Category: National Security

Last Night, President Biden “Outperformed Expectations”–in a Big Win for Democracy

https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1766115018506957095 The Biden campaign wasted no time to turn portions of the speech into this striking snippet. He was feisty, fearless, funny, and--perhaps most importantly--forward-looking. His disloyal opposition, however, couldn't even muster support for his opposition to Putin or his exhortation that political violence must end. If you didn't see his State Of The Union … Continue reading Last Night, President Biden “Outperformed Expectations”–in a Big Win for Democracy →

Undoing Trump’s Damage on the World Stage and in the US

https://twitter.com/vp/status/1758631400767643738?s=51&t=nVuexwyjz5lAYgTHGa2APw Please watch this brief video of VP Harris as she addresses the Munich Security Conference, which is quaking as a result of Trump's despicable comment that he would encourage Putin to attack our allies. At the same time, participants are enraged by the convenient death, at age 47, of Putin's heroic adversary, Aleksey Navalny--apparently … Continue reading Undoing Trump’s Damage on the World Stage and in the US →

Two Ways to Send Important Messages That Begin to Tidy Up the Messy House…

Photo by Brett Jordan on Pexels.com THE FIRST WAY Want to know why the Republicans plan to reschedule their zero-substance impeachment vote against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for early next week? Having failed this week by one vote, they are hoping the Republican candidate to replace disgraced George Santos will win in New York's … Continue reading Two Ways to Send Important Messages That Begin to Tidy Up the Messy House… →

REPO: Help for the Ukrainians ASAP

https://twitter.com/SenWhitehouse/status/1750295917046153533?s=20 https://twitter.com/tribelaw/status/1750219234896937463?s=51&t=nVuexwyjz5lAYgTHGa2APw Continuing to battle bravely, the Ukrainians know that Putin has been emboldened by the efforts of his adoring far-right fans among the House Republicans. These zealots, answering to Trump, are determined to block even a vote on the US aid Ukraine desperately needs to end the Russians' genocidal efforts to remove their existence … Continue reading REPO: Help for the Ukrainians ASAP →

Struggling to Unpack a Swirl of Confounding Topics, I Found It’s Been Unswirled for Me

The antisemitism arising from Israel’s response to Hamas’s horrific attacks; the House Republicans’ obscene introduction of Mike Johnson's speakership; the urgent need to get aid to Ukraine; and Joe Biden’s steady hand, courage, wisdom, and forward thinking. I’ve started, and abandoned, several attempts to sort out my thinking on these diverse but intertwined topics. Then … Continue reading Struggling to Unpack a Swirl of Confounding Topics, I Found It’s Been Unswirled for Me →

What Do the Lithuanians See in President Biden That Many Americans Don’t?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czodxeWGCGw Well, the people of Lithuania sure were excited to see President Biden. A packed crowd in a large Vilnius University courtyard waved American flags and cheered him on. This audience of luminaries and students clearly feel he’s a hero to the principles of democracy. Please just take a few minutes to view the reception … Continue reading What Do the Lithuanians See in President Biden That Many Americans Don’t? →

How Is a Single Dopey Senator Able to Threaten Our National Security?

https://twitter.com/dougjones/status/1678525716449710082?s=51&t=nVuexwyjz5lAYgTHGa2APw (Doug Jones is a former US Attorney and former Senator from Alabama) I will acknowledge that I find myself struggling with some conspiratorial thinking from time to time. For example, is the U.S. Senator who'd probably win a prize for the lowest IQ in that august body acting of his own volition in holding … Continue reading How Is a Single Dopey Senator Able to Threaten Our National Security? →

Some Karma Amid the Scary Stuff…

https://twitter.com/hillaryclinton/status/1667167938141466630?s=51&t=nVuexwyjz5lAYgTHGa2APw In what has to be the most extraordinary bit of projection, Donald J. Trump accused Hillary Clinton, his 2016 opponent, of being careless with classified documents. Campaigning that September, he said: "We can't have someone in the Oval Office who doesn't understand the meaning of the word confidential or classified." That's one of a … Continue reading Some Karma Amid the Scary Stuff… →

We Must Stop the Putin-Worshipping Republicans From Undermining US Support for Ukraine!

