I am going to repeat what I said on Barry Garner's Substack, which applies here.
"The silence in the room of Top Brass spoke loudly. Their oath signed in blood is to the nation and the Constitution. They have a proud legacy of sacrifice and service to a calling beyond petty politics. Their honor has been deeply disrespected, and Trump has lost any chance of Military cooperation in his authoritarian agenda. The President may hold the nuclear "keys", but the Military possesses the weapons. Neither Trump nor Hegseth is worthy of command, and that message was personally delivered to the leadership of all branches of the Military.
This was the response I was praying for. Obviously, deranged Trump and his MAGA minions will not respect the Constitution, the rule of law, and the moral values of this once proud nation. They are deliberately provoking violence domestically, and eventually, the shooting will begin. This will be the signal for the coup necessary to "protect the nation against domestic foes" oath becomes a mandate for action. Trump's dangerous, dysfunctional government will be disbanded, and martial law will be enacted until a new civilian government can be formed.
Yes, this is shocking, but these are the times we have inherited. The Republic is dead, long live the Republic..."
Respectfully - and otherwise in agreement, the silence was the top brass doing their job. They cannot show favor or dissent, in their positions to set the example down the ladder.
Rank-and-file enlisteds, however, have made their dissent known:
We gave our power to the wrong people years ago. The dems let the Republicans gerrymander their way through the country for several decades. The dems made money from campaign contributions and, it seems to me, did the barest minimum to stay in power while changing the system as little as possible.
I hope those younger and stronger have the courage and the vision to beat these bastards back.
If not, people will have to wait for them to implode. People are going to suffer and die that wouldn't otherwise.
These greedy, fascist bullies aren't going to stop until they are stopped, or until they break down.
Can't help thinking that, maybe, this is the reason the 14th Amendment included the insurrection/disqualification clause.
A Republicans went from Southern Strategy to Rural strategy to outright culture war, accompanied by violent coup, watching Republicans make their constituents suffer, and use corporate media to blame it on "city-folks" culture, has been absolutely torturous.
This is exactly why the US Constitution disqualifies oath-breaking insurrectionists. Anyone who would take an oath and then break it cannot be trusted to keep that oath again later.
🙄 More like rioting in the streets. A break-down in law-and-order, shoot-outs at OK Corrals. Need to send in Wyatt Earp, read the Riot Act.
Reminds me of a classic quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, one I had on my Twitter masthead before Dorsey's or Musk's minions defenestrated me for questioning "conventional wisdom":
ER: ...our children must learn...to face full responsibility for their actions, to make their own choices and cope with the results...the whole democratic system...depends upon it. For our system is founded on self-government, which is untenable if the individuals who make up the system are unable to govern themselves. Eleanor Roosevelt
Some reason to argue that much of the American public is incapable of that. Whence the Riot Act.
More thematically, I'm reminded of a classic from Bob Dylan which probably says something not very flattering and quite profound about the "American Experiment" right from Tom Paine and his "Common Sense" -- not all that common these days:
Pretty much everyone -- feminists in particular -- these days is clamouring for more rights without being willing to undertake the responsibilities they entail.
I agree, but I fear that personal responsibility has "gone the way of all good things" in our litigious society. It's simply not comfortable or popular to take responsibility for our actions, and hasn't been for quite some time.
A hearty "Amen" to that. Reminds me of a classic book -- think I have it somewhere on my bookshelves though don't recollect having read much of it -- titled The Rights Revolution by Michael Ignatieve:
Think he's something of a Canadian-American and had once been a contender for leader of Canada's Liberal Party. Which I think sort of went off the rails in choosing Justin Trudeau instead of him. Still seriously chaps my hide -- speaking of bogus if not demented claims to such rights -- that Justin once "proclaimed!!11!!" -- on International Women's Day no less -- that "trans women are women!!11!!!":
the other analysis that i see desperately missing from the political discourse is the role that white christian nationalist supremacy is playing by poisoning the discourse and leadership in all of washington discourse and thanks to kegbreath now the military.
highly recommend reading some of the substacks from those experts here, but also @johnfugelsang book "Separation of Church and Hate"
On Dean Blundell's Substack about Trump and Hegseth's Quantico meeting there was a comment from Digital Canary with respect to the new physical fitness standards, "Should the Commander in Chief have to meet those same fitness tequirements?"
