While I tend to avoid commenting on people's appearance, in terms of physical characteristics, I concede that in many cases how people look is a window into both their mind and their soul.
Is there any photo of Hegseth in which he does not look like an arrogant, nasty little prick, enjoying power and status as if a birthright? When I look at human images, I first look for warmth and empathy in them. I never see that with him. Those qualities seem utterly lost within him, or not extant at all. Which, I suppose, makes him a perfect candidate to work in this administration. The clear lack of humanity seems to be a prerequisite for any level of responsibility, alongside total fealty to The Leader.
A line I use to describe driving habits in Metro-Phoenix any time I am stupid enough to venture out there. My beloved spouse, “Did you just see what that Ass&*le did?”. My response, “Obviously dear, you have no idea who the ASS&*LE is”!”. Wash, rinse, repeat.
You got that from Tom Nichols' article in The Atlantic, right? I read that this morning and was in awe of his wordsmithing skills.
"When Hegseth pulled more than 800 senior officers into an auditorium to give them a long and pointless harangue, it was not only disrespectful; it was cringe-inducing, like watching the angriest kid in your high school come back 20 years later as the principal and unload his adolescent gripes on all the teachers in the staff lounge."
“Yesterday, the secretary of defense of the United States of America posted a meme on X depicting Franklin, the cartoon turtle who is a beloved children’s-book character, as a Special Forces operator killing people on boats. He added a comment: “For your Christmas wish list…” Just to make the point, the secretary tagged the X account of SOUTHCOM, the Southern Forces Command, which has had to carry out the strikes, as if blowing up boats and killing the survivors was a joke to be shared with a chuckle and a backslap.
Perhaps Hegseth thinks that sinking boats on the high seas is funny. Maybe he just wanted to own the libs and all that. Or maybe he thought he could disrupt the gathering war-crimes narrative, like the school delinquent pulling a fire alarm during an exam.”
The extent to which this administration seems to enjoy killing people reminds me of the scene in "Gladiator" where Commodus is watching, and enjoying, the killing going on in the coliseum. It is the same glee and gloating, with total lack of humanity, shown by Hegseth. It is truly disgusting and disturbing.
Speaking of looks, I see where the clones of Hope Hicks who happen to be 'lawyers', are not having a good time with their days in court. Probably won't have a good time when they face disbarment proceedings either.
Excellent moniker, “Stepford Barbies”. I dunno if you can trademark that, but you could give it a try. The royalties for use might be enough for a pound of coffee a month if things continue like they have for the next three years.
That Ted Talk he gave to the entire leadership of the military while prancing as the newly self-dubbed Secretary of War (not a department, not a thing that exists anywhere but this administration's "minds", and operating completely illegally) was the most embarrassing display Hegseth had done... until letting someone under his command take the fall for his bloodthirst.
OK, I need pile on to this one: Sec of WAR Hegseth, please lose the American flag handkerchief. I know you and your Fox News cronies think it looks cool, but it's actually extremely tacky and disrespectful. We don't blow our nose in the flag. You look like a clown. Bill, can you write something on this one??? "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" --Samuel Johnson
Totally correct Shawn. If anyone bothered to read protocols regarding our flag, they would learn that our flag should never be used for anything but a flag. In the United Kingdom the Union Jack is used for clothing, but not here. Every time I see a ripped or dirty flag, or one that is flying in the rain, or left in the dark, I never call these people proud to own one. They are lazy hypocrites, too self centered to do the right thing.
yes, I noticed a long time ago that many of the sunshine patriots would leave their flags flying 24/7 in my neighborhood. I always thought from my time in the Marine Corps that you are supposed to bring it down in the evening (hence the playing and ritual of colors every morning and evening on any U.S. military base.) As for clothing I never even considered that, until, that is, a dipshit as big as Hegseth came along...
Without a doubt. I was not being critical, just clarifying. I too find the 24 hour flag flying (with lack of illumination) annoying, as I do most breaches of flag etiquette, Hegseth's included.
There is a certain group that, U.S. Flag Code be damned, seems to think there is something ennobling, some transfer of virtue, about flying a flag that looks like it has been in a battle. Rather than wrapping ones ego in the flag, how about striving to be worthy of the best that it often stands for? A handkerchief? I could maybe throw a punch over that use. The mashup TRUMP/U.S. flags drive me crazy.
I used to leave occasional notes observing that a particular flag was overly worn (torn, tattered) and that if the owner was amenable, our local Troop would be pleased to collect it and give it a dignified retirement at our next campout. That became a first-night campfire ritual.
I'll take the patriotic wisdom of 11 year old Tenderfoots over most any MAGA.
That was my job when I was a kid. I had to raise it in the morning and lower it at night with my dad. That was so we folded it properly. Those were the days.
The flag may be flown at night, if lighted. I remember reading about Boy Scout troops whose members stood under a flag and illuminated it with flashlights because the light that was there failed. I guess in today’s world they were suckers and losers. They weren’t in the eyes of their community.
The pocket square is nothing. His suit jacket lining is the entire US flag. I’m pretty sure that is a violation of some flag law, maybe even a military one.
The photo is front and center. He still wears that jacket and he still shows off the lining. I think he even did it at the Pentagon Briefing of the Generals.
Perhaps he feels the need to one-up the MAGA women's shiny cross necklaces. Such faux displays of patriotism/faith being no more than show underpinned by ego and opportunism alone, having little or nothing to do with the actual beliefs and actions those symbols are meant to portray.
All the folks who endlessly whine about "DEI" hires never include the hiring of a mediocre white guy in that category. Has he ever shown any ability indicating he is qualified for job he holds?
Hegseth looks like an aging frat boy, whose main talent is showcasing his great head of hair. This has taken him far, which is an indictment on our “system” of meritocracy.
I have a more visceral reaction to Kevin Hassett. The smirking smile with the slew of misrepresented and cherry picked statistics and reports. Every time he is on a post or being interviewed I want to punch him in the face. If you look on such sites that allow comments, you will find this a common reaction.
His book. “Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting from the Coming Rise in the Stock Market” – September 20, 1999. “Stocks are undervalued, not overvalued. Stock prices will double, even quadruple, within a short period of time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average will soon reach 36,000. Astounding profits can be made, but the time to act is now! Dow 36,000 tells why this one-time rise is coming and how to adjust your portfolio and invest without fear.”
The early 2000’s? The dot com boom, bubble, and bust. Enron 2001. WorldCom 2002. Yeah, and 9/11. That aside, in September 1999 the Dow was about 10,000. Then the Great Recession hit. By February 27, 2009? Dow 7063. It continued a steady climb after that low. It would not reach 36,000 until December 2023. What a soothsayer. Only 24 years! Buy on the dip. “I am a dip!” “Pump and dump!”
In May 2020, Hassett said with a strange smile on his face, “America’s unemployment rate may hit 23%” Kevin Hassett, a senior White House economic adviser, told CNN’s Poppy Harlow Friday morning that he thinks the unemployment rate, which hit 14.7% in April, may rise to 22% to 23% by May and edge up a bit in June before heading lower. “June will be higher,” Hassett said. “That will be the turning point.” The actual unemployment rate topped out at in April 2020 at 14.8% and dropped to 6.7% by December 2020.
I take your observation to be about his demeanor and body language rather than static physical characteristics, so I think you're good on the “not commenting on appearances” ethic. It's something in the way he carries himself.
I don't know of any photographs per se, but if you're looking for a different emotion on his face you can always pull up the video where he inadvertently hurls a throwing axe at a drummer after missing the target. I'd characterize his expression as embarrassed shock, rather than his normal resting d-bag face.
There’s also a video out there of some morning tv news stunt outdoors where he hits himself in the groin with some object he mishandles. That face is priceless and should be allowed to go viral on the internet.
I see that and arrested development. Someone who knows he'd never make an honorable career in the service, or for that matter, anywhere. Any wonder why he needs the positive affirmations of his mother-wife in meetings and on Signal?
He looks like Oliver North was his role model when he was a little boy: he's got that whole "Ollie Uses His Marine Uniform As A Prop In The Congressional Oversight Hearings And Defies The Democrats On Iran/Contra" vibe going on.
Anyone commenting on Hegseth's appearance gets an automatic pass. After all, the guy has chosen a look that stands out and draws attention: JC Leyendecker's 100-year-old ads for Arrow shirts and collars. Nobody accidentally walks around looking like that, and talking about his appearance is not only fair but also important.
Watching Adm Bradley take this on the chin with his Senate briefing coming up is interesting. What might he say to the Senators? Also, let’s assume Bradley proactively ordered the second strike on the survivors in front of Hegseth, as Gen Hertling pointed out on Twitter, that’s still complicity in a war crime. If you as the senior officer don’t stop your subordinate from committing a war crime, what the fuck are you even doing in charge?
