Diane Rehm Show

Just wondering if anyone heard Abu M and SWJ's own Robert Haddick on the Diane Rehm Show today (here's the link- hope Windows Media is all right for you), and if you listened to the almost hour-long discussion, what were your impressions? Particularly on the last viewer question (it's at least 40 min. in), and for those who don't care to sit through an hour's worth of audio, I'll just say, it was about Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Listen to it, please.

Quite aside from that particular issue, there were questions about whether we could sustain the war in Afghanistan, the impending defense budget cuts, and the QDR. Fun stuff. I suggest you listen.

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Originally Posted by Pattonmat89

Just wondering if anyone heard Abu M and SWJ's own Robert Haddick on the Diane Rehm Show today (here's the link- hope Windows Media is all right for you), and if you listened to the almost hour-long discussion, what were your impressions? Particularly on the last viewer question (it's at least 40 min. in), and for those who don't care to sit through an hour's worth of audio, I'll just say, it was about Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Listen to it, please.

Quite aside from that particular issue, there were questions about whether we could sustain the war in Afghanistan, the impending defense budget cuts, and the QDR. Fun stuff. I suggest you listen.

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Most of it supports( or is supported by much of whats been discussed here)

Appreciated the discussion on what factors are actually contributing to the various decision processes going on.

As to that last question- HMM

Under 40 so I forgot that was even still something being debated. Do think their probably right on the battle that would ensue if it were pushed

Probably why its been layin low. Two wars at a time are probably enough

Don't ask don't tell does not sit well with many old warriors, of which I am one.

We have unionized the national guard and reserve so that in the case of the Guard they only work a 4 day week, 10 hours a day. Now the homosexual lobby would like to "unionize and codify" their life style and force such on the majority of our straight military men and women.

The regular service is all volunary so I don't think we need to have to debate a social policy that is anethma to the good of the service, good order, and discipline. Homosexuals can look elsewhere for employment.

Men and women of deviant sexual orientation were codified by the American Psychiatic Assocation in the mid 1970s (when I was Assistant Commissioner for Budget for the Tennessee Dept. of Mental Health & Mental Retardation), mainly by the PhD Psychologist members, not MD Psychiatrist members at their yearly national meeting. Those who voted for redefining homosexuality as no longer a mental and behavorial disorder were predominently Psychologists (PhDs, not MDs) who were tired of struggling with the issue.

Parental patterns (single parenting), social conditioning in terms of one's choice of religion, or lack thereof totally, and many other factors go into this. Today's state laws allowing homosexuals to adopt children chills my blood.

Deviant behavior will always exist but we don't need to encourage or help it expand into society when clearly in the vast majority of all denominations, with rare exception, it is still most unwelcome and doctrinally not allowed.

The old love the sinner but not the sin is as about as kindly as I can offer my singular opinion. Love means wish them well personally, not otherwise.

Colin Powell did us no favors on this one. It is not a civil rights issue either, it is another example, my view, of self determined willfulness for some who are a distinct self created class to try to impose and force their views and opinions on all of society, whether society wants such info and views or not. I do not want their opinions and prefer they live their lives outside of the military. We have enough morale and recruiting problems already.

Sparta never had to have a debate about gays in the military; they were a gay military. The Athenian’s even had a joke they used to tell: How do they separate the men from the boys in Sparta? With a crowbar.