Tag: Defense Spending

Ukraine Aid Oversight

Since the US began dumping millions of dollars into Ukraine I have been concerned that there was no oversight on how it the cash was spent or the weapons used….and it seems daily that we, the US, send more cash and stuff to Ukraine…..when will there be any oversight?

If it is up to the White House there will be no oversight at all.

The Joe Biden administration has come out in opposition to Congress creating an inspector general’s office to oversee weapons transfers to the Ukrainian government. 

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes a provision that will create an inspector general for the proxy war in Ukraine modeled after the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction (SIGAR). 

SIGAR John Sopko detailed the rampant American failures during the Afghan War for years. His quarterly reports routinely embarrassed American officials who tried to portray the situation in Afghanistan as improving. 

Sopko has warned that an inspector general’s official for the Ukraine war needed to be established to prevent a repeat of the situation American aid created in Afghanistan, which saw massive corruption. “There is an understandable desire amid a crisis to focus on getting money out the door and to worry about oversight later, but too often that creates more problems than it solves,” he wrote in a report submitted to Congress earlier this year. “Given the ongoing conflict and the unprecedented volume of weapons being transferred to Ukraine, the risk that some equipment ends up on the black market or in the wrong hands is likely unavoidable.”

Sopko continued, “You’re bound to get corrupt elements of not only the Ukrainian or the host government, but also of US government contractors or other third party contractors to try to steal the money. There’s just so much money going in, and it’s hard to keep track of.”

https://libertarianinstitute.org/news/white-house-looks-to-prevent-oversight-of-ukraine-aid/

Ask yourself why would the White House oppose any form of oversight?

Apparently someone somewhere has something to hide from the American people, whose money is being used to finance yet another proxy war that will accomplish nothing in the grand scheme of international relations.

Again it amazes me that some Americans go on and on about those ‘lay abouts’ on social programs and have no thoughts about wasted money elsewhere.

Social program fraud is tracked down and punished….can we say that about the fraud in Ukraine?

Do you think the American taxpayer deserves to know where their money is being spent or wasted?

Just wondering.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

What Is That ‘Sucking’ Sound?

It is common knowledge that I think our War Department is like a spoiled child…..we throw money at it to keep it quiet and pacified. Americans care more about some far away mud hole than the people down the street…..we have become a bloodthirsty pack of ingrates.

The War Department must invent international problems to ensure the money keeps rolling in.

So the ‘sucking’ sound you hear is the tax dollars being siphoned off to appease the gods of war.

America is a stratocracy, a form of government dominated by the military. It is axiomatic among the two ruling parties that there must be a constant preparation for war. The war machine’s massive budgets are sacrosanct. Its billions of dollars in waste and fraud are ignored. Its military fiascos in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East have disappeared into the vast cavern of historical amnesia. This amnesia, which means there is never accountability, licenses the war machine to economically disembowel the country and drive the Empire into one self-defeating conflict after another. The militarists win every election. They cannot lose. It is impossible to vote against them. The war state is a Götterdämmerung, as Dwight Macdonald writes, “without the gods.”

Since the end of the Second World War, the federal government has spent more than half its tax dollars on past, current and future military operations. It is the largest single sustaining activity of the government. Military systems are sold before they are produced with guarantees that huge cost overruns will be covered. Foreign aid is contingent on buying U.S. weapons. Egypt, which receives some $1.3 billion in foreign military financing, is required to devote it to buying and maintaining U.S. weapons systems. Israel has received $158 billion in bilateral assistance from the U.S. since 1949, almost all of it since 1971 in the form of military aid, with most of it going towards arms purchases from U.S. weapons manufacturers. The American public funds the research, development and building of weapons systems and then buys these same weapons systems on behalf of foreign governments. It is a circular system of corporate welfare. 

https://scheerpost.com/2023/04/30/chris-hedges-the-enemy-from-within/

Americans piss and moan about this part of society or that is falling apart and yet are uncaring about needed funds being sent aboard on some adventure that never turns out to be good for the nation as a whole.

Why?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

GOP–I Knew It Was BS

I recently wrote about a proposal from a GOP faithful to drop some of the spending for the Pentagon….I said at the time that it was so much manure……

Should The Pentagon Be Worried?

The 4 most beautiful words in the English language….”I Told you So”….

Republicans who have pledged to use their narrow majority in the House to pursue steep federal spending cuts have sent a clear message in recent days: The bloated Pentagon budget is safe, but Social Security, Medicare, and other key government programs are not.

