Last weekend, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth messaged the group “TEAM UPDATE” with operational details of forthcoming strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, including information about targets, weapons to be deployed and attack sequencing. So to recap, the secretary of defense posted, on a publicly available app, specific war plans, which were then seen by a reporter who was accidentally on the thread. It’s a phenomenon previously known as ‘brother of the bride on the bachelor party text chain’. The messages may have violated several provisions of the Espionage Act, as Signal is not approved by the government for sharing classified information. And the only reason we know that they were doing any of this is because they accidentally included a journalist! What else are these ‘merit-based hires’ posting? For all we know, for just $4.99 a month, you might see the launch codes on OnlyFans! —Stephen Colbert
“This is an unprecedented failure of national security protocols and a grotesque disregard for the safety of American service members. Or as Donald Trump would say: no it isn’t!” It wasn’t just times and strikes. Hegseth also texted information about the target of the strikes, saying ‘target terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME.’ Should be on time? I’ve seen that text before. Those missiles haven’t even left their apartment yet. —Stephen Colbert
https://idiocracy23.blogspot.com/2022/08/1001-ways-to-make-america-great-and.html
“A magisterial collection. A combination of Bukowski’s Last Night of the Earth and Orwell’s 1984.”