Everyone in the chain of command from Admiral Bradley through the pilot who fired the shots either gave, relayed or executed an illegal order. There's no gray area here for any of them. They should all be court-martialed. Their military careers should be over. This administration celebrates war crimes, so there will be no consequences for now. The next administration will have to deal with it. Any of the criminals who retire to escape consequences should be recalled and tried. Anything less means the Uniform Code of Military Justice is only a guideline with no real meaning.
On a more personal level, every one of those involved should be deeply ashamed they used the military resources with which they have been entrusted to murder humans who were struggling to stay alive. Is that the "warrior culture" that Hegseth preens over?
For the rest of us, this was done in our name and stains all of us.
I think this reaction is ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON. Honestly, my big concern right now is that the left goes down the rabbit hole of wanting to specifically hang it on Hegseth, as opposed to sticking to the principal of "it is illegal to follow an illegal order." If Hegseth is ultimately responsible - which he would be if "kill everyone" was the mission - then he should go down. But if we get distracted with getting Hegseth vs following the rule of law, then this atrocity simply becomes another us vs. them issue.
I don't know whether the order originated with Hegseth or Admiral Bradley. I do know that everyone in the chain of command between Bradley and the pilot was involved. All need to be prosecuted.
The problem here is that apparently court martial proceedings have to be approved by…..the Secretary of Defense…..or the Attorney General…….or the President. I saw that explanation somewhere like maybe Michael Weiss’s column, made by a retired JAG officer who explained the system at length. It means, basically, that Hegseth would have to authorize his own court martial. All the JAG officers can do is make a recommendation and then prosecute if given the okay by SECDEF.
Actually, the court martial explanation was in the comments of an article in the Deeper Look Substack of Michael Sellers.
I don't expect any response from the current administration. However, the next administration can recall everyone involved to duty and then try them. They can strip them of rank, privileges and an honorable discharge.
Miles Taylor said he was in the room during Trump 1.0 when he floated the idea of blowing up boats, but the sane people managed to put the kibosh on that quick. Now there are no sane people, and his wish is their command. The Supreme Court has helpfully convinced him that as long as he sticks the words “for national security reasons” in there, everything he does is 100% legal, and anyone who says otherwise is a traitorous liberal squish (They’re throwing the word “treason” around a lot here lately.). I do hope we get to see Admiral Bradley before Congress, and Hegseth, too.
Except the trump v United States decision was issued 7/1/24, with nearly 6 months remaining in Biden's term. The fact that he chose not to exploit this expanded immunity speaks to his respect for the office, just as the unimaginable exploitation of the current WH occupant speaks to his lack thereof.
I believe there’s an expiration Date on total immunity that will coincide (possibly) with the installation of a new President - if that President has a “D” attached to their name. But these are pretty big “if’s”…..The Supremes are willing to tie themselves in knots to justify 180 degree turns based on the occupant of the White House’s political leanings and/or their skin color or (God forbid) sex….
The only type of Trump available is Lawless Trump. There are no versions of Trump or his children who believe in laws. If they couldn't see that, I assume its because Leonard Leo's money and/or Nazi memorabilia collection were blocking their eyesight.
It’s wild, Kate. But I really believe that they really believe they can return the country to some idealized version of 1950’s America where women and non-whites knew their place. Up is down, wrong is right, and day is night - as long as they can tie themselves in knots to achieve their endgame.
You mean that a deranged Trump might have them shot just to show he can, and to scare all judges into always siding with him? Nope. In spite of their intelligence, they fail to understand that Trump is in this mostly to enjoy hurting people. He is like a serial killer; he really can’t help himself..
They had their eye on creating a comprehensive statement of the unitary executive power without regard to who might benefit from it. And they maybe thought that if he were elected in 2024 it would be a repeat of the first time around with a least some Cabinet officials present to head off the more egregious impulses of the president.
Not that I am expecting one thing or another, but if Admiral Bradley fell on his sword before Congress he would be given a hero's welcome by the right wing cinematic universe and would be pardoned handsomely by the CINC for his troubles.
While the Maga-verse might celebrate Admiral Bradley, IF the Admiral did issue an unlawful order, I doubt his peers in military service would. Being an Army brat and Army wife, I've seen how much the earned respect of your fellow officers and soldiers means.
As a veteran of the USMC, I don't totally disagree with your point regarding the respect of your comrades in arms... but my comment was inspired, in part, by the reactions of some of the guys I deployed with. It pains me how many vets in my orbit eat up Hegseth's posturing toward the rules of engagement. My initial comment was also inspired by Malcom Nance's (unverified by me) assertion that Adm. Bradley admires Trump.
AS a fellow Jar Head who served for a couple of years with an HQ outfit in the Far East a lifetime ago, I agree with your comment, Matt. The ‘Warrior Ethos’ is certainly ‘a thing’, and it can have a blinding effect on consequences…
No military experience of any kind, but following illegal orders from the drunken talk show host seems like it would damage his reputation pretty severely among his peers -- unless they are okay with it all anyway, in which case we're already beyond saving.
So I agree that my comment suggested "all" instead of "some". We have the same experience in our orbit of some Trump voters - but I believe (rationalize?) that it was a financial decision, not a defense decision. However, I still believe that losing the respect of even some of those you served with, would be hard to dismiss.
after dating ' an additional ' former ( MARINE ) jarhead , who
was also in a large police force , with a position of power,
I found out, things. the thrill of placing power over a private citizen , just say, he was a little warped with power. We were ' out of town' and he just saw someone he could bully/ toss around, . My reaction was NOT what he expected, something comes off of some former Marines, not ALL- He knew I was not going to be his peon.
Hegseth got his nomination for SecDef due to his loyalty to Trump. It certainly has nothing to do with his experience, management or strategic abilities.
The loyalty thing is a given. Hegseth got the nod for two reasons:
• He looks like what Trump thinks a warrior should look like, and performs combative outrage with Fox news honed skill.
• More importantly, he made his rep on Fox by defending war criminals, and framing following laws as coward handicapping of the warrior ethos the US must adopt to best its legion of enemies... In which Trump knows Pete will include protesters and troublemakers and Devilcrats, passing on orders to deploy the military domestically wherever and whenever Trump wants, and to fire on anyone wants shot.
Just curious and a bit confused here. But how exactly is a Sec. of Defense supposed to factor into the military chain of command?
My understanding is that POTUS is the Commander-in-Chief, of course, and therefore sits atop everything. So, would an “order” from a civilian Sec. of Defense be a de facto order from the President via delegation of authority (think auto pen here)? Or is a civilian Sec. of Defense actually given the authority to order around anyone in the military by virtue of the title bestowed (in this case, thanks to a tie-breaking vote in the Senate by jd Vance)?
My confusion ends at the point that Admiral Bradley enters the picture. If he directly ordered the targeted attack on helpless men, then he is definitely in deep s**t, and he obviously didn’t heed the message coming from Sen. Kelly and friends about disobeying an illegal order. (Hmmm….In fact, maybe a little bird whispered to someone about this attack, and that’s what inspired Kelly and company. 🤔)
I also wonder about the culpability of those further down the chain of command who “just followed orders,” even though that is a well established losing argument in defense of illegal military actions.
Hopefully, the imminent Congressional investigation will be thorough and actually focused on the evidence that videos and communication records should provide (unless some of them mysteriously go missing). This is very serious s**t, and hopefully the proper heads will roll.
Of course Trump is simply going to pardon anyone found guilty of criminal behavior. But the public airing of the evidence and the rolling heads, even pardoned ones, might help erode support among certain constituencies for this rogue administration. This stuff has to stop!!
The SECDEF sits between the President and the Combatant Commanders. He’s the second in line in the NCA. If he was in the room as Adm Bradley issued an illegal order, it is incumbent on Hegseth to belay that order.
I’ve seen it reported that Bradley told the people under him that he was ordering the second strike “in order to comply with SECDEF’s order that there be no survivors”. It was pretty clear at the time that Hegseth gave a “no quarter” order, and Bradley complied. What’s being said now is just CYA for Hegseth. They are throwing Bradley under the bus.
I just looked up Bradley on Wikipedia. What a brilliant career! He was/is a superior soldier in every respect. I would love to see him in the closed-door session with Congress. I hope he has a good reason for doing what he did. Because if he doesn't, he just screwed the pooch. And what an ignominious end. In even the best case, he can't come out of this clean. He'll be lucky to keep his retirement salary.
True. But I think I made a valid point earlier that none of this is building support for Trump, et al. The more any of it is in the public eye, the more it erodes support for this rancid administration.
There is not a chance in hell that Admiral Bradley ordered a second strike on his own initiative. He was carrying out an (almost certainly illegal) order from the SecDef.
I don't think it can really tilt a court martial proceeding by itself, but where will they fit the fact that the SecDef fired the Senior JAG Corp? That was absolutely evil in a brilliantly 'effing way.
Don't you love how every company and every other country on Earth has to put out disclaimers that they don't support our morals and values?
