A lot of bad news out there…

• My heart goes out to the Norwegian people, and God bless Norway’s Prime Minister Jens Stoltenbergfor his immediate response to the horrific attacks on his people: “You will not destroy our democracy. No one will ever scare us from being Norway.”
• As many as eleven killed in protests in Syria today, and apparently more than 50 killed in the past week alone, as Syrians continue to march out into their streets, knowing they face live ammunition, in order to demand their rights and human dignity. Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told AFP: “More than 1.2 million people marched. In Deir az Zor there were more than 550,000, and in Hama more than 650,000.”
• And let’s not forget that just last week, more than 100 Indians were killed in three coordinated bombings.
• And then there’s our own damn debt ceiling talks (though I must admit, I’m always glad when POTUS pulls out the angry eyebrows…).
• (Not to mention all manner of other things that I can’t even bring myself to think about just now).

SO, I turn, as I so often do these days, to the one steady supply of good news: America’s LGBTQ community.

DON’T ASK DON’T TELL IS A THING OF THE PAST!

President Barack Obama signs the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 during a ceremony at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., Dec. 22, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

President Barack Obama has put his signature to certification of the repeal of the military’s anti-gay “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which means that the ban on openly gay and lesbian members of the U.S. military officially ends in 60 days, or on Sept. 20.

“Today, we have taken the final major step toward ending the discriminatory ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ law that undermines our military readiness and violates American principles of fairness and equality,” the president said today after signing the repeal certification, adding that he had indeed “certified and notified Congress that the requirements for repeal have been met.”

The president continued, “As Commander in Chief, I have always been confident that our dedicated men and women in uniform would transition to a new policy in an orderly manner that preserves unit cohesion, recruitment, retention and military effectiveness. … Our military will no longer be deprived of the talents and skills of patriotic Americans just because they happen to be gay or lesbian.”

Obama also praised “our civilian and military leadership for moving forward in the careful and deliberate manner that this change requires, especially with our nation at war.”

That will make for a lovely birthday present, thank you very much US Congress and President Obama! When I wake up on my birthday on September 21, America will be one nice, big step closer to perfecting our union.

And thank you, LGBTQ community, for continuing to fight for that greater perfection. Your straight brothers and sisters owe you a debt of gratitude — and not just because you’re the only folks who deliver good news anymore.