Federal court rejects Trump's transgender military ban. Again.

Courtesy of Think Progress:  

A federal court in Seattle in a ruling on Friday shut down President Trump’s “new” ban on transgender people serving in the military, which was issued by his administration last month. 

Trump had claimed that the old ban was revoked and replaced with the new one, but U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman rejected this distinction, noting that the new documents “do not substantively rescind or revoke the ban, but instead threaten the very same violations that caused it and other courts to enjoin the ban in the first place.”


Indeed, she found the claim that the new ban has exceptions wholly unconvincing: 

The Court is not persuaded. The Implementation Plan prohibits transgender people — including those who have neither transitioned nor been diagnosed with gender dysphoria — from serving, unless they are “willing and able to adhere to all standards associated with their biological sex.” 

Requiring transgender people to serve in their “biological sex” does not constitute “open” service in any meaningful way, and cannot reasonably be considered an “exception” to the Ban. Rather, it would force transgender service members to suppress the very characteristic that defines them as transgender in the first place. 

As she did when she first ruled against the ban last year, Pechman also concluded that transgender people are a “suspect class” — a group vulnerable to unfair treatment and discrimination solely because of their identity. Thus, any rationale for categorically excluding them from service must be examined and considered with heightened scrutiny.

As my daughter would say "Booya!" 

I actually hate that phrase but it seems appropriate here.

I really cannot understand why Trump is so discriminatory about transgender folks.

I mean does he think this started out as a woman?

Not disrespecting the choice, you know live and let live, but she could at least try channeling a little femininity once in a while.

Illinois will no longer allow the "gay panic" defense, when an attacker claims the victim's orientation provoked them, to be used in court. Wait, that's a thing?

Courtesy of Yahoo News:  

Illinois has made history by banning the “gay panic defense,” which allows a violent offender to blame his or her crimes on a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity. But it’s still applicable in 48 states. 

On Monday, three years after California banned the defense, the bill signed by Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner went into effect, spurring hope among activists that similar measures will be taken nationwide. 

Here’s how the defense is used: A person commits a violent act toward a gay or transgender person, then claims the victim’s sexual or gender identity provoked them to either self-defend, commit a crime of passion, or enter a state of temporary insanity. 

The defense has never been written into law, but according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, since the 1960s gay panic and transgender panic defenses have been used in approximately 25 states in the hopes of having defendants receive reduced sentences.

What a stupid fucking excuse for hurting or killing somebody. 

"They're sexuality forced me to beat them unconscious." Seriously?

To me this seems along the same lines as claiming that you raped a woman because she turned you on.

I have to say that if seeing somebody who seems gay to you makes you feel angry or violent towards them, you probably ought to have a long hard talk with yourself about your own sexuality.

Secretary of Defense blocks Trump's ban on transgender military personnel.

Courtesy of USA Today: 

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis late Tuesday announced that transgender troops will be allowed to continue serving in the military pending the results of a study by experts. 

The announcement follows an order from President Trump — first announced in a tweet — declaring that transgender service members can no longer serve in the military, effectively reversing an Obama administration policy. The order also affects the Department of Homeland Security, which houses the Coast Guard. 

"Once the panel reports its recommendations and following my consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security, I will provide my advice to the president concerning implementation of his policy direction," Mattis said in the statement. "In the interim, current policy with respect to currently serving members will remain in place." 

Mattis' move buys time for the Pentagon to determine how and if it will allow thousands of transgender troops to continue to serve, whether they will receive medical treatment, or how they will be discharged.

Gee, I wonder how long this study will take?

Perhaps three and a half years?

I think it's pretty clear that Mattis is not in favor of this ban and is putting the breaks on a  policy from his boss that he knows will damage troop moral and result in the loss of valuable new recruits.

Thank goodness there are some grownups working to keep this orange tinted toddler in check.

ACLU to sue Donald Trump over his ban on transgender military personnel.

Courtesy of AP:  

The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s ban on transgender individuals joining the military. 

The federal lawsuit , Stone v. Trump, was filed in Maryland on Monday by the ACLU of Maryland on behalf of Petty Officer First Class Brock Stone, an 11-year Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan, and several other transgender members of the Navy, Army, Air Force and Marines. 