It no longer matters to me who is in charge down south; Americans proved that they will put a man in charge who promptly threatened to terminate my country's sovereignty and has unrepentantly continued to do so (while gaslighting us with an "ambassador" who has said repeatedly that such matters are no longer relevant only to be contradicted by his boss days later while bemoaning anti-American sentiment on this side of the border, a border which his boss has stated he wishes to erase; it would be less offensive for him to straightforwardly threaten to nuke Parliament Hill: https://www.thebeaverton.com/2025/09/us-ambassador-threatens-to-tariff-annex-and-bomb-canada-if-anti-american-sentiment-doesnt-improve/ ). No amount of domestic political change there can ever make me trust the United States, or Americans generally, again, unless my country has an absolute veto over all governmental policy decisions in the United States.
I am going to repeat what I said on Barry Garner's Substack, which applies here.
"The silence in the room of Top Brass spoke loudly. Their oath signed in blood is to the nation and the Constitution. They have a proud legacy of sacrifice and service to a calling beyond petty politics. Their honor has been deeply disrespected, and Trump has lost any chance of Military cooperation in his authoritarian agenda. The President may hold the nuclear "keys", but the Military possesses the weapons. Neither Trump nor Hegseth is worthy of command, and that message was personally delivered to the leadership of all branches of the Military.
This was the response I was praying for. Obviously, deranged Trump and his MAGA minions will not respect the Constitution, the rule of law, and the moral values of this once proud nation. They are deliberately provoking violence domestically, and eventually, the shooting will begin. This will be the signal for the coup necessary to "protect the nation against domestic foes" oath becomes a mandate for action. Trump's dangerous, dysfunctional government will be disbanded, and martial law will be enacted until a new civilian government can be formed.
Yes, this is shocking, but these are the times we have inherited. The Republic is dead, long live the Republic..."
Respectfully - and otherwise in agreement, the silence was the top brass doing their job. They cannot show favor or dissent, in their positions to set the example down the ladder.
Rank-and-file enlisteds, however, have made their dissent known:
https://bit.ly/NYT-good-trouble-NG
https://bit.ly/MJ-notmylandscaping-NG
We can expect that some - or perhaps most - of their superior officers felt privately proud of their commitment to our Constitution.
I really, really hope you are right. You could tell when Hegseth landed his final line he expected a cheer, or clapping, or SOMETHING.
I agree with you.
They keep breaking the country.
No one is stopping them.
We gave our power to the wrong people years ago. The dems let the Republicans gerrymander their way through the country for several decades. The dems made money from campaign contributions and, it seems to me, did the barest minimum to stay in power while changing the system as little as possible.
I hope those younger and stronger have the courage and the vision to beat these bastards back.
If not, people will have to wait for them to implode. People are going to suffer and die that wouldn't otherwise.
These greedy, fascist bullies aren't going to stop until they are stopped, or until they break down.
And the majority of Americans have slouched towards Bethlehem.
Can't help thinking that, maybe, this is the reason the 14th Amendment included the insurrection/disqualification clause.
A Republicans went from Southern Strategy to Rural strategy to outright culture war, accompanied by violent coup, watching Republicans make their constituents suffer, and use corporate media to blame it on "city-folks" culture, has been absolutely torturous.
This is exactly why the US Constitution disqualifies oath-breaking insurrectionists. Anyone who would take an oath and then break it cannot be trusted to keep that oath again later.
> "... civilian dissent ..."
🙄 More like rioting in the streets. A break-down in law-and-order, shoot-outs at OK Corrals. Need to send in Wyatt Earp, read the Riot Act.
