2 hours ago, Gray Bunny said:

Yes. It was and still is infuriating to hear people (family members) saying that old phrase of, "I didn't want to see another politician in the White House," re: the 2016 election, as if the position of POTUS is an electrician, plumber, pre-school teacher, etc. and not the ultimate political leader. 

OY. I keep returning to this same refrain

We are surrounded by idiots. 

And, it seems we really are. 

https://bsky.app/profile/newseye.bsky.social/post/3li36mso2rc2i

US Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth at the NATO Summit today. “Make no mistake. President Trump will not allow anyone to turn Uncle Sam into Uncle Sucker.” You can take the cretin out of Fox News, but you can’t take Fox News out of the cretin. Galactically unfit for the job.

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— News Eye (@newseye.bsky.social) February 13, 2025 at 9:11 AM

 

Edited February 13Feb 13 by janea4old

https://bsky.app/profile/dearlstephens.bsky.social/post/3lhzf7u7w2s2l

 

📌I was the managing editor at Stars and Stripes and can tell you that Pete Hegseth is the first SecDef I am aware of to be openly booed by military families on a military base. 📌This is the most significant pushback I have seen to this administration's racist, hostile initiatives.

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— D. Earl Stephens (@dearlstephens.bsky.social) February 12, 2025 at 4:04 PM

NBC:  
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/hegseth-protest-dei-transgender-germany-military-rcna191636
Military families protesting the Defense Department's anti-DEI push heckled Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his arrival at U.S. European Command headquarters in Germany on Tuesday.
On a visit to the U.S. military’s key European military hub in Stuttgart, Hegseth was booed by around two dozen people who live at the base in an apparent demonstration against the policies being implemented by the Trump administration.

Washington Post
https://archive.is/LxFzU
Dozens of American students at a U.S. military installation in Germany walked out of their middle school on Tuesday as part of protests aimed at an official visit by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, underscoring the scope of disillusionment with the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The students attend Patch Middle School in Stuttgart, Germany, and peacefully walked out of class for nearly an hour, according to three people familiar with the matter and a letter sent to parents by a school administrator. Separately, a small group of adults dressed in civilian clothing — likely parents — gathered outside at Stuttgart and protested within view and earshot of Hegseth’s delegation, booing and chanting “DEI!”, according to video recorded by a reporter traveling with the secretary.

Edited February 13Feb 13 by janea4old

Pentagon schools suspend library books for ‘compliance review’ under Trump orders.
Defense Department sends memo that it’s reviewing for books ‘related to gender … or discriminatory equity ideology topics’
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/feb/13/pentagon-schools-closed-libraries-trump

The purge of library books will affect up to 67,000 children being taught in Pentagon schools worldwide. The Guardian understands that all 160 schools, located in seven US states and 11 countries, are subject to the censorship.

The Guardian has obtained a list of books that have been caught up in the blanket evaluation. They include "No Truth Without Ruth", a picture book for four-to-eight-year-olds about the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the second woman to sit on the US supreme court.
The book, by the award-winning writer Kathleen Krull, describes the sexist discrimination Ginsburg had to overcome in her rise to becoming a supreme court justice.

Other titles that have been caught up in the review include a book by the American Oscar-winning actor Julianne Moore. "Freckleface Strawberry", also for four-to-eight year olds, features a young girl coming to terms with her freckles.

In a statement, the Department of Defense education activity confirmed that it was carrying out a review of library books as part of an examination of all “instructional resources”. The purpose was to ensure that Pentagon schools were aligned to Trump’s recent executive orders, Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.

The US military news outlet, Stars and Stripes, has reported that school groups such as the Pride club and Women in Stem have also been shuttered under the review. A DoD elementary school in Wiesbaden, Germany, took down a portrait of Michelle Obama, the former First Lady, as part of its cancellation of Black History Month.
 

Edited February 13Feb 13 by janea4old

Budde, M. E. (2023). How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith. Avery a Penguin Random House imprint. 

ISBN (ebook) 9780593539217 

ISBN (hardback) 9780593539224

"With clarity, conviction, and a sure sense of the perils and the possibilities of the human condition, Bishop Mariann Budde has given us a great gift: a book that explores how God's children can stand up for the principles of His kingdom in a frail and fallen world. Courage, it has been said, is the most important virtue since it guarantees all the others, and Bishop Budde's searching account of her struggle to be brave is itself an act to be admired and absorbed." -- Jon Meacham, author of The Soul of America and And There Was Light

My facebook friend Geri Jewell posted this today. 

6 hours ago, janea4old said:

updates: Mitch McConnell voted *YES* to advance Pete Hegseth's nomination as Defense Secretary from the preliminary hearings to the full Senate vote; 
but then he voted *NO* to the final confirmation vote. 

Mitch McConnell voted *YES* to advance Tulsi Gabbard's nomination as Director of National Intelligence from the preliminary hearings to the full Senate vote; 
but then he voted *NO* to the final confirmation vote.

Mitch McConnell voted *YES* to advance RFK Jr.'s nomination as Secretary of Health and Human Services from the preliminary hearings to the full Senate vote; 
but then he voted *NO* to the final confirmation vote.

