Elizabeth
@elizathewell.bsky.social
Former CDC exec. Public health taught me the power of we. Now I’m channeling that into democracy—because silence isn’t strength, and I don’t do sidelines. Systems can save lives… or crash spectacularly. I’m here for data, decency, & taking back our country
At some point, “another Hegseth scandal” stops being a surprise and becomes a structural failure. Fire him. The military can’t function under perpetual upheaval.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Pressure grows on ‘reckless’ Hegseth as twin scandals engulf Pentagon chief
Defense secretary defiant but allegations of war crimes and blistering watchdog report increase calls for him to go
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 5:01 PM
At some point, “another Hegseth scandal” stops being a surprise and becomes a structural failure. Fire him. The military can’t function under perpetual upheaval.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
So we’re hearing that the “who-cares” doctrine — strike first, ask questions never — may have just crossed the line into what looks very much like a war crime. If this second strike targeted unarmed survivors, this isn’t policy — it’s a test: will we cling to chaos… or our laws?
Opinion | Hegseth’s ‘who cares?’ doctrine is finally taking heat
In U.S. history, war crimes have been rare. Accountability is needed to keep them that way.
www.washingtonpost.com
December 7, 2025 at 4:34 PM
So we’re hearing that the “who-cares” doctrine — strike first, ask questions never — may have just crossed the line into what looks very much like a war crime. If this second strike targeted unarmed survivors, this isn’t policy — it’s a test: will we cling to chaos… or our laws?
The MRI spin is cute, but the man is plainly unfit. The bandages, the gait, the evasions — it’s all right there, hiding in plain sight. The denial says as much as the symptoms.
theweeklylist.substack.com/p/what-is-go...
theweeklylist.substack.com/p/what-is-go...
What is Going on With Trump's Health?
Tracing a week of obvious decline
theweeklylist.substack.com
December 7, 2025 at 12:12 PM
The MRI spin is cute, but the man is plainly unfit. The bandages, the gait, the evasions — it’s all right there, hiding in plain sight. The denial says as much as the symptoms.
theweeklylist.substack.com/p/what-is-go...
theweeklylist.substack.com/p/what-is-go...
Billionaires now write a serious chunk of U.S. election checks — in 2024 alone they accounted for roughly 1 of every 13 dollars spent. Their dollars don’t just tip races, they reshape who gets power, and what power looks like.
Chris Cillizza on X: "Unpopular opinion: The Washington Post is on a real roll journalistically. They have broken big news (Hegseth drone attack in the Caribbean) but also some amazing data reporting like this piece on billionaires taking over American politics. https://t.co/DLq4eC2jDN" / X
Unpopular opinion: The Washington Post is on a real roll journalistically. They have broken big news (Hegseth drone attack in the Caribbean) but also some amazing data reporting like this piece on billionaires taking over American politics. https://t.co/DLq4eC2jDN
x.com
December 7, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Billionaires now write a serious chunk of U.S. election checks — in 2024 alone they accounted for roughly 1 of every 13 dollars spent. Their dollars don’t just tip races, they reshape who gets power, and what power looks like.
Free on Donald J. Trump’s birthday — but not on Juneteenth or Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That swap isn’t about “access” or “patriotism” — it’s about rewriting what we celebrate and who gets priority in our public spaces
www.usatoday.com/story/travel...
www.usatoday.com/story/travel...
National parks cut free entry for MLK Day, add Trump's birthday
NPS changed its free admission days in 2026, removing MLK Day and Juneteenth while adding Trump's birthday.
www.usatoday.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Free on Donald J. Trump’s birthday — but not on Juneteenth or Martin Luther King Jr. Day. That swap isn’t about “access” or “patriotism” — it’s about rewriting what we celebrate and who gets priority in our public spaces
www.usatoday.com/story/travel...
www.usatoday.com/story/travel...
Trump’s pardon spree isn’t clemency — it’s corruption legalized. Pardoning convicted allies and political cronies turns justice into patronage. This isn’t mercy; it’s corruption.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Trump Is Trying to Legalize Corruption by Abusing His Pardon Power
Donald Trump is abusing the Constitution and the president's pardon power to try to legalize corruption, letting a string of loyalists off the hook.
www.rollingstone.com
December 6, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Trump’s pardon spree isn’t clemency — it’s corruption legalized. Pardoning convicted allies and political cronies turns justice into patronage. This isn’t mercy; it’s corruption.
