I suppose it was inevitable that with the start of football season Hegseth & Bros. would air an ad for the U.S. military featuring guys dressed up with the latest gear looking like they are players in a video game.
The ad end with a screenshot of the foreboding “War.gov.”
The appeal to a certain sort of young male is as old as time. That it comes in the wake of the death of Gloria Steinem is a reminder (as if we needed one!) that we still live in a patriarchy.
Steinem always reminded us that wars, terrorist acts, domestic violence, mass shootings and similar horrors are almost exclusively the province of men. A society that fails to provide a check on runaway masculinity is one doomed to more of the same.
It is no coincidence that Hegseth has drummed females out of our armed forces and is subjecting military personnel to testosterone level testing. Higher levels of testosterone are often associated with more aggressive behavior in animals, including humans.
Football is, of course, our most violent sport. Many who play it will suffer serious injuries, some life-altering. Some will suffer irreversible brain damage.
At the same time, the game provides a great show, which is why millions of us enjoy watching it. But I would enjoy watching it just a bit more if it wasn’t framed inside a reminder of what is deeply wrong with our current administration in Washington.
HEADLINES:
US strikes three Iranian oil tankers after IRGC attack on American naval ships, Central Command says (Reuters)
A More Confident Iran Emerges After Six Months of War With the U.S. (NYT)
Putin orders pause on strikes on Kyiv as Witkoff and Kushner arrive in Moscow for peace talks (CNN)
Living with war in Kyiv (Reuters)
China dealt blow as US-backed firm takes over Venezuelan oilfields (SCMP)
U.S. military turns off ad trackers on phones and computers (Reuters)
The mystery behind an audio clip that helped upend a Senate race (WP)
Trump Officials Draft Plan to Pay At-Home Parents, Using Funds for Working Ones (NYT)
Trump says ‘stupidity causes inflation’ and threatens to stop trade with foreign countries in retaliation for higher interest rates (Forbes)
Why the U.S. job market remains resilient in face of global pressures and inflation (PBS)
Trump piles onto his Fed chair pick (Reuters)
Inside the USS Abraham Lincoln’s Nine Months at Sea: Loneliness, Fatigue, Pride (WSJ)
When ‘12 Angry Men’ becomes one angry man (The Hill)
More People Have Died From 9/11 Than on 9/11 (Reveal)
Icons Dolly Parton and Gloria Steinem never officially retired—why that’s a choice for some and requirement for others (CNBC)
I worked 13-hour days building my startup while working at Apple (BI)
Peace Through Strength (War.gov)
The Trump Administration Is Running a Military Recruitment Ad on TV. The Pentagon Says It’s Working. (Vanity Fair)
I asked ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity to rank the 10 jobs most likely to be replaced by AI — here’s what they all agreed on (Tom’s Guide)
OpenAI feared its technology could reshape elections. Now campaigns are using it. (WP)
Court Filings in A.I. Suit Invoke Copyright Law, Culture and Sports (NYT)
Rockstar Leaks Worsen As Hackers Release Fully Playable Copy Of ‘GTA IX’ (Onion)
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