Tag: US Senate

Another Deal Is Inked?

First some happy news….A very Happy Valentine’s Day to all.

Now….the rant goes on….

Well just in the Senate the House could stomp all over the newest bi-partisan attempt.

The other day I wrote a post which was shared by my friend over at …..

Absolutely On Target, In Saner Thought!

I thank him for his help.

My rant was about the new deal in the Senate to provide money for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan….not a fan of pissing away money on these three.

Well the Senate had a late night so they could pass this deal that they are proud of…..

The Senate early Tuesday passed a $95.3 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan, pushing ahead amid growing divisions in the Republican Party over the role of the United States abroad. The vote came after a small group of Republicans opposed to the $60 billion for Ukraine held the Senate floor through the night, using the final hours of debate to argue that the US should focus on its own problems before sending more money overseas. But more than a dozen Republicans voted with almost all Democrats to pass the package 70-29, reports the AP, with supporters arguing that abandoning Ukraine could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin and threaten security across the globe.

The bill’s passage through the Senate was a welcome sign for Ukraine, but the package faces a deeply uncertain future in the House, where hardline Republicans aligned with former President Trump oppose the legislation. Speaker Mike Johnson cast new doubt on the package Monday evening, making clear that it could be weeks or months before Congress sends the legislation to President Biden’s desk—if at all. Still, the vote was a win for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who worked together on it. Sen. JD Vance, an Ohio Republican, along with Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and other opponents, dug in their heels to delay a final vote, speaking on the floor until daybreak. A few of the particulars:

  • The legislation would purchase US-made defense equipment for Ukraine, including munitions and air defense systems that authorities say are desperately needed as Russia batters the country. It also includes $8 billion for the government in Kyiv and other assistance.
  • In addition, $14 billion goes to Israel’s war with Hamas, $8 billion for Taiwan and partners in the Indo-Pacific to counter China, and $9.2 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza.

I am against sending any more money to these shitholes….if you read this then tell me why we have to send money for the government in Kyiv?  If they cannot afford to fight this damn lame war then find away to end it.

Then there is Israel who has sucked on the American taxpayer teat since its inception….I say screw!  Either they stand for themselves or go the fuck away.

The only saving grace is the the House will not be so easy to push over….I haste that I am siding with those idiots in the Trump wing but if it stops the flow of cash to these crappy players then so be it.

One last word…..Israel is getting ready to kill a bunch more civilians in Rafah and they have proposed the US do something first….

Israel has proposed creating US-funded tent cities in Gaza as part of an evacuation plan for Rafah as Israeli forces are preparing to invade the city, Egyptian officials told The Wall Street Journal.

It’s estimated that 1.5 million Palestinians are packed into Rafah, which had a pre-war population of about 275,000. Under the Israeli proposal, 15 campsites of around 25,000 tents each would be created along Gaza’s coast to house the millions of Palestinian civilians sheltering in Rafah.

(antiwar.com)

The US needs to pay for their destruction…I say fuck the bastards!

I have gad enough of Israel and those defending their blood lust….and that is all it is now….blood lust…..something they should have memory of from their past.

My rant is over.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Senate Border Deal

The biggest story so far this year has been the crisis on our Southern border and this problem is giving the GOP lots of false support in the upcoming election cycle.

A Senate committee has come together giving a bi-partisan approach to this situation….a deal, in my opinion, stinks.

Senators on Sunday released a highly anticipated $118 billion package that pairs border enforcement policy with wartime aid for Ukraine, Israel, and other US allies, setting off a long-shot effort to push the bill through heavy skepticism from Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, the AP reports. The proposal could be the best chance for President Joe Biden to resupply Ukraine with wartime aid—a major foreign policy goal that is shared with both the Senate’s top Democrat, Sen. Chuck Schumer, and top Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell. It is still unclear if the bill will pass in the Senate, which is expected this week to hold a key test vote on the legislation, but it faces a wall of opposition from conservatives.

With Congress stalled on approving $60 billion in Ukraine aid, the US has halted shipments of ammunition and missiles to Kyiv, leaving Ukrainian soldiers outgunned as they try to beat back Russia’s invasion. Biden said in a statement that the Senate proposal “allows the United States to continue our vital work, together with partners all around the world, to stand up for Ukraine’s freedom and support its ability to defend itself against Russia’s aggression.” And on the border, Biden said that the immigration system has been broken for too long, and it’s time to fix it. “It will make our country safer, make our border more secure, treat people fairly and humanely while preserving legal immigration, consistent with our values as a nation,” Biden said.

