wise to mix people up, of differend
sexuel directions, thats all.

I find people every where all the time more aggressive in their doings, lets be human and write
and speak with each other to get closer in our way of living to gether and in our ways of thinking.


Salutations

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RAE's avatar

By RAE, June 9, 2009 at 5:59 am Link to this comment

johannes… may I respectfully suggest you read a little HISTORY before airing your glib opinions…

http://www.epinions.com/review/Gay_Warriors_A_Documentary_History_from_the_Ancient_World_to_the_Present/content_80521825924

But I do agree with you when you state: “...big problems some people don’t know how to behave.” At least I agree if you mean BOTH “some” homosexuals AND heterosexuals. Ignorance doesn’t recognize boundaries according to race, religion or sexual orientation. So boot PEOPLE who don’t know how to behave… not just boot those whose philosophies of life and/or sexual orientation you don’t agree with.

There’s something really wrong with the STRAIGHTS if they go berzerk if there’s a “gay” in their midst. Such behavior says a lot more about the STRAIGHTS than it does about the gays.

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By Inherit The Wind, June 9, 2009 at 4:07 am Link to this comment

AWM, June 8 at 3:29 pm #

If this court was asked to rule on slavery they probably would rule in favor of it.I always thought that the US constitution prohibited discrimination.But I guess activist
******************************

At least by a 5-4 decision.

Did you see yesterday that in a 5-4 decision the Court said a judge in a MAJOR case should have recused himself since he was judging a major contributor to his campaign—and ruled in their favor?

Somehow, only Kennedy of the Fascist Five had a problem with that and broke with the Fascist Four.  Scalia, Roberts, Thomas and Alito ALL dissented.  I guess they believe corruption in judges is OK.

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By johannes, June 9, 2009 at 3:10 am Link to this comment

You could also be honest with your self, without trying to hurt other human creatures.

An army is made up, of fighting units, very close living body’s, for my feeling its not the place for differend sexuel directions, the same for woman, you are asking for problems, we have seen it in our U boot crews, big problems some people don’t know how to behave.


Salutations

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RAE's avatar

By RAE, June 8, 2009 at 6:01 pm Link to this comment

To gay men & women:

Join up (pick a time when there’s a lull between wars)...

Get a fine education in a marketable field, to degree level if possible,

Then “tell” and get your discharge.

Sure beats living for four years on KD in a hovel to wind up with a $30,000 tuition bill to start you off.

If the government wants to be so backwardly ignorant about sexual orientation then they deserve to get “played.” Too bad it’s the American taxpayer’s money instead of the politicans’ personal funds but, so be it.

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By Chris, June 8, 2009 at 3:53 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

One day we will get to the point where someone’s orientation is irrelevant to their fullfillment of their duties, such as in the military. They already have organizations for gay soldiers in other countries, such as in the Netherlands.

We used to keep the races segregated in the military, now we don’t. And that was signed into law by President Harry Truman, after World War II, in, I believe, 1946.

We will either evolve, or we won’t. Much of the world no longer accepts the death penalty, either…but the U.S. does.

If we want to be relevant in out thinking, as a country, we will move forward. If we don’t, we will continue to be passed up by the rest of the world. We no longer have the clout we once did, as it is. We were stuck in backward thinking for eight long years, regarding stem cell research, for example.

A person’s orientation is irrelevant to how they perform their job. And it’s no one else’s business, anyway. Most of the world accepts this. The U.S. will either move forward, in this area, or it won’t. But, in any case, much of the world does not care a whit what we think, anyway. And if we continue to be backward, in our thinking, the world will go on without us…

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By AWM, June 8, 2009 at 12:29 pm Link to this comment

If this court was asked to rule on slavery they probably would rule in favor of it.I always thought that the US constitution prohibited discrimination.But I guess activist

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godistwaddle's avatar

By godistwaddle, June 8, 2009 at 12:12 pm Link to this comment

Those gays not absolutely wedded to the military should now say (since they owe this country nothing), “Hey, colonel, I’m gay.  Send me home.”

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