Senator McCormick Responds!

Yes, I got an email response from Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick.

I'm just unsure as to what he's responding.

Let's take a look at what he wrote (full image of his text will be posted at the bottom of this page).

After a few paragraphs of introduction, the senator wrote:

At the Pentagon, Secretary Hegseth has prioritized restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence. I share these goals and intend to do my part as a U.S. Senator to further them.

Our military faces its most precarious moment since the Cold War. The United States and our unmatched network of allies and partners are confronting a new axis of authoritarian aggressors. It is critical to shift our focus away from previously proposed inflation-adjusting budget cuts, DEI initiatives, and climate change programs, and instead prioritize lethality and deterrence in the next generation of warfare. Our adversaries have a clear plan to reshape the U.S.-led international order and are rapidly advancing critical military technologies. Our response must be equally focused and resolute.  

Now, let's go see to what this is a response. 

There's this letter from December 8, 2025, wherein I asked:

I'll point out again that you took an oath when you became Senator to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic" and, as you know, that's basically the same oath all officers in the United States Army take.

I'll make this week's questions simple.

Did Secretary Hegseth (or anyone under his command) commit war crimes by ordering the destruction of any of those alleged cartel boats in the Caribbean? This would include the story as reported in the media of the killing the two people clinging to the already destroyed boat.

That seems a little both a little too long ago (almost 4 months!) and a bit too specific for a general defense of Hegseth response.

Maybe it's this from March 15, 2026 (only 20 days ago), wherein I asked: 

In a discussion about Trump's war on Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said (among many other things) this:

With every passing hour, we know and we know [Iran knows], that the military capabilities of their evil regime are crumbling. They can barely communicate, let alone coordinate; they're confused and we know it.

Our response? We will keep pressing. We will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies. 

It's that "no quarter" that's troubling. 

And I go on to point out the potential war crime that might be threatening.

That seems closer.

SecDef/War Hegseth is mentioned more or less in passing in this blogpost from March 12, 2026. That blogpost was more about a letter signed by most of the Democrats in the Senate (though not Senator Fetterman) demanding an investigation into destruction of a elementary school in Iran by a US Tomahawk missile.

So it's probably not that one, either.  But it's probably the one in the middle.

So think of that - when asked about Hegseth's threatened possible war crimes, Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick defends him by pointing out how he (Hegseth) "has prioritized restoring the warrior ethos."

Adding:

I share these goals and intend to do my part as a U.S. Senator to further them.

And:

It is critical to...prioritize lethality and deterrence in the next generation of warfare.

But not adherence to the Constitution or international law, apparently. 

BTW, this would also apply to either of the other two examples.  Ask about the destruction (without due process) in international waters of boats by Hegseth's DoD/W?  

He's "prioritized restoring the warrior ethos" and I support him. - Dave McCormick.

Ask about the killing of school children by Hegseth's DoD/W?

He's "prioritized restoring the warrior ethos" and I support him. - Dave McCormick.

Thanks, Dave.  Thanks for letting us know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Weekend, In Case You Missed it.

The lyrics:

Through the winter's ice and cold, down Nicollet Avenue
A city aflame fought fire and ice 'neath an occupier's boots
King Trump's private army from the DHS, guns belted to their coats
Came to Minneapolis to enforce the law or so their story goes

Against smoke and rubber bullets, in the dawn's early light
Citizens stood for justice, their voices ringing through the night
And there were bloody footprints where mercy should have stood
And two dead left to die on snow-filled streets, Alex Pretti and Renee Good

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice singing through the bloody mist
We'll take our stand for this land and the stranger in our midst
Here in our home they killed and roamed in the winter of '26
We'll remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis

Trump's federal thugs beat up on his face and his chest
Then we heard the gunshots and Alex Pretti lay in the snow dead
Their claim was self-defense, sir, just don't believe your eyes
It's our blood and bones and these whistles and phones against Miller and Noem's dirty lies

