OPINION — I didn’t expect it would get so bad, so bitter, so utterly out of control that there would be such a feeling of dread each morning as I turned on the television to catch up on what happened overnight.
I knew there would be discord.
From the very beginning, it was perfectly clear that the president is one of those people who thrives on chaos and an environment that pits those who work for him in constant, often brutal, confrontation. One viewing of that horrid reality television show he starred in would tip you to that.
But I really didn’t think it would be this bad.
I wasn’t prepared for the lies – from his super-inflated crowd estimates for the inauguration to his conspiracy theory-flamed charges that President Barack Obama had tapped his telephones.
I wasn’t prepared for his lack of understanding of the way government works. Surely, I thought, he had taken a high school civics class. But even with a Congressional majority, he cannot find consensus for his legislative agenda.
“I thought being president would be easier than my old life,” he has said.
It was clear from the get-go that he had an ego that needed constant stroking. But I didn’t realize he was so insecure, that his self-esteem is so low, that he would require his staff go around the table at a meeting and sing his praises and that he would require news briefings filled with only positive news.
“My IQ is one of the highest — and you all know it!” he said. “Please don’t feel so stupid or insecure; it’s not your fault.”
I knew he was a man of questionable moral character. He is three wives in and often brags about his conquests, from his crude remarks to Billy Bush on “Access Hollywood” about grabbing women by the crotch to his admission on network television that he enjoyed cheating on his first wife with his second wife.
“My life was so great in so many ways,” he said during an interview with ABC Primetime Live in 1994. “The business was so great… a beautiful girlfriend, a beautiful wife, a beautiful everything. Life was just a bowl of cherries.”
But I didn’t know his moral compass was so out of whack that he would consider launching nuclear weapons without the ultimate provocation.
“Why can’t we use nuclear weapons?” he asked not once, not twice, but three times during a foreign policy meeting.
I knew he had difficulties with minorities, but I didn’t expect him to equate those who oppose the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis with terrorists.
He still insists that he will build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and that Mexico will pay for it.
He recently banned transgender people from serving in the U.S. military.
I knew he wasn’t a particularly courageous man, claiming bone spurs to keep him out of the military draft during the Vietnam War, but I didn’t realize he was so cowardly that he would bury the controversial news of his pardoning former Maricopa County Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio in a Friday night news dump while a dangerous hurricane was bearing down on Texas, North Korea was firing missiles into the sea and one of his most controversial aides resigned.
But that’s what happened when Sheriff Joe was given a pass after being convicted of repeatedly violating the Constitution with his illegal racial profiling.
Finally, I knew he has, generally, held the media in complete contempt, feeding false items to make him look good in the gossip columns and castigating reporters who have written inconvenient truths about him, whether as a ne’er-do-well trust baby, candidate or president.
But I didn’t expect him to put up such a prolonged, savage attack on the media, which has repeatedly included his tired playground taunt of “fake news.”
“For the most part, honestly, these are really, really dishonest people,” he said during his campaign-style rally in Phoenix last week. “And they’re bad people. And I really think they don’t like our country.”
Tom Brokaw, the dean of U.S. news reporters, responded immediately with a Tweet.
“mr (sic) president, i’ve been a journalist 50 yrs. Never met one who didn’t love USA. Many risk their lives reporting on US values. Cheap shot.”
Indeed, a cheap shot.
Look, I don’t like Donald Trump.
I don’t like writing about Donald Trump.
But I also don’t like what is happening in the United States, from all the infighting and incivility to the suspension of our constitutional rights, either through such unpardonable actions as cutting Joe Arpaio loose to sidling up to hate groups like the KKK and neo-Nazi fascists.
We’re better than that, are we not?
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” Irish statesman Edmund Burke said. It’s time to apply that message. It is our moral obligation.
We endured a disgusting presidential campaign filled with uninformed policy positions, ridiculous promises and crude references often interspersed with the mantra “Make America great again.”
We should have realized America had no place in that dime-store catch phrase. In reality, the campaign was all about “Make Donald Trump great again.”
