North Korea's Missile Launch

Bigger and better missiles?

North Korea recently launched a new missile which was detected by the Pentagon. This missile was proven to be much more durable, and able to fly longer than the missile launched at the beginning of the month. What does this mean for the U.S.? Well, North Korea has made threats toward our country. Now that their missile technology has improved, it's possible and probable that North Korea would be able to send their new nuclear artillery all the way to the United States' mainland. This puts all American citizens at risk.

How is the U.S. Reacting?

In response to these threats and advances in missile technology, the U.S. has tested out a new defense system called THAAD, standing for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense. This system is capable of detecting a nuclear attack before and during its' occurrence.

Virtual Example:


As shown, the system involves launching an interceptor to destroy any oncoming missiles. This seems like a very advanced and high-tech solution. It's crucial that the United States has this defense plan in place to protect it's own. North Korea could potentially strike at any time.

Why is this an important topic to discuss?

Threats and nuclear weapons should always be taken very seriously. It's necessary to know and understand what's going on in your own country and in the world, especially when it involves conflict. This new defense system is the Commander in Chief, Donald Trump's, first plan for defensive action. I'm interested myself to see how it turns out for this reason. Also, learning about nuclear technology and advanced defense systems and how they work can be very interesting. 

Questions for Discussion:

• Do you think the new defense system will be successful? Why or why not?
• If North Korea strikes, and the THAAD system fails, could President Trump be criticized?
• Is it likely that North Korea will actually attack, or are their threats empty?
• Could a third World War be sparked if North Korea were to strike?

Sources:

• http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/30/politics/us-military-tests-thaad-system/index.html
• http://edition.cnn.com/2017/07/28/politics/north-korea-missile-test/index.html
• http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/north-korea-icbm-test-friday-longest-ballistic-missile/story?id=48951405

North Korea- Should We Be Worried

          Friday, North Korea successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missle that had the capability to reach the west coast. South Korean and Japanese officials stated that it had reached the northernmost Japanese island. President Trump urges China and surrounding countries to take action. Although it is still skeptical whether or not the missle can reach the U.S it is still a threat that should not be overlooked.

          The U.S conducted a successful missle test on Saturday. U.S forces tested the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense or THAAD for short. It successfully tracked, detected, and intercepted a ballistic missle that was shot over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska according to the U.S military. However, the defense is not capable of intercepting larger missles it is simply to show North Korea that we are ahead. Also, by testing the THAAD it can be enhanced to intercept larger ballistic missles.

• Links
• http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/31/asia/north-korea-china-sanctions/index.html
• https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/world/asia/north-korea-ballistic-missile.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics&action=click&contentCollection=politics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=25&pgtype=sectionfront&referer=https://www.nytimes.com/section/politics?nytmobile=0
• http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/07/31/north-korea-threat-japans-abe-says-and-trump-agree-to-take-further-action.html

Discussion

1. Do you think President Trump will be able to deal with this threat?
2. Do you think that a major conflict might arise because of this threat by North Korea? 
3. Are the missles truly able to reach the west coast as some U.S officials still believe that the missles are not able to reach the west coast?

Russia's "impatient" diplomatic cut: What it means for the United States

United States embassy in Moscow

     The United States has put a number of sanctions on Russia recently. The bill was passed to punish Russia for the interference in the election and the annexation of Crimea in 2014. In response to this, Russia demanded that the United States cut their diplomats by 755, which is more than half.

     The sanctions were also put in place by the United States to punish those involved in giving weapons to Bashar al-Assad, the president of Syria, and a number of other matters including cyber attacks.

Russian and U.S. flag on the United States embassy, Moscow

 
     Some say this action is "impatient", and a US State Department official says that it is a "regrettable" decision. The cut looked to be an aggressive way to improve the relationship between the United States and Russia.

