An interesting article in today’s Washington Post. I have noticed that some leftists still think that Mother Russia is run by socialists. No, it is a fascist authoritarian country run by billionaire oligarchs. Putin is probably the richest man in the world.
Now Russia has become the ideal nation to alt-right conservatives, who see it as a paradise of White, Christian power. Strange, isn’t it? Where is Joe McCarthy buried? There must be a lot of turning going on in his grave.
Christian Caryl, an opinion writer for the WaPo, wrote:
In the 1920s, ’30s and ’40s, many American leftists — including quite a few members of the Democratic Party — regarded the Soviet Union through a pink-tinted filter of earnestly held ideals. The U.S.S.R. was a “socialist paradise,” a place run by gruff but honest workers who were doing away with the economic and political injustices that plagued the United States.
The appeal of this vision was so powerful that many who clung to it had trouble confronting the brutal realities of the Soviet system. True believers dismissed the reports of famines, purges and concentration camps as capitalist propaganda, and scorned those who did the reporting as “Whites” or “reactionaries” or even “fascists” — in outright denial that many who first began to speak out about their experiences of Stalinism were ex-communists or socialists themselves.
I was reminded of those reality-averse leftists this weekend, when I saw a photo that was making the rounds on the Internet. The photo showed two older American men wearing identical T-shirts with the slogan “I’d rather be a Russian than Democrat.” Both were clearly pleased with themselves — they were clearly enjoying the feeling of trolling their presumed liberal opponents.
Yet, their prank still tells you a lot. It’s a reflection of the extent to which the Republican Party has now swung behind President Trump’s extraordinary Russophilia.
The trend isn’t new, of course. For years we’ve seen American conservatives cultivating ties with Russian counterparts who seem to embody all the cool things they can’t get at home: contempt for “political correctness,” the unapologetic defense of “Christian values” and rule by a macho strongman who sneers at journalists, gays and liberal snowflakes of all varieties.
The American right is mistaken, however, when it idealizes Putin as a defender of “conservative values.” Whatever values Putin has are entirely situational — he’ll do whatever it takes to boost Russia’s power and his own (because the two are intertwined). And clueless Republicans have given him a wonderful opening to exploit.
Take the case of Maria Butina, the alleged Russian agent who cultivated contacts with the National Rifle Association as a supposed “gun rights activist” from Siberia. Had anyone at the NRA troubled to ask, that person could have easily learned that her country has strict gun-control policies. Kremlin officials would never tolerate a genuine grass-roots challenge to that principle. But they do know what Republicans want to hear.
American evangelicals who come to Russia seeking allies in the fight against unbelief have proven equally gullible. Their official interlocutor, the Russian Orthodox Church, had a long history of collaboration with the Soviet regime, one that extends into the present. The church is less a religious community than an arm of the state, which repays that loyalty by making life hard for potential rivals. Putin would never allow evangelical Protestants or Catholics to compete in a free marketplace of religious ideas. The fact that Russian authorities have explicitly banned Jehovah’s Witnesses effectively puts the lie to any claims that Russia cares about “Christian values.” (And don’t look now — but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo seems to agree.)
Russian religious leaders love telling their American counterparts — such as star Trump supporter Franklin Graham — how much they hate the idolatry and decadence of the modern age. Yet, the stirring sermons never seem to have much of an effect on Russia’s sky-high levels of corruption, the ubiquity of drugs and prostitution (allegedly ably abetted by the police, who run lucrative protection rackets), or the prevalence of abortion, which remains the Kremlin’s favored method of birth control. That’s a view shared by Putin, by the way — though I doubt that many Republicans are aware. At 480 abortions per 1,000 live births, Russia’s rate is more than twice as high as that of the godless United States.
I’ve even heard some especially ill-informed conservatives try to argue that Russia is a paragon of the free market — even though anyone who knows about the country’s economy can tell you that its leading business tycoons enjoy their positions at the mercy of Putin. Those who tout Russia’s low income-tax rates should keep in mind that the tax service is one of the Kremlin’s most effective tools for keeping its political rivals in line.
