Trump order targets transgender troops and โ€˜radical gender ideologyโ€™

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/01/28/trump-transgender-troops-military-hegseth/

tRump is old and … intellectually challenged so he can not understand gender identification.ย  A lot of older people can’t handle the changes in society and the acceptance of new ways to be / live.ย  As far as the religious fanatics pushing the hate against LGBTQ+ people including trans people are cis people who do not feel a disconnect between their sex organs and their feelings of who they are in society.ย  Just as the same religious straight people can not understand the attraction gay people feel.ย  They don’t feel that way themselves, so don’t see being cis and straight being the only acceptable way to live as a problem. Instead they think because they don’t feel that way then no one else does so it must be a choice.ย  Or a mental defect to be cured.ย  They refuse to accept medical science / medical studies and all the evidence that it is real, exists, and normal.ย  We learn as a society and we as we grow in understanding we learn to accept new things.ย  Medical science and medical research tell us that being trans and gay is normal, also that medical care that affirms those feelings is important along with necessary.ย  ย Just because I don’t like a food or feel like I want to eat it, doesn’t mean no one likes it or don’t want to eat it.ย  But liking a food I don’t doesn’t mean it is a mental illness or makes a person unfit.ย ย 

saying that the U.S. military has been โ€œafflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activistsโ€ and that โ€œmany mental and physical health conditions are incompatible with active duty.โ€

ย 

It also takes aim at transgender people in personal terms, accusing them of living in conflict โ€œwith a soldierโ€™s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in oneโ€™s personal life.โ€

ย 

โ€œA manโ€™s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,โ€ it adds.

ย 

Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former National Guard soldier who has saidย that โ€œbeing transgendered in the military causes complications and differences,โ€

The above by the drunken wife abuser accused sexual predator Hegseth is wrong.ย  The only complication and differences caused by having transgender people in the military is not the trans people but the fundamentalist religious people / Christians like Hegseth who feel the entire LGBTQ+ is an abomination to his god and so shouldn’t be allowed to exist.ย  ย Or worse mix with the real children of god, people with good morals like the drunken wife abuser accused sexual predator Hegseth. This issue over transgender people in the military reminds me of when Clinton tried to make it legal for gay people to be out in the military.ย  ย Senator Sam Nunn went on a Navy ship and said no real service member wanted to be sleeping near, working next to, or using the bathroom facilities with the dreaded gay person, which some churches were desperate to keep from being accepted and live openly in society.ย  The anti-gay people claimed all sorts of horrors if gay people were allowed to service openly from the collapse of the military to mass exit of members.ย  ย None of that happened, the military stayed the world’s best and there was no mass fleeing from the service.ย 

These same people with the same hater mind set made the same claims about first black people being allowed to serve, and then when the military was desegregated.ย  The same was said of women in combat roles.ย  It always comes from the haters who use their personal bigotry as the metric for how everyone should be and feel.ย  And they never admit when all the horrors they claim will happen if those they are against get equality and inclusion never happen.ย  They just pick a new target and repeat the same attacks and hates.ย  Now it is the trans people’s turn to be accused of all the horrible things that blacks were, the gays were, that never were true.ย  Trans people have served openly for some time, studies show that they do not harm the military or lower the military readiness / effectiveness in any way.ย  Sadly far too many of our general public who know nothing about the military or who never served think they are experts and again feel that everyone has the same bigotries, racist, and misogynistic feelings they do.ย  Being in other countries or even different parts of the US will open closed minds.ย  Harris did not lose by much, she almost won.ย  It is too bad these hateful ignorant people are going to be able to enshrine their hates and bigotries into law and hurt so many people in the next few years. But remember if we can get the House then most of the damage can do with the passing of laws will stop, and if we can regain the Senate we can stop hateful ideolog judges from being installed.ย  ย It is up to us to get out the vote.ย  ย Hugs

ย  ==================================================================

The executive order took aim at transgender individuals in personal terms, noting that physical and mental health conditions make them โ€œincompatibleโ€ with military service.

