The Mason Missile, October 22, 2025

Greetings, Americans! Over the Last weekend of September, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a meeting of generals and admirals on the campus of the Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA. All of the topmost United States military leaders, and their most senior NCOs, in one space, at one time, away from their commands; what it there is a terrorist attack on the university? What is there was a major geopolitical problem somewhere in the world? But this is a regime that’s only interested in performance, putting on a show, for themselves and for the American public. Hegseth—a former Fox News personality, former National Guard officer—harangued these military leaders, with decades of experience, on the need for developing a “warrior ethos” in the military, whatever that means to him. He raved to these veteran military leaders about “fat generals” and “fat soldiers,” grooming habits, and of diversity efforts that he said made the Department “the Department of Woke” (like that’s a bad thing!). Hegseth also howled for changing the Inspector-General system, making it more tolerant of bullying, hazing, and abusive leadership, including drill sergeants “putting their hands on” trainees. He also raved about “stupid rules of engagement”, adding, “We untie the hands of our warfighters to intimidate, demoralize, hunt, and kill the enemies of our country,” leading to the possibility of war crimes. (https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/pete-hegseth-speech-generals-admirals-rcna234674?cid=eml_maddow_20250930&user_email=56443b86787902b10c4645fc42bff8ee9ec2614de6cc5f00300871db6871f4c6) (https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hegseths-policy-memos-hazing-harassment-military/story?id=126081286) (https://thehill.com/policy/defense/5528817-hegseth-changes-military-meeting/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CYes%2C%20they%20can%20shark%20attack%2C%20they%20can%20toss,the%20warriors%20they%20need%20to%20be%2C%E2%80%9D%20Hegseth%20said.) (Government shutdown begins after Congress and White House fail to reach agreement) (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/09/30/hegseth_were_empowering_drill_sergeants.html?video) After Hegseth finished his tirade—he looked like he expected a standing ovation—trump came on stage, and talked about his use of the nation’s military in Portland (OR) and Chicago, and telling the brass that these cities, and others, would be “training grounds” for war, and they would be fighting “the enemy within”—i.e., their own fellow Americans peacefully resisting the police-state actions of ICE, and protesting for their rights, as is the right AND the duty of Americans. Thus, trump and Hegseth show themselves as no better than schoolyard bullies who terrorize weaker kids. (https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5557232/hegseth-generals-trump) (https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5557232/hegseth-generals-trump) I took part in the No Kings rally at Philadelphia’s City Hall on October 18, being one of approximately Seven Million Americans protesting this totally obnoxious regime, Philadelphia being one of around 2700 municipalities holding rallies. Of course, trump, being in a self-imposed mental bunker and showing signs of mental deterioration, hasn’t gotten the message; but what about his minions, the enforcers of his ill-tempered whims? Can we count on them to wake up to the fact that the regime is so despised? I’m afraid not. trump purposely filled his regime with people who would have stayed on the margins of politics, religion, and the media if trump didn’t hire them. A phrase making the rounds, once on the intellectual margins but not taken seriously, is “soft secession,” the idea of states resisting the federal government, challenging the trump regime’s efforts at dictatorship. In June, trump threatened to cut off funding for California’s public university system, considered one of the world’s finest; Governor Gavin Newsome replied, “Californians pay the bills for the federal government. We pay $80 BILLION more in taxes than we give back. Maybe it’s time to cut that off, @realDonaldTrump. (https://x.com/GavinNewsom/status/1931087538565054849) One example of this is the Northeast Public Health Collaborative, a group of northeastern states (Pennsylvania one of them) shoring information about vaccines, laboratory information, and data concerning vaccines for such things as COVID-19 (still lurking around). This is in response to trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services (not ours) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his assaults on the public health system, and on the very idea of vaccinations. Here is another example of trump hiring charlatans and quacks in his regime. (https://whyy.org/articles/pennsylvania-regional-public-health-coalition/) (https://www.pa.gov/agencies/health/newsroom/launch-northeast-public-health-collaborative) (https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/its-time-for-soft-secession/) (https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2025/09/time-for-soft-secession-by-blue-states/72581/) (https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/a-soft-secession-could-blue-states-withholding-federal-taxes-reshape-the-national-agenda/ar-AA1McGtA) This can be compared to the volunteer “mutual aid” programs formed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when trump would not face the reality of the pandemic killing over a million Americans on his watch, and always talking about injecting bleach or sunlight into the body. trump was useless then, and he’s even MORE useless now. (https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/a-soft-secession-could-blue-states-withholding-federal-taxes-reshape-the-national-agenda/ar-AA1McGtA) (https://www.teenvogue.com/story/what-is-mutual-aid-explainer) (https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrFdBnQNvlo7gEA4NpXNyoA;_ylu=Y29sbwNiZjEEcG9zAzQEdnRpZAMEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1762372560/RO=10/RU=https%3a%2f%2fwww.teenvogue.com%2fstory%2fwhat-is-mutual-aid-explainer/RK=2/RS=rpj0rHAnN9OzrHN0jdKhLCVvCx4-) That could be a great model for our resistance to trump and company; forming more-or-less informal networks to resist the regime, to prepare for whenever (God forbid!) ICE is in the area, among other things. SO, with the No Kings rallies, constant protests to ICE and other types of regime terror, and public officials AT LAST showing a spine (like Newsome and OUR governor Josh Shapiro), along with OUR OWN creativity, we can put the brakes on trump’s drive to dictatorship, and we can be rid of his (very real) stench for all eternity. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay together! Slava Ukraini! Am Yisrael chai! America will be free! Bye!