The new bill would also invest in US defense manufacturing, send $14 billion in military aid to Israel, steer nearly $5 billion to allies in the Asia-Pacific, and provide humanitarian assistance to civilians caught in conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. In a call with reporters after releasing the legislation, Schumer said he has never worked so closely with McConnell. He called the bill a “monumental step” toward strengthening national security at home and abroad. McConnell said in a statement that the Senate must be “prepared to act.” In a bid to overcome opposition from House Republicans, McConnell had insisted last year that border policy changes be included in the national security funding package. More on those changes, resistance to the bill on both sides, plus a potential House bill some senators prefer, here.

The Senate bill would authorize $60 billion to spend on the proxy war in Ukraine and $4.8 billion to “support key regional partners in the Indo-Pacific,” a portion of which will go toward replenishing arms sent to Taiwan.

The bill also provides $2.44 billion to US Central Command and to “address combat expenditures related to the conflict in the Red Sea,” where US naval forces have been bombing Yemen and downing Houthi drones and missiles. Since January 12, the US has bombed Yemen at least 16 times, and the situation in the region continues to escalate as the Houthis are not backing down.

I think this bill is dead on arrival in the House….but that is not why I think it sucks.

The bill should be about the situation on the border and none of it should be trying to sneak cash in for these proxy wars we keep fighting.

Those situations should be handled by a stand alone bill not masked by some perceived problem elsewhere.

If our Congress cannot find the cash for these wars then it is time to say f*ck it and move on to other situations that need attention.

But we have not heard the last of the border or the blood money for Israel and Ukraine.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Playing To The Camera

I have often stated that I think cameras in Congressional hearings is a bad idea for all it is actors playing to the cameras for some sort of attention.

It seems that a Senate hearing turned into a infantile playground mash-up recently.

This incident occurred during a labor hearing in the Senate when a senator from Oklahoma showed his ass because he was all butt hurt over some Tweets a labor leader had made.

The calling out the leader to a fist fight….this dumbfuck thinks he is Andrew Jackson) and Bernie had to step in and calm things down.

“God knows the American people have enough contempt for Congress. Let’s not make it worse,” Sen. Bernie Sanders said as a Republican senator challenged the president of the Teamsters union to a fight during a hearing Tuesday. When it was his turn to ask questions during the hearing on labor unions, Sen. Markwayne Mullin read out Sean O’Brien’s posts on X calling him a “clown” and a “fraud” and telling him to “quit the tough guy act” after a previous clash in March, CBS News reports. “You want to run your mouth, we can be two consenting adults, we can finish it here,” Mullin said. O’Brien replied, “OK, that’s fine. Perfect.”

You want to do it now? Stand your butt up then,” Mullin said, per the Hill. “You stand your butt up,” O’Brien replied, prompting Mullin, a former mixed martial arts fighter, to rise from his chair in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee room. Sanders, the committee’s chair, banged his gavel and said, “No, no, no, sit down. Sit down! You’re a United States senator, sit down.” When Mullin tried to suggest a cage fight to benefit a charity, Sanders attempted to get things back on track, telling the senator, “If you have questions on any economic issues, anything that was said, go for it.”

But if you prefer a visual then watch this….

Somebody needs to grow a pair and make these Congress people act like they are a ruling class.  This guy needs to be censured, then muzzled and then thrown off the committee and made to be a political spectator.  If he wears his anger on his sleeve maybe he should resign and work on anger management.

Now why the title?

This goofball ran to FOX News to get his time in the limelight.

After the verbal back-and-forth had ended, that GOP senator, Oklahoma’s Markwayne Mullin, decided he wasn’t done talking about the tussle, taking to Fox News to discuss it with Sean O’Brien. “In Oklahoma, you don’t do this,” Mullin told host Sean Hannity Tuesday evening. “Maybe you run your mouth in New Jersey, I don’t know, I’m not from New Jersey.” Mullin added that he refused to be intimidated by O’Brien, whom he referred to as a “mob boss” who wanted to “bring a mob mentality back to the Teamsters.”

