Rumsfeld: "Time Has Come" To Allow Gays To Serve Openly

ABC News ^ | 2/11/11 | Steven Portnoy

[FTJM]

Former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who served at the Pentagon under two Republican presidents, says the “time has come” time for gays and lesbians to serve openly in the US military.

Two months after President Obama signed a law that will lead to the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Rumsfeld told ABC News Radio that the nation is ready for open service.

“First of all, we know that gays and lesbians have been serving in the military for decades with honorable service,” Rumsfeld said. “We know that [repeal of a ban on gays serving openly] is an idea whose time has come.”

Rumsfeld says he has “enormous respect” for the ground commanders and service chiefs who have expressed concerns about the impact of gays serving openly on unit cohesion, and he urged the top brass to implement the new law “with care.”

But Rumsfeld says that congress, which passed the repeal bill in the waning days of the last session, has expressed the will of the American people.

“We’ve seen it evolve in our country,” Rumsfeld said of the nation’s perception of gays and lesbians, reiterating that many have served in uniform with distinction.

[PGalt]

Are you smoking crack, Don? A me-me, we-we anti-perpetuation-of-self, anti-life, whiney collective ripping apart the greatest force for individual liberty in the history of civilization. What other collective’s DEMANDS must be met?

[Red Badger]

You are too late..

http://hnn.us/articles/96.html

[BuddhaBrown]

“A shower is waiting for you.”

Rummy is a man that has served in so many ways and in so many capacities (enlisted, elected and appointed) that he’s done SOMETHING to piss of just about everybody.

Love him or hate him, it would be a mistake to underestimate his factoring in American history.

But I gotta say, your ‘shower’ comment made me wonder...

I don’t think I could be gay and be in the military. I do know that if I, a rabidly hetero dynamo were required to take showers with dozens of young and fit girls when told to rather than only when ‘in control’ of myself, then my... ah... hormones might reveal my less-than-honorable thoughts. I’d probably be at attention constantly.

Would not a young, equally hormone-driven gay, be as transparent at times?

Would not also the next step in cultural evolution and gender equity mean that normal guys and gals be put into the showers together? I mean if gays can get a government job that allows them to scan a naked population of one’s preferred sex in order gather prime intelligence about potential conquests, why shouldn’t normals be allowed to do it.

I mean, it’s like being in the TSA but without having to look at and feel up the undesired gender.

[HiTech RedNeck]

Hard to believe this was the same tight lipped Rummy of shortly after the 9/11 attacks and then the assaults in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Even a fool is thought wise if he says nothing.

Anyhow, why should America expect turning barracks into cat-and-dog houses to bring success in military campaigns?

[whatisthetruth]

Will this be the look of our future Veteran's Day parades?

Our time has come

Thanks Rummy, IDIOT!

[haywoodwebb]

"The camp of true believers and those complicit with God’s instructions is getting smaller and smaller. But then we were told that was going to happen!"

Yep, the persecution is coming. Fortunately, that's when the church really strengthens.

Might as well continue to weed out the tares!

[Antoninus]

Glad to see our elites are all on the same page. Our so-called leaders not only have feet of clay, they're made of clay for heaven's sake.

Do all of them lack the courage to stand up against the homosexual left?

This is a sick, sick country. We are in the process of squandering our last bit of built up cultural capital. When it's gone, and our leaders are completely morally bankrupt, things will really begin to get ugly. I tremble when I imagine what things will be like when my children are grown.

[Antoninus]

Do we need any more proof that the Bush administration was never what we conservatives thought and hoped it would be?

Exactly. We were had. The GOP has used us since 1988 and we've got absolutely nothing to show for it except complete surrender to the perverts in the culture war.

[Antoninus]

Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re going to have to start a new country.

That is exactly what I was just thinking. I will never be part of a country that considers sodomy a God-given right.

[TheBigIf]

This is bizarre. I had a dream last night that I was seeing Rumsfeld in the news attacking conservativism but it wasn’t on this issue but another one. Now I am having trouble remembering what it was.

But here he is making remarks that fly in the face of freedom. He thinks it is time to pervert our military.

Unbelievable! This thread should have a BARF alert.

[cva66snipe]

On a ship of several thousand they just don't keep it too themselves. I caught two in a shower once but could not ID them except they were cooks and from the Philippines. Several others were caught in the rack as well. It's kinda disgusting to be eating a meal and have some freak sit down and start talking about how he's the head {latrine} cleaner at such and such a space on the ship.

On ships a space of 30'X30' has bunks stacked 3 high and about 150 men in them. You don't have any privacy to start with and who wants a gay giving them the eye? Meaning the military is no place for social engineering especially combat commands like ships or combat ground units.

The ones caught when I was in were promptly discharged form the service for the good of the service. The chopper or personel plane would be ready for launch while the personalman was typing the orders off the ship to be signed by the Captain. It was a very quick ticket off ship as it should have been.

[Antoninus]

I hope this ends the hero worship of this man. File him with Cheney.

Agreed. I have lost all respect for him. To think, I even considered buying his book! I'm glad he said this now before I wasted the money.

[MacMattico]

Yes! On the front line, in hot pink and heels! That’ll draw all those extremist, goat lovin’, sharia practicin’ types out into the open!

[Nowhere Man]

Ladies and Gentlemen, we’re going to have to start a new country.

I don't mind if there are gay conservatives that want to participate in the political process I don't have much of a problem with that, generally, I have one rule, "get a room" and keep it private. As to the military, at worst, this needs a lot more study instead of allowing homosexuals to serve for PC's sake. At best, DADT should remain in force.

But, yeah, there is a side of me that thinks maybe we need to start a new country and/or start over. The system as it is now is like a computer that has been up and running, the O/S has lots of patches, the disc drive if fragmented and it is running slow. I think we a reformat and reinstall in a minimalist O/S followed by a reboot.

Some people think maybe we could start over in the Phillipines, Costa Rica, Panama and/or Grenada while others support succession. Sometimes I think America has "jumped the shark."

[fabian]

So sorry to hear that from Rummy!

[Nowhere Man]

That was bound to happen once that shyster Mr. Haney became president... and he promoted Hank Kimball from witless county agent to Director of Intelligence.

Crap, man, that would be an improvement over what we have now.

[sickoflibs]

RE :”Agreed. I have lost all respect for him. To think, I even considered buying his book! I'm glad he said this now before I wasted the money.”

I lost faith in Bush-Cheney-Rummy at the end of 2006, realizing that I was duped by then. I got some grief here for going against the talk radio/Bush Koolaid position on them which I previously believed: "Stay the course". I look back at it now as a dark period.

I still remember 1993 when Clinton's gays in the military promise caused him lots of political grief leading to DADT instead. It was a different America back then. I miss it.

[manc]

most of talk radio are cowards who cannot talk abut social issue, the likes of Hannity piss me off, all he ever does is talk debt, or health care but try and call in about conservative issues like abortion, homosexual agenda etc and they tell you not today

of course they’re happy to take conservative money and when vets and those serving needed a voice about don’t ask he was silent, some , infact many of us called in and we were all told not to discuss it

COWARDS

[Secret Agent Man]

“Standing at Attention” is now a phrase not allowed to be used.

“Present Arms” was also banned (little more subtle). “About Face” is being considered to be dropped from the lexicon too.

“Rear Admiral” has already been discontinued. In fact anything with “rear” in it has been banned. Rear infantry, rear entry, etc. All gone.

Engineering brigades can’t saying “laying pipe” anymore.

More to come.

[Secret Agent Man]

Yes, he is wrong.

These are instances that show everyone can be wrong on certain things. This is just one thing Rummy’s wrong about.