Before I update you on the progress of the crowd-sourced research, I would like everyone to take a moment to listen to Congressman Jeff Jackson (D-NC). I've mentioned him before because this guy is a voice of sanity in the whirlwind.
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"A Senator from Alabama is blocking the nomination of all generals and admirals in the military in protest of the military’s travel policy regarding abortion. Here’s the situation: [do yourself a favor - take a listen.]
I've posted his videos before because he's a plain spoken reasonable human being who's really good at explaining what's happening in Congress. He's very personable, but he comes to government with credentials.He enlisted after 9/11, currently serves in the Army National Guard as a major. An attorney, he is currently assigned to the Judge Advocate General's Corps. His committees are House Armed Services and Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. In other words, the guy is not a lightweight.
When I saw today's video, I stopped what I was originally writing about to start researching this. He's spot on. The inability to promote officers will cripple the armed forces sooner or later. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have several retirements in the wings and no way to fill those vacancies until this senator buffoon stands down. Seriously.
Tommy-the-former football-coach is well qualified to be on the Hill directing policy for the armed forces. Yup. He coached high school football. Then at Ol' Miss, Texas Tech, Auburn and a bunch of other big time football schools. Oh, yeah, he was involved with a finance fraud scheme at Auburn....just for the record. That has nothing to do with congress, right?
But wait...there's more. He started a foundation to help veterans. According to an article in the New York Times, during his senate campaign in 2020 the foundation
...produced internal records for 2018 that showed nearly $20,000 was raised for a temporary project to provide a retreat for veterans. But the records raised bookkeeping questions, since they showed more than $61,000 of 2018 revenue, roughly twice what the charity reported to the I.R.S. that year."
Read the article. You'll just wanna run right out and vote for Tommy the Tube for President. I mean, he's even less qualified to run a gas station restroom than the leader of his cabal.
Here's what a large swath of voters is missing: access to reproductive services is not about getting abortions for soldiers; it's about the Armed Forces ability to recruit new troops. Congressman Jackson explains that quite well in the video, and he is spot on. We have an all volunteer military; should we be discouraging those who want to enlist? Of course, I'm certain Viagra is readily available. Condoms, maybe not. So let's call it what it is: misogynistic bullshit designed to discourage the enlistment and promotion of females in the military.
Already, the U.S. Marine Corps is without a confirmed leader for the first time in a century. And by law, the current Joint Chiefs chairman, Army Gen. Mark Milley, will step down at the end of September, and the current Army chief will leave his post in early August. The nominees to succeed them have had hearings, but no votes....
...The Pentagon and lawmakers opposed to Tuberville’s actions say the holds create a trickle-down effect that is hurting military readiness, preventing scores of officers from moving to new jobs, either as nominees or staff members. They argue that less experienced leaders are being forced to step in.
I guess that's okay with all you Republicans out there. Not having a Marine Corps commandant in place? Not having generals or a Chairperson of Joint Chiefs of Staff? How about the other officers like majors and colonels...those are all stopped, too. Whose leading if the leaders are retiring? Is not having a qualified military ready for action a desirable thing? How about we just bar women from the military altogether? Wouldn't that solve the coach's problem?
Unless.....
Maybe Coach Tube is trying to blink a message to his handlers in Russia or China?
"Welcome, Dear Comrades!
Intentionally exploiting a technicality that can severely weaken our civil preparedness could be considered treason, ergo one who works to undermine the defense of this nation should be considered a traitor ...and treated as such. At what point does the GOP part of the population rise up to say, "Wait a gosh darn minute? We don't have a functional military and Tommy did it?"
Or no, so long as it furthers the Christo-fascist agenda the right is pushing. Then IOKIYAR.
And speaking of the Christo-fascist agenda, I tripped across Jamelle Bouie's op-ed in the New York Times . He suggests that the actual GOP goal is rather for the establishment of a more intrusive government.
Of course, the crown jewel of the Republican effort to build a more intrusive, domineering government is the set of laws passed to ban or sharply limit abortion, regulate gender expression and otherwise restrict bodily autonomy. These laws, by their very nature, create a web of state surveillance that brings the government into the most private reaches of an adult’s life, or a child’s.
And the GOP says it wants small government? Uh, I don't think so.
Let me update you on my search for left and right violence.
If you followed the page, you saw the comment that a serious far left issue is Israel and attempts to silence all supporters of the only democratic state in the Middle East. I admit, that wasn't what I was thinking about and yes, it is extreme left wing action. But to date, it's not been violent. The protests have largely been shouting matches and letter writing campaigns, things almost to be expected in the free-speech arena. Inciting violence would be included in my research, but to date, I'm not finding sustainable examples.
Someone wrote to me about SDS and the other Vietnam War era demonstrations that turned to violence and rioting. The George Floyd riots were also mentioned. Yes, SDS et al were left wing and violent, but that was then. I'm not sure the anger that we had in the late 60s and 70s toward the government would be reproduced now. It was a different time.
As for the George Floyd riots, there's a lot of weird information out there.
In a Washington Post article about the riots, Seth G. Jones, director of the transnational threats project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies is quoted as saying White Nationalists were present at Black Live Matter rallies, but went on to say most of the violence was incited by some gangs and "hooligans," and other locals looking for an opportunity to loot. "There were reports of some antifa at different protests, but they stood back, did not engage, certainly not in a violent way.”
To date, no one has provided verifiable information about domestic terrorist acts of violence coming from the left in conjunction with school boards meetings, book banning meetings, or other local government events. Nor are leftists driving into crowds, shooting up schools, banks, or military bases. I will continue to search for verifiable examples. IF you have one, or even think you might, please send it along. I will research.
If violence is coming from the left as well as the right, that needs to be examined, I have, as I mentioned been concentrating on domestic issues, but I'll absolutely track down one for foreign policy as well if it's a left/right confrontation.
The search continues.
The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
If informed that a person prefers
not to be a him or a her, a ma'am or a sir,
it has nothing to do with you.
It's what that person wants.
Be kind.
Just say "thanks," and omit the pronoun.
Old "Tommy" is definetly one of those brainless southerners who is the same rank and file as Green, Bobert and others.He's a true idiot, but they voted for him so he has an idiot support group.I am more concerned about the real possibility of trump becoming president and in his words, give the White House a lot more power than it has now.That's scary.
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