The president has failed at that, of course.
But not as much as those who bought into this sham, voted for him and continue to remain in his dwindling base.
The nation has not been this divided since the Civil War.
We have not held each other in as much contempt, suspicion or disregard as we do now.
And I am sad to say that I am, at this time, truly afraid for the future of the United States, not only because of this lack of respect for the rule of law, but more importantly for this lack of respect for humanity, dignity and freedom.
We cannot, we must not, sit back and do nothing.
No bad days!
Ed Kociela is an opinion columnist for St. George News. The opinions stated in this article are his own and may not be representative of St. George News.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews, @EdKociela
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.
“We cannot, we must not, sit back and do nothing.”
What would you suggest, Ed?
Ed shouldn’t do a darn thing.
We should just stop commenting on his diatribes….that way he’d be out of a job in no time.
It’s not as if he gets paid per comment, so it makes no difference. He’s the perfect archetype of a cnn-watching brainwashed leftist multi-cult fanatic. I find it somewhat amusing. After his long trip to the Congo he’ll be all sorted out. 😉
And he was the best the GOP had to offer in the primaries. Let’s not forget that.
Ed’s words “I didn’t expect it would get so bad, so bitter, so utterly out of control that there would be such a feeling of dread each morning as I turned on the television to catch up on what happened overnight.”
Ed you are media carrot chasing liberal. The United States is going to be just fine ! Your first problem is that you rely on the television for your news, That right there tells us something. Secondly , you believe it without actually fact checking anything . Ed, you are part of the problem. From now on we should refer to you as Henny Penny Eddy ! Try to find the truth sometime and quit being such a liberal meat puppet.
he does chase the carrot. Must be a cnn viewer.
Ed, you’re naive like a little baby child. Defending the msm? why? They are beyond corrupt. The msm cheer-lead us into the Iraq war, which was based on nothing but fraud from the bush-cheney regime. The media is supposed to be critical of power, not cozy up to it. They are absolute traitors and can’t be trusted. We need to get you packed for your trip to the Congo, Ed. I think after you return home (if you return, lol) you’ll find that most of your whining is quite trivial. What I’ve seen so far, as bad as the donald is, I’m not sure he’s as bad as baby Bush II… yet.
You and the other sissy libs are the ones who created our President!! Obama was a complete idiot and this is coming from a Democrat for 40 years! Finally we have a President that speaks for middle America! Your ignorant remarks just show how stupid you really are. The real Democratic party no longer exists thanks to you and the thinking left sissies!
“I don’t like writing about Donald Trump”. Ummmmmm, ok Ed. That’s all you do.
This made me lol at work. 😀
The same thought came to my mind when I read it also.
Anyone else see fighting in the streets around here lately? Anyone fighting with their black, white, hispanic, asian, or purple neighbors? Or is Ed just the product of a mass of people buying into this notion that there is mass uprising and resistance in the streets. If there was a problem my friends we would know because it would be happening in our homes or on our doorsteps. But alas there is only a problem among those who are the loudest, and not necessarily the best critical thinkers or even the most employed.
This lily-livered STG News snowflake says, “Sheriff Joe was given a pass”.
Bull.
All Arpiao did was pi$$-off Obama.
Well you know what? ISIS was given a pass, Black Lives Matter was given a pass, Al Sharpton was given a pass, Louis Farrakhan was given a pass, Chelsea Manning was given a pass, Hillary Clinton was given a pass…..In fact Obama pardoned over 1000 criminals.
( https://www.justice.gov/pardon/obama-pardons ).
As a journalist, all you want to do is incite negative emotions.
If a movement was started by us readers to NEVER RESPOND TO YOUR EDITORIALS, YOU’D BE OUT OF A JOB.
Sounds like a good idea to me…..
It appears Obama did pardon a historically large number, but no largest by a long shot, of applicants but he also had one of the lowest percentage of approved applicants in history. He granted clemency to a total 1927 individuals which is only 5% of the 36,544 applicants. The whole story matters.
