After polishing off Syria’s Assad, US has open road to Iranian regime change.

 

After polishing off Syria’s Assad, US has open road to Iranian regime change.

 

After the 911 attacks the US war party responded by declaring all out regime change on Middle East countries it deemed a threat to the Homeland.

 

Their coveted prize was the despised Iran, a potential hegemon rival to America’s revered allay Israel. America couldn’t realistically start off attacking large, powerful Iran or change out its hated regime. So it embarked on a multi country regime change tour, saving Iran for best and last.

 

America kicked off its Excellent Regime Change Tour by invading Afghanistan shortly after the September, 2001 attacks. The Taliban fell within weeks, But 20 years, several trillion in US treasure, 2,400 US soldiers killed and tens of thousands of injured later, the Taliban marched back to power after a humiliating US exit.

 

Next up was Iraq, invaded in March, 2003 under false pretenses that would have made Hitler proud. But the entire US media went along with this grotesque made up war which killed hundreds thousands including over 4,500 Americans.

 

Don’t forget America’s grisly regime change imposed on Libya’s strongman Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The US led a NATO offensive (from an ostensibly defensive alliance) to depose the hated Gaddafi. When Gaddafi was sodomized with a bayonet, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton laughingly gloried ‘We came, we saw…he died.” All the US accomplished was turning Libya into a chaotic, failed state for the past 13 years.

 

In 2017 US General Wesley Clark, who led the US destruction of Serbia in the 90's, summarized a Pentagon meeting on regime change thusly:

“This is a memo that describes how we’re going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq, and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and, finishing off, Iran.”

 

It’s taking a tad longer than the US war party promised, but with Syria handed over to Jihadist terrorist Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the final regime change prize of Iran is in sight.

 

Incoming President Trump is a dedicated Iran hater who nearly stumbled into war with Iran during his presidency. Drafting his war cabinet from the ‘Get Iran’ farm team is not a hopeful sign for peace next year. But saving America’s most powerful Middle East regime change target could backfire spectacularly as Iran poses an immense threat to thousands of US troops in the region.

 

The US war party may be ecstatic about adding Iran to its regime change belt, but should ponder that wise aphorism, ‘Be careful what you covet… you just might get it.’

With no real enemies, US poised to spend $1.8 trillion for national security in 2025

 

With no real enemies, US poised to spend $1.8 trillion for national security in 2025

Not one of the other 194 countries poses the slightest threat to the US Homeland. Yet the US foolishly provokes confrontation with Russia and China, the first and third most nuclear armed states.

With no enemies lurking near our borders, the US plans to spend $1.8 trillion next year to promote not defense, but US adventurism abroad.

750 bases in 80 countries overseas billeting 160,000 soldiers does not come cheap. Additionally, the US has squandered upwards of $200 billion to destroy Ukraine in our proxy war against Russia, and obliterate Gaza by our Middle East aircraft carrier Israel.

That helps explain why Congress is about to pass an $895.2 billion National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to fund discretionary activities of our Defense Department. Adding in mandatory defense spending of $25.8 billion swells the Pentagon’s budget to a cool $921 billion.

But don’t forget nuclear weapons programs, Homeland Security, cost to treat vets from America’s forever wars and miscellaneous foreign adventures. These add another $796.8 billion, making a national security grand total for 2025 a staggering $1,776,800,000. A far distant second in defense spending is China at less than a quarter trillion.

How can this be in the hyped ‘greatest democracy on Earth’? Simple. The administration, Congress, presidential candidates, the media offer not one word of discussion, much less protest about this monstrous squandering of US treasure to get millions killed, injured, starved, sick and homeless in countries America has no business meddling in.

America’s national security budget may as well be planned and passed on Mars, far from the radar of America’s 155,000,200 clueless voters having no say in this monstrosity whatsoever.

Of course, with the US war party crossing Russian red lines like it’s in a demolition derby, nuclear war becomes more likely than at any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis 62 years ago. If that happens, any important discussion of our $1.8 trillion national security budget will be moot.

Good thing Mayor Johnson doesn't have Mayor Daley' s City Council

Good thing Mayor Johnson doesn't have Mayor Daley' s City Council

 

From his first election in 1955 till his death in 1976, Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley (Richard I) had a City Council to live for. With virtually no opposition except Independent 5th Ward Alderman Leon Despres, Daily ruled over Chicag0 like a Soviet style Politburo Chief. Whatever budget Daley wanted he got. Fortunately he was determined to keeping property taxes manageable .

