Republicans are shirking their constitutional duty by not impeaching & removing Trump from office for just threatening our NATO ally. This is fucking insane!!!
I wish I shared your confidence in JCOS, Rick, though I do share the sense of urgency. Just do the coup d’état and be done with it. Remove him from office. Call Congress to the carpet, if they have half a heartbeat. Fuck it.
To think that these people of supposed courage, ready to defend our country from nuclear armed powers, terror cells and militant non-state actors, would rollover for a cowardly tyrant and "invade" a defenseless country of 50,000 people reeks of even worse cowardice than what their "Commander-in-Thief" ever demonstrated. SMGDH....
Sorry, it pains me more than you can imagine, as an historian of the American military that liberated the planet 81 years ago, but I do not think the modern American officer corps - which has been soaked in Christian fundamentalism for the past 50 years, now turned for many of them into Christian nationalism/fascism - has the intellect, the integrity or the guts to act as they should. They LIKE what is being done. They are moral and intellectual failures on a par with the Wehrmacht who gave their honor and their personal allegiance to Hitler 92 years ago.
and the military listens to and watches Fox 'news' 24/7 in commissaries and barracks - so they have no idea of what is happening in the world or why and no exposure to sensible advice.
I could not agree with you more that the Joint Chiefs need to say hell no to the invasion of the territory of a sovereign NATO ally. I spent 30 years in the military and did a tour in the Pentagon and we never dealt with anything this unjustified or stupid. Saying no would definitely have an effect, starting with the Chairman who Trump pulled out of retirement. Also, who else can/will stop him?
Who else can/will stop him. There is our problem. He leads a regime of seditionists who are opposed to every ideal this country claims to stand for, who celebrate every bad act we have ever committed, and who are dedicated to the overthrow of the American republic, the only explanation for the past year's actions. I wish to hell I was wrong, as someone who comes from a family whose members served in every important conflict since the Revolution, and a historian of the American military that liberated the planet 81 years ago, but this military, like this political class of Republicans, are "lacking" all sense of decency, integrity and courage.
I agree with almost all of what you have written here but I feel it is absolutely necessary to point out that the American military did not liberate the planet 81 years ago. We joined the fight only after we were attacked at Pearl Harbor. The rest of the world had been fighting valiantly for years before we dropped in. We made a helluva difference when we did, "turning the tide" if you will, but we do not deserve to be thought of as the world's savior. It's one of those dangerous myths we have told ourselves. That myth has masked how many homegrown Nazis we had on our own soil. That myth has led to our arrogance and our inability to correct the serious flaws in our society and our foundational documents. We deserve the skepticism embodied in the famous saying "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else." Sadly, I have very little confidence that we, the Joint Chiefs or the Congress will do the right thing this time.
I have little faith in the Joint Chiefs. I am constantly amazed at what I thought were professional, ethical adults - simply roll over and expose their soft underbelly in hopes that Trump leaves them alone. They will submit. America will have fully gone down the tubes. 🫡
Thanks for this, Rick--my dad was with the US government, and I grew up partly living various places overseas, always felt pride about representing my country (as my parents frequently reminded me and my sisters of our duty to do this consciously and honorably). Words cannot express how horrified I am that it is under any consideration at all that the US has some sort of right to just grab other peoples' land and resources. Just insane.
It will be interesting to see if their oath to the constitution means anything to joint chiefs of staff. Their oath to the constitution obviously doesn't mean anything to the GOP. Their oath to the constitution obviously doesn't mean anything to Alito, Gorsuch, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Thomas.
What makes this mass resignation even more imperative is Hegseth's expectation that "rules of engagement" be ignored. Rules of engagement are what differentiates a civilized army from a barbarian horde. If the U.S. invades Greenland, many Greenlanders will fight back - they've already told us that. With no rules of engagement, it's not hard to anticipate that the honor of our military will be further stained with My Lai like atrocities against civilian populations.
The other mass resignation that should occur is GOP Congressional Reps and Senators who still have a sense of decency must withdraw from the Republican party. To date, they have shown less backbone than you'd find in a bowl of chicken noodle soup. A mass exodus of party leadership would show the Joint Chiefs that Congress has their back, and show the American people that they are done looking the other way as this madman turns America into a police state and destroys our standing in the world.
The Grand Old Party of Honest Abe Lincoln has mutated into the (lower case gop) of pathological liar Donald Trump. And as Rick Wilson reminds us, everything Trump touches dies.
Tara Palmeri
Republicans are shirking their constitutional duty by not impeaching & removing Trump from office for just threatening our NATO ally. This is fucking insane!!!
I haven’t seen anyone say the obvious consequence, that the regime starts WWIII, and we will be attacked.
I wish I shared your confidence in JCOS, Rick, though I do share the sense of urgency. Just do the coup d’état and be done with it. Remove him from office. Call Congress to the carpet, if they have half a heartbeat. Fuck it.
