Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Some common sense

Here's a great op-ed piece from Alan Simpson on don't ask don't tell. And here's the view from the the Post.

The army and marines seem on the verge of falling apart. I think they should be more concerned about that than whether gays are in the military.

As for Senator Simpson's piece it is just great. As he points out:

My thinking shifted when I read that the military was firing translators because they are gay. According to the Government Accountability Office, more than 300 language experts have been fired under "don't ask, don't tell," including more than 50 who are fluent in Arabic. This when even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently acknowledged the nation's "foreign language deficit" and how much our government needs Farsi and Arabic speakers. Is there a "straight" way to translate Arabic? Is there a "gay" Farsi? My God, we'd better start talking sense before it is too late. We need every able-bodied, smart patriot to help us win this war.


He concludes with:

Let us end "don't ask, don't tell." This policy has become a serious detriment to the readiness of America's forces as they attempt to accomplish what is arguably the most challenging mission in our long and cherished history.


Way to go Senator. And I'll also add it's nice to hear the voice of a real conservative who knows the meaning of the word instead of these people running around Washington using that label today.

3 comments:

Arthur Schenck said...

As I often say, it's about time that real conservatives took the Republican party back from the thugs who've been running it. Maybe this is a sign they finally are.

Jason in DC said...

Yes, it would be wonderful if that were indeed the case. There are some signs that that is happening. But never count out the right wing fundementalists. They still are very much in the driver's seat when it comes to the Republican party.

RambleRedhead said...

I can't say enough on the damage that Don't Ask Don't Tell has caused - I have the honor of talking with several military members on my podcast who were kicked out for being gay.