I wish Michael Sam all the best, and I honor him for his ground-breaking courage. But ...

[11 Bravo]

if my younger brother had decided, 30 years ago, to stand up and say I'm a proud, gay, combat-decorated, Naval Aviator; he would have been cashiered from the service. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and was a shit-hot pilot ... and he would have been kicked to the curb in a fucking heartbeat with a DD and no pension or VA benefits.

The point is that if he were serving today he would be able to step up, shout it from the rooftop, and then get back to yanking and banking. And the reason he would be able to do so is that Barack Obama is now the President of the United States.
So whenever I read one of the ubiquitous "Obama's a sellout" or "What has Obama accomplished" posts, I tend to get a little bit pissed off.

(My brother is considerably more sanguine about the whole thing, but, you know, those fucking officers are trained to keep it bottled up, so I'll vent for both of us.)

[babylonsister]

1. Kick! Great post and you're

a wonderful brother-I can feel the love.

[11 Bravo]

4. It's funny. When we were kids I was his hero. (Big brother, high school jock, etc.)

But when we were both young men he had to face up to pressures I'm not sure I could have withstood. I just went to war, but he was being investigated while at the Academy and later in the Fleet ... under suspicion and constantly in fear of being told he couldn't do what he had trained for and what he loved.
He's one of the bravest men I've ever known, and he knows that now he's MY hero!

[SunSeeker]

2. K & R

[cali]

3. that's great about your brother. It doesn't cancel out

Obama's push for the TPP or his terrible fracking policies and actions that have opened up much more public land to fracking, or the tragic and pointless surge in Afghanistan or his support for the chained CPI.

And it doesn't mean that if another dem had been President the same LGBT expansion of rights wouldn't have happened- they almost certainly would have.

I get pissed off that people ignore the corporate crap pushed by this administration.

[Cal Carpenter]

6. Folks tend to give far too much credit to particular politicians

for the good, hard fought victories of people who have put themselves on the line for what is right, and far too much blame to everyday people for the failures of the system created by the political and ownership class.

[dionysus]

19. geez cali, it's not a TPP thread!

[11 Bravo]

21. There are those who never met a thread they wouldn't either shit on or try to hijack.

It's kind of sad in a way, because many of them can also generate posts that are insightful and informative. You just have to learn how to wade through the garbage in search of the occasional nugget.

[New Orleans Strong]

5. Great post 11 Bravo

My brothers... never mind. Glad that yours has you. He is too. Trust me.

[okaawhatever]

7. Great post. Thanks for the reminder. So many people don't know how hard it was for the gays in

the service pre-DADT. DADT only helped a little, but at the time it was much needed help. Thankfully now our armed forces can recruit, train and keep the best service men and women based on their ability and not who they sleep with.

[Cha]

8. Mahalo, Bravo!

Yeah, it's too bad so many ignorant pot shots are regurgitated around here.. but, they can't change the facts no matter how many capital letters they use or how many tantrums they throw.

I wish the best for Michael Sams.. what a brave brave person. Now that's brave.

[Cali_Democrat]

9. Rec

[OnyxCollie]

10. What? No recognition for Ted Olson?

He did as much, if not more, than Obama.

This is one of those ubiquitous "Obama's responsible for everything good in the world" OP's.

[Curmudgeoness]

11. Yes, a lot has changed in the past 30 years,

and I give credit to all the Michael Sam's who have had the courage to stand up and say that they are gay. This has been a long fight, started well before Obama became president, or a Senator.

You should be proud of your brother, his burden was great. I am proud of every LBGT individual who has stood up. The more who are willing to come out, the less stigma for the next one.

[Maedhros]

12. Obama should indeed be applauded for ordering the military to discontinue DADT.

However, he was responding to relentless pressure from untold numbers of committed LGBTQ activists who should get the lion's share of the credit.

[Maven]

13. Are you saying 30 years of gay activism had nothing to do with it?

It was all Obama in one stroke of the pen?

A little reductive I think.

[TheFrenchRazor]

14. precisely; politicians follow, not lead. unfortunately. nt

[LeftyMom]

15. Obama didn't lead on that issue, he got dragged by his ear.

Michael Sam took a risk and he's probably going to lose some money, to say nothing of facing taunting and having the national media sniffing around his personal life as long as he's in the league.

Comparing Obama to him on this issue is an insult to Michael Sam's bravery.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

17. wrong. so wrong. even your "dragged by his ear" is pejorative

and really uncalled for.

[LeftyMom]

18. Didn't you get banned for using homophobic slurs on DU2?

[Pretzel_Warrior]

16. GREAT POST!

[Skittles]

20. yup

I used to be an occasional "date" for a gay pilot when I was enlisted decades ago