Ask Me Help Desk - Another strange nomination by Trump

I first mentioned the Great Barrington Declaration here

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worth reading .

https://www.wsj.com/articles/epidemi...rd-11603477330

Most pertinently, the two men are the authors—with Sunetra Gupta, a professor of epidemiology at Oxford—of the Great Barrington Declaration. Published on Oct. 4, the declaration is a cri de coeur against lockdowns and other economic restrictions that have hobbled swaths of the world. It asked instead for “focused protection”—a policy of allowing “those at minimal risk of death” to resume their lives while societies concentrate on “better protecting those who are at highest risk.”

https://gbdeclaration.org/

What Do Hydroxychloroquine, Regeneron, and Remdesivir Have in Common? - Page 9

One of the authors of the declaration is Dr. Bhattacharya ;Trump's nominee for National Institute of Health,(NIH)

At the height of the pandemic he advised the government to protect the vulnerable and allow the rest of the people to live their lives.
For that he was treated as a fringe pariah . He was right and then NIH director Francis Collins and his flunky herr Doctor Fauci were wrong.

Publicly they said "follow the science" .But behind the scenes they suppressed any information that disputed their agenda.

Trump initially agreed with Collins and Fauci . Then he met with Bhattacharya who educated Trump on the issue .

Herd Immunity Scientists Met With The White House

Under Clueless Joe the information was suppressed. Twitter blacklisted Dr. Bhattacharya.

2018 ;before the pandemic Bhattacharya wrote 'Does the NIH fund edge science?'
Does the NIH Fund Edge Science? | NBER

What he found was that the NIH tended to fund studies that went along in lock step established theories. That is not science.

2020 he wrote funding trended 'toward incremental science and away from exploratory projects that are more likely to fail, but which are the fuel for future breakthroughs.'

This he said stifled breakthroughs .
Stagnation and Scientific Incentives

When it came to covid ;research scientists knew where their bread was buttered . They had to parrot the "consensus"

And it is not just covid. Climate research follows the same blue print.

This is mindset is what Dr Bhattacharya will work to change at NIH

btw the House committee on covid is released . It found covid was intentionally made in the Wuhan lab.

12.04.2024-SSCP-FINAL-REPORT.pdf

and who had it right from the start ? .......The foremost credible liberal journalist of our times ...... Jon Stewart .

Jon Stewart On Vaccine Science And The Wuhan Lab Theory

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And it is not just covid. Climate research follows the same blue print.

Exactly correct. The same is true of origin of life research.

More from the report and it is staggering .
The virus displayed biological characteristics "Not of nature "

There was single introduction into humans which goes against previous pandemics which had multiple "spillover events "

Scientist at the lab got sick with covid long before i spread to the wet market in Wuhan.

There still is not a shred of evidence to link the virus to a natural event .

Add it all up .

It was not gain of function research to study bat virus or to prevent bat virus . It was a bioweapon research being conducted by Chinese scientists using American tax payer funding .

The report is damning to the government at a number of levels including failed public responses (il Duce Cuomo is highlighted ) .Funding was poorly coordinated and there was massive theft and fraud. ($64 billion in the paycheck protection scheme )

Arbitrary and unnecessary mandates caused 160,000 small business to close .

FINAL REPORT: COVID Select Concludes 2-Year Investigation, Issues 500+ Page Final Report on Lessons Learned and the Path Forward - United States House Committee on Oversight and Accountability

The final report is here . It will take me some time to read it .

12.04.2024-SSCP-FINAL-REPORT.pdf

Saturday Trump nominated Florida Sheriff Chad Chronister to lead the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It was a terrible pick and thankfully was withdrawn This is a guy who mass released prisoners from Tampa prisons while at the same time arrested a pastor for keeping a church open during the pandemic .

Trump supporters quickly rallied against the pick Trump apparently listened . The bad news is that Chronister was vouchsafed by Pam Bondi ;Trump's latest DOJ nominee .

Yep, this country is already going to hell in a handbasket and he hasn't even been sworn in yet!

Read Project 2025. No more SS. No more Medicare and Medicaid. No more education guidelines. Prayer (Christian only!!!) and Bible study in public schools. And so much more that will hurt ALL of us, even the Trump fans.

