Have we just watched as Jared & Trump walked away with billions after selling out Yemen, Khashoggi, and the United States? With virtually no questions from the mainstream media or Congress?
So why weren't the dems clambering to investigate Jared and immediately with all the evidence prosecute? Oh, our attorney general twittles his thumbs. Now over 2 years and nothing with all the evidence that he already had. WTF just think where we would be now if only DOJ would of taken action within the first year.
I agree with you Julie, but am giving more thought to how highly placed Trump Sr. is in the world of criminality. Along with Putin, he has to be in the top five as far as world criminals go, which means that bringing him to justice is extremely complicated. One big reason for that is what Thom has pointed out today -- all that top-secret information that passed into Trump's hands. NY AG Bragg is learning just how complicated it can be to bring a slam-dunk case against someone like Trump. We're dealing with the most evil of the evil bunch in our world, so my suggestion is we develop more patience, sit on our thumbs a bit longer, and let the DOJ do their infinitely complex work. Not an easy ask, because I'm one who longs to see justice done.
It is still Trump's DOJ, headed by a right winger. Garland was vetted to Obama by the arch right winger, Orrin Hatch. All Obama wanted was a win, to be able to say that he placeed someone on the court, no matter his ideological leanings. Garland also worked as a moderator (10 times) for the Federalist Socity. Of the 1000 J6 traitors,all but a handful got a slap on the wrist, a learning experience to come back more prpeared, not one real perp, the traitors in Congress, or in the Trump White House and campaign have even been indicted. Not even Trump, Garland is dragging his heels on purpose.
I really, really get pissed when the emoluments clause is brought up and this story takes the cake. Along with the supremes and Citizens United decision allowing unlimited dark US money flowing into politics we have the ignoring of the emoluments clause allowing unlimited money from foreign entities.
The lame excuse by DOJ is "well, no one has ever been prosecuted under the emoluments clause so we certainly can't". TFG and Jared are the shining lights for following generations of corruption.
Yes, Trump's massive crime wave, arrogantly "in your face and why should we worry?" all along, certainly takes the concept of "unprecedented" to new levels. It has demonstrated the lacunae in the whole system of government: the Founders literally could not imagine a person of such utter baseness and without conscience stepping into George Washington's shoes. Now we know, the hard way, that it really wasn't too bad for most of 227 years. The old saw about closing the barn door too late comes to mind. Are there going to be all kinds of new (enforceable!) rules to be "weaponized" against the next Democrat? How about the reporting that Kellyanne taunted the House Oversight Cmte that she'd comply with The Hatch Act as soon as there was one day of jail behind it? I tend to be a little more forgiving about Merrick Garland. The legal system obviously isn't geared for the UNPRECEDENTED mass resistance and manipulation, straining to define "frivilous" and "reasonable" when it comes to PROCEDURAL issues, never mind will they EVER even get to the meat of all the matters. Getting mad at AG Garland is a little bit victim-blaming.
I think "corporation law" was 1st year law school, and I remember it just made no earthly sense to me. Go ask Alice. It's kind of an "Emperor's New Clothes" thing, isn't it? Yet there has accumulated such a massive system in support of the illusion, the whole world can't escape.
All roads lead to Putin. The Trump crime family has been surrounded by Russians for decades. The oligarchs needed to clean that money up, that's why they turned to real estate and Trump. Make no mistake Putin owns the oligarchs. So when the Saudis provided the same deal, it is only logical they got to join the mob.
Don is not "the don", Putin is.
Trump bragged prolifically about the arms he sold the Saudis. The quid pro quo was that they bought LNG from us. They have so much natural gas from drilling, that's like getting them to buy sand. The media and Dems didn't do much on it, because of the first impeachment. I tried to contact people in Congress.
Any dirty deals for influence should be exposed and prosecuted, everyone's. I hope all the Bidens have clean hands, but we know damn well the Trumps and Kushners don't.
Just wonder if you caught Rachel Maddow's recent in-depth about Putin's puppet in Ukraine being masterminded by Paul Manafort, who then volunteered for free to run Trump's campaign.
The whole picture, as you connect up, just begs the old classic Claude Rains line : "I'm shocked! Shocked!...." about gambling in Casablanca. Just a giant stinking cloud of cynical fake outrage got them by.
Have not-will do. Thanks for the suggestion. Love me some Maddow research.
Read your Garland comments. DOJ just reached a 1000 prosecutions for Jan 6th with more to come. New York and Georgia are still working on it. I'm betting on Smith to find the truth. Garland knows how to keep his mouth shut, unlike that piece of crap Barr. Some commenters find Garland's discretion irritating; I'd say it shows he's professional and wants to do the right thing.
DOJ is aware of all of this, and nothing is done! I'm disgusted and don't believe our government works for The People no matter who is in charge. I actually like Joe Biden and think he's been doing an admirable job at pushing a huge rock uphill.
It appears that if you're rich enough you get a pass on about everything. Prosecute these slime balls and lock them up. If that was done it would send a powerful message, but it seems, no one has the balls to do it.
Speaking of Biden, he leans to the right and I have never been able to consider him to be a Democrat. I like his latest budget proposal, but it won't pass and he knows it. He plays the part of the hapless woke liberal and is handing democracy and freedom over to the oil cartel autocrats and all the other dictatorships. He is doing it incrementally, the mob bosses don't want a civil war because that will destroy a lot of their assets. With the FED raising the interest rate and the Republicans in control of Congress thanks to Garland and Biden, the stage will be set for an economic collapse and for the people to vote in a dictatorship peacefully. This has been planned for decades, loot America then financially destroy America and Americans for the new world order fascists. As Bush senior would say.
Biden was known inside the beltway as the senator from Wall Street.
For those familiar with Thom's work, they will know about the Charter Wars and how Delaware won them and as a result over 600 corporations moved their offices to Delaware, evenif they are Potemkin villages.
Nope..SHOOMER is Senator WallSt..Biden from Delaware ws Senator MBNA(largest credit card co.) Once had 10,000 employees.... minimum wage still 7.15$..Rich get "Morbidly Rich"👿
Yeh Schumer the Senator from Wall Street, but it was Biden when he was a Senator.
Delaware has two "Democratic Senators" Carper and Coons, both of them are conservatives, and dance to the tune whatever Wall Street lobbyists play on their bag pipes
Karen, that was Biden then-this is Biden now. Who do you think he listens to, Wall Street or his wife, kids, and grandchildren? He recently mentioned the Delaware haven issue, and it was not in a good way. He criticizes Wall St, corporate tax laws, and big pharma regularly. If he had not evolved, Bernie would tell us.
March 11th (today) marks the beginning of Garland's third year. Congress makes the laws. Does he have the laws and proof he needs to prosecute at the federal level---that's the question. New York and Georgia are still trying to make it to court.
