The big story that’s all over the place this afternoon is the firing of the editor of Stars and Stripes, the quasi-governmental semi-independent newspaper that is provided for free to service members around the world. The paper’s publisher, who had recently announced his retirement at the end of September, was fired yesterday.
“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning . They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters." - Frederick Douglass
My husband has been a huge fan of Bill Mauldin going way back, and has collected his work.
This attempt at stripping Stars and Stripes, which has provided information to military and their families since the Civil War, of independent reporting is just another effort to create a unified state media, or should I say propaganda trumpet (catch that?), and will no doubt be challenged
Tiny little men fear being found out for the con men and cowards that they are. Image is everything. No wonder their knickers are in a twist. They ( Mangolinni’s loyal morons) are afraid of being unmasked.
Yes I agree.Ending this madness in Iran and looking at the horrendous price of everything.Trump promised to lower grocery prices on Day 1, would reveal the Epstein files to citizens, and would not pursue new foreign entanglements.Hogwash lies!
He's disbanding the drone unit, refashioning aircraft carriers to Trump's style, eliminating women and people of color from command. So Trump and Hegseth want to make war as if it's 1944. Factor in the racism, cruelty, theology, bigotry, wealth inequality, and authoritarianism, and the US is regressing way back to 1544.
What a fucking disgrace. I loved reading the Stars and Stripes when I was stationed in Germany in the 1980s with the Third Infantry Division. The disrespect Trump and his clown car of sycophants shows towards the military is just beyond belief.
And it only gets worse: Trump faces backlash over reports US navy carrier could be named after him instead of Black war herohttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/21/navy-carrier-black-war-hero-trump-report?CMP=share_btn_url
No one should be surprised that Sh*thead Miller and Kegsbreath are behind the idea of renaming a future U.S. aircraft carrier for a BLACK war hero. And that they want to name it after a draft dodger and corrupt, racist prezident should also come as no surprise. The ONLY thing that should ever be named after Felon47 is the largest sewage treatment plant in the U.S.
This is without a doubt one of the most despicable things this administration has done, among a million other things. If you are Black or Brown (or White for that matter), please VOTE BLUE on November 3, 2026, so that we can begin to turn this country around.
Sewage treatment plants serve a critical function, and are responsible for much of the cleanup of our waters since the Clean Water Act was enacted in the early 1970s. We need the most advanced treatment from the shit that spews out of MAGA……..
Howard, we were also stationed in Germany in the mid to late 80s, and then in England. We read the Stars and Stripes faithfully. I am heartsick that it’s being murdered by the 5-time draft dodger and his drunken failed-major sidekick. Shame on them. 😭
Thank you for bringing this to light. May God help us save this nation from the insanity of the current administration. I’m aghast and counting on November to change this trajectory.
Read Thom Hartmann's latest article in his substack re: the number of elections the GOP has stolen since LBJ. I don't have a lot of hope for this fall unless we have some real pushback from the governors of this country and the NAACP whose members have been illegally deleted from voting rosters in huge numbers in swing states to accommodate the steal.
In other words, Pravda for the military. My Dad turned me on to Bill Mauldin. He gave me a book of his cartoons for Christmas one year. He was 8th Air Force. (30 missions in a B24- belly turret) My Dad, your Grandfather, and millions of others who have served are spinning in their graves!😡😡
Yes, my father had an old copy dating back to the Forties which I still have. I don't know if he brought it home from the war or if he bought it in Cambridge when he was in graduate school, but it's really beat up. It's hilarious. I cannot believe that Hegseth and t fired the editor and publisher! What's wrong with them? Boy are they ever afraid of even a breath of criticism. Well, I'm breathing!
Just when you think that they, Trump and Hegseth, can't come up with anything more disgusting than the most recent disgusting thing they've caused or come up with, they outdo themselves! This is unconscionable! If Stars and Stripes goes, it should be one of the first things that gets reinstated once we get rid of them. Thank you, Lucian! Great Post! BTW, great choice for an opening cartoon!! 😎
I was in Europe at Central Army Group HQ in the 1970's...everyone read Stars and Stripes daily as well as the NY Herald Tribune daily. Censorship is Anti American and a travesty!
Another example, among countless others, of the cancer that Trump has injected into the body politic. Another gut punch. With more than two years to go. Mother Liberty is weeping for our beloved nation.
Not as long as we keep banging the bloody drum. When you call your Congress Critter to raise Hell? Jerk the chain. Remind them what they voted for. Remind them Epstein still exists.
