Jeff, you do what works for you, but I am willing to bet all the money that the ERS collects that everyone here will read 1,600 words or 16,000 words, as long as you are writing them!
Superb post, Jeff! Now I can continue screaming into my pillow and scaring the cats. Kudos to Democratic Senators who fried the Marinated Meathead in his own juice. The Republicans there looked like farmers at a pig auction.
One of things I love about being here in Tiedrich County is how rich the landscape is in jumping-off-points. Nobody can react fast enough or wordsmith enough to keep up with this Earth 2 shit. Please keep doing what you're doing.
Maybe below the surface is the reality of the emotional turmoil that I imagine most of us are experiencing following yesterday's sham hearing. I was so stunned by joni ernst's statement that she would support the hedgehog for Director of the DOD that I, literally, was overwhelmed by feelings I have never had before. I never dreamed that I WAS capable of having such feelings. I wanted to get a sharp shooter -- oops, I just looked that up, and it's a person, not a weapon -- I mean a, I was going to write "sniper", but apparently that is a person, too -- so I guess it can be any kind of gun and aim it between her eyeballs. Yes, I wanted to ass-inate her. I wanted her to experience what she is doing to our nation, to experience what she, because of her position of IMMENSE power, is creating for the rest of us. I felt such intense rage toward her -- for her complete and UTTER hypocrisy -- that I wanted her to pay. It took me about 20 minutes to move past my blind rage. (BTW, I have never even hit anybody, and only touched a gun once and refused to pick it up.) I didn't know that I was capable of feeling such rage. Intellectually, I know that what the great Sufi master, Russian Irina Tweedie wrote is true: that "we are all capable of the greatest crimes, the greatest ego", but emotionally I have never been there. After the rage burned out, I just cried and cried for hours, cried myself to sleep, am still crying this morning. I am experiencing three of the five stages of grief, as described by the great Elizabeth Kubler Ross: denial, anger, and depression. What I am NOT feeling, nor do I ever intend to feel, is acceptance. (Bargaining, the fifth stage, is, obviously, a non-starter.) The death is of what used to be the United States of America.
Did Sen. Ernst not claim to be a survivor of rape while in the military? Her support of Package Store Pet,e the accused sex offender, is very telling. I am now very skeptical of the senator's backstory and her commitment to women in the military. I am saying that a rape survivor would never willingly support this Hegseth asshole for Sec'y of Defense.
You make an excellent point. The one thing that makes me wonder, however, is if she really was a survivor of rape, and if it was a violent rape (or even if it wasn't), could she have PTSD? And could her terror have been reactivated by threats to her safety (even threats of rape?) by the orange sadist & Thugs??
Makes me feel for her, then ask WHY is she obeying in advance ? Like in an assault, is there a threat ? A gun to her head ? It's all so maddening & depressing.
More people are killed with hands and feet every year than are murdered with rifles of all types. (FBI Stats).
However, handguns are the most common tools used in criminal homicide by a huge margin. As in magnitudes of hundreds vs. thousands.
On the third hand, -and not many know this: if somebody is close enough to you, it's possible to bat the weapon away faster than the assailant can drop the hammer on the weapon.
We tried it several dozen times in training, and even though the "assailant" knew we were going to do it, none of us were able to pull the trigger on the (empty) revolver before the gun was redirected by slapping it. Not a single time. We would take turns with each role.
Participants were all Police and military combat vets.
And this was done with the "victim" having their hands raised in the surrender position at ear-height, and the "assailant" had the gun down at belly-button level about a foot away. Hammer cocked and finger pressing on trigger.
If I had my druthers, I'd rather have an armed person close, as have them several feet distant.
In anger management training, we were advised that even language can be violent. For example, "You don't want to see me when I'm mad." is a form of violence. "Don't piss me off, Betty." is a violent threat.
And so on. I appreciate your graceful sense of humor BTW. :-)
Yes, absolutely 💯 We all know from Cassidy Hutchinson, Fani Willis, Tish James, etc just the tip of the iceberg of the horrific things his henchmen call & email about the torturous stuff they will do to anyone who crosses their almighty “g_d” especially sexually explicit things.
I’m sure the terror is probably worse now that it’s been made perfectly clear that those slimy vile creatures who commit acts of violence will not be held accountable. The POS will just tell his DOJ not to prosecute, or if they get convicted he will pardon them if it’s federal.
Just look what’s happened to Officer Fanone when he tried to get protection orders from those who almost killed him. He was told that since they were pardoned, there is no longer a crime, & therefore he’s no longer a victim!!! Like WTF???
Yes she has, but I’m quite sure that she has received violent threats of sexual assault, torture, & death; because that is how his posse behaves, always.
I'm so glad that you'll be there. I went in 2017 and still have my bracelet, "NOT MY PRESIDENT!" I wanted to go this year, but I can no longer drive (and physical mobility is now an issue). When I saw that the organizers were charging almost $400 for a RT ticket from Charleston, SC to D.C. -- the regular cost is $59 -- I got disgusted. I donated money the first time I read about what they are doing. Then every single day (!!), I got emails pleading for money. I wrote and asked them to take me off their mailing list, but they never did. I've read that the turnout will be much smaller than the million of us who turned out 8 years ago. Nevertheless, despite these frustrations, I would be there, sign and all, if I were able. Thank you so much for what you're doing. (My Senators are in the orange sadist's pocket. I'm in SC. Where are you? I've tried to contact some pug Senators in other states, because their actions obviously affect ME. I'm always turned away, however, because I'm not a "constituent". Sick.)
I'll carry you in my pocket and heart, kd. I'll be in Madison, WI. I did the last Women's March in a wheelchair--the whole route. Felt pretty good about that. (Nice to have a strong friend!) This year I'll be marching. And screaming.
Next time you want to call those Senators in another state, look up their local hometown offices addresses & have the zip code ready & then give them that. Usually that’s all they ask for when I call. Just lie if need be….they do!!
Yes, I feel that I should be able to call senators & Reps other than mine, especially if they are of my party & I have donated to their campaigns.
They send me emails & texts every day begging for money, I should be able to email & text them.
Maybe he'll have effed up their lives so badly that they won't be mourning him? (Well, the worst of the worst will, no matter what he does to their lives.)
Yeah. All I can do is keep reminding myself that there are a lot of people like us, and we have to support one another. Keep checking in with the good people. And Jeff helps a lot.
KD, ((hugs)) and so sorry you are going thru this! Getting feelings out is cathartic, but pls call your Dr/go to Walk In clinic. Lots of choices to get us thru sorrow & anxiety without getting high. The LA situation, upcoming inaugural shitshow+ news has me wondering what choices I'd make if I were terminally ill. Therapists are a strong, safe place to vent. Good luck, dear lady. ❣️🧑🤝🧑👭👬👫
Thank you, sweet Teri. You are truly kind to care so deeply. I do believe, however, that I am, unfortunately, simply reacting to the reality of our current situation, similar to how I'd react to/feel as a decent German watching Hitler and his monstrous thugs take over my country. I promise you that I'm not going to hurt anybody. As I said, I haven't ever hit anyone, let alone picked up a gun. But the fact that the image came into my mind absolutely astonished me.