The Trump criminals yet again. Was this all part of the plan to set the United States up for a big boost to Authoritarianism from Democracy?
Jared Kushner always struck me as a mild looking but devious enough man to enter the Trump family and then tear things down quietly.
As far as the Attorney General goes I ‘d rather see Jack Smith as A G .
Assuming that he is who he appears to be.
Are the Democrats selling out to the Trump Cartel?
It seems that the statement that the A G is just crossing every t and dotting every i was just soothing background noise for any real attempt at justice.
There isn’t one thing that Thom mentions re : this criminal group that isn’t shocking but plausible as regards these Trump thugs.
No redeeming characteristics of this whole rotten experience with Trump.
And of course the Republicans reward this perversity with standing applause.
As to Jack Smith's effect, the public may hear something "as early as" summer, but even his report (to Garland,) which we may never get to see, may not advise any actions....and even if it did, it would be up to the DOJ to decide to take any action.
I'm pushing back here on what almost begins to feel like it's fashionable to ascribe invidious cowardice or collusion to Merrick Garland. I even suggested "victim-blaming." Where is the massive crap-pile of procedural sabotage coming from? Hello! If the "justice system" is inundated by obstruction, how is that Garland's fault?
Are the Trump supporters even capable of caring? This reminds me of a quote "the last capitalist we shall hang will be the one who sold us the rope". First comes greed second comes guns and third comes God, to the right wingers. I'm sure Garland will get right on thqt?
Nah. Too harsh. I posted above to the effect that the whole legal system has never had to cope with such massive sabotage just on the procedural front. How much time is "reasonable" to get documents, much less a hearing on this motion and it's 10,000 brothers? Nobody ever made this motion or claim before, what is "frivolous," anyway? Who's on first with subpenas, and is there enforcement power and did anybody ever get actually arrested before and how many years for "reasonable" time to decide even whether the objection is "frivolous?" It's fun to fantasize prosecutors resorting to extreme measures: set it for trial, and just serve the warrant and drag the witness in when you call him/her, - argue to the trial judge that the witness can sue over his/her civil rights after the fact, but justice requires... I don't know. I just give Garland a little break.
I'd like to give Garland a little break, but it appears he waited two years to take any action about the principals in the insurrection, namely Trump and company, but I agree that Trump intentionally overwhelmed the system with innumerable offenses, and that there are still too many Trump appointees in that system to get much done.
By the time Garland takes action, America won't be a democracy so none of this will all matter. Obviously, democracy isn't a priority for the Democrat or Republican parties.
Sadly, I am sympathetic with your fear that "accountabiity" under the law will be too little, too late. But that's Trump's Modus O.: stonewall everything, bury 'em in motions, judge-shop, then appeal 'em to death. The "Justice" system itself isn't up to digesting such pernicious recalcitrance. Here's Weissman on MSNBC "getting in the weeds." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NdyAwy_8Hw Funny coincidence, I just happen to have viewed a bookmarked Face the Nation, Bernie Sanders, partly touting his book: "It's OK to be Angry at Capitalism." I need to get around to it. I'm sure Bernie holds all deserving feet to the fire when it comes to Democracy!
You assemble a convincing - and needed - opening argument for not only massive corruption, but corruption utterly indifferent to that nationalism that Trump's adorers hold so dear. This is the case that the Trump gang and affiliates don't give a flying you-know-what about America, and will cut America's throat with a smile, hello, "flyover country" patriots. But let's be clear it is almost entirely a whole other case from the election sabotage, before and after, case. Posters think a two-year delay slogging through the unprecedented legal roadblocks over the election deniers and Jan. 6 is an outrage. Just try to picture investigation and subpenas and documentation for the horror Thom outlines here. Any volunteers? Really?
There is no doubt our burdensome justice system is not up to the challenge of going after major white-collar criminals at the top of the heap. Of course that's a feature, not a bug.
Here is what I don’t get. Jared Kushner is an Orthodox Jew, and as such have a loyalty towards Israel.
Saudi Arabia will not allow into their country any foreigner which has an Israeli visa in their passport.
After the ’73 Arab Israeli war. Saudi Arabia has made a piece of sorts with Israel, followed by the UAE.
I am looking for a common denominator that can Israel’s détente with the kingdom, hence Jared’s friendship with MSB
For Jared and Trump the motivation is money, but not for MBS and Israel. The two states have a common interest. Hostility towards Iran, and that enmity is rooted in religion,
Non Muslims may not understand the millennial long conflict between Shi’a and Sunni Islam, because in our eyes they are no different and as misogynistic and homophobic (Saudis call the “keeper suit” that women must wear an abaya, the Iranians call it a chador). as Orthodox Judaism, Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism, never the less it is very real and is about who is the rightful heir of Muhammad.: His Cousin, Ali his first student (Talib) ar as known in Iran as Ali ibn abi Talib which means Exalted son of the father of the student, which is a way of saying Cousin, or the followers of Muhammad.
The Followers fought the disciples of the cousin at the battle of Karbala and lost
There is also racial/cultural animosity between the Saudis and the Shia (Iran and even Iraq being majority Shia).
Abdul Qassim Mansuri, a Shia Mulim born in 935, wrote the Shahnameh or Book of Kings.
Most educated Iranians, can passionately quote Ferdowsi’s ament, utter by a Perian general facing the Arab Army.
“Damn on this World, Damn on this Time, Damn on Fare, that uncivilized Arabs have come to force me to be Muslim”
In 197, Iran sent hundreds of guerilla fighters into Mecca during the Haj, and fighting erupted in the tunnels and markets. The war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen is a war between the Shia Houthis and the Sunni dominated Yemeni government. The Houthis are a large clan originating from Yemen's northwestern Saada province. They practice the Zaydi form of Shiism The Houthi movement emerged in northern Yemen in the 1990s, in part, as a reaction to rising Saudi financial and religious influence
Thus we have both a financial and religious interest in this MBS-Kushner alliance of which, Trump is a beneficiary.
Thanks for the detail. One of the grossest, knee-jerk, propaganda-inflamed rationales boosting the invasion of Iraq was the conflation of Iraqis with "all Arabs." (as a side-note, my bloodthirsty mom proclaimed "all Arabs" barbarians, in sympathy with the "Persian general.") In the not-so-gentle bosom of my family, I was glad they weren't armed when I tried to clarify that there was this little religious thing that distinguished Saddam to the contrary of the Bush tall tales. I think there would have been an earthquake if I'd shown them the photo of Don Rumsfeld beaming as he shook the hand of "our man in the Middle East," not so long before. Ah, nostalgia. But how many Americans have the slightest inkling of these distinctions? You and me, that's two.