 

Forty-eight years on Mayor Brandon Johnson enjoys not a compliant City Council, but one determined to protect beleaguered Chicago taxpayers from profligate spender Johnson. Instead of making large, sensible cuts to a vastly bloated city payroll, he proposed a huge $300 million tax increase to help close the near billion dollar initial budget gap. But over half the Council forced Johnson to pair back his proposed increase to $150 billion, then to $68.5 million, finally to no tax hike at all

 

Bravo City Council and raspberries for you Mayor Johnson. On Day One as mayor, Johnson's Job One was to assess a massively overstaffed City Hall weighed down by a 30% increase in full time employees since just before COVID hit. Those new hires were financed by the US American Rescue Plan Act. That dough is gone but the excess employees are still there exploding Chicago’s budget deficit.

 

When Daley could count on 49 votes to make ‘Chacaga the greatest city in the world’, being mayor sure was lots of fun. Not so for Mayor Johnson who can’t even muster 26 of 50 votes to pass his confiscatory budget.

 

Mayor Johnson means well with his progressive agenda to uplift Chicago’s poorest neighborhoods. All Chicagoans of good will support that effort. But Johnson must not forget Joe Taxpayer whose needs must also be considered. Johnson has yet to learn the lesson that governance is the art of the possible…not the impossible. 

On Ukraine war, will Trump channel JFK or LBJ?

On Ukraine war, will Trump channel JFK or LBJ?

Donald Trump will inherit Joe Biden’s proxy war against Russia in Ukraine on January 20.

Biden has made clear he’ll never negotiate an end to his failed war that includes any concession whatsoever to Russian security interests. Biden is furnishing Ukraine with billions more in weaponry to prevent a Ukraine collapse on his watch. He’ll be damned if he allows a US defeat in Ukraine in his last year to bookend his accepting a US defeat in Afghanistan in his first year.

That presents a huge dilemma for Trump whose who routinely called for a quick end to this senseless war during his successful campaign.

 But just like in his first term, Trump may be trumped on negotiating peace and disengagement by the US war party. Trump achieved nothing in terms of détente with North Korea or cutting America’s bloated 34,000 troop presence in NATO Germany. He may also fall victim to the same dread Biden has of being president when Ukraine does sue for peace, losing four provinces, committing to neutrality between East and West, including no NATO membership as the basis for a ceasefire.

Trump’s situation recalls the dilemma both JFK and LBJ faced over US involvement in America’s lost war in Vietnam 611 years ago.

JFK inherited his predecessor Ike’s 700 ‘advisors’ and Vietnam and ironclad US commitment to keep South Vietnam free from communism. By the end of 1962 Kennedy hiked the advisors to 11,000, incurring over 50 deaths in their non-combat role.

But by spring of 1963 JFK, more a realist than fanatical Cold Warrior, understood that no US presence could save South Vietnam from defeat. He began to secretly plan for a full US withdrawal. In May, 1963 he had Defense Secretary Bob McNamara draw up a withdrawal plan. Kennedy made this plan official policy with his National Security Action Memorandum 263, dated October 11, 1963. It called for withdrawal of 1,000 advisors by December and rest of the now 16,000 personnel out by the end of 1965. The 2 year gap to complete the US pullout was due to waiting till after his reelection to avoid political pushback from Republicans that could jeopardize his reelection.

This was US policy on the day JFK died. Had Kennedy lived there is no basis for believing he would not follow through on his pledge to end US military involvement in Vietnam.

When Lyndon Johnson became president, he immediately cancelled National Security Action Memorandum 263. His administration, Congress, the military and compliant national media all rallied around the fiction of complete continuity between JFK and LBJ on Vietnam. Johnson began pouring in more advisors before pivoting to direct US warfare after he hyped the August, 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident to militarize US action against North Vietnam. LBJ famously remarked ‘I’m not going to be the first US president to lose war’.

In so doing Johnson destroyed his presidency and his legacy, along with over 58,000 soldiers killed, 150,000 inured, of which 21,000 were permanently disabled.

That is the dilemma Trump most likely is grappling with today. Will he follow thru with his campaign pledge to end America’s proxy war with Russia without total victory for our Ukraine proxies? Or will Trump succumb to the tragic Lyndon Johnson syndrome of continuing to pour hundreds of billion in US treasure, if not US lives, into a lost cause America should never have provoked.

Based upon Trump’s sorrowful record of caving to the war party in his first term, the latter course is the safer bet. But we should all work to push President Trump on Ukraine to channel JFK, not LBJ.

US mainstream media missed biggest news story of 2024

 

US mainstream media missed biggest news story of 2024

 

As the year winds down, US media reviews the biggest news stories of the year.

