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Thought you might like this article located here: https://right-thoughts.us/index.php/weblog/comments/i_took_a_gamble_and_may_have_caught_a_gamble/ I took a gamble, and may have caught a Gamble I have no way of knowing if this is real or not, but there’s no reason to ignore the extremely important message here. I wrote [https://right-thoughts.us/index.php/weblog/dont_ask_dont_tellscrew_that_dont_date]a few times[/url] about the Arabic linguists situation, and apparently, Alastair Gamble has read and responded to a post of mine. Posted by: Alastair Gamble on Nov 13, 02 | 3:49 pm I am a dumbass ... I’ll give you that one. But I have never wanted anyone to feel sorry for me. The military was not my way out of a small town, nor was it my only chance for education. But I didn’t think the inconvenience I suffered by being fired was ever the point.  You said it yourself. Don’t feel sorry for me, feel sorry for you that there is a policy out there that is hurting the operational readiness of the military and costing the tax payers a lot of money. Curse me all you want for my lifestyle or my bad decisions ... I live with both. Just make sure not to forget to curse the policy that does far more to hinder than help national security. Alastair, if this is you, thanks for the response.  Thank you for taking responsibility for your own actions as well.  Like I said, being who you are and choosing military life speaks to your character, so it wouldn’t surprise me to find out that this is you and you are in fact stepping up and saying “Yes, I did something stupid, but the cost to punish me is far too great.” From an outsider’s perspective, it seems like everything in the military is a cost/benefit analysis.  How many lives will we save, how many soldiers will we incapacitate or kill, how many buildings can we destroy, versus how much will it cost, how many of our men will be at risk, etc.  The issue here is that, regardless of the sexual orientation of the soldier, we have a guy who is desperately needed.  There is a shortage of people who speak the fourteen quadrillion dialects of various arabic languages, and to blatantly dismiss someone for ANY reason short of an act against the interests of the United States seems absolutely ridiculous. Forget the gay issue.  Take it out of the equation.  Let’s say he gets drunk and starts bar fights every weekend, and has pissed on the Alamo twice...but he’s one of 50 men on earth who can speak the Northeastern regional dialect of Pashtoun in which the last 3 transmissions from known terrorist camps were broadcast.  It is worth losing him?  Will the United States be safer with Alastair Gamble *out* of military service under those conditions? By the way, I have no idea if there even is a northeastern dialect of Pashtoun, this is a hypothetical situation, so please don’t call me to task for that.  :) Ahh, the whole thing is just so frustrating and stupid. It’s time we put pressure on the government to end this stupid policy.  Imagine the good will we as right-leaning peoples, or as Sullivan put it, “Eagles,” would engender by stepping up to the plate and pushing some legislation through to Bush’s desk that said “No more discrimination based on sexual orientation in the military.  Ever.” Let’s do our own cost/benefit analysis: Who’s going to complain: The Religious Right. Who’s going to be forced to stop complaining: Everyone on the (D) side of the aisle Since the odds of the Religious Right switching sides and voting Democrat are about as good as my getting a date with supermodel Giselle tomorrow night, I think we see the benefits outweigh the costs, even in my over-simplified analysis. Alastair Gamble, I don’t know if anyone has said this to you or not, but thank you for volunteering to defend me, my loved ones and my country, and I’m sorry that there are those who can’t see the forest for the trees.  I hope it doesn’t taint your view of this country as a whole, and if this indeed was you who left the comments...thanks for reading. Another update: Japan Today has the story as well.  I get the feeling a lot of the world is laughing at us for this one. Update - My friend Lee at Right-Thinking from the Left Coast has something on this subject today that covers another angle: Shouldn’t the President have the authority to override the anti-gay policy in times of crises, i.e. we need Arabic language experts *right now*.