I have nothing against Arabs. Arabs come in all shapes, sizes,colors, religions. Arab is an ethnic identity based on the native tongue, (kind of unique in that), thus there are black Arabs, white Arabs and Christian Arabs (Lebanon, Syria and even Iraq)
Iraqi Arabs are majority Shia, the Sunni Arabs are a minority. Saddam used the ethnicity of Iraqi Shia in his propaganda war against Iran. When it suited his purpose Iraq's were Arabs fighting Persians.
When it suited his purpose Iraqi's and indeed all Arabs were Muslims. His big mistake, which resulted in an alliance of Saudi Arab and Israel, was to declare that he was he new Salah al Din (Saladin) and thus the savior of the faith. Salah al din (Righteousness of the faith, actually a title as his real name was Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadhi, and he was a Kurd, not an Arab.
The idea of Muslim rallying around a "resurrected" Salah al din, was too much for Saudi Arabia, Israel and even his arch enemy and competitor the Mullahcracy of Iran.
Most of all Saddam posed an existential threat to Israel and had to be removed, and the idea of gaining control over Iraqi oil, was all that was needed to justify an invasion. Cheney did say that Iraqi oil would pay for the war.
What a stunning exposé! But I suspect it's lost in the onslaught of all the other shocking developments in the ongoing dark saga of Trump, living rent-free in everyone's mind, both left and right. Whew -- open the damn window!
The gross moral failings and their ugly consequences, if not specific, were highly predictable given the self-dealing assholes involved. To most progressives, with working brains and honest souls, it was obvious from the very beginning that really bad mojo was heading our way on that fateful ride down that golden escalator way back in '15 -- before Trump's "soul stank" (movie: RIPD) began to accelerate the rot in the creaking foundations of our already unstable democracy, still reeling from the original sin of Reaganomics.
Of course, scapegoating Trump is an easy cop-out for the tens of millions of gullible fabulists who voted for him and his unoriginal copycats -- and, like lemmings, the uneducated masses caught up in new-age Republicanism (despicable lies and unabashed racism) will undoubtedly vote the absolute wrong way again despite all the lunacy that has transpired.
They want chaos. Tear it all down. Hang the heathens. Purify the land for the coming Lord ...same old story throughout history.
Say it like it is: Our fellow, so-called Americans in truth are worhtless traitors killing democracy to establish a white, Christian, authoritarian plutocracy run by a bunch of ruthless billionaires. Evil incarnate.
No, it's not hate of the fools on the right; it's more like disgust and revulsion.
Republicans for the most part are lost, miserable souls, victims of false prophets and false religion, evidenced by their own repulsive words and actions. They sorely need to be called out in real-time for what they are -- to their lying faces! -- and their dirty deeds exposed at every turn for all to witness.
The usual binary jargon of left-right, red-blue, liberal-conservative should give way to a more direct political discourse: the truth or the lie. It matters. Life or death. Which side are you on?
Follow the evidence; follow the science; follow the truth. Otherwise, what good is human thought?
Think of the fun and exciting circus coming to every town this summer when the "United" States (and so goes the world) is facing imminent default with the crazy-caucus bosses of dumb-shit Kevin McCarthy -- Marjorie Three Names, "Gym" Jordan, Matt Child Trafficking Gaetz, Bam Bam Boebert, et al. -- firmly in charge of the House. We ain't seen nothin' yet.
My memory is not to be trusted. However, I am fairly certain that I did hear about just about every one of these incidents and scandals on MSNBC, mostly from Rachel, and I believe I read about them on certain websites with which I'm registered. There are many reasons why nothing seems to come of all this corruption and criminality. Every single day there are new outrages and even big media can't keep up. There has to be someone or some agency in government to investigate and prosecute. The will seems to be lacking and resources are scarce, but even when someone is ready to act, there are incredible hurdles and technicalities, and the opposition is powerful. Probably most important is that for any effort to be successful, there must be public support and a public outcry. But the people do not respond. People are busy and preoccupied and they just don't get angry and upset enough and in large enough numbers to motivate anyone to follow through or for prosecutions to be pursued with vigor and commitment. I see no solutions at this point. Possibly when the pain gets strong enough for enough people, more will show up in the streets. Don't hold your breath.
Wish I could "like" this a baker's dozen. Now, that's fair and balanced! Also, there is conflation in these posts of prosecution of the election chicanery with (wishful) holding accountable for what Thom's post today is about. If there is all the resistance and obstruction over the election cases, and evidence and witnesses, what does it look like to try to get evidence for the "smoking gun" Thom assembles for this foreign-affairs snake-pit?
"To everything, there is a season." Everything. For Republicans, that will literally come true in this coming "summer of discontent." At long last, their real-life, lie and hate-fest version of "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is coming to full fruition.
And karma is a bitch:
-Dear Leader's life of crime finally catching up legally bigly in several overlapping jurisdictions digging away at the mountain of evidence, exploding in the lap of every right-wing media medium everywhere.
-The favorite wingnut propaganda mouthpiece, forever feasting on their viewers' inexplicable but predictable gullibility, finally gutted by its out-for-blood enemies, ethically and financially, left a rotting corpse. (Never rest in peace, Amen.)
-A self-owned debt crisis, threatening the entire world economy, instantly transforming our once great nation into Third World status as interest rates soar. (Way to go, stupid bastards; people won't forget!)
-Protests galore marching across the land like 4th of July parades, against virtually every piece of authoritarian, anti-democratic legislative garbage conjured up by the Republican Party and sanctioned by the Party's black-robed theocratic "justices" (in name only) in the Supreme Star Chamber.
-The war in Ukraine reaching a bloody crescendo while fcking traitors — the usual suspects — in the U.S. Congress give comfort to our and the world's worst enemy, War Criminal Mass Murderer Putin, thus cruelly prolonging death and destruction while he waits us out, hoping for a Trump 2.0 reboot in 2024 and more of the same sniveling-coward appeasement that led directly to the buildup for the major invasion last year, purposely timed to stiff the Biden Administration. Unfortunately for the fcking traitor caucus, appeasement usually backfires politically.
-And to top it all off, their primary season will be heating up into a witch's brew of wickedness by playing to a crazed base with little chance of winning a general election against any generic Democrat, meaning someone sensible and willing to do right by the Constitution, the American people, and the principle of democracy, someone you won't find on the right, especially as they outdo one another with fascistic crazy talk, cage-fight politics at its worst.
For the rest of us — you know, "normal" people (or as close to whatever that might mean in this day and age) — it should be: "Summertime, and the livin' is easy." You wouldn't want to be them, but you may as well enjoy the ridiculous spectacle of Republican politicians trying to win the hearts and minds of the patients running their asylum. Sit back, grab the popcorn, and enjoy the show. (Well, maybe enjoyment isn't the best way to describe such conflicting emotions, ranging from glee to horror.)
