Thank you very much for highlighting these two Reps. working for transparency, accountability and the rule of law. It is a great boost to see people standing up, telling the truth and actually caring about-- not right versus left- but right versus wrong.
Yes, thank you for highlighting these two- Democratic Reps standing up to the MAGA regime. MAGA won’t be in power forever. Dems will retake the House, and maybe the Senate. The MAGA crimes will be prosecuted when Dems are in charge again. MAGA should take warning and stop following illegal orders, stop breaking the law, and stop the grift.
But dang sad that it is exciting to see a few people in congress actually do what is right, what EVERY person in congress--AND, for that matter, everyone in the Cabal, often called the cabinet--actually to do what they're job and the constitution require. Sigh.
From attacking Greenland and Canada to destroying the East Wing to mass murder in the Caribbean... there isn't much about which I am not outraged these days. What is going on is entirely anathema to a constitutional republic under the rule of law.
You are correct that the rule of law is not followed as it was intended. Average citizens must live by it, but the mega-wealthy devotees of Agent Orange follow their leader's example of felonious, destructive actions. We are watching the Greedy Oligarchical Posse in action.
And for those whose lives are lost because of these illegal bombings, ... well, the cost could not be higher. Money to create a war no one wants, but nothing for ACA subsidies, and a trillion dollar cut from healthcare. "Kids" on a power trip, playing "war," that is very real, costing billions of dollars, the respect of other nations, disappointment and disbelief of the free world, and countless, precious lives. But we have no Justice Department willing or able to uphold the law.
I hate to say this, but Merrick Garland did not help by not prosecuting Trump in a timely manner. It opened the door a crack, and look what slithered in.
When this is all over we must elect people who will support prosecuting trump and who will appoint those willing to carry it out. Everyone involved in trump’s administration - including the Crime Boss himself - who gave and followed illegal orders, covered up illegal orders and broke the law/Constitution to enrich themselves/destroy the United States must be held accountable.
Other nations are able to do this. America looking the other way causes far more problems than it solves. The past 10 years have been worse than frustrating for those of us who do our best to follow laws and support people for office who do. Stepping up and pursuing justice with the most corrupt American regime in our lifetime would go a long way toward assuaging that long-term pain and suffering.
I totally agree!! Merrick Garland is a great man, in his humility, dedication to the law, and public service, ... but was far better suited to be on the Supreme Court. As attorney general, he was so focused on appearing to be neutral and nonpartisan, he delayed investigations that should have occurred, and then started at the bottom, as far as January 6th was concerned. He also chose not to open up another pandora's box, prosecuting the rich and powerful who participated in Epstein's sex trafficking business. Garland's mild manner, and judicial sensibility were just not a good fit for the position, or the scandalous times.
I spent 25 years in the Navy and I am pretty disgusted by all the outrage at the so-called “second strike”. Where is the outrage at EVERY single strike? What the hell is the difference between destroying moving boats with people on board and destroying sitting boats with people on board? Every single strike is murder of foreign civilians without any evidence that they are “narco terrorists” bringing drugs to our shores. The president is a murderer, Hegseth is a murderer, military members both ordering and participating in these strikes are murderers.
The Trump regime is getting careless. In its zeal to do whatever crosses his mind, Trump is losing support of Republicans in Congress and the populace is turning on him more and more. With the Epstein files, killings on the high seas, and his heading full speed ahead into a war, the regime is going down!!
Both republicans and democrats in the house snd senate should stand up and take back their rights as the legislative branch to disapprove the small boat strikes and the oil tanker take over! Don’t keep allowing these criminal activities! All we can do as private citizens is protest! Congress get off your ass and do something! More than just 2 of you!!!!!!!!!
There are multiple Dems standing tall and making as much noise as possible in multiple hearings. If you want to get an overview, just scan through sub stack and you will see many videos of excellent work in hearings by Democrats.
It's more than unfortunate that we have to go to the "alternative media" to get this news. It's the duty and responsibility of the legacy media to report and inform us of what is going on. What we seem to get now is sensationalism, editorializing, and censoring through lack of reporting. Our media isn't doing its job of keeping us informed.
