CNN: ‘Israeli Troops Have Carried Out Local Raids in Gaza, IDF Says’

Posted on October 13, 2023 by FredSchneiderUS

Richard Greene_ CNN - Google SearchSource:CNN reporter Richard Greene.

“Israeli troops have carried out local raids over the past day in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said Friday.

The raids involved “infantry and armored forces,” the IDF said.

Troops searched for hostages and collected evidence that would help them find the captives, according to the IDF statement. The military also said it “thwarted terrorist cells and infrastructure located in the area, including a Hamas cell that fired anti-tank missiles toward Israeli territory.”

The IDF said it has also continued strikes on Hamas targets in Gaza.”

From CNN

“Israeli troops have carried out local raids in the Gaza Strip, the Israel Defense Forces said. The raids involved “infantry and armored forces,” the IDF said, and troops searched for hostages.”

Israeli troops have carried out local raids in Gaza, IDF saysSource:CNN– welcome to Gaza in 2023.

From CNN

I’m sure that this has been said before, but this is Israel’s Pearl Harbor and 9/11, 2001. Imagine if Cuban terrorists who were sent not just from from Cuba, but the Cuban Communist State there, to bomb innocent Floridians, perhaps ex-Cuban nationals who fled Cuba, to escape the Communist State there and then successfully executed that bombing, of course America would respond not just with a full attack against the Communist State there, but perhaps even to take out the Communist State and then occupy Cuba, till a responsible government could be formed there.

The old cliche that war is hell, but sometimes it’s also a necessary evil to prevent further murders and to protect your own people. I don’t think Israel, regardless of what you think of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his nationalist government there, has no choice but to knock out the Hamas Government in Gaza, not just for the good of his own people in Israel, but for the good the Palestinians who are living in Gaza. (If you want to call that living)

After the Hamas regime is eliminated in Gaza, then Israel should set up a temporary, responsible, hopefully Palestinian led government in Gaza, that could govern Gaza, until the Palestinians are ready to set up their own government there, that is accountable and responsible to their own people, that’s friendly to Israel and the Jewish people there, that can all govern and defend Gaza, in a responsible way.

At risk of sounding like a Neoconservative: I don’t make these arguments as a Neoconservative, but as as an actual Liberal Democrat (meaning someone who believes in liberal democracy and the protection of innocent lives) who believes people shouldn’t be murdered simply because of their ethnicity. And while Israel is taking down Hamas in Gaza, they need to see that as many Palestinian innocent civilians as possible in Gaza, are allowed to leave Gaza temporarily to a safe place where they could stay, until Gaza is safe for them to return and live.

You can also see this post on Blogger.

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C-SPAN: Representative Michael McCaul On Electing a House Speaker

Posted on October 12, 2023 by kireschneider

C-SPAN_ Representative Michael McCaul On Electing a House SpeakerSource:C-SPAN– U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (Republican, Texas) Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Source:The New Democrat

“Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) on electing a House speaker: “It’s a dangerous game that we’re playing. It just proves our adversaries right that democracy doesn’t work. Our adversaries are watching us.”

From C-SPAN

Just on a personal note first: If you are familiar with both Representative Michael McCaul and former Representative Adam Kinzinger and now CNN political commentator Adam Kinzinger, they might remind you of each other as far as how they talk, their voices, and ideologically they’re very similar center-right, Conservative Republicans as well.

As far as what Representative McCaul said here, he’s completely right. To use a sports analogy: imagine a football team without a QB, you wouldn’t have an offense or a leader. The Speaker of the House is the leader of the entire House of Representatives. When that office is vacant, the whole place basically shuts down as far as offering bills and amendments, passing any legislation, conducting oversight, etc.

Thanks to the Far-Right of the House Republican Conference, House Republicans look like Karaoke Night at Bob’s Diner or some place. They look like a bunch of amateurs who don’t know what the hell they are doing. But at least they all have the same person to thank for that, Matt Gaetz.