And what about those white nationalists such as Richard Spencer, who like to praise Russia for its alleged success at remaining the “sole white power in the world”? Actually, a visit to just about any provincial town would show idiots like him a far more complicated reality, shaped by large-scale immigration from the majority-Muslim republics of the former Soviet Union. In that respect, indeed, even authoritarian Russia is wrestling with exactly the same globalizing forces that confront western Europe or the United States.
In short, the modern-day Republican romance with Russia has little to do with reality and everything to do self-delusion — making them oddly similar to those 20th-century leftists who succumbed to the fairy tales of Stalinism. You would think that Trump and his supporters would at least have the advantage of being able to learn from history. No such luck, apparently.
“No, it is a fascist authoritarian country run by billionaire oligarchs. Putin is probably the richest man in the world.” Probably the truest remarks you have ever written. Anyone who thinks Russia is a “Socialist” state today is simply out of date. It was true but it is what the Spanish call una verdad pocha (a faded truth that time has now made false). When student ask me what Russia is today I say “it is a gangster state a la Gangland Chicago on steroids. And just as murderous.”
Putin doesn’t limit his murderous killings to those only in Russia. And that dump is “in love” with Putin and his $$$$$$ 🤑🤑🤑🤑🤑.
Statistics[edit] Wikipedia…
Despite a significant reduction in the abortion to birth ratio since the mid-1990s, the countries of the former Soviet Union maintain the highest rate of abortions in the world. In 2001, 1.31 million children were born in Russia, while 2.11 million abortions were performed.[34] In 2005, 1.6 million abortions were registered in Russia;[4] 20% of these involved girls under the age of 18.[35] Official statistics put the number at 989,000 in 2011.[4]
As of 2010, the abortion rate was 37.4 abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44 years, the highest of any country reported in UN data.[2]
Abortion statistics were considered state secrets in the Soviet Union until the end of the 1980s.[36] During this period, the USSR had one of the highest abortion rates in the world. The abortion rate in the USSR peaked in 1965, when 5.5 million abortions were performed, the highest number in Russia’s history. Nevertheless, the legalization of abortion did not fully eliminate criminal abortions. [E.A. Sadvokasova]
In Russia, abortion is considered a form of birth control and is very common
Diane, do you think this is needed? Have you read about this matter, and situation? I should of sent you this before than anyone in that blog. Sorry and take care.
Click to access openletter_to_pchr_and_fedotov_en5064.pdf
https://www.newsweek.com/2018/06/01/jehovahs-witnesses-939860.html?amp=1
An all purpose sentence in the final paragraph: “In short, the modern-day Republican romance with [fill in the blank] has little to do with reality and everything to do self-delusion.”
I disagree. It isn’t “self-delusion” that has led the right wing to adore Putin. It is self-interest. They are greedy and they would never have embraced Russia if the Russians weren’t pouring money into their own bank accounts.
There have always been people who would say and do anything — regardless of who gets hurt, including children — if their bank accounts grow exponentially if they agree.
Most of the members of DFER are like this. And those so-called “Christians” embracing Putin are doing it because it is profitable, period. Those so-called “Christians” would attack the Pope — and they do — while defending Putin and the reason is not self-delusion. it is pure and unadulterated greed without one iota of morality. No different from those in the ed reform business like Arne Duncan who are happy to throw the most vulnerable children under buses if it grows their personal bank account.
It is hilarious that 2nd Amendment zealots love Russia. Putin would never in a million years allow an armed populace.
Trump and his supporters can’t possibly learn from history when they do not know it, or even want to. Trump loves the uneducated, especially as he is one.
I am married to a Russian. I speak Russian. I have travelled extensively in Russia. My wife is leaving for a visit with her parents in Moscow, next week. I have Putin’s number, and so does my wife. Putin is a murderous KGB thug. Russia is a thugocracy. The nation is thoroughly corrupt. Most Russians have resigned themselves to the rule of this evil man.
