Thanks for the updates. I notice your disagreement with Bidens ability to send old munition to Ukraine and compares it with Reagans contras support. You may be right, but wasnt one problem then that everything was secret? And then expoused like secrets usually are? (Even the master Psy op with Taylor Swift has now been expoused so we know government secrets get out eventually). Regarding the terrotorial losses Ukraine takes and the need to take them back. Of course it is better not to lose them, but I think that when Russia collapses it will not matter, because then recapture will happen quick. The iffy issue is to keep fighting two more years.
Congress cut off aid to the Contras. The White House secretly sold arms to Iran, which was under an arms embargo, and used the profits to fund the contras.
The unfortunate revelation of the Swift operation forced them to move their timetable up.
You're exactly right. The capacity to fight is the most important thing. Ukraine must preserve their capabilities while degrading Russia's capabilities.
Regarding age old history, which I am old enough to remember vaguely… intersting. But has Congress now formally banned weapons sale to Ukraine? I still am not sure if the situation is the same. But I think that Biden feels it, and I think he knows the political landscape in Washington better than me. The problem is that he wants reelevtion, if nit he could do it and damn the Congress. But seeking re-election? Not. Regarding Ukraine they must trade land for blod and do with the Russian aiforce as they did with the Black SEA flest. Blow it to kingdom come.
No, aid to Ukraine hasn't been banned, it just hasn't been funded. Congress funded each previous aid package and when it starts to run out, they've funded the next batch of aid before that last bunch ran out. They started to do that in October but never passed it and all the money ran out in December.
It is a different situation than Iran-Contra but Biden can't just declare ammo and equipment to have no value and send it to Ukraine. It would be just one more excuse for Johnson not to aid Ukraine.
Thanks Don a 3 rd report read, all interesting information, lets hope we can force a vote on the aid package for the UAF etc we all know its badly need except for the dim witted republicans
I personally think it's important to be specific and say it's the MAGA Republicans. There are a lot of Republicans that support Ukraine. If Trump and MAGA never existed then the aid never would have been interrupted.
Also, they are not dimwitted, their actions make perfect sense from their point of view, i.e. pleasing Trump who must counter anything that is coming from the establishment, otherwise he wouldn't be unique enough.
On the other hand, if vanilla Republicans were so determined to support Ukraine, they could have joined a tandem with the Democratic side and pushed it through Mike Johnson already (or ousted him - as sort of a highly repulsive political character, he wouldn't be missed much). But it seems that they, the MAGA faction and the Democrats all prefer to concentrate on their own little power games, so Ukraine will inevitably need to take the backseat for the time being.
-MAGA politicians aren't just doing this to please Trump, they support Putin, Orban and the destruction of democracy.
-For Republicans that do support Ukraine, if they do go against Trump, they risk losing in the next primary when the parties choose their candidates for the general election. Some do anyway but they can't just overrule MAGA in cooperation with the Democrats. They would pay for it later.
-If Johnson brings this up for a vote, MAGA would move to remove him. The Democrats have hinted that in this case, instead of voting for a Democratic candidate they might vote to support him. This would keep Johnson as Speaker but it would ruin him within the Republican party.
Sure. Those are their little power games. Maybe let's call them big power games then?
What makes it all tragic is that Putin, Orban or Trump are not opposed to democracy on ideological grounds. They don't have the institutions in the way of a grand vision in the style of Hitler or Stalin, they simply don't like being talked back to, and find it more convenient to have no checks and balances against their whims. At the end of the day, MAGA does just that, pleasing Trump's (Putin's / Orban's) ego. Dismantling democracy is a way to do so. Apparently this makes their own egos pleased as well.
And they could remove their support from any Republican who runs contrary, if that person had a firm base with his voters, it wouldn't have much effect. But it seems their voters are also willing to put the interest of Trump before their own.
