WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2024
Not even when he was reading: Over the past year, we've mentioned Pete Hegseth fairly often at this site.
During that time, he's been one of the three regular co-hosts of the "cable news" show, Fox & Friends Weekend. Now, at age 44, he's been nominated to serve as the incoming president's Secretary of Defense.
Hegseth's most recent book bears this title: The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free. Upon its publication in June, it entered the New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction best-seller list at #1, as you can see at this link.
It listed at #1 for two weeks, then stayed on the list for seven weeks after that. It always carried the mark of Cain—the dagger sign which "indicates that some retailers report receiving bulk orders," whatever that may be taken to mean.
Hegseth grew up in Forest Lake, Minnesota. This is the way the leading authority on his life starts to tell his story:
Pete Hegseth
[...]
Hegseth was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised in nearby Forest Lake. He attended Forest Lake Area High School, where he graduated in 1999 as the valedictorian. Hegseth played football and basketball.
Hegseth went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts in politics at Princeton University in 2003. While there, he wrote for the Princeton Tory and played basketball for the Tigers under coach John Thompson III...
In 2013, he received a Master of Public Policy (MPP) from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Hegseth is of Norwegian descent on both sides of the family.
Out of this background emerged a person with strong claims and beliefs. We've been especially puzzled by the apparent certainty of his beliefs, some of which may imaginably be accurate or justified, but also by the apparent role of religious belief in his beliefs and claims.
Last Sunday morning, we got to enjoy a mordant chuckle at this co-host's expense. Right there on TV, it happened again! A member of the Fox News Channel family refused to say the forbidden word! There they went again!
During Sunday morning's 6 o'clock hour, it fell to Hegseth to read part of an essay by Evan Barker for the website, The Free Press. You can get the gist of Barker's lengthy essay just from reading the dual headline under which it appeared:
I Raised $50 Million for the Democrats. This Week, I Voted for Trump.
The Democratic Party turned its back on me and my family long before I turned my back on it.
This is extremely typical fare for Fox & Friends Weekend, a propaganda-adjacent "cable news" program co-hosted by three friends who think exactly alike.
The comedy came when Hegseth confronted a dirty word and seemed to know how to respond. With the Internet Archive back on its feet, you can watch the episode by clicking here—but here you see that dual headline as Hegseth chose to read it
I Raised $50 Million for the Democrats. This Week, I Voted for Trump.
The Democrat [sic] Party turned its back on me and my family long before I turned my back on it.
Bowing to Hard [Fox News Channel] Pundit Law, Hegseth refused to read the dirty words, "Democratic Party." As he continued, he read one short passage from Barker's essay. As you can see on the tape, he balked when he encountered the devil's term for the second time:
The actual passage from the essay, as Evan Barker wrote it:
The Democratic Party has evolved into a group that signals virtue but lacks real values. It’s a group that panders but never produces. Advancing LGBTQ rights and a woman’s right to choose...
The text of that actual passage as the dainty Hegseth read it:
The Democrat [sic] Party has evolved into a group that signals virtue but lacks real values. It’s a group that panders but never produces. Advancing LGBTQ rights and a woman’s right to choose...
It was a genuine "Goofus and Gallant" moment!
For unknown reasons, Barker was willing to write the actual name of the actual political party. Brother Hegseth, the Princeton / Kennedy School man, wasn't willing to say those words!
We offer this as a bit of (tragi)comic relief, but also as a small case study in our imperfect human nature. In our view, it's OK if you go ahead and emit a rueful laugh.
Other parts of Hegseth's story seem to lead into deeper questions about the nature of our flailing nation's fragmenting culture. We're especially interested in the role played by religious belief in this particular matter.
Today, we offer you a small piece of (tragi)comic relief. In the next few days, we'll try to take things a bit further.
At any rate, Hegseth encountered a no-go word. Like others on his "cable news" channel, he seemed to know exactly how to handle this chance encounter.
Fuller disclosure: We saw Hegseth avoid the dirty word during Sunday's 6 o'clock (Eastern) hour.
