Defense Department Delays Costly Transgender Policy, for Now

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Defense Secretary James Mattis has granted the request of top military brass to postpone the Obama-era policy of admitting openly transgender individuals to the armed services until Jan. 1, but a delay is only the first step to blocking the policy, opponents said.

That’s because LGBT activists and the RAND Corp. have been scripting implementation plans from day one, and they are still there, said Elaine Donnelly, president of the Center for Military Readiness, a conservative pro-defense group.

“Everyone should realize that we have a lot of work to do,” Donnelly told The Daily Signal, referring to opposing the agenda set by activists for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans.

“Forget six months: We have only four months, at best, to turn this around. Time to start the engines,” she added.

A RAND Corp. study determined that 2,500 service members and another 1,500 in the reserves were transgender.

Donnelly’s Center for Military Readiness recently released a report urging the Pentagon to revoke the policy ordered last year by then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, citing:

–Open-ended costs for lifetime hormone treatments and sometimes irreversible surgeries.

–Infringements on personal privacy in conditions of forced intimacy.

–Demoralizing pressures on military commanders, doctors, and nurses to approve, participate in, or perform procedures that violate medical ethics or sincerely held personal or religious convictions.

“Transgender advocates demand special status for recruits seeking lifetime medical benefits despite deployability problems,” Donnelly said. “They also demand coverage for veterans in an already-overloaded system and for family dependents, including minor children.”

Mattis made the correct move, said Ryan T. Anderson, a senior research fellow in the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation.

“The Obama administration in its last days rushed to impose a politically driven agenda on the entire military,” Anderson told The Daily Signal. “Secretary of Defense Mattis is correct to hit the pause button, to take the time to get this policy correct, maintain military effectiveness, and respect the dignity of all people involved.”

LGBT groups weren’t happy with the Defense Department decision, but expressed some confidence the transgender policy eventually would be implemented.

“Transgender service members have been serving, openly and authentically, since October 2016 with no impact on readiness,” Matt Thorn, executive director for OutServe-Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a Washington-based advocacy group for LGBT individuals in the military, said in a prepared statement.

Thorn added:

It is time to fully lift the ban on transgender service by enacting this final piece and implementing the accessions policy. This delay is a disservice to the transgender community and to our military as a whole. While we cannot now avoid this six-month delay, we expect the full and unequivocal implementation of this accessions policy for transgender individuals at the end of these six months.

Stephen Peters, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, an influential LGBT organization, said in a statement: “Each day that passes without the policy in place restricts the armed forces’ ability to recruit the best and the brightest, regardless of gender identity.”

During a June 28 hearing of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo., called for Congress to strike the policy because of the cost to readiness.

The surgeries would cost the military an estimated $1.35 billion over the next decade, Hartzler said. Among the items the funds could be used for are 13 F-35s, 14 Super Hornet F-18s, or two B-21 Long Strike Bombers, she said.

“By recruiting and allowing transgender individuals to serve openly in our military, we are subjecting taxpayers to high medical costs, including an average of $130,000 per transition surgery, lifetime hormone treatments, and potential additional surgeries to address the average 25 percent of individuals who experience complications in addition to possible mental health issues and cost of training policies,” Hartzler said during the hearing.

A Rasmussen poll released Friday found that 23 percent of likely voters support allowing openly transgender individuals to serve in the military. Another 31 percent said it’s bad for the military, while 38 percent said it would have no impact.

In a memo announcing the decision released Friday evening, Mattis said the delay “in no way presupposes an outcome.”

“Since becoming the secretary of defense, I have emphasized that the Department of Defense must measure each policy decision against one critical standard: Will the decision affect the readiness and lethality of the force?” Mattis said in the memo, adding:

Put another way, how will the decision affect the ability of America’s military to defend the nation? It is against this standard that I provide the following guidance on the way forward in accessing transgender individuals into the military services.