Rep. Michael Waltz (R-Fla.) expressed that sentiment during a Monday interview on Fox Business, saying, “I’m all for a balanced budget, but we’re not going to do it on the backs of our troops and our military.”

“If we really want to talk about the debt and spending, it’s the entitlement programs,” said Waltz, referring to Medicare and Social Security, among other programs. (By law, Social Security cannot add to the federal deficit.)

The office of Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas)—one of the far-right Republicans that initially opposed Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-Calif.) bid for House speaker—was particularly adamant in a Twitter post on Sunday, declaring that “cuts to defense were NEVER DISCUSSED” in talks with McCarthy.

“In fact, there was broad agreement spending cuts should focus on NON-DEFENSE discretionary spending,” Roy’s office wrote, singling out a broad category that includes federal budgets for healthcare, education, environmental programs, and more.

The Texas Republican’s staff was attempting to dispel reports last week that McCarthy opponents were seeking to cap federal spending across the board at Fiscal Year 2022 levels, a demand that—if fulfilled—would lop tens of billions of dollars off the historically high Pentagon budget in addition to slashing non-military domestic programs.

The reports of potential Pentagon cuts on the horizon contributed to a recent decline in the stock prices of major military contractors such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-pentagon-social-security-medicare

A great idea but as usual the lobbyists showed up with buckets of cash and the spineless collapsed into a quivering mess.

Following a week of acrimonious fights in Congress, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) managed to hammer out a deal with the small group of GOP lawmakers who opposed his bid to become speaker of the House. The agreement, which reportedly included a promise to reverse the $75 billion boost in this year’s defense budget, has been variously hailed and scorned as proof that Republicans are entering a new era on a range of issues.

At least when it comes to foreign policy, however, the establishment appears to have held on to its traditional role. On Tuesday, House leadership announced the chamber’s new committee chairs, and the results gave no indication that McCarthy intends to run afoul of GOP mandarins, especially when it comes to defense spending.

“For all the bluster about a new GOP, the people running the show are from the same mold as the ones who have been running it for more than a decade,” tweeted Justin Amash, a libertarian former member of Congress.

Take Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas), who will now take over as chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee. The Texas Republican has slowly climbed GOP ranks since entering Congress in 1997, and her efforts culminated in her 2019 appointment as the ranking member of appropriations. 

Granger is a strong proponent of increased defense spending and has praised the controversial F-35 fighter jet as “integral to our national security.” As RS noted last year, the establishment stalwart also hails from Tarrant County, which received over $12 billion in defense spending in 2021.

GOP won’t bird-dog defense budget with these hawks at the helm

As usual it is more important to feed the Pentagon instead of the American people.

Business as usual.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Where’s The Need?

This post is about the massive amounts of cash being spent on aircraft that is not needed….first it was the F-35, a plane that has doubled in price for all the fixes that are needed to repair all the problems that pop up almost daily for the last 5 years or so.

A bit of background on the F-35….

The following essay is reprinted with permission fromThe Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research.

The F-35 was billed as a fighter jet that could do almost everything the U.S. military desired, serving the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy – and even Britain’s Royal Air Force and Royal Navy – all in one aircraft design. It’s supposed to replace and improve upon several current – and aging – aircraft types with widely different missions. It’s marketed as a cost-effective, powerful multi-role fighter airplane significantly better than anything potential adversaries could build in the next two decades. But it’s turned out to be none of those things.

Officially begun in 2001, with roots extending back to the late 1980s, the F-35 program is nearly a decade behind schedule, and has failed to meet many of its original design requirements. It’s also become the most expensive defense program in world history, at around US$1.5 trillion before the fighter is phased out in 2070.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-went-wrong-with-the-f-35-lockheed-martins-joint-strike-fighter/

Now we have a new stealth bomber, the B-21, another massive spending bill for the Pentagon…..again I ask where was the need?

Consistent with today’s trend to render all defense as performance art, the unveiling of the new Northrop Grumman B-21 “Raider” bomber at the Northrop plant in Palmdale on December 2 was designed with the care and production values of a Superbowl commercial. 

The blue backlighting, the sonorous music (One Day, by Caleb Etheridge) the shiny shroud strip-teased off the partly hidden aircraft by shadowy figures, the flyover by the bombers the B-21 will allegedly replace, were military-industrial showmanship at its best, giving us not a scintilla of worthwhile information about the plane. Fittingly, its primary selling point, according to its promoters, is “stealth” – a supposed ability to remain invisible to radar and other sensors. Given that earlier systems advertised as being cloaked from radar scrutiny, such as the F-22 and F-35 fighters, have turned out to be visible after all especially to decades-old low frequency radar systems, the prospects are not hopeful. We do however know that it has the most important characteristic of stealth: invisibility to the taxpayers.

