Washington is on edge this morning after congressional leaders were briefed on a strike on Iran and the military deployed assets for the pre-dawn attack only to have President Donald Trump rescind the order. Democrats briefed on the attack urged Trump to deescalate and he appears to have heeded such calls, not only from congressional leaders but some in his own Administration. Frankly, the decision to pull back is reassuring for many who felt like there was an orchestrated effort to push the U.S. into a war with Iran — a war reportedly encouraged by allies like Israel and Saudi Arabia.
I have never hid my disinclination for such attacks or my view that presidents (and Congress) routinely ignore the constitutional requirements for declared wars. I continue to view economics, not military force, as the primary driving force for change in the world. That may be a bias from my time at University of Chicago but I believe that our wars, particularly in the Middle East, have shown a poor record of success while costing us trillions as well as thousands of dead soldiers, sailors, and airmen. In this case, it would seem that the placement of the mines and the targeting of an unmanned aircraft were designed to control possible damage and loss of life. That does not mean that the United States should not respond. However, I am leery of using military force in the region with no long-term plan other than the desire of some for a long-awaited war with Iran.
One of my hopes was that, as a businessman, Trump would not be so keen as some like John Bolton to see war as a viable avenue for global political influence. There are reports that Trump gave Iran a prior warning of the attack and sought a dialogue as an alternative to war. Trump reportedly canceled the operation when the estimate of projected deaths rose to 150.
The attack was reportedly designed to minimize Iranian deaths by hitting installations in the early hours. Media is reporting that on Thursday night, the military was moving forward with the attack deployments of planes and ships in position when Trump rescinded the order.
The response to the shooting down of the unmanned, $130 million surveillance drone risked touching off a powder keg in the area and possible closing the key Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
The media has reported that National Security Adviser John Bolton (a long advocate of military force and proponent for confrontation with Iran) was supportive of the strike. CIA Director Gina Haspel also supported a strike according to these reports. However, Pentagon officials reportedly voiced their concerns that we could easily find ourselves in a full-fledged war that could escalate out of control.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/british-mp-george-galloway-loves-to-hate-the-usa
Possibly another oversight by The Educated One, who failed to post this link too.
I would note that The Daily Beast has a left-wing bias, but they will occasionally call a charlatan to task regardless of his/ her political leanings.
Galloway has made mistakes, but who hasn’t. He’s right on the mark, with this tweet:
“When I look at the donkey derby lined up to seek the nomination to stand against Trump I’m not that impressed.
The one man who can win the nomination and can defeat President Trump is Bernie Sanders of that I am absolutely persuaded..”
https://twitter.com/georgegalloway/status/1142884749431726082 -with additional commentary
His faults aside, he’s a great orator. And he was 100% correct about the war in Iraq.
“On 23 June, The Mother of All Talk Shows, a radio show hosted by British politician George Galloway, returns after a month-long hiatus in a new format on Sputnik”
https://sputniknews.com/agency_news/201906231076027006-mother-of-all-talk-shows-premieres-on-sputnik-today/
Sputnik News, or RT, would be a fitting forum for Galloway.
I think some form of Pravda and/Tass still exist, so maybe Galloway with find other fitting venues.
“Galloway has made mistakes,”
One can say the same for Stalin.
“Stalin”
Allan is singing his nonsensical party line again. Good boy.
Just because you do not know your history anonymous don’t think everyone else is as stupid as you.
George Galloway Senate Testimony (FULL)
A couple of comments to one of the videos of Galloway’s full Senate testimony.
“The British public has been conditioned to dislike this man by controlled media. He’s no anti Semite or terrorist sympathiser. He’s simply anti political corruption and anti war. He’s also quite extraordinarily articulate.”
“He’s a gentleman and a scholar!!! Quite simply George Galloway is a legend.”
The video posted instead of just the link. My apologies. The quality of the first one is better. Otherwise, they’re pretty much the same, I think.
“Quite simply George Galloway is a legend.” in your own mind brainless as it is.
Watch the video, chump.
It’s the first in a series, titled “Educating Allan.”