For unknown reasons, the Internet Archive didn't record that hour. The Archive did record the 8 o'clock (Eastern) hour, and Hegseth went ahead and did the same thing, live, when the friends returned to this pleasing topic.
They aren't allowed to say that name! The friends all seem to know this.
Freedom is just another name for "woke".
ReplyDelete"The Democratic Party turned its back on me and my family long before I turned my back on it."
ReplyDeleteWhatever you say, Mr. Soros.
I don't get it.
Delete6:33,
DeleteHave you tried thinking about it?
Give that a shot, and let us know if you're still confused.
Anyone who is not rich but contributed to Kamala’s campaign must feel really stupid. Kamala paid millions of dollars to her celebrity endorsers like Oprah, Beyonce, Eminem etc. For example, the campaign made 2 payments to Oprah’s production company, totaling $1million, and reported it to FEC as “event production”. Wonder if Bragg will prosecute that under New York law.
ReplyDeleteNot true, but we know we are in a post truth society. So sad the other day my grandson went to school as a little boy and came home as a Cecelia clone.
DeleteAnonymouse 5:34pm, send me his measurements. I’ll sew him a blazer.
Delete"Wonder if Bragg will prosecute that under New York law."
DeleteDepends. Is it illegal?
Anonymouse 3:47pm, Al Sharpton got a cut too.
ReplyDeleteSo you are saying unlike the cheetos campaign, the Harris campaign pays there bills? Also too, what % of cheetos donations went to his lawyers to pay for his never ending criming? Also Harris never peddled gold fucking sneakers, cartoon nft's, watches, bibbles, etc.
DeleteAnonymouse 5:31am, my guess is the Harris Campaign paid all the celebrities and other high profile and establishment clients. The last I read the campaign was 20 million in the red, so it’s probably the smaller clients who will be stiffed.
DeleteWhy are you still telling lies about Harris? She lost.
DeleteDemocratic Party donors got fleeced by greedy consultants. One billion dollars spent in 3 months. It's reported they spent over 100k to rebuild the Call Her Daddy set in a DC hotel room. 20% of that goes right into the consultant's pockets.
DeleteIt looks like Harris was shoved into the race with a campaign infrastructure already in place and without a strong leader - and the vultures came in and pretty much stole every dime they could.
It's important for the Democratic Party to recognize this and account for the grift so it stops happening.
DeleteIf Democrats can't handle donor's money how are Americans going to trust them to run the country?
I don’t think Katy Perry, Tiffany, Al Sharpton, Beyoncé, Three Stallion, or Oprah would appreciate being called vultures.
DeleteWhat’s a little logrolling among friends?
One of Trump's last rallies, in Albuquerque, was out of an airplane hanger. Odd location, explained by this: he still owed the city 500,000 dollars for campaigning there many months earlier. The invoice had been sent to bill collectors. I was not keen on the parade of stars in the name of Harris'
Deletes campaign and I didn't donate a dime to it. But at least they aren't deadbeats and pay their bills.
High praise!! The Harris campaign is merely grifters!
DeleteAn airplane hanger is not an odd location, it’s relatively common for presidential candidates to hold rallies in airport hangars.
DeleteAnonymouse 8:58pm, oh no, the Harris Campaign are givers. Obviously, it’s not in them to only take.
DeleteHarris and her team were free to spend money on whomever they judged would most benefit her chances. It's not like they pocketed money donated to a charity in her name. That would be the definition of a grifter. Or do you have evidence supporting the contention that she pocketed campaign donations?
DeleteWhat contention that she pocketed campaign donations?
DeleteAnonymouse 9:05pm, the Harris Campaign was free to spend their billion in donations and they did. Big time. Millions to the right people. Guess gratis/charity is out of style from your most ardent admirers. And Sharpton and company were ardent. Just ask them. They’re 20 million in debt, so pony up, honey.
Delete9:05 I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were one of the six year old commenters. Imagine Kamala Harris is like a person with a big, bright backpack full of ideas, things she believes in, and stuff she wants to share. That's "Kamala Harris" – she’s a person with thoughts, feelings, and her own way of seeing the world.
