Our good friend Trevor Thomas is running for Congress in Michigan

Some exciting news this morning. Our very good friend, Trevor Thomas, just tweeted:

I don't believe @JustinAmash represents the Jerry Ford values of west MI; I'm running for Congress to put party aside and fight for our jobs

Yep, Trevor is running for Congress in Western Michigan. Trevor was the most amazing communications director for SLDN during the push to repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. John and I watched him in action every day during that battle. He's smart, savvy and committed -- and he wants to make a difference for his home town and home state.

Trevor's campaign website is here. From the announcement:

"It’s time for us to return to the values of Jerry Ford, who put politics aside to do what was best for our country,” Thomas said of his decision to run. “My parents’ generation helped put the world on wheels and furniture in our living rooms. Now it is our time to stand up and fight for Michigan families to ensure they get a fair shake."

Thomas has spent his career fighting for fairness, equality and opportunity. In Congress, he will stand up for working and middle class families – like the one he grew up in – and work to ensure all young people have a secure future in Michigan.

"It used to be that if people worked hard and played by the rules, they wouldn’t have to worry about things like job security, health care, or putting their kids through school,” Thomas said. “That’s no longer the case—and lawmakers in Washington have been too busy playing politics to do what’s best for the American people."

Justin Amash, the 31 year old incumbent Republican, is beloved by the Tea Party. His goal is to be the next Ron Paul. Seriously. That's his goal. It's all about Justin Amash, not his constituents.

I met Trevor on one of his first days in DC. He's made a significant contribution to public policy in this town. But, he's always wanted to go back to Michigan. (He never changed his cell phone from the 616 area code.)

Check out Trevor's video:

And, consider a contribution to Trevor's campaign. Donate here. Read the rest of this post...

Two female sailors share traditional 1st kiss of shore leave

A historic, and adorable, first took place yesterday when two sailors shared the traditional first kiss when one returned to land for shore leave. Up until now, only heterosexual couples have been selected to be the first to leave the boat to share the traditional kiss. The photo and video are adorable. Read the rest of this post...

Obama blasts GOP prez candidates for refusing to defend gay soldier who was booed

Fighting words from the President last night about the gay soldier who was booed by the GOP debate audience last week, and how none of the Republican candidates on stage said a word in the soldier's defense.

This is actually quite remarkable. This is the second (or possibly third) time the President has brought this issue up, VP Biden has brought it up at least twice, and Nancy Pelosi once during the Ellen show a few days ago. Actually, two things are remarkable - first, that the Democrats got their act together and coordinated a counter-attack against the GOP on an issue on which the Rs are vulnerable (seriously, that's great). Second, and just as important, is the fact that the President is really letting the Republicans have it over this issue. He's fighting back, hard, and quite sharply as well. It's the new "fighting Obama," and I like it.

And actually, there's a third remarkable thing here: that gay rights is being used as a wedge issue (and effectively) against the GOP presidential candidates. So much for all that talk about gay rights being the third rail of politics - it turns out it is; the GOP's third rail.

If you haven't already, please check out the video of the gay soldier being booed, then read and sign the open letter to the GOP presidential candidates from former members of the military who are demanding an apology. Read the rest of this post...

DOD: Military chaplains may conduct weddings for gay servicemembers

Ok, this counts as a wow. More over at AMERICAblog Gay. Read the rest of this post...

Pelosi blasts GOP prez candidates for refusing to denounce booing of gay soldier serving in Iraq

Nancy Pelosi on Ellen, moments ago:

PELOSI: Here we had a service member speaking from Iraq to that audience, questioning those candidates, and when the jeers, jeering a person who's serving our country, it's unthinkable, but on top of that, that none of the people who would be president, would be commander in chief, would call a halt, make a statement right then and there that that was totally unacceptable in our country.

ELLEN: Like you said, you know, serving in Iraq, and they're booing this guy...

PELOSI: Risking his life to protection American people. We take pride in their service to our country, we take pride in their contributions to our society, we take pride in their families.

