Panel wants openly gay guardsman discharged

A military review panel recommended Tuesday that National Guard Lt. Dan Choi, the gay Arabic translator who became a national figure in fighting the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy after declaring his sexuality on television, be discharged from the service.

The four-member Federal Recognition Board of Army officers in Syracuse, N.Y., had no recommendation Tuesday for how the 28-year-old should be discharged.

It’s recommendation that the Army no longer recognize Choi as an officer must be approved by the First Army commander and the chief of the National Guard Bureau before Choi would be discharged.

See Panel wants openly gay guardsman discharged San Francisco Chronicle -

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Colbert Debates Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell In Front Of Audience Of Active Troops

Stephen Colbert took on a formidable opponent last night in the debate over allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces: Himself. After an intro from George H.W. Bush and brief plug for Amp energy drink, Colbert One told Colbert Two that his gay Arabic translator had been fired, bringing the total to 59 in the past 5 years.
Colbert Two took a pro-gay stance, whereas Colbert One defended the army’s choice to fire these men. The segment was funny and intriguing, but Colbert (as a whole) seemed unwilling to take a hard stance on the issue while performing in front of an audience of active troops.
In the past Colbert has mocked “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in his typical pompous fashion, with much harsher rhetoric. See Colbert Debates Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell In Front Of Audience Of Active Troops

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Lt. Dan Choi, Gay Arabic Translator Discharged From Army, Gives Speech

Nearly a hundred protesters assembled Wednesday outside the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, CA where President Obama hosted a Democratic Party fundraiser.
Protest organizers called for Obama to repeal the government’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that exempts openly gay men and women from serving in the military.
Lt. Dan Choi, a West Point graduate and an Arabic translator, was discharged from the Army when he declared he was gay on national television. His conviction that the military’s policy is “a deadly poison” inspired him to lead the protest on Wednesday.
“There is a message that I want to give to Obama,” said Choi. “Stop forcing our soldiers to hide. Let them be free to serve.”
Undeterred by Tuesday’s decision by the California Supreme Court to uphold the ban on gay marriage passed by voters in November, Choi said to the crowd, “We can’t wait for somebody else to give us rights…. if we want rights, we have to fight for it. We have to earn it.” Choi ended his speech the same way it began, chanting, “Love is worth it.”
Pro-peace and anti-torture protesters took part in the demonstration as well. See Lt. Dan Choi, Gay Arabic Translator Discharged From Army, Gives Speech

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WATCH: “Daily Show” Takes On Army, White House Over Gay Translator’s Firing

A storm is brewing over President Obama’s refusal to intercede on the behalf of Dan Choi, an Arabic translator and lieutenant in the U.S. Army who was just dismissed for being gay. Choi went on the “Rachel Maddow Show” last week and said he intends “to fight it tooth and nail,” and that this kind of behavior “weakens the military.” 54 Arabic translators (and hundreds more servicemen) have been dismissed from the Army due to their sexuality.
Jon Stewart excoriated President Bush for his policies and President Obama for flip-flopping on the issue, saying:
“So it was okay to waterboard a guy 80 times but God forbid the guy who could understand what that prick was saying has a boyfriend? Waterboarding may make a prisoner talk, but it ain’t gonna make him talk English.”
He then introduced the following segment on the issue, in which John Oliver supported the Army’s choice with the “he’s gay” defense. He eventually screamed at Stewart saying, “I will not let you Cramer me.” See WATCH: “Daily Show” Takes On Army, White House Over Gay Translator’s Firing