Pete Hegseth is not qualified to command a battalion, much less be the Secretary of Defense. He is by far the worst SecDef in our history and will be remembered as such.
I doubt he's read any history of the 1918 flu pandemic, but the stories of what happened in Army training camps in the US, as well as Army units in Europe are horrifying. Utter devastation of previously healthy, young soldiers. Bodies stacked up unti they could be put in railroad cars and removed. I recommend John Barry's history of the 1918 pandemic, The Great Influenza, for its broad, sweeping viewpoint. Gina Kolata also has a good history of the 1918 pandemic. But I'm certainly not expecting Hegseth to read either one. Or care. He just wants to play at being a "warrior" while making our troops less safe.
Yeah, and you don't fire Generals + top military officials when you're winning.
I want to pass along a great piece by NYT columnist and Dr. Krugman's colleague Jamelle Bouie about the jawdropping extent of Trump's grift and corruption. It's a shared article so you won't get a pay window.
Indeed, but those donations are no more than homage to a would-be king. I want to see that building blocked and Trump ordered to restore the East Wing at his own cost.
You're 100% right. Trump is claiming 'national security' to build a military-style bunker beneath the ballroom to include accommodations for him and his family in case of emergency.
In that kind of "emergency" think I'd wanna be as far away from the White House as possible.
For trump's and the fascist GOP plan to take permanent control of the nation, he needs the military to cultishly follow illegal orders to subdue the population. I don't doubt that a major reason trump attacked Iran is because his White Evangelical nationalist advisors have convinced him that he truly is God's instrument on earth to help bring about their apocalypse. They believe that Israel's Zionist goal must be realized and he was sent to help accomplish that goal. I think that's why he posted that image of himself as Jesus.
They need the military and federal agents like ice to force their rule on the nation.
Or, remember the Teddy Roosevelt (a Navy aircraft carrier) during COVID. Army bases and Navy ships (particularly immense Navy ships) make for fertile ground for a virus.
Good point. Tuberville does have the critical thinking skills that Trump demands. And, managing the largest workforce in the country has got to be similar to managing a college football team
And, cui bono? Who could possibly benefit from placing a drunken, imbecilic, bigoted blowhard at the top of our formerly professional military? I suggest that it could only be Agent Krasnov’s puppet master, daddy Vlad.
The Republicans have pledged to drown government in a bathtub since Reagan. They hire incompetents and corporate insiders to run government into the ground. Then when they ultimately fail, they claim government is the problem. Why do people think that electing people to destroy government will result in anything except bad government.
And that "drown government in a bathtub" pledge (thank you, Grover Norquist) was motivated in large part to (1) deny any benefits to people of color, and (2) enable big corporations to merge, acquire, and pillage to their what passes for their heart's content.
Absolutely. As I said often, being a business person doesn’t make you fit for government. The aim of government is to provide services for the people ; that of business is to maximize profits. The ideal government is the PPP (public private partnerships) by which the government aims to provide and control quality of services and distributive justice, and the private sector rationalize production, promote research and development with seed money from the public sector and make profit, pay fair wages and taxes to give government the tools for infrastructure development and education, healthcare and security for the nation. Just to remind the basic needs of a working society.
I doubt it, at this stage. They're winning. Every single hour of every single day your status in the world is diminished, and though it's not so immediate, Trump tells you to wear shoes too big for you, and you do it. You have no control, and they have unlimited, unreserved control.
Phelan wasn't qualified to be Sec of Navy so it's no loss. He was just a Republican who gave money to Trump's campaign. Not an iota of military or interest in the Navy in his background.
There's a below-the-radar issue in the Navy seen only on socials like bluesky: The Navy hasn't been replenishing FOOD to the ships deployed in the Middle East. Per sailors' photos of almost empty trays sent to their families. Phelan can now be blamed.
His replacement was born in Vietnam. Look it up. His fruitsalad on his Commander jacket is pretty fluffy too. Vice president of CACI. Could'nt quite make it as a Politician.
The Guardian reported that "sources said Hegseth in effect blamed Phelan for not going aggressively enough against senator Mark Kelly, who appeared in a video where he advised troops to ignore 'illegal orders'”.
