Tom Hoefling

Three decades of consistent, principled, Christian political activism. Husband, father of eleven, grandfather to five, so far. It is for them we fight.

[Miles Taylor @MilesTaylorUSA]

Yesterday Donald Trump tripled the size of his personal political army inside the government. Illegally. And almost no one noticed.

Here's what happened:

He signed an order converting ~8,000 of the most senior career officials in government into employees he can fire for any reason, or no reason at all.

These aren't rando's. They're the directors, chiefs of staff, and the people who write the rules or decide who gets federal money, i.e. the lieutenants right below his political appointees.

Until yesterday, they answered to the law. Now they answer to him.

A president normally gets ~4,000 political appointees. People he can bring into government and fire at will. I was one of them at DHS. You serve at his pleasure, full stop -- so if you're gonna speak truth to power, you're prepared to quit (or get fired if he doesn't like it).

The rest of the federal government is PROTECTED from firing if they tell the truth.

But Trump just stripped those protections. Adding 8,000 more people to his personal army. Overnight. Without asking Congress.

With the stroke of a pen, those people now serve at the pleasure of the president. They're "his" people, whether they like it or not.

And the chilling effect is real. An official who can be fired this afternoon for "subversion of presidential directives" (the order's own words) doesn't need to be hand-picked to know what's expected of him or her.

The threat does all the work.

By the way, this order is illegal. The law only lets Trump reclassify jobs when "necessary" in exceptional circumstances. And this blows an 8,000-person hole in the merit hiring / firing system created by Congress.

Without permission, Trump has created a whole new category of stormtroopers inside the Executive Branch.

If this doesn't get challenged in court, you're going to see the U.S. government become a very different place.

Here's the full story: https://t.co/mJzrvzhxGR

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

I've been around in conservative politics long enough that long before Trump I already had an exceedingly low opinion of Republican hacks.

In the age of Trump, though, they've gone from being disreputable to being downright traitorous, and dangerous.

[(TCAG) Командир Бред Кроуфорд (CDR Brad Crawford) @evo1tactical]

MAJOR STEP FORWARD: U.S. HOUSE MOVES TO EXPAND AID TO UKRAINE AND INCREASE PRESSURE ON RUSSIA

This is incredible news, and honestly, it could not come at a more important time. For years, Ukraine has been fighting not just for its own freedom, but for the security and stability of Europe and the democratic world.

The proposed bill would strengthen sanctions on Russia's oil sector, impose 500% duties on a range of Russian goods, extend lend lease through 2028, and provide an additional $300 million in military assistance for both 2026 and 2027.

The reality is simple: Ukraine needs this support, and it needs it as soon as possible. Every day that passes without the tools, ammunition, and resources required to defend itself costs lives.

Hopefully this moves forward quickly and sends a clear message that the free world remains committed to helping Ukraine defeat Russian aggression and secure a just and lasting peace.

Слава Україні. Героям слава. 🇺🇦

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

1 Cor. 3
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

June 4, 2016
When one considers the question of a man's education, it might be advisable to remember that the man who wrote the Gettysburg Address had less than a year of formal schooling to his credit.

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

@HansMahncke Sounds like you're putting your politics and your feelings ahead of national security.

[Rep. Don Bacon 🇺🇸✈️🏍️⭐️🎖️ @RepDonBacon]

🚨 The House just voted 218-204 to move forward on the discharge petition to provide military aid to Ukraine and impose tough sanctions on Russia. The House will vote on final passage tomorrow. This is our Churchill moment and we must pass the test.

[Lisa Desjardins @LisaDNews]

BREAKING: House votes 215-208 to end President Trump's war in Iran.

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

"Satire has weakened in our epoch for several reasons, but chiefly, I think, because the world has become too absurd to be satarised."
-- G.K. Chesterton, Illustrated London News, Dec. 16, 1911

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

@BeeebStan Your feelings don't outweigh the supreme God-given, unalienable right of the helpless, defenseless, innocent child.

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

The argument that I can’t have an opinion about abortion because I’m a man is specious. Half those being killed by the abortionists are male, after all. Do you have to be Jewish to oppose the Holocaust? Do you have to be black to oppose slavery?

[Greta Berlin @Truegreta]

I stood at this pool, at both monuments and saw both reflections…
He’s a God damn idiot, as are the fools that support him. The “Reflection Pool” wasn’t designed by American architect Henry Bacon a hundred years ago to look like a swimming pool. It’s designed to have a darkened characteristics that has reflective qualities to reflect the monuments.
That way, the Washington Monument is reflective to you when at the Lincoln Memorial, and when at the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial is reflective to you.
It’s designed to enhance the grandeur of monuments, create an illusion of reflection, and inclusion of expansive space of unity.
He’s a tacky vulgar person that vulgarizes everything he touches. America isn’t becoming great, it’s becoming vulgar.

Credit - Mathew Reed

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

I believe in getting right down to the innermost core of problems.

What is our political problem in America?

It's the character, the understanding, and the commitment of those who take the oath of office.

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

Something for you to think about as you watch the video of Russian ballistic missiles slamming into Ukrainian neighborhoods.

[Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський @ZelenskyyUa]

I held a meeting on additional ways to supply air defense to Ukraine – both systems and interceptors. We have an agreement at the highest political level on the purchase of Patriot systems, and this agreement is awaiting implementation at the financial, legal, and technical levels. The wait has taken too long.

Today’s meeting was attended by representatives of defense and foreign ministries, the National Security and Defense Council, and the Office’s diplomatic team. The task is absolutely clear: to speed up this Patriot contract, and the involved officials are personally responsible. The funds from the EUR 90 billion European support package along with our other financial resources, must be used as quickly as possible to fulfill the very tasks that ensure the protection of Ukrainian lives.

Unfortunately, as of today, even the legal aspects of this contract have not yet been worked through. I have set a final deadline – one week for all preparatory steps. I expect a report on Friday: either clarity regarding the implementation of our agreement on the Patriot systems, or serious personnel decisions. Glory to Ukraine!

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

Well, I see that the primary results are in here in my home state of Iowa. Once again, I see no one in either so-called "major" party that I can in good conscience vote for when it comes to federal office. State offices aren't much better.

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

It's sad watching the country "celebrate" the 250th anniversary of the signing of a document we've ignored for a generation. We're all created equal, endowed by God with unalienable rights, and yet we keep alienating the supreme right of the most helpless of those He created.

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

"If, to please the people, we offer what we ourselves disprove, how can we afterwards defend our work? Let us raise a standard to which the wise and the honest can repair. The event is in the hand of God."
- George Washington

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

It is the the internal grasping of the eternal example of God humbling Himself by fully taking on the flesh of man, the suffering associated with his fall, and the death that resulted from his sin.
2/2

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

June 3, 2013
Pride is the fulfillment of the lie of Satan in the garden of Eden. It is man being deluded into thinking that he is God. True humility is the fulfillment of the Truth of Jesus Christ in the garden of Gethsemane.
/1

[Tom Hoefling @TomHoefling]

“...Hold on to the Constitution, for if the American Constitution should fail, there will be anarchy throughout the world.”
― Daniel Webster