Trump directed the Pentagon on Friday to implement the ban on transgender individuals joining the military, which he first announced in a tweet. He also gave to the Pentagon the authority to decide the future of openly transgender people already serving. 

The lawsuit says Trump’s policy violates the equal protection rights of transgender service members who now have “grave reason to fear for their careers.”

I guess that Trump thought if he did this while the country was distracted by watching Hurricane Harvey drown Texas that nobody would notice.

Well wrong again Cheeto Hitler. 

Well since we're banning religions due to violence, this seems fair.

Facebook source

Obama comes out in support of anti-Trump protests.

Courtesy of Politico: 

Former President Barack Obama’s office released a statement Monday supporting the protests going on around the country, and speaking out against discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion, saying “American values are at stake.” 

Kevin Lewis, spokesman for Obama in his post-presidency, said that Obama — who has been threading the balance between the tradition of presidents deferring to their successors and coming out against President Donald Trump on specific issues he considered core values — “is heartened by the level of engagement taking place in communities around the country.” 

“Citizens exercising their Constitutional right to assemble, organize and have their voices heard by their elected officials is exactly what we expect to see when American values are at stake,” Lewis said. 

“With regard to comparisons to President Obama’s foreign policy decisions, as we’ve heard before, the president fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith or religion,” Lewis said.

Well that was carefully worded, but it still made the point that Obama is horrified by what Trump is doing to this country.

I have to imagine it is killing President Obama to stay silent on everything that is happening since he left office. 

In fact I imagine that it is breaking his heart. 

And I have to believe, despite the unwritten rule about ex-presidents not criticizing current White House occupants, that he may not be able to do so much longer.

President Obama was above all a patriot with a great and abiding love for this country, and its citizens.

Right now his country and its citizens are suffering immensely, so how long can unwritten guidelines and a sense of decorum keep our greatest President from coming to the aid of his people? 

Trump's Secretary of Homeland Security only learned about the Muslim ban executive order as Trump was actually signing it on television.

Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly

Courtesy the New York Times:

As President Trump signed a sweeping executive order on Friday, shutting the borders to refugees and others from seven largely Muslim countries, the secretary of homeland security was on a White House conference call getting his first full briefing on the global shift in policy. 

Gen. John F. Kelly, the secretary of homeland security, had dialed in from a Coast Guard plane as he headed back to Washington from Miami. Along with other top officials, he needed guidance from the White House, which had not asked his department for a legal review of the order. 

Halfway into the briefing, someone on the call looked up at a television in his office. “The president is signing the executive order that we’re discussing,” the official said, stunned.

As we know the executive order was drafted by Stephen Bannon and a small group of White House advisers, without any input from career officials at the Homeland Security Department, the State Department or other agencies.

The reason given by  James Jay Carafano, a vice president of the conservative Heritage Foundation, and also a member of Trump's transition team, is a fear of leaks.

 “Why share it with them?” Mr. Carafano said. 

Well part of the reason you "share it with them" is that they actually know the legalities of something like this, and could  have shut it down or at least given guidance that would have helped to avoid those incidents at the airports.

“The details of it were not thought through,” said Stephen Heifetz, who served in the Justice and Homeland Security Departments, as well as the C.I.A., under the previous three presidents. “It is not surprising there was mass confusion, and I expect the confusion and chaos will continue for some time.” 

Trump's distrust of the intelligence agencies and his reliance on loose cannons like Stephen Bannon will be his downfall.

The only question is will that happen before he irreparably damages this country?

P.S. By the way a number of Trump spokespeople are claiming that this ban is just like the one that President Obama imposed on Iraq for six months.

Problem is, that never happened.

Courtesy of WaPo: 

Former Obama administration official Jon Finer denied that any ban in Iraqi refugee admissions was put in place under Obama. “While the flow of Iraqi refugees slowed significantly during the Obama administration’s review, refugees continued to be admitted to the United States during that time, and there was not a single month in which no Iraqis arrived here,” he wrote in Foreign Policy. “In other words, while there were delays in processing, there was no outright ban.” 