Another wonderful person on this substack suggested meditation. His comments reminded me of the astoundingly beautiful statement made by H.H. the Dalai Lama when asked if he hated the Chinese. H.H. paused for a moment and then, in his usual honest manner, answered: "Almost not. What I do is I take in their anger, their hatred, and I turn it into love and send it back to them." WOW!!! I was blown away the first time I saw this on a video. That memory is helping me get back to "who" i/I really am. (Teri, I would so love to know more about you. I know that you must read pretty much all of my posts, because you generously "like" seemingly everything I write. But I don't know anything about you. Perhaps you don't want to be public at all on this, or any, substack, but I am curious about where you live, how old you are, what work you do/or did, if retired. No need to respond. But this is one of the only comments I have read from you, and it so deeply compassionate that I wish I knew you -- even if only through Jeff!)
I think Joni Ernst is did what she did because she will get primaried otherwise. Maybe she hopes he will crash and burn so quickly, and his ineptitude will be so obvious that he'll be out of there in a few months. Remember, the Republicans are a bunch of leopards, and they eat each other's faces.
I've thought that about so many of them, kd. I have to wonder if it's worth it. And is it because they're so devoted to their constituents, or because they want to keep the gravy train going?
In the vast majority of cases, I believe that it's the gravy train they care about. (Of course, they need the constituents to vote for them in order to keep the gravy coming.)
You are so kind and so thoughtful, Kathleen. ((( )))
Another member of our community has been fabulous, reminding me how much meditation can help. So I'm back to practicing that again, and feeling much better now.
Whoa, Hannah! You're tempting me!! Here's where I am with things now: Someone brought up the idea that Joni Ernst may be living in terror, that, if she crosses the sadistic dictator who is about to take over our country, her life may be in danger. When I read that, a lot of pieces fell into place. I think it's very possible that is the motivating factor, rather than greed. She was violently raped. She was the victim of physical and emotional abuse in her marriage. She has a 25-year-old daughter. Imagine if someone threatened to kill/rape your daughter; threatened the same thing about you. I have a very bad feeling that the real story behind what's going on is something far, far worse than any of us has realized.
Remember that Cassidy Hutchinson had to have a security detail for herself and her family. As dark a thought as it is, I wouldn’t discount the possibility at all that Ms. Ernst has been threatened.
Could be. Even when you "work through" a rape, the body doesn't forget. Add in an abusive relationship and it's soul crushing. That's sad. I don't have to like her to feel for her.
I do have a loved one under threat. I think of doing things I never thought of before. So yeah, I can imagine. It really hurts.
Dear kdsherpa, you perfectly described how I felt & continue to feel every g_d damned day this entire week, I honestly want to kill anyone who is going along with this shit. 🤬
Yesterday evening 1/23, after I’d heard
1)End birthright citizenship
2) A Rep filed a bill to amend the Constitution to allow anus-mouth a 3rd term &
3) Shut down all disease research at the NIH
I was in such a blind rage, I wanted to call my sister (who is a Trump voter & lives in TX) & just scream at her;
“You stupid MFer, wtf is wrong with you? you’ve thrown our democracy, our whole F*king country away.”
I didn’t do it, but I did cry just like you did.
The only time I laugh anymore is when I read Jeff & all of you guys in the comments.
I really, really wish he would just effing die already.
You might want to look at my substack (kdsherpa). There are MANY more criminal and/or illegal things he has done in the first 3 days. I hate to say it, but your sister doesn't given a damn. I'm sure she hears nothing but "get rid of the immigrants". I know that's the case with my brother. I also think he doesn't care because he's a white, blue-eyed, blonde-haired white "christian" male, and he knows that none of this will touch him.
I think you missed out the fact that he does this crap because most of his low information base have no idea what govt depts we already have. This feeds their xenophobia and he doesnt actually have to do anything
I can’t discuss because I couldn’t watch. I’ll do better about watching the news. You and others who write about these things shouldn’t have to carry the whole burden.
Actually, I couldn't watch either. I just saw bits of it on the news -- not the actual hearings themselves. The contrasts shown between Dems and pugs was truly astonishing. Do they actually live in the same country?
I mentioned yesterday that I did watch the Hegseth hearing. It was so much worse to watch it live. It took me hours to feel like maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to have a heart attack.
It's all just so inexpressively, hideously STUPID. They're SO STUPID. And venemously dangerous. I am just clinging to the hope that their incompetence will prevent them from seriously fucking everything up, and there are enough career civil servants to gum them up and sabotage them. They're going to drag us into a world war where we're the bad guys! We'll be invaded by Germany and it will be a GOOD thing! Germany will celebrate T-Tag, the glorious day they conquered the villains! To think we're at this point. It's unbearable. But thank you, Jeff, for saying what we all think.
Jeff, why do you, and others think this shitshow will end in 4 years? It won't end without a civil war. They are set up to fuck up this country, create chaos, and steal all the assets! They will not give up power.
Also, I bet it will take less than a month before 45 has himself all decked out in fancy military regalia. He's a total fuckwad and I wish I had the financial ability to be an expat! 😡🤬
I believe you are correct, it’s horrifying. Now this shit about using our Treasury dollars to load up on crypto currency. Good god NO, that is going to bring complete financial ruin down upon this country, if he’s allowed to do that. When it tanks, this place will look like the Great Depression & the Dust Bowl times all combined. Trump & his minions are 100% dead set on destroying democracy, privatizing everything they possibly can; education, USPS, the VA, Medicare & Medicaid; so that his broligarchs can make money off them.
Going to be a long four years? It's been a long 4 days. JFC. I have to wonder if America can survive this madness.
But Senator Duckworth is a BAD ASS! I adore her! Our enemies cant wait to take advantage of someone as incompetent as Piss-Drunk Pete at the helm. We'll be in a war in no time, feeding the military industry. Pete is completely ignorant. I betcha he raced to a closet somewhere after his hearing was over and slugged something strong out of flask. 🙄
I wish that it was ALL women interviewing him, he seemed a little uncomfortable, and I'd like AOC to take him on for just a few minutes. Our Dem women are excellent but it seems like some of them are a little slower on the comeback than they used to be. When greasy Pete kept saying "anonymous smears" there wasn't much push back except I think Elizabeth Warren offered up video. And now Joni has announced she is a yes vote because she's as spineless as the rest of the GOP.
Bottom line is that these hearings are a waste of time except for the fact that it gets just a little more information to the masses but in the end whatever fELON Trump wants he will get.
Kamala got screwed…plain and simple…I refuse to believe the vote was fair…Elon had a hand in this election…give it time, it will come out…fucking stolen…
As was Brett kavanaugh, can we roll tape on his tear jerking from KH lighting a match and throwing it him with one question after another. I'm going to miss her a LOT. She had no fear speaking truth to power, why didn't Biden put her in during the 7th inning?
Patheric Pete probably has a flask in his coat pocket just like Don Jr. keeps a little blow in his pocket for that spur of the moment gum rubbing. These confirmation hearings are going to continue to be a total shitshow with nothing but the most unqualified, useless and unfit misfits on the stage proving why they don't meet the criteria necessary for the job. In other news, did anyone catch the video of Rep. Crockett and Rep. Mace getting into to it over trans rights? During the exchange, Mace asked Crockett if she wanted to take it outside. WTF! And to think that this nightmare is just beginning.
And Mace’s incessant heckling of trans Rep. Sarah McBride ended up forcing Sarah to use the men’s restroom. I am livid about this. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi surely has her own private loo. She needs to share it with Sarah asap.
That fucking smirking asshole fully knows that he shouldn’t have wasted a second of anyone’s time being considered for this job. The most sickening part is all the MAGA lemmings happily driving all of us off a cliff. We wouldn’t have gotten here if it wasn’t for the brainwashed masses and the massive numbers of political creeps trying to control everything with fear, lies and hate.
