If the GOP had the courage of the Senate Republicans in 1974, Milley never would have been in a position to worry that an American president might start a nuclear war just to hang on to power
Trump's record of catastrophic ignorance, mental & emotional imbalance as POTUS required intervention from the beginning. Without knowing the history, military capacity, or the countries bordering North Korea or within an easy missile lob, Trump recklessly engaged in actions that raised the risks of an accidental nuclear war:
In the end, and after guidance from leaders of other countries, including Russia & his military leaders, Trump settled for two photoshoots, some love letters, and zero diplomatic progress in addressing North Korea's nuclear threat. Rather than pursuing the one potential route through diplomacy with China to help negotiate a nuclear agreement with North Korea, Trump chose to declare a trade war with China, which soon escalated into a new cold war. In the meantime, North Korea went about perfecting its weapons arsenal, which Trump claimed was within their understanding of an unwritten and stealth agreement. Trump viewed North Korea's short-range ballistic missiles as unthreatening, even though we had troops stationed in Japan, South Korea, and Guam.
After striking out on the Korean Peninsula and raising tensions with China while losing his trade war, Trump figured Iran would be his next target of sponsored interest, starting with disassembling the Iran Nuclear Treaty. How could he lose? The U.S. spends almost a trillion annually on its military while Iran spends about 15 billion:
Again, Trump had not bothered to look at a map to determine the countries with significant oil production within the range of Iran's offensive missiles. It took an Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia's oil production to temper Trump for the moment, in addition to learning about the Straight of Hormuz. Russia was probably also instrumental in helping Trump understand specific options were off the table.
Seven months before the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, Trump was ready to improve his stature by assassinating Soleimani. However, in December of 2019, the House impeached Trump for putting his personal, political interests above the interests of U.S. foreign policy. Rather than learning a lesson from his new title of an impeached POTUS and its consequent disgrace, Trump became more determined to elevate his low standing and get reelected. However, he needed a justification to offset the risks of starting a major Regional War. Qassem Soleimani had been on Trump's radar for seven months. In his mind, a war would satisfy his sponsors, make him a wartime POTUS, and elevate his status in the Presidential Elections. Towards the end of 2019, before the pandemic, the American economy was slowing. Most economists predicted a recession, and of the massive new debt his Admin had created, 83% went to the wealthiest Americans and their concentrated ownership of corporate wealth.
When the military presented Trump with options to respond to probable Iranian involvement in an attack in Iraq, Trump chose the option that would benefit him the most and likely result in a counter-attack on undefended American troops in Iraq:
Fortunately, Iran was only interested in responding with a minimal but clear message. They don't want a war with the U.S. and don't try to start a fight when your troops are unprotected, as Trump couldn't wait to do.
To America, the message of the Trump Crises should be don't elect unqualified representatives who put their interests and pathologies above the country's, the general welfare, a sustainable future, the truth, and our democracy. Learn to spot a desperate & corrupt con man or woman. Demand that our democratic institutions provide the necessary, Constitutional checks and balances on each other.
One should not have to commit treason to prevent treason...
Such is life as we pass through the delicate membrane seperating reality from the absurd.
Perhaps in our last hours of knowability we will learn just how close a near miss may have occurred in Donald's final days as Demander and Thief.
Perhaps we will reform our lawful documents such that they are of a living nature, inclusive of nuance - rather than the static, technicality-ridden obstacle to the very "order" they fail to fulfill.
Samantha Bee said Wednesday that Republicans “need to be honest” about why they’re stoking anger about COVID-19 vaccines and mandates.
Republicans aren’t really afraid of them, said the “Full Frontal” host. They’re just terrified of “the hate-filled, conspiracy-loving base they have cultivated.”
Nope. Usually, it's only fair-minded Democrats (and courts) who worry over such nuances and niceties. Republicans, obviously, don't give a damn about the law and the Constitution, unless it can be wielded like a cudgel, appropriately or not.
So let's get real: The main reason America's actual traitors (by now, almost the entire Republican Party) are going after General Milley is to flip the narrative and deflect the charge of "treason" against themselves. Why? Because the insurrection on the first Wednesday, January 6, 2021 (the day of infamy) will be the determinate factor in the election on the second Tuesday, November 8, 2022 -- IF the Democrats keep it on the front burner, as they should and must to save democracy!
Forget strict definitions; who exactly is betraying their own country, its principles, and their fellow citizens: the party who harbors insurrectionists and terrorists within their ranks or a general who intervened, legally or not, to prevent a madman from ending the world in a nuclear holocaust?
If you have to think too long and hard on that one, it probably means you're a redneck ...so to speak.
What did General Milley know about any alerts on the Chinese end of this situation? Was he watching intelligence traffic from over there that alarmed him? Of course he would not be able to discuss anything classified he knew. His actions were pretty drastic. One of those calls was just before the election and the other was after the insurrection and Trump's Big Lie".
