DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL IS H.R. 2965 ~ HERE IS THE LIST OF WHO VOTED FOR AND AGAINST DADT

See below for the United States Senators' names and which way they voted for allowing gay people to serve in the military without fear of losing their jobs

But first~

This is a quote from the article Why is Obama leaving the grass roots on the sidelines? at www.washingtonpost.com

“…Obama needs a senior adviser whose job is to be a liaison to the movement that elected him…Obama needs twice as much grass-roots support in the next election - and he's not going to get it by sidelining his supporters…”

Why is Obama leaving the grass roots on the sidelines?

By Sam Graham-Felsen

Friday, December 17, 2010

In the wake of President Obama's deal to extend the Bush tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans, pundits have focused on how Obama has alienated the left. But the issue isn't the left - it's the list. Read the article by clicking the link: www.washingtonpost.com

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Of course, I don't believe that President Obama is reading all the letters that I have sent to him. But surely some staff members are calculating the subjects being addressed in our phone calls, letters and emails. I have addressed mostly Darfur. But also, other things, such as Health Care Reform. And most recently I addressed the very issue that I won't be joining his campaign next time around, stating the reasons. I am one of those who never had gotten engaged in the election process before. It is definitely not in my comfort zone to knock on doors, which I did for him in New Hampshire and Rhode Island. I am not in the demographic that he won: older generation, white, female. I will vote for him next time. But it is more that I will be voting against his opponent, than for him, as I stated in my email. And this is the very "list" that Sam Graham-Felsen is talking about.

Tonight the "list" received this email:

Sandra --

Moments ago, the Senate voted to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

When that bill reaches my desk, I will sign it, and this discriminatory law will be repealed.

Gay and lesbian service members -- brave Americans who enable our freedoms -- will no longer have to hide who they are.

The fight for civil rights, a struggle that continues, will no longer include this one.

This victory belongs to you. Without your commitment, the promise I made as a candidate would have remained just that.

Instead, you helped prove again that no one should underestimate this movement. Every phone call to a senator on the fence, every letter to the editor in a local paper, and every message in a congressional inbox makes it clear to those who would stand in the way of justice: We will not quit.

This victory also belongs to Senator Harry Reid, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and our many allies in Congress who refused to let politics get in the way of what was right.

Like you, they never gave up, and I want them to know how grateful we are for that commitment.

Will you join me in thanking them by adding your name to Organizing for America's letter?

I will make sure these messages are delivered -- you can also add a comment about what the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" means to you.

As Commander in Chief, I fought to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" because it weakens our national security and military readiness. It violates the fundamental American principles of equality and fairness.

But this victory is also personal.

I will never know what it feels like to be discriminated against because of my sexual orientation.

But I know my story would not be possible without the sacrifice and struggle of those who came before me -- many I will never meet, and can never thank.

I know this repeal is a crucial step for civil rights, and that it strengthens our military and national security. I know it is the right thing to do.

But the rightness of our cause does not guarantee success, and today, celebration of this historic step forward is tempered by the defeat of another -- the DREAM Act. I am incredibly disappointed that a minority of senators refused to move forward on this important, commonsense reform that most Americans understand is the right thing for our country. On this issue, our work must continue.

Today, I'm proud that we took these fights on.

Please join me in thanking those in Congress who helped make "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal possible:

http://my.barackobama.com/Repealed

Thank you,

Barack

I did click the link and thank those who worked toward repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, while adding my own little message:

To Majority Leader Reid, Speaker Pelosi, and all those who fought for repeal,

Thank you for your leadership in making sure "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is repealed before the end of the year.

Because of your commitment, gay and lesbian members of our military will be able to serve equally and openly. We are proud to stand with you.

I would like to specifically thank US PA Representative Patrick Murphy for his dedicated effort regarding this bill. And also for being the stalwart person that he is. (Please find a way to keep him working for America in D.C.) If I were gay, I would want to live my life in truth and this bill finally allows that to happen while being in the service.

Sincerely,

Sandra Hammel

I sat beside Patrick Murphy in New Hampshire, while we both made phone calls on behalf of Barack Obama's Presidential campaign during the primaries. Patrick ordered a sandwich as it was during the evening. And he gave me half his sandwich. Listening to him make the phone calls, was a treat. He was relaxed, unlike me who wasn't, enthusiastic and talked from the heart. He put you at ease just being around him. I am sorry that he lost his seat in the House of Representatives. The country needs people like Patrick Murphy in Congress.