Another former official, Eric P. Schwartz, the assistant secretary of state for population, refugees and migration at the time, also told The Fact Checker that Trump’s statement is false: 

“President Obama never imposed a six-month ban on Iraqi processing. For several months in 2011, there was a lower level of Iraqi resettlement, as the government implemented certain security enhancements. Indeed, as we identified new and valuable opportunities to enhance screening, we did so. Nobody should object to a continual effort to identify legitimate enhancements, but it is disreputable to use that as a pretext to effectively shut down a program that is overwhelmingly safe and has enabled the United States to exercise world leadership. In any event, there was never a point during that period in which Iraqi resettlement was stopped, or banned.”

The Post gave those statements by the Trump spokespeople three Pinocchios. 

Donations to the ACLU come pouring in as response to Donald Trump and his Muslim ban.

NEW: @ACLU now says it has received 290,000 online donations totaling $19.4 million since Saturday morning. Average per year is $3-4 million

— Dustin Volz (@dnvolz) January 29, 2017

Courtesy of The Hill: 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has received more than $19 million since Saturday, and has hundreds of thousands of new members since it took action against President Trump's executive order calling for a 90-day ban on nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries entering the United States and an indefinite pause on admitting refugees from Syria. 

The ACLU announced Sunday evening it had raised $19.4 million from 290,000 donations since Saturday. 

The average it takes in per year is $3 million to $4 million, according to Reuters reporter Dustin Volz. The donations and membership growth is “unprecedented,” Anthony Romero, the ACLU’s executive director, told Yahoo News. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Romero said. “People are fired up and want to be engaged. What we’ve seen is an unprecedented public reaction to the challenges of the Trump administration.”

Journalists have been wondering out loud if the Women's March after the inauguration was a one time thing, or whether the momentum would carry forward.

I think we have our answer. 

Senator Chuck Schumer tears up over Donald Trump's Muslim ban. Trump mocks him for it.

Seems heartfelt to me.

However I actually have a heart.

Trump did not see it that way.

Trump accuses @SenSchumer of crying "fake tears" at a press conference on the president's immigration order https://t.co/0fQ5jkaIFz pic.twitter.com/bLlVD4Q6iD

— POLITICO (@politico) January 30, 2017

Courtesy of Fox News:  

President Trump launched into a fiery defense of his controversial refugee and immigration restrictions Monday, blaming protesters and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s ‘fake tears’ for difficulties at U.S. airports, and urging his opponents to “study the world!”

Yeah that's right. THEY'RE the ones who need to study more.

Trump also took to Twitter, of course, to mock Senator Schumer.

Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,.....

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017

protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 30, 2017

So Chuck Schumer's tears caused "big problems" for Delta Airlines?

Those are some powerful tears.

But what can you expect from Donald Trump?

Malignant Narcissists simply do not have empathy.

Which means that there is no way that any other person's suffering is going to mean anything to Trump.

So we have gone from a President who seemed to feel everything, to a president who feels nothing. 

Donald Trump removes any doubt that his immigration ban is based on Islamophobia.

Our country needs strong borders and extreme vetting, NOW. Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Christians in the Middle-East have been executed in large numbers. We cannot allow this horror to continue!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

It would seem clear to me that Trump is justifying the ban not only by citing terrorist attacks here in America but also attacks against Christians in the Middle East.

And while the killing of Christians based on their religious beliefs is indeed disgusting and inhuman, it is also true that in the Middle East Muslims kill their fellow Muslims due to differing religious beliefs in far, far greater numbers.

The way the tweet is worded it makes is sound as if Trump is using the ban to keep the evil Muslims from killing the saintly Christians in this country, which is a pitfall that even the clumsy Bush administration was able to avoid.

Which is once again quite ironic considering that it is this so-called Christian nation that has been dropping tons of bombs on predominately Muslim countries for the last 16 years.

Trump is also ramping up the "War on Terror" which surely means American troops on the ground in Islamic countries, and an increase in civilian causalities. 

In other words, Trump has just openly started a very public religious war in the name of Christianity on a number of Muslim countries.

And this is how he is responding to those criticizing him for it.