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice crying through the bloody mist
We'll remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis

Now they say they're here to uphold the law but they trample on our rights
If your skin is black or brown my friend you can be questioned or deported on sight
In our chants of "ICE out now!" our city's heart and soul persists
Through broken glass and bloody tears on the streets of Minneapolis

Oh our Minneapolis, I hear your voice singing through the bloody mist
Here in our home they killed and roamed in the winter of '26
We'll take our stand for this land and the stranger in our midst
We'll remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis
We'll remember the names of those who died on the streets of Minneapolis 

Another Question For Senator Dave McCormick

Today, MAGA-Republican President Donald J Trump posted this on Truth Social:

 (Note that this is after dropping untold tons of bombs onto Iran.)

Time will tell if Iran has, indeed, been dealt a death blow but for the sake of this discussion, let's assume that The Donald is correct - I am sure he certainly believes that he is. So let's go with that.

Now he's declared his political opponents to be the next great enemy to the United States.

Do you, Senator McCormick, agree with Donald Trump on this?  A simple yes or no will suffice.

You once wrote to me:

I also believe that we must all work to lower the temperature of our public discourse. 

Adding that "inflammatory rhetoric" puts others at risk. In that example you were discussing law enforcement officials. I am wondering if you'll be denouncing Donald Trump's "inflammatory rhetoric" regarding the Democratic Party any time soon.

In that same email you wrote:

While strong disagreements are a part of our democratic system and should be debated vigorously...

It seems that the leader of your party doesn't hold that same position when it comes to the opposing political party.

He just bombed Iran for no obvious reason (indeed the reasons keep shifting). Will you agree that declaring the Democratic Party as the next great enemy of America to be "inflammatory rhetoric"?

Donald Trump Is A Wanker

Text (mostly from Psalm 10, or so I am told):

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak
who are caught in the schemes he thinks up.
For the sinner boasts of the desires of his soul
and the wicked blesses himself.
His mouth is full of foul language and bitterness and deceit,
under his tongue are mischief and pain.
He sits waiting to ambush with his wealth in secret
to murder the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for the poor,
he lurks in cover, like a lion in his thicket.
He lurks to catch the poor,
to catch the poor and drag him in his net.
Trapped, the victim is crushed and collapses
as soon as he has him in his might.
For he says to himself:
"God has forgotten,
he turns away his face so that he never will see." 

The last line translates to:

Donald Trump is in the Epstein files.

Donald Trump is a wanker.

Reaching Out (Again) To Pennsylvania's Senators

So far nothing from this post.

Let's reach out again.

This time about this.

In a discussion about Trump's war on Iran, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said (among many other things) this:

With every passing hour, we know and we know [Iran knows], that the military capabilities of their evil regime are crumbling. They can barely communicate, let alone coordinate; they're confused and we know it.

Our response? We will keep pressing. We will keep pushing, keep advancing, no quarter, no mercy for our enemies. 

It's that "no quarter" that's troubling. 

In 1909, the US Senate ratified the Hague Conventions.  Article 23 of those conventions reads (in part): 

In addition to the prohibitions provided by special Conventions, it is especially forbidden...

To declare that no quarter will be given;

As this has been ratified, it's the law. The Contitution says so:

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; 

And what exactly does "no quarter" mean?

The International Committee of the Red Cross defines it this way:

This term is used in such expressions as “to give no quarter” or “cry quarter”; in regard to hostilities by land, sea or air, denial of quarter means refusing to spare the life of anybody, even of persons manifestly unable to defend themselves or who clearly express their intention to surrender. 

International humanitarian law prohibits the use of this procedure, that is, ordering that there shall be no survivors, threatening the adversary therewith, or conducting hostilities on this basis. 

And that's clearly what Secretary Hegseth did. 

Senators, your august legislative body ratified that treaty more than a century ago. And it's been the supreme law of the land ever since.

