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Shalala Outlines Educational Benefits of New Post-9/11 GI Bill for Military Veterans and Service Members

Washington Post Blog Entry by Valerie Strauss

Published: March 9, 2010

By Donna E. Shalala, University of Miami President

“You Served. Get Benefits.” That’s the messag...

WASHINGTON — President Obama and top Pentagon officials met repeatedly over the past year about repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the law that bans openly gay members of the military. But it was in Oval Office strategy sessions to review court cases challenging the ban — ones that could reach the Supreme Court — that Mr. Obama faced the fact that if he did not change the policy, his administration would be forced to defend publicly the constitutional...

This year, I will work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love because of who they are," said President Barack Obama in last night's State of the Union address. "It's the right thing to do." Since the enactment of "don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) in December 1993, the military has discharged about 13,000 men and women, according to Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN).

President Obama will call for a repeal of the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy during Wednesday night's State of the Union address, White House officials said Wednesday afternoon. The policy forbids openly gay and lesbian people from serving in the military, and requires their discharge should they tell fellow servicemembers about their sexuality.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is stepping up internal discussions on how gay men and lesbians might be able to serve openly in the armed services, military officials said on Thursday, in anticipation of fulfilling President Obama’s campaign pledge to repeal the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law. The discussions, centered in a small group assembled by Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are in preparation for a possible Senate hearing on the 1...

BAGHDAD - A U.S. general in Iraq who listed pregnancy as a reason for court-martialing soldiers said Tuesday that he would never actually seek to jail someone over the offense, but wanted to underline the seriousness of the issue. Last month, Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo issued a policy that would allow soldiers who become pregnant and their sexual partners to be court-martialed. But he appeared to back away from the policy in a conference call with reporters, saying the policy was intended to em...

AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. - The Air Force Academy says religious tolerance has improved dramatically since allegations five years ago that evangelical Christians harassed cadets who didn't share their faith. Even the school's most vocal critic agrees. "This is the first time we feel positive about things there," said Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which battled the academy in court over claims that evangelicals at the school were imposing their views on ...

Gay marriage supporters challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8 lost their bid Friday to see the internal communications of those who supported the initiative when an appeals court ruled that disclosure would violate the 1st Amendment. Lawyers for two couples denied licenses to marry because they are of the same sex had sought access to e-mails and letters among Proposition 8 backers, hoping to show that the campaign aimed to stir "discriminatory animus" toward gays and lesbians. U...