I learned two things today: 1. West Point fired a climate scientist educator for stating the obvious and scientific facts that humans are a major cause of climate change. They did this because Donald Trump is not a scientist and hates science and medicine (unless he has to go to the hospital - that, of course is different, right?)
2. I also learned to today that the command structure on the USS Abraham Lincoln is punishing a 19 year old sailor for reaching the end of his rope after repeated requests for help. He jumped overboard, and instead of medical assistance he is getting a courts martial.
So this is the state of both the United States Army and the US Navy at the highest levels, not only a failure of leadership but sheer cowardice in the face of an illiterate and ignorant man as president who fancies himself some sort of god deserving of a golden palace instead of the White House, and a stupid, stupid Secretary of Defense, and alcoholic who has to have his wife chaperone him to top level meetings lest he get drunk on the job.
Consequently: I hold you ,as a Republican, and every Republican in office or on the MAGA payroll, as being responsible for our sad state of affairs. Affairs that collectively you are evidently perfectly at home with. What are you going to do when Trump puts his name on the US Capitol Building, or the Washington Monument. Hmmm?....
What will you do? You will cave to his whim because you simply have no clue as to how to do anything in Washington except.....Do nothing to stop this rapacious (and I use this term deliberately) and foul smelling president because you are afraid of him. Pretty sad that we have fallen so low even the military does not take care of its own. Certainly not what I was raised to believe.
When I was a kid I lived in Washingtonville, not far from West Point on the other side of Bear Mountain along the Storm King Highway. My father was at Stewart AFB and we would go to West Point for medical care. I even went to a summer camp hosted by West Point one year, so along with the history I have always held West Point in high regard.
Now, taking the knee to the bloviator in chief and firing a climate scientist for sticking to the science in the face of the Luddite Dictator, I am very, very disappointed in West Point's decision.
Are they afraid of the drunken Secretary of Bullshiit in the Pentagon, too? We have come a long way down the ladder of respect when our military falls under the category of unconditional surrender to a criminal, con man, and sexual predator. I thought they had more guts. than that. Sad, very sad.
"...and told him that as commander in chief of the military, Trump had the authority to determine what’s taught at West Point. (We are not a JAG lawyer, but we suspect that power is not absolute."
It is not. Article I of the Constitution: "The Congress shall have Power . .To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." There ain't a lot of ambiguity. A Commander's authority, even a Commander-in-Chief's, is limited. I also gotta point out that every single commission and promotion warrant charges the recipient to follow the orders of superiors as PROVIDED BY LAW, not as appointed by the President. These two things are basically the same, as a practical matter, but the distinction is still maintained and regularly repeated throughout a service member's career.
The craziest part of this is that in my career in global sustainability, the UK Ministry of Defense and the US DOD were some of the most clear-eyed and effective communicators about the reality of the climate crisis, and the importance of taking serious steps to address and reduce its impact ASAP. And both were extremely clear that the reason they were strongly focused on measures to reduce their (huge) organizations' contributions to climate change was because they didn't want to have to fight wars that arose out of the pressures ,(on food, health, the livability of whole massive regions of the world - which would give rise to enormous and inexorable migrations of starving and desperate people to more temperate and richer regions (such as the US and UK). And this was true under both conservative and more leftwing governments. They war-gamed climate disasters, focused on adopting sustainable biofuels, and addressing the climate impacts of their massive procurement spend (the area I worked in) because there is no place for ideology in a functional and strategically clear-eyed military.
This an old trick. The university didn't fire the prof for being difficult. Oh, no. That would violate their principles. Besides, they had tenure and that's sacred.
But the trouble is, see, we have to deal with budget shifts and a structural reorganization. So the position for a tenured professor has to be replaced with a part-time slot for an adjunct Instructor, and that slot is reviewed every term.
They're welcome to apply for that position, of course.
That's how 3 different universities got rid of my dad in the '60s and '70s.
West Point will get away with this unless they did something colossally stupid in writing and the prof already has it.
"Pete Hegseth has been on a crusade to purify the national military academies and war colleges by forcing out most of the roughly 20 percent of civilians who make up their faculties."
No. He is forcing out most of the civilians, who make up 20 percent of their faculties.
If their faculties were made up of "20 percent of civilians," there'd be millions of people on their faculties.
