Pete Hegseth

The Signal Chat Leak About Yemen Attack An Unmitigated Disaster, Indicates Total Recklessness And Incompetence Of Trump!

Ronald 11 Comments

A true disaster is the best way to describe the Signal Chat Leak about the attack on Yemen, which included a journalist by blunder, and revealed secret intelligence information, which could have killed military personnel involved in the military strike on the terrorist group, the Houthis.

Donald Trump refused to take any responsibility for the horrendous blundering by his Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth; his Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard; his National Security Adviser Michael Waltz; and his CIA Director John Ratcliffe.

No one is taking the blame and being fired or resigning, but if this had happened under Joe Biden’s Presidency, Republicans would be calling for the heads of the agencies mentioned above.

Republicans incessantly went after Hillary Clinton’s emails during the 2016 Presidential campaign, but now Donald Trump acts distantly from the controversy, calling it “a witch hunt”, his favored term to attack all critics on any issue or controversy that arises.

This controversy also undermines our foreign allies’ trust in the United States, as it is clear that Trump and his intelligence and defense leadership is incompetent, arrogant, and more interested in cozying up to dictators, rather than democracies!

Donald Trump’s Attack On News Media And The Free Press

Ronald 3 Comments

Donald Trump has declared war on a free news media, and is clearly out to do whatever he can to suppress truth and facts.

Trump and his party in Congress has threatened to take away the public support of National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

He has launched lawsuits, or threatened such, against CBS, ABC, and major newspapers.

The Pentagon under Pete Hegseth has replaced major news media with work stations from the most substantial organizations to those with far less reputation and expertise.

So the following have been denied frontline status—NBC News, the NY Times, National Public Radio, Politico, CNN, Washington Post, and The Hill.

They are being replaced by: NY Post, Breitbart News, Daily Caller, Washington Examiner, One America News Network, Newsmax, and the Huffington Post, with all but the latter being right wing media sources.

These actions are designed to create an “obedient” news media that will inform the American people what propaganda Donald Trump and his administration want to be promoted as facts and truth, rather than actual reality, but it will not work, as a free press will defy Trump’s attempts to destroy the First Amendment!

Gutless Wonders, And NOT Profiles In Courage: Republican Senators Who Allow Themselves To Be Controlled!

Ronald 8 Comments

A very disturbing development is the reality that several Republican Senators, who have expressed concern and doubts about various Donald Trump Cabinet Appointments and other nominees who require Senate approval, have shown they are NOT “Profiles in Courage”, but instead “Gutless Wonders”!

The threat of Elon Musk promoting opponents in upcoming Senate primaries has led to these Senators bowing to pressure, and making themselves look unprincipled, and without any morals, ethics, or scruples.

The need for these Senators, all of whom have great financial assets and earlier careers where they did well financially, to cave in to pressure is astounding.

Even if they lost their seats in the Senate, or chose not to run for reelection, they would not be in any kind of financial straits that would pressure them to be cowards, but they are precisely that!

I am referring to those Senators I had written about that might be barriers to Trump’s nominees, including:

Joni Ernst of Iowa
Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Susan Collins of Maine
James Lankford of Oklahoma
John Curtis of Utah

Additionally, a newer Republican Senator, Todd Young of Indiana, after having doubts about Tulsi Gabbard, bent to the pressure from Vice President JD Vance to back her for Director Of National Intelligence!

With upcoming confirmation votes next week, it looks quite hopeless that any nominee will be stopped by four Republican votes against such nominee.

Subject to change, it seems as if only Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky might vote NO, beyond Pete Hegseth, and who can be sure that even those two Senators will be consistent.

This is all very exasperating and disillusioning, as we are on the road to the worst ever Presidential Cabinet of advisers in American History, people in many cases outrageously horrible to be in their positions and guaranteed to conduct themselves in illegal, unethical, and immoral ways!

Shocking Plane Crash In DC Politicized By Trump As “DEI”!

Ronald 19 Comments

The shocking plane crash on the Potomac River at Reagan National Airport in Washington DC is a massive tragedy, the first such event since 2009.

Overall, America has an outstanding record regarding air traffic control, although there have been a number of “close shaves”, near accidents, that thankfully did not occur.

But for Donald Trump to make the tragedy political and claim that Democrats, and specifically Joe Biden and Barack Obama, are responsible due to “DEI”, is unconscionable.

