On Sunday, April 14, 2024, Iran fired about 170 drones, more than 120 ballistic missiles, and more than 30 cruise missiles from Iran, Iraq, Yemen, and areas controlled by Hezbollah in Lebanon toward Israel. The strike was in retaliation for a strike on Iran’s diplomatic complex in Damascus, Syria, on April 1, which killed two top commanders in Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, along with other officials. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the Syrian strike, but officials from other countries believe Israel is responsible. Iran warned its attack was coming, and Israel and the U.S., along with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and France, shot the missiles down. Israel sustained almost no damage. One Arab-Israeli girl was critically injured.
I do not know if this question is related. But I want to know how we can demand the Logan Act be used to stop Trump from running a “shadow foreign policy” while Joe Biden is POTUS. No private citizen (which Trump is) is supposed to meet with or have his people meet with foreign governments the way Trump is!
The problems with republicans are many and some problems are absolutely futile to address much less think you can comprehend a solution to any single ‘problem.’ Hence:
"It's hard to win an argument with a smart person, but it's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person" - Bill Murray, American Actor, Writer, and Comedian.
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov, former American Writer and Professor of Biochemistry at Boston University.
Both Bill Murray and Isaac Asimov allude to a reality that the lack of an education might just lead to ignorance and stupidity which can then be weaponized to promote any falsehood. This is antithetical to the Democrats philosophy and policy that promotes a quality education for all versus the forced war on education promoted by the republican party for every single day beginning with the Reagan administration.
The republican’s anti-intellectualism, lack of empathy, the hate, the racism, the lies, the fear mongering, they are all just substitutes for Democrats skills of intelligence, knowledge, integrity, compassion, and competence. This obvious, descriptive divide should not be in contention but when you reverse the meaning of good and evil, when you believe in alternate facts, it is an easy leap for republicans to erroneously view themselves exactly how Democrats are actually living their lives every day with the aforementioned attributes. Republicans tend to deny reality and succumb to a state of aspirational idiocy.
Working-age rural Americans (25-54) are dying at a much higher rate, particularly in Red states, than men and women their age in Blue states, and this is happening in part because Red states have not expanded Medicaid. And yet, those same people are the core voters of the TCP/Republican Party. How can these rural men and women not realize what is happening to them by just looking around their own world? .... Author, Remote Viewer. Former Spec. Assist. to the CNO
Again, I have to wonder why the members of the House are earning a salary on the dole as it seems, since they are not working for it. To close down for recess repeatedly should be a big story in the press, but it is not. How about schools having this many "recesses"? It is crazy that they are not getting anything done and still get to earn a salary. That needs to be addressed, perhaps in ballot initiatives. How many days should the members of the house have to work to get paid their full salary? How many recesses should be paid? What if they do not get anything done while in session. Their job is to legislate. Are they doing this in reverse by not passing bills to get things done? If so, they legislate in the negative. I feel desperate to get Ukraine aid, and think of Treacherous-treasonous-traitorous-tantruming-Trump legislating too, even though he is not an elected official, he cannot let go of trying to govern the USA all for his own selfish purposes, and the idiots in the House that are his Handmaidens go along with whatever he wants. The press for its part does almost nothing to call any of this out. With them, I can stop paying for their services, since they are not providing them. We should not have a system where our mainstream press is privately owned. In Germany the television and radio are paid for by the people having to pay a fee.
What will desperate politicians do to stay out of jail? Use this interactive infographic to compare Netanyahu and Trump on corruption cases, attacking the courts, stoking violence and religious extremism. Swipe right for Netanyahu. Left for Trump. Birds of a feather...
'The desperate alignment of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea' as reported by Adam Taylor for Today's WorldView in The Washington Post:
'It is increasingly common in Washington to view the various conflicts around the world as part of one big narrative. That is hardly without reason. As The Washington Post reported this week, U.S. officials say Iran has bolstered its defenses against a potential retaliatory strike by Israel with the purchase of Russian weapons, part of a strategic alliance forged by Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the extensive use of Iranian-manufactured drones there.'
'Moscow hasn’t just been looking to Tehran for a mutually beneficial relationship. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to North Korea to meet with that nation’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong Un, and cement a deal that gave Russian troops much-needed ammunition and other war materials in exchange for more advanced technology coveted by Pyongyang.'