January 28, 2025 at 12:28 a.m. EST
ย 
The Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters)
ย 
,ย 
ย andย 

Presidentย Donald Trumpย on Monday nightย issued an executive orderย targeting transgender service members and an array of other people, saying that the U.S. military has been โ€œafflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activistsโ€ and that โ€œmany mental and physical health conditions are incompatible with active duty.โ€

ย 
ย 

The list of conditions identified couldย affect tens of thousands of people depending on how it is interpreted. It cites diagnoses โ€œthat require substantial medication or medical treatment to bipolar and related disorders, eating disorders, suicidality, and prior psychiatric hospitalization.โ€

The order calls for the Pentagon to adopt updated policies on the medical standards required for military service. It also takes aim at transgender people in personal terms, accusing them of living in conflict โ€œwith a soldierโ€™s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in oneโ€™s personal life.โ€

ย 
ย 

โ€œA manโ€™s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,โ€ it adds.

ย 

The order builds on aย previous directive, issued hours after Trumpโ€™s Jan. 20 inauguration, overturningย a 2021 Biden administration measureย that permitted transgender troops to serve openly, which reversed an earlier ban from Trumpโ€™s first term in office. The new executive order does not immediately ban transgender individuals from serving, but it directs the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Coast Guard, to revise medical standards and submit a report to the president outlining steps to comply with the directive.

While the Defense Department does not keep track of the number of transgender personnel across the force, the latest shiftย in the long-running policy back-and-forth could impact thousands of service members. It also represents one aspect of aย far-reaching Trump administration effortย to roll back diversity initiatives across the government.

ย 
ย 

Trump signed the new transgender order along with others calling for the reinstatement of troops who were discharged during the Biden administration for refusingย coronavirusย vaccines; the elimination of diversity, equity and inclusion offices in the Defense Department; and the creation of an โ€œIron Dome for America,โ€ Trumpโ€™s vision for expanded missile defense.

Newly confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, a former National Guard soldier who hasย said that โ€œbeing transgendered in the military causes complications and differences,โ€ promised in his first remarks to reporters at the Pentagon on Monday that he would ensure implementation of Trumpโ€™s priorities, which also include ordering the military to guard the southern border.

โ€œThis is happening quickly,โ€ he said. โ€œOur job is lethality and readiness and warfighting.โ€

ย 
ย 

In aย November podcast, Hegseth said personnel receiving medication related to gender transitions would be unable to serve effectively.

Advocates for transgender people have said that there may be as many as 15,000 in the U.S. military. A 2016 Defense Department survey found that about 9,000 identified as such. Both figures represent less than 1 percent of the 2 million people who serve in the active-duty, reserve or National Guard components of the military.

For decades, the military considered transgender people to be sexual deviants whoย were unfit for service.ย But in 2016, after a year-long policy review, the Obama administrationย repealed a ban on transgender service, citing the value of ensuring that all qualified individuals were able to serve their country in uniform.

ย 

โ€œWe have to have access to 100 percent of Americaโ€™s population for our all-volunteer forces to be able to recruit from among them the most highly qualified โ€” and to retain them,โ€ Defense Secretary Ash Carter said at the time.

ย 

The repeal followed the Obama administration in 2011 overturning the โ€œdonโ€™t ask, donโ€™t tellโ€ policy, which prohibited gay service members from serving openly, and the 2015 repeal of a ban on women serving in a wide array of jobs in ground combat units.

After taking office in 2017, Trump announcedย a ban on transgender military serviceย in a series of tweets, without notifying key defense officials. The move triggered a scramble in the Pentagon, with then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordering another policy review.

ย 

In 2018, Mattis adopted a new policy with Trumpโ€™s tacit support that softened the full ban, effectively prohibiting new transgender service members from joining the military but allowing those already in uniform to stay on.

The ruling was challenged in court, but the Supreme Courtย upheld Trumpโ€™s partial ban in 2019. The militaryย began enforcing that policyย later that year.

President Joe Bidenย quickly reversed Trumpโ€™s banย in an executive order after taking office in 2021.

More Resources.

I think we need a category for “Resources.” Anyway, our friend and fellow blogger Annie Asks You gave a couple of resources for us to pass along and use to help our neighbors, earlier in a comment on another blog. I put together a Substack about it, so here it is. It’s short.