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Hegseth keeps branding himself like a cartoon strongman — all swagger, no substance. “Dept of War” rhetoric isn’t leadership; it’s theatrics for the base, flattening complex realities into slogans. The performance never stops, but the seriousness of the job sure does.
x.com/buckynosebes...
x.com/buckynosebes...
Bucky on X: "Hegseth keeps branding himself like a cartoon strongman — all swagger, no substance. “Dept of War” rhetoric isn’t leadership; it’s theatrics for the base, flattening complex realities into slogans. The performance never stops, but the seriousness of the job sure does." / X
Hegseth keeps branding himself like a cartoon strongman — all swagger, no substance. “Dept of War” rhetoric isn’t leadership; it’s theatrics for the base, flattening complex realities into slogans. The performance never stops, but the seriousness of the job sure does.
x.com
December 6, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Hegseth keeps branding himself like a cartoon strongman — all swagger, no substance. “Dept of War” rhetoric isn’t leadership; it’s theatrics for the base, flattening complex realities into slogans. The performance never stops, but the seriousness of the job sure does.
x.com/buckynosebes...
x.com/buckynosebes...
Two rebukes in two months: even conservative bishops are calling out ICE raids as immoral. When the Church has to defend decency, you know the administration is running amok. Enough.
www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/second-reb...
www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/second-reb...
Second Rebuke in Two Months: Conservative Archbishop Rebukes Trump’s ‘Lawless’ Cartel Strikes
Conservative Archbishop Timothy Broglio — the U.S. military’s Catholic prelate — has condemned Trump’s extralegal strikes on drug cartels. It’s his second public challenge of Trump in two months.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Two rebukes in two months: even conservative bishops are calling out ICE raids as immoral. When the Church has to defend decency, you know the administration is running amok. Enough.
www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/second-reb...
www.thelettersfromleo.com/p/second-reb...
Trump’s administration treats cruelty as spectacle: snuff‑film‑style boat-strike videos normalize brutality, Hegseth and Bradley execute it, and Trump signals it’s acceptable—corroding the moral fabric of governance.
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Hegseth Defense Collapses as Dems Reveal Horrific Video Strike Details
The ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee tells TNR after watching the video: “This is a big, big problem.”
newrepublic.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Trump’s administration treats cruelty as spectacle: snuff‑film‑style boat-strike videos normalize brutality, Hegseth and Bradley execute it, and Trump signals it’s acceptable—corroding the moral fabric of governance.
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Trump can stage the grotesque, normalize cruelty, and flaunt impunity—but he can’t hijack our decency. That moral compass remains ours, if we refuse to surrender it.
Rejecting Trump’s grotesque behavior isn’t optional—it’s essential. If we normalize snuff-film politics, cruelty as spectacle, and moral callousness from the top, we risk losing not just our decency but our collective sense of who we are.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Opinion | What Trump Is Really Doing With His Boat Strikes
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Trump can stage the grotesque, normalize cruelty, and flaunt impunity—but he can’t hijack our decency. That moral compass remains ours, if we refuse to surrender it.
Rejecting Trump’s grotesque behavior isn’t optional—it’s essential. If we normalize snuff-film politics, cruelty as spectacle, and moral callousness from the top, we risk losing not just our decency but our collective sense of who we are.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Opinion | What Trump Is Really Doing With His Boat Strikes
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Rejecting Trump’s grotesque behavior isn’t optional—it’s essential. If we normalize snuff-film politics, cruelty as spectacle, and moral callousness from the top, we risk losing not just our decency but our collective sense of who we are.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/o...
Fuentes argues that Trump exploits the grievances of white Americans—economic, cultural, and racial—without delivering real policy results, signaling to his base while betraying their interests, and weaponizing white grievance politics for political gain.
www.mediamatters.org/nick-fuentes...
www.mediamatters.org/nick-fuentes...
Nick Fuentes: “Donald Trump is like the first white race hustler because he is hustling us as a group”
www.mediamatters.org
December 5, 2025 at 12:14 PM
Fuentes argues that Trump exploits the grievances of white Americans—economic, cultural, and racial—without delivering real policy results, signaling to his base while betraying their interests, and weaponizing white grievance politics for political gain.
www.mediamatters.org/nick-fuentes...
www.mediamatters.org/nick-fuentes...
