QOTD -- "A Jockish, Puerile White Man"

 

"...Extreme though Hegseth may be, he is a recognizable type: a jockish, puerile white man, a boy you knew in your public high school, if you went to one. He is the Jersey Shore as much as he is Kansas, Florida, Texas, and Oregon. You may recall him as the guy who shoved queer kids into trash cans in the cafeteria and said things about girls like 'You’d need a crowbar to get her legs open.' As an adult, Hegseth is a man whom people have described leaving a bar, shit-faced, chanting 'No means yes!' and 'Kill all Muslims!' He is what the world thinks some Americans are, the bleakest caricature. But like the violence in the administration’s videos, Hegseth is real, and he is American, which means we have no choice but to ask what to do with him, and what to do with ourselves.

"This is a person produced by a culture, a society, and a history. He speaks with a deliberate viciousness, a desecration of humanity that recalls centuries of slavery and the American Indian Wars. He is heir to a tradition handed down from the Founders—not the noble, revolutionary ones in the history books but the ruthless, ragged genocidaires who went west. He practices that nasty Christianity. 'Break the teeth of the ungodly,' he said at the Pentagon prayer service; Bull Connor comes to mind. So many of Trump’s men—Gregory Bovino, Markwayne Mullin, Tom Homan—resemble the primeval thugs of the heartland, who openly desire the submission of the most vulnerable..." -- Suzy Hansen, writing in the New York Review of Books on several books presumably written by the dangerous sot "Whiskey Pete" Hegseth, the ludicrous Secretary of Defense (War!) and future (if there is justice in the world) war crimes defendant.  Fresh off a racist commencement address at West Point that was less-than-enthusiastically received, Hegseth continues to live down to the image Hansen sketches in her review, pleasing his only audience -- another "primeval thug," the Malignant Fascist.

 

"War Is Not For Clowns And Fake Tough Guys"

 

Salon.com's wonderful Amanda Marcotte has some thoughts on clownish, butched-up TV pundit turned Secretary of War Defense "Whisky Pete" Hegseth and his transparent persona as a "tough guy," now that we're in a real war with a serious adversary:

"Hegseth’s Saturday morning cartoon idea of manhood, though, has impressed other men of similar persuasions. One is podcaster Joe Rogan, who praised Hegseth last fall, crowing that there was 'no more identity politics' and whining about 'guys in dresses' in the military. In December, the head of Hegseth’s church’s denomination, Doug Wilson, celebrated the secretary as a counterweight to “men with a My-Little-Pony fetish.” Last year the Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh applauded Hegseth for supposedly sticking it to “nagging” women who insist that gender does not disqualify them to serve in the military.

As long as Hegseth keeps his chest-thumping and pull-up contests in the land of make-believe, these men are happy. Like their hero, the only masculine strength they seem interested in is the kind performed for cameras, far away from real-world challenges that might easily defeat their self-image as the mightiest of men. Hegseth, however, had to ruin it all by leading the U.S. into a real war with Iran. Unlike the imaginary wars conducted in right-wing rhetoric, which are won by yelling 'no homo,' real wars are hard. They require planning, foresight and smart people, including women and minorities, to win — and even then, only if you’re quite lucky. War is not for clowns and fake tough guys."  (our emphasis)

Clowns and fake tough guys are what we have now in political positions throughout the Government, epitomized by the draft-dodging, makeup-wearing, senile felon currently staining the White House.  If this were peacetime, it would be merely laughable, but war is serious business best not left to fools like the Malignant Fascist and his loudmouth, chest-thumping Pentagon chief. 

(photos: Cadet Bone Spurs and Whiskey Pete, not so macho)

 

"He Lost Us"

 

Secretary of Defense / War / Theatrics "Whiskey Pete" Hegseth's disastrous performance last month, when he commanded all of our military generals and admirals to Quantico for a juvenile pep talk, has left many of them beyond disappointed.  Some of them were interviewed by the right-wing Washington Times (!) and expressed anger that their time was wasted on a condescending, macho lecture by Hegseth:

"Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has lost the trust and respect of some top military commanders, with his public 'grandstanding' widely seen as unprofessional and the personnel moves made by the former cable TV host leading to an unprecedented and dangerous exodus of talent from the Pentagon, said current senior military officers and current and former Defense Department officials.