Sources used:
Congress sanctions on Russia
Diplomatic staff cut

More on annexation of Crimea and Russia's "collusion":
Sanctions for interfering with the 2016 elections
Crimea annexation

Questions for discussion:
1. Do you think the sanctions are a good punishment for Russia?
2. What does the diplomatic cut mean for the United States?
3. Was there any better way that Russia could have responded to these sanctions?

Drug's Affects on Our Ecnomy

                                                       

It’s not that local workers lack the skills for these positions, many of which do not even require a high school diploma but pay $15 to $25 an hour and offer full benefits. Rather, the problem is that too many applicants — nearly half, in some cases — fail a drug test.The fallout is not limited to the workers or their immediate families. Each quarter, Columbiana Boiler, a local company, forgoes roughly $200,000 worth of orders for its galvanized containers and kettles because of the manpower shortage, it says, with foreign rivals picking up the slack.

"We are talking to employers every day, and they tell us they are having more and more trouble finding people who can pass a drug test," says Edmond C. O'Neal at Northeast Indiana Works, an education and skills-training nonprofit. "I've heard kids say pot isn't a drug. It may not be, but pot will prevent you from getting a job." This isn't because of moral strictures among manufacturers or legal niceties, he adds. "Relaxing drug policies isn't an option for manufacturers in terms of insurance and liability."

The labor force participation rate, the number of people working or actively looking for work, has fallen since the Great Recession and has stagnated near 63 percent for the last four years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This stagnation comes despite monthly jobs reports, such as the one due Friday, showing a steady pace of job creation and a decline in unemployment.

 Nearly 6,000 refugees have settled in the last five years in Louisville, Kentucky, helping companies hire workers for jobs that had gone unfilled. Methamphetamine use is so high in Louisville that the number of people testing positive for meth in workplace drug tests is 47% higher than the national average, according to Quest Diagnostics.

Unemployment is resulting in a very highly cost to the economy and more. Americans need to get their stuff together.

Links to Sources:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/24/business/economy/drug-test-labor-hiring.htmlaction=click&contentCollection=Economy&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

• http://theweek.com/speedreads/714140/drug-testing-big-drag-american-manufacturing

• http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/27/us/refugees-jobs-drug-testing/index.html

Questions to Acknowledge:

• Do you think that they should still hire people with an exception of a low drug usage. on the test? Elaborate.

• How does illicit drugs affect you from getting a job?

• Do you think that this could possibly be a bigger conflict in the future?

Anthony Scaramucci Removed From Communications Director Role

                  

Anthony Scaramucci, former Coummications Director

            Days after Anthony Scaramucci said very vulgar and crude things about the other senior members of the president's senior staff, President Trump has decided for him to be ousted out of his position of Communications Director at the request of John F. Kelly, who was very recently sworn in as Trump's second chief of staff. 

            This request by John F. Kelly shows that he wants to assert control on the West Wing, which in the past six months of Trump's presidency has been having trouble with personal relationships between members and power struggles. He was sworn in this Monday morning, in hopes that he will bring discipline to Trump's staff in a military fashion, and has been fully empowered by Trump to make significant changes.

            Sarah Huckabee Sanders, press secretary of the White House states, 
            "Anthony Scaramucci will be leaving his role as White House Communications Directory. Mr. Scaracmucci felt it was best to give Chief of Staff John Kelly a clean slate and the ability to build his own team. We wish him all the best."

            In the eyes of the supporters of Scaramucci in the White House, he was only useful for making the removal of Reince Priebus, former Chief of Staff who had lost the trust of President Trump. But after his removal, Scaramucci had not been very useful.

            It is unclear in whether Scaramucci will stay at the White House in another position or not. Trump still cares about Scaramucci, despite all of the fuss in his first and only week as the Communications Director, according to close friends of President Trump and his family. He hopes that he will find a job for Scaramucci in the white house that is less powerful.

Links to Sources:
New York Times Article
The Washington Post Article

Questions for Discussion:
1. Do you think removing Anthony Scaramucci of Communications Director was a good thing and was justified? Explain your answer.

2. John F. Kelly has shown a bit of his power with the removal of Anthony Scaramucci. What changes do you believe he will make to the White House?