When the people who powered Trump’s reelection start feeling the squeeze — and begin to voice it — the political foundation cracks. As we head into 2026‑2028, expect economic anxiety to turbo‑charge voter shifts, defections, and a growing appetite for alternatives.
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
Poll: Trump's own voters begin blaming him for affordability crisis
Americans continue to say affordability is out of control, and they place the responsibility on Trump, The POLITICO Poll found.
www.politico.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:08 PM
When the people who powered Trump’s reelection start feeling the squeeze — and begin to voice it — the political foundation cracks. As we head into 2026‑2028, expect economic anxiety to turbo‑charge voter shifts, defections, and a growing appetite for alternatives.
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
When people on the left call out corporate influence, ICE‑style enforcement, weak foreign policy, or soft‑on‑inequality compromises — they’re not demanding ideological perfection. They’re asking: Are you really with us? Or are you selling out for donors?
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
No, Progressives Don’t Want “Purity.” They Just Want Some Courage.
When left-leaning Democrats complain about corporate influence, it’s not a “purity test.” It’s a demand for a better politics.
newrepublic.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:05 PM
When people on the left call out corporate influence, ICE‑style enforcement, weak foreign policy, or soft‑on‑inequality compromises — they’re not demanding ideological perfection. They’re asking: Are you really with us? Or are you selling out for donors?
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
This could reshape swing‑state dynamics for 2026–28. If enough disillusioned voters sit out or switch, the GOP’s margin for error shrinks — especially where tariffs, inflation, and cost‑of‑living have bitten hardest.
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Transcript: The State Where Trump Voters Have Serious Buyer’s Remorse
Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow explains why Trump is losing ground in her state, which was critical to his victories in 2016 and 2024.
newrepublic.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:02 PM
This could reshape swing‑state dynamics for 2026–28. If enough disillusioned voters sit out or switch, the GOP’s margin for error shrinks — especially where tariffs, inflation, and cost‑of‑living have bitten hardest.
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
newrepublic.com/article/2039...
Hegseth didn’t just misjudge a strike — he normalized killing helpless survivors. Leading the military under these conditions isn’t just impossible, it’s a violation of law, ethics, and trust. The institution is fractured, and so is America’s credibility.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/o...
Opinion | Pete Hegseth Is Doing Something Even Worse Than Breaking the Law
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:52 AM
Hegseth didn’t just misjudge a strike — he normalized killing helpless survivors. Leading the military under these conditions isn’t just impossible, it’s a violation of law, ethics, and trust. The institution is fractured, and so is America’s credibility.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/o...
Hegseth can’t lead. Between the Caribbean strikes and SignalGate, the scandals make effective military command impossible.
Two men clung to a capsized boat for 41 minutes after an initial strike. Then a follow-up attack killed them—unarmed, with no radios, no ability to resist. This isn’t an accident or fog-of-war. It’s execution. And whoever green‑lit it should face full accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
The Furor Over Trump’s Boat Attacks and a Particular Follow-Up Strike, Explained
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:48 AM
Hegseth can’t lead. Between the Caribbean strikes and SignalGate, the scandals make effective military command impossible.
Two men clung to a capsized boat for 41 minutes after an initial strike. Then a follow-up attack killed them—unarmed, with no radios, no ability to resist. This isn’t an accident or fog-of-war. It’s execution. And whoever green‑lit it should face full accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
The Furor Over Trump’s Boat Attacks and a Particular Follow-Up Strike, Explained
www.nytimes.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Two men clung to a capsized boat for 41 minutes after an initial strike. Then a follow-up attack killed them—unarmed, with no radios, no ability to resist. This isn’t an accident or fog-of-war. It’s execution. And whoever green‑lit it should face full accountability.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/04/u...
Helpless survivors clinging to a capsized boat were killed. Trump then held a peace‑summit photo‑op. Cabinet meetings filmed like a sitcom. It’s the Rocky Horror Picture Show in real life.
www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
War Is Peace, the Dozing Don Edition
The outcry grows over Trump's undeclared war in the Caribbean.
www.newyorker.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:40 AM
Helpless survivors clinging to a capsized boat were killed. Trump then held a peace‑summit photo‑op. Cabinet meetings filmed like a sitcom. It’s the Rocky Horror Picture Show in real life.
www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
So Senator Bill Cassidy — doctor, supposedly a guardian of public health — green‑lights Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s purge of independent vaccine advisers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now babies’ lives and public trust are collateral damage. Enjoy the chaos, champ.
