WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration decided on Tuesday to appeal a judge's rulings  that prevented the U.S. government from banning same-sex marriages, a move that could undermine support among President Barack Obama's traditional liberal base ahead of a key election.

After a federal judge yesterday ordered the military to stop enforcing Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Rep. Barney Frank called for the Obama administration to wait to appeal the ruling until after Congress can repeal the policy in a lame-duck session.
...
"They've got 60 days. We will have the lame-duck session convene in less time than that," he said. "Clearly what they should do is wait and see. I hope they don't appeal it at all, but it would be really foolish to appeal it before we can repeal it." TPM

It's crunch-time for many municipalities across the United States, but for one county in Oregon, that means a little more than in most.

The district attorney in Multnomah County, the state's most populous area with over 710,000 residents, announced recently that it can no longer prosecute dozens of crimes thanks to an ever-shrinking budget.

Caught with small amounts of heroin, cocaine or methamphetamine? It's a ticket. So's a hit-and-run accident. Small-time shoplifting? You'll still get arrested, but it's still just a violation.

For these and other lesser crimes, the district attorney will simply refuse to prosecute.

Breaking news: Damon Lindelof frigging rules. Reports are coming in that the co-creator of Lost has just turned in his script for the Untitled Alien Prequel for director Ridley Scott  and the executives at 20th Century Fox love it. Why do they love it? Well, because Scott originally budgeted the film around $150 million and Lindelof's script has a distinct lack of large action set pieces, thereby bringing that number down. Plus the script reportedly has a more PG-13 edge in terms of language and off camera violence - much like the original 1979 film. And finally, Natalie Portman has met with Scott's team and is at the top of their list for the lead female role of "a female Colonial Marine general." Hit the jump for more on the upcoming project and why PG-13 isn't necessarily a bad thing.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Wednesday that abruptly ending the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy as a federal judge has ordered would have enormous consequences.

....Gates told reporters that the question of whether to repeal the law should be decided by Congress, and done only after the Pentagon completes its study on the issue.

"I feel strongly this is an action that needs to be taken by the Congress and that it is an action that requires careful preparation, and a lot of training," said Gates. "It has enormous consequences for our troops."

The defense secretary said that besides the changes in training, regulations will need revisions and changes may be necessary to benefits and Defense Department buildings. AP

The new manual on "How to love the gay" will be ready sometime after 2016 and training should be complete around 2026 so don't get impatient. After all Obama has only been in office for a short time.:-( Or as the Blue Texan said:

I know, I know. Quit whining, stop sulking, change is hard.