Sing Along: Ain’t No Fence High Enough by The Supremes
The Supremes gave permission for Trump to use defense department money to build the wall.
The court’s five conservative justices gave the administration the greenlight to begin work on four contracts it has awarded using Defense Department money. Funding for the projects had been frozen by lower courts while a lawsuit over the money proceeded. The court’s four liberal justices wouldn’t have allowed construction to start.
Oh yeah, he’s also starting a war with defense department funds.
‘Unprecedented, Wasteful, and Obscene’: House Approves $1.48 Trillion Pentagon Budget
None of these people, on either side, can say no.
In a bipartisan deal that one anti-war critic said demonstrates how thoroughly “broken and captured Washington is by the Pentagon,” 219 House Democrats and 65 Republicans on Thursday voted to approve a budget agreement that includes $1.48 trillion in military spending over the next two years.
Just 16 Democrats—including Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)—voted against the two-year, $2.7 trillion budget agreement. Largely due to expressed concerns about the deficit, 132 Republicans and Rep. Justin Amash (I-Mich.) also voted no.
The final vote was 284-149. (See the full roll call.)
“For the love of god, can we all stop pretending like this is somehow anything other than a continued orgy of unprecedented, wasteful, and obscene spending at the Pentagon.” —Stephen Miles, Win Without War
The House passage of the budget deal, which President Donald Trump quickly applauded on Twitter as a victory for the military, comes after the Congressional Progressive Caucus threatened in April to tank the measure in opposition to its out-of-control Pentagon outlays.
But most of the Progressive Caucus voted for the agreement on Thursday, pointing to increases in domestic spending.
“It’s not a perfect deal by any means,” Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chairs of the Progressive Caucus, said in a statement ahead of the vote.
“This deal does not address the bloated Pentagon budget, but it does begin to close the gap in funding for families, by allocating more new non-defense spending than defense spending for the first time in many years.”
Stephen Miles, executive director of Win Without War, took issue with the latter claim in a series of tweets Thursday.
“You’re no doubt hearing a lot of crowing from Democrats about how the deal they struck with Trump gives more money to ‘non-defense’ spending than to ‘defense,'” Miles wrote.
“Let’s be clear that by every measure, save the one they’re using, that’s simply not true.”
“Under this deal, the Pentagon and its affiliated programs will get $1.48 trillion over the next two years. The entire rest of gov’t, including the VA btw, will get $1.30 trillion. That’s $178.6 billion more for the Pentagon than the whole rest of gov’t,” Miles wrote.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/07/26/unprecedented-wasteful-and-obscene-house-approves-148-trillion-pentagon-budget
1this is my shocked look.
2so low
I can’t get over it
3Today the Court has repeated the most vile and inhumane decision-just as they did with the Japanese Americans in WWII, They have chosen to be controlled by fear and unparalleled
4aggression by the executive branch against all other branches of our government to turn our beloved country into the very authoritative government the founding fathers created the separation from. Any fool who does not understand the this asswipe will never go back to NY at the end of his term will be faced with the dishonor and shame put upon this country-those who refuse to admit the dismantling of our three distinct branches of government, will forever be branded fools. And eventually when the lemmings are also branded undesirable, there will be no one who will stand for them, for they are throwing all but white males under the bus. This administration and this court have made a farce of the Bill of Rights. May their children and grandchildren keep thrice the damage they have inflicted upon humanity today.
And to pretend that this defense spending will help the men and women who serve and their families????? I’ve got some friends with long and dreadful stories of the damage their own government did to them. Susan, my apologies to Momma should I have used language unbecoming of my education in Criminal Justice, both my Bachelor’s and my Master’s. I am forever grateful that my constitutional law professor required that we read every word of every ruling, and every word of each separate version of agreement. We started with the rulings before Miranda, so it was quite an extensive backdrop to the vile ugly decisions made today. Not to mention the required fun of reading each and every dissent and understanding the point of law, often multiple points of the law, and how they worked together. It has served me well to never listen to the bubbleheads on television misrepresent the rulings-on any and all sides. I continue to beg people to read all of the statements made by the justices. I had great hope that John Roberts fancied his legacy to be greater than Renquist’s. Today he has sold his soul and any hope of a legacy. (Oops, to long winded tonight, my bad)
We really ought to reduce the defense budget by the $21 trillion the Inspector General discovered was unaccounted for….