Some Useful Resources by Alison Redford

We all can do all we can, and these can help. Read on Substack

These sites have information people need so they are prepared in case authorities believe they have reason to question or detain you. The sites are run by experts, with clear advice for preparation and dealing with authorities. -A.

Know Your Rights

ICE and CBP might not respect our rights, but they cannot take away our POWER. Use these resources to learn about your rights and express them in case you have an encounter with an immigration official. (snip)

The National Immigration Law Center

Know Your Rights

Know Your Rights: What to Do if You Are Arrested or Detained by Immigration

Jan 15, 2025 This Know Your Rights resource provides general information on what to do if you are stopped, arrested, or detained by immigration or other law enforcement. Originally published in December 2015. (snip)

===================================

Thanks for doing whatever you can do!

What we must now fight against what is pushed worldwide by the wealthiest people.

The Rare Religion Post That Is Also Informational and Heartening Even For the Non-Christian

Rare because I rarely post such. Pastor Bolz-Weber says all this so well, and it is what I learned when I was young and growing up; what I work to apply in my own (and in no one else’s) life. I’m not proselytizing or trying to “draw anyone in.” This helps to explain why and how I feel as I do about justice and peace, and love and understanding and all that, including hope and light. Enjoy with a mind that can absorb without feeling there’s gonna be a “come forward” moment, because there’s not one. (Other than to Christians who feel as we do, but wonder about Zionism and Nationalism being as bad as they are.)

Heresy and Checkpoints by Nadia Bolz-Weber

Some thoughts from breakfast this morning. Read on Substack

In Christmas Sermon, Palestinian Theologian Condemns Enablers of Gaza  Genocide
Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac

This morning I had a quick breakfast with another Lutheran pastor. This of course is not terribly remarkable in the scheme of things, except for the fact that the breakfast took place in the Kingdom of Jordan, a few feet away from the Dead Sea and my colleague had to cut the breakfast short so he could return home to his family, but he was anxious about all the military check point between here and there.

โ€œHow far of a drive is itโ€ I asked.

โ€œIf I had a car and could drive straight there, about an hour. But my hope is that it will only take 8 hours.โ€ He accepted that he may in fact not even make it home at all tonight.

Munther Isaac is a Palestinian Lutheran Pastor who lives and serves a church in Beit Sahour, near Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. Christians have been here since the day the Spirit blew through them on the day of Pentecost, so Munther and my other Palestinian Christian friends can get slightly annoyed when well meaning Christians from the West ask โ€œwhen did your family convert?โ€.

Um, over 2,000 years ago?

Munther and I are in Jordan right now for a conference โ€“ 60 academics and church leaders from 17 countries gathered over the last several days for a consultation on Christian Zionism (belief that Jewish people have a โ€œdivine rightโ€ to the land here – using a few verses in a 4,000 year old text to have authority over foreign policy and global political realities of today), and the impact of that on Christians in the Middle East; a few days together in a majority Muslim country, across the Dead Sea from the State of Israel to talk about Christian folksโ€™ business: how do the theological beliefs of one group of Christians impact the lives of another group of Christians halfway across the planet?

Many of us grew up with some form of Christian Zionism, I know I did. Perhaps it stemmed from a desire to be faithful to what we have been told, or a desire to help usher in the second coming of Christ (ala The Late Great Planet Earth) so he can come back and destroy the world and take us up to heaven (described this week as science fiction theology), or a desire to assuage the guilt left over from the unspeakable atrocities and genocide of the holocaust.

It will take me time to metabolize what I heard over the last few days. Christian Zionism is widespread, and far reaching in itโ€™s impact, and I am committed to try and maintain the humility it takes as a US citizen and a Christian to consider people like Munther and my friend Mitri Raheb as reliable narrators of the impact on the ground in Palestine.

Palestinian Christians should be listened to by us, their siblings in Christ.

Munther Isaac appeared in ‘Til Kingdom Come (2020), an Israeli documentary about American Christian support for Israel.[20] In the film he explains his view to pastor William Bingham that Christian Zionism contributes to the oppression of Palestinians. After their conversation, Bingham calls Isaac an anti-semite and says that Palestinians do not exist. – Wikipedia

This morning before Munther left to make his way home, he told me a story of a family in his church. For over 150 years they have rightfully owned and inhabited their land outside Bethlehem – a beautiful parcel dotted with olive trees, often hundreds of years old themselves.

