Let's not kid ourselves. The 47 Senators (aka clowns) have no real concerns about Iran. Probably the majority of them would not be able to even find it on a map.
What these 47 politicians are concerned about is that the first black man elected President of the United States (twice) would succeed where those before him have failed.
In 2015, the opposition party is more interested in scoring political points than in practicing international diplomacy. Only seven Republican Senators put country ahead of party by not signing the letter. Senators Lamar Alexander (TN), Susan Collins (ME), Thad Cochran (MS), Dan Coats (IN), Jeff Flake (AZ), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Bob Corker (TN) did not sign the letter. The other 47 Republican Senators did.
Those 47 Senators are so intent on undermining the current President that they would rather see him fail than allow the White House to secure an agreement with Iran. Presidential contenders Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, and Marco Rubio may win the allegiance of anti-Obama voters with this maneuver, but they have also shown by meddling in the diplomatic process, that they are more interested in political posturing, than they are in working for the future safety and security of the American people.
Beyond the amusing inaccuracies about U.S. parliamentary order, it seems there are some features of the nuclear negotiations that the signatory senators don’t fully understand — not only on the terms of the deal, but also on who would be party to an agreement.
There are no negotiations on Iran’s “nuclear-weapons program” because the world’s intelligence agencies (including those of the U.S. and Israel) do not believe Iran is currently building nuclear weapons, nor has it made a strategic decision to use its civilian nuclear infrastructure to produce a bomb. An active Iranian nuclear-weapons program would render moot the current negotiations, because Iran would be in fundamental violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The current negotiations are focused on strengthening verifiable safeguards against weaponization over-and-above those required by the NPT, yet the Republican-led Congress, egged on by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is warning that those goals are insufficient, and the terms and time-frame of the deal are unacceptable.
The key element missing from the GOP Senators’ letter, however, is that the deal is not being negotiated between Iran and the United States; it is being negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 group, in which the U.S. is joined by Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China. Even if the U.S. is the key player in that group, the deal being pursued reflects an international consensus — the same consensus that has made sanctions against Iran so effective.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
REPUBLICANS CAMPAIGNING FOR BIBI
Rather than doing the job they were elected to do Republicans are using time, space, and tax payer money to campaign for the leader of a foreign country.
Allowing foreign leader to use the halls of Congress to produce campaign ads for themselves is just plain disrespectful to Americans and the politicians that supported it should be removed from office at best or asked to reimburse the US government at least.
Benjamin Netanyahu Using Congressional Address In New Campaign Ad, Just As Critics Warned
WASHINGTON -- When House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress just a few weeks ahead of an Israeli election, he was criticized for giving Netanyahu a platform to boost his campaign.
The United States has a policy of not meeting with foreign leaders in advance of elections, so as not to appear to be tilting the electoral balance. But Netanyahu insisted that his motivations had nothing to do with the election, and that the timing of the speech was demanded by the urgency of the Iran nuclear negotiations. There was simply no time to waste.
Already, however, Netanyahu is using his speech as a prop in a campaign commercial back in Israel, where the prime minister is shown basking in the applause of members of Congress who did not boycott his speech.
With five days left until the Israeli elections, Netanyahu launched the 80-second campaign ad above, featuring his controversial address along with footage of rockets being launched.
The ad opens with Netanyahu addressing his main rival, Isaac Herzog, who has vowed to freeze settlement construction near Israel’s pre-1967 borders. “With you, it’s if you did not evacuate [the settlements], you did nothing!” Netanyahu says. He then goes on to list his accomplishments as prime minister, claiming credit for securing additional sanctions against Iran and providing the Israeli military with thousands of interceptors for the Iron Dome during last summer’s Gaza War. Congress approved both the sanctions and the additional funding for the Iron Dome.
Allowing foreign leader to use the halls of Congress to produce campaign ads for themselves is just plain disrespectful to Americans and the politicians that supported it should be removed from office at best or asked to reimburse the US government at least.