5Textbook. The Nazis had control of the Judiciary enabling them to take control of everything.
6If any government agency can spare the funds, it is the Pentagon. Albeit directly reducing their budget to manageable proportions would be the preferable course of action. Apparently Betsy DeVile has already strip mined everything in the education budget and transferred those funds to herself and her cronies. Donnie and his maladministration kicking off yet another “infrastructure week” with his nightmare of a useless wall totally blows.
Two years. Actually more than two years we’ve been waiting for Congress to find its conscience and a facsimile of a spine to halt IQ4.5. Now more than ever let’s hope the House Judiciary committee puts a screeching halt to Donnie before SCROTUS pounds the final nail into the corpse of our little democracy.
7As i told someone else not that long ago, yeah, he may eventually get the $$ but there is a lot more involved in such a building project than he can ever imagine!
8This deal of taking pence from Peter to pay Paul is an old gig. It has been done before by various congress critters in this way: when a government “project” has been allocated money but has not spent it by a certain time, it is fair game for any congress critter who can take it and use it for his/her pet project to get off the ground.
After all, such $$ sitting in someone’s “project” isn’t drawing any dollar interest like a bank account, so why not use it?
Will a set-back be required for the wall? If so, are we then not ceding that area to Mexico? With a set-back, is a person on American soil when standing next to the wall, but “outside” the wall?
Looks to me like Trump wants to give some of our land to Mexico.
9As I understand this decision, Roberts et. al. are allowing tRump to use the money, while deferring judgement on the constitutionality of it.
I propose the money, if spent unconstitutionlly, be repaid out of the SCOTUS budget.
10Unless they have already done the surveying and engineering Trump won’t see a wall during his tenure. Bet it stop no one.
True story. Nephew is a new home construction supervisor down on the Baja, has been for 30 years. A young employee decided to enter the USA without papers. The first job he got was on tone of hose wall examples.
11Mexico isn’t paying for the wall, military families are.
12I don’t know how many dozens of years of ebb and flow of deficit spending- good, deficit spending- evil, polemics we have lived through.
We do know how the terms start to percolate up on the calendar like Pay-go (Pelosi Dems) or Sequester (Moscow Mitch) while the gluttonous MIC, (read: Jabba the Hut) continues devouring everything around it unabated.
But we can always tell when its time to start cutting FDR’s minimal “entitlements” programs for the poor and passing huge cash entitlements for corporations bankers and billionaires.
13@Sam in Superior #12
14considering the our cut rate merc’s overwhelmingly voted for this demented fool and his gang of crooks just as they voted for a war monger in 2000 it is only fair they suffer for their stupidity.
The hypocrisy is amazing.
In 2000 and 2004 they voted for a candinate determined to create more war and suffering and then they whine like widdle babies when the people they are trying to murder fight back.
Just as today they voted for this idiot and now are whining because he is as stupid as they are.
As far as I am concerned give the wall the entire housing allowance for the military and let the poor widdle boys and girls live in tents with their family.
Or better yet just house them in the same facilities where we are abusing immigrants under the same conditions and over crowding.
Let our cut rate merc’s actually deal with what they cheer so loudly.
No sympathy for cut rate merc’s dishonoring our country.
K @14
Try as I might, I can’t think of a way I could agree with you less.
15A local news station has been reporting, for quite some time, on the dreadful conditions in some Military housing. Stuff like mold, leaky pipes and the attendant problems. As somebody who once lived in Military housing (albeit a long time ago), I am just shocked by this. Of course, the whole operation has been privatized by for-profit companies. Who knew?
The money for this $(&%#&-ing wall is coming out of the funds that had been earmarked to fix those housing problems. Once again, Dolt 45 is throwing military families under the bus.
