Even while the Pentagon admits that all branches of military
need linguists to help in Iraq
and Afghanistan,
nearly five dozen interpreters have been thrown out of military service because
they are gay.
The Associated Press
reports:
Lawmakers who say the military has kicked out 58 Arabic linguists
because they were gay want the Pentagon to explain how it can afford to let the
valuable language specialists go.
Seizing on the latest discharges, involving three specialists,
members of the House of Representatives wrote the House Armed Services
Committee chairman that the continued loss of such "capable, highly skilled
Arabic linguists continues to compromise our national security during time of
war."
Should Gays Donate Blood?
Medical
ethicist Art Caplan says it is time for the
Food and Drug Administration to reverse its blood-donation
policies and allow homosexuals to donate blood. (*Note: A previous edition of Al's Morning Meeting incorrectly identified the policy as being a Red Cross Policy.)
Caplan writes:
At one time, long ago, the gay-blood
ban may have made sense. But it no longer does.
Testing for HIV and other infectious
diseases, as the Red Cross and the America's Blood Centers experts
told the FDA, has improved enormously since 1983. The strict testing of today
will screen out their blood if it is infected with HIV. The only
exception is men newly infected within three weeks prior to donating.
Admittedly this "window period" during which someone can be infected
with HIV and not test positive even with the best of tests is a risk.
But the right response is to exclude
anyone who has engaged in any risky sexual or drug behavior for, say, a month
prior to donating blood -- not those who had sex with a man 30 years ago!
Blood shortages are not going away
anytime soon. The members of the Greatest Generation, those now entering their
late 70s and 80s, have been this nation's most reliable blood donors.
They are dying off. Younger people are not as committed to donating
blood. Yet the demand for blood increases every day.
Americans undergo more bypass
operations, organ transplants, C-sections, hip and joint replacements, and
other treatments every year. All require the use of blood. And as more
and more people live with immune disorders or diseases that hamper their
ability to make blood, the demand for blood also escalates.
We also need blood for other
reasons. Sadly, the reality of terrorism and violence at home and abroad has
become an all too real part of American life. This means that the chance of not
having enough blood on hand in a particular city on any given day where there
is a shooting or a bombing or worse is a risk that each one of us faces.
The AIDS epidemic has been with us
for 25 years. The policy currently governing blood donation in the United States
has remained unchanged for 24 years. Given the need, we should be willing and
grateful to accept blood from any healthy American willing to donate. The
FDA just does not get it. Fear and prejudice are terrible reasons to let you or
someone you love die.
Disclosure: Caplan is a member of The Poynter Institute's National Advisory Board.
Dodge Dashboards
WKMG-TV in
Orlando, Fla., has been all over a mysterious problem with Dodge Ram and PT
Cruiser dashboards. The darn things seem to be collapsing.
You have to see the video. (Click the links under the video player.) The station has found similar problems
among owners in more than a dozen states. Dodge owner forums have
many such complaints reported.
Car Colors of the Future
It surprised me to learn that the No. 1 car color in
the world is silver. One in five vehicles sold worldwide is silver, and car-paint companies right now are
figuring out what the hot colors will be into 2011.
Facebook Growing
MySpace is about three times bigger than Facebook. But in the
last year, Facebook opened its pages beyond the college crowd and is
adding a bagload of new tools that allow users to customize pages beyond its current tidy look.
New Site for Health Care Journalists
The Association of Health Care Journalists just launched its new Web site. The site will include hot topics, will feature good work in health care reporting and will begin building a resource section for journalists.
Google-Proofing Your Name
I have touched on this before, but it seems to be gathering
media steam. Now
it is possible to hire a company to repair your online reputation.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible. The column is fact-checked, but depends upon the
accuracy and integrity of the original sources cited. Errors and
inaccuracies found will be corrected.
Alex you are correct. It is the FDA, not the...