Reported today on NPR that he approved a converted Coast Guard vessel as a destroyer that was not up to standards, too noisy for one. But he is a huge Trump donor, so look for him to appear in another guise.
He's so far out on a limb that I'm really not sure who the second worst would be. Has any other Secretary of Defense been so demonstrably destructive to the armed forces that he's supposed to maintain in peak condition at all times?
It begs the question - do we even know who previous Secretaries of Defense were? I'm assuming military people would know, but the average person? Probably not. But EVERYONE in the world knows who this moron is. It's not just notoriety. It's positively human evil.
No. And yes. No, because the knowledge does nothing to stop Smegmaseth. Yes, because we learn (too late) to pay attention and recognize who has the influence to corrupt our military. It never occurred to me our military would be so thoroughly corrupted. My husband is a veteran, btw. Never saw combat, but signed up, and was ready to go if called.
And if it’s ’completely unacceptable’ to see fat generals and admirals in the Pentagon, one wonders why it’s ok to see a fat president in the White House??
'Obese' is more like it. But the irony is that Hegseth’s insistence on bulging biceps is a huge fail when it’s the kids who are good at video games that are the big winners in the age of drone warfare…
Remarkably it appears he attended several Ivy League colleges. This is starting to become a real problem for the image of these particular US universities; they seem to emit so many deluded halfwits.
I honestly don't know about that people . They are turning the military into something that's about aesthetics. They even see killing as aesthetics, sublime beautiful like the lady in Mirabeau's Torture Garden.
It's like they are detached from war outside of spectacle that's not into the cold reasoning logic of achieving strategic and tactical objectives that enforce policy goals.
They are more interested in using the military in conjunction with the Republican Party's secret masked police to create an America thatI don't think even existed during slavery which has a totalitarian state. This is something new even though it has antecedents in Americas past.
They might decided to start a war with China because they are starting to measure the army by their own narcissistic image than by messy mundane realities of just a job that's supposed toto be professionalized.
Fox News has been piped into most military bases 24/7 for decades. Military personnel have, in effect, been intentionally politically brainwashed, creating the raw materials for the domestic private army currently employed by this administration.
Christian nationalists have been infiltrating the military for years too. Ask the military freedom from religion foundation. Look at his crusader tattoos. They aren’t just destroying America; they’re destroying secularism.
It's the "Military Religious Freedom Foundation" or MRFF. Not to be pedantic, but in case someone wants to look them up, which I would highly recommend anyone do. The "Freedom From Religion Foundation" or FFRF is another group thar fights for religious freedom , but not limited to the military. I would recommend them, too. Full disclosure: I am a member of both.
I have two cousins who are maga, ex-military and definitely not Christian or religious (my family heritage is Jewish). My brother (unfortunately) is very much influenced by them. It’s a cult, it’s the ‘sunken cost fallacy’ of knowing that you’re in deep, and it’s the emotional need to deny that the skeptics (us !) were correct about these assholes from the beginning.
I believe you'll find they recruit heavily from that demographic. Fox TV in the lounges and waiting rooms is likely as much a choice as it is intentional.
Base commander's choice-I know this from an acoustic physicist employed by the government to listen to outer space. Some base commanders choose CNN, but very few. Personally, I would stream Sesame Street into military base common areas, interrupted only by poetry readings in the evening.
As I'm sure Paul Krugman knows, military spending is a very important part of our economy. Replacing our fear and defence (war) model with one of trust and support is a big wish indeed, when the paychecks of so many depend on the war model.
If I were in the service, I would want to trust that those serving with me would risk their lives for me as I would for them. If a soldier is not willing to take the minimalist risk involved in getting fully vaccinated, and cares not for the potential health of his colleagues in tight quarters, I surely couldn't trust them to have my back in combat.
I think it’s worse than that, Paul. If a flu outbreak occurs, it will weaken and limit our forces. More, this policy provides an avenue of attack against our forces. Flu-infected people—military or otherwise—cannot be effective at their job. I was put in bed for days.
besides the flu shot there are many other vaccines troops are required to have depending on deployment. I think the flu issue is a planned destraction from the ME disaster.
