#150) What A Week

July 28, 2017

Dear Mr. President,

You've certainly had a hell of a week and here's my two cent's worth about it…

John McCain's Cancer Diagnosis:

I wish him a speedy recovery.  Thank goodness he gets high quality, free health care through his work…that's certainly not true for most Americans (hint, hint).

New White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci:

I guess Sean Spicer 's concerns about this guy were legit.  Bringing him on board was a bad decision. Is this really the match you want to drop into that powder keg of a White House, because it looks to me like a disaster just waiting to happen. Not only can a house divided against its self not stand, but he is also totally crazy and unqualified.  Over and over again you are drawn toward using shock and chaos as tools but that's really not working very well for you (I don't know why you haven't realized this yet).  Maybe it’s time for some class, tact, diplomacy and skill in your communications department.  Just a thought.

Transgender People Banned from Military Service:

Umm, I hate to tell you this, but a tweet is just a statement of opinion.  It is not a law, a policy, a piece of legislation, or an executive order (even when it comes from the president).  I love that you released it when Defense Secretary Mattis was on vacation – super smooth move.  Gen. Mattis obviously didn't know you were going to do this.  Nobody at the Pentagon knew you were going to do this. Gen. Joseph Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, didn't know you were going to do this.  So when you said, "After consultation with my Generals and military experts…"who, exactly, were you referring to? Because these tweets blindsided everyone who should have been in the know.

One of your arguments for a transgender ban was the cost of their medical care which is about $8 million per year (for an estimated 6,000 soldiers).  Just to keep things in perspective for you, the US military spends about $42 million per year on Viagra alone. The military also spent $300 million last year on advertising and recruitment of about 6,000 soldiers.  So any cost savings you may generate from dropping transgender medical care will be overshadowed by the cost of replacing them.  (This doesn't even account for the cost of training, educating, housing and outfitting 6,000 new soldiers.) Duh.  Also, it's just the wrong thing to do. 

Gen. Martin Dempsey, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said it best when he said, "The service of men and women who volunteer and who meet our standards of service is a blessing, not a burden."

Escalation of Violence in Jerusalem:

Since two Israeli policemen were killed at the Al Aqsa mosque two weeks ago there has been a steady and deadly escalation of violence there.  Thousands of Palestinian Muslims are heading to Al Aqsa for Friday prayers and to send a message to the Israeli government.  I thought you had a grand plan for peace in Jerusalem?  What happened to that?  And where is Jason Greenblatt, your long time lawyer and personal friend who you put in charge of negotiating peace in that area?  I haven’t heard anything from him in quite a while.  Maybe it's because he has no diplomatic training or education and is completely over his head.

Russian Sanctions:

In a near unanimous vote (98-2 in the Senate and 419-3 in the House) Congress agreed to a bill with multiple sanctions against Russia.  But the most important thing about this bill isn't the sanctions, it's that it limits your ability to veto, override, or generally meddle with it.  So this was basically a vote of no confidence in your judgment and leadership.  This was Congress all agreeing to cut you out of any big decisions related to Russia.  Ouch.  And they did it so quickly and quietly…that's got to tell you something.  It certainly tells me something.

Boy Scout Jamboree:

Your speech to the Boy Scouts was a national embarrassment and absolutely disgraceful.  I was happy and grateful to read the apology from Michael Surbaugh, Chief Executive for the Boy Scouts but you should be ashamed that he had to apologize on your behalf.

Senate Health Care Bill:

I think Mitch McConnell summed it up best when he said, "It's time to move on."  (Finally, something he and I both agree on!)  Also, I wrote Sen. John McCain this morning to thank him for voting against the repeal bill last night and praised his call to return to a more standard committee process.  I like that guy.

Sincerely,

Amy Beaton

P.S.  Why, exactly, does the military spend so much on Viagra?