3. Should Anthony Scaramucci be given a lower ranking job at the White House or should he be ousted entirely? Explain your answer.

Chinese Vessel Seen Off the Coast of Alaska

Chinese Spy Vessel Seen Off the Coast of Alaska


      On July 14, 2017 a Chinese spy vessel was spotted 100 miles off the coast of Alaska and although the US doesn't want to make speculations about the appearance of the ship  they do have some hypotheses to why the Chinese might have been there. For example China's vessels have been sailing around the coast of Guam and have been shadowing a joint US-Australian military exercises, an unknown US official said although this was unusual behavior the vessel might be on a sailing exercise that continued into the Alaskan coast. Another possible scenario is that at the time that the Chinese communication vessel was seen the THAAD or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system was being tested in Alaska. That is a possible reason for the vessel to be in Alaska to see if the test was successful. But US officials do not want to openly speculate without proof of intent. The United States strongly believes and have told American citizens and news companies that the Chinese ship poses no threats to the USA. And although the true reason of their presence in Alaska is unknown there is nothing that they could have obtained that can affect the United States. In my opinion I believe that China's vessel was there to see if the THAAD would be successful. This is because the Chinese government has strongly protested against the THAAD system because it could be used to destroyed Chinese missiles. However the reason of the THAAD is for the US and South Korea to be able to intercept North Korean missiles. The fact that China was already against the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system shows that they would have a motive to see if the THAAD was successful. Even though this is what I believe there is no way of knowing if that was China's true plan while in Alaska.



Links of Information:
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/14/china-spy-ship-reportedly-off-coast-of-alaska-watching-thaad-tests.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/07/13/politics/chinese-spy-ship-coast-alaska/index.html

https://www.google.com/amp/www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/14/chinese-spy-ship-near-alaska-for-thaad-missile-test.amp.html

Picture:
http://prepperssurvivalhomestead.com/tag/breaking-news/

Discussion Questions:
1.What do you believe was the reason for China’s communication vessel to be on the coast of Alaska? And why?
2. Do you think they would have obtained any valuable information about the USA?
3. Would you consider the communication ship dangerous or a threat? If so why?

Kelly Called Comey to Express Anger Over Firing

Washington (CNN)New White House chief of staff John Kelly was so upset with how President Donald Trump handled the firing of FBI Director James Comey that Kelly called Comey afterward and said he was considering resigning, according to two sources familiar with a conversation between Kelly and Comey.

Both sources cautioned that it was unclear how serious Kelly, then the secretary of homeland security, was about resigning himself.

"John was angry and hurt by what he saw and the way (Comey) was treated," one of the sources said.

Comey learned of his dismissal on May 9 from televisions tuned to the news as he was addressing the workforce at the FBI office in Los Angeles, law enforcement sources said at the time. Comey made a joke about it to lighten the mood and called his office to get confirmation.

Comey, who took Kelly's call while traveling back from Los Angeles to Washington, responded to Kelly by telling him not to resign, one of the sources said.

The sources said Comey and Kelly are not close friends but that they had a professional relationship and a deep mutual respect for each other.

Comey declined to comment for this story. The White House and the Department of Homeland Security have not responded to requests for comment

Trump announced Friday that Kelly would replace Reince Priebus as chief of staff, the latest in a series of staff moves aiming to reset the White House's communications and agenda efforts.

A permanent replacement for Comey as FBI director is expected soon when the full Senate votes on the nomination of Christopher Wray, who cleared the judiciary committee with unanimous support.

I chose this article because I found it interesting on how John Kelly would be so angry that he would consider quitting his job with some importance in the government. Also my personal thought on this is how it is kind of a coincidence where shortly after he called Comey, Kelly was assigned to chief of staff. Lastly, this article was also interesting in how even people who work with the government still have strong feelings on how Trump acts and does important jobs, such as this firing. John Kelly is not even a very close friend of Comey just had a work relationship and still got this angry over someone being fired over the news basically and wanting to support by even quitting his own job. 

