Log Cabin Republicans
Combat veteran who served in Iraq (2004) and Captain in the US Army Reserves who operates in violation of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell; Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans; former Bush-appointed liaison to the United Nations
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Gone, but Inequalities Remain Almost 18 years after President Clinton signed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" into law, the Pentagon today formally repealed the ban on gays and lesbians in uniform. In Vermont, one Navy Lieutenant immediately married his long-time partner. Will they get the same rights as heterosexual married couples? Federal law still says only a man and a woman can be legally married. Clarke Cooper is Executive Director of the Log Cabin Republicans , a group that filed one of many lawsuits against Don't Ask, Don't Tell. A Captain in the Army Reserves, he served as a diplomat during the most recent Bush Administration.
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' on a Legal Rollercoaster Last month, Federal Judge Virginia Phillips declared that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" deprives gays and lesbians of equal rights under the Constitution, and further deprives the military of highly qualified officers. Ten days ago she ordered the Pentagon to stop enforcing the law, allowing openly gay and lesbian recruits to volunteer. Two days ago an appellate court temporarily suspended her order. Yesterday, the Pentagon said it would clear up the confusion by limiting the power of discharge to the secretaries of the Army, Navy and Air Force. Will a President who says he opposes the law tell the secretaries what to do? Will the lame-duck session of Congress repeal the law before it gets to the US Supreme Court? We hear what it's like for gays, lesbians and their comrades who are serving now, with all three branches of government trying to decide what to do.
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.