Latest Posts
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Repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy Takes Effect
If you woke up this morning and the air smelled a little gayer, but also a touch safer, it wasn't thanks to the Broadway show tunes that lulled you to sleep last night. More likely, it was because as of 12:01 this morning, the policy known as Don't Ask, Don't Tell was formally consigned to the dustbin of irrationally prejudiced history.
Turns out the moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward fabulousness…
The 18-year-old "don't ask, don’t tell" policy officially ended at midnight and with it the discharges that removed more than 13,000 men and women from the military under the old ban on openly gay troops. To mark the historic change, gay rights groups are planning celebrations across the country while Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will usher in the new era at a Pentagon news conference.
The other side will be heard, too: Elaine Donnelly, a longtime opponent of allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the armed forces, has already said that "as of Tuesday the commander in chief will own the San Francisco military he has created." Two top Republicans on the House Armed Services Committee — the chairman, Representative Howard P. McKeon of California, and Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina — have asked the Pentagon to delay the new policy, saying commanders in the field are not ready. But the Pentagon has moved on.
I have so many questions about this "San Francisco military" and the "Rainbow Warriors" who may now serve openly. Will feather boas become mandatory accessories to the Army Combat Uniform? Will the score to La Cage aux Folles replace morning reveille? Will nefarious San Francisco values displace the martial virtues that keep us safe? A letter sent by top commanders to U.S. Army soldiers provides some guidance…
For over 236 years, the U.S. Army has been an extraordinary force for good in the world. Our Soldiers are the most agile, adaptable and capable warriors in history — and we are ready for this change…
Accordingly, we expect all personnel to follow our Values by implementing the repeal fully, fairly and in accordance with policy guidance. It is the duty of all personnel to treat each other with dignity and respect, while maintaining good order and discipline throughout our ranks. Doing so, will help the U.S. Army remain the Strength of the Nation.
Sounds like business as usual. Except now, when gay soldiers do the difficult work of defending Congressmen McKeon and Wilson's rights to be petty and bigoted brats, they can do so while being true to themselves. Progress.
Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Tags: DADT, Elaine Donnelly, Howard McKeon, Joe Wilson, Leon Panetta, LGBT, Mike Mullen, Military -
You Can Stop Worrying About Joe Wilson Now
Some happy news from South Carolina: Rep. Joe Wilson–shouter, orator, hero, martyr–has been released from the hospital where he was being treated for a fever. (This is the point at which I should mention that Rep. Joe Wilson was in a hospital being treated for a fever.)At first Rep. Wilson thought he had been bitten by a tick while doing yard work, and then he thought he'd gotten overheated from spending too much time in the sun, but turns out he had some sort of viral infection. Fret not, however! Rep. Joe Wilson has health insurance, so he got the medical help he needed, and his chief of staff wrote in a statement that "complete recovery is expected."
At least, I assume his chief of staff wrote that statement. Could've been Genetech. It's so hard to tell.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Tags: Health, Health Care, Joe Wilson, South Carolina -
Lewis Black Covers the National Embarrassments of Our Time
Right in the middle of a news cycle in which it seems like the entire country is chanting "Weiner! Weiner! Weiner!" as though they were attempting to summon some sort of juvenile fertility deity, it's a little hard to remember that we have weathered previous country-wide mortification.
But please allow The Daily Show's Lewis Black — who will be co-hosting Comedy Central's live digital feed of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival's comedy stage on June 12th — to refresh your memory…
Eliot Spitzer
More American shame after the jump…
The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.
Tags: Bonnaroo, Corporations, Eliot Spitzer, Enron, House of Representatives, Joe Wilson, Lewis Black, Michael Jackson, Scandalgate, Senate, Strom Thurmond, The Daily Show, Video -
The New Big Dogs of the U.S. House of Representatives
Last week, we, the people, went to the polls and overwhelmingly voted to send a message loud and clear to Congress. "We don't like these assholes who've been running things for four years! We want those other assholes in charge!" So it is voted, so it is done. Now — to help us all get acquainted with some of the people who will be banging the gavels, calling the shots and shaping opinion into policy — let's think of this collection of The Daily Show clips as a sort of Getting to Know You exercise, shall we?
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A Boner in the GOP
More clips after the jump.
The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.
Tags: Eric Cantor, House of Representatives, Joe Barton, Joe Wilson, John Boehner, Jon Stewart, Michele Bachmann, Mike Pence, Republicans, The Daily Show, Video -
The Daily Show's Top "What'd We Miss?" Videos
Vacation, all [Jon] ever wanted. Vacation, [Jon is] happy to get away. But catching up with all the work can be a hassle. There are papers to be filed in the paper filing system, staples to be put into… stapling filing systems. Listen, I clearly don't know what normal people do in offices.The point is, it's no different for Jon Stewart returning to The Daily Show. The news never stops, even during their holidays and breaks, and some politicians have even taken advantage of that fact.
Case in point, Sarah Palin resigned as the Governor of Alaska on July 3rd to avoid the media coverage. And everyone was able to retain all their respect and admiration for her as a result and no one mentioned it ever again. Or the opposite.
The Daily Show airs Monday through Thursday at 11pm / 10c.
Click after the jump to continue reading.
Tags: Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Joe Wilson, Jon Stewart, Saddam Hussein, Sarah Palin, Shirley Sherrod, The Daily Show, Video
