Day: September 24, 2015

Leave Poor Ben Alone!

Before I go on about Ben let me post this about something another GOP d/bag has had to say…..

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), who is part of Boehner’s close-knit circle, attempted to turn the tables on members of the conservative Freedom Caucus, denouncing them as “right-wing Marxists” who have empowered House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) by undermining Boehner.

“The right-wing Marxists have teamed up with Pelosi. They’re the ones who always team up with Pelosi. They are the Pelosi Republicans,” an infuriated Nunes said in an interview. “The Freedom Caucus is an arm of Pelosi.”

A Right-wing Marxist?  Maybe this idiot should not be on a committee called the “intelligence” committee.

Onward march the Christian soldier, Ben……..

It appears that Carson has out “Donald” the “Donald”!

I have been told this by a couple of people that are on-board with the radical Rights bullshit positions.

It seems Carson is catching flak and some are upset with that attention….saying stuff like…”he is only saying what all Americans are thinking”…..first of all……I do not think all Americans are that bigoted…..only people that prefer slogans to issues and solutions.

Ben is striking back at all his detractors…….

Ben Carson today blamed “PC culture” for the political fallout over his statement against electing a Muslim president. Carson told reporters in Ohio that his view is that anyone wanting to be president must embrace the Constitution and American principles. He added that he would oppose a Christian for president who wanted to establish a theocracy. Asked how his campaign can recover from the controversy, the retired neurosurgeon replied: “The only way we fix that is fix the PC culture in our country,” referring to political correctness. “We fix America, and we get people who actually start listening … and stop trying to fit everything into a PC model,” he said.

Carson’s remarks came amid a backlash over his comments last weekend that Muslims shouldn’t serve in the presidency. In an interview with Fox News, Carson then retreated slightly, saying he would be open to a moderate Muslim who denounced radical Islam as a White House candidate. But he also said he stood by his original comments, saying the country cannot elect people “whose faith might interfere with carrying out the duties of the Constitution.” Today, Carson called the Muslim president question “a theoretical issue” that’s distracting from important national and international problems, from US income inequality to the Syrian refugee crisis.

The “political correct” argument are only for those that have no excuse for their words or actions……they do not want to face what they have said or done so they blame everyone else for their fuck up….So political correctness is the perfect excuse.

Finally, GOP faithful are a fickle bunch!  They will jump around to whichever candidate has the most outrageous and bigoted statement….it appears that support depends on that and that alone.

Maybe if we are to ignore what Carson said…then we should ignore all outrageous diatribes by all candidates……and we know that will NOT happen, right?

But did this lift Ben beyond the “Donald”…..probably not….but it will send him higher in the polls…..after all that is what is needed to rise….feed the fear!

What The Hell Are We Doing In Syria?

A question I keep asking and so far I got squat for a good answer.

Our plan was to soften up ISIS with airstrikes then train the moderate rebels to fight on our behalf……well that plan sucks!

The airstrikes are truly killing a lot of people but how many are ISIS combatants and how many are civilians?  Our big strategy of training the rebels to fight has had …..what shall I call it?…..a disastrous beginning…..

Gen. Patraeus, you remember him right?  The hero of the Iraqi Surge that all the neocons like to point to as a success……anyway.his testimony is anything but bright…….

Former CIA Director and retired four-star Army Gen. David Petraeus on Tuesday described progress in the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as “inadequate.”

“An impressive coalition has been assembled, key ISIS leaders have been killed or captured, and support for local forces in Iraq and Syria has helped roll back ISIS in certain areas,” he testified at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.

But, he added, “Some elements of the right strategy are in place, but several are under-resourced, while others are missing. We are not where we should be at this point.”

His analysis is a bit optimistic but that is what I would expect from a loyal team player…..he should have said our proxies on the ground are acting like 4th graders and their petty arguments…..or just come out and said……”the US plan is inadequate” for the result everyone wants……but those words will not come from his mouth……maybe he should have said something more substantial about our big plan of training rebels and sending them to fight…..

For instance……..

It’s already been heavily reported how badly the first class of New Syrian Forces (NSF), also known as Division 30, did after being trained by the US and sent into Syria. There were 54 of them to start, and last week Centcom conceded there were only “four or five left.” This may still look like a runaway success compared to the second class.

The second class entered Syria by way of Turkey on Friday, and according to reports there were between 70 and 75 of them in total. Today, reports out of Syria suggest that the group immediately took its weapons and vehicles to al-Qaeda territory and turned them all over to them.

Of course the Pentagon does not see the situation as it may be…..

The Pentagon is firmly denying social media reports that a new group of U.S.-trained Syrian fighters who recently reentered their country to combat the Islamic State have defected to the Nusra Front, al Qaida’s main affiliate in Syria.

“It’s patently false that there have been defections or weapons turned over by them, and we believe the claims to those effect to be untrue,” Davis said. “The folks that are part of the New Syrian Force are accounted for, as are their weapons.”

I would expect no less from the Pentagon.  Who in their right mind would admit to a failure?

I guess we could look on the bright side…..after all Nusrah is fighting ISIS for control and the could win with all the help they are getting from America’s big plan.

