About a year ago, I wrote a response to a David Horowitz column in which the conservative Salon.com writer called for a ban on gays in the military. In it, I said, three months before the World Trade Center attacks, that the ban was a bad idea, for the following reasons:

"There is no front line in combat anymore. In fact, the line between combatant and noncombatant has been blurring with the increasing presence of terrorism, nonconventional arms, the targeting of nonmilitary buildings and areas and ethnic warfare drawing civilians into conflict zones.

"The duty of a real soldier is to accept risk to spare others, to paint a bull's-eye on one's back to draw fire away from civilians. "Combat" or "support" distinctions are becoming less relevant. And service people understand that.

"I will not attribute qualities of superhuman, robotic discipline to American soldiers -- I don't think it fits with our concept of service and I don't think it breeds a better service person. But I've known few groups of people anywhere outside of the military with a better sense of how to perform professionally in a crisis under bad circumstances. Emergency rooms, maybe. Fire departments, perhaps. Military decision makers increasingly grow shy of risk, but those who serve today can accept it as a consequence of the profession.

"The idea of any soldier, for any reason, abandoning his or her post in combat to aid a bed buddy is outrageous to professional soldiers. It presumes the widespread presence of basic immaturity and character flaws. I know of damned few soldiers with such flawed personal priorities who would not be washed out of the service in short order for other reasons.

As a former Arabic student at DLI, I have only one thing to ask. Is the Army nuts?

The school is one of the modern military marvels, worthy of a History Channel show. The entrance examination alone knocks most people out of contention. Students train for seven hours a day in a foreign language, most of it in completely immersion by the end of course. The school is more like a college than a military training facility.

And that's the trouble for the soldiers facing discharge. I remember standing inspection for the fearsome former base commandant Col. Vladimir Sobichevsky, a Russian-born special forces sergeant who served something like seven tours in Vietnam before earning his commission. He was a spit-and-polish soldier who meant to combat what he viewed as a lackadaisacal attitude about soldering in young linguist trainees. You were not to think of yourself as a student in the Army in Monterey, you were to be a soldier in training in Monterey.

When I was a student there, only about a third of a class was expected to finish the course -- to deployment to an actual unit. It was the most intense training I've had in my life. I profoundly regret not completing the course. I hate offering excuses, but my grandfather passed away during the course, and the week I spent at home during the funeral basically killed my chances. One week, at the pace they train, is enough to do it.

If the terror threats we face are as serious as we've been led to believe, we don't have the extra time or manpower to waste on discharges like these.

There were already enough issues at school with DLI soldiers bending the rules on heterosexual fraternization before this story broke. To unit commanders trying to talk 19-year-old soldiers out of getting married (to avoid the divorce everyone expects 18 months later), the idea of bending the rules for gay soldiers probably was the straw breaking someone's back.

This is why I think we need a new hayfield

Posted by admin on Monday, November 18 @ 00:58:59 EST (2 reads)

A good friend and tireless campaign staffer from Brookline called me this morning to tell me that the last line of the quote makes me look like I'm a sore loser and that I think race had something to do with his victory. She encouraged me to write a letter to the editor clarifying my thoughts. And I shall, as follows:

It can be difficult sometimes to recognize the value of multicultural politics without tripping over difficult issues. In the story "Sanchez wins 18th Suffolk seat by landslide," I was quoted as saying "I think people were waiting for a Boston state representative who is Latino." Setting aside the error of fact in the headline (it was the 15th Suffolk District seat that Sanchez won), a friend expressed concern that the statement implies I felt that I lost because I was not Latino.

I most certainly do not believe I lost the race because I was not Latino. I lost to a better candidate, for a combination of reasons -- I was unenrolled in a political party, I had no name recognition, no money, limited political experience (although a wealth of political knowledge), limited organization, limited history in the district and a language barrier with about one third of the electorate.

Running for office was as much a labor of love for democracy as a desire to advance the cause of campaign finance reform and responsive statehouse politics. I believed in my message, and so did most voters -- ballot initiatives for Clean Elections and the removal of Speaker of the House Tom Finneran from his post both passed in this district. I hope my candidacy helped.