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Harry Litman: ‘Former Trump CFO Drops BOMBSHELL at Civil Fraud Trial’

Posted on October 12, 2023 by FredSchneiderUS

Harry Litman_ 'Former Trump CFO Drops BOMBSHELL at Aivil Fraud TrialSource:Harry Litman– former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg.

Source:The New Democrat

“Former Trump CFO Allen Weisselberg testified today at the civil fraud trial in New York. During his testimony, he revealed that he knew the square footage of Trump’s apartment had been inflated by almost three times. Weisselberg is also a defendant in the case.
–
TALKING FEDS PODCAST is a roundtable discussion that brings together prominent former government officials, journalists, and special guests for a dynamic and in-depth analysis of the most pressing questions in law and politics.”

From Harry Litman

I’m not very comfortable, not saying I’m not comfortable at all, but I’m not very comfortable with comparing Donald Trump with a mobster simply because Mr. Trump has never ordered the assassination of anyone, or a physical assault, or destruction of someone else’s property against anyone else. But the way prosecutors are going after him and in this case his entire business empire, at least in Manhattan, New York, this is the exactly the same way that prosecutors go after mobsters.

The way prosecutors go after mobsters is that they have one target in mind and they go after everyone else first, not to put them away, necessarily, even though a lot of cooperating witnesses who once worked with or for the target, end up in prison themselves, but what prosecutors tell theses folks that if they work with them and tell them everything that they honestly know about the target and even do that in court under oath, they’ll either receive a reduced penalty for their crimes, or get immunity and get no prison time whatsoever.

That’s what we’re seeing here against Allen Weisselberg. The man is 73 and the idea that he could spend the rest of his life in a New York State prison, or even 10 years of that, even in a minimum security facility, can’t be attractive to him. Unless he’s completely high or drunk and that obviously could change everything.

So Mr. Weisselberg is telling the New York State Attorney General, this is what he knows about how the Trump Organization led by Donald Trump does business, to save his own life, or at least well-being. And that can’t be good for Mr. Trump, because his former CFO probably knows everything about Trump Org.’s business and finances.

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Forbes Magazine: Alan Dershowitz: ”What Are The Odds Of An Appeal Being Successful’ For Donald Trump?’

Posted on October 6, 2023 by kireschneider

Forbes Magazine_ Alan Dershowitz Asked_ 'What Are The Odds Of An Appeal Being Successful'Source:Forbes Magazine– Is Alan Dershowitz lobbying for be Donald J. Trump’s next defense lawyer? Mr. Trump sure as hell needs a good defense lawyer.

Source:The New Democrat

“On “Forbes Newsroom,” attorney Alan Dershowitz spoke about former President Trump’s civil fraud trial in NYC.”

From Forbes Magazine

Why is it every time that Alan Dershowitz speaks about anything now, I get the urge to ask him: “But seriously Mr. Dershowitz, now tell me what you really think about that.” I mean just 8-10 years ago he was considered one of the most respected law professors and defense attorneys in the entire country. A man who could even help get O.J. Simpson off for a double murder that he obviously committed. Now he just sounds like the defense spokesman for Donald Trump. If he wants to work for Mr. Trump, I’m sure he knows who to call and has that number.

I’m going to take up two points that Alan Dershowitz made here.

The first one being that if Donald Trump could get his case appealed in a Federal court, he could get the New York State fraud conviction against him overturned. As David Clay Johnston said, which is linked to a video on The New Democrat :

“This is a civil case that Trump could only appeal on matters of law. They will appeal and will be ignored on anything that has to do with the law. States get to decide who gets to run a business under state law, not the Federal Government.”

So to sum up: this is not a Federal issue. I’m old enough to remember when Republicans believed in localism and federalism, which is another way of saying local control and states rights. Mr. Trump is being sued as private citizen Donald Trump, by the State of New York. Not as the President of the United States, which thank God he’s no longer President.