For many years the Air Force declined to release a cost figure for the B-21, claiming the figure was classified on grounds that our enemies would learn valuable secrets if they knew just how much of a wallop it was going to be on our pocketbooks. Now, thanks to Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg, we know the official estimate of the projected cost to develop, produce and operate 100 B-21s for thirty years is a cool $203 billion. However, back when the Air Force were telling us we had no right to know exactly what we were paying for, they did release the most important fact of all: the major corporations – Pratt & Whitney, BAE Systems, Orbital ATK, and others – who would be the major subcontractors in the Northrop-led program. By absolutely no coincidence at all, these turned out to be in congressional districts and states represented by senior figures on important defense committees in the congress. This is known as “political engineering” in which defense programs are rendered politically invulnerable to cancellation or funding shortfalls thanks to the salting of key constituencies with rich contracts. Brazenly, the Air Force announced at the time it was naming the prime contractors on the bomber “in a sign of transparency to gain public trust.”  

The B-21: another Air Force diva that can’t deliver?

With all the problems these models are having how does the defense industry con nations like Germany, Japan, Australia, etc into spending this type of cash on a flying brick?

How and why?

This country needs the money more for our nation than we need another stealth bomber….but lobbyists with buckets of cash will make sure this type of waste continues.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

The Black Hole Of War

Our country has been at war since the end of WW2….and each of these wars has become a black hole or a money put.

In recent years a prime example is Afghanistan….a country into which the US pour dollar after dollar and in the end got nothing for the price we paid.

And now we have the war in Ukraine to take the place of Afghanistan as the money pit…the black hole with no end……

The Western countries and the US have pledged a long term involvement in Ukraine….

At a conference in Denmark on Thursday, 26 Western nations agreed to continue supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia for the long term and pledged more than $1.5 billion in new military aid.

The $1.5 billion includes donations from the UK, Denmark, and Norway, but more countries are expected to pledge money. “It will grow,” said Danish Foreign Minister Morten Bødskov. “Some of the countries need to go back home and get the support of their parliaments.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the conference via video link, and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov attended the meeting in person. Neither official specified what sort of weapons Ukraine was going to receive from the new aid.

The UK said Thursday that it would provide Ukraine with more multiple rocket launch systems that have a range of about 50 miles. Norway said that it will start training Ukrainian troops in Britain.

The new aid pledged by 26 nations on Thursday is just a fraction of what the US has been sending Ukraine. On Monday, the US announced $4.5 billion in budgetary aid for the Ukrainian government and a new $1 billion weapons package.

Ukraine is expecting to receive $3 billion of the new budgetary aid this month and for the remaining $1.5 billion to arrive in September. According to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the new funds brings the total budgetary aid the US has provided Ukraine to $8.5 billion.

Since Russia invaded on February 24, the US has pledged over $9 billion in weapons for Ukraine. The funds are being pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that President Biden signed into law back in May, which is meant to last through September 30.

(antiwar.com)

A report on the money spent on Afghanistan…..

Pentagon contractors operating in Afghanistan over the past two decades raked in nearly $108 billion—funds that “were distributed and spent with a significant lack of transparency,” according to a report published Tuesday.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/08/09/pentagon-contractors-afghanistan-pocketed-108-billion-over-20-years

The US goes even further and is basically censoring zany reports in the MSM about the war in Ukraine……

Following objections from the Ukrainian government, CBS News has removed a short documentary which had reported concerns from numerous sources that a large amount of the supplies being sent to Ukraine aren’t making it to the front lines.

The Ukrainian government has listed its objections to the report on a government website, naming Ukrainian officials who objected to it and explaining why each of the CBS news sources it dislikes should be discounted. After the report was taken down and the Twitter post about it removed, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this was a good start but still not enough.

“Welcome first step, but it is not enough,” Kuleba tweeted. “You have misled a huge audience by sharing unsubstantiated claims and damaging trust in supplies of vital military aid to a nation resisting aggression and genocide. There should be an internal investigation into who enabled this and why.”

The CBS News article about the documentary was renamed, from “Why military aid to Ukraine doesn’t always get to the front lines: ‘Like 30% of it reaches its final destination’” to the far milder “Why military aid in Ukraine may not always get to the front lines.” An editor’s note on the new version of the article explicitly admits to taking advisement on its changes from the Ukrainian government, reading as follows:

The Ukrainian Boondoggle as a Black Hole

All this is about keeping the money flowing into the pit….and trying to keep the American people out of the equation….and Taiwan will be the next black hole.

