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Post by Prinz Marcus von Anhalt.

Veterans Day Tribute

‘Take your best shot’ says man claiming to be former Marine at War Memorial

A man claiming to be a former U.S. Marine stood guard at the National War Memorial in Ottawa on Friday to pay tribute to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo, a reservist from Hamilton, Ont. who was shot dead while guarding the monument last week.

“That young corporal was a comrade in arms,” said the man, who identified himself as “Fox” Sinke and claimed he was a former Marine Major.

“That’s how I see it. So I’m paying tribute to him, as best I can. We are not intimidated. Take your best shot.”

Sinke was wearing a Marine uniform as he marched around the National War Memorial.

“There are those of us who understand what’s happening and we’re not gonna lie down for it,” he said. “Not gonna happen. That’s basically why I’m here. I’m just here to make my own little personal damn statement.”

In what sounds like a story straight from The Onion or The National Report, Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) stated that he opposed the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell because apparently all gay soldiers want to do is lay around and get massages all day.

I’ve listened to his comments, and even read a transcript of them, and I still can’t find a proper way to actually describe them. So I’ll just let his outrageous ignorance speak for itself:

I’ve had people say, “Hey, you know, there’s nothing wrong with gays in the military. Look at the Greeks.” Well, you know, they did have people come along who they loved that was the same sex and would give them massages before they went into battle. But you know what, it’s a different kind of fighting, it’s a different kind of war and if you’re sitting around getting massages all day ready to go into the big, planned battle, then you’re not going to last very long. It’s guerrilla fighting. You are going to be ultimately vulnerable to terrorism and, you know, if that’s what you start doing in the military like the Greeks did, as people have said, “Louie, you have got to understand, you don’t even know your history.” Oh, yes, I do. I know exactly. It’s not a good idea.

The main thing I get from this ridiculous diatribe is the utter and hateful disrespect he showed toward gay men and women serving in our military. He’s more or less saying that he doesn’t believe homosexuals serving in our military are capable of doing their job – because they’re too obsessed with “gay things.”

These are men and women who have risked their lives for this country (and some still are risking their lives overseas). Yet this disgusting pile of garbage has the gall to sit there and show such utter disdain and disrespect for them? Anyone who’s ever voted (or will vote) for this bottom-feeder should be ashamed of themselves.

But this all just ties in with the normal everyday hypocrisy show by so many on the right. Sure, they’ll profess their supposed “love and admiration” for our men and women in uniform – while showing nothing but absolute contempt toward those brave men and women who happen to be homosexual.

I guess to people like Gohmert, and those conservatives who support him and these anti-gay beliefs, the acts of bravery shown by gay members of our military don’t matter. Their courage means nothing and their sacrifices aren’t as selfless just because of their sexual orientation.

It’s an absolute embarrassment that this jackass is a representative of our government.

Dem. Candidate Withheld Info About His Military Service — TRUTH REVEALED!

And the truth that came out is exactly what you’d suspect from a soldier who is also a Democrat.

Legendary Boston Globe journalist Walter V. Robinson has built a huge career on exposing political clowns who lie about or exaggerate their military service and the honors they received while in service. But when he went after Seth Moulton — the Democratic nominee for Congress for Massachusetts Sixth Congressional District — he uncovered some “dirt” that he’s never uncovered before. Moulton is a decorated Marine and doesn’t tell people. Not even his parents.

Moulton, a Marine who saw fierce combat for months in Iraq, chose not to publicly disclose his awards. Robinson, however, reviewed an official summary of Seth Moulton’s five years of military service and discovered that Moulton was awarded the Bronze Star medal for valor and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal for valor. When pressed by Robinson, Moulton confessed.

From the The Boston Globe:

In 2003 and 2004, during weeks-long battles with Iraqi insurgents, then-Lieutenant Moulton “fearlessly exposed himself to enemy fire” while leading his platoon during pitched battles for control of Nasiriyah and Najaf south of Baghdad, according to citations for the medals that the Globe requested from the campaign.

Why so secretive?

In an interview, Moulton said he considers it unseemly to discuss his own awards for valor. “There is a healthy disrespect among veterans who served on the front lines for people who walk around telling war stories,’’ he said. What’s more, Moulton said he is uncomfortable calling attention to his own awards out of respect to “many others who did heroic things and received no awards at all.’’

Troop-Supporting GOP Blocks ENLIST Bill Which Would Grant Citizenship to Veterans

House Republicans stepped in on Friday to block legislation that would offer a path to citizenship to undocumented immigrants served honorably in the U.S. military.

Representative Jeff Denham (R-CA) proposed the bill, which he labeled the ENLIST Act, and said that he would submit it for a vote as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual defense bill which usually receives high levels of support from both sides of the political aisle.

The bill would not grant immediate citizenship, but it would allow those who qualified to become legal permanent residents — the first step to naturalization.

