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Thread: Three Members of Congress Just Reignited the Cold War While No One Was Looking

  1. #1

    Three Members of Congress Just Reignited the Cold War While No One Was Looking


    Three Members of Congress Just Reignited the Cold War While No One Was Looking


    by Dennis Kucinich


    Late Thursday night, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a far-reaching Russia sanctions bill, a hydra-headed incubator of poisonous conflict. The second provocative anti-Russian legislation in a week, it further polarizes our relations with Russia, helping to cement a Russia-China alliance against Western hegemony, and undermines long-term America’s financial and physical security by handing the national treasury over to war profiteers.

    Here’s how the House’s touted “unanimity” was achieved: Under a parliamentary motion termed “unanimous consent,” legislative rules can be suspended and any bill can be called up. If any member of Congress objects, the motion is blocked and the bill dies.

    At 10:23:54 p.m. on Thursday, a member rose to ask “unanimous consent” for four committees to be relieved of a Russia sanctions bill. At this point the motion, and the legislation, could have been blocked by a single member who would say “I object.” No one objected, because no one was watching for last-minute bills to be slipped through.

    Most of the House and the media had emptied out of the chambers after passage of the $1.1 trillion government spending package.

    The Congressional Record will show only three of 425 members were present on the floor to consider the sanctions bill. Two of the three feigned objection, creating the legislative equivalent of a ‘time out.’ They entered a few words of support, withdrew their “objections” and the clock resumed.

    According to the clerk's records, once the bill was considered under unanimous consent, it was passed, at 10:23:55 p.m., without objection, in one recorded, time-stamped second, unanimously.

    Then the House adjourned.

    I discovered, in my 16 years in Congress, that many members seldom read the legislation on which they vote. On Oct. 24, 2001, House committees spent long hours debating the Patriot Act. At the last minute, the old bill was swapped out for a version with draconian provisions. I voted against that version of the Patriot Act, because I read it. The legislative process requires attention.

    Legislation brought before Congress under “unanimous consent” is not read by most members simply because copies of the bill are generally not available. During the closing sessions of Congress I would often camp out in the House chamber, near the clerk’s desk, prepared to say “I object” when something of consequence appeared out of the blue. Dec. 11, 2014, is one of the few times I regret not being in Congress to have the ability to oversee the process.

    The Russia Sanctions bill that passed “unanimously,” with no scheduled debate, at 10:23:55 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2014, includes:

    • Sanctions of Russia’s energy industry, including Rosoboronexport and Gazprom.
    • Sanctions of Russia’s defense industry, with respect to arms sales to Syria.
    • Broad sanctions on Russians’ banking and investments.
    • Provisions for privatization of Ukrainian infrastructure, electricity, oil, gas and renewables, with the help of the World Bank and USAID.
    • Fifty million dollars to assist in a corporate takeover of Ukraine’s oil and gas sectors.
    • Three hundred and fifty million dollars for military assistance to Ukraine, including anti-tank, anti-armor, optical, and guidance and control equipment, as well as drones.
    • Thirty million dollars for an intensive radio, television and Internet propaganda campaign throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union.
    • Twenty million dollars for “democratic organizing” in Ukraine.
    • Sixty million dollars, spent through groups like the National Endowment for Democracy, “to improve democratic governance, and transparency, accountability [and] rule of law” in Russia. What brilliant hyperbole to pass such a provision the same week the Senate’s CIA torture report was released.
    • An unverified declaration that Russia has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, is a nuclear “threat to the United States” and should be held “accountable.”
    • A path for the U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty, which went into force in 1988. The implications of this are immense. An entire series of arms agreements are at risk of unraveling. It may not be long before NATO pushes its newest client state, Ukraine, to abrogate the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Ukraine signed when it gave up its nuclear weapons, and establish a renewed nuclear missile capability, 300 miles from Moscow.
    • A demand that Russia verifiably dismantle “any ground launched cruise missiles or ballistic missiles with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers ...”—i.e., 300 and 3,300 miles.
    Read the legislation, which Congress apparently didn’t.