George Galloway testifying doesn’t really tell us much does it? We can see what he has done on a regular basis and that I think counts for a lot more. What you say under a generic name is always questionable.
Anonymous did not give the source of that “legend” quotation.
It seems “highly probably” that the quote was from Galloway himself.🤔
Tom, we cannot blame anonymous for mental deficiency. She likes Galloway. He sits on the same side of the table as Stalin, Mao and Castro. All we have to know is that anonymous sits on that side as well.
This must be just a coincidence🙄, but I’ve noticed that when L4B is exiled, a similarly demented and prolific “Anonymous” shows up.
Tom, if they post under the same name they are the same person as far as I am concerned.
Trevor Noah says TRUMP IS THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO ‘ACTUALLY DELIVER’ ON PROMISES
By Marisa Dellatto
Trevor Noah says Donald Trump is the first presidential candidate to “actually deliver” on his promises.
During a visit to “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” the host of “The Daily Show” talked about how Trump has given his show “purpose.”
Noah says when he took over for Jon Stewart in 2015, people thought the South African joke man “wasn’t angry enough,” he told Kimmel Thursday.
“‘Where’s your indignation?’” Noah said he was asked. “But what do you have to be angry about? Things are going great right now. Your economy is growing, your president is loved,” he recalled saying about the Obama administration.
Things changed for Noah’s “Daily Show” when Trump took office.
“Ironically, it’s funny that Donald Trump would be the first presidential candidate to actually deliver. Hate him or love him, he’s doing the things he said he was going to do,” he told Kimmel.
“In the beginning, everyone was like, ‘He doesn’t mean build a wall, he doesn’t mean ban all Muslims,’ and [Trump]’s like, ‘No, it totally means that.’ So that has given us purpose,” the known Trump critic said.
OT: Part of a summary for the past week.
” MoveOn.org held nationwide #ImpeachTrump rallies last weekend and (sad trombone) things didn’t quite go as planned. An ice cream truck would have drawn a bigger crowds. Worse, still, the President himself took notice of the meager turnout. Boy, that “Resistance” is really something, huh? From the looks of the few that did show up, maybe they should be offering free testosterone at these rally’s. It’s obvious by the men that attend, it is in very short supply.
President Trump held a little rally of his own this week, officially announcing his re-election campaign to a raucous capacity crowd of over 25k with tens of thousands more tailgating and watching jumbotrons outside. It was classic Trump. He hit all his usual high notes bragging about his successes, calling out the fake news media and the Democrat hoaxters, etc., and the crowd ate it up. The familiar chants of CNN sucks, Build The Wall and Lock Her Up returned. In the midst of all that hoopla, PDJT made a simple statement that is the essence of his entire presidency as it relates to the voters, saying “The Democrats do not care about Russia. They only care about their own cynical power. They went after my family, my business, my finances, my employees, almost everyone I’ve known and worked with. But they are really going after you.”
In the wake of his wildly successful kick-off, the Trump campaign raised a staggering $24M in the first 24 hours. More than the top 5 Democrat contenders did combined. For once I agree with Michael More. The $24M man “hasn’t lost one inch of his fired-up insane base.” Ignore the battlefield prep from the mainstream media – Donald Trump is the odds-on favorite for reelection against whichever weirdo, loser or mutation the Democrats finally pick as their nominee. The leaked polls purportedly showing Trump deep underwater to Floppy Joe and Bernie Stalin and that has-been furry from Texas are about as reliable as the ones the placed Felonia Milhous von Pantsuit in the White House. They keep counting him out. But he keeps winning. And the smart money is on him doing it again in 2020.
