Category: Politics

everything to do with the execution of politics

Military Deaths Update

I recently reported on the deaths of 4 Americans in Syria…their names had been withheld…..https://lobotero.com/2019/01/17/more-us-deaths-2019/

I can report now that the names of 3 of the dead have been released……

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jonathan R. Farmer, 37, was from Boynton Beach, Florida. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Navy Chief Cryptologic Technician (Interpretive) Shannon M. Kent, 35, was from upstate New York. She was a sailor assigned to Cryptologic Warfare Activity 66, based at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland.

Civilian Scott A. Wirtz, 42, of St. Louis, Missouri, was assigned to the Defense Intelligence Agency as an operations support specialist, DIA said.

The fourth person’s name is being withheld because he is a civilian……..

Read more on those who died……

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/18/us/americans-killed-in-syria/index.html

IST send our condolences to the families of those killed…..may their loved ones Rest In Peace.

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Let’s Go To The Poll

If you talk to any given candidate then they will say that they have the support of the military and that they listen and do what concerns our veterans…..like I said a claim….but do any of these people actually approve of our current military policies?

Let’s go to the polls!

To answer that question the Smithsonian asked active duty troops as well as veterans about our current military policies……

It’s no secret that many Americans are fatigued by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now it’s clear for the first time that the troops are, too, according to a new poll conducted by Smithsonian with two partners, the Defense Department publication Stars and Stripes and the Schar School at George Mason University.

Seventeen years after the U.S.-led military invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, more than 80 percent of 1,031 service members and veterans surveyed agreed with the statement that the occupations have “been going on too long.” As far as we know, this survey was the first one to pose that question to current and former service members. Their frustration is significant because they also voiced strong support for the war on terror generally, with 83 percent saying it should continue.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/new-poll-us-troops-veterans-reveals-thoughts-current-military-policies-180971134/

I agree with almost everything……I have a problem with the border thingy…I understand the fear but are troops really the answer?  If so then why do we have a border patrol/ ICE let the military handle it…..of if the border is so important why did it take 2 years to become an issue?  Is this admin so mentally deficient that it can only handle one issue at a time….then they need to move over and make room for the “big boys”……
A poll that was somehow missed by the MSM…..so much for them having the pulse of the nation.
As long as I am writing about polls……a recent one shows that a majority of Americans agree with a 70% tax on the uber rich……
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) sparked a flood of hysterical and error-filled responses from the right when she suggested in a recent “60 Minutes” interview that America’s top marginal tax rate should be hiked to 70 percent to help pay for bold progressive programs, but a survey published on Tuesday found that the majority of Americans are on the freshman congresswoman’s side.
That was surprising, huh?
Any thoughts?

The Coming Balkanization?

As the new Congress sets about doing the country’s work (that would be happening but right now we have a game of partisan BS)……and as usual the Dems seem to be at each other’s throats….a condition that makes conservs smile broadly.

The Dems are said to be in the process of balkanization of the party….about here a normal person would ask….HUH?

Okay the word “balkanization” what does it mean….well, it is pretty simple…..

 

  • to divide (a country, territory, etc.) into small, quarrelsome, ineffectual states.
  • ( often lowercase ) to divide (groups, areas, etc.) into contending and usually ineffectual factions

In this case it would be the second definition….

Now that it is defined….I move on to an article I read in the American Conservative….it seems that Pat Buchanan, an old fart, sees the energy by the freshmen Congresspeople as the problem that could doom the party in the coming elections(I do not agree)….

Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s House has more women, persons of color and LGBT members than any House in history—and fewer white males.

And Thursday, the day Rashida Tlaib was sworn in, her hand on a Quran, our first Palestinian-American congresswoman showed us what we may expect. As a rally of leftists lustily cheered her on, Tlaib roared, “We’re gonna impeach the (expletive deleted)!”

Not only was no apology forthcoming, the host of the New American Leaders event where Tlaib spoke warmly endorsed her gutter language.

Her remarks, said Sayu Bhojwani, “were raw and honest, and came straight from the heart. … a refreshing break from the canned comments our elected leaders usually make. Tlaib spoke…with the fire that so many at our event wanted to hear.”

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/buchanan/the-coming-balkanization-of-the-democratic-party/

This is a tactic the Conservs will use…..the polls show that the public is behind many of the policies that the Dems are spouting and they, conservs, need to start a smear campaign with the hopes of making the Des appear as ineffectual….they have done it before and it has been successful.

Several programs worry conservs….the Green New Deal….a deal to push Dems into doing something about climate change…..

https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/12/21/18144138/green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez

Another program that is getting more trsction with the American public….Medicare For All……

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/01/08/democrats-dont-just-support-medicare-all-84-new-poll-want-party-leaders-make-it

I can hope that the American public will help and get behind the progressives….the country needs a change in direction….the one we are on now leads to a cliff.