If the Obama administration policy is fully implemented, the cost to readiness, recruitment, retention, morale, and cohesion will be even greater than the monetary costs, said retired Lt. Gen. William “Jerry” Boykin, a former Army Delta Force commander.

Boykin cited a report that the military is getting machinery parts from museums because of budget constraints.

“The military has been reduced to stripping parts from museums, which is why it makes no sense to spend more than a billion taxpayer dollars on new body parts for anyone who joins the military and identifies as transgender,” Boykin, now an executive vice president at the Family Research Council, said in a formal statement.

“After lost deployment and other costs are factored in, taxpayers could be on the hook for as much as $3.7 billion over the next 10 years. Spending billions of dollars on transgender surgeries and treatment plans, when the military has other priorities that would actually ensure its effectiveness in war, is irresponsible.” (For more from the author of “Defense Department Delays Costly Transgender Policy, for Now” please click HERE)

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Republicans Move to Make Silencers More Easily Available

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Two Republican senators have introduced legislation that would make suppressors for firearms—or silencers, as they’re more commonly known—more easily available to the American public. The bill would eliminate federal taxes on, and regulations of, suppressors.

“By properly classifying suppressors as a firearm accessory, our bill would allow sportsmen to have better access to hearing protection and preserve the hearing of sportsmen, gun owners, and those who live near shooting ranges,” Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said in a press release.

Crapo introduced the bill, called the Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing Act, on Thursday with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

Many Americans know about silencers only from what they see in the movies—a stealthy gun accessory that helps criminals more easily kill by suppressing the sound of the gunshot.

But “silencers,” Second Amendment advocates say, is a misleading way to describe these firearm accessories because they don’t actually silence the sound of a gunshot.

Instead, they argue, silencers should be more easily available because they protect against hearing damage. In short, proponents view silencers as a safety issue.

Current laws regulating suppressors date back to 1934. Suppressors require registration, a $200 tax on every transfer, and an eight- to 12-month waiting period.

Removing the tax and waiting period, gun advocates say, will make suppressors more widely available to people in the shooting sports industry who face hearing loss over the loud sound of gunshots.

“Suppressors can make shooting safer for the millions of hunters and sportsmen that exercise their constitutional right to use firearms every year,” Lee said in a prepared statement, adding:

The current process for obtaining a suppressor is far too expensive and burdensome. Our bill would remove these unnecessary federal regulations and make it easier for firearms users to protect themselves.

The Crapo-Lee legislation faces an uphill battle, with groups such as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence arguing that making suppressors more widely available could facilitate crime.

“Lawmakers introduced this bill in the name of safety, yet continue to oppose Brady background checks for all gun sales,” a spokesperson for the Brady Campaign told The Daily Signal in February. “Instead of making it harder for dangerous people to get guns, Congress is trying to make it easier for everyone to get silencers.”

The Daily Signal’s feature series, “Underreported,” explored the regulation of suppressors. Watch the video above to learn more. (For more from the author of “Republicans Move to Make Silencers More Easily Available” please click HERE)

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New Jersey Governor Issues a State of Emergency Executive Order

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In an attempt to shield those living in the Garden State from the problems their government created, the governor, Chris Christie, has now signed an executive order issuing a “state of emergency.” As speculation grows that New Jersey will soon follow in Illinois’ footsteps, the government is proving forecasters correct by their inability to pass a constitutionally mandated budget.

Not only did New Jersey’s inability to pass a budget shut down the government (but not really, don’t worry, you’ll still be taxed and welfare checks will still go out) but it scared Christie enough to sign a state of emergency executive order.

New Jersey’s economic stability is in a dire state, and they appear to be continuing to make the same mistakes as Illinois. But according to nj.com, the conflict in the legislature and subsequent budget standstill is about the finances of not-for-profit Horizon Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the state’s largest health insurer. The state Senate passed a bill that allows the state government to control how much Horizon keeps in its surplus fund before it must contribute to a public health fund.

