Pentagon strips activist Harvey Milk's name from Navy ship in latest diversity purge
Social Sharing
U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the USNS Harvey Milk will be renamed after a Second World War sailor who received the Medal of Honour, stripping the ship of the name of a slain gay rights activist who served during the Korean War.
In a video posted to social media, Hegseth said he was "taking the politics out of ship-naming."
The ship's new name will honour Navy chief petty officer Oscar V. Peterson, who was awarded the highest military decoration posthumously for his actions during the 1942 Battle of the Coral Sea in the Pacific.
The decision is the latest move by Hegseth to wipe away names of ships and military bases given by former U.S. president Joe Biden's Democratic administration, which in many cases chose to honour service members who were women, minorities, from the 2SLBGTQ+ community and more.
It follows earlier actions by Hegseth and U.S. President Donald Trump to purge all programs, policies, books and social media mentions of references to diversity, equity and inclusion in the military and elsewhere.
Hegseth's announcement comes during Pride Month, as does the Pentagon's campaign to force transgender troops out of the U.S. military.
"We're not renaming the ship to anything political. This is not about political activists," said Hegseth, who earlier this month ordered Navy Secretary John Phelan to put together a small team to rename the USNS Harvey Milk replenishment oiler.
He said Peterson's "spirit of self-sacrifice and concern for his crewmates was in keeping with the finest traditions of the Navy."
Pride Toronto links funding woes to Trump's anti-DEI agenda
16 days ago
Duration 2:01
'Re-establish warrior culture'
When Hegseth announced the decision to rename the ship, officials defended it as an effort to align with Trump and Hegseth's objectives to "re-establish the warrior culture."
Peterson served on the USS Neosho, which also was an oiler. The ship was damaged during the Battle of the Coral Sea, and even though Peterson was injured, he managed to close the bulkhead stop valves to keep the ship operational. He died of his wounds.
The Navy in 1943 named an escort ship after Peterson. The USS Peterson served for more than two decades and was decommissioned in June 1965.
The USNS Harvey Milk was named in 2016 by then-Navy secretary Ray Mabus, who said at the time that the John Lewis-class of oilers would be named after leaders who fought for civil and human rights.
Harvey Milk, who was portrayed by Sean Penn in an Oscar-winning 2008 movie, served for four years in the Navy before he was forced out for being gay.
He later became one of the first openly gay candidates elected to public office, in San Francisco. He was assassinated in 1978 by a disgruntled former city supervisor.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
34 minutes ago
- CTV News
Biden to attend funeral for former Minnesota House Speaker Hortman, who was killed in shooting
Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen Walz walk into the rotunda to pay their respect to former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who will lie in state with her husband, Mark, and their golden retriever, Gilbert at the Minnesota Capitol rotunda on Friday, June 17, 2025 in St. Paul, Minn. (Alex Kormann/Star Tribune via AP) MINNEAPOLIS — Former U.S. president Joe Biden and former U.S. vice president Kamala Harris will join the mourners Saturday at the funeral for former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who was killed in a pair of attacks that authorities have called an assassination and that also left her husband dead and a state senator and his wife seriously wounded. Biden also paid his respects Friday as Hortman, her husband, Mark, and their golden retriever, Gilbert, lay in state in the Minnesota Capitol rotunda in St. Paul, a few hours after the man charged with killing them while disguised as a police officer June 14 made a brief court appearance in a suicide prevention suit. The service The couple's private funeral, at the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis, is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday. It will be livestreamed on the Department of Public Safety's YouTube channel. Neither Biden nor Harris is expected to speak. Harris expressed her condolences earlier this week to Hortman's adult children, and spoke with Gov. Tim Walz, her running mate on the 2024 Democratic presidential ticket, who extended an invitation on behalf of the Hortman family, her office said. The scene at the Capitol Hortman, a Democrat, was the first woman and one of fewer than 20 Minnesotans to lay in state at the Capitol. It was the first time a couple has been accorded the honor, and the first for a dog. Gilbert was seriously wounded in the attack and had to be euthanized. The Hortmans' caskets and the dog's urn were arranged in the center of the rotunda, under the Capitol dome, with law enforcement officers keeping watch as thousands of people filed by. Many fought back tears as they left. Among the first to pay their respects were Walz, who has called Hortman his closest political ally, and his wife, Gwen. Biden, a Catholic, visited later in the afternoon, walking up to the velvet rope in front of the caskets, making the sign of the cross and spending a few moments by himself in silence. He then took a knee briefly, got up, made the sign of the cross again and walked off to greet people waiting in the wings of the rotunda. Lisa Greene, who lives in the Minneapolis suburb of Brooklyn Park like Hortman did, but in a different House district, said she came to the Capitol because she had so much respect for the former speaker. 'She was just amazing. Amazing woman. And I was just so proud that she represented the city that I lived in,' Greene said in a voice choked with emotion. 'She was such a leader. She could bring people together. She was so accessible. I mean, she was friendly, you could talk to her.' But, she went on to say admiringly, Hortman was also 'a boss.' 