Showing posts with label Sen John McCain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sen John McCain. Show all posts
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Senator John McCain on Kim Jong Il
Perhaps you heard Senator John McCain's quote on Kim Jong Il, after his (Jong Il's) death: "The world is a better place now that Kim Jong-Il is no longer in it. I can only express satisfaction that the Dear Leader is joining the likes of Kadhafi, bin Laden, Hitler and Stalin in a warm corner of hell."
My take?
Seriously, for the sake of the country, if you can't say anything nice, Senator, don't say anything.
These are people with nuclear weapons.
There is an outside chance now is a time when maybe we could reach across the globe and no longer be enemies.
With all due respect, shut the hell up, Senator McCain.
Link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=143968279
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
The military on DADT today
With the release today of the government's survey of the military on the anti-gay "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, a great deal of attention has already been given to the whole subject lately and more yet will be given now, of course.
Completely ignoring the fact that it should be unconstitutional since it doesn't assume equal rights, let's look at this closer.
Unfortunately, first, the survey and its results were leaked early. That shouldn't have happened. I think it has the tendency to put everyone against the elimination of this policy on guard and ready to pounce, almost whatever the results.
Second, it looks, clearly, as though the survey was heavily biased against gays and against the repeal. An example:
Flawed aspects of the survey include the unnecessary use of terms that are known to be inflammatory and bias-inducing in social science research, such as the clinical term 'homosexual'; an overwhelming focus on the potential negative aspects of repeal and little or no inclusion of the potential positive aspects of repeal of the negative aspects of the current policy; the repeated and unusual suggestion that a co-worker or leader might need to 'discuss' the appropriate behavior and conduct with gay and lesbian troops," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former Army interrogator.
Third, it seems the big headlines I read about the leaked survey were that the Marines were against repealing it even though, when you dig through the actual statistics, that conclusion for a headline was only arrived at because the Marines were most against the repeal of the current policy by a 40% margin.
WTH?
Against it with a 40% margin?
Do the math, folks. That means 60% of Marines are for repealing this ignorant "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Sixty percent for. That's pretty solidly positive in anyone's book.
So, sure, it can be put in a headline that "Marines are most resistant to openly gay troops" but the headline would be far more accurate to say that most Marines are not resistant to openly gay troops.
Here's another flip side to the Marines story--Tammy Schultz, the Director of National Security and Joint Warfare at the US Marine Corps War College says that "resistance to ending 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is embedded in Marine culture...But she says Corps culture also makes Marines more likely to accept any eventual change in the policy."
In an effort to drive one more nail in the coffin of DADT, "The head of the US Marine Corps will fully cooperate with a repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy...Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said... In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," Mullen said there was 'no question' that Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos, an opponent of repealing the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy at this time, would implement all necessary changes to allow openly gay Marines to serve if Congress passes a repeal measure.
Finally, as if that all weren't enough, it was back on February 2 of this year, just after the President's State of the Union speech, that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that the Pentagon had already taken the first steps toward repealing this discriminatory policy.
So Senator John McCain can go all right wingy he wants on this and all his other issues but the fact is, the men and women of the US military are already behind this policy and statistically, the younger they are, the more they think it isn't an issue and that the DADT policy should go away.
Apparently the old, small-minded people who don't want change need to go away on this issue, at least.
To quote that old, right-wing Republican, Barry Goldwater, "You don't need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight."
It will be nice when this is no longer an issue.
Links: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/07/military_dont_ask_survey_070910w/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/SnapShots/dont-ask-dont-tell-marine_n_788709_68824090.html
http://www.npr.org/2010/11/22/131516365/op-ed-marines-can-handle-dadt-repeal
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-21/politics/mullen.marines.dadt_1_repeal-comprehensive-review-working-group-staff-chairman-adm?_s=PM:POLITICS
Completely ignoring the fact that it should be unconstitutional since it doesn't assume equal rights, let's look at this closer.
Unfortunately, first, the survey and its results were leaked early. That shouldn't have happened. I think it has the tendency to put everyone against the elimination of this policy on guard and ready to pounce, almost whatever the results.
