Transgender bashing..why should we be surprised with this President.

So…he’s done it again. Today we have seen President Trump’s next attack on average Americans. Perhaps even on American values themselves. I’m sure that the world, like media and political analysts alike, are not really surprised by his reinstatement of the controversial ban of transgender service men and women serving in the military. Horrified, disgusted,appalled; yes. But not surprised by this most recent attack.

I see no reason why your gender or the desire to change your gender should have any impact on your ability to serve in the military. Men and women alike serve in all branches of the military. Including front line roles. So what difference does it make to a soldiers combat effectiveness if someone wants gender reassignment?

Well, President Trump has his reasons. Or things he believes are reasons. First up, disruption of the unit. Somehow the effect of transgender personnel serving will prove a disruptive issue. If there is any group of people best suited to dealing with these issues, it’s soldiers. This is hardly the first time the American military has dealt with this issue. Look back in time to when black personnel starting serving with white. People were worried it would disrupt the unit. It did. The unit got over it. The unit changed. It adapted. So, that kinda debunks that.

Second, the cost. Yes, I’m sure that there are costs involved with gender reassignment. Costs that I’m sure are a drop in the bucket for the US military. Especially when you consider how much is spent by the military on other aspects of soldiers care. Like it’s spending $84m on viagra to treat erectile dysfunction in soldiers. Compared with the $8.4m spent on gender reassignment. So why is one issue for soldiers mental health more inportant than another?

Well, the answer to that is easy. There is no better way in Donald Trump’s mind to gain support than by attacking a minority group. This from a man who failed to openly condemn white supremacists and those who perpetrated hate crimes yet attacks honest Americans, men and women of staggering patriotism who want nothing more than to serve their country.

I’m sure this is something that will send more shockwaves through the political world as Democrats and Republicans wonder exactly how far this man will go, and what his next step will be. One thing is for sure, I’m certain we can count on President Trump hiding behind his age old excuse of ‘fake news’ when some figure or fact emerges he can’t explain. No matter if that is true, the President is soon to be facing more legal challenges sure to tie up his stagnated and humbled government even more.

Teresa May and the Brexit If

Such a key word there to drop into a major political speech. If. To pull a quote from the speech the Prime Minister gave this lunch time, ‘If we achieve Brexit…’ Such a telling choice of phrase really. Either the self appointed champion of Brexit is suddenly losing her nerve. Which could be another reason for dodging the election debate last night. Certainly a more plausible reason than wanting to reach out to voters up and down the country. What better way could there be to achieve that goal than to appear on television in front of millions of viewers?

Anyway, either she is losing her nerve and her faith in her ability to pull together a Brexit deal that will do all she has promised for the country; or she is paving the way to lay a Brexit deal failure squarely at someone else’s feet. No doubt the Labour Party and the Shadow Cabinet will be a likely target for such a salvo that Mrs May is no doubt priming her guns for. Sadly we do live in a world where politicians see attacking the other side as the best way to score political points.

Sadly for the Prime Minister we also do not live in a world that is as cut and dry as the completely rose tinted and blinkered view she has on Brexit. All this talk about securing the best deal for the country and following the will of the people in achieving Brexit is very much indicative of the line she was walked since the Brexit Referendum. Conveniently forgetting that almost half of the country voted against Brexit and leaving the EU. A number that will no doubt have increased since the uncertainly in the months following the vote.

Now, we live in a Democracy and the voice of the majority is key to that system. I don’t dispute that. Except that we could indeed be working on out of date information to push a policy that because of that information is flawed. I’m sure that if you went to the doctors to treat something like lung cancer and then came back in six months to see if the cancer had spread, you wouldn’t want the doctors to use the X-rays and tests done from your first visit to gauge the scope of your treatment. You would want up to date information.

But this is exactly what the Prime Minister is doing. For something that is so important for Britain’s future, she is only looking at a snap shot of the past that suits her narrow minded viewpoint. So, Prime Minister, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. If you have faith in Brexit and the will of the majority to follow through with Brexit, then prove it. Let’s hold another referendum and see what the people say now. I’ll be waiting.

Labour vs Tory..the lesser of two evils

That’s what voters are going to have to choose this coming general election if they vote labour. I don’t want anyone to think this is an attack on the Conservatives. It’s not. Yes, I don’t agree with Teresa May’s view for the country. Especially not this blinkered view that austerity is going to solve all the countries problem. News Flash. It’s not. There isn’t one big magic lever to pull and suddenly everything will be alright. Government and governing doesn’t work like that. It’s lots of little levers all working towards something bigger than each individual one.

But there is another side to that coin. The UK economy. Cutting costs is pointless if we aren’t helping to generate extra income. Sometimes you have to spend money to make money. Or put it another way, you get out what you get in.

Which brings us to the lesser of the two evils. Jeremy Corbyn and by extension the Labour Party. Now, I don’t want to tar them with the same brush. But the fact is that he is leader of the party and sometimes it’s hard to see where one ends and the other begins. Which is the problem.