Very good to have all those details. You are so good at that. But now what? The establishment is so deeply corrupt that it's sickening when Biden points to his triumphs and get accolades. And here comes Marianne Williamson, who is disgustingly derided even by the left. Even if she never makes it to a nomination or the Presidency, what a breath of fresh air she is, and it's so pure on the side of justice and the soul, if you will, that I bet she can make people do some serious rethinking. Notice that all the hundreds of comments she gets to posts when she talks, including people apologizing for making fun of her before, are almost 100% positive. What do you think, Thom?
I caught an interview with her about announcing candidacy, and she was (dare I say?) well grounded in all the serious, pragmatic issues, nation and world. Ironically, here is someone who actually isn't beholden to the "normal" capitalist and fascist coercive political structures, which was a big bogus calling-card for Trump. So the folks who gave him a shot just to try an "outsider" will flock to her cause, right? Sure they will...... There's that politics rule about defining your opponent loud and early. The corporatist machine will paint her so crackpotty so fast, someone will throw water on her expecting her to melt.
The President's Press Secretary evaluated her as someone using crystal balls. She gets a lot of that -- even from the Left. In politics, the level of ignorance about consciousness is staggering. I bet as she keeps talking she's going to wake up a lot of sleeping people. She's not only spiritually smart but she's so attractive. What's that saying about first they laugh and they end up applauding?
I will mention this elsewhere as appropriate, but I am very concerned with the latest news that Saudi Arabia and Iran have arrived at some form of rapproachement .
Considering that the Sunni - Saudi split is a thousand years old and that the Islam of Iran is only marginally less stringent than the Wahabiyyah Islam of Saudi Arabia,. Something is going on
In the southwest of Iran, women are forced to wear the niqab, which is more restrictive than the chador or abaya (the bee keeper suit) but less restrictive than the burka. Outside of Tehran women wear the chador, but all are forced to at east wear the hijab.
Saudi Arabia executes by beheading., Iran by hanging or stoning (especially for adultery and a raped women is considered an adulteress unless she can provide four male witnesses (accomplices) to the rape, and we know how that goes.
Something is afoot for them to come to some kind of rapprochement, perhaps it is the extreme right shift of Israel. The only natural resource of both countries is oil.
Autocratic petrol countries will naturally band together as their market power shrinks while the world slowly -- too slowly! -- converts to renewable, non-polluting energy sources.
Society needs to kick its addiction to oil and violence, which go hand in hand. A good start would be for the U.S. to quit selling arms to Saudi Arabia. Sure, Russia, China. North Korea, and Iran will no doubt pick up the slack, but their inherent corruption will be their ultimate undoing. Democracies are superior in every way: culturally, technologically, economically and militarily.
"Democracies are superior in every way: culturally, technologically, economically and militarily."
I agree, but contained within that superiority is the seeds of it's own destruction. The unbridled selfishness of the profit motive. The profit motive is global, it has no loyalties except to producing a profit, a positive return on investment.
For instance in 1992 when George H W Bush was president, Billy Graham stopped to visit Donald K. Kendall, then CEO of Perpsi Cola, on this way to his Moscow Crusade,and Pepsi got it' opening into Russia,
We don't even produce our won National Defense tools, nor anything that we use except perhaps some relatively small and unique companies like Weathertexch.
Even Boeing uses wings made in China for their aircraft, because labor is cheaper, even factoring in ocean transport.
Cultural, technological, economic and military superiority is not sufficient for survival or winning or even maintaining.
Logistics is what wins the days. Logistics inc includes resources, be they human or rare earth metals, access to them,the ability to use them to produce, then the ability to transport them to where they are needed.
Germany was more technologically advanced than America, France, England, Russia,but it's logistics were crap, it lacked unrestricted access to raw materials it needed, and the means to transport what materials they needed to the point of production and then to the point of use.
We think of Germany as a mechanized army, thanks to it's Panzer corps and Blitzkreig, but it was a horse drawn army, hundreds of thousands of horses were used and killed in the war. Troops slogging through France had to pass the bloated rotting corpses of these horses.
A major part of Russia's problem in conquering Ukraine, besides it's incompetent and unmotivated rank and file, is their lack of access to modern technology. They have lost acceess to Taiwan Semi Conductor Manufacturing chips. Our auto manufacturers did as well because TSMC could not keep up with demand. So they have resorted to confiscating any Ukrainian appliance that has chips, like washing machines. But they do have an infinite supply of coal, oil, iron and humans which they easily employ in manufacturing of crude, out dated, equipment and in human wave attacks to absorb Ukrainian Ammo, and Ukraine does not have an unlimited supply of humans, ammo, weapons. Any success the Ukrainians have had, is attributable to the superior quality of its human resources. But quality over quantity does not win a war. The German Heer, had excellent soldiers, and mobile formations. The quality of the German solider at the outset was superior to the American (Because every German male over the age 6 has been training his entire life to be a soldier. (The Hitlerjugend was a paramilitary training program, as was the Labor Battalions). But it was logistics that won the war.
You cannot fight without supplies: food, ammunition, fuel, etc.
So no matter how good your tactics are, you’ll lose eventually.
Sadly, America is not a true democracy, certainly not morally superior when the profit motive gone wild (which means lusting after both wealth and power at all costs) infects the general mindset of politicians, destroying faith in, and perhaps more critical, the spirit of true representative democracy in the minds of everyday citizens. Clearly, the USA experiment is hugely suffering the dire consequences of reaching the dizzying heights of arrogance, dancing on the extreme edge of a failed democracy.
It is certainly true that wars are usually won through superior logistics and the ability to out-produce the war materiel of one's enemies. And, wars are usually lost once soldiers and their families back home realize they are not fighting on the side of righteousness.
Beyond the mechanics of waging war is the deeper question of WHY we fight. Ukrainian soldiers are literally fighting for survival, for their homes, their families, their very existence. Russian soldiers (if not just to avoid or to get out of prison) are fighting for the delusional visions of a ruthless dictator, for the power and glory of one man.
Alas, soldiers and civilians in war -- on all sides -- are victims of the horrendous lies their politicians tell. Some things are worth fighting for; most things are not. I'm not sure that most Americans, certainly not the fcking traitor caucus, are aware that we are mighty close to losing the ultimate war to save our own democracy.
So why weren't the dems clambering to investigate Jared and immediately with all the evidence prosecute? Oh, our attorney general twittles his thumbs. Now over 2 years and nothing with all the evidence that he already had. WTF just think where we would be now if only DOJ would of taken action within the first year.
I agree with you Julie, but am giving more thought to how highly placed Trump Sr. is in the world of criminality. Along with Putin, he has to be in the top five as far as world criminals go, which means that bringing him to justice is extremely complicated. One big reason for that is what Thom has pointed out today -- all that top-secret information that passed into Trump's hands. NY AG Bragg is learning just how complicated it can be to bring a slam-dunk case against someone like Trump. We're dealing with the most evil of the evil bunch in our world, so my suggestion is we develop more patience, sit on our thumbs a bit longer, and let the DOJ do their infinitely complex work. Not an easy ask, because I'm one who longs to see justice done.
