Category: Government

Rein In The War Department

As long as budgets and debt is on everyone’s mind let us look at a major part of our problem, IMO….

In case you have been remiss and avoided reading IST then you do not know that I have little faith in the War Department and its contractors (read someplace there are about 50,000 of them)…..if you have read my posts then I need explain nothing (and thank you for reading).

Since Reagan more and more of the responsibilities of the Pentagon have been outsourced.

This is a report, granted an old one, that explores the growth of so-called ‘contractors’ for the Pentagon it was published by the Center for Public Integrity in 2004…..and its findings….

The Center examined more than 2.2 million contract actions totaling $900 billion in authorized expenditures over the six-year period from fiscal year 1998 through fiscal 2003 (Oct. 1, 1997-Sept. 30, 2003). Most of the research was focused on the biggest contractors, those that won at least $100 million in prime contracts over the period studied. Some 737 prime contractors, mainly but not exclusively for-profit corporations, fit that criteria, along with several thousand of their subsidiaries and affiliates.

Half of all the Defense Department’s budget goes out the door of the Pentagon to private contractors. This percentage has stayed virtually constant over the past six years; as the Pentagon’s budget has expanded with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, so have the dollars going to contractors.

The Pentagon’s contracting force is top-heavy, and growing more so. Out of a total universe numbering tens of thousands of contractors, the biggest 737 collected nearly 80 percent of the Defense Department’s procurement dollars. The 50 biggest contractors got more than half of all the money; the top 10 got 38 percent.

If you want more info (which I doubt will be used)…..

The Biggest Contractors
Competition
Cost-Plus Contracts
Joint Ventures
Foreign Contractors
Political Influence I: Campaign Contributions
Political Influence II: Lobbying
Small Business: Bigger Than You Think
What the Pentagon Buys
The Rise in Service Contracts
Accuracy in Pentagon Reporting

Like I stated it is an old report and since then the budget for the War Department grows and grows and like most government stuff the holes and the problems were given a band-aid so the money continues to flow.

Let’s look at the most recent ‘deal’….

The agreement between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to raise the debt limit for two years, if approved by the House and Senate, will avert a potential economic catastrophe. Biden started off demanding a “clean” debt limit increase with no extraneous provisions. McCarthy sought deep cuts in domestic discretionary spending and large increases in military spending in exchange for raising the debt limit. 

The compromise, reached Sunday, includes a small decrease in domestic discretionary spending and a record $886 billion for defense, a 3.3% increase over the current year. The money allocated for the defense budget is exactly what Biden requested in the 2024 budget. Notably, about half of that money will go to defense contractors. 

In 2015, the United States spent $585 billion on its military. The United States has added more than $300 billion in military spending in less than a decade. (Had military spending kept pace with inflation, military spending would still be less than $700 billion annually.) Biden has added nearly $150 billion to the military budget since 2021, the last budget approved by President Trump. The budget of the Pentagon now exceeds “the budgets for the next ten largest cabinet agencies combined.”  In 2020, Lockheed Martin received $75 billion in government contracts, more than 1.5 times the budget of the entire State Department. 

Last year, the United States spent more on its military than the next 10 highest-spending countries combined…

https://popular.info/p/there-is-always-more-money-for-defense

While most domestic programs are cut to the bone…..the War Department is rolling in cash….now you tell me where the problem is now that you have read this post.  (Of course that will depend on the capability to read)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

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Debt Ceiling–In Case You Want To Know

A deal has been made between Biden and the House GOP….I would like for the people, my readers, that would like to know more beyond the god awful deal that was finally settled upon….

Here is the takeaways and the answers to most questions…..

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/key-questions-takeaways-debt-ceiling-deal/story

Personally this article is just the MSM trying to turn chicken manure into sirloin…..

If you do not like ABC then maybe this will be more favorable to your thinking…..

