Your analysis is insightful and the best overall that I have heard. Congress needs to wake up to protect our constitution and our country. I strongly support your continued efforts.
Figures an elite PHD is complimentary of this dude. When you include PHD in your handle you are obviously saying you’re smarter than everyone else. The sad truth is you are not.
I don't hold it against someone for listing their credentials. Why is it bad to announce that degree when the topic at hand requires the skills of advanced thinking? I don't have an advanced degree, and but I don't think having one means a person is "smarter than everyone else." It means they've been through rigorous intellectual tests I have not been through, that's all. I respect that the way I respect physicians when they tell me I ought to get a vaccination. They aren't smarter than me, but they have experience and knowledge I do not have.
That is very kind of you, and I am honoured to have had the privilege of the education I have received.
Much as Daren celebrates the Bucks, and "how 'bout those Brewers?" I am very happy to recognise Cambridge University for what I was given by many generous teachers and colleagues during my time there.
Perhaps my greatest honour however, is to be the grandson of the man whose name my father gave me: also David J. Brown.
He worked in the coal pits in a small village in the South of Wales during the First World War, and then leading up to the Second one.
He gave his care to his fellow townsmen in their going down those mines on a daily basis, and later in his life served to help people in need in his community as a village ombudsman.
Queen Elizabeth honoured him with the British Empire Medal for that public service during her rather generous term of governance.
So I do hope that I am not using any of my own life's experience in a way that might dishonour either him, or any of my family, for whom I have only wished to live up to such an example.
Thank you all for allowing me to provide a little personal biographical context :)
No don’t kid yourself. You aren’t too smart. If you are referring to the Covid vaccine then you got vaccinated by an experimental unproven drug. All these brilliant phd’s and physicians said get the vaccine and you won’t get Covid and you can’t spread Covid. That’s a lie.
Did you have some personal experience with a vaccination, or did someone else in your family have some sort of a bad outcome resulting from some kind of medical advice otherwise?
I agree with you that it is very valuable to learn from direct personal experience about things in life, and then we have to try to understand what might have gone wrong - where perhaps we could have had some control over it.
We do all also come to believe certain things, based on the best possible information that is available to us, even when it doesn't come from our own direct personal experience.
And then this can be a bit of a tricky thing.
It relies - especially in Medicine, maybe a bit on our willingness to have trust in people who we *think* have studied the mechanisms involved in various diseases, and also (maybe scarier still,) to accept some medications that are purported to address those matters
At the end of WWII one of the major things that was killing people off was what was then called 'chest disease.' This is what we now know at Tuberculosis - a bacterium which causes a rather nasty infection in the lungs, which had a pretty high mortality rate if it was not treated.
But, as you probably know, antibiotics were discovered around this time: Penicillin is the most obvious one of these of course.
But just a bit later on, the pneumococcal bacterium that caused TB was also studied, and a very specific antibiotic was developed that was very effective at killing that off.
The field of "Chest Medicine" as it was then called was kinda ended like turning off a light switch.
Of course virae are a slightly different mechanism from bacteria, but these mechanisms are now pretty well studied and understood. It doesn't mean that there is *zero* risk of course, when any individual takes any sort of drug, so it's not unreasonable to be as well informed as you can about the state of play in the circumstance of any such emerging new virus (or bacterium for that matter.)
I'm wondering what your personal experience was witlh all of this, and how it is that you went about learning about it all, and therefore made your own personal choices.
Is it truly a vaccine, when it neither prevents infection, nor cures an infection, nor stops the spread of the infection? Seems to be more of a treatment, in that it reduces the severity of the infection.
Shoot, I had most of a reply, and then I deleted it (darn MacBook keyboard with a touchpad!)
Anyway, my sister's on the faculty at the Brigham in Boston, and she put me in touch with the guy at the Mass General - head of pulmonary medicine who was rolling up all their weekly clinical data during the initial CoVid outbreak in 2020.
Things were moving way too fast to get published peer-reviewed papers at that point, so it was kinda front line experience.
What was your experience?
Did you get infected, and/or how did you get your information and how did you make decisions abo?
I'm fully vaxxed, yet have had COVID twice. Wasn't too bad and not much different than a standard chest cold. Everyone in my extended family is vaxxed and we've all had COVID except for my brother, who refused the shot, never took precautions, and never got sick. My father (89) has tested positive twice for COVID, but has never had symptoms. So, a mixed bag.
Wow Jeff! That's pretty damn upsetting, and just weird that your brother didn't get infected (though was around you all during all that it sounds like) and I'm also glad to hear that your dad - especially at his age, didn't have any serious consequences even though he did get infected.
Was this mostly in the initial outbreak (round about March of 2020,) or in more than one of the rounds of it that occurred?
And it sounds to be the case that the vaccines did not prevent *your* getting infected, whereas your brother somehow had his own individual natural resistance to it even *without* any vaccination. Note, of course, that the vaccines are based *off* the virus itself, although they're constructed in a way that is supposed to help cultivate resistance in your own body to the actual virus if you get infected with that.
I can recall that it was quite a scramble to develop the initial round of the vaccines during the first outbreak, and I expect they learned more about it as the clinical experience was gained, as well as a they were studying the thing and presumably improving the vaccines in later rounds. I think AstraZeneca are actually based in Cambridge (UK) though we ended up having the Pfizer one around here.
As I mentioned, my sister is in clinical medicine at the Brigham and Women's in Boston, and Corey Hardin is a principal in Pulmonology (at the Mass General) which is also part of that Harvard hospitals system. They were really overwhelmed with the number of cases that occurred in Boston, and the hospitals were both out of beds, as well as there being fewer respirators than they really wanted and needed in that first wave. Chris was telling me relative horror stories about what it was like on the wards at the Brigham, and absolutely every hand was on deck working non stop to keep people with the more severe cases alive.
CoVid is a variant of SARS (types of Severe Acute Respiratory virae,) and for those who got into the more advanced stages of the infection, they were struggling to get sufficient oxygen due to all the inflammation and congestion in their lungs. Hence the respirators of course. But even those weren't enough to save everyone. Many people died on the respirators because of how advanced the infection became in their case(s)
It was a real horror show, and doctors and nurses were working themselves to exhaustion (and in some cases infection and even death themselves.)
Sorry. None of that is especially helpful I know.
Something that may be worth saying, is that these vaccines can *help* to stop or at least limit the rate at which the infection causes damage, but the way that virae work in any individual can vary quite a bit.
The same sort of thing happens with bacterial infections and antibiotics actually. If you don't get those antibiotics going soon enough, the infection can spread more widely, and it can then be much harder to kill it off.
And of course, these bacteria (like virae) also mutate, and so there's this whole thing about having to have different variants of antibiotics as some strains become resistant to earlier ones.
I was vaccinated during the first round of CoVid and luckily never contracted it. But I was also pretty isolated here at home so that also limited the degree of my exposure.
Just this year though I contracted pneumonia! I was aware of the cough's progressing at a fair rate, and so had my GP screen me after about a week or 10 days and she confirmed that it was pneumonia. I think I had azythromycin (one of these newer antibiotics) and a five day course of those was all that was required to kill it off. But it still took a few weeks after that for my lungs to recover from the damage and inflammation.
Pneumonia still kills lots of people, and it can progress pretty quickly, so you have to detect it and treat it as soon as you can.
This year we have a pretty widespread outbreak of some other respiratory virus (which is not CoVid,) and it's a very long-lasting thing. I've been with that for over two months now, and this seems to be the case for lots of people in the community.
Thankfully, this one is not all that severe, but it's been darn persistent!
Infectious disease is just a huge adventure. These virae as well as the bacteria are evolving all the time, and so it's an on-going chase to develop and evolve the vaccines and antibiotics that - in most cases I think, do really help out.
But I know there's a lot of fears and doubt out there about all this stuff, and of course nothing is either completely effective in any individual case, nor without some (usually very small) degree of risk.
But I'm sure glad we're not living in the Middle Ages any more, nor
even in the developing world, where clean water and sanitation cause much worse situations for disease. You really don't want to get Cholera, or Malaria, or amoebic dysentary, or the various kinds of worms that are widely apparent. And it's an absolute tragedy to see what happens to people and their families who happen to get Polio. Thankfully I think we're down to just certain parts of India and Pakistan where Polio is still apparent, but it's something that really spreads fast, and can be very hard to track down and contain outbreaks when they occur.