Appears that Hegseth has cleared the way to his confirmation. (unless one of his accusers goes public)

The Senate has pivoted and now has their sights on Tulsi Gabbard. When she was a Dem Rep in 2017 ,she went to Syria and had a sit down with Assad . For that she is smeared as an Assad apologist . Others smear her as a Russian asset. (again the Russi Russia Russia smear) .
They ignore her comments in 2019 when she called him a brutal dictator and gave a reasonable reason why she met with him .

Tulsi Gabbard: Bashar Assad is ‘a brutal dictator’ | CNN Politics

Those who criticize her trip conveniently ignore the times that others in Congress met with Assad.

Pelosi shrugs off Bush’s criticism, meets Assad

Pictures resurface showing US Secretary John Kerry and President Assad dining in Syria together | The Independent | The Independent

As previously mentioned Dem Rep from Florida Debbie Wasserman Schultz has called Gabbard a Russian asset . But other Dems like Bernie Sanders has defended her.
(1) Bernie Sanders on X: "Tulsi Gabbard has put her life on the line to defend this country. People can disagree on issues, but it is outrageous for anyone to suggest that Tulsi is a foreign asset." / X

[Sanders has also given a hat tip to Musk for his Pentagon reform plans that would save the nation $billions ]

The opposition to her will fall flat. Then they will pivot again to attack RFK Jr.

It appears that he is already having an impact at the EPA and FDA .
Cancer-causing chemicals used in homes and workplaces banned by EPA | CNN

FDA may outlaw food dyes 'within weeks': Bombshell move would affect candy, soda and cakes, revolutionize American diets

Gabbard's biggest negative is not her association with Assad or Putin, but rather her association with DJT. They are all still steamed that she refused to support HC and then jumped ship to get on board with Trump.

I have concerns about the positions she took when Trump was in office. She was critical of Trump use of air power to stop Assad's chemical attacks on civilians . She was critical of the whacking of Soleimani saying that would lead to war with Iran (as if that were a bad thing).
I guess she must've had a number of conversations with Trump and they cleared the air on some of her disagreements with him
2020 candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard presses that US must not go to war with Iran - ABC News

They clearly agree about interventionism . But there are times when the President's acts in the best interest of the country means using the military to break things.

The hearings should be interesting . She was a convert to the Trump camp when she was personally put in the cross hairs by the deep state.

John Bolton wrote an op ed in WSJ against Kash Patel's nomination for FBI .

That alone is enough for me to be fully behind the selection ..

Kash Patel Doesn’t Belong at the FBI - WSJ

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Kash Patel Doesn’t Belong at the FBI

Probably because he doesn't agree with using the FBI for corrupt political purposes?

So far Hegseth is holding his own ,

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"A small handful of anonymous sources were allowed to drive a smear campaign and agenda about me. Because our left wing media in America today, sadly, doesn't care about the truth. All they were out to do, Mr. Chairman, was to destroy me. And why do they want to destroy me? Because I'm a change agent and a threat to them. Because Donald Trump was willing to choose me, to empower me, to bring the Defense Department back to what it really should be, which is war fighting
"

He is backtracking comments he has made about women in combat. That should be a dead issue at this point . Women serve on the front lines all over the world.

Here is his opening statement

WATCH: Pete Hegseth's full opening statement at Senate confirmation hearing

Thank you Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Reed, and all members of this Committee for the opportunity today. I am grateful for, and learned a great deal from, this "advise and consent" process. Should I be confirmed, I look forward to working with this Committee — Senators from both parties — to secure our nation.
I want to thank the former Senator from Minnesota, Norm Coleman, for his mentorship and friendship in this process. And the incoming National Security Advisor, Congressman — and more importantly—Colonel Mike Waltz, for his powerful words. I am grateful for you both.
Thank you to my incredible wife Jennifer, who has changed my life and been with me throughout this entire process. I love you, sweetheart, and I thank God for you. And as Jenny and I pray together each morning, all glory — regardless of the outcome — belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His grace and mercy abound each day. May His will be done.
Thank you to my father, Brian, and mother, Penny, as well as my entire family — including our seven wonderful kids: Gunner, Jackson, Peter Boone, Kenzie, Luke, Rex & Gwendolyn. Their future safety and security is in all our hands.
And to all the troops and veterans watching, and in this room — Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Pilots, Sailors, Marines, Gold Stars and more. Too many friends to name. Officers and Enlisted. Black and White. Young and Old. Men and Women. All Americans. All warriors. This hearing is for you. Thank you for figuratively, and literally, having my back. I pledge to do the same for you. All of you.