The 2nd issue that Mr. Dershowitz brought up here (and I was trying not to laugh when I heard him say that) was there are no victims in this New York fraud case against Donald Trump. Last time I checked, people work at, run, and own private banks in America. (As Socialists may hate hearing that and disagree with it) Banks in New York have been getting screwed by Donald Trump for years. And Donald Trump is being prosecuted for violating New York financial laws. If ordinary Joe’s and Mary’s can be prosecuted for financial fraud, so can a self-proclaimed billionaire like Donald Trump.

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Amanpour & Company: Hari Sreenivasan Interviewing David Cay Johnston: ‘Donald Trump’s Whole Life Has Been a Facade’

Posted on October 6, 2023 by FredSchneiderUS

Amanpour & Company_ Journalist on Trump’s Civil Fraud Trial_ “His Whole Life Has Been a Facade”Source:Amanpour & Company– interviewing longtime economics and business journalist David C. Johnston, about Donald J. Trump.

“Donald Trump was back in court today. This time, as the former president answers for his business dealings in New York, his empire could be at stake. The self-described property mogul has already been found liable for “persistent and repeated” fraud in this civil trial. David Cay Johnston is a Pulitzer Prize-winning economics reporter. He joins the show to discuss what this means for the Trump organization.”

From Amanpour & Company

4-5 years ago, longtime Republican strategist and now political filmmaker Mark McKinnon, who served for both President George W. Bush and then Senator John McCain, was on CNN Tonight with Don Lemon. And they were talking about the current investigations into Donald Trump dealing with the 2016 presidential campaign and potential investigations that could be facing then President Trump, once he’s no longer President, whether he’s not reelected in 2020, or leaves office after his 2nd term would’ve been over in 2025.

Mark McKinnon told Don Lemon that the biggest personal mistake that Donald Trump ever made in his life, was getting elected President of the United States. The 2nd biggest mistake that he made, according to Mark McKinnon, was running for President of the United States. Why? Because now that Mr. Trump is in the public eye full-time, all these new investigations not just about his presidency, his business career, or personal life, but how his business and personal affairs affect his presidency, will be under public scrutiny.

I’m sure New York City and the State of New York pre-2016 knew or suspected how big of a fraud and crook that Donald Trump really is. But they never went after him, because they probably thought he had too much money and they couldn’t convict him in court.

But with the Trump presidency and now we know what kind of President he was and what kind of President he would be if God (if there is one) really hates America and somehow Mr. Trump becomes President again and with all the private investigations into his personal and business affairs that David C. Johnston and others have done about him and we know about how much debt he’s in and what his personal wealth might actually be, all the losses that he reported on his own personal tax returns, the State of New York and New York City feel that they now have no choice but to expose and convict Donald Trump, for the good of the country.

There was once a real, real-life, true crime, reality TV show, from Investigation Discovery, called “I Almost Got Away With It”. Not saying that Donald Trump ever appeared on that show, at least not as an ex-fugitive. But Mr. Trump’s whole career has been about getting way with it and screwing innocent people for his own personal profit. (Not in a sexual way, that we know of)

But now that the light is on and we know not just what kind of person Donald J. Trump is, but what kind of businessman he is, his days as a fraud, at least in the State of New York, Florida might be different for him, but his days as The Don of Manhattan, look like they’re coming to an end. But only because he decided that he wanted to be President of the United States and got himself elected.

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Mark Russell: The Line of Death Bar & Grill (1986)

Posted on October 5, 2023 by kireschneider

Mark Russell_ The Line of Death Bar & Grill (1986)Source:PBS political satirist Mark Russell.

Source:The New Democrat

“In 1986, Mark Russell played at the headquarters of the CIA. Written at a time when Reagan, Arafat & Gaddafi were at odds, Russell imagines a bar for CIA employees & comes up with a jingle for the establishment.”

From Mark Russell

So to understand Mark Russell’s video and my post for that matter, you need to take a mental trip back to the 1986 and hopefully you don’t anything that’s currently illegal to help you take that trip.

