DISGRASIAN™

Dan Choi Is On Duty (And Still Gaysian)

Since an Army National Guard committee recommended his discharge last summer, Knights Out founder Lt. Dan Choi has been staying active in the fight to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Meanwhile, his commander, a big supporter, fought the discharge decision and recently called Choi personally to ask for his return.

Great Choi-ce

The Advocate has reported that Choi rejoined his unit in Pennsylvania last weekend, opting out of a speaking engagement at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s Creating Change conference.

As far as we know, he has not snapped a towel, leered at any of his military colleagues, referred to any unform as “fabulous,” nor told any soldier to give him head. In short, he is doing what he was meant to do: serve his country professionally, with honor and loyalty. That duty has nothing whatsoever to do with the gender he dates and is a heckuvalot more than most of us would or could do ourselves.

We sure as hell feel a whole lot safer knowing he’s out there protecting us.

[The Advocate: Dan Choi Back On Active Duty]

Source
Thanks, Isaac and Jaime!

Filed under: Army National Guard, Army National Guard Committee, Bullshit Policy, Dan Choi, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gays in the Military, Gaysians, Heroes, Knights Out, Lieutenant Dan Choi Fired from Army, Military Men, Safety First, US Military

AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! US Army Staff Sgt. Sandra Lee

Last week marked the first annual Military Rape Awareness Week, sponsored by Veterans For Peace, a non-profit and officially-recognized United Nations NGO comprised of military veterans seeking alternatives to war.

Military Rape Awareness Week was conceived as a response to a recent Veterans Administrative Study funded by the US Army Medical Corps that found 1 in 3 women in the military have been raped.

US Army Reserves Staff Sgt. Sandra Lee, who was raped twice while serving in Iraq, is one of those women. She spoke at the week’s kickoff event, at the Times Square Recruiting Station in NYC:

1 in 3 servicewomen raped in the military.

Wow.

And we’re worried about gays in the military because why?

[Veterans For Peace]

Thanks, @erwinism!

Filed under: Amazians, Gays in the Military, Iraq War Veterans, Military Rape Awareness Week, Rape in the Military, Rape Victims, Sandra Lee, Scary Studies, U.S. Army, US Military, Veterans, Veterans' Affairs

Ninjas Hate Joe Lieberman

A man dressed as a ninja and waving nunchucks was arrested this week for standing on a street corner in Vernon, CT, and making a ruckus about wanting to beat up Senator Joe Lieberman. When police approached the ninja with tasers, it was reported that the stealth, would-be senator-beater became “polite and cooperative.”

While a) identifying your target openly and b) becoming “polite and cooperative” when the authorities arrive don’t exactly sound like typical ninja behaviors, who hasn’t wanted to get all shinobi-wan-kenobi on Lieberman’s party-flip-flopping assssss?

But hold on there, Lieberman-haters. Because it appears Obama’s putting the old grimacing malcontent, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, in charge of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Looks like we need him on our side, at least for the time being.

Although if he effs this up, ninjas…to the rooftops, we say!

[Metro UK: Ninja wants to beat up senator, gets arrested]
[CBS News: Joe Lieberman Could be Taking the Lead on "Don't Ask"]

Source

Filed under: Barack Obama, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gay Rights, Gays in the Military, Joe Leiberman Is a Douchebag, Ninja Warrior, Ninjas, The U.S. Senate, US Military

President Obama, Don’t Tell Us If You Don’t Mean It

We hope that the next time he goes into the studio to talk to Wolf, he’s celebrating the eradication of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”

[Video via HuffPo]
[CNN: The Situation Room]

Filed under: Dan Choi, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gays in the Military, President Barack Obama, Speeches, We Heart Gaysians

AMAZIAN OF THE WEEK! Colonel Om Prakash, Author Of Anti-”Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Essay

In the current issue of the Pentagon’s top scholarly journal, Joint Force Quarterly, Air Force colonel Om Prakash has published an article arguing that openly gay troops do not hurt unit cohesion or combat effectiveness, calling the military’s Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy a “costly failure” and asking President Obama to find a way to repeal the ban.

The essay was selected as the winner of this year’s Secretary of Defense essay contest and was reviewed in advance of publication by the office of Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the NY Times. Prakash, who works in the office of Defense Secretary Robert Gates, studied the issue while a student at the National War College. The article signals a shift in the thinking of the Pentagon’s top officials and is expected to put pressure on Obama to repeal DADT.

In “The Efficacy of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Prakash reasons:

…the law as it currently stands does not prohibit homosexuals from serving in the military as long as they keep it secret. This has led to an uncomfortable value disconnect as homosexuals serving, estimated to be over 65,000, must compromise personal integrity. Given the growing gap between social mores and the law, DADT may do damage to the very unit cohesion that it seeks to protect.

Yes sir, Colonel! We couldn’t agree more.

[Joint Force Quarterly, Issue 55]
[Boston Globe: Pentagon airs criticism of 'don't ask']

Source

Filed under: Amazians, Barack Obama, Department of Defense, Discriminatory Policies, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gays in the Military, Military Men, Pentagon

Didja Hear? Dan Choi Is Gay

Last night, The Daily Show totally nailed the absurdity of the Army firing Lieutenant Dan Choi–West Point grad, Iraq War vet, and much-needed Arabic translator–after he violated its “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy:

Dan Choi Is Gaythedailyshow.com

To protest Lt. Dan Choi’s firing and to ask President Obama to keep his promise to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” click here.

[Courage Campaign: Keep your promise, President Obama]

Filed under: Campaign Promises, Dan Choi, Dishonoring the Gaysian, Don't Ask Don't Tell, Gays in the Military, Gaysians, Lieutenant Dan Choi Fired from Army, President Barack Obama, This is Bullshit