It is still Trump's DOJ, headed by a right winger. Garland was vetted to Obama by the arch right winger, Orrin Hatch. All Obama wanted was a win, to be able to say that he placeed someone on the court, no matter his ideological leanings. Garland also worked as a moderator (10 times) for the Federalist Socity. Of the 1000 J6 traitors,all but a handful got a slap on the wrist, a learning experience to come back more prpeared, not one real perp, the traitors in Congress, or in the Trump White House and campaign have even been indicted. Not even Trump, Garland is dragging his heels on purpose.
Like Garland is Trump's and Jared's agent.
Thanks for this morning report.
I really, really get pissed when the emoluments clause is brought up and this story takes the cake. Along with the supremes and Citizens United decision allowing unlimited dark US money flowing into politics we have the ignoring of the emoluments clause allowing unlimited money from foreign entities.
The lame excuse by DOJ is "well, no one has ever been prosecuted under the emoluments clause so we certainly can't". TFG and Jared are the shining lights for following generations of corruption.
The powerful are untouchable.
Yes, Trump's massive crime wave, arrogantly "in your face and why should we worry?" all along, certainly takes the concept of "unprecedented" to new levels. It has demonstrated the lacunae in the whole system of government: the Founders literally could not imagine a person of such utter baseness and without conscience stepping into George Washington's shoes. Now we know, the hard way, that it really wasn't too bad for most of 227 years. The old saw about closing the barn door too late comes to mind. Are there going to be all kinds of new (enforceable!) rules to be "weaponized" against the next Democrat? How about the reporting that Kellyanne taunted the House Oversight Cmte that she'd comply with The Hatch Act as soon as there was one day of jail behind it? I tend to be a little more forgiving about Merrick Garland. The legal system obviously isn't geared for the UNPRECEDENTED mass resistance and manipulation, straining to define "frivilous" and "reasonable" when it comes to PROCEDURAL issues, never mind will they EVER even get to the meat of all the matters. Getting mad at AG Garland is a little bit victim-blaming.
Yet another great example of what happens when morbidly rich sociopaths exploit the powers of corporate personhood to get their way.
Or just exploit the legal system. Had to share this! https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-gets-caught-trying-to-play-judges-to-manufacture-trial-delays
link gives the gist, but article is quite an overview!
Thanks that was a great article and I hope it's something that the TV lawyers beat to death this week.
I think "corporation law" was 1st year law school, and I remember it just made no earthly sense to me. Go ask Alice. It's kind of an "Emperor's New Clothes" thing, isn't it? Yet there has accumulated such a massive system in support of the illusion, the whole world can't escape.
All roads lead to Putin. The Trump crime family has been surrounded by Russians for decades. The oligarchs needed to clean that money up, that's why they turned to real estate and Trump. Make no mistake Putin owns the oligarchs. So when the Saudis provided the same deal, it is only logical they got to join the mob.
Don is not "the don", Putin is.
Trump bragged prolifically about the arms he sold the Saudis. The quid pro quo was that they bought LNG from us. They have so much natural gas from drilling, that's like getting them to buy sand. The media and Dems didn't do much on it, because of the first impeachment. I tried to contact people in Congress.
Any dirty deals for influence should be exposed and prosecuted, everyone's. I hope all the Bidens have clean hands, but we know damn well the Trumps and Kushners don't.
Just wonder if you caught Rachel Maddow's recent in-depth about Putin's puppet in Ukraine being masterminded by Paul Manafort, who then volunteered for free to run Trump's campaign.
The whole picture, as you connect up, just begs the old classic Claude Rains line : "I'm shocked! Shocked!...." about gambling in Casablanca. Just a giant stinking cloud of cynical fake outrage got them by.
Have not-will do. Thanks for the suggestion. Love me some Maddow research.
Read your Garland comments. DOJ just reached a 1000 prosecutions for Jan 6th with more to come. New York and Georgia are still working on it. I'm betting on Smith to find the truth. Garland knows how to keep his mouth shut, unlike that piece of crap Barr. Some commenters find Garland's discretion irritating; I'd say it shows he's professional and wants to do the right thing.
DOJ is aware of all of this, and nothing is done! I'm disgusted and don't believe our government works for The People no matter who is in charge. I actually like Joe Biden and think he's been doing an admirable job at pushing a huge rock uphill.
It appears that if you're rich enough you get a pass on about everything. Prosecute these slime balls and lock them up. If that was done it would send a powerful message, but it seems, no one has the balls to do it.
Speaking of Biden, he leans to the right and I have never been able to consider him to be a Democrat. I like his latest budget proposal, but it won't pass and he knows it. He plays the part of the hapless woke liberal and is handing democracy and freedom over to the oil cartel autocrats and all the other dictatorships. He is doing it incrementally, the mob bosses don't want a civil war because that will destroy a lot of their assets. With the FED raising the interest rate and the Republicans in control of Congress thanks to Garland and Biden, the stage will be set for an economic collapse and for the people to vote in a dictatorship peacefully. This has been planned for decades, loot America then financially destroy America and Americans for the new world order fascists. As Bush senior would say.
Biden was known inside the beltway as the senator from Wall Street.
For those familiar with Thom's work, they will know about the Charter Wars and how Delaware won them and as a result over 600 corporations moved their offices to Delaware, evenif they are Potemkin villages.
Nope..SHOOMER is Senator WallSt..Biden from Delaware ws Senator MBNA(largest credit card co.) Once had 10,000 employees.... minimum wage still 7.15$..Rich get "Morbidly Rich"👿
Yeh Schumer the Senator from Wall Street, but it was Biden when he was a Senator.
Delaware has two "Democratic Senators" Carper and Coons, both of them are conservatives, and dance to the tune whatever Wall Street lobbyists play on their bag pipes
That's scary but thanks for the reply.
Karen, that was Biden then-this is Biden now. Who do you think he listens to, Wall Street or his wife, kids, and grandchildren? He recently mentioned the Delaware haven issue, and it was not in a good way. He criticizes Wall St, corporate tax laws, and big pharma regularly. If he had not evolved, Bernie would tell us.
March 11th (today) marks the beginning of Garland's third year. Congress makes the laws. Does he have the laws and proof he needs to prosecute at the federal level---that's the question. New York and Georgia are still trying to make it to court.
The Trump criminals yet again. Was this all part of the plan to set the United States up for a big boost to Authoritarianism from Democracy?
Jared Kushner always struck me as a mild looking but devious enough man to enter the Trump family and then tear things down quietly.
