“I am concerned that DOD has become the ‘easy button’ for everything," retired USAF Gen. Glenn VanHerck told Defense One: www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...
“I am concerned that DOD has become the ‘easy button’ for everything," retired USAF Gen. Glenn VanHerck told Defense One: www.defenseone.com/policy/2025/...
Ruling stayed until Sept 12. Presumably this will head to SCOTUS at warp-speed.
They have jobs, lives, & families. And Trump is using them as political props. What a waste. Even though Trump is incapable of shame, this is shameful.👇
Great interview of a recently retired intelligence officer by a former Hayden Center panel discussion moderator, Sasha Ingber. open.substack.com/pub/sashaing...
This. They must go. Removing them must become a top Congressional priority or the deaths they cause will be on the hands of every member of Congress...and lest they think there be no consequences, those deaths will be mounting up by the time of next year's election.
Nine former heads of the CDC—appointed by presidents of both parties—warn the nation of the immense peril RFK Jr is putting the country in. Gift link, please send to families and friends www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/o...
I am not implying it. If you read what he allegedly posted this morning, there's no way he wrote it. It's not the first time. It's been obvious on and off for years. It just gets more scrutiny now.
Politics is infected by people with disdain for the difficult, bloody, fast-moving, imaginative, and often mysterious work it requires. They follow the spreadsheet and forget the business is people.
Admirable statement—a nonpartisan commitment to Americans’ health is why we now live so much longer and healthier than when these people began their decades running the CDC. Now, for some reason, RFK Jr is trying to use the CDC to kill us.
Pete Hegseth in December on military training: “We’re bringing a war-fighting ethos back to the Pentagon. Everything else that distracts from lethality shouldn’t be happening.”
And we're done. Thanks to all who followed along on this Labor Day weekend. If you appreciate @lawfaremedia.org's live coverage of court proceedings, I hope you'll consider supporting our non-profit newsroom. See you next time! givebutter.com/journalism/a...
Let me help my Democrat Friends... Trump: We are giving Ashli Babbit a Military Honors Burial Democrats staring into the camera: How much did you spend at the grocery store today?
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social)
Thank you! I’ve run out of patience for anybody who says “well, there are some problems with [xxx] so while I disagree with the methods, reforms were needed.” Bullshit. With any normal administration, that might fly. Nobody should ever use that framing with this crowd. Just stop. Hold the line.
It’s not much consolation, but history will remember what she did and what this is.
The extent to which ICE is ignoring all civil rights and due process is astounding — and indicative of a culture where they’ve been told they can do literally no wrong. Agency and admin leaders must face sanctions and legal consequences.
“Honoring Babbitt …blurs the line between lawful sacrifice and unlawful violence. It tells those who gave their lives in defense of the Constitution that their oath was no more meaningful than the motivations of the mob that attacked the Constitution.” www.thebulwark.com/p/honoring-a...
the complaint charges interfering with a traffic control device by "plac[ing] chalk on the bottom of shoe and walk[ing] through." the charges were dismissed because there was no probable cause. OBVI. chalk is water-soluble. there's no way that it could "alter" or "deface" a traffic control device.
“ILLEGALS” MY ASS! Green card holder Rami Othmane speaks out after being snatched off the street by ICE while driving to the grocery store. He’s a documented immigrant and the husband of Dr Wafaa Alrashid, chief of staff at a local hospital. He was locked in detention for 13 days.
If you're arrested in Illinois protesting the planned ICE HQ in North Chicago, I can represent you pro bono. Email me at sheryl@weikallaw.com. As always, I will take as many cases as I can.
This is worse than the sandwich guy getting hit with a felony.
Well done helping the rest of us appreciate why the decision to honor an insurrectionist is damaging both to our military and our society, @markhertling.bsky.social.
What are we even doing?
It’s time folks for some #SidewalkChalk civil disobedience. Grab some chalk, go outside with your kids, and draw, write, sketch, vent, play hopscotch. This shit has gone too far. #ChalkCrime
There aren't many stories that prompt gasps at our editors' daily budget meeting. But this was one.