When Hannity noted that he thought any other reaction from Mullin, who’d stood up from his seat as if ready to fight O’Brien, would’ve been “gutless,” Mullin concurred. “What did people want me to do?” Mullin asked, adding that he “used to get paid to fight professionally” (he’s a former MMA fighter). “If I didn’t do that, people in Oklahoma would be pretty upset at me. … I’m supposed to represent Oklahoma values.” Mullin concluded that “we need more of this, to be quite frank—I’m not saying more violence, but we need more people to be taught a lesson.”

The senator had a similar take when he spoke on Fox’s Bottom Line, whose hosts noted how “disrespectful” O’Brien had been with some of his online criticisms directed at Mullin. “I will tell you this for sure, that’s not how we behave in Oklahoma, and I’m an Oklahoman first,” Mullin said. “If you run your mouth, you will be called out on it.” When asked if there’d been anything that people at home couldn’t see during his run-in with O’Brien, Mullin answered, “The fear in his eyes when I stood up. He was scared out of his mind.” O’Brien didn’t directly address their bickering online, but he did like this tweet.

What a chest thumping primate?

If his hackles get up that easily then maybe he should stay off social media (if you knows what it is that is)

But hold on!  There’s more!

Representative Tim Burchett of Tennessee said Mr McCarthy “elbowed” him in the back while he was speaking with a reporter in Congress on Tuesday.

Long-term adversaries of Mr McCarthy’s, the pair led efforts to oust him from the Speaker’s office in October.

Mr McCarthy said the alleged altercation was accidental.

The incident, described by NPR journalist Claudia Grisales who witnessed the interaction, came just hours before Mr McCarthy’s replacement, new House Speaker Mike Johnson, passed his first major legislative test, a full House vote on his plan for avoiding a government shutdown.

“He’s a bully with $17m and a security detail,” Mr Burchett said of the former Republican leader. Mr McCarthy later told reporters the physical contact was accidental.

“If I would hit somebody, they would know I hit them,” the Californian congressman told reporters.

But in his ethics complaint, Mr Gaetz said Mr Burchett described the assault as a “sucker punch” and a “clean shot to the kidney”.

The ultra-conservative argued in a letter that the incident deserved “immediate and swift investigation by the Ethics Committee”.

“This Congress has seen a substantial increase in breaches of decorum unlike anything we have seen since the pre-Civil War era,” he wrote in the complaint.

This incident just fortifies my contempt for Congress and its theatrics….no matter what party stands in the light.

This is what we get when we allow mental midgets the reins of power….squabbling like demented 8 year olds.

Turn The Page!

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The Menendez Saga

The Democratic senator for New Jersey has never been likeable to me…..he is a big business Dem that came to the Congress on the Clinton coattails.

Over the years he has had his problems with corruption and once again he has been caught with his fingers in the cookie jar.

Rep. Andy Kim of New Jersey announced on Saturday that he will run against Sen. Robert Menendez in the state’s Democratic primary for Senate next year, saying he feels compelled to run against the three-term senator after he and his wife were indicted on sweeping corruption charges. Kim’s surprise announcement comes as a growing number of Democrats are calling for Menendez to step down. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman became the first Democratic senator to do so, and several members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation, along with the state’s Democratic governor, have said he should resign, per the AP.

This is not something I expected to do, but I believe New Jersey deserves better,” Kim said. Fetterman, meanwhile, said his Senate colleague is “entitled to the presumption of innocence under our system, but he is not entitled to continue to wield influence over national policy.” Menendez and wife Nadine were indicted on Friday for using his position to aid the authoritarian government of Egypt and also to pressure federal prosecutors to drop a case against a friend. The three-count indictment lists a series of bribes they were paid by three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for the corrupt acts—gold bars, a luxury car, and cash.

It is the second indictment on bribery charges for Menendez—and the second time he has had to relinquish his post as the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel. He regained the leadership spot in 2018 after the case ended with a deadlocked jury. Menendez was defiant after Friday’s indictment, saying in a statement Friday evening that “I am not going anywhere.” Authorities who searched Menendez’s home last year found more than $100,000 worth of gold bars, as well as over $480,000 in cash—much of it hidden in closets, clothing, and a safe, prosecutors say. The indictment includes photos of cash stuffed in envelopes in jackets bearing Menendez’s name and of a luxury car that prosecutors say was given to the couple as a bribe from the businessmen.

There calls for Menendez to resign….but mostly from younger Congress people….some of the older and entrenched members think he should stay put.

