OT (as usual!). But the L.A. Times has a great article on the post-fire Mt. Calvary Monastary in Santa Barbara, a tragedy for all of us who loved it -- Contemplating a Montecito monastery's next life. Note the slide-show.
Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer Wednesday, January 14, 2009
(01-13) 20:21 PST -- President Obama will end the 15-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said.
Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November he has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team's Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said:
"You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes.' "
The little-noticed response, made in a video posted on change.gov, made barely a ripple outside blogs focused on the gay community, but that's not surprising, said those who have been pushing to overturn the ban. Not only was Obama's position expected, they said, but support for reviewing or repealing the policy has grown markedly in recent years, including some from unexpected quarters.
The end of "don't ask, don't tell" might not happen immediately, several critics of the policy said. Although they appreciate clarity from Obama on the issue, they anticipate that the demands of the economy and two wars are likely to trump a speedy policy reversal.
"The question isn't if we do it, and the question isn't when we do it, it's how we do it," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, whose 2006 bill to repeal the ban earned broad support among Democrats in Congress but did not move forward in the face of a near-certain veto by President Bush.
"I'm going to reintroduce the bill in the next few weeks," Tauscher said. "We've got the American people behind us."
Rest of the story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/13/MNTG159HHG.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1
6 comments:
So simple and so true!
Quite something.
(I took the liberty of editing the embed to make it fit.)
OT (as usual!). But the L.A. Times has a great article on the post-fire Mt. Calvary Monastary in Santa Barbara, a tragedy for all of us who loved it -- Contemplating a Montecito monastery's next life. Note the slide-show.
Off-topic:
+Gene will be on Rachel Maddows Show TONIGHT!!!
Spread the word! Spread the word! Spread the word!
[word verification: "warinha" as in "Warren? Ha!" ;-p]
Yet more off-topic news:
Obama will end 'don't ask' policy, aide says
Matthew B. Stannard, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
(01-13) 20:21 PST -- President Obama will end the 15-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said.
Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November he has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team's Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said:
"You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes.' "
The little-noticed response, made in a video posted on change.gov, made barely a ripple outside blogs focused on the gay community, but that's not surprising, said those who have been pushing to overturn the ban. Not only was Obama's position expected, they said, but support for reviewing or repealing the policy has grown markedly in recent years, including some from unexpected quarters.
The end of "don't ask, don't tell" might not happen immediately, several critics of the policy said. Although they appreciate clarity from Obama on the issue, they anticipate that the demands of the economy and two wars are likely to trump a speedy policy reversal.
"The question isn't if we do it, and the question isn't when we do it, it's how we do it," said Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, whose 2006 bill to repeal the ban earned broad support among Democrats in Congress but did not move forward in the face of a near-certain veto by President Bush.
"I'm going to reintroduce the bill in the next few weeks," Tauscher said. "We've got the American people behind us."
Rest of the story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/13/MNTG159HHG.DTL&type=politics&tsp=1
And in a late-breaking report, JCF vies with Dr. Primrose to become the FoJ's "news maven." :D <-- see, I'm smiling
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