It’s shocking that it’s taken this long for the courts to intervene in this silliness, and perhaps more shocking that people in government don’t seen anything wrong with prayers at a public meeting. My suggestion: Read the First Amendment.
The Senate is now on the precipice of history. By a 63-33 vote, the Senate has ended debate on repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, sending it to a Senate vote and the likely passage of a repeal.
When that happens, and when it is signed by President Obama into law, lesbians and gays will no longer be forced to serve their country from the closet. They will have full citizenship rights.
That’s really what this has been about.
This poll, from Eagleton, is interesting because it seems to mirror what we know about the way people feel about Congress: They hate Congress but tend to like their congressman; they hate the state, but like their little part of it.
That’s essentially the way the Senate is treating a major civil rights issue — full citizenship for gay Americans.
There now appears to be enough support in the U.S. Senate to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the Clinton-era compromise on gays serving in the military that forced gays and lesbians to lie under oath or risk being drummed out of the service. The law, which was viewed as a necessary middle ground at the time by some was just another legal impediment to full citizenship for the LGBT community because it meant that gays and lesbians were restricted from serving unless they kept their true identities hidden. Openly gay men and women were not allowed to serve with an institution that has traditionally been one of the definitions of citizenship.
So, now that the House has passed its repeal, it is up to the Senate, which will try to fit it in. How magnanimous.
The headline on today’s NY Post Web site is a bit of a stretch — “Rivalry Renewed” — but I can’t blame the headline writer. Tonight offers the most meaningful Celtic-Knicks game in nearly two decades, even if it is too early to start calling it a rivalry.
The Knicks are playing their best ball in years, thanks to the best player they have had in uniform since Patrick Ewing (Amar’e Stoudamire) and Ray Felton’s imitation of Walt Frazier.
But the 16-9 Knicks can make a statement tonight, demonstrating that they belong in the discussion of legitimate playoff teams.
The Celtics remain the conference’s elite team, despite Miami’s spending splurge and the continued growth of Orlando bigman Dwight Howard. The team is riding a big winning streak of its own, so someone is going to see a streak end.
Let’s hope it’s the team in the green.
