If you believe the story -- and why should we, frankly -- Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were shocked to read about daddy's Twitter-announced transgender military ban. If they really had no idea that this was going down, then we MUST once and for all resist any and all psyche-soothing hopeful thinking that these kids have any influence on America's president.

In addition to this Trump tweet that transgender individuals will not be serving in the military in the future, I wonder if Miss Ivanka actually understands that the Trump Administration has birth control in its crosshairs. It's not only Planned Parenthood. It's birth control, 70-years after the US Supreme Court declared it legal and a right of American women.

Oh, and the Jeff Sessions' justice department made a landmark decision last week to intervene -- uninvited -- into a private employment lawsuit, arguing that the ban on sex discrimination in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not protect workers based on their sexual orientation.

In One Day, Trump Administration Lands 3 Punches Against Gay Rights New York Times

Texas Congressman Blake Farenthold (right in 2014) says that if three Republican women senators -- Collins, Murkowski, and Capito -- were men, he would challenge them to a duel for their actions in stopping the repeal of Obamacare.

What do you think? I just suggested to my W. VA Dem friends, who are doing such a bang-up job at organizing in Trump country, that they respond to the big shot Texas Congressman Blake Farenthold, who says if the three Republican women Senators were men, he would challenge them to duels -- and presumably be the last man standing, writes the Texas Tribune.

If you remember, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Shelley Moore Capito of W. Va brought the Senate health care strategy to a screeching halt last week. Interviewed by local Corpus Christi radio host Bob Jones on Friday, Farenthold said: "Some of the people that are opposed to this, there are female senators from the Northeast... If it was a guy from South Texas, I might ask him to step outside and settle this Aaron Burr-style."

I'm not sure the way to repeal Obamacare is by holding a gun to people's heads, but we all know gunslingers get their way in Texas. Apparently, Congressman Farenthold is a colorful Texan -- as many are -- having been charged with sexual harassment in 2014, writes ProgressTexas. I'll bet the 3 Republican women senators are just shaking in their high heels right now, reading about Farenthold's desire to shoot them dead..

If Texas Republican men hadn't raised maternal death rates in the state to third-world country levels, I could laugh over this nonsense. But you are looking at the dudes who make it their business to control the lives, bodies and most every move of Texas women -- and American women nationwide. This East coast elitist is not impressed. Gross!

At least in W. Va, my friends might take him out without firing a shot, given how strategic and successful they are at organizing. Brains over brawn, a true battle of the sexes, and may the ladies take out Texas Congressman Blake Farenthold! ~ Anne