Trump claims that having some air traffic controllers who are women or non white men lower the standards of excellence is an outrage, pure racism and sexism! And to bring up the concept of intellectual or mental disabilities is ridiculous, as no one is engaged in this kind of work who has intellectual or mental disabilities.

It is making people who have such disabilities a new target for Donald Trump, who, however, has made fun of disabled reporters in past years, and has no heart or common decency!

Of course, his loyal supporters, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and new Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy just mouth his prejudices.

And Trump attacked reporters who challenged his purposefully biases, with no shame, although he does not have a clue as to what caused the tragedy!

And he also attacked a great public servant, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who was outstanding in that position under Joe Biden, and also served well as Mayor of South Bend, Indiana.

By making Buttigieg an easy target directly, Trump is also speaking out the fact that Buttigieg is a gay male with a husband and two sons, but at the same time, Trump has a Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who is also a gay male with a husband and children, so a clear double standard!

With Confirmation Of Pete Hegseth, Can Any Trump Nominee Be Defeated?

Ronald 24 Comments

With the reality that the US Senate confirmed, by a tie vote broken by Vice President JD Vance, the nomination of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, one must wonder will there ever be FOUR Republican Senators who will stand in the way of any Donald Trump nominee?

One could argue that the defense of the nation, the protection of all Americans, is endangered by having a Secretary of Defense, who has zero qualifications for the position, and has a history of alcohol problems and sexual promiscuity, which could make him suspect of being compromised by foreign spies, in a worst possible scenario.

But with the reality that this nomination went through, is there any hope of any of the other objectionable nominees being stopped?

Tulsi Gabbard is a real security risk if she becomes Director of National Intelligence.

Kash Patel is a danger if he is made head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the next decade, the worst possible nominee since J. Edgar Hoover passed away in 1972.

And Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, a true loose cannon with drug and alcohol problems and delusional behavior and beliefs, is a massive threat to the health and safety of 340 million Americans, with his anti vaccine lunacy and denial of basic science.

So the question arises: Can four Republican Senators be counted upon to reject any or all of these controversial nominees?

One would hope Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins might follow through, but can they be expected to reject all three of these controversial nominees?

Can Mitch McConnell do so as well, considering his concerns about national security and foreign policy, and his having had polio as a child?

But will anyone else, such as Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is a doctor and has expressed concern about RFK Jr’s crazy views on public health?

What about John Curtis, the new Utah Senator who replaced Mitt Romney, and was thought to be a likely vote to oppose Hegseth, but did not do so?

What about James Lankford of Oklahoma, who had been a co-sponsor of immigration legislation in 2024 that Trump convinced Republicans to refuse to support?

What about Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who wavered on Hegseth and ended up supporting him in the end?

And then, there are rumors that Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania might support one of more of these three controversial nominees, and even, crazily, that Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse might support RFK Jr, who was a college friend decades ago.

Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins And? Will Trump Nominees Be Stopped?

Ronald 12 Comments

Two Republican women Senators, considered the most “moderate” in the party caucus, have come out in committee against the nomination of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense.

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine have made clear that they are unhappy with Hegseth’s statements in the past against women in the military, although he has backed off on that idea recently.

Murkowski does not face an election until 2028, and already in the past, had kept her seat as an Independent in one election race. And Susan Collins has hinted she may not run for reelection in 2026, but even if she does, she is in a strong position in a state that is more “Blue”, but her ability to keep her seat has been strong in the past. She has served 28 years and is the longest serving female Republican Senator in American history.

The question is whether there are two more Republicans who will have the guts and courage to join Murkowski and Collins. Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, former Majority and Minority Leader, is a “free spirit” in his last two years in the upper chamber, who disagrees with Donald Trump on foreign and defense policy, so might rebel against Hegseth.

Joni Ernst of Iowa seemed a possible negative vote, but was pressured in her home state to support Hegseth, and therefore looks likely to vote for him despite some qualms.

As stated by this author and blogger in an earlier post on January 12, there are a few other Republican Senators who might, hopefully, join in opposition, particularly the new Utah Senator John Curtis, seen as similar in moderation as was Mitt Romney, plus Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, and Thom Tillis of North Carolina!

If not voting against Hegseth, there is greater possibility that some of this group will vote against other objectionable nominees, including Tulsi Gabbard, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, and Kash Patel.