The voters have new shiny objects to chase other than the wasted resources and cash thrown at Ukraine….as always the attention span is limited.

Maybe it is time to involve yourself and stop the flow of cash to black holes we create…..if you are worried about the deficit then stop all misadventures and wars that do nothing but waste money.

Get involved….be the voice of the nation….

Enough said!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Who Pays?

The US Congress has voted overwhelmingly to allow Sweden and Finland into NATO…..a bad idea from my point of view…..since the 1990s the US and NATO have been poking Russia in th eye at almost every turn…..and then Ukraine happened.

Now the finger poking begins again….and how will that end? Better question is if Russia retaliates against Europe who pays?

An excellent question and with the US domination of the arms industry….who do you think will benefit the most?

If Europe wants to flex its underused muscle….what will be the outcome?

After Russia attacked Ukraine, European governments claimed to be serious about defense. However, so far few have acted on their latest promises. The continent’s continued reliance on America is evident from European proposals for military escalation — which could only be pursued by Washington. The Biden administration should insist on an alliance rebalance.

For more than seven decades, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has stood for North America and The Others. It was not supposed to be this way. Warned Dwight D. Eisenhower, NATO’s first supreme commander: “We cannot be a modern Rome guarding the far frontiers with our legions if for no other reason than that these are not, politically, our frontiers. What we must do is to assist these people [to] regain their confidence and get on their own military feet.”

However, even after recovering economically from World War II, European governments preferred to invest in their welfare states rather than their militaries. American policymakers preferred to dominate the continent’s decision-making rather than limit the U.S. public’s military liability. As a result, the U.S. consciously acted as a modern Rome. Still, Washington wanted the Europeans to do more. Alas, America’s clients provided promises rather than performance, reducing U.S. officials to begging.

A decade ago, soon-to-retire Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticized Europe’s lackadaisical military efforts: “I’ve worried openly about NATO turning into a two-tiered alliance: Between members who specialize in ‘soft’ humanitarian, development, peacekeeping, and talking tasks, and those conducting the ‘hard’ combat missions. Between those willing and able to pay the price and bear the burdens of alliance commitments, and those who enjoy the benefits of NATO membership — be they security guarantees or headquarters billets — but don’t want to share the risks and the costs. This is no longer a hypothetical worry. We are there today. And it is unacceptable.”

So if Europe wants to escalate against Russia who foots the bill?

If push comes to shove in Europe the US will be on the hook with either troops, money, or weapons…..or all three.

An unacceptable situation that will be reality for the M-IC will always gets it’s way….it is why lobbyists throw money at Congress.

Time for a re-set.  NATO should have ended wit the fall of the Soviet Union.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Money To Burn

The US is spending taxpayer money like there is no tomorrow (if you believe the panic driven social media then there may not be a tomorrow)…..every day there seems to be a new monetary figure attached to the blind support for Ukraine.

President Biden announced a massive $800 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes armed drones, anti-tank, and anti-aircraft missiles as the US continues to fuel the fighting between Russia and Ukraine.

The White House released a fact sheet detailing the contents of the aid package:

  • 800 Stinger anti-aircraft systems;
  • 2,000 Javelin, 1,000 light anti-armor weapons, and 6,000 AT-4 anti-armor systems;
  • 100 Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems;
  • 100 grenade launchers, 5,000 rifles, 1,000 pistols, 400 machine guns, and 400 shotguns;
  • Over 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenade launcher and mortar rounds;
  • 25,000 sets of body armor; and
  • 25,000 helmets.

The “Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems” that the US is sending are small drones that crash into their targets, known as Switchblade drones. The Switchblades were first used by US special operations forces in Afghanistan and can hit targets dozens of miles away.

Think about the cost to Americans…..

Biden’s announcement brings the total military aid authorized for Ukraine over the past week to $1 billion. The funding for the new weapons package will come out of the $13.6 billion for Ukraine that was added to the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill Biden recently signed. Out of the $13.6 billion, the Pentagon will get $6.5 billion to replenish weapons stocks sent to Ukraine and to pay for troop deployments to Eastern Europe.

Tat is taxpayer cash that will NOT be spent on the people of this country that are in deed…..I watched the exuberance of our lawmakers after the Zelensky speech and I thought I had not seen such applause and smiles when policies about this country are debated…..but yet they can find cash to prolong a war…..

