by Mel Weiss

Truth/Out…and Lots of Women

I’d say if there are two things other than the economy and healthcare gripping the minds of the people around me, it would have to be
the truth—generally in regards to things like, Did the Speaker of the House know about memos approving torture and when did she know it? and what the @$#!*& happened in Afghanistan?—and… those who are out. Gays keeps racking up news cycles, not just because of the gay marriage wave sweeping the Northeast, but also because of renewed interest in DADT, the genius policy that has allowed thousands of able and willing United States soldiers to be removed from the military. (I love yelling back at the tv that Israel has been dealing with openly gay soldiers for years.) When Lt. Dan Choi—West Point graduate and Arab linguist—came out on the Rachel Maddow Show, he set in motion his own termination, recently served by letter. He’s not the only one. If that strikes you as absolutely absurd—as does the fact that the Obama administration has already decided not to deal with it right now—then really the only good news is that Jon Stewart agrees with you. That aside, it’s pretty ugly.

I have a minority opinion of the whole how-America-deals-with-gays thing—or a minority assessment, anyway. To my untrained mind, it seems that when government treats gay people differently than straight people, and does so without much by way of demonstrably factual basis, it’s following somebody’s religious code, and that’s really not okay with me. (Not that it should matter, but the fact that it’s not my religious code doesn’t help.)

Women are getting their fair share of attention, too. Secretary Sebelius’s new report on why the healthcare system particularly screws women deserves a read. (Did you know that women are not only 13% more likely to delay needed care, but that 43% of women go uninsured?) And it looks like Ruth Bader Ginsburg might get some female company on the bench; word on the street is that Obama is looking to appoint a woman to replace Justice Souter… though we’ll have to see what the minority has to say about that.

Sigh. Yes, we can…and um, maybe we will… Can we get back to you on that?

–Mel Weiss