I have no idea where Mr Corbyn is leading us at the moment. I’d like to disagree with his vision for the Country. However to do that, I’d have to know what it actually is. And I don’t. Oh, we are hearing lots of pledges from the Labour Manifesto. Yet no substance. If the Conservatives are too blinkered by saving money, then Labour has no real plans how these pledges are going to be paid for. Or if they have, they certainly aren’t going out of there way to share them.

Yes, we’ve seen promises of increased taxes on businesses and the wealthier pay brackets. Yet even in this week alone, leading financial experts have thrown as much doubts on those claims as they have the Conservatives’. It’s certainly not a stretch of the imagination to think that it’s not just the wealthy that are going to see an increase in taxes. Not that I have a problem with that. Public services need money. It’s a fact of any developed country. As long as those taxes are fair and equal to all. Sadly, I’ve seen no sign of that kind of planning from this Labour Party at the moment.

Now, I’m just a regular voter. I’m not a political analyst or someone who works around politics on a daily basis. So I get most of my information about politics from the media and the net. And from what I’ve seen, I have no idea where Labour stands. We need substance now, details; not vague pronouncements and pledges. And we might have them if politicians could actually answer a question when it is asked.

I’m also a Labour voter. And that isn’t going to change. Because I see Labour as the best choice for this country get back to where we should be. Once Labour gets there act together. Until then, all they are is just a way to keep the Conservatives from damaging this country more than they already have. And surely that is enough reason to vote for them, even if not Jeremy Corbyn. At least Labour has some candidates of backbone and a moral viewpoint in local elections. It’s time for the Labour Leadership to stand up and show what they are about.

Let’s overlook the fact that Mr Corbyn is a little late to the party….

…and embrace the fact that he turned up at all. Even so, could this be a case of too little, too late? Now, I’m not exactly Jeremy Corbyn’s greatest fan as you may have guessed. Im not his worst enemy, but I’m not exactly rooting for him either.

I think it’s a big ask to put your faith behind a leader who immediately after the Brexit vote seemed to have no strong stance on it at all. How can someone who campaigned against Brexit suddenly turn over and say the result must be accepted? Or now say that Brexit has been settled? Why? Just because Teresa May says it is? Where is it written that that settles anything?

Labour is supposed to be the opposition party aren’t they? So perhaps Jeremy Corbyn should actually start opposing what could be the most decisive area of this campaign. Otherwise, aren’t we just playing into the hands of the Conservatives by following the blueprint they have laid out for Brexit. Yes, standing up for retaining access to the single market and protecting the rights of EU workers and nationals is all well and good. But isn’t that a grass is greener on both sides of the fence sort of argument? In essence saying let’s leave the EU but stay in it at the same time?

Now is the time for this understudy, this placeholder of a Labour leader to step up and show he just maybe has what it takes to stand up and take the reins of leadership for himself, rather than just holding onto them until someone better comes along. Because that’s all he is right now. I have no doubt that Labour is the party to bring this country out of the shadow the Conservatives have led us into. I’m just not sure that Jeremy Corbyn is the man to do. He certainly has a long way to go to actually get me to vote for him as a leader rather than just voting for Labour to keep The Conservatives out of power.

Sure, he’s actually starting to make some good speeches and points as he kicked off Labour’s campaign. Decent homes, extra funding for schools and the NHS and ‘drawing a line under privatisation’ are all good things. But I want details on what he is going to do with Brexit. I want to hear specifics about exactly what his plans are to ensure the UK can retain its economic strength in Europe in the way of trade deals and ease of movement without losing the advantages we get from tourism and free trade. I want to know what his vision is. Not something unexpected from the leader of a national political party I think.

---

 

Creative writer still open for requests and more commissions in the future, as well as a few more wide reaching projects I’m hoping to promote on my Patreon Page, including but not limited to writing tips and guidance once I get my reward tiers going. Seems a good way to share my experiences and help others develop. Want to get on board, feel free to check out my Patreon.

https://www.patreon.com/white66

 

Teresa May backpeddals on election promise..the shock..

So..Teresa May wants to hold a snap general election. Perfectly reasonable perhaps. Certainly you can’t deny her logic about ‘certainty, stability and strong leadership’ being needed. But see, here’s the thing…I don’t buy it.

Not with my being able to see another reason for calling a snap election rather than waiting another four years. Something that is all to do with waiting as it happens. For the United Kingdom sits poised right on the edge of Brexit and with the invoking of Article 50 looming Iike storm clouds on the horizon. And right now, Teresa May is sitting on a wave of popularity from her involvement in Brexit. But what if the bubble breaks? What if conditions in the country, mostly enconomic at the start I’m sure, start to slide as the uncertainty of the effect of Article 50 grows. What then? Is it that Mrs May believes she has a better chance to hang onto power by holding an election now rather than later?

