Roy Exum
It’s Friday and I’ve got a lot of things to mention but, first, there is this…
I’ve always been a big believer in the person. This is to say that I could give a fat, happy rip if you are a male or female, a Mexican or Cuban, a senior citizen, a gay person, a college graduate with a crew cut, or paralyzed from the waist down – if you are the best person with the God-given skills at what you do best, that’s all that matters to me.
The world of sports has taught us it doesn’t make any difference if you are black or white, rich or poor, tall or short…all that matters is if you can score in the last 30 seconds when the guy next to you may stumble.
This is why I was pulling so hard for the brave and valiant young women who became the first female aspirants in Army Ranger School at Fort Benning.
My son is, and will always be, an Army Ranger. Because I was there the day he earned his tab, I know what it takes to earn the right to wear the patch that says simply, “Ranger.” I know when he left for Ranger School he was in marvelous physical condition and weighed 185 pounds. The next time I saw him he was tougher than shoe leather and had a confidence in himself that was indescribable. I believe a female can do the same thing he did.
At first I was strongly against a female in combat. The people our soldiers face are not nice and lord knows I can’t bide the thought of what they would do to a captured female. Now I believe that if a female want to be there, if she wants to defend her country as fiercely as other Rangers do, then good for her (although I may pray a little harder that the Lord will surround her with a proverbial thicket of thorns.)
On April 20, there were 19 women who were accepted into the current class at Ranger School. Within the first week, only eight remained. After last week’s first evaluation, five were sent back to their units and the other three were recycled, which means they start all over with a new class. It also proves the adage, “Failure is never final.”
Unlike social programs, the ladies' tees on a golf course, and silly cries of discrimination, Army Chief of Stagg General Ray Odierno is adamant about not relaxing even one standard that makes Rangers who they are. Everybody must master every measure because people’s lives are in the balance. So while there are not and should never be any gender allowance, I am pulling for three Army soldiers who are starting over. And I’ll be pulling for any female that wants to try because that is what my America should be about. “To be the best … you’ve got to be the best.”
Now, I’ve got pockets bulging with notes, scraps of paper, torn clippings and things I want to share. Let’s look at some of them …
THE BEST SIGN of the week, or that the Apocalypse is near, has to be the one that reads, “If we make guns illegal, then nobody will get shot anymore. That’s how we stopped everybody from doing drugs.”
SPEAKING OF GUNS, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is expected to sign legislation next week that will allow licensed gun owners to wear the weapons in plain sight. For 140 years it has been against the law in Texas to openly carry a firearm but listen to Debbie Riddle, a state legislator from Houston who sponsored the bill, “Everywhere there is a denial of Second Amendment rights – crime is through the roof. It is a deterrent. If someone is going to rob and convenience store and there are other people inside with guns on their hips, they may think twice.” C.J. Grisham, an advocate who is CEO of Open Carry Texas, added, “Criminals aren’t afraid of prison, they’re after of getting shot.”
ROBIN ROBERTS, the “Good Morning America” anchor who has apparently bounced back from the dual diagnosis of cancer and MDS two years ago, revealed her secret for survival the other day. “My parents instilled values that have helped me in my battles. We used to call it ‘The Three D’s.’ Discipline. Determination. And ‘Da Lord.”
THE MOVEMENT ADVANCEMENT Project, a think tank that studies lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, has just issued a report that identifies the four worst states where being LGBT is the hardest. They are, in order, Louisiana, Tennessee, Michigan and Alabama.
DUE TO BRUCE Jenner’s transformation process, I’ll admit I had to wonder what “transgender” means and LiveScience.com interviewed the former Olympian and wrote, “Like others who identify as transgender, Jenner said that he feels that his gender identity doesn't match the one he was labeled with at birth, based on his body. The designation of transgender does not indicate anything about a person's sexual orientation. (Live Science is using a male pronoun because Jenner used male pronouns to refer to himself throughout the interview.)
NO ONE KNOWS how many transgender people live in the United States but it is believed there are about 700,000, which is about 0.2 or 0.3 of the population. Want a much-more horrifying statistic? Because of prejudice and mental-health problem, about 40 percent of those people will attempt suicide, which is why we must be kind to everyone we meet.
INCLUDE ME AMONG those who feel ESPN is out-of-line in announcing Jenner as the “most courageous athlete” in the country. Bruce/Caitlyn will receive the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the 2015 Espy Awards. ESPN cited Jenner’s “courage” for coming out after years of inner torment while ignoring such people as “Wounded Warrior” Noah Galloway, an Iraq veteran who is a double amputee but is a now a noted cross-fit athlete, a distance runner and finished third in “Dancing With Stars.” Another might have been Lauren Hill, the college basketball player whose grit and tenacity thrilled us all before she died of cancer.
A SICKENING report has just come to light that the Red Cross raised $500 million (half a billion with a ‘b’) in donations following the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 but two non-profits, ProPublica and NPR, say that thus far only six homes have been built. It seems no one can find the homes, that the Red Cross will show no documentation where the money went, and refuses any comment. If this is true, Congress needs to investigate and demand cuts from top to bottom. My goodness, the Red Cross is like a “public trust.”
THE DOG THAT was found in Charleston, S.C., with its muzzle tightly taped has undergone surgery and the sadistic owner has had his picture all over TV and the newspapers but federal laws protecting animals in the United States are horribly lacking. According to the 2014 Animal Legal Defense Fund report, the top five states for animals are Illinois, Maine, Oregon, California and Michigan. The worst five states are Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Iowa and Kentucky. Tennessee, where Walking Horses continue to be sored by the Big Lick, is 16th, Georgia, where puppy mills are rampant, is 41st, and Alabama, where education is a threat, is 49th.