Go back to the mid 1980s and to 1986: the Cold War was starting to wind down, thanks to agreements that President Ronald Reagan got with the Soviet Union, as well as the fact that the Russian Communist State was already starting to collapse because of the failures of their Communist economy and Communist government all together.

But as the Cold War was coming to an end, other threats, including threats from non-state-actors like in the Middle East and places like Libya were starting emerge. Iraq and the Islamic Republic of Iran were already in that picture as countries that would do business with private terrorist organizations, at least Iran was.

What political satirist Mark Russell is talking about here, is a local Washington bar, where Washington national security and intelligence folks would gather and throw a few back and socialize.

Hey, if I was a national security or intelligence official, I would probably throw a few back myself. But hopefully not to the point that I would take the Stars Wars films seriously and think we could bomb Russia from outer space. Or go up 15 years later and see weapons of mass distraction, I mean destruction, that we’re no longer there.

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CNN: The Source With Kaitlan Collins: Representative Nancy Mace: ‘Describes Backlash She Has Received Since Voting To Oust Kevin McCarthy’

Posted on October 5, 2023 by FredSchneiderUS

Rep_ Mace describes backlash she has received since voting to oust McCarthySource:CNN– U.S. Representative Nancy Mace (Republican, South Carolina) talking to Kaitlan Collins.

Source:The New Democrat

“Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) talks with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about her vote to oust Kevin McCarthy from his role as speaker and the backlash she has received since the vote.”

From CNN

Representative Nancy Mace represents perhaps the only Democratic leaning seat in the State of South Carolina, at least on the Republican side. Every other South Carolina Republican in the House, represents right-wing, Republican, heavy, districts. I’m just saying this because she’s a vulnerable House Republican both with Republicans and Democrats in that district.

Having said all of that, she makes a very good case for why she voted to vacate Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The style of leadership that Kevin McCarthy had as Speaker, was doing exactly what Nancy Pelosi did when she was Speaker, which was to right the bills that made it to the House floor, from the House Republican Leadership office and the try to round up enough Republican votes to pass the bill.

Perhaps Speaker McCarthy would consult both center-right Republicans like Representative Mace, as well as MAGA Republicans like Matt Gaetz first and try to find something that they both could support. But his style of legislating, was doing exactly what he criticized Speaker Pelosi for, which was backroom deals, last minute pieces of legislation, where perhaps even the handful of people who wrote the bill, didn’t even read the bill. (Go, figure. Welcome to Congress.)

What Representative Mace who is a center-right, Conservative Republican is saying, along with even the MAGA Republicans are saying, is that they want the whole House to be able to write, amend, and read the bills, before they have to vote on them. Which is apparently what Speaker McCarthy promised them, as a condition for becoming Speaker of the House back in January. And they make great points here.

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell: Motion-To-Vacate

Posted on October 4, 2023 by kireschneider

Source:C-SPAN– Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Republican, Kentucky) talking to reporters.

“Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) praised former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on Wednesday, the day after the historic 216–210 House vote to remove him from office.

“We had a great personal relationship, trying to lead to very different parts of the American government. I think he has much to be proud of,” the Kentucky Republican said. “I’m one person who is extremely grateful for his service.”

Sen. McConnell said he hopes whoever is the next speaker eliminates the motion to the vacate, the procedure that was used to force a vote to oust Speaker McCarthy.

“I think it makes the speaker’s job impossible, and the American people expect us to have a functioning government,” he told reporters…

From C-SPAN

Again to try to translate Congressional speak into basic American English: what Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is saying here, is that the Speaker of the House shouldn’t be able to lose their job, because just more than a handful of members of the majority conference (what Republicans call majority caucus) decide they know longer want the current Speaker because of this decision or that one. And then they just move with this motion to vacate on the House floor and get little more than a handful of votes from their own conference, along with 212 House Democrats, to vote to vacate the current Speaker.

