The entire regime is a complete and utter disaster. Until we get the mainstream media out of the hands of his sycophants, the general public has no idea what a fool this President is. Arguing with Trumpers is like banging your head against a brick wall. The midterms need to be a big BLUE blowout!
Loved your phrase "the first male to be fired" and thought it would also make an interesting title for an article/ book regarding him and his tenure in the Trump administration.
What I have been wondering for a long time is if it's possible for any of these fired generals to come back with the next administration in order to sort out this mess we have as well as pass some laws so these partisan and ideological firings do not happen again in the future?
Good column, but I have to object to your statement that Hegseth’s fate is in Trump’s hands. The GOP Congress could impeach and remove him. As you note, there’s plenty of grounds to do so, and the Dems would eagerly support them. We all know they won’t, but don’t let them off the hook for their collective failure to exercise their constitutional obligations to the country.
I am not a doctor and don’t even play one on TV, but I have a personal experience with someone who has Borderline Personality Disorder. It is a very serious condition that is destructive to those around them. Excerpted from the National Institute of Mental Health:
Avoiding real or perceived abandonment, such as by jumping into or out of relationships quickly
A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones
High sensitivity to rejection and feelings of alienation or isolation
A distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self
Intense and highly variable moods, with episodes lasting from a few hours to a few days
Chronic feelings of emptiness
Inappropriate, intense anger or problems controlling anger
There really is no effective treatment. I hate the “Goldwater Rule” where medical professionals will not diagnose from afar and call out a destructive person.
So many red flags when you look at Hegseth's past and personality, he in no way should be in a position that requires a cool head and reasoned response.
Dan Driscoll said that Trump expressed surprise when he told him what was going on at the Pentagon. The Commander in Chief, POTUS, Donald J. Trump does not know what is going on in the US military.
I think hegseth has permanent job security for the simple reason that he would absolutely order tanks to open fire on American citizens. Or drone strikes.
6 month from now, well, what do you know... How many times have we said "that will never happen" only to be proven completely wrong? I doubt it too, but it's not outside the realm of possibility at this point.
Unfortunately for Americans, Hegseth has totally sabotaged the US military by firing every competent officer he could identify, short-staffing the most key elements of the Pentagon, and overseeing yet another illegal and costly invasion that is so incompetent that the entire global economy is being pinched.
As a retired Navy Captain, I was appalled at the incompetence of the Navy, leaving an aircraft carrier at sea for so long that the crew was exhausted and demoralized while the ship itself was falling apart without a rest in a repair yard. Any mid-level officer during my tenure (1968-2000) would know that ships wear out quickly and cannot be restored to readiness without spending time in the repair yards. The 1972 USS Kitty Hawk chaos in Vietnam made that point crystal clear, and yet now we have a similar problem with crew fights and failing equipment on the USS Abraham Lincoln in Iran? Hegseth should have been fired when he started firing generals and admirals for race, gender, or honor rather than for failed performance. All senior promotion decisions are made by a team of often more than a dozen senior staff voting in unison based on their service with the candidates as well as performance ratings by their commanding officers. Hegesth could not even cut it as a National Guard reserve major, but he knew best???
My Marine OCS Gunnery Sgt in Flight school periodically reminded us not to get macho'd with tattoos. He'd remind us that: "A tattoo is permanent evidence of a temporary lapse in judgment." The more you exhibit, the more lapses you advertise. Hegseth is a roadmap of failure.
All the high-profile firings mentioned here are of women: Noem, Bondi, Chavez-DeRemer, and Gabbard. Is Trump capable of firing an XY-chromosome person? Inquiring minds are eager to find out.
The Republican inaction (polite word for it) on this gives the utter and complete lie to their long-running claim to be the champions of preparedness and national defense. Could it be that all along they've been primarily the champions of defense contractors who generously support their campaigns? The shock! the horror!
Paul, thanks for the backhanded bitch slapping you delivered to Botox/Whiskey Pete. He is a complete asshole and perhaps the current regime's most incompetent laughing stock although there is an extensive rogue's gallery from which to choose the worst of the worst.
The dangerous thing about this guy, though, is that he heads the behemoth Department of Defense with all of its might and power. With the debacle that is the Iran WAR, he has squandered a significant portion of the resources needed to adequately defend the nation and our adversaries are surely realize that. Fair warning, South Korea and Taiwan.
I can think of no better outcome for Pete than for him to be canned by the sociopathic lunatic and for him to join the growing ranks of his deplorable scapegoats.
Would Trump see firing Hegseth as an admission that the Iran war isn’t a great victory after all? We couldn’t have that. I’m afraid his own incompetence may insulate him.
The entire regime is a complete and utter disaster. Until we get the mainstream media out of the hands of his sycophants, the general public has no idea what a fool this President is. Arguing with Trumpers is like banging your head against a brick wall. The midterms need to be a big BLUE blowout!
He’s maybe the worst right now, rigorously contending with RFK, Jr., for that perch.
I hope this is true. Whiskey Pete being the first male to be fired would lead to some fine memes
Loved your phrase "the first male to be fired" and thought it would also make an interesting title for an article/ book regarding him and his tenure in the Trump administration.
