Day: August 23, 2019

Where Have All The Deficit Hawks Gone

Gone to Trumpland every one.

Closing Thought–23Aug19

Before I go on my rant about the deficit…..I would like to update a post on the deaths of 2 Americans in Afghanistan a few days ago…..

The Department of Defense has released the names of two U.S. service members who were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, August 21, 2019. They are members of the 7th Special Forces Group based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

Both soldiers died in Faryab province, Afghanistan as a result of wounds sustained from small arms fire while engaged in combat operations.

Master Sergeant Luis DeLeon-Figueroa, 31, of Chicopee, Massachusetts.

Master Sergeant Jose J. Gonzalez, 35, of La Puente, California.

More than half of the U.S. deaths in Afghanistan in 2019 have been Special Forces casualties – sometimes referred to as Green Berets. The two soldiers were assigned to the NATO Special Operations Component Command – Afghanistan (NSOCC-A). The soldiers received a posthumous promotion.

I recall my younger days in the political scene…there were social hawks and deficit hawks….the GOP were traditionally the hawks on the deficit….that is until they sold their souls to Trump.

Who really cares about the budget deficit?  https://lobotero.com/2009/06/13/is-the-deficit-really-of-concern/

And the question is still asked and failed to be answered.

All their rhetoric about the dangers of running a massive deficit were stuff of legend……but came 9/11 and their desire for revenge and allowed the defense budget to explode the deficit…..and then cam Trump and all pretense about caring about the deficit is gone.

The news coming out of the CBO is terrible and yet the GOP is silent thus approving of the massive deficit they have given the nation…..

The deficit will swell by $809 billion more than anticipated over the next decade, the Congressional Budget Office announced in new projections Wednesday, per the AP. The Washington Post reports the US was already expected to hit a deficit over the $1 trillion mark in 2020. The change here, which is an update to the CBO’s May report, is due to recently enacted legislation on two fronts: the budget deal signed into law this month and supplemental spending at the border. A grim line from the new CBO report: “To put [debt] on a sustainable course lawmakers will have to make significant changes to tax and spending policies.”

CNBC quotes CBO Director Phillip Swagel as saying in the report that “federal debt … is on an unsustainable course,” and that while it will average $1.2 trillion annually between 2020 and 2029 it’ll jump even higher after that as the population ages and health-care spending rises. A third grim line from the report, per Fox News: “As a result of those deficits, federal debt held by the public is projected to grow steadily, from 79% of GDP in 2019 to 95% in 2029—its highest level since just after World War II.”

Give it time and the deficit hawks will return….probably when there is a Dem president…..and a GOP Congress……funny how all that manure works…..and yet they only care about deficit spending when it applies to social safety net…..

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“Lego Ergo Scribo”

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Another One Bites The Dust #4

Yet another Dem candidate just decided to end his candidacy for the Dem nomination in 2020…..that brings the total running as of today to 20…..or is it 19…..maybe more?

If you are confused then that is okay…..that is the way the MSM wants it…total confusion and their candidate looks best, Biden.

We lost yet another candidate before the next debate….Seth Moulton……

Another dark horse is out. Massachusetts Rep. Seth Moulton is withdrawing his 2020 presidential bid after the centrist candidate failed to gain any traction with voters, reports New York Times. Moulton, who did not qualify for any debates, said in an interview that only Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, and Bernie Sanders have any real shot at the Democratic nomination. And though he praised his “mentor” and friend Biden, the 40-year-old said he would not be endorsing anyone just yet. He warned, however, that Trump could defeat a too-liberal candidate. “Really it’s a debate about how far left the party should go,” he said.

The Iraq War veteran will instead seek a fourth House term, reports Politico. He tells the Times that entering the presidential race late, days before Biden, was “a bigger handicap than I expected.” But he also said issues close to his heart—veterans and national defense—were not “getting the attention they deserve” in the race. He added a hope that his infant daughter would know he did “everything I could to defeat Donald Trump.” NBC News reports that Moulton clearly hopes to join a Democratic president’s administration. His exit leaves 21 Democrats in the running.

Too liberal?

Yeah, that is what this country needs more corporate candidates that have the corporations best interest at heart and not that of the voter…..I say good riddance……we need liberals not closet conservatives like Moulton.

As usual I will show the candidate the stage exit with Queen…..

Slowly but slowly the media is getting their way and only the candidates they approve of will remain.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

VOTE!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

While Tulsi Is Away

Keeping Hope Alive.

My candidate in the 2020 race for the Dem nomination is Tulsi Gabbard and she is away right now fulfilling her military obligation (how many of the candidates can say that?)

While she away I want to keep her candidacy in the eyes of my readers……MSM will do all they can to keep her and her antiwar message from the conversations…..so it falls on voters like me to keep her position in the game (so to speak)…..