Numerous high-ranking officers painted Mr. Hegseth’s Sept. 30 speech to hundreds of generals and admirals gathered at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia as a turning point in how his leadership style, attitude and overall competency are viewed in the upper echelons of the U.S. armed forces.

'It was a massive waste of time. … If he ever had us, he lost us,' one current Army general told The Washington Times.'

The Quantico speech — described by other sources as 'embarrassing' and theatrical to a degree that “is below our institution” — seemed to crystallize beliefs about Mr. Hegseth that had taken root among some senior officers, including the view that the secretary operates with a junior officer’s mentality that has led him to micromanage policies about issues such as military facial hair standards and press access to the Pentagon, sometimes at the expense of the much broader portfolio of a typical defense secretary."

Whiskey Pete was followed on stage by his mentally unfit leader Cadet Bonespurs the Malignant Fascist who also made a spectacle of himself by airing his grievances and smearing his opponents, as the flag officers sat silently.  Given the military code that's drilled into them, it's not surprising that they have soured on someone who clearly doesn't believe in it. 

(photo: Whiskey Pete, lost with his friend) 

 

Whiskey Pete Calls Mystery Meeting Of Top Military Brass Next Week

 

At the risk of overstating it, there can't be any good to come out of this:

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week reportedly ordered hundreds of U.S. military generals and admirals worldwide to report to a Marine Corps base in Virginia next week, for no clear reason and with next to no notice, per a Washington Post report Thursday.

A Defense Department spokesperson confirmed to HuffPost that Hegseth is convening top military leaders next week, but wouldn’t give any more details on what’s going on.

“The Secretary of War [sic] will be addressing his senior military leaders early next week,” chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement, using Trump’s new nickname for the defense secretary.

The bizarre directive was delivered earlier this week to virtually all of the U.S. military’s top commanders around the world, the Post reported, which translates to about 800 generals and admirals. And it comes months after Hegseth directed a 20% cut to top military leadership posts to free the military from “unnecessary bureaucratic layers.”...

Whether or not it's yet another chaotic distraction coming from the regime, the timing and the secrecy surrounding the announcement-- on the cusp of a threatened government shutdown and a crescendo of "Reichstag fire" incidents -- is very curious and troubling even to those who don't have a conspiratorial world view.  

(Image:  Whiskey Pete, totally competent and not a national security threat)

Hegseth Had No Authority To Block Arms To Ukraine

 

There are reports that incompetent DUI hire Secretary of Defense Pete "Pancake Pete" Hegseth ordered eleven shipments of artillery shells and other arms bound for Ukraine to stop in late January, without the apparent approval of the Malignant Loser or senior regime officials:

"U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's office ordered a temporary halt of military aid flights to Ukraine in early February without notifying the White House, Reuters reported on May 6, citing unnamed sources.

The suspension reportedly affected 11 shipments of artillery shells and weapons from Dover Air Force Base and a U.S. base in the United Arab Emirates.

The order, issued about a week after U.S. President Donald Trump began his second term, caused immediate concern in Kyiv and among officials in Poland, who contacted Washington for answers.

Top national security officials at the White House, Pentagon, and State Department were unaware of the decision and could not respond to inquiries. [snip]

Four people familiar with the matter told Reuters a small group of Pentagon staffers, many with long-standing opposition to U.S. aid for Ukraine, had advised Hegseth to suspend assistance.

The president and other senior officials remained unaware of the suspension until Ukrainian and European partners raised concerns. The canceled flights reportedly cost U.S. Transportation Command (TRANSCOM) $2.2 million." (our emphasis)

That this foolish Fox Channel transplant would take it upon himself to halt vital military aid to Ukraine on the advice of "a small group of Pentagon staffers" with an axe to grind against Ukraine is staggeringly dangerous and inept. Clearly that "small group" of stooges should be looked at for connections to the Russian government, since they sought to give Russian forces an advantage over Ukraine. That won't happen, of course.

This is but one more glaring reason why Hegseth needs to be fired or resign. He's a national security threat, and needs to return to his weekend sofa on Fox.

