Taxpayers Demand $4.4 Million Refund Over Anti-Gay Military Survey

Servicemembers United an advocacy organization dedicated to repealing the anti-gay military policy known as Don't Ask Don't Tell is furious over a new and biased survey about the policy.

The Department of Defense just paid the research firm Westat the outrageous sum of $4.4 million to design and administer an email-based survey about the repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law. While its development was shrouded in secrecy for weeks, leaked copies of the final version recently began circulating. To everyone’s surprise, the survey, which went out to 400,000 service members, turned out to be laced with bias, inaccuracies, and derogatory assumptions and insinuations about gay and lesbian Americans. Demand that Westat and the Pentagon repay the American Taxpayer for this outrageous waste of $4.4 million!

Sign the petition to demand a full refund and an end to the discriminatory policy of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Voices of Honor - Repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell

The Human Rights Campaign has a national campaign to repeal the anti-gay Don't Ask Don't Tell policy in the U.S. military. Voices of Honor is an effort to ensure that the 66,000 gay, lesbian, and bisexual service members no longer have to hide their identities and risk being taunted or kicked out of the military.

The policy has been in place since 1993 but President Barack Obama has pledged in his State of the Union address to work with congress to repeal the policy this year.

Urge congress to act swiftly to repeal DADT, an archaic and immoral piece of legislation.

Word of the Gay: "Government Inspected Meat"

"Government Inspected Meat" is a term in the gay community to describe a gay man in the armed forces.

Knights Out - Westpoint LGBT Alumni Group Unveils

A courageous group of alumni from the military academy West Point have come out of the closet and formed an organization called Knights Out to support and advocate on behalf of GLBT soldiers.

The group’s activities and goals will include:

• Financially supporting and providing speakers for AOG and West Point efforts to educate cadets and graduates in sexual diversity
• Providing a web-based forum (www.KnightsOut.org ) for furthering discourse on this topic among Army leaders
• Participating in West Point AOG’s upcoming (annual) Diversity Leadership Conference
• Providing LGBT graduates who have been disenfranchised in the past with a way to reconnect to the AOG
• Establishing a Knights Out affinity group through the Association of Graduates
• Serving as positive role models to cadets and graduates

To learn more and to find out how you support their efforts goto Knights Out.

Proof Don't Ask Don't Tell Will Be Lifted Soon

Happy Saturday, this is proof Don't Ask Don't Tell will be lifted shortly.

Radio Host "Gunny" Bob Newman: "Gays In Military Increases HIV/AIDS"

On January 7 "Gunny" Bob Newman, host of The Gunny Bob Show on Colorado's KOA-AM Radio, used his Clear Channel-owned media platform to make false and defamatory comments about gay service members. Newman suggested that lifting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the ban on allowing qualified gay military personnel to serve openly in the armed forces, would lead to greater HIV risk.

On the program Mr. Newman said:

"Interesting, though, how Barack Obama, who strictly avoided military service, has – says that the key test must be those things. He left a lot of stuff out. Like being able to fight with as much combat power as you possibly can. And if we have gays serving openly in the military, according to the military, that is going to reduce their combat power. You reduce combat power, casualties can go up.

We had a doctor call in the last hour, a military doctor, been in a long time, and he explained the dangers of HIV-AIDS on the battlefield. Especially when it comes to combat transfusions at the battalion aid station or where have you, in the back of a Hummer ambulance, wherever. And I added there's also the danger of contamination when it comes to all the first responders on scene.

Often times that's gonna be a medic or a corpsman. Or just another soldier – doesn't have to be a medic or a corpsman or a Marine or what have you – who faces the additional risk of HIV-AIDS contamination. And the doctor also went on to explain, you know, how these transfusions are sought and how quickly they must happen. And he pointed out that if we do this, and more and more gays join the military and they are HIV-positive or suffering from AIDS, and their blood ends up getting transfused, you know, into another military person, well, then that's a death sentence for the other person too. 303-713-8585.

This doesn't bother Barack Obama. It doesn't faze him in the least. He doesn't care if a soldier or a Marine or a SEAL or what have you gets HIV, becomes HIV-positive, and then develops AIDS and dies because he happened to get a transfusion from an, say, an openly gay person with a very active sexual, open lifestyle.

Because to Obama, what's most important is two things, being politically correct – excuse me, three things: being politically correct; functioning as a good leftist; and number three, paying back the gay and lesbian lobby, which donated such staggering sums of money to his campaign. He owes them a lot of money."

The audio version of it can be found below thanks to Colorado Media Matters...


GLAAD is asking us to contact Clear Channel-owned KOA-AM executives in Denver, Colorado and Clear Channel Communications national executives in San Antonio, Texas to demand that they reprimand "Gunny" Bob Newman for his inappropriate and offensive remarks. Call on them to stop allowing their platforms to be used to perpetuate false and defamatory stereotypes about the LGBT community.

