Something is wrong with Pete Hegseth
To really understand the horror of incompetent Pete Hegseth changing the names of military bases, listen to Tim Kaine list the accomplishments of the people whose names were obliterated. This administration not only hates diversity, but it also wants to wipe any achievements by Blacks and women from history. Our Democratic and Independent Senators don’t understand these actions and questioned Hegseth about his motives.
Angus King shared his history growing up in Virginia, discussing how he used to “revere” Robert E. Lee until he learned the true history of the country and discovered that Robert E. Lee was a traitor. Given what he knew, King asked the question to which we all wanted the answer: why? He saw the evil perpetrated by those men. Knowledge is the beauty of history and why Trump doesn’t want it taught. History not only enlightens us, but it also sets us free. If we can’t learn from history, we’re lost. King asked: “Why are you going through these incredible gymnastics finding current soldiers or other soldiers to rename—and you slipped a minute ago. You said: ‘we’re returning these bases to their original names.’ …Why are you doing this? I don’t understand what the motivation is to rename bases for people who took up arms against their country on behalf of slavery.” We would like to know as well.
The grilling of this idiot continued with Senator Tammy Duckworth, who asked him to justify saying to Senator King that “to a man and to a woman we would rather be associated with the old Confederate names.” Tammy Duckworth is one of those women, and she disagrees. Duckworth flew helicopters, and she knows all about fighting for this country with no thoughts of self. She lost both of her legs when Iraqi insurgents propelled a grenade at the Black Hawk she was flying. Duckworth reminded Hegseth—who has never served and knows nothing about the military—that she served at a base “named for a traitor who led American troops to kill Americans.” She had no interest in serving under the name of a Confederate leader, but she had no choice. After the base was renamed, however, she was honored that the base was renamed for Mike Novacel, a Medal of Honor recipient who saved 29 American lives, including flying backwards to save a man on the ground. She then told Hegseth: “I know a little something about what it’s like to fly a helicopter when you’ve been hit by enemy fire.” Hegseth knows nothing about any of that. He is merely another useless mouthpiece installed by a useless “president.”
Hegseth’s excuse about “legacy” is worth about as much as he is as a leader. Even as that lie passed Hegseth’s lips, veterans posted comments on the video disputing his claims. No one asked Hegseth to make these changes other than his racism and the racism of this evil administration. They would have us completely ignore the history of this country in favor of some white-washed version of the truth. Well, we want the truth. Save your tall tales for someone who cares.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years