The Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute's "Presidential Leadership Project" is boasting of 20 appointments that have influence in the Obama Administration, including Mark Pierriello, the Director of Priority Placement, Presidential Personnel. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will not be in the Pentagon indefinitely, and he is not the one making appointments for key positions dealing with military personnel issues.

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In this article, "Costs of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell," Lawrence Korb re-hashes old arguments that Elaine Donnelly analyzed and debunked in an article for the Duke University Journal of Gender Law & Policy and in her July 2008 testimony for the House Armed Services Committee. (For answers, see pages 17-25.)

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) probably will use the "soldier" graphic cited by Korb during a Lobbying Day scheduled for Friday, but it doesn't change the fact that the number of honorable discharges for homosexuality-most of which occur due to admissions of non-compliance with the 1993 law-is small compared to separations for other reasons.

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Log Cabin "Republicans"

This article in the gay newspaper Washington Blade, titled "Log Cabin Under Democratic Control," indicates that the so-called Republican group is influenced if not controlled by Democratic Party interests. Note how well-known gay activist funder Tim Gill, who has personally targeted and defeated conservative congressmen in several states, has been providing a large portion of the Log Cabin organization's budget. Wonder if the group will accept the $100,000 that Gill has offered to choose their next chairman?

When it comes to supporting the military, political party is irrelevant. Equal opportunity is important, but members of Congress must assign higher priority to the needs of the military.