I'm really sad today. I feel like everyone I know has internet algorithm poisoning. I'm here to commit to not being nasty online and not letting the delusions of madmen become my reality. I'm not getting into arguments with delusions, I'm not, I am not. (Man, for someone who grew up with a sociopathic narcissist in the family, the last decade has been hard and disappointing.)
So in the spirit of "a function of a system is what it does" and trying to keep my eyes on reality and not delusions of madmen, what is our foreign policy these days?
1. Get fooled constantly by Netanyahu.
2. Support Russia and Turkey.
3. Go to war in our "sphere of influence" but only against unarmed civilians.
And don’t forget his sons. Since the two top boys never did any real work in their lives, Daddy has to make certain they get a little nest egg. The way those two spoke at Felon Trump’s corporation fraud trial, they couldn’t run a lemonade stand, let alone a corporation. As for the second daughter, she had better use her law degree, she will need it. No money in her husband’s family. Last child, Melania’s got him covered. Every time you see her with DonOld, her pre-nup gets better for her.
It must be true that the orders were legal. The Prez said the boats were carrying illegal drugs, even though no proof of any kind has been provided. As we know, this president "never lies", so what he says must be true! He probably pulled it out of some nether region where he stores all his knowledge. /s
“In other words: Hegseth was there, watching live, but didn’t issue any orders, but was extremely happy that the spirit of the orders he never issued were executed anyway, which he then took credit for in real time and hailed as a glorious triumph without revealing that it wasn’t.”
Two things come to mind:
1. At least now, all the senior military and intelligence leadership will know full well that this administration doesn’t have their back; they’re pawns and expendable. Let’s see how many more senior military leaders will choose to do their bidding moving forward.
2. The entire affair seems almost a parallel to what’s happening internally. Trump says immigrants are bringing crime and drugs; therefore, he’s built an army of ICE stormtroopers answerable to no one, but the most depraved senior leadership in the administration. This manufactured crisis which built a masked army attacks and pulls even US citizens into the mix. Not to mention, sending military troops into states based on a manufactured crisis.
And now we have Trump claiming that Venezuela and several other South American and Latin American countries are trafficking in drugs, weapons and crime (mostly manufactured).
Therefore, he is attacking boats with impunity, and just like ICE, refusing to provide evidence or acknowledging their actions are counter to US and International laws.
And yet in both cases, Trump is pardoning foreign leaders engaged in the drug trade, and releasing hardened criminals in the US convicted of the same crimes he claims to want to rid their nation and the world of. Tell me now that Trump isn’t looking to exhort foreign nations in this hemisphere, the same way he’s trying to pressure blue states unwilling to fall in line?
I saw a great post yesterday. It showed a picture of a Cigarette Boat with an awning with words; you can read it from a drone or a satellite. It reads:
“Yes we are trafficking in the cocaine trade, but we plan to use the profits to buy Trump Crypto!”
Clearly, this represents this administration in a nutshell! No one is claiming the drug trade doesn’t exist or isn’t a real issue; however, Trump isn’t consistent when it comes to arrests or prosecutions.
Just like Trump’s policies in America; give a million to the Trump campaign, or fund one of his various business schemes, and you get a pardon and a business partner.
However. if you’re a political adversary or don’t have the required financial resources to buy a seat at the table; then you’re screwed! IMHO…:)
Inconsistency, hypocrisy, lying aren't bugs within a fascist person-cult. They're features. Each utterance is a testament to freedom from restraint, cult loyalty, a thumb in the eye of the pearl-clutching pussies.
"an army of ICE stormtroopers answerable to no one, but the most depraved senior leadership in the administration" -- that would be Stephen "Himmler" Miller.
My experience smuggling narcotics by sea is limited. Can anyone tell me: On this open boat, crowded with 11 souls, where were the drugs stowed? If the answer is just forward of the multiple outboard motors, then where was the fuel for the motors?
Of course there were drugs on there. LOTS of drugs. If it looks like there's no room for them, that's just how crafty Tren de Aragua is. It's so easy to fool the radical leftists who coddle narco-terrorists because they hate America! Secretary Hegseth is a great American Patriot and he ABSOLUTELY knows where and how the narco-poison was hidden on those boats. BUT THAT INFORMATION IS CLASSIFIED, AND FOR DAMN GOOD NATIONAL SECURITY REASONS. You should be ashamed for asking him to reveal secrets publicly so every enemy of America, foreign and domestic, could copy them and use them against us!! I mean, do you want the former President of Honduras sending out an armada of the boats to El Chapo?
"In other words: Hegseth was there, watching live, but didn’t issue any orders, but was extremely happy that the spirit of the orders he never issued were executed anyway, which he then took credit for in real time and hailed as a glorious triumph without revealing that it wasn’t."
I grew up with Franklin the turtle, and as a fan, I have to say, I strongly feel Franklin would never have fired an RPG oriented such that the propellant would discharge into the helicopter, the force of which would probably knock the helo out of the sky
No, in seriousness, what Bill wrote is about how I feel, except with a modifier that when tragedy becomes farce, and then the farce becomes lethal, it is nihilism. God save us from the existential dread clowns in the Trump cabinet.
I am not familiar with Franklin the Turtle, but I thought it strange that Hegseth would pick a Canadian children's character as a symbol of Merican Macho. Weren't there any Kash Patel characters to choose from?
I didn't know Franklin was Canadian, but I do know my kids liked to "read" Franklin stories with me. Maybe Hegseth thought Franklin was a relative of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were kick ass turtles.
He's from Minnesota (I hate to admit) and we're kinda Canada adjacent. Hegseth probably hates Canada and it's sensibility, and is getting payback by reframing a gentle children's book icon as a character from Apocalypse Now.
Physics, schmisics. Next you'll tell us that the sudden deceleration of Superman stopping Lois Lane's fall from a skyscraper would have killed her instantly. Not in my America, pal!
Why do I have suspicions that the second strike was a CYA move because they didn't have intelligence this was a drug boat? Admiral Holsey must be relieved he was mostly likely relieved of command before these strikes were ordered. Admiral Bradley gets to walk the plank before he's even confirmed as Holsey's replacement. So much for a fourth star. Not that a fourth star is worth much when the Navy is being run by a drunken failed army major with delusions of grandeur.
Same reason the other two known survivors were given an express Navy helicopter ride back to their home country just as we found out about them. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when the decision was made to let them survive. Perhaps there were witnesses who watched that strike.
The polls leading up to last month's elections in VA and NJ significantly underestimated the margins by which Democrats won. Isn't it possible that the poll in TN showing Behn losing by 2 points has done the same thing? I guess we'll know in a few hours.
I live in the more rural part of the district, and I'm pleasantly surprised — a little shocked, really — that it's this close. I've learned never to get my hopes up, but I do think there's a slim chance she could win. If she does, it'll be a narrow win, and it'll be interesting to see whether/to what extent the results are challenged. Fingers crossed!
Or pedal taverns! Or bachelorettes! Of all the attacks on her, that one's the funniest. As if Nashville isn't teeming with voters who hate all the It City crap. I'm about as native a Tennessean as it's possible for a non-Indigenous person to be, and even I can't stand corporate country music and drunk tourists.
no doubt... We actually love country music but have put off visiting as drunk tourist culture is not our vibe... Austin pre Trump 2 was great though! -
Good luck today we've got all appropriate body parts crossed for ya'll.... :)
With polling, we are perpetually in the position of not knowing what adjustments pollsters made in their methods since their last miss. So hoping they are making the same error here. But they may not be.
My understanding is that modern polls are really statistical modeling projects, with the raw numbers adjusted and weighted in all kinds of ways to adjust for the fact poll respondents aren't truly a random sample. It assumes a lot of things are the same as in the last election, like the alignment of specific demographics and their likelihood to turn out. They don't do well when the political landscape is changing rapidly like it has been the last few years. I think Aftyn has a real shot
We didn’t drift toward barbarism, we accelerated, gleeful, a country convinced the laws of humanity were quaint suggestions meant for lesser empires.
A government that double-taps the drowning has already severed itself from the moral architecture of civilization. The collapse, the institutional hollowing, the fetishization of cruelty, the electorate that confuses barbarism with vigor, converges here, in a single act of state-sanctioned annihilation. War crimes are not an aberration. They are the inevitable flower of a regime that has spent years cultivating rot.
Sure have Congress look into it, but that isn't the answer. We do not need another congressional farce in which men responsible for murder feign confusion until the news cycle moves on.
We need prosecutions. International ones. The kind reserved for nations that butcher the defenseless and dare to call it sovereignty.
Because this wasn’t a military operation, and it is a crime scene.
This government includes a lot of people who think the moral architecture of civilization IS cruelty... toward any apostate or heretic to their God. They call themselves "Christians", but then so did the Spanish Inquisition.
Trump came through 6 Jan with flying colors. Hegseth sailed through Signalgate without a scratch. They are relying on the apathy and willing ignorance of the American people to get away with murder. To be continued, until America awakes from its slumber.
