Here’s a new article from the Post on Jack Teixeira which contains a series of assumptions I can only call disturbing. The headline reads, “He’s from a patriotic family – and allegedly leaked U.S. secrets.” In the vein of that headline, the article presents Teixeira as a bundle of contradictions. He didn’t want to hurt America. He was a patriotic guy from a patriotic, military family, etc.
First,
Republicans have to embrace this kid.
Their savior is going to have some trouble regarding classified docs, they need to muddy the waters
" He was very into guns; he was viciously racist and antisemitic; he worshipped at the cult of Ruby Ridge and Waco and the anti-government activism. …"
This is the r/w idea of patriotism!!
I just often wonder if the denial stems from dread of thinking what we’d have to do to really address the problem - the scope and magnitude is pretty terrifying. But the first contrast that leaps to mind is Edward Snowden - someone who I still have mixed feelings about - and the viciousness with which the right wing and intel community went after him, while some of us defended him as a truth-to-power man of conscience. I’ll be waiting to see if the CIA and DIA send out the same kind of army of PR people to demonize this kid on all the talk shows.
New York Times reports
The 21-year-old National Guard airman was frantic as he joined a call with members of a small online gamer community that has improbably ended up at the center of a federal investigation into a major U.S. security breach. It sounded as if the airman, Jack Teixeira, was in a speeding car, said a member of the group who uses the screen name Vahki. “Guys, it’s been good — I love you all,” Airman Teixeira said, Vahki recounted.
“Everyone respected O.G.,” Vahki said in an interview. “He was the man, the myth. And he was the legend. Everyone respected this guy.” What Airman Teixeira was not, Vahki said, was a whistle-blower in the vein of Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. The secret documents in the news now, Airman Teixeira’s friends said, were never meant to leave their small corner of the internet. “This guy was a Christian, antiwar, just wanted to inform some of his friends about what’s going on,” said Vahki.
From Heather Cox Richardson’s letter this morning:
“Today the Justice Department arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira in connection with an investigation into alleged unauthorized removal, retention, and transmission of classified national defense information.”
In a press conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland made the announcement that the FBI had arrested Teixeira, a 21-year-old employee of the United States Air Force National Guard. Teixeira allegedly is the source of more than 100 classified U.S. documents that surfaced on social media gaming channels and then spread across the internet over the past several months.
Friends who spoke anonymously to reporters say Teixeira showed them the documents to impress them. They described him as a Christian libertarian who is worried about the direction the country is going. Materials from Teixeira online also reveal racist and antisemitic behavior.
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) immediately took to Twitter to defend Teixeira. He is “white, male, christian [sic], and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime,” she wrote. She went on to attack U.S. support for Ukraine.
But there is likely more here than her usual attacks on the Biden administration and support for Russia. Removing, retaining, and transmitting classified national defense information sounds an awful lot like what it appears former president Trump did (recent reports suggest that federal investigators seem to be building a case that he showed at least one document to people, although removing and retaining documents are crimes by themselves). Now a young man has been arrested for that behavior, unceremoniously arrested by armed FBI agents with an armored vehicle as a news helicopter caught the arrest on film.
**> **
> It makes sense that Trump supporters who are concerned about the former president’s similar behavior will do their best to downplay Teixeira’s case. As the media begins to talk about just how serious espionage is and makes people aware of its legal perils, they will want to disparage the charges against Teixeira in case the former president ends up with the same problem.
Bolding is mine.
In any case, this 21 year old has ruined his life and for what? He isn’t going to get the kid-glove treatment TFG has gotten. This kid will be in prison before TFG sees the inside of a courtroom for the same crime.
The Wapost article is a travesty. It actually makes it reasonable to consider that Jack is a good guy, which of course is what the right wing is already doing. They will want him to tour with Kyle Rittenhouse — young violent white men who know who the enemy is… Being in the military is not patriotic; our military harbors these extremists, or should we say grooms them? Big fail on the MSM on this, with more BS like this on its way no doubt.
I keep repeating myself: I am soooooo damned old, I remember when racism and bigotry were not considered “conservative values”, or even “Christian values.” When is the press going to drop the practice of calling these flaming assholes “conservatives.”?
If you examine the individual, it’s impossible not to trace the roots of his beliefs into the fetid soil of racism, antisemitism, violence, and socio-religious martyrdom that pervades so-called “Real America.” You stare into that abyss, and the abyss stares back.
At 21 and going from his family to another family…the Army…what exactly does this punk now about anything? He’s pro gun. Original. Racist / antisemitic. How novel. Anti-government. Cool but his employment by the government might be an issue.
This guy’s a walking right wing platitude and too inexperienced with life to know how to pick a favorite pizza topping much less the root causes of America’s problems. Lock the punk up and lets move on.
Edward Snowden was a coward who ran away to China and then Russia rather than face to music. Far from a “truth to power” in my book.
To MTG, using a bullhorn in the Tennessee legislature to protest gun violence is far, far worse than giving away military secrets Quisling style.
Of course, it’s OK if you are a right wing male Christian Republican.
The one good thing Snowden did, in my book at least, was to definitively refute any arguments that the NSA and other intel agencies were maybe, possibly, not spying on US citizens. I agree with everything else you say.
Uhhh…Having grown up with Jesse Helms as a Senator, in fact, conservatives were all too willing to explain that racism and racist policies, like segregation, are, in fact “Christian”. They still do: like the city councilman in Hoschton GA who was “biliblically” opposed to interracial marriage: Georgia councilman's defiant opposition to interracial marriage leads to his resignation - ABC News.
Plenty of stuff in the Bible that supports vile racism, and the New Testament book of Philemon is the “Slaves, obey your masters” one.
The Southern Baptist convention only exists because the Northern Baptists wouldn’t support slavery: the particular case was before that ol’ War, the national group refused to pay for a Baptist Missionary taking his slave/servant with him on a mission trip…How Dare They!!
The rise of Jerry Fallwell et al is directly related to desegregation of schools…
“Christian Conservatives”=racists in my experience: the KKK members it’s been my misfortune to interview or interact with always hasten to inform me it’s a “Christian Organization”.
Seems like the idea that only some people are allowed to say America should be different (and do something about it) is still alive and well. White men from military families? Sure. Black men, even once elected to public office? Not so much.
The WaPo editorial (https://wapo.st/3KXcBSn) does better:
Breaking the laws for a psychic joyride is a despicable betrayal of trust and oaths.
I guess we can count ourselves lucky, that he didn’t just go full-bore Timothy McVeigh and bomb an FBI headquarters.
And his main target (Joe Biden) will be hurt by this, much less than will Donald Trump.
Word. This is similar to the MSM’s valiant attempts to make the MAGA movement about ‘economic anxiety’, globalization, the decline of rural communities, etc.: anything other than racism and bigotry.
In other words “both sides”
I don’t think Snowden achieved much if anything at all. His methods cast such a cloud over his revelations that little attention was given to his purpose. He was a Glen Greenwald victim like Chelsea Manning. Greenwald got a Pulitzer gift wrapped and handed to him and Snowden, a Hawaiian, got a life sentence in Moscow.
Whatever he may have achieved is old news and it changed nothing. Could have. But Snowden, often described as brilliant handled his gig like an idiot.