I've read a few good references about Polio, and know a little bit about the situation with worms - which is the primary focus of the Jimmy Carter Foundatin's work.
Ok, I've written way more than you probably wanted to hear!
Yes, I get that and it does seem the COVID vaccines do reduce severity of the viral infection. I think one of the big issues surrounding it is that it was touted for over a year by influential people (including Justices Sotomayer and Kagan) as preventing infection and preventing spread of infection, which is clearly false and was demonstrably false, at the time. IOW: the gaslighting became intolerable.
With a name like David Brown, it helps to add a little bit more to that in order to disambiguate (assuming you're ok with being identified by others who you might wish to hear further from.)
Please forgive me if you have found my remarks to be somehow condescending or disrespectful in any way.
But I can't really make any apology for my honest admiration for Chris Murphy and all that I've seen him to be doing over this past six months in standing up for his constituents, as well as the rest of us who hope to see America remain a country in which our civil liberties are maintained.
Perhaps you should just stop commenting on this substack if you find it so offensive and off putting! Maybe just go to X where your views will be met with more rage.
I'm a retired physician who almost never uses MD after my name for the reason you have expressed. I mention it only when there's a medical issue discussed. Still, I see nothing wrong when someone includes credentials. They are proud for the work they have done and their accomplishments.
Thanks Chris. All that being said, if it turns out ok and Irans capabilities are diminished the Dems will look bad for opposing this. After all who likes Iran and their proxies?
God knows you assholes think there's too many brown people here in our coubtry...notice, Trumps gestapo aren't deporting any blonde haired blue eyed Europeans who over stayed their visas...or sneaked and are working here.
Only clown is the MAGAT leaving a generalized comment with no context. Context is so difficult for white supremacy folks that wear red hats with words they have a decent chance of spelling properly.
Oh well, I guess we all only get to see *some* of what's going on.
What are the things that you're finding most objectionable about what Chris Murphy is doing?
Or maybe I should be asking: What are the things that you are finding to be the biggest issues that you want to see sorted out in your own life and community?
And are the folks that you have representing you in Congress kinda helping out with those things?
I want to start by thanking our subscribers to this Substack. The MeidasTouch Network has been built with zero investors. We are 100 percent independent. We get 33 million YouTube views every 48 hours. This is more than Fox News and any cable network. Please subscribe now to support the independent reporting at MeidasTouch.
We saw yesterday, again, why independent reporting is so important. The Trump regime rolled out its propaganda that it brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The corporate news was ready with its headlines to praise the arsonist for pretending to put out a fire that was still raging. Once again, the MeidasTouch Network led all war coverage and focused on the truth. The truth is Trump’s attack with Israel on Iran was a total failure.
Let’s examine the facts.
First, there was no intelligence that Iran was about to produce a nuclear weapon with its uranium. Second, Trump’s constant taunts of Iran encouraged them to almost certainly remove the 800 pounds of non-enriched uranium to another facility. Thus, if the goal was “denuclearization,” it seems to have failed. Third, the nuclear facilities were not fully destroyed. Fourth, the United States had to beg China to tell Iran not to close the Strait of Hormuz, thus projecting China as a stabilizing world force. Fifth, Trump ignored all our NATO allies’ efforts to de-escalate. Sixth, to the extent the ceasefire endures, Iran now has nuclear components and no incentive not to enrich the uranium into weapons after seeing negotiations with the U.S. as futile. Seventh, Iran has taken steps to remove any supervision or coordination with the IAEA following the U.S. strikes. Eighth, the ability of the ceasefire to endure is highly dubious, and some of the most intense strikes happened after Trump claimed there was a ceasefire.
Are you starting to talk with your fellow Marines about what we see going on here at the moment?
I think you have a very important role that you can play to help shine a light on all of this.
I know you all care very much about protecting our fellow Americans, and defending the safety and sanctity of our society.
Will you see what you can do - first to talk to one another, and then perhaps to speak out about whether you think that the activation of our women and men in uniform should be present in the streets of our own country when these several million of our general public are out peacefully expressing their objection to some of the very concerning policies and actions of our present administration?
Please help us all to defend the free society that we all want to preserve.
Don’t agree with them all BUT there are a number of sound conclusions! The bottom line is what’s next? I was part of the team that negotiated with Iran years ago. There was no doubt then that their Supreme Leader had strong religious objections to developing a nuclear weapon which could be used to kill hundreds of thousands of opponents of Iran but which could result in retaliation that could kill as many or more Muslims! Just now the Supreme Leader announced he is trying to rally Iranians to support their country. Who knows what‘s next? Who the hell knows?
If I were the Ayatollah, I’d drag my heels to see who follows DJT.
Iran might be moving closer to an A-Bomb, but its deterrent capacity is limited. Who are they gonna nuke—Israel or a Sunni state? And risk massive retaliation?
More dangerous are D-bombs, but even those would likely trigger retaliation.
I want to start by thanking our subscribers to this Substack. The MeidasTouch Network has been built with zero investors. We are 100 percent independent. We get 33 million YouTube views every 48 hours. This is more than Fox News and any cable network. Please subscribe now to support the independent reporting at MeidasTouch.
We saw yesterday, again, why independent reporting is so important. The Trump regime rolled out its propaganda that it brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The corporate news was ready with its headlines to praise the arsonist for pretending to put out a fire that was still raging. Once again, the MeidasTouch Network led all war coverage and focused on the truth. The truth is Trump’s attack with Israel on Iran was a total failure.
Let’s examine the facts.
First, there was no intelligence that Iran was about to produce a nuclear weapon with its uranium. Second, Trump’s constant taunts of Iran encouraged them to almost certainly remove the 800 pounds of non-enriched uranium to another facility. Thus, if the goal was “denuclearization,” it seems to have failed. Third, the nuclear facilities were not fully destroyed. Fourth, the United States had to beg China to tell Iran not to close the Strait of Hormuz, thus projecting China as a stabilizing world force. Fifth, Trump ignored all our NATO allies’ efforts to de-escalate. Sixth, to the extent the ceasefire endures, Iran now has nuclear components and no incentive not to enrich the uranium into weapons after seeing negotiations with the U.S. as futile. Seventh, Iran has taken steps to remove any supervision or coordination with the IAEA following the U.S. strikes. Eighth, the ability of the ceasefire to endure is highly dubious, and some of the most intense strikes happened after Trump claimed there was a ceasefire.
Thank you Chris Murphy for your truthful insight. This corrupt, unlawful administration needs to be stopped. They have already started a war in our country. ICE is assaulting innocent people. Treating them in the most inhumane ways. Now they want a war in the Middle East. What Trump did is constitutionally illegal. When will this administration be held accountable? If this continues congress will be obsolete. Trump thinks he holds all the power and congress enables it. They are all traitors to our constitution.
Listen to yourself. You just said this administration is corrupt and unlawful while you call illegal immigrants innocent people. What part of illegal don’t you get? But please continue backing rapist, murderers and wife beaters. For Trump to win this last election is all about people like you. Americans don’t like what you have to spew.
I don't get that string of epithets. The facts are that migrants commit per capita far fewer crimes than American citizens. ICE rounds up people based on racial profiling, without warrants, often wearing masks, and without identifying themselves. The ICE people have no special qualifications to do this--no training other than to do what's necessary to seize as many bodies as they can. This is the same behavior as the Gestapo. I, for one, do not want thugs able to approach anyone and snatch them off the street. Its un-American.
I am highly educated, not that matters to you. The 14th Amendment clearly protects PEOPLE from unlawful search and seizure. It doesn't confine this to CITIZENS. If the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution had meant to say CITIZENS they would have said so. They were learned and literate men.
Here are the relevant words: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
I would if I I had to in order to save someone from ICE thugs by harboring that person in my home. Christian churches do this as well (I'm talking real Christian Churches, not White Nationalist Christian churches.
The 1798 Enemies Alien act states the process which was followed. This is the Due Process Under Law required by the 14th amendment. This is lawful seizure and deportation.