I agree, but then I haven’t searched mainstream media for reports on the hearings. For example yesterday Noem left a hearing about deporting US citizen veterans because the heat was too much for her, she said she had another hearing to attendance she was late so she had to leave. But that other hearing had been canceled before she even went to the one in question.. The Dems brought the heat. That wasn’t the only one I’ve seen. I’ve seen so many where the speeches and questions being asked were pointed and aggressive by the Dems. I think we just need to look a little harder for those.
Perhaps you are being overly considerate to refer to them as 'people'. In my view they are more like wild animals which are starting to feel cornered. Ready to lash out at anything!
When there is no threat, wild animals don't behave like this. Asking a question shouldn't be viewed as a threat unless there is a defense needed for actions that are against laws and norms.
I would not call substack "alternative media" anymore. Not only have some of the best reporters and analysts moved there, but it provides openings for some remarkable people who would not have had an outlet in the deteriorating so-called "mainstream" media market.
All of what you say is true Annie. But there is still a huge number of Americans who never see what we see on Substack. Many people balk at having to sign up to have access. And then once they do get with Substack, it has such a huge Smorgasbord of topics and writers it takes a while to find current relative daily news. To be honest, I love many things besides news coverage!! And I dip into topics like nature, art, gardening, cooking just to stay sane! :-)
Maybe 'alternate' as oppsed to corporate owned cable, dish, newspapers, radio, and TV would be a more appropriate term. I still contend that Substack is an alternative to the omissions, and issues that the MSM either soft-pedals or leaves out entirely.
The BBC has articles in their Americas section every day about the Venezuelan situation. The New York Times has an entire section devoted to daily reports. The Washington Post usually buries whatever it prints about halfway down with a small-print headline.
Have you also noticed that the people questioned rarely answer the posed question anyway? It's almost like listening to two different conversations at the same time.
YES! Distract and make people so weary that they give up. We cannot let that happen. We are strong and we know how to stay focused...just have to keep doing so. Not easy though essential. If our WWII soldiers could do it then the least we can do is give it our best shot to honor them.
YES! YES! YES! Anne! WE the PEOPLE must stay focused and make our voices heard!!! We still have RIGHTS! And we damn sure better use them now if we want to keep the RIGHTS to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom to Gather Peacefully! And demand adherence to The Constitution!!!
I don’t know about you but I want a Military that has the balls to say “ Hell No we won’t go” to both Hegseth and Trumps demands to commit illegal acts. Trump, via Hegseth is proving that the Military are “Suckers and losers” (Trump quote). The home of the brave is now a fantasy. We are now the home of murderers and mayhem globally and in our cities streets.
I don’t know about you but my respect and trust for the Military is beyond low- it’s reaching below the low bar. When the Military agrees to murder, you could be next. Think about that.
Just look at who heads the military now (Hegseth). A lot of the smart and competent upper brass have been fired, replaced by lackeys and yes-men. The JAG Corps of military attorneys has been treated the same way. We've entered a vast wasteland where apparently anything goes - and the GOP Congress sits on its hands. Get to work and take some responsibility. We didn't elect you to treat us and our country in this way.
Mike Johnson gave an absolutely idiotic response about the boat strikes, that there was some sort of rescue boat just outside the frame rushing to save the two passengers. As if the Navy did not know everything in the vicinity , just what showed up on the video. If there had been another boat,that would have been revealed immediately, and very likely it would have been struck as well. They don’t even try to make up convincing lies any more, they think that we’re so credulous that we’ll swallow anything
These Republicans are outright evil. That's the only way to describe them. Look at the number of misdeeds and screwups they've just tried to hide, gloss over or distract from. They do whatever they want, and then try to squash legitimate investigations, reporting, or in the case of inflation, jobs, or maternal mortality rates, accurate data. We can't let them get away with that. One day there will be a reckoning that will reveal Lindsey Graham as a prophet. He said in 2015 if his party presented Trump as its presidential candidate, it would be the end of it. Trump has gotten far too much corrupt assistance from SCOTUS, or Graham's prediction would have already come true. But a wave is building in the court of public opinion that's going to crush these scoundrels, cutthroats and thieves, and I'll be as happy as anyone to see it happen.