The joint statement of former presidential candidates John McCain & Lindsey Graham is wrong - they are sadly weak on immigration. The two...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 29, 2017

Yeah, I don't think THEY'RE the ones looking to start World War III.

Of course all of this only gives even more credibility to this Twitter account:

Attempts to get POTUS to work on policy failed. Retreats to residence, skulking over McCain/Lindsey announcement and public protests.

— Rogue POTUS Staff (@RoguePOTUSStaff) January 29, 2017

There is a reason why you only put smart sane people into the White House.

Does everybody get why now?

Trump gets handed his first defeat over Muslim ban.

So yesterday started out like this.

Courtesy of Slate:  

There appears to be lots of chaos and confusion in airports around the world after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that effectively bans travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries— Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—from entering the United States for 30 days.(Update at 4:30 p.m. Eastern: Contrary to initial reports, the ban is for 90 days.) It also places a four-month halt to the country’s refugee program. There are now scattered reports that the order is affecting those who already have green cards and visas. 

Some travelers are being turned away at airports around the world and not allowed to board flights to the United States despite having valid travel documents. Reuters, for example, hears word from sources at the airport in Cairo that six travelers—five from Iraq and one from Yemen—were forbidden from boarding a flight to the United States even though they had valid visas.

Hours after Trump signed the executive order a mosque was set on fire in Texas.

All of this inspired multiple protests.

And caused world leaders to condemn his actions: 

European leaders, the United Nations and international groups have condemned US President Donald Trump's measures against refugees and travellers from several Muslim-majority countries. 

Oddly enough Trump's executive order only included countries that he does NOT do business with.

Interesting, don't you think?

Ultimately the ACLU and others filed a class action lawsuit, and this was the result: 

The American Civil Liberties Union announced Saturday evening that a federal court in New York had issued an emergency stay on President Trump’s executive order banning immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries. The court’s decision, which will affect people who have been detained in airports, came after the ACLU and other activist groups filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of two Iraqis who were held at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as a result of the order. 

“I hope Trump enjoys losing. He’s going to lose so much we’re going to get sick and tired of his losing,” ACLU national political director Faiz Shakir told Yahoo News shortly after the decision was announced.

I think I agree with that statement.

The America people are fired up like I have never seen them before, and it seems very likely that they are willing to fight Donald Trump every step of the way on his agenda to destroy our country and undermine its values.

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The best President ever blocks oil drilling in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The planet thanks you President Obama.

President Obama having his heart stolen by Alaska.

Courtesy of Reuters: 

U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday banned new oil and gas drilling in federal waters in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, in a push to leave his stamp on the environment before Republican Donald Trump takes office next month. 

Obama used a 1950s-era law called the Outer Continental Shelf Act that allows presidents to limit areas from mineral leasing and drilling. Environmental groups said that meant Trump's incoming administration would have to go court if it sought to reverse the move. 

The ban affects 115 million acres (46.5 million hectares) of federal waters off Alaska in the Chukchi Sea and most of the Beaufort Sea and 3.8 million acres (1.5 million hectares) in the Atlantic from New England to Chesapeake Bay. 

Trump, who succeeds Obama on Jan. 20, has said he would expand offshore oil and gas drilling. A recent memo from his energy transition team said his policy could increase production in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, as well as the mid- and south Atlantic. 

A Trump representative did not immediately comment on the announcement. 

That is what you call "checkmate" Cheeto Hitler.

 And you know it's a good deal because Sarah Palin absolutely hates it.

Damn first Obama signs a bill protecting my people from harassment, and then he bans oil exploration to protect my state from being brutally raped by the Trump administration.

That's it, President Obama just moved to the top of my Christmas list.

What size Alaska t-shirt do you think he wears?

We are slowly moving towards cars that run on green energy but the Netherlands is tired of waiting.

Courtesy of Quartz: 

Gasoline-powered cars may soon be a thing of the past. But the Netherlands wants to get there quicker. 

The Dutch government is debating the possibility of banning new gas and diesel cars from 2025. The initial proposal, which was brought forward by the Labor Party, called for an outright ban of all petrol and diesel cars, but was eventually modified so the ban only affected the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. Traditional cars already in use will still run on the streets. 