Please take heart, Tom, as Iʻm sure Lucian would want and is trying to promote. There are people fighting all of these daily assaults to our rights and democracy, and they wonʻt give up
Thank you, Lucian, for bringing the truth to us! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. But I garner strength from all you write here (& others I read here).
I served two tours as a reporter/editor with the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes back in the 1980s. The publisher was an O-6 (Army, Air Force, or Marine colonel or Navy captain). I served under two, and they always had our backs. As acting news editor, I once managed to seriously rile then-Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos (who knew he was a reader?) by running front page coverage of a particularly large protest in Manila demanding his ouster. Marcos took his ire out on our ambassador, so I was told, who then took HIS ire out on our colonel/publisher. The colonel did not second-guess my news call, asking only (rather nicely) that in the future I do a better job of giving him a heads-up.
There’s always been a certain level of tension between the Pentagon and the paper, with Congress stepping in at times to safeguard Stripes’ independence. I somehow don’t think THIS Congress will ride in to save the day.
What asshats. Keep fighting. We are winning.
“Those who profess to favor freedom and yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground, they want rain without thunder and lightning . They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters." - Frederick Douglass
Awesome quote!
I accidentally deleted something I wrote here! Oh well!
The Stars and Stripes should report from Substack of course that would cause Trump to go after Substack and shut it down.
Always appreciate an on-point edit. 🖖
My husband has been a huge fan of Bill Mauldin going way back, and has collected his work.
This attempt at stripping Stars and Stripes, which has provided information to military and their families since the Civil War, of independent reporting is just another effort to create a unified state media, or should I say propaganda trumpet (catch that?), and will no doubt be challenged
- Karen Cooper
I stand behind this action being challenged!!
Good grief, haven’t they anything better to do than get their knickers knotted about “woke distractions”?? How about ending this madness with Iran…
Tiny little men fear being found out for the con men and cowards that they are. Image is everything. No wonder their knickers are in a twist. They ( Mangolinni’s loyal morons) are afraid of being unmasked.
They only want to do the easy things - no hard things!!
kegbreath is just SO busy working on his "warfighter skills" he has no time to give a rat's ass about actually defending this country.
Takes a lot of time and effort to get your hair to look like that. Get your priorities right!
Yes I agree.Ending this madness in Iran and looking at the horrendous price of everything.Trump promised to lower grocery prices on Day 1, would reveal the Epstein files to citizens, and would not pursue new foreign entanglements.Hogwash lies!
He's disbanding the drone unit, refashioning aircraft carriers to Trump's style, eliminating women and people of color from command. So Trump and Hegseth want to make war as if it's 1944. Factor in the racism, cruelty, theology, bigotry, wealth inequality, and authoritarianism, and the US is regressing way back to 1544.
Problem is the rest of the world is speeding into the future whereas these brain-dead RW MFs want us firmly planted in the past.
But you don't understand. We need to do that so as to MAGA.
Sad but so true!
What a fucking disgrace. I loved reading the Stars and Stripes when I was stationed in Germany in the 1980s with the Third Infantry Division. The disrespect Trump and his clown car of sycophants shows towards the military is just beyond belief.
And it only gets worse: Trump faces backlash over reports US navy carrier could be named after him instead of Black war herohttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/21/navy-carrier-black-war-hero-trump-report?CMP=share_btn_url
How are Trump's bone spurs?
They’ll get theirs! Our military are brave and awesome!
Totally off topic, but - Did you know "Doris" was the name of King Herod's wife? Apparently it's Greek for "Sea Nymph."
No one should be surprised that Sh*thead Miller and Kegsbreath are behind the idea of renaming a future U.S. aircraft carrier for a BLACK war hero. And that they want to name it after a draft dodger and corrupt, racist prezident should also come as no surprise. The ONLY thing that should ever be named after Felon47 is the largest sewage treatment plant in the U.S.
This is without a doubt one of the most despicable things this administration has done, among a million other things. If you are Black or Brown (or White for that matter), please VOTE BLUE on November 3, 2026, so that we can begin to turn this country around.
Sewage treatment plants serve a critical function, and are responsible for much of the cleanup of our waters since the Clean Water Act was enacted in the early 1970s. We need the most advanced treatment from the shit that spews out of MAGA……..
Howard, we were also stationed in Germany in the mid to late 80s, and then in England. We read the Stars and Stripes faithfully. I am heartsick that it’s being murdered by the 5-time draft dodger and his drunken failed-major sidekick. Shame on them. 😭
Thank you for bringing this to light. May God help us save this nation from the insanity of the current administration. I’m aghast and counting on November to change this trajectory.