It is an honor to come before this Committee as President Donald Trump's nominee for the office of Secretary of Defense. Two months ago, 77 million Americans gave President Trump a powerful mandate for change. To put America First — at home and abroad.
I want to thank President Trump for his faith in me, and his selfless leadership of our great Republic. The troops could have no better Commander-in-Chief than Donald Trump.
As I've said to many of you in our private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was — to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense. He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser-focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That's it. That is my job.
To that end, if confirmed, I'm going to work with President Trump — and this committee — to:

Restore the Warrior Ethos to the Pentagon and throughout our fighting force; in doing so, we will reestablish trust in our military — and address the recruiting, retention and readiness crisis in our ranks. The strength of our military is our unity — our shared purpose — not our differences.
Rebuild our Military, always matching threats to capabilities; this includes reviving our defense industrial base, reforming the acquisition process (no more "Valley of Death" for new defense companies), modernizing our nuclear triad, ensuring the Pentagon can pass an audit, and rapidly fielding emerging technologies.
Reestablish Deterrence. First and foremost, we will defend our homeland — our borders and our skies. Second, we will work with our partners and allies to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific from the communist Chinese. Finally, we will responsibly end wars to ensure we can prioritize our resources — and reorient to larger threats. We can no longer count on "reputational deterrence" — we need real deterrence.

The Defense Department under Donald Trump will achieve Peace Through Strength. And in pursuing these America First national security goals, we will remain patriotically a-political and stridently Constitutional. Unlike the current administration, politics should play no part in military matters. We are not Republicans or Democrats — we are American warriors. Our standards will be high, and they will be equal (not equitable, that is a very different word).
We need to make sure every warrior is fully qualified on their assigned weapon system, every pilot is fully qualified and current on the aircraft they are flying, and every general or flag officer is selected for leadership based purely on performance, readiness, and merit.
Leaders — at all levels — will be held accountable. And warfighting and lethality — and the readiness of the troops and their families — will be our only focus.
That has been my focus ever since I first put on the uniform as a young Army ROTC cadet at Princeton University in 2001. I joined the military because I love my country and felt an obligation to defend it. I served with incredible Americans in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan and in the streets of Washington, D.C. — many of which are here today. This includes enlisted soldiers I helped become American citizens, and Muslim allies I helped immigrate from Iraq and Afghanistan. And when I took off the uniform, my mission never stopped.

It is true that I don't have a similar biography to Defense Secretaries of the last 30 years. But, as President Trump also told me, we've repeatedly placed people atop the Pentagon with supposedly "the right credentials" — whether they are retired generals, academics, or defense contractor executives — and where has it gotten us? He believes, and I humbly agree, that it's time to give someone with dust on his boots the helm. A change agent. Someone with no vested interest in certain companies or specific programs or approved narratives.
My only special interest is — the warfighter. Deterring wars, and if called upon, winning wars — by ensuring our warriors never enter a fair fight. We let them win and then bring them home. Like many of my generation, I've been there. I've led troops in combat…been on patrol for days … pulled a trigger downrange … heard bullets whiz by … flex-cuffed insurgents … called in close air support … led medevacs … dodged IEDs … pulled out dead bodies … and knelt before a battlefield cross. This is not academic for me; this is my life. I led then, and I will lead now.
Ask anyone who has ever worked with me — or for me. I know what I don't know. My success as a leader … and I very much look forward to discussing our many successes at my previous organizations, Vets for Freedom and Concerned Veterans for America. I'm incredibly proud of the work we did. My success as a leader … has always been setting a clear vision, hiring people smarter and more capable than me, empowering them to succeed, holding everyone accountable, and driving toward clear metrics. Build the plan. Work the plan. And then work harder than everyone around you.
The President has given me a clear vision, and I will execute. I've sworn an oath to the Constitution before, and — if confirmed — will proudly do it again. This time, for the most important deployment of my life.
I pledge to be a faithful partner to this committee. Taking input and respecting oversight. We share the same goals: a ready, lethal military; the health and well-being of our troops; and a strong and secure America.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to your questions.