Keep in mind that some of the Dem candidates are some of the most strident supporters of our many wars and Tulsi does a great job of calling them out for their lies and betrayals…..

Polling well below Biden in the race is the congresswoman from Hawaii, Tulsi Gabbard. She alone on the Democratic stage has made criticism of American militarism central to her candidacy. A veteran of the Iraq war and a highly decorated major in the Hawaii Army National Guard, Gabbard offers an intelligent and humane perspective on foreign affairs. She’s called the regime change philosophy “disastrous,” advocated for negotiation with hostile foreign powers, and backed a reduction in drone strikes. She pledges if she becomes president to end American involvement in Afghanistan.

When Chris Matthews asked Gabbard about Biden’s support for the Iraq war, she said, “It was the wrong vote. People like myself, who enlisted after 9/11 because of the terrorist attacks, were lied to. We were betrayed.”

Tulsi: A Living Reminder of Iraq’s Liars and Apologists

The point that all her opponents like to hit her on is when she met with Syria’s Assad…..of course all the attacks are geared for maximum political gain…not on the reality of the event……she has found some vindication……

In the aftermath of the second Democratic primary debate on July 31, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard emerged as the most Googled of all candidates, an indication that her performance (which included a stunning takedown of California Sen. Kamala Harris over her criminal justice record) attracted the attention of many viewers. This heightened level of attention produced blowback, both from Harris, who dismissed Gabbard as “an Assad apologist” (a reference to Syrian President Bashar Assad), and from the mainstream media, typified by CNN’s Chris Cuomo, who alleged that Gabbard—a major in the Hawaiian National Guard, with two tours of duty in the Middle East under her belt—is taking the side of Assad over the U.S. intelligence community and U.N. inspectors when it comes to assigning blame for chemical weapons attacks against Syrian civilians.

“What you are referring to are [sic] cynicism as skepticism that I have expressed, because I’ve served in a war that was caused by people who lied to us, who lied to the American people, who presented false evidence that members of Congress and U.S. senators believed and voted for a war that resulted in the loss of lives of over 4,000 of my brothers and sisters in uniform,” Gabbard replied to Cuomo. “It’s our responsibility as lawmakers and as leaders in this country to make sure that our U.S. military is not being activated and deployed to go to war unless we are certain a) that it serves the best interests of the American people; and b) that that action will actually have a positive impact. The questions I’m raising are based on this experience that I’ve had.”

Tulsi Gabbard Gets Some Vindication

Defending Tulsi From the Programmed War Propagandists

The more voters get to know Tulsi the more her candidacy will grow….she stands for ending these wars that have raged for almost 2 decades….

She Has My Vote!

Be Smart!

Lesarn Stuff!

NOW VOTE!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

What Would Happen If The Nukes Came?

As a child of the Cold War we were confronted almost daily with the possibility of nuclear holocaust…even taught in our schools….our movies and TV shows were about the evils of such weapons use…..

An old evil is waiting…..waiting for its time to be unleashed on the world.

Both the US and Russia have walked away from the Cold War nuclear agreement, the INF, and the word is that both nations are already planning to expand their nuclear capabilities.

Not a good idea!

But the attitudes of the 2 leaders is that they must prepare for nuclear retaliation to gain a peace.

This is a silly notion that seems to be gaining popularity within the Trump White House.

Now what would actually happen if the two nations decided to nuke each other?

There is a wealth of opinions on this notion…the SciFi genre is full of the possible outcomes…..but are predictions even close to reality?

The simulations have been run, and it’s official: even today, a nuclear war between the US and Russia would plunge the planet into a nuclear winter, with clouds of soot and smoke covering the planet.

Globally, temperatures would plunge by around 9 Kelvin (9 degrees Celsius or 16 degrees Fahrenheit) on average, due to the lack of sunlight reaching ground level.

The new model matches one of the best existing models we have, published in 2007. Both reports predict a nuclear winter of several years, upwards of a 30 percent global reduction in precipitation over the first few months, and a cloud of smoke enveloping first the Northern Hemisphere, and then the Southern Hemisphere, too.

“Here we repeat the [2007 nuclear war scenario] using an alternative state-of‐the‐art modern climate model run at higher resolution and with a more explicit simulation of stratospheric chemistry and aerosols,” write the researchers in their paper.

“The use of nuclear weapons in this manner by the United States and Russia would have disastrous consequences globally.”

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-best-simulation-we-have-says-the-threat-of-a-nuclear-winter-is-all-too-real

It is an old story that needs to be retold for a younger generation that has little idea what the results of the use of nukes would be…..plus to call out the thoughtless toads in government that have NO idea what they are doing or who they will effect with their nonsense…..