'But the most significant partner by far in this convergence is China, which provided a trade lifeline for Russia amid Western sanctions. U.S. officials told the Associated Press last week that much of this support goes beyond regular business, however, with China surging exports of technology that Russia can use to produce missiles, tanks and planes — making up for both battlefield losses and export controls by the United States and its allies.'
'Iran, Russia, North Korea and China are part of a far broader group of nations and movements — among their ranks include the relatively small but influential groups like Hamas and the Houthis — that seem to be opposed to the West. Some Western officials, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have repeatedly suggested these countries mark a new “axis of evil” — a reference to a phrase infamously used by President George W. Bush at the start of the war on terror.'
'The man who coined that phrase apparently sees this new alliance as even broader. “The world faces a global alignment of dictators, thugs and aggressors, from Tehran to Moscow to Beijing to Palm Beach,” David Frum, the former White House speechwriter, said on X this week after Iran’s failed attack on Israel — the last item on his list, a reference to Florida man and former president Donald Trump.'
'It’s flawed to view this as simply an “axis of evil 2.0,” however. That’s partly because the original idea was a stretch at best. Two of the three countries in the original “axis,” Iran and Iraq, were helmed by diametrically opposed ideologies at that point — the former led by a Shiite theocracy, the other a Pan-Arab nationalism led by Sunnis — who had not long before fought a bloody, brutal war. The final nation, the totalitarian socialist state North Korea, was literally and figuratively half a world away.'
'The new alignment is similarly misaligned. Russia’s state capitalist society may ally itself with domestic religious forces like the powerful Russian Orthodox Church, but it has little overlap with the Islamic doctrine espoused by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or its sectarian Shiite allies. While China and North Korea both espouse socialist forms of government, the official rhetoric and practical implementation of these ideologies in the two nations is significantly different. Even in recent history, they have found themselves at points of tension.'
'This means that unlike the Cold War, where ideology at least nominally bound the Communist bloc against the West, what we have now is better understood as a “marriage of convenience” between a number of disparate nations.'
'That doesn’t mean it will end in divorce, however. What’s driving these agreements is not just convenience, but also desperation. Sanctions and export controls have pushed Russia — which once enjoyed booming trade with Europe and the United States despite tensions — to turn to China, even if the trade relationship is clearly unfavorable. While none of the nations can stand up to America’s military might, they all have individual strengths that the others hope to learn from.'
'To put it another way: If Putin wants to keep fighting his war in Ukraine and survive punishing economic isolation from the Western-led global economic order, he has little option but to turn east to China. If China views the future of the global order as a great power battle between itself and the United States, it needs all of the help it can muster — and Russia’s rich natural resources and some of its military technology will be of big aid here.'
'Desperation can drive dangerous situations. Two of the four in this alignment are undeniably powerful nations, while the two smaller nations — Iran and North Korea — have considerable capabilities of their own, most notably including Tehran’s network of aligned movements in the Middle East.'
'Three of the four are nuclear-armed; Iran is not far off. As permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia both played constructive roles in setting norms before, including on arms control measures for both Iran and North Korea. Without them, those efforts are foundering.' (WAPO) Copied in full.
“(David Sanger of the New York Times reminded readers yesterday that in 2015, in a deal with seven countries after two years of negotiations, Iran agreed to surrender 97% of its uranium, but Trump pulled out of that deal in 2018, and Iran returned to developing weapons-grade uranium.) “
While Johnson is "working" on getting some version of the supplemental bill for aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, the discharge petition is still in play, but stalled. We can help by calling those reps to sign on.
At some point we may choose to elect adults to Congress. That would be at least refreshing and, perhaps, constructive. The pain required to reform our election system to permit that will test us to the limit. Our current approach is: problem solvers, do not apply. Our grandchildren are counting on us.
I detect in Heather's today some hope by her for some unity by some Arab states.
Several, she recounts here, helped Israel fend off the Iranian drones and missiles.
But will it, can it, add up?
Key is Palestine on the West Bank -- that Israel will agree to hold off its settlers from continuing to steal its land, continuing to provoke murders and harassments of Palestinians by those far-right settlers.