Questions to consider:

Does Kelly being given the job of Chief of Staff have any influence from him not quitting his other job? 

Would any of you react the same way as Kelly by being so angry you would consider resigning your own important job?

How would you feel after finding out you were fired from a very important job from the media? How would you react to this?

Trump Begins Repealing Climate Protection Laws

President Donald J. Trump has begun repealing laws that Barack Obama had put into place in the interest of the protection of the environment. As many may know, the amount of pollution and other human destruction have been taking their toll on the environment. Carbon dioxide levels are increasing, temperatures are rising, and glaciers are melting. This does not seem to be an issue for the president though, as he begins dismantling Obama's climate legacy.
"I have been moving at record pace to cancel these regulations and to eliminate the barriers to domestic energy production, like never before," he said at a recent White House event. There have been presidental orders to increase production of non-renewable resources, such as gas, oil, and coal, completely disregarding the toll these fossil fuels have took on the environment thus far, and will still continue taking.


The difference in the amount of ice in Glacier National Park over the years (National Geographic).

Additional Links for Reference:

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/31072017/trump-climate-change-executive-orders-congress-turning-into-law-via-budget Inside Climate News

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/14/opinion/mr-trump-the-climate-change-loner.html NY Times

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/31/health/climate-change-two-degrees-studies/index.html CNN

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-epa-museum-climate-change-20170730-story.html Chicago Tribune 

Questions for Discussion:

Do you agree with the moves President Trump has made?

How does climate change effect us as people?

How can people help to protect the environment?

Is this a big issue to you?

I chose to write about this event because of how passionate I am about preserving our environment. President Trump setting aside the consideration of climate change was really shocking to me, and I felt like it needed more coverage.

Donald Trump's Ban on Transgender People in the Military

    On July 26, 2017 President Donald Trump announced through twitter that he would be putting a ban on allowing transgender people to serve in the military. Donald Trump tweeted that "After consultations with [his] Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption transgender in the military would entail. Thank you". 
    I believe that this is a very important current event because in my opinion anyone who is willing to give up their time and risk their own life for our country's freedom should be allowed to be active in the military no matter the cost. The ban that Donald Trump is trying to enforce would affect the 1,000  to 6,000 active transgender members of the military as well as any transgender person who wants to join the military.


Links for further information on the topic
https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/monkey-cage/wp/2017/07/31/the-4-key-things-you-need-to-know-about-trumps-proposed-ban-on-transgender-military-service/

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2017/07/26/politics/trump-military-transgender/index.html

https://www.usnews.com/opinion/thomas-jefferson-street/articles/2017-07-28/donald-trumps-transgender-military-ban-has-no-justification?context=amp


Questions for discussion

1. Do you think that Donald Trumps ban on transgender members of the military is a gateway to other LGBT related bans and issues?
2. Do you agree with this ban on transgender people being able to serve in the U.S. military? Why or why not?
3. How do you think the LGBT community feels about this ban? How would you feel if you were a current transgender member of the military after hearing of this new ban?

Trump Promises to Crush Violent Gangs, But Encourages Police Brutality

MS-13- an international criminal gang, mostly consisting of Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans, that is notorious for its relentless revenge and criminal activities.

Since the beginning of the year, the MS-13 gang has killed 17 people in Long Island, and has been guilty of murder, drug trafficking, prostitution, kidnapping, and many other heinous crimes. In response to violent activity of gang members of the MS-13 group in Long Island, President Trump has recently delivered a combative law-and-order speech applauding law enforcement for being "rough" with arrestees. Trump stated that police should not shield the heads of hand-cuffed suspects as they are put in a car:
                        "Like, don't hit their head and they've just killed somebody. I said, 'You can take the hand away, OK? '"

During his visit in the New York suburb, Trump pledged to break apart and deport members of the MS-13 gang and restore peace to American communities. Trump also noted his campaign pledge to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, and emphasized the need for bolder immigration policies.