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/whats-in-and-whats-out-of-the-debt-ceiling-deal-between-biden-and-mccarthy

I still do not see where the American people made out in this deal…..basically it is to protect the markets and give cover for their re-election……

An agreement has been reached, at least in principle, by President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on raising the nation’s debt limit, and now the final OK is in Congress’ hands. Both progressive Democrats and ultra-conservatives are already pushing back on the deal, and if Biden and McCarthy can’t convince members of their own parties to vote for it by a June 5 deadline, a default looms. Negotiators are scrambling to finalize the bill’s details, and the takes are starting to trickle in. Some thoughts on what this agreement could mean:

  • View on proposed spending cuts: Economists tell the New York Times they don’t think those “modest” cuts will seriously shake up a “well-positioned” economy that should be able to absorb them. “The most important impact is the stability that comes with having a deal,” Ben Harris, a former deputy Treasury secretary, tells the paper. “Markets can function knowing that we don’t have a cataclysmic debt ceiling crisis looming.”
  • A Balanced deal, but…: The editorial board at the Washington Post notes that both the GOP and Dems got “some of what they wanted,” and that “most Americans will probably approve” of the “sensible” basics of the deal. The panel argues, however, that the agreement sets a “dangerous precedent,” as “House Republicans have now used the debt limit twice to create a hostage-like situation that brings the nation close to an unthinkable default.” The board’s recommendation: “The debt limit itself needs to be scrapped,” as it “no longer makes any sense.”
  • “Wrinkles and curveballs”: Politico outlines the details that make “even more clear what kinds of trade-offs [Biden] and McCarthy had to accept in ways that are already angering members of the parties’ bases”—including a thumbs-up for an Appalachian gas pipeline promoted by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin.
  • Cautious optimism from investors: They note the debt deal could “boost overall appetite for risk” in the stock market, while also boosting some of the “unloved corners,” including cyclical stocks, defense stocks, and energy stocks, per Reuters. “The hope is that the approval of this tentative deal will help underpin the broader market and not just the handful of big tech names that have kept the market well in positive territory,” Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist at LPL Financial, says.
  • Temporary relief? A second piece in Reuters takes the stance that any market relief that emerges out of the deal will only be a “short-lived sugar high.” The outlet notes that’s because once the agreement is struck, it’s believed the US Treasury will rapidly issue nearly $1.1 trillion in Treasury bills—a move that would “effectively suck a bunch of liquidity out of the marketplace” and create “an environment where markets are crash prone,” experts say.
  • “Fiscal hangover”: Investors.com similarly warns that “a fiscal hangover is just beginning,” and that “we’re about to get Fed quantitative tightening on steroids,” with a possible stock market dip and recession around the corner.
  • The art of compromise: Writing for CNN, Dean Obeidallah notes that making concessions is part of the game, and for fellow Democrats who don’t like the agreement, he has some advice. “There is an easy fix: Win back control of the House in 2024—while retaining the Senate and White House—and they can roll back any parts of the deal they find objectionable,” he writes.

Not to worry we will play this same game in a couple of years….just another way to do nothing while appearing to do something.

All this is just so much theater of the absurd…..and it is pathetic.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Deal For Our Time

Over the weekend the drama of the negotiations for the deal to handle the debt came to an end…..Biden, Dems and GOP have cut a deal…

President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have reached an agreement in principle to increase the nation’s borrowing authority and avoid a default. Negotiators are now racing to finalize the bill’s text. McCarthy said the House will vote on the legislation on Wednesday, giving the Senate time to consider it ahead of the June 5 deadline to avoid a default. While many details are unknown, both sides will be able to point to some victories, per the AP. Some details, based on what’s known so far:

  • Two years: The agreement would keep non-defense spending roughly flat in the 2024 fiscal year and increase it by 1% the following year, as well as provide for a two-year debt-limit increase—past the next presidential election in 2024. That’s according to a source familiar with the deal who provided details on the condition of anonymity.
  • Veterans: The agreement will fully fund medical care for veterans at the levels included in Biden’s proposed 2024 budget blueprint, including for a fund dedicated to veterans who have been exposed to toxic substances or environmental hazards. Biden sought $20.3 billion for the toxic exposure fund in his budget.
  • Work requirements: The agreement would expand some work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps. The agreement would raise the age for existing work requirements from 49 to 54, similar to the Republican proposal, but those changes would expire in 2030. And the White House said it would at the same time reduce the number of vulnerable people at all ages who are subject to the requirements.
  • Energy projects: The deal puts in place changes in the the National Environmental Policy Act that will designate “a single lead agency” to develop environmental reviews, in hopes of streamlining the process.
  • Student debt: Republicans had sought to repeal Biden’s efforts to waive $10,000 to $20,000 in debt for nearly all borrowers who took out student loans. But the provision was a nonstarter for Democrats. The budget agreement keeps Biden’s student loan relief in place, though the Supreme Court will have the ultimate say on the matter.

No one will be happy with the plan….the markets ought to open higher come Tuesday…..so some will be happy….t least the VA got a small victory just in time for Memorial Day.

I had a problem with the role that the media played in the coverage of this issue…..there are a couple of ‘notions’….

