Founder, Iraq Vets for Congress
Former Marine who served in the Iraq War; founder of Iraq Vets for Congress and author of This Recruit: A Firsthand Account of Marine Corps Boot Camp, Written While Knee-Deep in the Mayhem of Parris Island; 2008 Republican candidate for New York’s 19th Congressional District seat
Senate's Do-or-Die Time for Don't Ask Don't Tell Admiral Mike Mullen, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a personal appeal to the Senate Armed Services Committee today to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Isn't Dead Yet The Pentagon's top brass and civilian leaders asked the Senate today for an end to "Don't Ask Don't Tell," saying it requires soldiers to lie about their identity. A ten-month study showed more than two-thirds of 115,000 active-duty troops and their families don't care if gays and lesbians openly serve, though 58% of combat soldiers do. Republican John McCain said that called for more study, but Defense Secretary Gates warned of sudden disruption if the courts act before Congress. We hear from soldiers with different points of view and look at the prospects in the lame-duck session.
'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Moves to Crucial Phase After decades of controversy, Congress recognized the right of blacks and women to serve in the US military. "Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell" is a political compromise, signed by Bill Clinton, to get around granting equal treatment for gays and lesbians. With pressure building for repeal, the Pentagon surveyed the opinions of the active and reserve rank and file, timed for release on December 1. But last week, the results were leaked to the Washington Post .
What's the Future of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell?' After decades of controversy, Congress recognized the right of blacks and women to serve in the US military, perhaps making the armed services America's most thoroughly integrated institution – except when it comes to sexual orientation. While some states have legalized same-sex marriage, federal law says gays and lesbians can serve only if they're not "out." President Obama and Defense Secretary Gates want Congress to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," the political compromise signed by Bill Clinton. John McCain and others see a threat to "combat effectiveness." We hear what a crucial Pentagon survey reveals about the rank and file. If it's not repealed in Congress, what about the courts?
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.
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.