Will DADT Tweaks Kill Morale?

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Will Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ latest overhaul of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the US’ policy on gays in the military, kill soldiers’ morale? A day after Gates announced the new changes to DADT, the right is crying foul, saying the new regulations will “more confusion and fear among military members” and undercut morale in the armed services. Gates announced yesterday new guidelines that essentially make it more far more difficult to kick out of the military a soldier, sailor, marine, or airman who doesn’t publicly admit they’re gay. Gates’ latest announcement is a “major step toward the end of the law,” said a spokesman for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network.

Today, multiple conservative and Christian groups decried Gates’ decision, warning of the damage it will inflict on servicemembers and claiming it’ll weaken the military. “Members of the military already fear punishment for agreeing with the federal law that homosexuals in the military ‘would create an unacceptable risk to the high standards of morale, good order and discipline, and unit cohesion,'” said Penny Nance, CEO of Concerned Women for American, a conservative Christian group that blasted Gates’ decision. CWA’s president, Wendy Wright, also chimed in, this time playing the national security card. “Our military should have one objective: to keep America safe,” she said. “The job of the military—and the ability to do that job—is too important to be subject to the demands of a special interest group.”

Of course, groups in favor of repealing DADT deny these assertions altogether, saying the safety of American troops will only be improved by ridding the armed services of the Clinton-era policy. Comments like those made by CWA and its ilk, then, are most likely so much sound and fury before DADT is thrown out into the dustbin of history.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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