Hegseth has been confirmed.

[Hawaiian]

6 minutes ago, theshu25 said:

As if this orange  village idiot  will last 4 years. I say 1 year tops. He will have siphoned enough money out of the suckers by then.

You sound like a very unhappy person.  Hope your vilification makes you happy.

[theblether]

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

A bottom of the barrel, wholly unqualified, morally bankrupt man now leads one of the biggest and most important departments in the US government. Good job Don Don, you sure know how to pick them. 

 

You're the guy that complained about US authorities arresting sex criminals in Thailand. 

 

Sit this one out with your "morally bankrupt" BS. 

[transam]

4 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

yes.

"Yes" what....?  

[theblether]

1 hour ago, Hawaiian said:

While we are on the subject of alcohol abuse, are you aware of how the U.S. military ensures that their troops have easy and cheap access to booze.  Service clubs have happy hours with reduced prices from prices that are already low.  Then there are the package liquor stores with daily or weekly specials.  While the military does not approve of alcohol abuse they sure make it easy to get hooked.

 

Yeh, I was a card carrying member of the NCO Club, Senior NCO Club and Officers Club on Spangdahlem Air Base, as well as a member of a couple of US  army clubs. 

 

Good. 

[Hawaiian]

4 minutes ago, transam said:

"Yes" what....?  

So far you seem the only one that doesn't get it.

[theblether]

The American Left are the New Puritans. The Puritans were detested in England for being a bunch of sanctimonious pricks..

 

Soldier drinks beer! Oh no, totally unsuitable for his job 20 years later! Give it a rest. 

 

On another note - his second wife calling BS on fake allegations that she was scared of Hegseth should have moved the needle for the three Republican no votes. At the very least, they should have abstained. 

 

The Dems have blown all credibility after their disgusting attack on Kavanaugh. This smear playbook needs to go on.the bonfire. 

 

 

[transam]

2 minutes ago, Hawaiian said:

So far you seem the only one that doesn't get it.

Get what...?  

A thread is started with the word "yes".....😏

[Hawaiian]

1 minute ago, transam said:

Get what...?  

A thread is started with the word "yes".....😏

Did you read the title? 

[sqwakvfr]

I do not believe he will last long. Give him enough rope and he will hang himself.  Does he really believe he can be in charge of an organization with 3 Million(military, civilian and contractors)?  

[transam]

1 minute ago, Hawaiian said:

Did you read the title? 

Yes, so why just "yes" as the post. Is it a Trump voter thingy....? 🤔

[riclag]

7 minutes ago, theblether said:

The American Left are the New Puritans. The Puritans were detested in England for being a bunch of sanctimonious pricks..

 

Soldier drinks beer! Oh no, totally unsuitable for his job 20 years later! Give it a rest. 

 

On another note - his second wife calling BS on fake allegations that she was scared of Hegseth should have moved the needle for the three Republican no votes. At the very least, they should have abstained. 

 

The Dems have blown all credibility after their disgusting attack on Kavanaugh. This smear playbook needs to go on.the bonfire. 

 

 

When it comes to Trump they’ve never had credibility! A bunch of losers .

And the  uniparty must be

held accountable for their waste, fraud , and abuse, in the military.

 

[jas007]

4 hours ago, jerrymahoney said:

Many of Trump's nominations are under-qualified except (as Ms. Wiles has put it) as disruptors. The problem amongst the Republican Senators is:

 

Who wants to cross Trump.

Isn't that what Trump is about? Disrupting the "system"?  What is "qualified"?  Somebody who won't rock the boat?  The last thing Trump wants.  

[Hawaiian]

Just now, sqwakvfr said:

I do not believe he will last long. Give him enough rope and he will hang himself.  Does he really believe he can be in charge of an organization with 3 Million(military, civilian and contractors)?  

His biggest challenge will be to have a successful audit of the Pentagon.  So far they have not been able to account for all the money spent.  Coverup of wasteful spending?

[Hawaiian]

Now that you have had your ridiculous say you can go back to bed.

[spidermike007]

25 minutes ago, theblether said:

 

You're the guy that complained about US authorities arresting sex criminals in Thailand. 

 

Sit this one out with your "morally bankrupt" BS. 

Once again you are oversimplifying the issue, what I was complaining about was international overreach by American authorities operating within Thailand and using their influence within Thailand to prosecute sex crimes of a very minor nature.

