Dear Everybody:
[Admin Note: The Official online site for Connie's emails will be the "Keep Calm and Carry On" website hosted at https://keepcalm.beehiiv.com where you can access it via the web and also sign up to get it in email when it is posted. It will stay available via the Facebook CW Daily page as long as FB doesn't disable it again as well as the https://cwdaily.net blog. - Lee Whiteside, Connie Willis dot net webmaster]
The Hegseth second strike on the boat is just not going away, even though the DOJ announced the arrest of who they say is the January 6. I’ll get to that in a minute, but first the second strike:
--The Wall Street Journal reported that Admiral Holsey was forced out. It said Holsey had concerns about the legality of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats and that Hegseth told Holsey, "You’re either on the team, or you’re not. When you get an order, you move out fast and don’t ask questions."
--At his cabinet meeting, Trump boasted about putting people at the bottom of the ocean.
--Trump: "I didn’t know about the second strike. I wasn’t involved in it."
--Democrats who saw the video of the shooting of the two men were deeply disturbed and shaken by what they saw on the video.
--Dem Rep Jim Himes said, "What I saw in that room was one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service. You have two individuals in clear distress, without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel,who were killed by the United States."
--Dem Senator Jack Reed: "This briefing confirmed my worst fears about the nature of the Trump administration’s military activities and demonstrates exactly why the Senate Armed services Committte, has repeatedly requested--and been denied--fundamental information, documents, and facts about this operation. This must and will be only the beginning our investigation into this incident."
--The Pentagon is closing offices focused on reducing harm to civilians during United states combat operations. The JAGS in those offices have been fired.
--Stude Dude: "One of the Trump-leaning guys that I fly with has turned against Hegseth because of his throwing underlings under the bus."
--The family of a Colombian fisherman who was killed in one of the boat strikes on September 15 filed a formal complaint accusing Hegseth of murder. He filed the complaint with the American Commission on Human Lights alleging the United States committed human rights violations in an extra-judicial killing.
--Meanwhile, Hegseth ordered another boat strike and killed four more people.
Hegseth’s facing a second problem:
--The IG’s report on Signalgate just came out, and it’s very damning, in spite of Hegseth’s claiming that he was totally exonerated. Hegseth: "No classified information. Total exoneration. Case closed. Houthis bombed into submission. Thank you for your attention to this IG report."
--GoP Senator Thom Tillis said Hegseth was not "totally exonerated" by the Pentagon’s watchdog report, despite his claims that he was. The report concluded Hegseth "created risks to operational security" and his actions "could have resulted in failed US mission objectives and potential harm to US pilots."
--The report says that the Signalgate chat included material from documents marked classified at the time they were sent and that it included specific real-time updates about the planned military strikes, including the information: "This is DEFINITELY when the first bombs will drop." The report concluded Hegseth should not have used Signal.
--In the IG’s report on Signalgate, the report says that Hegseth refused to turn over his phone or to answer questions in person. He gave written answers only to a submitted list of questions.
--The report said that Hegseth used his personal phone in Signalgate.
--Dem Senator Mark Warner said of the report, "Hegseth endangered the lives of American pilots based aboard the USS Harry S. Truman as they prepared to launch a mission against terrorist targets." He’s calling for Hegseth to resign.
--GOP Senator Roger Wicker wants Hegseth gone.
--Dem Rep Jim Himes said the sailors should have been rescued.
The other big story--maybe--was the announcement by the DOJ that they’ve arrested a guy in the January 6 pipe bomber:
--This was the case where somebody planted pipe bombs the night before January 6 at the Democratic and Republican National Committees headquarters in DC. There was surveillance video of someone in a hoodie, sneakers, and a mask that covered his/her face, but that was about all you could tell, and they’ve been looking for the person ever since. The bombs didn’t go off, but authorities declared them viable, and at one point Kamala Harris came within 20 feet of one of them at Democratic headquarters the next morning before they were discovered.
--The DOJ named the guy as Brian Cole, Jr., who lives in Virginia. He’s 30 years old and works in the office of a bail bondsman. At the time of the crime he lived just miles away from DC with his parents.
--The DOJ is saying they have evidence that his cell phone made calls from the areas of both headquarters that night, that he had a history of being in that area, and that they have records that he made purchases of all the components that were in the bomb (except gunpowder and/or any other explosive material.)
--The problem is they’ve done this before, claiming that it was a female Biden staffer and then abruptly dropping the case and then claiming it was a woman and then that it was a Capitol Police officer, releasing the names of both of them, even though they had made no charges. Both times, it was when Trump was in lots of trouble about Epstein and needed a story to district. This time is no different, except that it’s Epstein AND the killing of civilians in the water they need to distract from.
--Deborah Paley: "The timing is rather convenient, methinks."
--The other problem is that MAGA has been convinced the bombings were part of a deep-state plot to discredit Trump and his supporters and a set-up to make the J6 insurrection look violent.
--Immune to Boredom: "Looking forward to learning the suspect is a January 6er whose pardon will preclude any prosecution of the bomb planting."
--Lots of others on both sides of the aisle are suggesting that the guy is being framed.
--The other other problem is that they are handling this in a less-than-professional manner. (Surprise, surprise.) Patel went on Don Jr.’s show immediately after the arrest to talk about all kinds of conspiracy theories surrounding the bombing, with Don Jr. saying the bombings were "a far greater threat than any of the nonsense, you know, a grandma taking a selfie inside of January 6th. It’s almost like that was the backup plan if they didn’t get what they wanted out of January 6, which to me seems like a very clear setup operation." Patel: "You’re absolutely right." None of this is remotely how the head of the FBI is supposed to act in a case, and it may end up jeopardizing the case, even if this is the guy. Stay tuned...
In ICE news:
--ICE agents detained an active-duty US Navy sailor in full uniform and refused to accept his military ID as identification. They said it was insufficient to prove citizenship. He was detained for one and a half hours till someone could bring his passport to him.
--ICE detained a blonde female US citizen in Key Largo, Florida. She was wearing medical scrubs and was driving to work. They dragged her out of the car, tackled her to the ground, handcuffed her, and then checked her driver’s license and released her. They filed a report claiming that the reason they forced her out of the car and onto the ground was that she "refused to roll down her car window all the way."
--On Long Island, ten agents attacked a man riding his bike to work.
--A 19-year-old college student with a court order blocking his deporation was deported while traveling home to surprise his family for Thanksgiving.
--An ICE agent drove into a crowd of peaceful protesters, hopped out of his car, pepper-sprayed them directly in their faces, leaving them gasping for air and vomiting, and then nearly ran over them as he backed up his car and drove away.
--ICE arrested one US-born citizen twice. He is suing.
--Kristi Noem: "ICE does not arrest US citizens."
--Also Kristi Noem: "I just met with the President. I am recommending a full travel ban on every country that’s been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies...WE DON’T WANT THEM, NOT ONE."
--ICE is now in New Orleans and doing what they’ve done in all the other cities. Democratic Congressman Troy Carter: "New Orleans welcomes partnership. We do not welcome occupation. What we are seeing unfold in our community is not public safety; it is a political stunt wrapped in badges, armed vehicles, and military uniforms."
--ICE is buying 20 armored, bullet- and bomb-resistant vehicles.
--According to the Daily Mail, ICE’s new recruits are total novices who cannot pass open book tests, can barely read and write, and have not been drug tested. One was a 459-pound man whose doctor had said was not fit for any physical activity.
--Daily Mail quoted an official who said, "Stephen Miller and Corey Lewandowsky want what they want and are going to do whatever they have to do to get people through...But once you’ve prostituted your hiring standard, you’ve prostituted everything. Everyone from ICE sees what’s coming into the field and they’re fucking petrified."
--In good news, LA city supervisors voted to ban ICE agents from wearing masks.
And meanwhile, Trump continues to fall apart before our very eyes:
--His hand is bruised and bandaged and covered with makeup again. He tried to hide it during the cabinet meeting, but reporters got photos of him with at least two bandages on his right hand.
--His sleeping is getting lots of comments, like the one from kurious: "It is quite common for a person with dementia, especially in the later stages, to spend a lot of their time sleeping--both during the day and night." People online are calling him Dozey Don and the Nodfather.
--rugbymom: "Disruptions to circadian rhythm are common in dementia."
--Robert Reich: "In the last few weeks, Trump’s insults, tantrums, and threats have exploded...he’s losing control over what he says, descending into angry, venomous, dangerous territory." Reich says he no longer has any filters at all.
--Trump: "Right now I think I’m sharper than I was 25 years ago. I took my physical. I got all As. Everything. But they said to me, Would you like to take a cognitive test? I said, Is it hard? They said, yes. I said, well, I’m a very smart person. Who was the last president to take one? No President has ever agreed to take one. I aced it." He said that 99% of reporters would not do well on the test. (Note: Ron Filipkowski reports that the officials in the room looked distinctly uncomfortable when he said this.)
