{"id":5685,"date":"2025-01-16T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T08:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/316-kevin-baron-hegseth-grossly-rolls-on-the-critical-defense-questions-that-werent-asked-the-trump-steamroller-is-accelerating-the-democrats-will-not-save-you-congestion-pricing-is-wor\/"},"modified":"2025-01-16T08:01:00","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T08:01:00","slug":"316-kevin-baron-hegseth-grossly-rolls-on-the-critical-defense-questions-that-werent-asked-the-trump-steamroller-is-accelerating-the-democrats-will-not-save-you-congestion-pricing-is-wor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/316-kevin-baron-hegseth-grossly-rolls-on-the-critical-defense-questions-that-werent-asked-the-trump-steamroller-is-accelerating-the-democrats-will-not-save-you-congestion-pricing-is-wor\/","title":{"rendered":"316. Kevin Baron. Hegseth Grossly Rolls On. The Critical Defense Questions That Weren\u2019t Asked. The Trump Steamroller Is Accelerating. The Democrats Will Not Save You. Congestion Pricing Is Working, CFB National Championship and NFL Playoffs."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/playlist.megaphone.fm\/?e=ANA9328795828\" width=\"100%\" height=\"210\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s been a massive, cold and painful week. And he hasn\u2019t even been inaugurated yet. We\u2019re hurtling towards more and more massive and painful weeks. And massive impacts. And this week the most consequential news revolved around the hearings for SECDEF and the cowardice of Republican Senators and their inability to stand up to Trump and deny Pete Hegseth. But the other party continues to be weak and feckless and sucks in its own unique ways. The Democrats put up a paltry attack. Again. They got rolled. Again. And now it looks as if Hegseth is inevitable and has set the tone for a January of bizarro world cabinet nominees and Trump momentum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>None of it is normal, none of it is acceptable and none of it is preordained. But the Democrats continue to lose. Lose power, lose control, lose the narrative, and lose whatever semblance of cohesion they had. It\u2019s time to stop investing in failure, America. The parties are the problem, and independents like you can be an important part of the solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Leave the herds. Declare your independence. And watch or listen up. Rieckhoff\u2019s got your weekly dose.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>And another awesome, smart and unique guest. Kevin Baron is a highly experienced Pentagon and defense reporter with decades of experience in and around the Defense Department and almost a dozen Defense Secretaries. He\u2019s seen em all, and been part of the press corps that traveled with them around the world. He was the founding Executive Editor of Defense One, and a national security staff writer for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/National_Journal\">National Journal<\/a>, and a reporter for <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Stars_and_Stripes_(newspaper)\">Stars and Stripes<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Boston_Globe\">Boston Globe<\/a> Washington bureau, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.m.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Center_for_Public_Integrity\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven\u2019t seen it yet, we\u2019ve changed our format and we\u2019ve now got full video episodes available on our <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/TIewPt3Mxh0\">YouTube page here<\/a>. While you\u2019re there, like it, subscribe. All the stuff. You know what to do.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/cPcdmdZhSdc\">WATCH video of Paul and Kevin\u2019s conversation on our YouTube channel.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>-Join the movement. <a href=\"https:\/\/us20.list-manage.com\/contact-form?u=8c5808325c476035f32eb82fa&amp;form_id=7118980e41444bd19e376c6abfee06af\">Sign up to get our regular breakdowns of the independent news you need to know.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8211;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/independentamericans\/posts\">Hook into our exclusive Patreon community<\/a> of Independent Americans. Get extra content, connect with guests, meet other Independent Americans, attend events, get merch discounts, and support this show that speaks truth to power.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Check the hashtag <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/search?q=%23LookForTheHelpers&amp;src=typed_query\">#LookForTheHelpers<\/a>. And share yours.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Find us on social media or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.independentamericans.us\">http:\/\/www.IndependentAmericans.us<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/independentamericans.us\/merch\/\">And get a cool, new IA hoodie sweatshirt just in time for the start of the cold season<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>-Check out other Righteous podcasts like <a href=\"https:\/\/thefirefighters.us\/\">The Firefighters Podcast with Rob Serra<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/unclemontel.us\/\">Uncle Montel &#8211; The OG of Weed<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bdorm.us\/\">B Dorm<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Independent Americans is powered by veteran-owned and led <a href=\"https:\/\/righteous.us\/\">Righteous Media<\/a>. America\u2019s next great independent media company.<\/p>\n<h2>Ways to listen:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Spotify: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0F1lzdRbTB0XYen8kyEqXe<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Apple Podcasts: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\/id1457899667<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Amazon Podcasts: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/49a684c3-68e1-4a85-8d93-d95027a8ec64\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/music.amazon.com\/podcasts\/49a684c3-68e1-4a85-8d93-d95027a8ec64\/independent-americans-with-paul-rieckhoff<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>TuneIn Radio: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/News--Politics-Podcasts\/Independent-Americans-p1214607\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/tunein.com\/podcasts\/News&#8211;Politics-Podcasts\/Independent-Americans-p1214607\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Ways to watch:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>YouTube: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@independentamericans<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Instagram: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>Social channels:<\/h2>\n<p><strong>X\/Twitter:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/x.com\/indy_americans<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>BlueSky:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/indyamericans.bsky.social<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Facebook:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/\" rel=\"nofollow\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/IndependentAmericansUS\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/megaphone.fm\/adchoices\">megaphone.fm\/adchoices<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s been a massive, cold and painful week. And he hasn\u2019t even been inaugurated yet. We\u2019re hurtling towards more and more massive and painful weeks. And massive impacts. And this week the most consequential news revolved around the hearings for SECDEF and the cowardice of Republican Senators and their inability to stand up to Trump&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/316-kevin-baron-hegseth-grossly-rolls-on-the-critical-defense-questions-that-werent-asked-the-trump-steamroller-is-accelerating-the-democrats-will-not-save-you-congestion-pricing-is-wor\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">316. Kevin Baron. Hegseth Grossly Rolls On. The Critical Defense Questions That Weren\u2019t Asked. The Trump Steamroller Is Accelerating. The Democrats Will Not Save You. Congestion Pricing Is Working, CFB National Championship and NFL Playoffs.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5686,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5685","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-episodes","entry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36.jpg",800,800,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36.jpg",800,800,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36.jpg",800,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36.jpg",750,750,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36.jpg",800,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36.jpg",800,800,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/05d7af99a4c53fc7cbb15dfa9e192d36.jpg",800,800,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/author\/admin\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/category\/episodes\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Episodes<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"It\u2019s been a massive, cold and painful week. And he hasn\u2019t even been inaugurated yet. We\u2019re hurtling towards more and more massive and painful weeks. And massive impacts. And this week the most consequential news revolved around the hearings for SECDEF and the cowardice of Republican Senators and their inability to stand up to Trump&hellip;&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5685","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5685"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5685\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5685"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5685"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.righteous-media.com\/IndependentAmericans\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5685"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}