I was an NCO in the military and worked in a field with some very, very intelligent and worthy officers. Some of the enlisted soldiers had advanced degrees in hard sciences. It was my observation that most commissioned officers who plateaued at major were the least qualified and most dangerous to the mission, because they’re angry the command cannot acknowledge their unrecognized genius; they feel slighted.
One of my drill sergeants described a new recruit thusly, “I’m not calling you stupid, son; but, your brain on the edge of a razor blade would look like a runaway BB careening down a four-lane highway!” Enter this fucking guy from the Fox Couch of Ineptitude, Major Dunning Kruger. He checks all of MAGA’s boxes: arrogant boorishness; sexual predation; a proud screech monkey of Trump’s racism and inane rhetoric; et al, ad nauseum. In short, he has fewer qualifications to serve as SECDEF than zero.
The next four years…ugh…the depth and breadth of inexorable ignorance, incompetence, and stupidity plumbed will astound us. To paraphrase a great wartime POTUS from WWII: “We have not yet begun to stupid.” The country and the citizens of this community must remain focused and strong and resilient if we are to preserve our Great Experiment of a viable democratic republic. Meet you at the top, Drill Sergeant Jeff!
My uncle did very well selling Old Crow in San Francisco back in the day. It was a popular well whiskey found in many bars and restaurants. Nowadays, you can find it at shoe level in most stores.
I’m with Susan on this one. This is an abominable nomination hearing and we all know the coward reTHUGlicans are going to make him SecDef. Just imagine this asswipe in the situation room with the generals and Commander-in-Thief Meloninni. There is no way America survives this. We’ll be at war with everyone and ourselves. This is the most unimaginable upside down shitshow and Monday is the beginning of the end.
I’m sad for this and everyone here who lives among people who have been tricked by the massive disinformation campaign. The same goes for my only remaining brother…lost in the MAGA cult. I feel for you living among zombies of ignorance. That must be quite heartbreaking to witness willful ignorance so close to home.
I live in San Francisco and teach at a community college. It is a place where everyone and anyone who wishes to pursue a career or attain academic accolades through higher education has a home. It feels safe here knowing my neighbors are not members of a cult.
I have the same situation with my only remaining sister, & almost all of my extended family are trumpers, except for 1 nephew & his wife & 1 cousin & his wife; that’s it.
Absolutely he did, & when you’re trying to be a functioning alcoholic, the liquid of choice is usually vodka. I’ve been told it doesn’t have the odor on one’s breath that whiskey or bourbon does. Easier to hide.
They certainly did and deservedly so. I served with women during my career. They put their shoulders into the job at hand and earned their stripes. Same rules, same rewards. Hegseth is an embarrassment to military officers.
Senator Duckworth nearly gave all -- both her legs -- to military service. I was nauseated that Petey Hogsbreath was considered worthy to be in the same room with her.
This is why I cried when I heard Trump won the election. He is poised to ruin our reputation internationally by appointing unqualified persons to positions of great importance. He's putting our national security, military readiness, and the lives of our military and civilians at risk. Why would people want to serve in the military when this is the person they are supposed to look up to?!? He does not deserve respect or instill confidence.
Matthew Whitaker was acting attorney general between Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr. Before that, he promoted large toilets for well-endowed men, so your junk didn't touch the water. Unbelievable, but true.
Greasy Pete wouldn't be able to get a security clearance and now he's going to head the largest department in the US. Trump Shit Show Season 2 is a clown car of unqualified sycophants for sure.
And his FBI background check is a joke. I read that the transition team can dictate to the FBI who they can interview and who they can't. In other words, they didn't talk to either of his ex-wives or the woman who accused him of rape. The second ex-wife has apparently called the FBI a couple of times and seems willing to talk to them, but they won't return her calls. This is the same thing they did with Kavanaugh. Background check, but not really. It's theatre and it's ridiculous. It should be required that any nominee gets a thorough background check and nobody gets to tell them who they can or can't interview. I read this morning that Amanda Marcotte at Salon said she was interviewed by the FBI when her upstairs neighbor was up for a federal bureaucrat job. She didn't even know the guy, just said "hi" in passing. But for this guy they won't even interview the people who know him best.
It’s another one of the bullshit things of America. We’ve all taken for granted, thinking that we were really living in a country of rules and laws. It’s so disheartening to find out it was all just a fucking political Potemkin village the entire time.
That was Dumpy's only criteria last time around. "Don't they look like they're straight out of central casting?" was Dumpy's elated exclamation over his newly assembled cabinet in 2017.
The NYT continues this "style" vs substance with a moronic opinion piece from screenwriter and producer Amy Chozick, who believes that the L.A. firestorm tragedy can be saved by a movie-style leader. Apparently the valiant around-the-clock heroic commitment of ALL fighting the fires isn't enough. She wants the Terminator. The NYT can fuck all the way off, they're BATHING in the Koolaid.
This is definitely where things start to look like Germany in the 30s with the Aryan race nonsense and genetic determinism. It's creepy now but NYT was sane washing Hitler and burying reports of the death camps back then, so this jerk is about what I expected this time around. The Nazis have infiltrated.
Loves it. Absolutely. He never looked that good but neither did Hitler. I used to really wonder about that, didn't people look at that Aryan bullshit and see the disconnect? Orange dipshit and hags are nevertheless swine from the same stall.
Hegseth looks exactly like an alcoholic resentful that he has to go without a drink for a couple days, and exactly like a fratboy creep looking at the women around him to decide which one to roofie.
No no no, please don't feel bad. I wasn't intending this to guilt you at all, and I'm sorry that it did. I haven't looked at ANY news or newsletters about it, but I do think it's crucial that it be covered, and I know you can be trusted to cover it properly and with care. Please do not feel badly about writing this at all, I am very glad you did.
The NYT claims Hegseth wears his "love for his country [and] his standards... on his back." That's because his front is taken up by Nazi and white supremacist hate symbols.
I think the NYT sometimes poses these rhetorical-ish questions in their prose in an attempt to appear snarky or something. It’s risible because their sniffy, antiquated style book does not allow snark.
He’s a freak. There’s guys serving life terms in SuperMax that know he’s a freak. He’d be in a white supremacist gang if they lowered their standards. Oh, wait. That’s what’s happening.
My boyfriend DID serve time and immediately recognized that Hegseth was a lying sack of shit. Pointed out immediately that Hegseth always “went left” to any straight question.
Tim Kaine questions and Hegseth’s pathetic comments were a joke!
So hardened military are supposed to follow this drunk womanizer??? Who can’t run a non profit veterans organization because he party’s away the money???
Hegseth is more like a cartoon character out of the series “MASH” than anyone who actually commands RESPECT in the real world of flying bullets, and blown off limbs. Pretty boy looks don’t count for shit there just competence.
I noticed how Hegseth posed for the cameras when walking through the Capital but apparently “refused to meet with the Democratic members of the Committee??”
What a poor negotiating tactic!!! Also bad for a Secretary of Defense.
Perhaps Vladimir Putin told Trump who to pick and that’s how this tv slime ball showed up??
Makes sense because Hegseth would be a gift to Vladimir!
Anyone who refuses to meet with Committee members should be immediately disqualified. WTF have republicans done to our branches of government, other than destroy their very purpose? We have minority rule now, and no way to fix it because the largest voting bock in the U.S. is the non-voters. We're screwed.
