"To stand up to Hegseth and Trump on religious grounds, revealing the degeneracy of a White Christian nationalist secretary who revels in death and oozes Islamophobia, showed extraordinary character."
And revealed the extraordinary hypocrisy of the counterfeit version of "Christianity" displayed by Hegseth and his hyper-masculine cadre of swaggering, incompetent fools.
Another terrible decision, which will result in the death of many more people. Is Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine.
Is it because he hates Zelensky, who rebuffed him years ago, or does Trump now expect Putin to help him in the election? The DOJ and CIA are no longer monitoring foreign interference they way they always did. Trump always wants something in return. Cyber attacks? Disinformation? Other kinds of election interference? Watch out.
Both. he hates Zelensky for standing up to him and being more admired, and he fears alienating his savior Putin. We still don't know what Epstein files/info Putin has or what else he may hold against this president. But we know he fears Putin.
Don’t forget Zelensky said no to him when he called to ask him to dig up info on Biden. That call led to his first impeachment. Of course he hates Zelensky, I’m sure he blames him for the impeachment.
Mr. Testosterone, AKA war criminal Hegseth, is a total embarrassment to our nation and a danger (for security and other reasons) to our nation. We praise and admire members of the military, but are disgusted with Hegseth.
As soon as the Democrats take Congress, one of their first moves has to be to impeach Hegseth. He in part is responsible for our irresponsible war in Iran. I am proud of our military for standing up and refusing to execute a man sitting in a wheelchair for all the world to see. I hope they are not punished for taking the moral stance.
Thank the goddess this did not happen. Still, one wonders is Hegseth or any other admin figures will ever face justice. Their inhumanity is rewarded with immunity just as murder is rewarded with execution among the great unwashed majority. This administration is a wake up call to all of humanity. It should be the end of business as usual.
Jen, thank you for so clearly and succinctly defining the moral depravity of Hegseth and his so-called Department of War. And as far as Trump goes, bowing to pressure and deciding not to livestream the execution is probably the only right decision he's ever made in his life.
JoanC, I couldn't agree with you more. After 80 vile years, he finally did something right. It still makes me wonder what happened inside of that rotting, putrid, demented brain to make him come to his senses on this one issue. You and I know there is always a self-serving ulterior motive for anything he says or does.
Trump has opposed live streaming his trials, his impeachment, and any other kind of openness in his administration. He loves public cage fighting (violence) and public cabinet meetings (brown-nosing). But he finally backs off public executions (which I believe he has favored in his speeches) when he realizes that’s too much for us to stomach.
The "Age of Trump" has revealed much about the state of morality in the US today. From business leaders, politicians, military leaders, all the way down to the commons, we have been forced to exam who "we" are as a nation and as individuals. It has not been a pleasant task, but it certainly has been an enlightening one. If there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel, it should begin with a national "mea culpa" because Trump and his gang of thieves could not have brought us to this point without a lot of help from like-minded Americans.
So how do we get around it? I can't bear the thought of these people getting away with their crimes and malfeasance. For example, can we bundle Hegseth off to The Hague to stand trial for war crimes? Oh, the Supreme Court will stop it? "Sorry, too late, he's gone. We can't get him back now!" (To repeat Trump's excuse for deporting immigrants in contravention of court rulings.)
Last time I checked, about 52% of Americans still support the death penalty. Hegseth must have thought that (slim) majority would guarantee approval for the hideous spectacle he was proposing.
But most people who support capital punishment see it as a somber responsibility of our justice system. They believe it represents justice for the most heinous crimes, and an opportunity of closure for victims' families. I could argue with them about that, but the point here is:
Even staunch supporters of the death penalty were not licking their chops at the prospect of watching a man being blown to bits on live TV. They were appalled by Hegseth's plan to turn a somber procedure into a cruel circus.
Hegseth is essentially a bloodthirsty psychopath. He should be removed from office and put somewhere he can do no further harm to our military and our civil society.
Just as the president requestsd (demanded) the resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle, he should DEMAND the resignation of his Secretary of Testosterone. ASAP.
This old doc thinks that being ordered to be on a firing squad which will execute a man in a wheelchair will result in cases of PTSD for all involved... Remember, the executioners in State and Federal Prisons are volunteers.
This whole barbaric episode exposes the moral rot that infects the sociopathic lunatic in the WH and his compliant, deranged aiders and abettors. The Secretary of War Crimes is perhaps the most unqualified, inept member of a buffoonish, dangerous cabinet. Their departure from government cannot come soon enough.
Hegseth needs to die in prison or we haven’t fixed anything.
"To stand up to Hegseth and Trump on religious grounds, revealing the degeneracy of a White Christian nationalist secretary who revels in death and oozes Islamophobia, showed extraordinary character."
And revealed the extraordinary hypocrisy of the counterfeit version of "Christianity" displayed by Hegseth and his hyper-masculine cadre of swaggering, incompetent fools.
After, perhaps, an overdose of testosterone?