“First, the notion that ‘modest cuts’ to spending are inconsequential.”

Second is the role of inflation,” Hauser continued, charging that the brewing potential deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) “would be a catastrophe for government capacity, and coverage that ignores the role of inflation (hardly a low profile issue in 2023!) is wildly and indefensibly misguided.”

“Third, the notion that the president was trapped under the gun of McCarthy is ridiculous,” he added. “Because the debt ceiling is an unconstitutional, incoherent excuse for a law and because there is an active lawsuit from the National Association of Government Employees [NAGE], Biden’s status as a hostage merely reflects an advanced case of Stockholm Syndrome.”

Given arguments that the president “has a wide number of ways out from the debt ceiling and no legal way to implement it,” Hauser asserted, “the media needs to quit deferring to the debt ceiling’s political theater and engage more with the essentially uncontroverted legal experts pointing out that it cannot be implemented in a constitutional manner.”

(commondreams.org)

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is This How They Support Our Veterans?

I personally think that this country does not give enough support to our veterans…..especially those that suffer damage because of our moronic wars.

The GOP always plays hard to the veteran and lies to them every election and when they are elected they stab the vets in the back…..almost every time.

The GOP controlled House has done that exact thing while playing the debt game…..

When the new House majority passed its grab bag of government spending cuts last month, setting up an on-going game of chicken with the White House over any federal debt limit increase, they also directed their fire at essential services for military veterans, a constituency long courted by their own party. Included in the “Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023,” was a proposed 22% reduction in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Right-wing Republicans scrambled to provide political cover for themselves by insisting that “our budget cutting plan doesn’t harm veterans.” Instead, claimed Mike Bost, a former Marine from Illinois who now chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, his  conservative colleagues were just trying to force a long-overdue discussion of whether VA funding is “actually helping veterans.”

Fortunately, a VA patient, elected to Congress last year, took the House floor to accuse the Republican majority of passing a “B.S. plan” that’s “an absolute betrayal and a disgrace.” As former Navy Officer Chris Deluzio (D-PA) noted, House Republicans are “threatening to blow up our economy and to push us into default unless we agree to cuts to the VA and veterans, and to so much else.  There is not a single protection, not a single one for veterans in their bill. …Millions of veterans are going to be screwed by this plan.  They won’t get the care they’ve earned, and they will have to wait longer for benefits.”

Deluzio’s fiery speech generated much media attention and set the tone for other Democrats, like Joe Biden and California Congressman Mark Takano, who have weighed in, with similar criticism of GOP hypocrisy. Democratic Party consultants and strategists are, no doubt, already sketching out the kind of attack adds—focusing on Republican support for VA benefit cuts—that will be aired to help the White House woo the “vet vote” away from right-wing candidates next year, who need to be defeated for myriad reasons.

Amid Debt Ceiling Debate: VA Cuts Passed by House Give Corporate Dems Political Cover

How f*cked up is that?

We have a Pentagon play war around the world that gets almost unlimited funds and our vets will have to deal with a possible 22% cut in need funds.

And yet this betrayal will be forgotten by 2024 vote…..now that is what is f*cked up!

Our vets deserve so much more than they get….thank you for your service is just a feel good tagline….if you really want to ‘thank them’ then make damn sure they are looked after as they should be.

On an unrelated note:  DeSantis announced Thursday that he would seek the presidency and in the first 24 hrs he has raised $8.2 million….that should scare any rational person into start looking closely at the candidates.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Rot At SCOTUS

The recent events around the dealings of Justice Thomas and his closeness with some billionaire who seems to be paying the bills for Thomas.

I read a piece written by Bill Astore that sums up what is happening within our Supreme Court……a good piece and should be read…..

A big part of the American experiment is the idea we are a nation of laws as defined by the U.S. Constitution. The law is supposed to apply equally to all, and disinterested, impartial, justices are supposed to make rulings that are unaffected by money or race or religion or any other factor other than the law itself and what’s right and what isn’t.

That doesn’t describe today’s Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS).

Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted all kinds of undeclared gifts from a billionaire supporter, including tuition for his great-nephew at private boarding schools. Justice Neil Gorsuch profited from a real estate transaction with a rich law firm CEO with extensive business before the court. Apparently, SCOTUS polices itself here, and so far the SCOTUS cop on watch is asleep.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh gained his seat under a storm of controversy. I wrote in September 2018 that he should withdraw his name from consideration, based on the demeanor he showed at his Senate hearing, but of course he didn’t. Justice Amy Coney Barrett was specifically “saved” by President Trump to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg; everyone knew she was a conservative Catholic opposed to abortion with a clear record of being pro-business to boot.