I’d argue that anything that creates instability in the discipline, secular nature, and apoliticism of our military under trump is a bad thing for Canada and every other country—including the U.S. itself.
Project 2025, from the medieval Heritage Foundation, is a plan to destroy basic American systems and prepare the way for the tech bro paradise. The military, the economy, education, elections and constitutional rights are all targets for these simple-minded, single-minded fanatics. The reincarnation of southern advocates fomenting secession to preserve slavery.
I am amazed at how these far right characters lack any trace of perspective. They only get worse and push more ignorance and anti-intellectualism. I cannot come up with the best, most encompassing term for the Hegseths, Patels, and the rest of this "perverse preserve," to quote a recent NY Times Conversation phrase. The most generous term I can use is "ignorant jerks." Possibly someone else can better label their ignorance, cruelty, dishonesty, dishonor, and void in humanity.
The 1918 “Spanish flu” started among soldiers in American camps and was brought by them to Europe. Many died on ships on their way to the war. Let’s hope the history does not repeat itself.
I just now heard a blip on NPR Morning Edition that the Secy. of Navy is leaving his post! While so much of our fleet is engaged in the Middle East?! WTFH?!
Thanks for the YouTube link to Navy Secretary Phelan's last public speech. I did not see anything that jumped out as a critique of the administration. I did notice Phelan's general administrative competence which seems to be something the Trump team mistrusts. Here is a timestamp to where Phelan describes his approach to decision-making. Though he does NOT critique administration decisions, I can see where his approach would put him at odds with Hegseth and Trump.
You beat me to it. If you're a woman or overweight, it's not your body, your faith, your choice. You belong to the Christians.
I'm an atheist, but I've spoken to sincerely faithful Christians in my very red district, and they don't like what they're seeing and hearing. As an atheist, I'm a better Christian than the cultists.
For all his religiosity, we know Pretty Boy Petey isn’t much of a biblical scholar. Maybe he should have a look at Proverbs 16:18, sometimes translated as “pride goeth before a fall.” It can’t come soon enough.
You might be right. I'd hate to see that, but it may just be the way to stop this insanity which is going to end up getting more military personnel killed than actual combat. AND, let's exclude women from the draft. (Sorry guys). If they make the draft all men, men would stand up and say no.
He's right in one instance - After World War II the UK troops cam home andhelped to throw out Churchill and bring in Attlee and the Socialist Government...
Pete Hegseth is not qualified to command a battalion, much less be the Secretary of Defense. He is by far the worst SecDef in our history and will be remembered as such.
I doubt he's read any history of the 1918 flu pandemic, but the stories of what happened in Army training camps in the US, as well as Army units in Europe are horrifying. Utter devastation of previously healthy, young soldiers. Bodies stacked up unti they could be put in railroad cars and removed. I recommend John Barry's history of the 1918 pandemic, The Great Influenza, for its broad, sweeping viewpoint. Gina Kolata also has a good history of the 1918 pandemic. But I'm certainly not expecting Hegseth to read either one. Or care. He just wants to play at being a "warrior" while making our troops less safe.
You are assuming that Hegseth reads anything beyond scripts.
Yeah, and you don't fire Generals + top military officials when you're winning.
I want to pass along a great piece by NYT columnist and Dr. Krugman's colleague Jamelle Bouie about the jawdropping extent of Trump's grift and corruption. It's a shared article so you won't get a pay window.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/opinion/trump-crypto-pardons-corruption.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dFA.4CnD.ZenWZFU-n0Gb&smid=url-share
Everyone here should read this! Just think what good could be done with all the donations to build that hideous ballroom alone.
Indeed, but those donations are no more than homage to a would-be king. I want to see that building blocked and Trump ordered to restore the East Wing at his own cost.
Trump's latest talk about the Ballroom includes a "bunker." Am I crazy, or did someone else hear that?
You're 100% right. Trump is claiming 'national security' to build a military-style bunker beneath the ballroom to include accommodations for him and his family in case of emergency.
In that kind of "emergency" think I'd wanna be as far away from the White House as possible.
Thanks for your confirmation. It doesn't get mentioned much.
