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Tag Archives: GOP

8/20-21 Weekend News and Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on August 20, 2022 by BennyAugust 20, 2022

Benny’s bar is open for the weekend. Join us for drinks and conversation below.

Continue reading →
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Democratic candidates, GOP, Open Thread

1/7-9 Weekend News Roundup & Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on January 7, 2022 by BennyJanuary 8, 2022

U.S. Details Costs of a Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Biden administration and its allies are assembling a punishing set of financial, technology and military sanctions against Russia that they say would go into effect within hours of an invasion of Ukraine, hoping to make clear to President Vladimir V. Putin the high cost he would pay if he sends troops across the border.

In interviews, officials described details of those plans for the first time, just ahead of a series of diplomatic negotiations to defuse the crisis with Moscow, one of the most perilous moments in Europe since the end of the Cold War. The talks begin on Monday in Geneva and then move across Europe.

The plans the United States has discussed with allies in recent days include cutting off Russia’s largest financial institutions from global transactions, imposing an embargo on American-made or American-designed technology needed for defense-related and consumer industries, and arming insurgents in Ukraine who would conduct what would amount to a guerrilla war against a Russian military occupation, if it comes to that.

Such moves are rarely telegraphed in advance. But with the negotiations looming — and the fate of Europe’s post-Cold War borders and NATO’s military presence on the continent at stake — President Biden’s advisers say they are trying to signal to Mr. Putin exactly what he would face, at home and abroad, in hopes of influencing his decisions in coming weeks.

snip

While the Commerce and Treasury Departments work on sanctions that would maximize America’s advantages over Russia, the Pentagon is developing plans that have echoes of the proxy wars of the 1960s and ’70s.

Understand the Escalating Tensions Over Ukraine
A brewing conflict. Antagonism between Ukraine and Russia has been simmering since 2014, when the Russian military crossed into Ukrainian territory, annexing Crimea and whipping up a rebellion in the east. A tenuous cease-fire was reached in 2015, but peace has been elusive.

A spike in hostilities. Russia has recently been building up forces near its border with Ukraine, and the Kremlin’s rhetoric toward its neighbor has hardened. Concern grew in late October, when Ukraine used an armed drone to attack a howitzer operated by Russian-backed separatists.

Ominous warnings. Russia called the strike a destabilizing act that violated the cease-fire agreement, raising fears of a new intervention in Ukraine that could draw the United States and Europe into a new phase of the conflict.

The Kremlin’s position. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who has increasingly portrayed NATO’s eastward expansion as an existential threat to his country, said that Moscow’s military buildup was a response to Ukraine’s deepening partnership with the alliance.

A measured approach. President Biden has said he is seeking a stable relationship with Russia. So far, his administration is focusing on maintaining a dialogue with Moscow, while seeking to develop deterrence measures in concert with European countries.

To underscore the potential pain for Russia, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark A. Milley, spoke with his Russian counterpart two weeks ago and delivered a stark message: Yes, he said, you could invade Ukraine and probably roll over the Ukrainian military, which stands little chance of repelling a far larger, better armed Russian force.

But the swift victory would be followed, General Milley told Gen. Valery Gerasimov, by a bloody insurgency, similar to the one that led to the Soviet retreat from Afghanistan more than three decades ago, according to officials familiar with the discussion.

General Milley did not detail to General Gerasimov the planning underway in Washington to support an insurgency, a so-called “porcupine strategy” to make invading Ukraine hard for the Russians to swallow. That includes the advance positioning of arms for Ukrainian insurgents, probably including Stinger antiaircraft missiles, that could be used against Russian forces.

More than a month ago, Mr. Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, created a new interagency planning cell to examine a range of contingencies if Mr. Putin goes ahead with an invasion. The cell, which reports directly to Mr. Sullivan, includes representatives from the National Security Council, the intelligence agencies and the Departments of Defense, State, Treasury, Energy and Homeland Security.

The cell is attempting to tailor responses to the many types of attacks that could unfold in the next few weeks, from cyberattacks aimed at crippling Ukraine’s electric grid and pipelines to the seizure of small or large amounts of territory.

Intelligence officials said recently that they thought the least likely possibility was a full-scale invasion in which the Russians try to take the capital, Kyiv. Many of the assessments, however, have explored more incremental moves by Mr. Putin, which could include seizing a bit more land in the Donbas region, where war has ground into a stalemate, or a land bridge to Crimea.

