164 Comments
User's avatar
LiverpoolFCfan's avatar

"The revolting decision to strip 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, Sgt. Angel Rampersad, and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton of recognition as U.S. military personnel killed in action is among the most cynical, selfish, and petty actions of a regime that repeatedly has shown it cares nothing for the sacrifices of our troops."

Beyond despicable. I have no words.

If the war is "over", why are our troops still over there in harm's way?

Steve 218's avatar

If the war is "over" why do we continue to rain bombs down, inflicting death and misery on the Iranians, who had done nothing to us in the first place?

Jason's avatar

Anywhere from 3000 to 6000 killed, anywhere from 15,000 to 33,000 injured in Iran...so far.

Steve 218's avatar

One thing is for certain, we cannot take the figures that come from the Pentagon as accurate. Their office has intentionally misrepresented the numbers.

Tim Matchette's avatar

Like everything else they do under the swine Kegsbreath.

Deborah's avatar

Please don't malign pigs, a useful animal. Kegsbreath is anything but useful.

Stephen Brady's avatar

And apparently more on the way...

Arkansas Blue's avatar

And yet, military service members are majority pro-orange convicted felon and vote for him and his fascists in droves. WHY?

LiverpoolFCfan's avatar

According to Pew, it was 61%-37%. Traditionally, military members are conservatives, or old-school Republicans. So are members of the FBI and CIA. Now the definition of "conservative" has been forever damaged by MAGA.

I think it's encouraging that so many former generals, CIA officers, and FBI members publicly warned the country against electing Trump again (Mattis, Kelly, Comey, Brennen, Gordon, Hertling, Krebs, etc.). Perhaps some of them are just slow learners, but it will be interesting to see the numbers moving forward, now that Trump has betrayed pretty much every segment of his voters.

skayen's avatar

Thank you for your words and valuable insight. My father's U.S. Navy career spanned 30 years, 1944-74. He never talked about politics but my guess is that he, too, was an old-school Republican. Were he alive today, I know that he would be livid over the so-called president's behavior along with that of his ignorant supporters.

Elvi's avatar

Constant exposure to Fox is probably a factor as well.

Michael J. Otting's avatar

Perhaps because when they raised their right hands (as I did when I joined the Corps in '68), and took the oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and DOMESTIC, they did not foresee a time when they would have to live the oath.

What can one expect when our 'commander-in-chief' treats the Constitution as something he can wipe his obese ass with?

Jack Jordan's avatar

I'm not sure any servicemembers I know support or like Trump personally. Many servicemembers are simply very strongly opposed to certain practices, policies or people that Trump says he opposes.

Connie Phillips's avatar

And, threatening to blow up the infrastructure for 91M Iranians constitutes war crimes, meaning the war isn’t over and our troops are still exposed‼️🤬🤬🤬

Punkette's avatar

The USA has always had tens of thousands of troops stationed in the Middle East to protect our “interests.” You know what that means - oil and minerals, $$$.

Stephen Brady's avatar

I am an 'Army Brat'. I was polishing my Dad's shoes and brass when I was 8. He pulled a burning oil drum off of one of his soldiers in a firefight in Korea and to see the odious Hegseth try to massage the casualty numbers to make himself look better is just intolerable. He and the rest of the tRump regime need to be impeached en masse and removed from our sight.

Anastasia Pantsios's avatar

Everything about Hegseth is intolerable and offensive.

Linda MacDonald's avatar

Paul Krugman names what is happening with the US military under hegseth and his hand picked yes men high in testosterone, the " putinization" of the military. Everything trump touches dies and/or is degraded whether it's our military, the reflecting pool, health care, the economy, etc. Just recall this is the dolt who ran casinos into bankruptcy during the years he and epstein were trafikking young girls and women. Why would anyone vote for any candidate of the fascist party he controls?

Steve 218's avatar

Reason for voting for any of these people should call up one self-searching question: What have they done for you that has improved your life in this country? The list of no benefits is long.