    As reported on GlobalSecurity.org, earlier that same day in Kiev, the Ukrainian parliament approved a security plan that will:
    • Declare that Ukraine should become a “military state.”
    • Reallocate more of its approved 2014 budget for military purposes.
    • Put all military operating units on alert.
    • Mobilize military and national guard units.
    • Increase military spending in Ukraine from 1 percent of GDP to 5 percent, increasing military spending by $3 billion over the next few years.
    • Join NATO and switch to NATO military standards.
    Under the guise of democratizing, the West stripped Ukraine of its sovereignty with a U.S.-backed coup, employed it as a foil to advance NATO to the Russian border and reignited the Cold War, complete with another nuclear showdown.

    The people of Ukraine will be less free, as their country becomes a “military state,” goes into hock to international banks, faces structural readjustments, privatization of its public assets, decline of social services, higher prices and an even more severe decline in its standard of living.

    In its dealings with the European Union, Ukraine could not even get concessions for its citizens to find work throughout Europe. The West does not care about Ukraine, or its people, except for using them to seize a strategic advantage against Russia in the geopolitical game of nations.

    Once, with the help of the West, Ukraine fully weighs in as a “military state” and joins the NATO gun club, its annual defense budget will be around $3 billion, compared with the current defense budget of Russia, which is over $70 billion.

    Each Western incitement creates a Russian response, which is then given as further proof that the West must prepare for the very conflict it has created, war as a self-fulfilling prophecy.

    That the recent Russia sanctions bill was advanced, “unanimously,” without debate in the House, portends that our nation is sleepwalking through the graveyards of history, toward an abyss where controlling factors reside in the realm of chance, what Thomas Hardy termed “crass casualty.” Such are the perils of unanimity.



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  3. #2
    Nah, we were lookin. The idiots know not what they do. Very shortsighted people.
    Last edited by Natural Citizen; 12-16-2014 at 06:20 PM.

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Citizen View Post
    Nah, we were lookin. The idiots know not what they do.
    I agree N.C.; the people doing this are insane. Looks like the Senate passed it as well: http://gerlach.house.gov/news/docume...umentID=390662.

  5. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by charrob View Post
    I agree N.C.; the people doing this are insane. Looks like the Senate passed it as well: http://gerlach.house.gov/news/docume...umentID=390662.
    Yes, I read that earlier.

    The Statesman isn't pleased either and did mention his work with Dennis Kucinich with regard to the issue.



    "It's propaganda, is what it is" said Paul. "It's part of the war propaganda machines just like the major networks are, you know, you're not going to hear criticism on FOX or MSNBC or CNN about this. They're just going to ignore it."

    Lawmakers in the House of Representatives passed HR 758 this week by a vote of 411-10, in turn approving a bill “strongly condemning the action of the Russian Federation under Pres. Vladimir Putin.” Some in Congress are saying could be the green-light to another cold war, and Ron Paul, a former member of the House of Representatives for Texas, is one of them.

    Speaking to RT’s Ameera David on Friday, Paul said he wasn’t surprised by the bill’s passage, but doubts many members of Congress bothered to read the act before approving it.

    Speaking to RT, Paul added that the resolution was "part of the war propaganda machine."

    "It’s this kind of stuff that stirs up trouble. I’d rather dissipate the problems and have our government tone the rhetoric down a little bit.

    This was terrible; this was just a very provocative resolution,"
    he said.

    “If we accept that Russia is posing a ‘threat’ to international peace, how can such a thing be ignored? These are the slippery slopes that lead to war,” Paul says.

    We have all heard the tapes of State Department officials plotting with the US Ambassador in Ukraine to overthrow the government. We heard US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland bragging that the US spent $5 billion on regime change in Ukraine. Why is that OK?”

    “This dangerous legislation passed today, December 4, with only 10 (!) votes against! Only 10 legislators are concerned over the use of blatant propaganda and falsehoods to push such reckless saber-rattling toward Russia,”
    Paul said.
    Report - http://rt.com/usa/211799-paul-congress-russia-war/

    Relevant reading - Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014
    Last edited by Natural Citizen; 12-16-2014 at 06:29 PM.

