cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/28517588
FBI Director Kash Patel might be the most ludicrous, scandal-dogged Donald Trump henchman in this incompetent, embarrassing second administration. An Atlantic report on Patel in April chronicled a pattern of heavy drinking, odd behavior, and mysterious absences—it was headlined “The FBI Director Is MIA.” Representative Jamie Raskin is investigating his payments of more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars to favored FBI agents. He’s fired long-term, respected FBI agents for political reasons. Patel has also been in trouble for using public assets to ferry himself and his country music star girlfriend to entertainment venues. He’s regularly rumored to be close to being fired.
Patel was grilled on some of his decisions at a Senate Judiciary Committee oversight hearing on Tuesday. He opened by recounting a barrage of purported FBI accomplishments in reducing violent crime and thwarting terrorism, many of which were exaggerations or falsehoods, featuring activities largely the terrain of other agencies, not the FBI. But the most attention went to his hilarious answer on the serious question of why the FBI had lowered its standards to recruit new agents, and no longer bars applicants who’ve engaged in prostitution, trafficking, or bestiality. The FBI, by many reports, has lowered other standards, at least partly because so many have either been fired, or left the agency on their own under Patel’s leadership.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin opened by saying flatly that Patel should be replaced. He was the first to express bewilderment at the agency’s new welcome mat to applicants who’d “engaged in bestiality.” It was left to GOP Senator John Kennedy to drill down on the strange new regulation. When pushed, Katel insisted that “the previous regulation automatically disqualified any individual who participated in either side of it,” to which Kennedy asked what the entire audience had to be wondering: “Either side of bestiality? So you disqualified the animal?”
Kennedy went on: “You’re not saying that if a human being had sex with an animal, they can be an FBI agent?”
Patel tried to explain. “Applicants who have engaged in bestaility means they were victims of bestiality because they were forced to do so. At this FBI we are not going to criminalize and prevent victims from serving.”
If you know enough history you’re already embarrassed
Not really? I don't think there are too many countries I've learned about where I was like "wow they never did anything wrong or embarrassing" throughout all of their history
Maybe we should all be embarrassed
Waayyyy ahead of ya.
Haha that's the real lesson in all of this!
eh, yeah, but also.... in a lot of ways the US like... speedruns shitty stuff. like regularly. abu ghraib, the Tuskegee experiment, mk ultra, cointelpro, the trail of tears, slavery, the KKK not being declared a terrorist org, confederate statues, iranian schoolkids killed because the dod used ai, like, every fucking few years there's another absolutely heinous revelation bordering on madness and yet... the US keeps chuggin.
This strikes me as kind of whitewashing other countries. Like, we've never had a monarchy. Or conspired with Hitler. There's not really a strong history of human sacrifice.
...you know there were actually good monarchies, right? your argument is "well at least we elected all the terrible people."
For a country at the age of the US, it's pretty embarrassing to have committed more atrocities than any of its global peers, despite being a fraction of their age.
Hahahahahahaha
Okay, you can have all of the "I HATE AMERICA THE MOST" internet points, I'll concede to you, everything you said here was such good bait
lol but what about -
SHUT THE FUCK UP, I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE USA. Keep your whataboutism to yourself, and also, if you must whatabout, whatabout all the other countries that intentionally infected people with syphilis? because I don't see that elsewhere. or drugging randos with LSD to create mind control.
whitewashing, fuck off. for once just accept the fact that this country is very complex, it's done some great things - but also a lot of wretchedly horrible things, and the more history you learn, the more wretchedly horrible things you come across.
What do you mean YOU were talking about the USA? I was talking about the USA, goober, you replied to me, not the other way. Take a breath, and a walk, and a chill pill, and then count backwards from ten.
There's this tendency to infantalize other countries when compared to the imperial juggernaut that is the USA. I get it, on some level, but it strikes me as super performative when you just refuse to also acknowledge that the US didn't invent colonialism or slavery or that there are still places in the world girls can't go to school. War and geeed and genocide are a human problem that predates the US and, unfortunately, will probably continue after it's gone.
So, when it comes to history, take the good with the bad. But that doesn't change what I said about my country in the present, either.
"This strikes me as kind of whitewashing other countries. Like, we’ve never had a monarchy. Or conspired with Hitler. There’s not really a strong history of human sacrifice."
this is straight whataboutism and if you don't understand that, you're brains are leaking you dolt.
Ummm ackshukky that's like textbook whataboutism you dolt
Lol, spaz
Let’s not resort to slurs please, no matter how you feel about each other
he's a troll. stop feeding.
I don't feel any particular way about him, but, what do you mean?
“Spaz” is a slur. It means “spastic”. Which traditionally has meant similar things to “retard”
I have never heard that before, and what's spastic? Lol I guess I could Google it and not bother you
https://themighty.com/topic/disability/disability-slurs-you-may-not-know/
I don't think I have much faith in a list that says you're not allowed to say "that's insane" but I also did Google it and apparently spaz has always been really offensive in the UK, but became really divorced from its origin in the US.
I was an aid for disabled people for 3 years, and they talked a lot about language, including person first language which is itself controversial and obviously retired words like retard (which is falling out both as an insult and in the medical community) but no one ever mentioned spaz once
liar. I've lived in the US most of my life and it's always been a nasty word, up there with the R slur.
you'd know this if you weren't a liar, anyone who worked with the disabled would know it.
you're a shitty little troll.
When's the last time you et a prime minister?
Be honest