(H/t ThinkProgress)

You'll recall that President Obama and Vice President Biden (here and again here) have both denounced the audience and the candidates.

Be sure to sign our open letter to the GOP candidates demanding that they apologize to the uniformed members of our armed services, over 10,000 have signed so far. Read the rest of this post...

The Angry Mob

Karen Finney, writing in The Hill:

Then, the unthinkable happened when the mob booed Stephen Hill, an American soldier currently serving in Iraq who happens to be gay. Not only did no one on the stage have the courage to stand up for Hill, none of the three debate moderators recognized the significance of that moment and asked the candidates about it. It brought back memories of another American hero, John Lewis, being called a racial slur that begins with “n,” by an angry mob during the healthcare debate. Simply shocking.

There have been some post-debate expressions of regret, but not much outrage. No one has apologized to Stephen Hill. At one point in time booing a service member — particularly one serving in a time of war — would have been quickly condemned, as Democratic leaders did in response to “General Betray-us,” which also crossed a line.

The question is whether anyone within the Republican Tea Party will have the courage to lead rather than feed the angry mob.

Over 9000 people have signed our open letter to the GOP candidates demanding they apologize for this affront to our troops.  Please sign it and send it around. Read the rest of this post...

New DNC video about gay soldier being booed by GOP debate crowd

Over 8700 people have signed our open letter to the GOP candidates demanding they apologize for this affront to our troops.  Please sign it and send it around. Read the rest of this post...

White House suggests "boo"-gate shows GOP don’t have what it takes to be commander-in-chief

Via Matt Negrin at Politico:

“I think the president was particularly struck by a question asked by a U.S. soldier stationed in Iraq about ‘don’t ask, don’t tell,’ when he was booed by audience members and not a single candidate for president, people who think they have what it takes to be commander-in-chief, said anything about that when he is there defending our country,” [White House spokesman Jay] Carney said.

The White House spokesman speaking out an issue like this is not insignificant, especially with such strong words. It comes on the heels of the President speaking out on it yesterday, and of ABC reporting that while Santorum, Hunstman and Johnson criticized the boos (after the fact), Romney, Perry, Bachmann, Gingrich and Cain are still refusing to denounce the audience members who booed a US soldier serving in combat.

And remember, as ABC reported earlier, several candidates on the stage heard the boos, and one of them is certain the other candidates heard them too.

But several other presidential candidates told ABC News that they did hear the boos ring through the Orange County Convention Center... [Former NM Governor Gary] Johnson added that he could hear the boos from the stage and believes that the other candidates – despite Santorum’s denial – could as well.

As White House spokesman Carney said above, some commander in chief any of these Republicans would be when they can't even defend their own troops.

Over 8700 people have signed our open letter to the GOP candidates demanding they apologize for this affront to our troops.  Please sign it and send it around. Read the rest of this post...

Obama slams GOP for booing gay soldier. A lesson in how fighting back works.

I reported earlier on AMERICAblog Gay that the President slammed the Republicans yesterday for Thursday night's Fox/Google debate in which the GOP audience booed a US soldier serving in Iraq simply because he was gay.

At his first fundraiser in San Jose, President Obama took aim at Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry, without naming the Texas governor by name, and was critical of the recent GOP debates. He said the 2012 election will be "a contest of values."

"Some of you here may be folks who actually used to be Republicans but are puzzled by what's happened to that party, are puzzled by what's happening to that party. I mean, has anybody been watching the debates lately? You've got a governor whose state is on fire denying climate change," he said, to applause. "It's true. You've got audiences cheering at the prospect of somebody dying because they don't have health care and booing a service member in Iraq because they're gay.

"That's not reflective of who we are," Mr. Obama said. "This is a choice about the fundamental direction of our country. 2008 was an important direction. 2012 is a more important election."

Well, someone posted that blog post to Reddit (which has a decidedly liberal community), and it's currently the number one post on that site, and brought us about 20,000 new visitors in the last two hours.

