You have commented 339 times on Rantburg.

Your Name
Your e-mail (optional)
Website (optional)
My Original Nic        Pic-a-Nic        Sorry. Comments have been closed on this article.
Bold Italic Underline Strike Bullet Blockquote Small Big Link Squish Foto Photo
Submit your comments on this article
Home Front: WoT
Manning says he wants to live as a woman, be called Chelsea
2013-08-22
[CNN] Gloria sez: Honest to God, we don't make this stuff up.
Bradley Manning wants to be a woman.

The U.S. Army soldier sentenced this week to 35 years in prison for leaking 750,000 pages of classified documents to the anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said Thursday in a statement read on NBC's "Today" show that will seek hormone therapy and live as a female named Chelsea.

"As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me," Manning said in the statement. "I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition."

Manning's lawyer, David Coombs, told "Today" that he hopes officials at Fort Leavenworth military prison will provide his client the hormone therapy.

"I'm hoping Fort Leavenworth would do the right thing and provide that," Coombs said. "If Fort Leavenworth does not, then I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that they are forced to do so."
Like what, exactly -- pee on the floor of your cell?
The issue of Manning's gender identity repeatedly surfaced in his court martial on espionage charges. A widely circulated picture released by the military shows Manning in a blonde wig. Speaking in the sentencing phase of his court martial last week, Manning said that at the time he decided to leak the documents, he was "dealing with a lot of issues" -- a reference to his gender identity crisis.

In an e-mail to his sergeant titled, "My Problem," Manning included the picture of himself in the wig.

"It's not going away, it's haunting me more and more as I get older," Manning wrote in the e-mail. "Now, the consequences of it are dire, at a time when it's causing me great pain in itself. As a result, I'm not sure what to do about it."

An Army psychologist called by the defense said Manning appeared to be isolated and under intense pressure as a male soldier struggling with gender identity issues.
Why again did the Army trust this young twerp with military secrets?
Manning's announcement comes a day after a military judge sentenced him to 35 years in prison for leaking hundreds of thousands of U.S. military and diplomatic documents.
Posted by:Steve White

#25  Compare wid HUFFINGTON POST > TRANSGENDERED AMERICANS STRAPPED FOR COVERAGE [Benefits, Insurance] AS US LAGS "FAR BEHIND" [many World countries] EVEN IRAN.

"Chelsea", ETAL. wants Rights, Recognition, + $$$.
Posted by: JosephMendiola   2013-08-22 23:57  

#24  Eww.
Posted by: gorb   2013-08-22 23:38  

#23  torture him: buy him foul-tasting pillows
Posted by: Frank G   2013-08-22 18:38  

#22  I hear he's taking up Shakespearean acting, his first character will be "Bottom."
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839   2013-08-22 18:05  

#21  "I'm hoping Fort Leavenworth would do the right thing and provide that," Coombs said. "If Fort Leavenworth does not, then I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that they are forced to do so."
Like what, exactly -- pee on the floor of your cell?

No, he'll sue. And he'll probably win:

Massachusetts judge rules for inmate's sex-change surgery

And that's a federal judge, not one of the liberal hacks that infest the Mass judicial system.
So I'd stay tuned...
Posted by: tu3031   2013-08-22 17:58  

#20  In 15 years it'll be oh that Chelsea Manning, now I remember, you were somebody something once?
Posted by: Shipman   2013-08-22 17:05  

#19  He or she is a meat whistle blower.
Posted by: airandee   2013-08-22 16:09  

#18  He'll be getting regular hot beef injections.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man   2013-08-22 15:53  

#17  3dc,
a) There's no way that Manning will do the full 35 years. If we're unlucky, he'll only do seven.
b) Manning really doesn't look like the butch type. He would probably do a lot worse in a women's prison.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia   2013-08-22 15:48  

#16  Nah he's just scared of doing 35 years in Leavenworth with lots of huge guys saying "you sure have a cute butt." He would rather be the top butch in a woman's prison.
Posted by: 3dc   2013-08-22 15:36  

#15  'Though this be madness yet there is method in it.'

If 'Chelsea' doesn't do the trick he could try 'a-wooble' next.

Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660   2013-08-22 14:58  

#14  The first step in hormone therapy will be a generous dose of potassium chloride.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2013-08-22 14:45  

#13  "Surely, he is kidding."

No, he's not kidding, Steve.

And don't call me Shirley. (But you can call him Shirley. ;-p )
Posted by: Barbara   2013-08-22 14:35  

#12  When he is finally let out he can get a job in San Francisco (where he is probably a hero) and get the city to fund his surgery.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2013-08-22 14:30  

#11  I'm sure one of his fellow inmates will oblige him.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2013-08-22 14:03  

#10  I think Manning was misquoted, its "Paint me blue and call me Susan" (not Chelsea)
Posted by: OldSpook   2013-08-22 14:00  

#9  #6 Surely, he is kidding.

Ah, yep.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2013-08-22 13:34  

#8  He thinks he's found a "Get out of Jail" Card, just be a female. (A male was convicted) Don't work that way.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2013-08-22 13:17  

#7  What will Manning get every night for dessert in prison? Fudgesicle...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2013-08-22 13:00  

#6  Surely, he is kidding.
Posted by: SteveS   2013-08-22 12:57  

#5  Doesn't this mean he's not gay anymore?
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2013-08-22 12:20  

#4  Liberalism is a mental disease.
Posted by: Uneaper Spairong8790   2013-08-22 11:59  

#3  No doubt Bubba down in the cellblock will sort all this out in short order and Manning will know exactly what he is destined to be.
Posted by: CrazyFool   2013-08-22 11:35  

#2  Bad News For Chelsea E. Manning: US Army Won't Provide Hormones, Sex-Reassignment Surgery
Tyler Durden's pictureSubmitted by Tyler Durden on 08/22/2013 10:03 -0400




Some bad news for Pvt. Bradley Chelsea Manning, who was sentenced to spend 35 years in male prison:


U.S. ARMY SAYS IT DOES NOT PROVIDE HORMONES OR SEX-REASSIGNMENT SURGERY AFTER WIKILEAKS CONVICT BRADLEY MANNING SAYS HE WANTS TO LIVE AS A WOMAN

Well, there goes that approach: it seems Chelsea's debut was short-lived.

It is still unclear if the US Army will provide [him|her] with vaseline.
Posted by: Uncle Phester   2013-08-22 11:06  

#1  "It's not going away, it's haunting me more and more as I get older," Manning wrote in the e-mail. "Now, the consequences of it are dire, at a time when it's causing me great pain in itself. As a result, I'm not sure what to do about it."

I think I know what his punishment should include.
Posted by: gorb   2013-08-22 11:03  

00:00