And then, after making this prescient prediction, Graham turned into the ultimate toady and began actively working to bring about the very thing he prophesied.
I've been waiting for whistle-blowers in the relevant agencies to leak the documents we need, for those with security roles to play to hold him hostage in the Oval Office, for those in military positions to stage a bloodless coup against this president and his Cabinet and congressional leaders. If they can find two decent, honorable members of Congress who agree not to seek the presidency in 2028, call on them to take the role of president and vice president for the duration.
Curious to get the community’s response about this: why is this issue seemingly a bridge too far for some republicans, but arresting people without due process and intentionally sending them to the worst places on earth is ok? Or cutting aid that was a minuscule portion of our budget and his since led to the death of 400,000 people not worth fixing? And I’m not pointing this out to say republicans are hypocrites. I’m genuinely perplexed or wondering if others have explanations?
Their position is changing because his lowness is losing his effectiveness. The ICE sweeps happened largely before the latest elections have shown how much people hate the way Republicans are(n't) governing. It's time for the to cover their asses.
In my opinion they are all basically racists. And they are more than willing to follow a leader who is of the same inclinations. It is as simple as that. Certainly White Nationalists are racists and more than a few at the top admit to being so called Christian White Nationalists. I have had dogs that were more Christian than they are!
Rep. Himes: " I am mystified over why the rest of the chain of command is quite comfortable with it.” I'm not mystified. Trump and Hegseth have cowed our military into violating their oaths.
Remember: Hegseth has fired more than two dozen senior leaders of our military that he considered "disloyal" to his political positions. He has blocked the promotions of many other senior officers. On September 25th at Marine Base Quantico Trump threatened to fire any of the top 400 military officers who did not follow his orders. Hegseth followed Trump with a chilling speech about weeding out officers who were there due to their race, due to DEI, due to the leadership of "woke" politicians and threatened them by saying "But if the words I'm speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign."
It is difficult to expect our military officers to refuse illegal orders when they see virtually all GOP House Reps and Senators violating their oaths of office out of fear of being forced out of office. Yet, "Honor" is at the heart of the military code. Hopefully enough senior officers will refuse to follow Trump's and Hegseth's illegal orders and will help save our rule of law.
It should not be difficult for military officers to refuse illegal orders. Honor and Bravery are at the heart of their military code. Once officers abandon this code they are no good to us. For enabling and tolerating this Administration's crimes, they should be court-martialed.
The bigger issue is why he wants a war. Simple answer is he wants wartime powers to postpone, delay or cancel the 2026 election. The administration knows they’ll get whomped and they will go to no ends, even an endless war, to make sure the 2026 election never happens. The Democrats need to be one step ahead not constantly reactive.
The two congressmen who are protesting these actions should put their staffs to work gathering the names, ranks and serial numbers of every military person involved in the boat strikes and the seizure of the tanker, including the helicopter pilots, those who took over the ship and everyone involved in firing the guns that took out the boats. And should include Hegseth and any one giving orders. Let them know they are being targeted for prosecution for their actions.
Thank you very much for highlighting these two Reps. working for transparency, accountability and the rule of law. It is a great boost to see people standing up, telling the truth and actually caring about-- not right versus left- but right versus wrong.
Yes, thank you for highlighting these two- Democratic Reps standing up to the MAGA regime. MAGA won’t be in power forever. Dems will retake the House, and maybe the Senate. The MAGA crimes will be prosecuted when Dems are in charge again. MAGA should take warning and stop following illegal orders, stop breaking the law, and stop the grift.
But dang sad that it is exciting to see a few people in congress actually do what is right, what EVERY person in congress--AND, for that matter, everyone in the Cabal, often called the cabinet--actually to do what they're job and the constitution require. Sigh.
Jen : I wish we'd hear directly from Wicker, Bacon, et al. Put them on the record.
But where are the other Democrats? Even if they are not on the Committee?
Only one Republican?
Thank you for reminding us that there will be a Democratic President, it seems that SCOTUS and Republicans in Congress have forgotten that!
Well said.