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Citizen View Post
    Yes, I read that earlier.

    The Statesman isn't pleased either and did mention his work with Dennis Kucinich with regard to the issue.



    "It's propaganda, is what it is" said Paul. "It's part of the war propaganda machines just like the major networks are, you know, you're not going to hear criticism on FOX or MSNBC or CNN about this. They're just going to ignore it."



    Report - http://rt.com/usa/211799-paul-congress-russia-war/

    Relevant reading - Russian Aggression Prevention Act of 2014

    Thanks N.C.; I saw the bill for H.R. 758 earlier too.

    According to the House Clerk site this is, yet, another bill: H.R. 5859. And what's astonishing is that there wasn't even a vote on this one. Everybody had left except for three people, and it was a 'voice vote'. Same with the Senate: it was passed by a 'voice vote'.

    It just seems like our laws need to be changed so everyone in Congress actually knows about when laws are being passed. How can it be legal that the House passed a law when nobody in the House except for 3 people even know about it, and, everyone but those three people were gone?
    Last edited by charrob; 12-16-2014 at 07:08 PM.

  7. #6
    They passed their trillion dollar spending bill and left. As far as they were concerned they put in their days work, I suppose.

    Three of 425 members were present on the floor and the thing passed with so called unanimous consent. Three.

    Something else is wrong here. These people just don't care. And I have to say it makes me sick to have to read about how conservative they are are how they view foreign policy but yet when we read these screeds they never really mention anything at all about any of it. Just a bunch of mumbo jumbo about nothing.

    Is aggravating.

    But these are important topics that you bring up here and, I, for one, appreciate relevant topics of discussion. They are few and far between anymore.
    Last edited by Natural Citizen; 12-16-2014 at 07:06 PM.

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Citizen View Post
    They passed their trillion dollar spending bill and left. As far as they were concerned they put in their days work, I suppose.

    Three of 425 members were present on the floor and the thing passed with so called unanimous consent. Three.

    Something else is wrong here. These people just don't care. And I have to say it makes me sick to have to read about how conservative they are are how they view foreign policy but yet when we read these screeds they never really mention anything at all about any of it. Just a bunch of mumbo jumbo about nothing.

    Is aggravating.

    But these are important topics that you bring up here and, I, for one, appreciate relevant topics of discussion. They are few and far between anymore.

    Thanks. I guess we just need to hope that this will not lead to a Cuban Missile Crisis #2 before the American populace wakes up and realizes what our government is doing. Unfortunately our fourth estate is surely not going to help matters.

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by charrob View Post
    Thanks. I guess we just need to hope that this will not lead to a Cuban Missile Crisis #2 before the American populace wakes up and realizes what our government is doing. Unfortunately our fourth estate is surely not going to help matters.
    No, they're not worth a dime either. I rely on foreign media more than anything to find out what the heck is going on. But we can do what we can to share what we know. These forums are, at least, functional in that way.

    I was reading some link that someone posted about Rand Paul and foreign policy from Reason or some such hole in the web and the problem was that he didn't mention a darn thing about real, relevant things around the world or give any relevant policy statements. It just comes down to who is asking the questions and too often they're largely the problem and help to keep the facts and relevant, critical issues out of actual debate. It's a joke, really.
    Last edited by Natural Citizen; 12-16-2014 at 07:29 PM.



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  11. #9
    Wall Street and their whores in Congress are terrified over the long-term prospects of the Eurasian Union.

    Thus, crude gets sold-off, the ruble is shorted, sanctions are levied, and now, arms will be sent to Ukraine.

    And my prediction: it will all be for not.

