The Supreme dimissed a case against the Military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell Policy."
From CNN: During the presidential campaign last year, President Obama said he supported throwing out the federal law [of Don't ask Don't Tell]but has taken no specific action on the controversy.
The Justice Department said in a high court filing the law was "rationally related to the government's legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion."
The Obama administration had asked the high court not to take the case, and White House officials had said they would not object to homosexuals being kicked out of the armed services.
Gays and lesbians can only get married in 6 states (tenuously, because who knows when the public will be asked to vote against the constitution again). And, we continue to breed a culture of lies by saying you can't be honest about yourself and serve your country at the same time. What a bunch of hypocritical bullshit.
In other news:
Hook-ups are on the rise. Oh Noes. People are having sex out there! WTF NPR??
Cue: Marvin Gaye!
Domestic Violence is also on the rise in St. Paul and elsewhere in this economic downturn.
IF YOU NEED HELP IN MINNESOTA OR ANYWHERE ELSE
Call Lewis House in Eagan, MN (651-452-7288) or Hastings (651-437-1291). Phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Community Action Council's phone lines also are open 24 hours a day: 952-985-5300.
Or call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233.
If it's a medical emergency, dial 911.
TO HELP OTHERS
Donate to the Community Action Council by visiting communityactioncouncil.org or calling 952-985-5300.
To volunteer at Lewis House, visit the council's Web site or call 952-985-4020.
The Domestic Violence Resource Center out of Oregon has some sobering and horrifying statistics on Domestic Violence.On average, more than three women and one man are murdered by their intimate partners in this country every day. In 2000, 1,247 women were killed by an intimate partner. The same year, 440 men were killed by an intimate partner. Intimate partner homicides accounted for 30% of the murders of women and 5% percent of the murders of men.
(Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief, Intimate Partner Violence, 1993-2001, February 2003. Bureau of Justice Statistics, Intimate Partner Violence in the U.S. 1993-2004, 2006.)
WTF, people!!?? Don't hurt each other. Get help!!!!
Euna Lee and Laura Ling, US Journalists, were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor in North Korea. The Huffington post writes: "North Korean guards arrested Ling and Lee near the China-North Korean border on March 17. The two were reporting about the trafficking of North Korean women at the time of their arrest, and it's unclear if they strayed into the North or were grabbed by aggressive border guards who crossed into China. A cameraman and their local guide escaped."
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, said the 12-year sentence _ the maximum allowed under North Korean law _ may have been a reaction to recent "hard-line" threats by the U.S., including possible sanctions and putting North Korea back on a list of state sponsors of terrorism.
But he predicted the journalists' eventual release following diplomatic negotiations.
"The sentence doesn't mean much because the issue will be resolved diplomatically in the end," Kim said.
OKAY. I like that there might be an optimistic outcome and that you have to get the legal process has to get out of the way first. But, it's easy to say the sentence doesn't mean much, UNLESS YOU HAVE JUST BEEN SENTENCED TO 12 YEARS HARD LABOR IN A HOSTILE COUNTRY WITH NO DIPLOMATIC TIES TO ANYWHERE!WTF?! Dude. Those women are probably terrified. And, you're saying it doesn't mean much!!!
The NY Times has a few more details on this case.
I just read that the families of the women staged some sort of rally to call for the release. Also one of the women has a 4 year old child. How very sad!
ReplyDeleteI know! They were reporting on trafficking humans too!
ReplyDelete