something important

Dunno if you've heard this story yet, but an Army Lieutenant, Dan Choi recently was fired for coming out. Now the sad/scary thing about this is that it is a continuation of the boneheaded policies the Bush Administration implemented, in that Choi is an Arabic speaker, holding a degree in Arabic from West Point.

Yes, it's true that Don't ask/Don't tell was first passed into law under Clinton, but under Bush, during a FUCKING WAR in the FUCKING MIDDLE EAST, dozens of Arabic translators--who are probably real useful out in the field--were fired for violating 'Don't Ask/Don't Tell.'

This is from a letter Choi wrote:

'As an infantry officer, an Iraq combat veteran and a West Point graduate with a degree in Arabic, I refuse to lie to my commanders. I refuse to lie to my peers. I refuse to lie to my subordinates.

...

I have served for a decade under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" -- an immoral policy that forces American soldiers to lie about their sexual orientation. Worse, it forces others to tolerate deception. As I learned at West Point, deception and lies poison a unit and cripple a fighting force.'

The email I got directs you to this site, where you can sign a petition asking President Obama to reinstate Choi. Here's the video of Choi's interview with Rachel Maddow.



I urge you to sign the petition. It's not only time for our military to join the rest of us in the 21st century, it is not only common sense that we keep as many of the rare soldiers who are Arabic speakers as we can, it's simple justice.

Believe it or not, even Obama can fuck up too. Let's help him see the light.