Common Defense

The first Secretary of Skedaddling in United States history, Peter Brian Hegseth.

For Memorial Day: a Vietnam-era Air Force veteran reflects on coming home when so many never did. His message is simple. Remember them. Hold their families close. Be grateful. We are.

A 20-year Army veteran on the part of Memorial Day most people skip past: not just who we lost, but what their sacrifice asks of us now.

As kids, Memorial Day was just a day off. We didn't understand it.

Please don't say "Happy Memorial Day" to a veteran. This day is not a celebration. It is to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country and defend democracy at home and around the world. We remember them.

10,000 veteran foreclosures. Estimates of 90,000 more coming. Mike Bost's solution: triple the refinancing fee. Make it harder for veterans to save their homes. Tell Congress to strip the fees - https://bit.ly/4dUV0c6

@repmcgovern.bsky.social asked Rep. Mike Bost twice if he would allow a vote on an amendment to remove new fee increases (The Mike Bost Home Tax) on VA home loans. Bost: "I would not." He called protecting veterans from a fee hike a "poison pill." Tell Congress to VOTE NO - https://bit.ly/4f0Bn3u

Bost found a billion dollars for Trump's White House ballroom with no offset, no problem. Veterans asked for a billion in disability benefits, and he's making other veterans pay THOUSANDS each in new home loan fees to cover it. A ballroom. Sign the letter, take a stand - https://bit.ly/4f0Bn3u

Nice attempt at a punt, but this isn't a game. Let's unpack how Wars of Choice turn into Forever Wars. 🧵🔽

This is a clarion call. To the ones waiting for a sign, waiting for permission, waiting for someone else to go first: the moment is here. The someone is you. Veterans are in the streets. Veterans are in handcuffs. Rise with us. No war with Iran. Not again.

Happy National Tax Day, do you know where for 50 Billion is?

They talk about war in press conferences. We pay for it at the gas station, the grocery store, and around the kitchen table. A veteran who deployed to Iraq breaks down what another forever war actually costs the people footing the bill. #EndForeverWar #NoWarOnOurStreets

Fear is the whole strategy. Make people feel alone, make them feel small, make them stay home. It does not work when we show up anyway. Every single time. This country belongs to you. Who else is showing up? #NoWarOnOurStreets #VeteranAdvocacy"

They say they're pro-veteran. Then they cut VA healthcare, gut food assistance, and ask for $200 billion more for war. We are not letting that slide.

Iraq veteran and Common Defense Political Director Naveed: "The lies behind this illegal war with Iran are the same lies that took us into Iraq. I will not stay silent." We are in the streets today. #NoKings #CommonDefense

They told us 18 troops were hurt in Iran. The real number is 140. An Iraq veteran and Common Defense political director just said what that means. #IranWar #VeteranVoices

Trump's PAC is fundraising using a photo of a flag-draped casket from last week's dignified transfer of fallen soldiers. Our Georgia organizer, an Air Force veteran, heard about it and didn't hold back. "Just so he can sell a damn hat." #HonorTheFallen #VeteranVoices

One day it's regime change. The next it's a nuclear facility that was supposedly already destroyed. Iraq veteran and Common Defense political director just asked what this war is actually for. #IranWar #VeteranVoices

A vet just used Harry Truman and the atomic bomb to respond to Trump's "feel it in my bones" war strategy. It did not go the way Trump's supporters would hope. #IranWar #VeteranVoices

Air Force SSgt Ed Anderson vs Ret. Maj. Gen. John F. King on Iran: "We are all familiar with the term mission creep. Just like Iraq and Afghanistan." Trump calls it an excursion. Veterans who've seen this before call it something else.

History is repeating itself, and the cost is measured in American lives. From inadequate gear to unfortified bases, we are seeing the same systemic failures that defined the start of the Iraq War. Our troops deserve leaders who learn from the past, not ones who repeat it.

We've heard this before.

Patriotism means holding our leaders accountable for the missions they order. There is a fundamental disconnect between D.C. briefing rooms and the reality on the ground. Our troops deserve clear objectives and a real path home

When politicians beat the drums of war, they rarely consider the human cost. Naveed (Army, Iraq) reminds us that veterans are the true experts on the reality of conflict. The evidence doesn't add up. It’s time to stop the escalation before more lives are caught in the crossfire.

The Middle East war drums are beating again. Zero Congressional authorization. Zero case made to anyone. Same playbook: manufactured threats, bypass Congress, rush to war. The Constitution says Congress declares war, not one person.

Senator Scott, this is nothing new, not even from this White House.

Jake Lang, cosplaying in Temu tactical gear and Lululemon camo, allegedly vandalized our permitted art. He’s been arrested and is allegedly facing felony charges. He’ll have his day in court; we fought for that right. Real discipline leads; dress-up doesn't. #CommonDefense #Veterans #MNLeg

Trump is pouring gasoline on a fire that our communities are fighting to put out. Our service was about protection, not occupation. We didn't sign up for a political crackdown on our neighbors. The mission: → End the occupation → Protect our neighbors → Demand accountability

We will not allow this administration to lie and tell us not to believe what we see with our own eyes. #EyesNotLies #2A #2ndAmendment