The mash-up between Pelosi and Trump is just juvenile…..I think Pelsoi sent her letter just to see how much of a titty baby the president is….and she has her answer.

She will be punished by not letting her visit the troops in Afghanistan….

President Trump, it appears, is working on a new travel ban—and this one is aimed at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. On Thursday, the President sent Pelosi a letter saying that he was cancelling a congressional delegation’s trip abroad so Pelosi can stay in Washington DC and continue to talk border security with him, ABC reports, noting that Trump’s letter seems to be payback for Pelosi’s letter to him earlier this week in which she floated the idea of postponing the State of the Union address until after the shutdown ends. “Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed,” Trump writes in the letter, which was tweeted by Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

He calls the trip a “public relations event” and says, “I also feel that … it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the shutdown.” It appears, per the Hill, that Trump is declining to provide military transportation for the congressional delegation. But Trump does leave another option open: “If you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative.” Sanders tells the Hill that the cancellation is aimed at reaching an agreement and ending the shutdown so government workers don’t miss another paycheck. Many Democrats, predictably, have blasted the president’s move. But Republicans are lobbing criticism, too.

If you would like to know more…..https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/trump-blocks-pelosis-trip-to-afghanistan/news-story/ec59e2a535cb407ce8ca3e19c6f7abb7

If her trip was a PR stunt…what was his trip to visit the troops awhile back?

The “Balkanization” continues…..

A Real Life “Manchurian Candidate”

Back in the 60’s there was a great suspense movie with Frank Sinatra, The Manchurian Candidate…..the movie is about some brainwashed soldiers during the Korean War…it was a “Red Scare” film….it was updated in the 2000s….but the original was by far the better of thew two….

Trailer from the original movie

Now the trailer for the newer version…….

I have been writing about this situation for several years now……this is one of my posts…..https://lobotero.com/2017/01/05/modernizing-the-manchurian-candidate/

I bring all this up because of the news in the last couple of weeks…but of course if you listen to the talking heads it is all “fake news”….but is it?

The article below entitled Trump, The Manchurian Candidate: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Campaign to Destabilize the Trump Presidency waspublished on January 4, 2017 prior to the inauguration of president Trump.

In early January 2017, we had predicted an unprecedented constitutional crisis characterized by a coordinated and carefully planned operation to destabilize the Trump presidency involving several stages, both before and after his inauguration.

We are dealing with a carefully planned operation, a “conspiracy” in the true sense of the word.

In recent developments (January 2019), the FBI investigation is being quoted by the media as “evidence” that Trump is “wittingly or unwittingly” an agent of the Kremlin. (see below Guardian January 2019 report)

https://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-foreign-policy-and-the-campaign-to-destabilize-the-trump-presidency/5565825
 
Personally, I liked the original much better…I guess as an old fart that lived through the Red Scare days I can relate.  The news smacks of the script of the Manchurian Candidate….could this be the case….if not it would make a good script for a future movie.
 
Just Saying.

In case you would like to watch the full movie…..

The Confirmation Wars

When Judge Ginsberg missed a day of court and the media and the president was preparing for her to leave the court I thought about the confirmation wars and had to open up about the situation.

Just before the midterms we had a knock down and dragged out confirmation process for a new judge for SCOTUS….surely you remember the name Kavanaugh, right?

It was Dem vs Repub and that is where this silliness is at now….the judgeship is a political appointment with all the trappings of a campaign with ads and all……and then Ginsburg, RBG, missed a day from the court and the media and right wing pundits have her about to retire and even die…..they so badly want our president old what-his-name to put another radical conserv on the court meaning the country will be f*cked for a generation maybe longer……

A judge should not be picked based on their politics….their record of decisions means less than their stands on certain social issues….we can thank the dullards in the Federalist Society et al for this bastardization of the judicial process.

This needs to end and end now…..our process is turning into a joke and that is not what the Founders had in mind…….we need to end the confirmation wars for good.

With the courts, perception is just as important as reality. The judiciary relies on the public’s faith in its role as a fair arbiter of disputes — without that legitimacy, why would citizens or officials feel obliged to follow court orders?

If one is concerned about the Supreme Court as an institution that can safeguard against constitutional overreach by the other two branches, the bare-knuckles politicking over recent Supreme Court nominees is incredibly shortsighted.

As this most recent (and awful) confirmation saga finally comes to its end, one unsettling consequence surfaces: The legitimacy of the Supreme Court is undermined by the U.S. Senate and its current confirmation process.

Before we try to claw our way out, let’s take a moment to see how we got here. Spoiler alert: No one has clean hands.

https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/410897-how-do-we-end-the-cycle-of-confirmation-wars

Of course there will be people that agree but then the process will NOT change any time soon…….agreement in principle is what we Americans do but actual change is not something we are capable of doing at any time.