If Israel does respect Palestinians enough to grant them enough West Bank territory for a legitimate state, those Arab neighbors -- seeing Israel as finally legit about peace -- could put up the funds and security aid that Thomas Friedman has long been prophesizing.
Peace could reign there. Hamas, Houthis, and Hezbollah would all have their fire quenched by a real Palestinian state on the West Bank. Could be.
Can Republicans in Congress back funds for those stranded in Gaza insanity? Can their far-right Israeli settler colleagues defer to the Palestinian state -- and peace -- which Arab neighbors appear to back?
And schools in the region? Don't let me get started on that again.
I just read from Robert Hubble’s Substack the following statement: “The Senate will not convict Mayorkas, but delivery of the articles of impeachment triggers a complicated process that requires the Senate to begin trial proceedings on Wednesday, April 17. The Senate is required to conduct trial six days a week until a verdict is reached.”. So, in other words, MAGA in the House just tied the Senate up with the sham impeachment trial at a time when we need the Senate to deal with whatever changes to the aid bills the House passes. Looks like MTG and her goon squad have figured out the rules enough to allow them to be effective political terrorists.
Let’s not miss in the first sentence that Iran fired missiles from Iraq. IRAQ!!
Have we forgotten our false war in Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (none), punish perpetrators of 911 (not involved), protect oil fields (didn’t), stop terrorism (didn’t), and protect the Iraqi people (didn’t)?
And now Iran controls Iraq such that they launch missiles at Israel.
What did W achieve with that war? Nothing! Massive loss of innocent lives 10x that of Gaza, $2 trillion, loss of global respect, and the big one, we handed over control or Iraq to Iran!!
OMG, only Donald Trump could make us forget what a catastrophe W Bush was and how W brought America to its knees and pushed us over a cliff.
I do not know if this question is related. But I want to know how we can demand the Logan Act be used to stop Trump from running a “shadow foreign policy” while Joe Biden is POTUS. No private citizen (which Trump is) is supposed to meet with or have his people meet with foreign governments the way Trump is!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logan_Act
The problems with republicans are many and some problems are absolutely futile to address much less think you can comprehend a solution to any single ‘problem.’ Hence:
"It's hard to win an argument with a smart person, but it's damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person" - Bill Murray, American Actor, Writer, and Comedian.
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov, former American Writer and Professor of Biochemistry at Boston University.
Both Bill Murray and Isaac Asimov allude to a reality that the lack of an education might just lead to ignorance and stupidity which can then be weaponized to promote any falsehood. This is antithetical to the Democrats philosophy and policy that promotes a quality education for all versus the forced war on education promoted by the republican party for every single day beginning with the Reagan administration.
The republican’s anti-intellectualism, lack of empathy, the hate, the racism, the lies, the fear mongering, they are all just substitutes for Democrats skills of intelligence, knowledge, integrity, compassion, and competence. This obvious, descriptive divide should not be in contention but when you reverse the meaning of good and evil, when you believe in alternate facts, it is an easy leap for republicans to erroneously view themselves exactly how Democrats are actually living their lives every day with the aforementioned attributes. Republicans tend to deny reality and succumb to a state of aspirational idiocy.
Working-age rural Americans (25-54) are dying at a much higher rate, particularly in Red states, than men and women their age in Blue states, and this is happening in part because Red states have not expanded Medicaid. And yet, those same people are the core voters of the TCP/Republican Party. How can these rural men and women not realize what is happening to them by just looking around their own world? .... Author, Remote Viewer. Former Spec. Assist. to the CNO
Stephan A. Schwartz
Again, I have to wonder why the members of the House are earning a salary on the dole as it seems, since they are not working for it. To close down for recess repeatedly should be a big story in the press, but it is not. How about schools having this many "recesses"? It is crazy that they are not getting anything done and still get to earn a salary. That needs to be addressed, perhaps in ballot initiatives. How many days should the members of the house have to work to get paid their full salary? How many recesses should be paid? What if they do not get anything done while in session. Their job is to legislate. Are they doing this in reverse by not passing bills to get things done? If so, they legislate in the negative. I feel desperate to get Ukraine aid, and think of Treacherous-treasonous-traitorous-tantruming-Trump legislating too, even though he is not an elected official, he cannot let go of trying to govern the USA all for his own selfish purposes, and the idiots in the House that are his Handmaidens go along with whatever he wants. The press for its part does almost nothing to call any of this out. With them, I can stop paying for their services, since they are not providing them. We should not have a system where our mainstream press is privately owned. In Germany the television and radio are paid for by the people having to pay a fee.
https://youtu.be/jphacgBLrc0?si=7XpuklXh7paGQUr1
Otherwise, I rely on Substacks like this and independent news, and foreign news to be informed.
