Politics on a Wilding

MoonHowler

Wilding:  3. Slang The act or practice of going about in a group threatening, robbing, or attacking others

Over the past couple of days, shots were fired in the air and a window was shot out at Rep. Cantor’s offices in Richmond.  A gas line was cut at the home of  Rep. Perriello’s brother near Charlottesville.  The address had mistakenly been posted on an ultra- conservative website  out of Lynchburg.  The wrong someone thought it was the congressman’s address.  A substantial number of congressmen and women have had really nasty, threatening phone calls left for them. 

These incidents have stirred up Americans even further  as the health care debate rages on and even after the  passing of that legislation on Sunday.  The cable shows are full of accusations and political rhetoric.  Republicans are blaming the Democrats and the Democrats are blaming the Republicans.  There are racial overtones on top of the political ones.

We are all Americans.  At the end of the day, no matter how much Chris Matthews or Glenn Beck we listen to, we are still Americans.  We are going to have to shut down those feelings that talk show hosts and blogs stir up in us or we are going to become a very sick society.  It just isn’t healthy.  No one knows who is doing nasty things to politicians.  Like the kid who trashed the homes and stores in Gainesville around the election in 2008, some of this vandalism could be some jerks who don’t even know a health care bill passed.  It is sort of like burning sofas and trash cans after a basketball game, when you don’t go to either school. 

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“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy Relaxed

MoonHowler
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates

Thursday, March 25, the military policy known as ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell’ which was enacted in 1993 under president Bill Clinton to ‘integrate’ gays into the military, was altered. Only Congress can appeal ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’ If you think the new Health Care Legislation was contentious, just revisit gays in the military as a political hot bed of contempt.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” is still the policy for gays in the military in the United States. However, yesterday Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced the new rules that relax how a gay person serviing in the military would be eased out if their ‘openess’ became ‘open.’ Sounds like weasel words, doesn’t it?  I have never totally understood ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’ I think it says, its ok to be gay in the military but don’t let anyone find out or they will throw your ass out. Yea, any way you cut it, that’s what the policy says. Let’s take a look at what happened via Time Magazine:

Pentagon took a giant step toward integrating openly gay men and women into the U.S. military on Thursday. No, it didn’t repeal 1993’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” law — only Congress can do that. But it did something that could be almost as important: it eased the enforcement of that law by loosening the regulations that have been used to snare 13,500 gays — and boot them out of uniform — since 1994. “These changes will allow us to execute the law in a fair and more appropriate manner,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. The revised regs “provide a greater measure of common sense and common decency to a process for handling what are difficult and complex issues for all involved.”

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