You don't have to be straight to shoot straight.
Nobody can say it like Mo-Do .. sometimes I don't agree with her, this time I do.
Outing the Out of Touch
By NYT columnist, MAUREEN DOWD, June 10, 2007, WASHINGTON
Be honest. Who would you rather share a foxhole with: a gay soldier or
Mitt Romney?
Mitt Romney?
A gay soldier, of course. In a dicey situation like that, you need
someone steadfast who knows who he is and what he believes, even if
he's not allowed to say it out loud.
someone steadfast who knows who he is and what he believes, even if
he's not allowed to say it out loud.
Hypocrisy is the homage vice pays to virtue, as the gloriously gay
Oscar Wilde said. And gays are the sacrifice that hypocritical
Republican candidates offer to placate "values" voters - even though
some candidates are not so finicky about morals regarding their own
affairs and divorces.
Oscar Wilde said. And gays are the sacrifice that hypocritical
Republican candidates offer to placate "values" voters - even though
some candidates are not so finicky about morals regarding their own
affairs and divorces.
They may coo over the photo of Dick Cheney, whose re-election campaign
demonized gays, proudly smiling with his new grandson, the first baby
of his lesbian daughter, Mary.
demonized gays, proudly smiling with his new grandson, the first baby
of his lesbian daughter, Mary.
But they'll hold the line, by jiminy, against gay Americans who are
willing to die or be horribly disfigured in the cursed Bush/Cheney war
in Iraq.
willing to die or be horribly disfigured in the cursed Bush/Cheney war
in Iraq.
Peter Pace, whose job as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff became
a casualty of Iraq on Friday, asserted in March that homosexual acts
"are immoral." Yet in May, he wrote a letter to the judge in the
Scooter Libby case, pleading for leniency for the Cheney aide. Scooter
always looked for "the right way to proceed - both legally and
morally," General Pace wrote of the man who lied to a grand jury about
the outing of a spy, after he pumped up the fake case for the war that
has claimed the lives of 3,500 young men and women serving under the
general.
a casualty of Iraq on Friday, asserted in March that homosexual acts
"are immoral." Yet in May, he wrote a letter to the judge in the
Scooter Libby case, pleading for leniency for the Cheney aide. Scooter
always looked for "the right way to proceed - both legally and
morally," General Pace wrote of the man who lied to a grand jury about
the outing of a spy, after he pumped up the fake case for the war that
has claimed the lives of 3,500 young men and women serving under the
general.
At the G.O.P. debate in New Hampshire last week, the contenders were
more homophobic than the mobsters on "The Sopranos," unanimously
supporting the inane "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Even Rudy
Giuliani, who loves to cross-dress and who stayed with old friends, a
gay couple, to avoid Gracie Mansion when his second marriage was
disintegrating, had an antediluvian answer.
more homophobic than the mobsters on "The Sopranos," unanimously
supporting the inane "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Even Rudy
Giuliani, who loves to cross-dress and who stayed with old friends, a
gay couple, to avoid Gracie Mansion when his second marriage was
disintegrating, had an antediluvian answer.
Wolf Blitzer asked him about the Arabic linguists trained by the
government who have been ousted from the military after being outed.
government who have been ousted from the military after being outed.
Mr. Giuliani, who procured three deferments to avoid Vietnam, replied
that, with the war in Iraq raging, "This is not the time to deal with
disruptive issues like this."
that, with the war in Iraq raging, "This is not the time to deal with
disruptive issues like this."
If he's so concerned with disruptive issues, maybe he should start
worrying about this one: Two straight guys who slithered out of going
to Vietnam are devising a losing strategy in Iraq year after year. W.
and Dick Cheney have fouled things up so badly that Robert Gates and
Tony Snow are now pointing to South Korea - where American troops have
stayed for over half a century - as a model.
worrying about this one: Two straight guys who slithered out of going
to Vietnam are devising a losing strategy in Iraq year after year. W.
and Dick Cheney have fouled things up so badly that Robert Gates and
Tony Snow are now pointing to South Korea - where American troops have
stayed for over half a century - as a model.
Mitt Romney agreed with Rudy on the issue. Instead of going to
Vietnam, Mr. Romney spent two and a half years doing Mormon missionary
work in France. Isn't that like doing Peace Corps work in Monte
Carlo?
Vietnam, Mr. Romney spent two and a half years doing Mormon missionary
work in France. Isn't that like doing Peace Corps work in Monte
Carlo?
At the memorial for Mark Bingham, the gay 6-foot-5 rugby player who
was on Flight 93 on 9/11, John McCain said he might owe his life to
the young man who helped fight the hijackers, bringing down the plane
aiming to crash into the Capitol.
was on Flight 93 on 9/11, John McCain said he might owe his life to
the young man who helped fight the hijackers, bringing down the plane
aiming to crash into the Capitol.
But Senator McCain wants gay troops to stay closeted. The policy, he
said, is "working." But it's not. The Army in Iraq is like that
exhausted nag Scarlett O'Hara whipped on to Tara. Yet Republicans
surge on, even as they expel gays.
said, is "working." But it's not. The Army in Iraq is like that
exhausted nag Scarlett O'Hara whipped on to Tara. Yet Republicans
surge on, even as they expel gays.
In a Times Op-Ed piece Friday, Stephen Benjamin, a gay Arabic
translator eager to go to Iraq, told how he was dismissed when the
Navy learned his status. "Consider," he wrote. "More than 58 Arabic
linguists have been kicked out since 'don't ask, don't tell' was
instituted. How much valuable intelligence could those men and women
be providing today to troops in harm's way?"
translator eager to go to Iraq, told how he was dismissed when the
Navy learned his status. "Consider," he wrote. "More than 58 Arabic
linguists have been kicked out since 'don't ask, don't tell' was
instituted. How much valuable intelligence could those men and women
be providing today to troops in harm's way?"
He noted that 11,000 other service members have been shoved out since
1993 and speculated that if the Army had not been so short of Arabic
translators, the cables that went untranslated on Sept. 10, 2001,
might have been translated, preventing 9/11.
1993 and speculated that if the Army had not been so short of Arabic
translators, the cables that went untranslated on Sept. 10, 2001,
might have been translated, preventing 9/11.
In 2000, the British military began letting anyone who served say if
they were "a poof," as one squadron leader put it. Sarah Lyall wrote
in The Times that the military reports that none of its fears "about
harassment, discord, blackmail, bullying or an erosion of unit
cohesion or military effectiveness have come to pass."
they were "a poof," as one squadron leader put it. Sarah Lyall wrote
in The Times that the military reports that none of its fears "about
harassment, discord, blackmail, bullying or an erosion of unit
cohesion or military effectiveness have come to pass."
America has been Will-and-Graced since Bill Clinton had his kerfuffle
on the issue in 1993. Tolerance has blossomed, especially among
younger Americans. According to a Pew poll, 4-in-10 Americans say they
have close friends or relatives who are gay.
on the issue in 1993. Tolerance has blossomed, especially among
younger Americans. According to a Pew poll, 4-in-10 Americans say they
have close friends or relatives who are gay.
The Republican field seems stale and out of sync. They should have
listened to the inimitable Barry Goldwater, who told it true: You
don't have to be straight to shoot straight.
listened to the inimitable Barry Goldwater, who told it true: You
don't have to be straight to shoot straight.