Benjamin Netanyahu Using Congressional Address In New Campaign Ad, Just As Critics Warned
WASHINGTON -- When House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced he had invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress just a few weeks ahead of an Israeli election, he was criticized for giving Netanyahu a platform to boost his campaign.
The United States has a policy of not meeting with foreign leaders in advance of elections, so as not to appear to be tilting the electoral balance. But Netanyahu insisted that his motivations had nothing to do with the election, and that the timing of the speech was demanded by the urgency of the Iran nuclear negotiations. There was simply no time to waste.
Already, however, Netanyahu is using his speech as a prop in a campaign commercial back in Israel, where the prime minister is shown basking in the applause of members of Congress who did not boycott his speech.
With five days left until the Israeli elections, Netanyahu launched the 80-second campaign ad above, featuring his controversial address along with footage of rockets being launched.
The ad opens with Netanyahu addressing his main rival, Isaac Herzog, who has vowed to freeze settlement construction near Israel’s pre-1967 borders. “With you, it’s if you did not evacuate [the settlements], you did nothing!” Netanyahu says. He then goes on to list his accomplishments as prime minister, claiming credit for securing additional sanctions against Iran and providing the Israeli military with thousands of interceptors for the Iron Dome during last summer’s Gaza War. Congress approved both the sanctions and the additional funding for the Iron Dome.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
REPUBLICANS THAT DON'T LOVE AMERICA
Senators who reached out to Iran’s leaders to undermine President Barack Obama’s nuclear negotiations probably broke the law, and they're going to get away with it.
The law they probably broke, the Logan Act of 1799, allows for fines and up to three years in prison.
The act bans U.S. citizens from engaging “without authority of the United States” in “correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government ... with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government ... in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States.”
Fortunately for Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and the 46 Senate co-signers of his open letter to Iran, the law is not enforced and is likely unconstitutional.
[RELATED: Democrats Denounce Tom Cotton Letter on Iran]
“They probably were in violation of the act, yes,” says Stephen Vladeck, a professor at the American University Washington College of Law.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, probably broke the law, too, by working with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to undermine the nuclear negotiations with Iran, he says.
But Vladeck, co-editor-in-chief of the legal blog Just Security, says senators could argue they were indeed acting with the authority of the United States or more convincingly that the act violates the First Amendment.
“The Logan Act is a vestigial and anachronistic holdover from a bygone era,” he says. “There's never been a successful prosecution under the act, and the last indictment was in 1803.”
[MORE: Iran Says Cotton Letter Suggests U.S. 'Not Trustworthy' ]
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
WITH FRIENDS LIKE THIS WHO NEEDS ENEMIES?
What happened to putting your country first? What has happened to this country when it's elected representatives who have sworn to protect and defend the nation violate the very principles for which it stands? To undermine the leader and Commander in Chief rather than support him in deliberately trying to sabotage his his efforts to protect this country. And, for no other reason that to satiate their hatred (and racism) of the man who holds the office.
Angry Democrats on Tuesday excoriated the open letter sent to Iran’s leadership warning about a nuclear agreement with President Obama, but the 47 Republicans who signed it remained defiant and unapologetic, saying the president should have seen their opposition coming.
The recriminations from Democrats threatened to unravel the bipartisan coalition that had been building to oppose a deal, though Democrats also confronted the choice between challenging Tehran and rallying behind the president.
“I think Republicans have made it harder for us to approach this in a careful and bipartisan way,” said Senator Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, who has led his party’s push for congressional review of the administration’s policies on war and sanctions, and sponsored a bill that would allow Congress to review any removal of congressionally imposed sanctions against Iran.
PINK SLIPS IN RETURN FOR HOODS AND ROBES
FERGUSON, Mo. — Ferguson City Manager John Shaw's resignation was accepted Tuesday night by the city council, effective immediately.
The city council voted 7-0 on a mutual separation agreement, with all members present. Shaw's duties will be divided between various city departments, according to a release from the city.