With praise from the audience of law enforcement officials, Trump asserted "We will find you, we will arrest you, we will jail you and we will deport you," and vowed to "destroy the vile criminal cartel, MS-13, and many other gangs."

However, the majority of law enforcement agencies, spanning from Los Angeles to Boston, have strongly disagreed with Trump's tactics on treating criminals. Many law officials believe that this action taken towards suspects inspires police brutality and and harms the relationship between the police and the people. If officers apply any other force than "what is reasonable and necessary,"their behavior is unprofessional and sends the wrong message to the public and law enforcement. Other police departments have also voiced their opinions, which all agree that President Trump endorses and condones police brutality.


Links for Further Reading:

• http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/28/politics/donald-trump-ms-13/index.html
• http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/29/politics/trump-police-remarks-reaction/index.html
• http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/07/28/trump-targets-vile-ms-13-vows-to-enforce-immigration-law.html
• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/us/politics/trump-immigration-gang-violence-long-island.html

Discussion Questions:

• Do you believe that President Trump is invoking police brutality in his law-and-order speech?   Or is this kind of aggressive treatment necessary in law enforcement?
• Does the kind of treatment that Trump support take away from the trust that the police have built in American communities?
• Do you think that gang violence will change for the better if police decide to use aggressive tactics against arrestees?

Trump saying on North Korea: " It will be handled "

Trump is assuring the community that the North Korea crisis will be handled well before something dramatic occurs. In united states, the issues are dramatically increasing such as in North Korea, middle east and just too much violence around the world is happening. Trump is saying everything will be under control from all the crisis around the world. All the reporters are asking how can we the people handle North Koreans actions but trump is keeping it simple by saying that actions will occur and everything will be handled right. The issue is that North Korea (ICBM) its second successful test so that is a big hazard for the US. The first ICBM test happened on July 4 but the US ambassador named Bill Richardson is explaining how Kim Jong Un is basically told us “that come at me”. North Korea has great ICBM and the issue for the US is we are running out of time to make a movement. Trump has limited actions because the analysists are saying the ICBM could hit Los Angeles, Chicago, New York and close to Washington DC. Then the U. S test a missile defense on Sunday by using the THAAD in Alaska.Violence is not the right solution and the president was posting on twitter of how disappointed he is from North Korea. Trump complained about the trade imbalance between the U.S. and China, which is the largest trade deficit the U.S. has with any country with which it trades. The tweets marked the latest case of Mr. Trump urging Chinese President Xi Jinping to do more regarding North Korea. China has countered that it shouldn't be held responsible for solving the nuclear standoff with North Korea and that it doesn't hold the key to resolving the issue. On Sunday, the Chinese Mission to the U.N. said in a statement to CBS News that China "is concerned about the current developments. “In conclusion president, Trump has to make a choice and move quickly before things escalate through the roof. 

 

Links for information

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-on-north-korea-it-will-be-handled/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/trump-on-north-korea-it-will-be-handled-we-handle-everything/2017/07/31/9388666c-75fd-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_video.html

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/31/trump-abe-agree-to-action-against-north-korea-241156

Discussion Questions

     1)  What is the best option for the US to take against North Korea? (negotiation or military action)

2  2)Trump saying “North Korea will be handled” Should the US be worried about the future of America?

   3) Should Trump take a break from social media and make America great again? 

Conway addresses Trump's Obamacare implosion statement

During an interview with Fox News, Donald Trump's White House counselor, Kellyanne Conway, announced that Trump plans to release his decision sometime this week on whether the government will continue to aid insurance companies by giving them subsidies for lower-income families. 

Trump threatened Congress this Saturday by tweeting out that if they didn't pass some sort of Affordable Care Act replacement bill, then the government's payments to the insurance companies would stop. The subsidies (money granted by the government to help an industry or business) are currently being paid monthly. However, the insurance industry fears Trump may choose to end all the payments. 

United States Senator, Mitch McConnell, stated that it's "time to move on" after Trump faced a disagreement with Congress's votes. According to Conway, Trump "will not accept" those who think getting rid of the government's subsidies is a bad idea. Conway assured that the White House would continue to fight for our health care. 

