Quick Fire News (Don't Ask Don't Tell, Chilean Miners)

Quick Fire News (Don't Ask Don't Tell, Chilean Miners)

Don't Ask Don't Tell
A federal judge who had previously declared the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy unconstitutional has now released a memorandum on the Department of Defense, forcing it to lift the policy that had kept openly gay soldiers from serving in the military since 1993. Attorney General Eric Holder can decide to attempt to challenge the decision or he can allow it to stand. Either way, this is the biggest step towards the total repeal of the policy that has occurred; hopefully, it will give way to either Congress or the Obama Administration taking steps towards the complete dismantling of the policy.
In a midterm year when Democrats are struggling to keep their legislative achievements the focus, a progressive move like this in Congress could act as a way to highlight the stark difference between Democrats and Republicans on social issues. This particular group of Republican candidates for Congressional seats generally share rather radically conservative views on social issues including gay rights and abortion. It is imperative that the Democrats running for Congress do not allow themselves to simply be 'the other option' to Republicans. They need to be running on their legislative triumphs and their comparative moderate positions.

Chilean Miners
In what has become possibly the biggest and most uplifting story about mines in a really long time, all of the 33 miners, with some rescuers still on their way up) have been rescued from the collapsed mine in Chile they had been trapped in for over two months. Their rescue was far ahead of schedule and, according to authorities in Chile, the men appeared in better health than expected. Countless Chileans have been watching live television reports on the rescues across the country, and many more have been camped out at the site of the mine- some since the original collapse. Other than the hopefulness of the situation (the miners' fate was originally considered bleak), the story truly demonstrates the technological advances the world has made in terms of underground equipment. As few as five years ago, there is no way this rescue would have been possible. The miners would, in all likelihood, not have been reached in the first place by message and certainly would not be returning today from their situation in the condition they are in.