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Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Do Tell what the repeal number is. H.R. 2965

The following is confusing and the "Measure" and "Title" below certainly makes for confusion, but I believe this is the Don't Ask, Don't Tell vote. Click on H.R. 2965 and I think it becomes clear that this is exactly what this vote is for. Briefly, this is what you read when you do click H.R. 2965 ~
H.R.2965
Latest Title: Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010
Sponsor: Rep Altmire, Jason [PA-4] (introduced 6/19/2009) Cosponsors (9)

Here is the breakdown~

H.R. 2965 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2009 )

U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 111^th Congress - 2^nd Session

as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate

Vote Summary

Question: On the Motion (Motion to Concur in the House Amendment to the Senate Amendment to H.R. 2965 )
Vote Number:	281	Vote Date:	December 18, 2010, 03:02 PM
Required For Majority:	1/2	Vote Result:	Motion Agreed to
Measure Number:	H.R. 2965 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2009 )
Measure Title:	A bill to amend the Small Business Act with respect to the Small Business Innovation Research Program and the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, and for other purposes.

Vote Counts:	YEAs	65
	NAYs	31
	Not Voting	4

Vote Summary

By Senator Name

By Vote Position

By Home State

The vote can be found at www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00281

Senate ~ 65 - 31 and 4 "no votes"

Grouped By Vote Position

YEAs ---65
Akaka (D-HI) Baucus (D-MT) Bayh (D-IN) Begich (D-AK) Bennet (D-CO) Bingaman (D-NM) Boxer (D-CA) Brown (D-OH) Brown (R-MA) Burr (R-NC) Cantwell (D-WA) Cardin (D-MD) Carper (D-DE) Casey (D-PA) Collins (R-ME) Conrad (D-ND) Coons (D-DE) Dodd (D-CT) Dorgan (D-ND) Durbin (D-IL) Ensign (R-NV) Feingold (D-WI)	Feinstein (D-CA) Franken (D-MN) Gillibrand (D-NY) Hagan (D-NC) Harkin (D-IA) Inouye (D-HI) Johnson (D-SD) Kerry (D-MA) Kirk (R-IL) Klobuchar (D-MN) Kohl (D-WI) Landrieu (D-LA) Lautenberg (D-NJ) Leahy (D-VT) Levin (D-MI) Lieberman (ID-CT) Lincoln (D-AR) McCaskill (D-MO) Menendez (D-NJ) Merkley (D-OR) Mikulski (D-MD) Murkowski (R-AK)	Murray (D-WA) Nelson (D-FL) Nelson (D-NE) Pryor (D-AR) Reed (D-RI) Reid (D-NV) Rockefeller (D-WV) Sanders (I-VT) Schumer (D-NY) Shaheen (D-NH) Snowe (R-ME) Specter (D-PA) Stabenow (D-MI) Tester (D-MT) Udall (D-CO) Udall (D-NM) Voinovich (R-OH) Warner (D-VA) Webb (D-VA) Whitehouse (D-RI) Wyden (D-OR)

NAYs ---31
Alexander (R-TN) Barrasso (R-WY) Bennett (R-UT) Bond (R-MO) Brownback (R-KS) Chambliss (R-GA) Coburn (R-OK) Cochran (R-MS) Corker (R-TN) Cornyn (R-TX) Crapo (R-ID)	DeMint (R-SC) Enzi (R-WY) Graham (R-SC) Grassley (R-IA) Hutchison (R-TX) Inhofe (R-OK) Isakson (R-GA) Johanns (R-NE) Kyl (R-AZ) LeMieux (R-FL) Lugar (R-IN)	McCain (R-AZ) McConnell (R-KY) Risch (R-ID) Roberts (R-KS) Sessions (R-AL) Shelby (R-AL) Thune (R-SD) Vitter (R-LA) Wicker (R-MS)

Not Voting - 4
Bunning (R-KY) Gregg (R-NH)	Hatch (R-UT) Manchin (D-WV)

The House voted 250 to 175 to repeal the 17-year-old law; 15 Republicans voted for the bill, and 15 Democrats voted against it.

Washington Office

Patrick Murphy
1609 Longworth HOB

Washington, DC 20515

(202) 225-4276

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About The DREAM Act

S.729 - Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act of 2009

A bill to amend the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 to permit States to determine State residency for higher education purposes and to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain alien students who are long-term United States residents and who entered the United States as children, and for other purposes.

Source: www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s729/show

The DREAM Act

dreamact.info

Over three million students graduate from U.S. high schools every year. Most get the opportunity to test their dreams and live their American story. However, a group of approximately 65,000 youth do not get this opportunity; they are smeared with an inherited title, an illegal immigrant. These youth have lived in the United States for most of their lives and want nothing more than to be recognized for what they are, Americans.

The DREAM Act is a bipartisan legislation ‒ pioneered by Sen. Orin Hatch [R-UT] and Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL] ‒ that can solve this hemorrhaging injustice in our society. Under the rigorous provisions of the DREAM Act, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a 6 year long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service.

