Here’s one of those screeds we know all too well around these parts. A writer named Dave Bohon purports to be reporting the news straight about active duty military personnel being allowed to march in uniform for the first time in the San Diego pride parade, but you can just hear the butthurt coming through in every line:
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) appears to be bending over backwards to make certain that homosexuals feel accepted and valued in the military.
‘Bout time. Gays have been fighting and dying for this country since its inception.
On July 21, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta permitted active duty military personnel to march in uniform in San Diego’s notorious “gay pride” parade, the first time such an allowance has been made.
“Notorious” to whom? It’s a parade. They happen all the time, for lots of reasons.
As reported by The New American, in June Panetta and the Pentagon joined homosexual troops in marking June as “gay pride” month. In a June 15 video message Panetta thanked “gay” military personnel for their service to the nation — both during and since the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the Defense Department policy that had officially banned homosexuals from military service.
1. Panetta did not thank “gay” personnel. He thanked gay personnel. I assure you that Leon Panetta isn’t such a man-child that he puts scare quotes around the word.
2. DADT did not ban homosexuals from military service. It simply required that they take an oath to lie.
The AP noted that uniformed soldiers in Canada and Great Britain “have marched down the streets of Toronto and London next to scantily clad men, drag queens and civil rights activists” in similar parades.
And yet they survived.
“Today is so important,” bubbled Navy Lieutenant Brian McKinney, who participated in the parade with his same-sex partner. “It’s about putting on my uniform and taking pride in my service, my fellow service-members, my family, and myself. It’s something I’m incredibly thankful for.”
“Bubbled,” did he? Did he also high-kick and pas de chat?
Peculiarly, while the Defense Department appears to be okay with soldiers appearing in uniform at events endorsing a lifestyle that was banned in the military for over 200 years
The military also used to segregate black and white soldiers. I know how wingnuts feel about ter-dish-un, but come on.
it frowns on uniformed personnel appearing at traditional events re-affirming America’s political liberties. As reported in March by the Des Moines Register, the U.S. Army Reserve reprimanded one of its soldiers, Jesse Thorsen, after he appeared on national television in his military uniform to endorse Ron Paul for president on the night of the Iowa caucuses.
Oh, this is so simple. Active duty troops can’t publicly endorse candidates. It’s, like, the rules. Marching in a pride parade is not tantamount to endorsing any sort of candidate or participating in a partisan political activity, regardless of how much gay Republicans whine about how they don’t feel welcome. The writer, wingnut though he is, still should at least exhibit a passing awareness of military regulations if he’s going to attempt to write about the military.
As with parades, military personnel are officially banned from appearing in uniform at political events (a rule Thorsen most likely was not aware of). The DOD made special allowance for the personnel marching in the San Diego homosexual parade, but offered no similar concession for Thorsen’s apparent slip.
Oh, he does know it. He’s simply whining, then.
The New American noted that since the September 2011 repeal of DADT, “the integration of an openly homosexual sub-culture within America’s armed forces has moved forward at breakneck speed.”
On your mark, get set, disco!
The once-underground Outserve, a contingent of homosexual activists within the U.S. military, has been given an unofficial nod of approval from DOD and claims that its membership has blossomed to 5,500 active-duty members.
And at West Point, once a bastion of squared-away military discipline
I surmise that the wingnut believes that West Point has gone soft. The wingnut, though, remains a complete tuff guy.
Observed Air Force officer Josh Seefried, one of OutServe’s spokespersons, of the increasing saturation of America’s military with homosexual sensibilities: “I don’t think it’s just moving along smoothly — I think it’s accelerating faster than we even thought the military would as far as progress goes.”
And as I said above, ’bout time. The military itself is not freaked out about this. Why are armchair wingnuts? Do they really have nothing better to think about?