Add Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to the list of politicians who think Sen. Bob Menendez needs to resign due to his indictment on corruption charges. The Democratic representative said the charges against Menendez, including allegations that he accepted bribes including a Mercedes-Benz, are “very serious,” the Guardian reports. “Consistency matters. It shouldn’t matter if it’s a Republican or a Democrat,” she said, adding that the allegations “involve the nature of not just his but all of our seats in Congress.” Meanwhile, while Sen. John Fetterman and several Democrats in Menendez’s home state of New Jersey say their fellow Dem should step down, NBC News reports other Democrat senators have not been so quick to join that chorus:

  • Chris Murphy: “No senators should be trading on their position in order to enrich themselves,” he said Sunday on MSNBC. “It is hard for me to believe that Sen. Menendez can be effective in his job given these allegations, but I think I want to get back and talk to my colleagues on the Foreign Relations Committee before I recommend a path forward for Sen. Menendez.”
  • Mark Kelly: “I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said on CBS Sunday, noting that Menendez stepping down as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee is “a serious step.” Kelly continued, “I think Sen. Menendez is going to have to think long and hard about the cloud that’s going to hang over his service in the United State Senate. He’s got to figure out whether he can adequately serve the people of New Jersey.”
  • Dick Durbin: “In terms of resignation, that’s a decision to be made by Sen. Menendez and the people of New Jersey,” he said on CNN Sunday. “The person who is accused is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and it’s the responsibility of the government to prove that case. I have said that about Donald Trump. I will say the same thing about Bob Menendez.”

Personally he should resign with a hint of corruption and let the Congress get on with business it really does not need another diversion at this time.

I say if guilty get the slug out of government and tighten the noose around other forms of corruption as well….a good place to start would be SCOTUS.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

The McConnell Diagnosis

A few days ago I wrote a post about McConnell’s most recent ‘brain fart’ and the official ruling by a Senate doctor on his condition…..for those not keeping up….

McConnell Forgot Something (Again)

I was not convinced with the glowing report the doctor gave…..I said it was BS and a couple of other doctors concur with my assessment….

Seven neurologists consulted by the New York Times say the video of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell freezing up while addressing reporters on Wednesday suggests the problem is more serious than the official explanation indicates. Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol’s attending physician, has issued a statement that mentioned dehydration and recovery from a concussion as possible causes for the “occasional lightheadedness” that may have led to McConnell shutting down for 30 seconds at a time. “If I gave that tape to a medical student and that was his explanation, I’d fail him,” said Dr. Orrin Devinsky, of NYU’s medical school.

While conceding that they can’t offer a remote diagnosis, the neurologists said videos can provide information leading to a diagnosis. “They’re very helpful, because you’re not subject to the vagaries of someone’s description and you can capture the beginning of” the spell, said Dr. Anthony Kim of the University of California, San Francisco. Devinsky said doctors would want more data but added, “we do have this very powerful clinical information, which is quite honestly how I have to diagnose seizures and epilepsy all the time, often without the video.” And dehydration and lightheadedness were not what the neurologists saw.

“The possibility at the top of my list would be a seizure,” Kim said. Focal seizures, which can be caused by an irregularity in part of the brain, can stop and appear to isolate patients, per the Times. Mini-strokes are a possibility, but experts say they rarely have identical effects each time; McConnell has had two alike spells that were filmed. But they wouldn’t preclude most people from carrying on as before with work or life. “Seizures have a stigma in our society, and that’s unfortunate because these are very brief electrical interruptions in behavior,” Dr. Jeffrey Saver of UCLA. Medication can control the episodes, he said, but they shouldn’t be dismissed. “Two seizures you definitely would want to treat,” said Dr. Sami Khella of Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. “You don’t want them to happen—they’re not good for you.

Time for McConnell to consider taking it to the house…..he is old and feeble…..the Senate needs dynamic leadership and Mitch just ain’t it any longer.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

McConnell Forgot Something (Again)

Once again the Senate GOP majority leader has stumbled with words while giving a speech…..

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell froze up during a press conference in Kentucky Wednesday, a month after he experienced a similar episode while talking to reporters at the Capitol. McConnell spoke for several minutes at the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Government Forum before freezing up while taking questions from the press, WLWT reports. NBC News reports that the 81-year-old paused for more than 30 seconds after he was asked if he would run for re-election and remained frozen after an aide asked, “Did you hear the question, senator?”