What I have been wondering for a long time is if it's possible for any of these fired generals to come back with the next administration in order to sort out this mess we have as well as pass some laws so these partisan and ideological firings do not happen again in the future?
Good column, but I have to object to your statement that Hegseth’s fate is in Trump’s hands. The GOP Congress could impeach and remove him. As you note, there’s plenty of grounds to do so, and the Dems would eagerly support them. We all know they won’t, but don’t let them off the hook for their collective failure to exercise their constitutional obligations to the country.
This is what happens when a numbskull president only hires those who are genuinely dumber than he is.
I am not a doctor and don’t even play one on TV, but I have a personal experience with someone who has Borderline Personality Disorder. It is a very serious condition that is destructive to those around them. Excerpted from the National Institute of Mental Health:
Avoiding real or perceived abandonment, such as by jumping into or out of relationships quickly
A pattern of intense and unstable relationships with family, friends, and loved ones
High sensitivity to rejection and feelings of alienation or isolation
A distorted and unstable self-image or sense of self
Intense and highly variable moods, with episodes lasting from a few hours to a few days
Chronic feelings of emptiness
Inappropriate, intense anger or problems controlling anger
There really is no effective treatment. I hate the “Goldwater Rule” where medical professionals will not diagnose from afar and call out a destructive person.
Going on and on about testosterone - rapists, the ideal high-T performers - suggests a low (unmanly) self image.
So many red flags when you look at Hegseth's past and personality, he in no way should be in a position that requires a cool head and reasoned response.
Dan Driscoll said that Trump expressed surprise when he told him what was going on at the Pentagon. The Commander in Chief, POTUS, Donald J. Trump does not know what is going on in the US military.
I think hegseth has permanent job security for the simple reason that he would absolutely order tanks to open fire on American citizens. Or drone strikes.
He's also a guy, so that's insulating him too.
Do you really believe the military would kill citizens on Hegseth’s orders? I don’t. Thats ridiculous.
White nationalists have been infiltrating the military for decades. Hegseth is just the most prominent example. I absolutely believe they would.
Scary stuff. And we pay a trillion dollars a year for it.
6 month from now, well, what do you know... How many times have we said "that will never happen" only to be proven completely wrong? I doubt it too, but it's not outside the realm of possibility at this point.
There's already precedent for it in the form of the kent state shooting.
Unfortunately for Americans, Hegseth has totally sabotaged the US military by firing every competent officer he could identify, short-staffing the most key elements of the Pentagon, and overseeing yet another illegal and costly invasion that is so incompetent that the entire global economy is being pinched.
As a retired Navy Captain, I was appalled at the incompetence of the Navy, leaving an aircraft carrier at sea for so long that the crew was exhausted and demoralized while the ship itself was falling apart without a rest in a repair yard. Any mid-level officer during my tenure (1968-2000) would know that ships wear out quickly and cannot be restored to readiness without spending time in the repair yards. The 1972 USS Kitty Hawk chaos in Vietnam made that point crystal clear, and yet now we have a similar problem with crew fights and failing equipment on the USS Abraham Lincoln in Iran? Hegseth should have been fired when he started firing generals and admirals for race, gender, or honor rather than for failed performance. All senior promotion decisions are made by a team of often more than a dozen senior staff voting in unison based on their service with the candidates as well as performance ratings by their commanding officers. Hegesth could not even cut it as a National Guard reserve major, but he knew best???
My Marine OCS Gunnery Sgt in Flight school periodically reminded us not to get macho'd with tattoos. He'd remind us that: "A tattoo is permanent evidence of a temporary lapse in judgment." The more you exhibit, the more lapses you advertise. Hegseth is a roadmap of failure.
All the high-profile firings mentioned here are of women: Noem, Bondi, Chavez-DeRemer, and Gabbard. Is Trump capable of firing an XY-chromosome person? Inquiring minds are eager to find out.
The Republican inaction (polite word for it) on this gives the utter and complete lie to their long-running claim to be the champions of preparedness and national defense. Could it be that all along they've been primarily the champions of defense contractors who generously support their campaigns? The shock! the horror!
Getting out the Secretary is a start but the Deputy is no prize. In some cases, they are just as bad or worse.
Paul, thanks for the backhanded bitch slapping you delivered to Botox/Whiskey Pete. He is a complete asshole and perhaps the current regime's most incompetent laughing stock although there is an extensive rogue's gallery from which to choose the worst of the worst.
The dangerous thing about this guy, though, is that he heads the behemoth Department of Defense with all of its might and power. With the debacle that is the Iran WAR, he has squandered a significant portion of the resources needed to adequately defend the nation and our adversaries are surely realize that. Fair warning, South Korea and Taiwan.
I can think of no better outcome for Pete than for him to be canned by the sociopathic lunatic and for him to join the growing ranks of his deplorable scapegoats.
Would Trump see firing Hegseth as an admission that the Iran war isn’t a great victory after all? We couldn’t have that. I’m afraid his own incompetence may insulate him.
Thanks Pete for making the world a worse place. Disgraceful
Not nearly soon enough.