You’d think the #1 criterion for a SCOTUS justice would be unassailable integrity, but today it seems to be predictable partisan positions (both political parties are guilty here, though Republicans are more blatant). Allegiance to moneyed interests is a big plus. The latter point is why these justices see no problem with accepting “gifts,” otherwise known as bribes (for that is what they are, in plain speak).

https://bracingviews.substack.com/p/rot-at-the-supreme-court

Integrity in the court has left the building many years ago…..the rot within the court is all pervasive….the only for sure about the court is it is as corruptible as the rest of DC and our elected officials….the only difference is these political hacks have a lifetime to have their palms greased.

It is beyond time to make some much needed SCOTUS reforms…..like term limits, mandatory retirement and stop allowing political hacks on the highest court in the land.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Office Of Perception Management

The War Department’s clever name for a propaganda machine.

But they do not need it for we have clarity and transparency in our democracy. (that is sarcasm in case you missed it)

Would our government use propaganda?

You bet your ass they would especially when public approval is needed they will lie and misinform to keep the public dazed and confused makes acceptance of crappy policies palatable.

But let’s go back to the 1980s and the Reagan admin……

Not long after the 9/11 attacks, the Bush administration launched what it called the Office of Strategic Influence, which would seek to “counter the enemy’s perception management” in the so-called war on terror. But it quickly became clear that the office, operating under Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, would be managing those perceptions with its own disinformation.

As the New York Times reported at the time, its work was to “provide news items, possibly including false ones, to foreign journalists in an effort to influence overseas opinion.” In the nascent Internet age, observers worried the propaganda could boomerang back on Americans.

“The question is whether the Pentagon and military should undertake an official program that uses disinformation to shape perceptions abroad,” the Times reported in 2004. “But in a modern world wired by satellite television and the Internet, any misleading information and falsehoods could easily be repeated by American news outlets.”

Now, two decades later, “perception management” is once again becoming a central focus for the national security state. On March 1, 2022, the Pentagon established a new office with similar goals to the one once deemed too controversial to remain open. Very little has been made public about the effort, which The Intercept learned about through a review of budget documents and an internal memo we obtained. This iteration is called the Influence and Perception Management Office, or IPMO, according to the memo, which was produced by the office for an academic institution, and its responsibilities include overseeing and coordinating the various counter-disinformation efforts being conducted by the military, which can include the U.S.’s own propaganda abroad.

Inside the Pentagon’s New “Perception Management” Office to Counter Disinformation

I have been saying this for decades….[lus with social media I am sure that some of us have been a target for the trash spread by the Pentagon and its contractors.

Americans bad mouth Joseph Goebbels and his Ministry of Truth…..looks like we have some that are following the textbook to a tee.

Pay attention or be stupid your choice.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Is Debt Ceiling Constitutional?

Now there is an excellent question.

For the last month we have had the back and forth with the looming governmental shutdown. Some have even asked if all this drama is truly necessary?

So to answer the question I went to Vox for their take on the whole enchilada….

The United States has a time bomb written into federal law, and no one knows whether it is constitutional or not.

As anyone who has paid attention to the last dozen years of fighting over the federal budget knows, Congress must periodically raise the nation’s debt ceiling, the amount of money that the US Treasury is allowed to borrow, because the US spends more than it takes in. If the debt ceiling is raised or repealed on schedule, nothing happens. The Treasury will continue to pay for all federal expenses Congress has ordered it to pay, and it will continue to borrow money to pay for these obligations when necessary.

…

This completely unnecessary threat to the US economy arises from the odd way Congress manages the federal budget. As a general rule, Congress enacts one set of laws that govern taxation and revenue; these laws determine how much money the United States brings in every year. It enacts another set of laws, known as appropriations, that determine how much money the United States will spend every year. If appropriations exceed revenue, then the United States will run a budget deficit and will need to borrow money to cover the gap.

But, rather than automatically authorizing the Treasury to borrow however much money is necessary to cover this deficit, Congress also enacted a third law — the debt ceiling — that prohibits Treasury from borrowing more than a set amount of funds. Once this limit is hit, the country is unable to pay its bills unless Congress raises the debt ceiling. And that will cause the United States to default on at least some of its financial obligations, triggering the same spiral of reduced creditworthiness that faces consumers who refuse to pay their credit card bills.

https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/5/11/23712477/supreme-court-debt-ceiling-fourteenth-amendment-unconstitutional-kevin-mccarthy-joe-biden

With all the info then you decide if it is constitutional for yourself.