I think trump picked him while scrolling Fox TV at 3am: "Ooh, look at that handsome, square jawed guy! I'll make him Secretary of Defense!" Because as with everything else trumpian, beauty matters. Brains and experience just get in his way.
Jeff, I read what seems like a score of substacks daily. You always bring the receipts and write in a manner that allows me to imagine diagramming your sentences. Clean and crisp. Yeah, I'm that old. And I'm losing sleep over this shitshow.
Linda, when I taught undergrad journalism classes about 20 years ago, NONE of them had ever heard of diagramming sentences. I’d learned that stuff in 3rd grade in my small-town, public school system, way back in the 50s and 60s. Once I showed graphically how different parts of speech go into the construction of a coherent sentence, it seemed to make lightbulbs go on in (some of) their minds. The next semester we tackled pronoun cases and agreement. 🙄
I learned grammar in the third grade in the Fifties too. And then I got a big refresher course in Latin in the ninth grade. It's amazing how education has gone downhill, or disappeared, as the case may be.
We already know that this drunk, womanizing, misogynistic, grossly unqualified piece of shit will be confirmed. This dog and pony show (poorly) disguised as confirmation hearings” are just a waste of everyone’s time. In the end, every Republican will roll over and vote to confirm him. The GOP has forever lost even the tiniest shred of credibility, as well as the right to call itself the party of law and order and family values. Fuck them all. I’m so disgusted, I’m practically catatonic.
Hegseth will be just fine with turning our military on Americans - more specifically democrats. He said as much yesterday. That's why he's been nominated - he will allow the most radical white supremacists to join the military and learn how to kill, while purging all officers who are not sufficiently loyal to the cause.
Hegseth will also be taken care of by the defense contractors when he loses the job because “he’s not a general”. He agrees that Generals should continue to be barred from taking a job with a defense contractor for 10 years after they leave the service.
Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Hegseth about this. His answer excusing himself from the rule was so outrageous that the audience laughed AT Hegseth. SOD Austin has agreed to abide by the 10 rule Senator Warren pointed out after Hegseth’s refusal.
"Boy those conservatives are really something, aren't they? They're all in favor of the unborn. They will do anything for the unborn. But once you're born, you're on your own. Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to nine months. After that, they don't want to know about you. They don't want to hear from you. No nothing. No neonatal care. No daycare, no head start, no school lunch, no food stamps, no welfare. Nothing. If you're pre-born, you're fine. If you're preschool, you're fucked. Conservatives don't give a shit about you until you reach 'military age'. Then they think you are just fine. Just what they've been looking for. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. Pro-life, pro-life, these people aren't pro-life, they are killing doctors! What kind of pro-life is that? What? They will do anything they can to save the fetus, but if it grows up to be a doctor, they just might have to kill it. They're not pro-life. You know what they are? They are anti-woman. Simple as it gets, they are anti-woman. They don't like them. They don't like women. They believe that a woman's primary role is to serve as a brood mare for the state."
It was a confrontation hearing with all the Republicans ready to fist fight anyone who got in their way. "How dare you ask him questions!" They fell over themselves apologizing to Hegseth for the Democrats bringing real questions about publicly known failings and lack of qualifications to be named dog catcher.
Look for the Republicans to try to run over all 200 million or whatever Americans as they are not going to take this shit. Look for the military to revolt against the dingbats, whoever they put in there.
Oh he didn’t look drunk. He didn’t look like a serial abuser. He didn’t look incapable of managing even a small enterprise. And the NYT didn’t look like a propaganda outlet. Yet, oddly enough appearances can be deceiving.
at 1,600 words, it still feels like I only scratched the surface. feel free to discuss down here the things I didn't get to ...
I think it's fine with all of us if you do more than scratch. It's more effective to use a shovel with shit.
or a front loader.
You beat me to it.
This load's so deep it would take one a century.
OMG, OMG 🤣🤣🤣 I’m cackling at front-end loader scooping up shit!!
👍👍
Jeff, you do what works for you, but I am willing to bet all the money that the ERS collects that everyone here will read 1,600 words or 16,000 words, as long as you are writing them!
MtnBoy, 👍👍 agree. Jeff, you write it, we'll read it. 5 or 55 minutes.
I second that!
Superb post, Jeff! Now I can continue screaming into my pillow and scaring the cats. Kudos to Democratic Senators who fried the Marinated Meathead in his own juice. The Republicans there looked like farmers at a pig auction.
One of things I love about being here in Tiedrich County is how rich the landscape is in jumping-off-points. Nobody can react fast enough or wordsmith enough to keep up with this Earth 2 shit. Please keep doing what you're doing.
Maybe below the surface is the reality of the emotional turmoil that I imagine most of us are experiencing following yesterday's sham hearing. I was so stunned by joni ernst's statement that she would support the hedgehog for Director of the DOD that I, literally, was overwhelmed by feelings I have never had before. I never dreamed that I WAS capable of having such feelings. I wanted to get a sharp shooter -- oops, I just looked that up, and it's a person, not a weapon -- I mean a, I was going to write "sniper", but apparently that is a person, too -- so I guess it can be any kind of gun and aim it between her eyeballs. Yes, I wanted to ass-inate her. I wanted her to experience what she is doing to our nation, to experience what she, because of her position of IMMENSE power, is creating for the rest of us. I felt such intense rage toward her -- for her complete and UTTER hypocrisy -- that I wanted her to pay. It took me about 20 minutes to move past my blind rage. (BTW, I have never even hit anybody, and only touched a gun once and refused to pick it up.) I didn't know that I was capable of feeling such rage. Intellectually, I know that what the great Sufi master, Russian Irina Tweedie wrote is true: that "we are all capable of the greatest crimes, the greatest ego", but emotionally I have never been there. After the rage burned out, I just cried and cried for hours, cried myself to sleep, am still crying this morning. I am experiencing three of the five stages of grief, as described by the great Elizabeth Kubler Ross: denial, anger, and depression. What I am NOT feeling, nor do I ever intend to feel, is acceptance. (Bargaining, the fifth stage, is, obviously, a non-starter.) The death is of what used to be the United States of America.
Did Sen. Ernst not claim to be a survivor of rape while in the military? Her support of Package Store Pet,e the accused sex offender, is very telling. I am now very skeptical of the senator's backstory and her commitment to women in the military. I am saying that a rape survivor would never willingly support this Hegseth asshole for Sec'y of Defense.
You make an excellent point. The one thing that makes me wonder, however, is if she really was a survivor of rape, and if it was a violent rape (or even if it wasn't), could she have PTSD? And could her terror have been reactivated by threats to her safety (even threats of rape?) by the orange sadist & Thugs??
Makes me feel for her, then ask WHY is she obeying in advance ? Like in an assault, is there a threat ? A gun to her head ? It's all so maddening & depressing.
Yes, I think there is a figurative gun to her head. She is not obeying in advance. She's scared.
WTF is a peaceful rape?
Touche', Doc! (Gun to the head, though, is more violent I would say than no gun.)
More people are killed with hands and feet every year than are murdered with rifles of all types. (FBI Stats).
However, handguns are the most common tools used in criminal homicide by a huge margin. As in magnitudes of hundreds vs. thousands.
On the third hand, -and not many know this: if somebody is close enough to you, it's possible to bat the weapon away faster than the assailant can drop the hammer on the weapon.
We tried it several dozen times in training, and even though the "assailant" knew we were going to do it, none of us were able to pull the trigger on the (empty) revolver before the gun was redirected by slapping it. Not a single time. We would take turns with each role.
Participants were all Police and military combat vets.