This is an important decision that Donald Trump has to make, which affects the healthcare of millions of people. 

Links To Sources:

- http://www.politico.com/story/2017/07/30/conway-trump-obamacare-implode-241136

- http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/30/politics/kellyanne-conway-tom-price-obamacare/index.html

- http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/kellyanne-conway-trump-will-decide-next-week-if-administration-will-make-obamacare-cost-sharing-payments/article/2630121

Questions To Consider:

• Do you think President Donald Trump should end the subsidies now?
• Should President Trump leave the subsidies as they are and wait for the ACA to implode on its own?
• Do you think Congress should start to do its job and come up with a realistic alternative to the ACA before it implodes?

Trump’s Racist Decisions are Affecting the Youth of the U.S.

As many of us have seen on the news, a series of racist events have occurred with references to Donald Trump since he was elected president. Trump has no shame or problem owning up to his racist remarks, and he truly does believe that his hate is okay to spread around our extremely diverse country. Although the U.S. does and will always have a messy past and present of racism and discrimination to many races, after the election, there have been a number of incidents regarding Trump’s comments and opinions. The day after the election, students were filmed holding Trump sign and screaming “white power” in the halls of their high school.  Since this action, students have stayed home from this school because they are frightened by what might be said about their race. Schools are supposed to be a place where students can feel they are in a safe environment, and can express every aspect of themselves, including their race and culture. But in this situation and many other schools, students feel ashamed of their race which is something they cannot help or change. At another school, extremely racist graffiti was found in the boys’ bathroom on the day after the election with phrases regarding Trump. “Whites only”, “Trump Train”, and “white America” were only some of the biased words found in the bathroom. Students have said that they are terrified in their own school because of the comments and threats made meant to put them down because they are not white.

Trump has also been involved with lawsuits in the past because of discrimination against blacks and Puerto Ricans when in the real estate business. He hiked up the prices to almost twice the amount that he would give to a white person, when a black or Puerto Rican family was interested in buying one of the apartments. By doing this and bragging about it on live television, Trump is setting the example that discrimination is a positive aspect of life. Many middle school and high school students have watched small clips of Trump being racist and humiliate certain races by doing impressions and getting the white majority to laugh. When they see this behavior being displayed by an adult and see other adults laugh at it, the students think that their families and schools will be okay with them supporting and creating this unacceptable behavior.

Links for more information

http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/why-donald-trumps-racist-remarks-matter

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/11/13/a_list_of_racist_incidents_across_the_united_states_since_donald_trump_was.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/24/opinion/sunday/is-donald-trump-a-racist.html

Discussion Questions:

1. Why do you think a popular theory is that racism has been more acceptable since Donald Trump was elected?
2. What are some changes that need to be made with Donald Trump’s attitude when talking on live T.V.?
3. Do you think there is a way that the impact of Donald Trump’s decisions can stop affecting the opinions of the U.S. youth?

Trump Bans Transgender People From Serving in the Military

 

 

 

 

As many of you may have heard, President Donald Trump recently announced on July 26, 2017, on twitter that the U.S. government will not allow transgender people to serve in the U.S. military. This is shocking and frustrating news for everyone to consume. Below are the links to tweets Trump tweeted that explained the change he put forward...

 

Tweets-

 

part 1- https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890193981585444864

part 2- https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890196164313833472

part 3- https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/890197095151546369

 

With just a flash of a tweet, Trump banned transgender individuals completely in the U.S. military. Although gay marriage was recently legalized in 2015, along with more rights for the LGBT community, this crosses the line for rights for everyone.

 

Although this announcement is very sudden and tragic to some, this wasn't always the plan. When Obama was still in presidency last year, the Defense Apartment approved the policy of allowing transgender citizens to openly serve in the U.S military. This plan was then delayed by Defense Secretary James Mattis, who wanted to "negotiate a six-month extension to the original July 1 deadline."  All transgender individuals were suppose to be allowed to join the military, but getting delayed last month changed the whole situation. 

