Not sure entirely how I feel about yesterday’s killing of Osama bin Laden by US troops and the CIA, but am somewhat gladdened that this facet of the attacks on September 11, 2001 is behind us.

I was happy to see President Obama stand up from the political mire and make a decision that for probably only a brief moment, reunited the American people.

Will it end “the war on terror”? Hardly.

I’m not sure ultimately what it solves or resolves and I suspect that from small things will come even greater tragedies.

A new year begins. What will this one hold that is any different from any other year? There may be some significant happenings, but in the overall scheme of things (if there actually is a scheme), perhaps not much. Human progress seems to march rather slowly.

Here are some questions I would like to see answered in 2011:

• Will the spate of teen suicides relent as the “it gets better” seed takes root?
• Will the LDS church continue to soften its rhetoric on homosexuality and its non-inspired speculation on its cause(s)?
• Will the LDS church stop using the term “same sex attraction” as if homosexuality is a clinical diagnosis, with a cure?
• Will the repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell” become an actuality in the US armed forces without a huge rightwing backlash?
• Will Sarah Palin’s prayers (and ours) to know if she should run for president be answered?
• Will California’s “Prop 8″ be reversed in federal court? Will it move to the US Supreme Court?
• Will the LDS church finally get its noses and finances out of politics and actually focus on helping heal the world?
• Will the US really, finally withdraw from Afghanistan?
• Will the world economy improve?
• Will world peace be within our grasp?

Meanwhile, I’m still waiting for flying cars.

Roger Ebert has written in his Chicago Sun-Times blog a strong indictment against the purveyors of subtle (and not so subtle) lies in today’s political process.

This is the best line: “Our political immune system has only one antibody, and that is the truth.”

Put up or shut up

This many Americans did not arrive at such conclusions on their own. They were persuaded by a relentless process of insinuation, strategic silence and cynical misinformation. Most of the leaders in this process have been cautious to avoid actually saying Obama is a Muslim. They speak in coded words and allow the implications to sink in. I recently watched Glenn Beck speaking at great length about Obama’s Muslim father, but you would not have learned from Beck that the father, who Obama met only once, was not a practicing Muslim in any sense.

Rush Limbaugh has told his listeners he can find “no evidence” that Obama is a Christian. In Paul Krugman’s op-ed column in the New York Times on 8/29, Limbaugh is quoted: “Imam Hussein Obama, is probably the best anti-American president we’ve ever had.” Limbaugh obviously doesn’t believe Obama is an imam. How many of his listeners realize that? Is he concerned that his words will be taken seriously?
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The 4th of July continues to be the most confusing holiday in Utah — especially if it falls on a Sunday.

We’ve been barraged with firecrackers and other dog-affecting noise since Friday and it no doubt will continue well into the evening of the 5th, but there will be few official fireworks or other public celebrations of the 234th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence held today — the actual date.

The reasons are twofold:

A non-LDS friend of mine put it best in a Facebook post:

I’m celebrating the 4th on the 4th. Please don’t tell my bishop.

Right-wing pundit Bill Kristol is refuted on his stance on the President’s proposal to finally repeal the ridiculous “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in this article in The Economist.

It pains me deeply to see patriotic, self-sacrificing, loyal American citizens still dealing with this almost a year into the Obama Administration — and 10 years into the 21st century.

Isn’t it time?

‘Don’t ask, Don’t tell’ — don’t call home?
By Ed Hornick, CNN

Washington (CNN) — There’s a constant fear that hangs over some service members deployed to a war zone — and it’s not necessarily the threat from insurgents or roadside bombs.

One Marine serving in Afghanistan said suppressing the truth about his sexual orientation is gut-wrenching.

“I do worry a lot about being outed and kicked out,” he said in an e-mail to CNN. “So far the military has been my livelihood and my source of work/income for the past six years. I don’t want that all taken away from me and me being discharged anything but honorably.”

The Marine requested anonymity because of the military’s 1993 congressionally mandated “don’t ask, don’t tell” law prohibiting gay, lesbian and bisexual service members from coming out.
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So I’m on Facebook this evening and come across a couple of posts from relatives who are using it as a pulpit to broadcast their political opinions, rather than as the social network that makes it enjoyable to catch up with long-lost friends and family.

It’s the equivalent of bringing in and banging one’s own drum at a concert in the midst of an audience who thought they were present to enjoy the music from the performers on stage.

It’s disruptive. It’s counter-productive. It’s rude.
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Would we expect any less?

Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”

Washington – The Supreme Court on Monday turned down a challenge to the Pentagon policy forbidding gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military, granting a request by the Obama administration.

The court said it will not hear an appeal from former Army Capt. James Pietrangelo II, who was dismissed under the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

The federal appeals court in Boston earlier threw out a lawsuit filed by Pietrangelo and 11 other veterans. He was the only member of that group who asked the high court to rule that the Clinton-era policy is unconstitutional.

In court papers, the administration said the appeals court ruled correctly in this case when it found that “don’t ask, don’t tell” is “rationally related to the government’s legitimate interest in military discipline and cohesion.”
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The Daily Show takes on the Daniel Choi and his recent dismissal as an Arab translator in Iraq — because he violated the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.