I am conservative on most issues. I abhor the current government of my wife’s native country. No serious person looks to that nation as an example, other than an example of a disaster.
BTW- I sincerely doubt that Putin is the wealthiest person in the world. He has his share of loot, no doubt.
There have been many reports in the media that Putin is the richest man in the world. He decides which of his cronies may be a billionaire, and if they cross him, he throws them into hail, and takes away their money.
Frankly, Charles, I don’t care who you are married to.
Here you go, Charles, from Fortune magazine:
http://fortune.com/2017/07/29/vladimir-putin-russia-jeff-bezos-bill-gates-worlds-richest-man/
Putin arrested the richest man in Russia, worth $15 Billion, stripped him of his assets and jailed him.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Khodorkovsky
Putin is a fascist thug.
Dearest Dr. Ravitch:
That is a reality for RICH people who are without guns and gang members, but live in a communist country.
Richard Mercer might know this in theory. However, he might think that he is invincible and fully proof from cruelty and cunning from communist authority.
I bet you that Bill Gates, R. Mercer, Trump, and all their supporters, followers dare to settle in Russia. Why do they try to transform America to be Russia and China? They should settle and live in Russia or China or North Korea for 10 years first so that their children and grand children can love them more…ha ha ha.
Have they ever thought or questioned why too many communist educated scholars escape their homeland? Here is the answer in your thread:
[start paragraph]
…the brutal realities of the Soviet system. True believers dismissed
the reports of famines, purges and concentration camps as capitalist propaganda,
and scorned
those who did the reporting as “Whites” or “reactionaries” or even “fascists”
— in outright denial that many who first began to speak out about their experiences of Stalinism were ex-communists or socialists themselves.
[end paragraph]
In short, the ONLY difference between being civilized and being savage is the kindness, the mutual caring for one to another between or among all living sentient beings. Respectfully yours, May.
I do not usually agree with the editorials in the WashPost. But here is an exception. see
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/putin-is-afraid-of-one-thing-make-him-think-it-could-happen/2018/08/07/edbe08b4-998b-11e8-b60b-1c897f17e185_story.html?wpisrc=nl_az_most&wpmk=1
It does not matter whom I married. But, I have in-laws back in Russia. If the country goes into a revolution or some other political instability, I may have to get them out of the country. I watch Russian TV news, and I have an insight into that country that most people do not.
Putin probably has many billions stashed away in his Swiss bank accounts. He loots his own country, and his cronies with equal enthusiasm. What a scumbag.
Charles, your relatives are of zero interest to me. They are not a source of information to anyone but you.
Charles,
When you get that family of yours out of Russia at a moment’s notice, you wouldn’t want them to come to this country where you think refugee children should be separated from their parents, if it’s the law, would you?
But, even if you illegally bought them papers, or, they got in because they are White, what makes you think the US is stable, given that it is at the level of concentrated wealth that has historically provoked power upheavals?
I worked in a community which served descendants of families that escaped before the revolution. They own a foundation which brought over persecuted people from time to time. In the ’70s this included some Russian Jews. Many of the Russians were very upset that the foundation was helping “Jews, not Russians.” This practice eventually stopped after a few years because of the “controversy.” While some members of the local Russian community had no problem helping Jews resettle, there was definitely an undertone of intolerance. I also had a couple of Russian parents very unhappy when there child qualified for ESL. While they never stated it, I believe it had to do with all the black and brown students in my class. The class was never a problem for the Russian students who managed to make friends with the black and brown students. Learning tolerance is a good lesson for all.
My second Russian experience came from an American family that adopted a Russian orphan, when it was possible to do so. These good people did all they could to help this little girl that suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome. She had neurological and developmental problems, but she had a happy nature and shared her story with me. Her birth mother was a prostitute that had overdosed. This child had been molested by one of her mother’s customers. After her mother passed away, she wound up in a orphanage that was really survival of the fittest until she was adopted at age seven. Her parents did all they could for her, and she was a eventually a classified student. Her parents bought a grocery store where the girl became a clerk when she grew up.
