What Cruel Country Fires People For Getting Married: The United States

The Jene Newsome story is bringing new attention to the military's anti-gay policies. Newsome, who served in the Air Force for nine years, lost her career because she got married.

Newsome legally married another woman, and South Dakota police revealed that information to military officials. It appears that the cops were trying to locate Newsome's partner, but she did not assist them. So, they used her marriage as retaliation.

The fact that a marriage can be used as the basis for punishment underscores the nastiness of Don't Ask, Don't Tell and anti-gay discrimination generally. While the sluggish Obama Administration waits another year to "study" how to allow openly gay and lesbian people to serve in the military, professionals like Newsome will continue to lose their jobs -- which the wretched economy makes more traumatic. Shame on U.S.

Black Woman Kicked Out of Military After South Dakota Cops Tell Air Force She Is A Lesbian

Jene Newsome, a former Air Force Sergeant, was discharged earlier this year after South Dakota police told military officials she is a lesbian. The police came to Newsome's home to arrest her partner, and during a search, they discovered her Iowa marriage license. The police subsequently disclosed Newsome's same-sex marriage to military officials, who then discharged Newsome. Newsome is suing the police department.

Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is taking another year to "review" how to end Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Newsome, however, did not "tell" anyone in the military that she is a lesbian. The clearly homophobic and vindictive police officers did. Statistics show that Don't Ask, Don't Tell has a disparate impact on black women.

See also: What Cruel Country Fires People For Getting Married: The United States

Utah Lawmaker Resigns After Nude Hot-Tub Confession

Utah House Majority Leader Kevin Garn has resigned. Earlier this week, Garn admitted that he spent time nude in a hot tub with a 15-year-old female, Cheryl Maher, 25 years ago. Garn was 29 at the time of the incident. He said that Maher worked for him.

Although Garn paid Maher $150,000 in 2002 (when he ran for Congress) to remain silent, she recently publicized the event to media. This caused Garn to go public.

Garn, a Republican, received applause and support from other lawmakers after he acknowledged the incident. Nonetheless, he decided it was best that he resign. Coincidentally, Maher stated today that she and Garn shared a hot tub twice and that the first incident occurred soon after she turned 15.

This is the second scandal to rock Utah Republicans this year. In January, Utah Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack resigned after a DUI arrest.

Very Scary: NYT's Article Discusses Highly Partisan Revision of Texas Social Studies Curriculum

An article in the New York Times describes a disturbing list of possible revisions to the social studies curriculum in Texas public schools. The Texas Board of Education ("TBE") approved the changes, which, after a public comment period, could face possible revision before final approval.

Highly Partisan Process
The article describes contentious discussions among Democrats and Republicans within the Republican-dominated TBE. All members are elected.

Ultimately, the TBE approved the changes with a strictly partisan 10-5 vote. A conservative member of the TBE says that the changes will add "balance" to the curriculum.

Highlights With a Caveat
Although the New York Times article is clearly slanted against the proposed changes, some of them sound quite disturbing on their face (regardless of the overall slant of the article). It is unclear, however, to what extent the TBE also accepted favorable improvements to the curriculum and to what degree the proposals listed in the article represent extreme outliers.

Here are some of the details from the article.

One board member said the following:

“I reject the notion by the left of a constitutional separation of church and state,” said David Bradley, a conservative from Beaumont who works in real estate. “I have $1,000 for the charity of your choice if you can find it in the Constitution.”

This view represents the same bankrupt notion that the Constitution spells every right out with particularity. The Ninth Amendment directly refutes that concept, as does the word "liberty" in the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Nonetheless, social conservatives continue to hawk this folly as solid constitutional interpretation.

This view also ignores the role of the Supreme Court to interpret the meaning of the Constitution. Conservatives might disagree with Court rulings, but students should understand that they are binding on matters related to the Constitution. Texas would do a severe disservice to its students if it does not teach them about the responsibilities and powers of each branch of government.

Another conflict centered around race:

Efforts by Hispanic board members to include more Latino figures as role models for the state’s large Hispanic population were consistently defeated, prompting one member, Mary Helen Berlanga, to storm out of a meeting late Thursday night, saying, “They can just pretend this is a white America and Hispanics don’t exist.”

