Just a little historical note or two for anybody's amusement and amazement:

When Clinton wanted to integrate the armed forces as far as gays and lesbians were concerned, he walked into a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all of whom had their heels dug in with no intention of giving an inch. Clinton started off by asking, "How hard are you fellows going to fight me on this?"

The result, after many hours of cussing and discussing, was "Don't ask, don't tell," which is neither fish nor fowl.

Under similar circumstances, when Harry Truman wanted to racially integrate the armed forces, he walked into a meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, all of whom had their heels dug in with no intention of giving an inch. Truman, as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, simply issued an executive order, turned on his heel, and walked back out of the room, leaving the generals and admirals with their mouths open, but with a clear idea of what their orders were.

Now, a lot of people hated Truman's guts, but within the Constitutional limits of his presidency, he, by God, was a President!!

Don Firth