Usa Thread

[Flashermac]

Obama risks embarrassing loss in Congress

 

 

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is taking a risk by asking Congress to approve airstrikes against Syria.

 

The potential payoff is that he’ll win the kind of vote that signals broad popular support, giving him a stronger hand in facing Syrian President Bashar Assad and perhaps other dictators later in such regimes as Iran.

 

But there are military and political risks in the process.

 

Militarily, a desperate Assad could use the time while Obama waits for a Congressional debate to launch another chemical weapon attack, either in his own country or elsewhere in the Middle East, turning a civil war into a regional conflict.

 

Politically, Obama could emerge as a weakened leader, finding it even more difficult to push his proposals through Congress, including his top priorities of passing a budget and rewriting the nation’s immigration laws.

 

“Ultimately, I think he felt he was going to be a target from both the left and the right if he did it alone, and with few significant allies overseas, I don’t think he wanted to be isolated,†said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion at Marist College in New York. “This puts the ball in Congress’s court and they either join and he gets policy and political cover or they oppose.â€

 

Just days ago, British Prime Minister David Cameron suffered a stunning defeat when Parliament rejected participating in any attack on Syria. Obama believes Congress will approve the resolution, though the White House has not counted votes, according to senior administration officials speaking on the condition of anonymity as a matter of White House policy.

 

But, the officials also said Obama does not rule out acting on his own if lawmakers fail to act. If that happened, he would only further antagonize a divided Congress that already rejects many of his proposals.

 

The move to seek congressional approval is unusual for Obama, a president who has grown more comfortable bypassing Congress with executive actions on both foreign and domestic issues.

 

He delayed the deportation of young illegal immigrants when Congress wouldn’t agree. He ordered the federal government to research gun violence, which Congress had halted. He told the Justice Department to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act, deciding that the 1996 law defining marriage as between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. And in 2011, Obama received a slew of criticism for intervening in Libya without congressional approval. The House later rejected a resolution to support the mission, though the Senate passed it.

 

Obama knew last week that he needed to act in Syria. But it wasn’t until late Friday, officials said, that he decided to seek congressional approval -- something none of his aides had pushed. He felt that he should hold Congress accountable for the decision after more than 100 lawmakers sent a letter telling Obama he needed to seek authorization, they said. The officials said Obama didn’t want to hide from the debate.

 

John Geer, a co-director of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions at Vanderbilt University, said Obama could open himself up to criticism for bowing to Congress, but the flip side would be accusations “that he was hasty and not deliberative.â€

 

“There are three branches of government and Congress does have a say,†Geer said. “He’s not doing something unprecedented.â€

 

Foreign policy experts questioned the wisdom of waiting at least another week for Congress to return before the U.S. could act.

 

Michael Singh, a former director for Middle East affairs at the National Security Council under President George W. Bush who’s now with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a research center, said there could be repercussions

 

“You risk losing the momentum toward an effective military operation with a decision to go to Congress,†he said, adding it also gives opponents like Russia and Iran more time to protest, and for the Syrians to mount a counter offensive and make certain their air forces are better protected.

 

“Anytime you lose the element of surprise you’re reducing the efficacy of your military strike,†he added.

 

Administration officials downplayed any risk at the military level, saying they believed Obama’s strong words alone would prevent Assad or his allies from striking before the U.S. make a decision. One official simply called any future attack by Assad a “big mistake.â€

 

If Congress does approve the authorization, Obama could emerge stronger than before.

 

Anthony H. Cordesman, a military analyst with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said a successful military operation could boost Obama’s domestic agenda.

 

“It will be harder on the budget issues to come up against a president who is strong and successful,†he said. “A president who is strong and failed is a different story, and the president considers that.â€

 

 

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/08/31/200963/obama-risks-embarrassing-loss.html#.UiLLxECJpQd

[unit731]

Brilliant political move.

 

Flip side of all of this now will place the blood of the deceased gassed Syrians on the hands of those who vote no.

 

Some have been against any intervention in Syria. While others such as Senator Lindsey Graham and John McCain have been quite vocal - to jump right into the Syrian civil war.

Though Graham and McCain have flip flopped on this one. Graham and McCain were for it before they were against it.

 

Now the burden of these gassed dead Syrians will be on the conscience of each voting member of Congress.

 

Brilliant political move.