As far as the Attorney General goes I ‘d rather see Jack Smith as A G .
Assuming that he is who he appears to be.
Are the Democrats selling out to the Trump Cartel?
It seems that the statement that the A G is just crossing every t and dotting every i was just soothing background noise for any real attempt at justice.
There isn’t one thing that Thom mentions re : this criminal group that isn’t shocking but plausible as regards these Trump thugs.
No redeeming characteristics of this whole rotten experience with Trump.
And of course the Republicans reward this perversity with standing applause.
As to Jack Smith's effect, the public may hear something "as early as" summer, but even his report (to Garland,) which we may never get to see, may not advise any actions....and even if it did, it would be up to the DOJ to decide to take any action.
I'm pushing back here on what almost begins to feel like it's fashionable to ascribe invidious cowardice or collusion to Merrick Garland. I even suggested "victim-blaming." Where is the massive crap-pile of procedural sabotage coming from? Hello! If the "justice system" is inundated by obstruction, how is that Garland's fault?
Are the Trump supporters even capable of caring? This reminds me of a quote "the last capitalist we shall hang will be the one who sold us the rope". First comes greed second comes guns and third comes God, to the right wingers. I'm sure Garland will get right on thqt?
Maybe Garland is the 4th "G."
Nah. Too harsh. I posted above to the effect that the whole legal system has never had to cope with such massive sabotage just on the procedural front. How much time is "reasonable" to get documents, much less a hearing on this motion and it's 10,000 brothers? Nobody ever made this motion or claim before, what is "frivolous," anyway? Who's on first with subpenas, and is there enforcement power and did anybody ever get actually arrested before and how many years for "reasonable" time to decide even whether the objection is "frivolous?" It's fun to fantasize prosecutors resorting to extreme measures: set it for trial, and just serve the warrant and drag the witness in when you call him/her, - argue to the trial judge that the witness can sue over his/her civil rights after the fact, but justice requires... I don't know. I just give Garland a little break.
I'd like to give Garland a little break, but it appears he waited two years to take any action about the principals in the insurrection, namely Trump and company, but I agree that Trump intentionally overwhelmed the system with innumerable offenses, and that there are still too many Trump appointees in that system to get much done.
By the time Garland takes action, America won't be a democracy so none of this will all matter. Obviously, democracy isn't a priority for the Democrat or Republican parties.
Sadly, I am sympathetic with your fear that "accountabiity" under the law will be too little, too late. But that's Trump's Modus O.: stonewall everything, bury 'em in motions, judge-shop, then appeal 'em to death. The "Justice" system itself isn't up to digesting such pernicious recalcitrance. Here's Weissman on MSNBC "getting in the weeds." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NdyAwy_8Hw Funny coincidence, I just happen to have viewed a bookmarked Face the Nation, Bernie Sanders, partly touting his book: "It's OK to be Angry at Capitalism." I need to get around to it. I'm sure Bernie holds all deserving feet to the fire when it comes to Democracy!
Read the heading and simply said Yes.
You assemble a convincing - and needed - opening argument for not only massive corruption, but corruption utterly indifferent to that nationalism that Trump's adorers hold so dear. This is the case that the Trump gang and affiliates don't give a flying you-know-what about America, and will cut America's throat with a smile, hello, "flyover country" patriots. But let's be clear it is almost entirely a whole other case from the election sabotage, before and after, case. Posters think a two-year delay slogging through the unprecedented legal roadblocks over the election deniers and Jan. 6 is an outrage. Just try to picture investigation and subpenas and documentation for the horror Thom outlines here. Any volunteers? Really?
There is no doubt our burdensome justice system is not up to the challenge of going after major white-collar criminals at the top of the heap. Of course that's a feature, not a bug.
Here is what I don’t get. Jared Kushner is an Orthodox Jew, and as such have a loyalty towards Israel.
Saudi Arabia will not allow into their country any foreigner which has an Israeli visa in their passport.
After the ’73 Arab Israeli war. Saudi Arabia has made a piece of sorts with Israel, followed by the UAE.
I am looking for a common denominator that can Israel’s détente with the kingdom, hence Jared’s friendship with MSB
For Jared and Trump the motivation is money, but not for MBS and Israel. The two states have a common interest. Hostility towards Iran, and that enmity is rooted in religion,
Non Muslims may not understand the millennial long conflict between Shi’a and Sunni Islam, because in our eyes they are no different and as misogynistic and homophobic (Saudis call the “keeper suit” that women must wear an abaya, the Iranians call it a chador). as Orthodox Judaism, Catholicism and Evangelical Protestantism, never the less it is very real and is about who is the rightful heir of Muhammad.: His Cousin, Ali his first student (Talib) ar as known in Iran as Ali ibn abi Talib which means Exalted son of the father of the student, which is a way of saying Cousin, or the followers of Muhammad.
The Followers fought the disciples of the cousin at the battle of Karbala and lost
There is also racial/cultural animosity between the Saudis and the Shia (Iran and even Iraq being majority Shia).
Abdul Qassim Mansuri, a Shia Mulim born in 935, wrote the Shahnameh or Book of Kings.
Most educated Iranians, can passionately quote Ferdowsi’s ament, utter by a Perian general facing the Arab Army.
“Damn on this World, Damn on this Time, Damn on Fare, that uncivilized Arabs have come to force me to be Muslim”
In 197, Iran sent hundreds of guerilla fighters into Mecca during the Haj, and fighting erupted in the tunnels and markets. The war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen is a war between the Shia Houthis and the Sunni dominated Yemeni government. The Houthis are a large clan originating from Yemen's northwestern Saada province. They practice the Zaydi form of Shiism The Houthi movement emerged in northern Yemen in the 1990s, in part, as a reaction to rising Saudi financial and religious influence
Thus we have both a financial and religious interest in this MBS-Kushner alliance of which, Trump is a beneficiary.
Thanks for the detail. One of the grossest, knee-jerk, propaganda-inflamed rationales boosting the invasion of Iraq was the conflation of Iraqis with "all Arabs." (as a side-note, my bloodthirsty mom proclaimed "all Arabs" barbarians, in sympathy with the "Persian general.") In the not-so-gentle bosom of my family, I was glad they weren't armed when I tried to clarify that there was this little religious thing that distinguished Saddam to the contrary of the Bush tall tales. I think there would have been an earthquake if I'd shown them the photo of Don Rumsfeld beaming as he shook the hand of "our man in the Middle East," not so long before. Ah, nostalgia. But how many Americans have the slightest inkling of these distinctions? You and me, that's two.
I have nothing against Arabs. Arabs come in all shapes, sizes,colors, religions. Arab is an ethnic identity based on the native tongue, (kind of unique in that), thus there are black Arabs, white Arabs and Christian Arabs (Lebanon, Syria and even Iraq)
Iraqi Arabs are majority Shia, the Sunni Arabs are a minority. Saddam used the ethnicity of Iraqi Shia in his propaganda war against Iran. When it suited his purpose Iraq's were Arabs fighting Persians.