We won’t notice it at first Maybe an outbreak of cholera in southwest Kansas goes undetected Perhaps the number of flu related deaths ticks up just a bit each year But-ultimately, inexorably-the destruction of the CDC will lead to countless deaths All because of two men Trump and RFK, Jr
“…I am infuriated that the Air Force plans to grant military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt. She did not die defending the Constitution. She died trying to overturn it.” My latest in @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/honoring-a...
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social) reply parent
Thanks Mark. The most appalling, inexplicable personnel decision I’ve ever seen. And that’s after 36 years in uniform, and 5 more in retirement. Someday there will be a full accounting of this. I don’t see one senior AF leader talking publicly about it, never mind offering to resign. Principles?
Liberals: “We could try to DO some things to reduce gun violence; ‘thoughts and prayers’ isn’t enough.” Republicans: “Outrage! Disgrace! They’re attacking prayer.” There’s no need to be polite or defensive in response to this. Invoking faith as an excuse to shun responsibility deserves no respect.
“This is our moment to reassert what it means to be American by speaking out and pushing back. The victory of the weak, malignant and unprincipled man is not inevitable.” www.americaamerica.news/p/its-villai...
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social) reply parent
Years ago, I spent long days in a vault reading every Red Baron report detailing all engagements between US and Vietnam fighters. The Duke-Willie entries were enthralling. The rolling scissors engagement alone became legendary. Made it that much harder to watch Duke’s descent into corruption.
BREAKING: Appeals court rejects Trump’s authority to impose sweeping tariffs under IEEPA. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
I hope people realize how absolutely fucked this situation is. This isn’t normal. People are resigning all over the place because the government is mishandling our data, ruining our public health services, and generally making Americans less safe.
Of all the “honestly I never expected” things — Congress absolutely rolling over and abdicating its power to the White House — any White House — is one of the most shockingly unnecessary. It will not be remembered well in history, by either side, ironically. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/u...
BREAKING: Social Security Administration chief data officer and whistle-blower Charles Borges has resigned after bombshell report that SSA put highly-sensitive data at risk. He sent out an email to colleagues moments ago. Here is the text of his email shared with me:
This is another way of saying that the "National Design Studio" is fake DOGE does not actually write software. They only write press releases, steal data, cancel grants, and fire people. They will never do a "historic mission to redesign government websites."
Here's my former coworker @ethanmarcotte.com on the feeble, embarrassing attempt of the "National Design Studio" to *actually build a website*. Ethan is a top tier, literally-famous-level designer who DOGE pushed out. He cannot be replaced by a teenager nicknamed Big Balls.
".. military leaders privately questioned whether the troops had received proper training and warned of the 'far-reaching social, political and operational' risks of aiding law enforcement, according to a Reuters review of military records .." @reuters.com www.reuters.com/world/us/mil...
Donald Trump recently said that he has “the right” to do anything he wants—not unlike the antagonistic Homelander of the TV show "The Boys"—and his followers are determined to prove him right. www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
I took this picture myself at the CDC protest today. These are among the hundreds of bullet holes in CDC headquarters windows, visible from the street. I heard today that the admin has no urgent plan to fix these windows. Imagine being a CDC employee going to work under these conditions
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social)
Been agitating over this all day. I served in the AF for over 35 years. Been retired for 5. I tried to rationalize this decision. Tried really hard. There’s nothing I could come up with to justify what is the most egregious personnel decision I’ve seen in 40+ years. There will be a reckoning.
Gift article. New from Tom Nichols. President Trump acts like a sadistic superhero. @radiofreetom.bsky.social @ericowens.bsky.social www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/...
“Kennedy would be less hazardous if he decided to do cardiac surgery. Then he would kill people only one at a time rather than his current ability to kill by the thousands. Why is it that killing a single person is seen as murder but killing masses is excused if you are a politician?” Dr Bill Foege
Resign or impeach him.
Mass shootings are an American nightmare. But RFK Jr will kill more Americans than all the mass shooters combined. And Senator Bill Cassidy M.D. let it happen. It’s the greatest case of medical malpractice in history.