 

I'm very much against underage sex, I'm very much against human and sex trafficking, but there are very minor crimes that when prosecuted by overzealous authorities can ruin a person's life. There is a huge distinction and Hegseth has done is way beyond anything I'm describing. He would be serving 10 years or more, if anyone bothered to pursue him. And the only reason why he was approved was due to fear of the wrath of the new king. He was spectacularly unqualified. Very typical of a Trump selection. 

 

Sometimes it almost seems like he goes out of his way to find somebody who is as morally bankrupt as he is. 

[jerrymahoney]

8 minutes ago, jas007 said:

Isn't that what Trump is about? Disrupting the "system"?

In order to dis-rupt, you first must know how to rupt.

[theblether]

7 minutes ago, riclag said:

When it comes to Trump they’ve never had credibility! A bunch of losers .

And the  uniparty must be

held accountable for their waste, fraud , and abuse, in the military.

 

 

McConnell is a goner, Murkowski will be primaried..

 

The problem is the GOP needs to be encouraging better candidates. They missed out on at least seven winnable senate seats in the last two cycles. 

 

The GOP needs to sort that out. 

[spidermike007]

1 hour ago, jerrymahoney said:

From the WSJ:

Updated 10 days ago

What Are the Financial-Mismanagement Allegations Surrounding Hegseth?

 

Pete Hegseth has been accused of financial mismanagement while leading two small nonprofit organizations from 2008 to 2016. Revenues at Veterans for Freedom plunged during Hegseth’s tenure, from $8.7 million in 2008 to $265,000 in 2010.

 

Hegseth then took a leadership role at Concerned Veterans for America; tax filings show that the nonprofit spent more money than it raised from donations and other avenues during three of the five years he led the nonprofit.

 

Hegseth has denied wrongdoing. In December, he suggested that a 2016 whistleblower report that in part accused him of financial mismanagement was nothing more than an email from a disgruntled employee.

 

https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/pete-hegseth-confirmation-hearing/card/what-are-the-financial-mismanagement-allegations-surrounding-hegseth

 

Which means two things, not only is he morally bankrupt to the extreme, but he's also extremely incompetent.

 

It's likely that he's competent enough to run a county or statewide Boy Scout chapter, but a government division with 3 million employees? This will go down in history as one of Trump's greatest mistakes, and one of his most reckless and highly partisan (totally blind) selections. 

 

Anytime the head of a department is selected based on fealty without any regard to merit it's a terrible thing for the nation. It almost reminds one of the selection process within Thai politics. 

[theblether]

2 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Once again you are oversimplifying the issue, what I was complaining about was international overreach by American authorities operating within Thailand and using their influence within Thailand to prosecute sex crimes of a very minor nature.

 

I'm very much against underage sex, I'm very much against human and sex trafficking, but there are very minor crimes that when prosecuted by overzealous authorities can ruin a person's life. There is a huge distinction and Hegseth has done is way beyond anything I'm describing. He would be serving 10 years or more, if anyone bothered to pursue him. And the only reason why he was approved was due to fear of the wrath of the new king. He was spectacularly unqualified. Very typical of a Trump selection. 

 

Sometimes it almost seems like he goes out of his way to find somebody who is as morally bankrupt as he is. 

 

I'm simplifying nothing. Your post was clear. You complained about the US arresting criminals for sexual offenses.

 

You made no attempt to explain or categorise. 

 

You have a delicious sense of self-worth. Everyone is dumb, especially compared to you. Your reply makes things even worse. 

 

Feel free to explain to the forum what sexual crimes Americans should be allowed to perpetrate in Thailand. 

[theblether]

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

Which means two things, not only is he morally bankrupt to the extreme, but he's also extremely incompetent.

 

It's likely that he's competent enough to run a county or statewide Boy Scout chapter, but a government division with 3 million employees? This will go down in history as one of Trump's greatest mistakes, and one of his most reckless and highly partisan (totally blind) selections. 

 

Anytime the head of a department is selected based on fealty without any regard to merit it's a terrible thing for the nation. It almost reminds one of the selection process within Thai politics. 

 

Drivel. Made up in your head drivel. 

[Hummin]

3 minutes ago, theblether said:

 

Drivel. Made up in your head drivel. 

Protected by useful idiots, claiming warnings about incompetent representatives is drivel. 