Oh, I think the American people are split into 1) wide awake and furious and 2) brainwashed and suffering from AI and algorithm psychosis. Unfortunately, our elites and politicians are all in category 2 and won't stop themselves from slurping from Musk and Murdoch's firehoses of propaganda.
Might be another possibility. When Tim was debating those college kids, one of them just could not believe the stories about innocent people being shipped to El Salvador. He thought Tim was making it all up because, in his world, that information never made it in. That's a big problem and one I don't know how to solve. With these boat strikes, it's entirely possible these people have either not heard about it at all or only heard Hegseth's explanation.
It's more than possible, it's almost certain. They are ensconced in a cozy and incredibly simple propaganda bubble where all the good guys are White and all the bad guys are Black or Brown. You can't introduce nuance into a hothouse environment like that. It would die immediately.
We've known since 1945 and the death camps that propaganda kills people on the scale of millions. But anytime someone suggests tampering down the lies on FOX or Twitter, we are called unAmerican traitors. Apparently you can only believe in the First Amendment by letting foreigners have their way with our entire information apparatus. We know how to fix it: shut off Murdoch and Musk's firehoses. But we won't because those firehoses make money (and protect sex criminals).
Kate, Without exception, every Trump supporter I attempt to debate with is blissfully unaware of reality. Tim's Jubilee debate confirmed that my personal experience is not an outlier. I've also noticed that when you provide them with facts, and share fact-checked articles from a variety of sources on whatever topic you are debating, they refuse to accept reality. Willful ignorance is the shield they need to protect their consciences. If they allow anything to get past that shield, their entire world collapses.
Yeah, but Veterans are absolutely worshipped (up to the point of actually funding programs to benefit them). All sorts of Veterans are openly denouncing the war crimes. This seems to be breaking through the typical wall of apathy.
I hope you are right Mike. I'm one of them. (see my substack) Veterans absolutely formed a core of the MAGA movement, even in its embryo form (Tea Party, etc). But those of us who oppose authoritarianism in America need more unity for sure.
I hope this is right. This is so basic, so fundamentally wrong. This is THE CASE you hear about when going through this kind of training in the military. Shooting people struggling in the water DEFINES an unlawful order. You can't shoot helpless people in the water. In fact, mariners are bound by the International Law of the Sea to render aid to shipwrecked people. Not only can't you hurt them, you MUST help them.
Okay, so let's assume there was some justification for the first strike. They see people struggling in the water. Next call is to the Coast Guard or the Navy or a general distress call to ships in the area to render aid. That's it. That's these guys' responsibility. It should have been done and it wasn't.
Those citizens will be mighty surprised, should we experience another 9/11 attack, that no one among our allies will be issuing anything more than boiler plate expressions of sympathy , and they sure as he'll won't be putting themselves in harm's way for a nation that revels in lawlessness and cruelty.
We can say "This isn’t who we are", but to millions of people around the world
If the recent polls (watch Rachel Maddow's last show) are right, those millions now consist only of his core and even they're having second thoughts. His approval on nearly every issue is in the low 30s. When the prices and medical plans skyrocket, it will get worse. You'd think Congress will notice.
I won't believe there's any loss of Trump support until those people vote for someone other than him or his MAGA goons. (And Rachel Maddow ain't the best source of information about anything, really.)
If that Tennessee race goes the Democrat's way today, that'll mean something.
Love Newsom’s pretend MRI report from Dr. Doolittle. But it was missing the doctor saying to the governor, with tears in his eyes, “Sir, oh Sir, I have never seen an MRI as wonderful as yours! This was the most wonderful MRI this world has ever seen!”
Making Parody Great Again. Gavin Newsome has an amazing record of entertaining politics, that I can tell you. No one has ever seen anything like it. He's so incredible Paramount offered him a big part in Rush Hour 4. TMZ says he turned it down, because he doesn't do crass racist low budget trash. Like some politainers who ARE crass racist low budget trash. Besides he's up for the lead in a new picture scripted by Aaron Sorkin, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Charlie Kaufman, co-directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and Guillermo Del Toro.
I'm no physician, but the pic of T a short while back in which half his mouth was drooping very notably screamed stroke to me. Not to mention his many mental lapses. They say MRI was for cardiac and abdomen, not brain. I think they're leaving something out.
While I tend to avoid commenting on people's appearance, in terms of physical characteristics, I concede that in many cases how people look is a window into both their mind and their soul.
Is there any photo of Hegseth in which he does not look like an arrogant, nasty little prick, enjoying power and status as if a birthright? When I look at human images, I first look for warmth and empathy in them. I never see that with him. Those qualities seem utterly lost within him, or not extant at all. Which, I suppose, makes him a perfect candidate to work in this administration. The clear lack of humanity seems to be a prerequisite for any level of responsibility, alongside total fealty to The Leader.
My favorite comment about Hegseth that I've seen is that he looks like a spoiled rich kid daring the cop to punish him or risk his rich Daddy's wrath.
"DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?"
Well done, although, I’d posit he’d say something along the lines of: DO YOU KNOW WHO MY DADDY IS????
That's the one. 😀
A line used by many celebrities.
A line I use to describe driving habits in Metro-Phoenix any time I am stupid enough to venture out there. My beloved spouse, “Did you just see what that Ass&*le did?”. My response, “Obviously dear, you have no idea who the ASS&*LE is”!”. Wash, rinse, repeat.
You got that from Tom Nichols' article in The Atlantic, right? I read that this morning and was in awe of his wordsmithing skills.
"When Hegseth pulled more than 800 senior officers into an auditorium to give them a long and pointless harangue, it was not only disrespectful; it was cringe-inducing, like watching the angriest kid in your high school come back 20 years later as the principal and unload his adolescent gripes on all the teachers in the staff lounge."
Nichols is on the Bulwark Podcast with Tim Miller pretty often, check those out.
I got it from reading an article quoting Tom Nichols. I just wanted to avoid plagiarism. 😀
Read the whole article. It’s perfect.
“PETE HEGSETH NEEDS TO GO—NOW
A man with such contempt for the military should not run the Pentagon.”
by Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 12/1/25, https://apple.news/AWf4G9A9VQ2egg4CBwq3X2g
“Yesterday, the secretary of defense of the United States of America posted a meme on X depicting Franklin, the cartoon turtle who is a beloved children’s-book character, as a Special Forces operator killing people on boats. He added a comment: “For your Christmas wish list…” Just to make the point, the secretary tagged the X account of SOUTHCOM, the Southern Forces Command, which has had to carry out the strikes, as if blowing up boats and killing the survivors was a joke to be shared with a chuckle and a backslap.
Perhaps Hegseth thinks that sinking boats on the high seas is funny. Maybe he just wanted to own the libs and all that. Or maybe he thought he could disrupt the gathering war-crimes narrative, like the school delinquent pulling a fire alarm during an exam.”
The extent to which this administration seems to enjoy killing people reminds me of the scene in "Gladiator" where Commodus is watching, and enjoying, the killing going on in the coliseum. It is the same glee and gloating, with total lack of humanity, shown by Hegseth. It is truly disgusting and disturbing.
I, too, read Tom Nichols yesterday!
I think I saw someone quoting Tom Nichols. 😀
Tom Nichols is the BEST.
More like he'd be dating the cop's daughter so he could swipe and brandish a badge.
He looks like the entitled, rapey little frat boy that he is.
yup! he's the composite of every rapey dickhead I had the displeasure of growing up with
Speaking of looks, I see where the clones of Hope Hicks who happen to be 'lawyers', are not having a good time with their days in court. Probably won't have a good time when they face disbarment proceedings either.
I think of them as Lawyer Barbie.
So very many Barbies- ICE Barbie, Barbie Blondi, now Lawyer Barbies- all with same weird face-fluffing. The Stepford Barbies of the Trump Regime.
Excellent moniker, “Stepford Barbies”. I dunno if you can trademark that, but you could give it a try. The royalties for use might be enough for a pound of coffee a month if things continue like they have for the next three years.
fringe ( far right radical ) ornament wives, educated or not career or not,
have you not seen them, I have, my entire life. they are
not trophies, or in charge. they are objects Some are just married ' on paper ' they do their own thing
I kind of reserve that one for Barbie Blondi.
That Ted Talk he gave to the entire leadership of the military while prancing as the newly self-dubbed Secretary of War (not a department, not a thing that exists anywhere but this administration's "minds", and operating completely illegally) was the most embarrassing display Hegseth had done... until letting someone under his command take the fall for his bloodthirst.