And this was done with the "victim" having their hands raised in the surrender position at ear-height, and the "assailant" had the gun down at belly-button level about a foot away. Hammer cocked and finger pressing on trigger.
If I had my druthers, I'd rather have an armed person close, as have them several feet distant.
In anger management training, we were advised that even language can be violent. For example, "You don't want to see me when I'm mad." is a form of violence. "Don't piss me off, Betty." is a violent threat.
And so on. I appreciate your graceful sense of humor BTW. :-)
Yes, absolutely 💯 We all know from Cassidy Hutchinson, Fani Willis, Tish James, etc just the tip of the iceberg of the horrific things his henchmen call & email about the torturous stuff they will do to anyone who crosses their almighty “g_d” especially sexually explicit things.
I’m sure the terror is probably worse now that it’s been made perfectly clear that those slimy vile creatures who commit acts of violence will not be held accountable. The POS will just tell his DOJ not to prosecute, or if they get convicted he will pardon them if it’s federal.
Just look what’s happened to Officer Fanone when he tried to get protection orders from those who almost killed him. He was told that since they were pardoned, there is no longer a crime, & therefore he’s no longer a victim!!! Like WTF???
As I wrote the day following the election: "Hell is empty. All the Devils are here."
She has been threatened with being primaried in 2026. Party over country for sure!
Yes she has, but I’m quite sure that she has received violent threats of sexual assault, torture, & death; because that is how his posse behaves, always.
((( )))
You describe it well. I haven't been able to get out of this depression with medication, meditation, or any of the other usual recommendations.
Maybe it's because it's not actually depression. It's HORROR.
You're right. Horror and rage. I'll be marching with a vengeance on the 18th. I've been calling my Senators. I will persist.
I'm so glad that you'll be there. I went in 2017 and still have my bracelet, "NOT MY PRESIDENT!" I wanted to go this year, but I can no longer drive (and physical mobility is now an issue). When I saw that the organizers were charging almost $400 for a RT ticket from Charleston, SC to D.C. -- the regular cost is $59 -- I got disgusted. I donated money the first time I read about what they are doing. Then every single day (!!), I got emails pleading for money. I wrote and asked them to take me off their mailing list, but they never did. I've read that the turnout will be much smaller than the million of us who turned out 8 years ago. Nevertheless, despite these frustrations, I would be there, sign and all, if I were able. Thank you so much for what you're doing. (My Senators are in the orange sadist's pocket. I'm in SC. Where are you? I've tried to contact some pug Senators in other states, because their actions obviously affect ME. I'm always turned away, however, because I'm not a "constituent". Sick.)
I'll carry you in my pocket and heart, kd. I'll be in Madison, WI. I did the last Women's March in a wheelchair--the whole route. Felt pretty good about that. (Nice to have a strong friend!) This year I'll be marching. And screaming.
Next time you want to call those Senators in another state, look up their local hometown offices addresses & have the zip code ready & then give them that. Usually that’s all they ask for when I call. Just lie if need be….they do!!
Yes, I feel that I should be able to call senators & Reps other than mine, especially if they are of my party & I have donated to their campaigns.
They send me emails & texts every day begging for money, I should be able to email & text them.
The two aren't mutually exclusive.
I'm just hoping to live long enough to read Trump's obituary and laugh in the face of his cultists when they start mourning him.
Maybe he'll have effed up their lives so badly that they won't be mourning him? (Well, the worst of the worst will, no matter what he does to their lives.)
I am too. It was great, met some fine people who are fired up.
I'm in the funkiest funk myself, overwhelmed, no energy, just sad. .
Yeah. All I can do is keep reminding myself that there are a lot of people like us, and we have to support one another. Keep checking in with the good people. And Jeff helps a lot.
KD, ((hugs)) and so sorry you are going thru this! Getting feelings out is cathartic, but pls call your Dr/go to Walk In clinic. Lots of choices to get us thru sorrow & anxiety without getting high. The LA situation, upcoming inaugural shitshow+ news has me wondering what choices I'd make if I were terminally ill. Therapists are a strong, safe place to vent. Good luck, dear lady. ❣️🧑🤝🧑👭👬👫
Thank you, sweet Teri. You are truly kind to care so deeply. I do believe, however, that I am, unfortunately, simply reacting to the reality of our current situation, similar to how I'd react to/feel as a decent German watching Hitler and his monstrous thugs take over my country. I promise you that I'm not going to hurt anybody. As I said, I haven't ever hit anyone, let alone picked up a gun. But the fact that the image came into my mind absolutely astonished me.
Another wonderful person on this substack suggested meditation. His comments reminded me of the astoundingly beautiful statement made by H.H. the Dalai Lama when asked if he hated the Chinese. H.H. paused for a moment and then, in his usual honest manner, answered: "Almost not. What I do is I take in their anger, their hatred, and I turn it into love and send it back to them." WOW!!! I was blown away the first time I saw this on a video. That memory is helping me get back to "who" i/I really am. (Teri, I would so love to know more about you. I know that you must read pretty much all of my posts, because you generously "like" seemingly everything I write. But I don't know anything about you. Perhaps you don't want to be public at all on this, or any, substack, but I am curious about where you live, how old you are, what work you do/or did, if retired. No need to respond. But this is one of the only comments I have read from you, and it so deeply compassionate that I wish I knew you -- even if only through Jeff!)
" The world will be saved by the Western woman ".
* the Dalai Lama
Ah! Thank you for that reminder, Kristy!! I remember at one point His Holiness dangled the possibility that he will reincarnate as a Western woman...
I hadn't heard that, Kristy. What an empowering, uplifting thought from His Holiness! I'll treasure it. Thank you for sharing.
I think Joni Ernst is did what she did because she will get primaried otherwise. Maybe she hopes he will crash and burn so quickly, and his ineptitude will be so obvious that he'll be out of there in a few months. Remember, the Republicans are a bunch of leopards, and they eat each other's faces.
What a tragedy: to sell your soul in order to keep your job.
I've thought that about so many of them, kd. I have to wonder if it's worth it. And is it because they're so devoted to their constituents, or because they want to keep the gravy train going?
In the vast majority of cases, I believe that it's the gravy train they care about. (Of course, they need the constituents to vote for them in order to keep the gravy coming.)
I am so sorry to hear about your pain. I will pray for you and remember you.
You are so kind and so thoughtful, Kathleen. ((( )))
Another member of our community has been fabulous, reminding me how much meditation can help. So I'm back to practicing that again, and feeling much better now.
Please please please take care of yourself. I know you know how. I don't want you to blow a gasket. ❤️.
If you do lose your mind, I will visit you everyday.
Whoa, Hannah! You're tempting me!! Here's where I am with things now: Someone brought up the idea that Joni Ernst may be living in terror, that, if she crosses the sadistic dictator who is about to take over our country, her life may be in danger. When I read that, a lot of pieces fell into place. I think it's very possible that is the motivating factor, rather than greed. She was violently raped. She was the victim of physical and emotional abuse in her marriage. She has a 25-year-old daughter. Imagine if someone threatened to kill/rape your daughter; threatened the same thing about you. I have a very bad feeling that the real story behind what's going on is something far, far worse than any of us has realized.
Remember that Cassidy Hutchinson had to have a security detail for herself and her family. As dark a thought as it is, I wouldn’t discount the possibility at all that Ms. Ernst has been threatened.
Of course she has, I have zero doubts about that
Could be. Even when you "work through" a rape, the body doesn't forget. Add in an abusive relationship and it's soul crushing. That's sad. I don't have to like her to feel for her.