The government doesn’t seem to want to tackle to problems they created, they only seek to tighten the economic hold they have on companies and individuals through taxation and regulations. And the government never tries taxing less and spending less, they only want more power, which is funded by more theft, and control through entitlement programs.

Moody’s is even warning that it’s the high taxation and political promises that are sinking states.

“Tax rate increases, such as the ‘millionaires’ tax’ implemented in prior administrations, could bridge some of the gap, but may be politically challenging in this already high-tax state. Closing the entire $3.6 billion gap with revenue-side solutions alone appears unlikely,” analysts said. Gubernatorial candidates seeking to replace Gov. Chris Christie have proposed bringing back variations of the millionaire’s tax. But the size of the future deficit is so large, Moody’s said, “it unlikely that a sufficient tax increase would be politically feasible.” Finding enough cuts, too, would be “highly challenging,” the agency said, adding even slashing employee health benefits would fall short in the long term. –NJ.com

The dollar is collapsing all over in states which exhibit massive amounts of control over their populations. Preparing for the looming economic crisis that will impact all of us is important, and experts are suggesting an investment in metals. Barter systems may take over in the event that entire state economies collapse making precious metals a viable currency when the dollar becomes useful only as toilet paper.

Infighting between Republicans and Democrats is getting the constant blame for the economic troubles facing New Jersey, but the real problem is much more simple. The entire government and the system they operate under is the problem. The infighting is merely a symptom which masks the bigger issue of too much government. And preppers in volatile states like New Jersey aren’t taking any chances right now. (For more from the author of “New Jersey Governor Issues a State of Emergency Executive Order” please click HERE)

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Achtung! Germans the New Minority in Major German City

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Frankfurt has officially become Germany’s first “majority minority” city, as data from the city’s Office for Multicultural Affairs reveal more than half of the city’s residents now have a migrant background.

Sylvia Weber, the city’s secretary of integration, presented the new information this week, confirming 51.2 percent of Frankfurt’s population has a so-called “migration background.” A “migration background” includes people with a non-German nationality as well as Germans born abroad and minors whose parents have immigrated to Germany.

“The trend is clear,” Weber stated. “We are a city without a majority.”

Turks, who represent 13 percent of the population, are the city’s largest non-German minority. Relations between Germany and Turkey have deteriorated since last July’s failed coup in Turkey, and this week Germany rejected a request by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to address ethnic Turks in Germany next week on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

There are about 3 million Turks in Germany. The large diaspora is a legacy of Germany’s massive post-war guest-worker program of the 1960s and 1970s. (Read more from “Achtung! Germans the New Minority in Major German City” HERE)

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U.N. Goes Orwellian: 3 Disturbing Identifiers for Mass Migration

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Migration is INEVITABLE. Migration is NECESSARY. Migration is DESIRABLE.

These three sentences flash at the end of a new video released by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), a United Nations group dedicated to “promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all.”

The video highlights that 244 million international immigrants, often called “refugees,” are living abroad worldwide, and cites this number as proof that “migration is inevitable, necessary, and desirable.”

The video is composed of words superimposed over scenes of migrants, consisting of rhetoric that is meant to elicit sympathy such as “undocumented, discriminated, forgotten,” as well as words meant to present the migrants positively, such as “grateful, skilled, compassionate.”

“The rise in the number of international migrants reflects the increasing importance of international migration, which has become an integral part of our economies and societies. Well-managed migration brings important benefits to countries of origin and destination, as well as to migrants and their families,” said Wu Hongbo, U.N. under-secretary-general for economic and social affairs. (Read more from “U.N. Goes Orwellian: 3 Disturbing Identifiers for Mass Migration” HERE)

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Pilot Mentions ‘Weather Phenomenon,’ Drops off Radar

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National Transportation Safety Board investigators said Sunday there was a discussion between the pilot of a Cessna airplane and air traffic controllers about “local weather phenomenon.” Soon after, the aircraft dropped off radar and crashed, killing six.

