Friday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Obama is holding a press conference this morning. It begins at 11:00 AM Eastern from the East Room. This is a full blown presser, which he hasn't done for awhile. What he says should set the stage for the return of Congress next week and for the elections.

Last night, a federal judge in California issued a ruling that found Don't Ask, Don't Tell is unconstitutional. That is a huge development. The case was brought by the Log Cabin Republicans and two of its members: Alex Nicholson and "John Doe" (who could not be named publicly.) Alex currently serves as Executive Director of Servicemembers United. We owe a big thanks to LCR and Alex for their work on this suit. I've posted their reactions here. The DOJ fought them hard. But, DOJ lost. Now, the question becomes what will DOJ do moving forward? The Judge hasn't issued her final order yet. She's asked LCR to submit a proposed order on the permanent injunction, which will prevent enforcement of DADT. How hard Obama's DOJ fight this decision is a question a lot of people want to know. Be good if someone asked Obama today at his presser -- and ask about DOMA, too.

For now, Ted Olson (with David Boies, of course) and the Log Cabin Republicans are really leading the charge for LGBT equality. How about that?