‘From Your Lips To God’s Ears’: The Independent Reports Prosecutors Will Ask Grand Jury To Indict Donald Trump As Soon As Thursday

The Independent reports, Prosecutors ready to ask for Trump indictment on obstruction and Espionage Act charges: The Department of Justice is preparing to ask a Washington, DC grand jury to indict former president Donald Trump for violating the Espionage Act and for obstruction of justice as soon as Thursday, adding further weight to the legal … Read more

Senate Democrats block Defense Appropriations bill, demanding a ‘budget summit’

I warned you that this was coming the other day in The GOP budget sequester, a budget summit, and government shutdown politics:

Screenshot from 2015-01-25 15:31:49Democrats are adamant that Republicans back off their plans to increase defense spending without doing the same for nondefense programs.

They argue the GOP is using a budget gimmick [Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO)] to funnel more money to the Pentagon without raising spending limits on healthcare and social welfare programs.

To try to force the party’s hand, Senate Democrats say they will block every annual spending bill unless Republicans agree to a budget summit.

Today Democrats followed through on their announced plans by blocking the Defense Appropriations bill which includes the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) “gimmick” to get around the GOP budget sequester caps. Demanding budget talks, Senate Dems block spending bill for military:

Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked spending legislation for the Pentagon, part of a broader strategy aimed at forcing Republicans to the table for budget negotiations.

Senators voted 50-45 to end debate on a motion to proceed to the legislation, short of the 60 votes needed to move forward. Sen. Joe Donnelly (Ind.) was the only Democrat to vote yes.

Read more

The GOP budget sequester, a budget summit, and government shutdown politics

George Will, the patrician prevaricator for the plutocracy, has a mini-me at the Arizona Republic, Robert Robb, who trolls for his former employers, the Goldwater Institute and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on the editorial pages of The Republic.

In a recent column Robb wrote about the looming budget battle and possible government shutdown, gleefully concluding that Senate Dems give GOP an election gift:

Screenshot from 2015-01-25 15:31:49[I]f a spending impasse occurred between Obama and the Republican Congress, chances are that the GOP would still get most of the political blame. The president has the bully pulpit, compared to the congressional cacophony. And the spending increases the president would advocate would likely be politically popular.

Enter Senate Democrats.

Appropriations bills are subject to the Senate’s virtual filibuster, where the minority pretends it is going to filibuster and the majority pretends to believe it. It requires 60 votes to overcome a virtual filibuster and get to the vote on the actual bill.

Senate Democrats are reportedly planning to virtually filibuster the appropriations bills, preventing Senate Republicans from passing them, so they never even get to Obama’s desk.

Read more

Questions for Martha McSally: Are you a Neocon war monger like your endorser John Bolton?

In this continuing series, “Questions for Martha McSally,” we pose questions to
the McSally campaign about her positions on current hot topics — I am
not going to give her a free pass until after the GOP primary like our local media did in 2012 — and neither should you.

us-forces-afghanistan-AP-640x480Martha McSally, is running her third campaign for the congressional seat in CD2, but in all of this time she has never been called upon to address her views on foreign policy or national defense.

If you check Project Vote Smart, you get “We do not seem to have anything yet for this candidate.” If you check ThePoliticalGuide.com, all they have is  boilerplate empty platitudes and bumper sticker slogans supposedly taken from McSally’s campaign web site:

Forward Thinking National Security

We face powerful and determined threats across the globe. I have spent my life defending America from these threats, and I’m not about to stop now. We have to be discerning of their intent and capabilities; we must be decisive about the course we take. America cannot allow our enemies unfettered access to the vast ungoverned regions of our planet. We must clearly define our national interests, craft the strategy to safeguard those interests, and then focus our resources to ensure the safety, security, and future prosperity of our nation.

McSally’s own campaign web site still does not have a section for McSally on the issues, but only describes the “three pillars of my campaign” as “economy, leadership, government overreach.” There is nothing at all about foreign policy or national defense issues (other than the A-10 Warthog).

Read more