"Don't ask, don't tell"-- Obama continues to disappoint

b"Syracuse, NY -- Lt. Dan Choi vowed Tuesday evening to fight to stay in the military after an Army board in Syracuse recommended he be the first person discharged from the New York National Guard for violating the "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

A four-officer panel meeting at Hancock Air Base notified Choi at about 5 p.m. that it would recommend he be discharged because he has publicly said he is gay.

The recommendation now goes to Lt. Gen. Thomas Miller of the First Army Division, and Gen. Craig McKinley, the chief of the National Guard Bureau, who will make the final decision.

"Today was a setback for me," Choi said at a 6:10 p.m. news conference. "I got in trouble for saying three words. 'I am gay.'"

But he said he refuses to lie about being involved in a relationship with another man. Choi said the relationship has made him a better person, a better Christian and a better officer.

Choi, an Arabic-speaking officer who served for 15 months in Iraq as a member of Fort Drum's 10th Mountain Division before joining a New York National Guard unit based in Manhattan, said he would appeal to the higher-ranking officers to stay in the National Guard.

There is no deadline for a final decision in Choi's case." Read more at Syracuse.com.

Yesterday, at a speech commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Pres. Obama said, "We've been in office six months now. I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration."

Wait a minute-- assuming he anticipates winning a second term, does that mean eight years from now?

You can sign a petition to President Obama with the following text: "President Obama, The time has come to end discrimination in our armed forces. We, the undersigned, ask you to stop the discharge of Lt. Dan Choi and any other soldier as a result of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. We ask that you uphold your pledge and push Congress to quickly put a bill on your desk to repeal 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell.'"

Photo courtesy Lt. Choi from the Syracuse Post-Standard.