Dan,

"Are you intelligent enough to admit that Donald Trump and his allies are clearly protecting a bunch of high-end pedophiles?"

Whether they are or whether they aren't, it's not your call to decide what information the government should release or when.

If there is any truth to it, some of the people involved could be foreign nationals, government officials, or other individuals whose public exposure could create serious diplomatic and legal consequences.

I realize liberals tend to have an inflated sense of moral superiority, but simply dumping names into the public domain without regard for evidence, national interests, or international consequences could create enormous scandals, and America would ultimately be blamed for the fallout.

Your hatred of America is overriding your common sense.

Are you intelligent enough to understand that?

Dan,

I didn't you were a trained Psychiatrist.

Or do you just identify as one?

Redial,

"You misspelled "fail""

That's a funny catch....but I meant foil.

Fort,

"Why do you even bother explaining anything to a bunch of -------?"

Because I'm a Christian, and they need to see that Christians are sinners too and don't have to condemn everyone they disagree with.

That's the short version.

Speak,

People here would take Iran's word over their own country. Trump is just a foil.

What you're failing to admit is that this war was already in progress when Trump took office.

I think some people here are actually ashamed of being American. Be honest... that was true even before Trump.

But you'll still post lies saying I'm wrong.

Sounds like some people side with Iran.

We're just on different teams.

Speak,

"That would be a great point if Trump hadn't campaigned on NO MORE WARS."

In November 2024, Trump said, "I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."

And he has helped stop or de-escalate conflicts in several countries, with varying degrees of success.

Unless you have a crystal ball, neither of us knows yet what the ultimate outcome with Iran will be.

Also,can you name a president who never modified, abandoned, or fell short of a campaign promise once in office?

Alex,

"Trump's message is self-aggrandizement."

Maybe you see it that way, but whether Trump is self-aggrandizing doesn't really address the larger issue.

Someone in the West has to be willing to confront hostile regimes like Iran. If nobody does, the consequences could eventually become much worse.

We're dealing with a regime that has demonstrated a willingness to use extraordinary violence against its own people simply for challenging its authority. Thousands were killed during the recent crackdown on protesters.

Governments like Iran don't operate according to the same rules, restraints, or expectations that Western democracies do. Sometimes, there seem to be no rules at all.

It may take someone willing to push the limits of conventional diplomacy to deal with a government like that.

Fort,

Stop that.

Speak,

"What was the message of this cartoon?"

I might guess his message is, "Kiss my ---."

Although the mockup offended a lot of people, I don't believe I would call it stolen valor.

He wasn't actually claiming to have served in the military or to have earned those medals, like we've seen some people do and get busted for.

This was a cartoon.

How many cartoons and political caricatures are drawn as spoofs without anyone believing they are meant to be taken literally?

Some people are just whinners looking for something whine about.

Dan & Zed & Laura,

Huh?

Damn...even when I agree with you, you whine about something.

The jacket is no big deal.

The medals are the problem.

Trump thinks it's just a bunch of pretty colors.

Why not wear a Purple Heart if he's going to fake it?

Truth,

"American Medical Association (AMA): Affirms that transgender identities are normal variations of human expression and supports public and private insurance coverage for care.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP): Supports timely, comprehensive, and developmentally appropriate care for transgender youth.
Endocrine Society: Co-author of clinical practice guidelines for endocrine treatment of gender-dysphoric individuals.
American Psychiatric Association (APA) and American Psychological Association (APA): Support mental and medical health access while opposing discrimination and conversion efforts."

Which of these organizations specifically addresses the rights and responsibilities of parents to make medical decisions for their minor children?

Supporting a particular form of treatment is one issue.

The role and authority of the parent in deciding whether a minor should receive that treatment is another.

There has been a growing effort to reduce parental involvement in some decision making for minors, and many parents are pushing back against that. Parents should not be treated as an obstacle to their child's care. They are ordinarily the people responsible for making major medical decisions for their minor children.

Before you call the parents bigots, remember that their objection may have nothing to do with prejudice toward transgender people. They may simply believe that parents, not activists, schools, or organizations, should have the primary authority to make major medical decisions involving their minor children.

And that includes the possibility that, after considering the circumstances, they may decide that their child will not medically transition while they are still a minor.

Truth,

Right off the bat you are putting words in mouth...

No point in continuing.

Good night.

Truth,

Are you just reading liberal propaganda sites and accepting what they tell you.

Truth,

"You do realize that 'medical treatment, ongoing care and accommodations' were not mentioned in the Executive Order banning their service."

No, I don't realize that because you're wrong.

The January 27, 2025 Executive Order most definitely refers to ongoing medical treatment in the context of military readiness and combat.

It may not use your exact words, but the substance is clearly there, including "without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions."

Truth,

"Explain, if you can, why a cis teen can get breast reduction surgery and a trans teen cannot.
Explain, if you can, why a cis teen can get puberty blockers, but a trans teen cannot.
Explain, if you can, why a cis teen can get hormone replacement therapy, but a trans teen cannot."

Because the issue isn't simply the procedure or medication. It's the medical purpose for which it is being used.

Breast reduction, puberty blockers, and hormone therapy are not automatically prohibited for minors. They can be used in pediatric medicine to treat particular medical conditions.

For example, puberty suppressing drugs are used to treat early puberty, and hormone therapy can be used when a child has a hormone deficiency or fails to progress through normal puberty.

The disagreement is whether those same treatments are medically justified when their purpose is to alter or suppress otherwise normal sexual development because a minor is considered to have gender dysphoria.

So the comparison isn't simply, "cis teens can have these treatments but trans teens can't."

The distinction is WHY the treatment is being given.

Whether gender dysphoria in a minor justifies intervention is what is being debated.

There are more factors involved in making that determination than simply what the minor child wants.

Hor,

"I thought that was your eternal moral and spiritual struggle."

I've never said that. I'm actually at peace with that part of myself. There are, however, a lot of gay people who do live with that kind of struggle. I just never really have.

What I did struggle with when I was younger was reconciling having both gay and straight feelings.

People tend to reduce it to, "If you like guys, you're gay," as though there can't be anything more complicated than that.

I've come to a truce with it.

Snoofy,

#65
So...which way to turn the thread?

1. Christians forcing their beliefs.
2. Abortion rights.
3. Using the mail. Someone is bound to segue to ballots.

Jump on Snoofy.

He's trying to derail.

So what about that Todd Blanche?

You think he'll make it through the whole season?

Redial,

Refer to post #12

Zed introduced Islam being a threat to Western society.

Refer to post #28

Truthhurts introduced even more stuff off the topic of the thread.

Don't continue to blame me for this.

I've said before, I respond to off topics and generally not the one to bring it up...sometimes I do but usually it's not me.

Time for shopping...not here again.

Redial,

Ok...say something about Todd Blanche instead of whining.

No one stopped you.

Truth,

"inalienable right to the healthcare they choose?"

No one has an inalienable right to whatever healthcare they choose.

We've had enough time now to see that people's decisions can be influenced by changing social values, cultural pressures, and the people around them. That is one reason I think potentially irreversible medical decisions deserve more serious and careful scrutiny.

As far as the military goes, I agree with the current decision. Transgender service can involve medical treatment, ongoing care, and accommodations that can raise legitimate questions about military readiness and deployment requirements.

Gay service members generally require no special medical accommodations simply because they are gay.

So trying to frame the transgender military issue as simply another version of gay rights is bogus. The two situations are not the same.