 

This snap decision made by Donald Trump effects both current and registering soldiers. According to Pentagon officials who told the Associated press in June, in the year since the ban was repealed, around 250 service members have applied to change their gender in the military's personnel system. This makes a huge decrease in individuals in the military. And as of incoming soldiers, more people may want to come out as transgender, but no longer are able to serve due to Trumps decision. In addition, according to a RAND research study in 2016, there were roughly to be "1,320 to 6,630 active transgender service members before the ban was lifted last year, and another approximately 1,500 on reserve." For people LGBT community there will be any controversial sides and protests for this event.

 

The health care aspect of this is that a study commissioned by the Defense Department came to a result that letting transgender people serve openly as their true self would have a "minimal impact" on readiness and health care costs, mostly due to the so few in the military's 1.3 million-member.

 

Everyone has different opinions on this topic and many rallies and protests are sprouting from this. The military is definitely changed from this snap decision made by Donald Trump. What side do you stand on and what is your opinion on this?

 

Below are links and videos that further explain his tweets, the effects of the snap decision, the health care effects and more.

 

Links for more information-

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-announces-ban-transgender-people-serving-military-n786621

 

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/26/politics/trump-military-transgender/index.html

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqhPO_vNScM

 

http://time.com/4874955/transgender-veterans-reaction-trump-military-ban/
 

*some links include videos*

 



 

 Questions for discussion-

• What do you think a transgender solider in the military thinks of this? How about someone who was going to join the military as transgender?
• Do you think this was a military decision or a decision made by President Trump and his own opinions?
• Do you agree with Trumps decision? If so why or why not?
• Do you think Trump made the right decision of banning transgender soldiers? If it is the right decision, how does it help the military?
• What do you think will happen to the transgender soldiers already in the military?

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Trumps Transgender Military Ban

On July 26th, President Donald J Trump took to twitter and shared to the world that "The United States Government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military" and started an outrage. During Trump's presidential campaign, he was all about protecting the rights of the LGBTQ Community but now that it comes down to following that promise he acts like he never even said it. 

Trump revealed the reason for the new ban and it is because the military "cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail." The RAND Corporation ran a study to see how much money actually went to transgender-related services. The study found that out of 49.3 billion dollars towards health care expenses, only 2.4-8.4 million dollars fell into the transgender services category. That's only .004%-.017% of the total dollars that go towards health care. 

Ex-Navy SEAL Kristin Beck, formerly known as Chris Beck, weighed in on Trump's new transgender law. When asked about how Trump's tweet made her feel she responded with, transgender people had "a safe space to come out and be free and live as we say Americans do, free and brave, and now you're going to bomb that safe area? It's disturbing." She also believed that with this big of a change in our world today, Trump should have held a press conference instead of just informing the world with three tweets.

Links for Further Explanation

• http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/26/opinions/kristin-beck-on-trump-transgender-tweet-opinion/index.html (Kristin Beck's Interview)
• https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/26/us/politics/trump-transgender-military.html
• http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/the-conversation/sd-why-trump-banned-transgender-military-20170726-htmlstory.html

Discussion Questions

1. Do you think if  President Donald Trump didn't send out these tweets and actually had a press conference to explain the decision that was made, would people be less upset about the whole situation? If you were the president and how to deliver this message, how would you?   
2. Do you agree with President Trump's decision and do you think it will be worth it in the long run just to save a few dollars?
3. Do you believe that the reason for this ban is to save more or is money just a cover to hide the real reason for the ban? 

I chose this current event because the LGBTQ community has taken a huge step forward and has gotten many things approved such a gay marriage being legalized in 2015 and transgender humans getting more human rights until now. On Wednesday, Trump and the government sent them backward by taking a stab at the transgender serving in the United States military and making this law. This event will not be current for a short amount of and it will affect many lives and decisions to come.  

North Korea's Nuclear Treat - What Can Trump Do?

