Gay Bomb - Truth or PR?

What would you think if I told you that the military branch of our government considered at one time the creation of a chemical bomb that would render enemy soldiers gay and more interested in sex with each other rather than fight with us?

I think Machiavelli would be proud of our military brain trust for this one!

This article appeared on the CBS 5 website on June 8th. It states that a Berkely watchdog organization found this proposal in a document from the Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Dayton, OH.

The fact that the Air Force, even for a moment, followed this train-of-thought shocks me. But, it really overshadows another issue. The article quotes the Pentagon as saying this idea was first made in 1994. So, why report the story now? Could it be because Gay Pride week is just kicking off across the country?

Now, I truly am a supporter of gay and lesbian rights and I know there are plenty of their issues that need meaningful discussion in our society. I just can't help but wonder if the timing of this report would have been more meaningful if it were written at a different time. Reporting this story now when the Pentagon was noodling this idea in 1994 feels like a way to add some extra publicity for Gay Pride week when it could have been used to address the military and gay issues in a more serious forum.

In The Elements of Journalism, we read about truth and journalistic objectivity. The book says that journalistic truth is "a sorting-out process that takes place between the initial story and the interaction amoung the public, newsmakers, and journalists." It feels like this story's truth is in question not because of the facts but the timing of the information.