Not only in this story a win for Democratic politicians - and more should be jumping on it - but hitting back is also, apparently, a win for the President.  It got the left riled up.  And nowadays, how often can the Dems claims that they've riled liberals up, in a good way? Read the rest of this post...

GOP prez candidate says Santorum lied about not hearing boos of gay soldier at GOP debate

Things are heating up.  A GOP presidential candidate, who was on the dais with Rick Santorum Thursday night, says Santorum isn't telling the truth when he told the media that he didn't hear the gay soldier being booed by the audience.

Also, it's interesting to note that while Huntsman, Santorum and Johnson all denounced the boos, Romney, Perry, Bachmann and Gingrich are now refusing to denounce the boos.

So basically, Romney, Perry, Bachmann and Gingrich stand behind the audience's booing of a US soldier serving in combat. More from AMERICAblog Gay.

Make sure you sign, and send around (retweet, Facebook) our open letter from former military members calling on all the GOP candidates to apologize for not saying a word in defense of the gay American soldier who was literally booed by the GOP debate audience.   Nearly 7000 people have signed.  Have you? Read the rest of this post...

Those Taiwanese animators are not thrilled by the GOP debate outbursts

Make sure you sign, and send around (retweet, Facebook) our open letter from former military members calling on all the GOP candidates to apologize for not saying a word in defense of the gay American soldier who was literally booed by the GOP debate audience.  Nearly 6000 people have signed.  Have you?

Read the rest of this post...

Former military call on GOP prez candidates to apologize

UPDATE: Rick Santorum has now been forced to join Jon Huntsman in condemning the audience for booing at the GOP debate. But where are the other 7 GOP candidates who said nothing? Where is Bachmann and Gingrich and Romney and Perry?
________

Last night, during the Republican presidential debate, an American soldier serving in Iraq was booed by the audience simply for saying that he was gay, and for asking a question about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

And none of the GOP candidates on stage said a word in his defense.

Please sign on to the open letter by former Army Captains Tanya L. Domi, James E. Pietrangelo, II, Brenda S. "Sue" Fulton, Jonathan Hopkins, and former West Point cadet Katherine Miller, each of whom had a lead role in bringing down "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," demanding that all the Republican presidential candidates denounce the disrespect that was shown to soldier Stephen Hill during the Republican debate. The more signatures we get, the more the media will pressure politicians to stand up.

To the Republican presidential candidates:

Each and every one of you owes our American service members an apology.

Thursday night, during the Republican presidential debate in Florida, an American soldier serving in Iraq was booed by the audience simply for saying that he was gay, and for asking a question about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

Nine of you were on that stage, and none of you said a word.

After the debate, one lone candidate, Jon Huntsman, had the decency to speak out in defense of the soldier, saying: "You know, we’re all Americans, and the fact that he is an American who put on the uniform says something good about him."

This isn't about politics, it doesn't matter if you're a Republican or a Democrat, and it has nothing to do with where you stand on the issue of gays in the military. This is about showing an American service member a basic level of respect for serving this country.

We urge each of you to speak out against the disrespectful way in which soldier Stephen Hill was treated during your debate.

Sincerely,

Tanya L. Domi, former Army Captain
James E. Pietrangelo, II, former Army Captain
Brenda S. "Sue" Fulton, former Army Captain
Jonathan Hopkins, former Army Captain
Katherine Miller, former West Point cadet
John Aravosis, AMERICAblog

Read the rest of this post...

GOP presidential debate audience boos US soldier serving in Iraq because he’s gay

If a Democratic debate audience had done this, it would be the only thing we heard about for the next 14 months. They just booed a US soldier serving in combat. Think about that. This is what the Republican party has become. A bunch of far-right bigots and extremists. The Tea Party and the evangelical nuts run the entire thing now.

And watch Rick Santorum not say a peep when these right-wing freaks are booing a US soldier serving in combat.

Read the rest of this post...

