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Listen, we know we are not Canada or Europe but every little bit of progress we make is a big deal truly.

Had the Republicans/teabaggers their way we would go back in time and never change from there. I think we might even see slavery again given the chance for some of the bastards we fight against everyday here in the USA.

The USA is like a bad parent who teaches ~ "do as I say not as I do." We preach equality and human freedom but we do not deliver the same to our own citizens, just insist that other countries do to get our money for AID/Relief!!

Human rights have a long way to go here in the USA, but this was a small step in the right direction and one that was hard fought to obtain.

@CountAchee:

Yay, good news I imagine that at this moment GaGa is crying her heart out of happiness ::)
Step by step LGBT people are being respected a little more and discriminated a little less

Indeed and this is what we call progress :jaj:

::)


The infamous Tit Pig ~ WOOOOOOOOFFFFFffffffffffff!!!!!!

Hair interferes with the suction of the cups so shave your nipples a bit.Electric pumps are what you need to achieve this size nipples. Constant attention thru pinching and or tit clamps will help also. Clamps you can wear for hours are what you need.

WASHINGTON (Dec. 18) – The Senate's 65-31 vote to end the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military was more than historic. It was a long time coming. But for the men and women whose lives and careers were touched for so many years by the ban, it was mostly personal.

For Grethe Cammermeyer, the Vietnam combat nurse who came out as a lesbian in 1989 and whose struggle to stay in the military made her famous, the Senate vote brought tears. It's "the relief of finally seeing that we can serve with dignity and with integrity and that people no longer have to lie," she said.

For Wally Kutteles, whose stepson, Army Pfc. Barry Winchell, was bludgeoned to death in 1999 by a fellow soldier after months of harassment and whose death shined a light on gay-bashing in the ranks, the repeal meant the 21-year-old did not die in vain. "It's about time," he said.

Decorated Vietnam veteran Margarethe Cammermeyer, shown here in 2005, says a repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" means gay service members will "no longer have to lie."

And for Garrison Phillips, a Korean War veteran who never made headlines but is one of 1 million gays and lesbians who served their country in the closet, the policy's end is cause to "fly a rainbow flag on my Chevrolet Equinox and be able to be openly proud of the image in which I was created."

For advocates who have worked for decades to overturn the military's ban on homosexuality and then the "wink-wink, nod-nod" Clinton-era compromise that Adm. Michael Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stunningly testified undermined the military's "integrity," the importance of the vote could not be understated.

"It is the most significant LGBT civil rights legislation ever passed," said Dixon Osburn, co-founder the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has represented ousted troops since the ban started 17 years ago. Today is his birthday and the vote was "the best birthday present I could have asked for."

The vote "will very likely be a life-changing moment for gay and lesbian troops," said Alexander Nicholson, executive director of Servicemembers United and a former Army interrogator who was discharged under the policy.

The repeal will help dispel the hedonistic "myth that gay people are not capable of being patriotic," said Nathaniel Frank, author of "Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America." "This victory changes all that and shows how far we've come."

Not Over Yet

Conservative critics of repeal did not answer requests for comment by AOL News. But many had made clear they will punish lawmakers who voted to overturn the ban and warned others their support for gays in the military is a "losing cause."

There was exultation among the former and current service members who looked on from the Senate gallery today as first the measure cleared a procedural hurdle and then was approved to be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature.

Even then, though, "don't ask, don't tell" will remain the law for the estimated 71,000 gays and lesbians now serving.

Once the president signs the bill next week, he, along with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Mullen, must certify that implementing repeal will maintain military readiness and effectiveness and not harm unit cohesion, recruiting or retention. Repeal becomes effective 60 days later.

If history is a guide, the change is unlikely to go off without a hitch. President Harry Truman ordered the end of segregation in the military in 1948, but racial tensions festered for decades into the Vietnam era. Women still face sexual harassment and other abuse despite serving on the front lines in Afghanistan.

"Until society gets these things right it's not going to be full, equal treatment within the military but something that will evolve over time," said Cammermeyer, who signed up as an Army student nurse in 1961, when married women were not allowed to serve.

The 31-year military veteran, one of the few who have successfully sued for reinstatement after being discharged for their sexual orientation, said military laws against sodomy and other "housekeeping details" must be dealt with as well.

Ripples Beyond the Military

It is difficult to argue with Kevin Naff, editor of the gay Washington Blade newspaper, that there has been "an incredible sea change in the way the culture views this issue from 1993 to today."