[Flashermac]

Obama's canny, democratic move

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23918088

[BelgianBoy]

Brilliant political move.

agreed, out of a magicians' hat !

[acockasian]

Obama's canny, democratic move

 

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk...canada-23918088

 

Mac,

 

Do a search for Michael Savage. He has a talk show in the US and a few years ago it was one of the more popular. Interviewed the Israeli PM many times on the radio and has been a staunch supporter of Israel. Even banned from the UK for talking about bombing Mecca.

 

For years he sounded like a Likud Party spokesman.

 

The rush to war for Israel in Syria is so blatantly obvious to him he said:

 

"Dr. MICHAEL SAVAGE

5th Ranked Radio Show Host in US , Author

 

On Syria: "Who’s behind this? Who’s pushing it? Well I suspect that it was Israel all along. "It’s Israel pushing the United States – and England and France and Italy and Germany — to strike Assad.

 

"What we know is true is that Israel is deeply involved in the war drum beating,..... Israel is "pulling Obama’s strings,"

 

"If you can get America and France and Italy and Germany to act for you and they're foolish enough to risk a third world war, why not? Put your own interests ahead of the world, what do you care?"

 

"I'm sick of this slavish worship of Israel. No, it's America first and Israel's the tail, not the dog. We're the dog, they're the tail. And I'm sick and tired of America being yanked around like we're the tail and they're the dog.....Whoever put him (Obama) in power wants their payback."

.

The Michael Savage Show

August 28, 2013"

[Flashermac]

Texas approves renaming slave trade as “Atlantic triangular tradeâ€

 

 

The Texas Board of Education’s conservative members went on the deep end. As the one of the largest buyers of textbooks in the country, the board changed and re-wrote the history books. Smaller states who have no textbook buying power would essentially have to read and study the new Texas version of history.

 

The changes are ideological and distort history, but conservative Board of Education argue they are correcting a long-standing liberal bias in education.

 

One of the most controversial changes is to deny the slave trade. The Texas Board of Education wants to refer to the slave trade as the “Atlantic triangular tradeâ€. What the he** is the “Atlantic triangular tradeâ€? What do you call the millions of African-Americans whose ancestors came here as slaves? Descendants of triangulates?

 

Capitalism can only be referred to as “free enterprise systemâ€, largely because of the negative connotations of the word “capitalismâ€. Personally I don’t think there is anything wrong with capitalism but they should consider teaching that unfettered greed can be bad for society.

 

The board has diminished Thomas Jefferson’s role in history because of his belief in the separation of church and state. Students also are required to learn that America’s founding documents were influenced by various intellectual traditions, “especially biblical law,†and principles laid down by Moses. From the tenor of the changes, the board approved the foundation for a fundamentalist Christian theocracy. It would be kinda like Iran, only it would be the right Christian kind. Social conservatives, creationists and religious fanatics who dominate the Texas State Board of Education want to redefine the Constitution as an explicitly Christian document and highlight the role of God in the establishment of the US.

 

The board approved dropping references to a landmark court case that barred schools from segregating Mexican American students. Joseph McCarthy’s campaign against suspected communists is now to be toned down. Like McCarthy was just a curious senator, right?

 

The amendments also cast the United Nations in a critical light, with students asked to evaluate whether the UN and its committees undermine US sovereignty – a tune for conservatives. Students would be required to learn about the “unintended consequences†of Title IX, affirmative action, and the Great Society, and would need to study conservative icons like Phyllis Schlafly, the Heritage Foundation, and the Moral Majority.

 

Maybe we should add that Hussein has weapons of mass destruction so we had to spend trillions on an unnecessary war in Iraq? Nah… that will never make it.

 

In fact, in the transcripts of the board discussions, they specifically did not want to include President George W. Bush’s controversial 2000 election outcome nor the election of the first African American President Barack Obama. On the other hand, the board added positive references to the Moral Majority, the National Rifle Association and the GOP’s Contract with America.

 

The board will not even listen to Rod Paige’s plea to reconsider the changes. Paige is the first African-American to serve as education secretary… President George “Dubya†Bush’s education secretary.

 

More than 1,200 historians and college faculty members from across the nation have signed a petition calling the standards academically shoddy.

 

The Texas Board of Education voted today his week and approved all of the changes.

 

Elections matter… even down ticket board of education seats. And the children of Texas will suffer for 10 years from this travesty.