You need to work on your reading comprehension. SCOTUS did not rule it was Constitutional. In fact, though it let the Trump administration continue to use the Alien Enemies Act it required all people be given due process. The felon President, deciding he's King, has decided to ignore this part of the ruling.
That is legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are 100% criminals.
Title 8 of the U.S. Code identifies federal criminal offenses pertaining to immigration and nationality, including the following two entry-related offenses:
“Illegal Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1325 makes it a crime to unlawfully enter the United States. It applies to people who do not enter with proper inspection at a port of entry, such as those who enter between ports of entry, avoid examination or inspection, or who make false statements while entering or attempting to enter.
A great majority of undocumented immigrants have not committed "illegal entry" as described in 8 USC 1325. To try to justify wholesale seizure and expulsion of undocumented immigrants based on a claim that they are all "criminals" is dishonest and prejudicial.
I think that one other thing, which @GeneralSpecific1 is saying, isn't quite right. My uderstanding is that unlawful entry into the US is a *civil* offense, not *criminal* which is an important distinction.
I think it was Joyce Vance and perhaps Preet Bharara who may have been going through some of these things.
Certainly the conditions for the Alien Enemies Act to apply are not met. This has already been adjudicated in the Federal Courts. There are three conditions I seem to recall, and none of these apply acc.ording to the court.
So I'd invite General Specific to review all of that and see if I've somehow gotten this wrong,
It's best to read the Federal Court's judgement, where this latter decision is spelled out on the AEA aspects of this at least, since I don't think that any of us are immigration - or constitutional lawyers who understand the code with authority :)
Oh! And I see there's a little bit more debate about this criminal vs. civil matter just in the comments below :)
I don't think any of us are professional lawyers with the expertise here, so it's really much better to read the Federal Court's ruling I think.
Illegal does not mean criminal. More to the point, Trump pledged to focus on deporting dangerous criminals -- with lurid references to rapists, murderers, and child molesters. Many supported that initiative. But the Steven Miller mandate to up the volumes of deportations depends on ascribing criminality to vast numbers of undocumented aliens who are just trying to live quiet lives, while contributing positively to the US economy. That will harm us all.
Thank you, Martin Mattes, for your succinct analysis of immigration law, which most lawyers are not steeped in, but non-lawyers are very clueless about while badly wanting to spew uneducated opinions around on the Internet. I am a retired lawyer but had no training nor experience with immigration. So I am grateful for the education I am getting from those who are posting here.
Trump is a criminal as well. Twelve men and women on a jury convicted him of 34 felony counts for lying about his business ventures. Seems to me ICE needs to sweep him up.
Entering this country without a proper visa is a CIVIL offense, not a criminal one. Most immigrants are good, hardworking people. Few commit crimes that you describe. There are far more American citizen rapists, murderers, and wife beaters. Do your homework.
It is not a civil offense. It's been a criminal offense (a misdemeanor) since 1927. Most often, civil PENALTIES are the only ones applied, which includes deportation.
Title 8 of the U.S. Code identifies federal criminal offenses pertaining to immigration and nationality, including the following two entry-related offenses:
“Illegal Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1325 makes it a crime to unlawfully enter the United States. It applies to people who do not enter with proper inspection at a port of entry, such as those who enter between ports of entry, avoid examination or inspection, or who make false statements while entering or attempting to enter.
Again, apparently you haven't noticed, but we have a 14th Amendment that clearly protects all PEOPLE with DUE PROCESS:
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
That law violates the 14th Amendment. Like many fellow Democrats, I do not want to live in a country where masked men with no identification can legally grab anyone they want off the streets and disappear them--take them to an undisclosed detention site and not permit them any legal representation. It's no different from how the Gestapo behaved. It's also reminiscent of the terrible days when American rounded up Japanese Americans and, without granting them due process, sent them to concentration camps. For those of us who believe in the foundational principles of our Republic, grabbing people off the street without due process is morally, ethically, and yes, politically as well, unacceptable, period.
You're forgetting an important piece of the puzzle, friend.
All those rights you think you're defending only kick in when the government is trying to apply a criminal penalty or punishment. When the government attempts to take away your freedom or confiscate your property, everyone (citizen or not) gets the Constitutional goodies like access to counsel, a trial, and the rest of the list in the Bill of Rights.
But deportation is not a penalty or punishment of any kind.
(One more time for the people in the back.)
DEPORTATION IS NOT A PENALTY OR PUNISHMENT. The Supreme Court has affirmed this multiple times going all the way back to the Taft administration. The government is not taking your freedom or your property when they deport you. They are simply saying your presence as a non-citizen is no longer welcome.
An administrative hearing before an Immigration Court (which is NOT an Article III court, NOT part of the Judicial Branch, and NOT a criminal court of any kind) is the most "due process" that is ever warranted for the basic act of deporting a foreign national, and various measures such as "Expedited Removal" (signed by Bill Clinton) have been on the books for decades.
It seems to particularly enrage his detractors when Trump does things that only the President can do. Perhaps it reminds them too forcefully of their ongoing humiliation.
SCOTUS also ruled, in Citizens United, that corporations are people, thereby proving that SCOTUS rulings can be borderline absurd as well as deeply harmful to American democracy. Moreover, SCOTUS does not hand down rulings that last for eternity. It has overruled previous decisions on multiple occasions--most recently, Roe v. Wade (which overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson). Or the famous Plessy v. Ferguson, which was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education. And then there's the most famous SCOTUS rebuke of all, the overturning of the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision--not by the Court, but by the 13th and 14th Amendments. My point is that continually referring to SCOTUS decisions as if SCOTUS is some sort of God in the Sky instead of a human institution like any other that can make mistakes (in the end, SCOTUS does nothing other than interpret the law according to the political inclinations of the sitting justices) doesn't move the moral needle with anyone other than misologists.
So? Your opinion on absurdity is irrelevant. Citizens United does not affect democracy at all. It only affects your misperceptions of what democracy is.
SCOTUS decides. Their decisions are the absolute authority of Consitutional matters (at least according themselves (Marbury v. Madison (1803)) which is a nice bit of circular logic). They can also override previous decisions of previous SCOTUSs. Your "morals" are also irrelevant.
Actually, "corporate personhood" was established back in 1885 by the case of Santa Clara County v. Pacific Railroad.
Your objections seem to uniformly be with law and jurisprudence that's been established for decades. Lord only knows why you're picking now to object. (Eyeroll) You're welcome to try to amend the Constitution....from your party's 20% approval rating.
Adding to your comment: These folks are doing the jobs that the majority of Americans do not want to do and will not step in to replace as they get beaten then carted off to who knows where.
National crime databases have repeatedly shown undocumented immigrants are several times LESS likely than American citizens to commit a crime and MANY TIMES less likely than citizens to commit a serious crime. Yet MAGATS misguidedly continue trashing the “undocs.”
From a law-abiding POV, we citizens should aspire to behave as well as the undocumented immigrants.
What part of the legal process that the United States set up for immigration don’t YOU understand? If you know how to read, you’d probably find the information you need on the government website which outlines the LEGAL process in which most of the immigrants are following. But I get it, reading is so boring, as is comprehension.
“To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.” - Thomas Paine
An excellent assessment of this wrong-headed decision. Please keep up your diligent efforts to bring the dark side of this administration into the light. Keep on truckin’. We NEED leaders like you everyday. 👍
I'm not a resident of CT, but I'm grateful for Sen. Murphy's effective leadership and brilliant communication during these dark days. His work is a beacon for us all, thank you Senator. Our struggle goes on, but it goes on together.
Thank you, Senator Murphy. Thank you for keeping us consistently informed and updated with facts. Thank you for being a Congressional model of inspiration and leadership…exactly what the American people need from the ENTIRE Democratic Party. Thank you for your courage in standing up to tRump and his Regime. And, thank you for your never wavering commitment to your constituents and all Americans and making sure your decisions are always based on our best interests.
One really does have to wonder whether Chris Murphy is simply anti-American or suffering from extreme TDS. The fact is that Iran had enriched uranium at 60% or greater which is what is required for weapon's grade but not any type of civilian nuclear use which only requires 20% enrichment. Perhaps Chris would like to wait to respond when NJ goes poof in a mushroom cloud.