The proposal has since passed in the lower house of the Netherlands’ parliament. It now needs to pass through the Dutch senate. 

The Netherlands already has one of the lowest levels of CO2 emissions from new cars in the European Union. The country has seen a recent surge in electric car sales, which reached an all-time high last December.

Just a reminder to Americans that in many cases we are falling far behind the times.

I love stories like this which talk about our future. It just gives me such hope.

Since this is a political blog it should be noted that our current President has done a great deal to push toward clean energy in this country.

And it should be noted that Hillary Clinton has promised to do even more.

Yes, the future is looking bright indeed.

Donald Trump uses Orlando shooting to "humble brag" about his foresight in calling to block Muslims from entering the country.

Appreciate the congrats for being right on radical Islamic terrorism, I don't want congrats, I want toughness & vigilance. We must be smart!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016

Reporting that Orlando killer shouted "Allah hu Akbar!" as he slaughtered clubgoers. 2nd man arrested in LA with rifles near Gay parade.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016

What has happened in Orlando is just the beginning. Our leadership is weak and ineffective. I called it and asked for the ban. Must be tough

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2016

Once again it must be pointed out that the Orlando shooter was a US citizen, born and raised in this country. In other words NOTHING that Donald Trump has proposed would have saved even one life.

As if that were not bad enough it was discovered that Trump plagiarized his first tweet on the shooting:

It looks like Trump flagrantly copy & pasted @SebGorka's unsourced 2:03pm tweet, tweaked it, and posted at 2:52pm pic.twitter.com/aAHWUHvvnH

— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 12, 2016

So presidential, don't you think?

(H/T to HuffPo.)

American Medical Association calls for ban on the advertisement of prescription drugs.

Courtesy of Reuters:  

The American Medical Association on Tuesday called for a ban on advertising prescription drugs and medical devices directly to consumers, saying the ads drive patients to demand expensive treatments over less costly ones that are also effective. 

The influential doctors' group said the new policy reflects physicians' concerns that marketing spending on a proliferation of advertising is helping to drive up drug prices. The group voted at its annual meeting in Atlanta to support a ban. 

"Direct-to-consumer advertising also inflates demand for new and more expensive drugs, even when those drugs may not be appropriate," AMA Board Chair-elect Patrice Harris said in a statement. 

The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries that allow direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs.

Welcome to one of Gryphen's biggest pet peeves.

I have long argued against these commercials, because they actually convince perfectly healthy people that they are ill and that they need drugs which they simply do not need.

I work with a population highly susceptible to suggestion, and many of them have complained of symptoms that they do not have, and have requested access to prescription medications that not only don't they need but are also potentially hazardous for them to take.

I know we rely on doctors to be the voice of reason for their patients, but the sad truth is that these companies send incredibly attractive drug reps to doctor's offices all over the country with offers of free seminars in exotic locations, golf trips, and a number of other perks to persuade them to push their product, and let's face it not all doctors can resist the temptation.

So yes we most certainly should ban these advertisements. 

However the other sad truth is that these companies own certain politicians outright and there is no way they will allow anybody to interfere in the billions of dollars in profit that their benefactors bring in each year.

Texas is passing a bill to ban cities from banning fracking. So they're banning banning?

Courtesy of The New York Times:  

Lawmakers moved Monday to prohibit Texas cities from banning hydraulic fracturing and other potentially environmentally harmful oil and natural gas drilling activities within their boundaries, a major victory for industry groups and top conservatives. The state scrambled to limit local energy exploration prohibitions after Denton, a university town near Dallas, passed an ordinance in November against fracking, trying to keep encroaching drilling outside their community. The measure by Representative Drew Darby, a San Angelo Republican, allows communities to regulate things above ground such as noise, traffic and lighting associated with oil and gas activities, but forbids most limits on activity below the surface. The bill passed the Senate on Monday and was sent to Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, who is expected to sign it.

Boy leave it to Texas to ban their citizen's right to protect themselves against suffering through a dramatically increased number of earthquakes and having their groundwater poisoned by oil companies.

Personally I just wish that Texas would stop doing stupid things so that we could talk about other states for a change.