And to think that, not long ago, the Pentagon was one of the few reputable voices outside of environmental-defense organizations openly confirming the real threat that climate change is in pushing the entire globe towards wars and mass migration away from equatorial regions. [edit]
Here is a link to DOD 2024-2027 Climate Adaptation Plan (until it is taken down). It was DOD policy prior to the pre-Trump/Hegseth interference in sound science-based military planning:
This is awesome. I'm in Adam Kalkstein's immediate family and we're all watching his entry into the 24/7 news cycle with a mix of strangenesss and delight at watching this story blow up.
I love that you're posting this story. Adam indeed is a conservative (not a complete MAGA sheep) but he probably wouldn't read Wonkette, and is more of a fan of the Free Press, but I think that adds credibility to his story.
Ta, Dok. Climate change is a matter of national security. Climate change is a matter of national security.. Climate change is a matter of national security. We are so fucking tired of the war on science and medicine.
Right-wingers “But them thar so-called scientists are godless, sissy-boy, hippie communists who tells us we come up from moneys and that we can’t eat BBQ no more!”
If you can only use military instructors, you will lose all non "war fighter" skills including ones even "war fighters" need.
OK, I have to pause. Hegseth really doesn't know the English language already has like a dozen words for "war fighter" that don't make him sound like and illiterate 10 year old? Military Personnel? Warriors? Soldiers? Troops? Each branch has its own but "war fighter"? Grok would bully him for that one, never mind like a spetzna. Serriously. Warriors is right ficken there.
So skills, if you only hire soldiers to teach, you lose a lot of them. Even if you have doctors, teaching medicine is two whole separate skills, so you need a doctor, who is a teacher, and military? Did he not realize the Starship Troopers movie was satire... never mind. I get it now. He doesn't just think it's a movie, he thinks it's... Verhoven, be more careful. I am surprised he isn't trying to call himself sky marshall. All questions rescinded. Except "war fighters" Cause like "warriors".
Yes. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, service members— their job is supposed to be keeping us out of unnecessary wars, not going around starting them. That’s why it called Department of Defense.
Senator Tillis (Saturday):
I learned two things today: 1. West Point fired a climate scientist educator for stating the obvious and scientific facts that humans are a major cause of climate change. They did this because Donald Trump is not a scientist and hates science and medicine (unless he has to go to the hospital - that, of course is different, right?)
2. I also learned to today that the command structure on the USS Abraham Lincoln is punishing a 19 year old sailor for reaching the end of his rope after repeated requests for help. He jumped overboard, and instead of medical assistance he is getting a courts martial.
So this is the state of both the United States Army and the US Navy at the highest levels, not only a failure of leadership but sheer cowardice in the face of an illiterate and ignorant man as president who fancies himself some sort of god deserving of a golden palace instead of the White House, and a stupid, stupid Secretary of Defense, and alcoholic who has to have his wife chaperone him to top level meetings lest he get drunk on the job.
Consequently: I hold you ,as a Republican, and every Republican in office or on the MAGA payroll, as being responsible for our sad state of affairs. Affairs that collectively you are evidently perfectly at home with. What are you going to do when Trump puts his name on the US Capitol Building, or the Washington Monument. Hmmm?....
What will you do? You will cave to his whim because you simply have no clue as to how to do anything in Washington except.....Do nothing to stop this rapacious (and I use this term deliberately) and foul smelling president because you are afraid of him. Pretty sad that we have fallen so low even the military does not take care of its own. Certainly not what I was raised to believe.
When I was a kid I lived in Washingtonville, not far from West Point on the other side of Bear Mountain along the Storm King Highway. My father was at Stewart AFB and we would go to West Point for medical care. I even went to a summer camp hosted by West Point one year, so along with the history I have always held West Point in high regard.
Now, taking the knee to the bloviator in chief and firing a climate scientist for sticking to the science in the face of the Luddite Dictator, I am very, very disappointed in West Point's decision.
Are they afraid of the drunken Secretary of Bullshiit in the Pentagon, too? We have come a long way down the ladder of respect when our military falls under the category of unconditional surrender to a criminal, con man, and sexual predator. I thought they had more guts. than that. Sad, very sad.
"...and told him that as commander in chief of the military, Trump had the authority to determine what’s taught at West Point. (We are not a JAG lawyer, but we suspect that power is not absolute."
It is not. Article I of the Constitution: "The Congress shall have Power . .To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces." There ain't a lot of ambiguity. A Commander's authority, even a Commander-in-Chief's, is limited. I also gotta point out that every single commission and promotion warrant charges the recipient to follow the orders of superiors as PROVIDED BY LAW, not as appointed by the President. These two things are basically the same, as a practical matter, but the distinction is still maintained and regularly repeated throughout a service member's career.