It's making me create a free account to read it. Really don't want to. But I really want to read it. 🫤
Try one more time at this link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/22/opinion/trump-crypto-pardons-corruption.html?unlocked_article_code=1.dFA.4CnD.ZenWZFU-n0Gb&smid=url-share
"...Hegseth reads anything beyond scripts."
...and the proof labels on whisky bottles he shares with Kash Patel.
Does Hegseth actually read scripture? Or just watch Tarantino movies? Rhetorical question, of course
Can he read?
Wow!
And even they are spelled phonetically.
And the wine list
Thank you. I was going to make a similar comment. There was something about “coughing ships” transporting troops to the European theater during WWI.
I think the phrase might have been "coffin ships."
Perhaps Lesbian Ships /s
I’ll second John Barry's history of the 1918 pandemic, The Great Influenza. It’s an excellent book.
For trump's and the fascist GOP plan to take permanent control of the nation, he needs the military to cultishly follow illegal orders to subdue the population. I don't doubt that a major reason trump attacked Iran is because his White Evangelical nationalist advisors have convinced him that he truly is God's instrument on earth to help bring about their apocalypse. They believe that Israel's Zionist goal must be realized and he was sent to help accomplish that goal. I think that's why he posted that image of himself as Jesus.
They need the military and federal agents like ice to force their rule on the nation.
Does anyone know if hegseth has gotten the flu vaccine himself?
who cares
Maybe American troops will get lucky and Kegsbreath will catch the latest variant of the coronavirus and die a miserable cowardly death.
Goes to hypocrisy.
doubtful
Or, remember the Teddy Roosevelt (a Navy aircraft carrier) during COVID. Army bases and Navy ships (particularly immense Navy ships) make for fertile ground for a virus.
He would think it was fiction. If he can even read.
Who will be the next Secretary of Defense? I ask because Hegseth will be fired soon since Trump needs to blame someone for the current debacle.
Next Defense Sec.? Dunno, Hulk Hogan, Chuck Norris and Lt. Calley are no longer available so maybe Tommy Tuberville?
Hah, if he were alive it would have absolutely been Hulk Hogan! “Welcome the secretary of !WAR! Hulk Hogan!!!”.
We’re well on our way to actualizing President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho as Mike Judge predicted in Idiocracy.
Good point. Tuberville does have the critical thinking skills that Trump demands. And, managing the largest workforce in the country has got to be similar to managing a college football team
Well if Tommy gets it, that’ll be the end of the U.S. His stupidity is even worse.
At least Tuberville knows defense. And offense and special teams...
Who is left from right wing media to succeed Kegsbreath? It's the only place incompetent enough to meet Trump's standards for a government job.
Maybe Bessent, Lutnick, Patel and Kari-whine - one giant bye- bye party
Think of the least competent person possible. And place a bet. You would have a very good chance of winning.
Since trump is a (self) certified genius, he can just handle it himself!
an extraordinarily brilliant person, as everyone knows
Trump will just do it himself - another way to lose...
Hung Cao. Although Asian, a MAGAt through and through.
And, cui bono? Who could possibly benefit from placing a drunken, imbecilic, bigoted blowhard at the top of our formerly professional military? I suggest that it could only be Agent Krasnov’s puppet master, daddy Vlad.
The Republicans have pledged to drown government in a bathtub since Reagan. They hire incompetents and corporate insiders to run government into the ground. Then when they ultimately fail, they claim government is the problem. Why do people think that electing people to destroy government will result in anything except bad government.
And that "drown government in a bathtub" pledge (thank you, Grover Norquist) was motivated in large part to (1) deny any benefits to people of color, and (2) enable big corporations to merge, acquire, and pillage to their what passes for their heart's content.
And given the lie to the assertion that being successful in business is any kind of preparation for a successful career in government.
Absolutely. As I said often, being a business person doesn’t make you fit for government. The aim of government is to provide services for the people ; that of business is to maximize profits. The ideal government is the PPP (public private partnerships) by which the government aims to provide and control quality of services and distributive justice, and the private sector rationalize production, promote research and development with seed money from the public sector and make profit, pay fair wages and taxes to give government the tools for infrastructure development and education, healthcare and security for the nation. Just to remind the basic needs of a working society.
