Hodad

For sure. Starting with don't turn your back on the allied government and don't hand the country back to terrorists. And if you do either of those things, don't be surprised when terrorists take a cheap shot at your withdrawing forces. I don't necessarily think Trump wanted more attacks on US forces after Biden took office, but he sure created a scenario in which that would be inevitable. And Biden couldn't come up with a way to prevent it.

Stipulations which WERE NOT met, yet Trump still withdrew 90% of the Troops. The only thing left in Afghanistan by the time Biden took office was a token force guarding the final withdrawal. If surrendering the airbase and equipment were not part of the plan, Trump should have either stopped the Taliban from retaking the country or left enough troops to defend against the Taliban.

Admitting that undocumented immigrants should be treated in ERs/EDs is a tricky question for them. On the one hand, saying out loud that men, women and children should just bleed to death in the waiting room of the hospital--or perhaps on the curb outside--will not sit well with decent people anywhere. On the other hand, saying that they should be treated tacitly admits that the immigrants are human beings, rather than animals. And that also makes MAGA uncomfortable.

You're still "confused" about Afghanistan, I see. Which is literally Trump's surrender. The Trump admin literally signed that agreement (excluding the Afghan government) and the literally withdrew all but a pittance of US forces, surrendering the country back to the Taliban. You're welcome to think that was a great decision handled very well (it wasn't) but you can't pretend that he didn't do it. Jeebus.

Diversity is a self-fulfilling prophecy. A chicken and egg. No organization is going to attract a diverse talent pool until they model themselves as a organization that values a diverse talent pool. Can women and minorities get hired? Will they be respected? Can they build their careers? Can they see themselves as leaders there? Are there role models? -- That inclusive culture is the one the US military has been building for decades, so that they can attract and recruit from the broader talent pool--to expand the pool of what you call "willing." And Hegseth has destroyed most of that progress in just a few months. If you were a person of color or a woman, would Pete Hegseth's vision of the military be more or less attractive? He's firing eminently qualified people of color and women for no performance reason whatsoever. He apparently wants to fire "fat generals and admirals" for no performance reason whatsoever. He wants to purge service members at every rank for ideological differences rather than performance reasons. None of this is merit. He's not taking issue with the way they perform their duties or achieve success metrics. He simply doesn't like the way they look, they way they sound, or the way he thinks they think. His goal is clearly not meritocracy, and it's been made abundantly clear that for anyone other than straight, white males who share Hegseth's politics (and desired body type, apparently) the US military is now a hostile work environment and not a viable career. You'll see the effects of that in both talent acquisition and talent retention. Some of that may be offset by increased interest from "kill 'em all" white males who were only avoiding military service because there were "too many" people of color and women. But even if it were 100% offset in numbers, that clearly represents a transition to a less mentally fit military which becomes more important every day as technology shifts the value of physical engagement. And more to the point, is that the character of military people we really want defending America? Or should our military be a reflection of our people and our values? -- Obviously I think it should, but the current leadership has a VERY different view of what America is and should be.

Oh, for farks sake, "Peter Brian Hegseth" (invoking the full name is a delightful fanboy touch) had never led any organization larger than a handful of people--and not successfully. He *might* be qualified to be a middle manager in corporate America, and that's if we're being really generous. In no way, shape or form is he even remotely qualified to lead an organization of 2 million people and control $800+ billion dollars of taxpayer money. He is, however, excellent at fawning over Trump, and that's the #1 thing Trump looks for in his "best people." The Hegseth appointment was malpractice--a joke--and shows Trump's profound disrespect for the military and the citizenry. Entrusting a million lives and and nearly a trillion dollars to an alcoholic abuser of women without a viable resume? Well, that's gone just about as well as expected. And the absolute irony of him talking about a merit-based military is farking stunning.

And there we have it. Pretense falls aside with the goal in reach.

You're talking about fantasy hypotheticals. There are no gender or race quotas in the US military. Nor have there been, not since integration for women and people of color. And the point that you people consistently misunderstand about diversity in teams is that it's consistently correlated with higher performing teams? Why? Because there is no "best" template of a service member in the same way that there is no "best" template of a basketball player. Point guards, shooting guards, small/power forwards and centers are all bringing diverse attributes and skillsets to make a better overall team. Diverse teams work better. Always have.

You found evidence of what? And you have to be pretty dense to not understand why "they" let them get drivers licenses. Undocumented immigrants exist in this country. State and local governments have to legislate and govern taking that fact into account. They are there. They will drive. Therefore they need licensing, so that their driving is subject to law enforcement. It would be foolish to not grant licenses, because that turns every traffic stop into an existential crisis and people will behave accordingly. They also can't get insurance without a license, and state and local governments do NOT want to increase the population of uninsured motorists on the road. All the same reasons that "sanctuary" laws exist: so state and local governments can govern in ways that are most effective regardless of what the federal government is doing. It's pure pragmatism.