Sometimes when you chop up the apples of reality to make the Waldorf Salad of denial, you have to toss out the cores of truth.
Be sure to save the seeds of doubt.
The craziest part of this is that in my career in global sustainability, the UK Ministry of Defense and the US DOD were some of the most clear-eyed and effective communicators about the reality of the climate crisis, and the importance of taking serious steps to address and reduce its impact ASAP. And both were extremely clear that the reason they were strongly focused on measures to reduce their (huge) organizations' contributions to climate change was because they didn't want to have to fight wars that arose out of the pressures ,(on food, health, the livability of whole massive regions of the world - which would give rise to enormous and inexorable migrations of starving and desperate people to more temperate and richer regions (such as the US and UK). And this was true under both conservative and more leftwing governments. They war-gamed climate disasters, focused on adopting sustainable biofuels, and addressing the climate impacts of their massive procurement spend (the area I worked in) because there is no place for ideology in a functional and strategically clear-eyed military.
This an old trick. The university didn't fire the prof for being difficult. Oh, no. That would violate their principles. Besides, they had tenure and that's sacred.
But the trouble is, see, we have to deal with budget shifts and a structural reorganization. So the position for a tenured professor has to be replaced with a part-time slot for an adjunct Instructor, and that slot is reviewed every term.
They're welcome to apply for that position, of course.
That's how 3 different universities got rid of my dad in the '60s and '70s.
West Point will get away with this unless they did something colossally stupid in writing and the prof already has it.
I have now course-corrected, but remain coarse
Of course
He'll give you the answer that you'll endorse.
"Pete Hegseth has been on a crusade to purify the national military academies and war colleges by forcing out most of the roughly 20 percent of civilians who make up their faculties."
No. He is forcing out most of the civilians, who make up 20 percent of their faculties.
If their faculties were made up of "20 percent of civilians," there'd be millions of people on their faculties.
And to think that, not long ago, the Pentagon was one of the few reputable voices outside of environmental-defense organizations openly confirming the real threat that climate change is in pushing the entire globe towards wars and mass migration away from equatorial regions. [edit]
Here is a link to DOD 2024-2027 Climate Adaptation Plan (until it is taken down). It was DOD policy prior to the pre-Trump/Hegseth interference in sound science-based military planning:
https://www.sustainability.gov/pdfs/dod-2024-cap.pdf
Stochastic reminder, there's a word for this.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kakistocracy
This is awesome. I'm in Adam Kalkstein's immediate family and we're all watching his entry into the 24/7 news cycle with a mix of strangenesss and delight at watching this story blow up.
I love that you're posting this story. Adam indeed is a conservative (not a complete MAGA sheep) but he probably wouldn't read Wonkette, and is more of a fan of the Free Press, but I think that adds credibility to his story.
Dum don needs a dirt nap.
Ta, Dok. Climate change is a matter of national security. Climate change is a matter of national security.. Climate change is a matter of national security. We are so fucking tired of the war on science and medicine.
Right-wingers “But them thar so-called scientists are godless, sissy-boy, hippie communists who tells us we come up from moneys and that we can’t eat BBQ no more!”
They want to tell us we can’t just do anything we want.
OMG the DOD used to lead the way on documenting climate change as an amplifier of global security threats and risks.
If you can only use military instructors, you will lose all non "war fighter" skills including ones even "war fighters" need.
OK, I have to pause. Hegseth really doesn't know the English language already has like a dozen words for "war fighter" that don't make him sound like and illiterate 10 year old? Military Personnel? Warriors? Soldiers? Troops? Each branch has its own but "war fighter"? Grok would bully him for that one, never mind like a spetzna. Serriously. Warriors is right ficken there.
So skills, if you only hire soldiers to teach, you lose a lot of them. Even if you have doctors, teaching medicine is two whole separate skills, so you need a doctor, who is a teacher, and military? Did he not realize the Starship Troopers movie was satire... never mind. I get it now. He doesn't just think it's a movie, he thinks it's... Verhoven, be more careful. I am surprised he isn't trying to call himself sky marshall. All questions rescinded. Except "war fighters" Cause like "warriors".
Wharf eyetears!
I have a feeling SOW Lethality would love to be flogged.
Yes. Soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, service members— their job is supposed to be keeping us out of unnecessary wars, not going around starting them. That’s why it called Department of Defense.
"When did science ever win a war?" 🏆