So much about Russia seems hypocritical to me. They always act strong on the surface, but there is much suffering and lies behind the show of strength. While people may have more freedom today than under the Soviet Union, they continue to be repressed and suppressed. We also know they can be dangerous. The right wing needs some history lessons.
Retired teacher , have you read about this?:
What group is next ?
It was just after sunrise on April 10 when the doorbell rang at Anatoly and Alyona Vilitkevich’s apartment in Ufa, an industrial city in central Russia. Their early morning visitors: masked police officers armed with automatic weapons. “Open up!” the officers shouted. Inside, the married couple hurried to get dressed and call their lawyer. “There were 10 of them, including plainclothes investigators,” Alyona, 35, tells Newsweek. “One of them was filming everything. They said I wasn’t allowed to use the telephone.”
After searching the apartment, the officers told Anatoly, a 31-year-old handyman, to pack some warm clothes. “They said he wouldn’t be coming home again,” Alyona says. Since the raid, he has been in police custody, and investigators have not permitted his wife to speak to him, she says.
“The police’s tactics that morning were the type often used to detain dangerous criminals. But Anatoly isn’t a suspected terrorist, murderer or drug trafficker. Police arrested him because he and Alyona are members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, a Christian evangelical movement known for its members’ door-to-door proselytizing.”
…….
Everyone should be allowed to live and believe their own religion. Unfortunately Russia isn’t the only country that has severe restrictions on what you must believe. Hatred seems to have no boundaries.
What about if that happens in America ?
What about if my Daughter was not protected because she is a Jehovah Wiseness ?
I was told totalitarian by a police of this city and I was told that Jehovah Wiseness are totalitarian, I’m still waiting for the Aswer because the police it’s still working for the department, he told me that I should be Deported by Donald Trump !
I scape from a totalitarian country ex-running by the ex- Soviet Union , I should Warning people out there that my son and daughter born here .
Dear CArolina it’s a concern a Charter Scholl here did a lot of crimes against my son and daughter even FISICAL abuse and the police department as well children and family did not they Jehovah job , I got a Trespass warning to a public park because I complain at federal institutions because the Charter schooll principal and the Mayor city as well the police atack the victims and protected they colegas it’s UNFEAR and it’s inside America.
Last but no least , the police of this city kick out a Jehovah Wiseness that was preaching on the walk side of a public park and they where told Oslo , they could be arrested if they were saw it preaching inside a public park , I wish you could understand Spanish and go to YOUTUBE WATCH MY VIDEOS THEM YOU CAN DO SOMETHING TO LET MORE KNOWS WHAT IS GOING ON .
IF I’m a Jehovah Wiseness I got the RIFHT to tell the truth, it’s not politician issue but politicians should respect our rights.
I appreciate your replay and kindness!
May God bless you , I preach by Internet also even though it’s not what others want to hear, it’s the way to expose the truth, until now the internet is still free to expose freedom of speech!
Matthew 10 :16 “Look! I am sending you out as sheep among wolves;w so prove yourselves cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves. 17 Be on your guard against men, for they will hand you over to local courtsy and they will scourge youz in their synagogues.a 18 And you will be brought before governors and kingsb for my sake, for a witness to them and the nations.
We know a lot of things happen in Russia and there’s no way they can appeal their case. Things like that, happen in America. Like the following:
1. My daughter was photographed with a Halloween pumpkin in the back
2. They called me a totalitarian in America for being a Jehovah’s witness.
3. The police went in my house without a warrant nor my permission, hiding bachelors numbers to tell me that if I keep on complaining about charter schools where my child was abused they were going to put me in jail. Isint that abuse?
Do you agree with that? If you think I’m not telling the truth, ask me for proof .
