The soundbytes from today's Senate hearing on DADT that you'll most likely be subjected to all weekend unfortunately come from those who support discrimination. Army Chief of Staff General George Casey and Marine Corps. Commandant Gen. James Amos helped fuel Sen. McCain's bigoted push for continued anti-gay practices in the military by telling the Senate panel that DADT repeal shouldn't be considered until 2012.

Said Gen. Casey, "I would not recommend going forward at this time, given everything that the Army has on its plate."

Gen. Amos expanded on the unrealistic concern (which I had thought the comprehensive Pentagon study had disproved..?). "My suspicions are that the law will be repealed," Amos said. "And all I'm asking is the...

The final day of the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings on the Pentagon DADT report are happening right now. You can watch the proceedings live by following this link to Pentagon TV. 

Though even the most hardened and once-opposed military officials agree that the Pentagon's DADT study is comprehensive, Senator John McCain on Thursday increasingly distanced himself from reality, logic and the majority of Americans by reiterating disapproval for the landmark research. 

At the start of today's Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on DADT repeal, Sen. McCain insisted that a "rush to repeal" without further examination of the report would be harmful to the military. 

"I'm not saying this law should never change," McCain said in his opening statement. "I am simply saying that it may be premature to make this change and in this manner without further consideration of this report."

As we reported earlier, General...

"With our nation at war and so many Americans serving on the front lines, our troops and their families deserve the certainty that can only come when an act of Congress ends this discriminatory policy once and for all. The House of Representatives has already passed the necessary legislation. Today I call on the Senate to act as soon as possible so I can sign this repeal into law this year and ensure that Americans who are willing to risk their lives for their country are treated fairly and equally. Our troops represent the virtues of selfless sacrifice and love of country that have enabled our freedoms. I am absolutely confident that they will adapt to this change and remain the best led, best trained, best equipped ...

As expected, the Pentagon has decided that a repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell would not harm the troops. In case you're interested to see how the military enlightened itself, Joe Jervis has uploaded the full document and study. Check it out after the jump. After (or even while, if you're an experienced multi-tasker) reading the findings, why not call your Senator to tell them they must repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell NOW?

Under a headline titled "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Report: Little Risk to Enlisting Gays," The Washington Post gives us a heads-up on what to expect from the Pentagon's DADT report ahead of its 2:30 p.m. release. 

According to a survey sent to 400,000 service members, 69 percent of those responding reported that they had served with someone in their unit who they believed to be gay or lesbian. Of those who did, 92 percent stated that their unit's ability to work together was very good, good, or neither good nor poor, according to the sources.

Combat units reported similar responses, with 89 percent of Army combat units and 84 percent of Marine combat units saying they had good or neutral experiences working with gays and lesbians.

At ...

Just ahead of the expected Pentagon report on DADT-repeal readiness, Lady Gaga has issued a video plea for fans to urge their Senators to end military discrimination immediately.

Says Lady Gaga, "The senate needs to get this bill passed this year to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell otherwise it can take years to happen. Social oppression is currently running rampant in this country, as many of you know. This recent horrific news of gay suicides is proof of our social oppression, and ultimately government oppression that is killing our youth. We have to end this law because it reinforces discrimination and is setting a bad example."

Judging from the pace of our fight for marriage, by the time we actually inevitably achieve equality, the institution of marriage might be an antique of American culture, like bipartisanship or Liza's sanity. Why's that? A new Pew/Time poll finds that four out of ten Americans under 30 believe that marriage is becoming obsolete. Going further, five percent of the 2,691 adults surveyed say they don't want to get married. 

The study reveals that while younger generations may be less likely to tie the knot based on indifference to the institution, those who earn less might not wed because of their class status. 

The new poll didn't leave GLBT relationships out of the mix and reports that the amount of adults supporting our fight ...

File this in the "things we've known all along" category. 

In a front page story, The Washington Post has published leaked Pentagon documents that reveal a Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal would pose "minimal risk" to the military. 

Servicemembers United was quick to respond.

"These results confirm what those of us who actually know the modern military, especially the rank and file troops, have said all along. The men and women of America's armed forces are professionals who are capable of handling this policy change," said Alexander Nicholson, Executive Director of Servicemembers United. "In light of these findings, as well as the Secretary of Defense's recent call for Senate action on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' during the lame duck...

The tangible disenfranchisement the community felt in the months leading up to the midterms reveal themselves in numbers out today showing that Republicans garnered 31% of the gay vote this year, compared to only 19% in 2008.

Huffington Post explains:

The change from the last midterm elections in 2006 was not quite as large but an increase nevertheless. In 2006, 24 percent supported Republicans. Democrats' share of the gay vote rose from 75 percent in 2006 to 80 percent in 2008 and then dropped to 68 percent in 2010. Each year, approximately 3 percent of voters identified as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

While Dems gain more of the gay vote for presidential elections, the sharp increase this year could spell trouble for 2012. Looks like it’s...

The most comprehensive study surveying the way Americans have sex has been released (full disclosure: financed by Trojan), and contains interesting tidbits about what goes on under the country's 1,000-thread count Egyptian sheets from the discount rack at WalMart. So that you don't have to spend all morning pouring over the stats and office-network-flagging words like orgasm, oral sex and more, we've digested the entire thing to arrive at the key highlights...

Good news, Instincters: A majority of our fellow Americans now view our families as real, American families!

From the NY Times:

A majority of Americans now say their definition of family includes same-sex couples with children, as well as married gay and lesbian couples.

At the same time, most Americans do not consider unmarried cohabiting couples, either heterosexual or same-sex, to be a family — unless they have children.

The findings — part of a survey conducted this year as well as in 2003 and 2006 by Brian Powell, a sociology professor at Indiana University, Bloomington — are reported in a new book, “Counted Out: Same-Sex Relations and Americans’ Definitions of Family,” to be published on Wednesday by the Russell...