Everyone understands that the Iranian regime is evil and dangerous. Some of us think this is not the way to handle it--by becoming the handmaiden of Israel and getting dragged into their fight. Trump ran on a supposed promised to keep us out of forever wars in the Middle East. You think this will do that? Some of us do not.
Why do you assume a pre-emptive strike against Irans solves the problem once and for all? Do you really think Iran, with 92 million people, doesn't have more scientists at the ready to pick up and continue--only this time, do a better job of hiding what they're doing? Do you really think this is a one-and-done action--that bombing these sites solves everything? And do you really think the bunker-busting bombs destroyed all of its bomb-making capacity? Most experts do no think this.
It doesn't solve the problem once and for all. That is why Israel is continuing to bomb Iran. It just solves the three sites that Israel couldn't destroy themselves.
He’s Anti-American. But even worse all these TDS on here have an even worse characteristic. They are self-loathing. They are ashamed of being a patriot. They are ashamed of being white or Jewish or Christian. If they weren’t then their standing invitation to liberal progressive cocktail parties and echo chamber events would be revoked. They are violent and vulgar. They promote burning down cities and property. They are Marxist fools.
Oh for goodness sake. Yet another typical Right-wing attack on Democrats that claims we aren't patriots and are actually Marxists. It's beyond pathetic. My uncle died fighting for this country. I have the flag that draped his coffin. He would be appalled at Trump and the Right-wing, bigoted faction of this country. I am White and I am not the least bit ashamed of it. But I would never tout it, as you do here. Wake up. We have a tyrant in the White House who gets to do whatever he wants. As the joke goes, "It's a good thing Congress isn't around to see any of this."
Trump is a sociopathic manipulator of his followers. He's turned the Republican party into the Party of Trump. He's a powerful grifter who couldn't care less about the American people.
Every family has veterans and gold stars. Every single one. Mine included. I would never speak for any of them. That’s disrespectful. You don’t know what anyone would have said who has passed.
That's preposterous. I am not "speaking" for my uncle. I know what his values were from my mother, his letters, and what he was like as a person. What's insulting is to treat the dead as silent. They die, but who they were remains alive in the people who remember them.
Fred Trump Jr was a Lt. in the air national guard. That’s DJT’s older brother. And you are speaking for the dead. Not a good look. Stand on your own 2 feet.
Well isn't that nice. Meanwhile, Donald sure wasn't. Donald had FIVE deferments, four for education and one medical deferment for bone spurss in his feet during the Vietnam War. That medical deferment was granted after he graduated from college in 1968, letting him avoid the draft. That draft status was at first a temporary exemption (1-Y classification), but in 1972 it was changed to a permanent exemption. These are facts.
As to you telling me I am "speaking for the dead," where do you get that line of thinking? I am not putting words in my deceased uncle's mouth. I am speaking about his values, which I (not you) know about from my own experience, from the experience of others in my family, from his friends, and from his letters, which I own. It is you who dishonors the dead by disallowing anyone to talk about the values held by people they knew well.
Really? Marxism died almost 50 years ago when most every government realized it doesn’t work. I suspect you are among those who believe George Floyd deserved his death.
Of course George Floyd didn’t deserve his death. And the cop who choked him is in jail as he should be. That’s a disgusting intellectually lazy comment. Marxism was just reborn with the democrats primary in NYC. Marxism is actually better than communism. Just ask Stalin. NYC is going to lose a lot of people, rich companies and its tax base. But don’t worry because the illegal immigrants who you nut jobs hide will have nice rooms at the Plaza.
Glad to hear you agree former cop Derek Chauvin deserves his justice.
Marxism hasn’t been reborn in NYC with Mandani’s likely victory as NYC mayor.
NYC mayors are tightly constrained by NYS laws arising from the city’s mid-1970s financing crisis. (GFord told NYC to “drop dead.”). The City comptroller holds almost as much power as the mayor. So don’t worry about NYC—we’ll muddle through our crises one way or another.
By the way, there’s a recent film about NYC’s mid-1970’s crisis “Drop Dead City.” It might be on YouTube.
Not to mention the curious timing of a CCP heavy jet with transponder turned off diverted to Iranian airport. While Iran didn't yet have a delivery system such as ICBM for a nuke, it's possible they had enough raw material for a dirty nuke to be dropped on Israel, making the situation crucial. One thin that is clear is that by not telling Democrats about the action, there were no situational leaks, which should be of concern to Democrats. Frankly the oppositional defiance of the Left has made everything they say suspect, especially in light of over 24,000 bombs dropped without Congressional approval by Obama during his tenure.
First, there was no intelligence that Iran was about to produce a nuclear weapon with its uranium. Second, Trump’s constant taunts of Iran encouraged them to almost certainly remove the 800 pounds of non-enriched uranium to another facility. Thus, if the goal was “denuclearization,” it seems to have failed. Third, the nuclear facilities were not fully destroyed. Fourth, the United States had to beg China to tell Iran not to close the Strait of Hormuz, thus projecting China as a stabilizing world force. Fifth, Trump ignored all our NATO allies’ efforts to de-escalate. Sixth, to the extent the ceasefire endures, Iran now has nuclear components and no incentive not to enrich the uranium into weapons after seeing negotiations with the U.S. as futile. Seventh, Iran has taken steps to remove any supervision or coordination with the IAEA following the U.S. strikes. Eighth, the ability of the ceasefire to endure is highly dubious, and some of the most intense strikes happened after Trump claimed there was a ceasefire.
If what he’s done is illegal, what can be done to hold him accountable? It seems Supreme Court immunity leaves us no recourse; is this true? It’s maddening to witness. Thanks for being tirelessly outspoken Senator.
In what way it what Trump has done illegal. Not only have previous presidents (i.e. Clinton and Obama) done this, including the extra-judicial killing of an american citizen, albeit a dual citizen and known terrorist, but we are not at war with Iran. This was a surgical strike. The fact is that one cannot debate such actions in Congress before hand without telegraphic the ennemy and putting our men and women in harm's way.
Marius, I think that flying bombers into another sovereign nation is a fairly plain and simple act of war :)
And we've now entered into an already established war between Israel and Iran, not that this changes *our* act of war. It's just that we've now joined the conflict, and hence *entered* that war.
I think I can understand the motivation and decision, but it's still an act of war on the part of the US. They're our aircraft flown by our military who conducted this strike.
Even if the timing was not as intended with the Pearl Harbor attack - by which I think you mean that the strike came *before* Japan's *declaration* of war was officially received in Washington,
Yep. Act of war either way. But the Japanese gave at least a nod to the old chivalry practice of declaring war first before striking. Alas, their foreign service messaging used a code difficult for their translators so their declaration of war was delivered after the strike—raising American hackles as a stab in the back.
Iranians might consider DJT’s strike while promising two weeks for negotiations as a similar stab-in-the-back. What is done is history
The War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States.
I think there's a bit more detail in the War Powers Resolution than that.
Something about an "imminent threat [of attack upon the US]" or the like, for the President to have the unilateral power (i.e. without approval of Congress) to act militarily.
But this is another matter that a Federal court (or appropriate Federal attorney) would be more appropriate than those of us here to report to us on :)
This is the sort of thing that the OLC would normally advise the executive branch on.
But I'm not sure that they're following that process.
Most importantly, I think it's to make sure that our governmental branches are all on the same page, as well as there being a plan for what comes *next* It's not altogether clear that such a plan has been thought through, or at least it has not been communicated with Congress if so.
So hopefully that now happens with all expediency.
Really good analysis. As someone who last lived in Iran in 1978, I would like to point out that Persia has thousands of years experience building critical infrastructure underground. The prime example is the irrigation system called QANAT that carries water underground from the mountain snow melts to the very very dry valleys hundreds of miles away.
Great write up Chris. Another major point I would add is that it plays right into Putin’s dream scenario. USA distracted by war with Iran will allow him to pursue his ambitions in Ukraine and beyond. It wasn’t just an incidental signal that Putin wouldn’t intervene or object. He was baiting Trump to attack and Trump fell for it, as he does with everything Putin dangles in front of him.
DTK, What was the specific failure you're referring to? And does that make it OK?
I mean, I know that nothing's perfect, and mistakes get made, but isn't the goal to have a thought out broader plan before executing the initial strike(s)?
