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Digby's Hullabaloo Posts

The Irony! It Burns!

Published by Tom Sullivan on March 4, 2026

Terror, violence, and corruption is the Trump brand

If you expected to wake up to Tuesday primary returns from across the country or more news from Donald Trump’s preemptive attempt to trigger Armageddon, hold on. Pete Hegseth’s warfighters have another propaganda video for you. But first, the news.

The Guardian:

US and Ecuadorian forces have launched joint operations to combat drug trafficking, the US Southern Command said on Tuesday, but neither side gave more details.

Southern Command, which encompasses 31 countries through South and Central America and the Caribbean, said in a statement on X that the “decisive action” was aimed at combating illicit drug trafficking.

The Ecuador defense ministry said details of the offensive operations were classified.

What? No boat strike video?

The New York Times does not have much more:

In a 30-second video released by the military’s Southern Command, a helicopter is seen taking off in early morning or dusk, flying over an area, then picking up soldiers. The U.S. official said the video depicted the first in what was expected to be a series of raids across the country, some with U.S. advisers nearby assisting, some with Ecuadorian forces only. In this instance, involving mostly Ecuadorian forces, the official said, it was unclear what the mission’s objective was or whether it was successful.

But content? Hegseth’s social media crusaders made sure to deliver content.

Terror, violence, and corruption

The propaganda video released by the U.S. Southern Command includes a statement:

On March 3, Ecuadorian and U.S. military forces launched operations against Designated Terrorist Organizations in Ecuador. The operations are a powerful example of the commitment of partners in Latin America and the Caribbean to combat the scourge of narco-terrorism.

Together, we are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere.

“We commend the men and women of the Ecuadorian armed forces for their unwavering commitment to this fight, demonstrating courage and resolve through continued actions against narco-terrorists in their country.” – #SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan.

Terror, violence, and corruption? That’s pretty rich coming from a Trump administration that’s spent the last year terrorizing American cities and brutalizing citizens and non-citizens alike while lining its pockets to the tune of $4 billion dollars.

“Ethics watchdogs say that no other President has ever so nakedly exploited his position, or on such a scale,” wrote David D. Kirkpatrick in The New Yorker at the end of January.

While otherwise behaving like a war criminal, The Times notes:

Since early September, the United States has killed at least 150 people in 44 known strikes against boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that the Trump administration has said, without providing evidence, are carrying drugs.

Legal specialists on the use of lethal force have said the strikes are illegal, extrajudicial killings, because the military cannot deliberately target civilians who do not pose an imminent threat of violence, even if they are suspected of engaging in criminal acts.

But the Department of WAR has gotcher social media content right here:

Comedian Trae Crowder imagines the post-hoc propaganda poster for the Iran War reading, “Uncle Sam wants you to die for Israel’s paranoid blood lust.” He wonders how many MAGA types will finally walk away from Trump over the Iran War.

I’ve been messaging this week with this three-word roadside attraction. The dearth of middle fingers from MAGA isolationists suggests not even they want to engage the question.

QOTD: Tom Cotton

Published by digby on March 3, 2026

Iran has posed an imminent risk to the United States for 47 years as they’ve maimed and killed thousands of Americans without that vast missile arsenal. The president was right to act when he did.

I don’t think the word “imminent” means what he thinks it does.

imminent

American  

[im–uh-nuhnt]/ ˈɪm ə nənt /

adjective

  1. likely to occur at any moment; impending.Her death is imminent.

He’s supposed to be one of the smart ones.

Update —

welp:

That’s called “preventive war” and it’s illegal. I mean, you could justify attacking anyone on the basis of the idea that they might launch an attack on you some day. At this point that could apply to every country in the world.

Well, This Is Creepy

Published by digby on March 3, 2026

It’s a very good week for the Christian Nationalists:

The U.S. joined Israel in striking Iran early Saturday morning. By Monday evening, the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, or MRFF, was “inundated” with complaints, receiving more than 110 grievances from U.S. military personnel stationed at dozens of sites across the Middle East, reported independent journalist Jonathan Larsen.

One such note included an anecdote from a noncommissioned officer, who reported that their commander had “urged us to tell our troops that this was ‘all part of God’s divine plan’ and he specifically referenced numerous citations out of the Book of Revelation referring to Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ.”