“We’re dealing with things that people just don’t want to talk about or see,” Price County Sheriff Brian Schmidt told local media.

The Price County Sheriff’s Office said the airplane crashed at 3:21 a.m. CT Saturday near the north Wisconsin city of Phillips. The plane was found near State Highway 111 and U.S. Highway 8 in the town of Harmony.

According to WSAW-TV, the plane was a Cessna 421 and investigators said the pilot was certified to fly it.

The victims were all adults, Price County Sheriff’s Lt. Gabe Lind said Sunday. No names have been released. (Read more from “Pilot Mentions ‘Weather Phenomenon,’ Drops off Radar” HERE)

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Black Student Shares Valedictorian Status With White Student, Sues School

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A black Mississippi high school graduate sued her school district this week after being forced to share valedictorian status with a white student who had a lower GPA.

Jasmine Shephard, a 2016 graduate of Cleveland High School, filed the lawsuit against her Mississippi school district, The Washington Post reported Friday.

The school named Shephard and the white student “co-valedictorians” the day before graduation, the lawsuit claims.

“Prior to 2016, all of Cleveland High School’s valedictorians were white. As a result of the school official’s unprecedented action of making an African-American student share the valedictorian award with a white student, the defendants discriminated against,” the lawsuit alleges . . .

The Mississippi school district denied the allegations, calling the lawsuit “frivolous.” Both students had the same GPA, Jamie Jacks, an attorney for the district, wrote. (Read more from “Black Student Shares Valedictorian Status With White Student, Sues School” HERE)

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VIDEO: Trump Body-Slams ‘Fraud News’ CNN in WWE Tweet

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President Trump tweeted out a video Sunday morning that shows him body-slamming “fraud news” CNN . . .

The doctored video comes from an appearance Trump made on WWE where he body-slammed WWE president Vince McMahon. The CNN logo was placed over McMahon’s face in the video Trump tweeted, which shows the president going in for the body-slam followed by several (fake) punches.

(Read more from “VIDEO: Trump Body-Slams ‘Fraud News’ CNN in WWE Tweet” HERE)

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Dems Step up Efforts to Impeach Trump

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Despite Democratic leadership’s request for its lawmakers to tone down talks of impeachment, 25 House members are crafting a bill that would create an “oversight” commission that has the power to declare the president incapacitated.

According to Maryland Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin — who is spearheading the efforts — they would then be able to effectively remove President Donald Trump from office under the 25th Amendment, Yahoo News first reported.

“In case of emergency, break glass,” he told the publication in an interview. “If you look at the record of things that have happened since January, it is truly a bizarre litany of events and outbursts.”

The Democratic calls for Trump’s impeachment were amplified after the president took aim at MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough on Twitter — having alleged Brzezinski was “bleeding badly” from her face during a trip to Mar-a-Lago around New Year’s Eve and blasting their show a “poorly rated.” (Read more from “Dems Step up Efforts to Impeach Trump” HERE)

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CNN Producer: ‘Trump’s F-Ing Crazy,’ Voters Stupid

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A CNN producer has been caught on video saying President Trump is crazy and American voters are stupid.

Jimmy Carr, an associate producer for the “New Day” morning program on the network labeled “fake news” by President Trump, was recorded by undercover operatives for James O’Keefe’s Project Veritas. The organization is doing a series of videos on American media called “American Pravda.”

When asked by an undercover journalist if CNN is impartial, Carr plainly responded, “In theory.”

Carr also said, about President Trump: “We all recognize he is a clown, that he is hilariously unqualified for this, he’s really bad at this and that he does not have America’s best interests. We recognized he’s just f—— crazy.” . . .

The video: (Be warned of offensive language):

(Read more from “CNN Producer: ‘Trump’s F-Ing Crazy,’ Voters Stupid” HERE)

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