OK, I need pile on to this one: Sec of WAR Hegseth, please lose the American flag handkerchief. I know you and your Fox News cronies think it looks cool, but it's actually extremely tacky and disrespectful. We don't blow our nose in the flag. You look like a clown. Bill, can you write something on this one??? "patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel" --Samuel Johnson
Totally correct Shawn. If anyone bothered to read protocols regarding our flag, they would learn that our flag should never be used for anything but a flag. In the United Kingdom the Union Jack is used for clothing, but not here. Every time I see a ripped or dirty flag, or one that is flying in the rain, or left in the dark, I never call these people proud to own one. They are lazy hypocrites, too self centered to do the right thing.
yes, I noticed a long time ago that many of the sunshine patriots would leave their flags flying 24/7 in my neighborhood. I always thought from my time in the Marine Corps that you are supposed to bring it down in the evening (hence the playing and ritual of colors every morning and evening on any U.S. military base.) As for clothing I never even considered that, until, that is, a dipshit as big as Hegseth came along...
The flag can be flown around the clock only if it is properly illuminated after sunset.
ok, thanks Meko!! But we've established that its not in the best of taste to use it as a jacket liner, right????
Without a doubt. I was not being critical, just clarifying. I too find the 24 hour flag flying (with lack of illumination) annoying, as I do most breaches of flag etiquette, Hegseth's included.
I'm sorry, I started this whole thing...
Or on a vessel underway.
today's conversation inspired a meme, feel free to share!
https://x.com/AVDDemocracy/status/1995953297212277140/photo/1
Thanks. Will do!
This is the correct answer.
There is a certain group that, U.S. Flag Code be damned, seems to think there is something ennobling, some transfer of virtue, about flying a flag that looks like it has been in a battle. Rather than wrapping ones ego in the flag, how about striving to be worthy of the best that it often stands for? A handkerchief? I could maybe throw a punch over that use. The mashup TRUMP/U.S. flags drive me crazy.
I used to leave occasional notes observing that a particular flag was overly worn (torn, tattered) and that if the owner was amenable, our local Troop would be pleased to collect it and give it a dignified retirement at our next campout. That became a first-night campfire ritual.
I'll take the patriotic wisdom of 11 year old Tenderfoots over most any MAGA.
https://x.com/AVDDemocracy/status/1995953297212277140/photo/1
Words fail me.... (And now my eyeballs hurt.)
That was my job when I was a kid. I had to raise it in the morning and lower it at night with my dad. That was so we folded it properly. Those were the days.
did it many years, early in the a.m. - we DID have a light as well.
place of business.
The flag may be flown at night, if lighted. I remember reading about Boy Scout troops whose members stood under a flag and illuminated it with flashlights because the light that was there failed. I guess in today’s world they were suckers and losers. They weren’t in the eyes of their community.
Reminds me of hippies who use to wear flag patches on their ass.
truckers, the flower children, druggies sure pushed a lot of buttons.
I despise seeing flags hung in place of a sleeper curtain, semi trucks
( I took by brother's down, and told him why it was disrespectful.
today's conversation inspired a meme, feel free to share!
https://x.com/AVDDemocracy/status/1995953297212277140/photo/1
The pocket square is nothing. His suit jacket lining is the entire US flag. I’m pretty sure that is a violation of some flag law, maybe even a military one.
You've got to be kidding me...How did we get here?? I actually remember when we had statesmen with class in America, regardless of party...
“A Secretary of Defense Pick With a Full MAGA Look”, NYT, 11/15/24
Gift Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/style/pete-hegseth-secretary-of-defense-trump-pick-maga.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k8.MrAJ.f5T6562IG-PN&smid=url-share
The photo is front and center. He still wears that jacket and he still shows off the lining. I think he even did it at the Pentagon Briefing of the Generals.
Perhaps he feels the need to one-up the MAGA women's shiny cross necklaces. Such faux displays of patriotism/faith being no more than show underpinned by ego and opportunism alone, having little or nothing to do with the actual beliefs and actions those symbols are meant to portray.
ugh, just looked at that, wish I hadn't...thanks Ann!!!
Yeah, it’s pretty vomit inducing.
My God!
barnum bailey
Makes me think of Kenneth from 30 Rock and his audition to be an NBC steward (I think that was the storyline).
today's conversation inspired a meme, feel free to share!
https://x.com/AVDDemocracy/status/1995953297212277140/photo/1
The pocket square is SecHeg displaying his sprezzatura. It's how you know he's the whole package.
All the folks who endlessly whine about "DEI" hires never include the hiring of a mediocre white guy in that category. Has he ever shown any ability indicating he is qualified for job he holds?
He has some foundational tattoos that show off the right attitude for the Trump Admin.
And also certain women. Blonde and of Mar-a-Lago face.
Hegseth looks like an aging frat boy, whose main talent is showcasing his great head of hair. This has taken him far, which is an indictment on our “system” of meritocracy.
I have a more visceral reaction to Kevin Hassett. The smirking smile with the slew of misrepresented and cherry picked statistics and reports. Every time he is on a post or being interviewed I want to punch him in the face. If you look on such sites that allow comments, you will find this a common reaction.
His book. “Dow 36,000: The New Strategy for Profiting from the Coming Rise in the Stock Market” – September 20, 1999. “Stocks are undervalued, not overvalued. Stock prices will double, even quadruple, within a short period of time. The Dow Jones Industrial Average will soon reach 36,000. Astounding profits can be made, but the time to act is now! Dow 36,000 tells why this one-time rise is coming and how to adjust your portfolio and invest without fear.”
The early 2000’s? The dot com boom, bubble, and bust. Enron 2001. WorldCom 2002. Yeah, and 9/11. That aside, in September 1999 the Dow was about 10,000. Then the Great Recession hit. By February 27, 2009? Dow 7063. It continued a steady climb after that low. It would not reach 36,000 until December 2023. What a soothsayer. Only 24 years! Buy on the dip. “I am a dip!” “Pump and dump!”
In May 2020, Hassett said with a strange smile on his face, “America’s unemployment rate may hit 23%” Kevin Hassett, a senior White House economic adviser, told CNN’s Poppy Harlow Friday morning that he thinks the unemployment rate, which hit 14.7% in April, may rise to 22% to 23% by May and edge up a bit in June before heading lower. “June will be higher,” Hassett said. “That will be the turning point.” The actual unemployment rate topped out at in April 2020 at 14.8% and dropped to 6.7% by December 2020.
Wipe that smirk off your face.
OMG! I feel exactly the same! I, too, just want to punch him in the face!
I take your observation to be about his demeanor and body language rather than static physical characteristics, so I think you're good on the “not commenting on appearances” ethic. It's something in the way he carries himself.
And never stops posing. It's all surface and he wants this surface.
I don't know of any photographs per se, but if you're looking for a different emotion on his face you can always pull up the video where he inadvertently hurls a throwing axe at a drummer after missing the target. I'd characterize his expression as embarrassed shock, rather than his normal resting d-bag face.
There’s also a video out there of some morning tv news stunt outdoors where he hits himself in the groin with some object he mishandles. That face is priceless and should be allowed to go viral on the internet.
Skateboard. Jeff Tiedrich posts the gif in almost every article that mentions Hegseth. Case in point - scroll down some: https://substack.com/home/post/p-180430688
I see that and arrested development. Someone who knows he'd never make an honorable career in the service, or for that matter, anywhere. Any wonder why he needs the positive affirmations of his mother-wife in meetings and on Signal?
He looks like Oliver North was his role model when he was a little boy: he's got that whole "Ollie Uses His Marine Uniform As A Prop In The Congressional Oversight Hearings And Defies The Democrats On Iran/Contra" vibe going on.
Besides all the negative traits you mention, he is a drunk and assaulter of women. Hegsbreath is appropriate nickname.
Or, as I react to his appearance - he has a VERY punchable face.
Seriously, Pete Hegseth looks like an SS officer to the T. Straight from central casting, he would look totally at home in a Nazi uniform.
Anyone commenting on Hegseth's appearance gets an automatic pass. After all, the guy has chosen a look that stands out and draws attention: JC Leyendecker's 100-year-old ads for Arrow shirts and collars. Nobody accidentally walks around looking like that, and talking about his appearance is not only fair but also important.
Watching Adm Bradley take this on the chin with his Senate briefing coming up is interesting. What might he say to the Senators? Also, let’s assume Bradley proactively ordered the second strike on the survivors in front of Hegseth, as Gen Hertling pointed out on Twitter, that’s still complicity in a war crime. If you as the senior officer don’t stop your subordinate from committing a war crime, what the fuck are you even doing in charge?
Everyone in the chain of command from Admiral Bradley through the pilot who fired the shots either gave, relayed or executed an illegal order. There's no gray area here for any of them. They should all be court-martialed. Their military careers should be over. This administration celebrates war crimes, so there will be no consequences for now. The next administration will have to deal with it. Any of the criminals who retire to escape consequences should be recalled and tried. Anything less means the Uniform Code of Military Justice is only a guideline with no real meaning.
On a more personal level, every one of those involved should be deeply ashamed they used the military resources with which they have been entrusted to murder humans who were struggling to stay alive. Is that the "warrior culture" that Hegseth preens over?
For the rest of us, this was done in our name and stains all of us.