I mean maybe the current team have all that, but they've not yet shared it with Congress (or even the committees as yet) have they?
Thank you Chris for being there for us. One thing I know is that trump doesn't do anything for America it's only to enrich himself. Congress needs to do their job. Republicans are evil.
Chris Murphy's information stands as the bipartisan truth. Trump is backed by big business. Chris Murphy states reality. He doesn't have to put a 'spin' on them.
Open up to see the big picture and fact check the information before you repeat rhetoric.
There isn't a Democrat currently alive that gets to lecture people about "repeating rhetoric" after the Biden White House turned you all into small cogs in the Big Lie Machine about his mental decline.
Really. Why is it that all you Trump haters accuse us of the exact horrible characteristic and actions you endorse.
Biden was brainless and now Trump is in mental decline. He’s not.
Trump is a threat to our constitution and Biden lets in $20m illegal aliens.
Trumps a felon and you progressives destroy cities, burn down buildings,
hide illegal aliens some of whom are the worst like the Maryland man, and attack law enforcement. You gin up bullshit law fare against Trump which I really shouldn’t complain about because you literally got him elected.
Trumps military strike was unlawful and ineffective. Biden is responsible for 13 lost souls in Afghanistan and his approach to terrorism emboldened Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran.
You'll pardon us if we don't take the word of people who *literally just got caught lying about mental decline* to diagnose anything about Trump, scooter.
By the way, you do know you can't actually give someone a medical condition by consensus with your fellow travelers, right?
Ridicule is appropriate when you say ridiculous things.
"I either missed Biden's failings for years when everyone else saw them, or I was an active part, however small, in hiding his condition from the public. BUT, I want you to know that I've completely gotten over my case of partisan blindness (or dishonesty) since Trump took office and am now both ready and qualified to talk about the President's cognitive ability."
That's a ridiculous statement, deserving of all the ridicule that can be heaped on it.
Your final point is the most worrisome. Orange man is wildly popular in Israel and Netanyahu boasts about being the guy that can make the U.S. do what he wants. Republicans have invited him to speak to Congress and they are using antisemitism to wage a war on Harvard. Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, period. That’s not antisemitism speaking, that is human rights! Finally, might does not make right and it never has. Congress must take a sobering view of the relationship with Netanyahu which may very well be coercion with false evidence.
There will always be SOME anti-semitism esp among MAGATS. Question is—why Harvard and Columbia? Is anti-semitism stronger in the Ivy’s than say in LSU or Baylor?
My response to the Democrats. Congressman Jeffries and Speaker Schumer, Your statements against the President’s bombing of Iran are true but just frustrates us who want action. I suggest this, ACT like you are in charge. When the President goes rogue with an act of war, YOU and SCHUMER call everyone back for an emergency session. Have every democrat show up and hope some brave Republicans who oppose the latest catastrophe will too. You meet in the chambers and invite the MTM network and AP, BBC, NPR, CBC, Aaron Parnas (all the brave news agencies) to cover the proceedings so the world sees that you are taking action. Have a ‘missing list’ of those who didn’t bother to show up. I want you to become the BRAVE PARTY. Americans and the world are afraid. We need you to be BRAVE so we have someone to follow and emulate. And this call to action needs to happen now. Leaders aren’t always the people in charge. Do not tell us what you think, let your ACTIONS speak for you.
Oh, do run with the idea that Democrats just haven't thrown the *right* kind of tantrum, that some other ridiculous spectacle than they've already engaged in is the key to getting their approval ratings out of the gutter.
But there's literally nowhere for you to go but up, right? Might as well.
Thank you for all that you’re doing Chris.
Your leadership is very important, and helps us all to line up with you to do what we too are able
100% 💯 correct
Thanks Laura. We’re all in this together of course, but people like Chris can lead a charge that we can organize around.
He needs to know that we see him!
Your analysis is insightful and the best overall that I have heard. Congress needs to wake up to protect our constitution and our country. I strongly support your continued efforts.
Figures an elite PHD is complimentary of this dude. When you include PHD in your handle you are obviously saying you’re smarter than everyone else. The sad truth is you are not.
I don't hold it against someone for listing their credentials. Why is it bad to announce that degree when the topic at hand requires the skills of advanced thinking? I don't have an advanced degree, and but I don't think having one means a person is "smarter than everyone else." It means they've been through rigorous intellectual tests I have not been through, that's all. I respect that the way I respect physicians when they tell me I ought to get a vaccination. They aren't smarter than me, but they have experience and knowledge I do not have.
Dear Laurie,
That is very kind of you, and I am honoured to have had the privilege of the education I have received.
Much as Daren celebrates the Bucks, and "how 'bout those Brewers?" I am very happy to recognise Cambridge University for what I was given by many generous teachers and colleagues during my time there.
Perhaps my greatest honour however, is to be the grandson of the man whose name my father gave me: also David J. Brown.
He worked in the coal pits in a small village in the South of Wales during the First World War, and then leading up to the Second one.
He gave his care to his fellow townsmen in their going down those mines on a daily basis, and later in his life served to help people in need in his community as a village ombudsman.
Queen Elizabeth honoured him with the British Empire Medal for that public service during her rather generous term of governance.
So I do hope that I am not using any of my own life's experience in a way that might dishonour either him, or any of my family, for whom I have only wished to live up to such an example.
Thank you all for allowing me to provide a little personal biographical context :)
No dude. Ohio State Buckeyes. National Champions. And they went to the White House to see Trump. That’s 2 big wins.
Meeting Krasnov is never a win for anyone
Grow up. It’s a huge win.
Maybe for brainless turds
Ah, there you go! I thought you were talking about the Milwaukee Bucks :)
I've not lived in Ohio I'm afraid, so I'm not very up on the teams out with you.
Super cool that the Buckeyes were the national champs, and got celebrated at the White House!
No don’t kid yourself. You aren’t too smart. If you are referring to the Covid vaccine then you got vaccinated by an experimental unproven drug. All these brilliant phd’s and physicians said get the vaccine and you won’t get Covid and you can’t spread Covid. That’s a lie.
Daren,
Did you have some personal experience with a vaccination, or did someone else in your family have some sort of a bad outcome resulting from some kind of medical advice otherwise?
I agree with you that it is very valuable to learn from direct personal experience about things in life, and then we have to try to understand what might have gone wrong - where perhaps we could have had some control over it.
We do all also come to believe certain things, based on the best possible information that is available to us, even when it doesn't come from our own direct personal experience.
And then this can be a bit of a tricky thing.
It relies - especially in Medicine, maybe a bit on our willingness to have trust in people who we *think* have studied the mechanisms involved in various diseases, and also (maybe scarier still,) to accept some medications that are purported to address those matters
At the end of WWII one of the major things that was killing people off was what was then called 'chest disease.' This is what we now know at Tuberculosis - a bacterium which causes a rather nasty infection in the lungs, which had a pretty high mortality rate if it was not treated.
But, as you probably know, antibiotics were discovered around this time: Penicillin is the most obvious one of these of course.
But just a bit later on, the pneumococcal bacterium that caused TB was also studied, and a very specific antibiotic was developed that was very effective at killing that off.
The field of "Chest Medicine" as it was then called was kinda ended like turning off a light switch.
Of course virae are a slightly different mechanism from bacteria, but these mechanisms are now pretty well studied and understood. It doesn't mean that there is *zero* risk of course, when any individual takes any sort of drug, so it's not unreasonable to be as well informed as you can about the state of play in the circumstance of any such emerging new virus (or bacterium for that matter.)
I'm wondering what your personal experience was witlh all of this, and how it is that you went about learning about it all, and therefore made your own personal choices.
Is it truly a vaccine, when it neither prevents infection, nor cures an infection, nor stops the spread of the infection? Seems to be more of a treatment, in that it reduces the severity of the infection.
Shoot, I had most of a reply, and then I deleted it (darn MacBook keyboard with a touchpad!)
Anyway, my sister's on the faculty at the Brigham in Boston, and she put me in touch with the guy at the Mass General - head of pulmonary medicine who was rolling up all their weekly clinical data during the initial CoVid outbreak in 2020.
Things were moving way too fast to get published peer-reviewed papers at that point, so it was kinda front line experience.
What was your experience?
Did you get infected, and/or how did you get your information and how did you make decisions abo?
