Marine Commandant Claims DADT Repeal Would Cost Lives

Marine Corps Commandant James F. Amos believes repealing “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” will be fatal.

When your life hangs on the line,” said Gen. James F. Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps, “you don’t want anything distracting. . . . Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines’ lives.”

In an interview with newspaper and wire service reporters at the Pentagon, Amos was vague when asked to clarify how the presence of gays would distract or disrupt Marine combat units during a firefight. But he cited a recent Defense Department survey in which a large number of Marine combat veterans …

Air Force Blocks Access To NY Times And Other Outlets That Published WikiLeaks Material

The U.S. Air Force has blocked computer access to The New York Times and other sites that have published information from WikiLeaks.

Air Force Maj. Toni Tones said more than 25 websites have been blocked and cannot be viewed by any Air Force computer. The ban — aimed at preventing the viewing of classified information — does not apply to personal computers.

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“If a site has republished the documents, then we block it,” she said, adding that the move to prevent access to the media sites was done recently. She said she was not sure of the date.

Tones …

Incoming Tea Party Congressman Says Media Disseminating WikiLeaks Info Should Be Censored

Florida Republican Congressman-elect Allen West says news agencies that aided Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks should be censored. (via Mediaite)

There are different means by which you can be attacked. I mean it doesnt have to be a bomb or an airplane flying into a building. It doesn’t have to be a shooting. It can be through cyber attacks, it could be through leaking of very sensitive classified information. Regardless of whether you think it causes any harm, the fact that here is an individual that is not an American citizen first and foremost, for whatever reason gotten his hands on …

On Tuesday’s Radio Show…

• Republican Rage: Alan responds to escalating anger over the latest spending bill on Capitol Hill.

• Conservatives complain of a War on Christmas, but does it really exist? Alan debates the Catholic League’s Bill Donohue.

• Forget the First Amendment? Alan questions why a prominent tea party politician would support censoring some news agencies.…

How Republican Politicians Don’t Represent Republican Voters

By Yashwanth Manjunath

As millions of Americans are suffering to make car payments and house payments and put food on the table for themselves and their kids, it looks to be a very merry Christmas for one group of Americans: Wall Street bankers. Wall Street banks are on track for their two best years ever since the taxpayers generously bailed them out back in the Fall of 2008. Even better for Wall Street executives is that they are set to receive $144 billion in bonuses this year, breaking a record for a second year in a row.

Unfortunately for those …

Peter Orszag Goes To Citibank

by Stuart Shapiro

I’m not one to say that the Obama Administration is in the back pocket of the banking industry.  Nor am I one to deny former OMB Director, Peter Orszag, his right to pursue the career of his choice.  But when I heard that Orszag was going to take a high-paying job at Citibank, my reaction was the same as that of James Fallows.

The idea that someone would help plan, advocate, and carry out an economic policy that played such a crucial role in the survival of a financial institution — and then, less than two …

“No Negros Allowed” Sign Posted On Wisconsin Gentlemen’s Club

Mark Prior, an Abbortsford, WI businessman who says he’s had problems with black people in the past, has posted a sign on his yet-to-open gentleman’s club saying “No Negro’s (sic) Allowed.” (h/t Tommy Christopher)

Federal and State law says if the business is open to the public, prohibiting people based on race is illegal. If the man’s proposed gentlemen’s club was going to be a private club, then an African American historian says he could discriminate. Legalities aside, his is a sign that many say is appalling.

“If I’ve got a problem with you it’s going to be on …

House Democrats To Introduce Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Bill

Congressman Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania is set to introduce a bill to repeal “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.”  The bill will reflect the Lieberman-Collins Senate version. Rep. Steney Hoyer confirms it.

I look forward to bringing this bill to the House floor soon, and I hope the Senate will swiftly take action as well so that the bill can be signed into law as soon as possible. This discriminatory and harmful policy has weakened America’s security by depriving us of the work of tens of thousands of gay and lesbian troops who have served their country honorably. And it has severely …

Richard Holbrooke’s Dying Words: “You’ve Got To Stop This War In Afghanistan”

As Ambassador Richard Holbrooke was being wheeled into surgery, a family member reports, he said to his Pakistani surgeon, “You’ve got to stop this war in Afghanistan.”

Mr. Holbrooke’s death could have a profound impact on the administration’s efforts to implement aspects of its strategy for the war in Afghanistan, which relies not just on military gains but development assistance and diplomatic initiatives with the governments in Kabul and neighboring Pakistan that had been his principal focus.

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His most prominent role was as a presidential wartime problem solver, to which Mr. Holbrooke applied an unwavering energy, a flair for …

Michael Steele To Seek Second Term As RNC Chair

Michael Steele has announced he will seek to keep his post as Chairman of the Republican National Committee. It was generally believed he was going to announce that he was stepping down.

Criticism of Steele has helped lead to a crowded field of challengers seeking to head the RNC. Among those who have officially announced they are in the race are Saul Anuzis, a committee member from Michigan who ran and lost to Steele in 2009, and Reince Priebus of Wisconsin, a former member of Steele’s inner circle, along with former Luxembourg Ambassador Anne Wagner

Former RNC Political Director under …

Richard Holbrooke Dead At 69

President Obama praised Richard Holbrooke as “one of the giants of foreign policy.” Holbrooke suffered a torn aorta and faced 20 hours of surgery, and even met with members of his Afghanistan team hours before he lost his battle.

Holbrooke’s death comes just days before the Obama administration’s latest review of the Afghanistan war, expected Thursday. It could affect the administration’s ability to put in place — and also sell to a skeptical Congress — its push for Afghan forces to assume a greater role in the fighting, allowing U.S. troops to come home. It is a transition in …