President Thinks Midshipmen At Naval Academy Are Incompetent

In the newspaper this morning I read an article by the AP about 381 books being removed from the library at the Naval Academy.

The article said Navy officials used a key word search and identified about 900 books that looked to be problematic and then pared that number down to 381 which were removed from the library.

According to Cmdr. Tim Hawkins, Navy spokesman, "Nearly 400 books were removed from the Nimitz Library to comply with directives outlined in Executive Orders issued by the President."

So the President believes that future leaders of our military and country are not competent enough to make their own decisions about what they should read.   I think I know who is not competent and it is not the Midshipmen.  

 

Below is a definition of DEI.  Given that U.S. military members come from all over our diverse country and often have to work shoulder to shoulder with allies from around the world, does DEI really sound like such radical ideas we need to hide them from people?

Diversity includes all the ways in which people differ, encompassing the different characteristics that make one individual or group different from another.

Equity is the fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups.

Inclusion is the act of creating environments in which any individual or group can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate.

"Hands Off" Rally

My wife and I joined a "Hands Off" rally yesterday.  It was satisfying and enjoyable.  We took some quickly made signs (unfortunately not very water proof) and joined about 1,300 people on the shoulder of a very busy four lane street.  I think the crowd stretched more than a quarter mile.

It was cold and rainy,  but that didn't dampen the spirits of the many people there.  A lot of cars drove by.  Many honked their horns, waved and gave us thumbs up as they went by.  We waved back.  I saw some one finger salutes.  I also smiled and waved at these people.  That is what free speech is about.

People walked behind the crowd  and took pictures of us and our signs.  I again smiled and waved.  

Some days the torrent of unconstitutional, illegal, incompetent, immoral and corrupt actions we see coming from the Trump administration and Republican politicians can be very depressing.  It felt good to be doing something in public.  To stand up and say I think what you are doing is wrong.

What I was amazed by was the number of cars that had a person or two with their windows down and their phones up videoing the whole line of protesters.  I've never had so many people want a picture of me.