A federal judge issued a permanent injunction BARRING Trump loyalist Kari Lake from removing Voice of America director Michael Abramowitz. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
An underrated problem is that a lot of mainstream media is badly adapted for analyzing big structural problems with a lot of unfamiliar detail. That is why @wired.com has been killing it - it has adapted the perspective of tech journalism to the problem of technically complex political crisis.
Gift Link. Kennedy is trying to undermine the normal schedule for routine vaccinations. He has to go. wapo.st/46aNJB0
CDC employees standing up and walking out in light of the mass shootings, firings, and *waves hands in the air* everything else. #USAnotRFK Lets gooooo
I didn't think a journalist and author could make it to the TIME100 AI list, but this one did. 🥹 What an honor—and lovely writeup from Andrew Chow. "Hao is fundamentally shaping many people’s perceptions & understanding of the company at the center of the AI revolution." time.com/collections/...
“Our officers should be sentient beings who understand just war theory, the laws around conflict, the orders that they are morally obligated to disobey,” France said, arguing that the Trump administration, by contrast, wants to breed compliance rather than teach nuance.’
Ashley Babbit dishonored her service by committing insurrection against her country. While her death is absolutely tragic and I wish it hadn’t happened, the Air Force giving her honors is in itself a dishonor.
This is insanity. This is the sign of a government that has lost its mind.
This. Get RFK Jr. out. Get him out. Now.
CDC director called Louisiana Senator Cassidy today before she was asked to resign by RFK. Louisiana folks need to be calling Cassidy's office and asking that he demand RFK to resign. Make RFK Jr a problem for Trump and he gets dumped overboard.
bsky.app/profile/bunn...
It won’t fit in screen shots but linking here the full letter of resignation posted by one of the departing CDC officials, Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, who ran the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases and led efforts to fight COVID, monkeypox, and bird flu x.com/dr_demetre/s...
Loyalty over legitimacy in every agency
CHAOS ERUPTS AT CDC CDC Director Susan Monarez has been ousted after RFK Jr. demanded she change her policy on the COVID vaccine. Top officials from the Vaccine Unit, Zoonotic Division, and the Chief Medical Officer are resigning, per reports. Horrifying news for public health.
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social)
I know there’s always the risk of false equivalencies, but we’ve got 20 agents taking down a delivery man in DC, yet this kind of activity continues unabated. Maybe, just maybe, this should get a little more attention from LE.
Trump now at 37% approve/55% disapprove. On July 16, was at 40%/54%. Voters are gradually moving away from Trump. But elites continue to accommodate and acquiesce to him. So his authoritarian project marches ahead. poll.qu.edu/poll-release...
This. For the love of God, this.
A quarter-billion to build and useless after 60 days. All a spectacle. An expensive, cruel spectacle.👇
Telling it like it is 🔥 "Once again, we are seeing the federal government retaliate against our civil servants for whistleblowing—which is both illegal and a deep betrayal of the most dedicated among us." www.newsweek.com/fema-staff-l...
This is the way. ‘Weak, Woke and Whiny’ No More www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/o...
“Federal prosecutors on Tuesday were unable to secure a felony assault indictment against a man who threw a sandwich at a federal agent on the streets of Washington this month, according to two people familiar with the matter.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/27/u...
Again, Hegseth is justifying all of his stupid firings because he wants our warriors focused on fighting. Instead he has them working as mall cops, picking up garbage, searching for drugs, stopping cars in cities… Weak! www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/n...
This is insane.
National Guard soldiers called into service for President Trump's law enforcement surge in D.C. have been assigned to spread mulch at federal monuments. Normally the Park Service does that, but the administration laid off the workers. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
"how do you show your loyalty? By paying the costs of humiliation. The more grotesquely over the top your praise, the more credible it is as a signal of support for Dear Leader." www.programmablemutter.com/p/short-post...
Who will want to work for American intelligence after this is over? We're witnessing a deliberate sabotage by Trump's national security team.
You could also make statistics available to the whole government by just putting the data on the website, like Commerce has been doing for a long time now. No blockchain needed
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social) reply parent
Every single day I appreciate more & more how Secretary Mattis refused to play this fealty game at Cabinet meetings. This is downright embarrassing.