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“If you’re a rifleman, and you lose your rifle, they’re throwing the book at you. If you’re a general and you lose a war, you get a promotion.”

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"We won WW2 with 7 four star generals. Today we have 44 four star generals... we don't need more bureaucracy at the top, we need more war fighters empowered at the bottom."

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Senator Tom Cotton: "Do you support Israel's war in Gaza?"Hegseth: "I support Israel destroying and killing every last member of Hamas."

[QUOTE] SENATOR SULLIVAN: If your Secretary of the Navy focuses on climate change instead of shipbuilding, will you fire them?Hegseth : Yes. They should not be focused on climate change. Just like the Secretary of the Army won't be focused on electric-powered tanks.

SEN. SHEEHY: “How many genders are there?”HEGSETH: “Two genders”SHEEHY: “I know that well, I’m a She-he. I’m on board.”

Hegseth looked pretty shaky when they hammered him about his behavior with women and his cheating on, as I understand it, not one but two wives. I do agree with his concerns about the standards being lowered for women to get into combat positions, especially in units such as rangers and special forces.

Of course it doesn't help the Dems when their smear campaign is to question his character as stolen valor Senator Blumenthal sits in judgement.

Ike was supreme commander while allegedly having an affair with his secretary and driver, Kay Somersby. Rumors about Hegseth were when he was a civilian. The only question about the rumors about Hegseth is if he is vulnerable to blackmail. The standards for that were lowered greatly when the Biden crime family accepted $30 million from the Chinese. Standards were lowered when Austin went AWOL and no one ;including his 2nd in command did not know where he was. The Dems have nothing .

Women in combat is a reality . 20 years ago they were on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq. I hope readiness standards are to be updated across the board. If standards were lowered it affected readiness across the board.

Comically the critics are saying that his views are a mystery. All he has done is write 5 books detailing his views.

Dems playing their Hail Mary game plan on Hegseth .......His former sister in law signed an affidavit saying he was physically intimidating on his ex-wife ..... a charge denied by his ex wife. Plan C is the public hair in the coke can gambit or maybe the Kavanaugh college orgies gambit . To be continued .
Senators receive affidavit containing new allegations against Pete Hegseth, who denies the claims

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One Christmas in 2008 or 2009, he drank so much that he threw up and passed out, she said.

Not sure the year but one of those years more than 10 years ago , he drank too much during Christmas ...... oh my .

Pete Hegseth Routinely Passed Out From Alcohol Abuse, Witness Says - WSJ

Pete has a drinking problem is one of the allegations . Does that carry much weight when cocaine was part of the culture of the previous administration ?

Hegseth got confirmed with Vance casting the tie breaker . Susan Collins from Maine (a blue state ) Lisa Murkowski from Alaska (a red state ) cast predictable votes against. The reason it was a tie was because Myrtle the Turtle voted against him .He made a damning statement designed to convince other deep state Repubs to sabotage the selection. He failed .

He says he will serve his term through 2026 .So he intends to join the other 2 as a thorn in Trump's side.

Collins for all her faults gives the GOP a vote from a deep blue state.If the Repubs try to primary her ,it is likely the seat will go Dem.

Murkowski and Yertle are another matter . If Yertle decides to run again he should face a primary challenge. Now that he is no longer the Repub leader he has lost all his clout.
Murkowsi comes from a dynasty Alaska family and thus privileged . I would love to see her primaried . Maybe time for a Sarah Palin come back ???

Not too sure how I feel about Hegseth, but it's hard to imagine how he could be a step down from his predecessor.

If you look at the history of the Dept since it became Defense instead of the War Dept in 1947 ; there are few that stand out . You can probably count them on one hand . This coincides with some pretty poor military performance in that time.

George Marshall ;Casper Weinberger ; maybe Rumsfeld /Bob Gates were competent . If Hegseth is not terrible then he will fall into the top tier .