There's no excuse for keeping transgender men and women out of our military

Just one week ago, Donald Trump made his thoughts on transgender individuals in the military known via Twitter, when he posted the following message in a series of tweets:

"After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military. 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. Thank you."

First thing's first, which generals and military experts was Mr. Trump talking to? In an article which was just released, it's being reported that 56 retired generals and admirals have released a statement which runs contrary to the president's claim that such individuals are on his side in this debate. In the statement, they wrote:

"This proposed ban, if implemented, would cause significant disruptions, deprive the military of mission-critical talent, and compromise the integrity of transgender troops who would be forced to live a lie, as well as non-transgender peers who would be forced to choose between reporting their comrades or disobeying policy. As a result, the proposed ban would degrade readiness even more than the failed 'don't ask, don't tell' policy. Patriotic transgender Americans who are serving - and who want to serve - must not be dismissed, deprived of medically necessary health care, or forced to compromise their integrity or hide their identity."

In addition to this powerful statement, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford said "the military would not implement the ban until it receives an official directive from Trump."

Not only that, but as seems to be the norm, Donald Trump is off with his numbers. The military's annual health care budget is $47.8 billion. The estimated costs of transgender service members' transition care is $5.6 million, which is 0.01% of the total budget. To place this in an even greater context, this annual budget includes $41.6 million worth of payments for Viagra prescriptions, which is a little less than eight times what would be needed to cover transgender service members' medication costs.

Lastly and most importantly, Donald Trump is a man who used a total of five deferments, one health-related, in order to avoid fighting in the Vietnam War. He is a man who has never shed blood or even taken the risk of shedding blood for his own country, yet he has the gall to try and prohibit brave men and women from putting their lives on the line to protect this great nation? No matter what one's gender is, race, creed, or orientation, we all bleed the same color, and for Donald Trump to deny that fact due to blind ignorance and prejudice just goes to show he's weak, doesn't care about our national security, and doesn't care about anyone other than himself. Donald Trump should look toward these transgender men and women in uniform as role models, for they exemplify bravery, something of which the president has absolutely no clue.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/26/trump-transgender-240980

http://thehill.com/policy/defense/344761-56-retired-officers-warn-against-trumps-transgender-troops-ban

http://time.com/money/4874800/heres-what-transgender-service-members-actually-cost-the-military/

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/donald-trump-draft-record.html

Boycotting jukeboxes because of TouchTunes

I love music and enjoy hitting the bar(s) over the weekend, so naturally, when the mood strikes me, I've never been coy about playing some songs on the jukebox. This past Thursday, a friend of mine turned 50, so several friends of her's, including myself, all met up to celebrate the occasion. At around 9:30, a friend of mine and I both chipped in $5 to play some songs on the jukebox. Four hours and 231 skips later, we gave up on hearing the songs we had selected, and went home knowing we had just wasted $5. This wasn't the first time such a thing had happened to me (and many others), and due to that, I'll be boycotting jukeboxes. Why? The scam known as TouchTunes. You see, here's how the plot typically breaks down. A person (or group of people) downloads the TouchTunes app on his/her phone, consumes one too many adult beverages, and due to this, has less care for spending extra money to hear the songs of their choosing right NOW. That's the thing with TouchTun

The difference between "looking" and "checking out"

I may be way off with these numbers, but it's my approximation that at least 75% of individuals whom are involved in a serious relationship feel it's perfectly acceptable to "check out" members of the opposite sex they're not involved with. Meanwhile, approximately 25% either don't feel this is acceptable or aren't sure about the matter. I hadn't thought about this matter for a while, but since I've been dating a woman for about 8 months, the topic has been pondered about some. When reading or hearing others discuss this very issue, I often times hear comments similar to the following: "It's human nature to look." "There's nothing wrong with checking others out. I'm sure he/she does it too!" "It's fine to do it. Just don't tell your boyfriend/girlfriend about it or do it in front of them!" "It's natural to find people attractive." When observing the array of comments, I i

The verdict is in. To no one's surprise, Jonathan Hoenig has been found guilty of being an idiot.

Just recently, when discussing the Michael Brown shooting and whether or not race had anything to do with it, Fox News contributor Jonathan Hoenig said, "You know who talks about race? Racists." One moment while I provide Mr. Hoenig with the well deserved slow-clap. :: slow-claps for two seconds :: So, that was quite the line by Mr. Hoenig, wasn't it? "You know who talks about race? Racists." Well, wasn't he just talking about race? So, by his own words, I guess that makes him a racist. Also, if he wants to be consistent, does this mean that people whom talk about gender are sexists and people whom talk about sexual orientation are homophobes? With that line of thinking, Hoenig would engage in the following back-and-forths: Hoenig: "So, who are you voting for?" A woman: "The Democratic candidate, because he's been adamant about his support for equal rights for women." Hoenig: "You sexist feminist nazi!"

The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

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