military don't ask don't tell

[Ghaleon]

I too am not homophobic... I served side by side with Melindrose for rougly 8 months before getting transfered to california..one of my best friends is gay. and i told him... DUDE ive known for a while (i knew before he did) and im fine with it... the last time someone hit on me... i actually said thanks for that..but im sorry im straight.. they shrugged and left... no harm no foul...

see i think its a good thing that the dont ask dont tell policy is there... Melindrose can vouch for this... i can think of 5 people right away that served with him and i... that would have taken offense to it... see i was too drunk to care (it was WAAAAAY BAD lol) and even sober what ever ya know... the point im making is this...

every branch of the military... every governmment... hell every person... has thoughts morals and beliefs that they follow... that someone would think is f*cked....

am i gonna sit here and NOT associate with some one because of the GLBT status? no... how ever im not gonna go out of my way to go to a gay bar either... anyway thats my 5 cents for what its worth... if i offended any one... im sorry...

[Sallydreams]

I liked the way Obama addressed it on one of his many statements about gays in the military, "They are already there, fighting for your freedoms, why can't we give them rights and make it to where they won't have to look over their shoulders or have secrets? If you think there aren't any gays in the military, you are mistaken. They've served us well this far, now let's make them know it's okay to be out and proud, and still do their job to their best capacity" (I may have ablibed a bit, but that's roughly what he said... and why I voted for him)

[Melindrose]

We all seem to be very open minded individuals here I agree with what the president said. Now that being said America tends to be very homophobic as a nation and that is the major issue with glbt in the military.

[Kassandra]

America tends to be very homophobic as a nation...

Not only that, it seems we're pretty effective in fanning the flame of that sentiment overseas, as well. As with blue jeans and McDonald's franchises, we also vigorously export homophobic hatemongering whenever and to wherever we can. Our latest piece of work, inspiration for the "Kill the Gays Bill" up for review and potential passage February 2010 by the Ugandan government :


Why Ugandans Embrace U.S. Christian Right’s Anti-Gay Agenda
Commentary by Edwin Okong'o

There is a joke among Africans about how colonialism began. A Christian missionary came with a Bible in hand, told our ancestors to bow their heads for a prayer, and when they opened their eyes their land was gone. Today, the same can be said about African constitutions. American religious right-wingers are flocking to Africa and are having more success in passing new legislation criminalizing homosexuality there than they are having in Alabama, Mississippi and Georgia.

The most vicious of those laws is in Uganda, where Parliament is now considering a bill that would make some homosexual acts punishable by death. Although they have denied it, evidence suggests that American right-wingers are in the forefront of this war on homosexuality. Among them is the Fellowship Foundation, better known as the Family, a secretive but powerful evangelical club that includes U.S. senators and congressmen. Republican senators Jim Inhofe, Tom Coburn, John Ensign, Jim DeMint and Sam Brownback belong to the group. The group includes members like Mike McIntyre, a conservative Democratic congressman, who believes that the Ten Commandments are "the fundamental legal code for the laws of the United States.”

Publicly, the Family’s most prominent event is a National Prayer Breakfast held in Washington, D.C., which has been attended by congressmen, senators, and even presidents. In his book, “The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power,” New York University scholar Jeff Sharlet writes that of the Family’s $14 million budget, “the bulk of it, $12 million, goes to ‘mentoring, counseling, and partnering with friends around the world.’”

In other words, having failed to turn the United States into a true “Nation under God,” American evangelicals are going to Africa to satisfy that calling. Is there a better place to create Christian nations than in a continent with nearly 500 million impoverished believers, and easily corruptible governments? Similar laws have been proposed, or exist, in Nigeria, Burundi, Rwanda and Malawi.

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“You develop a relationship with the [African] presidents in the spirit of Jesus,” Sen. Inhofe said in a February 2009 interview posted on the website of Faith and Action, an evangelical Christian group, whose “mission is to awaken the conscience of our nation by proclaiming Truth to those in positions of power.”

In his book, Sharlet writes that Uganda’s president Yoweri Museveni is the organization’s “key man” in Africa. Museveni’s relationship with the Family goes as far back as 1986, when he came to power following a bloody civil war. David Bahati, the Ugandan lawmaker who introduced the anti-gay bill, is also a member of the Family.

U.S. evangelical groups have gotten so close to African religious and political leaders that they openly conduct their hateful crusades. In early March 2009, for example, U.S. religious extremists played a central role in the “Seminar on Exposing the Homosexuals' Agenda” held in Kampala, Uganda. Among speakers was Scott Lively, a California evangelical pastor who heads Abiding Truth Ministry.

full article:
Why Ugandans Embrace U.S. Christian Right’s Anti-Gay Agenda
Commentary by Edwin Okong'o, Jan 12, 2010
New America Media
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/vi ... 541adcd58d]
click on "african" in far left menu, then scroll down to article[/i]




____________________________________________________________


Since journalists worldwide broke the story in late 2009, not surprisingly Rev. Rick Warren, as well as several members of The Family publically denounced any support or even association with the bill, and Ugandan legislators quickly "revised" the bill to remove the death sentence and life imprisonment parts.

But American Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin ain't buyin' it: she's working with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission to convene a congressional hearing February 2010 to discuss the bill.


“I won’t be pleased until we hear that this
Bill has been withdrawn and will not be acted upon,”
Rep Baldwin told UK Gay News. The "US
Government has a special responsibility to speak out
strongly against [the Bill] since it may have been
US citizens in many ways prompted this action to be
taken. It is very disturbing when I see the ties that
have been uncovered.”

The hearing is scheduled to be held on Thursday January 21 in Rayburn House, where the House of Representatives holds it committee meetings.

full article:
US Congressional Hearing on Ugandan ‘Kill Gays’ Bill Set for Next Week
Reported by UK Gay News



....now of course, none of this random chumming-up to a despotic African government (spawn of the likes of Idi Amin Dada) could in any way possibly be related, to the rather coincidental fact, that Ugandan soil possesses significant untapped oil reserves, right? .....nah.

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Oil companies are claiming that oil finds in Uganda will be the
biggest onshore reserves in Africa. The country's western part
reportedly has the potential of producing billions of barrels.
Who needs the Middle East anymore? So if we could
first sufficiently brainwash the citizens of this and adjacent
countries, we won't even need to send in troops ....send
in the fundies instead. It's a lot "cleaner" I'd say. But first,
I guess we have go in and help Ugandans kill all their pesky
gays ...in the name of Jesus, of course. Disturbing.







.

[ViruzWicca]

Sometimes I should be grateful to be Canadian , Here i don't have to be in hiding or scared of what people think.

But i still wish i was American...

[Ghaleon]

viruz trust me this country (america) isnt all its cracked up to be... I.M.O. your better off in comunist russia then you are here... land of the free and home of the brave my ass... more like land of the paranoid... and home of the lying sacks o shite... its horrible... but YES i defended the country... not becuase i like the people in power... but more because of my mother and sister... the whole time i was in i bitched about our commander in chief...

neither here or there though... be gay... be what ever you want.... just because i dont agree wit the choice personally (see prievous post of mine) doesnt mean im gonna razz you for it...

*shrug* i dunno this country is so freaking hypocritical.. they talk out of both sides of the face here...

but yea thats my little rant....

i promise though im in a good mood