War is hell, and more so for some than others

Here is a New York Times video about a gay man whose partner of 15 years is serving in Iraq. If his partner is killed or injured, he'll be the last one to know because he is not officially family. They can communicate by email and in writing, but only with a circumspection that would make them seem only friends to a third party. He can't even feel comfortable appearing on camera because someone might connect the dots, out the boyfriend, and end his career.

And yet, with all those disabilities, the boyfriend is willing to serve his nation in wartime and risk death. What does his country offer him in return? The looming prospect of a dishonorable discharge over something that has no impact on his service, even as he serves with coalition forces run by grownups, where gay servicemen serve openly- and heroically- with their straight colleagues. His partner at home is afforded access to none of the extensive support networks and services straight service members' families take for granted. And all this while the military uses its stop-loss powers to keep people in the military who want to get out, and its DODT powers to discharge 13,000 service members and counting.

I'd give almost anything to have one of the Big Swigging' conservative bloggers explain to me how this makes sense. Savonarola? Boy Fogle? Anaconda? Earl? Mr. Donehue?

Somehow I suspect this will meet the same response as my other challenges to conservative orthodoxy.

Silence.

The difference is in this case, hypocrisy costs lives and careers. The willingness to sit back, silent and supine, while aping the patriotic postures of their party, says volumes.