Chelsea Manning didn’t get a pass. She served 7 years of her sentence before Obama commuted the rest of her time.
Are you trying to talk about the unsupported conspiracy that Obama released Sharpton of his tax debt? Thats some old misinformation that has been vetted a thousand times over and found to have no basis in fact.
Louis Farrakhan? What did Obama given him a pass on?
I would love to know what the diffuse protest group BLM crime has committed and could be charged with?
Joe Arpaio was rightfully sentenced for criminal contempt by the federal government. He illegally targeted journalist and others who reported on his activities which eventually cost his county millions of dollars. His contempt charge came because he violated the constitutional rights of latino and hispanic citizens. His racially driven dragnet ensnared far too many legal resident and citizens for dubious claims. He never disguised his motivations for the decades he was sheriff.
Arpaio never served time and never even went to sentencing before Trump’s unconventional pardon. Its also relatively unusual for a president to pardon someone for trespassing on the constitution. We aren’t talking about simple violation of a Congressional law but a fundamental violation of our basic liberties.
This is a chance, which many are taking, to defend the basic tenets of conservative values. There is nothing more “law and order” than protecting constitutional liberties.
Don’t these so called journalist like Ed Kociela make you sick? Ed you are a part of the problem. You so called journalist are so stinking liberal and
who really gives a damn about your opinions anyways? You are supposed to report the news, not make it. You news people are making us all sick and then you wonder why readership is declining nationwide. Why don’t you go get a job with CNN, you’d fit right in with that hippie left culture there!
They make ya puke! They have no respect for this Country and the people who fought and died for their freedom to spew their ignorant words! Well Mr. Ed let’s see what you spew when one these militant groups comes to your home and starts breaking your windows and destroying your property! You will want all of us gun carrying conservatives to save your sorry a..*!
*Ed. ellipses
Wait a minute folks. Ed is not a reporter, and has not been for many years. He is a commentator. Ed isn’t interested in reporting, it isn’t his job.
But he IS interested in commenting with an ultra liberal slant, most of the time. If you read him long enough, you will see that once in a great while, he puts forth some intelligent thought. Too bad today’s column was not one of those.
Ed, I ask you again, what do you propose to do about this “terrible situation” we are in?
Ed, things will improve dramatically when we get a handle on your ANTIFA thugs.
Here is a serious challenge to Mr. Ed. Attend a conservative free speech rally and let the crowd treat you like ANTIFA treats them. I dare you but I doubt you have the courage. I bet you don’t even the courage to defend your thugs.
Moderate here. I don’t affiliate with either party but in a saner political climate would tend Republican. Ed’s not wrong here. I see a lot of churlish feces throwing here in the comments but no real refuting of his points. Trump is a disgrace to country and office. We all know it but tribal loyalties bring out the worst in us as we defend our voting decisions against the “enemy”. These are scary times.
Really a discrace?! Your too funny!
BENDER…haha, you must be on one just like special eddy…you leftists are all just carrot chasing meat puppets that wouldn’t know a real thought even if it was of your own mind..keep getting led by the media,,you people are quite entertaining but all the whining about imaginary unicorns is getting a little redundant…but if that’s what it takes to keep the simple minded busy..so be it..first it was Russia, next it was statues, now it’s racists everywhere..where are they going to lead you next week Bender?..just follow the bouncing morons…
Ed, you watch too much TV. The same media that criticized Bush for NOT landing in New Orleans after Katrina are criticizing Trump for LANDING in Houston after Harvey. Hilarious!
P.S. I don’t care if it’s a Republican or a Democrat, but I’ll guess that a Presidential visit delays the recovery effort by a week.
It’s very nice that these first 16 commenters took the time to comment on this editorial piece. However, rather than respond to each, I can cast a blanket statement that every one of these comments can be dismissed, by the simple fact that they all fell into the “Ad Hominem logical fallacy” (google it for more information):
“Ad hominem (Latin for “to the man” or “to the person”), short for argumentum ad hominem, is in which an argument is rebutted by attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself.”
