Those tireless thugs, their peculiar ways - and more

Because they never rest, they were at it again, Signaling — this time in public, rather than to the public — sensitive military plans.

These latest plans came with a twist. They're illegal.

But neither easily recognized stupidity nor manifest criminality can deter the Trump regime's restless Signalers from their sacred cause of dismantling American democracy. And so it was that Anthony Salisbury, deputy to deputy Stephen Miller, sent texts over the private messaging app "in clear view of others," reported The Minnesota Star Tribune on Friday.

A texts-sharing, hair-on-fire source was "troubled," said the Star Tribune, "by seeing sensitive military planning discussed so openly." In them — Salisbury's numerous exchanges with high-ranking regime officials, including Patrick Weaver, adviser to Original Public Signaler Pete Hegseth — "casual" conversations were had about sending the U.S. military into U.S. cities, specifically, Portland, Oregon.

"Between you and I, I think Pete just wants the top cover from the boss if anything goes sideways with the troops there," wrote the grammar-challenged Mr. Weaver. "82nd is like our top tier for abroad. So it will cause a lot of headlines," he added, referring to the 82nd Airborne Division. “Probably why he wants potus to tell him to do it."

Hegseth wanted cover for more than sideways-going things, though. Weaver also acknowledged "legal hurdles to sending troops into American streets." Yes, one of the hurdles is called statutory law — the Posse Comitatus Act — which Trump violated when he sent 700 Marines to Los Angeles.

But Weaver had confidence in both Hegseth's and his own criminality. He emphasized more than once that the former would, as good Nazis did, follow orders, and bragged about his powers of influence over weak-minded Pete: "I’ll get us to yes. I always find a way," mused Weaver.

The Star Tribune asked the domestically warring Defense Department for comment on its report. That, a Pentagon spokesman denied. He did however confirm my opening characterization of Trump's hooligans, saying that the texts show were "working around the clock" in their democracy-dismantlement mission.

The spokesman's statement showed as well that he was eager to get in on the hooligans' stupidity game. "The Department of War is a planning organization and does not speculate on potential future operations." His imbecility failed him only in its forgotten addendum that the Pentagon does so speculate in public.

An aside. On the regime's imbecility competition: If I were Karoline Leavitt, I'd be sweating Deputy Press Secretary Abigail Jackson's presence hot on my heels.

Every comical day she attempts to sound even dumber than Leavitt — and thereby take her job. Said Abigail in a statement absent my emphasis: "Nothing in these private conversations [carried on publicly] ...  is new or classified information." Yet somehow they "are shamefully being reported on by morally bankrupt reporters."

The Minnesota Star Tribune did commit a venal sin, the kind in which the transgressor escapes eternal damnation in Hell, praise Jesus. It was a marginally sinful act that would have escaped my notice had it not been for the journalistic acuity of Lauren Stiller Rikleen, executive director of Lawyers Defending American Democracy.

In the paper's report, there was this: "Earlier this year, Democrats in Washington lambasted Hegseth for being reckless with military intelligence after he coordinated  an operation in Yemen on a Signal group chat that inadvertently included [Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic]."

The passage points to what Ms. Rikleen, in a January "Verdict" article, called a "significant failing" by the media: "Reflexively describing valid concerns about threats to our democracy as a partisan fight gives the advantage to those seeking to undermine it and weakens the function of journalism as a bulwark for a free society."

Although her analysis centered on the media's narrow, "partisan fight" reaction to the regime's grave threats to democracy, a defense secretary's recklessness with military intelligence was also deserving of more than "Democrats lambasted Hegseth."

That strong criticism erupted outside of Democratic circles is true, but a point that misses the mark. Rikleen's criticism was of the media's default position: labeling all anti-regime scrutiny as merely partisan-motivated rhetoric, which vitiates the central message of Trump's core, criminal abominations being done in the name of "America First."

The MAGAesque millions may rest peacefully at night, secure in the knowledge that their colorful messiah and his featherbrained goons themselves never rest in the pursuit of uprooting Constitutional safeguards against despotic rule.

Millions of others are uneasy about it — just not uneasy enough.

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Postscript, or, another aside. A friend in sane parts north just emailed me, asking what's up, had I something, anything, "choice" to say. I answered (from the Star Tribune story):

Something choice? I could never top the Fatherland Security Department's Anthony Salisbury in his text to regime colleagues: "This is how Kash survives. He will do this stuff for [Trump] but day to day giant douche canoe." Now that's sheer poetry, the kind that captures the pure essence of our intrepid FBI director. It damn near equals Shakespeare's "Never hung poison on a fouler toad."

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Cross-posted in Substack.