I was disappointed when Trump pardoned the former Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, Joe Arpaio. The pardon was upsetting, but more importantly I was angry that the television media refused to attack Trump for forgiving the sins of a true criminal.

The crime Arpaio was to be punished for was refusing to obey an order from a federal court. However, Arpaio is well-known as one of America’s most infamous racists and bigots. He ordered the torture of Hispanics in his jail. Three deaths of men in his custody have been attributed to his neglect and severe forms of punishment. When rapes were reported in the Hispanic community in his district, he was slow to take action, even when the rape of a minor was involved.

Recently Trump attempted to intervene in the punishment of a Navy SEAL; Chief Petty Officer Eddie Gallagher.

To understand the seriousness of Trump’s unwarranted attempt, we must first look at the fact that Trump was a draft dodger. His father, Fred, paid for deferments which kept Donny Boy out of the Vietnam War.

Just days ago, Navy SEALS  who served with Gallagher offered their opinions about his character, or lack of. They described him as ‘just plain evil,’ and considered him unfit to be a member of their team.

During an appearance on MSNBC Saturday afternoon, retired U.S. Army General Barry R. McCaffrey said President Donald Trump’s behavior was such that “if he was a general court martial authority, two-star general, we’d fire him.”

McCaffrey retired in 2001 as a four-star general with three purple hearts. He said that Trump’s interference in Gallagher’s court martial made the situation a “real mess.”

Trump’s efforts included removing Gallagher from detention during the court martial proceedings although the former SEAL threatened to kill witnesses who testified against him.

In November, Trump ordered Gallagher’s reinstatement and forbade any officer from discharging him. The back and forth process resulted in the resignation of Secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer.

“We’re left with a question of—the Uniform Code of Military Justice is a law passed by Congress—it’s not the White House’s law. It’s not the Pentagon’s law. It’s a congressional system of justice, and it works pretty well. And I think we’ve seen command influence by President Trump in a manner that if he was a general court martial authority, two-star general, we’d fire him. So we got a real problem,” McCaffrey said on MSNBC.

I was in the United States Air Force. I cannot believe that a draft dodger is allowed to have the position of Commander-in-Chief. This is an insult to every man and woman who serves in our military. He cannot be allowed to overstep his authority when he knows nothing at all about the interior workings of our armed services.

Trump is a disgrace to all 44 presidents who preceded him; and some of those men were unfit to be the President of the United States.

I suppose we should accept who he is and what he is not. He told us before his illegitimate election that he ‘knows everything about everything,’ and that he ‘knows more than our generals.’ Really; I can’t make this shit up.

“The Truth Lives Here”

Op-ed by James Turnage

SOURCE

Image courtesy of DonkeyHotey

My seven novels are only available on Amazon; CLICK HERE