Military’s Gay Policy Being Reevaluated

The Obama administration is in the early stages of revamping the policy for gays in the military. What do you think?

Charles Duvall,
Reactor Operator
“These are important steps toward the day when America will finally have its first openly gay battleship.”

Leah Dawson,
Documentation Supervisor
“I’m not sure I support a policy allowing openly gay people to serve. It might open the floodgates to actual free will within the armed forces.”

Richard Basal,
Unemployed
“Oh, good! I think my son might be gay, and I would like to be proud of him for at least some reason.”

Insert your own jokes…

Today’s video of the day comes from Joe Budden, who expresses his concerns about Vibe Magazine’s “Greatest Rapper” rankings. Although I’m not a big Budden fan, he’s got a point!

Michelle Obama, Mom-in-Chief
By Melissa Harris-Lacewell

With Mother’s Day approaching I want to think about Michelle Obama’s assertion that her primary role as First Lady is “Mom-in-Chief.”

Many progressive feminists were distressed with Michelle’s assertion of motherhood as her primary role. They hoped she would seek a more aggressive policy agenda. After all Michelle Obama is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She spent her career as an effective advocate for urban communities in their fraught relationship with powerful institutions. She is smart, capable, and independent. She maintained her own career and ambitions throughout Barack’s early political career and even during his election to the U.S. Senate.

Truth is, some of us who were in the orbit of the Obamas ten years ago believed Michelle, not Barack, was the real star of the couple. So while I don’t think anyone expected her to commute to a 9-to-5 job in D.C; many hoped that she would take on an independent political role in the Obama administration.

Instead, Michelle has crafted a more traditional role for herself. She is highly visible, but she has taken on relatively safe issues like childhood literacy, advocacy for women and girls, and support of military families. Even her White House garden is framed more as an initiative for healthy eating and quality family meals than as a statement of commitment to local foods as an effort against global climate change.

Early in the primaries Michelle’s gentle teasing of her “rock star” husband made him seem more human and led many to believe that the Obamas would be models for gender equity in the White House. While the mutual respect between the couple remains evident, these days Michelle is more frequently photographed with her head on Barack’s shoulder, grasping his hand at public events, or evading reporters by stealing brief, romantic walks on the White House grounds. The outspoken Michelle Obama that made many bristle with anxiety during the campaign has been replaced by a woman who makes us collectively say, “aaaaahhhhh” when we see her with her husband, children, and even her new dog.

For the rest of the story, click here.

Today’s video of the day comes from the White House Correspondent’s dinner, where President Obama and Wanda Sykes held it down. I thought that Obama was uneven, but relatively funny for a President. Sykes, on the other hand, made me crack up as always. Thoughts?