Defense Secretary Hearings and Chicago Votes to Protect Immigrants

SHOW NOTES

We talk about the confirmation hearings, the release of the special counsels report and the vote in Chicago to help protect immigrants. 

https://news.wttw.com/2025/01/15/chicago-city-council-votes-39-11-reject-push-scale-back-protections-undocumented

https://apnews.com/article/pete-hegseth-background-defense-secretary-confirmation-hearing-e160e10c86385a8beff110d9190fb34e

https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-announces-israel-hamas-ceasefire-deal-2025-01-15/

 https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/14/politics/takeaways-jack-smith-report-donald-trump/index.html

For more information on Pete Hegseth’s connection to the Crusades, see Dr. Susan Thistlethwaite’s Substack, “Hegseth; The Tatooed Crusader.”  https://susanthistlethwaitewaite.substack.com/p/hegseth-the-tatooed-crusader?publication_id=1360431&post_id=154832528&isFreemail=true&r=4pgnh9&triedRedirect=true&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email 

See also, Ben Samuels, “Trump's Defense Secretary Pick Supports Israel 'Killing Every Last Member of Hamas',” https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/2025-01-14/ty-article/.premium/trumps-defense-secretary-pick-supports-israel-killing-every-last-member-of-hamas/00000194-65d5-db9d-a1b5-7fd7b4b20000 

The quote from Diarmaid MacCulloch on the Crusades came from his book, Christianity, The First Three Thousand Years, (N.Y., Viking, 2010), p. 387.  In addition to his criticism of the Crusades and the Knights Templar (p. 386), see also, Justo L. González, The Story of Christianity, The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation, Vol. I of, (N.Y., Harper One, 2010), pp. 345-56)

For information on his support of soldiers alleged to have committed war crimes, see:  Nik Popli, Pete Hegseth’s Role in Trump’s Controversial Pardons of Men Accused of War Crimes.” https://time.com/7176342/pete-hegseth-donald-trump-pardon-war-crimes-military/ 

ACTION STEPS

1. Please support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency and seek to end the Knesset’s ban on its humanitarian activities:  https://www.unrwausa.org/hands-off-unrwa

2. Please immediately contact your Senators to vote no on the Laken-Riley Act.  The vote may come as early as Saturday, January 18.  For more information on the Act, see the National Immigration Law Center’s five points against the Act.  https://www.nilc.org/articles/nilc-opposes-the-h-r-29-the-laken-riley-act/ 

Detention Watch Network asks you to call or email your Senator and ask them to vote no.  https://actionnetwork.org/letters/no-to-s5-laken-riley 

You can call the Capitol Switchboard at: 202-224-3121.  They suggest the following call script: "Hello, I am a constituent, and I urge the Senator to vote NO on the Laken Riley Act.”