When it suited his purpose Iraqi's and indeed all Arabs were Muslims. His big mistake, which resulted in an alliance of Saudi Arab and Israel, was to declare that he was he new Salah al Din (Saladin) and thus the savior of the faith. Salah al din (Righteousness of the faith, actually a title as his real name was Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadhi, and he was a Kurd, not an Arab.
The idea of Muslim rallying around a "resurrected" Salah al din, was too much for Saudi Arabia, Israel and even his arch enemy and competitor the Mullahcracy of Iran.
Most of all Saddam posed an existential threat to Israel and had to be removed, and the idea of gaining control over Iraqi oil, was all that was needed to justify an invasion. Cheney did say that Iraqi oil would pay for the war.
Just so it's clear I didn't attribute prejudice against Arabs to you: I was referencing "Ferdawsi's (l)ament" you quoted.
I know that. I have my problems with Islamists, same problem I have with Evangelicals and Dominionists.
Saudi Arabia aligning themselves with Russia? This could be very ominous.
What a stunning exposé! But I suspect it's lost in the onslaught of all the other shocking developments in the ongoing dark saga of Trump, living rent-free in everyone's mind, both left and right. Whew -- open the damn window!
The gross moral failings and their ugly consequences, if not specific, were highly predictable given the self-dealing assholes involved. To most progressives, with working brains and honest souls, it was obvious from the very beginning that really bad mojo was heading our way on that fateful ride down that golden escalator way back in '15 -- before Trump's "soul stank" (movie: RIPD) began to accelerate the rot in the creaking foundations of our already unstable democracy, still reeling from the original sin of Reaganomics.
Of course, scapegoating Trump is an easy cop-out for the tens of millions of gullible fabulists who voted for him and his unoriginal copycats -- and, like lemmings, the uneducated masses caught up in new-age Republicanism (despicable lies and unabashed racism) will undoubtedly vote the absolute wrong way again despite all the lunacy that has transpired.
They want chaos. Tear it all down. Hang the heathens. Purify the land for the coming Lord ...same old story throughout history.
Say it like it is: Our fellow, so-called Americans in truth are worhtless traitors killing democracy to establish a white, Christian, authoritarian plutocracy run by a bunch of ruthless billionaires. Evil incarnate.
No, it's not hate of the fools on the right; it's more like disgust and revulsion.
Republicans for the most part are lost, miserable souls, victims of false prophets and false religion, evidenced by their own repulsive words and actions. They sorely need to be called out in real-time for what they are -- to their lying faces! -- and their dirty deeds exposed at every turn for all to witness.
The usual binary jargon of left-right, red-blue, liberal-conservative should give way to a more direct political discourse: the truth or the lie. It matters. Life or death. Which side are you on?
Follow the evidence; follow the science; follow the truth. Otherwise, what good is human thought?
What a stunning exposé! But I suspect it's lost in the onslaught of all the other shocking developments in the ongoing dark saga of Trump....
"Lost in the onslaught." perfect.
Anyhow, you left out one word: "Deplorables!"
...A basket full.
But how do you really feel? (And thank you for another ripping essay on the state of our affairs.)
Think of the fun and exciting circus coming to every town this summer when the "United" States (and so goes the world) is facing imminent default with the crazy-caucus bosses of dumb-shit Kevin McCarthy -- Marjorie Three Names, "Gym" Jordan, Matt Child Trafficking Gaetz, Bam Bam Boebert, et al. -- firmly in charge of the House. We ain't seen nothin' yet.
Doot do do do do doot doot
Grifting in the U.S.A
My memory is not to be trusted. However, I am fairly certain that I did hear about just about every one of these incidents and scandals on MSNBC, mostly from Rachel, and I believe I read about them on certain websites with which I'm registered. There are many reasons why nothing seems to come of all this corruption and criminality. Every single day there are new outrages and even big media can't keep up. There has to be someone or some agency in government to investigate and prosecute. The will seems to be lacking and resources are scarce, but even when someone is ready to act, there are incredible hurdles and technicalities, and the opposition is powerful. Probably most important is that for any effort to be successful, there must be public support and a public outcry. But the people do not respond. People are busy and preoccupied and they just don't get angry and upset enough and in large enough numbers to motivate anyone to follow through or for prosecutions to be pursued with vigor and commitment. I see no solutions at this point. Possibly when the pain gets strong enough for enough people, more will show up in the streets. Don't hold your breath.
Wish I could "like" this a baker's dozen. Now, that's fair and balanced! Also, there is conflation in these posts of prosecution of the election chicanery with (wishful) holding accountable for what Thom's post today is about. If there is all the resistance and obstruction over the election cases, and evidence and witnesses, what does it look like to try to get evidence for the "smoking gun" Thom assembles for this foreign-affairs snake-pit?
"To everything, there is a season." Everything. For Republicans, that will literally come true in this coming "summer of discontent." At long last, their real-life, lie and hate-fest version of "Everything Everywhere All At Once" is coming to full fruition.
And karma is a bitch:
-Dear Leader's life of crime finally catching up legally bigly in several overlapping jurisdictions digging away at the mountain of evidence, exploding in the lap of every right-wing media medium everywhere.
-The favorite wingnut propaganda mouthpiece, forever feasting on their viewers' inexplicable but predictable gullibility, finally gutted by its out-for-blood enemies, ethically and financially, left a rotting corpse. (Never rest in peace, Amen.)
-A self-owned debt crisis, threatening the entire world economy, instantly transforming our once great nation into Third World status as interest rates soar. (Way to go, stupid bastards; people won't forget!)
-Protests galore marching across the land like 4th of July parades, against virtually every piece of authoritarian, anti-democratic legislative garbage conjured up by the Republican Party and sanctioned by the Party's black-robed theocratic "justices" (in name only) in the Supreme Star Chamber.
-The war in Ukraine reaching a bloody crescendo while fcking traitors — the usual suspects — in the U.S. Congress give comfort to our and the world's worst enemy, War Criminal Mass Murderer Putin, thus cruelly prolonging death and destruction while he waits us out, hoping for a Trump 2.0 reboot in 2024 and more of the same sniveling-coward appeasement that led directly to the buildup for the major invasion last year, purposely timed to stiff the Biden Administration. Unfortunately for the fcking traitor caucus, appeasement usually backfires politically.
-And to top it all off, their primary season will be heating up into a witch's brew of wickedness by playing to a crazed base with little chance of winning a general election against any generic Democrat, meaning someone sensible and willing to do right by the Constitution, the American people, and the principle of democracy, someone you won't find on the right, especially as they outdo one another with fascistic crazy talk, cage-fight politics at its worst.