Thanks for the updates. I notice your disagreement with Bidens ability to send old munition to Ukraine and compares it with Reagans contras support. You may be right, but wasnt one problem then that everything was secret? And then expoused like secrets usually are? (Even the master Psy op with Taylor Swift has now been expoused so we know government secrets get out eventually). Regarding the terrotorial losses Ukraine takes and the need to take them back. Of course it is better not to lose them, but I think that when Russia collapses it will not matter, because then recapture will happen quick. The iffy issue is to keep fighting two more years.
Congress cut off aid to the Contras. The White House secretly sold arms to Iran, which was under an arms embargo, and used the profits to fund the contras.
The unfortunate revelation of the Swift operation forced them to move their timetable up.
You're exactly right. The capacity to fight is the most important thing. Ukraine must preserve their capabilities while degrading Russia's capabilities.
Regarding age old history, which I am old enough to remember vaguely… intersting. But has Congress now formally banned weapons sale to Ukraine? I still am not sure if the situation is the same. But I think that Biden feels it, and I think he knows the political landscape in Washington better than me. The problem is that he wants reelevtion, if nit he could do it and damn the Congress. But seeking re-election? Not. Regarding Ukraine they must trade land for blod and do with the Russian aiforce as they did with the Black SEA flest. Blow it to kingdom come.
No, aid to Ukraine hasn't been banned, it just hasn't been funded. Congress funded each previous aid package and when it starts to run out, they've funded the next batch of aid before that last bunch ran out. They started to do that in October but never passed it and all the money ran out in December.
It is a different situation than Iran-Contra but Biden can't just declare ammo and equipment to have no value and send it to Ukraine. It would be just one more excuse for Johnson not to aid Ukraine.
Russia will never collapse...
How many times has that happened alresdy! Lets see …. 1905… 1917… 1989…Seems quite possible.
Thanks Don a 3 rd report read, all interesting information, lets hope we can force a vote on the aid package for the UAF etc we all know its badly need except for the dim witted republicans
I personally think it's important to be specific and say it's the MAGA Republicans. There are a lot of Republicans that support Ukraine. If Trump and MAGA never existed then the aid never would have been interrupted.
Also, they are not dimwitted, their actions make perfect sense from their point of view, i.e. pleasing Trump who must counter anything that is coming from the establishment, otherwise he wouldn't be unique enough.
On the other hand, if vanilla Republicans were so determined to support Ukraine, they could have joined a tandem with the Democratic side and pushed it through Mike Johnson already (or ousted him - as sort of a highly repulsive political character, he wouldn't be missed much). But it seems that they, the MAGA faction and the Democrats all prefer to concentrate on their own little power games, so Ukraine will inevitably need to take the backseat for the time being.
All that, but a couple more issues, as well.
-MAGA politicians aren't just doing this to please Trump, they support Putin, Orban and the destruction of democracy.
-For Republicans that do support Ukraine, if they do go against Trump, they risk losing in the next primary when the parties choose their candidates for the general election. Some do anyway but they can't just overrule MAGA in cooperation with the Democrats. They would pay for it later.
-If Johnson brings this up for a vote, MAGA would move to remove him. The Democrats have hinted that in this case, instead of voting for a Democratic candidate they might vote to support him. This would keep Johnson as Speaker but it would ruin him within the Republican party.
Sure. Those are their little power games. Maybe let's call them big power games then?
What makes it all tragic is that Putin, Orban or Trump are not opposed to democracy on ideological grounds. They don't have the institutions in the way of a grand vision in the style of Hitler or Stalin, they simply don't like being talked back to, and find it more convenient to have no checks and balances against their whims. At the end of the day, MAGA does just that, pleasing Trump's (Putin's / Orban's) ego. Dismantling democracy is a way to do so. Apparently this makes their own egos pleased as well.
And they could remove their support from any Republican who runs contrary, if that person had a firm base with his voters, it wouldn't have much effect. But it seems their voters are also willing to put the interest of Trump before their own.
Yes you are right its the MAGA bunch for the most part
Thanks Don . .