When 8 isn't enough

The US war party is not satisfied with dropping thousands of bombs on the eight countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia, Niger, Syria and Libya. Now they're spoiling for a fight in three more: Venezuela, Iran and the big prize, Russia.

They hate the Venezuelan socialist government of Nicholas Maduro so much they're choking off their oil industry, causing starvation and other suffering to Venezuela's 32 million in a so far futile attempt to get Maduro's military to dump him in favor of the US puppet Juan Guaido. VP Pence told the UN last week the US would remove Maduro one way or the other...the other being military intervention. It's no consolation Pence prefers induced starvation to war.

If choking off Venezuela's oil might work there, why not try it on Iran? The US is hell bent on regime charge in Iran as well. First step was withdrawing from the 5 + 1 Iran nuclear agreement, the 2015 deal that ended the threat of war with Iran till crazy new US leaders got involved. Next up is choking off Iran's economic lifeline of oil sales which is a virtual declaration of war. Ask yourself how the US would respond if a big power would threaten to wreck the US economy in an explicit attempt to overthrow our government?

But the biggest risk to more war is the US attempt to degrade Russia. Ever hear of DASKA? It's Senate Bill S-1189, "Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019". It will require our war mongering Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to determine whether the Russian Federation should be designated as as state sponsor of terrorism. The war party based in Washington DC does not have to look 4,857 miles away to Moscow to find a state sponsor of terrorism. They just have to look in the mirror.

Sanders leads drive to override Trump veto against Yemen war pullout demand

No Democratic presidential contender among the 20 can match Bernie when it comes to opposing US criminal war around the world. Sanders led the Senate in its historic March 13 vote to invoke the 1973 War Powers Act requiring Trump to end US enabling of Saudi Arabia's murderous war in neighboring Yemen. 70,000 dead should satisfy the bloodlust of any sociopath, but Trump is demanding more. Bernie helped marshal all 45 Dems, 2 independents (including himself) and 7 peace voting Republicans to push the resolution to the House which voted 247-175 April 4, sending the bi-partisan resolution to Trump.   

As expected, Trump vetoed the resolution so he can continue to ignore the War Powers Act which puts teeth into the Constitutional provision that war making is a congressional power. Now Sanders is calling on his Republican colleagues to find 13 more principled senators needed to override in the Senate. Here's Bernie's plea:

”The president’s action is a very serious challenge to congressional authority that demands a responses. For far too long Congress, under both Democratic and Republican administrations, has abdicated its constitutional role with regard to the authorization of war … Congress must now act to protect that constitutional responsibility by overriding the president’s veto.”

Don't know if Bernie will secure the nomination or the presidency, but if you voting on the issues, especially war and peace, there is no one close. 

Sanguinetti's solutions? Channel Palin, Trump fear tactics

Evelyn Sanguinetti launched her bid to unseat freshman Sixth District congressman Sean Casten by promising solutions rather then the politics and talking points she falsely attributes to her opponent. Then she immediately pivoted to the politics of fear and loathing, accusing Casten of "palling around with the very, very socialists of the far left like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez". A political adult should sit Ms. Sanguinetti down and explain that solutions do not include reprising the repulsive fear tactics of former VP candidate Sarah Palin ("Obama's palling around with terrorists") or President Trump who likens every Democrat to the the socialists of Venezuela and Cuba. After going very, very, low (to paraphrase Sanguinetti's catchy new repetitive campaign phrase), she trotted out the GOP's buzzword solutions to every American problem: "American Dream", "freedom", "liberty". The best advise one could offer Sanguinetti would be to study clips of Casten's intelligent, thoughtful responses to issues discussed in the media. Then again, that may simply convince Sanguinetti to drop out and join the Casten campaign.