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Air Force Academy Superintendent: If You Can’t Respect Your Peers, You Need To Get Out

Lt. Gen. Jay Siveria

It’s been several months since we saw outright, stone-cold leadership.

And so, I give you Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, the superintendent of the Air Force Academy.

On Wednesday, the mother of a student at the Air Force Academy Preparatory School posted a photo of a whiteboard outside her son’s room. A message had been scrawled on the board: “Go home n*****.”

The same message was written on five Black cadets’ boards.

The incident is being investigated, but in the meantime Lt. Gen. Silveria assembled all 4000 cadets and cadet candidates, instructors, and officers.

From the New York Times:

The head of the Air Force Academy delivered a resounding message on Thursday in response to racial slurs that were found on the academy’s campus, saying that if students could not treat their peers of different races with respect, “then you need to get out.”

In a five-minute address in front of the academy’s 4,000 cadets and 1,500 staff members, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria affirmed the Air Force’s belief in “the power of diversity” and insisted that “small thinking and horrible ideas” had no place there.

He was responding to racial slurs that were found on the dormitory message boards of five black students at a preparatory school on the academy’s campus on Monday, said the academy, which is investigating.

“If you’re outraged by those words then you’re in the right place,” General Silveria said. “You should be outraged not only as an airman, but as a human being.”

“If you can’t treat someone from another gender with dignity and respect, then you need to get out,” he said. “If you demean someone in any way, you need to get out. If you can’t treat someone from another race, or different color skin, with dignity and respect, then you need to get out.”

Please note the calm, strong focus in Silveria’s eyes and the absolute confident tone of his voice. This man is speaking from his core.

This is how a leader addresses racism.

This man is a leader.

I highly encourage you (and Donald Trump) to watch the full five minute clip below.

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U.S. Census Reverses On Deleting Sexual Orientation Question

From the National LGBTQ Task Force:

Today, the US Census Bureau reversed a previous decision to exclude a question on sexual orientation from the Census Barriers, Attitudes and Motivators Study. In response to this victory, Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National LGBTQ Task Force, issued the following statement.

“Make no mistake – public pressure on the Trump Administration works. It was messages from the members of the National LGBTQ Task Force and our partner organizations that compelled the Census Bureau to reverse their appalling decision to stop counting us.

“Thanks to the efforts of people across the country, the Census will continue collecting data about sexual orientation. We also will continue to push them to collect data about gender identity. Data about the LGBTQ community is absolutely crucial to ensuring that we are distributed the resources we need, that we are represented, and that the most vulnerable in our community are protected.”

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Julia Louis-Dreyfus: “1 In 8 Women Get Breast Cancer. Today I’m The One”

Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus shared the news today that she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Via Twitter she shared a note that read, “1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one. The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union. The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let’s fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality.”

The actress received the diagnosis a day after winning the Emmy Award for “Best Actress in a Comedy” on September 17.

More from The Hollywood Reporter:

According to HBO, the diagnosis had no bearing in the decision to renew Veep for its final season. HBO will adjust the show’s production schedule as needed.

“Our love and support go out to Julia and her family at this time,” the network said in a statement to THR. “We have every confidence she will get through this with her usual tenacity and undaunted spirit, and look forward to her return to health and to HBO for the final season of Veep.”

The award-winning comedy series will come to an end in 2018 with its seventh season. “We don’t want to repeat ourselves or wear out our welcome. The story has a finality to it that feels end-of-series,” the actress previously told THR. “I struggled with it. And then it just hit me. It’s hard to say goodbye to such a good thing.”

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Poll: Trump Drops 4 Points After NFL Tweets & Slow Reaction To Help Puerto Rico

Gallup’s daily tracking poll on Donald Trump’s job approval took a 4 point dive after he went after NFL players who kneeled during the national anthem.

Or was it his glacial pace to help Puerto Rico?

On September 23, Trump’s approval stood at 40% with 54% disapproving.

But by September 27 he had dropped to 36% approval with 59% disapproval.

#LifeComesAtYouFast

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Trumps Sends Dog Whistle: NFL Owners Are “Afraid Of Their Players”

Days after Donald Trump sparked a national controversy over NFL players taking a knee during the national anthem before football games, Trump now sounds a very audible dog whistle saying NFL owners are “afraid of their players.”

From the Washington Post:

President Trump said in an interview broadcast Thursday that NFL owners are “afraid of their players,” his latest provocative comments in a crusade against those who take a knee during the national anthem.

Trump urged the football league to adopt and enforce a rule that requires players to stand during the anthem He said he has talked in recent days to several team owners, who he said are “in a box” on the issue.

“I think they’re afraid of their players if you want to know the truth, and I think it’s disgraceful,” Trump said in an interview broadcast of Fox News’s “Fox & Friends.” “They’ve got to be tough, and they’ve got to be smart.”

Washington Post sports columnist Kevin Blackistone explains why NFL players are taking a knee, and how Trump has high-jacked the movement for his own uses.

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Rep. Steve Scalise Returns To Capitol Hill 3 Months After Being Shot

Three months after being shot at a Republican baseball practice on June 14, Rep. Steve Scalise returned to Capitol Hill receiving a standing ovation as he entered the House.