You are all attacking the messenger, trying to dismiss, humiliate, or otherwise attempt to discredit the writer. Not a single one of you attempted, nor would you have been able to, refute any of the facts that were stated in the article (the rest is his opinion, based on those facts). They are all irrefutable and verifyably true. And you should also know that he is not the only one to fear for the future of this country. Do I hope it’s an unreasonable fear? Of course, I do. But 45 and the GOP congress have given no indication so far that they are interested in 99% of the population of this country and that includes all of you.
BTW, I fully expect to be similarly attacked from the folks like all of you who refuse to use your critical thinking skills.
the donald is a garbage leader and the GOP is a disgrace and non-redeemable. What bothers me is Ed’s reverence for the the msm–that’s the mass media, for you dullards. They are a big part of the reason things are where they are now. A person who denies that is plainly an idiot. Imagine if media just reported the truth as it is, and didn’t put some kind of spin or agenda on EVERY SINGLE ISSUE.
MSM sits in bed with pharma and war contractors, with some of them like NBC actually owned by war contractors. Is it any wonder msm are cheerleaders for war and death and destruction. Ed, why don’t you do a write up about how wonderful and independent our mass media is in the US. They actually fit all criteria of war criminals.
No attack here, waste of time.
there were no facts in his leftist piece to refute,,if there were we would have..the whole thing was leftist propaganda..none of it can be backed up by pacts..the point all are making is ED is a liberal meat puppet and all he ever does is spout their “talking points”..so in the case of ED and this article there is nothing to dispute because the whole thing is leftist trash
I too would love to see someone explain how the facts that Ed listed are incorrect.
we would refute the “facts” in his hit piece but there weren’t any. it’s just more unverified liberal talking points..Ed is a TOOL
It seems like the only place you hear about tons of fighting between neighbors or neighborhoods is in the liberal inner cities where the Democrats have created a society of entitlement through perceived persecution and racial diversity.
The future of the United States is desperate if the likes of AntiFa, BLM, leftist judges, and George Soros maniacs and haters from the entertainment and progressive political world continue to spread violence, hatred, and use such tactics to destroy the constitution. You, Ed, are one of the very people who hate this country; you want it to be something else. That in of itself is not liking your country.
I’m disappointed. I would have expected factual information accurately stated.
I did anticipate you were a part of the nation’s problems rather than a part of the solution.
DANG. 45 supporters are ugly ugly!
It is easy to point fingers and criticize another’s efforts when you have nothing to offer. I don’t see Ed running for president or coming up with useful solutions, just complain complain. If you look at Trump’s daily schedule it is amazing how much he and VP Pence have to do every day. The media rarely mentions any of it. He and his wife couldn’t even show up in Houston without the media criticizing her shoes. Get a life people!
As Crooked Hillary would say…”At this point, what difference does it make?”….but if the Left really tries to overthrow our President? …Eddie, You ain’t seen nothin’ yet ….as when Joe Lunchbox gets in the fight? It’s gonna get real, real soon..
You are so correct…just wait until the sissy wimps on the left really upset the real men on the right, and they get into the fight….I have my money on the right any day!! They take care of business, quickly and efficiently. No political B.S. or whining that it was others fault!
Ed, I suspect that you were not prepared for lies from anyone because you thought Obama had used them all up. Things like keeping your physician, health insurance being less expensive than our cell phone bills, Benghazi, more young black men in prison than attending colleges and universities, 90 percent of the budget deficit being due to George W. Bush’s policies, etc., etc.
As far as Trump being a womanizer he doesn’t hold a candle to the Democratic hero, Bill Clinton. And there are many accusations that slick Willie’s advances were often unwelcome, despite Hillary’s attempts to silence his accusers.
