I need to talk, folks, to someone. My mind is in overload and my heart hurts like there will be no tomorrow. The chaos in the world with the wars and death escalating.
When I served, I knew in my heart that I was part of the solution. We stood together to oppose this madness. Because of this, I knew that we would not yield and would not fail. We would do what was needed to protect not just America, but freedom around the world, even at the cost of our lives. That means not only some control but also trust that we would see it through.

This goes out to all of the American people. This is fact-based reality that I am going to talk to you about. It isn't all pleasant, but it is fact. Like it or not, none of us can change the past. What we can do is work together to learn from the past and make a better future. First, America as a nation exists because we had friends who helped us. As a land, it existed before us, as it was the land of the Native Americans. Colonial Americans had slaves and indentured servants. The servitude passed from father to son. A mistake of the past.

It is time for a 🧵, a bit of reality. This is for everyone, not just Americans.
We will start out with "conspiracy theories". They exist because the human mind is still quite primitive. Fear, competition for resources and survival, and the unknown. Those in power and those who desire power have used that fear and the "conspiracy theory" to manipulate populations for thousands of years. Many wars have been fought because of this. Many innocent lives have been lost.

🧵 The "Long Plan" in an approximation of time. The expansion of Russia and China. A military action to seize control of the world's key resources as well as the polar regions of Earth.
This could take a decade or even two decades based upon the "West's" response right now. These next five years will decide the fate of humanity, not just the "western nations". As Russia gains control of Europe's resources and industry, Russia will need a "pause" to assert control and apply those resources and industry towards their work of expansion.

The history of Donald Trump, Russia, and Vladimir Putin. Unless "Opinion" is stated, the rest are proven facts. 🧵 Trump started as a kid from Queens (New York) to a violent and womanizing father who had become well connected with the local Democratic Party. Trump grew up in the wealthier part of Queens, with all of the right connections. A boy with pride and ego.

A little bit of an old school lesson, folks. Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, and further invaded Ukraine in 2022. Propaganda aside, these are proven facts.
Since then, Russia has played the bully stealing territory from Ukraine. So, some rules about this, old school. When a bully takes something from you and declares that it belongs to them now, that is theft, and not an actual transfer of ownership. What the bully took still belongs to you. A very simple fact, and part of modern law.
In the Russo-Ukraine war, Russia is just a bully.

A bit of a wakeup for those like @1Anna2Banana who never served, never took the oath. Trust is everything for us, be it those on the front lines or those on ships and submarines. From the moment we take the oath, trust is all we have, including our trust in each other.🧵 Blindly following isn't how it works, we think, and we act. But nothing works out there without trust of a very deep nature. From the perspective of a submariner & a nuke, I will explain some things.
For us, there is no help. We have the hull and each other.

I spent a year as the classified materials custodian, a duty that I hated. I've dealt with every classification, and "killed a lot of trees" due to it. This should never have happened. And it wouldn't have, under my watch, or any other member of the military in the same position. When the news about Trump and his mass of classified documents came out, my first thought was to go through my old checklist and see where the system broke. It wasn't about who or what the specific documents were, it was "what broke".

Now that I've poured out my heart and shed some painful tears, I feel I need to point something out, something important.
There are a lot of American veterans volunteering in Ukraine. A lot of veterans from other free nations as well. Why?🧵 The answer is one that only a veteran can truly understand, because the answer is found in the heart and soul of every honorable veteran. A lesson the GOP needs to understand.
We do it because Freedom is that important to us. Important enough to give up our lives.

I have lived here for the past decade, along with 75 of my fellow disabled veterans. It hasn't been easy, and each year we lose at least 5 of our brothers and sisters, at least 5 funerals each year. Everything from cancer to seizures to suicide. We joke that this is where old veterans go to die, dark humor for the forgotten soldiers and sailors who protected America and her people. You will hear us complain about VA doctors, about poor state of our medical care, about the pensions and disabilities that don't cover much.

So here we are, with another interesting situation. I am going to talk about it as part of looking over the situation.
Right now the Republican party is mounting a mass scale attack on the Democrats, Biden, and our government as a whole. Of importance to me is that none of them are actually focusing upon doing their jobs. We do not have an actual budget for the new year. There are still bills pending in Congress, audits and reviews, a global economic crisis, gas prices, crime and violence, and on down the line.