Contact:

KOA-AM

Mr. Lee Larsen
Vice President & General Manager
KOA-AM
Outlet Phone: (303) 713-8000
Email: leelarsen@clearchannel.com

Ms. Kristine Olinger
Director of AM Programming
KOA-AM
Outlet Phone: (303) 713-8000
Email: kristineolinger@clearchannel.com

Clear Channel Communications

Ms. Kathryn Johnson
Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations
Clear Channel Communications
Outlet Phone: (210) 822-2828
Email: kathrynmaysjohnson@clearchannel.com

Ms. Lisa Dollinger
Chief Communications Officer
Clear Channel Communications
Outlet Phone: (210) 822-2828
Email: lisacdollinger@clearchannel.com

If you choose to email Bob Newman himself he can be reached at bobnewman@850koa.com

Tell the new Congress: Pass the Military Readiness Enhancement Act

Call on congress to support the Military Readiness Enhancement Act, to repeal the discriminatory "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" statute banning open military service by lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" applies to all Americans serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, including active duty, Reserve, and National Guard personnel. Over two million Americans serving in uniform today are bound by this discriminatory law; among them, an estimated 65,000 lesbian, gay, and bisexual Americans in uniform live with the constant threat of a career-ending discharge under the ban. This is no way to treat patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve our nation in its time of need.

Please sign the Service members Legal Defense Network petition.

Call to Appoint Openly Gay Man as Secretary of Navy

PhoneObama:
202-540-3000, press "2"

EmailObama

So what are you up to next week on December 31-Jan 2? How about helping to shatter a glass ceiling? Equal Rep is putting on its second campaign to urge President-elect Obama to appoint William White the next Secretary of the Navy.

ACTION: Join the Facebook Event

more

In more than 200 years, the United States military has never included an openly gay chief. Growing national focus on GLBT civil rights has therefore made the Secretary of the Navy appointment a national issue in the struggle for equal representation. Also, it highlights the antiquated policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" which needs to repealed.

William White is the most qualified candidate for the job. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has named the main qualification for Navy Secretary as corporate, business, and managerial experience. William White certainly fills this criteria as he serves as a member of the Executive Committee and as Chief Operating Officer of the Intrepid Museum Foundation. A recipient of the 1996 Meritorious Service Award in recognition of his outstanding support of the United States Navy, White has dedicated his life to helping injured servicemen and the families of our fallen soldiers. In 1991 Bill White founded Operation Support which raised $400,000 in three months to aid the families of soldiers lost in the Persian Gulf War. This success led to White raising funds for the Intrepid Museum. In 1992, White�s passion and dedication to the Intrepid Foundation became a full time job managing all fundraising and development. White has hosted Presidents Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and Bill Clinton along with world leaders such as Thatcher, Rabin and Yeltsin. Upon the death of museum Founder Zachary Fisher, White became the Intrepid Foundation President, assuming responsibility for advising the Fisher family in the management of their many military charitable organizations.

In a short amount of time, White has already earned some impressive endorsements. Retired general Hugh Shelton, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said White "would be phenomenal." He added that White's extensive background as a fund-raiser for veterans' and military causes would be helpful in the job. Congressman Jerrold Nadler said White is "very capable" on the basis of observing his work at the Intrepid, located on the Hudson River, which is in Nadler's district. Nadler added that White has been a friend of service members and their families through his work with the museum and philanthropic efforts, according to The Washington Times.

"With the whole Rick Warren fiasco ensuing and the fact that gay Americans were completely shut out of Obama's cabinet, this is the perfect opportunity for our President-elect to show gay Americans they have not been forgotten and he truly is committed to equal representation." said Paul Sousa, Equal Rep founder. "William White is not only the most qualified candidate, but appointing him would also send a strong message that change is coming and the antiquated, discriminatory policy of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" will be repealed soon."

Join the facebook event, invite your friends, and plan on giving the Obama administration a friendly nudge to put his call of change into action. Here's to hoping that William White is the next Secretary of the Navy!

"Right to Serve" Preparing to Protest DADT

UPDATE: Here is the official website for the tour beginning tomorrow. http://harvardrighttoserve.org/index.php

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"A groundbreaking bus tour protesting Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, “Right to Serve” is an LGBT event in which everyone devoted to true equality—gay or straight, open or closeted, liberal or conservative—can participate. The day after finals end, students from Harvard College and the various graduate schools will embark on a weeklong journey that will highlight the injustice of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The bus tour will make four stops across the country; and at each stop, one openly gay Harvard student will attempt to enlist for military service. When their desire to serve is rejected, participants on the tour will sit-in at the recruitment station to highlight the injustice of denying a citizen the right to serve based solely on their sexual orientation."

For more information, contact Jarret at president@harvarddems.com

When: Sat, May 24 at 5:00 pm to Sat, May 31 at 5:00 pm

http://harvarddems.com/node/3569