Thanks to reader Kathy Griffith for this startling comment, citing the German publication Der Spiegel:
Germany’s DER SPIEGEL reporters were able to find mobile phone numbers, email addresses and even some passwords belonging to the top officials,” the news site reported Wednesday. The top officials include National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
Some are “linked to profiles on social media platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn. They were used to create Dropbox accounts and profiles in apps that track running data. There are also WhatsApp profiles for the respective phone numbers and even Signal accounts in some cases.”
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s data was “particularly easy for DER SPIEGEL reporters to discover,” including his cell phone number and email address.”
The reporters “turned to a commercial provider of contact information that is primarily used by companies for sales, marketing and recruitment,” and then they “sent the provider a link to Hegseth’s LinkedIn profile and received a Gmail address and a mobile phone number in return, in addition to other information.”
“A search of leaked user data revealed that the email address and, in some cases, even the password associated with it, could be found in over 20 publicly accessible leaks. Using publicly available information, it was possible to verify that the email address was used just a few days ago.”
Private contact details of the most important security advisers to U.S. President Donald Trump can be found on the internet. DER SPIEGEL reporters were able to find mobile phone numbers, email addresses and even some passwords belonging to the top officials…
As such, the reporting has revealed an additional grave, previously unknown security breach at the highest levels in Washington. Hostile intelligence services could use this publicly available data to hack the communications of those affected by installing spyware on their devices. It is thus conceivable that foreign agents were privy to the Signal chat group in which Gabbard, Waltz and Hegseth discussed a military strike.
This event demonstrates the utter incompetence and stupidity of Trump’s choices for his Cabinet. Clearly, he chose people based on their personal loyalty to him, their TV presence, and whether they “looked the part” in his eyes. What did not matter at all was their knowledge and experience.
Doris Kearns Goodwin wrote a book about Lincoln’s Cabinet called Team of Rivals.
What will historians call Trump’s Cabinet?
A Cabinet of Good-Looking Dummies?
Team of Morons?
The Loyal Dimwits?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Often seen term recently in these posts and others is “frat boys.” It fits. They need(ed) to go to college but want to hide from it because of the liberal, elitist, and intellectual labels that go with it. So, like frat boys, they have a separate house with secret handshakes and whatever “bros” do to distinguish themselves from the university norm.
As a former middle school principal, I don’t like using the comparison but they act like typical junior high boys, usually in group/clique/club, hormones all over the place, not sure what they want or why they do what they do – except they want to impress somebody, and sit at the cool kids table. And, when they do something stupid, which is in the job description of a 12-year old, they hide, rationalize, make excuses with the periodic lie.
(And, like the fraternity or classification of “junior high boys” – look at the “who’s who” around the Cabinet table. A restrictive, look-alike club whose hazing is the loyalty oath, the NDA, and their secrets hanging over them.
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I have taught middle school for 24 years and I see the same thing. Except that some of my immature students are still more mature.
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Speaking of Cabinet, Antidote 2026 (like your handle very much!), I saw a great sign someone made/holding up at a rally,
“I’ve seen better cabinets at IKEA!”
(If someone else reading has seen this & can insert it/a link on the comments, that would be wonderful! TIA!)
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Google the term “I’ve seen better (or smarter) cabinets in IKEA.” Lots of images.
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The Cabinet of Caligari
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Has anyone considered that what Putin’s Puppet Diaper Don the Porn Star’s John, the convicted rapid, fraud and felon’s loyalist fascist lackeys did was deliberate so the targets would be warned in time to get away from areas that were going to be bombed?
Putin’s Russia supports them, and who is Putin’s strongest allie now?
And the answer is not the United States, as long as the sadistic sociopath is living in the White House. It’s the dictator in chief in the White House who is Putin’s allie.
https://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-russia-supports-houthis-213420
The vast majority of American voters think the U.S. should not trust Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a new poll, as the Trump administration attempts to broker a peace deal to end the deadly years-long conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The Quinnipiac University Poll released Wednesday found 81 percent of respondents said Putin should not be trusted, including 73 percent of Republicans surveyed and 93 percent of Democrats.
Just 9 percent of the voters surveyed said Putin, a former KGB officer who has been in power in Russia for decades, should be trusted.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5153611-quinnipiac-poll-russia-putin-trust/
I also think that NINE PERCENT also reveals how many in the US actually support Diaper Don and his Project 2025.
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Hopefully, historians will call it the Jacksonian Petticoat Affair Burlesque because the humiliation of it will have shortly led to the resignations of the entire Cabinet and the vice president.
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Hell’s Clown Car
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Right–it’s “I’ve seen smarter cabinets in IKEA.” (Not better.)
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