74 more days to the Reckoning.
I'm looking forward to "The Reckoning" - "The Rapture" will have to wait its bloody turn!
Or the declaration of "Marshall Law," as Trump and his pillow-selling acolyte like to call it.
Read Thom Hartmann's latest article in his substack re: the number of elections the GOP has stolen since LBJ. I don't have a lot of hope for this fall unless we have some real pushback from the governors of this country and the NAACP whose members have been illegally deleted from voting rosters in huge numbers in swing states to accommodate the steal.
In other words, Pravda for the military. My Dad turned me on to Bill Mauldin. He gave me a book of his cartoons for Christmas one year. He was 8th Air Force. (30 missions in a B24- belly turret) My Dad, your Grandfather, and millions of others who have served are spinning in their graves!😡😡
Yes, my father had an old copy dating back to the Forties which I still have. I don't know if he brought it home from the war or if he bought it in Cambridge when he was in graduate school, but it's really beat up. It's hilarious. I cannot believe that Hegseth and t fired the editor and publisher! What's wrong with them? Boy are they ever afraid of even a breath of criticism. Well, I'm breathing!
Your dad beat the odds. Those flyers had a 5 percent chance of dying in each mission they flew. The ball turret was especially dangerous.
You think it can't get any worse, and then it does.
I'm cautiously optimistic it will get better after November 3rd, however, it may take a while to sort out!
Yes. Every single day.
It is so exhausting. But I still get up every fucking day hoping for his end.
Just when you think that they, Trump and Hegseth, can't come up with anything more disgusting than the most recent disgusting thing they've caused or come up with, they outdo themselves! This is unconscionable! If Stars and Stripes goes, it should be one of the first things that gets reinstated once we get rid of them. Thank you, Lucian! Great Post! BTW, great choice for an opening cartoon!! 😎
Where’s the mafia when you need them!
THEY wouldn't miss!
Correct! It wouldn't be a fake attempt and the results would be final!!
Unfortunately, they seem to be in charge of the whole country...
That's the rub! It's Gangland USA!
Indeed!
Sadly so!
I was in Europe at Central Army Group HQ in the 1970's...everyone read Stars and Stripes daily as well as the NY Herald Tribune daily. Censorship is Anti American and a travesty!
What a job it will be to get America as we knew it, back!
Another example, among countless others, of the cancer that Trump has injected into the body politic. Another gut punch. With more than two years to go. Mother Liberty is weeping for our beloved nation.
We are weeping. But determined in the mission ahead.
I'm ready to kick that *ss! No way was I a Marine for this shit show!
Every vet is flipping out over this non stop daily side show! Imagine Bill Mauldin vs the Trump Regime!
Bill would mop the floor with the cheese-dusted morons' hair!
One last thing........Anyone remember Jeffrey Epstein? Been a while hasn't it?
Nope. Not a peep from the media. And hey, mission accomplished for DJT.
Not as long as we keep banging the bloody drum. When you call your Congress Critter to raise Hell? Jerk the chain. Remind them what they voted for. Remind them Epstein still exists.
Katie Phang hasn’t forgotten Epstein
Another horrid day in Trump's world ... I have to stop reading your newsletter, Lucian, it is so good, but it is so depressing.
Please take heart, Tom, as Iʻm sure Lucian would want and is trying to promote. There are people fighting all of these daily assaults to our rights and democracy, and they wonʻt give up
- Karen
Another major step in the march to a totalitarian state. Every day brings heartbreaking proof of the destruction of our beloved democracy.
Thank you, Lucian, for bringing the truth to us! I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared. But I garner strength from all you write here (& others I read here).
This legacy handed down from the Greatest Generation is being killed by partisan hacks...
I served two tours as a reporter/editor with the Pacific edition of Stars and Stripes back in the 1980s. The publisher was an O-6 (Army, Air Force, or Marine colonel or Navy captain). I served under two, and they always had our backs. As acting news editor, I once managed to seriously rile then-Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos (who knew he was a reader?) by running front page coverage of a particularly large protest in Manila demanding his ouster. Marcos took his ire out on our ambassador, so I was told, who then took HIS ire out on our colonel/publisher. The colonel did not second-guess my news call, asking only (rather nicely) that in the future I do a better job of giving him a heads-up.
There’s always been a certain level of tension between the Pentagon and the paper, with Congress stepping in at times to safeguard Stripes’ independence. I somehow don’t think THIS Congress will ride in to save the day.