Polls show broad public acceptance of openly gay and lesbian military service members. A growing list of Republicans have gotten on board, including eight senators who voted for repeal. And even those who fought hardest against gays in the military have had a change of heart.

Naff recalled how then Senate Armed Services Chairman Sam Nunn took reporters on tours of cramped submarines in 1993 to demonstrate why allowing openly gay sailors was a bad idea. Now, amid mainstream media accounts of decorated combat veterans booted for being gay, Nunn says the policy should be overturned.

The impact of today's Senate vote, which comes as the controversial issue of gay marriage moves through the legal system up to the U.S. Supreme Court, is certain to ripple beyond the armed forces.

"This is the linchpin for our movement," said Brad Luna, a former spokesman for the gay advocacy group Human Rights Campaign who now runs a media consulting firm. "Once you establish that, yes, gays and lesbians have the right to fight and die for their country, it opens up the door for so many other issues," such as marriage, adoption and the extension of federal benefits to same-sex couples.

Gay rights advocates heralded the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts in 2004, a move followed by other states. Yet the military repeal marks the first time gays have been granted "federal equality," Luna said.

That sets a precedent for tackling the federal Defense of Marriage Act, another Clinton-era law that allows states to refuse recognition to same-sex relationships legally sanctioned by other states. The Pentagon cites DOMA as a barrier to extending to same-sex couples certain benefits, such as housing allowances, that it gives married military personnel.

With the Democratically controlled 111th Congress on its last legs before a less-friendly Republican House arrives next month, the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" may prove the last good bit of legislative news for gay advocates for at least the next two years.

But in the days leading up to today's momentous vote, those who had been in the trenches of combat and the cultural wars paused to reflect on a battle that began in the 1970s when Air Force Tech Sgt. Leonard Matlovich first challenged the ban on gays.

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After dying of AIDS, the Vietnam veteran was buried beneath a nameless tombstone that spoke for all gays who served in silence:"When I was in the military, they gave me a medal for killing two men and a discharge for loving one."

In more recent days, when it looked as if the repeal would fail, some like West Point graduate Dan Choi broke from the stress. But others stuck it out until the mission was accomplished.

For former Air Force Maj. Michael Almy, who recently sued to be reinstated, the vote means he can retire from his second job as an activist – which included escorting Lady Gaga at the MTV Video Music Awards to raise awareness -- and resume his 13-year military career.

"Repeal," he said, "will mean that gay and lesbian Americans are no longer treated as second-class citizens, unworthy to defend our nation without pretending to be something they are not."

By ANNE FLAHERTY, Associated Press Anne Flaherty, Associated Press – 39 mins ago

WASHINGTON – In a landmark for gay rights, the Senate on Saturday voted to let gays serve openly in the military, giving President Barack Obama the chance to fulfill a campaign promise and repeal the 17-year policy known as "don't ask, don't tell."

Obama was expected to sign it next week, although the change wouldn't take immediate effect. The legislation says the president and his top military advisers must certify that lifting the ban won't hurt troops' fighting ability. After that, there's a 60-day waiting period for the military.
[ For complete coverage of politics and policy, go to Yahoo! Politics ]

"It is time to close this chapter in our history," Obama said in a statement after a test vote cleared the way for final action. "It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed."

The Senate vote was 65-31. The House had passed an identical version of the bill, 250-175, on Wednesday.

Repeal would mean that, for the first time in American history, gays would be openly accepted by the military and could acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out.

More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law.

Rounding up a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate was a historic victory for Obama, who made repeal a campaign promise in 2008. It also was a political triumph for congressional Democrats who struggled in the final hours of the postelection session to overcome GOP objections on several legislative priorities before Republicans regain control of the House in January.

"As Barry Goldwater said, 'You don't have to be straight to shoot straight,'" said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., referring to the late GOP senator from Arizona.

Sen. John McCain, Obama's GOP rival in 2008, led the opposition. The Arizona Republican acknowledged he didn't have the votes to stop the bill and he blamed elite liberals with no military experience for pushing their social agenda on troops during wartime.

"They will do what is asked of them," McCain said of service members. "But don't think there won't be a great cost."

In the end, six GOP senators broke with their party on the procedural vote to let the bill move ahead and swung behind repeal after a recent Pentagon study concluded the ban could be lifted without hurting the ability of troops to fight. On the final vote for passage, eight Republicans joined the majority Democrats.