Another terrible decision, which will result in the death of many more people. Is Trump’s betrayal of Ukraine.
Is it because he hates Zelensky, who rebuffed him years ago, or does Trump now expect Putin to help him in the election? The DOJ and CIA are no longer monitoring foreign interference they way they always did. Trump always wants something in return. Cyber attacks? Disinformation? Other kinds of election interference? Watch out.
Both. he hates Zelensky for standing up to him and being more admired, and he fears alienating his savior Putin. We still don't know what Epstein files/info Putin has or what else he may hold against this president. But we know he fears Putin.
Don’t forget Zelensky said no to him when he called to ask him to dig up info on Biden. That call led to his first impeachment. Of course he hates Zelensky, I’m sure he blames him for the impeachment.
Mr. Testosterone, AKA war criminal Hegseth, is a total embarrassment to our nation and a danger (for security and other reasons) to our nation. We praise and admire members of the military, but are disgusted with Hegseth.
As soon as the Democrats take Congress, one of their first moves has to be to impeach Hegseth. He in part is responsible for our irresponsible war in Iran. I am proud of our military for standing up and refusing to execute a man sitting in a wheelchair for all the world to see. I hope they are not punished for taking the moral stance.
The first of many impeachments, I hope.
Thank the goddess this did not happen. Still, one wonders is Hegseth or any other admin figures will ever face justice. Their inhumanity is rewarded with immunity just as murder is rewarded with execution among the great unwashed majority. This administration is a wake up call to all of humanity. It should be the end of business as usual.
Jen, thank you for so clearly and succinctly defining the moral depravity of Hegseth and his so-called Department of War. And as far as Trump goes, bowing to pressure and deciding not to livestream the execution is probably the only right decision he's ever made in his life.
JoanC, I couldn't agree with you more. After 80 vile years, he finally did something right. It still makes me wonder what happened inside of that rotting, putrid, demented brain to make him come to his senses on this one issue. You and I know there is always a self-serving ulterior motive for anything he says or does.
... and we still don't know if trump lied (again) and/or changes his mind closer to that Dec date
Ratings.
Trump has opposed live streaming his trials, his impeachment, and any other kind of openness in his administration. He loves public cage fighting (violence) and public cabinet meetings (brown-nosing). But he finally backs off public executions (which I believe he has favored in his speeches) when he realizes that’s too much for us to stomach.
His own next trial will be public.
The "Age of Trump" has revealed much about the state of morality in the US today. From business leaders, politicians, military leaders, all the way down to the commons, we have been forced to exam who "we" are as a nation and as individuals. It has not been a pleasant task, but it certainly has been an enlightening one. If there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel, it should begin with a national "mea culpa" because Trump and his gang of thieves could not have brought us to this point without a lot of help from like-minded Americans.
Trump is now toying with the idea of issuing pardons to everyone in his administration, including himself. It will probably happen.
Let the next president ignore any pardons just as the current president ignores constitutional mandates and court orders.
After all, the Supreme Court didn't just confer immunity on this president, but on presidents in general.
Self-pardons are not possible, but that won't prevent Trump from trying. Unfortunately.
So how do we get around it? I can't bear the thought of these people getting away with their crimes and malfeasance. For example, can we bundle Hegseth off to The Hague to stand trial for war crimes? Oh, the Supreme Court will stop it? "Sorry, too late, he's gone. We can't get him back now!" (To repeat Trump's excuse for deporting immigrants in contravention of court rulings.)
This essay made me finally get a paid subscription! Thank you.
Thank you Ms. Rubin. You spoke to the heart of the story.
Last time I checked, about 52% of Americans still support the death penalty. Hegseth must have thought that (slim) majority would guarantee approval for the hideous spectacle he was proposing.
But most people who support capital punishment see it as a somber responsibility of our justice system. They believe it represents justice for the most heinous crimes, and an opportunity of closure for victims' families. I could argue with them about that, but the point here is:
Even staunch supporters of the death penalty were not licking their chops at the prospect of watching a man being blown to bits on live TV. They were appalled by Hegseth's plan to turn a somber procedure into a cruel circus.
Hegseth is essentially a bloodthirsty psychopath. He should be removed from office and put somewhere he can do no further harm to our military and our civil society.
Just as the president requestsd (demanded) the resignation of Kimberly Guilfoyle, he should DEMAND the resignation of his Secretary of Testosterone. ASAP.
This old doc thinks that being ordered to be on a firing squad which will execute a man in a wheelchair will result in cases of PTSD for all involved... Remember, the executioners in State and Federal Prisons are volunteers.
This whole barbaric episode exposes the moral rot that infects the sociopathic lunatic in the WH and his compliant, deranged aiders and abettors. The Secretary of War Crimes is perhaps the most unqualified, inept member of a buffoonish, dangerous cabinet. Their departure from government cannot come soon enough.
As Arlo Guthrie described it in 'Alice's Restaurant', dancing around with veins in your teeth is not a good look.