 

 

http://blog.sfgate.com/ybenjamin/2010/05/21/texas-approves-renaming-slave-trade-as-atlantic-triangular-trade/

[unit731]

I thought I read and heard on all of Rupert Murdoch's outlets that it is the teachers unions that are running our schools. That any state or local board of education is powerless.

[Steve]

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/father-thrown-universal-studios-over-t-shirt-171900772.html

According to WPTV, a local news station in West Palm Beach, Fla., on Aug. 24, Christian Jarosz, his wife, Diana, their daughter, Sabrina, and her friend were stopped by security while they were headed to the Blue Man Group show inside the theme park. "They kicked me out because of my T-shirt," Christian told WPTV.

More on Yahoo: Abercrombie Apologizes: Retailer Meets With Teens to Address Controversy

The shirt in question: a navy blue T with the word "Police" and underneath, "Street Crime Unit." Christian is not a police officer, but his brother, a New York cop, had given him the shirt as a gift. Although Christian says he has previously worn the shirt to Disney World as well as to other theme parks, officers stopped him to say he could not wear the shirt in the park.

The family asked to see the policy in writing and questioned the order. They also offered to have the security officers follow them to Billabong, a clothing store inside the park, so they could buy another T-shirt. However, more security officers showed up and told Christian not to bother buying another shirt because he needed to leave the park.

[Steve]

I'm a Zionist. I believe in the state of Israel. I completely understand and accept some of the machinations that came about to statehood. Not white washing it. America has its own history as well as how we displaced millions of Indians to get the 48 continental states, Alaska and Hawaii notwithstanding.

However, what I don't like and think its borderline treasonous is having support of israel as a pre-requisite to become President. WTF? Its an AMERICAN election. Friends and foes change in the political-global landscape. 60 some odd years ago Germany and Japan were enemies. 25 years ago, Poland and a lot of the soviet bloc countries were enemies and are not only friends but part of the EU in some instances.

America shouldn't beholden to a G*d damn country. Sh*t can change. Lets be frank. Its about AIPAC, Florida votes and the number of Americans Jews who frankly, put Israel above America at times. You're a god damn American first and foremost. My ancestors came from Africa. I have a soft spot for the place, but f*ck that, I'm an American first. Same with Italian Americans, Irish Americans, and all ther hyphenated Americans. You can't criticize Israel and there is a lot to be critical over without being some sort of anti-semite. Its bullsh*t. There are certain things you can't say regarding a wide variety of groups. Gays, Blacks, Women, etc. There are gray lines but what those groups have in common is that its domestic, internal, cultural sh*t. Its not about another country and putting that country's needs ahead of our own. F*CK THAT! Sorry, hate to put it any other way. If we f*ck up, our allies can tell us privately or whatever. When our allies/friends f*ck up, we should be able to let them know as well. Hate to say it in such a plain, street corner manner but it needs to be said. No matter what our internal issues here, as I said before, we are stuck with each other. Work it out. But this senstivity when it comes to Israel to the point where politicians are signing statements of support for another country (remember, Chuck Hagel wouldn't sign it). WTF?! Any eleted U.S. politician that signs any thing that basically puts another country over our own needs to get the f*ck out. Sorry. I don't care if its England or Canada. Our close friends, its about us. If we do our jobs right, be fair, be just internationaly, our friends have nothing to worry about. And the Americans in AIPAC and other groups who campaign on behalf of another country? GET THE F*CK OUT. Again, I'm saying this as a Zionist. Raised by parents in a church that preached about the state of Israel being God's will (I know...I know... that's another topic for another day). But I separate my religoius views from my duty to the nation.

I didn't even know what anti-semitism was until I was bussed to a suburban school. I remember when a white classmate made a reference to another guy about his being Jewish. I am thinking (and saying to this guy), You're both white?! Where I come from there ain't no friggin' difference. It boggled my mind at the time. Stil does actually. Because I never heard of that stuff. Still don't care about a person's religion or lack of one. We've been around long enough to know you just know cool people to be around and not cool people. Religion, color, etc. is as important as your favorite color. Its a non issue.

 

Okay, rant over. Sorry. Lost it for a minute.

[unit731]

The story of Daniel Somers.

 

"In the full letter, which can be found to the left, Somers explains that his self-termination was “a mercy killing†to free him from a tortured soul and broken body. Emotionally catatonic, joy and sorrow was not possible for him. He longed for the freedom and peace death offered."

 

 

LINK