Now, it could be argued that is smart politics and political strategy on her part. Of course, she wants to win the next election. And what better way to do that than when you have public opinion on your side. To me though, it just screams a cheat on the British people.

Why else would Mrs May suddenly reverse her opinion and turn her back on her statement that she wouldn’t seek to hold an election before 2020? Could it be she can see the way the wind is blowing? Are things looking less rosy for her chances of reelection as the effect of Brexit rolls in like the dark clouds that are even now rolling across the sky outside my window?

And if so, where does that leave the Conservatives with their once strong stance on Brexit? Is their confidence that going it alone would be the best thing for Britain starting to waver, so they decide to change the rules? Let’s face it, it’s not unknown for the Conservatives to cherry pick what they want to do. I’m sure we all remember the Referendum proposed by Mr Cameron when he was Prime Minister. The one he backed away from because he knew he would lose.

And it seems Mrs May is following in his footsteps to try to hang onto her power while she still can. Never mind that the promises of the leave campaign and all thier pipe dream thinking have been proved to be little more than dust in the wind. Or that a vast proportion of the country that voted to leave would now vote remain. Let’s not sling mud at them for that.

No, let’s get out and use this snap election to reverse the UK’s fortunes and kick out the Conservative Party..or maybe I should call them the Brexit Party and bring in someone to unite Europe rather than tear it apart. The fight for the future of the UK starts now. So get out there, spread the word and let’s bring Europe back together for true security and certainty. Who’s with me?

Watergate? What about Trumpgate?

President Trump needs to start playing by his own rules. Not that I give much credence to his claims about fake news and all the press being corrupt and against him. No, the truth is President Trump only likes the media and press that says exactly what he wants them to say. Which is completely against both freedom of expression and freedom of the press.

Here we have a President so scared of any challenge to his authority and right to hold that office, that he lashes out at anyone he perceives to be in anyway not in favour of him. Time and time again we have seen this president employ these bullying tactics in a vein attempt to turn the public against his enemies, or at the very least try to turn negative attention to to them.

Everything that goes against him, President Trump has to turn into an attack on the other side. Investigations by the FBI. It’s the fault of the Clinton Campaign. Protests and rallies against him across the country, at town hall and political meetings. It’s the Democrats stirring things up and creating a campaign against him.

And now we are hearing reports that President Obama had ordered wiretapping on Donald Trump near the end of the election. A story that has been latched onto by hardline conservatives, supporters of President Trump and even the President himself. Latched onto with scant evidence to back up these rather bizarre claims.

In fact, if you look over the transcripts and quotes from the original source, a word I’m using very loosely, of this story, you will see that Mark Levin has shot himself in the foot. He has said very clearly, this authorisation for this wiretap was raised by FISA, who quite legally went to a judge to request something they are within their legal power to do. Yet somehow this has become the Obama administration. With no evidenced to support this claim. Evidence that the President is not exactly hurrying to produce.

So, if President Trump is going to decry the media and insist they produce sources and evidence to stem this apparent flood of fake news, then I think it would only be appropriate for him to start with getting his house in order first.

There he goes again

Recently I can’t help feeling the world is a slightly less predictable place since Donald Trump became President Elect. And let’s face it, it was pretty unpredictable in the first place. Now, I’m not going to turn this into another part of the storm of negativity surrounding the President Elect. There is quite enough of that really and I’m of the opinion that the world should work with the President Elect we have, not go clawing around for ways to overturn a legitimate, if unexpected, election result.

But I don’t think it’s out of line to expect Mr Trump to get a grip on his horses and rein himself in a little bit. It comes as no surprise from his campaign that he is outspoken and bearing of strong opinions, certainly no stranger to turning a pithy phrase to get his supporters enthused and focused on an issue. Certainly the strength of his campaign came from equally strong opinions on things that are very much in the forefront of the mind of American voters.

Yet I found it reassuring that his fervour for those pledges waned in the days following the election result. And that caught my attention. Had all his bluster and rhetoric and slogans that had made him seem the rank outsider been a master stroke of political strategy? The very heart of the confounding expectations game? Overnight it seemed he had gone from being a political firebrand to a measured and focused statesman.

But now we have the Twitter storm over rigged elections and ‘illegal voters that cost him the popular election. The truth of this? That’s for others to work out. I’m not here to pass judgement on that. I’m just disappointed that he has weighed in when he should be staying out of this. Or at least acting with more circumspection. Is this going to be his approach to foreign policy or relations with other nations? That the minute something happens he is going to instantly throw himself into the ring. If North Korea or Cuba suddenly starts massing troops is he going to declare all out war? Okay, that’s an extreme scenario. But I’m just hoping that he does the presidential thing and starts listening to his advisors and asking their opinion on what to do and when to do it. Or if he doesn’t have those around him who will tell him things he doesn’t want to hear, then I hope that he is going to get some very soon.