“They are going overboard, they are not experts, they are not historians,” she said. “They are rewriting history, not only of Texas but of the United States and the world.”

Some changes represent blatant efforts to boost the reputation of the Republican Party. For instance:

[Conservatives] made sure that textbooks would mention the votes in Congress on civil rights legislation, which Republicans supported.

“Republicans need a little credit for that,” [Dr. Don McLeroy] said. “I think it’s going to surprise some students.”

I do not mind students learning about the Democrats' or the Republicans' racial past; in fact, I teach these issues in my law school courses. But students should also learn that, as President Johnson accurately predicted, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 cost the Democrats an entire generation of Southern whites. The Republican Party was more dominant in Northern states at the time (as it was historically). Now, due to a dramatic political realignment, its power is concentrated primarily in the South and among whites.

Also since the passage of the Civil Rights legislation, no Democratic presidential candidate has ever won a majority of white voters nationwide, due primarily to "white flight" from the Democratic Party. Republicans and Democrats deserve full "credit" for their decisions.

Even Thomas Jefferson could not escape the conservative knife:

Cynthia Dunbar, a lawyer from Richmond who is a strict constitutionalist and thinks the nation was founded on Christian beliefs, managed to cut Thomas Jefferson from a list of figures whose writings inspired revolutions in the late 18th century and 19th century, replacing him with St. Thomas Aquinas, John Calvin and William Blackstone. (Jefferson is not well liked among conservatives on the board because he coined the term “separation between church and state.”)

No Historians, Sociologists and Economists Consulted
Perhaps the worst aspect of the process of curriculum reform in Texas is that "[t]here were no historians, sociologists or economists consulted at the meetings, though some members of the conservative bloc held themselves out as experts on certain topics" (emphasis added). Playing with the minds of young people for partisan gain is reprehensible. Students deserve access to a wider variety of information. Curtailing knowledge cannot serve good ends.

Utah Lawmaker Admits to Nude Hot-Tubbing With Teen

Utah House Majority Leader Kevin Garn (Republican) shocked colleagues with a recent floor speech, during which he admitted to a nude hot-tubbing incident with a 15-year-old female over 25 years in the past. Garn is now 55; he was 28 at the time.

Garn paid the woman, Cheryl Maher, $150,000 not to disclose the incident in 2002 -- the year that he launched an unsuccessful bid for Congress. According to Garn, however, Maher has recently come forward to reveal the story. Garn says that both the incident and paying Maher were mistakes.

Garn says that he did not have sex with Maher. Instead, he claims that they both just "sat there." Garn says that Maher "worked for him in a warehouse."

Utah is a conservative "family values" state. While the Republican-dominated state house applauded Garn for his "honesty," it is unclear what impact this incident will have on his political career.

Source: CBS News

Figure Skater Johnny Weir: Not "Family Friendly"?

According to GLAAD, the Stars on Ice Tour refuses to extend an offer to Johnny Weir -- a 3-time US Champion and 2-time Olympian -- because he is not "family friendly." GLAAD cites an anonymous source for the information.

Snarky comment: Imagine facing anti-gay discrimination in a sport that is likely dominated by gay men and that has legions of gay fans.

Wife, Daughter of Harry Reid Seriously Injured in Automobile Accident

Senator Harry Reid's wife Landra Reid and daughter Lana Barringer were seriously injured in a suburban Virginia automobile accident Thursday night. Their car was rear-ended by a tractor trailer. According to the New York Times:

"Mrs. Reid has a broken nose, broken back and broken neck,'' Reid spokesman Jim Manley said in a statement. ''Lana has a neck injury and facial lacerations. Both Mrs. Reid and Lana are conscious, can feel their extremities, and according to doctors their injuries are non-life threatening."

Virginia State Police said Mrs. Reid and her daughter were traveling northbound on I-95 in stop-and-go traffic when their Honda Odyssey was rear-ended by a tractor-trailer loaded with rolls of plastic. The impact forced the Reid family's minivan to rear-end a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which in turn struck a Chevrolet Cobalt.