I think this reaction is ABSOLUTELY SPOT ON. Honestly, my big concern right now is that the left goes down the rabbit hole of wanting to specifically hang it on Hegseth, as opposed to sticking to the principal of "it is illegal to follow an illegal order." If Hegseth is ultimately responsible - which he would be if "kill everyone" was the mission - then he should go down. But if we get distracted with getting Hegseth vs following the rule of law, then this atrocity simply becomes another us vs. them issue.
I don't know whether the order originated with Hegseth or Admiral Bradley. I do know that everyone in the chain of command between Bradley and the pilot was involved. All need to be prosecuted.
The problem here is that apparently court martial proceedings have to be approved by…..the Secretary of Defense…..or the Attorney General…….or the President. I saw that explanation somewhere like maybe Michael Weiss’s column, made by a retired JAG officer who explained the system at length. It means, basically, that Hegseth would have to authorize his own court martial. All the JAG officers can do is make a recommendation and then prosecute if given the okay by SECDEF.
Actually, the court martial explanation was in the comments of an article in the Deeper Look Substack of Michael Sellers.
I don't expect any response from the current administration. However, the next administration can recall everyone involved to duty and then try them. They can strip them of rank, privileges and an honorable discharge.
It has to be done to save the institution.
Miles Taylor said he was in the room during Trump 1.0 when he floated the idea of blowing up boats, but the sane people managed to put the kibosh on that quick. Now there are no sane people, and his wish is their command. The Supreme Court has helpfully convinced him that as long as he sticks the words “for national security reasons” in there, everything he does is 100% legal, and anyone who says otherwise is a traitorous liberal squish (They’re throwing the word “treason” around a lot here lately.). I do hope we get to see Admiral Bradley before Congress, and Hegseth, too.
I wonder if the SCOTUS majority fully understood the possibility of a lawless Trump when they issued that decision.
I don't think they gave a shit. As long as it was a GOP/magat POTUS. They would've never given a Dem POTUS that Get Out Of Jail Free card.
Except the trump v United States decision was issued 7/1/24, with nearly 6 months remaining in Biden's term. The fact that he chose not to exploit this expanded immunity speaks to his respect for the office, just as the unimaginable exploitation of the current WH occupant speaks to his lack thereof.
YAHTZEE!
I believe there’s an expiration Date on total immunity that will coincide (possibly) with the installation of a new President - if that President has a “D” attached to their name. But these are pretty big “if’s”…..The Supremes are willing to tie themselves in knots to justify 180 degree turns based on the occupant of the White House’s political leanings and/or their skin color or (God forbid) sex….
The only type of Trump available is Lawless Trump. There are no versions of Trump or his children who believe in laws. If they couldn't see that, I assume its because Leonard Leo's money and/or Nazi memorabilia collection were blocking their eyesight.
It’s wild, Kate. But I really believe that they really believe they can return the country to some idealized version of 1950’s America where women and non-whites knew their place. Up is down, wrong is right, and day is night - as long as they can tie themselves in knots to achieve their endgame.
You mean that a deranged Trump might have them shot just to show he can, and to scare all judges into always siding with him? Nope. In spite of their intelligence, they fail to understand that Trump is in this mostly to enjoy hurting people. He is like a serial killer; he really can’t help himself..
Nope
They had their eye on creating a comprehensive statement of the unitary executive power without regard to who might benefit from it. And they maybe thought that if he were elected in 2024 it would be a repeat of the first time around with a least some Cabinet officials present to head off the more egregious impulses of the president.
Oh yeah I believe so.
Not that I am expecting one thing or another, but if Admiral Bradley fell on his sword before Congress he would be given a hero's welcome by the right wing cinematic universe and would be pardoned handsomely by the CINC for his troubles.
While the Maga-verse might celebrate Admiral Bradley, IF the Admiral did issue an unlawful order, I doubt his peers in military service would. Being an Army brat and Army wife, I've seen how much the earned respect of your fellow officers and soldiers means.
As a veteran of the USMC, I don't totally disagree with your point regarding the respect of your comrades in arms... but my comment was inspired, in part, by the reactions of some of the guys I deployed with. It pains me how many vets in my orbit eat up Hegseth's posturing toward the rules of engagement. My initial comment was also inspired by Malcom Nance's (unverified by me) assertion that Adm. Bradley admires Trump.
AS a fellow Jar Head who served for a couple of years with an HQ outfit in the Far East a lifetime ago, I agree with your comment, Matt. The ‘Warrior Ethos’ is certainly ‘a thing’, and it can have a blinding effect on consequences…
No military experience of any kind, but following illegal orders from the drunken talk show host seems like it would damage his reputation pretty severely among his peers -- unless they are okay with it all anyway, in which case we're already beyond saving.
I really am inclined to agree with you--in no small part because I want to believe the assertion is true.
So I agree that my comment suggested "all" instead of "some". We have the same experience in our orbit of some Trump voters - but I believe (rationalize?) that it was a financial decision, not a defense decision. However, I still believe that losing the respect of even some of those you served with, would be hard to dismiss.
"Losing the respect," is putting the matter somewhat lightly. It has been a profoundly distressing experience for me.
after dating ' an additional ' former ( MARINE ) jarhead , who
was also in a large police force , with a position of power,
I found out, things. the thrill of placing power over a private citizen , just say, he was a little warped with power. We were ' out of town' and he just saw someone he could bully/ toss around, . My reaction was NOT what he expected, something comes off of some former Marines, not ALL- He knew I was not going to be his peon.
Oh my goodness - me too.
Malcom was on Stephanie Miller's radio show and I've never seen him that pissed off -- and he seems like "kind of pissed off" is his default setting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jt8U0HJvZ7U&list=PLnM1khTffQyIUqudV2R-lsBLCEN6SK2XU
Hegseth got his nomination for SecDef due to his loyalty to Trump. It certainly has nothing to do with his experience, management or strategic abilities.
Hair gel, a mean drunk and an abuser of women and underlings, over qualified in trumpy world.
I feel like Partyin' Pete wishes he'd been invited to Epstein Island.
I could picture him being hired as the pool boy......
The loyalty thing is a given. Hegseth got the nod for two reasons:
• He looks like what Trump thinks a warrior should look like, and performs combative outrage with Fox news honed skill.
• More importantly, he made his rep on Fox by defending war criminals, and framing following laws as coward handicapping of the warrior ethos the US must adopt to best its legion of enemies... In which Trump knows Pete will include protesters and troublemakers and Devilcrats, passing on orders to deploy the military domestically wherever and whenever Trump wants, and to fire on anyone wants shot.
Are the smell of preemptive pardons are in air?
Wouldn't help him if he gets hauled to the Hague.
THIS.
(This, this, this, this!)
multiple of multiples
Just curious and a bit confused here. But how exactly is a Sec. of Defense supposed to factor into the military chain of command?
My understanding is that POTUS is the Commander-in-Chief, of course, and therefore sits atop everything. So, would an “order” from a civilian Sec. of Defense be a de facto order from the President via delegation of authority (think auto pen here)? Or is a civilian Sec. of Defense actually given the authority to order around anyone in the military by virtue of the title bestowed (in this case, thanks to a tie-breaking vote in the Senate by jd Vance)?
My confusion ends at the point that Admiral Bradley enters the picture. If he directly ordered the targeted attack on helpless men, then he is definitely in deep s**t, and he obviously didn’t heed the message coming from Sen. Kelly and friends about disobeying an illegal order. (Hmmm….In fact, maybe a little bird whispered to someone about this attack, and that’s what inspired Kelly and company. 🤔)
I also wonder about the culpability of those further down the chain of command who “just followed orders,” even though that is a well established losing argument in defense of illegal military actions.
Hopefully, the imminent Congressional investigation will be thorough and actually focused on the evidence that videos and communication records should provide (unless some of them mysteriously go missing). This is very serious s**t, and hopefully the proper heads will roll.
Of course Trump is simply going to pardon anyone found guilty of criminal behavior. But the public airing of the evidence and the rolling heads, even pardoned ones, might help erode support among certain constituencies for this rogue administration. This stuff has to stop!!
The SECDEF sits between the President and the Combatant Commanders. He’s the second in line in the NCA. If he was in the room as Adm Bradley issued an illegal order, it is incumbent on Hegseth to belay that order.
I’ve seen it reported that Bradley told the people under him that he was ordering the second strike “in order to comply with SECDEF’s order that there be no survivors”. It was pretty clear at the time that Hegseth gave a “no quarter” order, and Bradley complied. What’s being said now is just CYA for Hegseth. They are throwing Bradley under the bus.
Thanks for that clarification. I was too lazy to research it myself.
Boy! These f**kers are something, aren’t they? I pray that karma does become a player in all of this.
I just looked up Bradley on Wikipedia. What a brilliant career! He was/is a superior soldier in every respect. I would love to see him in the closed-door session with Congress. I hope he has a good reason for doing what he did. Because if he doesn't, he just screwed the pooch. And what an ignominious end. In even the best case, he can't come out of this clean. He'll be lucky to keep his retirement salary.
