"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" gets closer to repeal

This is a small ray of good news amidst the insane and endless parade of bad news:

Congress could vote as early as Thursday to repeal the controversial "don't ask don't tell" policy that prevents gays and lesbians from openly serving in the U.S. armed forces.

The White House on Monday signaled its support for a compromise amendment that would expedite a vote on the policy in Congress, but delay the implementation until the Pentagon has completed its almost year-long review of how to implement the repeal.

The amendment was spearheaded by Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Sen. Joe Lieberman , I-Conn., and Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa, an Iraq war veteran who will introduce it today as part of the House version of the defense authorization bill.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had requested that Congress not begin the legislative process to repeal "don't ask don't tell" until after the Department of Defense conducted its year-long review, which is expected to be completed by Dec. 1, 2010. In a letter to the House Armed Services Committee a few weeks ago, Gates urged Congress "in the strongest possible terms" not to repeal the law before the completion of the review.