Foreign Policy

‘I’m not a scientist’ goes double for nuclear science, Republicans

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When it comes to climate science, Tea-Publicans always begin with “I’m not a scientist ….” Why Republicans Keep Telling Everyone They’re Not a Scientist:

For now, “I’m not a scientist” is what one party adviser calls “a temporary Band-Aid” — a way to avoid being called a climate change denier but also to sidestep a dilemma. The reality of campaigning is that a politician who acknowledges that burning coal and oil contributes to global warming must offer a solution, which most policy experts say should be taxing or regulating carbon pollution and increasing government spending on alternative energy. But those ideas are anathema to influential conservative donors like the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch and the advocacy group they support, Americans for Prosperity.

John McCain’s puppet boy, Little Lindsey Graham, took a shot at Republican climate change deniers on Tuesday night, throwing the “I’m not a scientist” line back at those in his own party who he said stubbornly refuse to believe scientists. Graham Throws ‘Not A Scientist’ Line Back At GOP Climate Change Deniers:

“Late Night” host Seth Meyers asked Graham, who has previously urged his GOP colleagues to break from the party on environmental issues, if he’s “surprised” to find so many climate change deniers in the party’s ranks.

“Well I’m not a scientist,” Graham responded. “but here’s the problem I’ve got with some people in my party: When you ask the scientists what’s going on, why don’t you believe them? If I went to 10 doctors and nine said, ‘Hey, you’re gonna die,’ and one says ‘You’re fine,’ why would I believe the one guy?”

Remember, Little Lindsey Graham said this on “Late Night” with Seth Meyers Tuesday night after he had just spent the entire day on Tuesday criticizing the P5+1 world powers nuclear agreement with Iran without having even reviewed the details of the agreement. Graham: Iran Deal ‘Akin to Declaring War’ on Israel:

Lindsey Graham“My initial impression is that this deal is far worse than I ever dreamed it could be and will be a nightmare for the region, our national security and eventually the world at large,” Graham told me in an interview early Tuesday morning, just after Iran, China, France, Russia, Britain, the U.S. and Germany confirmed they had reached terms for a historic deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

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P5+1 world powers reach nuclear agreement with Iran

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The big news today is that the P5+1 world powers and Iran have reached an historic nuclear agreement. The New York Times headline: IRAN AND 6 WORLD POWERS REACH DEAL TO CURB ITS NUCLEAR PLANS; the Washington Post headline, Historic Iran nuclear deal reached.

Here is a link to the The Full Text of The Nuclear Agreement (Scribd). The White House’s overview is online here.

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PHOTO: World leaders pose for a group picture at the United Nations building in Vienna (ABC News)

In the days, weeks and months leading up to this historic agreement, there has been knee-jerk opposition to any deal, or even  any negotiations, from the usual suspects: Neocon war mongers in the military-industrial-congressional-media complex that President Eisenhower warned us about, Neocons who opposed President Reagan’s nuclear arms control agreements with the Soviet Union, and who opposed every arms agreement by every president during the nuclear era.

Charles Pierce at Esquire makes a smart point, The Nuclear Deal With Iran, Explained:

Ever since the end of World War II, and the rise of what Garry Wills calls the “Bomb Power” in our politics, any arms-control treaty faced the same opposition on the same grounds from most of the same people. (If you compare Reagan to Chamberlain, you truly have wandered far from the rest of the pack.) Our groaning and bloated arsenal has become such an essential part of our national identity that a) we can’t imagine defining America without it, and b) we can’t imagine that any other country doesn’t feel the same way. The idea that our 4800-odd nuclear weapons — and god alone knows how many chemical and biological weapons we may have — might scare our enemies somehow is construed as weakness because our enemies are always all-powerful and always one small step away from destroying us and taking over the world because an Exceptional Nation requires Exceptional Enemies, and because our arsenal exists largely to protect our lamb-like innocence in a world of wolves.