Israeli settlers (whose actions are deemed illegal by the UN Security Council)
who for years have been attempting to take this familyโ€™s land, confronted them at their gate recently, demanding the family leave. The family showed them their ownership documents โ€“ dating back from Ottoman rule, then Jordanian rule through to Israeli rule. The settlers angrily lifted up their Bible and said โ€œWe have documents too. God gave us this land!โ€


As I mentioned, I am overwhelmed by all I heard this week and will try and write more later for those who are interested, but for now I wanted to report how one word stood out for me in a particular way during the conference, and that word is: heresy.

19th century theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher defined heresy as, “that which preserves the appearance of Christianity, and yet contradicts its essence

So perhaps that is the correct word for when, with all the trappings of Christianity behind us, we who seek to justify or maintain our dominance over another group of people use the Bible to prove that our domination`is not actually an abuse of power at the expense of others, but is, indeed, part of โ€œGodโ€™s planโ€. Because there you have the appearance of Christianity (Bible verses and God-talk) contradicting its essence (love God, and love your neighbor, blessed are the meek, etcโ€ฆ).

Is it not heresy when slavery is established as โ€œGodโ€™s willโ€; when the subordination of women is established as โ€œGodโ€™s willโ€; when discrimination against queer folks is established as โ€œGodโ€™s willโ€, when the taking of one peopleโ€™s land by another people is established as โ€œGodโ€™s willโ€ (hello, manifest destiny), when the executive VP of the National Rifle Association claims that the right to buy an assault rifle is โ€œnot bestowed by man, but granted by Godโ€? When a self-justifying message is heretically delivered in Godโ€™s name it brings with it a poison that infects the deepest parts of us and when the poison spreads, so does the violence.

When you can say that God Almighty is co-signing on your dominance over another group of Godโ€™s children, then every means is justified, right to the end. Every inch of land stolen, every suicide bombing enacted, every act of violence committed, every weapon used, every checkpoint and illegal detention, every child who dies, every tower that falls to the ground – all of it covered under some sort of bullshit spiritual umbrella policy. There are no means that need justifying if we claim God as our patron and guide.

And I imagine God is just about sick to death of it.

As I claimed in my book about sexual shame and religionwe should never be more loyal to a doctrine or an interpretation of a Bible verse than we are to people. If the teachings of the church are harming people we re-think those teachings. Amen?


Speaking up for Palestinians often comes at a cost. Those of you who have done it know. I also know, but am frankly too tired to care right now. So, if based on my recounting of the stories of my friends and colleagues, anyone is moved to called me anti-semitic, please open up the notes app on your phone and feel free to write it there but I will delete your unfounded accusations if you leave them here.

My apologies for the edge in my writing voice. We are all exhausted and as my friend Jodi just texted me, โ€œthis month has been two years long already.โ€

Thank you for reading. I am genuinely sending my love. Please pray this ceasefire holds. And for those waiting on the side of a road right now to return to the rubble of their homes. And for the hostages and prisoners who were released yesterday. I cannot imagine the trauma.

More soonโ€ฆ

In it with you,

Nadia

They did / are doing what? Again!

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) wants to make ballot initiatives impossible.FL already requires 60% support to passโ€”abortion rights & legal weed failed despite 56-57% support in 2024.Last decade, voters passed amendments to end gerrymandering & restore voting rights, which DeSantis also undermined

Stephen Wolf (@stephenwolf.bsky.social) 2025-01-24T13:26:16.599Z

Several other intelligence agencies continue to favor the natural-origin theory, and there is no evidence SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the pandemic, was in any laboratory before the outbreak.

The conspiracy nut jobs are in power now, who needs evidence and facts for something to be true.

So Jared can build luxury beachfront condos.

All that valuable oceanfront property. Much too nice for those dirty people. The Israeli military has already done a good job of demolition. We need to rebuild for people who will appreciate the beauty of the place and be willing to pay to maintain it. /s

ย 

Some things I found a need to know

A lawyer who represents Federal Employees.. the last bit is chilling.