I didn't lose because I wasn't Latino. I lost because Jeffrey Sanchez was the better candidate, plain and simple.I wanted to win, and I'm disappointed that I lost, but I'm as excited about Sanchez' victory as anyone. I think it was a victory for this district and for this state. Though I am Black and Sanchez is Latino, neither of us made race an issue, and I believe that was the right thing to do.

I think very few people voted one way or the other in this election because of the race of the candidates, which is a good sign for the future.

Race is an elephant in the room that no one talks about, however. I think it's a very good thing that we now have a Latino lawmaker from Boston in the General Court, one that speaks with the voice of an underserved and substantial percentage of the city's citizens.

I thank the people of Brookline for their support, and for voting this year. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, we'll get more people to the polls in coming years.

Posted by admin on Thursday, November 07 @ 09:50:31 EST (4 reads)

City Councilor Chuck Turner finally came through and endorsed my candidacy Friday night, and I appreciate his support greatly.

Endorsement of the Boston Phoenix

Endorsement of the Brookline Tab

Weekly Dig article about the 15th Suffolk District race.

There's also a decent profile in the Bay State Banner , but it's not in the online edition. Shucks.


Posted by admin on Thursday, October 31 @ 00:21:59 EST (8 reads)

He spoke to some of the protestors, applauding their activism and extolling the virtues of participatory democracy.

It's funny, but I had been watching Oliver Stone's "Nixon" this morning. I couldn't shake the comparison between this moment and Nixon talking with college students on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The difference -- I don't think there was some cathartic revelation of mutual understanding and respect. He left, unchanged, and we continued, unmoved.

I did shake his hand, though, and introduced myself. I told him I was taking on Jeffrey Sanchez. He welcomed me to the field of battle. I presume my opposition to his continuation as speaker could be implied by my presence. I'm ready to fight unreservedly for a more democratic General Court and for his removal ... but I'm not going to be a jerk about it. It's not personal, it's political.

For those who may be wondering, I feel the same way about Jeffrey Sanchez. Whatever criticism I level, it's not personal. It's political. I think he's a fine, moral man, and worthy of consideration for public office. He should be congratulated for seeking to serve the public trust, and his candidacy serves the citizens of this district well.

Speaking of public servants, Chuck Turner stopped by to endorse our efforts to unseat Finneran, speaking specifically about the bill on expiring use properties languishing in committee.

Some day, God willing, if I'm vocal enough, irascible enough, perceptive enough, fearless enough, I may grow into the statesman that Chuck Turner has become.

I asked him for his support. He said he needed to think about it. Endorsing me would require him to cross party lines. If there's a risk taker in government these days, though, it's Turner. I hope I get him on-board.

I also briefly spoke with Jill Stein, Green party candidate for Governor. I told her I think it's wrong to hold debates without inviting thrid-party candidates. I also asked her views on genetic medicine. She said she was concerned about the pace of research and development. I told her I was generally in favor of genomics research, and I plan to send her a detailed e-mail to flesh out my thinking for comment.

I've been talking with doctors from around the district about my thinking in genetic research and its role in reducing drug costs and boosting the state economy. The key missing element to developing medical research along these lines is protection for patient privacy. This is the key medical issue I hope to work on if elected.

There were two TV cameras on site, but somehow I doubt any of this is going to show up on the 11 p.m. news. Daily political coverage is hard to come by on TV these days. At least I had a camera.


Posted by admin on Wednesday, September 25 @ 23:13:14 EDT (3 reads)

I've made plenty of public appearances over the last few months, but this will be the first where I'm really trying to raise money. I'll have a table set up with campaign information and voter registration.

The karaoke scene in Jamaica Plain is really bizarre. I was stationed in Hawaii for years, and I always equated karaoke with drunk Japanese businessmen on vacation. There's a decidedly punk-chic thing going on with Maryoke. The standards are 80's pop and hard rock, the crowd tends to be in their twenties and early thirties and the level of talent is higher than one might expect ... anywhere except in JP and Mission Hill with the high concentration of artists and musicians.

The cover charge is $3, not counting whatever voluntary donation you may wish to make. I'll be there starting at 7 p.m., but singing won't start untill about 10 p.m. Come and sing with me!

Posted by admin on Wednesday, September 25 @ 14:01:31 EDT (5 reads)