You don't purge your military of a disfavored minority unless you want to have the option of using said military 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 said minority. Whatever lies they tell about readiness or fitness or whatthefuckever, that's the real reason right there.
"You don't purge your military of a disfavored minority unless you want to have the option of using said military 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 said minority." <-- A very sane and well supported observation from history . . .
. . . which is not a happy thing.
On the assumption the midterms go well for us generically, I wonder what extinction outburst order MAGA will give and see obeyed? I hope nothing, but the possibility is there.
I'm letting my pessimism show a bit here, but... I think at this point the regime could start dumping planeloads of people into the ocean and the core of MAGA would approve of the mass murder, while the rest of the Republican base and the centrists wouldn't bother looking any deeper than the "deportation flights" cover story they'd inevitably use to hide the killings. No one on the right or in the center seems to care about literal goddamn concentration camps; why would they care about what inevitably comes next? The outrageous has become routine. The stage is set.
As for whether the order would be obeyed... we're hundreds of dead fishermen, one foreign head of state kidnapped, another assassinated, one full-up war (complete with indiscriminate bombings of civilian targets), and- most tellingly- multiple occupations of US cities by armed troops deep in unlawful orders at this point, without so much as a peep from anyone tasked with actually carrying out those orders about anything other than their own operational hardships. I wouldn't rule 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 out, anymore.
I'm not sure the unscientific bullshit about 'fitness' is entirely a lie per se (that is, a statement the one stating it knows to be false); Pete Kegbreath really does seem to have a fixation on, and belief in, Manly Men Full Of Testosterone as the only ones fit for military service. Having picked that nit, I agree with your assessment.
And it more of - The people engineering, funding, and carrying out the propaganda campaign and enacting the laws and policies against transgender people must face 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 18 U.S.C. § 241, & 18 U.S.C. § 242 prosecution. There are orders it must be taught again to people, which you must not obey.
“The Military Law Task Force is outraged at the current military effort to rush through discharge of transgender personnel, before a federal court can act to halt involuntary transgender discharges–in the process running roughshod over these servicemembers’ legal rights.”
Sorry to be so long winded, but i am so tired of these Bigots
Once again, the Trump administration and the Department of Defense are making transgender Americans serving in the military a political target. These policies have faced legal challenges, and the fight over their legality continues.
The disturbing part is the rush to implement policies while courts are still being asked to determine their legality. That raises an obvious question: Why the hurry?
And this isn't happening in isolation. The administration has pursued a broader series of policies affecting transgender and LGBTQ+ Americans, including restrictions involving military service, health care, education and federal policy.
The strategy is clear: make a relatively small and politically vulnerable population the subject of constant political attacks and turn their lives into a culture-war issue.
But LGBTQ+ Americans are not political props.
They are Americans. They are service members, parents, children, teachers, doctors, neighbors and taxpayers.
And the number of people affected does not determine whether their rights matter.
So here's the part that matters most:
VOTE.
Vote in every election—not just presidential elections.
Vote for candidates who believe that constitutional rights belong to all Americans, including LGBTQ+ Americans.
Vote for candidates who will defend the rule of law, respect the independence of the courts, and treat military service members according to their ability to serve—not as political targets.
Vote in primaries. Vote in local elections. Vote for Congress. Vote for your state legislature. And vote in every election where your voice counts.
Don't assume someone else will protect your rights.
Democracy doesn't work because we hope the right people win.
It works when citizens show up, pay attention, organize, and vote.
If you believe LGBTQ+ Americans deserve equal rights and equal dignity, don't just post about it.
Register. Organize. Talk to your neighbors. Help people get to the polls. And VOTE.
Because elections have consequences—and so does staying home.
I feel the same way about voting. 🗳️ “Democracy doesn’t work because we hope the right people win.” And so often there isn’t a clear or obvious, or good choice on the ballot. As a Democrat Biden wasn’t my who I wanted to support; he wasn’t my 1st 2nd or 3rd choice- but he was on the ballot. I voted for him. I really didn’t want to be in the position of choosing him for a second term- but he was going to run as an incumbent. I voted for Kamala Harris. Also, not my first choice for the Democratic presidential nominee. Voting isn’t a menu of your favorite foods from your favorite restaurant. It’s not a buffet on a cruise ship. That’s not how our current system works.
I have to pick from what’s available, whether I wish it were different or not. I am going to use my voice and my right to cast a vote 🗳️ because voting is like a muscle. 💪 if we don’t exercise our power to vote, we are in danger of losing that power.