North Korea's Nuclear Treat - What Can Trump Do?

North Korea launches second ICBM missile

On Friday, July 28, 2017, North Korea's second intercontinental ballistic missile, was detected at approximately 10:45 am ET. The missile flew for 45 minutes before splashing into the ocean 1000 km away from the launch site in Mupyong-ni. Landing Japan's exclusive economic zone, the missile was reported to not have damaged any vessels or aircraft. According to experts, the missile was capable of reaching the West Coast.

"The altitude is about 3,700 km and the flying distance is about 1,000 km. It is estimated that it was a more advanced type of an ICBM compared to the previous one based on the range," a statement to CNN said.

As a show of force, the US and South Korean military conducted a live fire exercise; firing missiles into the ocean. This was also seen during North Korea's first ICBM test in early July.

North Korea's ICBM program

According to the US intelligence community, North Korea's ICBM program has accelerated in the recent months.

The US believes that North Korea will be able to launch a reliable nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) by early 2018, a US official familiar with the latest intelligence assessment confirmed to CNN Wednesday.(CNN)

So what can Trump do?

"Threatening the world, these weapons and tests further isolate North Korea, weaken its economy, and deprive its people." Trump said in a written statement. "The United States will take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the American homeland and protect our allies in the region."

Now that we see that North Korea's threat is plausible due to recent launch tests and the acceleration of the regime's ICBM program, what can Trump do to slow them down?

1. Economic Pressure- By introducing sanctions, it will be difficult for North Korea to use the international financial system or for its businesses abroad to function. This would also mean that other countries would have to get involved- especially China, which accounts for 90% of North Korea's trade.

2. News- News from outside could be sneaked in to undermine the regime's control.

3. Military Force- Trump is willing to use military force. This will be costly in both lives and money.

Links

http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/28/politics/north-korea-missile-test/index.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/28/world/asia/north-korea-ballistic-missile.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/07/30/us-north-korea/523536001/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/28/north-korea-fires-missile-japan-reports-say

Discussion

What do you think about the newly tested ICBM? Do you think that the North Korean's military has built a missile that could reach the US?

What do you think US or other countries should do to stop the regime?

Do you think we will have to use military force later?

New White House Communications Director, Anthony Scaramucci, warns against White House leaks

Recently the White House has appointed a new Communications Director: Anthony Scaramucci. According to many sources, the amount of leaks have increased in the past few months. There has been 125 leaks in 126 days for Trump White House, unprecedented. Leaks can be documents, emails, memos, etc. In this case, these leaks are not supposed to be for public consumption. Scaramucci promises to fire these people from announcing the leaks to the media/public. He does, in fact, have “‘the authority from the president to do that’” (Fox News).

These leaks that are getting out to the public is restraining our protection from the government. It's dangerous! According to Fox News, “Scaramucci also claimed that some leaks from other executive agencies came from what he called ‘political holdovers from the Obama administration that want to put a hurt on the Trump administration.’”

Sources for Further Reading

Scaramucci on White House leaks: 'We're going to let people go if we have to'-from Fox News (video included)

Sessions to announce investigations into intelligence leaks: source-from Fox News (video included)

Discussion Questions

-What types of leaks do you think justify someone being fired?

-Who do you think is doing the most damaging leaking?

-What do u think will happen to our union if the situation is solved?

More of Trump and Russia

I chose this video because in my opinion it's quite humorous. Putin banning a toy from Russia because he believes they're against him? 2017 is truly full of surprises. The point that Trevor brings up is very good: why does Trump want us to stop talking about Russia if he keeps in contact with Putin and poorly covers it up?

I think everyone has a right to be afraid of what Trump may do. As Putin said in the video clip, "He is a very open person," so will he spill America's secrets to the rest of the world?

Questions for Discussion

• Do you think Trump will leak America's secrets to other countries? Why or why not?
• Do you think there's anything sketchy going on with Trump and Putin? Why or why not?
• Will Trump ever cut ties with Russia?