Linda MacDonald's avatar

What have they done for and to the country? Another good question.

David's avatar

"Self-searching" is too woke for MAGATS. I've never gotten an answer when I ask "what have they done for you?".

Marliss Desens's avatar

Maybe ask if their gas prices are lower, their food prices, their rent or mortgages, and do they have affordable health care.

David's avatar

"That's a small price to pay so EyeRan doesn't have nukes!" or

"It's all Biden's fault."

Steve 218's avatar

Sadly, that is an excellent point. Another question is would they face the truth if asked the question, rather than expect them to think about it?

Anastasia Pantsios's avatar

Because he promised to disempower anyone who wasn't straight, white "Christian" and male.

It's Come To This's avatar

The only reason Donnie lumbers around Dover AFB mimicking a salute when "honorable transfer" of American soldiers takes place is because his panicked staff told him to. On his own, he couldn't give two shits about the lives of those he willingly places in harm's way.

Paula Smith's avatar

He'd much rather be golfing....

Tom McGlinn's avatar

Does anyone in this administration consider the implications or results of their actions before they are taken?

Seems not.

Such callousness is demonstrated throughout their governance.

This is just one of many cruel, uncaring act.

We can’t cure STUPID but we can VOTE it out!

Steve 218's avatar

Correction: We MUST vote it out.

Tom McGlinn's avatar

How about, “We WILL Vote it out!”

DLarson's avatar

We can't cure STUPID but we can VOTE it out!! Yes Tom, we CAN and we MUST!! Help others vote. Register or confirm registration. Know there voting location, prepare for lines, go in groups when possible. Trump and MAGA will try to prevent and disrupt our elections. Be Prepared.

Bob Egbert's avatar

As a Vietnam veteran, one of the most disgusting things about this and Dirt Bag Donny's entire administration, is that most veterans support him. IMO there is no punishment that the Criminal in Chief and his accomplices in Congress could receive that would be sufficient justice.

Ann's avatar

Gold Star wife and mom here, I don’t understand their logic. I imagine it had to do with Harris being a woman and of color but the continued support disgusts me. Thanks for your service!

Bob Egbert's avatar

I don't understand either. I'm guessing that it has something to do with the macho mentality. I served in the Brown Water Navy in the Mekong Deltal on the USS Garrett County. There were some of the crew that were eager and over-joyed at the opportunity to kill. I wasn't one of them. Much of the time I don't understand my own gender.

Michael J. Otting's avatar

Bob,

How do you know (and why do you believe) "most veterans support him"?

My casual encounters with Viet Vets and others suggest just the opposite.

If given the opportunity traitor trump would would be dragged from the WH, stomped to death and thrown into an oil drum and set ablaze... 'burning the shitters" as we used to say. A fitting end to a traitor.

(1st Bn 5th Marines, Quang Nam Prov 69-70...before i knew better)

Bob Egbert's avatar

I’m just going by the statistics that I’ve seen online. The veteran friends I know don’t support him.

Ellen Bass's avatar

You hit it on the head: how did so many people support Trump et al and how can so many (even 30 percent) still support them?

DLarson's avatar

I ask myself this every day. How can they still support him? What will it take? Im sure the answer will scare the sh*t out of me.

Marliss Desens's avatar

I try to focus on the 70% who do not support him.

Marliss Desens's avatar

Do we have any solid polling on military and veteran support? I know that it certainly does seem that Trump has them in his corner, but I would like to see some hard data. Maybe I will suggest that to G. Elliott Morris who runs the Substack Strength in Numbers and is very good with running the numbers.

Marliss Desens's avatar

Neither Trump nor any of his family served in the military. Biden's son Beau did, and the cancer that killed him may have been from his time doing so. The rich people are never touched by the consequences, and Trump is surrounded by the super rich.

Michael J. Otting's avatar

Sure there is: the gallows or a firing squad!

Chris Bevers's avatar

He's a FIVE TIME DRAFT DODGER of the Vietnam era. Let that sink in for the memory of every casualty of THAT war, THEN codemn him to hell for his current abuses of lost military LIVES and their surviving families.

Sue's avatar

I'm afraid Trump isn't the first to do this. When G.W. Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" on May 1, 2003, his administration fought tooth and nail to deny that the war was still going on and the death toll increasing. 60 Minutes planned a reading of the names of the fallen for Memorial Day 2004. The administration leaned on them hard to drop the segment. 60 minutes was real journalism back then, and would not be bullied, but a lot of local stations knuckled under to intimidation. Gaslighting about the human cost of a war isn't new or uniquely American.

Ann's avatar

I remember when they held quite a few body bags at Andrew’s to try and avoid the press and the public.

DLarson's avatar

I agree, Bush, who also should not have been President, did a lot of the same things. Trump has taken it to the next level multiplied. I am not optimistic for the future of our country. Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society started this decline with Reagan.

Anastasia Pantsios's avatar

Yes, the Bush administration was a mess. I never thought it could be topped.

Michelle Jordan's avatar

Trump is the most disgusting excuse of a human being if you can even call him that. I can’t imagine what must be going through the minds of those families. He is such a pathetic excuse of a decent human being, I hope something can be done about that decision. Those service members 1st Lt. Tyler James Freehan, Pvt. Isabella Gonzales,Sgt. Angel Rampersad, and Sgt. Michael Emmanuel Swinton all deserve to be recognized for their service to our country.

Marcia's avatar

Two of the three GOP stooges who allegedly represent me in DC served in the military and bragged on this service while campaigning: Joni Ernst and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01 not for long). When this despicable news broke about the erasure of the 4 deaths, I called their offices and expressed my fury.

I encourage everyone with a GOP member of Congress to do the same. I know, I know— it won’t change anything…except, perhaps, dispelling their faint hope that the zone has been so long overwhelmed by shit that our capacity for outrage has finally broken.

Milford Sprecher's avatar

I write post cards to the White House, not that it does much good, but I at least let the con man know what I think about things. I have also been sending gasoline receipts with the price circled and writing “thanks, President Trump” on them.

Steve 218's avatar

It's still alive and well. It's just that the legacy media and most of the rest of the MSM won't report it. The Substack journalists are in full cry. HCR, Paul Krugman, Dan Rather, Norm Eisen, Jen Rubin, and even the BBC and The Guardian still carry the torch of freedom. Even a few of our federal representatives are finally beginning to speak up, as are some of our state governors.

Ellen Bass's avatar

How did those two get elected? Think any of your neighbors voted for them? LOL. Everyone who voted for Trump and the likes of Ernst ("knows how to castrate pigs") knew exactly who they were and who they were not.

Thomas Moore's avatar

I cannot agree with the overall perspective in this Contrarian post. We have not outright won a war since WWII. Every other war since that we have engaged in has been some variation of a clusterfuck, if not an outright loss. We need to stop thinking of our military as a solution to all the world's problems. But we seem to be stuck in the same old every time. When I visited the Marine Corps Museum in Quantico, VA, I saw how the history of the United States is chock full of this same problem, using the military over and over to solve problems, in some cases for good reason, but in far too many that's not been the case. And our history with Native Americans is just more of the same. Past time to take Eisenhower's admonition to heart, for a start. But under Trump we are going in the opposite direction, ramping up funding. Any Dem that goes along with this is not a Democrat that I can support.

Anne Pierce's avatar

Trump treats the US military as a set of tin soldiers that are his playthings, to be deployed to deal with anything that annoys him. He has no understanding of the harm this does to our personnel and to the people in countries that he attacks. After all, Washington, DC is under military occupation now and for the rest of his term because he was angry about a carjacking.