I know it's not the point of the article but it drives me crazy how so many people such as Corcoran seem to have forgotten that DADT was a huge step forward for the era it happened. They're looking back at it through the lenses of 2026, when societal acceptance for gay people is pretty widespread. Yeah, if DADT was proposed in 2026, that would be absolutely unacceptable and hugely problematic.
Back in 1993, though? The general populace was way, *way* more homophobic, to the point that full acceptance of gay people in the military had absolutely zero chance of ever making it through the Senate. DADT was the absolute best we had any hope of passing at the time, and even that had notable Democrats pushing back against it hard.
I think we tend to forget how much worse things were three decades ago. It's obviously a good thing that culture has shifted so much that we can take it for granted nowadays, yes, but we still need to always remind ourselves that it was very bad until recently in the larger scale of history.
"it drives me crazy how so many people such as Corcoran seem to have forgotten that DADT was a huge step forward for the era it happened." <-- Only in the sense it was a half measure to the sole just policy.
"DADT was the absolute best we had any hope of passing at the time," <-- Yes, but that was not itself a good thing.
"but we still need to always remind ourselves that it was very bad until recently in the larger scale of history." <-- Yes, but only in the sense that the extinction of morally meaningless (and generally itself evil and stupid) superstition is a beneficial and required thing . . .
. . . but not an inevitability.
We can instead societally choose decline, irrelevance, and extinction. Some people on both sides of current politics are all for it.
I fully support my trans brothers and sisters and their right to serve in the armed forces, but under the current leadership I think all soldiers now in the military are in danger of being canon fodder for no damn good reason. I’m surprised that there haven’t been mass resignations under Hegseth’s rule.
These assholes at DoD are like pit bulls with apologies to pit bulls. I am so distressed at what has happened to so many fine service members, but I am more certain than ever that this cruelty will not stand and that at the end ot this sorry saga of Trumpism we will go down in history as heroes while the Trumpists all go down as....well, assholes.
This is a witch hunt. "Well, if we throw her into the river and she drowns, she's not a witch, if she survives, she is a witch and we kill her". Absolutely a horrible Nazi Regime
You don't purge your military of a disfavored minority unless you want to have the option of using said military 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 said minority. Whatever lies they tell about readiness or fitness or whatthefuckever, that's the real reason right there.
"You don't purge your military of a disfavored minority unless you want to have the option of using said military 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 said minority." <-- A very sane and well supported observation from history . . .
. . . which is not a happy thing.
On the assumption the midterms go well for us generically, I wonder what extinction outburst order MAGA will give and see obeyed? I hope nothing, but the possibility is there.
I'm letting my pessimism show a bit here, but... I think at this point the regime could start dumping planeloads of people into the ocean and the core of MAGA would approve of the mass murder, while the rest of the Republican base and the centrists wouldn't bother looking any deeper than the "deportation flights" cover story they'd inevitably use to hide the killings. No one on the right or in the center seems to care about literal goddamn concentration camps; why would they care about what inevitably comes next? The outrageous has become routine. The stage is set.
As for whether the order would be obeyed... we're hundreds of dead fishermen, one foreign head of state kidnapped, another assassinated, one full-up war (complete with indiscriminate bombings of civilian targets), and- most tellingly- multiple occupations of US cities by armed troops deep in unlawful orders at this point, without so much as a peep from anyone tasked with actually carrying out those orders about anything other than their own operational hardships. I wouldn't rule 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 out, anymore.
I'm not sure the unscientific bullshit about 'fitness' is entirely a lie per se (that is, a statement the one stating it knows to be false); Pete Kegbreath really does seem to have a fixation on, and belief in, Manly Men Full Of Testosterone as the only ones fit for military service. Having picked that nit, I agree with your assessment.
And it more of - The people engineering, funding, and carrying out the propaganda campaign and enacting the laws and policies against transgender people must face 42 U.S.C. § 1983, 18 U.S.C. § 241, & 18 U.S.C. § 242 prosecution. There are orders it must be taught again to people, which you must not obey.
Thank you, Baum.
Just when you thought it would be impossible for these clowns to be more pathetic ..
https://nlgmltf.org/military-law/2026/mltf-on-the-pentagons-illegal-trans-discharges/
I'm a member of MLTF's steering committee, and we're meeting with SPARTA today to see how we can help.
Thank you for your advocacy!!
“The Military Law Task Force is outraged at the current military effort to rush through discharge of transgender personnel, before a federal court can act to halt involuntary transgender discharges–in the process running roughshod over these servicemembers’ legal rights.”
Sorry to be so long winded, but i am so tired of these Bigots
Once again, the Trump administration and the Department of Defense are making transgender Americans serving in the military a political target. These policies have faced legal challenges, and the fight over their legality continues.