I do have a loved one under threat. I think of doing things I never thought of before. So yeah, I can imagine. It really hurts.
I don't dare talk about any details. Not with anyone. I do appreciate that you care.
I absolutely agree, his horrid followers threaten women with vile sexual violence, they terrorize women
I will visit your mind every day, if I can figure out where you lost it.
Sorry, I've gone out to find myself. If I come here while I'm gone, please leave a note and I'll get back to myself as soon as possible.
Not to worry. We have you covered.
Please take care of yourself. I have felt like that towards 45 for more than 10 years. It takes a toll on your ability to feel joy. 💙💙💙
In a million years, I'd never have guessed that the United States would have sunk into a garbage pit, and for such a long, long time.
Dear kdsherpa, you perfectly described how I felt & continue to feel every g_d damned day this entire week, I honestly want to kill anyone who is going along with this shit. 🤬
Yesterday evening 1/23, after I’d heard
1)End birthright citizenship
2) A Rep filed a bill to amend the Constitution to allow anus-mouth a 3rd term &
3) Shut down all disease research at the NIH
I was in such a blind rage, I wanted to call my sister (who is a Trump voter & lives in TX) & just scream at her;
“You stupid MFer, wtf is wrong with you? you’ve thrown our democracy, our whole F*king country away.”
I didn’t do it, but I did cry just like you did.
The only time I laugh anymore is when I read Jeff & all of you guys in the comments.
I really, really wish he would just effing die already.
You might want to look at my substack (kdsherpa). There are MANY more criminal and/or illegal things he has done in the first 3 days. I hate to say it, but your sister doesn't given a damn. I'm sure she hears nothing but "get rid of the immigrants". I know that's the case with my brother. I also think he doesn't care because he's a white, blue-eyed, blonde-haired white "christian" male, and he knows that none of this will touch him.
I think you missed out the fact that he does this crap because most of his low information base have no idea what govt depts we already have. This feeds their xenophobia and he doesnt actually have to do anything
This is absolutely true.
careful with scratching that thing - it has cooties
The longer the better IMO. I am actually sad when I get to the end!
I can’t discuss because I couldn’t watch. I’ll do better about watching the news. You and others who write about these things shouldn’t have to carry the whole burden.
Actually, I couldn't watch either. I just saw bits of it on the news -- not the actual hearings themselves. The contrasts shown between Dems and pugs was truly astonishing. Do they actually live in the same country?
I mentioned yesterday that I did watch the Hegseth hearing. It was so much worse to watch it live. It took me hours to feel like maybe, just maybe, I wasn't going to have a heart attack.
That is so scary, Hannah. I feel for you. Sounds like a case of the abyss gazing back into you. Stay [mentally] safe
It's all just so inexpressively, hideously STUPID. They're SO STUPID. And venemously dangerous. I am just clinging to the hope that their incompetence will prevent them from seriously fucking everything up, and there are enough career civil servants to gum them up and sabotage them. They're going to drag us into a world war where we're the bad guys! We'll be invaded by Germany and it will be a GOOD thing! Germany will celebrate T-Tag, the glorious day they conquered the villains! To think we're at this point. It's unbearable. But thank you, Jeff, for saying what we all think.
Jeff, why do you, and others think this shitshow will end in 4 years? It won't end without a civil war. They are set up to fuck up this country, create chaos, and steal all the assets! They will not give up power.
Also, I bet it will take less than a month before 45 has himself all decked out in fancy military regalia. He's a total fuckwad and I wish I had the financial ability to be an expat! 😡🤬
I believe you are correct, it’s horrifying. Now this shit about using our Treasury dollars to load up on crypto currency. Good god NO, that is going to bring complete financial ruin down upon this country, if he’s allowed to do that. When it tanks, this place will look like the Great Depression & the Dust Bowl times all combined. Trump & his minions are 100% dead set on destroying democracy, privatizing everything they possibly can; education, USPS, the VA, Medicare & Medicaid; so that his broligarchs can make money off them.
You’re spot on Lisa, sadly he was once part of my state political scene, blech!
Going to be a long four years? It's been a long 4 days. JFC. I have to wonder if America can survive this madness.
But Senator Duckworth is a BAD ASS! I adore her! Our enemies cant wait to take advantage of someone as incompetent as Piss-Drunk Pete at the helm. We'll be in a war in no time, feeding the military industry. Pete is completely ignorant. I betcha he raced to a closet somewhere after his hearing was over and slugged something strong out of flask. 🙄
Senator Duckworth is far more qualified for the job.
I wish that it was ALL women interviewing him, he seemed a little uncomfortable, and I'd like AOC to take him on for just a few minutes. Our Dem women are excellent but it seems like some of them are a little slower on the comeback than they used to be. When greasy Pete kept saying "anonymous smears" there wasn't much push back except I think Elizabeth Warren offered up video. And now Joni has announced she is a yes vote because she's as spineless as the rest of the GOP.
Bottom line is that these hearings are a waste of time except for the fact that it gets just a little more information to the masses but in the end whatever fELON Trump wants he will get.
AOC, Katie Porter and Jasmine Crockett. There'd be nothing left but a greasy puddle. Too bad they aren't in the Senate....
Thanks to Adam Schiff.
I’d love to see Kamala interrogate him- he’d be curled up in a ball on the floor crying by the time she was through with him.
Kamala got screwed…plain and simple…I refuse to believe the vote was fair…Elon had a hand in this election…give it time, it will come out…fucking stolen…
I’m with you, I know it in my bones; & by now (Fri) we’ve heard trump say it on live tv. He admitted it!!!
As was Brett kavanaugh, can we roll tape on his tear jerking from KH lighting a match and throwing it him with one question after another. I'm going to miss her a LOT. She had no fear speaking truth to power, why didn't Biden put her in during the 7th inning?
AOC or Jasmine Crockett! He would be swigging the booze right there trying to deal with them.
Yup. We’re screwed.
Yes, go Tammy Duckworth, Senator from my state of Illinois! Hold his feet to the fire,!
So glad she won reelection!
Patheric Pete probably has a flask in his coat pocket just like Don Jr. keeps a little blow in his pocket for that spur of the moment gum rubbing. These confirmation hearings are going to continue to be a total shitshow with nothing but the most unqualified, useless and unfit misfits on the stage proving why they don't meet the criteria necessary for the job. In other news, did anyone catch the video of Rep. Crockett and Rep. Mace getting into to it over trans rights? During the exchange, Mace asked Crockett if she wanted to take it outside. WTF! And to think that this nightmare is just beginning.
Jasmine would stomp a hole in her ass and walk it dry.
😂😂😂
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And Mace’s incessant heckling of trans Rep. Sarah McBride ended up forcing Sarah to use the men’s restroom. I am livid about this. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi surely has her own private loo. She needs to share it with Sarah asap.
McBride has a private loo, so does every Rep. The ones who are hurt are staffers.
That fucking smirking asshole fully knows that he shouldn’t have wasted a second of anyone’s time being considered for this job. The most sickening part is all the MAGA lemmings happily driving all of us off a cliff. We wouldn’t have gotten here if it wasn’t for the brainwashed masses and the massive numbers of political creeps trying to control everything with fear, lies and hate.
Truer words were never spoken. Did not know before now how many rocks in this country were sheltering total low-lifes.
And Hirono too!!!
" That is such bullshit I can't believe it "
* Maizie Hirono. 💙
Drive on, Drill Sergeant! Drive on, Jeff!