The NCO’s complaint was lodged on behalf of 15 troops, including 11 Christians, one Muslim, and one Jew, according to Larsen. The officer stated that such remarks “destroy morale and unit cohesion and are in violation of the oaths we swore to support the [C]onstitution.”

“This morning our commander opened up the combat readiness status briefing by urging us to not be ‘afraid’ as to what is happening with our combat operations in Iran right now,” the NCO wrote.“ He said that ‘President Trump has been anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,’” the NCO continued. “He had a big grin on his face when he said all of this which made his message seem even more crazy.”

It wouldn’t be a stretch to blame some of the blatant constitutional violations on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has repeatedly evoked God and Christian nationalism in his time fronting the Pentagon. Hegseth has parroted the views of Douglas Wilson, a conservative theologian who advocated for Christian dominance over government and society. He has followed through in practice, instating regular prayer services at America’s military headquarters. He also entered office with several Christian symbols already emblazoned on his skin—a Jerusalem cross and the phrase “Deus vult”—in what Hegseth has described as emblems of the “modern-day American Christian crusade.”

The government is now full of these weirdos in high places since this administration has chased out so many experienced military leaders.

Normally, I’d be the most afraid of the Buck Turgidson types getting excited. But I think these people might just be more dangerous.

Whoa

Published by digby on March 3, 2026

Tillis to Noem:

“A 14 month old dog is basically a teenager in dog years. You decided to kill that dog because you hadn’t invested the appropriate time and training, and then you have the audacity to go into a book and say it’s a leadership lesson about tough choices! … Those are bad decisions made in the heat of the moment, not unlike what happened in Minneapolis.”

Ouch. That was a deep cut. And a well deserved one.

The whole hearing with Noem today was brutal. I think she is a dead puppy walking. At some point Trump’s going to have to sacrifice someone and she’s the most likely choice. Her failure is monumental.

About Those “Forever Wars”

Published by digby on March 3, 2026

(Trump calling Zelensky P.T. Barnum is a fascinating bit of irony too. )

Hey MAGA, do you care? Maybe:

Appearing on Kelly’s show, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene suggested Trump has gone insane—adding that Trump’s oft-repeated statement about not knowing if he’ll get into heaven raises questions about his state of mind and competency.

“We need to have a serious conversation about what the fuck is happening to this country, and who in the hell are these decisions being made for, and who is making these decisions,” Greene said.

Trump says MAGA still loves him best:

The president said former Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly, both of whom have publicly broken with him over U.S. military operations in Iran, do not represent the view among his base of supporters.

“I think that MAGA is Trump — MAGA’s not the other two,” Trump said, adding of Kelly specifically that “she was critical of me for years and I didn’t lose. I won all three times by a lot.”

“MAGA wants to see our country thrive and be safe,” he continued. “And MAGA loves what I’m doing — every aspect of it. … This is a detour that we have to take in order to keep our country safe and keep other countries safe, frankly.”

Most Republicans are instinctive warmongers and will back him. But after a decade of pretending to be peaceniks, some of the MAGA true believers are having some cognitive dissonance. And that hurts their little brains. It will be interesting to see how this develops.



Nice Little Country You’ve Got There

Published by digby on March 3, 2026

BARTIROMO: Do you want to see the Cuban leadership next?REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ: Oh, absolutely

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2026-03-03T12:58:27.399Z

Donald Trump’s national security strategy, which was given the moniker the “Donroe Doctrine,” was supposed to be the new blueprint for America’s role in the world. Actions such as Trump renaming the Gulf of Mexico, trying to take over or buy Greenland, threatening Canada and Panama, as well as his military incursion into Venezuela all fall into his updated version of the Monroe Doctrine, which his administration views as stating America’s divine right to rule the Western hemisphere. When considering his outright hostility toward our traditional allies in Europe and Asia, which he is apparently happy to leave to Russia and China, Trump’s vaunted America First movement becomes more sharply defined as a focus on the United States’ own neighborhood and a retreat from larger global concerns.

But as is so often true with the president’s policies, that awful vision has proved too incoherent to be an actual blueprint. Trump is just as invested in the Middle East as any president before him, a fact he proved by launching air strikes on Iran on Saturday for reasons that change from day to day. The Islamic Republic is far from the Western hemisphere, so whatever the Donroe Doctrine is in practice goes beyond a mere desire to withdraw the United States from global commitments outside of its own region. Something else is at play. 

