I see that keeping gay people out of the military has allowed it to maintain it’s high standards…

Double number of ex-cons join the US army

The US army doubled its use of "moral waivers" for enlisted soldiers last year to cope with the demands of the Iraq war, allowing sex offenders, people convicted of making terrorist threats, and child abusers into the military, new records released yesterday showed.

The army gave out 511 moral waivers to soldiers with felony convictions last year. Criminals got 249 army waivers in 2006, a sign that the demand for US forces in Iraq has forced a sharp increase in the number of criminals allowed on the battlefield.

The felons accepted into the army and marines included 87 soldiers convicted of assault or maiming, 130 convicted of non-cannabis-related drug offences, seven convicted of making terrorist threats, and two convicted of indecent behaviour with a child. Waivers were also granted to 500 burglars and thieves, 19 arsonists and nine sex offenders.

Emphasis mine.   Ascribe goes into more detail…

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., April 21 (AScribe Newswire) — New information released today by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee shows that in 2006 and 2007 Americans who were convicted of serious crimes including sexual offences, manslaughter, "terrorist threats including bomb threats", burglary, kidnapping or abduction, aggravated assault and sexual assault were allowed into the military under moral waivers granted by the services.

According to the data given to the committee by the Department of Defense, the Army allowed the most waivers in 2006 and 2007. During this period, moral or felony waivers were given to 3 soldiers who had been convicted of manslaughter. One soldier was allowed in following a kidnapping or abduction conviction, 11 were convicted of arson, 142 convicted of burglary, 3 who were convicted of indecent acts or liberties with a child, 7 who were convicted of rape, sexual assault, criminal sexual assault, incest or other sex crimes and 3 who were convicted of terrorist threats including bomb threats.

So…let me get this straight.  Letting gay people serve will harm the moral and readiness of our armed forces…but allowing child molesters and rapists to wear the uniform won’t.  Look at this.  No…really look at it.  The leaders of the armed forces of the United States of America would really rather be saluted by rapists and child molesters then by a homosexual.  

Well…this explains why Iraq is pretty much FUBAR doesn’t it?  It wasn’t just Rumsfeld and Bush.  They had help running our military into the ground from all the country club thugs in the pentagon executive suites.  And it explains all this too…

All the culture warriors, all the fine culture warriors who fought to keep gay people out of the armed forces…  All the righteous men and women of high moral standards and values…  And in the end they turned out to be nothing more then a pack of street thugs, dragging America into their gutter…into that open sewer they call virtue…

Via Box Turtle Bulletin…  Now what the hell was this supposed to accomplish…?

We commented earlier on how the mainstream media omitted all mention of Major Alan Rogers’ orientation or of his efforts to overturn the military’s ban on open gay servicemen. We told you how the Washington Post ombudsman wrote a column to repair that deliberate exclusion. Now there’s a new twist.

According to the Washington Blade, Rogers’ profile on Wikipedia has been modified

The user on Monday redacted details about Rogers that appeared on the online encyclopedia site. Information that was deleted included Rogers’ sexual orientation; the soldier’s participation in American Veterans for Equal Rights, a group that works to change military policy toward gays; and the fact that Rogers’ death helped bring the U.S. military’s casualty toll in Iraq to 4,000.

And while the individual responsible isn’t known,

The IP address attached to the deletion of the details and the posted comments is 141.116.168.135. The address belongs to a computer from the office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2) at the Pentagon. The office is headed by Lt. Gen. John Kimmons, who was present at Rogers’ funeral and presented the flag from Rogers’ coffin to his cousin, *Cathy Long.

The factual information has been reinstated in the Wikipedia entry.

* Long is the cousin that was unaware of Rogers’ orientation and thought it should be left out of the Post article.

Alan Rogers’ was a soldier and a gay man.  He was dedicated to equal rights for gay soldiers.  He kept his sexual orientation at least partly in the closet, so he could continue to serve.  That is the devil’s bargan Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell demands of gay soldiers.  He could have easily avoided the FUBAR that George Bush made of Iraq by coming out of the closet and getting his discharge.  He didn’t.  Whatever you think of Bush’s splendid little war, Alan Rogers’ was obviously proud of his service to the United States.  While in uniform, bearing arms for the sake of his country, he made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.  The least his country could do, is be proud of him too.

And I think his country Is proud.  Even the piss ignorant jackasses who still believe in Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.  Some of them anyway.  Probably not James Dobson or Sally Kern.  But I think even louts like Charles Krauthammer would salute this man’s memory, just as he was.  Maybe.  However, as you can see, it is still far too much to ask of the stars and bars in their comfortable air conditioned pentagon offices, that they be proud of All their fallen heroes.