But in selecting the biggest story of 2024, US media missed it completely.

 

Was it Trump’s improbable reelection after 4 years in the political wilderness? Nope.

 

Was it Trump’s avoiding imprisonments for committing dozens of felonies including an attempted coup to overturn his 7 million vote loss to Joe Biden? Nada.

 

Two hurricanes in 2 weeks that devastated the Southeast? No way.

 

How bout the unprecedented assassination of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson which triggered a national discussion of our broken health care system? Faggedaboudit.

The lightening HTS insurgency which toppled Syrian President Bashar Assad within 2 weeks? Try again.

 

The biggest story of 2024 was America enabling the Israeli genocidal ethnic cleansing of 2,300,000 Palestinians in Gaza. Throughout ’24, America has supplied over $20 billion sending over 50,000 tons of bombs to obliterate habitable life in Gaza’s 139 square miles. Over 100,000 already dead with no resources left for the remaining Palestinians to survive. Nearly every Palestinian child believes death is imminent according to recent reporting.

 

But one could watch mainstream media 24/7 and not hear one word about US participation in the most grotesque genocide this century. Mainstream news has fallen in line with the Biden administration narrative that $20 billion and 50,000 tons of weapons, along with US vetoes of UN resolutions to end the genocide, are simply for Israeli self-defense.

 

There is no reporting on the horrific conditions in Gaza; the obliteration of all schools, universities, hospitals, livable housing, potable water, food supplies. Media ignores the wanton slaughter of their journalistic brethren trying to cover the genocide along with hundreds of aid workers seeking to keep starving Palestinians alive.

 

Tragically, media censure of the ongoing US enabled genocide is the one issue upon with both conservative and progressive media concur. Genocide and US lockstep participation in it is the issue that date not speak its name.

 

The US government is fully supportive in word and deed of the most monstrous war crimes imaginable. But when it comes to this inhumane policy…US mainstream media cannot even imagine it, much less report on it.

Speedy Alka-Seltzer never killed or gouged anyone

 

Speedy Alka-Seltzer never killed or gouged anyone

 

The assassination of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson catapulted gargantuan health insurance company profits to the fore of critical societal issues in America.

                                                                                              

But besides direct medical costs, the other pillar of excessive profits borne by strapped consumers, prescription drug prices, must also be addressed.

 

Health insurance companies are also the gatekeeper in league with Big Pharma to prevent needy folks from getting proper drugs without going into debt if not bankruptcy. Time after time a new drug prescribed for me provokes this response from my pharmacist: ‘Prescription delayed due to insurance issue.’ Try as I might, I could never get my drug insurer to budge on the $590 cost for a single monthly shot of migraine headache medicine while my daughter in Germany pays $10.

 

The prescription drug ripoff takes me back 70 years to one of my favorite advertising characters from the 1950's: Speedy Alka-Seltzer.

 

Speedy was an antacid tablet come to life, promising 'speedy' relief from indigestion. Speedy, and his cohorts pitching OTC (Over The Counter) medicines were both engaging and harmless creatures; never once needing a sound over voice warning of heart attacks, strokes, internal bleeding, diarrhea, thoughts of suicide, even death rattled off by the winner of a fast talking contest. Nor did Speedy extol us to demand a prescription for him from ol' Doc Jones since we simply plunked down our twenty-five cents for Speedy at Friendly Pharmacy.

 

 

Then in 1997, Speedy was relegated to the TV advertising back shelf when the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Direct To Consumer Advertising (DTCA). This was a brilliant and pernicious scheme in which Big Pharma pitched their dangerous and colossally costly prescription drugs directly to consumers, who could only get them by demanding 'ol Doc Jones write them a prescription. It only takes a few hours to boob tube watching to endure a dozen or more such disgusting ads.

 

It has been a money geyser for America's leading drug pushers, worth many times the $8 billion spent annually enticing gullible couch potatoes to self-medicate.

 

On DTCA, America is an outlier. Only New Zealand joins America in the industrialized world allowing DTCA.

 

Research shows half of patients request a TV ad promoted drug and doctors meet two thirds of patient requests. Doctors are businessmen too; why risk losing a paying customer simply because he's determined to get his TV ad induced drug of choice.

 

Getting back to long gone Speedy. He never killed anyone or forced them into debt. And unlike many of the Rolls Royce priced prescription drugs being hawked on TV by Big Doc Pharma, Speedy didn’t need a barely discernable disclaimer warning of debilitation, possible death to score an unaffordable drug.