We're Led by Monsters

You're telling me that this guy, with the Christian Nationalist tattoos and the widely reported history of abuse, philandering, and alcoholism is acting like a bloodthirsty lunatic in his capacity as Secretary of "War?" I for one am shocked...

First the tattoos. Truly hilarious, and disturbing. Set aside the massive "We the People" cursive on his right forearm, which is corny as hell and only impresses some of the worst boot-licking, fake enjoyers of the U.S. Constitution.

But beyond that, we also have the following:

A large "Deus Vult" on his bicep, which is a Christian expression meaning "God wills it." This is presumably a battle cry of the old Crusaders. I would not be surprised if Pete Hegseth wants to go back to a time of killing as many Muslims/brown people as possible, supposedly in the name of Christ.

I like how this piece by Lydia Wilson in New Lines Magazine sums it up:
"While we can’t ever know for sure a true intention or individual interpretation of symbols behind a tattoo, a closer look at the history of these particular images produces an undeniable picture of militant Christianity, drawing on a long history of iconography connected to the Crusades, one of the bloodiest periods of Christian history. It is also a fact that many of these symbols are ubiquitous among far-right communities, seen in events from the Charlottesville rally to the manifesto of the Norwegian far-right shooter Anders Breivik and the engravings on the gun of the Christchurch shooter. But though these symbols have a long lineage, they have only been put together in the way they are seen on Hegseth’s body over the past decade, from around the time of Trump’s first campaign and ever more openly since. Unpeeling the layers of history and meaning shows the tightrope of plausible deniability the far right is walking, with history as their weapon — simultaneously signaling to their supporters and enabling them to deny the implications of Christian nationalism to the rest of the world."

I am a Catholic, and take no issue with Catholicism or Christianity on the whole, but what we have here is extremism. He may think of himself as a righteous solider of Christ, but that's ok, we will let history be the judge of his actions.

And that leads us to today, with the controversy surrounding the continued extrajudicial strikes on alleged "enemy combatants" in speedboats coming from Venezuela (or, "allegedly" carrying drugs from Venezuela). Last week, on November 28th, The Washington Post reported that Secretary of War Peter Brian Hegseth authorized a second missile strike on an already burning and sinking boat, in order to "kill everybody" on board (his words, according to the Post's reporting).

Alex Horton and Ellen Nakashima wrote:
"For minutes, commanders watched the boat burning on a live drone feed. As the smoke cleared, they got a jolt: Two survivors were clinging to the smoldering wreck."

Hegseth's orders enabled the mission's commander, Admiral Frank Bradley, to finish the job. This is psychotic. I do not care IF these suspects were drug traffickers; I don't even care if they hypothetically had murdered before. The United States of America is not judge, jury, and executioner out on international waters. Despite the administration's claims that we are "at war with Narco-terrorists from Venezuela," (yet cocaine mostly is trafficked from/through Colombia? And fentanyl Mexico and China??) as far as I know that is not a lawful declaration of war, and it does not give us the right to double tap strike people in open water on boats. They weren't - and the approx. 78 other people who have been murdered by Trump/Hegseth's orders in the Caribbean and Pacific were not - in "armed conflict" with the U.S.

These are war crimes. Or at the very least, they warrant charges brought against them and a full investigation. We know that likely won't be happening anytime soon, but the good news is that I guess there is no statute of limitations on war crimes. Perhaps Hegseth and his murderous "just following orders" cronies will have their day in court eventually. (And let's hope it's at The Hague.)

To close things out here, I think a perfect way to wrap up would be sharing the text of an email that Penelope Hegseth, Pete's mother, sent him on April 30th, 2018. Apparently she has since "recanted" the contents of this email and threw her support behind her son, around the time of his confirmation hearing. But we aren't going to believe that walk-back, are we folks? I'm sure the mothers of history's greatest monsters would publicy defend their sons in some fashion if given the chance, too.

"Son,I have tried to keep quiet about your character and behavior, but after listening to the way you made Samantha feel today, I cannot stay silent. And as a woman and your mother I feel I must speak out..

You are an abuser of women — that is the ugly truth and I have no respect for any man that belittles, lies, cheats, sleeps around, and uses women for his own power and ego. You are that man (and have been for years) and as your mother, it pains me and embarrasses me to say that, but it is the sad, sad truth.

I am not a saint, far from it.. so don’t throw that in my face,. but your abuse over the years to women (dishonesty, sleeping around, betrayal, debasing, belittling) needs to be called out.

Sam is a good mother and a good person (under the circumstances that you created) and I know deep down you know that. For you to try to label her as “unstable” for your own advantage is despicable and abusive. Is there any sense of decency left in you? She did not ask for or deserve any of what has come to her by your hand. Neither did Meredith.

I know you think this is one big competition and that we have taken her side… bunk… we are on the side of good and that is not you. (Go ahead and call me self-righteous, I dont’ care)

Don’t you dare run to her and cry foul that we shared with us… that’s what babies do. It’s time for someone (I wish it was a strong man) to stand up to your abusive behavior and call it out, especially against women

We still love you, but we are broken by your behavior and lack of character. I don’t want to write emails like this and never thought I would. If it damages our relationship further, then so be it, but at least I have said my piece. [Redacted by The New York Times]

And yes, we are praying for you (and you don’t deserve to know how we are praying, so skip the snarky reply)

I don’t want an answer to this… I don’t want to debate with you. You twist and abuse everything I say anyway. But… On behalf of all the women (and I know it’s many) you have abused in some way, I say… get some help and take an honest look at yourself…

Mom"