(photo: Tatooed tool of Putin?  Hegseth Instagram)

 

DUI Hegseth Continues Assault On "DEI" While Trying To Step Away From NATO

 

Drunken former Fox couch potato and now Defense Secretary (!!) Pete Hegseth is conducting an all-out assault on Russian aggression, Chinese encroachment, Nazis in the ranks "DEI" (diversity, equity, and inclusion), which we should know means the white- washing of people of color, women, LGBTQ and others from our past and present. Oh, look, the white nationalists have new targets:

Articles about the Holocaust, September 11, cancer awareness, sexual assault and suicide prevention are among the tens of thousands either removed or flagged for removal from Pentagon websites as the department has scrambled to comply with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s order to scrub “diversity” content from all its platforms.

A database obtained by CNN shows that more than 24,000 articles could be purged, with many gone already. The scrub goes well beyond just the removal of images from the Pentagon’s visual database, known as DVIDS, and includes articles from across more than 1,000 websites hosted by the department.

The Pentagon previously said in a memo last month that it would be removing news and feature articles promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) content.

Pentagon Press Secretary John Ullyot said in a statement Wednesday that the Defense Department was “pleased by the rapid compliance” across the Pentagon with the directive removing DEI content from all platforms.

“In the rare cases that content is removed – either deliberately or by mistake – that is out of the clearly outlined scope of the directive, we instruct the components and they correct the content so it recognizes our heroes for their dedicated service alongside their fellow Americans, period."...  (our emphasis)

"Rare cases" = 24,000 articles to this mini-Goebbels.  As with the rest of his cult, if his lips are moving, he's lying.

Public pressure has, at least for now, forced the fascists to restore some previously deleted history:

The Pentagon restored some webpages highlighting the crucial wartime contributions of Navajo Code Talkers and other Native American veterans on Wednesday, days after tribes condemned the action.

The initial removal was part of a sweep of any military content that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion, or commonly referred to as DEI. Following President Donald Trump’s broader executive order ending the federal government’s DEI programs, the Defense Department deleted thousands of pages honoring contributions by women and minority groups. Department officials say the Navajo Code Talker material was erroneously erased. [snip]

Several webpages on the Code Talkers landed on a “404 — Page not found” message Tuesday. Some were back up Wednesday — although any that also mention Native American Heritage Month remain down. Thousands of other pages deleted in the DEI purge are still offline...

Well, it takes time to turbo flush all the sacrifices and accomplishments of "those people" who clearly got their recognition because of "DEI," and not in honorable service to their country (like "Bone Spurs")!

Meanwhile, DUI Hegseth and Putin's puppet are moving at warp(ed) speed to disconnect the United States from the most successful alliance in history, enough so that it's alarming normally supine Republican MAGAts:

The top two Republican lawmakers who lead the Pentagon's oversight committees in the U.S. Congress issued a rare, joint statement on Wednesday expressing alarm about a potential shake-up in U.S. military commands by the Trump administration.

The statement from the offices of Senator Roger Wicker and Representative Mike Rogers cited press reports, including that the Trump administration is weighing relinquishing the U.S. role as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

The position, which oversees all NATO operations in Europe, has been filled by a four-star U.S. general since its creation in 1950. Sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters such a possibility has been discussed but may ultimately not be viable and that no announcement is imminent.

 

"We will not accept significant changes to our warfighting structure that are made without a rigorous interagency process, coordination with combatant commanders and the Joint Staff, and collaboration with Congress," Wicker and Rogers said in the statement.

 

"Such moves risk undermining American deterrence around the globe and detracting from our negotiating positions with America's adversaries." [snip]

Still, any move to step away from Europe would stoke further doubt among America's NATO allies about U.S. commitments to European security under President Donald Trump.

 

Trump's rapprochement with Russia has already put NATO allies on edge, as have U.S. warnings that European security can no longer be Washington's primary focus...

The Malignant Loser ("Agent Krasnov"?) is faithfully doing the bidding of war criminal Putin, who has pulled off perhaps the greatest intelligence coup in human history -- placing his puppet in the Oval Office, surrounded by other compromised assets and pro- Russian white nationalists.  Not having an American general as NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe would make it so much easier for war criminal Putin to confront our European allies without the threat of direct Article 5 U.S. military involvement.  Because Putin has one lowlife, career criminal, moronic slug by the short hairs, the entire security structure that has largely kept the peace in Europe since WWII is in peril, which means we're all in peril.  Sic transit gloria, America.