What is a moral, highly educated general supposed to do when he knows he is dealing with the psychopath in the White House, the one in Russia, and an authoritarian Chinese government that may have put their military on high alert? That's a lot of itchy fingers, and the stakes are high if someone makes a move and it is misinterpreted.
So many Republicans had the chance to take out the trash but decided to cash-in instead. They know Trump is a psychopath, but they think he is THEIR psychopath. Some like this idea, but it's not how that works. He has no conscience concerning them, their families, the country, or anyone's fate but his own. General Mark Milley may well be a hero, not a traitor. Did he fall on his sword to protect us? Does Secretary Austin know it, and is that why he is trying to stand by him?
For the havoc the scandalous, scoundrel senators wreaked upon our country, there should be no forgiveness and no forgetting. When McConnell is gone, there will be celebration. Much of what we have heard from those conscienceless senators as well as from many House members comes straight from the Fox Nuisance Channel. Fox likewise takes what emanates from the Republicans and plays it on endless loops with more than a little elaboration, embellishment, and distortion to rile their gullible viewers.
Blame has been well-placed, and shame is well-deserved. However, we must not forget that these people won elections, by whatever guile and corrupt means that were available to them. They managed to persuade and con voters with the aid of mendacity, money, and misinformation. But without voters who were too anxious to believe lies and too ignorant about practically everything to be able to discriminate between real and unreal, good and bad, and just and unjust, they would not have ever won those elections or obtained the support they had.
While democracy has been undermined and compromised in many ways, we do still rely to a large extent on votes counted (which may soon change) in combination with unbalanced electors, which reflects a public which has a strong tendency to shoot itself in the foot, or quite often, in the head and heart. There is only one way to reverse the trend and you know what I’m going to say. We must find ways to allow our youth to discover a path to education without dumbing them down or making them inordinately inept, cynical, and dependent on authorities in the process.
I will say it again. That cannot happen in schools where obedience to authority is the most prominent feature of the contrived and controlled rotten-to-the-core curriculum. Authority in school is the poison pill. Eliminating bad laws is the antidote.
Trump's record of catastrophic ignorance, mental & emotional imbalance as POTUS required intervention from the beginning. Without knowing the history, military capacity, or the countries bordering North Korea or within an easy missile lob, Trump recklessly engaged in actions that raised the risks of an accidental nuclear war:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/north-korea-crisis-how-events-have-unfolded-under-trump-n753996
In the end, and after guidance from leaders of other countries, including Russia & his military leaders, Trump settled for two photoshoots, some love letters, and zero diplomatic progress in addressing North Korea's nuclear threat. Rather than pursuing the one potential route through diplomacy with China to help negotiate a nuclear agreement with North Korea, Trump chose to declare a trade war with China, which soon escalated into a new cold war. In the meantime, North Korea went about perfecting its weapons arsenal, which Trump claimed was within their understanding of an unwritten and stealth agreement. Trump viewed North Korea's short-range ballistic missiles as unthreatening, even though we had troops stationed in Japan, South Korea, and Guam.
After striking out on the Korean Peninsula and raising tensions with China while losing his trade war, Trump figured Iran would be his next target of sponsored interest, starting with disassembling the Iran Nuclear Treaty. How could he lose? The U.S. spends almost a trillion annually on its military while Iran spends about 15 billion:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-54972269
Again, Trump had not bothered to look at a map to determine the countries with significant oil production within the range of Iran's offensive missiles. It took an Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia's oil production to temper Trump for the moment, in addition to learning about the Straight of Hormuz. Russia was probably also instrumental in helping Trump understand specific options were off the table.
Seven months before the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, Trump was ready to improve his stature by assassinating Soleimani. However, in December of 2019, the House impeached Trump for putting his personal, political interests above the interests of U.S. foreign policy. Rather than learning a lesson from his new title of an impeached POTUS and its consequent disgrace, Trump became more determined to elevate his low standing and get reelected. However, he needed a justification to offset the risks of starting a major Regional War. Qassem Soleimani had been on Trump's radar for seven months. In his mind, a war would satisfy his sponsors, make him a wartime POTUS, and elevate his status in the Presidential Elections. Towards the end of 2019, before the pandemic, the American economy was slowing. Most economists predicted a recession, and of the massive new debt his Admin had created, 83% went to the wealthiest Americans and their concentrated ownership of corporate wealth.
When the military presented Trump with options to respond to probable Iranian involvement in an attack in Iraq, Trump chose the option that would benefit him the most and likely result in a counter-attack on undefended American troops in Iraq:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-security-usa-iran/trump-authorizes-military-to-respond-after-deadly-attack-blamed-on-iran-backed-militia-idUSKBN20Z251
Fortunately, Iran was only interested in responding with a minimal but clear message. They don't want a war with the U.S. and don't try to start a fight when your troops are unprotected, as Trump couldn't wait to do.