 

He is not qualified Period

[Jingthing]

Horrific but predictable.

One of the important jobs in the world yet zero qualifications.

Congratulations magas.

[herfiehandbag]

4 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

A bottom of the barrel, wholly unqualified, morally bankrupt man now leads one of the biggest and most important departments in the US government. Good job Don Don, you sure know how to pick them. 

But, but, but, he was on the telly...

[herfiehandbag]

1 hour ago, theshu25 said:

As if this orange  village idiot  will last 4 years. I say 1 year tops. He will have siphoned enough money out of the suckers by then.

I think "enough money" is not a concept Mr Trump acknowledges!

 

He will remain perched on his tarnished throne until he is either removed by the voters (and moves are afoot to enable him to run again, rest assured in that case that the system will be managed to ensure he wins) or his diet catches up on him.

[novacova]

The reactions of all this Hegseth stuff is getting really entertaining. Once upon a time the left complained about having to put up with political and political military insiders being appointed, now it’s all they want. If the media and the talking heads have a gripe about appointees then it’s a good sign the appointees are a good choice. It’s probably fair to say that the left would like to see a DEI general bought by the MIC get this position.

[SunnyinBangrak]

29 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

Horrific but predictable.

One of the important jobs in the world yet zero qualifications.

Congratulations magas.

"Zero qualifications"?? Did you glean this little nugget of misinformation from Morning Joe, Destiny or Harry Sisson? Quite ridiculous.

[sqwakvfr]

53 minutes ago, Hawaiian said:

His biggest challenge will be to have a successful audit of the Pentagon.  So far they have not been able to account for all the money spent.  Coverup of wasteful spending?

Ah difficult to track DOD spending.  I got a first look at it during my deployments to A-stan.  Civil Affairs officers had the mission to help the locals build schools, government buildiings etc.  In the end the locals were handed $100 dollar bills to get the job done.  How would this program be audited?  No receipts were generated. This is just one example of DOD spending.  There was also DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) people in A-stan and I do not konw what they were actually doing.  The DCAA was supposed to ensure taxpayer dollars were spent in accordance with contracts but most of never knew exactly what the contracts specified.  Of course auditing DOD contracts at stateside bases or at Defence Contract firms could be simpler.  

[Hawaiian]

1 hour ago, theblether said:

 

I'm simplifying nothing. Your post was clear. You complained about the US arresting criminals for sexual offenses.

 

You made no attempt to explain or categorise. 

 

You have a delicious sense of self-worth. Everyone is dumb, especially compared to you. Your reply makes things even worse. 

 

Feel free to explain to the forum what sexual crimes Americans should be allowed to perpetrate in Thailand. 

Same question came to my mind also.  Exactly what are the sex offenses?  Ruin a person's life?  What about the life of the victim?  This old adage applies, "If you can't do the time, don't do the crime."

[Hawaiian]

22 minutes ago, sqwakvfr said:

Ah difficult to track DOD spending.  I got a first look at it during my deployments to A-stan.  Civil Affairs officers had the mission to help the locals build schools, government buildiings etc.  In the end the locals were handed $100 dollar bills to get the job done.  How would this program be audited?  No receipts were generated. This is just one example of DOD spending.  There was also DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) people in A-stan and I do not konw what they were actually doing.  The DCAA was supposed to ensure taxpayer dollars were spent in accordance with contracts but most of never knew exactly what the contracts specified.  Of course auditing DOD contracts at stateside bases or at Defence Contract firms could be simpler.  

In accounting there are ways to classify cash transactions, unless you are trying to hide something.  I don't know what the reasons for failing the audits were and I doubt you know either.

If there are suspicions of fraud then a forensic auditor should be used to investigate.

[sqwakvfr]

29 minutes ago, Hawaiian said:

In accounting there are ways to classify cash transactions, unless you are trying to hide something.  I don't know what the reasons for failing the audits were and I doubt you know either.

If there are suspicions of fraud then a forensic auditor should be used to investigate.

We are talking about combat zone and sometimes the last thing on anyones mind it to keep track of the spending.  DCAA auditors were all civilian GS types and most were on the slightly older side.  Record keeping was not exactly a priority from what I saw. SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction) was suppose to "track the money".  SIGAR was supposed to track exactly where over $140 Billion went.  Apparently SIGAR is still active and is suppose to end in September 2025.  I wonder what the final report will say?