Advocacy groups who lobbied hard for repeal hailed the vote as a significant step forward in gay rights. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network called the issue the "defining civil rights initiative of this decade."

Supporters of repeal filled the visitor seats overlooking the Senate floor, ready to protest had the bill failed.

"This has been a long fought battle, but this failed and discriminatory law will now be history," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

The Pentagon study found that two-thirds of service members didn't think changing the law would have much of an effect. But of those who did predict negative consequences, a majority were assigned to combat arms units. Nearly 60 percent of the Marine Corps and Army combat units, such as infantry and special operations, said in the survey they thought repealing the law would hurt their units' ability to fight.

The Pentagon's uniformed chiefs are divided on whether this resistance might pose serious problems.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos has said he thinks lifting the ban during wartime could cost lives.

"I don't want to lose any Marines to the distraction," he told reporters this week. "I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (Naval Medical Center) with no legs be the result of any type of distraction."

Adm. Mike Mullen and Marine Gen. James Cartwright, the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively, have said the fear of disruption is overblown. They note the Pentagon's finding that 92 percent of troops who believe they have served with a gay person saw no effect on their units' morale or effectiveness. Among Marines in combat roles who said they have served alongside a gay person, 84 percent said there was no impact.

and this dick pulls out in front of me….........


:jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj: :jaj:

Anne Flaherty
AP
WASHINGTON - In a landmark vote for gay rights, the Senate on Saturday voted to advance legislation that would overturn the military ban on openly gay troops known as "don't ask, don't tell."

The 63-33 test vote all but guarantees the legislation will pass the Senate, possibly by day's end, and reach the president's desk before the new year.

The House had passed an identical version of the bill, 250-174, earlier this week.

Repeal would mean that, for the first time in American history, gays would be openly accepted by the military and could acknowledge their sexual orientation without fear of being kicked out.

More than 13,500 service members have been dismissed under the 1993 law.

Rounding up a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate was a historic victory for President Barack Obama, who made repeal of the 17-year-old policy a campaign promise in 2008. It also was a political triumph for congressional Democrats who struggled in the final hours of the postelection session to overcome GOP objections on several legislative priorities before Republicans regain control of the House in January.

"As Barry Goldwater said, 'You don't have to be straight to shoot straight,'" said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., referring to the late GOP senator from Arizona.

Even after the measure were to become law, the policy change wouldn't go into effect right away. Obama and his military advisers would have certify that the change wouldn't hurt the ability of troops to fight, and there would also be a 60-day waiting period.

Some have predicted the process could take as long as a year before Bill Clinton-era policy is repealed.

Sen. John McCain, Obama's GOP rival in 2008, led the opposition. Speaking on the Senate floor minutes before the vote, the Arizona Republican acknowledged he didn't have the votes to stop the bill. He blamed elite liberals with no military experience for pushing their social agenda on troops during wartime.

"They will do what is asked of them," McCain said of service members. "But don't think there won't be a great cost."

In the end, enough GOP senators broke with their party and swung behind repeal after a recent Pentagon study concluded the ban could be lifted without hurting the ability of troops to fight.

Advocacy groups who lobbied hard for repeal hailed the vote as a significant step forward in gay rights. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network called the issue the "defining civil rights initiative of this decade."

Supporters of repeal filled the visitor seats overlooking the Senate floor, ready to protest had the bill failed.

"This has been a long fought battle, but this failed and discriminatory law will now be history," said Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign.

The Pentagon study found that two-thirds of service members didn't think changing the law would have much of an effect. But of those who did predict negative consequences, a majority were assigned to combat arms units. Nearly 60 percent of the Marine Corps and Army combat units, such as infantry and special operations, said in the survey they thought repealing the law would hurt their units' ability to fight.

The Pentagon's uniformed chiefs are divided on whether this resistance might pose serious problems.

Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos has said he thinks lifting the ban during wartime could cost lives.

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"I don't want to lose any Marines to the distraction," he told reporters this week. "I don't want to have any Marines that I'm visiting at Bethesda (Naval Medical Center) with no legs be the result of any type of distraction."

Adm. Mike Mullen and Marine Gen. James Cartwright, the chairman and vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, respectively, have said the fear of disruption is overblown. They note the Pentagon's finding that 92 percent of troops who believe they have served with a gay person saw no effect on their units' morale or effectiveness. Among Marines in combat roles who said they have served alongside a gay person, 84 percent said there was no impact.

I did not know where else to put them