My thoughts here are…..with some time the US could make this less a problem by enacting two simple things…..1–corporations should be paying their way in this society through taxation….2–rein in the military adventurism world wide.

This will not immediately fix the debt problem but it would be a good road to find that solution all seem to be looking for with all this dramatics from Congress.

Just me thinking out loud.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

DeSantis War On Education

The mini dictator of Florida has been attacking education at every turn….and his newest attack goes a bit far….well most of the attacks go too far in my opinion….

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis continued his campaign on Monday against what he views as “woke” ideology in the education system. The governor and presumptive 2024 presidential candidate signed into law a measure that prohibits the state’s public colleges and universities from spending money on what are known as DEI initiatives, or diversity, equity, and inclusion, reports the Washington Post. “DEI is better viewed as standing for discrimination, exclusion, and indoctrination,” said DeSantis Monday at New College of Florida in Sarasota.

He also banned courses that, in the law’s language, “distort significant historical events,” teach “identity politics,” or are “based on theories that systemic racism, sexism, oppression, or privilege are inherent in the institutions of the United States and were created to maintain social, political, or economic inequities,” per the Orlando Sentinel. Under the legislation, Florida colleges will have to review courses and majors offered to students and ditch ones that cover what DeSantis deems “niche” areas such as critical race theory. “Florida is getting out of that game,” DeSantis said. “If you want to do things like gender ideology, go to Berkeley—go to some of these other places.” Some opposing views rounded up in coverage:

  • “The government has no role in banning or censoring subject matter in higher education,” says Andrew Gothard, head of United Faculty Florida, which represents faculty members across the state.
  • “It’s basically state-mandated censorship, which has no place in a democracy,” says Irene Mulvey, president of the American Association of University Professors.
  • “Indoctrination drives the DeSantis agenda not because he is worried educators are indoctrinating students, but because they aren’t indoctrinating them with HIS ideology,” says Democratic state Sen. Shevrin Jones.

Florida is not alone in this war on education…..almost every Red State has some form of attacks….all of which are a march toward authoritarianism.

There are no commanding visions of public education at work in the United States. These are dark times for education, teachers, librarians, Black youth, trans people, young people and the empowering principles of academic freedom, critical thinking, civic courage, and a shared notion of citizenship. Since the 1950s, and especially since the 1980s with the election of Ronald Reagan as President, there has been an intense struggle both to privatize public schooling and to corporatize higher education.[1] In its updated and expanded version, the current far right extremists in the Republican Party are waging a naked attack “on the very existence of public education.”[2] In the first half of the 20th century, the established conservative common sense operated off the assumption that the central purpose of education was to prepare students at different levels for their station in the workplace or in the larger global corporate order. A growing far right version of the conservative movement increasingly argued that the idea of schooling as a public and common good was anathema. Schools were now disparaged as government schools or even worse, “socialist training camps.”[3]According to these assassins of public education, schools had become a byproduct of a government that used them to enforce a poisonous notion citizenship defined through the values of equity, freedom, justice, and equality.[4]

Public Education as a Domestic Machinery of Indoctrination and Disposability in the Age of Fascist Politics

These attacks are doing nothing to make this a better country.

If anything it is dumbing down our children which makes for more pliable adults….so far it is working like a clock.

We need to be vigilant or we will lose everything we have worked for in the past.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Ever Wonder Where The Money Goes?

I know most people walk around in a haze and believe the hype that is spread by the War Department on the need for more and more cash…..

So keeping with my attempts to be an FYI blog I offer this info on the Pentagon budget…..if you care where your tax dollars go then you might want to read this carefully and decide if it is money well spent.

This will give my reader an idea of just how much money is being spent under the guise of defense and where these dollars will go.

Now that I have your attention let us look at how the media plays into to censorship of information around our War Department and our lust for war…..

If I have peaked your interest then by all means read on…..

On January 17, 1961, outgoing President and former Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower gave one of the most consequential speeches in American history. Eisenhower for eight years had been a popular president, whose appeal drew upon a reputation as a person of great personal fortitude, who’d guided the United States to victory in an existential fight for survival in World War II. Nonetheless, as he prepared to vacate the Oval Office for handsome young John F. Kennedy, he warned the country it was now at the mercy of a power even he could not overcome. 

