I recently attended four national security conferences in Europe and returned with one overarching takeaway: Our closest allies are unsure of whether we will (or can) remain a partner given the chaos in our political system.
MAGA Rep. Mike Johnson has a self-professed worldview that is extremely limited and for as long as he holds the gavel to the House Speaker’s Chair will continue to be a manifestation of his singularly narrow myopic one book trick for holding all of America hostage to his unacceptable Christian nationalist rhetoric.
A pound of flesh which he, unquestionably, must be denied otherwise a very bad precedent will be set. We the People must not negotiate with political terrorists.
Unfortunately, too many Americans are oblivious to the fact that our spending in Ukraine and Israel, as well as South East Asia helps our Allie’s and is a great, long term investment, to make sure our economy and partners in the region stay strong, so we don’t have to fight one day, which would cost trillions and simultaneously destroy our economy.
I consider the investment similar to supporting the Kurds in Syria. For tens of millions, not hundreds of billions, our support allowed the Kurds to destroy ISIL and the caliphate on the cheap; until the orange blowhard decided to betray the Kurds for 20 pieces of silver from an authoritarian kleptocrat in Turkey; whose name isn’t worth mentioning.
The Republicans continue to undermine our foreign policy whenever possible. Enabling our adversaries to continue to plot against us.
This guy Johnson is a nightmare. He thinks denying the IRS funds is the way to pay for Israel’s military aid, when the IRS collects revenue. The funding to the IRS pays for itself; unless, of course, like most republicans, they’re bought and paid for by right-wing billionaires and tax cheats.
Additionally, how did we get a religious fanatic as speaker? The guy lives his life based on the Bible; believing the earth was formed in seven days and the separation of church and state isn’t explicitly written in the constitution, so it doesn’t exist. I guess he never heard of the Establishment Clause in the constitution.
Bottom line: I don’t know what to expect, except fanatics like Johnson are ruthless, relentless and shouldn’t be allowed in the Capitol building, unless on a public tour.
My gut tells me there will be another government shutdown unless democrats and even Republican senators agree to their ridiculous demands that will cause immense and unnecessary damage to our economy and relationships throughout the globe.
Thanks for reminding about next Tuesday. I think GOP money is watching to see if Youngkin can secure a legislative victory in Virginia by walking some idiotic “compromise” fine line on abortion. He needs to fail.
The crux? The turbulence within the GOP isn’t merely an internal issue—it’s sending shockwaves across the globe, weakening our alliances, and creating voids that our adversaries are only too eager to fill.
The question is not whether Europe can equal the US in terms of military capabilities, but instead its whether Europe can outdo Russia. If you take nukes out of the equation, then Europe clearly has more than enough capability to beat down whatever is left of Putin's military.
MAGA Rep. Mike Johnson has a self-professed worldview that is extremely limited and for as long as he holds the gavel to the House Speaker’s Chair will continue to be a manifestation of his singularly narrow myopic one book trick for holding all of America hostage to his unacceptable Christian nationalist rhetoric.
And despite all this he’s still not going to send aid to Israel until he extracts a pound of flesh.
A pound of flesh which he, unquestionably, must be denied otherwise a very bad precedent will be set. We the People must not negotiate with political terrorists.
Excellent newsletter. Thank you.
Unfortunately, too many Americans are oblivious to the fact that our spending in Ukraine and Israel, as well as South East Asia helps our Allie’s and is a great, long term investment, to make sure our economy and partners in the region stay strong, so we don’t have to fight one day, which would cost trillions and simultaneously destroy our economy.
I consider the investment similar to supporting the Kurds in Syria. For tens of millions, not hundreds of billions, our support allowed the Kurds to destroy ISIL and the caliphate on the cheap; until the orange blowhard decided to betray the Kurds for 20 pieces of silver from an authoritarian kleptocrat in Turkey; whose name isn’t worth mentioning.
The Republicans continue to undermine our foreign policy whenever possible. Enabling our adversaries to continue to plot against us.
This guy Johnson is a nightmare. He thinks denying the IRS funds is the way to pay for Israel’s military aid, when the IRS collects revenue. The funding to the IRS pays for itself; unless, of course, like most republicans, they’re bought and paid for by right-wing billionaires and tax cheats.
Additionally, how did we get a religious fanatic as speaker? The guy lives his life based on the Bible; believing the earth was formed in seven days and the separation of church and state isn’t explicitly written in the constitution, so it doesn’t exist. I guess he never heard of the Establishment Clause in the constitution.
Bottom line: I don’t know what to expect, except fanatics like Johnson are ruthless, relentless and shouldn’t be allowed in the Capitol building, unless on a public tour.
My gut tells me there will be another government shutdown unless democrats and even Republican senators agree to their ridiculous demands that will cause immense and unnecessary damage to our economy and relationships throughout the globe.
Good times!....:)
Thanks for reminding about next Tuesday. I think GOP money is watching to see if Youngkin can secure a legislative victory in Virginia by walking some idiotic “compromise” fine line on abortion. He needs to fail.
I hope he loses decidedly.
The crux? The turbulence within the GOP isn’t merely an internal issue—it’s sending shockwaves across the globe, weakening our alliances, and creating voids that our adversaries are only too eager to fill.
Terrifying.
The question is not whether Europe can equal the US in terms of military capabilities, but instead its whether Europe can outdo Russia. If you take nukes out of the equation, then Europe clearly has more than enough capability to beat down whatever is left of Putin's military.