After McConnell told an aide he was OK, two other questions—one about Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and one about Donald Trump—had to be repeated before he was led away by aides. “Leader McConnell felt momentarily lightheaded and paused during his press conference today,” a spokesman said afterward. An aide speaking on condition of anonymity tells the Washington Post that McConnell will consult a doctor before his next public event as a “prudential measure.”

Go see a doctor?   And what would think his diagnosis will be?

If you think McConnell will be cleared and pronounced in good mental health….then you would be right.

The Capitol’s attending physician has pronounced Sen. Mitch McConnell good to go and said he can carry on with his duties, a day after the minority leader froze at a microphone during an appearance in Kentucky. “I have consulted with Leader McConnell and conferred with his neurology team,” Dr. Brian Monahan said in a statement. It was his second such incident in weeks. “After evaluating yesterday’s incident, I have informed Leader McConnell that he is medically clear to continue with his schedule as planned.” The statement was released by McConnell’s office, CNN reports.

he 81-year-old McConnell suffered a concussion when he took a fall in March. “Occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration,” said Monahan, echoing the diagnosis the senator’s office has provided. The release of the doctor’s statement represents the first time McConnell’s staff has acknowledged the freeze-ups, per NBC News. President Biden said during a visit to FEMA headquarters in Washington on Thursday that he had just had a conversation with McConnell. “He was his old self on the telephone,” said Biden, who was stricken by two brain aneurysms in 1988. Such spells, Biden said, are “part of the recovery.”

Should Republicans need to choose a successor to the longest-serving Senate leader in history, the New York Times rates potential candidates for the job. The early front-runners would be the senators referred to as “the Three Johns:” John Thune of South Dakota, John Cornyn of Texas, and John Barrasso of Wyoming. Other possibilities include Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, who are both members of the GOP leadership team. The Times‘ assessment can be found here. So far, McConnell has given no indication that he plans to step down; his Senate seat will be on the 2026 ballot, and there’s not a way to force a leadership vote until after the 2024 elections, per CNN

Come on people….this man is too damn old….time for him to be put out to pasture and find a younger leader of the aging GOP.  He looked like he had no idea where he was, what he was doing or anyone around him.

Yes we all have ‘brain farts’ from time to time but ours does not involve the running of this country.

Thoughts?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

UFOs And Schumer

Ask yourself why!

The big news is that a bi-partisan group will push for the government to make UFO information public (except when national security would prevent it)….

This is not a joke!

I am serious!

Over the last six years, the entire UFO topics has shifted from conspiracy theory to suddenly the U.S. Government accepting the objects in the sky are real but they don’t know what they are. On Thursday, the New York Times finally addressed the latest developments in the story with a breaking news update that could send this issue to a whole new level. Before this update, there were already a number of U.S. Senators who kept on appearing in news shows and pushed for public hearings after the recent whistleblower claims from David Grusch. But the highest-ranking senator just turned this story on its head by tweeting the New York Times Story on his official Twitter account. According to the report, Schumer is officially going to push legislation that will attempt to declassify UFO documents.

In the legislation, the Senate Majority Leader will also force private companies to present every bit of important information that deals with “extraterrestrial matters”. That phrase was written by the article author in the New York Times, making it the first time that terms is coined by one of the highest authority news organizations in the world. Here’s what Chuck Schumer wrote on his official Twitter account: “I’m introducing new legislation to declassify government records related to unidentified anomalous phenomena and UFOs as an amendment to the NDAA, modeled after the JFK Assassination Records Collection Act.” This legislation will have bipartisan support, according to the New York Times.

Seriously?

What are the chances that this will pass?

Slim to none…..

Sorry but if this is the best we can do for bi-partisanship then all is lost.

You telling me these slugs could not find something more important than is ET stopping by for a joy ride?

This country is circling the drain and we are going to waste time and resources worrying about something that holds no importance to the grand scheme of things.

We have national hunger…..a failing infrastructure….a government that cannot function without the cash of lobbyists….rights are being eroded away…..and finally lazy politicians who can be bought and sold.

And you think this country can be saved from itself….I have my doubts.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

This Should Keep Warmongers In Business.

I recently wrote about the US House attempt to end the free hand the president has to start war but repealing the AUMF,,,,for those that failed to read my post…..

AUMF–The Long Good-bye

As predicted the Senate has rejected the idea of ending the free hand for the president….

