the attitude with arnie arnesen the thurs edition April 2

[Arnie Arnesen]

the attitude with arnie arnesen
opening thoughts: Pete Hegseth is in deep doo doo

producers: Dave Scott and Stephanie Collins

Chloé LaCasse (the best of the attitude)

streaming live at wnhnfm.org noon EST on the dial-94.7FM Concord NH

podcasts available at
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/attitude-with-arnie-arnesen/id1634055179

opening thoughts: Is Pete Hegseth Killing Iranians to Get Rich?The defense secretary’s broker allegedly sought a stake in major defense companies in the weeks before the bombing began—just the latest example of potential insider trading on the war....we have a bombshell report from the Financial Times that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s broker tried to invest for him millions in major defense companies in the weeks before the war started—presumably so Hegseth could profit financially from the imminent shedding of American soldiers’ blood. This is something that in ordinary times (remember those?) would have got Hegseth fired within 24 hours. In the cesspool that is Trump’s second term, that’s going to take longer, but my guess is Hegseth is toast.Of course, Hegseth denies it. Shortly after the FT story was posted Monday night, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said on X: “This allegation is entirely false and fabricated. Neither Secretary Hegseth nor any of his representatives approached BlackRock about any such investment. This is yet another baseless, dishonest smear designed to mislead the public. We demand an immediate retraction. Secretary Hegseth and the Department of War remain unwavering in their commitment to the highest standards of ethics and strict adherence to all applicable laws and regulations.”But the FT story cites “three people familiar with the matter.” Three people is pretty solid, even when none speaks for attribution. What this trio attests is that in the weeks prior to February 28, when the bombing began, Hegseth’s Morgan Stanley broker approached BlackRock about making a multimillion-dollar investment in its Defense Industrials Active Exchange ETF, or exchange traded fund. An ETF is a sort of mutual fund built around a specific industry sector or index, except instead of selling multiple stocks and bonds, the ETF packages these into a single financial instrument that trades like a stock. Among the companies in which the ETF in question invests are RTX, Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman, and Palantir, all of which experienced huge surges in stock price in early March.In the end, FT reported, the blood-money trade did not go through—not because Hegseth had an attack of remorse but because the ETF was not available to Morgan Stanley clients. Still, many others likely knew of Hegseth’s broker’s request because, per the FT, it was “flagged internally” at BlackRock. The Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission may do their utmost to avoid any investigation, but with evidence this strong I don’t know how long they can hold out. In addition, the New York attorney general’s office has jurisdiction over financial misbehavior. Letitia James, tuck in!  https://newrepublic.com/article/208445/pete-hegseth-defense-stocks-iran-war-rich

part one: John Nichols

John Nichols is the executive editor of The Nation. He previously served as the magazine’s national affairs correspondent and Washington correspondent. Nichols has written, cowritten, or edited over a dozen books on topics ranging from histories of American socialism and the Democratic Party to analyses of US and global media systems. His latest, cowritten with Senator Bernie Sanders, is the New York Times bestseller It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.

Bernie Sanders: “This War Must End Immediately!” The senator delivered a powerful message on Iran at the No Kings Rally in Minnesota. https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/bernie-sanders-no-kings-speech-iran/

part two: Ken B. Morales reports for  propublica he uses data to cover the federal government.I report on how the federal government works and the impact of its policies on real people by using data and code.

Trump’s Justice Department Dropped 23,000 Criminal Investigations in Shift to Immigration

Under Attorney General Pam Bondi, the DOJ abandoned a record number of cases — including hundreds of investigations into terrorism, white-collar crime and drugs — in just the first six months of President Donald Trump’s second term. https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-doj-immigration-bondi-declinations-criminal-investigations

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KEEPING THE POT STIRRED SO SCUM DOESN'T RISE TO THE TOP -  Anonymous 

D. ARNIE ARNESEN
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Host of "The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen"

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