From attacking Greenland and Canada to destroying the East Wing to mass murder in the Caribbean... there isn't much about which I am not outraged these days. What is going on is entirely anathema to a constitutional republic under the rule of law.
You are correct that the rule of law is not followed as it was intended. Average citizens must live by it, but the mega-wealthy devotees of Agent Orange follow their leader's example of felonious, destructive actions. We are watching the Greedy Oligarchical Posse in action.
AND IT'S ALL VERY EXPENSIVE--not for Trump, but for you and me.
And for those whose lives are lost because of these illegal bombings, ... well, the cost could not be higher. Money to create a war no one wants, but nothing for ACA subsidies, and a trillion dollar cut from healthcare. "Kids" on a power trip, playing "war," that is very real, costing billions of dollars, the respect of other nations, disappointment and disbelief of the free world, and countless, precious lives. But we have no Justice Department willing or able to uphold the law.
I hate to say this, but Merrick Garland did not help by not prosecuting Trump in a timely manner. It opened the door a crack, and look what slithered in.
When this is all over we must elect people who will support prosecuting trump and who will appoint those willing to carry it out. Everyone involved in trump’s administration - including the Crime Boss himself - who gave and followed illegal orders, covered up illegal orders and broke the law/Constitution to enrich themselves/destroy the United States must be held accountable.
Other nations are able to do this. America looking the other way causes far more problems than it solves. The past 10 years have been worse than frustrating for those of us who do our best to follow laws and support people for office who do. Stepping up and pursuing justice with the most corrupt American regime in our lifetime would go a long way toward assuaging that long-term pain and suffering.
I totally agree!! Merrick Garland is a great man, in his humility, dedication to the law, and public service, ... but was far better suited to be on the Supreme Court. As attorney general, he was so focused on appearing to be neutral and nonpartisan, he delayed investigations that should have occurred, and then started at the bottom, as far as January 6th was concerned. He also chose not to open up another pandora's box, prosecuting the rich and powerful who participated in Epstein's sex trafficking business. Garland's mild manner, and judicial sensibility were just not a good fit for the position, or the scandalous times.
I spent 25 years in the Navy and I am pretty disgusted by all the outrage at the so-called “second strike”. Where is the outrage at EVERY single strike? What the hell is the difference between destroying moving boats with people on board and destroying sitting boats with people on board? Every single strike is murder of foreign civilians without any evidence that they are “narco terrorists” bringing drugs to our shores. The president is a murderer, Hegseth is a murderer, military members both ordering and participating in these strikes are murderers.
That’s telling it like it is!
The Trump regime is getting careless. In its zeal to do whatever crosses his mind, Trump is losing support of Republicans in Congress and the populace is turning on him more and more. With the Epstein files, killings on the high seas, and his heading full speed ahead into a war, the regime is going down!!
Don't forget SCOTUS
Both republicans and democrats in the house snd senate should stand up and take back their rights as the legislative branch to disapprove the small boat strikes and the oil tanker take over! Don’t keep allowing these criminal activities! All we can do as private citizens is protest! Congress get off your ass and do something! More than just 2 of you!!!!!!!!!
There are multiple Dems standing tall and making as much noise as possible in multiple hearings. If you want to get an overview, just scan through sub stack and you will see many videos of excellent work in hearings by Democrats.
It's more than unfortunate that we have to go to the "alternative media" to get this news. It's the duty and responsibility of the legacy media to report and inform us of what is going on. What we seem to get now is sensationalism, editorializing, and censoring through lack of reporting. Our media isn't doing its job of keeping us informed.
I agree, but then I haven’t searched mainstream media for reports on the hearings. For example yesterday Noem left a hearing about deporting US citizen veterans because the heat was too much for her, she said she had another hearing to attendance she was late so she had to leave. But that other hearing had been canceled before she even went to the one in question.. The Dems brought the heat. That wasn’t the only one I’ve seen. I’ve seen so many where the speeches and questions being asked were pointed and aggressive by the Dems. I think we just need to look a little harder for those.
These people don't like to be asked questions - even if they are easy. They become defensive and offensive about it.
Perhaps you are being overly considerate to refer to them as 'people'. In my view they are more like wild animals which are starting to feel cornered. Ready to lash out at anything!