I was an NCO in the military and worked in a field with some very, very intelligent and worthy officers. Some of the enlisted soldiers had advanced degrees in hard sciences. It was my observation that most commissioned officers who plateaued at major were the least qualified and most dangerous to the mission, because they’re angry the command cannot acknowledge their unrecognized genius; they feel slighted.
One of my drill sergeants described a new recruit thusly, “I’m not calling you stupid, son; but, your brain on the edge of a razor blade would look like a runaway BB careening down a four-lane highway!” Enter this fucking guy from the Fox Couch of Ineptitude, Major Dunning Kruger. He checks all of MAGA’s boxes: arrogant boorishness; sexual predation; a proud screech monkey of Trump’s racism and inane rhetoric; et al, ad nauseum. In short, he has fewer qualifications to serve as SECDEF than zero.
The next four years…ugh…the depth and breadth of inexorable ignorance, incompetence, and stupidity plumbed will astound us. To paraphrase a great wartime POTUS from WWII: “We have not yet begun to stupid.” The country and the citizens of this community must remain focused and strong and resilient if we are to preserve our Great Experiment of a viable democratic republic. Meet you at the top, Drill Sergeant Jeff!
Perfectamundo! Bravo!!!!
Old Crow. That's his go to.😆
My uncle did very well selling Old Crow in San Francisco back in the day. It was a popular well whiskey found in many bars and restaurants. Nowadays, you can find it at shoe level in most stores.
LOL!
I’m with Susan on this one. This is an abominable nomination hearing and we all know the coward reTHUGlicans are going to make him SecDef. Just imagine this asswipe in the situation room with the generals and Commander-in-Thief Meloninni. There is no way America survives this. We’ll be at war with everyone and ourselves. This is the most unimaginable upside down shitshow and Monday is the beginning of the end.
It’s devastating. Whats worse, if this is possible, is knowing I live among people who voted for this. 😭
I’m sad for this and everyone here who lives among people who have been tricked by the massive disinformation campaign. The same goes for my only remaining brother…lost in the MAGA cult. I feel for you living among zombies of ignorance. That must be quite heartbreaking to witness willful ignorance so close to home.
I live in San Francisco and teach at a community college. It is a place where everyone and anyone who wishes to pursue a career or attain academic accolades through higher education has a home. It feels safe here knowing my neighbors are not members of a cult.
Thanks Dana. I'm working on self-care/survival. 💙✌️
I have the same situation with my only remaining sister, & almost all of my extended family are trumpers, except for 1 nephew & his wife & 1 cousin & his wife; that’s it.
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Bathtub gin.
Or whatever it is they brew in prison.
PRUNO , made in the toilet of fermented anything that will ferment. So I've heard.
🤪
No doubt Susan!!
Absolutely he did, & when you’re trying to be a functioning alcoholic, the liquid of choice is usually vodka. I’ve been told it doesn’t have the odor on one’s breath that whiskey or bourbon does. Easier to hide.
They certainly did and deservedly so. I served with women during my career. They put their shoulders into the job at hand and earned their stripes. Same rules, same rewards. Hegseth is an embarrassment to military officers.
Senator Duckworth nearly gave all -- both her legs -- to military service. I was nauseated that Petey Hogsbreath was considered worthy to be in the same room with her.
Also gave her ability to conceive naturally & why she had to use IVF.
He's an embarrassment to respectable fentanyl cooks.
Literally LOL !
Except for Joni Ernst who should have. I was hoping she'd be brave.
She's a conservative woman. So I already assume she has a cognitive/character/empathy deficit
Same here
Bravery is an alien word in Repugnicans rank.
Ernst already caved…
Not Bread Bag hog castrater !
I read somewhere she's side stepping out of the way so when Pete implodes she's there to take the nomination from him?
That would be great. Let’s hope that happens. But knowing trump as we do; is she young enough, pretty enough, boobs big enough??
This is why I cried when I heard Trump won the election. He is poised to ruin our reputation internationally by appointing unqualified persons to positions of great importance. He's putting our national security, military readiness, and the lives of our military and civilians at risk. Why would people want to serve in the military when this is the person they are supposed to look up to?!? He does not deserve respect or instill confidence.
Trump appointed a toilet salesman as the ambassador to NATO. Does that express an opinion or what? ZERO experience in military matters.
Who was that? I missed that one.
Matthew Whitaker was acting attorney general between Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr. Before that, he promoted large toilets for well-endowed men, so your junk didn't touch the water. Unbelievable, but true.
You can’t make this s**t up.
Kathleen, oh, gross!!!!
💩
Kathleen, OMG 😂😂😂🤯🤯
Darn it, Imma needing a gummy after this, but can't today. I don't even want to know if there is a legit need
for that.
It's hard to believe isn't it?
The chrome-domed Matthew Whitaker.
Greasy Pete wouldn't be able to get a security clearance and now he's going to head the largest department in the US. Trump Shit Show Season 2 is a clown car of unqualified sycophants for sure.
And his FBI background check is a joke. I read that the transition team can dictate to the FBI who they can interview and who they can't. In other words, they didn't talk to either of his ex-wives or the woman who accused him of rape. The second ex-wife has apparently called the FBI a couple of times and seems willing to talk to them, but they won't return her calls. This is the same thing they did with Kavanaugh. Background check, but not really. It's theatre and it's ridiculous. It should be required that any nominee gets a thorough background check and nobody gets to tell them who they can or can't interview. I read this morning that Amanda Marcotte at Salon said she was interviewed by the FBI when her upstairs neighbor was up for a federal bureaucrat job. She didn't even know the guy, just said "hi" in passing. But for this guy they won't even interview the people who know him best.
And this is BEFORE Kash Patel gets his hands on the FBI.
It’s another one of the bullshit things of America. We’ve all taken for granted, thinking that we were really living in a country of rules and laws. It’s so disheartening to find out it was all just a fucking political Potemkin village the entire time.
1. WTF NYT? Hegseth looks the part? This isn’t a fucking movie.
2. Orange Fuckwit duplicating efforts will certainly fuck with imaginary department DOGE.
That was Dumpy's only criteria last time around. "Don't they look like they're straight out of central casting?" was Dumpy's elated exclamation over his newly assembled cabinet in 2017.
Orange Fuckwit picked the wrong company this time. At least the last one picked people who actually knew what their parts entailed.
The NYT continues this "style" vs substance with a moronic opinion piece from screenwriter and producer Amy Chozick, who believes that the L.A. firestorm tragedy can be saved by a movie-style leader. Apparently the valiant around-the-clock heroic commitment of ALL fighting the fires isn't enough. She wants the Terminator. The NYT can fuck all the way off, they're BATHING in the Koolaid.
And using Eau de Repel as deodorant
Don't you know? Anything dear leader wants cannot possibly contribute to government inefficiency. Wash your mouth out with soap!
My mouth is trained to say some variation of “fuck” every time Agent Orange is mentioned
Me too. I call it "Rethuglican Tourette's Syndrome."
I wasn't objecting to your language only the blasphemy that dear leader could be responsible for government inefficiency! /S
lol, I know.
This is definitely where things start to look like Germany in the 30s with the Aryan race nonsense and genetic determinism. It's creepy now but NYT was sane washing Hitler and burying reports of the death camps back then, so this jerk is about what I expected this time around. The Nazis have infiltrated.
Right?! I’m sure Orange likes the cut of Hegseth’s jawline, so very Aryan, plus the sinister tattoos.