As far as President Trump defending neo-Nazi’s, how can you justify the recent terroristic assaults of anyone who doesn’t agree with them by Antifa and Black Lives Matter? Those people do really fit the description of “terrorists” but many in the media seem to ignore that fact. Why? Are they part of the “30,000 agitators” that Obama has mentioned are committed to fighting President Trump? I wonder……… However, you, and most reasonable people, know why there is such lack of respect “for the rule of law”….. and such a “lack of respect for humanity, dignity and freedom”.
I am also very upset with all the division in our country, but I guess I see a different side of the page than you do.
Eddy- the best thing for u to do is do not turn on the tv and please do not write this stupid redorich-go fishin???
Ed is very scary, very inaccurate, very one-sided, and I think that he was so far to the left that he fell off the EDge!! Very disturbing that he can’t see the forest through the tree’s, or even the trees for that matter. Very disturbing, but I think that is really what he wants…to get attention and people to hate him…he sounds like a psycho.
Eddie, I feel for St. George and all of the rapes, robberies, bodies being found, hijackings, drugs, etc….why don’t you right about the real problems facing St. George and how to solve them instead of chasing the ghosts running around in your mind?? Come up to the plate and face reality…your town needs you!! Quit hiding in the shadows of your mind and do something real and tangible.
Ed lives in Mexico someplace. Not St George.
Hey Ed, here’s an idea, SHUT UP you big baby!
Ugh once again I got suckered into reading another one of your opinion (BS) pieces. I had sworn them off but I just couldn’t help myself on this one. So now the only way I am going to get any sleep tonight is to type out what is being yelled at inside my head.
So here we go…
#1- You knew there would be discord/chaos/brutal confrontation.
There are so many reasons why this statement is just utter crap. First of all discord, or shall we say up front in your face the democrats arent going to stand here and lie about EVERYTHING and get away with it again. No, Mr Trump isn’t like Romney. He isn’t going to stand there on a debate stage and let a complete and utter liar, manipulating, failure in every job she has had stand up on that same stage and lie to the American people. Trump is the kind of man to call bullsh*t when he smells it. Romney certainly had more manners so Obama and the moderator who was clearly in his pocket and admitted to lying and giving the Obama camp a copy of the questions beforehand get away with cheating again. And before you claim that he was saying such horrible things to and about Hillary be careful how you word it because a very large percentage of the country was saying the same things. Trump just had a bigger microphone.
As for chaos, I don’t think you understand what the term means. Chaos is when you have a President who cares so little about the country over which he presides that he proceedes in a fashion that lives up to his words of wanting to “totally transform america”. Obama wanted to rip this country apart and he did just that. More illegals, more regulation, higher unemployment , higher taxes, destruction of our military and law enforcement. Then there is the rule of law. Let’s forget for now that both Michelle and Barrak Obama both lost their law licenses due to FRAUD, he turned this country upside down when it comes to the difference in what is wrong or right. Our police officers were called stupid and he undermined their authority every chance he could. Then when a young black man commits a robbery and assault then refuses to stop for a police officer and tries to kill said police officer gets killed, Obama sends white house staff to his funeral. This sent the wrong message to those out there who would seek to do harm to others. But then when the highest ranking military officer to ever serve in Afghanistan is killed in the line of duty not one person from the white house can bother to show up. What message does that send? I’ll give you a hint…you said it first, chaos. That was the beginning of the end of of civility in this country. The rest of us saw it but it took Trump standing up to Hillary’s lies to get you to open your eyes, but you still can’t see the truth.
2- you weren’t prepared for the lies.
Crowd size, really that’s the first on your list? Tapped lines… You really can’t answer this either way can you. It could have happened, so you don’t know if this was a lie or not, it certainly isn’t out of the realm of possibility. But still those are you top 2 concerns of statements he’s made. Oh no, the sky is falling… good grief Ed, take a chill pill. I’ll be honest, there have been some things he has said that have made me shake my head, and times I really wish he would stay off Twitter. But frankly it’s kind of nice to have a
President that isn’t a professional politician who just spouts lie after lie or just doesn’t say anything at all. It’s nice to see what’s going on in the daily life of our top dog. But crowd size and wire taps just don’t even raise an eyebrow for me. I’m surprised they do for you. I guess you’re just easier than I am.
