Day: March 7, 2023

Closing Thought–07Mar23

My friend Dr. Rex (https://hrexach.wordpress.com/ ) has turned me unto this situation in Florida by the mini dictator DeSantis….he has crapped on individual choice, and books and education and now he is coming for the first amendment in Florida.

Any blogger mentioning Florida’s governor or a state legislator would be required to register with the state under newly proposed legislation experts say would surely violate the First Amendment. Senate Bill 1316 states any person who writes “an article, a story, or a series of stories” about “the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, a Cabinet officer, or any member of the Legislature,” and is paid for their services must register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics within five days of publication. Authors would also need to submit monthly reports describing what posts mention officials, with links; the compensation received; and the individual or entity behind the payment—or face daily fines of $25 up to a maximum of $2,500 per report, per WFLA.

“If a blogger posts to a blog about an elected state officer and receives, or will receive, compensation for that post, the blogger must register,” reads the bill, per NBC News. It also requires that “bloggers file notices of failure to file a timely report the same way that lobbyists file their disclosures and reports on assessed fines,” per WFLA. The legislation, to take effect immediately upon approval, excludes newspapers or similar publications. It defines a blog as “a website or webpage that hosts any blogger and is frequently updated with opinion, commentary, or business content”—which may or may not apply to YouTube video bloggers. The bill is authored by Jason Brodeur, a Republican state senator who’s “been the subject of frequent criticism in the media,” per Florida Politics.

“Paid bloggers are lobbyists who write instead of talk. They both are professional electioneers,” Brodeur tells Florida Politics. “If lobbyists have to register and report, why shouldn’t paid bloggers?” Yet “it’s hard to imagine a proposal that would be more violative of the First Amendment,” Ron Kuby, a First Amendment lawyer, tells NBC. Brodeur has authored other bills experts say would be unconstitutional if passed. One would prevent journalists from shielding the identity of anonymous sources if sued and automatically presume information from such sources to be false, the Orlando Sentinel reports. It “empowers the rich and powerful to basically go after people who say things they don’t like,” Bobby Block of the Florida First Amendment Foundation tells the outlet.

All he needs now is to start wear some sort of uniform and his ‘style’ will be made.

If he is successful this may go to the Supreme Court…..and we know how those political hacks work….don’t we?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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Ukraine–Time For A Change

First I would like to pose the same question I have asked many times and of yet there is no answer forthcoming.

What does the US expect as a return on our investment in Ukraine?

Now for the meat of this post….

The US keeps throwing money at the conflict in Ukraine and I feel we have done more than enough….it is time for someone to take the lead on the Ukraine conflict.

Just this week the announcement was made that another $400 million aid package is being put together…..

The Biden administration on Friday announced a new $400 million weapons package for Ukraine that includes ammunition for the HIMARS rocket systems, artillery rounds, and 25mm ammunition for Bradley Fighting Vehicles.

The package is being provided through the presidential drawdown authority, which allows President Biden to arm Ukraine with weapons and ammunition sitting in US military stockpiles. The new equipment comes as the US is helping Ukraine prepare for a potential counteroffensive against Russian forces.

(antiwar.com)

Since the ‘threat’ from Russia is more a European problem then I think they should take the lead.

Instead of a quick Russian victory, Russia’s second invasion of Ukraine seems to be settling into a drawn-out slugfest. After Ukrainian soldiers surprisingly thwarted Russia’s offensive on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital city, the gleeful United States rallied NATO nations to provide the Ukrainians with tens of billions in weapons technology.

After some Ukrainian battlefield successes in throwing back the Russians in the east and south of Ukraine, which gained back some Russian-occupied territory, the United States and its allies gradually succumbed to the vision of decisively handing the Russian Bear with a stinging military defeat.

Yet, Russia still has some advantages. By essentially invading Crimea and parts of industrialized eastern Ukraine in 2014 and combining this conquered territory with that of its initial gains in the east and south in the 2022 invasion, the Russians have given the Ukrainians a Herculean task to recapture such a large land area against a more significant and sometimes well-dug-in occupying force

Unless the reported low morale of the Russian force causes it to suddenly collapse—as German troops did in 1918 during World War I—the war likely will turn into a long, bloody slog.

Although the West has emotionally rallied to Ukraine’s colors against a more formidable aggressor by providing tens of billions in military, economic and humanitarian aid, the United States now must make a hard-nosed analysis of whether its security requires a clear-cut Ukrainian victory, whether that’s even a realistic possibility, and if not, what a settlement of lands between the two countries would look like to create the best chance for a peaceful solution to the conflict that would endure.

https://www.independent.org/news/article.asp?id=14425

For me this idea makes a lot of sense….but since the defense industry is rolling in cash it will not be a workable plan for our Congress is wholly owned by the Defense industry.

Lastly let me ask the question again….

What return does the US expect for our massive investment in Ukraine?

Any thoughts or answers?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”