16K@14, let’s not have another Calley and Medina show trial. Removing the low hanging fruit of the budding young sociopaths eager to join the better paid psychopaths run by Eric Prince is easy. Get rid of the bloated flag rankers like Petraeus and Kelly who chum that environment. Same with ICE, border security, etc. They’re doing what they’re trained to do, so remove the trainers and the policy makers to solve the problems.
17@Jane&PKM#17
18I agre with your appraisal of the 5th rate officers looking to use “military” obsequious to cover up their incompetence
First step is to totally disallow the Nuremberg defense of war crimes.
Empower those who still have any ethics with the right to refuse illegal orders and show those without any ethics that just obeying illegal orders that the result will be a tour at Leavenworth.
Start with enforcing posse comitus with court marshals and dishonorable discharges for any at the border
K, “Empower those who still have any ethics with the right to refuse illegal orders and show those without any ethics that just obeying illegal orders that the result will be a tour at Leavenworth.” The power to disobey an unlawful order has always been in the UCMJ. Again, we’re back to training. Without a thorough (functional) understanding of the UCMJ, it would be impossible for any officer to discern a legal from an unlawful order. There are no “ethics” possible without knowing your shit.
19The Never-Right Wing was always whining about activist judges when various courts upheld the Constitution against their pet ‘laws’. I would say that 5 SC justices overturning the Constitution is about as activist as any NRW fool will ever see. But their side won so they will cheer this time.
20K, I don’t read at reddit, but there seems to be a group of keyboard commandos some of the sub groups who probably have never served spreading misinformation. One of the reasons we don’t have a coup every other day is civilian control of the military. So as far as “Start with enforcing posse comitus with court marshals and dishonorable discharges for any at the border” begin with the White House where the directives originate. Then follow down through the chain of command of those issuing and implementing the orders from the top. Would you send Dick Cheney to The Hague or some hapless E-1?
21@Jane &PKM
22I agree that the rot starts at the head. I also understand that the UCMJ does place an obligation to disobey illegal orders (such as invasion of Iraq)
Hence proving the lie of having the most professional military ever since they did fall over themselves to torture, abuse and murder innocents.
But ever since we gave up a citizen military and adopted force of cut rate merc’s who rather then obeying the UCMJ just obeyed higher ranks no matter how foul the orders.
Unfortunately we have proof that the rot has descended from the top right to the lowest levels.
Point ignored was that that these fools voted for the twit when he was conspicuously a war monger and then whining when the people they were torturing and murdering had the audacity to fight back.
23Now they are whining that the idiots they supported and voted for are making them share some of the burden of the incompetence they voted for and endorsed
It would be nice if our cut rate merc’s would take a small modicum of responsibility versus continuing to get a free ride and demanding complete innocence for their ongoing criminal behavior
K, seriously, who is “we” and what’s the “proof”? I won’t repeat the name of the young lady who was excoriated for Abu Ghraib, except to say that she is probably quite capable of becoming an empathetic health care worker or any number of positive outcomes. Those who formed the policies and issued the orders? That’s willful abuse of power and an assortment of crimes under the UCMJ. My personal scourge from that time was the general who claimed she was prevented from visiting/inspecting her facilities. WTF?
Careful what you wish for. That “citizen military” is how the wingnuts are misinterpreting the 2nd Amendment; whatever name(s) they are calling themselves like ‘sovereign’ citizens. That should not be confused with civilian control of the military where a President is CIC rather than the highest ranking general. That worked until IQ4.5. Note where it broke down – at the top with the generals. E-0s don’t pick either their trainers nor the training manuals.
24K, @23 when you reference “cut rate mercs” who do you mean, specifically? That almost sounds eerily familiar to a right wing “personal responsibility” meme that based on all your past comments is not a place you’d go.
“just following orders” didn’t work out so well as a defense at Nuremburg post WWII. Those encouraging that sort of behavior from their troops need to be “retired.” Maybe post Petraeus it became fashionable to do whatever one pleases if one wears the stars.
25Looking for someone to hang? Try John Cornelio, until IQ4.5’s neck becomes available.