Now that Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell is gone

The US military's ban on gays serving openly ended last night at midnight.  It's a good day in America, and a nice way to start the morning.

Some further thoughts over at AMERICAblog Gay.

And I don't know why, I just really wanted to post this.  It's absolutely positively not work safe.  But it still gives me a chuckle.

PS A whole lot of gay 18 year olds are just figuring out that now they can get drafted too ;-)

(And check out the video I posted last night of what seems to be a US service member in Germany coming out to his dad in Alabama by phone just last night.) Read the rest of this post...

Obama, White House announce that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is gone

More at AMERICAblog Gay, including a video purporting to be a US service member stationed in Germany coming out to his father in Alabama by phone, on camera. Read the rest of this post...

Judge finds prima facie evidence that US government may have "vindictively prosecuted" Dan Choi

At issue is whether the US government is seeking a harsher charge against former Lt. Dan Choi, for handcuffing himself to the White House fence as a protest against the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, than would have been sought against others who protest routinely at the White House fence.

The judge seems to think Dan has a case, at least enough to proceed.  And it is awfully suspicious why the government is pursuing this rather high profile gay case at the same time the administration claims it wants to kiss and make up with the gay community as next year's election approaches.  This is not the way to kiss and make up.  Which thus makes one wonder if the entire thing is politically motivated.  It seems the judge is curious too.  More on AMERICAblog Gay. Read the rest of this post...

Defense Secretary, Joint Chiefs will certify DADT repeal today

A critical step will be achieved today when Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and the Joint Chiefs certify DADT repeal. Stars and Stripes:

The Department of Defense will certify Friday that the military is ready for the repeal of the controversial "don't ask, don't tell" law, setting the stage for openly gay troops to begin serving in the military in late September, U.S. officials confirmed.

The certification comes after months of training for military personnel to prepare them for the presence of openly gay uniformed colleagues for the first time in history, and starts the 60-day waiting period before the law is completely removed.

Under rules outlined by Congress in December, the president, defense secretary and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were required to certify that the services are ready for the dramatic personnel change before the law could be repealed.

The President has to certify the repeal, then send it Congress. From that point, there's another 60-day wait until DADT is officially over. Certification and the 60-day wait were compromises added to the DADT repeal legislation last May.

Ending DADT is now viewed as one of the top achievements of the Obama administration. The President mentions it at almost every Democratic fundraising event. But, as we watch the President capitulate on Social Security and Medicare, it's important to remember that passing DADT repeal in 2010 was never the plan of the Obama administration. That was forced on them by members of Congress, SLDN, SU, GetEQUAL, LGBT bloggers and committed "direct action" activists. The usual suspects in DC (HRC and other insiders like CAP's Winnie Stachelberg) were willing to go along with whatever Jim Messina told them. It was a struggle and a lot of folks bear scars. (Check out John's post, Understanding LGBT disappointment with Obama.)

It's key to remember that back in February of 2010, Robert Gates announced that he was conducting a DADT study, due on December 1, 2010 -- and he wanted no legislation til the study was completed. He wasn't thinking lame duck. He meant 2011. Imagine where we'd be in this Congress with DADT repeal if the White House plan prevailed.

My point isn't to denigrate what's happening today. It's great. But, there's an important back story. Progressives should heed the lessons of DADT repeal.

The White House geniuses, led by Messina and Rahm, thought taking up gay issues was politically dangerous. They were wrong about that -- and wrong about so much more. That's continuing with the new crew in charge of the White House. They are damaging relations with the rest of the Democratic base. Read the rest of this post...

9th Circuit again tells Obama administration to stop discharging gays

The President promised ago that he would certify the end of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy "in weeks, not months."  The court seems to be telling them that the gig is up.  Just do it. Read the rest of this post...

Court rules that DADT can't be enforced, anywhere, starting now

Big breaking news on the Don't Ask, Don't Tell front. Read the rest of this post...

Another gay servicemember discharged under DADT

Happy Pride! Read the rest of this post...