Put Snowden, Assange atop presidential pardon spreadsheet

While 3,000 a day die from covid, Trump spends his last 10 weeks pursuing his soft coup to stay in office. But with his exit certain, he’s also focused on granting pardons and commutations to dozens; so many he’s created a pardon/commutation spreadsheet to keep track. Many feel his kids, their spouses, his cronies, even The Donald top the list.

Most of his previous 45 pardons and commutations have been dreadful, including Sheriff Joe Arpaio and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. But his commutation of Governor Rod Blagojevich’s unconscionably long prison sentence, and his posthumous pardon of black boxing champ Jack Johnson, wrongly imprisoned in 1920 for dating white women, were long overdue.

Topping the list should be Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. Both are charged with violations of the 1917 Espionage Act, passed to suppress free speech dissent against U.S. entry into WWI. Australian Assange is currently on trial in the UK to be extradited to America where he faces a life sentence for publishing classified documents revealing U.S. war crimes in Iraq. Snowden, safe from extradition in Russia, faces 30 years for releasing classified documents proving the U.S. conducted massive illegal surveillance of U.S. citizens.

The real felons in these shabby episodes of American governance get fabulous government pensions and treated as national heroes. Assange and Snowden’s efforts on behalf of ending senseless war and illegal spying show once again…no good deeds go unpunished.

Congress has reversed Constitutional war making process

Article 1, Section 8, Clause 11 of the Constitution grants Congress sole power “to declare war”. Congress did that 5 times in 244 years, the last December 8, 1941. FDR didn’t unilaterally declare war against Japan. He asked, and was granted, permission from Congress.

Beginning with Harry Truman’s ‘Police Action’ launching the Korean War in 1950, presidents have chipped away at Congress’ war making power. So much so that military action is now virtually sole province of the prez. Congress is OK with that because it gives it the best of both worlds; their love of perpetual war and cover in case war goes badly. ‘Don’t blame Congress. This is the president’s war, not ours’.

Congress so loves war it has proclaimed a new war power, one that forbids the president from ending a current war without Congressional approval. Inserted in the $740 billion 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is an amendment withholding funds from any presidential troop withdrawal in a war zone without congressional approval. This quashes Trump’s order to remove all U.S. troops from our 20 year long Afghan war. Two decades of failure, with hundreds of thousands of casualties, including 2,354 U.S. dead, is simply bringing the Taliban full circle back to power in a war that should never have been fought.

Ending perpetual war is one issue Trump is both right on and in sync with U.S. public opinion. Congress will have none of that. They passed the NDAA with veto proof majorities to counter Trump’s possible veto over their refusal to fund troop withdrawals.

That is the new U.S. war Roach Motel. The President builds it. Congress prevents its demolition.

Weapons industry bad resume for defense post

The main rap on Lloyd Austin being picked for Defense Secretary is its violation of the seven year requirement from his serving in the military. Civilian oversight of Defense is a hallowed American tradition to prevent military favoritism from dictating defense policy. Four years retired as four star general and Iraq war commander, Austin requires a congressional waiver from the seven year requirement to lead the Defense Department. That used to be rare but isn’t; a waiver was granted in 2017 to allow Trump’s pick, recently retired general Jim Mattis, to serve. The only other exception was retired general George Marshall 67 years earlier.

While Austin will get his waiver, the bigger problem with his selection is his ties to America’s gargantuan weapons industry. Austin retired at 63 with a quarter million dollar yearly pension. That didn’t dissuade him from doing what most other retired military big shots do; embark on a lucrative career shilling for defense industry giants gobbling up American treasure for weapons of senseless war. He opened up his own consulting firm to advise defense contractors which levers of power to pull for additional weapons billions. Then he joined the board of Raytheon Technologies, a hundred billion dollar weapons behemoth. Austin’s confirmation would make him the second Defense chief in a row tied to Raytheon. Recently fired Mark Esper previously served not only in the military like Austin, but as Vice President of Governmental Relations for Raytheon.

Congress just passed a mammoth $740 billion defense budget, the NDAA, with a veto proof majority. But economic relief to a populous dying from covid at 3,000 daily and losing work by the millions is shunned as if such relief is the virus itself. Meanwhile guys like Austin and Esper, make a fortune peddling weaponry before ensuring that the spigot of such carnage flows steadily as top dog at Defense.