Not germane to this conversation, but…
https://thiswillhold.substack.com/p/how-did-6-million-people-vote-in?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1u7bi&triedRedirect=true
they are going to carry it out. FOX "news" running 24/7 on military bases has brainwashed them all.
How does this message get to the Joint Chiefs?
To think that these people of supposed courage, ready to defend our country from nuclear armed powers, terror cells and militant non-state actors, would rollover for a cowardly tyrant and "invade" a defenseless country of 50,000 people reeks of even worse cowardice than what their "Commander-in-Thief" ever demonstrated. SMGDH....
Sorry, it pains me more than you can imagine, as an historian of the American military that liberated the planet 81 years ago, but I do not think the modern American officer corps - which has been soaked in Christian fundamentalism for the past 50 years, now turned for many of them into Christian nationalism/fascism - has the intellect, the integrity or the guts to act as they should. They LIKE what is being done. They are moral and intellectual failures on a par with the Wehrmacht who gave their honor and their personal allegiance to Hitler 92 years ago.
and the military listens to and watches Fox 'news' 24/7 in commissaries and barracks - so they have no idea of what is happening in the world or why and no exposure to sensible advice.
I could not agree with you more that the Joint Chiefs need to say hell no to the invasion of the territory of a sovereign NATO ally. I spent 30 years in the military and did a tour in the Pentagon and we never dealt with anything this unjustified or stupid. Saying no would definitely have an effect, starting with the Chairman who Trump pulled out of retirement. Also, who else can/will stop him?
Who else can/will stop him. There is our problem. He leads a regime of seditionists who are opposed to every ideal this country claims to stand for, who celebrate every bad act we have ever committed, and who are dedicated to the overthrow of the American republic, the only explanation for the past year's actions. I wish to hell I was wrong, as someone who comes from a family whose members served in every important conflict since the Revolution, and a historian of the American military that liberated the planet 81 years ago, but this military, like this political class of Republicans, are "lacking" all sense of decency, integrity and courage.
I agree with almost all of what you have written here but I feel it is absolutely necessary to point out that the American military did not liberate the planet 81 years ago. We joined the fight only after we were attacked at Pearl Harbor. The rest of the world had been fighting valiantly for years before we dropped in. We made a helluva difference when we did, "turning the tide" if you will, but we do not deserve to be thought of as the world's savior. It's one of those dangerous myths we have told ourselves. That myth has masked how many homegrown Nazis we had on our own soil. That myth has led to our arrogance and our inability to correct the serious flaws in our society and our foundational documents. We deserve the skepticism embodied in the famous saying "You can always count on the Americans to do the right thing, after they've tried everything else." Sadly, I have very little confidence that we, the Joint Chiefs or the Congress will do the right thing this time.
I have little faith in the Joint Chiefs. I am constantly amazed at what I thought were professional, ethical adults - simply roll over and expose their soft underbelly in hopes that Trump leaves them alone. They will submit. America will have fully gone down the tubes. 🫡
I sure hope the Joint Chiefs are reading your substack.
Thanks for this, Rick--my dad was with the US government, and I grew up partly living various places overseas, always felt pride about representing my country (as my parents frequently reminded me and my sisters of our duty to do this consciously and honorably). Words cannot express how horrified I am that it is under any consideration at all that the US has some sort of right to just grab other peoples' land and resources. Just insane.
It will be interesting to see if their oath to the constitution means anything to joint chiefs of staff. Their oath to the constitution obviously doesn't mean anything to the GOP. Their oath to the constitution obviously doesn't mean anything to Alito, Gorsuch, Roberts, Kavanaugh, Barrett, and Thomas.
Let's paint a giant hamberder gold... something shiny to distract the toddler in chief from this insanity. Add a little arsenic for flavor.
What makes this mass resignation even more imperative is Hegseth's expectation that "rules of engagement" be ignored. Rules of engagement are what differentiates a civilized army from a barbarian horde. If the U.S. invades Greenland, many Greenlanders will fight back - they've already told us that. With no rules of engagement, it's not hard to anticipate that the honor of our military will be further stained with My Lai like atrocities against civilian populations.
The other mass resignation that should occur is GOP Congressional Reps and Senators who still have a sense of decency must withdraw from the Republican party. To date, they have shown less backbone than you'd find in a bowl of chicken noodle soup. A mass exodus of party leadership would show the Joint Chiefs that Congress has their back, and show the American people that they are done looking the other way as this madman turns America into a police state and destroys our standing in the world.
There aren't any of that kind of politician left in the GOP.
The Grand Old Party of Honest Abe Lincoln has mutated into the (lower case gop) of pathological liar Donald Trump. And as Rick Wilson reminds us, everything Trump touches dies.