National Security

The Senate rejects the Turtle Man’s amendments to USA Freedom Act in stunning defeat

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Screenshot from 2015-01-25 15:31:49When I last checked in on the Septuagenarian Ninja Turtle, Mitch McConnell, he was busy manufacturing a “crisis” to create leverage for himself and the Neocon “security state” Republicans in the Senate who want to continue the bulk collection of telephone data, despite the Second Circuit Court of Appeals having already ruled that it is illegal and is not authorized by Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act. Second Circuit rules NSA bulk collection of phone records is illegal.

Things did not go well for the Turtle Man. He lost a series of votes, and would up recessing the Senate for a Memorial Day recess to “think about” what they had done for a week. Senate to Try Again After Bill on N.S.A. Collection of Phone Records Is Blocked. The Turtle Man scheduled a special Sunday session just as the sunset provision of the USA Patriot Act would expire at midnight to try to maintain his leverage.

Senators used their week off to think about it, and to think about it, until their thinkers were broken, and then they did pretty much the same thing on Sunday. Senators voted 77 to 17 on Sunday to take up the House bill, the USA Freedom Act, but only because the Turtle Man would allow amendments from the Neocon “security state” Republicans in the Senate, but no others, in a procedural move called “filling the tree.”

Senator Aqua Buddha, Rand Paul (R-KY) exercised his prerogative to not agree to the amendments and to force the senate waiting period for debate of amendments, thus causing three provisions of the USA Patriot Act to expire at midnight on Sunday (not really, the NSA is relying on “grandfather”  provisions of the act to continue spying). Key Parts of Patriot Act Expire Temporarily as Senate Moves Toward Limits on Spying. The Turtle Man staged an epic gamble over U.S. spying powers — and lost. McConnell’s NSA gambit fails.

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House overwhelmingly passes USA Freedom Act, Senate GOP opposed

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The House by a 338-88 vote overwhelmingly approved the USA Freedom Act, which would prevent the NSA from collecting metadata about the phone numbers people dial and when their calls are placed. The bill faces opposition from GOP leaders in the Senate.

The Hill reports, House backs NSA reform, 338-88:

NSA-SpyingForty-seven Republicans and 41 Democrats opposed the bill. [Roll call not yet posted.]

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The politics surrounding the NSA’s surveillance programs are scrambled, and the Senate has just two weeks before the existing law authorizing the NSA’s metadata collection expires.

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While the White House backs the USA Freedom Act, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has led opposition to it in the upper chamber and supports extending Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which authorizes the collection of metadata, without reforms. [The Second Circuit Court of Appeals last week ruled that Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act does not authorize metadata collection.]

McConnell’s allies include Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the White House hopeful.

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The Turtle caves on DHS funding – but can the TanMan deliver?

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Screenshot from 2015-01-25 15:31:49The boxed in Septuagenarian Ninja Turtle, Mitch McConnell, who promised upon become Senate Majority Leader that there would be no government shutdowns on his watch, is preparing to throw the Tea Party Caucus in the TanMan’s House under the bus.

The Turtle will bifurcate the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill that the Tan Man sent him into two separate bills — a “clean” DHS funding bill, which will pass, and a purely symbolic bill to let the GOP vent about the imperialist law breaking tyrant in the White House who does not share their unhinged hatred for people breathing while brown. Democrats will filibuster this bill, which would be vetoed by Obama in any event. It is purely theater for the conservative media entertainment complex, and for fundraising letter to the crazy base back home.

The question remains, can the TanMan, Weeper of the House John Boehner, herd the cats in his Tea Party Caucus and pass the “clean” DHS funding bill in the House after giving up their hostage demands? The smart money is on “HELL No he can’t!”

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House GOP leaders forced to delay vote on Secure the Border First Act of 2015

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McSallyThe “Secure the Border First Act of 2015,” HR 399 in the House and S.208 in the Senate, cosponsored by Arizona Tea-Publicans Rep. Martha McSally in the House and Jeff Flake in the Senate, has run into trouble from conservative opponents who point out that the bill does nothing about President Obama’s executive orders for prosecutorial discretion in deferring deportations, and from the latest “storm of the century” to hit Washington, D.C.

The Hill reports, House delays border security bill vote:

The House won’t vote this week on a controversial GOP border security plan that conservatives complained would do little to stop President Obama’s order to shield millions of illegal immigrants from deportation.

Aides to Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who controls the floor schedule, said the blizzard pummeling the Northeast forced the cancellation of votes Monday night. And due to the shortened schedule this week, the vote on the border bill — originally slated for Wednesday — has been postponed until a later date.

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The long road home from Afghanistan, American foreign policy going forward

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us-forces-afghanistan-AP-640x480David Hudson at the White House blog writes, Bringing the War in Afghanistan to a Responsible End:

[Tuesday] afternoon in the White House Rose Garden, President Obama talked briefly about the United States’ next steps in Afghanistan, and how “we will bring America’s longest war to a responsible end.”

Over the last several years, we’ve worked to transition security responsibilities to the Afghans. One year ago, Afghan forces assumed the lead for combat operations. Since then, they’ve continued to grow in size and in strength, while making huge sacrifices for their country. This transition has allowed us to steadily draw down our own forces — from a peak of 100,000 U.S. troops, to roughly 32,000 today.

The President announced today that 22,000 more troops will return home by the end of the year, ending the U.S. combat mission in December 2014.

“When I took office, we had nearly 180,000 troops in harm’s way,” President Obama said. “By the end of this year, we will have less than 10,000.”

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