Seen those stories about how military recruitment is succeeding wildly in These Troubled Economic Times? This might be a better explanation as to what's happening: "The secretary of defense ordered, and Congress authorized, an expansion in the size of the Army. But the Army reduced the recruitment goal-and reduced the retention goal. The size of the Army is in fact shrinking. It may look as if it's growing-the Pentagon report gives the impression it's growing-but it's growing only in comparison with the officially set goals. What the report leaves out is that those goals have been lowered, in some cases dramatically."

Is the utter absurdity that is the military's "Dont Ask Don't Tell" policy drawing to a close? An article criticizing the policy was recently published in a National Defense University journal after being reviewed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has sent letters to the President and the Secretary of Defense seeking their "recommendations" on DADT, a move aimed at stiffening Congress' spine to support a repeal. These things usually take a while to play out, but the signs are all pretty good. Get your guns ready, gays! You could be going to Afghanistan soon!

You know how those guys in the upper ranks of the military are. So soft! So sensitive! So when reporters are kind of crazy and mean to them (such as asking them how they enjoy various torture practices, such as the ones committed in our fine military prisons), off they go to complain to editors. All in all, while she might not be the nicest lady employed by a newspaper, we are not sure that foul-mouthed Miami Herald reporter Carol Rosenberg isn't an American hero.

I've always wondered what it's like to have what they call White Pride. I mean, I understand people who like the Gay Pride, and the Black Pride and the East Asian Pride, and so when I think about it casually the White Pride doesn't sound so crazy? Though I always get hung up on what is the "white," since you know: were you white 100 years ago, Irish person, for instance? And the whole way "pride" veers into "supremacy" is more than a little troubling (less so when it is coming from the gays, because, ha, not so scared of them). So it is, yes, upsetting that US Soldiers are hanging out on the "racist version of Facebook run by the National Socialist Movement" and decrying the "multiculturalism."

USA Today: "Army commanders are failing to punish or seek treatment for a growing number of soldiers who test positive for substance abuse, possibly because they don't want to lose any more combat troops, the Army's vice chief of staff has warned."

Air America lady Ana Marie Cox asked about "Don't Ask Don't Tell" at the just-concluded White House press briefing. And, like others before her, she didn't get much of an answer, it sounds like-Obama will work with Congress, blah blah, though apparently the White House spokesman copped to that kicking people out of the military weakened the military. (Awaiting transcript.) If I was super-militaristic and into killing people, I'd be very upset about this whole thing.

The letter the U.S. government sends you when they kick you out of the Army for being gay? It says "You admitted publicly that you are a homosexual, which constitutes homosexual conduct." Yes! Speech acts are back, hello 80s! You don't even have to go down on that dude.