Trump has now used the U.S. military twice since the first of the year — a mere 59 days — to topple heads of state. In early January, he staged a successful military incursion into Venezuela and abducted the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and first lady to bring them back to the U.S. to stand trial. Most observers assumed that America had deposed Maduro as a means of toppling Venezuela’s corrupt government and paving the way for elections and a restoration of democracy. There was even a shadow government waiting in the wings that had been legitimately elected two years before. Led by opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her activism, it was ready to take the helm.

But no: Trump had apparently made a deal with what remained of the Maduro regime. He would leave them in power to do as they wished in exchange for opening up Venezuela’s oil fields to American companies. Since America’s incursion, Trump has shown no interest in the democratization of the country or accountability for anyone but the former president. What will happen to Venezuela is anyone’s guess. But it appears that as long as they agree to hand over billions in oil revenue to the U.S. under threat of military action, they will have a free hand. 

Then there is Iran. This past weekend, the United States, in partnership with Israel, bombed the Islamic Republic for the second time in less than a year. In June 2025, the U.S. military deployed its most powerful non-nuclear weapon to destroy underground bunkers used by the Iranian government to house their nuclear program. At the time Trump said the facilities had been completely obliterated, but no proof was ever offered of that claim. Now he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are bombing the country again, ostensibly because they still need to destroy Iran’s nuclear program. Or is it that they want to help the protesters? Or do they want regime change? The answer keeps changing. 

The administration didn’t bother with the usual constitutional and statutory niceties, and as Salon’s Sophia Tesfaye explained, Trump has felt little need to explain his actions to the American people. He believes he has an unfettered right to use American power, whether economic or military, at his total discretion without any consultation or approval from Congress. The administration had been having talks with the Iranian government which, by all accounts, had agreed to nearly all their demands, but Trump decided to bomb anyway, proving that he had always intended to do it and the talks were just a delaying tactic. (On Sunday, the president told The Atlantic in a short interview that he had agreed to keep talking, even as the air strikes continue.)

As with Venezuela, the initial round of attacks on Iran successfully decapitated the government, killing Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, and many of his top lieutenants. But the Islamic Republic is a very different country than Venezuela, a full-blown authoritarian theocracy with a large and powerful military and plenty of high-tech armaments. With a population of 90 million, it is roughly three times larger than Iraq, and although the country is in bad economic straits, it is divided politically. There is a large anti-government resistance, but it is reportedly mostly unorganized, and the heavily-armed Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which has tentacles extending deep into the country’s economic and industrial sectors, has shown no signs of splintering.

Nonetheless, Trump seems to think — likely at the behest of Netanyahu and people like Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., an Iran hawk — that the country is so weak that the Revolutionary Guard will lay down their arms under his threats and agree to make one of his hallowed deals. Trump told the New York Times on Sunday night that despite his paeans to the Iranian protesters, he really has no problem with the regime staying in place. He said, “What we did in Venezuela, I think, is the perfect, the perfect scenario.” I’ll bet that comes as a surprise to Netanyahu. 

Meanwhile, Vivian Salama at the Atlantic reported that the administration is so excited about their military “victories” that Cuba is next on the list. One official told Salama, “the president is feeling like, ‘I’m on a roll’; like, ‘This is working.’” One important goal of the Venezuelan operation was to halt oil shipments to Cuba, which has had the effect of leading the island’s economy closer to collapse. The Cuban people are suffering greatly, which seems to be part of the plan. 

Trump is very excited at the prospect of a “friendly takeover” and has talked about the fact that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been in talks to “make a deal.” There’s no word on what that deal might be, whether he’s thinking of making them a colony with Rubio as its viceroy, or simply turning it over to Florida Republicans to do with as they please. 

Salama reported that the president “sees himself as the first modern American leader with the guts to complete what others only flirted with: map-changing transformations across the world.” But if you look at the countries he’s chosen to target with military action so far, what you really see is that these are all countries that have defied U.S. power in one respect or another — and he’s decided to teach them a lesson. 

What is happening is basically a gang war. Trump is taking over other gangsters’ turf and taking out their leaders. There’s no need to completely change their crews. After all, they’re in the same business. It just means that they now need to report to him — while showing loyalty and ensuring protection. 