Congress….what a bunch of chicken trash they are. I am so sick of the democrats who sit there and play games with American lives. There are people out here that need our government to work not to just be a bunch of cowards and just say no to everything. It reminds me of a bunch of 1 year olds who have learned the word no and just say it because they can No No No No No No No No No… see, it’s kinda irritating isn’t it. They had better grow up and start doing their jobs or so help me we will find someone who will.
#3- Ego.
Ok so he has an ego. What President doesn’t. Ok maybe Jimmy Carter but he was lacking in other areas that were really important to. But really are you trying to tell us all that Hillary doesn’t have an ego? Of all people to have an ego, she went all the way around the country giving speech after speech and rally after rally and she still didn’t see that 1/2 the country hated her and wanted her in jail. Come’on, when you look up ego there are 2 pictures, her’s and Trumps. No one is disputing that he has an ego but we need someone in there who has a well earned ego. Trump is a genius at making decisions. He sees exactly what needs to be done to help this country and he is doing it. I don’t understand you liberals who cant see the facts. Higher minimum wage means less jobs. More illegals means less jobs for americans. Higher minimum wage means higher prices. Obama care is broken and needs to be replaced. Trump understands these truths and has the ego to stand up and do something about it. Unlike Hillary who has absolutely no clue what she’s doing. Other than selling uranium to our enemies.
#4- Questionable moral character. So, the fact that he has been married and divorced makes him immoral or is it really the Billy Bush interview that has your knickers in a bunch. I again will not lie and tell you that hearing those men talking made me a bit sick. However, let me add another side to this mess. When I was 18/19 I did some modeling and I can tell you that I saw many girls do really bad things to try to get ahead. I don’t think for a minute that he grabbed anyone by force. So that means whatever he did he did it with their permission. Does this make him a horrible person? Well I wouldn’t want to be married to him and I can absolutely guarantee that his wife is well aware of his activities. However the thing that makes me the sickest is that I am sure this is a common behavior for many of our politicians *cough cough BILL CLINTIN cough cough*. So as far as ego goes, trying to claim that Trumps ego is anymore than soooo many others is just hypocritical.
#5-difficulties with minorities.
I just don’t get you, how can you possibly say he has a problem with minorities or women or anything else when he clearly works with so many. Even in his businesses before he took office there were several employees or people he did business with who came forward and talked about how well he treats them and that he shows absolutely no racial discrimination at all. Your claim that he supports the KKK because of what was said after Charlotsville is down right disgusting. He never ever said he supported them. He did say that there were bad people on both sides. I don’t see how you can possibly say that this statement is wrong. Look at the video it clearly shows horrible acts of violence committed by both sides. To anyone who can say that it was all one sidded is just blind. Personally I think Charlotsville was a bit of a set up. The White nationalists asked for a place that they could hold a private demonstration but at the last minute it was moved to this more public spot. The video clearly shows the police forcing the white supremacist down right into the path of those who opposed them. You could not have scripted it better if you wanted to have a problem. The guy in the car, I am in no way condoning what he did but I want to bring something up that I am sure will be brought up in his trial. What we don’t know for sure was why he drove into that crowd. I wondered if the reason for the crash into cars was because for some reason he perceived he was in danger so he drove as fast as he could to get off the street when he hit the car in front of him causing the injuries to people. It is very clear in the video that after he hit the car he was attacked from all sides. At what point was the girl who was killed ? I would love to find out more information. At trial his defense will say that he was in fear for his life and he drove to get off the street and hit the car in front of him, then after that his car was mobbed and he put it in reverse and got out of there. Again if he did it on purpose I do not condone it and if it can be proven that he did it intentionally I hope he receives the max penalty. I just wonder if they had been allowed to hold their rally in private where they wanted to and not pushed into a confrontation would the outcome have been the same.
