Urgent action ugrently needed for the urgent pushing of the urgent repeal of DADT urgently

I am part of the HRC's email action network and I received this email earlier today:

The Senate has a quick four-week session before they leave for the 2010 election. It's critical that they repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" in this short window – and time is running out.

Lots of people believe that repeal is a foregone conclusion. But I need you to know: this is not a done deal. We've had to fight to the end for every victory we've won, and this is no different.

If we don't speak up now, our window for repeal could close. Anti-gay constituents are calling Senate offices with lists of right-wing lies: that open military service would increase sexual assault, trample on the religious freedom of military chaplains, and put "twisted sexual desires" ahead of national security.

We have a 100-senator strategy to make sure bigotry and deception don't win out just before we reach the finish line.

It takes about 45 seconds to call each one of your senators and urge them to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" before they leave for the election. It's just as important for supportive senators to hear from us – they need to know we're counting on them to get a repeal to President Obama's desk this year.

You may never have called Congress. That's fine. It couldn't be simpler.

1. Before 5 p.m. ET, call Sen. Tom Coburn at (202) 224-5754 and Sen. James Inhofe at (202) 224-4721 – tell each staffer who answers where you live, so they know you are a constituent. Then say: "I'm calling to urge the Senator to push for repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' in the next four weeks, before the election."
2. Most calls end right there, but if you'd like, you can add:
* Americans recognize that on the battlefield, it doesn't matter whether a soldier is lesbian, gay or straight; what matters is that a soldier gets the job done.
* This law hurts military readiness and national security. It puts American soldiers at risk.
3. Be sure to make TWO calls – one to each of your senators.
4. IMPORTANT: After you hang up, click here to let us know that you made the call. This enables us to tell lawmakers just how many people have called.

Senate staff are accepting calls – and keeping tabs on what constituents care about, so senators will know what to focus on when they return for this short, busy session.

We've laid years of groundwork to get to this point, but unless we push harder than ever, there's no guarantee it will happen.

The House has already passed a repeal of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. This is the last step before it goes to President Obama's desk. So we need to turn up the pressure in the Senate to make sure our window of opportunity doesn't close!

Thanks for your help. Please pass this email on to your friends and family.

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
President

If you live in Oklahoma, please call senators James Inhofe and Tom Coburn. If you live in a different state, call the senate switchboard here - (202) 224-3121 It will direct you to your senators.

You won't regret calling! Trust me. I just did and I felt so empowered! >D

OVERTURNED

YES.

Just... YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES.

Proposition 8 OVERTURNED!

YES!

Unconstitutional.

Unofficial Copy of the Prop 8 Decision
Thank the people who made it happen

Proposition 8 case Perry vs. Schwarzenegger decision due tomorrow

It's happening tomorrow. The monumental court decision that will decide on the civil rights of gays and lesbians across California, declaring their right to marry or pushing them back to second-class citizenship.

The federal court announced today that it will release its decision in the American Foundation for Equal Right’s landmark case, Perry v. Schwarzenegger, on Wednesday. Text “EQUAL” to 69866 to get a text message with the official decision on your mobile phone the moment the court releases its decision, or sign-up for an email alert at equalrightsfoundation.org. Join AFER on its Web site to watch a live press conference with our plaintiffs and co-counsels Ted Olson and David Boies following the release of the decision. As we receive news about the details of the release, AFER will update our Facebook and Twitter profiles, along with our Web site.
(via Joe. My. God.)

Groundbreaking. Monumental. Historic. Immense. Significant.

Excited. Nervous. Anxious. Waiting. Hoping. Dreading. Expecting.

The Military

Here are some troubling statistics I bet you've never heard of:

In 2003, in a survey of female veterans conducted by the University of Iowa, funded by the US Department of Defense, 30% of the 500 female veterans interviewed reported an attempted or completed rape.

90% of rapes in the military are never reported.

84% of Navy women said they have been victims of sexual harassment.

Another 2003 report financed by the Department of Defense revealed that nearly one-third of a nationwide sample of female veterans seeking health care through the VA said they experienced rape or attempted rape during their service. Of that group, 37 percent said they were raped multiple times, and 14 percent reported they were gang raped.

A 2004 study of veterans from Vietnam and all the wars since, who were seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder, found that 71 percent of the women said they were sexually assaulted or raped while in the military.

In an earlier study conducted in 1992-93 with female veterans of the Gulf War and earlier wars, 90 percent said they had been sexually harassed in the military, which means anything from being pressured for sex to being relentlessly teased and stared at.

The results of a change in policy in 2005 allowing sexual assaults to be reported confidentially in �restricted reports� resulted in the number of reported assaults across the military jumping 40 percent, to 2,374, but still most are not reported.

A nine-month study of military rape by the Denver Post in 2003 found that nearly 5,000 accused military sex offenders had avoided prosecution since 1992.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8511010.stm
http://dissidentvoice.org/Apr07/Zeese14.htm
http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/Military%20Harassment.pdf

So, clearly heterosexual men should be banned from the military because they cannot control their lustful urges.

In all seriousness, these stories and statistics are not being reported on at the rate they're happening, but false statistics and ridiculous pretend situations are being studied and reported on at a rapid pace on how gay men will go on a crazy raping spree if allowed to serve openly in America's military. Yes, because that has been happening for years in the UK, Canada, Israel, Sweden, and Australia. Their militaries have just turned into one gigantic gay orgie.

So... taking the ASVAB this year should be fun.

(click to view full size)

People tend to get really defensive when I point out that the Bible has been translated and misused to deny people rights for generations.

Just because Christianity is the post prominent religion in the US, biblical principles should be forced on applied to everyone. It's not like we have freedom of religion in the United States or anything.

Look How Beautiful

(insert something inspirational here about how amazing newborns are and about how they give hope and new meaning to life)

Every summer. I enjoy these times.

10 years in the making.

Camp, camp Tallchief. Camp, camp Tallchief.

Camp Tallchief is a Girl Scout camp in Oklahoma. I've been attending for 10 years now as a camper and a CIT (counselor in training). Ever since I can remember, it has been my goal to be a CIT and eventually a counselor. I am so proud of this camp. It is amazing and employs amazing people that touch the lives of hundreds of girls each summer. Attending that camp has certainly changed my life, and I hope I can live up to the words, "Professional Role Model" that mark the back of Tallchief's staff shirts. I've certainly acquired several positive role models over the years from camp and I'm excited and nervous to take my place among them and be someone those campers can look up to.

I intern as a counselor for two weeks in July.

I <3 you, Camp Tallchief.