Rachel Maddow Show: Lt. Dan Choi Kicked Out of the Army

[babylonsister]

Run time: 02:18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lwSsb1AvHk   Posted on YouTube: May 07, 2009 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: May 07, 2009 By DU Member: babylonsister Views on DU: 2136

 
Lt. Dan Choi has been kicked out of the Army for admitting that he is gay and violating Don't Ask, Don't Tell


DADT Proponents Get Their Way; Gay Iraq Vet Fired
by: Brandon Friedman
Thu May 07, 2009 at 03:05:51 AM EDT


In a victory for anti-gay, shower-fearing advocates of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, Lieutenant Dan Choi--an openly gay infantry officer--was removed yesterday from his position leading soldiers in the New York Army National Guard. He was subsequently kicked out of the Army.

To be certain, this was a spectacular triumph for those trumpeting morality in the Armed Services. In exchange for maintaining the heterosexual purity of Choi's infantry battalion, the Army only had to give up the following things:

1. A West Point graduate
2. An Arabic linguist
3. A seasoned leader and combat veteran with service in Iraq.

Sacrificing an Arabic linguist with a security clearance is small price to pay, of course, for placating bigots.

more...

http://www.vetvoice.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2733

[lazyriver]

1. Yeah, these are the guys the army should be kicking out...

not the thousands of out of shape, white supremacist, barely made it out of high school, criminal background, flunky knuckle-draggers they lowered their standards to recruit during the Bush years. Let's get rid of valuable people who can actually make a positive impact.

Oh and here's this in case it's needed...:sarcasm:

[lazer47]

2. I just can't imagine you would say things like that behind my back.

[msongs]

3. Obama doesn't want gays in the military. get over it. nt

[Karenina]

4. This may interest you.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8393958

[babylonsister]

5. Says you? Got a link? nt

[ThirdWorldJohn]

7. Look at the policy. It is OK with Obama for a gay person to serve in the military..........

as long as that person does not admit to being gay and no one finds out that the person is gay. The policy is "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." So if a person in the military is serving and that person's commander thinks the person is gay, then the commander must not ask the question and the commander must allow the person to remain in the military. And the person that may be gay should not admit the fact if they desire to keep serving in the military. If they admit to being gay then that person will immediately be forced out of the military.

So in reality the policy is that gays can serve as long as no one knows for sure that the person is gay. I just talked to a recruiter and he said that the policy has been that way for years and he does not know why gays are not allowed to serve if the person is revealed to be gay for whatever reason. My opinion is that Obama is just allowing the policy to go forward so as not to have to another crisis to deal with as the military does not want to be seen as a bunch of gay pink pantied warriors - probably.

Barack Obama, US Senator (D-IL), stated in a June 1, 2007 press release titled "Obama Statement on Pride Month" on his official campaign website:

"It's time to turn the page on the bitterness and bigotry that fill so much of today's LGBT rights debate. The rights of all Americans should be protected -- whether it's at work or anyplace else. 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' needs to be repealed because patriotism and a sense of duty should be the key tests for military service, not sexual orientation."
June 1, 2007 Barack Obama

[Mari333]

9. you forgot your sarcasm tag nt

[MasonJar]

6. A true patriot and citizen of the world! He stands for principle despite the

consequences, unlike most of the rest of us, including our elected officials.

[onetwo]

8. Sad that we're losing such productive and highly qualified personnel to this odd policy. BUT.

Doesn't the "Don't Ask" portion of the policy prevent the lying that Lt. Choi correctly claims would be contradictory to the moral and ethical standards he learned at West Point?

At the end of the day, DADT was definitely a step in the right direction -- I don't understand why B. Clinton is vilified for it.

[Mari333]

10. why the f was it a step in the right direction?

are heterosexuals in the military not allowed to say they are straight? no? there are gay men and women in the military, like it or not. to be told they cannot say they are gay is total bullshit. second class citizenship.

[onetwo]

11. If I understand correctly, before DADT, gays could be asked and then thrown out once they told

DADT allowed gays to serve without harassment as long as they didn't advertise their sexual preferences.

And I cannot envision a situation where a serviceperson would involuntarily have to make their sexual orientation public. A gay person should never have to lie at any time since DADT ensured that they would never be asked.

[Mari333]

12. back up

you are with your friends who are servicemen. they are are all sitting around at Ft Bennington having a smoke or eating a lunch after a 20 mile hike. some of the guys are talking about their wives and children. Lets say you are a gay serviceman who has a partner at home with a child you adopted. Now, you are telling me this serviceman cannot say "Oh, yes, I have a partner at home with my child, he and I have been together for 5 yrs, we love each other very much..." or he will be kicked out of the service..
if that isnt BULLshit I dont know what is..

I have NO idea what point you are trying to make.

[onetwo]

13. The point is that DADT ensures that Lt. Choi never has to engage in the lies and deception that

bothers him so.

I am not arguing that DADT is perfect. However, it is an improvement over the preceding status quo.

Lt. Choi should have respectfully given his new Commander-in-Chief the time to honor his campaign promise. Pulling a stunt like coming out on national TV only two months into the new administration was incredibly naive and, IMO, incredibly arrogant. He thought he could get the ear of this White House; we will see if that gamble pays off.

[Mari333]

14. its already paid off

Obama has sent him a letter telling him he will work now to get rid of DADT.
sometimes, someone out there brings the truth into the light on purpose, and it works.