Look. Hegseth and Bradley and all the others involved in this murder/war crime will be pardoned by Trump if they are convicted.
True. But I think I made a valid point earlier that none of this is building support for Trump, et al. The more any of it is in the public eye, the more it erodes support for this rancid administration.
There is not a chance in hell that Admiral Bradley ordered a second strike on his own initiative. He was carrying out an (almost certainly illegal) order from the SecDef.
I don't think it can really tilt a court martial proceeding by itself, but where will they fit the fact that the SecDef fired the Senior JAG Corp? That was absolutely evil in a brilliantly 'effing way.
Don't you love how every company and every other country on Earth has to put out disclaimers that they don't support our morals and values?
I'm really sad today. I feel like everyone I know has internet algorithm poisoning. I'm here to commit to not being nasty online and not letting the delusions of madmen become my reality. I'm not getting into arguments with delusions, I'm not, I am not. (Man, for someone who grew up with a sociopathic narcissist in the family, the last decade has been hard and disappointing.)
So in the spirit of "a function of a system is what it does" and trying to keep my eyes on reality and not delusions of madmen, what is our foreign policy these days?
1. Get fooled constantly by Netanyahu.
2. Support Russia and Turkey.
3. Go to war in our "sphere of influence" but only against unarmed civilians.
4. Get the hell out of NATO.
Did I miss anything?
5. Personally enrich the President while making him feel "tough."
Oh, right, yes, generate money for the Trump slush fund. Anyone ever play Tropico?
Also, I forgot 6. Hand over as much soft power and technological advancements to China as possible.
You sure this isn't #1?
I was adding to Kate's list, not prioritizing. 😀
How about: ingratiate ourselves to Saudi Arabian autocrats so the President can get richer through development deals and crypto scams?
Oh man, I forgot Saudi Arabia. I'm beginning to think I don't support a single one of Trump's foreign policies.
And don’t forget his sons. Since the two top boys never did any real work in their lives, Daddy has to make certain they get a little nest egg. The way those two spoke at Felon Trump’s corporation fraud trial, they couldn’t run a lemonade stand, let alone a corporation. As for the second daughter, she had better use her law degree, she will need it. No money in her husband’s family. Last child, Melania’s got him covered. Every time you see her with DonOld, her pre-nup gets better for her.
Not a one? Oh Kate, you crack me up! ;-)
What ever are the whims of DJT at the moment.
Bail out his right-wing buddies (Argentina).
Try to free fascists by bullying (Brazil).
Campaign for unquestioned leadership of the Global Authoritarian Klepto Dictator, Despot and Wannabe Club.
Coerce foreign investment into Rush Hour 4.
Spread the gospel of Trump meme coin.
Note to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth:
Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is currently in detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Are there any former US government officials in The Hague?
The White House said that all of its orders are legal. You mean there's more to it than that? 😀
It must be true that the orders were legal. The Prez said the boats were carrying illegal drugs, even though no proof of any kind has been provided. As we know, this president "never lies", so what he says must be true! He probably pulled it out of some nether region where he stores all his knowledge. /s
Yes, where the sun don’t shine!
My wife wife and I watched a trump rally speech in 2016 on TV , that's what my comment to my wife was
" He talks out of his ass " .
“In other words: Hegseth was there, watching live, but didn’t issue any orders, but was extremely happy that the spirit of the orders he never issued were executed anyway, which he then took credit for in real time and hailed as a glorious triumph without revealing that it wasn’t.”
Two things come to mind:
1. At least now, all the senior military and intelligence leadership will know full well that this administration doesn’t have their back; they’re pawns and expendable. Let’s see how many more senior military leaders will choose to do their bidding moving forward.
2. The entire affair seems almost a parallel to what’s happening internally. Trump says immigrants are bringing crime and drugs; therefore, he’s built an army of ICE stormtroopers answerable to no one, but the most depraved senior leadership in the administration. This manufactured crisis which built a masked army attacks and pulls even US citizens into the mix. Not to mention, sending military troops into states based on a manufactured crisis.
And now we have Trump claiming that Venezuela and several other South American and Latin American countries are trafficking in drugs, weapons and crime (mostly manufactured).
Therefore, he is attacking boats with impunity, and just like ICE, refusing to provide evidence or acknowledging their actions are counter to US and International laws.
And yet in both cases, Trump is pardoning foreign leaders engaged in the drug trade, and releasing hardened criminals in the US convicted of the same crimes he claims to want to rid their nation and the world of. Tell me now that Trump isn’t looking to exhort foreign nations in this hemisphere, the same way he’s trying to pressure blue states unwilling to fall in line?
I saw a great post yesterday. It showed a picture of a Cigarette Boat with an awning with words; you can read it from a drone or a satellite. It reads:
“Yes we are trafficking in the cocaine trade, but we plan to use the profits to buy Trump Crypto!”
Clearly, this represents this administration in a nutshell! No one is claiming the drug trade doesn’t exist or isn’t a real issue; however, Trump isn’t consistent when it comes to arrests or prosecutions.
Just like Trump’s policies in America; give a million to the Trump campaign, or fund one of his various business schemes, and you get a pardon and a business partner.
However. if you’re a political adversary or don’t have the required financial resources to buy a seat at the table; then you’re screwed! IMHO…:)
Inconsistency, hypocrisy, lying aren't bugs within a fascist person-cult. They're features. Each utterance is a testament to freedom from restraint, cult loyalty, a thumb in the eye of the pearl-clutching pussies.
Well said, and please don’t be afraid to tell us how you really feel…:)
Thank you ladies and gentlemen. You're too kind. I'll be here in the lounge the rest of the week....
"an army of ICE stormtroopers answerable to no one, but the most depraved senior leadership in the administration" -- that would be Stephen "Himmler" Miller.
Exactly, and Vought…:)
My experience smuggling narcotics by sea is limited. Can anyone tell me: On this open boat, crowded with 11 souls, where were the drugs stowed? If the answer is just forward of the multiple outboard motors, then where was the fuel for the motors?
"My experience smuggling narcotics by sea is limited." That's what they all say, Tom. ;)
While I have been indicted multiple times, I have never been convicted.
ok... a bit off topic - but Kate, you are spicy and spot on today!
It must’ve been in their pockets.
That where Don Jr. has his.
I was thinking of an orifice......
Maybe this is how Venezuela gets rid of their hardened criminals. They just remote control them into U.S. crosshairs.
Sorry, I can’t help. I have no experience trafficking drugs, just limited experience using them…:)
KEROSLINE replies from the Press Room;
Of course there were drugs on there. LOTS of drugs. If it looks like there's no room for them, that's just how crafty Tren de Aragua is. It's so easy to fool the radical leftists who coddle narco-terrorists because they hate America! Secretary Hegseth is a great American Patriot and he ABSOLUTELY knows where and how the narco-poison was hidden on those boats. BUT THAT INFORMATION IS CLASSIFIED, AND FOR DAMN GOOD NATIONAL SECURITY REASONS. You should be ashamed for asking him to reveal secrets publicly so every enemy of America, foreign and domestic, could copy them and use them against us!! I mean, do you want the former President of Honduras sending out an armada of the boats to El Chapo?
Er, scratch that last part.
"In other words: Hegseth was there, watching live, but didn’t issue any orders, but was extremely happy that the spirit of the orders he never issued were executed anyway, which he then took credit for in real time and hailed as a glorious triumph without revealing that it wasn’t."
Yup. That about sums it up.
I grew up with Franklin the turtle, and as a fan, I have to say, I strongly feel Franklin would never have fired an RPG oriented such that the propellant would discharge into the helicopter, the force of which would probably knock the helo out of the sky
No, in seriousness, what Bill wrote is about how I feel, except with a modifier that when tragedy becomes farce, and then the farce becomes lethal, it is nihilism. God save us from the existential dread clowns in the Trump cabinet.
I am not familiar with Franklin the Turtle, but I thought it strange that Hegseth would pick a Canadian children's character as a symbol of Merican Macho. Weren't there any Kash Patel characters to choose from?
Probably should have used Yertile the turtle; "King of all he surveys".
I didn't know Franklin was Canadian, but I do know my kids liked to "read" Franklin stories with me. Maybe Hegseth thought Franklin was a relative of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They were kick ass turtles.
He's from Minnesota (I hate to admit) and we're kinda Canada adjacent. Hegseth probably hates Canada and it's sensibility, and is getting payback by reframing a gentle children's book icon as a character from Apocalypse Now.
Which is why Push-Ups Pete never made it to LtCol.
Did you see him trying to do pull-ups? Yeesh.
Physics, schmisics. Next you'll tell us that the sudden deceleration of Superman stopping Lois Lane's fall from a skyscraper would have killed her instantly. Not in my America, pal!
Yes. A clown with a flamethrower ... still has a flamethrower.