  12. #10
    No quorum required?
    "Foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country, and giving it to the rich people of a poor country." - Ron Paul
    "Beware the Military-Industrial-Financial-Pharma-Corporate-Internet-Media-Government Complex." - B4L update of General Dwight D. Eisenhower
    "Debt is the drug, Wall St. Banksters are the dealers, and politicians are the addicts." - B4L
    "Totally free immigration? I've never taken that position. I believe in national sovereignty." - Ron Paul

    Proponent of real science.
    The views and opinions expressed here are solely my own, and do not represent this forum or any other entities or persons.

  13. #11
    Mr. Gerlach was one of them. Does anyone say who the other two are?
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    We believe our lying eyes...

  14. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Citizen View Post
    Nah, we were lookin. The idiots know not what they do. Very shortsighted people.
    Feh... you let them largely off the hook with this characterization. They cannot help it if they are "shortsighted". They are not shortsighted, or at least that is not the key characteristic in predicating their guilt. These people may in some ways be dangerously stupid, but more importantly they are irretrievably corrupt and this corruption is an act of will, not a consequence of accident.

    Well, let them enjoy their winks, nods, and nudges. If they think the Russians are push-overs, they are sadly mistaken. Those people still have some thousands of strategic warheads and the means of putting them onto cities, worldwide. I have the sneaking suspicion that they have improved their targeting apparatus greatly since 1989. I would also not be surprised to find the yields to have remained the same. Ugrading targeting = easy. Making new warheads = difficult.

    So if and when the imbeciles in the fedgov take it a step too far and we find ourselves harkening back to the early 1960s, they'd better keep their tongues because it will have been their criminality that got us there, directly. It will be OURS that got us there less directly.

    People care - but most do not care enough to take their rifles to the steps of the Capitol, ready and willing to do the unpleasant things that need doing in order to wrest the land away from the hands of the mad king.

    We are, by and large, a race of fools unworthy of continued existence. In this I fully understand the lefty outlook on humanity - I see why they hate their fellow men. Most humans are deserving of it, IMO, the mindless, endlessly complacent and corrupt curs that they tend to be, statistically speaking. As for me, were 71% of the race, the RIGHT 71% that is, to disappear between today and tomorrow, I would not miss them. Of course, I might be one of the 71.
    freedomisobvious.blogspot.com

    There is only one correct way: freedom. All other solutions are non-solutions.

    It appears that artificial intelligence is at least slightly superior to natural stupidity.

    Our words make us the ghosts that we are.

    Convincing the world he didn't exist was the Devil's second greatest trick; the first was convincing us that God didn't exist.

  15. #13


    Pentagon confirms military buildup along Russian borders for ‘peace and stability’
    ...


    The Pentagon has confirmed the military buildup along Russia’s borders to ensure long-term “peace and stability” in the region. Earlier Moscow accused NATO of a sharp increase in air activity and intelligence flights in the border zone.

    Replying to RIA Novosti’s query on the increased number of NATO flights around Russia's borders, a Pentagon representative told the news agency that the military presence of the alliance has increased, but all operations are carried out under utmost “transparency.”

    The current efforts of the US European Command, the Pentagon official said, are in line with Operation Atlantic Resolve and demonstrate American “commitment to the collective security of NATO, the long-term peace and stability in the region”, particularly in the light of Russian “interference” in Ukraine.
    The official added that this includes among other measures, an increase in “air, and land, sea presence,” as well as holding military drills.
    The Pentagon’s comments came after Lieutenant-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian Defense Ministry’s joint military command center told Bloomberg news that NATO's presence in Eastern Europe is becoming a concern for Moscow.

    “The Russian Defense Ministry leadership has repeatedly expressed its concerns over the significant increase of NATO military activity near the Russian borders,” Mizintsev said.

    On the diplomatic front, earlier in the day, in an interview with the French media, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, explained what role the alliance plays in Russia’s military doctrine.

    “What [Russia’s military doctrine] says is that the security risks for Russia, among other things, are NATO expansion to the East and the movement of military infrastructure of NATO closer to the Russian borders – not NATO itself, but its militarized movement to the East is considered by the Russian military doctrine as a security risk and threat for Russia,” he said.


