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Dear President Obama: It's past time to do something about this

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Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion: Presidential (Through Nov 2009) Donate to DU
 
cali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 04:47 PM
Original message
Dear President Obama: It's past time to do something about this
Pilot facing discharge under ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy
By Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, May 23, 2009
WASHINGTON — No one in Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach’s unit knew he was gay until he went on television Tuesday night to talk about his sexuality.

“It was never my intention to come out publicly,” he said in an interview with Stripes the next day.

But Fehrenbach, an F-15 pilot, said he was grounded last spring, just weeks before his unit deployed to Iraq, when a civilian acquaintance told his commanders that Fehrenbach might be gay.

He said he doesn’t know why he was outed. For almost two decades, he kept his sexual orientation a secret from military officials. But the tip began a yearlong review that culminated in a recommendation for discharge earlier this

<snip>
http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=62862

This shit is just shameful.
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ErinBerin84 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 04:50 PM
Response to Original message
1. k&R
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Rosa Luxemburg Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 04:51 PM
Response to Original message
2. since when has sexual orientation affected one's flying ability
the whole thing about gays not being allowed to be in the military is weird. I think this country is weird. What has sexual orientation to do with one's abilty to perform in one's career. I think politicians in this country need to get over it.
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babylonsister Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 04:55 PM
Response to Original message
3. Rec'd. Whatever is holding the process up has to be resolved.
This IS shameful.
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uponit7771 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 04:57 PM
Response to Original message
4. Yeah, there should be some type of stop measure that can be taken now even if he feels...
...that now isn't the right time for this fight.
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Thrill Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 04:57 PM
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5. Get Congress to pass it. And I'm sure Obama will sign it
.
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ruggerson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 05:00 PM
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6. Don't you think he has enough on his plate?
we can't just focus on one issue
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cali Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 05:12 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. you're unhappy with my posting this? figures.
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ruggerson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 05:21 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. no, I'm amused by it
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liberalmuse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 05:07 PM
Response to Original message
7. I'm wondering if anyone in a position to change this has the balls.
Really. It doesn't seem too difficult. If some asshat like Bush can sign a piece of paper to torture, and do all manner of evil, why is it so hard to do something right? My head is ready to explode. Too many things don't make sense at all.
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bertman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 05:14 PM
Response to Original message
9. I saw the Colonel on Rachel Maddow. He's the aviator's aviator. Sterling record, highly
decorated, a combat pilot with 20 years of outstanding service to his country. This is so sickening that it's almost unbelievable. We are seeing what it's doing to so many gay Americans who have chosen to serve in the military. Good people who do their jobs well who have to fear their homophobic comrades-in-arms, are being systematically thrown out because of this ridiculous policy.

It has been stated that President Obama does not have the authority to do away with DADT but he can put an end to it simply by issuing a directive that it is not to be enforced. Then the Congress, in all of their cowardly, homophobic glory, will be called upon to do the right thing.

Here's a real pisser of a story: on the Military Channel they had a show that chronicled the life of a Marine Company. During one of the speeches that their C.O. gave to the assembled company get them all fired up in best Corps tradition, he kept referring to "the Spartans" this, "the Spartans" that. Obviously he was referencing some of the greatest warriors that the world has known. What was so absurd was that he was using a group of bisexual warriors as the role models for his troops. It seems the Corps and the Captain don't know much about the people they are trying to emulate.

Par for the course.



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tomp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 05:31 PM
Response to Original message
11. i knew if i waited long enough...
...we'd agree on something.
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SemiCharmedQuark Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue May-26-09 05:42 PM
Response to Original message
12. K&R.
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