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Donald Trump versus the "woke" military:
More proof he hates America
America's tremendous military diversity reflects who we are now. Trump wants to undo that, but he will fail
By Lucian K. Truscott IV
Salon, November 12, 2024
EXCERPT...
Usually, Veterans Day is an occasion for the Pentagon and the U.S. military to strut their stuff. I recall marching down Fifth Avenue in 1968 in a Veterans Day parade wearing my cadet dress uniform. Even though it was yet another grim year in the war in Vietnam, people lined the street and waved as we marched by. This year, Veterans Day falls on the one-week anniversary of Donald Trumps election, once again, to the presidency. Trust me, theyre not celebrating across the Potomac at the Pentagon. Here are just two headlines from the days immediately following Trumps victory last week: From the Washington Post: Pentagon anticipates major upheaval with Trumps return to the White House. From Politico: Pentagon officials anxious Trump might fire militarys top general.
That would be Gen. C.Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, whom congressional Republicans have accused of being the Pentagons top woke general.
SNIP...
To be woke in the military, according to Donald Trump and his MAGA adherents, is to support DEI programs and the enormously diverse military I have just described. The fact of the matter is this: Since the end of the draft under Richard Nixon, the U.S. military has been a wholly volunteer organization from top to bottom. That means, people walk into recruiting offices and sign on the dotted line to potentially serve in combat, risking their lives in the service of the country.
There have been gay, lesbian and bisexual people serving in all the branches of the military for as long as we have had soldiers and sailors in uniform. Today the numbers of those serving who would come under the umbrella of what might be described as a "diverse" military are so enormous that we wouldnt have a military without those patriotic volunteers. So, if Gen. Brown is described as woke, its because he is the senior general in a military that demands officers and senior enlisted service members who can command a broad spectrum of troops who serve.
Donald Trump and the Republicans concept of wokeness when it comes to the military is a fantasy born of ignorance and prejudice. The fact is, we wouldnt have an army, a navy, the Air Force, the Marine Corps or the Coast Guard if we didnt have brave men and women of all races and sexual persuasions who are willing to serve to defend this country. They deserve to be led by commanders who are not bigots and misogynists. That is what being woke in the military means. If Donald Trump thinks hes going to fire all the woke commanders in the military and replace them with Republican loyalists who hew to the discriminatory party line of Trumpism, hes going to end up with a hollow military.
CONTINUES...
https://www.salon.com/2024/11/12/donald-versus-the-woke-military-more-proof-he-hates-america/
Hope all DUers read the article. For those new to the writer, Lucian K. Truscott IV is an outstanding analyst and patriot. He knows the road, sees what's up ahead, and how We the People will preserve the Constitution.
Irish_Dem
(58,572 posts)To weaken our national security and defense system.
Who benefits and how?
Kid Berwyn
(18,125 posts)I kid not.
Irish_Dem
(58,572 posts)He should be able to damage the US military quite well.
Kid Berwyn
(18,125 posts)"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
That's something Trump did not do.
As the World Burns, All Roads Lead to Putin
Find me a conflict zone, and Ill find you a Kremlin operative with a blowtorch.
GREG OLEAR
WhoWhatWhy.org, 10/12/23
Taken together, the momentous events of the past month the Russian scorched earth tactics in Ukraine, the Azeri offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, the abominable Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, and, yes, the GOP dysfunction in Congress that has hamstrung the U.S. government at this critical moment represent an existential threat to the post-Westphalian world order, as former British diplomat Arthur Snell characterized the war in Ukraine.
SNIP
As president, Trump allowed Sergei Lavrov and Sergei Kislyak, high-level Kremlin officials, access to the Oval Office. He joked around with them. And he shared with them top secret intelligence from Israel, regarding Iran. For all we know, the piece of intelligence Trump gave the Russians that day was subsequently shared with the Iranians, who gave it to Hamas, which used it in planning its attacks on Israel over the weekend.
