As Thanksgiving approaches many of us are preparing for the circus of a big family dinner, but unfortunately  people serving in the U.S. military overseas can’t join in the festivities back home.  So Xerox has launched the Let’s Say Thanks program, giving you the opportunity to let them know we support and appreciate their service to the country.  All you have to do is choose a postcard designed by children from all over the country, write a personal message and hit send.  The holidays are a particularly difficult time to be away from the ones you love, so let the troops know that we’re thinking of them and hoping that they can come home soon.

takepart by sending a special message to the troops:

The ‘don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was instituted in 1993, stopping the military from asking potential members if they are gay. However the policy requires openly gay service members to be discharged from service. Now, according to the lead sponsor of a bill that would repeal the law, the “don’t ask-don’t tell” policy could be overturned when Barack Obama’s administration takes over the White House.

Obama told Philadelphia Gay News “Although I have consistently said I would repeal ‘don’t ask-don’t tell,’ I believe that the way to do it is to make sure that we are working through processes, getting the Joint Chiefs of Staff clear in terms of what our priorities are going to be.”-CNN.com

A Washington Post/ABC News poll this summer found 75 percent of Americans support allowing gays to serve openly, compared to only 45 percent in 1993.

So basically what we’re saying is-it’s cool for gays to fight and possibly die for America’s freedom BUT it’s not cool for gays in America to have the freedom to marry. Oh okay. gothca.
takepart and visit the Human Rights Campaign at http://www.hrc.org/ to join the fight for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.

Babies, kids and veterans are coddled, kissed, saluted and spoken about with more upbeat language than any other demographic during a political election. Criticizing veterans would be political suicide for any candidate. So, it’s easy for Mr. So-Called-Maverick John McCain to claim that as a veteran, his support is unwavering. However, those are merely words and although John McCain fancies himself as the Straight-talk-Express, he is a politician. So, can you believe him? I’d argue NO. His actions do not back up his rhetoric. How do I know this? Because the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (a non-partisan non-profit organization dedicated to helping returning vets which led the fight for the successful passage of the new GI bill) issued their 2008 Congressional report card which rates all members on veterans affairs. John McCain received a D from IAVA. Yes, he has failed our veterans.

takepart Check out the report card and hold your senators and representatives accountable to supporting veterans’ benefits and rights.

It takes a lot of fossil fuels to fight a war for oil, so it’s no wonder the Defense Department is working on innovative ways to curb its carbon bootprint. From the AP:

The water bottles, plastic foam plates and other trash discarded by American troops in Iraq’s mess halls may soon be serving double-duty — as an unlikely power source to illuminate barracks and power up laptops.

The Army is preparing to deploy to Iraq two 4-ton biomass refineries designed to turn piles of trash into electricity. Each can run for 20 hours on a ton of trash, producing enough power to light a small village.

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The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is now here to give you the very best of Katie, Nicole, Giulia, Gina and Kerry! If you worry about missing your favorite bloggers’ posts as they push their way down the page each and every week - Never Fear! Check out our most popular posts of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites.

Katie:

Woody Guthrie: This Grammy Is Your Grammy / This Grammy Is My Grammy

Rambo Fights for Burma’s Freedom + 5 Steps You Can Take To Help Burma In 5 Minutes

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Nicole:

“Yes We Can” Obama Music Video a Unique Celebrity Endorsement

Top 10 US Grant, Scholarship and Fellowship Awarding Foundations

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Giulia:

Ba-Da-Bling Commercials Pulled in New York

“Safe Sex or No Sex” Shirts Get Teens Suspended

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Gina:

10 Internet Videos Featuring Celebrities Advocating For A Cause

Close Up: An Introduction to Iranian Cinema and Cinematic Rainbows

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Kerry:

Sheryl Crow’s Apocalyptic Peak-Oil Song

Solar Powered Soldiers Wear Uniforms with Built-In Batteries

The average U.S. soldier needs 88 AA batteries for a five-day mission. That’s a lot of weight to haul around, but a new high-tech fabric that incorporates solar powered batteries into cloth could go a long way towards lightening that load, according to NPR’s Living On Earth:

“these threads are a fraction the thickness of a human hair. When they’re made out of battery electrodes and photovoltaic and fuel cells and then stitched together, they constitute a fabric that captures and stores energy while it’s worn.

Florida researchers designed the machine for the military, but as Living On Earth’s Mitra Taj noted:

The new technology might help in civilian life too, boosting efforts to make environmentally friendly power sources that multitask”imagine a jacket that keeps you warm while charging your cell phone.

Nice to see the military-industrial complex, which once brought us Agent Orange, being an agent of green.

Find out more about solar power’s potential at solarpower.org.

At the end of September 2007, almost 200,000 contractor personnel were working in Iraq and Afghanistan, exceeding the number of US military personally in the two countries. Jeff Bell, deputy undersecretary of defense, told Congress yesterday the administration is “not adequately prepared to address this unprecedented scale of our dependence on contractors.” Bell also discussed contractors’ “critical involvement in the American war effort,” and said they had become “part of the total force” of the Department of Defense.

by learning more about corporate accountability in Iraq and Afghanistan on Amnesty International’s website. You can also by emailing Blackwater to tell them to take human rights seriously, and to comply with Iraqi and US investigations into the company.

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Environmentalists, including Takepart’s very own Kerry Truman, are having a sea cow over the Bush administration’s attempt to exempt the Navy from a ban on a certain sonar that causes bleeding, mating disruptions and death of whales and other animals. Well, today a district court federal judge ruled that the Navy should indeed be allowed be allowed to use this sonar and harm sea creatures. This ruling is fair and just. If the U.S. military gets to break international law and violate the Geneva Convention through waterboarding and torture, the Navy should AT LEAST be allowed to break one little Coastal Zone Management Act. Unfortunately, the judge only gave the Navy permission to temporarily use this sonar and will be hearing arguments from the Navy and whale huggers over at The Natural Resources Defense Council next week. So if you’re a fellow whale lover, stay tuned for action alerts from the NRDC .

France has signed an agreement with the United Arab Emirates to establish a French military base in Abu Dhabi of up to 500 permanent military personnel. In exchange, France has agreed to assist the UAE in developing “peaceful nuclear energy.” This is the most recent agreement regarding nuclear energy in a series of deals between France and other Arab countries, and the second agreement of its kind in the Gulf - the first is with the United States. The US currently has several army, navy and air force bases located in the Arabian peninsula.Beyondnuclear.org is an organization that aims to educate the public about the links between nuclear power and nuclear weapons. Learn more about sustainable energy on their website and take action:

Indian PM Manhoham Singh visited Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing to sign an agreement that will increase economic and military ties between the two countries. The countries have agreed to double trade from 30 billion in 2007 to 60 billion in 2010, while India has asked China to address certain trade imbalances which they feel favor China. The two countries are also expected to schedule a second joint military venture, the first taking place in December of last year. There have also been pledges to resolve border disputes originating in 1962 over Himalayan territory.

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