From DNAinfo:
MANHATTAN — For Christmas this year Lt. Dan Choi got a promise ring.
Choi had sent his West Point graduation ring to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to remind the senator of a promise he made to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, banning gays and lesbians from serving openly, by the end of the year.
With President Barack Obama’s signing of a law overturning the ban Wednesday, Reid made good on his promise and returned the ring to Choi, a Manhattan resident.
“Five months after I promised to repeal DADT, I’m so happy to give this West Point ring back to Lt. Dan Choi,” Reid tweeted along with a photo of the exchange in his office.
Choi, an Iraq war veteran who was discharged from the Army after coming out, also tweeted the event.
…snip…
The repeal of the policy signaled a huge victory for Choi, 29, who became the face of opposition to DADT after coming out, with an active Twitter feed and frequent television appearances.
In October, Choi tried to re-enlist in the armed forces at a recruiting center in Times Square after a court decision forcing military recruiters to accept openly gay recruits.
…snip…
Despite passage of the law overturning the ban, Choi pointed out that it did not include protection for transgender service members.
And, while he said overturning DADT was a step in the right direction in the fight for LGBT rights, Choi made it clear that the fight for equality was far from over.
“The next time I get a ring from a man,” he said. “I expect it to be for full, equal, American marriage.”
Sweet!
i have to admit that i choked up a bit when i saw the video (again) of harry reid accepting the ring and then when i saw the pic of him giving it back to dan choi. call me an old softie!
Mitch McConnell’s balls in Reid’s hand would have been nice as well.
I’m proud to be your Northern neighbour today. American doesn’t look like a big, obnoxious moron these days.
i refuse to look for pictures of yertle mcconnell’s balls. i can squint that much, and i don’t have a magnifying glass big enough.
who woulda thought that the u s of a could do something mature?
If the news keep improving on the next few days, Glenn Beck will retire to build homes for orphans and wings will grow on Princess Sarah’s back so she can go visit other galaxies.
only if santa claus really exists.
“wings will grow on Princess Sarah’s back so she can go visit other galaxies.”
We should be so lucky. She hardly visits other countries.
and the other countries are very grateful.
Awesome poster!
I love Harry Reid.
harry made my day! i defended harry reid when almost everyone else was dissing him. so glad to see that my faith was not misplaced.
Obama and Reid are going to high five each other about what they did lately until they have blisters.
i hope they invite nancy pelosi to the party. they couldn’t have done it without her.
I guess she could come by for a few fistbumps…
fistbumps would be awesome! that would make the faux news asswipes’ heads explode!
who’s hawwy?
I looked for the Michigan Frog on youtube, but couldn’t find the Harry song.
at around the 53 second mark…
When Warner Brothers first started the WB network, they made Michigan J. Frog their mascot, at least for the station in Detroit. That was the first I’d heard his name. I always thought he was just the singing frog.
P.S. Check your hotlist on the Big Orange.
i had to google to find out who m’lissa was talking about. i had no idea who michigan frog was, but as soon as i saw the video, i knew. i didn’t know he had a name.
p.s. too late! i was already there. in fact, i was the second one to rec the diary.
did you have the cane and top hat?
No. Just a big mouth!
webbed feet?
I have a urge to switch my voicemail answering message for this frog song. Good childhood memory…
can you can the beep to a croak, too? that would be awesome!
Holiday greetings from frog country. You know that Mark Twain story about the frog jumping contest, that’s here, and they still do it in summertime. But I ran across another tale this week that the raisins might enjoy, the back story to a song made famous by the great Roy Orbison. A tale told of 50 years ago by Bill Mack on XM this week about a young clean cut songwriter that you old timers might have seen on Sulivan, who was in downtown Fort Worth trying to get some last minute gifts at Leonard’s, the big department store. Out front on the sidewalk was a poor fellow that had lost his legs, sitting on his little cart, trying to sell pencils and other small things to make a living of sorts. Because of the season, the fellow had a few seasonal items for sale too and this whole scene of bustling people, Christmas time, and the handicapped man made a deep impression on young Willie who went home and wrote “Pretty paper, pretty ribbons of blue….”
as soon as you mentioned calaveras county, the very first thing i thought of was the mark twain story. i don’t know if i even remember what the story is about, i just always loved the title. it’s trips off the tongue with perfect balance.
Thanks for the song. You’re a dear!
just for tonight, i’m a rein-dear. jews are the only ones who work on xmas eve.
You are so funny, Nonnie!
Ok. Santa has eaten the cookies. It’s so late! I have to sleep. Good night!
i thought michele obama had brought the force of the united states government to stop santa from eating dessert.
you have been santa to us all…….
may your days be merry and white
and may all your Sarah Palins be bright…..
i feel like all the raisinettes are my santas all year long. i really do adore all of you.
even in south floriduhhhh, there’s more of a chance of my days being white with snow than there is of princess sarah every being bright.
For a review of DADT and other Obama accomplishments, please check out http://thisweekwithmitchgrosky.wordpress.com/2010/12/22/president-obamas-december-to-remember/