I'll start this week's blog off with a story that happened today. Lt. Dan Choi, an openly gay National Guardsman, West Point graduate, and an officer fluent in Arabic and Korean appeared before the Federal Recognition Board made up of military officers. The board deliberated and recommended that Choi no longer be considered an officer because he violated "Don't Ask Don't Tell." If the recommended is followed, Choi will be given an honorable discharge and may lose some educational benefits.

This result was expected, and people have responded. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is currently looking at short term solutions until the law is changed. Writer Dan Savage went on Keith Obermann's show to criticize President Obama for not issuing an executive order to stop the discharges, and the White House and Congress to the indifference to the struggle for equality. Here's the video.


Choi's story is not a new one. Many from the military have been discharged under "Don't Ask Don't Tell." Former Secretary of the Army Clifford Alexander went on Rachel Maddow's shoe back in May to talk about the policy. I think his argument against DADT get to the very heart of the issue.


This next story happened on the day of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. Ironically it was an "inspection" by police on a gay bar in Fort Worth, Texas. Two Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents and police showed up at the Rainbow Lounge looking for patrons who had too much to drink. The justification for these bar "checks" are to prevent public intoxication and drunk driving. On this day the bar patrons accuse the police were more aggressive than they usually were, shoving patrons, and badgering them about how they had to drink that night. At some point some type of scuffle happened between patrons and the cops. The cops say that say patrons were "hostile" and "made sexually explicit movements", and the patrons accuse police of using excessive force against patrons. Whatever force was used, it was enough to put Chad Gibson in the hospital with a serious head injury that included bleeding in his brain. They cops simply said he was too drunk and fell while in their custody. You can go to the Dallas Voice to read eyewitness accounts, and also read updates on Chad.

This next story doesn't need much background information. This video comes from the Manifested Glory Ministries in Stamford, Connecticut. This church believes that gay people are possessed and those big ole' gay demons need to be exorcised. The video features a 16 year old boy, church overseer Kelvin Mckinney (he's the one doing the "exorcising"), and Apostle Patricia Mckinney (she's in the skirt and yellow top).


When you watch the video, what emotions does it evoke? Does it surprise you? What are your thoughts on the idea of gay possession? And, just for fun, what would a gay "demon" look like, what features would this little abomination have have? Would it wear Dolce and Gabbana? Would it be holding something? If so, what? Maybe it'd have a goatee (with glitter in it), wear lipstick, and some tight booty shorts. If you feel like making a picture of your gay "demon", send it to rickweber@student.com and I will post on the blog.

This is the last story for this post, but it's a good one. Wayne Besen in his article "Drop the Washington Crack Pipe" suggests that the movement get away from Washington politics for a while. He says that the current political discourse has "become an aphrodisiac that has seduced our community away from equally important issues." He goes on to bring up the issues of HIV/AIDS, the ex gay industry, increasing funds for youth thrown out of their homes, forming scholarships to help LGBT people get into school and stay in school, and global abuses of LGBT people around the world. It's a fantastic article, and it's a good reminder that there more issues than gay marriage and "Don't Ask Don't Tell." What issues would you like to see more of on this blog? Out of the issues mentioned in Besen's article, updates on the HIV/AIDS epidemic and international abuses speaks to me the most. I may need some help in the international abuses area. Perhaps, if people see any articles in that realm, they can email them to me. If you do email me, make sure I know who you are so I can give you credit for finding the article. I would also encourage that if you find an article that your passionate about, write a blog! I want to see more people contribute to the blog besides me, it's good to have someone else's voice in the mix.

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