I hope all is going well with your case on the left, er, west coast. I'd be delighted to talk to you about our availability as SME in a variety of areas related to DADT and even discriminatory speech behavior (I am, after all, a sociolinguist -- don't forget!). I think you're right about cases that may come out of this, although I think there will be a "don't rock the boat" mindset on the part of LGBT persons who have been living under DADT for awhile. I might be wrong, though. We certainly have the contacts to make sure that the community is aware that it can turn to Puckett and Faraj (despite the lack of a rainbow on your web page!) for help in this area.
Let me know a good time to talk. I know you'll be in court tomorrow, in transit Friday, and may or may not want to talk over the weekend. I have class all day Saturday, but we'll have a few breaks during the day, I trust. I'm available to talk the rest of the day today; tomorrow is iffy but feel free to call if it works for you; and, Friday I should be available most of the day. Good numbers for me are (H) 512-502-5007 and (C) 719-201-8922. If you prefer that I call you, just let me know time and phone number.
-----Original Message-----
From: Puckett Neal <neal@puckettfaraj.com>
To: ediedisler@aol.com
Cc: Faraj Haytham <haytham@puckettfaraj.com>; Marcelyn Atwood <matwood@crispatwood.com>
Sent: Mon, Jun 6, 2011 2:15 pm
Subject: Re: How can I help you?
Hey, Edie,
We're just trying to get ahead of the bow wave (that's navy talk) of potential legal issues that may face current and former active duty military members who are gay. We believe that the demise of DADT may present some business opportunities (yeah, we're capitalists like that). I began to think about this back when a court struck down the DADT law as unconstitutional, before Congress acted to change the law. I was wondering how someone might feel if he/she was the last person separated before the law was declared unconstitutional. Of course if a law is declared unconstitutional (and affirmed on appeal), that means that the law was never constitutional and all those who suffered under its authority may be entitled to some relief, no matter how long ago. That specific concept is no longer relevant, but we are certain there will be a whole new area of complaints that folks may bring us once the new policy takes effect. Here's an example from 2 hrs ago. I just got back from a promotion ceremony presided over by the Commandant of the Marine Corps, where the outgoing SgtMaj of the Marine Corps referred to his team as Sweet 16 (he was the 16 SgtMaj of the Corps), and hastened to say, "well, not sweet in THAT way!" Much laughter ensued. Clear what he meant, though. And there stood Gen Amos, the leading opponent in DoD.
So I was thinking that there may come a time or two in the future when we may want to hire you as a subject matter expert on discrimination under the DADT policy. Or we maybe could use your advice on the best way to connect to an under-represented constituency. We're not really interested in having a rainbow flag on our home page, but we would like to help. That's why we do what we do.
I've copied my partner, "well, not THAT kind of partner!"
Hugs and kisses,
Neal
Neal A. Puckett, Esq
LtCol, USMC (Ret)
Puckett & Faraj, PC
1800 Diagonal Rd, Suite 210
Alexandria, VA 22314
703.706.9566
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Hey Neal!
I hope your trip to Okinawa (?) was fruitful, successful, and safe. Welcome home!
Marcy indicated that you'd like to discuss some post DADT and/or blog entry consulting. Is there a good time for us to talk this week? Tuesday would be super duper for me, but if time if of the essence, we can do a Monday (tomorrow) discussion, no problem-o.
I look forward to chatting with you!
Edie
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