“John Cornelio, spokesperson for the U.S. military’s Northern Command, said that interaction between the troops and migrants “is limited as much as possible.”
“At the Donna facility specifically,” Cornelio said, “unarmed military personnel monitor the migrants for signs of medical distress, possibility for unrest, unusual behavior and unresponsiveness. In the event of a medical emergency or other reportable event, our military personnel immediately notify CBP personnel on-site who respond to the incident or event in question.”
“Monitoring the wellness of migrants is not a law enforcement function, and this activity has been reviewed by our legal staff to ensure compliance with the Posse Comitatus Act and applicable law. CBP personnel are always present to provide force protection, physical security and perform their law enforcement duties.”
26@Jane&PKM
271) Citizen military is one with draft. Where people are willing to blow the whistle on criminal bosses without worrying about putting a crimp in their career
2) cut rate merc’s are the morally bankrupt that, like the girls from old Andrew sisters song, who are simply working for the yankee dollar.
3) “We” are the citizens of the US who are paying for these criminals. “Proof” is the willingness to engage in torture, inflicting communal punishment, violate the Geneva rules, engage in wars of conquest, use the Nuremberg defense to avoid responsibility, protect those who do and generally be a subservient to morally bankrupt leaders who they choose to lead them (voted for)
4) With the paid for hacks this admin has hired they would probably justify demented Donnie shooting somebody on 5th ave in the middle of the day so any “legal” opinions from this admin is worthless.
5) I agree that the orders for the crimes comes from the top but just as a paid for murderer is held responsible for pulling the trigger as well as those who hired them so should those criminals who “ just obey orders” to engage in wars of conquest
6) The criminals from abu ghraid should be doing hard time or better yet be given over to the Iraqi justice system. Just as senior rank are not above the law neither are lower ranks immune from responsibility because of their mindless obedience.
K, we cannot simply toss about definitions at random. The military is defined by laws based on the US Constitution. Prostitutes are tried for the crime of “solicitation” because they allegedly encourage an act which is illegal. Not because if they happen to be high price ‘escorts’ they can afford a solicitor.
28What about the West Point graduate who sword an oath as lodges to not “lie cheat, or steal, nor abide those that do?” When we’re they relieved of this path allowing them to take orders from a man who lies, cheats, and steals?
29@Jane & PKM#28
1) your example of prostitutes depends on what jurisdiction and era. Nevada it is legal. Wallace Idaho was legal for a long time. But what I was talking about is people who’se motivation is simply money and the chance to engage in murder and destruction with out ever being held responsible case in point was the recent case of SEAL Gallagher where he got a slap on the wrist for the murder of a prisoner. This was not the behavior of a “military” but rather of merc’s with a license to kill.
2) In history, from the roman Praetorian guard, whenever a military is separated from the general populace by self selection, by and of murderers and other moral degenerates, being allowed to elevate themselves above the body politic the result is never good.
Be it using force (the only tool they revel in) to select compliant “rulers” they accelerate the collapse of the countries they claim to serve.
Does anybody really beleive that the misguided and criminal invasion of Iraq could have happened with a draftee force?
Or that we would still be in afghanistan after more then a decade with a draftee force drawn from the general populace?
So it is today the cut rate merc’s the US has who first help to select complaint war mongers that reward the merc’s with an almost unlimited budget while absolveing them of any responsibility for their actions.
So no sympathy when those who these baby merc’s over whelmingly voted for happen to step on their toes.
Let them, and their families, live in the same conditions they impose upon others.
Turnabout is fair play.
Classic example of military immunity was the case of Sgt. Paine where not only did senior officers refuse direct orders, from the President, to reinstate him but were allowed to get their final rank boost and retire with undeserved honor. And it has only gone downhill since.
http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19920814&slug=1507393
30K, whether we speak of conscription when the Brits were kidnapping colonists to serve on ships or the selective service system commonly known as the draft, the military has never been perfect. But, it is not a “civilian” force. Those GIs sign a contract to become government issue waiving numerous rights enjoyed by civilians. Think Plato said it best centuries ago in The Republic: “the military are the dogs of society.” Pithy guy he also said something about “kids today.”