I've been sitting here reading posts from Republicans sitting in Congress, and from Russian officials including Putin, and something stood out to me.
It isn't that they don't know that what they are doing is wrong and that it hurts innocent people. They are fully aware of it.🧵 The reality is that they do not care. They have no remorse for their actions. The only fear that they have is being held accountable for those actions and losing the power that they have accumulated.
They both suffer the same lack of morals, and the same greed for power.

Ugh, I hate to post something remotely positive for the GOP due to their extreme corruption and MAGA members. BUT, it is time to set something straight here.
Social Security is the topic. The GOP isn't actually intending to end Social Security, per se. What it has stated is that they will hold Social Security hostage via the budget in order to get what they want.
While both are irresponsible and both make seniors suffer, they are not the same thing.

A little something here for the Fellas. I have 1 Twitter account, this one. I use it for all Twitter needs. This is my personal account that my daughter created so I could follow @USNavy. I don't have a professional account, I'm retired. And I don't make "fake" accounts. In my eyes and heart, if I created a fake account it would be a lie to those I believe are friends. And I won't lie, sorry.
It is who I am, not just how I was raised. I've lost enough of the my physical body, I am not giving up the core of me too! I lost that for two decades.

For those who think that the US elections and the war in Ukraine as separate and all focus Americans should have is on Putin's war in Ukraine, time to wake up! Trump is Putin's general in the USA, and the GOP politicians are Trump's officers in his army. MAGA are the soldiers. That means there are more fronts in Putin's war than just Ukraine. If Trump's officers win in the elections, then Trump intends to take over the presidency and turn the US over to Putin, his master.
If you think that I am wrong, look at the facts and think!

@GOP @DNC #VOTE #DemocraticParty #Republican
Enough is enough! Not I nor anyone else should have to sit you down and dress you down for your behavior, nor have to tell you to do your job! We shouldn't have to remind you of your oath!
Yet here I am, dealing with a pack of kids!🧵 Your conduct is unacceptable, childish, and corrupt! That applies to both sides! Sit your asses down and close your mouths for a change. LISTEN!
WE, the American people, the voters, are the BOSS. YOU are the employees. Period.
Not the rich, not the lobbies, not other governments.

Since Russia keeps bringing it up, I thought that I should post a short thread on the topic. Stepan Andriyovych Bandera, a "far right" leader in Ukraine in WW2, specifically. Russia likes to play the Nazi propaganda card by calling Bandera a Nazi. So, we'll look at facts.🧵 Prior to WW2, Stalin specifically made a secret deal with Germany. Stalin teamed up with Germany to build joint weapons labs (including chemical weapons) inside Russia. Not inside the USSR, but territory specifically Russian. Stalin also allowed Nazi army training in Russia.

@Jim_Jordan
@MarshaBlackburn
@tedcruz
@mattgaetz
@GOPChairwoman
@TulsiGabbard
I shouldn't have to keep saying this, but clearly politicians still insist on spreading lies and propaganda instead of actually doing their jobs.
So one more time, sit down, shut up, and listen! If you tell even a single lie to the American people, the voters, then you do not belong in public office. Period. A lie is never required. In the Navy, we had standard phrases to respond to anything we were not allowed to discuss, namely classified. That way we never lied.

For all of the American voters out there, time for a bit of clear and honest information. And so that you know where I am coming from, a little information about my political stance, or lack of one. Read if you care about your future.🧵 Personally, I detest politics. While I was a registered Republican for 5 decades, I always used a basic mathematical formula to determine who I voted for. Based upon honesty, consistency, service to the voters. That simple. I still use this same formula today.

For all of you out there in the USA, and anyone else who cares, let me make something very clear. It doesn't matter if you are Democrat, Republican, Independent, or even MAGA. The war in Ukraine is NOT some political tool or a game!🧵 It is a war for survival, for freedom, for the right to live and raise families. No matter what you think of Russia or Putin, and we know that Trump is close with Putin and MAGA supports Trump's relationship with Putin.
But Russia has intentionally committed a reign of terror.

A short thread on the reality of the US military issues with retention and enlistment. Something to remind this SEAL (@mchooyah) of what the real problems in our military are: Pay for enlisted has always been low, as in enlisted families are below poverty level for E5 and below. Even with COLA increases our pay has always trailed behind the national standard. Always deployed and away from family. So family life is strained for us.