Second, it looks, clearly, as though the survey was heavily biased against gays and against the repeal. An example:
Flawed aspects of the survey include the unnecessary use of terms that are known to be inflammatory and bias-inducing in social science research, such as the clinical term 'homosexual'; an overwhelming focus on the potential negative aspects of repeal and little or no inclusion of the potential positive aspects of repeal of the negative aspects of the current policy; the repeated and unusual suggestion that a co-worker or leader might need to 'discuss' the appropriate behavior and conduct with gay and lesbian troops," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United and a former Army interrogator.
Third, it seems the big headlines I read about the leaked survey were that the Marines were against repealing it even though, when you dig through the actual statistics, that conclusion for a headline was only arrived at because the Marines were most against the repeal of the current policy by a 40% margin.
WTH?
Against it with a 40% margin?
Do the math, folks. That means 60% of Marines are for repealing this ignorant "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Sixty percent for. That's pretty solidly positive in anyone's book.
So, sure, it can be put in a headline that "Marines are most resistant to openly gay troops" but the headline would be far more accurate to say that most Marines are not resistant to openly gay troops.
Here's another flip side to the Marines story--Tammy Schultz, the Director of National Security and Joint Warfare at the US Marine Corps War College says that "resistance to ending 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' is embedded in Marine culture...But she says Corps culture also makes Marines more likely to accept any eventual change in the policy."
In an effort to drive one more nail in the coffin of DADT, "The head of the US Marine Corps will fully cooperate with a repeal of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy...Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said... In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," Mullen said there was 'no question' that Marine Commandant Gen. James Amos, an opponent of repealing the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy at this time, would implement all necessary changes to allow openly gay Marines to serve if Congress passes a repeal measure.
Finally, as if that all weren't enough, it was back on February 2 of this year, just after the President's State of the Union speech, that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said that the Pentagon had already taken the first steps toward repealing this discriminatory policy.
So Senator John McCain can go all right wingy he wants on this and all his other issues but the fact is, the men and women of the US military are already behind this policy and statistically, the younger they are, the more they think it isn't an issue and that the DADT policy should go away.
Apparently the old, small-minded people who don't want change need to go away on this issue, at least.
To quote that old, right-wing Republican, Barry Goldwater, "You don't need to be straight to fight and die for your country. You just need to shoot straight."
It will be nice when this is no longer an issue.
Links: http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2010/07/military_dont_ask_survey_070910w/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/SnapShots/dont-ask-dont-tell-marine_n_788709_68824090.html
http://www.npr.org/2010/11/22/131516365/op-ed-marines-can-handle-dadt-repeal
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-21/politics/mullen.marines.dadt_1_repeal-comprehensive-review-working-group-staff-chairman-adm?_s=PM:POLITICS
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Quote of the day--on less government
"There is a strong conservative case to be made in favor of gay marriage," former McCain campaign manager and fellow same-sex marriage fundraiser Steve Schmidt told the Huffington Post on Tuesday. "Marriage is an institution that strengthens and stabilizes society. It is an institution that has the capacity to bring profound joy and happiness to people and it is a matter of equality and keeping faith of one of the charters of the nation, the right to live your life.
"More and more conservatives are saying that opposition to gay marriage would not be a litmus test for membership in the GOP," Schmidt added. "And more conservatives are making the case that no more do you want big government conservatives in the bedroom than big government liberals telling you how to live your life." Yeah. No kidding. Welcome to the 21st Century.
Link to original post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/31/mccain-campaign-chief-sch_n_700623.html
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Coming back to sanity?
There are two stories out today, telling of Senator John McCain backing off his call for the repeal of the 14th Amendment , thankfully, and a GOP candidate backing away from his original call for repeal of the 17th Amendment. Thank goodness. Could we all just calm down and back away from irrational, emotional absurdity and get back to a) accepting that we're all Americans--including not demonizing one another--b) agreeing that we need to define and prioritize our problems and issues and then c) discussing--again, calmly, unemotionally and rationally--what possible solutions we do have and that are available to us? Is it too much to ask? Can't we all just get along? Have a great weekend, y'all.
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