Mastodawn

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/2

"None. Zero. He got this job. Why? Because he's a loyalist to Donald Trump, and Donald Trump thought he looked good in front of cameras."

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/3

"President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Pete Hegseth are stuck in the logic of escalation, according to which the feeling of defeat today can be reversed by doing the first thing that comes to mind tomorrow."

~ Timothy Snyder

https://snyder.substack.com/p/the-next-coup-attempt

The Next Coup Attempt

And How to Stop It

Thinking about...

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity #EconomicElites #oil #gas #profiteering
/4

"Trump is surrounded by people who are making money from the war; each day of war strengthens a warmongering lobby with personal access to the president. As the war lengthens, the chance that it will be exploited for a coup attempt increases."

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/5

"Pentagon staffers have reportedly begun referring to their big boss, Pete Hegseth, as Dumb McNamara, a reference to the Secretary of Defense under Lyndon Johnson who oversaw the disastrous U.S. war effort in Vietnam. Yes, that’s pretty bad, but it’s even worse."

~ Lucian K. Truscott

https://luciantruscott.substack.com/p/why-hegseths-firings-and-interference

Why Hegseth’s firings and interference in military promotions are so dangerous

Pentagon staffers have reportedly begun referring to their big boss, Pete Hegseth, as Dumb McNamara, a reference to the Secretary of Defense under Lyndon Johnson who oversaw the disastrous U.S.

Lucian Truscott Newsletter

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/6

"He’s closer to Dumb Joe McCarthy, the right-wing Republican Senator who made his career chasing commies out of government – and everywhere else – during the 1950’s 'red scare.'”

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/7

"As for the removal now of Gen. George, a West Point graduate who served in combat roles dating back to the first Gulf War in 1991 and is the highest-ranking Army officer, it’s yet one more sign that the confederacy of dunces that surrounds Trump cares more about showcasing its bigotry than acting competently."

~ Steven Beschloss

https://www.americaamerica.news/p/how-much-do-you-value-expertise

How Much Do You Value Expertise?

A Saturday Prompt

America, America

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity
/8

"As one U.S. official said to Axios, 'Here is a four-star general who is actively working to get equipment and people into theater—to protect U.S. forces—and you fire him? In the middle of a war?'”

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity #lethality #violence #death
/9

"His favourite term is 'lethality'; he loves telling the armed forces how 'lethal' they are. 'We are not defenders any more,' he announced gleefully. 'We are warriors: trained to kill the enemy and break their will.' (It might seem excessive to break their will after killing them, but why settle for half measures?)"

~ Steven Poole

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/04/trump-using-dysphemism-language-against-iran

Forget euphemism, Trump is using unabashed viciousness in his language against Iran

The Trump administration takes pleasure in deploying dysphemism to describe the killing of Iranians

The Guardian

"He seemed to experience a sadistic pleasure in announcing the sinking of an Iranian warship by a US torpedo, enjoying the idea of the doomed crew’s 'quiet death'.

This sort of unabashed viciousness is part of the appeal of the Maga administration for its fans, and might seem like a refreshing return to plain speaking."

#Hegseth #Trump #Iran #war #incompetence #WhiteChristianNationalism #PerformativeMasculinity #lethality #violence #death
/10

Resistor McResistanceFace 1d ago

@wdlindsy

"this is what happens when a pedo can't get it up any more" - the Easter Bunny

Jesse Alexander, WB2IFS/3 1d ago

@wdlindsy
"We are in the most dangerous days of our lifetimes, days pregnant with an escalating World War and the very real possibility that a severely mentally-incapacitated American president, along with an equally dangerous Israeli prime minister, both cornered as never before, may escalate to #nuclear weapons!"

https://open.substack.com/pub/bandyxlee/p/we-need-to-recognize-that-the-problem

We Need to Recognize that the Problem is Psychiatric, Not Political

‘You’re Dealing with an Irrational Megalomaniac Psycho Totally Cornered’

The Newsletter of Dr. Bandy X. Lee

M Schommer 1d ago

@wb2ifs @wdlindsy
Escalate to nuclear weapons? Srsly? Against whom? Where? To accomplish *what*?

Come on, that's nothing but fearmongering.

Jesse Alexander, WB2IFS/3 1d ago

@musevg @wdlindsy I hope you're right.

M Schommer 1d ago

@wb2ifs @wdlindsy
Well… Each time I'm asking these three questions, I come to the conclusion that a nuclear escalation makes no sense at all.

(Of course… on second thought this whole war makes no sense at all for the US - just for Israel.
And on third thought: It would be ironic if - after decades of 'Crazy Ivan' propaganda - a demented US president under domestic political pressure would be the next one going nuke.)

@wdlindsy 👍

I think the heading already covers my expectations for what happens with the mid term elections. This.

My (rather subjective) impression (gathered from the media and Mastodon, go figure) is, though, that most US citizens are blissfully unaware that "elections will fix it all" might not fix it this time and that relying on the miracle of elections might not be enough this time.

Footnote: I am, though, totally open for US citizens explaining to me why I am wrong. (Actually I hope being wrong, since a world without a at least half rational government of the US is politically so much darker).