Pete Hegseth Character And Fitness Wanting, But Unlikely To Be Rejected As Head Of Pentagon, A Worrisome Scenario!

Ronald 6 Comments

Pete Hegseth came across as arrogant, cocky, very self assured, in his Senate hearing to be Secretary of Defense. His character and fitness for the position are wanting.

His alcohol problem, his sexual improprieties, and his extremist views about the Pentagon, and the role of woman and racial minorities, should all be factors in his being denied confirmation.

Hegseth is, by far, the least qualified person to be considered to lead the Pentagon, but since Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, who had been a skeptic, made clear, after being under lobbying pressure, that she would support him, it makes the odds of defeating him very low!

We are in a sad state of affairs when Hegseth is one of a number of Donald Trump nominees who should not be confirmed, but little chance of any success at this point.

Trump Cabinet Hearings: Possibility Of Rejection By Some Republican Senators!

Ronald 47 Comments

With one week until the inauguration of Donald Trump to a second non-consecutive term, the time has arrived for the consideration of the approval or rejection of his Cabinet nominees.

There are so many controversial nominees, and one wonders if there are Republican Senators who are willing to come out against such individuals as:

Pete Hegseth–Secretary of Defense
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.–Secretary of Health and Human Services
Tulsi Gabbard—Director of National Intelligence
Kash Patel—Federal Bureau of Investigation Head

And there are others who are also objectionable on verious grounds, but likely will sail through, but with the above having the likelihood of some being rejected.

Who would be candidates for voting against some or all of these nominees, in order of likelihood:

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski
Utah Senator John Curtis
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell
Maine Senator Susan Collins
Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis
Oklahoma Senator James Lankford

Lack Of Principle And Guts Of So Many Republicans Disillusioning!

Ronald 59 Comments

This author and blogger is so disillusioned at the lack of principle and guts of so many Republican Senators, as it seems more likely by the day that there will be little, if any, opposition to any of the most controversial Donald Trump Cabinet nominees.

By all reasonable judgment, the nominations of:

Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Kash Patel, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services

should be rejected for a multitude of reasons.

And this does not include another objectionable nominee, Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security.

But at least four Senators would have to be willing to gamble their future and vote against, and that seems now highly unlikely.

Those most considered possible to oppose some, if not all, of these nominees, would include:

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Susan Collins of Maine
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
John Curtis of Utah (newly elected to succeed Mitt Romney)

Some other Republican Senators are also seen as possible holdouts, but not as likely as these four.

And even among these four, the truth is that Susan Collins is unreliable, and Mitch McConnell, despite his plans to retire, and his contempt for Donald Trump, cannot be considered in any way likely to vote against any of these nominees, when push comes to shove.

Murkowski and Curtis seem more likely, but the pressure on them and other Republicans is intense. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who first seemed likely to oppose Pete Hegseth, is now receiving blowback with her reelection race coming up in 2026, and Collins also faces reelection two years from now.

So the odds are that Trump will get all of his controversial Cabinet appointments confirmed, and the nation will face a Presidential cabinet with a number of ill qualified, and in some cases, totally terrifying, and reprehensible individuals who will undermine America and its population for the next four years at a minimum.

So this blogger and author is taking a break, escaping from the morass we are in, and will be back near the end of the year!

Trump And Nation To Be Confronted With Massive Foreign Policy Issues Immediately Upon Inauguration On January 20!

Ronald 7 Comments

Like it or not, Donald Trump is going to face massive foreign policy issues immediately upon inauguration six weeks from today.

Trump has said the downfall of Bashar Al Assad in Syria is not our business.

But it changes the balance of power in the Middle East, and with the continuation of the Israel-Gaza War and the involvement of both Russia and Iran in the area, the ability of the United States to wish to ignore the problems is not reality!

Additionally, the Russia-Ukraine War is a crucial issue, with Trump seemingly ready to abandon Ukraine, which will undermine NATO.

Trump’s pledge to put high tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada will also upend our foreign relations, if followed through to fruition.

And, of course, China and North Korea remain difficult nations to deal with in international affairs.

The national security and stability of world affairs is dependent on an engaged America.

This brings up the inadequacies of Pete Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense, and Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence, as both are totally ill-equipped for the challenges ahead.

So the Republican Senate must work to undermine Trump’s choices and force him to select individuals that are competent and qualified to be in charge of our defense and intelligence agencies, which are there to keep America safe.