On Today’s Show: The Politics of Racism, Religious Freedom, LGBTQ+, Gender and Transgender

Ric Edelman: It's Wednesday, October 23rd. We're in the midst of our 19-podcast series covering 34 topics related to the presidential election and an effort for me to move from undecided to decided. I got this email from, Bari she's in Long Beach, California.

Bari: “Hi, Ric. I have followed you for many years on your radio show, public events, and now your podcasts. I love the fact that you are informative on not just finance, but other topics like crypto, technology, health breakthroughs, and more that affect our world today and future generations.

Though I wasn't one of the undecideds in this election, I have diligently listened to your election series and have learned much from your podcasts on both sides of the aisle. Your comments have given me pause to rethink some things, and I have to say, you have changed my thought direction on several issues. Thank you for the education and your personal input.  Keep up the good work.”

Ric Edelman: Bari, thank you so much for your kind, note.

I continue to get comments and emails from listeners. I invite you to do that as well. The link to do so is in the show notes. Just send it to AskRic@TheTruthAYF.com. And yeah, my primary goal here quite seriously, is for me. I'm doing this selfishly. Sorry. I'm forcing you to listen to all this banter, but I'm really genuinely trying to figure out who I'm going to vote for.

I will have the answer by next week because the election's fast approaching and we will reach the end of this 34 topic-19 podcast series. But I do hope that at the same time, it is providing valuable information for you to recognize the legitimacy of arguments and viewpoints from those who disagree with you politically.

Part of the problem that we have in this country is the divisiveness, the singular attitude that if I'm right, they are therefore wrong. That, I am patriotic because of my views. They are not, they are anti-American. And I just don't subscribe to that viewpoint at all. And I hope that as Bari has expressed that it's given her opportunity to rethink some of the positions that she has had.

And I'm hopeful that it will offer us all the opportunity to be open-minded and to be willing to engage in friendly conversation with each other rather than shouting messages, where people are not talking and listening, but rather talking and waiting to talk some more. So, thanks, Bari for the endorsement.

I will do my best to keep up the good work.

Today's topic, which will be an emotion laden one due to the subject matter, racism, bigotry, religious freedom, gender, sexual orientation, LGBTQ+, and transgender. I only had two emails from listeners, on this one. So let me share them both with you. First Jane and then John.

 Jane: The thing with Harris is her views on everything from believing in critical race theory to insisting on transgender surgeries and puberty blockers for children. Trump is a nut and says outlandish things, but his policies in the end were great for America. I hope he wins.

John: Kamala favored taxpayer funded sex change operations for illegal aliens in detention.

Ric Edelman: Thank you both, Jane and John, for your comments. For me, this topic begins as a no brainer. Trump is a cad. We know his despicable behavior toward women. We know the derogatory comments he's made, expressing racial bigotry. We don't have to go into the details. We all know what he has said over the years and what he has done over the years.

Kamala on the other hand, she's a woman. She's a minority. Kamala has a high EQ. You're familiar with IQ, right? The intelligence quotient, how smart you are. Kamala has a high EQ. A high emotional quotient.

Kamala has a very high level of empathy, and this is perfect for understanding and caring about issues such as racism, bigotry, religious freedom, LGBTQ and related topics. So, it would be really, really easy for me to say no to Trump on this topic. And yes, to Kamala.

But, I find that she takes her viewpoint way too far to the point where she is completely irrational and totally unreasonable. I mean, just listen to the answer to the question she got back in 2019, when she was, running for president in the primaries. Here’s what she said about transgender surgery, listen to this,

Kamala: When I was Attorney General, I learned that the California Department of Corrections, that they were standing in the way of, of, of surgery, for prisoners, for prisoners. And there was a specific case. And when I learned about the case, I worked behind the scenes to not only make sure that that transgender woman got the services she was deserving.

So, it wasn't only about that case. I made sure that they changed the policy in the state of California, so that every transgender inmate, in the prison system, would have access to the medical care that they desired and need.

Ric Edelman: And here's what she answered in a questionnaire that she filled out for the ACLU again, back when she was running for president in the 2020 primaries.

The question was the following: As president, will you use your executive authority to ensure that transgender and non-binary people who rely on the state for medical care, including those in prison and immigration detention, will have access to comprehensive treatment associated with gender transition, including all necessary surgical care? If yes, how will you do so?

Kamala checked the box yes, and she wrote the following explanation, and I quote.

“It is important that transgender individuals who rely on the state for care, receive the treatment they need, which includes access to treatment associated with gender transition. That's why, as Attorney General, I pushed the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide gender transition surgery to state inmates.

I support policies ensuring that federal prisoners and detainees are able to obtain medically necessary care for gender transition, including surgical care while incarcerated or detained. Transition treatment is a medical necessity, and I will direct all federal agencies responsible for providing essential medical care to deliver transition treatment.”

A medical necessity? Like you'll die without it? These people haven't had the surgery yet, and they haven't died. We're not talking about cancerous tumors here that have suddenly developed, where people who have, for their entire lives, felt the way that they felt. They haven't had the surgery to date. Now that they're in prison, or in an immigration detention camp, suddenly you're going to provide them the surgery, and pay for it?