    Continued - Pentagon confirms military buildup along Russian borders for ‘peace and stability’

  16. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by osan View Post

    Feh... you let them largely off the hook with this characterization. They cannot help it if they are "shortsighted". They are not shortsighted, or at least that is not the key characteristic in predicating their guilt. These people may in some ways be dangerously stupid, but more importantly they are irretrievably corrupt and this corruption is an act of will, not a consequence of accident.

    Well, let them enjoy their winks, nods, and nudges. If they think the Russians are push-overs, they are sadly mistaken. Those people still have some thousands of strategic warheads and the means of putting them onto cities, worldwide. I have the sneaking suspicion that they have improved their targeting apparatus greatly since 1989. I would also not be surprised to find the yields to have remained the same. Ugrading targeting = easy. Making new warheads = difficult.

    So if and when the imbeciles in the fedgov take it a step too far and we find ourselves harkening back to the early 1960s, they'd better keep their tongues because it will have been their criminality that got us there, directly. It will be OURS that got us there less directly.

    People care - but most do not care enough to take their rifles to the steps of the Capitol, ready and willing to do the unpleasant things that need doing in order to wrest the land away from the hands of the mad king.

    We are, by and large, a race of fools unworthy of continued existence. In this I fully understand the lefty outlook on humanity - I see why they hate their fellow men. Most humans are deserving of it, IMO, the mindless, endlessly complacent and corrupt curs that they tend to be, statistically speaking. As for me, were 71% of the race, the RIGHT 71% that is, to disappear between today and tomorrow, I would not miss them. Of course, I might be one of the 71.
    This stuff sneaks through because we have some neocons working from both political establishment arms here in the states. THEY know what is going on in the longterm. The politicians? I don't think they do. To just listen to them discuss foreign policy is enough to make one sigh.

    What we've had evolving for some time before this reactionary legislation and some of the short term knee jerk sanctions by amateur representatives is a cold war between the western nations and the BRICS. They're doing some very profound things. And I think the thinkers within both parties here that I referenced know what longball means if it continues and so they want to revert to physical bully/military tactics to avoid that growth. This TPP thing is relevant to that too.

    Here...have a read in this thread and maybe you can decipher what I mean... http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthr...ighlight=brics

    Some of the things discussed in that thread are the reason that we see what we see from some establishment neocons in our political system on both sides.



    Of course, we do well to pay attention to some threats from Putin during his recent Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly

    I've read your postings before so I'm comfortable that you'll find relevance in sharing this here. I'll start with those "threats" and then add a snippet of some of the other relevant context that seems to be directed to a global audience. Which is important given that thin between the emerging BRICs and the west.


    “Despite our unprecedented openness back then and our willingness to cooperate in all, even the most sensitive issues, despite the fact that we considered – and all of you are aware of this and remember it – our former adversaries as close friends and even allies, the support for separatism in Russia from across the pond, including information, political and financial support and support provided by the special services – was absolutely obvious and left no doubt that they would gladly let Russia follow the Yugoslav scenario of disintegration and dismemberment. With all the tragic fallout for the people of Russia.

    “It didn’t work. We didn’t allow that to happen.

    “Just as it did not work for Hitler with his people-hating ideas, who set out to destroy Russia and push us back beyond the Urals. Everyone should remember how it ended.”

    “We have said much about this. I will not go into details now. I will only say this. Maybe I am repeating myself. We have no intention to become involved in a costly arms race, but at the same time we will reliably and dependably guarantee our country’s defence in the new conditions. There are absolutely no doubts about this. This will be done. Russia has both the capability and the innovative solutions for this.

    “No one will ever attain military superiority over Russia. We have a modern and combat ready army. As they now put it, a polite, but formidable army. We have the strength, will and courage to protect our freedom.

    “We will protect the diversity of the world. We will tell the truth to people abroad, so that everyone can see the real and not distorted and false image of Russia. We will actively promote business and humanitarian relations, as well as scientific, education and cultural relations. We will do this even if some governments attempt to create a new iron curtain around Russia.

    “We will never enter the path of self-isolation, xenophobia, suspicion and the search for enemies.