"I know a guy"
:)
To be more specific:
C. Corey Hardin M.D. Ph.D.
Associate Director, Cardiopulmonary Exercise Laboratory, Associate Professor of Medicine
MGH-BIDMC Harvard, Pulmonary & Critical Care Fellowship Program
I tend to view him as "authoritative" in these matters :)
I'm fully vaxxed, yet have had COVID twice. Wasn't too bad and not much different than a standard chest cold. Everyone in my extended family is vaxxed and we've all had COVID except for my brother, who refused the shot, never took precautions, and never got sick. My father (89) has tested positive twice for COVID, but has never had symptoms. So, a mixed bag.
Wow Jeff! That's pretty damn upsetting, and just weird that your brother didn't get infected (though was around you all during all that it sounds like) and I'm also glad to hear that your dad - especially at his age, didn't have any serious consequences even though he did get infected.
Was this mostly in the initial outbreak (round about March of 2020,) or in more than one of the rounds of it that occurred?
And it sounds to be the case that the vaccines did not prevent *your* getting infected, whereas your brother somehow had his own individual natural resistance to it even *without* any vaccination. Note, of course, that the vaccines are based *off* the virus itself, although they're constructed in a way that is supposed to help cultivate resistance in your own body to the actual virus if you get infected with that.
I can recall that it was quite a scramble to develop the initial round of the vaccines during the first outbreak, and I expect they learned more about it as the clinical experience was gained, as well as a they were studying the thing and presumably improving the vaccines in later rounds. I think AstraZeneca are actually based in Cambridge (UK) though we ended up having the Pfizer one around here.
As I mentioned, my sister is in clinical medicine at the Brigham and Women's in Boston, and Corey Hardin is a principal in Pulmonology (at the Mass General) which is also part of that Harvard hospitals system. They were really overwhelmed with the number of cases that occurred in Boston, and the hospitals were both out of beds, as well as there being fewer respirators than they really wanted and needed in that first wave. Chris was telling me relative horror stories about what it was like on the wards at the Brigham, and absolutely every hand was on deck working non stop to keep people with the more severe cases alive.
CoVid is a variant of SARS (types of Severe Acute Respiratory virae,) and for those who got into the more advanced stages of the infection, they were struggling to get sufficient oxygen due to all the inflammation and congestion in their lungs. Hence the respirators of course. But even those weren't enough to save everyone. Many people died on the respirators because of how advanced the infection became in their case(s)
It was a real horror show, and doctors and nurses were working themselves to exhaustion (and in some cases infection and even death themselves.)
Sorry. None of that is especially helpful I know.
Something that may be worth saying, is that these vaccines can *help* to stop or at least limit the rate at which the infection causes damage, but the way that virae work in any individual can vary quite a bit.
The same sort of thing happens with bacterial infections and antibiotics actually. If you don't get those antibiotics going soon enough, the infection can spread more widely, and it can then be much harder to kill it off.
And of course, these bacteria (like virae) also mutate, and so there's this whole thing about having to have different variants of antibiotics as some strains become resistant to earlier ones.
I was vaccinated during the first round of CoVid and luckily never contracted it. But I was also pretty isolated here at home so that also limited the degree of my exposure.
Just this year though I contracted pneumonia! I was aware of the cough's progressing at a fair rate, and so had my GP screen me after about a week or 10 days and she confirmed that it was pneumonia. I think I had azythromycin (one of these newer antibiotics) and a five day course of those was all that was required to kill it off. But it still took a few weeks after that for my lungs to recover from the damage and inflammation.
Pneumonia still kills lots of people, and it can progress pretty quickly, so you have to detect it and treat it as soon as you can.
This year we have a pretty widespread outbreak of some other respiratory virus (which is not CoVid,) and it's a very long-lasting thing. I've been with that for over two months now, and this seems to be the case for lots of people in the community.
Thankfully, this one is not all that severe, but it's been darn persistent!
Infectious disease is just a huge adventure. These virae as well as the bacteria are evolving all the time, and so it's an on-going chase to develop and evolve the vaccines and antibiotics that - in most cases I think, do really help out.
But I know there's a lot of fears and doubt out there about all this stuff, and of course nothing is either completely effective in any individual case, nor without some (usually very small) degree of risk.
But I'm sure glad we're not living in the Middle Ages any more, nor
even in the developing world, where clean water and sanitation cause much worse situations for disease. You really don't want to get Cholera, or Malaria, or amoebic dysentary, or the various kinds of worms that are widely apparent. And it's an absolute tragedy to see what happens to people and their families who happen to get Polio. Thankfully I think we're down to just certain parts of India and Pakistan where Polio is still apparent, but it's something that really spreads fast, and can be very hard to track down and contain outbreaks when they occur.
I've read a few good references about Polio, and know a little bit about the situation with worms - which is the primary focus of the Jimmy Carter Foundatin's work.
Ok, I've written way more than you probably wanted to hear!
Yes, I get that and it does seem the COVID vaccines do reduce severity of the viral infection. I think one of the big issues surrounding it is that it was touted for over a year by influential people (including Justices Sotomayer and Kagan) as preventing infection and preventing spread of infection, which is clearly false and was demonstrably false, at the time. IOW: the gaslighting became intolerable.
OMG I had no idea you'd drunk the Kool-Aid. Bye bye.
OMG. No.
DTK is correct. The flu vaccines neither prevent infection nor prevent the spread of infection.
You should listen more to John Fetterman than a phony Chris Murphy. You are such a loser.
Bot
Fetterman seems pretty cool.
But it is pretty hard to keep up with every one of these folks in this huge country of ours don't you find?
Most of us are just trying to keep up with our job and bring our kids up.
It would be nice if there weren't so many problems that there is so much disagreement about how to address.
How do you keep up with it all yourself Astig?
I'll take any tips you might have :)
[Not meant as a dig by the way.]
D,
With a name like David Brown, it helps to add a little bit more to that in order to disambiguate (assuming you're ok with being identified by others who you might wish to hear further from.)
Please forgive me if you have found my remarks to be somehow condescending or disrespectful in any way.
But I can't really make any apology for my honest admiration for Chris Murphy and all that I've seen him to be doing over this past six months in standing up for his constituents, as well as the rest of us who hope to see America remain a country in which our civil liberties are maintained.
All love to you,
-d
Nice try. Please keep your love away from me. Don’t need or want it.
Perhaps you should just stop commenting on this substack if you find it so offensive and off putting! Maybe just go to X where your views will be met with more rage.
Perhaps you should try not to censor me. This is too much fun. I’m not offended or put off.
I'm a retired physician who almost never uses MD after my name for the reason you have expressed. I mention it only when there's a medical issue discussed. Still, I see nothing wrong when someone includes credentials. They are proud for the work they have done and their accomplishments.
Thanks Chris. All that being said, if it turns out ok and Irans capabilities are diminished the Dems will look bad for opposing this. After all who likes Iran and their proxies?
Better to concentrate on immigration
God knows you assholes think there's too many brown people here in our coubtry...notice, Trumps gestapo aren't deporting any blonde haired blue eyed Europeans who over stayed their visas...or sneaked and are working here.
And importing white Afrikaners…
A PhD that could not see what Chris Murphy is doing? Clown.
Only clown is the MAGAT leaving a generalized comment with no context. Context is so difficult for white supremacy folks that wear red hats with words they have a decent chance of spelling properly.
Oh hello Kremlin bot
"Kremlin bot". not yet tired with that cutie? go pick up a brain.
His cousin taught him that. He’s stuck in 2016.
Oh well, I guess we all only get to see *some* of what's going on.
What are the things that you're finding most objectionable about what Chris Murphy is doing?
Or maybe I should be asking: What are the things that you are finding to be the biggest issues that you want to see sorted out in your own life and community?
And are the folks that you have representing you in Congress kinda helping out with those things?
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I want to start by thanking our subscribers to this Substack. The MeidasTouch Network has been built with zero investors. We are 100 percent independent. We get 33 million YouTube views every 48 hours. This is more than Fox News and any cable network. Please subscribe now to support the independent reporting at MeidasTouch.