Here there is a little lore information about what we do here in America and nation wide , we don’t hurt people we teach people good things and very important we respect the authority’s is clear and Jehovah Wiseness are been preaching for more than a century .
Nation wide including America has bamed us , my concern is ;who my daughter will treat next schooll season ?
My concern is; could be any member of my family charged with conspiracy illegal ?
I don’t worry about me dear Coralamalasia , I care and my worries it’s about others ,
Matthew 7: 12 “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must do to them.m This, in fact, is what the Law and the Prophets mean.
I would like to share with you this .
Thanks Carolamalasia .
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/g20011122/Stories-of-Faith-From-a-Historic-Prison/
that’s enough. No more of this, Reibelcastillo. This is not your personal sounding board.
The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.
Albert Einstein
https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/russia/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Tortured-in-Surgut-Russia/
This writer is saying that Trump got out of the Iran nuclear deal in an attempt to have a regime change. Once again the Orange one shows his ignorance.
…….
Regime Change By Any Other Name
There’s only one plausible motive for Trump’s Iran policy.
By FRED KAPLAN
…U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded, in their briefings to Trump and other senior officials, that the sanctions would likely weaken Iran’s pragmatic factions—including President Hassan Rouhani—and strengthen the grip that the hard-liners, especially the Revolutionary Guard, hold over the country’s economy and politics.
Colin Kahl, a senior fellow at Stanford University who worked on Iran policy in the White House and the Pentagon during the Obama administration, said in an email on Tuesday that, since the signing of the Iran deal, Rouhani had “made incremental but real progress” in getting Ayatollah Ali Khamanei to reduce the Revolutonary Guard’s role in politics. But Trump’s withdrawal, Kahl said, “has reversed Rouhani’s gains. He’s now having to defer more to the Guard, who are in ‘I told you so’ mode about ‘American treachery.’…
So, with this one move, Trump has irritated the allies, opened a new avenue for Russian and Chinese influence in the Middle East, strengthened the hard-liners in Iran, and heightened the chances that they’ll revive Iran’s nuclear program—all for the sake of killing a deal that blocked this program for the next two decades, and in pursuit of the pipe dream…
The Iran sanctions have officially been cast. These are the most biting sanctions ever imposed, and in November they ratchet up to yet another level. Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States. I am asking for WORLD PEACE, nothing less!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 7, 2018
My day. (ER wrote a daily article with that title.). It was lovely. I do need a break.
Sent from my iPhone Carole Artigiani http://www.globalkids.org
>
This is an excellent comparison. I wonder, however, if some of the conservatives supporting reproachment with Russia are not completely aware of all the contradictions enumerated here and yet are perfectly willing to support an oligarchy if it destroys socialism. Or perhaps they are willing to support anything hat makes them rich and powerful. Like McCarthy, mentioned above, it is about wealth as it relates to power.
I do not think Joe McCarthy is turning in the grave. Instead he is beaming with pride at how so many politicians have turned on their ideals in order to get power. This is the legacy of McCarthy, that any means possible be used to gain power. Communism became his issue in the most cynical of ways, simply by deciding it would be a divisive issue that would put him in a position of power. Robert Griffith, in Politics of Fear, describes how he was stimulated to take that political road in a conversation within a climate that saw Richard Nixon riding on the same wagon. Both would be very proud of the cynicism of modern politics.
The problem? We read lengthy, intellectual, fact based explanations and informed opinions and wait for process. He tweets and uses Pavlovian slogans.
The “base” salivates and the true GOPer is so afraid of retribution they are silent.
It’s simple – – – and it works.
“Lock her up” “Build the Wall or else” “Witch hunt” “Fake News”
Sorry, Mrs. Obama, but maybe when they go low and dumbed down we can go high – but need simple and dumbed down counters, too.