I doubt it, at this stage. They're winning. Every single hour of every single day your status in the world is diminished, and though it's not so immediate, Trump tells you to wear shoes too big for you, and you do it. You have no control, and they have unlimited, unreserved control.
I heard that Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, resigned yesterday.
Phelan wasn't qualified to be Sec of Navy so it's no loss. He was just a Republican who gave money to Trump's campaign. Not an iota of military or interest in the Navy in his background.
And now the Navy is saddled with Hung Cow… utterly unqualified, idiotic, suffering from a bad case of RWNJitis, and likely psychotic.
He was fired unceremoniously and left immediately. He said he had no idea why he was fired. Probably said something "woke."
There's a below-the-radar issue in the Navy seen only on socials like bluesky: The Navy hasn't been replenishing FOOD to the ships deployed in the Middle East. Per sailors' photos of almost empty trays sent to their families. Phelan can now be blamed.
Trays with boiled shoe leather, purée of garbage, and a few boiled carrots…
His replacement was born in Vietnam. Look it up. His fruitsalad on his Commander jacket is pretty fluffy too. Vice president of CACI. Could'nt quite make it as a Politician.
😢
The Guardian reported that "sources said Hegseth in effect blamed Phelan for not going aggressively enough against senator Mark Kelly, who appeared in a video where he advised troops to ignore 'illegal orders'”.
Reported today on NPR that he approved a converted Coast Guard vessel as a destroyer that was not up to standards, too noisy for one. But he is a huge Trump donor, so look for him to appear in another guise.
He's not qualified to cross the street.
Not without wearing a blindfold. I'll rephrase that in the positive: He's qualified to cross the street wearing a blindfold.
Playing Pokemon Go.
He's so far out on a limb that I'm really not sure who the second worst would be. Has any other Secretary of Defense been so demonstrably destructive to the armed forces that he's supposed to maintain in peak condition at all times?
It begs the question - do we even know who previous Secretaries of Defense were? I'm assuming military people would know, but the average person? Probably not. But EVERYONE in the world knows who this moron is. It's not just notoriety. It's positively human evil.
Edwin Stanton; John Knox for whom Fort Knox is named;
Who could forget Donald Rumsfeld?
No. And yes. No, because the knowledge does nothing to stop Smegmaseth. Yes, because we learn (too late) to pay attention and recognize who has the influence to corrupt our military. It never occurred to me our military would be so thoroughly corrupted. My husband is a veteran, btw. Never saw combat, but signed up, and was ready to go if called.
MacNamara, father of the M16, comes to mind.
He's not qualified to command a Lego military
Napoleon was an artillery officer. Hitler was a corporal. They still managed to gain destructive commands.
Everyone who supports his 'measures' is siding with the enemy. The worst enemy of democracy and rule of law since 1945.
If he led a platoon as he proposes, he would probably get everyone killed.
Orban hasn't left the building yet.
I won't be surprised if Rump & Co. sends our military to keep him in power.
That same judge tried to pull the same shenanigans on two other occasions. The Virginia Supreme Court overturned him both times.
And if it’s ’completely unacceptable’ to see fat generals and admirals in the Pentagon, one wonders why it’s ok to see a fat president in the White House??
'Obese' is more like it. But the irony is that Hegseth’s insistence on bulging biceps is a huge fail when it’s the kids who are good at video games that are the big winners in the age of drone warfare…
Demander in Chief
Don’t forget he’s stupid, too. More stupid than fat, with a generous helping of lazy and useless. The garbage pie of humanity.
not quite useless. after all, he IS the useful idiot of Putin.
And of Netanyahu
And useful idiot of Netanyahu. He's every sociopath's favorite useful idiot sociopath.
Remarkably it appears he attended several Ivy League colleges. This is starting to become a real problem for the image of these particular US universities; they seem to emit so many deluded halfwits.
I believe in England these individuals are referred to as “twits” , as in “upper class twit”.
😅
He’s not fat, that’s fake news. Sez Hegseth, in his shiny blue suit that Foxed News bought for him in bulk.
