Will Biden’s proxy war against Russia lose Democrats’ Congress November 8?

The Democratic Party is flirting with election disaster November 8. They may lose both houses of Congress from a self-inflicted wound: their proxy war with Russia over Ukraine.

In a PBS/NRP poll of election issues on voters’ minds, No. 1 was inflation. The Russo Ukraine war didn’t make the list. That’s understandable. Voters vote their pocketbook, not some faraway war thousands of miles offshore that doesn’t appear to affect them one iota. But appearances are deceiving. US sanctions against Russia, which have failed spectacularly to influence the war, are spectacularly accelerating inflation worldwide, including the Homeland.

Biden’s war strategy of sanctions, tens of billions in weapons, with no war ending negotiations whatsoever, guarantee both the murderous war and rising inflation will continue thru Election Day.

Democrats losing Congress is not certain. But it’s more likely everyday Biden and the Democrats pursue a reckless proxy war against Russia sending America and much of the world into a downward economic spiral.

Of course, with the possibility that disastrous US policy over Ukraine could spiral into nuclear war, losing Congress should be the least of Biden’s, and all of our worries.

Unhappy 20th anniversary Iraq war AUMF

October 16, 2002 was a sorrowful day in American history. Twenty years ago today Congress voted an AUMF (Authorization for Use of Military Force) greenlighting the immoral, illegal and criminal Iraq war, begun five months later.

Besides a couple hundred thousand Iraqis killed, nearly 7,000 US and allied soldiers, journalists and contractors were killed.

It took nearly 9 years for America to declare the war over, but roughly 2,500 US troops are still defiling the largely broken nation of Iraq.

In 2005, a presidential commission found that not one bit of US intelligence information used to pass the AUMF was correct. The entire AUMF and subsequent war were simply made up.

Not only were there no consequences for the falsified AUMF, it became the AUMF that future presidents could invoke to perpetrate more murder and mayhem on a hapless world. President Obama used it to restart the Iraq war in 2014, this time to fight ISIS that was created by the first Iraq war.

Obama used it again in 2016 to justify military action against ISIS in Syria. His logic: Wherever ISIS goes, the 2002 AUMF follows.

Obama’s expansion of the AUMF was stretched even further by Trump who used it to sanction use of force to address both “threats to, or stemming from, Iraq.” That was applied to assassinate Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, whom we didn’t like, in 2020, nearly 18 years after the October, 2002 Iraq AUMF passage.

Both the House and Senate have introduced resolutions to repeal the 2002 Iraq AUMF. It’s long overdue for Congress to take back control of war making powers from war happy presidents. Alas, anytime a volatile foreign entanglement occurs, Congress has a history of rolling over and passing whatever war making authorization the current US president desires.

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America still aircraft carrier crazy 77 years after WWII

America used 97 aircraft carriers to help win WWII in against Japan. They overpowered and sunk most of Japan's piddly fleet of 24 carriers.

After WWII, the aircraft carrier faded in importance as we're no longer fighting war on the high seas.

But US Congresspersons, used to getting millions in bribes (oops, campaign contributions) from aircraft carrier builders and suppliers, have extended the building of these obsolete behemoths for 8 decades. The US maintains 11 such carriers while the rest of the world collectively has 10. China and Russia, our 2 nuclear power enemies we're trying to squash over Taiwan and Ukraine, have 2 and 1 respectively.

How did the US get to 11 carriers? Congress passed a law requiring it: 10 USC 8062 (b) US Navy: Composition; Functions. "The naval combat forces of the Navy shall include not less than 11 operational aircraft carriers."

But since the law doesn't limit the Navy to 11 carriers, Congress greenlighted 3 more monstrosities being constructed today. The US justifies more aircraft carriers to intimidate nations far and wide in furtherance of US unipolar world dominance. They routinely menace China and Middle East countries we don't like.

