schmevil | The Economist | Fisking Bill Kristol

This is a delicious must-read shredding of Bill Kristol's defense of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. With actual numbers to back them up The Economist exposes DADA for the blatant exercise in bigotry for what it is: a disgusting and absurd policy that's led to the discharge of 12,000 active duty soldiers, in the midst of two, large-scale, messy conflicts, that isn't even supported by a majority of soldiers.

It rests on the notion that some soldiers are homophobic and, therefore, any change to the policy might negatively affect morale. Yet he presents little evidence to back up his claim. Because I am startled by his blatant, unsupported, anachronistic bigotry, I thought I might amuse myself by offering up Mr Kristol's article in full, peppered with pointed interjections from myself.

In his State of the Union address, Barack Obama worried that “too many of our citizens have lost faith” in “our biggest institutions.” Many of those institutions have, of course, invited disillusionment with their feckless and irresponsible behavior. But poll after poll shows that at least one major American institution retains citizens’ faith. Indeed, this institution has improved its standing in recent years as respect for others has declined. That institution is the U.S. military.

So what institution does the president want to subject to an untested, unnecessary, and probably unwise social experiment? The U.S. military.

Social experiment? Open and peaceful cohabitation with non-heterosexuals is a social experiment that has been going on for decades, with fairly good results. But yes, it is "unnecessary", in the same way that allowing blacks to serve on equal terms was unnecessary, if you happened to be white.

“This year,” the president informed us, “I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are.”

It’s hard to know where that “finally” came from. Until a year ago, Americans had elected presidents who were in favor of upholding “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”—so if action on this has been overdue, it’s only been for the single year of the Obama presidency.

The "finally" comes from over five years of polling (or "poll after poll" as Mr Kristol says) showing support for repealing the law. Or maybe it was "finally" as in "finally, eight years after beginning one war and six years after starting a second, concurrent one, stretching the forces to the breaking point, we are considering letting all able Americans serve openly."

But the repeal is something that Obama campaigned on. He believes in it.

Wait, not only is he lobbying to make this change, but he also "believes" in it? What an awkward misuse of elected office!

The Economist | Fisking Bill Kristol | DADA

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