Hegseth would undoubtedly fire Trump and take his place if he could.
I honestly don't know about that people . They are turning the military into something that's about aesthetics. They even see killing as aesthetics, sublime beautiful like the lady in Mirabeau's Torture Garden.
It's like they are detached from war outside of spectacle that's not into the cold reasoning logic of achieving strategic and tactical objectives that enforce policy goals.
They are more interested in using the military in conjunction with the Republican Party's secret masked police to create an America thatI don't think even existed during slavery which has a totalitarian state. This is something new even though it has antecedents in Americas past.
They might decided to start a war with China because they are starting to measure the army by their own narcissistic image than by messy mundane realities of just a job that's supposed toto be professionalized.
Being commander in chief has its privileges.
Exactly 🎯
Fox News has been piped into most military bases 24/7 for decades. Military personnel have, in effect, been intentionally politically brainwashed, creating the raw materials for the domestic private army currently employed by this administration.
Christian nationalists have been infiltrating the military for years too. Ask the military freedom from religion foundation. Look at his crusader tattoos. They aren’t just destroying America; they’re destroying secularism.
It's the "Military Religious Freedom Foundation" or MRFF. Not to be pedantic, but in case someone wants to look them up, which I would highly recommend anyone do. The "Freedom From Religion Foundation" or FFRF is another group thar fights for religious freedom , but not limited to the military. I would recommend them, too. Full disclosure: I am a member of both.
I have two cousins who are maga, ex-military and definitely not Christian or religious (my family heritage is Jewish). My brother (unfortunately) is very much influenced by them. It’s a cult, it’s the ‘sunken cost fallacy’ of knowing that you’re in deep, and it’s the emotional need to deny that the skeptics (us !) were correct about these assholes from the beginning.
Yeah
I clicked "like" because there isn't a "yikes" button
I believe you'll find they recruit heavily from that demographic. Fox TV in the lounges and waiting rooms is likely as much a choice as it is intentional.
Base commander's choice-I know this from an acoustic physicist employed by the government to listen to outer space. Some base commanders choose CNN, but very few. Personally, I would stream Sesame Street into military base common areas, interrupted only by poetry readings in the evening.
And Biden continued that practice!
As I'm sure Paul Krugman knows, military spending is a very important part of our economy. Replacing our fear and defence (war) model with one of trust and support is a big wish indeed, when the paychecks of so many depend on the war model.
This is scary.
Beyond scary.
If I were in the service, I would want to trust that those serving with me would risk their lives for me as I would for them. If a soldier is not willing to take the minimalist risk involved in getting fully vaccinated, and cares not for the potential health of his colleagues in tight quarters, I surely couldn't trust them to have my back in combat.
recall that heggie has his own make-up room in the pentagon
I think it’s worse than that, Paul. If a flu outbreak occurs, it will weaken and limit our forces. More, this policy provides an avenue of attack against our forces. Flu-infected people—military or otherwise—cannot be effective at their job. I was put in bed for days.
besides the flu shot there are many other vaccines troops are required to have depending on deployment. I think the flu issue is a planned destraction from the ME disaster.
And weakening and limiting your forces is a bad thing?
Anything that limits the power of the US, led by a cabal of insane psychopaths, with the most nuclear weapons on the planet, is to me a good thing.
I’d argue that anything that creates instability in the discipline, secular nature, and apoliticism of our military under trump is a bad thing for Canada and every other country—including the U.S. itself.
You’re assuming USA would aid Canada militarily? 🤣🤣🤣🤪
I think the assumption is that the U.S. would be likely to attack Canada with the current crowd in charge.
YOU are our most likely adversary. WE are terrified of you, not only because of your military might, but because you are nuts.
That’s a wacky assumption of what my comment was about. For the record, that’s not what my comment was about.
You have a point....
Project 2025, from the medieval Heritage Foundation, is a plan to destroy basic American systems and prepare the way for the tech bro paradise. The military, the economy, education, elections and constitutional rights are all targets for these simple-minded, single-minded fanatics. The reincarnation of southern advocates fomenting secession to preserve slavery.