If you think that’s far-fetched, consider what Trump told ABC News’ Jonathan Karl when the reporter asked him about Khamenei’s death. “I got him before he got me,” he said. “They tried twice. Well I got him first.”

There’s no “Donroe Doctrine” or some great global imperial strategy. Donald Trump is simply a mob boss who thinks he’s settling all the family business.

Salon

President Caprice

Published by Tom Sullivan on March 3, 2026

Who’s gonna stop me?

2 Trump 17:35: It is better to ask neither forgiveness nor permission.

Tom Nichols assesses Donald Trump’s Iran gambit (gift link):

Donald Trump has taken America into war with a country whose population is approximately the size of Iraq’s and Afghanistan’s combined. He has done this without making a case to the American people, and without approval of any kind from their elected representatives. His launching of hostilities (with the embarrassingly bro-themed name “Operation Epic Fury”) is the culmination of decades of expanding presidential powers over national-security issues, and Trump has now taken that expansion to its extreme conclusion, launching wars and using military power as he sees fit.

To paraphrase Condi Rice, no one could have predicted that it would come to this, right?

Is the Iran attack illegal? Probably under both U.S. and international law, Nichols writes.

“Whaddya gonna do about it?” Trump spits as he thumbs his nose at the planet. “Take me to court? Make my day.” Trump counts on tying up opponents in interminable legal wrangling while he merrily does whatever he pleases, legal or not.

What about invoking the War Powers Act?

Simple, but irrelevant. Presidents have gotten around this by using that last part about “national emergencies” to justify the use of force; multiple commanders in chief have also—rightly—noted that they may use military power in support of existing treaties (which are the law of the land) if an ally calls for American help.

If Congress decides to invoke the Act’s 60-day limit on hostilities without congressional approval, Trump will be two months into the war with conflictus interruptus no longer a viable option. Nichols, once an adviser to the late Senator John Heinz, felt ahead of the Gulf War in 1990 that the law was of dubious contitutionality. (Nichols “was a lot less concerned about rogue presidents back then.”) Meaning, Trump would surely challenge the Act and the Roberts Court would drag its feet on rendering a ruling, once again making Trump’s day.

Nevertheless, Nichols writes:

Congress is now set to debate the War Powers Resolution, but the fact that this debate is needed at all is a reminder of how much the exercise of American democracy has historically been predicated not on black-letter law but on trust, norms, and basic decency. Congress should not have to argue over whether to trigger the War Powers Resolution, and certainly not in the midst of conflict; better presidents, even when they have abused their authority, have obviated such a fight by going to Congress, speaking to the American people, and building a consensus for action. Trump, instead, has thrown U.S. service people into combat—and dared everyone to stop him.

For now, Congress can try, at least, to use the law to rein in Trump and force him to answer questions about a war he started on his own. But Operation Epic Fury should also impel legislators to think about future ways to place presidential war powers back within the limits of a deliberative, constitutional republic.

If we still have one.

Iran, Jesus, And S&ht

Published by Tom Sullivan on March 3, 2026

Rejoice! Armageddon is coming!!!

Iran-US Tension: 45-Minute Toilet Lines on World’s Most Expensive Warship: What’s Going Wrong on USS Gerald R. Ford Near Iran?

Servicemen asked to fight Armageddon complain that some of their superiors are gleeful about it. Jonathan Larsen reports at his Substack:

A combat-unit commander told non-commissioned officers at a briefing Monday that the Iran war is part of God’s plan and that Pres. Donald Trump was “anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth,” according to a complaint by a non-commissioned officer.

From Saturday morning through Monday night, more than 110 similar complaints about commanders in every branch of the military had been logged by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF).

The complaints came from more than 40 different units spread across at least 30 military installations, the MRFF told me Monday night.

Larsen publishes a response from MRFF President Mikey Weinstein:

These calls have one damn thing in freaking common; our MRFF clients report the unrestricted euphoria of their commanders and command chains as to how this new “biblically-sanctioned” war is clearly the undeniable sign of the expeditious approach of the fundamentalist Christian “End Times” as vividly described in the New Testament Book of Revelation.

Many of their commanders are especially delighted with how graphic this battle will be zeroing in on how bloody all of this must become in order to fulfill and be in 100% accordance with fundamentalist Christian end of the world eschatology.

