Federal Diversity Trainings Cost Taxpayers in 2023 Millions of Dollars

The Biden administration spent millions on diversity trainings for federal agencies, including some for the armed forces, in 2023.

Taxpayers were on the hook for the more than $16.3 million the federal government spent on diversity trainings taking place in 2023, according to a government spending database. Past government diversity trainings have instructed federal workers that asking an Asian colleague for help with a math problem could be racist, that men can become pregnant and that “social pain” can be the same as physical pain.

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Pentagon’s ‘Strategic Management Plan’ Devotes Roughly One Out of Every Six Pages to Diversity, Climate Change

Nearly one of every six pages of a document detailing the Pentagon’s management strategy are devoted to combating climate change and fulfilling Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.

The Strategic Management Plan for 2022 to 2026, released Tuesday, covers 124 pages and underscores the actions the Department of Defense (DOD) is taking to fulfill the Biden administration’s broader national defense strategy. It lays out high-level, long term goals and steps the department will take to accomplish those objectives and overcome anticipated challenges, as well as performance metrics for so-called Agency Priority Goals (APGs) that include climate and diversity targets.

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Though the Military Vaccine Mandate Is Overturned, Unvaccinated Troops Still Risk Reprisal

While the Biden administration has officially reversed the military COVID-19 vaccination mandate, servicemembers who escaped discharge for refusing the vaccine still risk retaliation and could be booted anyway, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Ongoing class action lawsuits thwarted the military’s efforts to discharge thousands of troops who objected to the mandate before the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law Friday, overturned it. However, servicemembers may risk reprisal even after the deadline passes for the Department of Defense (DOD) to implement the repeal, staining the records of thousands of servicemembers for the remainder of their careers, experts explained to the DCNF.

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Florida U.S. Rep. Greg Steube Vows Justice for Troops Punished for COVID-19 Vaccine Refusal

Florida Republican Rep. Greg Steube is vowing to introduce legislation to obtain justice for those punished for refusing to comply with the military’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.

“I intend on filing my own bill,” Steube said on the John Solomon Reports podcast Wednesday. “I am … not naive” about prospects for passage of such a bill in a Democrat-controlled Senate, he said, “but thankfully, the House has the power of the purse, and … when we do the appropriations process over the next year, we can put riders on appropriations bills to tell the Department of Defense how they’re going to give relief to these individuals.”

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Sens. Ron Johnson, Rand Paul Lead Demand for Senate Vote on Ending Military COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate

Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) are leading their Republican colleagues in an effort to demand Senate Republican leaders insist on an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would end the military COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

In a letter Wednesday to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senators John Thune (R-SD), John Barrasso (RWY), and Roy Blunt (R-MO), Johnson and Paul joined 11 of their Senate GOP colleagues in voicing their opposition to forging ahead with the NDAA for the Fiscal Year 2023 without a Senate vote on an amendment that would ban discharges from the armed services due to failure to take the COVID shot.

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Florida Pushes to Recruit Military Veterans for Teaching Jobs

Gov. Ron DeSantis is encouraging military veterans interested in teaching at Florida public schools to consider applying through a new program.

“Florida is leading the way by bringing some of the best, the brightest and the bravest among us into our classrooms through a new program that helps military veterans become teachers,” he said in a video announcement Thursday. “If you served in the military for at least four years, were honorably discharged, have taken 60 college credits, and pass a subject area exam, we want you to be able to teach Florida students.

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West Point Graduates Sign Letter Challenging Leadership of Military Academy

Several retired U.S. military officers signed a letter written by “Concerned Graduates of West Point and The Long Gray Line,” which objects to mandatory vaccinations, CRT instruction, progressivism and other “woke” sentiments in the military academy.

“We wanted to challenge the leadership of the Academy and the Defense Dept on their WOKE actions, CRT, Diversity training and the other discrepancies in the Academy,” retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul Vallely, told the Epoch Times.

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Chinese Spies Have Wormed Their Way into Taiwan’s Military

Policeman holding a rifle - in uniform

Chinese spies infiltrated Taiwan’s military as a part of a campaign to undermine the island’s defense, Reuters reported.

The effort involved recruiting senior officers at the center of the Taiwan’s armed forces, even reaching President Tsai Ing-wen’s security detail, Reuters reported. A retired presidential security officer and a serving military police lieutenant colonel in the unit had convictions upheld this year for leaking sensitive information about her security to Beijing.

“China is conducting a very targeted infiltration effort towards Taiwan,” retired Taiwanese navy Lieutenant Commander Lu Li-shih told Reuters.

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: Overcoming Defeat and Denial in Afghanistan

With each passing day in Afghanistan the Taliban grows stronger, and the pro-American government forces grow weaker.  Anecdotally, you can see the momentum building in the news coverage.

The Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Long War Journal, which has been tracking war in Afghanistan for years, estimates that as of Sunday the Taliban controlled 213 districts. It reports that the government controls 70 districts, and some 115 districts are being contested. Thus, after the United States, NATO, and our Afghan allies spent 20 years fighting to create a post-Taliban country, the evidence is growing that we have lost.

