An Open Letter To Trump From A Gold Star Mother

(caricature of Donald Trump is by DonkeyHotey.)

Donald Trump has been more interested in arguing with Gold Star families than respecting their sacrifice -- both in the campaign and recently. This doesn't sit well with other Gold Star families. The following is an open letter from a Gold Star mother to Trump:

My son was killed in Iraq. Here’s my message to Trump:

On October 4th, 2017, four of our troops were killed in an ambush in Niger. For twelve long days, we didn’t hear a word from this Commander in Chief. Twelve days. Total silence.

On Monday, he said he was “too busy” to pay respects to the Gold Star families (although he had plenty of time for golfing, sabotaging our health care, and trying to ban Muslims). Finally, last night, he called one of the grieving mothers. But instead of offering sympathy and remorse, he callously said that her son, SGT La David Johnson, “knew what he signed up for.”

This is beyond the pale, even for Trump. When my son, SGT Jason Alan Schumann, was killed in Iraq 10 years ago, George W. Bush sent me a heartfelt letter. Now we have a president who degrades our fallen heroes, then calls their mourning families liars on Twitter.

This goes so far beyond party politics. Trump is a dangerous liar. He fabricated the truth on national television by claiming no previous president ever reached out to Gold Star families. He tried to use fallen heroes to score political points. Now, after saying La David Johnson should’ve known better, Trump is accusing a Gold Star widow and a Gold Star mother of making the story up.

When George W. Bush contacted me, he didn’t brag about it. He did so quietly. When Barack Obama met fallen soldiers at the airbase in Dover, he didn’t take to Twitter or turn it into a politicized photo-op. I may have disagreed with Bush, but at least he was respectful, humble, and dutiful.

To say I’m sickened by Trump’s remarks would be an understatement. And I know, with certainty, that my son would be utterly disgusted too. Not just by Trump’s remarks this week, but by Trump’s entire platform of bigotry, hate, and divisiveness. That isn’t the kind of country he swore an oath to protect. That’s not the kind of country he fought and died for.

Thank you,
Candie Glisson
Gold Star mother

Trump Lied About Contacting Gold Star Families

(Cartoon image is by Dave Granlund at davegranlund.com.)

It will probably come as no surprise to most of you, but Donald Trump was lying when he said he had contacted most or all of the families of soldiers slain on his watch. Consider this article by John Donnelly in Roll Call -- part of which is posted below:

In the hours after President Donald Trump said on an Oct. 17 radio broadcast that he had contacted nearly every family that had lost a military servicemember this year, the White House was hustling to learn from the Pentagon the identities and contact information for those families, according to an internal Defense Department email.

The email exchange, which has not been previously reported, shows that senior White House aides were aware on the day the president made the statement that it was not accurate — but that they should try to make it accurate as soon as possible, given the gathering controversy.

Not only had the president not contacted virtually all the families of military personnel killed this year, the White House did not even have an up-to-date list of those who had been killed.

The exchange between the White House and the Defense secretary’s office occurred about 5 p.m. on Oct. 17. The White House asked the Pentagon for information about surviving family members of all servicemembers killed after Trump’s inauguration so that the president could be sure to contact all of them.

Capt. Hallock Mohler, the executive secretary to Defense Secretary James Mattis, provided the White House with information in the 5 p.m. email about how each servicemember had died and the identity of his or her survivors, including phone numbers.

The email’s subject line was, “Condolence Letters Since 20 January 2017.”

Mohler indicated in the email that he was responding to a request from the president’s staff for information through Ylber Bajraktari, an aide on the National Security Council. The objective was to figure out who among so-called Gold Star families of the fallen Trump had yet to call. Mohler’s email said that the president’s aides “reached out to Ylber looking for the following ASAP from DOD.”

Trump had said in a Fox News Radio interview earlier that day that he had contacted the families of “virtually everybody” in the military who had been killed since he was inaugurated.

“I have called, I believe, everybody — but certainly I’ll use the word virtually everybody,” Trump said.

Since then, the Associated Press contacted 20 families and found that half had not heard from Trump. It is not clear how many of the families that have heard from the president received the calls this week, since the controversy over his contacts with military families erupted. It is not clear when the White House first asked for data on Gold Star families, but it is clear that the answers had not been provided before Tuesday. . . .

The White House-Pentagon email scramble Tuesday undermines the veracity of Trump’s statement about his record of contacting all Gold Star families. The internal document also sheds light on how the White House staff, on this and other occasions, has had to go into damage-control mode when the president makes inaccurate statements.

"This Guy Has The Empathy Of A Cockroach"

(This caricature of "patriot" Donald Trump is by DonkeyHotey.)

Donald Trump has made a joke of demonstrating for equality recently, posing as a great patriot by denigrating those who kneel during the anthem. It has nothing to do with patriotism though -- just an effort to change the subject and make himself look good. He doesn't realize that standing for the anthem doesn't show patriotism -- supporting and defending the Constitution does.

But Trump doesn't really care about supporting our troops or their families. He demonstrated that when he attacked the Khans (a Gold Star family) during the 2016 campaign.

