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Duncan Murrell

@duncanmurrell.bsky.social

95 followers 170 following 250 posts

Stories: fiction, journalism, magazines. Tattoos: dragons, snakes, firebirds. Punk: Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Minutemen. Job: book editor. Harper’s, The Oxford American, Guernica, The VQR. Some track and field content.

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Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 1d

Gutted the CDC again, leaving the federal government nearly powerless to respond to public health emergencies; invented the fiction that "antifa" is an organization, with a "founder" whose "girlfriend" they "arrested"; and House Repubs continue to move heaven and earth to protect Trump's pedo bros

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 1d

This week Trump goons zip-tied children in the streets of Chicago, attacked a priest and journalists; Trump lackeys made it clear that they prefer cutting taxes for billionaires than preventing your healthcare premiums from skyrocketing or paying the military; and Trump crashed the stock market

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 3d

Seriously, you can look away, bro

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 7d

This is just absolutely wild. Trump is nowhere in Steve Coll's books. Lawrence Wright was writing about UBL in The New Yorker in the 1990s. ABC *interviewed* bin Laden in 1998. UBLwas very high profile in 1998 after U.S. embassy bombings In Kenya and Tanzania.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 11d

“Warfighting,” a small book also know as “Fleet Marine Force Manual 1” when it was published in 1989, was required reading for all Marine officers for decades. It’s well known throughout the services. Written by the commandant of the Marine Corps, has little/nothing in common with Hegseth’s nonsense

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Reposted by Duncan Murrell

manakanda.bsky.social @manakanda.bsky.social · 12d

In light of today’s absolutely fucking deranged “I’m in a war movie” speeches by Trump and Hegseth, I give you the plaque at West Point.

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Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

Well, sticking around long enough to refuse a loyalty oath and be part of a mass firing would have far more impact. I don't think they should be doing Hegseth's work for him.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

It doesn't matter what their influence would be?

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

Sure. But I think you're overestimating their influence once they're out of uniform. I'd doubt that very many people could name more than two of the eight flag-rank officers fired early on in the administration, and most people wouldn't be able to name any.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

I didn't say it was. I interpreted your hope that they would do something because they "know what comes next," as hoping that they would do something while in uniform because their oath to the constitution required them to oppose the administration's general lawlessness and unconstitutionality.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

And one of my takeaways from that "meeting" was that Hegseth and Trump are lightweights who are not up to the task of overcoming that. If the point is that they should be resisting the executive branch's general unconstitutionality, then you're talking about a coup, and no on should want that.

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Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

Ok. But don't underestimate the power of the military to grind down the Secretary and the President by sheer inertia and institutional maneuvering. Just because the public hasn't heard of resistance within the military doesn't mean it's not happening.

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Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

Do you really think the resignation of a 3-star deputy commandant for logistics is going to get people worked up, no matter what he says in his resignation letter? One news cycle. What would matter would be resigning rather than following a specific illegal order. Not generalized opposition.

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Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

They should be getting involved in what, though? Politics?

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

How do you read that silence?

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

I'm having a hard time imagining what these generals would brief their staffs on, following this. There's nothing of real substance for the *generals,*, this was a speech directed at American citizens, the audience was a prop.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

He got a smattering of applause, really anemic, for about a second before the Marine Band loudly kicked in, surely to the relief of all in attendance

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

Brief smattering of applause, anemic applause, before the Marine Band kicked in, thank god.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

THE END!

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

Quick meditation on the word "lore," apropos of nothing

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

We've hit the 2.5 hour mark!

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

Now he's describing weapons and how they work as if these generals have never seen them before, like he's got special knowledge.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

"We got many of you out of here," he says, as if they don't already know that.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

He literally asked the generals, show of hands, who didn't like the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and decided that the fact that no one raised their hand (obviously) meant they like him. Caine is fine, but this treating generals like grade school kids is some bullshit.

Duncan Murrell @duncanmurrell.bsky.social · 12d

Now he's insulting the DC generals. Read the room, Mister President