Personally, I would fire everyone involved in this plan and find someone who will tell the truth and find a workable plan….God knows these twats cannot do it.

Clinton Flips Off Keystone (Finally)

Finally……word has come from the “Ivory Tower”…….

The raging battle for the last year or so in climate change and the environment has been the debate on the Keystone XL pipeline…..us Left leaning people have been against this stupidity from the start….even Bernie has been an outspoken opponent of this lunatic plan…..

The one silent Nellie has been Hillary Clinton….maybe it was because she was part of Obama’s team or maybe something else….anyway she has come out swinging after a long silence….

Take a step back from the general election, but take two steps forward toward the Democratic primary. That seems to be the strategy behind Hillary Clinton’s announcement yesterday that she opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, writes Philip Bump for the Washington Post, asserting that Clinton may have purposely timed her anti-pipeline statements to lure liberal Democrats who’ve been more amenable to competitor Bernie Sanders, per CNN/ORC polling—even if those Dems may not be the ones to push her over the top in November 2016. “The politics explain themselves,” Bump writes. “Clinton is now willing to make her November case slightly more difficult if she can make her spring fight easier.”

According to a Gallup poll cited by the Post, while only 67% of moderate and conservative Democrats believe global warming is caused by human activity, a more substantial number—81%—of liberal Democrats think that’s the case. And because of environmental concerns swirling around the pipeline, it may make political sense for Clinton to bring that up now to pull liberal Democrats in—even though polls from late last year and earlier this year show that support among Americans overall for the Keystone project is strong, Bump notes. And Sanders knows what’s the what, he adds, welcoming her to the opposition party yesterday in a tweet. “Clinton is late to the party on Keystone, but she’s clearly interested in being where the party is,” Bump writes. Click for his full column

Personally it sounds like a personal political prop…..she knew she had to make some sort of statement in opposition if she is to win the nomination…..and viola!  We have her thoughts on Keystone.

I wish I could believe her……do you?

Beyond Partisan Bickering: Key Questions About U.S. Strategy in Syria

Syria!  Now here is a subject that will keep the average person scratching his/her head for an eternity.

I spend a lot of time researching conflicts and their management and solution…..the one that has me working overtime is the situation in Syria.  It is a fascinating event.  Most reports are conflicting, chaotic and confusing…..and that is on the good days.

Source: Beyond Partisan Bickering: Key Questions About U.S. Strategy in Syria | Center for Strategic and International Studies

Everyone has an opinion on Syria and what to do….the problem is few are willing to go on Congressional record with those solutions and opinion…..

Politics………. a game played by fools!

What’s Next For AIPAC?

Now that the Iranian nuke deal is facing all the challenges that can possibly be found by those whores in Congress at the behest of their Sugar Daddy, AIPAC…….games on top of games will be played by those wanting to kill the deal and move to a more aggressive footing….neocons will not go quietly into the night…..they must do as they are told.

After the announcement of the deal AIPAC went batcrap crazy throwing money at those in Congress that could kill the deal…..hoping to head off the deal at the proverbial pass….they crapped out hard.  The deal will go through……is it possible that AIPAC has lost its pull?

Source: AIPAC Spent Millions of Dollars to Defeat the Iran Deal. Instead, It May Have Destroyed Itself. | The Nation

Yep, AIPAC is licking its wounds but believe me when I say that they are far from finished with their opposition to the deal.

Source: Next Hurdle for Iran Deal: AIPAC’s Plan B (Endorsed by Post) « LobeLog

Never count the GOP out…..they will play games for as long as it takes…..and they are good at it……once they lick their wounds they will be back and verbal as ever……

Implementing the Iran Nuclear Agreement

Since I refuse to post on the Pope and his visit….I think I will resurrect a subject from the recent past……the Iran Nuke Deal!

Last month the big “end of days” scenario was the Iran nuke deal…..this month it is refugees and the dude in the white robe….what it will be next month is just tiring imagining the prospects….but let us talk about that damn deal that so many are having a stroke over…..at least last month.

President Obama has a win on the foreign policy front…..he negotiated a nuke deal with Iran and he won a veto proof vote count and in the later days he got the filibuster proof vote count….I guess some will say that he has his win-win scenario……

But do not count the Repubs out….they will find a way to cause trouble for the deal ….I mean they have to….Israel has paid good money to them for their opposition and they, Israel, will expect some form of progress for the cash……

Do not count on them rolling over…..they tried to sue over Obamacare…..why not try the same tactic for the nuke deal?

My point is that it is an election year and the GOP needs all the friends it can muster…..the opposition to the deal may be far from over….

But let us say that all goes well with the nuke deal….next will come the implementation of the deal……and how will we accomplish that?

As attention turns to implementing the Iran nuclear agreement, questions remain regarding future inspections, Iran’s legacy technical capacity, and what the United States should do to ensure Iran stays off the nuclear path.

Source: Implementing the Iran Nuclear Agreement | Center for American Progress

Once the agreement is a done deal there will be setbacks……and there will be antics and games played before and during the implementation…..

Source: Now Comes the Hard Part on Iran « LobeLog

I know that many hate the word diplomacy…….but if we can control nukes without going to another protracted war then I say……why not?