To America, the message of the Trump Crises should be don't elect unqualified representatives who put their interests and pathologies above the country's, the general welfare, a sustainable future, the truth, and our democracy. Learn to spot a desperate & corrupt con man or woman. Demand that our democratic institutions provide the necessary, Constitutional checks and balances on each other.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2020/01/14/why-did-the-pentagon-ever-give-trump-the-option-of-killing-soleimani/
One should not have to commit treason to prevent treason...
Such is life as we pass through the delicate membrane seperating reality from the absurd.
Perhaps in our last hours of knowability we will learn just how close a near miss may have occurred in Donald's final days as Demander and Thief.
Perhaps we will reform our lawful documents such that they are of a living nature, inclusive of nuance - rather than the static, technicality-ridden obstacle to the very "order" they fail to fulfill.
Samantha Bee said Wednesday that Republicans “need to be honest” about why they’re stoking anger about COVID-19 vaccines and mandates.
Republicans aren’t really afraid of them, said the “Full Frontal” host. They’re just terrified of “the hate-filled, conspiracy-loving base they have cultivated.”
Notice how wingers, frothing at the mouth, never fret about the strict constitutional definition of treason when hurling the epithet at their political opponents. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title18/part1/chapter115&edition=prelim
Nope. Usually, it's only fair-minded Democrats (and courts) who worry over such nuances and niceties. Republicans, obviously, don't give a damn about the law and the Constitution, unless it can be wielded like a cudgel, appropriately or not.
So let's get real: The main reason America's actual traitors (by now, almost the entire Republican Party) are going after General Milley is to flip the narrative and deflect the charge of "treason" against themselves. Why? Because the insurrection on the first Wednesday, January 6, 2021 (the day of infamy) will be the determinate factor in the election on the second Tuesday, November 8, 2022 -- IF the Democrats keep it on the front burner, as they should and must to save democracy!
Forget strict definitions; who exactly is betraying their own country, its principles, and their fellow citizens: the party who harbors insurrectionists and terrorists within their ranks or a general who intervened, legally or not, to prevent a madman from ending the world in a nuclear holocaust?
If you have to think too long and hard on that one, it probably means you're a redneck ...so to speak.
What did General Milley know about any alerts on the Chinese end of this situation? Was he watching intelligence traffic from over there that alarmed him? Of course he would not be able to discuss anything classified he knew. His actions were pretty drastic. One of those calls was just before the election and the other was after the insurrection and Trump's Big Lie".
What is a moral, highly educated general supposed to do when he knows he is dealing with the psychopath in the White House, the one in Russia, and an authoritarian Chinese government that may have put their military on high alert? That's a lot of itchy fingers, and the stakes are high if someone makes a move and it is misinterpreted.
So many Republicans had the chance to take out the trash but decided to cash-in instead. They know Trump is a psychopath, but they think he is THEIR psychopath. Some like this idea, but it's not how that works. He has no conscience concerning them, their families, the country, or anyone's fate but his own. General Mark Milley may well be a hero, not a traitor. Did he fall on his sword to protect us? Does Secretary Austin know it, and is that why he is trying to stand by him?
For the havoc the scandalous, scoundrel senators wreaked upon our country, there should be no forgiveness and no forgetting. When McConnell is gone, there will be celebration. Much of what we have heard from those conscienceless senators as well as from many House members comes straight from the Fox Nuisance Channel. Fox likewise takes what emanates from the Republicans and plays it on endless loops with more than a little elaboration, embellishment, and distortion to rile their gullible viewers.
Blame has been well-placed, and shame is well-deserved. However, we must not forget that these people won elections, by whatever guile and corrupt means that were available to them. They managed to persuade and con voters with the aid of mendacity, money, and misinformation. But without voters who were too anxious to believe lies and too ignorant about practically everything to be able to discriminate between real and unreal, good and bad, and just and unjust, they would not have ever won those elections or obtained the support they had.
While democracy has been undermined and compromised in many ways, we do still rely to a large extent on votes counted (which may soon change) in combination with unbalanced electors, which reflects a public which has a strong tendency to shoot itself in the foot, or quite often, in the head and heart. There is only one way to reverse the trend and you know what I’m going to say. We must find ways to allow our youth to discover a path to education without dumbing them down or making them inordinately inept, cynical, and dependent on authorities in the process.
I will say it again. That cannot happen in schools where obedience to authority is the most prominent feature of the contrived and controlled rotten-to-the-core curriculum. Authority in school is the poison pill. Eliminating bad laws is the antidote.
Newsmax and the "News", https://www.yahoo.com/news/unhinged-newsmax-host-cuts-off-163329644.html
Republicans in my county are threatening Pediatrician's (with physical harm) that will not give mask deferments for their children, when mask mandates for unvaccinated children are mandated by health Department. https://kdvr.com/news/local/castle-rock-pediatrician-student-mask-exemptions/