Tim in TX 🇺🇸🇺🇦

"Express your utmost horror and detestation of the Man who wishes, under any specious pretences, to overturn the liberties of our Country, and who wickedly attempts to open the flood Gates of Civil discord, and deluge our rising Empire in Blood." - George Washington

YO!! A huge shoutout to Samantha Billy, the granddaughter of a World War II Navajo Code Talker getting her wings.

Such a statesman.

I guess not.

@JonahDispatch I wish I shared your optimism.

I have to think there are enough Republicans senators with self respect that this won’t happen.

Why does Congress not step in?

NATO was founded 77 years ago today. As Ambassador to the Alliance on 9/11, I’ll always be grateful to our allies who defended us when we were attacked. It would be a colossal mistake for the Trump Administration to quit on NATO now.

Fucking outrageous. And highly illegal. "Trump has grifted his entire life. Now he’s just taking it. The State Department transferred $1.25 billion in foreign aid to Trump’s Board of Peace, pulling $1 billion from international disaster assistance, $200 million from peacekeeping operations, and $50 million from international organizations. Money that Congress authorized for hurricanes and refugees, moved without a congressional vote, into a fund that Trump created by executive order and controls personally. When reporters asked the State Department about it, a spokesperson said they had nothing to announce at this time. The Board of Peace has one defining characteristic. Trump controls it forever. He named himself chairman for life. No audits. No transparency requirements. No conflict of interest rules. Countries pay $1 billion into a fund he runs to get a seat at the table. It has transferred nothing to Gaza, disclosed nothing about its spending, and received $1.25 billion of your disaster relief money without a word of explanation. When he leaves the White House he keeps the fund. That is not a loophole. That is the design." He’s Not Grifting Anymore. He’s Just Taking It. open.substack.com/pub/meidastouc…

@JohnDalyBooks Kudos. I cant imagine aspiring to be what Ari has become.

Glowing compliment.

Reports of the second USAF aircrew member rescued is an answer to all our prayers. I honor the bravery of our search and rescue teams and our special forces. I hope no casualties. And, I salute the F-15E Weapon Systems Officer who put their survival skills to work in a very dangerous and harrowing situation.

@RepDonBacon Definitely the best news I could've found this morning.

A toast to our outstanding search and rescue warriors and elite special forces… they combined with good old fashioned and precise combat air support pulled off an incredible rescue mission. I salute their professionalism, dedication and bravery. And… I admire our downed airman who successfully put his survival training into action and never gave up. We never leave one of our own behind.

@40AcresBuilt Interesting group of replies. I am guessing a Venn diagram of those who disagree with your opinion and those who think the war in Iran is good policy would be a flawless circle.

274K of 5.4 million students in Texas signed up for vouchers. 75% of which were already private school students. Grifters gonna grift….

This is the part that keeps getting buried under the raw numbers. Hegseth spent months pressuring Army Secretary Dan Driscoll to remove four decorated colonels from the one-star promotion list. Two Black men. Two women. Driscoll refused, because their records demanded it. So Hegseth pulled their names himself… which legal experts say he likely had no authority to do. The defense secretary is supposed to approve or reject the entire list, precisely to prevent this kind of targeted discrimination. Then Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George - the Army’s top officer - asked to meet with Hegseth to discuss the blocked promotions. Hegseth refused to meet. Refused to discuss his decisions at all. Then he fired George. Whose term wasn’t supposed to end until September 2027. Nine U.S. officials across all four branches confirmed the NBC reporting. “There is not a single service that has been immune,” one said. The officers’ attributes being cited for removal include past support for Covid vaccine mandates… and association with Mark Milley. The Pentagon’s response to every outlet that asked: “fake news.” They didn’t dispute a single name.

Today marks 77 great years of @NATO, the most successful alliance in history. The U.S. is stronger when NATO is strong and cohesive, something I saw firsthand while serving in NATO. We need our allies to counter threats from China, Russia, and Iran. We cannot do it alone.

@leftcoastbabe @TiminTX1967 @SenJoniErnst @SenThomTillis

What is the US national interest in having our government back Viktor Orban over Peter Magyar in the Hungarian election?

You know what’s crazy? We have an entire branch of government that could stop this at any time. I think that’s the hardest part for me. It’s not Trump. We all knew that guy is a whacko. It’s the complete abandonment of the checks and balances that really hits the hardest.

Ryan Goodman has the right frame and the NBC reporting fills in the piece that makes this more than a pattern story. Hegseth pressed Army Secretary Driscoll for months to pull these officers. Driscoll said no. So Hegseth did it himself, without the legal authority to selectively remove individual names - the system is specifically designed to prevent that. When Gen. Randy George asked to meet and discuss the blocked promotions, Hegseth refused. Then fired him. Mid-term, two years before his tenure was up. Nine officials. All four branches. “Not a single service has been immune.” The Pentagon called it fake news. They haven’t disputed a name.

Nichols is identifying something the Sunday shows keep dancing around. Hegseth doesn't just distrust senior officers. He's systematically dismantling the institutional buffer between a commander-in-chief and a personal army... and using scripture as the solvent. During an Iran war briefing he told Americans to pray to Jesus for U.S. forces. Days later he read a Pentagon sermon praying "wicked souls" be delivered to "eternal damnation." He restructured the Chaplain Corps so chaplains now display religious affiliation instead of rank. The "Deus Vult" tattoo on his arm is not incidental. That phrase launched the First Crusade. He put it on his body and then took control of the most powerful military on earth. Render unto Caesar. The problem is Hegseth can't figure out which one he is.