Several officials familiar with the planning say the administration is looking at European nations that could provide more aid to support Ukrainian forces before any conflict, as well as in the initial stages of a Russian invasion.

Lt. Col. Anton Semelroth, a Defense Department spokesman, noted in December that the United States had already committed over $2.5 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2014, including $450 million in 2021 alone. Over the past three months, it has delivered 180 Javelin missiles, two patrol boats, ammunition for grenade launchers, machine guns, secure radios, medical equipment and other items that U.S. officials describe as defensive in nature.

But the planning cell is considering more lethal weaponry, such as antiaircraft weapons.

After visiting Ukraine last month, Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts and a former Marine officer, said that in his view, “We need to make any incursion by Russia more painful — Day 1 painful, not six months from now painful.”

“We have a short window to take decisive action to deter Putin from a serious invasion,” Mr. Moulton said in an interview. “I worry our current deterrent tactics are responding to an invasion rather than preventing it.”

One option likely to be discussed at NATO this coming week is a plan to increase, possibly by several thousand, the number of troops stationed in the Baltics and in Southeast Europe.

Jake Sullivan is a Hil hawk.

More news, tweets, perspectives in the comments below. This serves as an open thread.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged GOP, GOP-lite, invasion, January 6, Open Thread, Russia

5/20 Sanders Calls for Immediate Cease Fire in Gaza: News Roundup & OT

The Progressive Wing Posted on May 20, 2021 by BennyMay 20, 2021

Bernie Sanders gave an impassioned speech on the Senate floor yesterday, demanding what most of the US (who care about foreign relations) want: a cease fire in Gaza and a recognition of Palestinian people as humans.

In the comments, more news, tweets, and videos, including Bernie’s guest appearance on Seth Meyers’ show.

Posted in Bernie Sanders, News, Open Thread, Video | Tagged Gaza, GOP, Israel, Palestinians, Seth Meyers

11/3 Benny’s Bar 1600 Pennsylvania is Open for Election 2020 Night Part 1

The Progressive Wing Posted on November 3, 2020 by BennyNovember 3, 2020

Polls are just about closed in western IN and KY; eastern parts of those states closed at 6pm.

(image attribution: NYT)

Music videos are encouraged, along with tweets, news, jibber-jabber.

Budtenders are available as well!

Bar Wait Person with Mask 2020-07-24 170727.png

Bar Wait Person with Mask 2020-07-24 170727.png

Posted in News, Video | Tagged 2020, Bernie Sanders, Dems, DNC, Donald Trump, General Election, GOP, Joseph Biden, Paula Jean Swearengin, progressive movement, RNC

3/27 AOC Blasts the Coronvirus Bill as ” Shameful”; Der Herr Invokes DPA for Ventilator Production; Bernie Live Tonight; TGIF & Late Afternoon/Evening OT

The Progressive Wing Posted on March 27, 2020 by BennyMarch 27, 2020

AOC worked up a Bernie Sanders’ righteous rant in the House today, while debating the Senate bill:

"There should be shame about what was fought for in this bill and the choices that we have to make." – @AOC pic.twitter.com/EN5XwYzUuv

— SocialSecurityWorks (@SSWorks) March 27, 2020

About the bill going to Trump’s office:

More than 150 million households would receive checks under the legislation, which will send payments of $1,200 to many individual Americans plus $500 for children. People with incomes above $99,000 are not eligible, and the total benefit is phased out for people earning between $75,000 and $99,000.

The bill includes almost $400 billion to help small businesses retain their payrolls and $250 billion to boost unemployment insurance, offering $600 per week for four months for laid-off workers, on top of whatever benefits their states may provide.

and

The bill includes almost $400 billion to help small businesses retain their payrolls and $250 billion to boost unemployment insurance, offering $600 per week for four months for laid-off workers, on top of whatever benefits their states may provide.

Melissa Kearney, an economics professor at the University of Maryland and director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, said that the benefits in the bill — on top of savings people may already have — could be sufficient to tide laid-off workers through for up to three months.

“I’m quite pleased to see that this was passed so quickly and does include direct payments to households and expansion of unemployment insurance and loans to small businesses,” Kearney said.

