The good news is that there was a long overdue high pressure bi-partisan pressure on the Republican Senator from Arkansas to finally release his hold on the promotion of hundreds of military personnel. He released the hold on 425 of them and they were immediately confirmed.
BUT, per historian Heather Cox Richardson:
"Liz Cheney wondered: “Why is Tommy Tuberville doing that? Is he holding those positions open so that Donald Trump can fill them?”
Still, Tuberville retained holds on 11 officers of the most senior rank. According to congressional reporter for Punchbowl News Andrew Desiderio, the positions left vacant are
- commander of Pacific Air Forces,
- commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet,
- Air Component Command for the United States Indo-Pacific Command,
- commander for Air Combat Command,
- the head of the Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program,
- the head of Northern Command (which defends the United States and coordinates defenses with Canada, Mexico, and the Bahamas),
- the head of the U.S. Cyber Command,
- vice chief of staff of the Army,
- vice chief of staff of the Air Force,
- vice chief of Space Operations, and
- vice chief of Naval Operations.
It is clear to me that Tuberville is obeying his master - the Orange Dictator in Waiting (who is Trump obeying?) Trump has clearly stated that he will immediately use, on the first day, the U.S. military to "put down" any citizen protests against his presidency (if he wins or seizes the White House).
We keep getting educated about how fascism takes over a country
- Seize the Military
- Seize the Congress
- Seize the Courts (Supreme Court, Appeals Courts, and down the line)
- Seize the News Media
- Attack and imprison all who tried to hold you accountable for your multiple offenses
- Former Staff
- Judges
- Prosecutors
- Witnesses
- Legitimate News organizations reporting your crimes
- Former President, Biden
- etc
- etc
- etc
- etc
- etc
- etc
Trump is not a smart man, but Trump has 70 plus years of practice forcing people to submit to his toxic will. And Trump has smart people who want fascism in America:
- White Christian Nationalists who want a theocracy,
- Super rich oligarchs who want unfettered pollution for their monopolies,
- racist white supremacists who want to Make American Jim Crow again,
- corrupt opportunists who want free corrupt reign,
- The Federalist Society
- The Heritage Foundation
- Hillsdale College
- Claremont Institute
- Political operatives who want to destroy the government - Roger Stone, Kash Patel, Steven Miller, Elon Musk, Alex Jones, Fox News, OAN, Breitbart News, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc
There is only one issue on the ballot in 2024 - democracy or fascism. I try to remember that there are more of us than there are of them, and that Goodness Truth and Beauty are more powerful that domination, threats, and violence.
This ugly chapter of America is hard to live through, but I have hope and faith that the good will prevail and the Soul and Spirit of America will prevail. This will not become a fascist tyranny.