Why is that?

I mean is war, death and destruction so popular that everyone in DC is thrilled to spend needed revenue to prolong this conflict.

I guess those people in the defense industry are jerking off at this announcement…..since Afghanistan has cut into their profits they need another outlet that will continue their profits streak.

I am sorry if I sound like I do not care what happens in Ukraine…well that is not so…..I just think that we should not be the only country pissing away our revenue on war…..when those funds are needed here and now.

This war is quickly becoming a US war.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The War Budget

Every year we hear abut the defense budget and every year it gets larger and larger…..sucking up more and more of much needed revenue for the country.

I have been saying for decades that the Pentagon is destroying the capabilities of this country all the while making defense contractors richer and richer…..war is big business…..

Imagine. It cost America more to fight a ragged band of insurgents and terrorists than the Red Army, Red Guards, Viet Cong, Khmer Rouge, Korean People’s Army, and the rest of communism’s many axes of evil. And real military outlays today remain well above even Reagan’s enhanced levels.

Corporate America quickly seized its opportunity for gain. Hartung quoted Boeing Vice President Harry Stonecipher warning politicians not to get between the companies and the cash: “the purse is now open . . . any member of Congress who doesn’t vote for the funds we need to defend this country will be looking for a new job after next November.” Boeing’s PAC was experienced at winning votes for the Export-Import Bank, a fount of corporate welfare nicknamed Boeing’s Bank for munificently underwriting the company’s airline sales. Boeing also added to the horde of lobbyists, an estimated 700-plus for the infamous merchants of death alone. Many of these agents of influence served in either the Pentagon or Congress, putting their career contacts to profitable use.

https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/war-is-big-business/

Let’s be honest…..the Pentagon budget should be called what it truly is…..a War Budget.

The misleading first name of the Defense Department doesn’t justify using “defense” as an adjective for its budget. On the contrary, the ubiquitous use of phrases like “defense budget” and “defense spending” – virtually always written with a lower-case “d” – reinforces the false notion that equates the USA’s humongous military operations with defense.

In the real world, the United States spends more money on its military than the next 10 countries all together. And most of those countries are military allies.

What about military bases in foreign countries? The U.S. currently has 750, while Russia has about two dozen and China has one. The author of the landmark book “Base Nation,” American University professor David Vine, just co-wrote a report that points out “the United States has at least three times as many overseas bases as all other countries combined.” Those US bases abroad “cost taxpayers an estimated $55 billion annually.”

Stop Calling the Military Budget a ‘Defense’ Budget

The problem is that even Progressives for all their big talk cannot step back from the M-IC and its cash……

Military contractor campaign donations, propaganda, and patriotism account for much of the support for our endless wars and preparation for them, costly in economic, environmental, and human ways. In addition, a multitude of interests sustains the military and its budget, and encourages silence about its wars of aggression and other activities.

The antiwar movement must contend with the many ordinary citizens who may have no desire to kill people, destroy the environment, or overthrow governments. They are trying to earn a living, fund their charitable organizations and schools, or save their communities from economic devastation. At present, without a national budget devoted to human needs, they see no other choice but to slip under the wings of the lush military budget.

The military contracts for almost everything. Along with other government enterprises, such as prisons and highways, this further ensures their survival while contributing to booming regional economies where unemployment levels are low.

https://covertactionmagazine.com/2021/10/04/addicted-to-military-keynesianism-why-cant-even-our-most-progressive-politicians-break-with-the-military-industrial-complex/

Our country needs to repair itself….both socially and internationally and spending billions on war will do neither.

But as usual the people sleep through all the destruction…..and yet pretend they care.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

 

A Vote For More Defense Spending

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was passed by Congress and then vetoed by Trump…..this got the M-IC up in arms and pulled no punches to get the congressional override of the veto….and they succeeded.

There were a few brave representatives that think we spend way too damn much on the military and should reassign those funds where they are needed…..

The efforts by the industry that owns damn near all our elected officials was overwhelming…..

First it was the House of Representatives that voted to override…..

The House convened on Monday for an override vote of President Trump’s veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In a vote of 322 to 87, the House secured well over the two-thirds majority needed for the override, and the bill now moves onto the Senate.

The Senate is expected to convene for the override vote on Tuesday. Before President Trump’s veto, the NDAA passed through the Senate by a vote of 84 to 13, well over the two-thirds majority needed for the override. But the bill could be delayed if a senator chooses to drag out procedural hurdles. If the vote is delayed past January 3rd, Congress will have to restart the NDAA from scratch.