DeleteNow, the Kamala Harris campaign is like a big team of helpers who all carry her ideas around and try to tell as many people as possible about them. They put up signs, make videos, and talk to people to say, "Hey, look at what Kamala wants to do!" It’s not just Kamala by herself, it’s a group effort to help everyone understand her ideas and maybe get them excited about her being a leader.
So, Kamala Harris is the person, and her campaign is the team and the work they do to spread her message and help her get chosen. That's your lesson for the day!
Now after your nap, if you are a good little commenter, I will give you a cookie.
Anonymouse 9:18pm, actually, some of the people involved have a different from yours.
Deletehttps://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna162877
https://nypost.com/2024/11/10/us-news/dnc-official-lindy-li-blasts-harris-campaign-as-a-1-billion-disaster/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/hilary-rosen-as-a-kamala-harris-donor-i-have-questions-like-where-did-the-1b-go/
Maybe Harris will give these folks a cookie.
Deletehttps://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/dnc-democrat-debt-harris/amp/
The Rosen commentary is devastating. It's really too bad the Democratic Party doesn't have the fortitude to address the issues she raises.
DeleteRosen needs to get out more. Imagine believing corruption is a bad thing in the United States of America in 2024.
DeleteWhat next, believing there is a Republican voter who cares about something other than bigotry and white supremacy?
SMH.
9:47,
DeleteThat reminds me of this past Summer, when Trump pissed-off Republican voters so badly, two reliably Republican voters tried to assassinate him.
I loved consulting at arms manufacturing sites where the majority of workers were vets. They were inclusive, made sure you felt part of the team, made sure all questions were asked and answered, and always extremely polite. i.e. Woke.
ReplyDeleteWoke isn’t defined as being polite or competent. Otherwise a Saudi Prince with eight wives and 200 servants could be described as woke.
DeleteI’m sure you truly understand what it means.
DeleteAnonymouse 8:48pm, your anonymouse friend obviously doesn’t understand the definition and you wouldn’t have said a word about that.
Delete"Woke" just means "has consensual sexual relations". Funny thing is, the right doesn't even hate "woke". They're just jealous, because they will never get to feel what being woke is like.
DeleteAnonymouse 9:35pm, I had looked up the term and got “aware, conscious, and evolved”.
DeleteI’m sure getting screwed is a more accurate definition.
If you say so, Mrs. Soros.
DeleteCecelia,
DeleteWhy would someone look up the meaning of words, when they can just feel what the definition is?
Anonymouse 10:15pm, great definition of woke.
DeleteEven more sharp insight for you.
Delete"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect...
...There is nothing more or else to it, and there never has been, in any place or time."
Frank Wilhoit
---------------
That's how you get an adjudicated sexual predator as the head of the "Law and Order" Party.
Anonymouse 1:24am, that’s not a good analogy at all for Trump. It’s backwards. The establishment has thrown everything and the kitchen sink in an effort to bind him. They’re still consumed with doing that.
DeleteIt’s the outgroup of people that anonymices consider being dumbo uneducated hick bigot rednecks, who didn’t cooperate.
It’s why the impeccable chattering class ended up with Trump.
The entire Republican Party threw the kitchen sink at Trump?
DeleteWas that before or after they kidnapped peoples pets to eat them?
Cecelia,
DeleteNow that you convinced me the three-time Grand Old Party Presidential nominee can't get a break from the establishment, can I pull your other finger?
Funny. The ballot I voted on had Trump as the nominee of the establishment Republican Party.
DeleteWhat did yours say, Cece?
Anonymices, you just spent the last day laughing at Trump’s very non-establishment appointees. Can the Trump as Establishment nonsense. Nowadays, you love you some Bush, McCain, Romney, and Cheney.
DeleteI thought Trump was Hitler, a destroyer of Our Democracy.
DeleteIs he, suddenly, part of the establishment now, Mr. Soros? Are you feeling well, Sir?
7:09,
DeleteThere is nothing more anti-establishment than illegal immigrants.
True. I've never seen an illegal immigrant throw a kitchen sink at Trump. They are too busy working, after out-classing white people on the job market.
DeleteAnonymouse 9:11am, goodness, no. Illegal immigrants are the cherished cuddly play toys of the Establishment. Cheap, and a strategically soft target.