And like a leopard, he doesn't seem to be able to change his "spots". Four American soldiers were ambushed and killed in Niger. Two weeks later, Trump had not tweeted a word about that, and even worse, had not contacted the families of those soldiers.

When asked about that by the press, Trump immediately tried to pass the blame for his inaction by saying that previous presidents had not called the families of fallen soldiers. That was exposed as an outrageous lie by members of both the Bush II and Obama administrations. Both of those presidents contacted the Gold Star families and showed respect and caring for the soldiers and their families.

Trump also said he had contacted all of the families of fallen soldiers. That was also exposed as a lie, as members of several families said Trump had not contacted them in any form.

It turns out that actually may have been for the best. When Trump contacted the wife of Army Sgt. La David Johnson, he commented that the soldier "knew what he signed up for". He was supposed to be consoling the family on behalf of the nation -- not chiding them. His unfeeling comment was reported by Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Florida), who was with the widow when Trump called.

Trump could have apologized for his uncaring behavior, but his rampant narcissism won't let him do that (or ever admit he's made a mistake). Instead, he resorted to his favorite tactic -- LYING. he claimed he never said that. But the mother  of Sgt. Johnson backed up Rep. Wilson, and said, Trump "did disrespect my son and my daughter and also me and my husband".

Trump's behavior shames himself and our nation -- and certainly is not proper behavior for a president. Phil Mudd, former director of the CIA's CounterTerrorist Center, puts it best when he said:

This guy has the empathy of a cockroach. From the day after his inauguration when he showed up at my former agency, the CIA, in front of the wall of fallen heroes, and spoke about the size of his inauguration. Fast-forwarding now nine months, and he can’t figure out his responsibility not only as the Commander-in-Chief, but as the consoler-in-chief.

Father Of Slain Navy SEAL Refused To Meet With Trump

(Photo of Bill Owns holding a picture of his son Ryan is from The Miami Herald.)

Donald Trump ordered an attack by Navy SEAL's in Yemen after being president only a few days. He did this even though military officials counseled against it. The he didn't even bother to go to the Situation Room in the White House when that raid was conducted, preferring instead to sleep. That raid went wrong. A Navy SEAL (William "Ryan" Owens) was killed along with many innocent civilians -- and the target of the raid was not apprehended or killed. Although the White House labeled the raid a success, it was really a monumental failure.

When the body of the slain SEAL was returned to Dover Air Force Base, His father (Bill Owner) was informed that Trump would be there and wanted to meet with the family. Mr. Owns refused, saying:

“I’m sorry, I don’t want to see him. I told them I didn’t want to make a scene about it, but my conscience wouldn’t let me talk to him.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article135064074.html#storylink=cpy

Owens told The Miami Herald that he had been upset at the very disrespectful treatment Trump had given another Gold Star family during the presidential campaign (Khizr and Ghazala Khan). While Trump spoke with some other family members, Owens and his wife sat in another room.

Owens is also offended by the White House trying to use his son to prevent an investigation of the ill-fated Yemen raid. The White House has said an investigation would dishonor the memory of the slain SEAL. Owens does not agree. He says:

“Don’t hide behind my son’s death to prevent an investigation. I want an investigation. … The government owes my son an investigation.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article135064074.html#storylink=cpy

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Speaks Out On Presidential Race

Many people have spoken out about Donald Trump's anti-muslim bias, and his attacks of a Gold Star family who are  muslims. But one of the best responses I've read was written for Time magazine by former NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Yahoo News).

Here is what he had to say:

Khizr Khan’s impassioned speech last week at the Democratic National Convention about the heroics of his Muslim-American son didn’t just shame Donald Trump’s crude lack of American values—it reminded us of a quaint concept that we haven’t paid too much attention to lately: sacrifice. Since John F. Kennedy in his 1961 inaugural speech encouraged Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” we haven’t really had much of a national discussion about the role sacrifice plays in maintaining a free society.

Mr. Khan reminded us of that noble ideal when he talked about his son, Army Capt. Humayun S.M. Khan, a Muslim-American who sacrificed his own life in Iraq in 2004 to save other soldiers. Mr. Khan, of Pakistani heritage, had moved to the U.S. in the 1970s for “freedom and opportunity,” the two ideals that Americans feel proudest of providing. Mr. Khan told us that had it been up to Trump, his son never would have been permitted into the country.

“Have you ever been to Arlington cemetery?” he said directly to Trump.“Go look at the graves of brave patriots who died defending the United States of America. You will see all faiths, genders and ethnicities. You have sacrificed nothing and no one.” Mr. Khan’s passion for justice was contagious, but his story of sacrifice was as inspiring as JFK’s call to action. Days after Mr. Khan brandished his pocket edition of the U.S. Constitution, that same edition became the number two bestseller on Amazon (behind the new Harry Potter book), 80,000 copies were downloaded through the American Civil Liberties Union and views of the National Constitution Center’s Interactive Constitution increased by 16 percent. Mr. Khan had made the U.S. Constitution hip again.

The Khan family’s national presence couldn’t have come at a better time for America—and for me personally.