'She just knew what she was doing and she could just make things happen,' she said. A hearing takes a twist The man accused of killing the Hortmans at their home and wounding Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, at their home in nearby Champlin, made a short court appearance Friday for what the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Joseph Thompson, has called 'a political assassination.' Vance Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, surrendered near his home the night of June 15 after what authorities called the largest search in Minnesota history. An unshaven Boelter was brought in wearing just a green padded suicide prevention suit and orange slippers. Federal defender Manny Atwal asked Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko to continue the hearing until Thursday. He agreed. She said Boelter has been sleep deprived while on suicide watch in the Sherburne County Jail, and that it has been difficult to communicate with him as a result. 'Your honor, I haven't really slept in about 12 to 14 days,' Boelter told the judge. And he denied being suicidal. 'I've never been suicidal and I am not suicidal now.' Atwal told the court that Boelter had been in what's known as a 'Gumby suit,' without undergarments, ever since his transfer to the jail after his first court appearance on June 16. She said the lights are on in his area 24 hours a day, doors slam frequently, the inmate in the next cell spreads feces on the walls and the smell drifts to Boelter's cell. The attorney said transferring him to segregation instead, and giving him a normal jail uniform, would let him get some sleep, restore some dignity and let him communicate better. The case continues Boelter did not enter a plea. Prosecutors need to secure a grand jury indictment first. According to the federal complaint, police video shows Boelter outside the Hortmans' home and captures the sound of gunfire. And it says security video shows Boelter approaching the front doors of two other lawmakers' homes. His lawyers have declined to comment on the charges, which could carry the federal death penalty. Thompson said last week that no decision has been made. Minnesota abolished its death penalty in 1911. Boelter also faces separate murder and attempted murder charges in state court that could carry life without parole. Friends have described Boelter as an evangelical Christian with politically conservative views. But prosecutors have declined so far to speculate on a motive. Steve Karnowski, The Associated Press
CTV News
34 minutes ago
- CTV News
What to know about the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling on public school lessons using LGBTQ2S+ books
A selection of books featuring LGBTQ characters that are part of a Supreme Court case are pictured, April, 15, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File) A divided U.S. Supreme Court has sided with religious parents who want to pull their children out of the classroom when a public school lesson uses LGBTQ2S+-themed storybooks. The 6-3 decision Friday in a case brought by parents in Maryland comes as certain books are increasingly being banned from public schools and libraries. In Justice Samuel Alito's majority opinion — joined by the rest of the court's conservatives — he wrote that the lack of an 'opt-out' for parents places an unconstitutional burden on their rights to religious freedom. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in dissent for the three liberal justices that public schools expose children to different views in a multicultural society. 'That experience is critical to our Nation's civic vitality,' she wrote. 'Yet it will become a mere memory if children must be insulated from exposure to ideas and concepts that may conflict with their parents' religious beliefs.' Here's what to know about the case and its potential impacts: What happens next The decision was not a final ruling in the case. It reversed lower-court rulings that sided with the Montgomery County school system, which introduced the storybooks in 2022 as part of an effort to better reflect the district's diversity. At first, the school district allowed parents to opt their children out of the lessons for religious and other reasons, but the district later reversed course, saying it became disruptive. The move prompted protests and eventually a lawsuit. Now, the case goes back to the lower court to be reevaluated under the U.S. Supreme Court 's new guidance. But the justices strongly suggested that the parents will win in the end. The court ruled that policies like the one at issue in this case are subjected to the strictest level of review, nearly always dooming them. The ruling could have national implications for public education Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, said the court's ruling could inspire similar lawsuits in other states. 'I think any school district that reads similar books to their children is now subject to suit by parents who don't want their kids to hear these books because it substantially interferes with their religious beliefs,' she said. Whether it could open the door to broader legal challenges remains to be seen. Levinson said the majority opinion's emphasis on the content of the books at the center of the case, including 'Uncle Bobby's Wedding,' a story about a two men getting married, could narrow its impact. 'The question that people will ask,' Levinson said, 'is if this could now allow parents to say, 'We don't want our kids to learn about certain aspects of American history.' ' LGBTQ2S+ rights advocates slam court ruling Adam Zimmerman, who has two kids in school in Montgomery County, Md., called the ruling abhorrent. 'We need to call out what's being dressed up as religious faith and values and expose it for the intolerance that it really is,' he said. Zimmerman has lived in Montgomery County for 16 years and wanted to raise his son and daughter there, in large part, because of the school district's diversity. It was important to him, he said, that his kids be exposed to people from all walks of life. 'It's a beautiful thing, and this ruling just spits on that diversity,' he said. Other rights groups described the court's decision as harmful and dangerous. 'No matter what the Supreme Court has said, and what extremist groups are advocating for, book bans and other censorship will not erase LGBTQIA+ people from our communities,' said Fatima Goss Graves, CEO and president of the National Women's Law Center. Conservative advocates say the case is about parental rights and religious freedom Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who was part of an amicus brief filed in the case in support of the Maryland parents, called the ruling a 'win for families.' 