Delete9:21,
DeleteThey threw out the norms of the establishment, and won going away. What more could you want?
Cecelia,
DeleteAnd the illegal immigrants didn't even have to give the establishment a HUGE tax break, like that soft, fat, diaper-wearing plaything the establishment loves.
Anonymouse 9:37pm, when regular people barely make ends meet and migrants in their jobs get paid under the table, how else would you manage paid debit cards for new migrants?
DeleteWhite people already have affirmative action. They're called "stand your ground laws".
DeleteNo one left in comments except right wing trolls.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to Trump giving them what they asked for. Hard.
DeleteThat's because there's no internet here in god-forsaken Nova Scotia. I am Horby.
DeleteMatt Gaetz isn't any worse than JD Vance or Pete Hegseth.
ReplyDeletePete and JD are also coke heads who date high school girls?
DeleteI didn't say they were the same, just equally bad. Excessive literalness is a vice no matter who engages in it.
Delete"Donald Trump Jr. will join 1789 Capital, an 'anti-woke' venture capital firm that invests in right-wing companies and counts a stake in Tucker Carlson’s media venture as its flagship asset."
ReplyDeleteI'm sure he won't trade on his father's influence like that awful Hunter Biden fellow.
I often wonder what happened with the billions the saudis invested in Kushner, and what influence they exercised. Oh well, it only matters when a Democrat or son of a Democrat does it. See it’s funny that liberals and well sane people are troubled by Trump’s clownishness. But we have the mainstream media to tell us it’s all the Democrats’ fault.
DeleteGee, Wonder why Somerby was concerned about the end of the f democracy?
I guess Quaker doesn't know yet what a venture capital firm is.
Delete"I often wonder what happened with the billions the saudis invested in Kushner, and what influence they exercised. Oh well, it only matters when a Democrat or son of a Democrat does it."
DeleteDoes what?
I think Joe and Jill couldn’t be happier with the day.
Deletehttps://www.thetimes.com/world/us-world/article/trump-joe-biden-meeting-white-house-85fp3lhm3
Speaking of buying influence - the Harris campaign "donated" a half a million dollars to Al Sharpton's non profit three week before he interviewed her.
Deletehttps://www.fec.gov/data/disbursements/?data_type=processed&committee_id=C00703975&recipient_name=National+Action+Network&two_year_transaction_period=2024
It may have all been on the up and up but maybe not.
Somebody should teach these 6 year old commenters the difference between a sovereign wealth fund, a venture capital firm and getting paid a million dollars a year for a no show job.
DeleteQiB, read what you pasted. The company is looking to invest in conservative ventures, so of course the company values/uses Junior for his connections to conservatives and his business experience via the Trump Org. Junior is working in the same arena he’s always worked.
DeleteIt’s not like they’re a foreign government hiring a Coke head VP’s son to manage an energy company.
The freedom to hire anyone you want is socialism.
DeleteIt’s perfectly clear that Republicans don’t care about Republican conflicts of interest. “Sovereign wealth fund”…oh, that explains it all. No influence exerted here. Chinese patents for Ivanka. Nothing to see here. Foreign bookings at Trump properties. Violation of emolument clause. Moving on.
Delete“ The company is looking to invest in conservative ventures”
DeletePlease ignore the conflict of interest because when it’s conservative causes, it’s ok. Just innocent investing.
Anonymouse 11:120pm, are you saying it would be ok if Junior was working for a firm that invested in liberal causes such as the environment or nationalized health care?
DeleteThe crown prince of Saudi Arabia invested 2 billion dollars in a private equity firm in late 2001 so President Trump could use his influence to exert China to fast track patents for Ivanka 3 and half years earlier?
DeleteDo you realize how monumentally ignorant you are?
12:00,
DeleteGive him a break
At least he didn't elect a President who wants to fuck his own daughter.
The Saudi Prince threw done this money for a chance to make a profit via a novice in the business, against the advice of his economic advisors. Makes perfect sense. It’s only two billion.