There were a few brave reps that voted against the override…..

Just 20 House Democrats opted to break with their party and their Republican counterparts late Monday to vote against overriding President Donald Trump’s veto of the National Defense Authorization Act, a sprawling bill that greenlights over $740 billion in military spending for fiscal year 2021.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), one the few House Democrats who voted against overriding the president’s NDAA veto, applauded his colleagues for having “the courage tonight to vote no on the bloated defense budget.”

“They are changing the culture of endless war and calling for more investment instead in the American people,” said Khanna.

“We’re spending money on the modernization of nuclear weapons. And we can’t find money to get food in to people who need it?” Khanna said. “We can’t find money to get more rental assistance for folks who are going to face evictions? We can’t find money to get $2,000 into the pockets of Americans? The priorities are wrong, and so I’m not going to vote to override his veto.”

(commondreams.org)

For those interested in the people that voted against war and for as better society…..

Here are the 20 Democrats who voted against overriding Trump’s NDAA veto: Reps. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.), Suzanne Bonamici (Ore.), Yvette Clarke (N.Y.), Mark DeSaulnier (Calif.), Adriano Espaillat (N.Y.), Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii), Jesús García (Ill.), Jimmy Gomez (Calif.), Jared Huffman (Calif.), Pramila Jayapal (Wash.), Joe Kennedy (Mass.), Ro Khanna (Calif.), Barbara Lee (Calif.), Jim McGovern (Mass.), Grace Meng (N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Mark Pocan (Wis.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.).

And the Senate follows suit….

the Senate voted to override President Trump’s veto of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In a vote of 81 to 13, the Senate easily secured the two-thirds majority needed for the override.

Earlier this week, the House also voted to override the veto in a vote of 322 to 87. The votes mark the first time Congress rebukes one of President Trump’s vetoes with an override.

President Trump had several issues with the $740.5 billion military spending bill. Chief among them is the lack of an amendment to repeal Section 230, a law that shields tech companies from liability for content published on their platforms by third parties.

Another issue the president had is over amendments that seek to block planned troop drawdowns in Afghanistan and Germany. Another provision can block any future plans to withdraw troops from South Korea.

The senators who voted against the NDAA are Rand Paul (R-KY), Mike Lee (R-UT), John Kennedy (R-LA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Josh Hawley (R

(antiwar.com)

These people did what elected officials are suppose to do….they voted for the best interest of the people they represent.

I may not agree with some of the issues these reps hold dear….but I applaud their vote for the country and its people.

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

War On Terror

I remember after the 9/11 attacks and the beginning of the War on Terror…..do you?

The question was posed….are we better off today than we were in 2001?

$6 trillion (that is trillion with a “T”) and the answer in most quarters is ….NO!

After all these years…the ordinances used and the people lost and we are not any better off?

But the M-IC is pushing hard to keep troops around the world as a deterrent to terrorism….is it really worth the cost….in lives and equipment?

The national security establishment is pushing against the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan by President Trump following almost two decades of combat. Even Republicans are warning Trump that he is repeating one of the foreign policy mistakes of Barack Obama.

One of the most astonishing recent arguments against a withdrawal from Afghanistan was made by former national security adviser H.R. McMaster, who said that terrorist groups that “pose a threat to us are stronger now” than they were before 9/11. He said the United States faces Al Qaeda and Islamic State alumni who are “orders of magnitude greater” than before and who “have access to much more destructive capabilities.”

How are we worse off than 2001? According to the Watson Institute, the war on terror has cost the United States over $6 trillion, 800,000 people have died as a direct result of the violence of these conflicts, and nearly 38 million people have been displaced or made refugees. According to the Washington Post, some 775,000 American forces have been sent to Afghanistan since 2001, and more than 2,000 of them died.

The United States poured billions of dollars into reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan under the notion that economic development would check the growth of terrorism. Yet after all this blood and treasure, one of the most senior American officials and a former combat general in the war on terror says Al Qaeda is stronger than it was before 9/11.

https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/518204-the-truth-about-the-war-on-terror

Let’s look at another one of those made up wars that has done little…..the War On Drugs.

By contrast that “war” has been raging for damn near 50 years and about $1 trillion wasted with no end in sight….we just keep wasting money chasing some imaginary victory.

In my opinion and others as well…the War on Terror has wasted lives and money and has not accomplished a victory after $6 trillion (that is trillion with a “T”)…..

Learn Stuff!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”