“No proposed ENLIST amendments to NDAA will be made in order,” said Doug Heyes, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA).

Cantor is fighting a contentious primary campaign against Tea Party favorite, Dave Brat, who opposes any form of immigration reform and has labeled Cantor as “too liberal” in a deep red district where he recently lost face when Tea Partier Fred Gruber won control of the Republican state convention over Cantor’s hand picked choice for Chairman.  Gruber supports Brat.

Denham’s bill had been enjoying bipartisan support until the Heritage Foundation’s political arm Heritage Action announced opposition to the measure and said that a vote for the bill which they labeled as “deplorable” would affect their rating for any legislator who did so.

Previously, Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) and Cantor expressed a desire to pass immigration reform, even though the chances of that happening have never been good. The House has already rejected the Senate’s comprehensive reform bill and with this announcement it appears that there is little hope that any measure will be passed before the mid-term elections in November.

There is widespread support in the nation for such reform, however, there are many Republican members of Congress — from very conservative districts — who do not dare support any legislation that will allow a path to citizenship for any immigrant for fear of a backlash from their constituency.

Denham, who represents a heavily Hispanic district, has not made any public statements since the announcement from Cantor’s office but had said previously that he expects getting his bill passed will be a long and difficult fight.

“I am prepared for a long-term fight on this,” he said.

Texas National Guard now openly-discriminating against gay troops

The Texas National Guard, in a major and growing snub to the Obama administration and the US Supreme Court, is refusing to provide federal married-housing benefits to gay National Guard members who are legally wed.

We had reported earlier on how a number of mostly-southern states, run by Republican governors, were refusing to abide by a Defense Department order that the spouses of all US service members, gay and straight, be treated equally in the US Armed Forces, following the US Supreme Court striking down a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) this past June, 2013.

That provision of DOMA forbade the federal government from providing federal benefits associated with marriage to same-sex couples, even if those couples were legally married in one of the growing number of US states that recognize gay unions.

With DOMA struck down, the government had no choice but to provide the benefits.

But a number of Republican governors in mostly-southern states have since done all they can to continue discriminating against gay service members.

First, the GOP governors had the National Guard refuse to issue identification cards for the spouses of gay troops, forcing them to go sometimes hundreds of miles to federal facilities, even though straight spouses can simply get their IDs from the nearest National Guard base.

Now, in Texas, according to the American Military Partner Association, the National Guard is refusing to provide federal housing benefits to married gay service members, even if they got their spouse an ID from a federal facility.

What’s even more interesting is the fact that most National Guard spending is paid for by the federal government, so these are federal dollars being denied to these service members families, and that would seem a clear violation of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down DOMA.

In Mississippi, for example, the federal government pays 99% of the Mississippi National Guard’s budget. Here’s from my earlier reporting:

The Mississippi National Guard annual report for fiscal year 2011 shows that the state of Mississippi appropriated almost $7.8 million for the state National Guard.  In that same year, the federal government gave the Mississippi National Guard $679 million. In 2012, the figures were similar: $685 million from the feds, $7.2 million from the state of Mississippi.

“By refusing to treat same-gender military couples equally, the Texas Military Forces, under the leadership of Governor Rick Perry, is creating a hostile climate of discrimination and has sent a strong message that Department of Defense policies and direct orders by the Secretary of Defense will not be followed,” said Stephen Peters, president of the American Military Partner Association. ”The position the state of Texas has taken is a direct assault on not only military and family readiness, but the integrity and viability of the chain of command. It is also direct evidence of why gay and lesbian service members should be protected under the Department of Defense non-discrimination policy and equal opportunity program.”

Initially, there were nine or so problem states: Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia and Indiana.

Indiana finally relented, and agreed to provide the IDs.

And South Carolina responded by telling the feds, in essence, that if they want blacks swimming in South Carolina pools, South Carolina will simply shut down the pools altogether, so no one can swim in them. South Carolina is now refusing to issue an ID to anyone, requiring all National Guard families, straight and gay, to go to federal facilities, which are not always nearby.  No word yet on whether South Carolina is going to balk at providing federal marriage benefits to gay couples.

These GOP governors, and state National Guards, are in the process of significantly eroding the power of the Pentagon and the commander in chief, in addition to quite likely thumbing their collective noses at the Supreme Court to boot.  It doesn’t get much more “Civil Rights Era” than this.

But just as bad, Rick Perry and the Republican party are now letting their official intolerance undermine the morale and cohesion, and overall readiness, of the US armed forces.  They are in a very real way undermining US national security in favor of their party’s hateful and spiteful dislike of minorities.

Overall, it was bad enough when these handful of states told Secretary Hagel to take a hike. But now, even when a “separate but equal” solution was found to the ID problem, the bigoted Republican states are back at it, poking the Pentagon yet again.