Or, as Ted@29 stated, a cadet’s oath. And, that cadet signed an enlistment contract before entering the Academy. 3 ways to become an officer: ROT-C, Ring Knocker Academy or 90 day wonder school. All under contract. 2 ways out. Fill the terms of the contract or die trying. There are less than honorable discharges, dishonorable discharges and specific administrative discharges, but then we’d be quibbling to say a military enlistment is the same a being a civilian.
What Donnie has done is wrong. What John Cornelio said defending Donnie’s directive is wrong. But before we prosecute E-1s, please let’s go after those responsible the generals in that 5 sided puzzle palace, NorCom, Congress, and those on SCROTUS who really screwed the pooch.
31ICYMI and are planning a trip to Vegas. Prostitution is not legal in all of Nevada. It’s legal in a few counties. Clark County where Vegas is located, not legal. Go figure. But it explains all that traffic on NV-160 from Vegas to Pahrump.
32k:
33The majority of the people in the military defending us bear no resemblance to the “cut rate mercs” in your idiotic comments.
Sorry J J
k
You’re a troll.
I don’t care if you were the quarterback for Ohio State.
You shit on everyday American patriots.
And oddly enough, your comments fit Right in with the narrative projected by right wing douchebag media .
@P.P. #33
34I never played football for Ohio state or any one else hence no CTE damage.
Those baby merc’s are not defending me rather they are picking my pocket for their toys and benefits.
I do not consider murderers engaged in wars of conquest and hiding behind the nuremberg defense as being patriots.
The right wing narrative is about how noble the military is not calling them out for their sins.
Nor does the right wing narrative feel any member of the military should be held responsible for murdering any of the “others” such as gallagher murdering Iraqi prisoner.
Equally the right wing narrative rejoices in the military on the border.
Remember the draftee army won WW II, WW I while the “profesional military with its total lack of responsibility are still bogged down in Afghanistan for over a decade.
Rather then addressing baseless personal insults with no foundation please address the issues I raised.
Was seal team 7 member gallagher one of those “patriots” that you feel I am insulting?
Or the guards at abu ghraib?
Or those that conducted water boarding?
If so we do disagree.
I will give you that Chelsea Manning and Lt. Ehren Watada, as examples, are true patriots who had served, so there are exceptions but the military chased them out.
Heaven forbid if some one with principles be allowed into the military.
K, by your own definitions I was a mistake. A mistake with two honorable discharges, who was never naïve to the responsibilities outlined in both the US Constitution and the UCMJ and would swear the oath again to follow a civilian CIC like Barack Obama, or even Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. Here’s the thing about the military civilian relationship, it doesn’t require military experience to be a good leader; examples Obama and Clinton.
So as I grasp my 2 honorable discharges in my warm sort of white hands, this I state with clear conscience. If still serving and under the current Toddler-in-Thief I would consider the contract broken and trampled upon by IQ4.5. Complicit with him are Congress, certain flag officers, and members of SCROTUS.
However, would I take my discontent to the level of coup you suggest? No. I would resign my commission. That is what an officer and a gentleman does. I’m no Robert E. Lee.
35Jane & PKM:
36I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.
Thank you for your service.
@Jane & PKM# 35
37I do not think you were a “mistake” I do believe you, as all of us, have made mistakes.
I have not nor can I think of any comment suggesting a coup. What I was suggesting is that the refusal to obey illegal orders not by direct action but more by inaction.
More along the old question of What If They Started a War and No One Showed Up?
I agree with your assessment of the dishonorable behavior and responsibility of the higher ranks. Nor do I in any way absolve them of any responsibility.
Equally so when we are repeatedly told that the US has the most “professional” military ever that all ranks ( especially from non-coms up) equally have a responsibility to refuse illegal orders and not be allowed to hide behind the skirts of the higher ranks by invoking the nuremberg defense.
Lee and his ilk were traitors completely with out honor and yet one finds military bases named after these turncoats.
