TZUTC: -0400   
   MSGID: 13929.fidoallpolit@1:129/165 24035bb2   
   REPLY: 4018.fido_allpolit@1:124/5016 23bca36f   
   PID: Synchronet 3.16a-Win32  Nov 27 2014 MSC 1800   
   TID: SBBSecho 2.27-Win32 r1.256 Nov 27 2014 MSC 1800   
     Re: Re: Weakling   
     By: Dennis Katsonis to Lee Lofaso on Tue Sep 08 2020 09:16 am   
      
   I can list a few ways that Trump being president has tangibly and negatively   
   affected my life in a real way!   
   Under Obama, LGBT individuals such as myself had federal legal protections   
   against discrimination. LGBT students could feel safe in public - they could   
   use public restrooms without fear of legal action being taken against them -   
   something that should be a basic human right for all Americans. LGBT employees   
   had federal non-discrimination protections. Transgender persons could   
   participate in the Armed Services.  I could go on. Thanks to Trump, all of that   
   has been reversed and then some. He's actually gone as far as to legally   
   "disappear" transgender people by redefining gender in the legal context as an   
   un-changeable binary determined by a doctor's glance at birth that can never be   
   changed or modified on any legal documents recognized by his government.  While   
   I haven't been arrested for using a public restroom nor have I been discharged   
   from service or fired because of who I am, knowing that those are the rules of   
   the land has profoundly affected my psyche and self-esteem. I feel vastly   
   less-safe as an LGBT American than I did under Obama - I feel at-risk when I go   
   to work, when I go shopping, when I pay my bills, when I fill out forms, and   
   very much so when I see a doctor or seek any sort of medical care.   
   When Trump was elected, I knew it would be bad for LGBT Americans but he's done   
   more to hurt us than I'd even imagined. His words when he asked the Supreme   
   Court to rule that LGBT Americans have no legal protections against   
   discrimination - and lost the case - "It's unfortunate. It's very unfortunate."   
   So I have to live with knowing that the leader of my country believes it's very   
   unfortunate that he couldn't officially legalize discrimination against people   
   like myself.   
   ... and now that he's installed his pet, Amy, into the Supreme Court, that   
   decision is likely to be overturned - along with dismantling the Affordable   
   Care Act that protects 30 million Americans with health care in the middle of a   
   pandemic, not to mention women's rights. Roe vs. Wade? Gone, just a matter of   
   time. Regardless of how you feel about abortion, I submit that taking away the   
   right of every woman to make that decision for herself after decades of the   
   status quo represents a monumental step backwards in terms of personal rights   
   and freedoms - well, rights not pertaining to straight white men, that is. But   
   I'm getting off-topic so I'll return to my premise and conclude that yes, my   
   life is much worse than it was when Obama was in charge. I think that actually   
   applies to the vast majority of Americans, as COVID does not represent an   
   anomoly - it's not an external event that has nothing to do with Trump's   
   leadership as he'd like you to think - it's a direct result of his empowerment!   
   Consider this: China tried to hide the SARS outbreak of 2008 just as they tried   
   t hide COVID but American agents and the CDC played a major role in exposing   
   the truth in time to stem the spread. However in 2019, the president of the   
   United States was praising China's leadership and even in early 2020 he was on   
   TV commending China's efforts in dealing with the virus - assuring us it was   
   not threat to America.  Forget everything he's done to hamper the efforts to   
   get the virus under control since it exploded in America... I submit that it's   
   the fault of himself and his global influence that this thing ever got out of   
   control worldwide in the first place! He's done a 180 on China by calling it   
   the "China virus," well I say we call it the "Trump virus!"  To that end, Trump   
   has made all of our lives SO much worse, worldwide!   
   --- SBBSecho 2.27-Win32   
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