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
The entire Social Security database, dumped on a random cloud server: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...
Inside the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., on Monday, tensions over the potential for federal overreach broke into open court.
Gabbard, Hegseth, and other Trump appointees are politicizing the intelligence community to an unprecedented and dangerous degree. The intelligence community is losing valuable professionals, and those still employed may now be afraid to share hard truths with their bosses. wapo.st/4mHZMvB
Trump and Hegseth just fired the DIA chief, the Navy Reserve head, and the SEALs’ commander on the same day. No reasons given. This isn’t “draining the swamp.” It’s a loyalty purge hollowing out U.S. defense. Read more: www.facebook.com/share/p/1Bsd...
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social)
Highly qualified leader, with credentials & credibility in both the tech industry & military, apparently forced out because he made political donations to the “wrong team”. Once more, the Pentagon’s leaders shoot themselves in the foot. Accelerating innovation? Nope, fealty matters more.
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social)
Stating the obvious, but there’s one & only one reason to do this: you have every intention of inciting the kind of civil disturbance you want to quell. The parts about other states’ participation in this rapid mobilization force is especially alarming. Nothing good comes from this. Nothing.
Some notes, from an airport, on this dumb performative decision, which is calculated to appeal to vapid totalitarian twats. /1 www.whitehouse.gov/presidential...
This EO directing DOJ to prosecute flag desecrators is a (performative) direct assault on the First Amendment and anyone who doesn’t frame it that way is a liar.
Akshually, no you don’t
Was just texting with a small biz owner in DC losing thousands bc workers are now terrified to come into the city due to ICE racial profiling and tourists are afraid to visit a city patrolled by heavily armed, anonymous men. This is only good for pro-authoritarian white supremacists like Miller
The President and SecDef love yes men. That’s very, very dangerous. My latest in @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/donald-tru...
Tired: Can the US military successfully fight two wars at the same time? Wired: Can the US military successfully occupy four American cities at the same time? Inspired: Can the US military successfully fight any war at all while also occupying four American cities?
Alexander Hamilton once declared that the sacrifice of national honor is political suicide.
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social) reply parent
Yep. Just another rebranding, without the rest of the talent that came with USDS and 18F.
👇🎯 Again, the wildly illegal and unconstitutional authoritarianism is the hed, dek, & lede. It’s the story that matters. Everything else is details & diversions.
Honestly surprised we're not seeing more incidents like this -- both the masked men impersonating cops and the intended victim shooting masked men.
Slideshow of today in Washington DC, and how it looks when a terrorizing government scares people away. By me, no paywall: fallows.substack.com/p/a-summer-a...
There is an alarming purge of the intelligence community going on. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
People need to understand what's happening today: Trump sent the FBI to investigate one of his most prominent critics, and then threatened to military occupy multiple US cities. He's trying to become a full dictator who makes it illegal to oppose him.
That was one of the most batshit press conferences of Trump's public life. He brandished a photo of Putin and promised to deploy the US military to occupy Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. A sane country would be moving toward impeachment and removal right now.
fermat15.bsky.social (@fermat15.bsky.social) reply parent
I worked closely with Tim Haugh and Jeff Kruse. Both were (and are) consummate professionals & excellent leaders, and cared only about delivering the best possible advice & actionable intel to policymakers and military commanders. All of which, in this administration, meant they had to go. Damn.
Another one bites thebdust www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reuters poll: 57% of Americans fear that American democracy is in danger — including 4 in 10 Republicans.
The United States still has many advantages and assets and the capacity to do wonderful things for ourselves and others. But first we have to remain free and democratic and a nation of laws, and not be ruled by people who reject those basic principles.
Just waaaaaaiting for people to come at me for this. I’ve been the person in those rooms. Worked at two ad agencies. My dad’s entire career was in those rooms. And I was by his side watching. IT’S ABOUT MAKING MONEY
The Trump administration is doing its best to turn this country into a pitiful, helpless giant, scared of its own shadow, sheltering in place in a big, bad world. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...