“I wish I knew how to quit you.” That’s what Donald said to Michael, if not in so many words, then certainly in deed. How else do you explain the President’s clinging to his former National Security Advisor like goose down to Velcro? Every sentient being on the planet knew that retired General Michael Flynn had been a very naughty boy. On December 29, 2016, still-President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia in retaliation for hacking and other actions intended to influence the outcome of the Presidential election. General Flynn subsequently discussed the sanctions with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak five times, including the day the sanctions were announced. American intelligence officials recorded all of it. Then, to make things worse, Flynn lied to the media about the conversations and was not totally forthcoming with the FBI when they asked him about them. Worst of all, the General lied to the other Michael, Vice President Mike Pence. The President knew Flynn had lied to the other Michael, but didn’t say anything to the Vice President for at least two weeks. Why should he? Pence is such a prig, always looking like he has an icicle up his posterior. When the spooks leaked the story to the Washington Post, the Veep learned he had been getting the mushroom treatment, and the President had no choice. He had to keep Veep happy and General Flynn was caught with his Pence down. The President had to say those three magic words, the ones he values more than any others: “You are fired.” But his heart wasn’t in it. He’d grown accustomed to his Flynn.
Michael Flynn tendered his forced resignation on the eve of Valentine’s Day.
The Kids Are Alright With It
The Trump administration’s decision to withdraw federal protections for transgender public school students constitutes poor governance, deficient humanity, and legal ignorance. A “Dear Colleague Letter” from the Departments of Justice and Education dated May 13, 2016 detailed those protections. The Obama administration recognized that transgender students were denied equal access to educational opportunities and did not enjoy civil rights protections available to other students. Discrimination on the basis of gender identity and gender expression violates Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). The new administration’s decision to abandon the protections endangers transgender students and will do far more harm than good.
In the 2011 National School Climate Survey by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), eight out of ten transgender students said they felt unsafe at school. Nearly six out of ten experienced verbal harassment on account of their gender expression, more than twice the rate of their peers. A recent GLSEN survey in Arizona that included gay and lesbian students along with transgender students reached a similar conclusion. “Schools are still hostile environments for so many of these students,” stated Ricardo Martinez, Chair of GLSEN Phoenix, “and now more than ever they need our support.”
Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld, a lecturer with the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, College of Education and author of several books, including Warren’s Words: Smart Commentary on Social Justice, notes that LGBT youth live a very different life experience from their peers, and not just in the school setting. “For one thing, they live in families who very often do not share their sexual and/or gender identity,” Dr. Blumenfeld wrote in an email message, adding, “I call these ‘diasporic’ identities — we are dispersed within families who are different than us.” “LGBTQ youth live in families with the added fear of ‘coming out’ to others,” wrote Dr. Blumenfeld. “They also suffer significantly higher risks of being bullied and dropping out of school.”
He blames adults more than kids for the harmful experience of transgender youth…
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