DeleteJust because Trump sucks doesn't mean his sons commit sleazy graft on the level Hunter Biden was found to be. It's like you feel if you don't equivocate every sleazy thing a Democrat gets caught doing with some kind of matching offense on the part of Trump's orbit, it means Trump sucks less, but it doesn't! It just makes you look stupid because you have to continuously lodge illogical and non sensical accusations. Trump sucks. That will never change and you can count on it. Hunter and Joe were caught influence peddling and it was very, very sleazy. That won't ever change either. When you make shit up because they did, it makes you look idiotic because it isn't even necessary in critiquing Trump and holding him to account.
DeleteJoe wasn’t “caught” doing anything. The repubs were caught with their pants down when their key witness who couldn’t be found for weeks, was identified as a Russian operative. Their marathon show, like 8 Benghazi inquiries that exonerated Clinton, was an extended exercise to smear the father, and of course accomplished that goal but nothing else.
DeleteWhatever you say, Mr. Soros. We adore you anyway.
DeleteWhen Republicans argued that ESG was similar to neighborhood mafia strong-arming, the Democrats called them communists.
Deletehttps://www.eenews.net/articles/the-democratic-battle-plan-on-esg/
8:07,
DeleteIs that what they taught you in your 2nd Grade DEI class?
Anonymouse 8:40am, yes. Afterwards, we had an African-American-milk break. They wouldn’t allow the white kind.
DeleteWhatever you say, Soros-bot.
DeleteWhy is the right still trying to persecute Harris when she lost?
ReplyDeleteThey hate her because she's a person with ovaries, don't you know that, Boris?
DeleteAnonymouse 6:36am, you only love ovaries when they’re attached to a liberal and use abortion as a means of birth control.
DeleteSure thing, Mrs. Soros. Whatever you say, sir.
DeleteI mean, it fits right in with the Trump brand that a man who slept with underaged girls is named for AG. It would be “woke” to deny him that position because of his illegal sexual predilections, amirite?
ReplyDeleteAlways, Mr. Soros. You're always right. And we adore you.
DeleteThat hegseth says “Democrat” instead of “democratic” puts him in the same boat as practically every Republican since GHW Bush. It’s the least concerning thing about him.
ReplyDeleteBeing a jerk and using Democrat instead of Democratic is an anonymouse flying monkey sort of thing to do. It’s adolescent.
DeleteIt's anti-establishment. LOL.
DeleteAnonymouse 8:41pm, in a self..,rather than establishment-defeating way.
DeleteVoters like Democratic Party policies (pro-abortion, higher minimum wage, the ACA, etc), but the Democratic Party brand is toxic.
ReplyDeleteIt might be time for a name change.
I nominate "The Party That Isn't Fascists". It's succinct. It rolls-off the tongue. And no one could confuse them with Republicans.
Republicans like Trump have no concerns about competence. It is all about allegiance and purity of far right wing thought. DeSantis installed Ben Sasse to run University of Florida for these reasons. Sasse, in turn, hired a consultant at over 400,000 of taxpayer money a year to advise him on how to run a large University. Millions of dollars a year were spent on lavish events/parties before he stepped down in advance of an expose that came out in the student paper about it. They are not yet finished exiting the Trump clown car. Can’t wait to see where RFK Jr ends up to begin trashing some part of our healthcare system.
ReplyDeleteWhy should Barack Hussein Obama be the only one allowed to trash our healthcare system?
DeleteAnonymouse 1:31am, you’re right. With that motto, everyone will know it’s the Democratic Party.
DeleteYour history necessitates an issue of a denial up front.
ReplyDeleteI hate Nova Scotia, and the way ignorant Canadian rednecks look at my shaved head.
What an asshole Somerby is. My finger smells funny.
I am Corby.
The United States of America is already great.
ReplyDeleteDon't let some rapist convince you it needs to be made great again.
We long ago stopped listening to Bill Clinton complain about things.
DeleteAll that matters is who wins. Everything else is sour grapes.
ReplyDeleteIllegals may not have come here "the right way", but they won the jobs, and that's all that really matters.
Anonymouse 9:17pm, as though anybody on earth was not aware that your first sentence is the liberal motto.
Delete