It didn’t take long for Pete Hegseth to go from being a co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend to reportedly issuing an order to “kill everybody.” It’s a directive that has grabbed the attention of Congressional leaders, including Republicans. “A top Republican and Democrats in Congress suggested on Sunday that American military officials might have committed a war crime in President Trump’s offensive against boats in the Caribbean after a news report said that during one such attack, a follow-up strike was ordered to kill survivors. The remarks came in response to a Washington Post report on Friday that said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had given a verbal order to kill everyone aboard boats suspected of smuggling drugs, and that this led a military commander to carry out a second strike to kill those who had initially survived an attack.” NYT (Gift Article): Lawmakers Suggest Follow-Up Boat Strike Could Be a War Crime. The order, if given, would definitely be a crime. It’s not entirely clear that it would be a war crime since we’re not exactly clear anything about these strikes constitutes a war (or justifies the use of the military). In what has become almost standard in the Trump era, a new scandal has emerged before the original scandal has been settled. We’re debating the legality of the second strike when we don’t even know if the first strike was legal. “In a statement of the former JAGs Working Group, the former military lawyers analyzed, in detail, relevant international and domestic law, concluding that ‘both the giving and the execution of these orders, if true, to constitute war crimes, murder, or both.’” The Contrarian: War Crime...or Murder? In any other time under any other president, for Hegseth, this would be a simple case of two strikes and you’re out. But under those circumstances, Hegseth would still be issuing orders at the Fox and Friends afterparties. 2The Skinny on OzempicMore than 12 percent of Americans are using a GLP-1 weight loss drug. That’s affecting their weight, but it’s also having a big impact on many parts of the economy, from food, to gyms, to clothing, to travel. WaPo (Gift Article): Ozempic is changing how we spend money and time, plus what we eat. 3Rage With the Machine“As members of Congress grapple with growing personal threats, top Democrats in the US House are lobbying Republicans to let each lawmaker’s office employ an armed staff member to accompany them in their districts, as well as a law enforcement coordinator.” Are they overhyping the risk or just responding to the increasing number of headlines about political violence? The New Yorker: In the Line of Fire. “America is a violent country. Nowhere else that is remotely as rich tolerates so many murders or so many weapons. But, sometime during the tumultuous decade of the Trump era, it began to seem that simply participating in the political process put you at risk.” (Political rage is everywhere these days. The acts of violence are extreme representations of a much broader trend.) 4Master BaitersBeating out aura farming and biohack, “Oxford University Press has named rage bait as its word of the year, capturing the internet zeitgeist of 2025. The phrase refers to online content that is ‘deliberately designed to elicit anger or outrage by being frustrating, provocative or offensive.’” So basically, participating online... 5Extra, ExtraFrom Ally to Enemy: “The suspect accused of shooting two West Virginia National Guard members in Washington, D.C., had been struggling with his mental health — often isolating himself in a dark room — in the years after he left Afghanistan and entered the US.” And from NBC News: Afghan accused of shooting 2 National Guard members was part of CIA-backed unit whose veterans have struggled in the US. “Before Rahmanullah Lakanwal settled in a quiet part of Washington state, he was part of a secret unit of Afghans who operated under CIA direction and hunted down Taliban commanders in highly dangerous missions ... But since arriving in the United States, thousands of these Afghan veterans have lived in a legal limbo without work permits, struggling to feed their families, according to refugee advocates.” 6Bottom of the News“Most characters in the film Idiocracy wear Crocs because the film’s wardrobe director thought they were too horrible-looking to ever become popular.” This is just one item in Tom Whitwell’s always interesting year-end list. 52 Things I Learned in 2025. |
Monday, December 1, 2025
Murder, He Wrought
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Murder, He Wrought
Hegseth's Second Strike, Ozempic Economy ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ...
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