Pete Hegseth is an increasingly angry little man. He’s been lashing out at journalists for NOT being stenographers. He struts around saying Trump is the best ‘warrior’ we’ve ever had in the WH, that everything about him is perfect and no one in human history has ever come close to being as awesomely perfect as Trump. He’s furious journalists won’t say that, the crap he is ordering them to say and if he had his way all of them would be locked up in some foreign hellhole prison for not worshiping Trump. He’s revoked press passes of major outlets, and limited access to briefings. Now he’s gone and banned Starts and Stripes!
Stars and Stripes has an iconic history and despite the name hasn’t been some jingoistic publication. Its mission has been to inform our troops, especially those overseas on everything from pay and benefits and helping families back home get by, to keeping troops up to date on world affairs – with balanced and accurate reporting. It has not been a propaganda outlet for any President so naturally Trump wants it shut down. That almost happened, but Congress intervened. Oh, and Congress has continued to ensure Stars and Stripes was, while a DOD publication guaranteed journalistic independence.
Like the Military Times and its service specific variants Stars and Stripes tells the truth whether the Pentagon and WH like it or not. However, as I said they have a particular focus on keeping those stationed overseas up-to-date. With things such a mess, not just with the Iran war but in general informed troops are the last thing Hegseth and the rest of Team Trump wants. I happened to turn on the TV shortly after Hegseth began his rant this morning. It was the same ole same ole so I stopped paying attention. Listening to him berate journalists for not fighting him for the privilege of fellating Trump got old pretty quick. What I wouldn’t learn until later from The Independent’s reporting was who was NOT allowed into the briefing:
The Pentagon’s own publication, Stars and Stripes, was disinvited from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest Iran war press conference – as he continues to clamp down on press coverage.
“Stars and Stripes was not approved by the Pentagon to attend this press conference. I will be watching it on a screen instead,” Matthew Adams, a reporter at the outlet, said in a post on social media. “Seems a bit odd since the Pentagon published a memo with changes to the newspaper, including content overhaul.”
The memo referenced by Adams was a Pentagon missive detailing “new restrictions on content” in the publication that includes a requirement that the outlet abide by “good order and discipline,” which is presumably defined by the Department of Defense.
Kevin Baron, another Stars and Stripes reporter, was similarly shocked by the development and noted that the publication was set up to have editorial independence, not to be a mouthpiece for the Pentagon.
What we have is the Pentagon’s own daily publication, one historically guaranteed independence under pressure to become a propaganda rag. This, even though Congress has an Ombudsman in place to ensure Stars and Stripe’s independence. The linked article is worth the time to read. I’ll bet Senator Duckworth will, if not smack Petey Boy upside his ‘meat’ head the next time he’s over on the Hill with a prosthetic leg (unlike Petey who ‘served in war zones’ Duckworth flew many missions over hostile territory losing limbs and almost her life) she’ll verbally rake him over the coals.
What all this tells me is Hegeseth and Trump too are desperate. They are selling a sh*t sandwich and people don’t want to buy it. And they know it. They know it!
Friends, I know everyone begs you for money. I promise, among all those asking for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest working. We’re a group of old, disabled people, except for one writer in his mid-50s. The rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the chance to keep telling the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
They are trying to turn the military into a pro Armageddon institution.
Air Force Academy Prepares Ideological Overhaul, With Erika Kirk Bringing “Bold Christian Faith”
Trump’s Crusade: Christian Nationalism and the Making of a Holy War
the air force academy has long been a problem with local faux christian evangelical types having access to the campus which is. or at lesst was, as open as any university.
and of course since the armed forces are their primary readership, those will be the people losing access to a valuable information resource.