After of last week’s attacks on foreign oil tankers, Iran revved up tensions even more by shooting down a US drone in international waters over the Strait of Hormuz, leading to expectations of a “measured response” from President Trump. While I suspect traitors Dianne Feinstein and John (you rang?) Kerry put the Mullahs up to it to try and entrap Trump into going to war, I’ll defer to the brilliant Victor Davis Hanson on what’s driving the Iranians’ escalation. For his part, Trump announced today that he pulled the plug 10 minutes before a planned retaliation for the unprovoked attack, when he learned there would be about Iranian 150 casualties. Doesn’t quite fit the “Trump is a fascist, warmonger, racist, xenophobe, tyrant, idiot, narcissist, nazi, etc” narrative, does it? I can’t wait to see how the Enemedia is going to spin it. Undoubtedly the same “unbiased journalists” who blamed him for escalating tensions today will call him a coward tomorrow, bacause that’s how they roll. For now, this was the right move. Nobody died so keep squeezing them in other ways. But if they act up again, no more half-measures. I was thinking of taking a couple of B-2 stealth bombers and doing a little re-decorating in downtown Tehran. Or deport AOC, Joy Behar, Rosie O’Donnell and Alyssa Milano to Iran….they’ll annoy the Mullahs into submission.” …
Nils Melzer:
“A timely quote by someone who knew all about manipulating his people with war-mongering speech…”
https://twitter.com/NilsMelzer/status/1141996580783964160
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hermann_G%C3%B6ring
Göring: Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.
Gilbert: There is one difference. In a democracy, the people have some say in the matter through their elected representatives, and in the United States only Congress can declare wars.
Göring: Oh, that is all well and good, but, voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.
In an interview with Gilbert in Göring’s jail cell during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials (18 April 1946)
This is dedicated to L4D….
The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Reading 1
GN 14:18-20
In those days, Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought out bread and wine,
and being a priest of God Most High,
he blessed Abram with these words:
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
the creator of heaven and earth;
and blessed be God Most High,
who delivered your foes into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Responsorial Psalm PS 110:1, 2, 3, 4
R.(4b) You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
till I make your enemies your footstool.”
R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The scepter of your power the LORD will stretch forth from Zion:
“Rule in the midst of your enemies.”
R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
“Yours is princely power in the day of your birth, in holy splendor;
before the daystar, like the dew, I have begotten you.”
R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
The LORD has sworn, and he will not repent:
“You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.”
R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek.
Reading 2
1 COR 11:23-26
Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Gospel
LK 9:11B-17
Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God,
and he healed those who needed to be cured.
As the day was drawing to a close,
the Twelve approached him and said,
“Dismiss the crowd
so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms
and find lodging and provisions;
for we are in a deserted place here.”
He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.”
They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have,
unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.”
Now the men there numbered about five thousand.
Then he said to his disciples,
“Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.”
They did so and made them all sit down.
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish,
and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing over them, broke them,
and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And when the leftover fragments were picked up,
they filled twelve wicker baskets.
link for above readings…
http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062319.cfm
An interesting “Face the Nation” exchange between Bernie Sanders and Margaret Brennan:
Glenn Greenwald Retweeted:
“He was just doing a limited strike” says the ‘Face the nation’ host
“Oh…just a limited strike!” @BernieSanders quipped, “Oh, I’m sorry, I just didn’t know that it’s okay to simply attack another country with bombs. That’s a limited strike? That’s an act of warfare,”
https://twitter.com/Ventuckyspaz/status/1142649914364575744
RollingStone:
Bernie Sanders Burns Trump on Iran Strike: ‘It’s Like Setting a Fire, Then Putting it Out’
“He helped create the crisis and then he stopped the attacks,” the candidate said
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/bernie-sanders-burns-trump-on-iran-strike-851527/
Today’s calendar of the Catholic Church presented the popular reading from the Gospel of St Luke where Jesus Christ fed a multitude of people from a simple number of bread loaves and fishes? A Jesuit theologian and Old Testament Biblical scholar asks a pertinent question given the rancor in our public square and on the internet. Enjoy.
How can your own words of blessing transform the life of another?
https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/05/31/how-has-eucharist-transformed-your-life
Body and Blood of Christ
Genesis 14:18-20,
Psalm 110
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Luke 9:11-17
Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, he said the blessing over them and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.’(Lk 9:16)
People in the ancient world thought blessings had concrete effects. Such belief is not common today, when people treat blessings as symbolic activities. A blessing today might express concern after a sneeze, approval for a marriage or thanksgiving before a meal, but the words of the blessing manifest only an unseen, interior reality. Biblical people thought a blessing had a detectable effect on the material world. When Jacob “stole” Isaac’s blessing from his brother, for example, Isaac mourned that the blessing would now go to the wrong son. Although Isaac’s intent was to bless Esau, his eldest, once the words were uttered over Jacob, they transformed reality for both sons in a permanent way.