--At his cabinet meeting, he insisted, "Take a look at me," even though he looked visibly unwell and acted confused, repeating lines multiple times and losing his train of thought.
--Trump: "Turnberry (Golf Course) in Scotland. Number One rated in the world!" (It’s actually rated 18th.)
--Trump: "I should get the Nobel Prize for every war, but I don’t want to be greedy."
--Trump said he wants the ballroom to be big enough to hold an entire presidential inauguration.
--Trump said he’d stopped inflation "in its tracks."
--Trump posted his cameo that he did in HOME ALONE 2 with the caption, "Make Christmas Great Again."
--He sent out a Christmas card with his picture and the words, "Daddy’s home!" (I don’t know about you, but it conjures up all sorts of horror movie images for me.)
--Palmer Report: "Trump is no longer with it enough to make the kinds of moves he used to make that kept him one step ahead of his own scandals. Instead, he’s letting his scandals envelop him, as he sleeps his remaining days away."
--Vicki M: "He knows it is all going south. Trump is acting just like he did when he went through bankruptcy in the 1990s."
In other FBI news:
--When Kash Patel arrived after Charlie Kirk was shot, he refused to get off the plane without an FBI jacket. They couldn’t find one that fit, and he eventually had to wear a female agent’s jacket. Then he insisted they sew on SWAT team patches before he would be seen in public.
--Patel angrily defended himself on TV: "If Eric Swalwell wants to come online and talk about what jacket size I wear, I’m hearing to send him a women’s medium so him and Fang Fang can go out again." (Sorry, no idea what he's talking about.)
--Patel has also come under fire for using FBI planes to make personal trips to see his girlfriend, attend her concerts, and go to sporting events.
--He went on Laura Ingraham to defend his use of the planes. Laura Ingraham: "Democrats are claiming you commandeered it for personal joy rides, going to a wrestling event, I guess for your girlfriend. Is that true, and if so--if the Biden team did something like that, if it was true, I’d probably be hitting them tonight on TV, but I thought I’d give you a chance to respond to that drive-by?" Patel: "My predecessors wasted millions of dollars because they were too lazy to drive an extra twenty minutes and go to Andrews Air Force Base. They used Reagan National as their personal hub, wasting the taxpayer $4 million...and yes, I’m entitled to a personal life just like any other agency head counterparts with their partners. So do I support my girlfriend? Absolutely? And do I take trips with her? Absolutely."
--Ron Filipkowski: "The FBI Director of the United States of America, everyone. This is where we are at."
--Kash Patel and Don Bongino also went after reporter Miranda Devine for writing stories about them, even though she is a right-wing journalist who writes for the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post.
--MAGA lawyer Joseph McBride: "Are you out of your mind? You are the Deputy Director of the FBI. You are supposed to defend the Constitution, not run to social media crying because a reporter criticized you. In this country, the people get to question the government. That is the American way. Weak men in power fold at the first sign of challenge. That is exactly how you sound...instead of carrying yourself like a man who understands that power invites scrutiny, you showed everyone you can’t handle it."
In historical news:
--Three German U-boat crewmen were sentenced to death for machine-gunning Allied sailors who were clinging to life rafts after their ship, the steamer Peleus, sank in the Atlantic in 1944. The three crewmen were executed for the crime.
In other news:
--A federal judge ruled that DHS can’t arrest immigrants unless they’re a clear flight risk.
--Trump did not commemorate World Aids Day this year.
--US private employers shed 32,000 jobs in November.
In good news:
--Over 2 dozen GOP House representatives are leaving their seats at the end of the term. (It’s common for the members of the party that’s not in control to not run again, but these are the guys who control the House, Senate, and White House.)
-Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson launched a fund to provide free field trips to thousands of Philadelphia students.
--Carol Loennig and Aaron Davis have a new book out called INJUSTICE which everybody should read about how Trump destroyed (and is destroying) the Justice Department.
In Christmas news:
--Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was actually a marketing gimmick for Montgomery Ward. In addition to their toy catalog, they also gave away a pamphlet with a Christmas story in it, and in 1939 they decided to have someone in their company write the story. They asked Robert L. May to come up with a Christmas story for American children, and he did, inspired by the deer in the Chicago zoo and the thick fog outside his office window in Chicago, where Montgomery Ward was based.
Best comment of the day, from rugbymom: "It’s obvious that he (Hegseth) is toast, including among most Republicans; the only question is what it will take to force him out. And how much damage he does to Trump/Vance in the process."
Keep calm and carry on,
Connie Willis