Gone And Soon To Be Forgotten

While I'm not doing a happy dance, I am certainly not saddened by the news that Jerry Falwell has at last parted this mortal coil. For too many years we had to continuously hear the vitriol issue forth from this theocratic totalitarians mouth. Here we have...had...a person who would have gleefully watched as gay and lesbian Americans were marched off to camps. Non-Judeo Christian faiths would have followed closely in their footsteps, no doubt. He would have liked nothing more than to see this country turned into an American theocracy, with hand picked Christian politicians at the helm. A world in which we would be told what to watch, read, listen to and believe by "true believers" would have been his preferred world.

The sad and frightening part is that he wielded more than enough influence to walk the halls of power in Washington, DC and influenced a great many people in the Boot On Your Neck Party, regardless of which side of the aisle they stood on. We will likely still be feeling the effects of this man's political meddling for many, many years to come. Falwell, his Republicrat allies and his followers have shaped the modern form of the right side of the BOYN Party, much to the detriment of those who truly love liberty and freedom. Falwell, his movement and his followers are largely responsible for the current political landscape being inflicted upon us.

Now that the head of the serpent has been removed we shall have to see where we go. Will we see a demise of the religious rightist movement, at last? A move away from theocracy and Christian fundamentalist inspired politics? We can only hope. Politics is a nasty business, at best. Mixing it in with Millenarianism makes it vastly more dangerous and distasteful.

Nehemiah Scudder has left the room and we are all a little better off for it.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Jerry Falwell, Politics

The Government Moves Fast

When it wishes to, that is. It looks as if Petty Officer 2nd Class Jason Knight is going to be discharged again. In what appears to be a retaliatory move for speaking out about being gay and being recalled to service in the US Navy the US Navy has announced that they are now going to "fire" him for being gay.

WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Navy has informed Petty Officer Second Class Jason Knight that it intends to fire him under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law just weeks prior to completing his one-year commitment. Knight, an openly gay sailor, was recalled to active duty in June 2006 and recently completed a tour of duty in Kuwait, where he was open about his sexual orientation with his command and fellow sailors. Knight told his story last weekend in the newspaper Stars & Stripes and was notified yesterday that he will be receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy based, in part, on his recent media interviews. Knight was scheduled to end his commitment on May 28, 2007, but will face early dismissal because he chose to go public about his experience.

This is a sad commentary on the US military and their stance towards gay and lesbian Americans, but shows without doubt the ability of the military to move quickly when they're being shown up. If FEMA had been able to respond even a fraction as quickly as the Pentagon did in this case, the the government response to the devastation of the Gulf Coast would be a distant memory by now.

Technorati Tags:
Libertarian, Iraq, Gay Rights