We look forward to Hagel, and President Obama – who tend to have a bigger stick – poking back shortly.

West Point To Host First Gay Wedding Between Two Men Today

For the first time in West Point's history, two men (both West Point graduates) will marry in the chapel of the military academy today. According to the AP:

Larry Choate III, class of 2009, will marry Daniel Lennox, class of 2007, on Saturday at the U.S. Military Academy's Cadet Chapel. West Point hosted two same-sex weddings of women in late 2012, more than a year after New York legalized gay marriage. But this is the first time two men are being wed at West Point...

Choate, 27, said the landmark Gothic chapel at the Hudson Valley academy is a special place and it's an honor to be wed there. He taught Sunday school at the chapel as a cadet and always thought of it as the place he would get married, if he could.

Both men are out of the military. Lennox, a 28-year-old from Washington, D.C, is getting his master's degree in business administration at Harvard University in Massachusetts. Choate, from Seattle, works at the business school there and is applying to Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

According a post on Choate's blog, the two men became engaged in March of this year, soon after Lennox's return from a year-long deployment in Afghanistan. The right side photo captured their reunion upon his return.

In a post from earlier this week, Choate writes about the excitement he and Lennox experienced after being handed their marriage license from a clerk in New York:

It was just a white paper form that came out of their laserjet printer and was embossed with the seal of the state of NY. It's real world value is next to nothing. But to us it's the official, legal recognition of our new life together. It's everything so many advocates and activists have devoted their lives to making possible.

ACLU Launches Petition as Florida Decides if It Too Will Deny Gay Troop Benefits

Florida's attorney general won't say if the Florida National Guard will comply with an order form the Pentagon to begin offering partner benefits to troops with same-sex spouses, the Miami Herald reports: 

Maj. Gen. Emmett R. Titshaw Jr., Florida’s adjutant general, wrote Attorney General Pam Bondi seeking the opinion on Sept. 6, essentially asking whether processing gay Guard members’ spouses for benefits would conflict with the state’s constitution, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Friday, Gerry Hammond, senior assistant attorney general, wrote Titshaw that his request for an opinion “provided insufficient information about the connection between the newly announced policy of the United States Secretary of Defense and your official duties as the head of the Florida Department of Military Affairs.”

...Hammond said Titshaw needs to conduct his own analysis first and then spell out for the attorney general’s office “the actions the new federal policy requires of” the Florida National Guard as well as “how any obligations imposed on you by the federal government might conflict with your duties under state law.”

So far, Texas, Misssissippi and Louisiana are refusing to comply with the order and process the spousal benefits, based on state laws banning same-sex marriage. 

The states' refusal has prompted the ACLU to launch a petition to Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. It reads:

Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana are set to defy your directive to provide federal benefits for the families of same-sex couples in the National Guard. When our service members serve our country at home or abroad, they need to know that their families will get the benefits they need, no matter what. We urge you to use the Department of Defense's authority to put these states in line and enforce equal access to benefits for all military families nationwide.

Gay Marine's Unit Gives Him 'Served with Pride' Rainbow Flag on Last Full Day of Service

Wrote the Marine on Reddit:

"Today's my unofficial last day as a Marine. This is what my unit gave me to say goodbye."

Rick Perry Turns Petty

Last month, the Pentagon announced it would extend the same benefits heterosexual couples receive, to same-sex couples with a spouse in the armed services. Today was the first day military members could file for benefits, but according to My San Antonio, the Texas National Guard, Texas Air Guard and Texas State Guard refused to accept claims from members in a same-sex marriage.

My SSA said Alicia Butler, married in California in 2009 to an Iraq veteran, was turned away from the Texas Military Forces headquarters in Austin today when she attempted to apply for benefits. Saying the state’s ban on gay marriage would not allow them to recognize the marriages of same-sex couples, they suggested Alicia, who has a five-month old son, drive almost ninety miles to Fort Hood, which is under federal jurisdiction.

“It’s so petty. It’s not like it’s going to stop us from registering or stop us from marrying. It’s a pointed way of saying, ‘We don’t like you,” Alicia remarked.

The commander of the Texas Military Forces, Major General John Nichols, defied the Pentagon order to begin treating same-sex couples in the same manner the Texas National Guard treats heterosexual couples, saying the Texas Constitution prohibited it. The general said he wouldn’t stop gay and lesbian soldiers from collecting equal benefits, but they would have to apply at a federally run base.

Governor Rick Perry’s office backed the Texas mutiny. A spokesman for the governor said the Texas Military Forces was a state agency, and had to follow Texas law.

A survey done today by the Associated Press found at least thirteen states that do not recognize same-sex marriages were accepting requests for identification cards and benefits as ordered by the Pentagon. Besides Texas, only Mississippi is known to have defied the Pentagon directive.