Mitch McConnell's opinion was published as an opinion column in the Louisville Kentucky "Courier-Journal" on February 12, 2025, saying Trump's tariffs are a bad idea:
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/contributors/2025/02/12/trump-tariffs-damage-kentucky-economy-bourbon-mcconnell/78393549007/

----------

McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, mentioned his childhood illness to explain his vote against Robert F Kennedy Jr, the anti-vaccine activist, as health secretary.

I’m a survivor of childhood polio”, McConnell said. “In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures”.

Asked about McConnell’s vote, Trump first said McConnell "isn't equipped mentally", and then scoffed at the idea that McConnell had survived polio.

30 minutes ago, janea4old said:

McConnell, the Kentucky Republican, mentioned his childhood illness to explain his vote against Robert F Kennedy Jr, the anti-vaccine activist, as health secretary.

I’m a survivor of childhood polio”, McConnell said. “In my lifetime, I’ve watched vaccines save millions of lives from devastating diseases across America and around the world. I will not condone the re-litigation of proven cures”.

Asked about McConnell’s vote, Trump first said McConnell "isn't equipped mentally", and then scoffed at the idea that McConnell had survived polio.

I remember when we all stood in line & got the polio vaccine. IIRC it was drop of liquid on a sugar cube.

13 hours ago, I Am A Swede said:

I don't think the Ukrainian people would agree with you. And don't think for a moment that it will end with the Ukraine. Georgia, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be next in line, and I think that Poland and maybe even Finland would feel slightly apprehensive.

The Tate brothers are pushing the lines now about how Putin should have those countries. A good way to get social media and all the brain-dead Trump supporters on Putin's side.

13 hours ago, Khan said:

And for what?  What do we gain from reverting to isolationism, aside from pity and scorn?

We're getting what Putin and Xi paid a lot for - they will take over the world while America is a backwater. And likely split into parts within a decade. 

I keep seeing a lot of people on the left endlessly blaming Democrats for messaging and saying they should have said this or that to convince the public. The public doesn't want to be convinced. This is what a majority of the country voted for. There is no great moment where a speech or a scandal is going to change their mind. The majority of the country is built on hate and bigotry, and they are willing to sacrifice their own lives if the rest of us go with them. Otherwise they are apathetic.

All the people in Alabama who voted for Trump and now have to pay an extra $100 for their electricity bills because he took away money that would have helped them will still support him. Those people are dumbasses. They are very proud of it. And they deserve to be called that, no matter how much sanctimonious, self-satisfied, bitter attention seekers like Nate Silver, Ken Klippenstein or Astead Herndon claim differently.

Edited February 14Feb 14 by DRW50

9 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

All the people in Alabama who voted for Trump and now have to pay an extra $100 for their electricity bills because he took away money that would have helped them will still support him. Those people are dumbasses. They are very proud of it. And they deserve to be called that, no matter how much sanctimonious, self-satisfied, bitter attention seeks like Nate Silver or Astead Herndon claim differently.

I agree 100000 percent!!!!!!!

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/14/what-the-lord-established-elon-musk-is-camouflaging-a-christian-nationalist-takeover/

Apparently, thousands are being fired from HHS today...as we face down another pandemic. If you have any way of leaving this country, do so while you can.

Edited February 14Feb 14 by DRW50

On 2/13/2025 at 9:22 AM, janea4old said:

Yes. The USA has just thrown out foreign policy that has been in place since 1945.

 

On 2/13/2025 at 9:24 AM, Khan said:

And for what?  What do we gain from reverting to isolationism, aside from pity and scorn?

It's all about greed and control.

https://x.com/joshrogin/status/1890450535083290803

Multiple lawmakers here in Munich told me the U.S. Congressional delegation presented Zelensky with a piece of paper they wanted him to sign which would grant the U.S. rights to 50% of Ukraine’s future mineral reserves. Zelensky politely declined to sign it. #MSC2025

— Josh Rogin (@joshrogin) February 14, 2025

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

https://www.salon.com/2025/02/14/what-the-lord-established-elon-musk-is-camouflaging-a-christian-nationalist-takeover/

Apparently, thousands are being fired from HHS today...as we face down another pandemic. If you have any way of leaving this country, do so while you can.

I have a friend from college in Finland who is currently living in Sweden. I would love to go visit him, but money is tight.

This account (marisakabas) has had reliable scoop in the past three weeks. She is often the first to get some of the info about the trump/elon disaster

 

https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social/post/3li5kmae36k2x

NEW — In an alarming email last night reviewed by me, Coast Guard members learned that 1,135 members' direct deposit account routing information was compromised due to a data breach from unauthorized access. It was only discovered because an officer “reported anomalous activity” on their account.

— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) February 14, 2025 at 7:51 AM

https://bsky.app/profile/marisakabas.bsky.social/post/3li5s6qlgrc27

NOW - I’m live at a press conference with New York Attorney General Tish James and Connecticut Attorney General William Tong. They’re about to enter a hearing re: stopping DOGE from accessing Americans’ private information and sensitive data.

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— Marisa Kabas (@marisakabas.bsky.social) February 14, 2025 at 10:06 AM