The dealmaker’s dealmaker: Mnuchin steps in as Trump’s negotiator, but president’s doubts linger with economy in crisis

The legislation also contains hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency federal aid for large corporations suffering due to the coronavirus outbreak, a provision that sparked days of intense partisan conflict and a frenzied push from lobbyists and corporations eager to secure a chunk of the funding.

The final legislation will provide $25 billion in grants and $25 billion in loans to passenger airlines; $17 billion in loans to industries deemed critical to “national security” — a provision aimed at helping Boeing — and $425 billion in loans and loan guarantees for other large firms, a fund for which cities and states can also apply.

Trump touted the legislation in an interview Thursday night with Sean Hannity on Fox News.

“The workers are going to get $3,000 for a family of four. They’re going to get all sorts of things that they, frankly, in many cases, they wouldn’t have even gotten if they had the job, if they didn’t have to go through this hell. And it’s — it’s a wonderful thing,” Trump said.

The president went on to say “A lot of this money is going to save Boeing. It’s going to save the airline industry. And, you know, that means not only does it mean what it says, it also means tremendous jobs. We can’t let Boeing go. You know, Boeing had a problem, big one to start off with, and on top of it, this happened. And we’ll save Boeing and we’ll save the airlines and we’ll save other companies.”

The conditions on the large pool of funding became a major sticking point through congressional negotiations. Democrats won some concessions but not others. In the final bill, businesses receiving the loan cannot cut their employment levels by more than 10 percent until Sept. 30. They have some restrictions on executive compensation above $425,000 annually and cannot issue stock buybacks, a limitation supported by Trump.

Included are measures ensuring swift disclosure of funding recipients, as well as an oversight board to probe the Treasury’s decisions. The president, vice president, members of Congress and members of the cabinet are also prohibited from benefiting from the aid — a measure that also applies to their spouses and children. The direct grant funding for the airlines also has strict limitations and is required to go directly to workers or their benefits.

During debate ahead of the vote, with tensions running high, there was an uproar at one point as Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), tried to speak over her allotted time, wearing pink latex
gloves and gesturing in animation as she asked for more time to thank medical professionals at the frontline of the crisis.

“I rise before you donning these latex gloves not for personal attention, not for personal attention, but to encourage you to take this disease seriously,” Stevens shouted as she was gaveled out of order. “I rise for every American who is scared right now.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), from the epicenter of the health crisis in Queens, rose to denounce the bill and the choice lawmakers are being forced to make faced with legislation that she said creates a corporate bailout while also provided needed funds to hospitals and front-line workers.

“Our community’s reality is this country’s future if we don’t do anything. Hospital workers don’t have the necessary equipment,” she said, calling it “shameful, and the option that we have is either to let them suffer with nothing or allow this greed.”

Trump has also invoked Defense Production Authorization in order to speed the production of ventilators.

This is gonna age like that pic of all the European Royal families together right before World War 1 https://t.co/wU693GnvdI

— tyson brody (@tysonbrody) March 27, 2020

Bernie is hosting another coronavirus/healthcare panel discussion online tonight at 7ET:

Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, @BernieSanders “will host a livestream with doctors and nurses on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic,” his campaign announces.

— Adam Kelsey (@adamkelsey) March 27, 2020

TGIF…bar will open soon. More tweets, videos, and jibber jabber in the comments. See you there!

Posted in 2020 Elections | Tagged AOC, Bernie Sanders, GOP, stimulus bill, The Movement

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2022 Progressive Candidates

The Squad

  • Becca Balint (VT-Rep) – WON
  • Jamaal Bowman (NY-16) – Profile – WON
  • Cori Bush (MO-01) – Profile – WON
  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) – Profile – WON
  • Ilhan Omar (MN-05) – WON
  • Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) – WON
  • Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) – Profile – WON

House

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  • Maxwell Frost (FL-10) – WON
  • Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04) – WON
  • Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) – WON
  • Ro Khanna (CA-17) – WON
  • Summer Lee (PA-12) – WON
  • Mark Pocan (WI-02) – WON

Senate

  • John Fetterman (PA) – WON
  • Katie Porter (CA) – 2024
  • Raphael Warnock (GA) – WON

 

State & Local Races

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