Don't forget that they want to institute a White Evangelical nationalist theocracy to pacify the people. That is spelled out clearly in Project 2025.
💯🎯
I am amazed at how these far right characters lack any trace of perspective. They only get worse and push more ignorance and anti-intellectualism. I cannot come up with the best, most encompassing term for the Hegseths, Patels, and the rest of this "perverse preserve," to quote a recent NY Times Conversation phrase. The most generous term I can use is "ignorant jerks." Possibly someone else can better label their ignorance, cruelty, dishonesty, dishonor, and void in humanity.
"Endarkenment" would serve to express the antithesis of enlightenment.
Willful ignorance on steroids.
Actually the best term for these guys is Nazi.
They love the uneducated. Propaganda works so well on the gullible who don't know any better.
Someone called them the Liquor Cabinet.
https://latenighter.com/news/weds-night-monologues-trumps-liquor-cabinet/
https://bsky.app/profile/mluckovich.bsky.social/post/3mk6mowg2ps2s
The 1918 “Spanish flu” started among soldiers in American camps and was brought by them to Europe. Many died on ships on their way to the war. Let’s hope the history does not repeat itself.
I just now heard a blip on NPR Morning Edition that the Secy. of Navy is leaving his post! While so much of our fleet is engaged in the Middle East?! WTFH?!
His "acting" replacement is apparently a wacko named Hung Cao.
Yes, I read that too… a refugee from VietNam
His last speech – the only transcript I've found so far is in this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMmLUjd2Kg8
Did this have anything to do with it?
Thanks for the YouTube link to Navy Secretary Phelan's last public speech. I did not see anything that jumped out as a critique of the administration. I did notice Phelan's general administrative competence which seems to be something the Trump team mistrusts. Here is a timestamp to where Phelan describes his approach to decision-making. Though he does NOT critique administration decisions, I can see where his approach would put him at odds with Hegseth and Trump.
28:0028 minutes
We cannot fix problems we refuse to acknowledge.
“But we will not force you because your body, your faith, and your convictions are not negotiable.”
If you’re a straight white, Christian male, that is.
You beat me to it. If you're a woman or overweight, it's not your body, your faith, your choice. You belong to the Christians.
I'm an atheist, but I've spoken to sincerely faithful Christians in my very red district, and they don't like what they're seeing and hearing. As an atheist, I'm a better Christian than the cultists.
many other shot are required depending on deployment - this is merely a distraction from the ME war which we are not discussing
Yes and, of course, those pesky Epstein files.
If Pete Hegseth finds it ‘tiring’ to look at ‘…fat troops’ he hasn’t got much stamina, has he.
He should look all day at his boss - perhaps that could change his mind or encourage him to resign!
Wouldn’t it be ironic if Hegseth were to succumb to illness he refused to be vaccinated against?
Yep. And “forgotten” by Hegseth is that Dear Leader was given vaccines in the last year for…COVID and influenza.
Want to bet HE gets the vaccine JIC cuz he’s so important? Like Trump railing against COVID vaccine but getting it????
He certainly wouldn’t be the first! How many prominent republican political figures died of covid? I lost count after the pizza guy (herman caine)
I hope NATO partners refuse to share facilities with "partners" who put our own troops at unnecessary risk of infectious diseases.
For all his religiosity, we know Pretty Boy Petey isn’t much of a biblical scholar. Maybe he should have a look at Proverbs 16:18, sometimes translated as “pride goeth before a fall.” It can’t come soon enough.
IDk what to say anymore. It is the height of idiocy is to expose troops to highly preventable illnesses like the flu.
The best inoculation against extremist politics in the military is the draft.
The all volunteer force has been a right wing breeding ground for decades.
But the wealthy right wing would need to set up a "bone spurs" exemption for their kids. War, like taxes, is just for the little people.
You might be right. I'd hate to see that, but it may just be the way to stop this insanity which is going to end up getting more military personnel killed than actual combat. AND, let's exclude women from the draft. (Sorry guys). If they make the draft all men, men would stand up and say no.
He's right in one instance - After World War II the UK troops cam home andhelped to throw out Churchill and bring in Attlee and the Socialist Government...
💯🎯