Any comment on Secretary Hegseth's threatened war crime?

Reaching Out To Pennylvania's Senators

About this:

The Feb. 28 strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building was the result of a targeting mistake by the U.S. military, which was conducting strikes on an adjacent Iranian base of which the school building was formerly a part, the preliminary investigation found. Officers at U.S. Central Command created the target coordinates for the strike using outdated data provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, people briefed on the investigation said.

Officials emphasized that the findings are preliminary and that there are important unanswered questions about why the outdated information had not been double checked.

And:

Striking a school full of children is sure to be recorded as one of the most devastating single military errors in recent decades. Iranian officials have said the death toll was at least 175 people, most of them children.

But didn't President Trump, early on, raise the possibility that the Iranians did this themselves?

Yes, he did.

On the other hand:

U.S. Senator Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) says he supports President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran, saying Iran is the “most significant state sponsor of terror in the world,” which has killed thousands of Americans.

And on the other, larger, balder, more tattooed hand: 

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania said Wednesday he believes the U.S.-Israel war with Iran has been "effective" and is moving toward an "appropriate outcome." 

"I think, overall, what's accomplished is remarkable," Fetterman told CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett in an interview Wednesday.

Does that include killing 175 people at a school - most of them children? 

And let's not forget:

An effort to constrain President Donald Trump’s power to continue the war in Iran failed Wednesday in the U.S. Senate.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., and other Republicans in voting against advancing the war powers resolution, allowing the conflict to continue. 

Yay. Bipartisanship.

And then there's this:

A group of 46 mostly Democratic senators on Wednesday sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking answers on the bombing of a school in Iran.

An Iranian school for girls near a naval base in Minab was hit on Feb. 28 in the first wave of U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. More than 100 children were killed in the strike, which U.S. officials say they are investigating. 

And:

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who has been largely supportive of the operation against Iran, did not sign the letter.

Of course not.

Maybe we can get a comment out of our pair of Pennsylvania Senate bipartisans on how, during Donald Trump's war on Iran, a school filled with school children was demolished by a US Tomahawk missile.

Have at it.

Contact Senator Fetterman.

Contact Senator McCormick.

This Happened To Sundas Naqvi, US Citizen - Born In Illinois

Let's start here first:

No person shall...be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.

That's the Fifth Amendment to the US Constitution. It applies to everyone. 

And yet, it didn't apply to this US Citizen - born in Evanston, Illinois.

From WGN in Chicago: 

Outside the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in suburban Broadview on Sunday, Sarah Afzal spoke on behalf of her 28-year-old sister, Sundas Naqvi, who goes by Sunny.

Elected officials, family members and Sunny’s attorney stood alongside her, sharing their accounts of what they say happened after Sunny returned to Chicago.

Afzal says Sunny, a U.S. citizen born in Evanston, was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport while returning from Turkey on Thursday.

“Detained with no cause. All she was told was that there was curious travel history,” said Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison.

US Citizen, detained with no cause. 

But wait. There's more.

Family members say that after more than a day of detention at O’Hare, Sunny’s phone signal was tracked to the ICE facility in Broadview. That led to a protest outside the facility, where family members, community activists and elected officials gathered demanding answers.

But the family says federal authorities insisted Sunny was not there, despite her phone’s location.

Hours later, around 2 a.m. Saturday, they say her phone turned back on and pinged from an ICE facility in Wisconsin. Once again, her family says federal authorities there denied she was being held.

“We know she was there because it kept showing her location right in the middle of the facility, and they were like, ‘We don’t know what to tell you,'” Afzal said. “Then we got a phone call while standing in the place.”

It was Sunny on the other end of the line. Afzal says Sunny told her she had been released and walked from the ICE facility to a nearby gas station around 5 a.m.

From there, Afzal says a stranger offered Sunny a ride and took her to a hotel, where her family was finally able to reunite with her.

Wait. What? 

How is any of this OK?