Hello I must be going! + A call to anti-DADT arms.

The week began with a single, solitary book review on my professional plate — and wham! By late Monday morning, it was jam-packed with a book review, plus not one, not two, not even three, but four projects for the PR firm for which I often write.

As a constantly scrambling freelancer, I’m loathe to ever say no to such offers, and as a constantly scrambling freelancer who’s about to leave her desk and the country for two weeks, I was especially happy to sock some cash away before getting on a jet plane.

But what that’s meant is that I’ve been consistently about three hours behind, every day this week, and as the jet plane looms ever larger, there comes a point at which there are no more minutes to squeeze out. Who suffers most in these circumstances? You do, dear reader, as I neglect the blog for filthy lucre and family responsibility.

I hope to be able to write tomorrow about the upcoming trip (to Israel, natch. Why can’t I ever pull out my passport for more relaxing climes?), but if the laundry and packing and (no doubt) errands conspire against me — well, I’ll cross that bridge when pushed onto it by my burgeoning pile of duties.

In the meantime, I’ve decided to run what amounts to a guest post, by my old Jezebel buddy Nefarious Newt (permalinked over there on the Jezebel blogroll). Newt quite rightly calls on us to stand up for our fellow Americans, and urge John McCain to stop using his influence to block the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. If you have the time and inclination, it would be most estimable of you to do as Newt asks.

Do Ask, Do Tell

It is not often this commentator ask his audience to do more than read his words and perhaps take some meaning from them for yourselves, but at this time and place, I am imploring as many of you as read this to take an action, stand up for something which is right and proper, and perhaps change the course of history.

I speak of the execrable law known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” a Bill Clinton-era travesty that should never have been passed, or have been hammered down after it was first enacted, but instead was allowed to flourish, thereby depraving brave men and women of the armed forces, who happened to be gay, of their right as American citizens to defend their nation.

The Congress, specifically the Senate, has spent the better part of a year stalling action on the repeal, even after affirmations from the President, Secretary of Defense Gates, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Mullen. Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has consistently used his power and influence to derail all attempts at a fair hearing for the repeal of this unfathomable desecration of law. So, I am asking you, the people of America, to help him see the light, and push forward legislation to end this unwarranted and unnecessary law. You can use the following link to reach him: http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm. I urge you to take action, write Senator McCain, and tell him that he needs to end his pointless opposition to the repeal of this un-Constitutional law.

Below, is what I wrote to him:

Senator McCain:

With all due respect to your years of service to this country, first in the armed forces and now with the Federal government, I am appalled at your stance of the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” When all signs point to a nation and a military ready to move forward, as they did with allowing blacks, then women, to enter military service, you stand there with the unmitigated gall to block American citizens from their Constitutionally appointed right to defend the liberty of their country. I don’t pretend to understand your motivation, though I suspect politics and self-interest play more of a role than I thought they would for a man of your stature.

While I am not an Arizonan, I am an American, and while you do not represent me directly, you do represent the government of my nation, and while I cannot vouch for the veracity of the citizens of Arizona, I can say that for me, the idea that a decorated war veteran and legislator such as yourself cannot see the implications of his position, is audacity incarnate. You would strip rights from American citizens without so much as another thought, due to some unknown defect of thought which keeps you from seeing the clear light of day. Members of the LGBT community are people first, American citizens second, and anything else third. If they choose to serve their country and are prepared to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of those who would denigrate and repudiate them and their orientation, then I consider that the highest form of moral conduct, and that, more than anything, is what our country needs right now.

I implore you — bring legislation to the floor, attached to nothing, calling for the repeal of this barbarous and execrable act called “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Do it for the good of the country, do it for the good of the armed services, but also do it because it is the right and decent thing to do.

Please, let us do what we must to right an injustice: write Senator McCain.

Finally, let me just say that it’s well worth your while to read Nefarious Newt’s blog regularly — he writes with passion and compassion, and he will stir your conscience and occasionally your pride. He’s all right, the Newt is.

Advertisement

Posted by emilylhauser on November 17, 2010

http://emilylhauserinmyhead.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/hello-i-must-be-going-a-call-to-anti-dadt-arms/