How RFK Jr.’s Vaccine Policy Put a Doctor-Turned-Senator in a Political Bind
The health secretary is poised to oversee the undoing of a vaccine norm that the senator worked to promote.
www.wsj.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:30 AM
So Senator Bill Cassidy — doctor, supposedly a guardian of public health — green‑lights Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s purge of independent vaccine advisers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now babies’ lives and public trust are collateral damage. Enjoy the chaos, champ.
This wasn’t a mistake — it was a policy. Killing helpless survivors floating on a wrecked boat is not war. It’s execution. Hegseth and Bradley didn’t just fail the rules of engagement — they turned them into smoke, and left morality behind.
www.wsj.com/opinion/pete...
www.wsj.com/opinion/pete...
Opinion | Hegseth’s Order and the Admiral
Adm. Bradley says he received no ‘kill them all order’ over a drug boat.
www.wsj.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:27 AM
This wasn’t a mistake — it was a policy. Killing helpless survivors floating on a wrecked boat is not war. It’s execution. Hegseth and Bradley didn’t just fail the rules of engagement — they turned them into smoke, and left morality behind.
www.wsj.com/opinion/pete...
www.wsj.com/opinion/pete...
Watching two men cling to wreckage for 41 minutes while commanders debate whether to kill them anyway — then ordering a second strike because the boat might still hold cocaine — isn’t enforcement. It’s a moral freefall, and a government that’s lost the plot on what human life is worth.
Natasha Bertrand on X: "The initial hit on the vessel, believed to be carrying cocaine, killed nine people immediately and split the boat in half, capsizing it and causing a massive smoke plume into the sky, the sources who viewed the video as part of the briefings said. Part of the surveillance video" / X
The initial hit on the vessel, believed to be carrying cocaine, killed nine people immediately and split the boat in half, capsizing it and causing a massive smoke plume into the sky, the sources who viewed the video as part of the briefings said. Part of the surveillance video
x.com
December 5, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Watching two men cling to wreckage for 41 minutes while commanders debate whether to kill them anyway — then ordering a second strike because the boat might still hold cocaine — isn’t enforcement. It’s a moral freefall, and a government that’s lost the plot on what human life is worth.
The Supreme Court lets a map ruled racially gerrymandered stand—weeks before elections. The dissent calls it “raw, fact‑ignoring overreach.” Not a fluke. This is a system bending rules to protect power, consequences be damned.
x.com/kyledcheney/...
x.com/kyledcheney/...
x.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:20 PM
The Supreme Court lets a map ruled racially gerrymandered stand—weeks before elections. The dissent calls it “raw, fact‑ignoring overreach.” Not a fluke. This is a system bending rules to protect power, consequences be damned.
x.com/kyledcheney/...
x.com/kyledcheney/...
If you’re clearing war-plans over an unsecured phone app and putting U.S. troops at risk, that’s not just a slip. It’s a leadership failure. If Hegseth can’t follow basic OPSEC, you don’t get to call it “strategic error” anymore. You call it disqualification.
Pete Hegseth’s Weak Excuses
His evasive responses to Signalgate are shameful nonsense.
www.theatlantic.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:15 PM
If you’re clearing war-plans over an unsecured phone app and putting U.S. troops at risk, that’s not just a slip. It’s a leadership failure. If Hegseth can’t follow basic OPSEC, you don’t get to call it “strategic error” anymore. You call it disqualification.
We’re still pretending this is about strategy? The reporting lays out a party scrambling for footing, but the bigger issue is unmistakable: Trump is either too unwell or too disengaged to bother. At some point, the instability isn’t a subplot—it’s the plot
www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/nat...
www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/nat...
Can Republicans Turn Things Around?
By almost every metric — including Democrats’ big November wins and their consistent double-digit special election overperformances, most recently in Tennessee’s 7th District — Republicans are facing ...
www.cookpolitical.com
December 4, 2025 at 11:12 PM
We’re still pretending this is about strategy? The reporting lays out a party scrambling for footing, but the bigger issue is unmistakable: Trump is either too unwell or too disengaged to bother. At some point, the instability isn’t a subplot—it’s the plot
www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/nat...
www.cookpolitical.com/analysis/nat...