I think House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries lost an opportunity before Tuesday, to offer to Speaker McCarthy the ability to save his job, in exchange for House Democrats getting a return to regular order in the House and no longer govern out of crisis. But instead go back to the committee process, where all legislation is marked up, gets amended, gets passed out of committee before it makes it to the floor and then where both minority members and majority members of the House, could offer and have their relevant amendments voted on the floor up or down.

Here’s another opportunity for Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries: center-right House Republicans would need a lot of House Democratic votes to amend the motion to vacate and require a majority of the majority, before the motion is even voted on. Jeffries could get House Republicans those votes, in exchange for returning the House of Representatives back to regular order.

You can also see this post on Blogger.

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Amanpour & Company: Michel Martin Interviewing Russell Moore: ‘We’ve Lost Our Credibility To The Outside World’

Posted on October 4, 2023 by FredSchneiderUS

Top Evangelical Leader_ “We’ve Lost Our Credibility to the Outside World” _ Amanpour and CompanySource:Amanpour & Company interviewing Russell Moore.

Source:The New Democrat

“Russell Moore is the editor-in-chief of Christianity Today. In his new book he explores democracy, cynicism, and the state of the evangelical church. Moore joins Michel Martin to discuss the challenges of religious identity and his hopes for future expressions of Christianity in America and beyond.”

From Amanpour & Company

I’m not a religious at all obviously as an Agnostic, even though I believe in freedom of and from religion for everyone, as well as the separation of church and state. So I’m some what reluctant in using religious rhetoric to make political arguments.

But what the Evangelical-Right is going through in America right now, with being so political, especially in a partisan way and so invested in one political party, where now it’s their politics and what they want to accomplish politically, is more important to them, then their own actual religious values, is not new for them.

To put it bluntly: the Evangelical-Right sold their soles to The Devil Donald Trump, a man whose not even religious at all, as much as he might claim to be Presbyterian, he’s guilty of violating perhaps at least 5 of the 10 Commandants everyday.

The Trump movement is not a religious movement, or even a conservative movement. It’s a nationalistic, hyper-partisan, and at times very militant, political movement of cultural warriors. Not American patriots who want the best for America, who’ll defend America and the U.S. Constitution, and republic.

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C-SPAN: Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Speaker McCarthy’s “Secret Deal” With Democrats

Posted on October 2, 2023 by kireschneider

Rep_ Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Speaker McCarthy's _secret deal_ with DemocratsSource:C-SPAN– U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz (MAGA, Florida)

Source:The New Democrat

“Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says Speaker McCarthy made a “secret deal” with Democrats on funding for Ukraine: It is becoming increasingly clear who the Speaker of the House already works for and it’s not the Republican Conference.”

From C-SPAN

In case there are any intoxicated jurors left in the jury room who are still out on this and who also happen to be escaped mental patients, that no one else is even aware of: I’m not only a ,mindreader, but I don’t pretend to be one either. So now that little secret is out of the bag, I’ll try to interpret what Representative Matt Gaetz (Republican, Florida) was trying to say here, from Congressional speak, to just good, old-fashion, American English.

I’m thinking that based on this speech, that Representative Gaetz doesn’t think there are enough votes for his motion to vacate Speaker Kevin McCarthy and have him replaced by someone else. Just by the fact that he’s now talking about this supposed side deal that Speaker McCarthy has with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, where they would fund both Ukraine and the Southern American border and perhaps Leader Jeffries would give the Speaker the Democrat votes that he Speaker needs to keep his job and perhaps House Democrats would get something else when it comes to how the House is managed and so-forth.

Also, you hear Representative Gaetz (and I’m paraphrasing here) say that if the whole House knew, or at least the House Republican Conference knew what the Speaker and House Democrats are up too, when it comes to this supposed side deal that they have, then there would be enough votes to vacate the Speaker of the House. But again, I’m not a mindreader, not even a Congressional mindreader and I don’t pretend to be one. (For the two people left in the world, who also happen to be sane and sober, who have any doubts about that)

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