How about this timing?!

With Dan Choi and other offline activists locked up Thursday for civil disobedience at the White House and on the Hill for calling for an end to DADT and action on ENDA, and online activists swarming on the latter and Tweeting/blogging furiously to cover the former, it’s a wonderful time for your blogmistress and her lovely videographer assistant (and wife) Kate to add to the political madness in the nation’s capital.

On Saturday we will be at the National Building Museum to cover the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network‘s 18th Annual National Dinner. We will live-blog/Tweet and bring you photos and video of the event as it occurs, starting at 7:45 PM ET.

The event will pay tribute to all LGBT veterans in a night of inspiration and remembrance. We will be highlighting the experiences of many veterans who have been impacted by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and hitting home the message that Congress can and should be repealing the law while the Pentagon looks at how to implement open service.

Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Pa.) – the first Iraq War veteran elected to Congress – will be our keynote. Rep. Murphy has quarterbacked repeal legislation in the House, helping to add more than 30 new cosponsors since becoming lead sponsor of HR 1283 (the Military Readiness Enhancement Act) in July. Actress Michelle Clunie, best known for her starring role as Melanie Marcus in Showtime’s “Queer As Folk,” will also headline the evening’s lineup of speakers.

The National Dinner follows our SLDN Lobby Day the Friday before the National Dinner. We will continue to focus on urging members of Congress – particularly those who sit on the Senate Armed Services Committee – to vote on DADT repeal this year.

With all of the activism in the air, we’re also going to bring you reactions by members of the LGBT military community and allies to Lt. Dan Choi’s and Capt. Jim Pietrangelo’s direct action and arrest for chaining themselves to the White House fence in protest of foot-dragging by the Obama administration and Congress regarding the repeal of DADT.

***

On Thursday there was another brand of activism on the Hill by two Iraq/Afghanistan veterans and former clients of SLDN, former Air Force Major Mike Almy and former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Jenny Kopfstein. They appeared before a Senate committee to explain the impact of DADT on their lives and how it has affected their units. (SLDN):

Former U.S. Navy Lieutenant Junior Grade Jenny Kopfstein told the committee that two captains testified at her DADT discharge hearing saying they were opposed to her being kicked out, one of whom writing explicitly that the Lieutenant was not a detriment to unit cohesion, morale, or good order. Both Major Almy and Lieutenant Kopfstein provided senators with documentation showing that their superiors and subordinates thought highly of them professionally and personally.

“We are so proud of both Major Almy and Lieutenant Kopfstein,” said Aubrey Sarvis, SLDN executive director. “Not only did they explain how the archaic ban is harming military preparedness, but they illustrated the generational divide on the issue by sitting next to General Sheehan. Their stories bring to life the new poll numbers out this week indicating 73 percent of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans say it is personally acceptable to them if gay and lesbian people were allowed to serve openly in the military.”

“There is a clear division between top civilian and military leadership and some of the Joint Chiefs,” said Sarvis. “The latter group thinks we’re living in the 1990s arguing about whether open service is a good idea or not. We’ve moved on; they should too. The momentum is overwhelmingly on the side of repeal.”

The mention of General Sheehan above refers to Thursday’s hearing testimony:

Today, in response to questions from U.S. Senator Mark Udall, a military general and an opponent of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” acknowledged that although more than a dozen studies have been conducted over 20 years, there is no evidence to support the assertion that open service harms unit cohesion and good order and morale.

The statement, from Marine Corps General John Sheehan during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on a bill to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” supports Senator Udall’s belief that the law is outdated and that dismissing service members based only on sexual orientation is harming our national security. Senator Udall is an original co-sponsor of the bill to repeal the 1993 law.

More nformation about the dinner:

SLDN’s 18th Annual National Dinner.

Keynote Speaker: Congressman Patrick Murphy (D-PA)

Special Guest: Michelle Clunie, actress, “Queer as Folk”

When: Saturday, March 20, 2010, Reception 6:30pm, Dinner 7:45pm

Where: National Building Museum, 401 F Street NW Washington, DC 20001 (Red Line Metro – Judiciary Square)