“Show your taxes” “Show your taxes”
“Crooks stole the election”
“All the President’s Crooked Friends”
“President Oz” (in this witch hunt)
“Trump’s Welfare State” – Tax Breaks for Rich and Buying Farmers’ Silence
“1 – 800 – Cages for Kids”
“Brown Shirt Rallies and Trump Youth”
“KGB, KBG, KBG”
“Putin’s Puppet”
Hi Wait, What?
Your solution is marvelous. I completely enjoy reading it.
Yes to all of your suggested slogans. Thank you. Back2basic
[start your solutions]
“Show your taxes” “Show your taxes”
“Crooks stole the election”
“All the President’s Crooked Friends”
“President Oz” (in this witch hunt)
“Trump’s Welfare State” – Tax Breaks for Rich and Buying Farmers’ Silence
“1 – 800 – Cages for Kids”
“Brown Shirt Rallies and Trump Youth”
“KGB, KBG, KBG”
“Putin’s Puppet”
[end your solutions]
Highly recommend Malcom Nance’s book or a dip into this interview with him on “the plot to destroy democracy,’ He is an expert on what’s happening with Trumpsters and Russia.
From the Tsars to Stalin to Putin, in spite a few attempts to move to the West, to move to democratic Western values Russia has continued to tilt to their autocratic past – have we forgotten that Stalin killed tens of millions of his fellow Russians, Putin is simply a reincarnation of Stalin, and, yes, there are still Americans on the left who lean to mother Russia, BTW, it would be more accurate to call the far left Marxists …
I know of no one on the American left since the non-aggression pact with Hitler in 1939 partitioned Poland who had a positive, idealized view of Stalin. Stalin’s support for the anti-fascists in the Spanish civil war fooled some of the left during that conflict. It was not unlike the positive view of the mujahideen many Americans had during their resistance to the Soviet invasion.
Equating Putin with Stalin is difficult at best. For one thing, the paranoid Stalin was willing to destroy all to keep his power. Putin is smart, not paranoid. In many ways he is more dangerous than Stalin, because he is backed by so many wealthy and corrupt supporters.
Roy: How about this one.
……….
Karl Rove Likens Trump To Stalin, Tells Him To ‘Tone Down’ Anti-Press Rants
Trump’s attacks on the media are “over the top” and “not helpful to our country,” says the longtime Republican strategist.
By Lee Moran
Article: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/karl-rove-donald-trump-media_us_5b6958c0e4b0b15abaa692ac
I like the article–thanks for sharing it! But I am curious: which leftists are you referring to? I am a frequent consumer of The Nation, The Intercept, In These Times, Truthout, and Democracy Now, and I don’t recall a single journalist/commentator/guest making such a claim–certainly not in recent memory.
Are others groups next ?
My comment wasn’t posted for some reason, maybe I forgot 🤔
https://www.newsweek.com/2018/06/01/jehovahs-witnesses-939860.html
28 of the 34 necessary approvals are in place, for the Kochs, to radically change the Constitution. The Koch’s long game is the enactment of “Liberty Amendments” that include (1) an end to Social Security via a balanced budget (2) the appointment, instead of election, of U.S. senators,… The 10, solidify oligarchy control.
Available on the internet- a 5 min. summary of the info. which can be found by searching, Nancy MacLean, Bill Maher show, Democracy in Chains.
Lots of food for thought for fact-seekers and critical thinkers in this excellent article. I suspect core Trumpies like the 2 old T-shirted guys don’t do a lot of that. They are monkey-see, monkey-do, if my guy likes Russia, I do too. Trump remains mum on what motivates his Russophilia, leaving base to concoct their own garbled rationales. E.g., the countless sweet old ladies who call in on the Rep line at CSPAN’s daily Wash Jnl to coo that Trump just wants to be friends w/Russia, we don’t want war, et al kumbayah sentiments. GOP reps who back this crap w/silent assent easy to suss: why bite the hand that feeds you?
Well with the arrest of Chris Collins today the majority of politicians appear to be in the pocket of greed. I don’t believe that they even understand the government of Russia or the rest of these dictators. Its how much money can they make off of them. They didn’t even understand technology when Facebook the CEO who hasn’t found a dime he wouldn’t robbed off of a blindman was testifying with his doubletalk.
