Rep. John Fleming defends his "license to discriminate" amendment in Defense Authorization Act

Congressman John Fleming of Louisiana introduced (and saw passage) of an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill that allows and protects soldiers to scream and belittle gays in the military along the lines of "you will burn in hell" at gay soldiers based on “conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs.”

It is basically a license to discriminate.

President Obama has threatened to veto the bill if the language is not changed:

“The Administration strongly objects to section 530, which would require the Armed Forces to accommodate, except in cases of military necessity, ‘actions and speech’ reflecting the ‘conscience, moral principles, or religious beliefs of the member,’ the statement read. “By limiting the discretion of commanders to address potentially problematic speech and actions within their units, this provision would have a significant adverse effect on good order, discipline, morale, and mission accomplishment.”

Congressman John Fleming responded to the White House statement:

"President Obama is continuing his war on free speech.

"With the IRS trying to intimidate and silence conservative groups, and the Justice Department digging into the phone records of reporters, it’s no surprise that the president also wants to deny First Amendment rights to our Armed Forces. With its statement, the White House is now endorsing military reprimands of members who keep a Bible on their desk or express a religious belief. That is an outrageous position, but it’s what I’ve come to expect from an administration that is aggressively hostile toward religious beliefs that it deems to be politically incorrect.

"My amendment protects, for our men and women in uniform, a principle enshrined in our Constitution and cherished since our Founding Fathers: the free exercise of one’s religious beliefs, including expressions of one’s belief.

"It has bipartisan support and takes into account the unique context of military service, accommodating the beliefs of our service members, while not jeopardizing military necessity. We need to protect the free speech of the brave warriors who fight to safeguard our liberties, and I hope Congress will reject this blatant White House attack on religious freedom."

(Via Washington Blade)

We do have a budget problem

(via Americans Against the Tea Party)

Paul Ryan can't explain his votes to cut defense spending

On Sunday’s Face the Nation, Norah O’Donnell took Paul Ryan to task regarding his past voting record when it came to cuts in defense spending. Reminding Ryan that he’s criticizing the president for a measure that he, too, voted for, O’Donnell pressed the GOP vice presidential nominee on his stance.

O’Donnell noted that Mitt Romney said Republicans were wrong to agree to a debt deal last summer that included automatic cuts to defense spending. “He’s talking about you because you voted for those cuts, correct?” she asked Ryan.

“I did,” Ryan said, adding that he voted for them because he was working to reach common ground with the president and Democrats to “get a down payment on deficit reduction.”

O’Donnell reiterated that the defense cuts are part of the Budget Control Act, and that Ryan voted for that act. She then dug up a statement Ryan put out following the legislation, in which he called it a “victory” and a “positive step forward.”

“So, you voted for defense cuts, and now you’re criticizing the president for those same defense cuts that you voted for and called a victory,” she pressed. Ryan disagreed, again noting that the House passed a bill to prevent the cuts, but the Senate didn’t do anything about it.

vis Mediaite

Want to balance the budget? How about we make some cuts here...

SRSLY.  How much defense spending do we need?

After a certain point it starts to look like a man in mid-life crisis buying an expensive sports car.  We clearly outspend EVERY  major industrialized nation.  Why not a trillion?  Two trillion?  When is enough enough?

OR - if you really care about the deficit - I'm talking to you Tea Baggers - how about we trim some of this from the defense budget and pay down the deficit?

(...falls on deaf ears...)