Student Must Pay $80,000 Due to 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Policy

Today over at Campus Progress I talked to a 21-year-old senior at UNC-Chapel Hill who came out as a lesbian to her ROTC commander and was discharged due to the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Now she may have to pay back nearly $80,000 in scholarship money. Check out the interview here.

Executively Repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Aaron Belkin at HuffPo reports that there's a "middle ground" to Don't Ask, Don't Tell thanks to af forthcoming military law study. Obama can use his position as commander-in-chief to issue an executive order to stop enforcement of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Stopping enforcement is the same as repealing it, so there really isn't a "middle ground" so much as getting around the annoying process of actually passing a law.

This all comes about because the military fired yet another Arabic-speaking linguist because he came out as gay. The reasons for continuing the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy become increasingly nonsensical. It is both wildly unpopular with the general public and actually serves as a detriment to the military's ability to attract the best and most qualified people.

Although legislation has been introduced to repeal the policy, not much has happened with it. Don't Ask, Don't Tell started as an executive order that was later codified into law. Perhaps the repeal will start the same way.

Repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Politico guesses that the notion of repealing "Don't Ask Don't Tell" will do the same thing it did for Clintion, "knocked him off message, sapped him of auathority, damaged his popularity ratings and left him with a reputation for being wishy-washy that stuck." This was brought about by Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher declaring today at CAP (my generous employer) that she is introducing legislation that would repeal DADT. But as usual, Politico gets it wrong again.

Sure, Obama may not have been looking forward to dealing with DADT this early in his administration, but Congress has already been thinking about repealing this bizarre policy for a few months now. It's not surprising they might start the ball rolling on this one. Furthermore, public opinion has swung in favor -- about 55 percent at last measure -- in favor of gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.

It's also important to remember that DADT is a policy that was enacted by Clinton and one that created a great deal of problems. Before, there just wasn't a policy about gays in the military. Now, although military officials aren't required to report it, if they are "outed" they must resign. By repealing this policy, it would allow the military to leave their private lives exactly where it should be -- in private.

Daily Show Commentary on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Asking About 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Today the House Armed Services committee is taking the time to discuss 'don't ask, don't tell.' The policy that was enacted under Clinton has become less and less popular over the last 15 years. I have a piece up at Comment is Free about it today. Check it out.