Are the Republicans in the House on OUR side?
Bunch of crooks. Johnson didn't recognise a poisoned chalice when he picked it up.
If Trump had not pulled the US out of our agreement with Iran in 2018, would any of what has recently happened in the Middle East have occurred?
Maybe, maybe not.
Vladimir Putin is certainly glad to have world focus focused elsewhere from Ukraine.
What will desperate politicians do to stay out of jail? Use this interactive infographic to compare Netanyahu and Trump on corruption cases, attacking the courts, stoking violence and religious extremism. Swipe right for Netanyahu. Left for Trump. Birds of a feather...
https://thedemlabs.org/2024/04/05/netanyahu-trump-desperate-politicians-stoke-violence-to-stay-out-of-jail/
'The desperate alignment of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea' as reported by Adam Taylor for Today's WorldView in The Washington Post:
'It is increasingly common in Washington to view the various conflicts around the world as part of one big narrative. That is hardly without reason. As The Washington Post reported this week, U.S. officials say Iran has bolstered its defenses against a potential retaliatory strike by Israel with the purchase of Russian weapons, part of a strategic alliance forged by Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the extensive use of Iranian-manufactured drones there.'
'Moscow hasn’t just been looking to Tehran for a mutually beneficial relationship. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to North Korea to meet with that nation’s reclusive leader, Kim Jong Un, and cement a deal that gave Russian troops much-needed ammunition and other war materials in exchange for more advanced technology coveted by Pyongyang.'
'But the most significant partner by far in this convergence is China, which provided a trade lifeline for Russia amid Western sanctions. U.S. officials told the Associated Press last week that much of this support goes beyond regular business, however, with China surging exports of technology that Russia can use to produce missiles, tanks and planes — making up for both battlefield losses and export controls by the United States and its allies.'
'Iran, Russia, North Korea and China are part of a far broader group of nations and movements — among their ranks include the relatively small but influential groups like Hamas and the Houthis — that seem to be opposed to the West. Some Western officials, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have repeatedly suggested these countries mark a new “axis of evil” — a reference to a phrase infamously used by President George W. Bush at the start of the war on terror.'
'The man who coined that phrase apparently sees this new alliance as even broader. “The world faces a global alignment of dictators, thugs and aggressors, from Tehran to Moscow to Beijing to Palm Beach,” David Frum, the former White House speechwriter, said on X this week after Iran’s failed attack on Israel — the last item on his list, a reference to Florida man and former president Donald Trump.'
'It’s flawed to view this as simply an “axis of evil 2.0,” however. That’s partly because the original idea was a stretch at best. Two of the three countries in the original “axis,” Iran and Iraq, were helmed by diametrically opposed ideologies at that point — the former led by a Shiite theocracy, the other a Pan-Arab nationalism led by Sunnis — who had not long before fought a bloody, brutal war. The final nation, the totalitarian socialist state North Korea, was literally and figuratively half a world away.'
'The new alignment is similarly misaligned. Russia’s state capitalist society may ally itself with domestic religious forces like the powerful Russian Orthodox Church, but it has little overlap with the Islamic doctrine espoused by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei or its sectarian Shiite allies. While China and North Korea both espouse socialist forms of government, the official rhetoric and practical implementation of these ideologies in the two nations is significantly different. Even in recent history, they have found themselves at points of tension.'
'This means that unlike the Cold War, where ideology at least nominally bound the Communist bloc against the West, what we have now is better understood as a “marriage of convenience” between a number of disparate nations.'
'That doesn’t mean it will end in divorce, however. What’s driving these agreements is not just convenience, but also desperation. Sanctions and export controls have pushed Russia — which once enjoyed booming trade with Europe and the United States despite tensions — to turn to China, even if the trade relationship is clearly unfavorable. While none of the nations can stand up to America’s military might, they all have individual strengths that the others hope to learn from.'