Although I have been politically active for most of my life, especially in civil rights, this year’s Democratic National Convention was my first. I was excited to contribute, but a part of me had been disheartened in the months leading up to the convention. I had begun to feel like America was trapped in a nightmarish Alien sequel, with Donald Trump starring as the toothy creature who feeds on America’s insides until bloated with our vital organs, ultimately destroying the host.

Much of my dystopian despair was the result of watching the Republican National Convention. I observed with shock and embarrassment mobs of people rally behind a man who gazes out at America with eyes, as Yeats put it, “as blank and pitiless as the sun.” My anguish wasn’t a left wing-right wing thing or blind loyalty to a particular party. It was a patriotic thing. I liked to believe that these conventions were about groups coming together to create a platform that reflected us striving to be our best selves—our most humane, most “American” selves. We would discuss how we could go forth in the coming four years applying the principles of the U.S. Constitution by choosing a person to champion those principles. Instead, I was standing by watching in HD clarity while reasoned loyalty was being set ablaze by combustive rhetoric, as if it were a witch being burned at the stake.

So when I arrived at the DNC, I worried that this going to be just another exercise in preaching to the choir. The lines had been drawn, the sides already chosen. However, I met so many enthusiastic and hopeful people who were dedicated to bringing about their vision of a diverse and inclusive American society that I couldn’t help but get caught up in their enthusiasm. No one was talking about who we hate, who we should blame, who we should exclude, who we should punish. They were talking about justice, freedom, and opportunity. All of that was well and good, but I couldn’t shake the knowledge that a whole lot of Americans supported the man who contradicted a whole lot of American values.

But all that apprehension fell away as soon as I heard Khizr Khan speak.

Whatever doubts, depression, or disgust I felt before were washed away by Mr. Khan. I realized that Capt. Khan’s sacrifice—as well as the sacrifices made by so many others to protect our Constitution—demanded that we don’t indulge in lazy melancholy or hipster cynicism, but work twice as hard to make sure those sacrifices are not in vain. The day after Mr. Khan’s speech, Trump responded in the typical non-sequitur fashion: “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices… I’ve created thousands and thousands of jobs, tens of thousands of jobs, built great structures. I’ve done, I’ve had tremendous success.”

So, my first time attending the DNC changed me. But the Khan family and other courageous people have rejuvenated and invigorated me for the fight ahead. Because it’s a fight that must be won. No matter the sacrifice.

Donald Trump makes A Huge Mistake - Again

(Caricature of "The Donald" is by DonkeyHotey.)

Donald Trump has stepped in it again, and it doesn't look like the stink will go away anytime soon. By attacking khazir and Ghazala Khan, the parents of a U.S. Army Captain who gave his life in Iraq saving his comrades (receiving a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart), Trump has earned the ire of nearly everyone. That includes the VFW (normally partial to GOP candidates), Gold Star families, and even his fellow Republicans. Here are what they had to say about Trump's inexcusable statements:

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

“Election year or not, the VFW will not tolerate anyone berating a Gold Star family member for exercising his or her right of speech or expression.” 

“There are certain sacrosanct subjects that no amount of wordsmithing can repair once crossed. Giving one’s life to nation is the greatest sacrifice, followed closely by all Gold Star families, who have a right to make their voices heard.”

17 Gold Star Families

You recent comments regarding the Khan family were repugnant, and personally offensive to us. When you question a mother's pain, by implying that her religion, not her grief, kept her from addressing an arena of people, you are attacking us. When you say your job building buildings is akin to our sacrifice, you are attacking our sacrifice.

You are not just attacking us, you are cheapening the sacrifice made by those we lost.

Senator John McCain

 "While our party has bestowed upon him the nomination, it is not accompanied by unfettered license to defame those who are the best among us."

"I cannot emphasize enough how deeply I disagree with Mr. Trump’s statement. I hope Americans understand that the remarks do not represent the views of our Republican Party, its officers or candidates."

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

"All Americans should value the patriotic service of the patriots who volunteer to selflessly defend us in the armed services. And as I have long made clear, I agree with the Khans and families across the country that a travel ban on all members of a religion is simply contrary to American values."

Speaker Paul Ryan

"America's greatness is built on the principles of liberty and preserved by the men and women who wear the uniform to defend it. As I have said on numerous occasions, a religious test for entering our country is not reflective of these fundamental values. I reject it.

"Many Muslim Americans have served valiantly in our military and made the ultimate sacrifice. Capt. Khan was one such brave example. His sacrifice — and that of Khizr and Ghazala Khan — should always be honored. Period."

Senator Sue Collins

"No one should criticize grieving parents who have lost a son in combat. Capt. Khan was an American hero."

Senator Lindsey Graham

"If you're going to be leader of the free world, you have to be able to accept criticism. Mr. Trump can't. The problem is, 'unacceptable' doesn't even begin to describe it." 

The smart thing would be for Trump to apologize to the Khans, all Gold Star families, and all Americans. But Trump's huge ego (i.e., narcissism) won't allow him to do that. He never apologizes, even when it would be the best thing to do.

Do we really want this fool to become president?