We saw yesterday, again, why independent reporting is so important. The Trump regime rolled out its propaganda that it brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The corporate news was ready with its headlines to praise the arsonist for pretending to put out a fire that was still raging. Once again, the MeidasTouch Network led all war coverage and focused on the truth. The truth is Trump’s attack with Israel on Iran was a total failure.
Let’s examine the facts.
First, there was no intelligence that Iran was about to produce a nuclear weapon with its uranium. Second, Trump’s constant taunts of Iran encouraged them to almost certainly remove the 800 pounds of non-enriched uranium to another facility. Thus, if the goal was “denuclearization,” it seems to have failed. Third, the nuclear facilities were not fully destroyed. Fourth, the United States had to beg China to tell Iran not to close the Strait of Hormuz, thus projecting China as a stabilizing world force. Fifth, Trump ignored all our NATO allies’ efforts to de-escalate. Sixth, to the extent the ceasefire endures, Iran now has nuclear components and no incentive not to enrich the uranium into weapons after seeing negotiations with the U.S. as futile. Seventh, Iran has taken steps to remove any supervision or coordination with the IAEA following the U.S. strikes. Eighth, the ability of the ceasefire to endure is highly dubious, and some of the most intense strikes happened after Trump claimed there was a ceasefire.
🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🖕🏼🖕🏼🖕🏼🖕🏼🖕🏼
Thank you, Senator Murphy. I wish every state had a senator like we Nutmeggers do!
You are right Janet. Chris is first among us!
(And from a nowadays [PNW] Washingtonian)
Go Nutmeggers!! :)
Hey there fellow now WA 👋 Chris is calling them out admirably.
Thanks Sabrina,
Are you starting to talk with your fellow Marines about what we see going on here at the moment?
I think you have a very important role that you can play to help shine a light on all of this.
I know you all care very much about protecting our fellow Americans, and defending the safety and sanctity of our society.
Will you see what you can do - first to talk to one another, and then perhaps to speak out about whether you think that the activation of our women and men in uniform should be present in the streets of our own country when these several million of our general public are out peacefully expressing their objection to some of the very concerning policies and actions of our present administration?
Please help us all to defend the free society that we all want to preserve.
Don’t agree with them all BUT there are a number of sound conclusions! The bottom line is what’s next? I was part of the team that negotiated with Iran years ago. There was no doubt then that their Supreme Leader had strong religious objections to developing a nuclear weapon which could be used to kill hundreds of thousands of opponents of Iran but which could result in retaliation that could kill as many or more Muslims! Just now the Supreme Leader announced he is trying to rally Iranians to support their country. Who knows what‘s next? Who the hell knows?
I wish we could truly discover what that Really means.
It is a very rare occasion when we all agree on all aspects of issues. But I do agree with the “what’s next concept”.
If I were the Ayatollah, I’d drag my heels to see who follows DJT.
Iran might be moving closer to an A-Bomb, but its deterrent capacity is limited. Who are they gonna nuke—Israel or a Sunni state? And risk massive retaliation?
More dangerous are D-bombs, but even those would likely trigger retaliation.
Will let you know after the 2026 election.
So when does a Senator give up his job to run for President (and do you have a replacement?)
I concur!
Yeah, two clowns...Smurphy and Blumenfool.
Apart from name-calling, what ideas do you have, Droney?
Vote these two abject clowns out of office Bunyan.
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URGENT Message from MeidasTouch Founder!!!
BRETT MEISELAS
JUN 24
By Ben Meiselas
I want to start by thanking our subscribers to this Substack. The MeidasTouch Network has been built with zero investors. We are 100 percent independent. We get 33 million YouTube views every 48 hours. This is more than Fox News and any cable network. Please subscribe now to support the independent reporting at MeidasTouch.
We saw yesterday, again, why independent reporting is so important. The Trump regime rolled out its propaganda that it brokered a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The corporate news was ready with its headlines to praise the arsonist for pretending to put out a fire that was still raging. Once again, the MeidasTouch Network led all war coverage and focused on the truth. The truth is Trump’s attack with Israel on Iran was a total failure.
Let’s examine the facts.
First, there was no intelligence that Iran was about to produce a nuclear weapon with its uranium. Second, Trump’s constant taunts of Iran encouraged them to almost certainly remove the 800 pounds of non-enriched uranium to another facility. Thus, if the goal was “denuclearization,” it seems to have failed. Third, the nuclear facilities were not fully destroyed. Fourth, the United States had to beg China to tell Iran not to close the Strait of Hormuz, thus projecting China as a stabilizing world force. Fifth, Trump ignored all our NATO allies’ efforts to de-escalate. Sixth, to the extent the ceasefire endures, Iran now has nuclear components and no incentive not to enrich the uranium into weapons after seeing negotiations with the U.S. as futile. Seventh, Iran has taken steps to remove any supervision or coordination with the IAEA following the U.S. strikes. Eighth, the ability of the ceasefire to endure is highly dubious, and some of the most intense strikes happened after Trump claimed there was a ceasefire.
Thank you Chris Murphy for your truthful insight. This corrupt, unlawful administration needs to be stopped. They have already started a war in our country. ICE is assaulting innocent people. Treating them in the most inhumane ways. Now they want a war in the Middle East. What Trump did is constitutionally illegal. When will this administration be held accountable? If this continues congress will be obsolete. Trump thinks he holds all the power and congress enables it. They are all traitors to our constitution.
Listen to yourself. You just said this administration is corrupt and unlawful while you call illegal immigrants innocent people. What part of illegal don’t you get? But please continue backing rapist, murderers and wife beaters. For Trump to win this last election is all about people like you. Americans don’t like what you have to spew.
I don't get that string of epithets. The facts are that migrants commit per capita far fewer crimes than American citizens. ICE rounds up people based on racial profiling, without warrants, often wearing masks, and without identifying themselves. The ICE people have no special qualifications to do this--no training other than to do what's necessary to seize as many bodies as they can. This is the same behavior as the Gestapo. I, for one, do not want thugs able to approach anyone and snatch them off the street. Its un-American.
See this site and others for statistics on immigrant/migrant crime rates: https://www.asanet.org/sociological-research-reveals-how-immigrants-can-reduce-crime/#:~:text=Immigrants%20do%20not%20increase%20crime,adult%20member%20is%20usually%20nearby.
typical dumb Democrat, conflating illegal immigration with legal immigration.
I am highly educated, not that matters to you. The 14th Amendment clearly protects PEOPLE from unlawful search and seizure. It doesn't confine this to CITIZENS. If the Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution had meant to say CITIZENS they would have said so. They were learned and literate men.
Here are the relevant words: No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
Please note the word: PERSON.
How many illegals you putting up in your home?
I would if I I had to in order to save someone from ICE thugs by harboring that person in my home. Christian churches do this as well (I'm talking real Christian Churches, not White Nationalist Christian churches.
No need for that. Just pay for their EB-5 visas. Go on. Show how much you care.
The 1798 Enemies Alien act states the process which was followed. This is the Due Process Under Law required by the 14th amendment. This is lawful seizure and deportation.
It's an obscure act dragged from the past by MAGA freaks that precedes the 14th Amendment.
And was declared constitutional by the USSC after the 14th amendment.
You need to work on your reading comprehension. SCOTUS did not rule it was Constitutional. In fact, though it let the Trump administration continue to use the Alien Enemies Act it required all people be given due process. The felon President, deciding he's King, has decided to ignore this part of the ruling.
Really? All the guys still in El Salvador who were ejected under the act were ordered to be returned by the USSC?
That is legal immigrants. Illegal immigrants are 100% criminals.
Title 8 of the U.S. Code identifies federal criminal offenses pertaining to immigration and nationality, including the following two entry-related offenses:
“Illegal Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1325 makes it a crime to unlawfully enter the United States. It applies to people who do not enter with proper inspection at a port of entry, such as those who enter between ports of entry, avoid examination or inspection, or who make false statements while entering or attempting to enter.
A great majority of undocumented immigrants have not committed "illegal entry" as described in 8 USC 1325. To try to justify wholesale seizure and expulsion of undocumented immigrants based on a claim that they are all "criminals" is dishonest and prejudicial.
Yeah, this is right Martin.
I think that one other thing, which @GeneralSpecific1 is saying, isn't quite right. My uderstanding is that unlawful entry into the US is a *civil* offense, not *criminal* which is an important distinction.