Until World War II, America had no permanent arms manufacturing industry. Now it did, and this new sector, Eisenhower said, was building up around itself a cultural, financial, and political support system accruing enormous power. This “conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience,” he said, adding:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. 

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes… Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. 

This was the direst of warnings, but the address has tended in the popular press to be ignored. After sixty-plus years, most of America – including most of the American left, which traditionally focused the most on this issue – has lost its fear that our arms industry might conquer democracy from within. 

https://www.racket.news/p/report-on-the-censorship-industrial-74b

Keep an eye on the news….there may be a request for even more cash for Ukraine by mid-Summer….

The last massive aid package Congress authorized for Ukraine has about $6 billion left, which is expected to be used up by mid-summer, POLITICO reported Monday.

So far, the US has authorized about $113 billion in spending on the war in Ukraine, which includes military aid, direct budgetary aid, training, funding for US troop deployments in Eastern Europe, and other types of assistance.

Once the final $6 billion dries up, the Pentagon won’t be able to ship more weapons to Ukraine. That means the White House is expected to ask Congress to authorize more spending on the war soon.

A senior Biden administration official told POLITICO that the White House is discussing a new package and is going to time it so the weapons can keep flowing to Ukraine. The official said the administration is “fully committed” to supporting Kyiv in the war “for the long haul.”

The POLITICO report said that massive aid packages for Ukraine might not be as easy to ram through Congress as they were before, citing the debate over the debt ceiling and dissent from a small but significant group of Republicans. But the majority of Republicans support arming Ukraine, including GOP leadership, who have been critical of President Biden for not sending longer-range weapons and fighter jets.

“Although there are dissenting voices, the large majority of certainly Republicans — for sure in the Senate and arguably in the House as well — believe strongly that we need Ukraine to win and that the outcome there is something that matters not only to that region, but to the United States and our national security interests,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

On the Democrat side, there is virtually no opposition to arming Ukraine. While there’s still strong support in Congress for arming Ukraine, hawks in Washington are concerned it could decline if Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive fails.

(antiwar.com)

For god sake please pull your head out of the proverbial sand pile….or better yet out of your ass.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Those Blanket Approvals

A recent survey and the GOP numbers for support for this person is dwindling…..

Less than half of Republicans have confidence in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center that highlights the growing partisan divide over the war in Ukraine.

Only 44 percent of Republican respondents said they had confidence in Zelensky, while 71 percent of Democrats expressed support for the war-time leader — a 27 percent split between parties. 

The divide held when respondents were asked if they held favorable views of Ukraine in general, with 52 percent of Republicans and 77 percent of Democrats saying they had a positive opinion of the country.

The survey joins a long list of recent polls showing that the Republican base is increasingly skeptical of U.S. policy toward Ukraine. Notably, the growing partisan divide appears to have had little effect on the policy preferences of GOP leaders in Congress. 

While House Speaker Kevin McCarthy had signaled before the midterm elections that he would not support a “blank check” for Ukraine, he rolled back those remarks last week and pledged that the U.S. will continue its military assistance “as long as I am Speaker.”

But GOP presidential candidates have been more willing to express concerns about U.S. support for Kyiv. Former President Donald Trump said in January that the war was a “tragic waste of human life” and claimed that, if he was still in the White House, he would be able to rapidly negotiate an end to the conflict.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — Trump’s leading challenger — has also expressed cautious skepticism about the value of backing Ukraine to the hilt and appeared to call for a ceasefire in April.

Poll: Less than half of Republicans have confidence in Zelensky

But I do not think the Zelensky has much to worry about for the arms industry owns the Congress and while support may be less now the blood letting will continue.

Besides the American people have this lust for blood and guts war (the indoctrination has become complete)…

For various reasons, America’s ruling class has a great love of war, even as America’s non-ruling-classes have a general indifference to it, as long as its destructiveness is kept overseas and out of sight.

It’s strange indeed that we have such faith in war: such faith in destruction as being progressive. Americans are a hyper-aggressive and trigger-happy bunch, quick to anger, slow to think. Fear, anger, and pride make us a menace to various peoples on the receiving end of American firepower, yet somehow we see ourselves as reasonable peacemakers. Such a mass delusion can only be sustained through massive propaganda, a “victory culture” if you will, supported by all those Hollywood war movies, TV shows featuring SEALs and the like, military pageantry at sporting events, and so on.

William Astore on America’s Faith in War

Besides some disinformation will be passed on to help the support grow…..like always it is glowing and bullsh*t.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”