First and most important, I’d like to apologize to and give a shoutout to the rest of the writers on Pz. I know I haven’t been pulling my weight for a couple of days now. There is a reason, but not necessarily what would be considered a good one, and I’ll leave it at that. Now, back to our regularly scheduled writing. Hegseth is shutting down a whole bunch of press access to the Pentagon, and reporters are erupting (and rightly so)! Let’s take a look. This will take a bit, so keep up, please? From CNN:
Journalists who cover the US military say they are extremely concerned by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s constraints on press access at the Pentagon. They say the newest restrictions, outlined Friday night, appear to be “a direct attack on the freedom of the press and America’s right to know what its military is doing.”
The sharp words from the Pentagon Press Association came after Hegseth announced “additional credentialing procedures for press at the Pentagon in the interest of national security.” The changes make key parts of the Pentagon building off-limits to journalists unless they have an official escort.
This is just the latest wave. More restrictions may be coming. Good grief, what’s left? Hegseth and his allies have been trying to stifle media access since tRump took office in January, even including his former colleague at Fox, Jennifer Griffin, the station’s national security correspondent. What’s up with *that*? I thought Agent Orange *loved* Fox. Time for some more!
Almost as soon as Hegseth took charge, some of the country’s biggest news outlets were booted from their dedicated Pentagon workspaces. In what the Defense Department called a “media rotation program,” smaller and explicitly pro-Trump media outlets were offered workspaces.
A few weeks later, the Pentagon said the press briefing room would be closed “when not in use for public briefings.” Top Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell, a close friend of Hegseth’s, has only held one (ONE) press briefing to date. On Friday, Parnell said on X that the access restrictions are “pragmatic changes to protect operational security.”
Well, that’s almost as bad as nothing at all! Why did he even bother? There probably wasn’t anything that was said that was worth the time spent there. I dunno about you, but I’m starting to wonder what they are trying to hide. How about we hear some more from the article?
The memo outlining the restrictions said that “while the department remains committed to transparency, the department is equally obligated to protect (classified intelligence) and sensitive information, the unauthorized disclosure of which could put the lives of U.S. service members in danger.”
Hegseth himself stood accused of mishandling sensitive information in March when he sent detailed plans about a military operation in Yemen to a Signal group that included The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
And remember, we found out about a SECOND Signal conversation with the same information to a group that included his wife and brother! Notice they aren’t saying anything about that one.
The changes announced on Friday will make it more difficult for journalists to reach Hegseth. It will also eliminate “the media’s freedom to freely access press officers for the military services who are specifically hired to respond to press queries,” the Pentagon Press Association pointed out.
The association represents scores of journalists who regularly cover the military. In a statement, the association said it has been trying to reach out to Hegseth and his aides “to keep in place a professional working relationship that has persisted for decades,” but to no avail. The association said it is “puzzled” about why the Defense Department is “devoting such attention to restricting Pentagon media instead of engaging with it as senior leaders have long done.”
Yeeeaaaaaaa. Did you know Hegseth regards the press as his enemy? Gee, I wonder why *cough*. Well, for one thing, he’s a walking disaster in his administrative position. He is untrained in *anything* and completely clueless as to how the Defense Department works. He’s in charge of a whole bunch of people’s lives. *That* worries me. So, he tries to bluff his way through or dance around the subject, both of which completely fail. *Everyone* knows he has no idea what he’s doing.
He has denounced what he called the “hoax press” and promoted himself by appearing on Fox opinion shows hosted by his friends. He also enlisted right-wing content creators to increase the Defense Department’s promotional efforts on social media.
Podcaster Graham Allen, who helped Hegseth full-time for several months and said Friday that he was moving into a part-time role, dismissed a CBS journalist’s objections to the new restrictions by saying, “you can cry harder.”
But Mike Balsamo, the president of the National Press Club, said independent coverage of the military is in everyone’s interest.
It’s certainly going to make the press try very hard to make sure they are factual. I’ll bet *they* wouldn’t leak information via Signal. Seems they would also try very hard to be fair and balanced. Now, I’m only theorizing, because I don’t know anything about this, but that would be my UN-educated guess. To close, still from CNN:
“It keeps voters informed, strengthens democratic oversight, and sends a clear message to the world that America stands for openness and accountability,” Balsamo said. “Restricting access doesn’t protect national security. It undermines public trust.”
WHAM. There ya have it. As I mentioned earlier, it makes me wonder what they’re hiding – or what else Hegseth is trying to hide. Maybe he’s shutting off access so no one can find out about all the other blunders he is in the process of, and will be, making. Again, as good a guess as I can make. I wouldn’t put it past him. But still, you wonder. Thanks for sticking with me!
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Zoomers, we are always in need of donations. It’s been an especially rough month on month, and my own health has not been great these past few weeks, which just adds to the frustration. Anything you can spare will be immensely appreciated. And thank you to all who have donated generously already. Ursula
everything in this wild wild West time is lack of public trust, you tell us why Hegseth would want the fucking press around?
Can you say Communism? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck…