Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth used children's books "Franklin the turtle" to defend summary execution of suspected drug boats in the Caribbean.
A different Franklin, Founding Father Ben offered:
“The punishment of murder by death is contrary to reason, and to the order and happiness of society, and contrary to divine revelation.”
There is little to no virtue in Trump's savage whims. I see no evidence of anything divine in his absurd justifications and outright refusal to answer for actions taken by the Executive Branch.
Nearly everything Trump II does is contrary to ethics and reason. He and his family are oriented to a small subsection of society, something called the parallel economy.
Apparently the parallel economy is a Gilded Age experience where government connections are bought and sold over caviar, champagne and lobster.
Franklin the Founding Father might want to pull out a bazooka on that.
Update 12-2-25: The organization with Franklin property rights objected to Hegseth's appropriation.
“Franklin the Turtle is a beloved Canadian icon who has inspired generations of children and stands for kindness, empathy, and inclusivity,” the publishing house Kids Can Press wrote in a statement on X.
“We strongly condemn any denigrating, violent, or unauthorized use of Franklin’s name or image, which directly contradicts these values,” the statement read.
A Pentagon spokesperson confessed that his boss had appropriated Franklin without permission:
“We doubt Franklin the Turtle wants to be inclusive of drug cartels… or laud the kindness and empathy of narco-terrorists.”
Fill in the blank....
"but Pete never really asked him."
The SSecretary of War is too busy a man.