This gives context to the blessing that appears in this Sunday’s first reading. Melchizedek blesses Abram in a ritual that includes bread and wine. The implied effect of this blessing appears in the following chapter, when God offers a covenant to Abram (Gn 15:1-21). Though the two passages may have come from distinct traditions, the compilers of Genesis juxtaposed them to make it clear that the covenant God offered to Abram was, at least in part, the result of Melchizedek’s blessing.
About Melchizedek Scripture preserves only this narrative in Gn 14:18-20. He was a priest of God but lived long before Aaron, and his life and ministry were a matter of increased speculation around Jesus’ time. If the priesthood that Moses and Aaron established represented the “normal” priesthood established by God’s own law, then Melchizedek’s priesthood represented an act of God’s sovereign freedom to work outside the law. The writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls, believing that the Aaronide priests of the temple had become irrevocably corrupt, seized on this. They saw in Melchizedek a supernatural character who could come and purify Israel’s religious establishment. Early Christians, recognizing something similar in Jesus, noted the connections between Melchizedek’s offering of bread and wine and Jesus’ actions at the Last Supper. At least some saw in him a new Melchizedek, who had come from God to restore Israel’s lost sanctity (Heb 6:20-7:3).
The belief that Jesus was continuing the work of Melchizedek reveals a covenantal meaning to his blessing in this Sunday’s Gospel. The abundance it produced symbolized the new life offered under the reign of God. Luke uses similar language to link Jesus’ blessing over the bread and fish to the blessing over the bread and cup at the Last Supper. Through these actions, Jesus continues the ministry of Melchizedek, offering a covenantal blessing to anyone who participates in the Eucharist.
Eucharistic abundance is real, but not always clear. How often do we, like the apostles, face situations of vast need with resources seemingly as meager as stale bread and a few anchovies? We can trust Jesus’ blessing to have a real effect. With a faith like that of our biblical ancestors, we can find in Christ’s body, blessed and broken for us, the source of everything we need.
An interesting “Face the Nation” exchange between Bernie Sanders and Margaret Brennan:
Glenn Greenwald Retweeted:
“He was just doing a limited strike” says the ‘Face the nation’ host
“Oh…just a limited strike!” @BernieSanders quipped, “Oh, I’m sorry, I just didn’t know that it’s okay to simply attack another country with bombs. That’s a limited strike? That’s an act of warfare,”
https://twitter.com/Ventuckyspaz/status/1142649914364575744
Bernie Sanders Burns Trump on Iran Strike: ‘It’s Like Setting a Fire, Then Putting it Out’
“He helped create the crisis and then he stopped the attacks,” the candidate said
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/bernie-sanders-burns-trump-on-iran-strike-851527/
THEY FIX SPORTS – THEY FIX GOVERNMENT
The “deep state” has a “deep bench.”
Gina Haspel and Christopher Wray are recent additions. Haspel is Brennan’s favored protege and she was COS London during Steele’s “dossier” enterprise. Wray came from the totally corrupted 7th Floor.
_______________________________________________________
The Obama Coup D’etat in America is the most egregious abuse of power and the most prodigious scandal in American political history.
The co-conspirators are:
Rosenstein, Mueller/Team, Comey, Christopher Wray, McCabe, Strozk, Page, Laycock, Kadzic, Yates,
Baker, Bruce Ohr, Nellie Ohr, Priestap, Kortan, Campbell, Sir Richard Dearlove, Steele, Simpson,
Joseph Mifsud, Alexander Downer, Stefan “The Walrus” Halper, Azra Turk, Kerry, Hillary, Huma, Mills,
Brennan, Gina Haspel, Clapper, Lerner, Farkas, Power, Lynch, Rice, Jarrett, Holder, Brazile,
Sessions (patsy), Obama et al.