SNIP
The Kremlin contagion has only spread. Republicans in Congress seek to obstruct, to weaken, to starve funds for aid to Ukraine, to leave vacant ambassadorships and key military appointments.
I dont know if Putin pays the likes of Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ron Johnson (R-WI), and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Jim Jordan (R-OH), and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA); or if Moscow has enough kompromat on them to pull their marionette strings; or if they are just dumb fascists who sincerely hate democracy and have a hard-on for weirdo strongmen; but, by behaving the way they are, they are actively helping the Kremlin.
SNIP
Curious, is it not, that tensions escalated in Ukraine, and Armenia/Azerbaijan, and Israel/Palestine right after McCarthy was ousted, during an interregnum where the speakers chair is vacant, and Congress therefore cannot function? The primary reason the Republicans tried to shut down the government, remember, is that they objected to sending aid to Ukraine. Gee, I wonder who benefits from that?
CONTINUES
https://whowhatwhy.org/politics/international/as-the-world-burns-all-roads-lead-to-putin/
Inside Joke:
Then Pee-resident Trump gestures to Russia's then-ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, as he speaks to still-Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in the Oval Office on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. (Alexander Shcherbak/TASS/Getty Images)
I just fired the head of the FBI. He was crazy, a real nut job," Trump said, according to The Times. "I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off.
"I'm not under investigation," he added.
Foreign Minister Lavrov, Ambassador Kislyak and pee-resident Trump laughed and laughed and laughed at that one.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/10/527755991/trump-meets-with-russias-lavrov-at-the-white-house-today
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-nut-job-james-comey-russia-2017-5
Inside Job:
IMPOTUS: "I actually took one when I -- very recently, when I -- when I was -- the radical left were saying, is he all there? Is he all there? And I proved I was all there, because I got -- I aced it. I aced the test. I took it at Walter Reed Medical Center in front of doctors. And they were very surprised. They said, that's an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anybody do what you just did."
Sources:
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/10/politics/trump-hannity-coronavirus/index.html
https://www.thedailybeast.com/russias-state-tv-calls-trump-their-agent
Whats another word for a pee-resident who protects Putin? Traitor.
Irish_Dem
(58,572 posts)They don't care or even like the idea.
Better Red than Dem, according to the t-shirts some of them wear.
They like the idea of powerful and ruthless strongmen.
They are done with democracy. Too much power given to people who
are not white males.
Kid Berwyn
(18,125 posts)Were I in the Oval Office, I'd take off my jacket and call in Seal Team 6 for their to-do RFN list. Justice Roberts said it would be all right and legal, as I'd be doing official business.
Why Biden continues to play by the rules with a traitor backed by global NAZIs and the commie rat Putin is a baffler.
Irish_Dem
(58,572 posts)Dems must be perfect, they cannot even spit on the sidewalk.
They must not wear the wrong colored suit, laugh too much, look too happy,
or use one incorrect word. Being caring and empathetic is seen as a major flaw.
The GOP is not a political party, it is a crime syndicate comprised of dangerous and
ruthless psychopaths, who follow no laws, no rules, no customs. Rape, treason, high crimes,
fraud, theft are all seen as acceptable. The more crimes they commit, the more the voters love them.
Yes it is baffling isn't it?
haele
(13,583 posts)Small, fungible and comprised of manly looking white guys with a few colored guys tossed in to pretend to be diverse. His idea of a military is all compliant teeth.
The success and reputation of the US military has always been it's logistics (it's "tail" ) it's command flexibility and diversity. Along with it's commitment to allies.
Not because it can just throw bodies into a conflict or act as a free mercenary force for a big corporation wanting "special favors" to grab resources from another country.
But that's where MAGA and the other flavors of Nationalists want the Military to go. They view the Military like the Mob views police precincts. Either "supplement" them so they'll work for you, or make it impossible for them to do the job they swore to do.
Haele