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CDC: Undetectable HIV Viral Load Means Untransmittable

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have issued a statement, finally agreeing with major HIV organizations, that says when an HIV+ person’s viral load is undetectable, there’s virtually zero chance of transmission of the virus to an uninfected person.

Scientific advances have shown that antiretroviral therapy (ART) preserves the health of people living with HIV.

We also have strong evidence of the prevention effectiveness of ART. When ART results in viral suppression, defined as less than 200 copies/ml or undetectable levels, it prevents sexual HIV transmission.

Across three different studies, including thousands of couples and many thousand acts of sex without a condom or pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), no HIV transmissions to an HIV-negative partner were observed when the HIV-positive person was virally suppressed.

This means that people who take ART daily as prescribed and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner.

HIV experts cheered the announcement.

From HIV Plus Magazine:

That is a remarkable statement, as Bruce Richman, executive director of UequalsU.org and the Prevention Access Campaign tells us. “This is the moment we have been waiting for! The CDC agreed today there is ‘effectively no risk’ of sexually transmitting HIV when on treatment and undetectable.”

Now, Richman adds, “It’s time to make history and share this news!” He calls on other HIV and LGBT organizations to join “nearly 400 organizations from 56 countries that have signed on as part of a growing and vibrant U=U Community Partner network. Resources on U=U messaging in the U.S. and around the world as well as the related issues of unequal access, social determinants of health, and HIV criminalization are on our website.”

And in related news, Alexander Cheves over at The Advocate has a snappy piece titled “27 Reasons You Should Date an HIV+ Man Right Now.”

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Poll: 56% Of Americans Say Trump “Not Fit To Serve As President”

There’s no good news for Donald Trump in the latest poll from Quinnipiac University:

• 56% say Trump is not “fit to serve as president;” 42% disagree

• 57% disapprove of the job he is doing as president; 36% approve

• 62% disapprove of his handling of race relations; 32% approve

• 69% say Trump should kick his Twitter habit; 26% disagree

• 51% say they are embarrassed to have him as president; 27% disagree

• 59% feel he is not honest

• 60% say he doesn’t have good leadership skills

• 67% say he is not “level headed”

More at the link.

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Playboy Magazine Founder Hugh Hefner Dead At 91

The founder of Playboy Magazine, Hugh Hefner, died at his Playboy Mansion in West Los Angeles at the age of 91.

In 1953, he turned an initial $600 investment into a worldwide brand.

More than a magazine, Hefner was an advocate and hero of the sexual revolution.

Via Variety:

The media mogul’s influence went far beyond publishing — he created the sexual revolution nearly single-handedly (with some help from the advent of the birth control pill and the rise of feminism).

After starting the status quo-shattering Playboy magazine in 1953, Hefner went on to launch TV and film companies, finance documentaries, and preside over the Hollywood social scene from his bubbling Jacuzzi at the mansion, a frequent location for industry events. The mansion, which had became somewhat run-down, was sold in 2016, but the terms of the sale specified that he was allowed to live there until his death.

He is survived by his wife, Crystal, and four grown children: Christie, who served as CEO of Playboy Enterprise for more than 20 years, David, Marston, and Cooper, who currently serves as Chief Creative Officer at the company.

Hefner was a longtime supporter of causes including First Amendment rights; he donated money toward the restoration of the Hollywood sign and to USC’s film school, and at times supported the Democratic Party. He formed the Playboy Foundation in 1965 to fight censorship and support research into sexuality.

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Trump Unveils His Tax Reform Proposal

With a passive/aggressive boast that “it’s not good for me,” Donald Trump introduced his proposed tax reform plan at a rally in Indiana.

Note: he prefers everyone call it “tax cuts” for better marketing. That should tell you something right off the bat.

Here are the main details you should know:

The current 7 tax brackets would become just three consisting of 12%, 25%, and 35%. The current top rate is 39.6% and the lowest rate is 10%.

While that’s an uptick for the lowest income Americans, Trump says that would be offset by doubling the current standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and to $24,000 for married couples. That would also simplify the complex process of itemized deductions for millions.

Most itemized deductions would also be eliminated, but would preserve deductions for mortgage interest expenses, charitable giving, as well as retaining incentives for education and retirement savings plans.

Trump’s proposal also includes the option of adding a fourth higher rate above 35% to pretend the rich might their fair share. But there are no indications of what income levels would be associated with the higher rate, or what that new rate might be. I don’t see Republicans doing anything with this.

The child tax credit will increase to an unspecified amount.

Trump is proposing no more inheritance tax (a huge boon to rich folks) as well as getting rid of the alternative minimum tax.

Corporate taxes would drop from 35% to 20%.

While Team Trump didn’t offer an immediate cost estimate for the plan, a preliminary estimate from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget calculated a loss of around $2.2 trillion in taxes to the government over the next 10 years.

Donald Trump and the Republicans say the tax reforms will rev up the U.S. economic engine, thus compensating for lost revenue. Trump repeatedly promised during the election that overhauling the tax code would raise economic growth to 4 percent.

Find more details at the New York Times.