The evil of democracy is greed and that is why we can not move forward.
At this point, I actually doubt that the people who are out there “cultivating ties” with the Russians are doing it for the sake of democracy. If you read the Family by Jeff Sharlet, then you will see that some of these people – some of the people leading us, the people at the National Prayer breakfast where Marina Butina first gained contacts into our world – don’t even want a democracy. They have terms like “Totalitarianism for Christ” and have an underlying philosophy that might makes right, and the Bible tells them so.
Ideas between Russia and us are a two way street. “We used to have this self-centered idea that Western democracies were the end point of evolution, and we’re dealing from a position of strength, and people are becoming like us. It’s not that way. Because if you think this thing we have here isn’t fragile, you are kidding yourself.” -in Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev.
I think our leaders, like the senators who went to Russia on July 4th, like Rand Paul, like the NRA leaders, like Dana R., like Trump, know EXACTLY what they are into and shouldn’t be given the benefit of the doubt, Hopefully we can convince their followers how wrong they are with articles like this.
The US has plenty of money for the military and Trump’s military parade. Now we can spend even more money on being the dominant military in outer space. Guess we have to be ready to fight all the aliens who show up. We won’t have a problem like the one shown in the movie Independence Day. How about funding NASA instead? They are working for space exploration, not military dominance. Trump’s having attended a military school has warped his nonexistent brain.
…….
Mike Pence expected to lay out next steps for creation of Space Force
Vice President Mike Pence is expected to give a speech at the Pentagon Thursday where he will outline the next steps in forming the Space Force as the fifth branch of the military….
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that the Defense Department, Pence, and the White House are in “complete agreement” in the creation of a new Space Force.
Details regarding what the new branch of the military would look like and what its responsibilities would be have not yet been worked out, Mattis told reporters.
Trump has championed the creation of a Space Force, which he says is needed to ensure American dominance in space..
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/pence-expected-to-lay-out-next-steps-for-creation-of-space-force
Don’t know where to put this but thought it was important.
……
Subject: Send a letter: Oppose Kavanaugh, Protect the Consumer Bureau
Friend,
I wrote a letter for the Action Network letter campaign “Oppose Kavanaugh, Protect the Consumer Bureau”.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has won more than $12 billion for scammed customers and financial abuse victims. But Trump’s nominee to the Supreme Court may put the very existence of the CFPB in jeopardy. In 2017, Kavanaugh authored a court ruling that declared the Bureau’s single-director structure unconstitutional. At the time, Kavanaugh’s own colleagues overruled him, but with Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, we could see the CFPB lose its independence and ability to take actions to hold Wall Street accountable. Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court doesn’t just put the CFPB at risk; it would mean new threats to building a safe and fair economy. Based on his past record, we’d expect Kavanaugh to make it harder for regulators, including the CFPB, to write rules that Wall Street does not like; raise new barriers to winning cases against lending discrimination; and help predatory lenders dodge state laws that prevent sky-high interest rates. A vote for Kavanaugh is a vote to put Wall Street greed before Main Street’s needs. Will you email your senators and tell them to oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court?
Can you join me and write a letter? Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/oppose-kavanaugh-protect-the-consumer-bureau?source=email&
Thanks!
It would seem that history is only what we teach, not what we use as we struggle to live in the world.
https://www.jw.org/en/news/jw/region/russia/ECHR-Quickly-Responds-to-Application-Filed-on-Behalf-of-Brother-Tortured-in-Russia/
I don’t want nothing but tell the truth and it’s something that the WORLD HAVE TO KNOW .
Diane ENAFF is ENAFF. Sorry but you send a letter about your blog that became political, you open your blog for Education, you did great , you tell the truth the public schools sistem is failing for 18 reasons, now why Putin and his evil politician supporters are doing evils things ? Thanks