Aug 15, 2022To Fight for LGBTQ Rights Today, Look to the Past.Remarks made to Stonewall Delaware, August 13, 2022. A pioneer for LGBTQ rights, and someone on whose shoulders I stood, is Delaware’s own Barbara Gittings who, with Frank Kameny, led marches protesting the ban on gays in the military in the 1960's. When she passed in 2007, I asked my…LGBTQ4 min readLGBTQ4 min read
Aug 4, 2022The Republicans Caused InflationThe Republicans Caused Inflation The common wisdom is that Democrats will lose in the midterms because the party in power typically loses seats. Pundits predict a shellacking this year because of inflation. Americans vote their pocketbook, and our wallets are hurting because of prices at the gas pump and grocery…Inflation4 min readInflation4 min read
Nov 15, 2021Tout the Biden Record“[More than 6 in 10 Americans say [President Joe Biden] has not accomplished much after 10 months in office, including 71 percent of independents,” concludes a poll conducted by The Washington Post. Let’s examine the record. Here’s my running list. Add to it. Combatting the worst global health crisis in…Infrastructure5 min readInfrastructure5 min read
Nov 12, 2021Citizenship and the Armed Forces:Why Repealing of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Was Critical for LGBTQ Equality An address to the American Legion Kenneth H. Nash Post 8, Washington D.C. on Veterans Day, 2021: I would like to reflect on how inclusion strengthens our nation as we mark the tenth anniversary of the repeal of…Citizenship4 min readCitizenship4 min read
Nov 11, 2021A Veterans Day Tribute To Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell HeroesEvery current or former service member is extraordinary for two simple reasons: they agreed to defend our nation against enemies even at risk to their own lives; and they took an oath to defend our constitution and our democracy. This Veterans Day I would like to call out a few…Veterans4 min readVeterans4 min read
Oct 20, 2021Teach our history“Who knows who Barbara Gittings was?” I asked my staff the day after she had died in 2007. Only three of the 16 staff members raised their hands. I flashed an autographed photo of her she had given me after I moderated a discussion with her and a fellow LGBTQ…LGBTQ4 min readLGBTQ4 min read
Oct 10, 2021What Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Says About Today’s Cancel Culture“Don’t ask, don’t tell,” which was repealed ten years ago, was the ultimate in cancel culture. It required gays to keep their identity an absolute secret as a condition of military service. Service members could not come out to anyone, anywhere, anytime, whether to a friend, family member, doctor, clergy…Coming Out3 min readComing Out3 min read
Sep 27, 2021The Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Revolution Was TelevisedIn 2008, Peter Singer, a senior fellow at the staid Brookings Institution, published a monograph cheekily titled “How TheReal World Ended ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell.’” He began by noting that in 1992, the same year that presidential candidate Bill Clinton proposed the idea of lesbian, gay and bisexual Americans serving…LGBTQ7 min readLGBTQ7 min read
Sep 24, 2021Leadership Lessons of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”One of the things I learned while advocating for repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” the military’s ban on lesbian, gay and bisexual service members who came out, which was repealed ten years ago, is that leaders lean into controversy. Leaders do not avoid problems, they confront them. A couple…Leadership5 min readLeadership5 min read
Sep 10, 20219/11 Changed the Debate on Gays in the MilitaryThere were many factors leading to the repeal of “Don’t ask, don’t tell” ten years ago on September 20, 2011. One of them was 9/11. Gay discharges had surged from 617 in 1994, the year “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was implemented, to 1,273 in 2001, the highest since 1987. As…LGBT5 min readLGBT5 min read
