Hegseth

I'm not watching the Senate confirmation hearings. My sense is that if they get to a hearing (unlike Gaetz) they get confirmed. I did however listen to about 30 minutes of the Hegseth fiasco. Turns out he doesn't know much about being the Secretary of Defense, and didn't bother to do any homework. Take it from a guy who pretty much bullshitted his way through high-school. I can spot a bullshit artist when I see one. Hegseth didn't do the reading. He knows nothing. He's at least as unqualified and as ignorant about the job he seeks as trump was, and still is. And considering that, wouldn't it make sense that he should get confirmed. My lack of interest in these hearings, beside the fact that they're all fait accompli, is that they are made-for-tv events, designed to heighten spectacle. The Democrats are just as guilty for falling into that trap. They mostly attacked Hegseth on moral grounds. Focusing on workplace misconduct, his disrespect for women, and accusations of rape and adultery - and we know how well that worked with trump during the election. The high point was when Tammy Duckworth asked Hegseth if he could name a single nation in ASEAN. Of course he couldn't. These hearings, as all such hearings, are designed to be soap operas that produce viral social media moments. I haven't been interested in soap operas since I was in high-school when General Hospital was popular, and everyone was talking about the romance of Luke and Laura. The viral moment was their wedding. Why was everyone talking about Laura marrying Luke? Because he had raped her. Laura fell in love with her rapist. I can't think of a more appropriate analogy to what's happening in America, whether we're talking about the political fascination America has with adjudicated rapist trump, or the way social media has 'raped' the standards of Americans by holding their attention in its sway.