This bill would have given states the authority to repeal the denial of an unlawful alien’s eligibility for higher education benefits, which have been previously tied state-residency. Additionally, it allowed for the adjustment from status of alien to conditional permanent resident and outlines the criteria for such an adjustment by the Secretary of Homeland Security. The bill and its equivalent in the House, H.R.1751, is just as controversial as most other immigration related bills, such as, H.R.1868, the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2009.

I DON'T READ MANY BOOKS, BUT THIS ONE IS A MUST READ

I own lots of books. I check out books from the library. But to be truthful, I don't read many books. Rarely do I get through an entire book, even when I start it. I read biographies, non-fiction, seldom does a fiction book get more than a promise that some day I'll sit with it. And yet, I prefer the book over the kindle and similar inventions. And when I do read a book, I like to mark it up for favorite lines and passages.

Yesterday, I sat down and finished a book that I had started a few weeks ago, liked and wanted to finish. But that has happened before, the wanting part and the book never gets read. But, I had a day that I decided to sit down and actually use the hours to read. No television on as background to my life, no music, no computer to gobble up my attention and time. First, I went to bed early the night before, which is also a rare thing for me to do and I took the book to bed and read a little before closing my eyes. In the morning, as the pen went dry that I was journaling with I decided to get my day started and then sit down with Michele Norris' book, The Grace of Silence. That is the book I finished yesterday. Of course, knowing that it was due at the library tomorrow was a bit of a motivation. And my son, inspired me, as well. He loves to read books and spoke of it on Saturday.

This book was an inspiration to me because I want to write about chapters in my life. And it was also relevant because the years that she wrote of her father's life was during the time I was about to be born and the time my father was also the age to go into the service for World War II as her dad was.

I highly recommend this book and hope that high schools and colleges will put it on their reading lists. It should be included certainly on history course book lists.


Click on the images to enlarge


The chapter The War at Home is worth the price of the book.




There is an excerpt at Michele Norris' website.

You can buy the book at Amazon

Or you can check it out at your library. It is a "must read" if you want to take the advice from someone who doesn't take the time to read a book very often.

The portion below from page 81 in the chapter Service is relevant to the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy today by Senator Mc Cain and the like. The color added is mine.

Over the course of my father's enlistment, the navy adopted new attitudes toward Negroes and their abilities, deciding that the marginalization of men with able bodies and agile minds only served to undermine the war effort. In February 1945, the navy published a new pamphlet for all naval officers, called the Guide to Command of Negro Naval Personnel, it spelled out the reversal of p0licy: "In modern total warfare any avoidable waste of manpower can only be viewed as material aid to the enemy. Restriction, because of racial theories, of the contribution of any individual to the war effort is a serious waste of human resources." 6

Personally, war is a waste of human resources to me. But Michele Norris book is about racism in the USA and she covers it in ways that I never learned about in my history courses.

These pictures are not from The Grace of Silence. The link is below for more pictures of African Americans who fought in World War II

US Army

1. "On parade, the 41st Engineers at Ft. Bragg, NC in color guard ceremony." N.D. 208-NP-4HHH-2. (african_americans_wwii_001.jpg)

2. "An MP on motorcycle stands ready to answer all calls around his area. Columbus, Georgia." April 13, 1942. Pfc. Victor Tampone. 111-SC-134951.

Pictures of african-americans World War II

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Also, I saw the HBO documentary Wartorn-1861-2010 recently. It is about post-traumatic stress and the veterans and their families who live with the effects of it after serving in the military.

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The Buzz

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Film Clip 1

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Film Clip 2

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synopsis

WHAT IS THE REAL REASON WE KICK OUT GAYS FROM THE SERVICE OF THE COUNTRY?

Justice and freedom are the ultimate things
that we can have
and make sure others have

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Uploaded by ekirent

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Uploaded by milkywaystar

The text at youtube from milkywaystar

On October 6, 2008 it will be ten years since Matthew Shepard was the victim of a violent anti-gay hate crime on the outskirts Laramie, Wyoming. On October 12, 2008 it will be ten years since Matthew Shepard succumbed to the atrocious injuries he incurred.

At the conclusion of one of his killer's trials on November 4, 1999, Matthew's father, Dennis, delivered this speech in court.

This is a partial re-enactment/dramatazation from the actual speech and is an audio excerpt from the 2002 HBO film "The Laramie Project" in which Terry Kinney played the part of Dennis Shepard.

Another very moving delivery of this speech as seen on a stage setting, performed by Cory Richards, can be found here

Mr. Shepard's full speech/statement can be read here

To learn more about what can be done, please visit Matthew Shepard

Many states have their own hate crimes legislation, but there are several that do not. It has been a long battle to try to a get a federal bill that includes LGBT citizens and we're not there yet -- please write your senators and congressperson to let them know it is important. Senator Kennedy has been spearheading a bill and has been doing a great job. The cause must continue.

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Uploaded by hrcmedia

Click post title to hear Elton John speak about Matthew.

Don't Ask, Don't Tell is a denial of justice and freedom.