I appreciate your adherence to civilian command but following the orders of an questionably appointed president pushing for an illegal war of conquest, based upon conspicuous lies against a country that posed no immediate or imminent threat is questionable.
Especially when the conduct of that military adventure involved officially sanctioned torture, the shredding of the Geneva rules, St Augustines’s definition of a “just war” and common human decency all the while hiding behind the nuremberg defense is unacceptable.
That is when the contract was broken.
There were true patriotic heroes such as Lt. Ehren Watada or Pablo Paredes and others who did not fail their oaths (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Iraq_War_resisters ) who based their refusal upon the grounds you cited of the contract having been broken when an order to participate in an illegal war was issued.
But getting back to the original point.
If a group of people, such as the military, endorse, support and with their votes ensconce into power and then those in power implement the inhumane policies they had proposed during the election and that implementation steps on the toes of the military by what right can they claim persecuted status when they support those that are doing the persecution?
The military voted for demented donnie with a large majority (https://www.militarytimes.com/news/2016/05/09/military-times-survey-troops-prefer-trump-to-clinton-by-a-huge-margin/).
They helped create the issues and problems but rather then take responsibility they wish to claim victim status for what they have helped wrought.
By their own actions shouldn’t have they not given up the right to whine when the policies of those they voted for touch upon their own lives?
The military overwhelmingly support the twit with his known desire to start a war, legal or not. But then the military tried to claim victim status when the Iraqi’s didn’t just roll over for them.
My view of the military, which I believe is an echo of the founding fathers aversion to a permanent force, is that like insulin, curare or opioids, or other “poison’s”, in some cases one is necessary but the elevation of this social poison to unquestionable place of honor must be opposed, see Eisenhower’s warning on military/industrial complex.
The very necessary authoritarian and strict hierarchal nature of a military with its mandate of force, destruction, death and violence is inherently toxic to a civil society.
The military, like trash collectors or the Ed Norton’s of the world (The Honeymooners), is an ugly necessary job and like garbagemen or sewer workers deserve respect for doing it.
But with the human preference of using the tools one is familiar ( carpenter-hammer, military-violence and death) society should be wary of allowing them to infiltrate the halls of power and pervert the public policy in favor of their familiar tools.
K, gotta give you props for the comedic irony of your attempt to purvey military history to a zipper suited sun god. But please, stand by your original definition of mistake. I love it as a graphic for a t-shirt to add to my collection. Keep the wings level and true!
38@Jane & PKM #38
“…gotta give you props for the comedic irony of your attempt to purvey military history to a zipper suited sun god” ???
39Unaware of reference.
Serendipitous reference from me that I was unaware of making.
Some role Art Carney played?
K, if you knew 1 1/100th of what you think you know about the military, you’d know that a zipper suited sun god is a pilot.
Serendipity or zip-a-dee-doo-dah, have a great evening rereading your comments. KJ and Jack deserve better than dinner and a bedtime story tonight. We country boys are ready to play some baseball on a beautiful summer afternoon followed by a dip in the creek. Climbing high into the sun!
40And if you had 1/100th the common courtesy of civil society you would not be so free with your baseless insults.
41Glad I was able to pay for you to play with expensive toys (with taxes) so you could award yourself a self aggrendizing title that belongs in the funny pages.
Another sucessful pilot like duke cunningham.
@Jane & PKM # 40
Upton Sinclair
“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”
Pretty much explains your positions. ( or pension)
42K, you are missing our agreement here. It’s a direction of flow thing. The “directive” came from IQ4.5. I totally agree that every general, down through the company ranks and every NCO involved has a duty to turn that order around. My point remains that the average E-1 on the ground should never be placed in this position. Ever. Nor in this situation should they be the ones punished when the failures come from the top. Someone at NorCom really screwed the pooch and should be the topic of our ire, until this travesty is ended.
Sorry if you felt insulted, K. My apologies for thinking that explaining the chain of command would clear the confusion. BTW The quotes are from the Wild Blue Yonder (USAF). Guess esprit de corps really doesn’t translate. And really “zipper suited sun god” is a joke; self deprecating humor, if you will.
43