Reminds me of a classic quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, one I had on my Twitter masthead before Dorsey's or Musk's minions defenestrated me for questioning "conventional wisdom":
ER: ...our children must learn...to face full responsibility for their actions, to make their own choices and cope with the results...the whole democratic system...depends upon it. For our system is founded on self-government, which is untenable if the individuals who make up the system are unable to govern themselves. Eleanor Roosevelt
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/824275-our-children-must-learn-to-face-full-responsibility-for-their-actions
Some reason to argue that much of the American public is incapable of that. Whence the Riot Act.
More thematically, I'm reminded of a classic from Bob Dylan which probably says something not very flattering and quite profound about the "American Experiment" right from Tom Paine and his "Common Sense" -- not all that common these days:
BD: Just then Tom Paine, himself
Came running from across the field
Shouting at this lovely girl
And commanding her to yield
And as she was letting go her grip
Up Tom Paine did run
I'm sorry, sir, he said to me
I'm sorry for what she's done.
https://youtu.be/DYhOWt9sOP8?si=JB2kdNBVMw5Qmur-
Pretty much everyone -- feminists in particular -- these days is clamouring for more rights without being willing to undertake the responsibilities they entail.
I agree, but I fear that personal responsibility has "gone the way of all good things" in our litigious society. It's simply not comfortable or popular to take responsibility for our actions, and hasn't been for quite some time.
A hearty "Amen" to that. Reminds me of a classic book -- think I have it somewhere on my bookshelves though don't recollect having read much of it -- titled The Rights Revolution by Michael Ignatieve:
https://www.amazon.ca/Rights-Revolution-Michael-Ignatieff/dp/0887847625
Think he's something of a Canadian-American and had once been a contender for leader of Canada's Liberal Party. Which I think sort of went off the rails in choosing Justin Trudeau instead of him. Still seriously chaps my hide -- speaking of bogus if not demented claims to such rights -- that Justin once "proclaimed!!11!!" -- on International Women's Day no less -- that "trans women are women!!11!!!":
https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/statements/2023/03/08/statement-prime-minister-international-womens-day
Should be hell itself to pay for him peddling such ideological claptrap.
the other analysis that i see desperately missing from the political discourse is the role that white christian nationalist supremacy is playing by poisoning the discourse and leadership in all of washington discourse and thanks to kegbreath now the military.
highly recommend reading some of the substacks from those experts here, but also @johnfugelsang book "Separation of Church and Hate"
Hear, hear, Mike. Heartbreaking
It all rings true except the last bit about the middle being bought. I would tend to say they were robbed, swueezed
On Dean Blundell's Substack about Trump and Hegseth's Quantico meeting there was a comment from Digital Canary with respect to the new physical fitness standards, "Should the Commander in Chief have to meet those same fitness tequirements?"
"I want someone like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to win."
I want a Dayton Agreement-style arrangement so that the US can never credibly threaten to invade and conquer its neighbours again. https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-51st-state-again-1.7647268
It no longer matters to me who is in charge down south; Americans proved that they will put a man in charge who promptly threatened to terminate my country's sovereignty and has unrepentantly continued to do so (while gaslighting us with an "ambassador" who has said repeatedly that such matters are no longer relevant only to be contradicted by his boss days later while bemoaning anti-American sentiment on this side of the border, a border which his boss has stated he wishes to erase; it would be less offensive for him to straightforwardly threaten to nuke Parliament Hill: https://www.thebeaverton.com/2025/09/us-ambassador-threatens-to-tariff-annex-and-bomb-canada-if-anti-american-sentiment-doesnt-improve/ ). No amount of domestic political change there can ever make me trust the United States, or Americans generally, again, unless my country has an absolute veto over all governmental policy decisions in the United States.
Nothing can take away dignity. Nothing. We have to keep our heads up.
Human rights are inalienable rights.
Force can do many things, but no one can actually force us to surrender our dignity: we can only do that when we surrender ourselves.
Strong words. Strong silence.