Loves it. Absolutely. He never looked that good but neither did Hitler. I used to really wonder about that, didn't people look at that Aryan bullshit and see the disconnect? Orange dipshit and hags are nevertheless swine from the same stall.
Hegseth looks exactly like an alcoholic resentful that he has to go without a drink for a couple days, and exactly like a fratboy creep looking at the women around him to decide which one to roofie.
I can't even bear to read this one, because it's triggering as fuck on multiple levels. But thank you for covering it, Jeff.
oh god I'm so sorry, that wasn't my intent
It's Trump that does the triggering. We promise not to shoot the messenger.
No no no, please don't feel bad. I wasn't intending this to guilt you at all, and I'm sorry that it did. I haven't looked at ANY news or newsletters about it, but I do think it's crucial that it be covered, and I know you can be trusted to cover it properly and with care. Please do not feel badly about writing this at all, I am very glad you did.
Keep giving it to us straight, Jeff. Our triggers are our own selves’ problem.
Hell, I get triggered watching Steven Colbert, Seth Myers, and Jimmy Kimmel. But the humor is essential to avoid going down the rabbit hole.
🎶hello darkness my old friend 🎶
I'm aware of the Hegseth hearing because it's inescapable, but I'm avoiding the details because ... you know.
Ditto, Ann.
Hey NY Times, what does patriotically correct look like?
Patriotically correct. Yes! They have no idea. :(
They ‘re just a tool now. State media
Google a picture of Judith Miller.
The NYT claims Hegseth wears his "love for his country [and] his standards... on his back." That's because his front is taken up by Nazi and white supremacist hate symbols.
I think the NYT sometimes poses these rhetorical-ish questions in their prose in an attempt to appear snarky or something. It’s risible because their sniffy, antiquated style book does not allow snark.
He’s a freak. There’s guys serving life terms in SuperMax that know he’s a freak. He’d be in a white supremacist gang if they lowered their standards. Oh, wait. That’s what’s happening.
My boyfriend DID serve time and immediately recognized that Hegseth was a lying sack of shit. Pointed out immediately that Hegseth always “went left” to any straight question.
Tim Kaine questions and Hegseth’s pathetic comments were a joke!
So hardened military are supposed to follow this drunk womanizer??? Who can’t run a non profit veterans organization because he party’s away the money???
Hegseth is more like a cartoon character out of the series “MASH” than anyone who actually commands RESPECT in the real world of flying bullets, and blown off limbs. Pretty boy looks don’t count for shit there just competence.
I noticed how Hegseth posed for the cameras when walking through the Capital but apparently “refused to meet with the Democratic members of the Committee??”
What a poor negotiating tactic!!! Also bad for a Secretary of Defense.
Perhaps Vladimir Putin told Trump who to pick and that’s how this tv slime ball showed up??
Makes sense because Hegseth would be a gift to Vladimir!
Anyone who refuses to meet with Committee members should be immediately disqualified. WTF have republicans done to our branches of government, other than destroy their very purpose? We have minority rule now, and no way to fix it because the largest voting bock in the U.S. is the non-voters. We're screwed.
I think trump picked him while scrolling Fox TV at 3am: "Ooh, look at that handsome, square jawed guy! I'll make him Secretary of Defense!" Because as with everything else trumpian, beauty matters. Brains and experience just get in his way.
Perhaps???
White supremacist, sexual assault allegations, slobbering drunken fool who is incompetent at business. Yeah baby, that’s our man!
Pete Hegseth is the Matt Gaetz of Jeffrey Epsteins and Donald Trumps.
LOL *applause
Too bad only one of those 4 is dead!
😂😂😂
Jeff, I read what seems like a score of substacks daily. You always bring the receipts and write in a manner that allows me to imagine diagramming your sentences. Clean and crisp. Yeah, I'm that old. And I'm losing sleep over this shitshow.
The profanity is a bonus.
Linda, when I taught undergrad journalism classes about 20 years ago, NONE of them had ever heard of diagramming sentences. I’d learned that stuff in 3rd grade in my small-town, public school system, way back in the 50s and 60s. Once I showed graphically how different parts of speech go into the construction of a coherent sentence, it seemed to make lightbulbs go on in (some of) their minds. The next semester we tackled pronoun cases and agreement. 🙄
Oh Lord, people who can't do subject and verb agreement drive me nuts.
I learned grammar in the third grade in the Fifties too. And then I got a big refresher course in Latin in the ninth grade. It's amazing how education has gone downhill, or disappeared, as the case may be.
Totally agree with that Linda!!
We already know that this drunk, womanizing, misogynistic, grossly unqualified piece of shit will be confirmed. This dog and pony show (poorly) disguised as confirmation hearings” are just a waste of everyone’s time. In the end, every Republican will roll over and vote to confirm him. The GOP has forever lost even the tiniest shred of credibility, as well as the right to call itself the party of law and order and family values. Fuck them all. I’m so disgusted, I’m practically catatonic.
So proud of my Senator from Illinois. Sliced and diced him.
Hegseth will be just fine with turning our military on Americans - more specifically democrats. He said as much yesterday. That's why he's been nominated - he will allow the most radical white supremacists to join the military and learn how to kill, while purging all officers who are not sufficiently loyal to the cause.
Hegseth will also be taken care of by the defense contractors when he loses the job because “he’s not a general”. He agrees that Generals should continue to be barred from taking a job with a defense contractor for 10 years after they leave the service.
Senator Elizabeth Warren asked Hegseth about this. His answer excusing himself from the rule was so outrageous that the audience laughed AT Hegseth. SOD Austin has agreed to abide by the 10 rule Senator Warren pointed out after Hegseth’s refusal.
It’ll be a white supremacist military; eventually they’ll need cannon fodder. POC, beware.
The great, late George Carlin said it best:
"Boy those conservatives are really something, aren't they? They're all in favor of the unborn. They will do anything for the unborn. But once you're born, you're on your own. Pro-life conservatives are obsessed with the fetus from conception to nine months. After that, they don't want to know about you. They don't want to hear from you. No nothing. No neonatal care. No daycare, no head start, no school lunch, no food stamps, no welfare. Nothing. If you're pre-born, you're fine. If you're preschool, you're fucked. Conservatives don't give a shit about you until you reach 'military age'. Then they think you are just fine. Just what they've been looking for. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. Pro-life, pro-life, these people aren't pro-life, they are killing doctors! What kind of pro-life is that? What? They will do anything they can to save the fetus, but if it grows up to be a doctor, they just might have to kill it. They're not pro-life. You know what they are? They are anti-woman. Simple as it gets, they are anti-woman. They don't like them. They don't like women. They believe that a woman's primary role is to serve as a brood mare for the state."
Oh, boy, I remember his saying this back in the day, and I am going to steal it and stick it on my FB feed, right at the top.
Thanks for that. I heard his voice as I read that.
Nightmare scenario😱
It was a confrontation hearing with all the Republicans ready to fist fight anyone who got in their way. "How dare you ask him questions!" They fell over themselves apologizing to Hegseth for the Democrats bringing real questions about publicly known failings and lack of qualifications to be named dog catcher.
Look for the Republicans to try to run over all 200 million or whatever Americans as they are not going to take this shit. Look for the military to revolt against the dingbats, whoever they put in there.
This is not going to end well for the oligarchs.
Oh he didn’t look drunk. He didn’t look like a serial abuser. He didn’t look incapable of managing even a small enterprise. And the NYT didn’t look like a propaganda outlet. Yet, oddly enough appearances can be deceiving.