    “All this is evidence of weakness, while we are strong and confident.”




    “Of course, we will talk about this year’s landmark events. You know that a referendum was held in Crimea in March, at which its residents clearly expressed their desire to join Russia. After that, the Crimean parliament – it should be stressed that it was a legitimate parliament that was elected back in 2010 – adopted a resolution on sovereignty. And then we saw the historical reunification of Crimea and Sevastopol with Russia.

    “It was an event of special significance for the country and the people, because Crimea is where our people live, and the peninsula is of strategic importance for Russia as the spiritual source of the development of a multifaceted but solid Russian nation and a centralised Russian state. It was in Crimea, in the ancient city of Chersonesus or Korsun, as ancient Russian chroniclers called it, that Grand Prince Vladimir was baptised before bringing Christianity to Rus.

    “In addition to ethnic similarity, a common language, common elements of their material culture, a common territory, even though its borders were not marked then, and a nascent common economy and government, Christianity was a powerful spiritual unifying force that helped involve various tribes and tribal unions of the vast Eastern Slavic world in the creation of a Russian nation and Russian state. It was thanks to this spiritual unity that our forefathers for the first time and forevermore saw themselves as a united nation. All of this allows us to say that Crimea, the ancient Korsun or Chersonesus, and Sevastopol have invaluable civilisational and even sacral importance for Russia, like the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for the followers of Islam and Judaism.

    “And this is how we will always consider it.”


    “It is true that we condemned the government coup and the forceful takeover of power in Kiev in February of this year. The developments we are currently witnessing in Ukraine and the tragedy unfolding in the country’s southeast prove that we were right to take such a stand.

    “How did it all begin? I will have to remind you what happened back then. It is hard to believe that it all started with a technical decision by President Yanukovych to postpone the signing of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union. Make no mistake, he did not refuse to sign the document, but only postponed it in order to make some adjustments.

    “As you recall, this move was fully in line with the constitutional authority vested upon an absolutely legitimate and internationally recognised head of state.

    “Against this background, there was no way we could support this armed coup, the violence and the killings. Just take the bloody events in Odessa, where people were burned alive. How can the subsequent attempts to suppress people in Ukraine’s southeast, who oppose this mayhem, be supported? I reiterate that there was no way we could endorse these developments. What’s more, they were followed by hypocritical statements on the protection of international law and human rights. This is just cynical. I strongly believe that the time will come when the Ukrainian people will deliver a just assessment of these developments.

    “How did the dialogue on this issue begin between Russia and its American and European partners? I mentioned our American friends for a reason, since they are always influencing Russia’s relations with its neighbours, either openly or behind the scenes. Sometimes it is even unclear whom to talk to: to the governments of certain countries or directly with their American patrons and sponsors.

    “As I mentioned, in the case of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement, there was no dialogue at all. We were told that it was none of our business or, to put it simply, we were told where to go.”


    “If for some European countries national pride is a long-forgotten concept and sovereignty is too much of a luxury, true sovereignty for Russia is absolutely necessary for survival.

    “Primarily, we should realise this as a nation. I would like to emphasise this: either we remain a sovereign nation, or we dissolve without a trace and lose our identity. Of course, other countries need to understand this, too. All participants in international life should be aware of this. And they should use this understanding to strengthen the role and the importance of international law, which we’ve talked about so much lately, rather than bend its standards to suit someone’s strategic interests contrary to its fundamental principles and common sense, considering everyone else to be poorly educated people who can’t read or write.

    “It is imperative to respect the legitimate interests of all the participants in international dialogue. Only then, not with guns, missiles or combat aircraft, but precisely with the rule of law will we reliably protect the world against bloody conflict. Only then, will there be no need to scare anyone with imaginary self-deceptive isolation, or sanctions, which are, of course, damaging, but damaging to everyone, including those who initiate them.

