In apparent consultation with "his generals"
the president has decided to issue a directive by tweet that transgender
persons are not to serve in any capacity in the military. It's not
clear which of "his generals" he communicated with, since this was all news
to the Pentagon and generals in the field have said they will not comply
with a directive issued by tweet that will affect ~15,000 people currently
serving their country. Marine Gen. Joe Dunford told the chiefs of the
military branches and senior enlisted leaders that the military will
continue to “treat all of our personnel with respect.”
("A dishonorable discharge would strip them
of access to a number of veterans’ benefits, including mental health and
educational help.", says Politico)
The president cites "medical costs" as the
primary driver of the decision. “Our military must be focused on
decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous
medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail,”
the president wrote, though the military spends five times as much on Viagra
as it would on transgender troops’ medical care.
It has been suggested that this
out-of-the-blue announcement from the White House was an attempt to distract
from the failing "repeal and replace" movement in the Senate, where even
McCain voted against it. As did Senator Murkowski (R-Alaska) despite
threats from the White House.
"Early Wednesday, Trump took to Twitter to
express displeasure with Murkowski's vote. By that afternoon, each of
Alaska's two Republican senators had received a phone call from Interior
Secretary Ryan Zinke letting them know the vote had put Alaska's future with
the administration in jeopardy." (Alaska Dispatch News)
This is where we are with this crazy, wacko
administration. The president continues to hold campaign rallies to
hear the cheers of the crowds, he encourages the Boy Scouts of America to
boo a former president and thanks them for their votes that helped him win
(The Boy Scouts have since apologized to their members for the inappropriate
speech by the president). He claims to be more "presidential" than any
president, except for Lincoln and he thinks he should be on Mt. Rushmore.
In the meantime, in seven months he has
accomplished nothing of substance, we have become a laughing stock around
the world and are poised on the verge of another war. "This man is mad
and dangerous. I wonder what thoughts are going through the heads of the
people who voted him in. What percentage of them are now saying 'Oh my God,
what have I done!'" writes a friend in Australia.
As the president continues his campaign to
oust Jeff Sessions, republicans (Lindsay Graham and Ben Sasse) are finally
"drawing a line in the sand" and warning of the repercussions if he should do
so. Will we see more and more Republicans finally speaking out after
all these months of looking the other way?
I won't even talk about "the Mooch," who is
bringing thuggery into the White House.
In other "wacko news," I went to see my mother yesterday.
I had not been there since Sunday, since Niecie was with her on Monday and
she was "too tired," I thought the podiatrist was coming on Tuesday and he
actually came on Wednesday. I am feeling much guilt because I am
starting to dread that trip to Atria now, since you never know what you are
going to find when you get there.
I was stopped by one of the aides, who said that she had
been awakened for breakfast, but was in one of her anxiety moods, where she
didn't know where she was or what she was supposed to do. They
suggested she go back to sleep and I guess she was better when she woke up.
When I got to her room, she was asleep. Sound
asleep. When she asked who was there and I said "your daughter," she
said "My daughter can't be here; she's at work" and then went back to sleep.
The TV was on so I sat there watching TV for half an hour and was just about
ready to leave when she sat up, bright and busy tailed, as normal as she
ever is, and ready for a visit.
We talked for a long time, though of course she didn't make
much sense. She again wanted to know if I was going dancing tonight.
When I left her, she was in good spirits, walked me to the door and waved at
me as I disappeared into the foyer. There was a message from Jeri
asking if I was with her and I said I had just left and I could go back, if
she wanted, but she never answered, so I went on home.
Apparently Jeri then called her and she didn't answer.
Owell. It was nice while it lasted!
No comments:
Post a Comment