When there is no threat, wild animals don't behave like this. Asking a question shouldn't be viewed as a threat unless there is a defense needed for actions that are against laws and norms.
Wild animals are getting a bad rap!
I would not call substack "alternative media" anymore. Not only have some of the best reporters and analysts moved there, but it provides openings for some remarkable people who would not have had an outlet in the deteriorating so-called "mainstream" media market.
All of what you say is true Annie. But there is still a huge number of Americans who never see what we see on Substack. Many people balk at having to sign up to have access. And then once they do get with Substack, it has such a huge Smorgasbord of topics and writers it takes a while to find current relative daily news. To be honest, I love many things besides news coverage!! And I dip into topics like nature, art, gardening, cooking just to stay sane! :-)
So do I Sandy,
We have to feed our souls/spirit if we want to be strong for this battle!! :-)
Maybe 'alternate' as oppsed to corporate owned cable, dish, newspapers, radio, and TV would be a more appropriate term. I still contend that Substack is an alternative to the omissions, and issues that the MSM either soft-pedals or leaves out entirely.
The BBC has articles in their Americas section every day about the Venezuelan situation. The New York Times has an entire section devoted to daily reports. The Washington Post usually buries whatever it prints about halfway down with a small-print headline.
The Guardian is very good.
True that, the NYT still tries to do better, and the BBC is quite good at U.S. and international news.
Legacy media only provides a few minutes to talk about important subjects. The interviews never ask the questions for which I would like answers.
Have you also noticed that the people questioned rarely answer the posed question anyway? It's almost like listening to two different conversations at the same time.
Is all this unlawful saber-rattling to distract from the Epstein files and the deteriorating economy? Asking for a friend.
YES! Distract and make people so weary that they give up. We cannot let that happen. We are strong and we know how to stay focused...just have to keep doing so. Not easy though essential. If our WWII soldiers could do it then the least we can do is give it our best shot to honor them.
YES! YES! YES! Anne! WE the PEOPLE must stay focused and make our voices heard!!! We still have RIGHTS! And we damn sure better use them now if we want to keep the RIGHTS to Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom to Gather Peacefully! And demand adherence to The Constitution!!!
Well, maybe, but mostly it’s to bring an oil producing country under US control.
And do it without any concerns of environmental degradation as DJT might have to fight within US borders!
To say nothing of the unlawful killings that are very likely being used in the same way!!!
I don’t know about you but I want a Military that has the balls to say “ Hell No we won’t go” to both Hegseth and Trumps demands to commit illegal acts. Trump, via Hegseth is proving that the Military are “Suckers and losers” (Trump quote). The home of the brave is now a fantasy. We are now the home of murderers and mayhem globally and in our cities streets.
I don’t know about you but my respect and trust for the Military is beyond low- it’s reaching below the low bar. When the Military agrees to murder, you could be next. Think about that.
Just look at who heads the military now (Hegseth). A lot of the smart and competent upper brass have been fired, replaced by lackeys and yes-men. The JAG Corps of military attorneys has been treated the same way. We've entered a vast wasteland where apparently anything goes - and the GOP Congress sits on its hands. Get to work and take some responsibility. We didn't elect you to treat us and our country in this way.
Mike Johnson gave an absolutely idiotic response about the boat strikes, that there was some sort of rescue boat just outside the frame rushing to save the two passengers. As if the Navy did not know everything in the vicinity , just what showed up on the video. If there had been another boat,that would have been revealed immediately, and very likely it would have been struck as well. They don’t even try to make up convincing lies any more, they think that we’re so credulous that we’ll swallow anything
That would be because a lot of Americans are so credulous they’ll swallow anything.
These Republicans are outright evil. That's the only way to describe them. Look at the number of misdeeds and screwups they've just tried to hide, gloss over or distract from. They do whatever they want, and then try to squash legitimate investigations, reporting, or in the case of inflation, jobs, or maternal mortality rates, accurate data. We can't let them get away with that. One day there will be a reckoning that will reveal Lindsey Graham as a prophet. He said in 2015 if his party presented Trump as its presidential candidate, it would be the end of it. Trump has gotten far too much corrupt assistance from SCOTUS, or Graham's prediction would have already come true. But a wave is building in the court of public opinion that's going to crush these scoundrels, cutthroats and thieves, and I'll be as happy as anyone to see it happen.