Until a few days ago, the small, whiny Presidency-seeking autocrat who has repeatedly shown his contempt for democracy and for nearly all of his Florida constituents had suddenly joined other far-right Republicans in spouting newly convicted war criminal Vladimir Putin's talking points on Ukraine. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last week called Russia's genocidal assault against … Continue reading We Must Stop the Putin-Worshipping Republicans From Undermining US Support for Ukraine! →

How Do We Commemorate One Year of Ukraine’s Defense Against the Russian Onslaught?

Friday, February 24th, marks one year since the horrific Russian attack against Ukraine began. Most observers gave Ukraine a week before the Russians would take over. (The Ukrainians don't even think of this one-year marker: they point out that they've been battling for their sovereignty for nine years--since the Russians stole Crimea.) Yet here we … Continue reading How Do We Commemorate One Year of Ukraine’s Defense Against the Russian Onslaught? →

Amid the Awfulness: A Bit of Fun…

There's a great deal that's concerning about the 118th Congress. For example, --I heard a discussion about the national security implications of the world's seeing the Republicans' fiasco in choosing a Speaker as a sign of our weakness. Foes have been emboldened; friends have been jolted. President Biden's reminder that when he first met with … Continue reading Amid the Awfulness: A Bit of Fun… →

I Have a Few Questions…

https://twitter.com/ronbrownstein/status/1610743054184624128?s=51&t=7oTuJX8QEcMZko1kYRp6aw Let's start with the question raised above by journalist Ronald Brownstein. What the hell are we seeing in the People's House? OK. We know twenty Insurrectionists and/or Big Liars are holding the Republican caucus hostage. The world is watching the House of Representatives at a standstill. The not-so-merry band of do-badders who've promised to … Continue reading I Have a Few Questions… →

“Are We in the West Weaker Than the Ukrainians?”

Dec. 14, 2022 (An Urgent Message for Americans reprinted from THE NEW YORK TIMES) Credit...Emile Ducke for The New York Times By Nicholas Kristof Opinion Columnist “We will beat the Ukrainian out of you so that you love Russia,” a Russian interrogator told one torture survivor I spoke to in Ukraine, before he whipped her … Continue reading “Are We in the West Weaker Than the Ukrainians?” →

Who Could Take Down the Felon-in-Waiting? Librarians!

From an Occupied Democrats Facebook posting Stephen Colbert's wise and witty observation warms my heart. If the National Archives and Records Administration's informing the Justice Department about all those missing super-secret documents leads to the indictment and conviction of the former guy for violating the Espionage Act, among others, we'll be seeing Karma raised to … Continue reading Who Could Take Down the Felon-in-Waiting? Librarians! →

Gun Safety: Small Step Forward; Big Step Back, But We Made a Difference!

The Supreme Court majority has just struck down a very sensible gun safety law--just as the often calcified Senate toddled toward a modest, though significant, breakthrough. Undeterred by my lack of legal credentials, I'm gonna venture that the American people had a say in both developments. Please bear with me...

Should the US Provide Frozen Russian Assets to Ukraine?

https://twitter.com/tribelaw/status/1515134737421119493 Experts' views of the Russians' horrific war against Ukraine have changed over the weeks of battle--and the once-impossible scenario depicting the Ukrainians actually stopping the Russians has gained favor. Now, with the Russians claiming they plan to push on to overtake Moldova, the threat of a widening war that the US has tried to … Continue reading Should the US Provide Frozen Russian Assets to Ukraine? →

AMERICA: WHAT DO WE DO NOW? (Part 2)

An incredibly brave Not-Soon-Enough-President Biden boldly denounced both Trump-the-inciter and the “domestic terrorists” (good for him for using the term) who ransacked the Capitol last Wednesday. It’s worth noting that Biden has stated that he’d decided he had to run for President after Charlottesville, when Trump referred to the white supremacists as some of the “good people on both sides.” Even before he selected Kamala Harris as his running mate, they had both framed this election against Trump as the “battle for the soul of the nation.” And though the election is over, that battle is not.

Chaos in America…BUT… We Can End It! (A Near- Acrostic Poem for Our Times)

Candidates flailing arms in the air, bent on talking, one over another
Hapless moderators—too many, too weak to control the mayhem
Another Democratic debate,
Offering less light than heat
Seemingly not laser-focused on the context: our closeness to the abyss.
...
BUT…

When an aroused people stands together
Elevating our shared goal beyond our individual predilections,