I noticed the position of the rpg, too. 😀
Nihilists! Fuck me. I mean, say what you want about the tenets of Christian Nationalism, Kotzsu. At least it's an ethos.
(I never met the Coens, but they went to my high school)
Why do I have suspicions that the second strike was a CYA move because they didn't have intelligence this was a drug boat? Admiral Holsey must be relieved he was mostly likely relieved of command before these strikes were ordered. Admiral Bradley gets to walk the plank before he's even confirmed as Holsey's replacement. So much for a fourth star. Not that a fourth star is worth much when the Navy is being run by a drunken failed army major with delusions of grandeur.
Ahhh, the real reason we gotta kill 'em all. They talk less that way.
Same reason the other two known survivors were given an express Navy helicopter ride back to their home country just as we found out about them. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when the decision was made to let them survive. Perhaps there were witnesses who watched that strike.
He walks the plank before being thrown under the bus.
The polls leading up to last month's elections in VA and NJ significantly underestimated the margins by which Democrats won. Isn't it possible that the poll in TN showing Behn losing by 2 points has done the same thing? I guess we'll know in a few hours.
Your lips to god's ears!
You stole my line!
I live in the more rural part of the district, and I'm pleasantly surprised — a little shocked, really — that it's this close. I've learned never to get my hopes up, but I do think there's a slim chance she could win. If she does, it'll be a narrow win, and it'll be interesting to see whether/to what extent the results are challenged. Fingers crossed!
but Maria....she doesn't like the country music!
Or pedal taverns! Or bachelorettes! Of all the attacks on her, that one's the funniest. As if Nashville isn't teeming with voters who hate all the It City crap. I'm about as native a Tennessean as it's possible for a non-Indigenous person to be, and even I can't stand corporate country music and drunk tourists.
no doubt... We actually love country music but have put off visiting as drunk tourist culture is not our vibe... Austin pre Trump 2 was great though! -
Good luck today we've got all appropriate body parts crossed for ya'll.... :)
Thanks!
There's still good music here, but you have to know where to find it. I hope you come visit in happier times.
With polling, we are perpetually in the position of not knowing what adjustments pollsters made in their methods since their last miss. So hoping they are making the same error here. But they may not be.
My understanding is that modern polls are really statistical modeling projects, with the raw numbers adjusted and weighted in all kinds of ways to adjust for the fact poll respondents aren't truly a random sample. It assumes a lot of things are the same as in the last election, like the alignment of specific demographics and their likelihood to turn out. They don't do well when the political landscape is changing rapidly like it has been the last few years. I think Aftyn has a real shot
Like generals fighting the last war.
Yeah, real good point. 🤞
We didn’t drift toward barbarism, we accelerated, gleeful, a country convinced the laws of humanity were quaint suggestions meant for lesser empires.
A government that double-taps the drowning has already severed itself from the moral architecture of civilization. The collapse, the institutional hollowing, the fetishization of cruelty, the electorate that confuses barbarism with vigor, converges here, in a single act of state-sanctioned annihilation. War crimes are not an aberration. They are the inevitable flower of a regime that has spent years cultivating rot.
Sure have Congress look into it, but that isn't the answer. We do not need another congressional farce in which men responsible for murder feign confusion until the news cycle moves on.
We need prosecutions. International ones. The kind reserved for nations that butcher the defenseless and dare to call it sovereignty.
Because this wasn’t a military operation, and it is a crime scene.
Amen. And those were not war crimes - every one of those strikes was murder.
This government includes a lot of people who think the moral architecture of civilization IS cruelty... toward any apostate or heretic to their God. They call themselves "Christians", but then so did the Spanish Inquisition.
Trump came through 6 Jan with flying colors. Hegseth sailed through Signalgate without a scratch. They are relying on the apathy and willing ignorance of the American people to get away with murder. To be continued, until America awakes from its slumber.
Oh, I think the American people are split into 1) wide awake and furious and 2) brainwashed and suffering from AI and algorithm psychosis. Unfortunately, our elites and politicians are all in category 2 and won't stop themselves from slurping from Musk and Murdoch's firehoses of propaganda.
Might be another possibility. When Tim was debating those college kids, one of them just could not believe the stories about innocent people being shipped to El Salvador. He thought Tim was making it all up because, in his world, that information never made it in. That's a big problem and one I don't know how to solve. With these boat strikes, it's entirely possible these people have either not heard about it at all or only heard Hegseth's explanation.
It's more than possible, it's almost certain. They are ensconced in a cozy and incredibly simple propaganda bubble where all the good guys are White and all the bad guys are Black or Brown. You can't introduce nuance into a hothouse environment like that. It would die immediately.
We've known since 1945 and the death camps that propaganda kills people on the scale of millions. But anytime someone suggests tampering down the lies on FOX or Twitter, we are called unAmerican traitors. Apparently you can only believe in the First Amendment by letting foreigners have their way with our entire information apparatus. We know how to fix it: shut off Murdoch and Musk's firehoses. But we won't because those firehoses make money (and protect sex criminals).
Kate, Without exception, every Trump supporter I attempt to debate with is blissfully unaware of reality. Tim's Jubilee debate confirmed that my personal experience is not an outlier. I've also noticed that when you provide them with facts, and share fact-checked articles from a variety of sources on whatever topic you are debating, they refuse to accept reality. Willful ignorance is the shield they need to protect their consciences. If they allow anything to get past that shield, their entire world collapses.
Completely agree. My experience too.
Agree 100 percent.
Yeah, but Veterans are absolutely worshipped (up to the point of actually funding programs to benefit them). All sorts of Veterans are openly denouncing the war crimes. This seems to be breaking through the typical wall of apathy.
I hope you are right Mike. I'm one of them. (see my substack) Veterans absolutely formed a core of the MAGA movement, even in its embryo form (Tea Party, etc). But those of us who oppose authoritarianism in America need more unity for sure.
I hope this is right. This is so basic, so fundamentally wrong. This is THE CASE you hear about when going through this kind of training in the military. Shooting people struggling in the water DEFINES an unlawful order. You can't shoot helpless people in the water. In fact, mariners are bound by the International Law of the Sea to render aid to shipwrecked people. Not only can't you hurt them, you MUST help them.
Okay, so let's assume there was some justification for the first strike. They see people struggling in the water. Next call is to the Coast Guard or the Navy or a general distress call to ships in the area to render aid. That's it. That's these guys' responsibility. It should have been done and it wasn't.
🙏
Sadly there are tens of millions of citizens (who vote and breed) that are fine with all this. It breaks my brain.
Those citizens will be mighty surprised, should we experience another 9/11 attack, that no one among our allies will be issuing anything more than boiler plate expressions of sympathy , and they sure as he'll won't be putting themselves in harm's way for a nation that revels in lawlessness and cruelty.
We can say "This isn’t who we are", but to millions of people around the world
This IS who we have become.
If it ever happens again I can see our former allies sending "Thoughts and Prayers".
Yes
And we won’t even deserve those!
If the recent polls (watch Rachel Maddow's last show) are right, those millions now consist only of his core and even they're having second thoughts. His approval on nearly every issue is in the low 30s. When the prices and medical plans skyrocket, it will get worse. You'd think Congress will notice.
I won't believe there's any loss of Trump support until those people vote for someone other than him or his MAGA goons. (And Rachel Maddow ain't the best source of information about anything, really.)
If that Tennessee race goes the Democrat's way today, that'll mean something.
She's quoting a variety of polls. I think even some of the Fox polls are showing his decline.
And they'll be the first to avoid military service or encourage their children to avoid military service.
You missed the follow-up link to Gov. Newsom's MRI results:
https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/1995659642899497393/photo/1
Love Newsom’s pretend MRI report from Dr. Doolittle. But it was missing the doctor saying to the governor, with tears in his eyes, “Sir, oh Sir, I have never seen an MRI as wonderful as yours! This was the most wonderful MRI this world has ever seen!”
"Sir! We've received a request from the Getty to put your MRI on display for the people to study and admire in perpetuity!"
Oh, shoot! This was pretend?!
The doctor's name "Doolittle" was a big giveaway.
Making Parody Great Again. Gavin Newsome has an amazing record of entertaining politics, that I can tell you. No one has ever seen anything like it. He's so incredible Paramount offered him a big part in Rush Hour 4. TMZ says he turned it down, because he doesn't do crass racist low budget trash. Like some politainers who ARE crass racist low budget trash. Besides he's up for the lead in a new picture scripted by Aaron Sorkin, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Charlie Kaufman, co-directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and Guillermo Del Toro.
I'm no physician, but the pic of T a short while back in which half his mouth was drooping very notably screamed stroke to me. Not to mention his many mental lapses. They say MRI was for cardiac and abdomen, not brain. I think they're leaving something out.
Ten-year-old me: "Well, he'd have to have a brain to scan, wouldn't he?" Just asking questions.
Thank you!!
Beautiful!
THIS Congress?
Well, hope springs eternal.