The disturbing part is the rush to implement policies while courts are still being asked to determine their legality. That raises an obvious question: Why the hurry?
And this isn't happening in isolation. The administration has pursued a broader series of policies affecting transgender and LGBTQ+ Americans, including restrictions involving military service, health care, education and federal policy.
The strategy is clear: make a relatively small and politically vulnerable population the subject of constant political attacks and turn their lives into a culture-war issue.
But LGBTQ+ Americans are not political props.
They are Americans. They are service members, parents, children, teachers, doctors, neighbors and taxpayers.
And the number of people affected does not determine whether their rights matter.
So here's the part that matters most:
VOTE.
Vote in every election—not just presidential elections.
Vote for candidates who believe that constitutional rights belong to all Americans, including LGBTQ+ Americans.
Vote for candidates who will defend the rule of law, respect the independence of the courts, and treat military service members according to their ability to serve—not as political targets.
Vote in primaries. Vote in local elections. Vote for Congress. Vote for your state legislature. And vote in every election where your voice counts.
Don't assume someone else will protect your rights.
Democracy doesn't work because we hope the right people win.
It works when citizens show up, pay attention, organize, and vote.
If you believe LGBTQ+ Americans deserve equal rights and equal dignity, don't just post about it.
Register. Organize. Talk to your neighbors. Help people get to the polls. And VOTE.
Because elections have consequences—and so does staying home.
Your vote is your voice. Use it.
I feel the same way about voting. 🗳️ “Democracy doesn’t work because we hope the right people win.” And so often there isn’t a clear or obvious, or good choice on the ballot. As a Democrat Biden wasn’t my who I wanted to support; he wasn’t my 1st 2nd or 3rd choice- but he was on the ballot. I voted for him. I really didn’t want to be in the position of choosing him for a second term- but he was going to run as an incumbent. I voted for Kamala Harris. Also, not my first choice for the Democratic presidential nominee. Voting isn’t a menu of your favorite foods from your favorite restaurant. It’s not a buffet on a cruise ship. That’s not how our current system works.
I have to pick from what’s available, whether I wish it were different or not. I am going to use my voice and my right to cast a vote 🗳️ because voting is like a muscle. 💪 if we don’t exercise our power to vote, we are in danger of losing that power.
Until we have a third party we have only two choices. Thats also why primaries are just as important
I know it's not the point of the article but it drives me crazy how so many people such as Corcoran seem to have forgotten that DADT was a huge step forward for the era it happened. They're looking back at it through the lenses of 2026, when societal acceptance for gay people is pretty widespread. Yeah, if DADT was proposed in 2026, that would be absolutely unacceptable and hugely problematic.
Back in 1993, though? The general populace was way, *way* more homophobic, to the point that full acceptance of gay people in the military had absolutely zero chance of ever making it through the Senate. DADT was the absolute best we had any hope of passing at the time, and even that had notable Democrats pushing back against it hard.
I think we tend to forget how much worse things were three decades ago. It's obviously a good thing that culture has shifted so much that we can take it for granted nowadays, yes, but we still need to always remind ourselves that it was very bad until recently in the larger scale of history.
"it drives me crazy how so many people such as Corcoran seem to have forgotten that DADT was a huge step forward for the era it happened." <-- Only in the sense it was a half measure to the sole just policy.
"DADT was the absolute best we had any hope of passing at the time," <-- Yes, but that was not itself a good thing.
"but we still need to always remind ourselves that it was very bad until recently in the larger scale of history." <-- Yes, but only in the sense that the extinction of morally meaningless (and generally itself evil and stupid) superstition is a beneficial and required thing . . .
. . . but not an inevitability.
We can instead societally choose decline, irrelevance, and extinction. Some people on both sides of current politics are all for it.
I hope we don't choose that.
Is there any information on how this will impact trans kids of service members?
I fully support my trans brothers and sisters and their right to serve in the armed forces, but under the current leadership I think all soldiers now in the military are in danger of being canon fodder for no damn good reason. I’m surprised that there haven’t been mass resignations under Hegseth’s rule.
Thanks for this report, S. Baum.
These assholes at DoD are like pit bulls with apologies to pit bulls. I am so distressed at what has happened to so many fine service members, but I am more certain than ever that this cruelty will not stand and that at the end ot this sorry saga of Trumpism we will go down in history as heroes while the Trumpists all go down as....well, assholes.
This is a witch hunt. "Well, if we throw her into the river and she drowns, she's not a witch, if she survives, she is a witch and we kill her". Absolutely a horrible Nazi Regime
The nightmare of this regime never ends. It’s so sickening 🤢