Obama Administration Says It Will No Longer Defend Law Barring Gay Veterans from Spousal Benefits

The Department of Justice won't enforce Title 38, a law barring gay veterans from spousal benefits, the Washington Blade reports:

In a letter dated Sept. 4, U.S. Attorney Eric Holder notifies U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) of the change in the way the Justice Department will enforce Title 38 of the U.S. code.

“[I]n light of subsequent developments and my recommendation, the President has directed the Executive Branch to cease enforcement of Sections 101(3) and 101(31) of Title 38,” Holder writes. “Decisions by the Executive Branch not to enforce federal laws are appropriately rare. Nonetheless, for the reasons described below, the unique circumstances here warrant non-enforcement.”

The HuffPost adds:

Holder said last year that the Justice Department would no longer defend Title 38 in court. But Wednesday’s announcement went even further, with DOJ finding that the legal basis laid out by the Supreme Court in the DOMA decision should nullify the marriage definition in the provision. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki said just last week that the spouses of gay veterans weren’t eligible for benefits because no court had found Title 38’s definitions to be unconstitutional.

Read more: http://www.towleroad.com/#ixzz2dxZcIkM6

Pentagon to Offer 10 Days Paid Leave for Gay Service Members to Travel to States Where They Can Marry

According to a Defense Department memo obtained by the Associated Press, the Pentagon is ready to extend benefits including housing and health care to the same-sex spouses of service members. However, rather than providing benefits to declared gay partners who are not married (which was in an earlier plan) the new plan would offer up to 10 days of leave to gay service members so they can travel to states where they may marry legally.

The AP reports:

While no final decisions have been made, the memo from Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to top defense leaders would reverse an earlier plan that would allow the same-sex partners of military members to sign a declaration form in order to receive limited benefits, such as access to military stores and some health and welfare programs.

"As the Supreme Court's ruling has made it possible for same-sex couples to marry and be afforded all benefits available to any military spouse and family, I have determined, consistent with the unanimous advice of the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, that the spousal and family benefits far outweigh the benefits that could be extended under a declaration system," Hagel wrote.

The plan is scheduled to take effect by the end of August.

Pentagon to Begin Issuing Same-Sex Domestic Partner Benefits on September 1

The Pentagon will begin issuing same-sex domestic partner benefits on September 1, the Washington Times reports:

The dependents’ ID cards will entitle partners to scores of benefits, as outlined by then-Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta in a February policy decision.

The ID card Web notice refers to same-sex domestic partners as “SSDPs.”

The benefits include education, survivor, commissary, travel, counseling and transportation, but not what some consider the armed forces’ premium perks — health care and housing allowances.

Mr. Panetta said the federal Defense of Marriage Act restricts those benefits to heterosexual couples, though the Pentagon has not ruled out offering them to homosexual couples at some point.

Still, the new benefits and special ID cards represent a victory for the gay rights movement in the wake of President Obama’s lifting the long-time ban on open homosexuals in the ranks.

An Army National Guard posting appeared to confirm the Washington Times report.

House Panel Adds Measure to Defense Bill That Would Protect Anti-Gay Harassment, Discrimination

An amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) offered by Rep. John Fleming (R-LA, pictured) was accepted by the House Armed Services Committee last night. Read it here. The amendment expands "conscience protections" in the NDAA, offering a 'license to bully' based on religious beliefs.
According to Outserve-SLDN:

If enacted, the Fleming amendment would protect inappropriate, defamatory, and discriminatory speech and actions – a significant expansion of current protections for beliefs – and would leave commanders with no recourse against such prejudicial conduct when it occurs in their units.

The group says the bill would also "compromise religious liberties of service members, erode the ability of military commanders to protect good order and discipline, and undermine the successful implementation of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal."
Raw Story adds:

“Basically, you can believe what you believe and not be punished for it, but if your actions based on those beliefs are counter to the Uniform Code of Military Justice or counter to what’s necessary, that can be held against you,” Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) explained last year, when the conscience protections were first added to the defense spending bill.

But Fleming’s amendment would require the Pentagon to accommodate religious “speech and actions” — not just beliefs.

Said Army veteran and OutServe-SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson, an ordained Baptist minister:

"Religious liberty is a core American value, and we support the accommodation of all beliefs. What we can never support is legislation that sanctions one belief at the expense of others and places unit cohesion, the safety of our troops, and their ability to accomplish the mission in jeopardy, and that’s exactly what this bill would do...The military already has in place policies that adequately protect a service member’s personal beliefs while also protecting unit cohesion and good order and discipline. This amendment is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to sabotage the climate of inclusion and respect for all that our Commander-in-Chief and Secretary of Defense have called for in our military, and would create a license to bully, harass, and discriminate against service members based on religion, gender, sexual orientation, or any number of other characteristics."

Important to Remember on Memorial Day