And then, after making this prescient prediction, Graham turned into the ultimate toady and began actively working to bring about the very thing he prophesied.
I've been waiting for whistle-blowers in the relevant agencies to leak the documents we need, for those with security roles to play to hold him hostage in the Oval Office, for those in military positions to stage a bloodless coup against this president and his Cabinet and congressional leaders. If they can find two decent, honorable members of Congress who agree not to seek the presidency in 2028, call on them to take the role of president and vice president for the duration.
Curious to get the community’s response about this: why is this issue seemingly a bridge too far for some republicans, but arresting people without due process and intentionally sending them to the worst places on earth is ok? Or cutting aid that was a minuscule portion of our budget and his since led to the death of 400,000 people not worth fixing? And I’m not pointing this out to say republicans are hypocrites. I’m genuinely perplexed or wondering if others have explanations?
Their position is changing because his lowness is losing his effectiveness. The ICE sweeps happened largely before the latest elections have shown how much people hate the way Republicans are(n't) governing. It's time for the to cover their asses.
In my opinion they are all basically racists. And they are more than willing to follow a leader who is of the same inclinations. It is as simple as that. Certainly White Nationalists are racists and more than a few at the top admit to being so called Christian White Nationalists. I have had dogs that were more Christian than they are!
That explains why a former prosecutor, Senator, and Vice-President was not elected 47th President; but a convicted felon was elected.
It’s all about oil not illegal drugs. Drug running is the red herring.
More than anything else It's about derailing the midterm elections.
Rep. Himes: " I am mystified over why the rest of the chain of command is quite comfortable with it.” I'm not mystified. Trump and Hegseth have cowed our military into violating their oaths.
Remember: Hegseth has fired more than two dozen senior leaders of our military that he considered "disloyal" to his political positions. He has blocked the promotions of many other senior officers. On September 25th at Marine Base Quantico Trump threatened to fire any of the top 400 military officers who did not follow his orders. Hegseth followed Trump with a chilling speech about weeding out officers who were there due to their race, due to DEI, due to the leadership of "woke" politicians and threatened them by saying "But if the words I'm speaking today are making your heart sink, then you should do the honorable thing and resign."
It is difficult to expect our military officers to refuse illegal orders when they see virtually all GOP House Reps and Senators violating their oaths of office out of fear of being forced out of office. Yet, "Honor" is at the heart of the military code. Hopefully enough senior officers will refuse to follow Trump's and Hegseth's illegal orders and will help save our rule of law.
It should not be difficult for military officers to refuse illegal orders. Honor and Bravery are at the heart of their military code. Once officers abandon this code they are no good to us. For enabling and tolerating this Administration's crimes, they should be court-martialed.
I agree. I also think the GOP House Reps and Senators who have enabled Trump to commit crimes should be voted out of office.
HOW they might communicate & organize among like-minded, is what I’m wondering.
— and when/ how they might fight back against illegal orders etc.
Where are the Republicans on this issue?
He is trying to inside of war to avoid having elections .
Watch what this man is trying to do . Remember, and money are his motives.!!
Believe me, Trump knows what he is doing. He knows his popularity is dwindling. He knows his poll numbers are also tanking.
Based on the above, he will do anything between now and election day next year to cause havoc on the country and the American people.
The bigger issue is why he wants a war. Simple answer is he wants wartime powers to postpone, delay or cancel the 2026 election. The administration knows they’ll get whomped and they will go to no ends, even an endless war, to make sure the 2026 election never happens. The Democrats need to be one step ahead not constantly reactive.
The two congressmen who are protesting these actions should put their staffs to work gathering the names, ranks and serial numbers of every military person involved in the boat strikes and the seizure of the tanker, including the helicopter pilots, those who took over the ship and everyone involved in firing the guns that took out the boats. And should include Hegseth and any one giving orders. Let them know they are being targeted for prosecution for their actions.