"I've known John for several years and I wish him luck with future endeavors as we continue to work through the necessary steps to become a community of choice for all residents," said council member Dwayne T. James, in the release.
Ferguson city manager resigns in wake of DOJ report
The city council voted 7-0 on a mutual separation agreement, with all members present. Shaw's duties will be divided between various city departments, according to a release from the city.
"I've known John for several years and I wish him luck with future endeavors as we continue to work through the necessary steps to become a community of choice for all residents," said council member Dwayne T. James, in the release.
Ferguson city manager resigns in wake of DOJ report
SAE or KKK?
It looks like we are getting a peek at how racism plays out in the 21st Century. No white robes and hoods, or cross burnings; too transparent. In today's America we need to count on someone with a conscience and a cell phone catching racists in the shadows where the attitudes and beliefs about blacks remains very much the same as they were when we herded blacks chained to benches below deck in ships sailing from Africa to the USA.
Here's a look inside the SAE aka KKK Deadliest and Most Racist?
There's nothing quaint about the nicknames SAE has these days -- on many campuses people say the initials stand for "Sexual Assault Expected" or "Same Assholes Everywhere." The fraternity is also known as the one in which members aremost likely to die. And now it may be called the most racist.
A video that surfaced online Sunday showed members of the University of Oklahoma chapter singing a song that has managed to both "embarrass" the fraternity and echo its segregationist roots.
"There will never be a nigger at SAE," the students sang to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It" while dressed in formal attire and riding a bus. "You can hang him from a tree, but he'll never sign with me. There will never be a nigger at SAE."
Here's a look inside the SAE aka KKK Deadliest and Most Racist?
There's nothing quaint about the nicknames SAE has these days -- on many campuses people say the initials stand for "Sexual Assault Expected" or "Same Assholes Everywhere." The fraternity is also known as the one in which members aremost likely to die. And now it may be called the most racist.
A video that surfaced online Sunday showed members of the University of Oklahoma chapter singing a song that has managed to both "embarrass" the fraternity and echo its segregationist roots.
"There will never be a nigger at SAE," the students sang to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It" while dressed in formal attire and riding a bus. "You can hang him from a tree, but he'll never sign with me. There will never be a nigger at SAE."
The video was posted online Sunday by Unheard, a black student group at OU. The fraternity's national headquarters said Sunday night that an investigation confirmed that it was local SAE members on the video chanting racial slurs against blacks and indicating that blacks would never be admitted to the fraternity's chapter in Norman. The chant also makes reference to lynching.
The fraternity's national organization issued a statement saying the SAE chapter at the school has been closed and its members suspended from the national organization. SAE apologized for the video and said it did not reflect the views of its 15,000 members nationwide.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity closed its University of Oklahoma chapter after a video surfaced online showing members participating in a racist chant. The black student group that released the video says their source wants to remain anonymous. VPC
Monday, March 9, 2015
HUNGER GAMES; DOG SHOW WARS
It's bad enough that countless animals are being abused by subjecting them to a life being used as display ornaments it now look like that the owners are taking it to the next level; killing off the competition.
The co-owners of a slain dog fear a jealous rival at UK’s Crufts is responsible for poisoning their award-winning dog.
Jagger, an Irish Setter, came running for dinner after taking a train back to its Belgium home hours after placing second in its class, the Telegraph reported.
But the beautiful 3-year-old dog collapsed and died in a fit.
“He started having diarrhea and urinating on himself. It looked like a heart attack,” co-owner Aleksandra Lauwers told the Telegraph. “He went into a coma a minute later and died.”
The co-owners of a slain dog fear a jealous rival at UK’s Crufts is responsible for poisoning their award-winning dog.
Jagger, an Irish Setter, came running for dinner after taking a train back to its Belgium home hours after placing second in its class, the Telegraph reported.
But the beautiful 3-year-old dog collapsed and died in a fit.
“He started having diarrhea and urinating on himself. It looked like a heart attack,” co-owner Aleksandra Lauwers told the Telegraph. “He went into a coma a minute later and died.”
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