++At Talkingpointsmemo,they cover Tim Kaine's rebuke of the GOP's letter. Kaine, who has signed on to the Corker-Menendez bill, questioned the maturity of the GOP majority in matters having to do with national security. Angus King from Maine also challenged the letter as waging siege on the presidency. Debbie Strabenow called the letter "dangerous and troubling". Dick Durbin said that the GOP hasn't gotten over the fact that President Obama is the elected President of the United States.
++To Bloomberg News, Tom Cotton insisted he was not "a traitor". When the blowback on your letter provokes such a response, you know you have lost.
++The Wall Street Journal called the Republican Senators "way out of line". And the Kansas City press said it was unprecedented.
++What both the right and the left seem to be missing is that the Iranian negotiations are conducted under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. The composition of the negotiating team is constituted by the permanent members of the Security Council and any agreement must be voted on there, not in our Congress.
++Which makes me even more suspicious of the Corker-Menendez legislation which attempts to assume a role for the Senate in the agreement. And this is being backed by Kaine, King and others. Corker wants to get a Veto proof 2/3rds for this legislation but would it mean anything?
++Clearly there are rumblings from the spooks on this. Walter Pincus at the Post detailed past multinational agreements that didn't need Congressional approval. But he followed up yesterday with a blast at Bibi in a piece of how Israel's manipulation and deception of the U.S. intelligence agencies created the Israeli nuclear weapons program. I haven't seen this openly discussed in a paper like the Washington Post before. I suggest the intelligence establishment is not happy with all these rogue campers like Cotton and Bibi and the GOP leadership.
Showing posts with label Dick Durbin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dick Durbin. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
When it gets weird
++In the midst of domestic terror attacks,strange statements about Burgdahl, and bribery in Virginia, there is one good piece of news from Brainwrap. Brainwrap aka Charles Gaba is slowly re-emerging on the ACA scene because he is interested in the increased enrollments in Obamacare. HHS has decided for whatever reason not to update the numbers regularly. Today, Brainwrap announced that Massachusetts has almost a 100% insured citizenry. Actually 99% have health insurance.
++I thought we were almost over the Sgt.Burgdahl controversy until he comes home. But no. The House Armed Services Committee had a late night closed session yesterday where they saw the "sign of life" video, which members weren't convinced showed his life was in danger. They are upset that some 90 Obama administration figures knew about the swap while the House didn't. So the House has called Chuck Hagel to testify. The scuttlebutt is that it was Chuck Hagel's decision and ipso facto Obama didn't have anything to do with it but he claims credit.
++( FACT INTERRUPTION: THE SWAP WENT EFFORTLESSLY, NO ONE WAS INJURED. )
++DOD made it clear--despite Ollie North's claims--that no one paid any money for Burgdahl's release.
++Senator Diane Feinstein got her pound of flash and said that there has been a hearing in the Senate and in the House and "Enough is enough." I hope her pound of flesh was the release of the CIA Torture and rendition report.
++Dick Durbin said that the swap for Burgdahl has only been finalized the day before and hence President Obama couldn't have notified Congress in time. Senator Levin said that the administration had notified Congress since the end of December that these Taliban members would be traded.
++A "doctor of symbols and rituals", a Dawn Perlmutter says that Sgt.Bergdahl was acting out Dancing with Wolves by his idealization of the noble savage and she suggests that he probably had relationships with Taliban men as part of his initiation.
++The National Review suggests that Bergdahl is being prepared by the military doctors in Landstuhl for talking points when he arrives in the United States. That the doctors are protecting him from criticism and that he really doesn't need much recuperation after being held prisoner for five years and put in a cage for weeks. DOD doesn't have the guts to try him for desertion or worse because this is all to protect President Obama.
++Michael Gerson, whose boss paid ransom for prisoners held captive by the Phillipppine jihadists, criticized President Obama for the deal, saying it mirrored Israeli swaps. But at least the Israelis continued their war against their enemies.
++Torture fan Marc Thiessen suggests that you can't declare a war over even if you leave the battlefield. He suggests President Obama will surrender to the Taliban.
++Underlying the palpable fear of the Right is that President Obama might close Gitmo. The House yesterday denied the Pentagon any funds to facilitate the transfer of prisoners from Gitmo.
++I thought we were almost over the Sgt.Burgdahl controversy until he comes home. But no. The House Armed Services Committee had a late night closed session yesterday where they saw the "sign of life" video, which members weren't convinced showed his life was in danger. They are upset that some 90 Obama administration figures knew about the swap while the House didn't. So the House has called Chuck Hagel to testify. The scuttlebutt is that it was Chuck Hagel's decision and ipso facto Obama didn't have anything to do with it but he claims credit.
++( FACT INTERRUPTION: THE SWAP WENT EFFORTLESSLY, NO ONE WAS INJURED. )
++DOD made it clear--despite Ollie North's claims--that no one paid any money for Burgdahl's release.
++Senator Diane Feinstein got her pound of flash and said that there has been a hearing in the Senate and in the House and "Enough is enough." I hope her pound of flesh was the release of the CIA Torture and rendition report.
++Dick Durbin said that the swap for Burgdahl has only been finalized the day before and hence President Obama couldn't have notified Congress in time. Senator Levin said that the administration had notified Congress since the end of December that these Taliban members would be traded.
++A "doctor of symbols and rituals", a Dawn Perlmutter says that Sgt.Bergdahl was acting out Dancing with Wolves by his idealization of the noble savage and she suggests that he probably had relationships with Taliban men as part of his initiation.
++The National Review suggests that Bergdahl is being prepared by the military doctors in Landstuhl for talking points when he arrives in the United States. That the doctors are protecting him from criticism and that he really doesn't need much recuperation after being held prisoner for five years and put in a cage for weeks. DOD doesn't have the guts to try him for desertion or worse because this is all to protect President Obama.
++Michael Gerson, whose boss paid ransom for prisoners held captive by the Phillipppine jihadists, criticized President Obama for the deal, saying it mirrored Israeli swaps. But at least the Israelis continued their war against their enemies.
++Torture fan Marc Thiessen suggests that you can't declare a war over even if you leave the battlefield. He suggests President Obama will surrender to the Taliban.
++Underlying the palpable fear of the Right is that President Obama might close Gitmo. The House yesterday denied the Pentagon any funds to facilitate the transfer of prisoners from Gitmo.
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