One in 249 as bad as one in a million

One hundred twenty-six GOP congressmen signed on to Trump’s effort to overturn the election in the Supreme Court, an act of treason against American democracy. GOP Senator Ted Cruz agreed to argue Trump’s soft coup before the Supremes if they granted a hearing. Not willing to participate in treason, the Supremes, including 3 Trump appointees, passed.

As cops guarded the shut down the Michigan Capitol turning away the treasonous Michigan GOP phantom Trump slate of electors, true American patriots voted the will of the People in Michigan and 24 other states to certify Biden’s election by 74 electoral votes to go along with his 7,059,741 popular vote margin.

Coup supporting Republicans have largely thrown in the towel, saying in effect, ‘Sigh, looks like Biden won and will be inaugurated January 20’. But not all have given up and some may support Trump inspired shenanigans Inauguration Day. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell privately pleaded with his Senate colleagues not to participate with continued electoral treason. Why? ‘Bad for the Republican brand’ was his reasoning.

From this madness we got sole national GOP patriot Mitt Romney, providing an unequivocal denunciation of GOP electoral treason as 'reckless and dangerous’. Dangerous indeed including mob action, stabbings, death threats against fellow Republican election officials certifying Biden’s victory, and calls for disruption of Congress’ Electoral College Vote certification January 6. Even opposition on Inauguration Day is feared. The goal? Delegitimize the Biden Administration before it begins.

Trump has led the national GOP down a rabbithole of treason that will be difficult to reverse. One in 249 GOP Congresspersons pushing back might as well be one in a million. Not enough.

Fiscal 2021 NDAA a disgrace in time of pandemic

The Senate passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a veto proof majority, 84-13, following a similar 335-78 vote in the House. The military promptly gets its $740 billion to maintain perpetual war around the world and threaten new wars against major powers China and Russia. The tens of millions of Americans suffering under pandemic recession get the big brushoff.

In October the Democratic House passed the latest critically needed $2.2 trillion covid relief bill now held up for nearly 3 months in the Republican Senate. At this point it may take Democrats winning the Senate January 5 with two Georgia Senate victories to finally pass a decent relief bill. If Republicans retain the Senate? Faggedaboudit.

That’s America’s priorities in stark relief: hundreds of billions for perpetual war; nothing for perpetual pandemic economic collapse.

Nine down, 4 to go in Barr ExecutionPalooza

The six Supreme Court conservatives voted Thursday to let the killing of fellow human beings continue, denying a stay in the federal execution of Brandon Bernard, for a double murder 20 years ago. An hour later Bernard was dead. How’s that for being ‘pro life’? The three progressives, outnumbered 2 to 1, at least went on record against state sponsored murder. Bernard was the ninth federal prisoner executed in the last five months since Attorney General Bill Barr announced an end to the 17 year moratorium on federal executions. He’s got 4 more planned in his last 35 days, 3 alone in Barr’s last week. Barr’s execution frenzy breaks a 130 year tradition of staying federal executions in the transition to a new administration. Is incoming President Biden’s pledge to end all federal executions driving Barr’s rush to kill, or is he simply satisfying his bloodlust?

A year before ExecutionPalooza began, Rep. Pressley Ayanna (D-MA) introduced H.R. 4052 which would abolish the federal death penalty. A month later it was moved to its own death row so far in the Committee of Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. Forty-eight of the 52 folks on federal death row will live on to the Biden administration. Let’s all get behind passage of H.R. 4052 to end the scourge of state sponsored murder at the federal level.

Illinois a leader in ending Electoral College dysfunction

The National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC) is a nationwide movement to mandate that the popular vote winner is elected president. Five times that winner has been denied the presidency, twice in the last 20 years. The largest deficit that elevated the loser to the White House was an astonishing 2,868,686 votes in 2016. Back in 2006, the NPVIC began with initiatives introduced in states under Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the Constitution which requires each state legislature to define a method to appoint its electors to vote in the Electoral College. NPVIP requires electors in ratifying states to vote for the national popular vote winner, but only if all states participating total 270 electoral votes, the number required to elect the president. So far 15 states and DC have ratified the Compact, providing 196 of the requited 270. Once achieved, opponents will bring up constitutional challenges, which will delay, possibly even derail implementation. But if achieved, Illinois can be proud it will be among the ratifiers. Indeed, rather than be a caboose, Illinois will lead as one of the engines, being third state to ratify April, 7, 2008.