Repeal Day, Now We Just Need to Repeal a Couple More Things

Happy Repeal Day!  12:01 a.m. today, a few hours ago, the right of all citizens to serve serve in the military and defend the Constitution and the people of United States has been restored. Don't Ask Don't Tell finally goes away.  A person's sexual orientation is no one's business, and yet for the last 18 years any non-heterosexually oriented person had to hide their sexual orientation or risk expulsion from the military,  punishment, and loss of benefits.  Obama has kept another campaign promise. 


Right now the military is doing better at promoting and protecting constitutional basics than the society at large.  Just look at the recent Top Air Force Official Issues Religious Neutrality Policy in Wake of Truthout's "Jesus Loves Nukes" Exposé that caused the Air Force to pull all ethics training in order to scour the use of biblical justifications from ROTC pilot training in the use of nuclear weapons.  When this came to light, "Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton A. Schwartz said, "Leaders ... must balance Constitutional protections for an individual's free exercise of religion or other personal beliefs and its prohibition against governmental establishment of religion.""

Now perhaps we can get down to the real sex problem in the military of rape and sexual assault.  An amazing woman I have occasionally had the honor to work with in the peace movement over the last few years is Retired Colonel Ann Wright, one of three diplomats,who resigned  from the diplomatic corps in March 2003 when we invaded Iraq, has written on and spoken about this topic extensively. I recommend starting your read on this topic with her on the site, U.S. Military Violence Against Women. The site is an essential reference in any discussion of sexual violence in the military including the use of rape as a weapon.  


We still have a long way to go.  We as a country are still allowing the execution of people, a barbaric medieval practice, even in cases where there is significant doubt that the murder conviction would not stand in a fair trial.  Troy Davis is the current news making death row inmate with no appeals or recourse remaining who is most probably innocent.  WTF. 

Sexual Assault Awareness Month...

The SAAM Day of Action, observed this year on Thursday, April 3, 2008, is recognized nationally as a specific day to focus awarness on sexual violence prevention, and to do my part, I'm highlighting the intolerable acceptance of rape by U.S. mercenaries and the military and governmental institutions that shield them. KBR, yet again, appears to be sheltering violent rapists.

Women in the military and women in companies with a presence in Iraq -- do not volunteer to go to Iraq, do not allow yourself to be sent there.

The old CODEPINK chant, "Haliburton, Kellog, Brown and Root. Go to Iraq to loot, loot loot." needs to be updated to "Haliburton, Kellog, Brown and Root. Go to to Iraq to rape and loot." If they do this to their sister medics just imagine the brutality of attacks on Iraqi women and girls.

Write your Representatives. Include a link to the article. Tell them to get the hell out of Iraq now. Ask them to immediately have mercenaries withdrawn, followed by all National Guard, then those that have been Stop Lossed, then Reserves, then Regular Military. And while you are at it tell 'em to get Impeachment Proceedings started now (Pelosi's smoke-filled room agreements are not legal nor binding) or Bush will pardon everyone in his administration before leaving office and justice will be much more difficult to mete out to them. There are two ways to do this. Go to Wexler's site to support hearings. Or go to Kucinich's site and support HR 333 -- as we really don't need any more hearings, just House Impeachment so the Senate can then have Hearings.

Mercenaries need to be held accountable for their violent sexual assaults and the Bush administration that created this war and bears ultimate responsibility for all this death and violence must also be held accountable.