The media is still pushing the story that RBG is getting closer to retirement…..it is pathetic how blatant the MSM is being about RBG…..

I Said What?

Rep. Steve King of Iowa has a loong and disgusting history of making insulting and racist comments and statements.

Congressional Republican leaders agreed to strip Rep. Steve King of his positions on House committees Monday after he lamented in an interview with The New York Times that the term “white supremacist” had become offensive. 

The Iowa Republican tried to clarify that he rejects white supremacy, but with his long history of creating uproar across the nation with his racially-charged comments, those objections largely fell on deaf ears.

While defending his remarks in the past, the Iowa Republican has claimed he is regularly misquoted and that he doesn’t trust most media outlets.

Before his recent re-election, King was under fire for reports that he met with members of the Freedom Party, a political organization founded by a former Nazi SS officer, during a trip to Europe funded in part by a Holocaust memorial nonprofit. 

Some of the remarks he has made in the past……

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2019/01/15/steve-king-most-controversial-comments/2578768002/

Finally the GOP has grown a spine and stepped up and acting against King for his blatant racism…….

“This is not the first time we’ve heard these comments,” McCarthy said of King’s remarks. “That is not the party of Lincoln and it’s definitely not American.” McCarthy met with King for an hour before House GOP leaders decided to kick him off the committees. “White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization—how did that language become offensive?” King wondered in a New York Times interview last week, in which he described the Democratic Party as “no country for white men.” After losing his committee seats, King claimed his remarks had been misunderstood and said McCarthy had made a “political decision that ignores the truth.” (King was defended by David Duke after a controversial tweet in 2017.)

After years of out right bigotry what made the House decide to do the right thing and punish this toad?  Was this just the GOP trying to find a way to change the conversation?

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-steve-king-support-778658/

I am pleased they did act but it is not enough….there should be NO place for a bigot in the US House of Representatives.  Period!

Get Down To Business

Closing Thought–15Jan19

The Congress could get into the fray by passing a bill to re0open the government

We all know about the government shutdown that the president and the Congress have given the country….800,000 employees are on furlough…no cash coming in until the deadlock is broken.

No matter which side of the political aisle you stand on this situation is silly but the government could pass a bill to re-open the government and wait for the presidential veto that they could override.

The House has new Dems and they are in the majority abd they will pass a bill and then it will go to the Senate where it will die because McConnell refuses to consider any bill to re-open the government……and instead he pushes some bill that would protect Israel.

Really Israel is more important that the employees that keeps this country moving?

The Democratic majority in the U.S. House of Representatives (along with a dozen fed-up Republicans) has passed multiple bills to reopen all or parts of the government immediately. While these bills could become law with a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate, notwithstanding any potential Trump veto, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has repeatedly blocked attempts to even give them a vote on the senate floor, calling them a waste of time.

While McConnell believes debating legislation to fund TSA screeners, border security agents, and the federal court system to be unnecessary, he has supported further debate about the Middle East. For the third consecutive week, the Senate is scheduled to spend Monday considering S. 1, the Strengthening America’s Security in the Middle East Act of 2019.

https://thinkprogress.org/trump-shutdown-smashes-record-for-longest-ever-mcconnells-senate-will-argue-about-israel-b43abf20f25f/
 
Seriously?
 
F*ck Israel…..F*ck McConnell……F*ck Trump
 
Time for these spineless douche bags to go to work.  Apparently Israeli money has bought the GOP and tells them what and when to do.
 
These old farts are not making any points with the public……but then this 100 old farts are owned by lobbyists and Israel….they care NOTHING for the people they are suppose to serve.
 
But when will the voting public realize just how useless these people are to the functioning of the country?
 
They need to be voted out and bring in some fresh blood that cares more about the country less about their standing with Israel.
 
In closing the president has made his thoughts known:

The conservative Daily Caller has printed an anonymous op-ed from a writer described as “senior official in the White House,” and the author makes some controversial statements about the ongoing government shutdown, including:

  • “For the sake of our nation, I hope it lasts a very long time, till the government is changed and can never return to its previous form.”
  • “Due to the lack of funding, many federal agencies are now operating more effectively from the top down on a fraction of their workforce, with only select essential personnel serving national security tasks.”
  • “We do not want most employees to return, because we are working better without them.”

The author says he or she is one of the federal workers currently working without a paycheck, but sees the sacrifice as worth it if the shutdown leads to a leaner government. The vast majority of federal employees—the author estimates 80%—are good-for-nothing clock-punchers or, worse, “saboteurs” out to wreck the Trump presidency, the author argues. The rest are “exceptional patriots.” President Trump himself endorsed the column on Twitter on Tuesday morning. “Worth the read,” he wrote. Read the column in full here

I have about enough of this d/bag that you elected….the country will be so much better when he has gone the way of the do-do……period!
 
What a great bunch of d/bags.