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In a "Letter to the Church" released Monday, July 18, LCMS President Dr. Matthew C. Harrison announced that, beginning in 2012, the Synod will no longer co-sponsor its training conferences for military chaplains with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The decision, which Harrison said was not made lightly, was based on input from the Synod's Ministry to the Armed Forces committee and from active- and reserve-duty LCMS chaplains. It ends a cooperative ministry that began in 1941 between the LCMS and two other Lutheran church bodies at that time -- The American Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church...

According to an explosive document, investigators from the U.S. military’s top investigative office found evidence that a Pentagon survey pivotal to the [DADT] repeal was engineered months prior to its release, and was deliberately skewed in later media leaks, with the intention of swaying Congress towards repeal despite opposition from combat troops. An unredacted version of the April 2011 report by the Defense department’s Inspector General was leaked to the conservative Center for Military Readiness, and a slightly redacted version was confirmed as authentic by a Defense spokesperson to LifeSiteNews.com. The authors found that Jeh Johnson, a co-chair of the...

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta to certify that gays can serve openly in the armed services

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- More than 200 active duty troops and war veterans waving small American flags alongside rainbow banners are marching in San Diego's gay pride parade. It's believed to be the first time an identifiable group of active duty troops has participated in such an event in the U.S.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - The military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy is back in place for the time being, with one major caveat: the government is not allowed to investigate, penalize or discharge anyone who is openly gay. A San Francisco federal appeals court ordered the military to temporarily continue the controversial policy in an order late Friday, the court's response to a request from the Obama administration.

In response to a request from the Obama administration, a federal appeals court is allowing the military to temporarily continue its "don't ask, don't tell" policy for openly gay service members.

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A former Navy operations specialist is organizing what is believed to be the nation's first military contingent of active-duty troops and veterans to lead a gay pride parade. Sean Sala says the group will march Saturday in San Diego's parade, the nation's fifth largest.

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A federal appeals court has barred further enforcement of the U.S. military's ban on openly gay service members.</p> <p>A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Wednesday the "don't ask, don't tell" policy must be immediately lifted now that the Obama administration says it's unconstitutional to treat gay Americans differently under the law.</p>

By Associated Press, Updated: Wednesday, July 6, 2:34 PM SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court has barred further enforcement of the U.S. military’s ban on openly gay service members. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said Wednesday the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy must be immediately lifted now that the Obama administration says it’s unconstitutional to treat gay Americans differently under the law.

Just as Defense Secretary Gates has done a fair job, with exceptions, and has been awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Obama, he may be most remembered for approving the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, yet strangely, he has not certified the controversial reversal of policy, leaving that chore to his replacement, Leon Panetta, who is pro abort, so most probably he will also kneel at the feet of the gay lobby. We all to often hear about the nonexistent "Homophobia" which has had various definitions from the fear becoming gay to the fear of gays taking over,...

As Secretary of Defense Robert Gates prepares to retire to private life — after five years as the head of the Department of Defense in both the Bush and Obama administrations — praise is being heaped on him by Democrats and Republicans alike. Herein a dissenting view. History will not be kind to Gates. Despite some noteworthy accomplishments, he will be remembered as the single most important facilitator of an Iranian regime with nuclear weapons. Future historians will compare him to Neville Chamberlain’s military advisers who opposed all forms of military intervention against the greatest potential danger of the era:...

Defense Department Inspector General Says, The Fix Was In… DADT Survey Results Written BEFORE Survey Taken! In a 33 page report by Inspector General, Department of Defense, obtained by WND and reported today, “Feds Find Fix Was in on ‘Study’ of Homosexuality in Ranks,” concludes that “the fix – maybe even handed down by the White House – was in before the military ever started asking soldiers and sailors about how opening the ranks to homosexuals would affect the nation’s defense.” If you will remember the Democrats, having suffered extreme losses during the mid-term elections, were ramming through legislation during...

WASHINGTON -- Three members of the Air Force have asked to be discharged because they are gay, moving quickly to get out of the military under the ban on openly gay service before its expected repeal later this year. Pentagon officials said the other military services have not seen any similar effort this year under the so-called "don't ask, don't tell" law that prohibits gays from serving openly. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said there are no roadblocks to ending the 17-year-old ban, but it probably won't happen until mid-summer. Gates leaves office this week. According to the Air Force,...

A previously undisclosed report by the inspector general of the Department of Defense concludes that the fix – maybe even handed down by the White House – was in before the military ever started asking soldiers and sailors about how opening the ranks to homosexuals would affect the nation's defense.

How Congress Was Duped into Repealing Military Gay Ban Center for Security Policy | Jun 27, 2011By Frank Gaffney, Jr. One of the more sordid moments in recent congressional history came during last December's lame-duck session.  Democratic majorities on both sides of Capitol Hill rammed through a controversial repeal of the 1993 statute (wrongly described as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell") which prohibited avowed homosexuals from serving in the armed forces.The Senate and House leadership did so with scarcely any hearings and extremely limited opportunity for debate.  This action amounted to a raw abuse of power, a last gasp by an Obama...

Defense Secretary Robert Gates is unlikely to certify repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” before leaving office next week, senior defense and military officials said. Two weeks ago, Gates said that he would finalize the repeal of the 18-year-old ban on openly gay troops if the service chiefs give him their OK before he retires on June 30. And in a message to commanders earlier this month, Army leaders said assessments on the progress and impact of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” repeal training — underway since February — are due this Friday, leaving open a slim possibility that certification...

Straight talk from Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps: “How dare we, then, exclude a group of people who want to do the same thing you do right now, something that is honorable and noble?” “Get over it,” he said. “We’re magnificent, we’re going to continue to be. Let’s just move on, treat everybody with firmness, fairness, dignity, compassion and respect. Let’s be Marines.” bit.ly The Command Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps addressed a group of Marines at a base in South Korea several key topics, including the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy...

PORTLAND - U.S. Sen. Susan Collins was approached at a reception Friday by several veterans who were eager to thank her for her role in helping to repeal the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy, which banned openly gay, lesbian and bisexual people from serving. Collins said their gratitude was misplaced. "It is I who thank them for serving our country," said Collins. The Maine Republican made her remarks as the guest of honor at EqualityMaine's celebration of the repeal of the policy, one of the events in the 25th Southern Maine Pride Week.

The more upside-down the view of off-campus life that professors take, it seems, the more likely they are to succeed. Take Peter Edelman of the Georgetown Law Center who the D. C. bar describes as a “legend.” An Obama supporter, he is pained to note of the president’s economic policies that, “In spite of all that, we’re not doing too well.” Similarly, he bemoans the “flood of low-wage jobs that built up in this country for about a quarter century” without acknowledging that virtually all of last month’s job gains came from McDonald’s. Edelman moderated a panel at the Center...

With little fanfare and by a vote of 322 – 96, HR.1540: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 passed the House on May 26th. In this bill the House: added provisions which will require that “foreign terrorists” detained by the United States be considered enemy combatants and tried in military tribunals rather than the civilian court system and forbade the introduction of ground forces in Libya. It also eliminated the U.S. Institute of Peace, forbade military installations from hosting same-sex weddings and barred Defense Department chaplains or civilians from performing such ceremonies as part of their official duties....