While Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Charter is inarguably non-binding on Member countries to use military force to defend other Members, that such a response is required has become an article of faith through repeated mis-interpretation of the Article. In fact, a careful reading of Article 5 makes it clear that other NATO Members are free to do nothing at all if another Member is attacked. A NATO Member is only bound to take "such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area." It may well be deemed necessary to ignore an attack on a NATO Member in many circumstances. read on...
The Senate is expected to vote as early as tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon on a measure to disapprove of President Trump's announced deal to transfer half a billion dollars worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia. The bipartisan measure, introduced by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), could lead to the Senate blocking the massive weapons sale, striking a serious blow to what the President touted as a major achievement of his first foreign trip last month. read on...
Rep. Walter Jones, Jr. (R-NC) has looked at war from both sides. As he has readily shared with us, he was hoodwinked by the US intelligence community in the run-up to the Iraq war. He attended the briefings and he trusted the "professionals." As the neocon promised "cakewalk" turned out to be a slaughterhouse, he began to think hard about what he had been told about Iraq and terrorism and 9/11. read on...
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-ME) and I just re-introduced legislation to make it easier for small farms and ranches to serve consumers. The#PRIME (Processing Revival and Intrastate Meat Exemption) Act would give individual states freedom to permit intrastate distribution of custom-slaughtered meat such as beef, pork, or lamb, to consumers, restaurants, hotels, boarding houses, and grocery stores. read on...
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is expected to offer legislation as early as tomorrow (Wednesday) to force a Senate vote on President Trump's freshly-inked deal to sell $110 billion in US weapons to Saudi Arabia. Using the increased authority over the transfer of American-made weapons overseas granted Congress by the 1976 Arms Control Export Act, Senator Paul, according to an aide, will introduce a motion of disapproval regarding the sale. read on...
"Putin derangement syndrome" may have finally jumped the shark. Just minutes ago on the US Senate Floor, Sen. Rand Paul did the sensible thing and blocked NATO accession for tiny, corrupt Montenegro. The inconsequential Balkan country brings absolutely nothing to the NATO alliance, with its army of approximately 1,950 active duty military, a population the size of the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and a history political repression and corruption. read on...
On Thursday, the United States House of Representatives approved H.J.Res. 40. The legislation prohibits the imposition of regulations published in December that define a process for placing individuals, who the Social Security Administration unilaterally determines have sufficient mental health problems, into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) database so the government may restrain them from purchasing and possessing guns. The regulations, which had been in the works for years, would breach the privacy of affected individuals, while also denying respect for their due process rights and their constitutionally protected right to bear arms. read on...
US House Member Justin Amash (R-MI) announced Wednesday on Twitter that the Obama administration has agreed to the request Amash and fellow House Member Walter Jones (R-NC) made to President Barack Obama on December 19 that a classified briefing be provided for all Congress members concerning evidence being used to support claims that the Russian government interfered in the 2016 US presidential election to help Donald Trump’s campaign. read on...
During consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in the spring, the proposal that women be required to sign up with Selective Service just as are men started on a roller coaster ride in the United States Congress. That ride had a couple more turns this week. On Tuesday, a United States Senate and House of Representatives conference committee, which was creating a compromise version of the NDAA because the two bodies had passed differing bills, released a final bill that leaves out such a requirement. Then, on Thursday, the Obama administration announced support for requiring women to register with Selective Service. read on...
Forget that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPA) agreed between Iran and the so-called P5+1 consisting of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, and the European Union has by all accounts been one of the few real foreign policy successes in the eight years of an otherwise war-dominated Obama Administration. Forget that the promise of normalizing trade relations with Iran would produce untold wealth -- and jobs -- for both the US and Iran. Forget that the Europeans are flocking in droves to resume lucrative trade with Iran, despite president-elect Trump's inexplicable Iranophobia. Forget that as the "Germany of the Middle East," Iran brings to the table "80 million people, an educated workforce, and a proud tradition of manufacturing"and a potential economic bonanza for its partners. read on...