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U.S. to reestablish diplomatic relations with Cuba

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President Obama today announced that the U.S. is re-establishing diplomatic relations with Cuba. Statement by the President on the Re-Establishment of Diplomatic Relations with Cuba:

us-cuba_relations_300x225_1More than 54 years ago, at the height of the Cold War, the United States closed its embassy in Havana.  Today, I can announce that the United States has agreed to formally re-establish diplomatic relations with the Republic of Cuba, and re-open embassies in our respective countries.  This is a historic step forward in our efforts to normalize relations with the Cuban government and people, and begin a new chapter with our neighbors in the Americas.

When the United States shuttered our embassy in 1961, I don’t think anyone expected that it would be more than half a century before it re-opened.  After all, our nations are separated by only 90 miles, and there are deep bonds of family and friendship between our people.  But there have been very real, profound differences between our governments, and sometimes we allow ourselves to be trapped by a certain way of doing things.

For the United States, that meant clinging to a policy that was not working.  Instead of supporting democracy and opportunity for the Cuban people, our efforts to isolate Cuba despite good intentions increasingly had the opposite effect -– cementing the status quo and isolating the United States from our neighbors in this hemisphere.  The progress that we mark today is yet another demonstration that we don’t have to be imprisoned by the past. When something isn’t working, we can -– and will –- change.

Last December, I announced that the United States and Cuba had decided to take steps to normalize our relationship.  As part of that effort, President Raul Castro and I directed our teams to negotiate the re-establishment of embassies.  Since then, our State Department has worked hard with their Cuban counterparts to achieve that goal.  And later this summer, Secretary Kerry will travel to Havana formally to proudly raise the American flag over our embassy once more.

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The GOP Adelson Primary

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A couple of weeks ago, the GOP contenders in the “Koch Primary” had to audition and kiss the ring ass of the Koch brothers for their billion dollar campaign war chest.

AdelsonMacaoThis past weekend was the “Adelson Primary” in Las Vegas.  The GOP contenders had to audition and kiss the ring ass of Sheldon Adelson, the corrupt casino magnate worth billions from casinos in Las Vegas and Macao. Sheldon Adelson’s Sands Corp. admits to violation of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Nice company these guys keep, dontcha think?

The New York Times reports, Republican Contenders Reach Out to Sheldon Adelson, Palms Up:

jeb-and-george-bush-1In a country wary of dynasties, former President George W. Bush said he could be a liability for his younger brother Jeb, a likely presidential candidate.

But he will never be a liability for the 700 Republican Jewish donors he spoke to in a ballroom here Saturday night. And especially not for Sheldon Adelson, the owner of the Venetian hotel and casino, where the Republican Jewish Coalition held its spring meeting, and the most sought-after donor in the contest for the Republican presidential nomination.

President Bush remains hugely popular with Mr. Adelson and other conservative members of the group, which has seen its numbers swell as tensions have increased between the Obama administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

That is good news for Jeb Bush. He has an extra hurdle to clear to win over members of the group, particularly Mr. Adelson, who spent at least $100 million to back Republican presidential candidates in 2012 and helped Mr. Netanyahu win re-election in March, and who is thought among donors here to be especially fond of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

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President Obama’s ‘open door’ overture to Cuba is long overdue

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Conservative were outraged when President Richard Nixon announced that he would normalize relations with Communist China after 18 months of secret negotiations pursuing a policy of opening China. Nixon made an official state visit to Communist China and smiled broadly while greeting Chairman Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People’s Republic of China — and a dictator who oversaw systematic human rights abuses, and whose rule is estimated to have contributed to the deaths of 40–70 million people through starvation, forced labour and executions, ranking his tenure as the top incidence of democide in human history.

Nixon-Mao

Neocon cold warriors condemned President Nixon in a statement issued by John McCain and Lindsey Graham:

“We agree with President [Nixon] that he is writing new chapters in American foreign policy. Unfortunately, today’s chapter, like the others before it, is one of America and the values we stand for in retreat and decline. It is about the appeasement of autocratic dictators, thugs, and adversaries, diminishing America’s influence in the world. Is it any wonder that under President [Nixon]’s watch our enemies are emboldened and our friends demoralized?”

Wait, that never happened. Nixon’s “open door” policy towards Communist China was hailed as a major foreign policy achievement by Conservatives and Republicans. McCain and Graham were not yet in the Senate (the good old days).

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