On March 29, the Senate voted to repeal two Authorizations for the Use of Military Force, (AUMF’s), one passed in 1991 and another in 2002. The repeal now goes to the House. But those Authorizations are irrelevant to the present; they apply only to the Iraq war. But a third AUMF, passed in 2001, was left untouched. And that AUMF is the only one that has a bearing on the present moment, because it provides legal cover for the many US military operations, open and secret, around the world.

The AUMF of 2001, the one untouched by the Senate, is an entirely different matter. Its content and use are explained in a nutshell here:

“The authorization granted the President the authority to use all “necessary and appropriate force” against those whom he determined “planned, authorized, committed or aided” the September 11 attacks, or who harbored said persons or groups…. Since 2001, U.S. Presidents have interpreted their authority under the AUMF to extend beyond al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan to apply to numerous other groups as well as other geographic locales. ….Today, the full list of actors the US military is fighting or believes itself authorized to fight under the 2001 AUMF is classified and therefore a secret unknown to the American public.

“The AUMF has also been cited by a wide variety of US officials as justification for continuing US military actions all over the world. (Emphasis, jw)…. According to a report by the Congressional Research Service, published May 11, 2016, at that time the 2001 AUMF had been cited 37 times in connection with actions in 14 countries and on the high seas. The report stated that ‘Of the 37 occurrences, 18 were made during the Bush Administration, and 19 have been made during the Obama Administration.’ The countries that were mentioned in the report included Afghanistan, Cuba (Guantanamo Bay), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, the Philippines, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.”

Every year the War Department keeps getting more and more and our country gets less and less.

So all you cheerleaders for some sort of war have nothing to fear….we will continue to do what we do best….go to war.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Lobbyist Money Well Spent

Recently the House had a brilliant idea….that is to find more oversight over the funds that is spent on continuing the war in Ukraine.

An idea that met with my approval (so that meant it would go nowhere) and now it looks like the buckets of cash from lobbyists has return a dividend.

The Senate on Tuesday night voted down an amendment to create a special inspector general to oversee the over $113 billion that the US has authorized to spend on the war in Ukraine.

The amendment, which was introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), failed in a vote of 26-68, with 24 Republicans and only two Democrats voting in favor of more oversight for the billions in weapons that are being shipped to Ukraine.

Hawley tried to add the amendment to a bill to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Iraq Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs). The legislation to repeal the AUMFs is expected to be voted on sometime this week.

Hawley’s idea was to create a position for Ukraine similar to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), which John Sopko has filled since 2012.

Sopko found tens of billions of dollars in waste in US aid to Afghanistan and issued scathing reports criticizing US policy in the country. Last month, Sopko said he fears the US will repeat the same mistakes in Ukraine.

“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,” Sopko told reporters.

Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Hawley wrote in an op-ed published by Fox News: “Billions upon billions of American dollars are pouring into a war-torn country without any serious oversight.”

Hawley has been critical of US policy in Ukraine because he thinks the US should be focusing on building up in the Asia Pacific to face China instead. In December, he sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the Biden administration to prioritize arming Taiwan over Ukraine.

(antiwar.com)

No one in the industry wants oversight.

Why should the American people know where their tax dollars are going and how it is spent?

Just another in a long list of oversight proposals that die an agonizing death.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Let’s Go To The Sinema

The elections are over and the GOP takes the House by a slim margin and the Senate is in the hands of the Dems….and now that slim margin is even slimmer….for Arizona junior Senator, Krysten Sinema has decided to leave the Dem Party…..

Days after Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock won the runoff election in Georgia, the 51-49 majority the party was expecting in Congress is looking shakier. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema tells CNN that she is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as an independent. The Arizona senator declined to say whether she would formally caucus with Democrats like the other two independent senators, Maine’s Sen. Angus King and Vermont’s Sen. Bernie Sanders. “I’m going to still come to work and hopefully serve on the same committees I’ve been serving on and continue to work well with my colleagues at both political parties,” she says. Nothing will change about her “values and behavior,” she says.

“I’ve never fit neatly into any party box. I’ve never really tried. I don’t want to,” Sinema says. “Removing myself from the partisan structure—not only is it true to who I am and how I operate, I also think it’ll provide a place of belonging for many folks across the state and the country, who also are tired of the partisanship.” In 2018, Sinema became the first woman—and the first Democrat in more than 20 years—to be elected to the Senate from Arizona. Like Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, Sinema was already known as a centrist, opposed to moves like weakening the filibuster. Politico reports the switch means Manchin, “a pivotal swing vote in the 50-50 chamber” will keep “some but not all of his outsized influence in the Democratic caucus.”