The newest of the 11, the Gerald R. Ford, is ignominiously named after a lifelong fiscally conservative former president. Up in presidential heaven, Ford must be apoplectic his namesake carrier, the most extravagant warship ever, cost $13 billion, running 22% over budget. If he could come back to protest, he'd request it be renamed the U.S.S. Boondoggle.

Parkland shooter jury did the right thing

Bravo for 3 Florida penalty phase jurors who voted life over death for Nickolas Cruz for killing 17 students in Parkland, FL 4 years ago.

The penalty phase trial, which squandered six months of time and many thousands of Florida’s precious tax dollars, was totally unnecessary. Three years ago Florida refused Cruz’s guilty plea for the 17 murders in return of a life sentence. Florida officials were too obsessed with making Cruz the 18th fatality of a truly horrific crime to do the right thing.

Killing Cruz would not meet a single goal of a decent criminal justice system. It coarsens instead of elevating society. It simply feeds the bloodlust that lurks in all of us, allowing the ordinary, law abiding citizen to vicariously experience the thrill of murder. That is sick.

America has become an outlier in the drive to end capital punishment. We’re one of only 55 of 195 countries practicing it. Twenty-six of fifty states have dumped capital punishment as well.

Those states practicing it should take note. Penalty phase juries are more prone to spare even the most heinous killers from death. Alas, they have more sense that state officials pandering to what they foolishly believe their citizenry wants.

Come on state officials, channel Spike Lee and ‘Do The Right Thing.’

No tears for Truss being tossed as British PM after 44 days

The peace community is relieved the British Prime Minister Liz Truss resigned as PM after 44 days, shortest tenue ever for a British leader.

Truss lost our trust when candidate Truss told a Town Hall event she was ready to order a nuclear strike if called on to do it. But that wasn’t the question, which instead, was how’d she feel if called on to fire nukes. That was a perfect opportunity for Truss proclaim her commitment to preventing nuclear war. When the question was repeated Truss passed again, using the same line “I’m ready to do it.”

The world may be closer to nuclear war than any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis sixty years ago this month. This is due to the US proxy war with Russia over Ukraine and the potential real war with China over Taiwan. Picking fights with the largest and third largest nuclear powers is even more reckless than the US engaging in nuclear brinkmanship with the sole country of Russia over Cuban missiles sixty years ago.

With unrelenting tensions over Ukraine and Taiwan, the world will remain under the existential threat of nuclear annihilation regardless of who replaces the trustless Truss. But we’ll gain a tiny sliver of hope when the world’s fifth largest nuclear armed country is no longer led by a Prime Minister who proclaims pushing the button i no big deal.

Odds of Ukraine war going nuclear rising

After 247 days of war in Ukraine, the nuclear temperature is rising.

US intelligence officials now estimate a one in four possibility the Russo Ukraine war could see the use of nuclear weapons by both Russia and US-NATO forces. At the start of the war that likelihood was near zero.

What changed? Russia’s inability to win a quick, decisive victory based on Russian military failure and determined Ukraine resistance aided by $65 billion in US weapons. That may be good for Ukraine in the short run, but in the long run not so, if nuclear weapons are engaged.

Ukraine President Zelensky doesn’t seem too concerned about the prospect, promoting direct attacks on Russia to prevent the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Is Zelensky oblivious that such attacks would likely provoke the very nuclear attacks he’s trying to prevent? The US and NATO must keep him on a short lease, least we all perish.

The US doesn’t seem too concerned about approaching nuclear war either. This Monday, the NATO alliance will hold conduct massive military maneuvers to practice dropping nuclear weapons over Russia. Its Steadfast At Noon exercise will involve 14 NATO members and 60 aircraft, including B-52's and F-16's. That’s just 3 weeks after President Biden warned we’re closer to nuclear Armageddon than any time since the Cuban Missile Crisis precisely 60 years ago.

What could possibly go wrong? We just have to revisit America’s 1983 Able Archer nuclear exercises which nearly triggered a Russian nuclear response, to see what could.

Let’s hope Monday’s Steadfast At Noon doesn’t turn into Armageddon At Noon.