'Students should not be forced to learn about gender and sexuality subject matter that violates their family's religious beliefs,' he said. Lawyer Eric Baxter, who represented the parents at the U.S. Supreme Court, also called the decision a 'historic victory for parental rights.' 'Kids shouldn't be forced into conversations about drag queens, pride parades, or gender transitions without their parents' permission,' Baxter said. Other opponents say ruling will have 'broad chilling effect' PEN America, a group advocating for free expression, said the court's decision could open the door to censorship and discrimination in classrooms. 'In practice, opt outs for religious objections will chill what is taught in schools and usher in a more narrow orthodoxy as fear of offending any ideology or sensibility takes hold,' said Elly Brinkley, a staff attorney at PEN America. In a joint statement Friday, some of the authors and illustrators of the books in question described the ruling as a threat to First Amendment rights to free speech, as well as diversity in schools. 'To treat children's books about LGBTQ+ characters differently than similar books about non-LGBTQ+ characters is discriminatory and harmful,' the statement said. Rio Yamat, The Associated Press
National Post
2 hours ago
- National Post
Conrad Black: The world is brighter thanks to Iran bombing
Some readers will recall that in this space last week I opposed those calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and de-escalation in the Iran-Israel war because that would only lead to renewed terrorist activity in Gaza against Israel and the deployment of nuclear weapons by Iran, whose government has pledged to destroy the Jewish people. To paraphrase Japanese Emperor Hirohito after the detonation of two atomic bombs on Japan in 1945, in the light of this week's events, it is time for the 'unthinkable.' (The Japanese emperor acknowledged that the war had not gone 'entirely as we had hoped.') As predicted here and elsewhere, the United States Air Force and Navy successfully penetrated and destroyed the underground Iranian nuclear development sites. Those who immediately predicted a drastic escalation of hostilities and were soiling themselves in lamentations of imminent world war were placated, and in many cases doubtless disappointed, at the ceasefire that followed 24 hours later. Incorrigibly anti-American and particularly Trump-hating outlets such as the BBC, the CBC, the Guardian, Al-Jazeera, CNN and MSNBC attached themselves like limpets to the instant conjuration that the damage done by the American attacks had only been superficial and would easily be repaired. In the only known honest words that the criminally diseased regime in Tehran has uttered in its 47 years, the Iranian Islamic government acknowledged that official American reports of the success of the raids were accurate. U.S. President Donald Trump's opponents dismissed this as disinformation. The more vocal political suicide cases among the American congressional Democrats, who had been calling for Trump's impeachment for plunging the nation into war without authority, were struck mercifully dumb. Article content Article content Many will require tranquilization, therapy or even defibrillation in contemplation of this, but without incurring a single American casualty, President Trump has satisfactorily ended a potentially dangerous and enervating war; has dealt a shattering blow to the forces of terrorism in the world; has assisted Israel in honouring the pledge of the Jewish people after the Nazi Holocaust murdered approximately half the Jews in the world: 'Never again!'; and has helped the Jewish people to the highest level of unconditional security it has enjoyed in its tumultuous history of over 5,000 years. At the same time, as commander-in-chief, Trump has executed the most successful military operation of the U.S. armed forces since Gen. Douglas MacArthur landed nearly 50,000 men in less than an hour at Inchon and annihilated the North Korean army in four weeks in 1950. (MacArthur's subsequent insubordination was unacceptable, but if his strategic advice had been followed, Korea today would be united and a powerhouse, a second Japan, and the world would have been spared all the outrages of the Kimist regime in North Korea these 75 years.) Article content Article content Article content President Trump's very astute deployment of American military force and his agile diplomacy has been the greatest strategic tour de force of any world leader since U.S. President Richard Nixon in 1972-3 triangulated the great power relationship with China, negotiated the greatest arms control agreement in world history with the U.S.S.R. (which incidentally restored American nuclear military superiority), while extracting the United States from Vietnam and preserving a non-communist government in Saigon. The events of the last week have given the world a clear perspective on the dangerous vacuum of American enfeeblement that was created by the previous three U.S. presidents. George W. Bush's insane invasion of Iraq, which made most of that country a vassal state of Iran, and his insistence on elections that raised up Hamas and Hezbollah, and Barack Obama and Joe Biden's appeasement of Iran, including Obama's nuclear treaty with Iran, under which the Iranians would at this very time be joining the nuclear club with the blessing of its other members: all of this created an opportunistic appetite in some of the world's most irresponsible and dangerous governments. It is almost certainly true that if Trump were the president, it is unlikely that Russian President Vladimir Putin would have invaded Ukraine or that the Iranian leadership would have masterminded the Hamas invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. It is also worthwhile to go a little further back in unearthing western strategic blunders in the Mideast: as I remarked (to an indifferent response), in Their Lordships' House in London some years ago, the British government essentially precipitated the chief crisis of the Middle East by effectively promising the same territory to two different and contending parties: the Jews and the Arabs, in 1917 (unruffled by the fact that the territory was then being governed by Turkey, which ultimately did a better job of it than the British who followed them).