    “Speaking of the sanctions, they are not just a knee-jerk reaction on behalf of the United States or its allies to our position regarding the events and the coup in Ukraine, or even the so-called Crimean Spring. I’m sure that if these events had never happened – I want to point this out specifically for you as politicians sitting in this auditorium – if none of that had ever happened, they would have come up with some other excuse to try to contain Russia’s growing capabilities, affect our country in some way, or even take advantage of it.

    “The policy of containment was not invented yesterday. It has been carried out against our country for many years, always, for decades, if not centuries. In short, whenever someone thinks that Russia has become too strong or independent, these tools are quickly put into use.”


    Last edited by Natural Citizen; 12-17-2014 at 08:28 AM.

  17. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by acptulsa View Post
    Mr. Gerlach was one of them. Does anyone say who the other two are?
    I missed that too. It wasn't clear from the article. Would be helpful to know who to mark as the culprits.
    The wisdom of Swordy:

    On bringing the troops home
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    They are coming home, all the naysayers said they would never leave Syria and then they said they were going to stay in Iraq forever.

    It won't take very long to get them home but it won't be overnight either but Iraq says they can't stay and they are coming home just like Trump said.

    On fighting corruption:
    Quote Originally Posted by Swordsmyth View Post
    Trump had to donate the "right way" and hang out with the "right people" in order to do business in NYC and Hollyweird and in order to investigate and expose them.
    Fascism Defined

  18. #16
    British Parliament had a great idea, which was sort of canned, but lingers on in process.

    Every bill had to be read aloud on three separate occasions by the person who wrote it before it could be voted on.

    You want to make people write short, eloquent bills?
    In New Zealand:
    The Coastguard is a Charity
    Air Traffic Control is a private company run on user fees
    The DMV is a private non-profit
    Rescue helicopters and ambulances are operated by charities and are plastered with corporate logos
    The agriculture industry has zero subsidies
    5% of the national vote, gets you 5 seats in Parliament
    A tax return has 4 fields
    Business licenses aren't a thing
    Prostitution is legal
    We have a constitutional right to refuse any type of medical care



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  20. #17
    The problem with the Congress, is no one is ever looking. Think of the trillions the U.S. taxpayer could recoop if they would just DUMP the f'king Congress and the Federal Government. They serve to bring us great expense, heartache, greed, corruption .. We don't need their asses.. Go back to state's rights and decide which state you want to live in... F'k the Federal Government.

  21. #18

    Congress hides in the wake of CRomnibus to pass $500Mn Russia Cold War Voice Vote 3 on floor

    It appears that six members of Congress have just declared a new Cold War against Russia, all by their little lonesome, while passing a half a Trillion Dollar sanctions bill in a voice vote with only three Members on the floor.

    Seriously.

    Read the Bill.

    H.R. 5859: Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014

    Three Members of Congress Just Reignited the Cold War While No One Was Looking

    Posted on Dec 16, 2014

    By Dennis Kucinich

    ...
    The Congressional Record will show only three of 425 members were present on the floor to consider the sanctions bill. Two of the three feigned objection, creating the legislative equivalent of a ‘time out.’ They entered a few words of support, withdrew their “objections” and the clock resumed.

    According to the clerk’s records, once the bill was considered under unanimous consent, it was passed, at 10:23:55 p.m., without objection, in one recorded, time-stamped second, unanimously.
    ...
    The Russia Sanctions bill that passed “unanimously,” with no scheduled debate, at 10:23:55 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2014, includes:
    1. Sanctions of Russia’s energy industry, including Rosoboronexport and Gazprom.

    2. Sanctions of Russia’s defense industry, with respect to arms sales to Syria.

    3. Broad sanctions on Russians’ banking and investments.

    4. Provisions for privatization of Ukrainian infrastructure, electricity, oil, gas and renewables, with the help of the World Bank and USAID.

    5. Fifty million dollars to assist in a corporate takeover of Ukraine’s oil and gas sectors.

    6. Three hundred and fifty million dollars for military assistance to Ukraine, including anti-tank, anti-armor, optical, and guidance and control equipment, as well as drones.

    7. Thirty million dollars for an intensive radio, television and Internet propaganda campaign throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union.