'To put it another way: If Putin wants to keep fighting his war in Ukraine and survive punishing economic isolation from the Western-led global economic order, he has little option but to turn east to China. If China views the future of the global order as a great power battle between itself and the United States, it needs all of the help it can muster — and Russia’s rich natural resources and some of its military technology will be of big aid here.'
'Desperation can drive dangerous situations. Two of the four in this alignment are undeniably powerful nations, while the two smaller nations — Iran and North Korea — have considerable capabilities of their own, most notably including Tehran’s network of aligned movements in the Middle East.'
'Three of the four are nuclear-armed; Iran is not far off. As permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, China and Russia both played constructive roles in setting norms before, including on arms control measures for both Iran and North Korea. Without them, those efforts are foundering.' (WAPO) Copied in full.
***
“(David Sanger of the New York Times reminded readers yesterday that in 2015, in a deal with seven countries after two years of negotiations, Iran agreed to surrender 97% of its uranium, but Trump pulled out of that deal in 2018, and Iran returned to developing weapons-grade uranium.) “
Wake up magnuts! 😱🫣🤯🤬
While Johnson is "working" on getting some version of the supplemental bill for aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, the discharge petition is still in play, but stalled. We can help by calling those reps to sign on.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTaMB3k5Z37OAM8HEMhDtwbLGzwn1wDXSNcoTmXEJbpfbacfp-m0fJGyb36lcNOhgqGO5-bArbibS5a/pubhtml?gid=614612044&single=true
P.S. I'm in it mostly for Ukraine.
At some point we may choose to elect adults to Congress. That would be at least refreshing and, perhaps, constructive. The pain required to reform our election system to permit that will test us to the limit. Our current approach is: problem solvers, do not apply. Our grandchildren are counting on us.
Thank you Heather.
We worry of a second civil war here in the US - and now of a potential third world war.
It’s one thing to name the selfish tyrants responsible for these circumstances.
It’s quite another hold them to account.
But while there’s time, we must.
I detect in Heather's today some hope by her for some unity by some Arab states.
Several, she recounts here, helped Israel fend off the Iranian drones and missiles.
But will it, can it, add up?
Key is Palestine on the West Bank -- that Israel will agree to hold off its settlers from continuing to steal its land, continuing to provoke murders and harassments of Palestinians by those far-right settlers.
If Israel does respect Palestinians enough to grant them enough West Bank territory for a legitimate state, those Arab neighbors -- seeing Israel as finally legit about peace -- could put up the funds and security aid that Thomas Friedman has long been prophesizing.
Peace could reign there. Hamas, Houthis, and Hezbollah would all have their fire quenched by a real Palestinian state on the West Bank. Could be.
Can Republicans in Congress back funds for those stranded in Gaza insanity? Can their far-right Israeli settler colleagues defer to the Palestinian state -- and peace -- which Arab neighbors appear to back?
And schools in the region? Don't let me get started on that again.
I just read from Robert Hubble’s Substack the following statement: “The Senate will not convict Mayorkas, but delivery of the articles of impeachment triggers a complicated process that requires the Senate to begin trial proceedings on Wednesday, April 17. The Senate is required to conduct trial six days a week until a verdict is reached.”. So, in other words, MAGA in the House just tied the Senate up with the sham impeachment trial at a time when we need the Senate to deal with whatever changes to the aid bills the House passes. Looks like MTG and her goon squad have figured out the rules enough to allow them to be effective political terrorists.
Let’s not miss in the first sentence that Iran fired missiles from Iraq. IRAQ!!
Have we forgotten our false war in Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction (none), punish perpetrators of 911 (not involved), protect oil fields (didn’t), stop terrorism (didn’t), and protect the Iraqi people (didn’t)?
And now Iran controls Iraq such that they launch missiles at Israel.
What did W achieve with that war? Nothing! Massive loss of innocent lives 10x that of Gaza, $2 trillion, loss of global respect, and the big one, we handed over control or Iraq to Iran!!
OMG, only Donald Trump could make us forget what a catastrophe W Bush was and how W brought America to its knees and pushed us over a cliff.