Sunday Briefs | October 11, 2026

Hegseth’s military fetishism must die, publicly

On Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Real America’s Voice that the military’s execution of Nidal Hasan would be public. “We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it,” he said. A day later, a Pentagon official told Reuters: “It will be livestreamed.”

Hasan killed 13 people and wounded 32 at Fort Hood in 2009. A military jury sentenced him to death in 2013. President Trump approved the execution, as military law requires.

It is set for Thursday, Dec. 3, at 1 p.m., at Fort Hood, by firing squad. Hegseth chose the day, the hour, and the place to match the shooting. When asked whether Hasan had any final requests, he said, “Don’t care.”

It might not happen on schedule

If it happens, it would be the first U.S. military execution since 1961 and the first military firing squad since 1945. Military law experts told the AP a civilian court challenge could delay it for years.

The last public execution in America happened in Owensboro, Kentucky, in 1936. About 20,000 people came to watch Rainey Bethea hang (NPR, via The Advocate).

Ninety years later, nobody has to drive to the courthouse lawn. The crowd will be on its phones. So will our kids.

President Trump has criticized Iran for its public executions. He was right then.

Hegseth feeds a fetish with public death

We can believe Hasan earned the sentence a jury gave him. A courtroom settled that question with evidence and appeals.

A livestream asks a different question. It muses what the government wants us to feel, and how loudly. The justice was in the verdict. The stream is a show, and every show needs an audience. The MAGA manosphere is known for fetishizing military and death tropes. This cuts squarely along those lines.

Clips will spread within minutes. Algorithms will serve them to 12-year-olds between dance videos and homework. No parental control pulls a video back once it’s everywhere.

I don’t want my government in the business of putting death on my kids’ screens. Not for this man. Not for anyone.

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This week’s ask

Call your senators and your representative. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121. Try: “I’m a constituent. Whatever you think of the sentence, please oppose broadcasting the Hasan execution and support a ban on livestreamed executions.”

Talk to your kids before Dec. 3. Tell them what happened at Fort Hood, that a court decided the punishment, and that if a video ever shows up in their feed, they can close it and come find you.

Forward this to one parent who’d make the call.

The Bookshelf

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Stevenson founded the Equal Justice Initiative and has spent his career representing people on death row in Alabama. Just Mercy follows one case, Walter McMillian’s, and the system that nearly killed an innocent man.

You don’t have to share his view of capital punishment to get something from this book. It asks what a justice system owes the people it judges, and what it does to the rest of us who watch.

It reads like a novel, and it’s the right book for a week when the government wants us watching.

Also for parents to consider: Sister Helen Prejean’s Dead Man Walking is the account of what it means to sit with a man on the last day of his life. A hard, humane read for older teens.

The Recipe: Funeral Potatoes

Some weeks call for comfort food, and this one feels heavy. I recently made these to commemorate Dolly Parton’s passing in a video article.

Funeral potatoes got their name from the church basements and family tables where neighbors bring a warm dish to people who are grieving. That’s the spirit I offer this week: show up, bring something, sit down together.

Ingredients

• 3 Russet potatoes (2 lbs)

• ½ med yellow onion, finely grated

• 16 oz of sour cream

• 1 can of cream of chicken soup

• 1 stick of melted butter

• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

• 1 tbsp garlic powder

• 1 tbsp onion powder

• 1 tbsp smoked paprika

• ½ tbsp black pepper

• 1 tsp salt

For Topping:

• 2 cups of corn flakes

• 3 tbsp of melted butter

For Garnish

• Chopped parsley or chives (optional)

Directions

1. Grease or spray a 9x13 baking dish and preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. Peel potatoes, dice or coarsely grate (or use a mix of both for a nice texture), rinse, and place in a large mixing bowl.

3. Add the grated onion, sour cream, cream of chicken can, melted butter, grated cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper. Mix until fully incorporated.

4. Pour mixture into the baking dish. Use a spatula to level the top surface.

5. Pour corn flakes into a small mixing bowl and crush by hand to the desired texture. Add butter and mix until evenly coated. Sprinkle the corn flake mixture evenly over the potatoes.

6. Bake for 65-75 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through and tender.

7. Remove from the oven and let cool for five minutes. Sprinkle with chives and/or parsley if desired.

8. Spoon into bowls and serve. Enjoy!

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Dad Joke for the Road

I didn’t think orthopedic shoes would help, but I stand corrected.

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Slade Wentworth | The Dad Briefs covers the civic, political, and quietly human stories that shape family life in America, with recipes along the way.

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Sources

1. Reuters via WHTC: US to livestream Army execution of Fort Hood shooter (livestream, Dec. 3 at 1 p.m., presidential approval, 1945 and 1961 firsts, 2013 sentence)

2. AP via PBS NewsHour: Pentagon says firing squad execution will be livestreamed (Hegseth quotes, habeas delay, Trump on Iran)

3. Scripps News: Pentagon says execution will be livestreamed (Oct. 7 and 8 timeline)

4. The Advocate: Hegseth announces public execution (citing NPR on the 1936 Rainey Bethea hanging)