For the rest of us — you know, "normal" people (or as close to whatever that might mean in this day and age) — it should be: "Summertime, and the livin' is easy." You wouldn't want to be them, but you may as well enjoy the ridiculous spectacle of Republican politicians trying to win the hearts and minds of the patients running their asylum. Sit back, grab the popcorn, and enjoy the show. (Well, maybe enjoyment isn't the best way to describe such conflicting emotions, ranging from glee to horror.)
];--))
Very good to have all those details. You are so good at that. But now what? The establishment is so deeply corrupt that it's sickening when Biden points to his triumphs and get accolades. And here comes Marianne Williamson, who is disgustingly derided even by the left. Even if she never makes it to a nomination or the Presidency, what a breath of fresh air she is, and it's so pure on the side of justice and the soul, if you will, that I bet she can make people do some serious rethinking. Notice that all the hundreds of comments she gets to posts when she talks, including people apologizing for making fun of her before, are almost 100% positive. What do you think, Thom?
I caught an interview with her about announcing candidacy, and she was (dare I say?) well grounded in all the serious, pragmatic issues, nation and world. Ironically, here is someone who actually isn't beholden to the "normal" capitalist and fascist coercive political structures, which was a big bogus calling-card for Trump. So the folks who gave him a shot just to try an "outsider" will flock to her cause, right? Sure they will...... There's that politics rule about defining your opponent loud and early. The corporatist machine will paint her so crackpotty so fast, someone will throw water on her expecting her to melt.
The President's Press Secretary evaluated her as someone using crystal balls. She gets a lot of that -- even from the Left. In politics, the level of ignorance about consciousness is staggering. I bet as she keeps talking she's going to wake up a lot of sleeping people. She's not only spiritually smart but she's so attractive. What's that saying about first they laugh and they end up applauding?
I will mention this elsewhere as appropriate, but I am very concerned with the latest news that Saudi Arabia and Iran have arrived at some form of rapproachement .
Considering that the Sunni - Saudi split is a thousand years old and that the Islam of Iran is only marginally less stringent than the Wahabiyyah Islam of Saudi Arabia,. Something is going on
In the southwest of Iran, women are forced to wear the niqab, which is more restrictive than the chador or abaya (the bee keeper suit) but less restrictive than the burka. Outside of Tehran women wear the chador, but all are forced to at east wear the hijab.
Saudi Arabia executes by beheading., Iran by hanging or stoning (especially for adultery and a raped women is considered an adulteress unless she can provide four male witnesses (accomplices) to the rape, and we know how that goes.
Something is afoot for them to come to some kind of rapprochement, perhaps it is the extreme right shift of Israel. The only natural resource of both countries is oil.
Autocratic petrol countries will naturally band together as their market power shrinks while the world slowly -- too slowly! -- converts to renewable, non-polluting energy sources.
Society needs to kick its addiction to oil and violence, which go hand in hand. A good start would be for the U.S. to quit selling arms to Saudi Arabia. Sure, Russia, China. North Korea, and Iran will no doubt pick up the slack, but their inherent corruption will be their ultimate undoing. Democracies are superior in every way: culturally, technologically, economically and militarily.
"Democracies are superior in every way: culturally, technologically, economically and militarily."
I agree, but contained within that superiority is the seeds of it's own destruction. The unbridled selfishness of the profit motive. The profit motive is global, it has no loyalties except to producing a profit, a positive return on investment.
For instance in 1992 when George H W Bush was president, Billy Graham stopped to visit Donald K. Kendall, then CEO of Perpsi Cola, on this way to his Moscow Crusade,and Pepsi got it' opening into Russia,
We don't even produce our won National Defense tools, nor anything that we use except perhaps some relatively small and unique companies like Weathertexch.
Even Boeing uses wings made in China for their aircraft, because labor is cheaper, even factoring in ocean transport.
Cultural, technological, economic and military superiority is not sufficient for survival or winning or even maintaining.
Logistics is what wins the days. Logistics inc includes resources, be they human or rare earth metals, access to them,the ability to use them to produce, then the ability to transport them to where they are needed.
Germany was more technologically advanced than America, France, England, Russia,but it's logistics were crap, it lacked unrestricted access to raw materials it needed, and the means to transport what materials they needed to the point of production and then to the point of use.
We think of Germany as a mechanized army, thanks to it's Panzer corps and Blitzkreig, but it was a horse drawn army, hundreds of thousands of horses were used and killed in the war. Troops slogging through France had to pass the bloated rotting corpses of these horses.
A major part of Russia's problem in conquering Ukraine, besides it's incompetent and unmotivated rank and file, is their lack of access to modern technology. They have lost acceess to Taiwan Semi Conductor Manufacturing chips. Our auto manufacturers did as well because TSMC could not keep up with demand. So they have resorted to confiscating any Ukrainian appliance that has chips, like washing machines. But they do have an infinite supply of coal, oil, iron and humans which they easily employ in manufacturing of crude, out dated, equipment and in human wave attacks to absorb Ukrainian Ammo, and Ukraine does not have an unlimited supply of humans, ammo, weapons. Any success the Ukrainians have had, is attributable to the superior quality of its human resources. But quality over quantity does not win a war. The German Heer, had excellent soldiers, and mobile formations. The quality of the German solider at the outset was superior to the American (Because every German male over the age 6 has been training his entire life to be a soldier. (The Hitlerjugend was a paramilitary training program, as was the Labor Battalions). But it was logistics that won the war.
You cannot fight without supplies: food, ammunition, fuel, etc.
So no matter how good your tactics are, you’ll lose eventually.
Well said.
Sadly, America is not a true democracy, certainly not morally superior when the profit motive gone wild (which means lusting after both wealth and power at all costs) infects the general mindset of politicians, destroying faith in, and perhaps more critical, the spirit of true representative democracy in the minds of everyday citizens. Clearly, the USA experiment is hugely suffering the dire consequences of reaching the dizzying heights of arrogance, dancing on the extreme edge of a failed democracy.
It is certainly true that wars are usually won through superior logistics and the ability to out-produce the war materiel of one's enemies. And, wars are usually lost once soldiers and their families back home realize they are not fighting on the side of righteousness.
Beyond the mechanics of waging war is the deeper question of WHY we fight. Ukrainian soldiers are literally fighting for survival, for their homes, their families, their very existence. Russian soldiers (if not just to avoid or to get out of prison) are fighting for the delusional visions of a ruthless dictator, for the power and glory of one man.
Alas, soldiers and civilians in war -- on all sides -- are victims of the horrendous lies their politicians tell. Some things are worth fighting for; most things are not. I'm not sure that most Americans, certainly not the fcking traitor caucus, are aware that we are mighty close to losing the ultimate war to save our own democracy.