air force

The US Department of Justice has moved to block a worldwide injunction against the enforcement of Don't Ask Don't Tell, but the courts are fighting back against the Administration. The Air Force was ordered last week by a federal judge to reinstate Major Margaret Witt who was expelled a few years ago under Don't Ask Don't Tell. We spend a few minutes talking about gay Republicans and their events this last week. The virulently anti-gay pastor in Atlanta was accused of sexually harrassing men in his mega-church--we'll show you what he said. The Prop 8 case is still moving along, people are filing briefs against Judge Von Walker's decision and 10 states have filed statements in favor of reinstating Prop 8. There are a couple of horrible anti-gay bullying stories to share, but there's a good story from Michigan where students want to elect a transgendered classmate as homecoming king.

"Who needs gay bashing when you have the Ground Zero mosque?" Richard Kim, senior editor at The Nation, asks guest host Esther Armah. In a week when gay and lesbian couples may see obstacles to their right to marry in California fall away, he notes, right-wing media are strangely silent on the issue. Even Glenn Beck is suddenly sounding a libertarian note. Instead, it's all about the "Ground Zero mosque," even as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jerry Brown decide not to pursue their case to uphold Prop 8. The Ninth Circuit and the Supreme Court will rule on the case soon, but it seems that the fearmongering over the issue has shifted dramatically.

It's over a year into an Obama administration, and already that word “compromise” has been heard too much. Yet when the news hit Monday night that the administration had agreed to a compromise that would see Congress voting on overturning "Don't Ask Don't Tell", hopes rose again. GRITtv with Laura Flanders brings participatory democracy onto your computer screen and into your living room, bridging the gap between audience and advocates. Watch any show, at any time: http://grittv.org Distributed by Tubemogul.

Barack Obama and 47 world leaders have agreed to lower the amount of nuclear weapons on hand and work in common to lower the threat of nuclear attack. Cause for celebration? Not quite yet, says Bruce Gagnon of Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. Gagnon joins us via Skype to discuss the Obama administration's nuclear plans, and notes that we still maintain an arsenal far larger than even what the Air Force itself has said is an effective deterrent. The buzz is still heavy about Obama's next move regarding the second vacancy on the Supreme Court since his inauguration. Will his next appointment be someone who is capable of shaping the Court, pushing it in a more progressive direction? This question is of particular importance in the wake of the recent decision in the Citizens United case to allow corporations the unfettered ability to spend money to influence elections. John Bonifaz of Voter Action joins us in studio to discuss the ongoing efforts to fight corporate-controlled elections. The Village Voice reported recently on one of New York's best-kept secrets: its public schools are some of the most segregated public schools in the country. The schools have two tiers: one for affluent white families who pump private funds into THEIR kids classrooms, and another for largely minority, poor communities-- underfunded, underserved and overcrowded. About 43% of these have severe space problems, and the recession ensures that no help is in sight. GRITtv went to Donna Nevel, an advocate for fairer schools in New York, for her take. Finally, it's tax time again, and Laura takes a look at what all the tea partiers are really in a twist about.