I see no evidence that Mr Trump has any issue with any race. Just because he wants to enforce the laws we have regarding illegals does not mean he hates them. As for African Americans it is just sheer stupidity to claim he has any bias towards them at all. All the evidence is to the contrary.
#6- The wall
What is your problem with it exactly? Having it built or finding a way for Mexico pay for it? It may not be paid by them upfront but I have no doubt that he will find a way to have it paid by them. It’s not hard figure out.
Why wouldn’t you want the wall? Maybe you should ask the people in Yuma Arizona if they like the wall. An article in the Washington Times States ” Border wall stopped chaos in Arizona” illegal immigration has dropped 90% and crimes have decreased drastically . ” it was like somebody flipped a switch onq us. It went from chaos to a controlled border town” also ” …700 miles of fence building that Mr Trump is meeting universal resistance from Democrats and some Rebublicans. The same for boosting border patrol all of which were bipartisan, supported by Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton”. So, why exactly are you against the wall?
#7-Transgender ban
This is one of those situations where you should be grateful for what you have and not push things. Transgender military were for the most part doing just fine with their assignments in the military. I have heard both good and bad situations. Here’s where they screwed up, wanting the military to pay for gender reassignment surgery. This is just absolutely insane. If a person wants to do this to themselves then go do it, just don’t expect the American people to pay for it. It’s expensive and elective and not necessary for the military member to complete their assignment. However, if a person does process it will create a situation where that person would not be able to be deployed. The military is all about 2 things, battle readiness and costs. To expect the military to pay for this surgery would only accomplish 1 thing, an influx of people who can’t pay for it on their own and want someone else to do it the bill, making them unable to be ready for a deployment. I think for the most part no one really cares if you want to switch things up and be a different gender. It’s the surgery and the time and costs associated with it. It’s just wrong to expect people to pay for this. However there have been situations where a person who decided to change gender has changed the dynamic of the unit they are in for the worse. This disruption in the unit can not be allowed to happen, lives depend on it.
#8-media
I really can’t help but laugh at you over this one. You must be joking right? What President didn’t hate the media. Obama hated it so much he just didn’t deal with it very often. Briefings were few and sometimes far between. The media complained constantly about him and vise versa. Trump is just doing it louder then Obama did. This is a prime example of how the liberal agenda is so lacking in substance that they will just say anything. Not one of these political hacks loves the media. You distort and confuse the issue no matter what it is. If the President were to say a stone is gray the liberal media would find a way to try to convince us it is red. While Obama was afforded special privileges with the media he would comment all the time about how horrible they were. He just did it with a smile on his face rather than the seething way Trump does. It’s no different you just keep trying to tell us it is all new and oh so horrible with this President, and if you are going to put a star upon a pedestal as someone who is your shining light, it really shouldn’t be Tom Brokaw. Come on Ed, at least make This callenging. This whole piece is FAKE NEWS.
#9-You don’t like Mr Trump or what is happening to the United States.
Yeah I think we got that point. You don’t like him, I didn’t like Obama and I really didn’t like Hillary. But I never ever wished them ill will. I never wanted one of them to get shot or hurt. As much as I despised Obama I never wanted the country to go through an impeachment process. I do not want to see the country torn up or inside out. You said you dont like what is happening, hmm I think you are lying. You love this stuff, that’s why you guys stroke the ego of the BLM and other violent hate groups. This country is turning inside out and it is not going to end well for any of us. The devil is definitely working overtime right now. You know what they say, the devil is in the details. Lies, hate, racism, disrespect, they are all ugly words and no matter how they are used it will always be bad. You are better than that, aren’t you Ed? Hate isnt your thing is it?
#9-Make America Great again.