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

“Lego ergo Scribo”

Greenland–The Saga

Who would have thought that Greenland would ever be at the center of some geopolitical debate?

The saga is not the saga about Vikings but rather the saga of a delusional president trying desperately trying to change the conversation from his batcrap crazies……but is more batcrap crazy the way to change this?

Take the Greenland Saga for example……

The report that President Trump was toying with the idea of trying to buy Greenland was confirmed as fact, not fiction, by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Sunday. Then, straight from the horse’s mouth: The Guardian reports Trump on Sunday told reporters “the concept came up,” and that while “it’s not No. 1 on the burner … we’d be interested.” He continued, “Essentially it’s a large real estate deal. A lot of things can be done.” He went on to say Denmark is racking up losses of $700 million annually by “carrying” the island. “We’re a big ally of Denmark,” Trump said. “We protect Denmark and we help Denmark and we will.” But Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen was firm about the idea being a non-starter in comments made from Greenland on Sunday during a previously scheduled trip, reports the AP.

“Greenland is not Danish. Greenland is Greenlandic. I persistently hope that this is not something that is seriously meant,” Frederiksen said. “Thankfully, the time where you buy and sell other countries and populations is over. Let’s leave it there.” The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story on Thursday, spoke with Greenlanders about Trump’s interest. The golf club president who oversees a 9-hole course in the capital of Nuuk suggested Trump first play a round so that the reality can sink in: Eight months a year the course is buried beneath snow, and getting from hole to hole means “scrambl[ing] over crags and stomp[ing] on wild berries,” per the Journal. “He would find it very hard,” Daniel Thorleifsen concludes. Trump is slated to be in Denmark on Sept. 2 and 3 during a European trip.

Then our leader got all butt hurt when the Danes did not like his idea of buying Greenland…..and like an immature toad he threw a tantrum and refused to go to Denmark……

President Trump has called off a planned trip to Denmark because Prime Minster Mette Frederiksen has rejected the idea of selling him 98% of the kingdom’s territory. After Trump confirmed that he had been considering a “large real estate deal” to make the semi-autonomous island part of the US, Frederiksen firmly dismissed the suggestion, saying Greenland is not for sale and she hoped he wasn’t being serious. “Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time,” Trump tweeted Tuesday night. “The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct.”

Greenland’s premier, Kim Kielsen, had also turned down the idea, saying the island is not for sale, but is “open for trade and co-operation with other countries, including the USA.” Other Danes were less polite, including Danish People’s Party foreign affairs spokesman Soren Espersen, who said that if Trump was serious, it was “final proof” he had gone mad, the BBC reports. The cancellation of the trip came as a surprise, especially since Trump, who had been invited for the Sept. 2 and 3 state visit by Queen Margrethe II, had insisted that the trip was unrelated to his Greenland plan, NBC reports. Carla Sands, Trump’s ambassador to Denmark, was apparently among those taken by surprise, reports the New York Times. “Denmark is ready for the POTUS @realDonaldTrump visit! ” she tweeted hours before it was called off.

Now that we have all the Trump silliness out of the way……why did Trump really want Greenland?

Yet Trump’s interest in Greenland is just the latest indication of the island’s increasing geopolitical importance. It is even drawing the eye of China.

Greenland’s strategic value is linked tightly to new North Atlantic shipping lanes opening up due to melting polar ice caps. The new lanes have dramatically decreased maritime trade travel times, which generally includes traveling through the Panama or Suez canals to circumnavigate the world.

Greenland, which is home to nearly 58,000 people, is the largest island in the world, and 80% of its 811,000 square miles are ice-capped. The island’s residents are Danish, but they have governed by self-rule since 1979.

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/08/21/heres-why-trump-wants-to-buy-greenland.html

But wait…this Greenland thing was NOT a Trump idea as we were told…..it seems that Sen Tom Cotton that sycophant that keeps his knee pads close at hand when dealing with the president……is still auditioning for a spot in the Trump White House……

The U.S. should obviously buy Greenland, and anyone who doesn’t see that is blinded by disdain for the president, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton said Wednesday.

Cotton, R-Arkansas, said he broached the topic with the Danish ambassador to the United States several months ago. He also recommended to President Donald Trump that he should try to buy the territory from Denmark.

Those conversations came before Trump ignited an international social-media kerfuffle Tuesday night when he took to Twitter to cancel a planned visit to Denmark because the Danish prime minister rebuffed discussions about a potential Greenland sale.

https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2019/aug/22/cotton-backs-buying-greenland-20190822/

His value is sorely diminished since Cotton’s proposal embarrassed the president and he does not appreciate such things.

Now that this silliness is put aside…….we sit and wait for the next Trump batcrap crazy that we will need to discuss and analyze…..

What will it be next?

Be Smart!

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“Lego Ergo Scribo”