Jack Jordan's avatar

To my prior reply, I'd add that there's something suspicious about Hegseth or Trump making and publicizing the choice to discriminate against these four fallen servicemembers. Given Trump's propensity to lie, I suspect he has some hidden agenda. Does his decision have something to do with the fact that half of the people he is discriminating against are young women? Or is it maybe that they are young women of color? Did somebody in one of the four families merely offend Trump or Hegseth somehow? I suspect there's more to this story than the story Trump is telling.

Jack Jordan's avatar

There's good reason for your concern about the perception--or presentation--of war, especially now. There's good reason to believe that Trump attacked Iran for no better reason than to provide a pretext to construct his vain victory arch. Everything I've seen about how Trump treated our Armed Forces this term supports that conclusion. That includes his changing the uniform of the Army to that of WWII, changing the name of the Department of Defense to the name it had during the Civil War, getting rid of anyone who would stand up to or oppose Trump or Hegseth, starting with unnecessary and unconstitutional small attacks on boats at sea, moving to small attacks on land in various places, moving to bigger attacks on land (in Venezuela and Iran), and then finally his grand finale of an even more unnecessary and even more unconstitutional war with Iran.

Even so, the principle behind this piece by Jen is the principle behind President Lincoln's outstanding Gettysburg Address: all those who lives were sacrificed to fulfill their oaths to support and defend our Constitution should be honored, and, even more importantly from all our "honored dead we [must] take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Anne Pierce's avatar

How do Trump and Hegseth classify their deaths, as accidents? Natural causes? Trump got us into this terrible war and has no idea how to get us out. No one in his regime will tell him the truth, and Republicans in Congress are too afraid of him to tell him to stop attacking Iran. Now the Houthis and the Saudi government are involved.

Patricia Dempsey's avatar

I think it's 'deaths in overseas operations' or something stupid like that. It is beyond despicable to think that this cretin with orange makeup is the Commander in Chief of our armed forces. OMG!

Carol Gamm's avatar

Thank you. The disrespect for those who made the ultimate sacrifice comes from a President who is a draft dodger, his callous administration, and a Congress where the Republican majority does some big talking about patriotism and then goes along with Trump’s work to destroy our democracy. The limited outcry reminds us that there is something very wrong going on in our country. We must do a better job teaching our history and government to our children. We need more national service opportunities. We have hard work ahead of us.

Ellen Bass's avatar

I agree and would add this: I know of two young men who are immigrants who were seriously considering going into the military and now have reconsidered. The damage being done to our country is incalculable.

Mickey Dee (I had it first)'s avatar

I know of a beautiful young girl whose father is not legal, a hardworking lovely man. She just graduated from highschool and enlisted in the Army. I've been worrying every day over her safety. Had I known she was going to do this, I would have expressed my concerns for her safety to her father.

Carol Gamm's avatar

Thank you. My uncle was killed in action during WWII. He was an immigrant. If these young men will no longer consider the military, this is indeed a loss for all of us.

Lynne Olson's avatar

Well said, Jen. The treatment of our armed service personnel has been abhorrent by this administration. It is going to take years to build back the knowledge and experience that Hegseth

SJR's avatar

Unfortunately, Netanyahu's visit will probably convince trump to begin "hostilities" again.

Ivan Tufaart's avatar

I've got my fingers crossed that even an egotistical fool like Don the Con has had more than enough of Bibi. But with Don, you never know. All it takes is for him to have some indigestion and he'll re-ignite the war.

Anne Pierce's avatar

Or his "bone spurs" acting up.

Anastasia Pantsios's avatar

I'm hoping the Israeli people have had enough of Bibi and that Americans have had enough. of Trump.

SJR's avatar

He listens to the last person he spoke to, except female journalists!

Patricia Dempsey's avatar

I thought the same thing. Let's hope we're wrong!

Merrill's avatar

Waiting for heartfelt speeches is not enough. All Americans should be rising up in protest of all sorts over Trumpism's attacks on American values. We are embarrassed and humiliated. We must push back.