God help them that they don’t have to face not only Iranian missiles but also the wrath of Kendall Brown, a livid TikToker who claims her husband is on active duty. Her video excoriating supporters of God’s anointed one went viral. She calls them all monsters.

@kendallybrown

I have never been more serious about any video in my life. If you supported this, I *hate* you. He made it very clear what his intentions were all along. You just either didn’t listen….or didn’t care. And for that? I hate you.

♬ original sound – Kendall Brown

The video hurt some delicate MAGA feelings. (They can dish it out but they can’t take it.) Democrats in Congress would do well to express similar righteous rage (with fewer expletives). It might boost their approval ratings with voters who perceive Democrats as weak.

@kendallybrown

Uh oh I made the right big mad with my video yesterday. Too bad I don’t care about the opinions of lemmings who think they deserve silence from the people whose lives they expect to sacrifice.

♬ original sound – Kendall Brown

Brown references the problem thousands of servicemembers aboard the carrier USS Gerald R. Ford are having with simply using the toilets. They don’t work properly. Insert your own “-ageddon” joke here (NPR, Jan. 17):

On board the carrier, the crew is battling a toilet system that the General Accountability Office reported in 2020 was undersized and poorly designed. The system continues to fail during deployment, forcing the crew of 4,600 sailors to live with a system that randomly breaks down during their months at sea.

NPR has obtained documents that include a series of emails that detail the ship’s effort to grapple with the breakdowns. Problems with the Vacuum Collection, Holding and Transfer (VCHT) system increased in 2025. The vacuum system was adopted in part from the cruise ship industry. It uses less water, but the system used by USS Ford is more complex. Breakdowns have been reported since the $13 billion carrier first deployed in 2023.

“Every day that the entire crew is present on the ship, a trouble call has been made for ship’s force personnel to repair or unclog a portion of the VCHT system, since June 2023,” reads an undated document provided by the Navy, through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

After participating in the Venezuela action, rather than returning to port for repairs, Trump dispatched the carrier immediately to the Persian Gulf region to attack Iran. Observers in the Indian subcontinent are having a good laugh over the shit problem. Lots of social media posts on it from Pakistan, India, and China.

No worries, says U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC): “More than eight months into an extended deployment, the Sailors of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) continue to demonstrate resilience, professionalism, and sustained morale while serving far from home.”

That’s not what The New York Times hears about the ship’s extended deployment:

The Navy typically schedules ships for six-month deployments and tries to avoid having them go longer than seven. This week, however, the Ford marked its eighth month on deployment.

Members of the crew have told The New York Times that morale on the ship dipped after their deployment was first extended and has cratered since it was ordered to the Middle East.

With waiting 45 minutes to use a toilet, sailors won’t have time to think about Armageddon. Win-win.

Heavens To Betsy, Known Unknowns

Published by digby on March 2, 2026

I never thought I would say this but I would feel safer with Don Rumsfeld in charge of the Pentagon. He was a neocon nutcase but he wasn’t dumb a a rock. That might not be preferable in all cases but I think it’s probably worse to be dumb as a rock in this particular job under this particular president.

With all these people we simply have to hope that we get lucky. They’re all clueless.

And by the way: fuck you Hegseth

Imagine If They’d All Held Firm

Published by digby on March 2, 2026

The WSJ reports:

The Trump administration plans to abandon its defense of the president’s executive orders sanctioning several law firms, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Justice Department as soon as Monday was expected to drop its appeals of four trial-court rulings that struck down President Trump’s actions against law firms Jenner & Block, WilmerHale, Perkins Coie, and Susman Godfrey. 

Trump issued a string of executive orders last year against several law firms and individual lawyers that would have stripped security clearances, restricted their access to federal buildings and directed agencies to end any federal contracts with the firms and their clients.

The White House campaign sent a chill through the industry. Fear of the orders also prompted other large firms to make deals with the president, promising nearly $1 billion in pro bono work for causes favored by the administration.

In targeting the firms, Trump cited their connections to his political rivals and criticized their diversity initiatives and pro bono work advocating for immigrants, transgender rights and voting protections.

Let’s face it. While some of these firms may have been scared of Trump, it’s fair to assume that many of them were happy to comply with these “orders” because they agreed with them and wanted to do the “pro bono” work for the administration without having to take responsibility for it.

It’s a shameful chapter that reveals a whole lot about our elite institutions. We should not forget it.