Thumbnail

ย Todayโ€™s speeches were delivered from behind bulletproof glass. Meanwhile, Trump just gave violent anti-abortion zealots free rein to blockade clinics and probably much worse.

The proposed school is being defended by the governor and state attorney general.

In 2022, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt declared, โ€œFather, we just claim Oklahoma for you. Every square inch, we claim it for you in the name of Jesus. Father, we can do nothing apart from you. We donโ€™t battle against flesh and blood but against principalities and darkness.โ€

During his 2018 inauguration, Stitt pledged that his primary mission would be to โ€œbring people to Jesus.โ€

Stitt last appeared here in November 2024 when he warned that โ€œSatan is trying to take over my stateโ€ because a pagan woman gave the invocation at Tulsaโ€™s city council meeting.

In June 2024, Still signed a bill allowing public school students to leave campus three times a week for โ€œreligious instruction.โ€

Everyone! So, there.

BREAKING: TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REMOVES LGBTQ AND HIV RESOURCES FROM WHITE HOUSE AND OTHER GOVERNMENT WEBSITES

Contact:ย press@glaad.org

GLAAD:ย โ€œPresident Trump claims to be a strong proponent of freedom of speech, yet he is clearly committed to censorship of any information containing or related to LGBTQ Americans and issues that we face. This action proves the Trump administrationโ€™s goal of making it as difficult as possible for LGBTQ Americans to find federal resources or otherwise see ourselves reflected under his presidency. Sadly for him, our community is more visible than ever; and this pathetic attempt to diminish and remove us will again prove unsuccessful.โ€

(January 21, 2025 โ€” New York, NY)ย โ€” Today GLAAD, the worldโ€™s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) media advocacy organization, is breaking news that the Trump administration has eliminated nearly all LGBTQ and HIV focused content and resources from the White House website, as well as eliminated LGBTQ and HIV content from key federal agency webpages.

Mentions of โ€œlesbian,โ€ โ€œbisexual,โ€ โ€œgay,โ€ โ€œtransgender,โ€ โ€œsexual orientation,โ€ โ€œgender identity,โ€ and related terms are no longer accessible on WhiteHouse.gov, and the search term โ€œLGBTQโ€ now brings upย zero resultsย on the site. In addition, some LGBTQ-specific pages have been taken down from the Centers for Disease Control, Department of State, and more. GLAAD will continue to monitor federal agency websites in the coming days and weeks to track any LGBTQ-related webpage takedowns.ย 

GLAADโ€™s President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis (she/her) released the following statement:
โ€œPresident Trump claims to be a strong proponent of freedom of speech, yet he is clearly committed to censorship of any information containing or related to LGBTQ Americans and issues that we face. This action proves the Trump administrationโ€™s goal of making it as difficult as possible for LGBTQ Americans to find federal resources or otherwise see ourselves reflected under his presidency. Sadly for him, our community is more visible than ever; and this pathetic attempt to diminish and remove us will again prove unsuccessful.โ€

Pages removed include WhiteHouse.govโ€™sย equity reportย ย (no longer accessible), aย fact sheet with information on expanding access to HIV prevention and treatmentย (no longer accessible), and information about LGBTQ Pride Month (no longer accessible). Agency page removals include Department of Stateโ€™sย LGBTQ rightsย (no longer accessible), and Department of Laborโ€™sย LGBTQ workersย page (no longer accessible).

GLAAD created an archive of mentions of LGBTQ terms and terms related to HIV on the White House website and other major federal government websites in anticipation of Trumpโ€™s second term. GLAAD broke the news about tracking these webpagesโ€™ in a story written by theย Washington Bladeย here. GLAAD previously monitored and broke the same story during President Trumpโ€™s first term.

In his inaugural address yesterday, Trump stated: โ€œThis week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is color-blind and merit-based. As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.โ€ฆ And I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty. Itโ€™s going to end immediately. Our armed forces will be freed to focus on their sole missionโ€”defeating Americaโ€™s enemies.โ€

About GLAAD:
GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBTQ acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. For more information, please visitย www.glaad.orgย or connect @GLAAD on social media.

A Bishop Hurts The Presidentโ€™s Feelings

Reblog of a reblog; a very strong read-go see!