We're talking about how people see themselves. Will she support cosmetic surgery for prison inmates next? Kamala's singular focus on individuals goes way too far. Even if we as a society were to agree that prison inmates ought to be allowed to get transgender surgery while they're in prison, fine. Just don't make me pay for it. Make the surgery available at their cost. If they don't have the cash right now, loan them the money, but force them to repay it in the future.

This surgery, despite Kamala's assertion, is not medically necessary for them to live. It may be highly desirable, it may be extremely important, but that's different from medically necessary for them to live. Kamala gives no regard to the cost, she focuses only on their individual viewpoint.

She ignores the propriety of having Americans pay for the surgery, for convicted felons who are serving time in prison. This complete disregard for our budget limitations for the views of others, for the fact that there are quite simply far more pressing needs in our society than this. I hate to say it, but sometimes we have to triage the problems we're going to address.

It's the greater good that we are unfortunately forced to reconcile with sometimes. I wonder if Kamala has this viewpoint on this issue, what she's going to come up with next.

Oh, and let me add this. Most recently, I mean, those incidents were years ago, 2016 and 2019. More recently, a couple of weeks ago, she was on 60 Minutes, and she was asked point blank, here's the question.

Bret Baier of Fox News: “So are you still in support of using taxpayer dollars to help prison inmates or detained illegal aliens to transition to another gender?”

Ric Edelman: And here was her response.

Kamala: “I will follow the law.”

Ric Edelman: Kamala, you'll follow the law? First of all, that's not an answer to the question. That's just a dodge. Just like she's been dodging just about every answer to every policy question that she's been getting. This is one of the big complaints that American voters have about Kamala.

We don't know what she thinks because she doesn't answer questions. And when you accuse her of not answering questions, she gets mad at you and says, may I please answer the question, as if she was trying to answer the question in the first place.

Second point is this, as President, she IS the law. She could do this by executive order. She wouldn't need Congress to give her permission. So, by saying coyly, oh, I'll follow the law, I call bullshit. Kamala will definitely continue support for transgender transition surgery, for prison inmates and illegal immigrants in detention, just like she has always supported this.

And let's not forget. In her own words, she said point blank that while she was Attorney General in California, she pushed the California Department of Corrections to provide gender transition surgery to state inmates. So, it's clear that if she's president, she'll demand it of every prison, not just in left wing California, but across the entire country.

And so sorry, Kamala, you should clearly, easily and predictably have my vote on the racism, bigotry, religious freedom, and LGBTQ+ question. But you don't. Because of your radical left-wing extremist position on this issue, I don't give it to you. I certainly can't give it to Trump because he's a cad. So, it's another draw.

And this explains not only why I'm undecided in this election, and not only why so many other Americans are undecided, but why the polls show that the race is tied at around 49-49. Kamala ought to be running away with this election. Trump is a despicable person, nobody should want to be voting for him, but she's proving herself to be such an inane individual.

The race is tied. Kamala, this is your own fault. And so, my pondering continues, and tomorrow, we're going to tackle one of the top two issues in every poll. Immigration and border security. That's tomorrow.

Today though, at 2:00pm EDT, my webinar. “How to Factor Longevity into Your Financial Planning”. You don't want to outlive your money. And this event is going to talk to you about how you can prevent that from happening with an innovative solution you've never heard of

Nate Conrad is going to be joining me, the head of LifeX at Stone Ridge Asset Management. It's a free event register by clicking on the show link. If you're a financial advisor, you get one CE credit.

See you there today at 2:00pm EDT.

If you like what you're hearing, be sure to follow and subscribe to the show, wherever you get your podcasts, Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and remember leave a review on Apple podcasts. I read them all. Never miss an episode of The Truth About Your Future. Follow and subscribe on your favorite podcast app.  

I'll see you tomorrow.

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Links from today’s show:  

Click here for Ric's worksheet to help you evaluate the candidates

The 34 Issues of Election 2024 – The Daily Podcasts https://uth959jfpszs9vqn-59513929894.shopifypreview.com/blogs/this-weeks-stories/tagged/election-2024

Kamala Harris Questionnaire Submitted to the American Civil Liberties Union as a Candidate for President in 2020: https://assets.aclu.org/live/uploads/2024/08/Harris-ACLU-Candidate-Questionnaire.pdf

Kamala Harris Official Campaign Website Policy Page: https://www.kamalaharris.com/issues/

Donald Trump Official Campaign Website Policy Page: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/platform

10/23 Webinar - How to Factor Longevity into Your Financial Planning: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/october-2024-webinar-how-to-factor-longevity-into-your-financial-planning

11/13 Webinar - An Innovative Way to Generate Income in a World of Declining Rates: https://www.thetayf.com/pages/november-13-2024-an-innovative-way-to-generate-income

10/9 Webinar Replay- Crypto for RIAs: Yield, Staking, Lending and Custody. What’s beyond the ETFs? https://dacfp.com/events/crypto-for-rias-yield-staking-lending-and-custody-whats-beyond-the-etfs/

Certified in Blockchain and Digital Assets including Crypto Taxation Course/Webinar: https://dacfp.com/certification/

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