Monthly Archives: September 2013

Kerry After Syria Hearing Protest: ‘I Once Had Very Similar Feelings’

"'The first time I testified before this committee when I was 27 years old, I had feelings very similar to that protester,' Kerry said after order was restored. 'I would just say that is exactly why it is so important that we are all here having this debate, talking about these things before the country and that the Congress itself will act representing the American people. And I think we can all respect those who have a different point of view. And we do.' Kerry said a Syria strike would 'unequivocally' make the U.S. more secure, and Hagel said there are U.S. allies in the region ready to support any U.S. action." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKerry After Syria Hearing Protest: ‘I Once Had Very Similar Feelings’

Protester crashes Syria hearing: ‘The American people do not want this’

"CODEPINK co-founder and anti-war activist Medea Benjamin interrupted a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the possibility of a U.S. military strike in Syria on Tuesday. Video posted by Talking Points Memo shows Benjamin 'We don’t want another war,' before being grabbed by security and led out of the hearing. In 2012, Benjamin protested a speech by another Obama administration official, counter-terrorism advisor John Brennan, saying the White House’s use of unmanned attack drones was 'making us less safe by killing so many innocent people around the world.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingProtester crashes Syria hearing: ‘The American people do not want this’

Angry anti-war protesters besiege John Kerry’s home, banging on doors, windows

"On Sunday, anti-war protestors protested the anti-war protestor, and with that, as Shakespeare once said, 'the wheel is come full circle.' In the aftermath of Secretary of State John Kerry making a forceful case on Friday for U.S. military intervention in Syria, protesters assembled outside his townhouse on Beacon Hill. Yes, the Vietnam veteran who became a leading anti-war activist after serving is now advocating for war. According to Twitter users, as Twitchy reported, protesters pounded on Kerry’s front door and windows, but he wasn’t home. Of course, past precedent tells us if there is a crisis at hand, Kerry’s likely to be found aboard his 76-foot yacht, the 'Isabel.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAngry anti-war protesters besiege John Kerry’s home, banging on doors, windows

War Profiteers, Slavery, and the Hypocrisy of Imperialism

"The war profiteers at Raytheon have seen their stock prices soar in anticipation of the Syrian war. As the Boston Herald reported on August 31st, “The Waltham-based manufacturer of the Tomahawk cruise missiles, expected to be used in any strike on Syria, saw its stock hit a 52-week high last week at $77.93 per share, and has stayed near that high, closing yesterday at $75.41.” Officials like John Kerry argue that this war is somehow a humanitarian response to atrocities by the Assad regime. But the corporations that stand to profit are no humanitarians. To the contrary, they have been involved in some of the most grotesque human rights violations of our time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWar Profiteers, Slavery, and the Hypocrisy of Imperialism

John Kerry: Syria war no time for ‘armchair isolationism’

"U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday the debate about military strikes is not about President Barack Obama's 'red line,' but the world's. The UN refugee agency reported Tuesday the number of refugees fleeing Syria's violence has surpassed the two million mark. Kerry told Congress that it is 'a red line that anyone with a conscience ought to draw.' Some lawmakers have expressed reluctance about being drawn into a larger conflict. But Kerry stressed that what Obama is seeking would be military action limited in scope and duration that would send a message to the Assad regime that it can't get away with using chemical weapons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJohn Kerry: Syria war no time for ‘armchair isolationism’

Top U.S. Republicans back Syria strike as refugee crisis mounts

"John Boehner, the Republican speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor both pledged their support for military action after the meeting. The chairman of the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said on Tuesday he was confident after talking with Obama that the United States would step up its support for 'vetted' elements of the Syrian opposition. Senator Carl Levin said he urged the president, a fellow Democrat, to arm the Syrian rebels a day after two influential Republican senators, John McCain and Lindsey Graham, sought similar assurances from Obama." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTop U.S. Republicans back Syria strike as refugee crisis mounts

BGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) In Action

"The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile. Introduced by General Dynamics in the 1970s, it was designed as a medium- to long-range, low-altitude missile that could be launched from a submerged submarine. It has been improved several times and, by way of corporate divestitures and acquisitions, is now made by Raytheon." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBGM-109 Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) In Action

‘Surgical Strikes’ an Orwellian Dream

"Imagine for a moment that you live in the nation’s capitol, by the Pentagon or minutes away in Quantico, the Marine Corps headquarters, or one exit down the parkway from the National Security Agency (NSA) in nearby Maryland. Imagine farther out, places where our Navy fleets are stationed – Norfolk, San Diego – or the main Air Force satellite control center in Colorado Springs. Any military installation across the country. Now imagine what it would be like to hear over radio waves and on your television set that one of those places might be bombed as punishment for something your president did." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Surgical Strikes’ an Orwellian Dream

GOP Help Pass Medicaid Expansion in the House

  Michigan Citizens, Unfortunately, as many know by now the Medicaid Expansion bill HB 4714 passed the House, the same way it passed the Senate, with help from GOP “leadership” and members of the House and Senate. State Rep. Greg MacMaster, R-Kewadin, was the only member to change his vote from June, going from a …

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Continue ReadingGOP Help Pass Medicaid Expansion in the House

Are American taxpayers financially responsible to defend Syrians?

"President Obama has broken new ground. He has argued that not only does the U.S. government have the authority to tax Americans to defend every human being on the planet, but that the president can order military intervention for that reason on his authority alone. Unfortunately, this has led many to believe that his decision to wait until Congress debates the intervention is some sort of victory for constitutional government. It’s not. Nowhere in the Constitution is it stated or implied that American taxpayers are financially responsible for the common defense of the whole world. Military operations are not funded by donations. Taxpayers are compelled to pay taxes by force." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAre American taxpayers financially responsible to defend Syrians?