JEB! On The Run

The 2016 election is quickly becoming a reality instead of a sideshow…..and all the time since the summer JEB! has been scrambling to find a foothold for his campaign.

In recent months Jeb cannot buy any love….no matter how he tries to punch out Trump….the only thing all his money and rhetoric has done is see him slide in the polls…..How can that be?  After all he is the smart one of the two brothers…..how can this be?

Since nothing so far has given him a step up in the polls he is gonna try something new…..

In 2013, after Edward Snowden dropped his NSA bombshell, President Obama called for an end to spying on certain world leaders. But Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli bigwigs remained on the “keep an eye on” list for “compelling national security” reasons, current and ex-US officials tell the Wall Street Journal. Included in the US spying sweep were conversations between Israeli officials and US lawmakers and American-Jewish groups, which, as one senior US official tells the paper, resulted in an “Oh s— moment” that the executive branch would be nailed for spying on Congress. The White House, though, felt the info necessary to rebut lobbying Netanyahu might do against a US-Iran deal; still, it was “wary of a paper trail stemming from a request.” And so “we didn’t say, ‘Do it’ [to the NSA],” a senior US official tells the Journal. “We didn’t say, ‘Don’t do it.'”

Instead, the administration more or less let the NSA share whatever info it saw fit, and the NSA did just that, reportedly following tight mandates about spying on communications “to, from, or about” Americans, the paper notes. For example, the agency took out names of individual lawmakers and any personal info in reports it submitted to the White House and also omitted any “trash talk” about the administration, officials tell the Journal. At least one presidential candidate isn’t surprised by the revelations. “This administration views Congress, Republicans, and sometimes even Democratic members of Congress as their enemy,” Ted Cruz tells CBS News. “At times, it seems like they view the American people as their enemy.” A National Security Council spokesman, however, tells CBS, “[W]e do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose. This applies to ordinary citizens and world leaders alike.”

My opinion is that our boy JEB! is…….TOAST!  All his money is going to do is….be wasted!

Thoughts?

If You Want War, Then Pay For It–Part Deux

Yesterday I had a visit with the eye doctor and after a couple of drops my eyes were screwed for the rest of the day…..so I apologize for the delay of my responses to comments but I stayed well away from the ‘puter for the rest of the day……

Now onward and upward…….

Awhile back I was having a bit of a debate about the wars we are fighting these days…..my thought is that if we must fight then we must pay for it without causing hardships on needed programs…..that was a really interesting debate and I wrote a piece about it……(a refresher…if it is needed)……..

Source: If there must be war, pay for it | In Saner Thought

I bring this up again because it seems that a Congressperson has had an idea….finally……

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) is proposing a temporary surtax to pay for the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

In an op-ed Sunday in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Coons criticized Congress for not paying for the war.

The latest Pentagon statistics show that as of Nov. 30, the U.S. has spent nearly $5.4 billion on the war since August 2014, and the average daily cost is $11 million.

“One way to offset rising costs while allowing all Americans to contribute is a temporary war surtax that includes an exemption for our troops and their families,” Coons wrote.

“As we pursue our goal of ‘degrading and destroying’ ISIS, we cannot write another blank check for war,” said Coons, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee.

Coons said Congress has taken steps to pay for every major conflict, often through new taxes, since the War of 1812.

That practice ended with the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. The Iraq War would eventually cost $1.64 trillion and the Afghanistan War $715 billion.

Coons said those costs would include an additional $6 trillion if long-term care for injured veterans were factored in.

“Paying for the wars we fight is a matter of congressional responsibility and national security,” he said. “A large national debt weakens our ability to respond to global threats, undermines our fiscal position, and limits our diplomatic flexibility.”

What is the old saying….oh yeah….”great minds think alike”……

Coons also added……”When we pay for our wars with a credit card, and when the pain of war is felt only by our troops and their families, it is far too easy for our nation’s leaders to send soldiers into harm’s way without a national conversation about the merits of our involvement, and far too easy for those conflicts to drag on.”

Coons also argued Congress should debate the war and vote to authorize it.  (AMEN)

“A proper national debate of the anti-ISIS conflict will demand that Congress and the American people better understand the human cost of the war, too,” he added.

Let me see…..he is proposing paying for wars as needed and long term care for injured vets…..how can anyone be against this?  (a rhetorical question for there will be those that do not like this proposal)

But I bet I can find someone that will want to crap on this proposal…..how about you?

The Most Awful and Absurd Foreign Policy Quotes from 2015

It is no secret that I think there are damn few “leaders” that have half a brain when it comes to foreign policy…..the American Conservative has put together a great set of “dumbass” foreign policy quotes……

Micah Zenko presents his list of the 20 “best worst” quotes from politicians and officials over the last year. Following his example, I’ll add on a few more that are at least as bad as the ones he inc

Source: The Most Awful and Absurd Foreign Policy Quotes from 2015 | The American Conservative