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Trump’s Defense Secretary Fires Navy Chief Over Case of SEAL Accused of War Crimes Who the President Pardoned

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White House Claimed It Would Not Get Involved

Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has asked for the resignation of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer over reports he was strongly considering quitting over President Donald Trump’s interference in the case of a SEAL accused of multiple war crimes. Trump pardoned the alleged war criminal and took to Twitter to tell the Navy chief he should stop his plan to fire the SEAL and “Get back to business!”

“Unfortunately, as a result I have determined that Secretary Spencer no longer has my confidence to continue in his position,” Esper said, according to The Washington Post. “I wish Richard well.”

The firing comes after the White House let it be known it would not interfere in how the Navy decided to move forward against the Navy SEAL, Chief Petty Officer Edward Gallagher.

Secvretary Spencer “denied that he had threatened to resign but said disciplinary plans against Chief Gallagher would proceed because he did not consider Mr. Trump’s statement on Twitter to be a formal order,” The New York Times reported Saturday.

Read the full report at The Washington Post

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Homeland Security Shares Christmas Message ‘We Are Blessed To Share a Nation and a Savior’

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While most government offices share generic and secular-leaning Christmas greetings, the Department of Homeland Security shared a video loaded with film clips, nostalgia and religious imagery.

“Merry Christmas, America. We are blessed to share a nation and a Savior,” the account posted on Christmas Eve morning to its X account.

The clip, opens with an on-screen caption reading “Remember the miracle of Christ’s birth,” which is then replaced by a caption reading “Celebrate our homeland.” The clip starts with an image of the U.S. flag, which then goes into children walking in the snow, a Christmas party on a yacht, and Christmas-themed tchotchkes. It then cuts to a montage appearing to be of home movies from the 1950s or 60s of families celebrating Christmas. The home movie footage progresses through the ages—including a ’90s kid wearing a Sub Pop Records “Loser” t-shirt.

READ MORE: ‘Draconian and Brutal’: Trump to Rescind Ban on ICE Arrests in Schools, Hospitals, Churches

From there, it progresses into a montage of pop culture clips and television broadcasts, including National Lampoon’s Christmas VacationA Charlie Brown Christmas and the Rankin-Bass Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Past news clips of President Donald Trump are also shown, including a news story from the 80s identifying him as a real estate developer and his Home Alone 2 cameo. The entire thing ends with footage from the moon landing, and a message from the Apollo 8 astronauts wishing the world a Merry Christmas. The video adds a shadow of Santa and his reindeer flying across the Earth it’s safe to say was not in the original footage.

Oddly, despite the call to “celebrate our homeland,” not all the media included is American. A clip of the Mr. Bean Christmas episode from the United Kingdom appears, and it’s all set to a 2003 English-language remix of “Christmas Eve” by Tatsuro Yamashita, a Japanese musician known as the King of City Pop. The original version of “Christmas Eve” was a massive hit in 1983, and continued appearing on the Japanese charts for the next 35 years.

As Homeland Security and ICE face accusations of racism and racial profiling, it seems worth mentioning that nearly everyone featured in the video—especially in the nostalgic home movies—is white. There are exceptions: Nat King Cole and a Black woman carrying packages appear as well.

The Homeland Security message stands in contrast to other Christmas wishes from governmental accounts. The White House shared a clip from Christmas Vacation, edited so when Clark Griswold (played by Chevy Chase) turns on his holiday light display, a large “MAGA” appears on the front of the house. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. shared an AI-generated video titled “Make Santa Healthy Again,” featuring St. Nick working out, and the Department of War plugged the yearly tracking of Santa’s journey by NORAD.

Image via Shutterstock

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Arizona State Senator Proposes Health Study Looking Into ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

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President Donald Trump and his allies have long accused critics of suffering from the imaginary ailment Trump Derangement Syndrome. Now, an Arizona state senator wants the local health department to conduct a study on the made-up disease.

State Sen. Janae Shamp introduced Senate Bill 1070 on Monday, asking Arizona’s Department of Health Services to “conduct or support research” on TDS, “including its origins, manifestations and long-term effects on individuals, communities and public discourse.” If the bill were passed into law, the department would have a year to submit a report on its findings.

READ MORE: ‘Monstrous’: Trump Blasted for Blaming Rob Reiner’s Death on ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’

Shamp’s bill defines Trump Derangement Syndrome as “a behavioral or psychological phenomenon that is characterized by intense emotional or psychological reactions to Donald J. Trump, his actions or his public presence as observed in individuals or groups.” From there, the bill lays out its reasoning—mainly a laundry list of Trump’s accomplishments, including reducing the corporate tax rate by 14%, eliminating “22 regulations for every new one in 2017”, and “affirming biological truth in federal policy to protect family values.”

“Despite these contributions to America’s prosperity, security 26 and values, ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ (TDS) has emerged since his 2016 campaign,” Shamp wrote.

“TDS has led to significant social harm, with Americans who 33 support President Trump or his policies reporting discrimination, 34 intimidation or ostracism in professional, academic and social settings, 35 further eroding community cohesion,” she added.

The bill borrows heavily from a House bill proposed by Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), according to Tucson.com. It is unknown what chances Shamp’s bill has of passing the Arizona Senate; Davidson’s bill died in committee. But even should it pass, it is unlikely to be signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

When asked if Hobbs would sign the bill, her spokesperson laughed and told a KTVK-TV reporter “You can quote me on that.”

Image via Reuters

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Blue States Join Forces to Sue Health Department Over Anti-Trans Declaration

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Nineteen states, along with the District of Columbia, have joined a lawsuit directed at the Department of Health and Human Services intending to block a recent declaration by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that would stop gender-affirming care for trans youth.

The health department’s declaration came out on December 18, would block puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender affirmation surgery for people under 18, calling them unsafe. The lawsuit is led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who vowed last week to protect transgender youth against Trump administration policies.

“Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online, and no one should lose access to medically necessary health care because their federal government tried to interfere in decisions that belong in doctors’ offices,” James said Tuesday.

READ MORE: ‘Crazy’: RFK Jr. Is a Top Global Public Health ‘Expert’ Claims Miller, Sparking Mockery

The suit says the HHS is required to solicit public comment before enacting a policy change. While there is a public comment period that ends on February 17, according to the Baltimore Sun, the suit accuses the HHS of using the declaration to enact the new policy immediately.

“Healthcare decisions should be made by doctors and patients — not by politicians in Washington threatening to destroy providers’ careers and spreading fear among transgender youth and their families,” Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said in a statement. “This isn’t just about following the law — though HHS is clearly violating it. This is about protecting vulnerable young people who deserve the same dignity, respect, and access to medical care as anyone else.”

The eighteen state attorneys general are from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin and Washington. They have been joined by the attorney general from the District of Columbia and the governor of Pennsylvania.

The declaration also mentions that the Food and Drug Administration warned the manufacturers of chest binders that it is illegal to market them to children for treating dysphoria. This move has come under fire from said manufacturers who point out that while binders can be used for patients who have had a mastectomy, blocking them from being used for dysphoria is”clearly discrimination.”

Despite leading the HHS, Kennedy has no medical background. Rather, he was an anti-vaccine activist who shared the widely debunked conspiracy theory that the combined mumps, measles and rubella vaccine caused autism. There is no link between the MMR vaccine—or any other vaccine—and autism. Kennedy has also urged the CDC to stop an ad campaign encouraging people to get the flu shot. Under his tenure, a measles outbreak happened in the southwestern U.S., as well as the first measles-related death in a decade. Measles can be prevented by vaccination.

Image via Reuters

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