Sinema says she informed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of her decision Thursday and she doesn’t “anticipate that anything will change about the Senate structure.” In an Arizona Republic op-ed, she writes that she has worked “proudly with senators in both parties who have similarly rejected political extremes and forged consensus, helping drain some of the poison from today’s politics.” “Like a lot of Arizonans, I have never fit perfectly in either national party,” she writes. The 46-year-old wouldn’t tell CNN whether she is going to seek reelection in 2024, but she said she’s not planning to run for president.

What a lame excuse….almost as lame as “I want to spend more time with my family”….come on let’s be real….she is worried about re-election mostly…..

The search for answers and future fallout from Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to leave the Democratic Party has turned up plenty of possibilities. Democratic leaders in Washington refrained from bashing her decision, hoping to keep her voting with them. Democrats in Arizona, who invested in her 2018 campaign and helped put her in the Senate, see the decision as strategic, calculated to avoid a difficult primary battle in two years that she might well lose—and not so much about the systemic problems with the two-party system that she cited Friday. The reporting and analyses cover:

  • The Senate: Sinema sounds like she expects to stay on the committees Democratic leaders assigned her to, and caucus with the party—which affects the chamber’s organization—but she won’t quite say so. It’s not clear which side of the aisle her desk will sit on, per the Washington Post. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called her an effective senator and said her change won’t much affect “the new Democratic majority Senate.” Sinema rarely went to Democratic caucus meetings anyway, per the New York Times.
  • The timing: She told Democrats of her decision two days after Georgia reelected Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, cushioning the blow to Senate Democrats. She won’t get much Democratic support in 2024 anyway, Aaron Blake writes in a Post analysis, but the same decision would have fallen differently if Warnock had lost. “Imagine her trying to appeal to any of the Democrats who elected her in 2018 after having handed the Senate majority to the GOP,” Blake says. A Democratic House member from Arizona said his wife predicted the switch hours after Warnock won, per Politico. “I bet you she goes independent,” Mona Grijalva said. “In terms of her leverage in the Senate, the universe shifted with that victory,” said Rep. Raul Grijalva.
  • The ideology: Sinema has shown flexibility here. Progressive activists in Arizona are especially irked by the shifts in a politician they supported and now see her as a major opponent, per the Los Angeles Times. Sinema began in politics in the Green Party and as antiwar activist, a “Prada socialist” called too extreme by her state’s Democratic Party, per the AP. Sinema then went independent, then Democratic. She said Friday her values won’t change. She said that she wouldn’t become “distracted by political drama,” Elvia Diaz points out in a USA Today column, but created it with such attention-grabbers as giving a demonstrative thumbs-down to a minimum wage measure on the Senate floor and posting pictures on social media of a ring with the message “f–k off.”
  • The next race: Sinema had been headed toward a 2024 primary against Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, whose campaign sent a fundraising text after her announcement saying he’s “thinking of running,” per Axios. A poll in September showed Sinema with a favorable rating of 37% among Democrats back home; 57% had an unfavorable opinion of her, per the Post. The earliest polls show strength for Gallego. Had Arizona Republicans Kari Lake or Blake Masters won their statewide elections last month, Gallego might have challenged one of them next time, per Bloomberg. But with those paths closed, Sinema’s seat is a prime target; progressives already were thinking of challenging her from the left. Sinema’s unpopularity with Democrats means she would need Republicans and independents to back her next time, Diaz writes, but counting on Arizona’s GOP, especially, to support Sinema seems a tough bet. She made this move because it’s her best shot, Diaz says.

All the analysis comes down to two items…..money and power.

Sinema saw how much power Manchin wheeled in the last 2 years….she wants that power!

Plus she was also the center of media attention last Congress and she wants that to continue.

Plus she can sit on the fence and see which way the special interest money winds will blow.

The proud servant of the people is more about a self- serving agenda…..typical politician.

More reading on the Cinema decision…

https://www.rawstory.com/kyrsten-sinema-democrats/

https://www.salon.com/2022/12/09/dont-overthink-it-there-appears-to-be-a-simple-reason-kyrsten-sinema-left-the-democratic-party_partner/

Watch her!  She will become the darling of the MSM when Congress is in session…..and that is what she is shooting for all along.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”