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Presidential Hopeful Sen Liz Warren Pushes Bill Imposing Green New Deal Climate Goals on the U.S. Military

by Michael Bastach   Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren introduced legislation to conscript the military into the fight against global warming, mandating non-combat bases meet the goals of the Green New Deal. “[C]onsistent with the objectives of the Green New Deal, the Pentagon should achieve net zero carbon emissions for all its non-combat bases and infrastructure by 2030,” the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate wrote in a Medium post published Wednesday. Warren introduced the bicameral bill Wednesday with Democratic Texas Rep. Veronica Escobar. Warren said the military can help “win” the fight against global warming by phasing out fossil fuels at non-combat bases. “We don’t have to choose between a green military and an effective one,” Warren wrote. “My energy and climate resiliency plan will improve our service members’ readiness and safety, all while achieving cost savings for American taxpayers.” “Our military understands that, and it’s time our elected leaders did as well. Together, we can work with our military to fight climate change  —  and win,” she wrote. Democrats have argued global warming comes with national security risks since the Obama administration, in particular during the push to pass cap-and-trade legislation that failed in 2010. The Pentagon listed global warming as a “threat multiplier”…

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Court Decides in Favor of the Trump Administration in Curbing Transgenders’ Service in the Military

US Army

A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Trump administration policy of restricting transgender people from serving in the military. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Friday that a lower court judge was wrong to block the Pentagon from implementing its plan to limit transgender people in the military. The lower-court judge had ruled the Trump policy most likely violated the constitutional rights of transgender recruits and service members. Pentagon pleased with decision However, in ruling for the Trump administration’s position, the appeals court said Friday that the military policy “appears to permit some transgender individuals to serve in the military.” It also said the plan relied on the “considered professional judgment” of “appropriate military officials.” Pentagon spokeswoman Jessica Maxwell told VOA that the Department of Defense was “pleased with the D.C. Circuit’s decision.” “As always, we treat all transgender persons with respect and dignity. It is critical that the department be permitted to formulate personnel policies that it determines are necessary to ensure the most lethal and combat-effective fighting force in the world,” Maxwell said. Friday’s ruling will not allow the Pentagon to implement its policy immediately, because other judges have…

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Letter to the Editor: Giving Thanks and Living Gratefully in Today’s Republic

Dear Tennessee Star, November is best known for three special dates: Thanksgiving, Veteran’s Day, and every other year, election day. This is one of those years in which we have all three and the interesting, little-understood, facet of this month is that all three of these days are connected. Thanksgiving is the day originally designated to give thanks to God for His gracious provision for our nation. While today it is more likely an occasion for excessive eating and watching sports, it is still a good time to reflect on our tremendous blessings. Though the United States is not a perfect nation, we still have more opportunities and abundance than any other nation on earth. This is certainly something for which to give thanks, and in regard to showing appreciation, in the last 20 years, thanking our veterans for their service has become a custom for some. The veterans of the Revolution won our right to enjoy the blessings of this land at great sacrifice. Then those of the Civil War ensured that all people would be able to enjoy these blessings, again at great cost. In every other war, our armed forces met the challenge of defending our nation…

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Letter to the Editor: Giving Thanks and Living Gratefully in Today’s Republic

Dear Tennessee Star, November is best known for three special dates: Thanksgiving, Veteran’s Day, and every other year, election day. This is one of those years in which we have all three and the interesting, little-understood, facet of this month is that all three of these days are connected. Thanksgiving is the day originally designated to give thanks to God for His gracious provision for our nation. While today it is more likely an occasion for excessive eating and watching sports, it is still a good time to reflect on our tremendous blessings. Though the United States is not a perfect nation, we still have more opportunities and abundance than any other nation on earth. This is certainly something for which to give thanks, and in regard to showing appreciation, in the last 20 years, thanking our veterans for their service has become a custom for some. The veterans of the Revolution won our right to enjoy the blessings of this land at great sacrifice. Then those of the Civil War ensured that all people would be able to enjoy these blessings, again at great cost. In every other war, our armed forces met the challenge of defending our nation…

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The Forgotten History of Memorial Day

Memorial Day History Headliner

by Richard Gardiner   In the years following the bitter Civil War, a former Union general took a holiday originated by former Confederates and helped spread it across the entire country. The holiday was Memorial Day, and this year’s commemoration on May 28 marks the 150th anniversary of its official nationwide observance. The annual commemoration was born in the former Confederate States in 1866 and adopted by the United States in 1868. It is a holiday in which the nation honors its military dead. Gen. John A. Logan, who headed the largest Union veterans’ fraternity at that time, the Grand Army of the Republic, is usually credited as being the originator of the holiday. Yet when General Logan established the holiday, he acknowledged its genesis among the Union’s former enemies, saying, “It was not too late for the Union men of the nation to follow the example of the people of the South.” I’m a scholar who has written – with co-author Daniel Bellware – a history of Memorial Day. Cities and towns across America have for more than a century claimed to be the holiday’s birthplace, but we have sifted through the myths and half-truths and uncovered the authentic story of how this holiday…

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How You Can Honor the Fallen This Memorial Day

Tennessee Star

by Tom Callender   This weekend marks the 150th anniversary of that first “Memorial Day” remembrance, when Congressman James Garfield—who would later become president—addressed a crowd of more than 5,000 at Arlington Cemetery. The tradition continues to this day at national cemeteries across the nation, with the president of the United States most often delivering the address and laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. To millions of Americans, Memorial Day symbolizes the unofficial start of summer—the opening of the local community pool, baseball games, concerts, barbecues, and trips to the beach. Regrettably, a Gallup poll in 2000 revealed that only 28 percent of Americans knew the true meaning of Memorial Day, and 40 percent confused it with Veterans Day. [ The liberal Left continue to push their radical agenda against American values. The good news is there is a solution. Find out more ] So, what is the meaning of Memorial Day? Memorial Day is the day to remember those men and women who died while serving in our nation’s armed forces, whereas Veterans Day is a day to celebrate the service of all U.S. military veterans. Why have so many Americans lost sight of the true meaning and…

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