Join Phi Alpha Delta Legal Fraternity -- Bad Idea?

[everyman]

Wow!

[pluck]

A Gallup poll showed Clinton with a favorable rate of 55%. True, her unfavorable number is 39%, which is high enough for concern -- but one that is nearly identical to Bush's on the eve of his reelection. And the unfavorable rating registered by Republican contender Bill Frist was nearly as high as his favorable numbers, with 32% saying they'd never heard of him. Then there was this eye-opening question:

If Hillary Rodham Clinton were to run for president in 2008, how likely would you be to vote for her -- very likely, somewhat likely, not very likely, or not at all likely?

Very likely 29
Somewhat likely 24
Not very likely 7
Not at all likely 40
No opinion 1

At the risk of laboring the point, 29% plus 24% adds up to a majority. I can hear my pals answering this as they read these numbers: "Yes, but that's before the conservative attack machine gets a hold of her..." Well, no, it isn't. They've been going at her with verbal tire irons, machetes, and sawed-off shotguns for 12 years now. Clinton's negatives are already figured into her ratings. What could she be accused of that she hasn't already confronted since she entered the public eye 14 years ago? Clinton today is in a position similar to Bush's at the beginning of 2004. Democrats hoped that more information about the president's youth would knock him down. But voters had already taken the president's past into account when they voted for him in 2000. More information just wasn't going to make a dent. In fact, as the spring of 2005 turned to summer there were yet another book and a matched spate of tabloid broadsides. In the face of it all, Hillary appears, if anything, to be getting stronger. Indeed, the more the right throws at her, the easier it is for her to lump any criticism in with the darkest visions of the professional Clinton bashers.

[paddco]

Actually, if you look at the PDP website and/or Constitution, you will see that it's not.  We also have a letter on file from PDP Executive Director Tim Wheat in which he states that you are not.  If you want to join or belong to PDP, good for you.  Just make sure that you're joining for the right reason and not due to the false impression that you're joining an honorary law fraternity.  As mentioned before, such a thing does not exist. 

"Phi Delta Phi is an honor fraternity to which students with a minimum academic standing or service commitment are invited. Phi Delta Phi, established in 1869, is the oldest professional fraternity in the western hemisphere and many leaders of the bench, bar and law schools are members. Those who seek camaraderie, good fellowship and promotion of the highest standards of professional and personal ethics may be interested in Phi Delta Phi. In addition, Phi Delta Phi offers tangible benefits including scholarships, student loans, regional and international meetings and conventions."

"PAD is the world’s largest professional legal fraternity serving students, law schools and the profession. It is dedicated to the ideals of community service. Its goal is to form a strong bond uniting students and teachers with the bench and bar. This international organization offers professional programs, student loans, job preparation, job placement assistance, insurance programs, a quarterly publication, conventions, conferences, awards and lifetime friendships. PAD is open to all students."

[Free Radical]

[ruffl]

On March 5 of this year Hill told the nation's leading gay rights group in an unpublicized speech that she wants a partnership with gays if elected president. Clinton also said she opposes the "don't ask, don't tell" policy regarding gays in the military that was instituted during her husband's presidency. "I am proud to stand by your side," Clinton said in a keynote speech to the Human Rights Campaign. Neither Clinton's campaign nor her Senate office made any announcement that she would be making the Friday address.

In the speech, Clinton joked that she shares the same initials as the group, and pledged to maintain the same close working relationship that last year helped defeat the federal amendment which would have banned same-sex marriage. "I want you to know that this is exactly the kind of partnership we will have when I am president," Clinton told the group. "I want you to know that just as you always have an open door to my senate office, you will always have an open door to the White House and together we can continue this journey."

Clinton's husband Bill Clinton was president when the Pentagon instituted the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which says gays may serve in the military only if they keep their sexual orientation private. In 1999, as she prepared to run for the Senate from New York, Clinton publicly opposed that policy. Previous to Bill Clinton's administration, gays were flatly forbidden from serving in the military. Sen. Clinton said it would be safer for the nation if openly gay soldiers, sailors, Marines, and airmen could wear the uniform.

"This policy doesn't just hurt gays and lesbians, it hurts all our troops and this to me is a matter of national security and we're going to fix it," Clinton said. Her chief rivals for the Democratic nomination, John Edwards and Barack Obama, also favor repealing the policy. She also attacked the Bush administration for making political appeals based on gay rights issues, vowing that her presidency would mark "the end of leadership that has politicized the most personal and intimate issues." Human Rights Campaign vice president David Smith said Clinton's comments were "very well received," though he added the group is not endorsing any candidate and does not anticipate making an endorsement "anytime soon."

Clinton spokesman Blake Zeff said Tuesday the candidate "affirmed her desire to have a strong partnership with the community as president," adding they were "delighted" the speech was available on the Internet. Clinton aides said no announcement was made because the group's gathering is traditionally closed to the press. Video of the speech was posted on the group's Web site. Smith said such annual board meetings have always been closed to the press, but it was the first time he could remember that a speech at such a meeting had been made public afterward. "There's no contradiction," he said. "The event is always closed to the press and we wanted to make (the remarks) available for people to see."

[marygo]

That is why I think Hill is discredited in front of voters -- and not only in relation to her position towards gays ... she just cannot escape the image of her husband.

[burka]

Can you tell me one who's not discredited, marygo?

[l i e b e]

Military homophobia has always been somewhat of a paradox. Sex between soldiers is officially strictly forbidden, unofficially tolerated (as long as it does not become public knowledge and the 'offenders' retain their official heterosexual identity), and unconsciously encouraged, by forcing men to live together in close quarters without any substantial privacy, by limiting their access to female partners and by promoting close friendships. Marines in many ways are in reverse drag -- the uniforms, the meticulous attention to detail about image and appearance, the exaggeration of the gender-specific attributes. It all makes sense.



"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" :: An Interesting Book

http://youtube.com/watch?v=4gQv19gbqL0

[Cafe Cargo]

Military homophobia has always been somewhat of a paradox. Sex between soldiers is officially strictly forbidden, unofficially tolerated (as long as it does not become public knowledge and the 'offenders' retain their official heterosexual identity), and unconsciously encouraged, by forcing men to live together in close quarters without any substantial privacy, by limiting their access to female partners and by promoting close friendships. Marines in many ways are in reverse drag -- the uniforms, the meticulous attention to detail about image and appearance, the exaggeration of the gender-specific attributes. It all makes sense.



http://youtube.com/watch?v=4gQv19gbqL0

It may be a story of a soldier who happens to be gay. Either topic alone has merit, but the two in juxtaposition adds a surprising dimension. A tremendous waste and energy lost to the human experience when a person fails to live an authentic life and pursue her or his authentic self. The utter irony that an American gay soldier is willing to die to protect the freedoms of his fellow citizens, but yet is not free to be himself. We often see advertisements to join the Army and BE ALL YOU CAN BE. But it seems the Army doesn't really mean what it says for everyone who joins the Army. Indeed there should be no "conflict" in being a gay man and an American soldier, and at the same time.

[al so]

[...] Indeed there should be no "conflict" in being a gay man and an American soldier, and at the same time.

As a matter of fact, soldier, there should be no conflict in a being a gay man and an American citizen, at the same time...