Friday, April 13, 2018

'Dems seek answers from Mattis on trans ban recommendations' & other Fri midday news briefs

Democrats in Congress want to who recommended Mattis support trans ban and how decision was made.

Dems seek answers from Mattis on anti-trans military recommendations - Congressional Democrats want to know who supplied the information for Defense Secretary Mattis's recommendation to ban transgender troops. Everyone please remember this issue because it is in the backdrop and slowly simmering. If and when it explodes, it has the potential to do a lot of damage to the anti-LGBTQ industry. These are the questions they are asking:


1. Who was on the Panel of Experts?  
2. Who did the Panel consult with?  
3. Did the Panel consult with the American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association or American Medical Association or any other medical professionals with expertise in gender dysphoria?
4. In your view, what are the substantial risks associated with the accessions and retention of transgender persons? Can you please provide any examples that since June 30, 2016 these issues have arisen within the military and describe how the DOD or services handled these situations?  
5. In your view, what are the specific issues that could undermine readiness, disrupt unit cohesion, and impose an unreasonable burden on the military? Can you please provide any examples that since June 30, 2016 these issues have arisen within the military and describe how the DOD or services handled these situations? 
 6. Were any government officials outside of DOD or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) involved in the Report or your Memorandum to the president? If so, who were these officials and what was the basis for their involvement?  

 Additionally, the letter requests “the specific medical and scientific data that supported the conclusions contained in your memorandum.” 

Army chief of staff pulls rug out from under transgender military ban - And the issue just got more interesting. We know where the anti-transgender troops recommendations probably came from - Pence and his ad-hoc committee of anti-LGBTQ spokespeople.

Evangelical Leaders Could Use Stormy Daniels To Get Even More From Trump - Thus demonstrating how calculating un-Christian these people are. 

High Court of Trinidad and Tobago Rules Code Criminalizing Same-Sex Activity is Unconstitutional - Wonderful! 

GLAAD Media Awards Honors ‘This Is Us’ As Outstanding Drama Series - Congratulations to all of the GLAAD award recipients, particularly my good friend Monica Roberts whose blog, TransGriot, received the award for 'Outstanding Blog.'