Editor's Picks: Kash Patel Humiliated; Hegseth in Hot Water; Hillary Pushes Insane Theory

After a short break for Thanksgiving, the news faucet is back to full flow. Here are some interesting stories I was not able to get to this week ...

Hegseth in Hot Water

Just as Pete Hegseth was trying to tell anyone who would listen that he was not in the room for the second strike on a Venezeulan boat that may constitute a war crime, it was revealed that the attack may have taken place on the very same day Admiral Alvin Holsey, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, submitted his resignation, with sources in a Wall Street Journal report saying he did so after being asked to resign by Hegsath following Holsey expressing concerns over the legality of tactics used in the boat strikes.

As if that weren’t bad enough, on Wednesday, the Pentagon's inspector general released a report that found Hegseth’s use of the Signal messaging app to discuss planned airstrikes in Yemen endangered U.S. troops and violated department policies. The NSA had issued an operational security bulletin in 2024 warning its staff that the encrypted messaging application Signal might not be secure for sensitive communications. An Atlantic editor was accidentally included in the group chat.

FBI Turns on Patel

A recent New York Post article has detailed a scathing 115-page report criticizing FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino, based on confidential accounts from 24 active-duty and retired FBI agents and analysts. The scathing reporting is unique in that it comes from a conservative publication. The reporter, Miranda Devine, also appeared on FOX News. Her interview with Laura Ingraham included several gems.

The report describes Patel as a “rudderless ship” and “internally paralyzed by fear.” Agents reportedly refer to him as the “Make-a-Wish Director,” in reference to his lack of competence, with two adding that he is “in over his head.” Unsurprisingly, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has been described as "something of a clown" in the report.

Patel was criticized for his rush to report FBI case progress on social media, often incorrectly. Many felt his need to be an online personality would jeopardize the agency’s ability to build cases it can win in court. Most damning, however, were reports of Patel throwing a temper tantrum when agents couldn’t find an FBI raid jacket for him to wear in front of the press when his jet touched down in Utah following the Charlie Kirk assassination.

Patel reportedly refused to deplane until he had a raid jacket, which directors do not typically wear. Eventually, a female agent gave up her size medium jacket—the only one to fit the diminutive Patel. However, Patel complained that it was missing two Velcro patches and remained on the plane until said patches could be acquired from field agents working the case.

Hilary Clinton joins in to promote an insane theory as to why younger Americans are offended by Israel’s genocide in Gaza

While I was off for the holiday, I missed the chance to tell you about a ridiculous theory floated by Sarah Hurwitz, a former Obama administration staffer, claiming that using Holocaust education to prevent antisemitism had the unfortunate byproduct of young Americans likening the events in Gaza in which a bigger, stronger force was attacking a smaller, emaciated one as something similar. Rather than reflecting on whether that should be a wakeup call for Zionists, Hurwitz wondered whether it might be time to rethink Holocaust education.

Speaking at an Israel Hayom summit in New York City on Tuesday, former Secretary of State Clinton made a similar argument, blaming what she called made-up propaganda on TikTok for giving young Americans and even young Jews a false impression of what is happening in Gaza. In reality, the internet and smartphones have made it impossible for the mainstream media to spin a narrative that is never countered, at least in the West.

It might be more productive if people like Hurwitz and Clinton reflect on why the very real videos and images coming out of Gaza for the past two years look so much like some of the worst atrocities we’ve seen in modern history, and not how to prevent the facts from clouding young people’s perspectives. As for TikTok, it is now controlled by America’s most generous Zionist, hundred-billionaire Larry Ellison (the single largest private donor to the Friends of the IDF).

After Ellison acquired the platform, TikTok appointed Erica Mindel, a former instructor in the IDF Armored Corps, as its Public Policy Manager for Hate Speech. Almost immediately, users complained of the suppression of pro-Palestinian voices and the amplification of pro-Israel narratives. Meanwhile, it is Ellison’s son David, who used his father’s wealth to purchase Paramount, which owns CBC, who hired pro-Zionist Bari Weiss as CBS News Editor in Chief, despite Weiss having zero qualifications.

Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. Mitch is also the author of three novels and a short story collection available here. He can be reached at editor@thebradentontimes.com.