I’m wondering why you have such a problem, with this ” dime store catch phrase”. Isn’t it exactly what we want and need. Don’t we want out country to be truly great. Great in a way that is kind and loving towards all mankind. ” the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do notning”. I love that. However in this case it’s wrong. Evil is happening in cities all across America. Men who make millions of dollars are taking a knee and refusing to stand and put their hand over their heart for our National Antham. Cops are being gunned down in their patrol cars for no reason. White people are being removed from schools or being beaten up just because they are white. Is it not a truly horrifying thing for a mob to attack and injure a person just because of their skin color. For some reason being born white is now a problem instead of everyone just being equal!. Is this not truly horrifying to you? All because what exactly because I don’t know. I know it’s not Trump a fault. He hasn’t done anything to black America, neither has our flag, but afforded equal rights for all people. In Chicago and other cities you have black people killing each other faster than any white supremacist group could. This started a long time ago and got worse umder Obama so i kmow it isn’t because of Trump. But it is escalating. How can you blame Trump for something that was going on long before Trump was elected. Evil happens whether a good man does nothing or not, it happens because bad men choose it and because good people are are co- conspirators by not calling it what it is, evil, hatred and racism.
#10- dirty campaign.
The only reason this campaign happened the way it did is because your side was so bad it took someone who was willing to get down in the gutter with you and duke it out. Yeah it was nasty, it was filled with lies and deception. Hillary cheated at every end any way she could. She told lies and let’s face it she has been lying to us for years. But really “What does it matter now?” Why would you just continue to spew this hatred and contempt, what does does it do now? Aren’t you really just doing nothing? It doesn’t matter if you like him or not, he is the President. No matter how much you click your heals and wish it to be true Hillary will never be the President. So, if you are a “good man” how about you use your soap box for something good rather than the further destruction of this country. Don’t you think we all see what is going on? So why not spend your time doing something positive rather than evil. The question isn’t really about how mean Trump was during the election it’s about how good of a man are you now? Will you further the evil of hate and jealousy or will you stand up and be counted for doing something good. Serve your fellow man by being a leader not a hater. Ed, you have mad a habbit out of spewing lies and hatred during your opinion pieces. Many of those you have accused by name have turned out to be not guilty. It’s time for a change. It’s time for you to get on board and do something to help rather than use tour words for bad. Please, we could really use you. So say we all.
If you are going to correct someone you better get the information right. Your comments included several mistruths that have been debunked for years:
#1. The Obamas did not have their licenses revoked:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/lawlicenses.asp
#2. Obama deported millions of illegal immigrants. His number of deportations was historically high for the modern era and only started decreasing in 2015 when immigration in general slowed and illegal border crossings slowed as well:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/12/16/u-s-immigrant-deportations-fall-to-lowest-level-since-2007/
#3 Obama dropped the unemployment rate from a high of 10% to a low of 4.6% which economist consider full employment. His monthly percent decrease was equal to or greater than Trump’s so far:
https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
#4. In Trump’s first 200+ days he has been fact checked and found to have lied or misrepresented ideas over a 1,000 times. He was also found to have been factually wrong 70% of the time during his campaign:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-claims-database/?utm_term=.ec8be2cb1739
#5. Obama didn’t buck any tradition and sent U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to Greene’s funeral. This was an outright fabricated lie that was fact checked early on. Neither Bush or Nixon went to the rare funerals of high ranking military killed in action, despite rumors. The author of those mistruths published mea culpa
https://www.stripes.com/maj-gen-harold-greene-receives-full-burial-honors-at-arlington-1.298353
Those are just examples from the first couple points you made.
Transgender Ban:
The RAND Corporation actually conducted a study in 2016 and found financial and readiness concerns unwarranted.
1) Loss of readiness would have been less than 1% of labor years. Actually, it was quoted that “the number that we estimate is .0015 percent of those labor years.”. Thats not even big enough to be a rounding error.
2) Estimated Cost for transition surgery and hormone regimens: $2.4-$8.2 million a year or 0.1-0.4% of the annual military healthcare budget. The military spends roughly $84 million on erectile dysfunction drugs for soldiers. That is 10 to 40 times more than the combined costs of transgender specific medical costs.
The ban was not about cost or readiness. Those are outright lies that don’t hold up to scrutiny.