Gay troops cheer ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ court ruling
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on July 8th, 2011 4:35 am by HL
Gay troops cheer ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ court ruling
BAGHDAD – Gay U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan said Thursday that a federal appeals court order to stop enforcement of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy puts them one step closer to revealing their sexual orientation without fear of retribution or dismissal.
A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ordered the Pentagon on Wednesday to cease investigations and discharges of service members in violation of the ban on gays serving openly in the military. The ruling noted that the Obama administration has said it thinks another federal law — the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriages — is unconstitutional.
Senators push deal to end ethanol subsidies this month
A bipartisan trio of senators announced Thursday that they have reached an agreement on a way to end ethanol subsidies immediately.
Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) told Senate leaders that their proposal would repeal the 45-cent ethanol blender credit at the end of July, saving $2 billion through the end of the year.
It would also end a tariff of 54 cents a gallon on foreign ethanolthis month. But it would extend a tax credit for green biofuels production for three years, expanding it to include fuels made from algae.
Jennifer Rubin: Are Republicans really ‘panicked’ about fundraising ?
Political pundits and mainstream reporters are fixated on polls and fundraising. Frankly, both provide easy stories with little thought or leg work. But such accounts provide readers with a misleading picture of elections and the political landscape.
As I’ve repeatedly observed, early polls are largely a function of name ID and have little predictive power for elections months away. Likewise, money is not the end-all or be-all in races. In 2008 Hillary Clinton had a huge money lead until then-candidate Barack Obama caught on and began to level the playing field.
House rejects bid to halt funding of military operations against Libya
The House on Thursday rejected a measure that would have withdrawn funding for U.S. military operations in Libya, although the amendment drew broad bipartisan support, including from a majority of Republicans.
The measure, which was offered as an amendment to a defense appropriations bill, failed on a 199 to 229 vote. It was sponsored by Reps. Dennis J. Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Justin Amash (R-Mich.) and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 13 other critics of U.S. involvement in Libya.
The measure states that “none of the funds made available by this Act may be used for the use of military force against Libya.”