So Trump's got to go? Make up your mind! And you are not part of this "we" no matter how desperately you wish you were in the club.

Oh, you're only cool with some kinds of criminals. Got it. I don't hate "my own people," whatever it is you think that means. This guy definitely had a weird immigration status (appears to be more complex than just overstaying a visa) but net-net, he seems to have been a hugely positive figure in the communities where he worked. Are we better off without him? Are the children of his district better off? No, it doesn't seem so. So it makes it hard to see his arrest as a "win" for anyone.

Maybe. That'll be settled in court. But that's okay, even if he's convicted you don't mind criminals, right?

Lol. Who is muddying the waters? You're citing as "proof that it does happen" a registration from a state where noncitizens are legally allowed to register. I didn't pick your poor example, you did. If you don't want to talk about exceptions, don't use exceptions as examples.

I'm not assuming anything. That's what the state of Maryland said. Registering to vote is often not a discrete act. One doesn't have to go seek it out. There are campus registration drives at colleges, there are booths in malls, and sometimes it's as simple as checking a box when you get your driver's license. I don't know anything about the circumstances under which he was added to voter rolls, just that he was added, and that it seems he never voted. As I said earlier, people in the country illegally have almost no incentive to risk deportation to do something with no direct benefit. Huge risk, no reward. They keep their heads down.

No, it's not a lie. It's fact. For example, he and Trump moved very quickly to replace the eminently qualified Black Chairman of the Joint Chiefs--a 4-star general- with (checks the record) a white, male, retired 3-star who literally didn't have the legally required pre-requisite qualifications for the job and required a presidential waiver. At the same time he was firing well-qualified women from top jobs and replacing them with white men. And none of it for performance reasons. None of it based on metrics. None of it based on merit. By Hegseth's own admission "more art than science." Finally, white men will no longer be oppressed in the military!🙄 He's actively racist and openly and overtly sexist. I'm sure that's going to be super inspiring leadership for the half of the military that isn't white and male.

As in the other thread, it's legal for noncitizens to vote in local elections in MD if their local governments allow it. There's a small handful of states where this is true.

I know you guys aren't good at reading, but for future reference, Maryland and Massachusetts aren't the same state. had heard about him being registered in MD, but the other poster claimed MA, which is why I asked him to support that claim. Noncitizens are allowed to vote in local elections in MD (local laws), but not in MA. And in any case, it appears that there's no record of him voting.

Got news for you, being white and male are not actually meritorious accomplishments. Yet, indeed, Hegseth moved quickly to fire women and people of color and replace them with objectively less qualified white men. Because he himself is objectively and unquestionably unqualified for his position and has done nothing to merit the appointment aside from being white, male--and slobbering all over Trump on Fox news. But if you're into that--or similarly unfit for a competitive environment--I'm sure it sounds great.

Will the current Commander-in-Chief be resigning then? People usually hit "general" in their late 40s. Nobody anywhere, ever, expects them to be stronger, faster and better than the 18 year olds serving under them. That's asinine. They are there for their brains, not their bodies. I think we all know what this is about. It's just another phase of political purging. You've just chosen not to care about the endless parade of wildly transgressive behavior because "the team" is more important than the country. Those of you who never actually believed in America as an idea really don't have anything to lose.

Not really. Pretty standard stop along the road to fascism. They always try to purge the military of people loyal to the country rather than to the aspiring dictator.

Have not heard of him being registered to vote in MA. Sounds like Twitter nonsense. Have a link for that? I know you guys are really hoping you found your Boogeyman--the illegal immigrant voter--but illegals know they are illegal and don't have any reason to risk their presence in the US. There's no upside for them, only risk. That's why it so very rarely happens.

It's a very popular position with the dumbest of the knuckle draggers. They want women in the home because they know with absolute certainly that they, the knuckle draggers, can't compete with women in the modern workforce. Same reason the worst white players hated Jackie Robinson. Meanwhile, back in America, most of us still believe that people can be, do and live free without anyone telling them where they "should" be and trying to force compliance.

You don't even want to know where he was registered and if it was legal or not? Just scooped up some Twitter outrage and brought it back here?

Did the watchdog group report that finding? Did PBS accurately report what the watchdog group said? Great. Job done. That's how journalism works. You should familiarize yourself with the concept.

Nobody expects women to read the latest medical journals and interpret the studies. And surely nobody expects our dim POTUS to read medical studies--and indeed, clearly, he'd never read the word "acetaminophen" before deciding to offer medical advice on it's usage. Women get that guidance from their doctors. It's standard guidance in prenatal care--inclusive of proper detail and nuance. Go to your medicine cabinet, take out a bottle, look at the dosage and it will tell you right there to talk to your doctor if pregnant. Great damn advice. Unlike Trump's rambling, bumbling adventure into heterodox TV medicine. It's nuts. Never should have happened.