Read: Retired Marine and former Trump go to battle with Mattis...
Some of us are old enough to remember the 1982 song “Dirty Laundry” which referred to the sensationalism of all news media. The phrase “don’t air your dirty laundry in public” refers to discussing private thoughts that maybe shouldn’t be shared with everyone outside those involved.
Seems like we’re getting a lot of dirty laundry right now all ‘round.
On Wednesday this week retired U.S. Marine Gen. and Forder Secretary of Defense James Mattis issued a statement via The Atlantic slamming President Donald Trump’s response to George Floyd’s death and in particular Trump’s comments regarding the use of the military to quell the violent protests if need be.
Mattis wrote:
When I joined the military, some 50 years ago, I swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Never did I dream that troops taking that same oath would be ordered under any circumstance to violate the Constitutional rights of their fellow citizens—much less to provide a bizarre photo op for the elected commander-in-chief, with military leadership standing alongside.
The ”bizarre photo op” he referred to was President Trump’s walk from the White House across Lafayette Square to the historic St. John's Church, which had been desecrated by fire the previous night. Trump held up a Bible in front of the church which some found provocative.
Mattis continued:
We must reject any thinking of our cities as a “battlespace” that our uniformed military is called upon to “dominate.” At home, we should use our military only when requested to do so, on very rare occasions, by state governors. Militarizing our response, as we witnessed in Washington, D.C., sets up a conflict—a false conflict—between the military and civilian society. It erodes the moral ground that ensures a trusted bond between men and women in uniform and the society they are sworn to protect, and of which they themselves are a part. Keeping public order rests with civilian state and local leaders who best understand their communities and are answerable to them.
Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people—does not even pretend to try. Instead, he tries to divide us. We are witnessing the consequences of three years of this deliberate effort. We are witnessing the consequences of three years without mature leadership.
Ouch.
Well, today, the laundry got dirtier.
John Dowd, a former U.S. Marine who later served on President Donald Trump’s legal counsel, had his own response, which was shared by President Trump.
I thought this letter from respected retired Marine and Super Star lawyer, John Dowd, would be of interest to the American People. Read it! pic.twitter.com/I5tjysckZh
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2020
Dowd said he had “slept on” Mattis’ remarks criticizing Trump and “woke up appalled and upset.” To Mattis, Dowd said “[I] Never dreamed you would let a bunch of hack politicians use your good name and reputation—earned with the blood and guts of young Marines.”
“The phony protesters near Lafayette park were not peaceful and are not real. They are terrorists using idle hate filled students to burn and destroy,” Dowd wrote. “They were abusing and disrespecting the police when the police were preparing the area for the 1900 curfew. Jim, this is the new nihilism.”
“Did you forget that President Bush used active duty Marines to quell the riots in LA? President Trump has countless cities and some snowflake governors and mayors wetting themselves in the use of force to protect innocent lives and property,” Dowd wrote. “The AG of Massachusetts thinks burning property is good protest. Three more policemen were stabbed and shot in NYC last night. Think about it. Should he be upset about the obvious failure of leadership? Where are you Jim?”
“No one divided this country more than Obama. He abandoned our black brothers and sisters. He gave guns to the cartels. He apologized for our precious sacrifice and generosity overseas.
“President Trump has done more to help our minority brothers and sisters in the three years than anyone in the last fifty. Ask the black pastors. Ask the leaders of the black colleges and universities. He got them funded. Ask them about the prison reform which ended the draconian sentences imposed on young black men by the laws enacted by Biden and his hacks. You need to bone up on your homework and stop listening to Uncle Leon.”
YIKES.
We are living through challenging times, of that there can be no doubt. We are not the first generation to go through it; won’t be the last, and we are not the greatest.
But we may be the angriest.
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i’m a 57 yr old white male, and what’s going on now in this country now puzzles me every day. I remember vividly the day as a young 5th grader in a suburban elementary school we were told one of out classmates passed away. I was upset such a thing could happen. My school was in a suburban DC Area, South Bowie, MD . The Girl who passed away was one of a group of children, mostly black, bused into our white suburban neighborhood. I can still feel that day and how it upset me. Later in my school days, my neighborhood was the ones riding buses west towards DC into mostly black communities. To me it was just School, first Jr high then Senior HS, Largo Md. Sure, there were issues, but to this day i am so happy i attended Largo and not the Bowie HS.
So, big deal right? Well now when i see and hear “Black Lives Matter” It hurts me we cannot stand together and say “All Lives Matter” The Value of people is not race dependent. And What can I do about it? Well, just tell whoever reads this i hope and pray we can get others to think and act like All Lives Matter. Focus on what brings us together, bonds us. And stop putting ourselves in catagories based on how much pigment we have in our skin.
To continue with my comment; Jim Mattis who have served this country knows what leadership is and so do I. If unity is our concern then everyone need to be concern about the issues. If you can only say “All Lives Matters” but what you should be saying is “ When Black Lives Matters Then All Lives Matters.
To Mr. Dowd comments: Before I start I served this country for 32 years active service in the U.S. Army as an Infantrymen (Ranger Regiment, The Old Guard, to name a few). Please observe and understand the significance of the event “Black Lives Matters). If you saw what I saw in Washington before the President decided to do the photo ops the crowd was peaceful. You need to see why the people of all colors are marching after repeated violence by the police. This is a human right issue and not a political one unless you make it the issue. Are you one that is turning a deaf ear to the real issues or the one to say “Get over it” and that can be said “ If you aren’t the one to who knew is being held on the back of your neck or being followed by police car when you are just a normal citizen going about your business like I have. I have been stopped just because I was driving a couple of miles over the speed and was told to slow down after he saw my military ID card. What about the other black men who doesn’t have an ID card.
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