    8. Twenty million dollars for “democratic organizing” in Ukraine.

    9. Sixty million dollars, spent through groups like the National Endowment for Democracy, “to improve democratic governance, and transparency, accountability [and] rule of law” in Russia. What brilliant hyperbole to pass such a provision the same week the Senate’s CIA torture report was released.

    10. An unverified declaration that Russia has violated the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, is a nuclear “threat to the United States” and should be held “accountable.”

    11. A path for the U.S. withdrawal from the INF Treaty, which went into force in 1988. The implications of this are immense. An entire series of arms agreements are at risk of unraveling. It may not be long before NATO pushes its newest client state, Ukraine, to abrogate the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Ukraine signed when it gave up its nuclear weapons, and establish a renewed nuclear missile capability, 300 miles from Moscow.

    12. A demand that Russia verifiably dismantle “any ground launched cruise missiles or ballistic missiles with a range of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers ...”—i.e., 300 and 3,300 miles.
    ...

    Read More
    http://glenbradley.net/share/aleksan...nitsyn_4-t.gif “And how we burned in the camps later, thinking: What would things have been like if every Security operative, when he went out at night to make an arrest, had been uncertain whether he would return alive and had to say good-bye to his family? Or if, during periods of mass arrests, as for example in Leningrad, when they arrested a quarter of the entire city, people had not simply sat there in their lairs, paling with terror at every bang of the downstairs door and at every step on the staircase, but had understood they had nothing left to lose and had boldly set up in the downstairs hall an ambush of half a dozen people with axes, hammers, pokers, or whatever else was at hand?... The Organs would very quickly have suffered a shortage of officers and transport and, notwithstanding all of Stalin's thirst, the cursed machine would have ground to a halt! If...if...We didn't love freedom enough. And even more – we had no awareness of the real situation.... We purely and simply deserved everything that happened afterward.” ― Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

  22. #19
    Right after CRomnibus, all the members went off the floor, three stayed behind and passed a half a trillion dollar spending bull unanimously by voice vote. That is also a sanctions bill against Russia. Apparently the same thing happened in the Senate.

  23. #20
    This is almost too surreal to believe.

  24. #21
    hey, this is really big shyt.

  25. #22
    Who?
    “The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, but he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them.” --George Orwell

    Quote Originally Posted by AuH20 View Post
    In terms of a full spectrum candidate, Rand is leaps and bounds above Trump. I'm not disputing that.
    Who else in public life has called for a pre-emptive strike on North Korea?--Donald Trump

  26. #23
    Quote Originally Posted by kcchiefs6465 View Post
    Who?
    I dunno. I'm really too mad to see straight right now. I haven't seen names. Someone suggested going to DC and looking up exit logs to see who stayed behind.

  27. #24
    The frelling CRomnibus was a distraction from a goram declaration of war on Russia. A secret one. Secret from 98% of Congress.



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  29. #25
    Whoever the six members of Congress are what did this -- it happened in both chambers -- this is really treasonous. It's a six-person Coup of Congress, with a declaration against Russia tantamount to war. No discussion, no debate, voice votes with 3 members on the floor. How is this not treason?

  30. #26
    how is this not honest to goodness torches and pitchforks material?

  31. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by GunnyFreedom View Post
    how is this not honest to goodness torches and pitchforks material?
    By whom? The public? I guess 1/4 of 1% even know. I had to come here to find out.

  32. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by FrancisMarion View Post
    By whom? The public? I guess 1/4 of 1% even know. I had to come here to find out.
    It's like screaming inside of one of those super sound-baffled rooms. Like yelling into a singularity. This next-level stuff and even the people who know better are a little ho-hum. I'm thinking maybe too stunned to really get what just happened?

  33. #29
    There are no laws, there is no Constitution. They hold no more value than FRNs.

    Which is more surreal: three members of congress declaring war, or the president declaring war?

    We're used to it already.

    We're not part of the club.

  34. #30
    Yeah, I get it, frog boiling in the pot and all that, but this really is unprecedented.

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