'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' and Don't Rush into Anything

Making News

Draconian Cuts Necessary to Balance California's Budget ()

Faced with a $21 billion deficit that appears to be rising, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed to transform California. Instead of one of the nation's most generous states to the poor, it would be one of the stingiest. Eric Bailey reports from Sacramento for the Los Angeles Times.

Guests:

• Eric Bailey: Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times

Links:

• CalGrants
• Healthy Families
• CalWORKs

Main Topic

'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Back on the Front Burner ()

It's estimated that 65,000 gays and lesbians serve in the military, but that's legal only as long as their sexual orientation is secret. Since "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" was enacted in the early 1990's, some 13,000 have been discharged after being outed. The Obama White House is in no hurry to make good on the campaign promise to end the ban on gays and lesbians in the military. Now a gay national guardsman with a "mission-critical specialty" has challenged "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" by coming out on a cable news program. A leading opponent of homosexual rights has organized 1100 generals and admirals on the other side of the issue, and political pressure is building. We talk with both of them and hear about conflicting court decisions and possible options for the White House and Congress.

Guests:

• Dan Choi: First Lieutenant, New York's Army National Guard
• Elaine Donnelly: Founding President, Center for Military Readiness
• Bob Egelko: Staff Writer, San Francisco Chronicle
• Nathaniel Frank: Senior Fellow, UC Santa Barbara's Palm Center

Links:

• Frank's 'Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America'
• Egelko on California Supreme Court and Proposition 8

Reporter's Notebook

Are Bailed-out Banks on Wall Street Driving up Gas Prices? ()

Crude oil inventories are at their highest levels in almost 20 years. Demand has fallen to a ten-year low. So why are gasoline prices going up as Memorial Day approaches? Since mid-January, crude oil prices have gone up more than 70 percent. Since last month, the price of gasoline has risen 28¢ to a national average of $2.33. That's bad news, but not for the usual reasons. Kevin Hall writes about economics for the McClatchy Newspapers.

Guests:

• Kevin Hall: National Economics Correspondent, McClatchy Newspapers, @KevinGHall