I think it was Joyce Vance and perhaps Preet Bharara who may have been going through some of these things.
Certainly the conditions for the Alien Enemies Act to apply are not met. This has already been adjudicated in the Federal Courts. There are three conditions I seem to recall, and none of these apply acc.ording to the court.
So I'd invite General Specific to review all of that and see if I've somehow gotten this wrong,
It's best to read the Federal Court's judgement, where this latter decision is spelled out on the AEA aspects of this at least, since I don't think that any of us are immigration - or constitutional lawyers who understand the code with authority :)
Oh! And I see there's a little bit more debate about this criminal vs. civil matter just in the comments below :)
I don't think any of us are professional lawyers with the expertise here, so it's really much better to read the Federal Court's ruling I think.
No. Still illegal. All Criminals.
INA 222(g) "Visa Overstays"
INA 212(a)(9)(B) "Aliens Unlawfully Present"
Illegal does not mean criminal. More to the point, Trump pledged to focus on deporting dangerous criminals -- with lurid references to rapists, murderers, and child molesters. Many supported that initiative. But the Steven Miller mandate to up the volumes of deportations depends on ascribing criminality to vast numbers of undocumented aliens who are just trying to live quiet lives, while contributing positively to the US economy. That will harm us all.
Of course it does. A crime is a violation of a law. They violated the law.
If you want them here all you have to do is change the law or provide them the money to get their EB-5 visas.
Thank you, Martin Mattes, for your succinct analysis of immigration law, which most lawyers are not steeped in, but non-lawyers are very clueless about while badly wanting to spew uneducated opinions around on the Internet. I am a retired lawyer but had no training nor experience with immigration. So I am grateful for the education I am getting from those who are posting here.
Trump is a criminal as well. Twelve men and women on a jury convicted him of 34 felony counts for lying about his business ventures. Seems to me ICE needs to sweep him up.
Can't do it to a citizen.
Entering this country without a proper visa is a CIVIL offense, not a criminal one. Most immigrants are good, hardworking people. Few commit crimes that you describe. There are far more American citizen rapists, murderers, and wife beaters. Do your homework.
Not to mention that already one of the WHITE South African immigrants Trump invited here has already murdered his wife.
It is not a civil offense. It's been a criminal offense (a misdemeanor) since 1927. Most often, civil PENALTIES are the only ones applied, which includes deportation.
Do your own homework. ;)
Title 8 of the U.S. Code identifies federal criminal offenses pertaining to immigration and nationality, including the following two entry-related offenses:
“Illegal Entry”/8 U.S.C. § 1325 makes it a crime to unlawfully enter the United States. It applies to people who do not enter with proper inspection at a port of entry, such as those who enter between ports of entry, avoid examination or inspection, or who make false statements while entering or attempting to enter.
Again, apparently you haven't noticed, but we have a 14th Amendment that clearly protects all PEOPLE with DUE PROCESS:
No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
"Due process under law."
The 1798 Alien enemies act allows deportation without trial or hearing.
That is the due process under that law.
That law violates the 14th Amendment. Like many fellow Democrats, I do not want to live in a country where masked men with no identification can legally grab anyone they want off the streets and disappear them--take them to an undisclosed detention site and not permit them any legal representation. It's no different from how the Gestapo behaved. It's also reminiscent of the terrible days when American rounded up Japanese Americans and, without granting them due process, sent them to concentration camps. For those of us who believe in the foundational principles of our Republic, grabbing people off the street without due process is morally, ethically, and yes, politically as well, unacceptable, period.
You're forgetting an important piece of the puzzle, friend.
All those rights you think you're defending only kick in when the government is trying to apply a criminal penalty or punishment. When the government attempts to take away your freedom or confiscate your property, everyone (citizen or not) gets the Constitutional goodies like access to counsel, a trial, and the rest of the list in the Bill of Rights.
But deportation is not a penalty or punishment of any kind.
(One more time for the people in the back.)
DEPORTATION IS NOT A PENALTY OR PUNISHMENT. The Supreme Court has affirmed this multiple times going all the way back to the Taft administration. The government is not taking your freedom or your property when they deport you. They are simply saying your presence as a non-citizen is no longer welcome.
An administrative hearing before an Immigration Court (which is NOT an Article III court, NOT part of the Judicial Branch, and NOT a criminal court of any kind) is the most "due process" that is ever warranted for the basic act of deporting a foreign national, and various measures such as "Expedited Removal" (signed by Bill Clinton) have been on the books for decades.
It seems to particularly enrage his detractors when Trump does things that only the President can do. Perhaps it reminds them too forcefully of their ongoing humiliation.
You're being Orwellian. Deportation is a punishment. Period.
Not according to several consistent rulings by the Supreme Court over a century of American jurisprudence, and not by all logic.
The Supreme Court is not God. With the likes of Thomas Clarence on it, it's close to being farcical.
The USSC has ruled on the legality of the law multiple times. Doing it to citizens was declared unconstitutional.
They are grabbing people off the street with Due Process Under Law.
If you don't like it then change the law. You have had over 200 years to do so.
SCOTUS also ruled, in Citizens United, that corporations are people, thereby proving that SCOTUS rulings can be borderline absurd as well as deeply harmful to American democracy. Moreover, SCOTUS does not hand down rulings that last for eternity. It has overruled previous decisions on multiple occasions--most recently, Roe v. Wade (which overturned by Dobbs v. Jackson). Or the famous Plessy v. Ferguson, which was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education. And then there's the most famous SCOTUS rebuke of all, the overturning of the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision--not by the Court, but by the 13th and 14th Amendments. My point is that continually referring to SCOTUS decisions as if SCOTUS is some sort of God in the Sky instead of a human institution like any other that can make mistakes (in the end, SCOTUS does nothing other than interpret the law according to the political inclinations of the sitting justices) doesn't move the moral needle with anyone other than misologists.
So? Your opinion on absurdity is irrelevant. Citizens United does not affect democracy at all. It only affects your misperceptions of what democracy is.
SCOTUS decides. Their decisions are the absolute authority of Consitutional matters (at least according themselves (Marbury v. Madison (1803)) which is a nice bit of circular logic). They can also override previous decisions of previous SCOTUSs. Your "morals" are also irrelevant.
Actually, "corporate personhood" was established back in 1885 by the case of Santa Clara County v. Pacific Railroad.
Your objections seem to uniformly be with law and jurisprudence that's been established for decades. Lord only knows why you're picking now to object. (Eyeroll) You're welcome to try to amend the Constitution....from your party's 20% approval rating.
By the way, Roe was established law for five decades.
Heck, by your reckoning, why ever overturn segregation? By the way, you have no idea what party I belong to.
Many immigrants are simply trying to survive. They do no harm. You do not deserve the world for yourself. Human beings have a right to live.
Adding to your comment: These folks are doing the jobs that the majority of Americans do not want to do and will not step in to replace as they get beaten then carted off to who knows where.
National crime databases have repeatedly shown undocumented immigrants are several times LESS likely than American citizens to commit a crime and MANY TIMES less likely than citizens to commit a serious crime. Yet MAGATS misguidedly continue trashing the “undocs.”
From a law-abiding POV, we citizens should aspire to behave as well as the undocumented immigrants.
The president is a rapist and murderer. He’s killing all of us. Slowly. Very slowly. Fock
the orange turd and anyone who supports the felon in chief.
What part of the legal process that the United States set up for immigration don’t YOU understand? If you know how to read, you’d probably find the information you need on the government website which outlines the LEGAL process in which most of the immigrants are following. But I get it, reading is so boring, as is comprehension.
FO
Supporting hard working people, many of which have crossed the border for a better, safer life for their families, have committed no other
Kremlin bot
Do you even realize what king of mindless fox drone you are?
Same as it ever was. War is a failure, always.
“To argue with a man who has renounced the use and authority of reason, and whose philosophy consists in holding humanity in contempt, is like administering medicine to the dead, or endeavoring to convert an atheist by scripture.” - Thomas Paine
An excellent assessment of this wrong-headed decision. Please keep up your diligent efforts to bring the dark side of this administration into the light. Keep on truckin’. We NEED leaders like you everyday. 👍
I'm not a resident of CT, but I'm grateful for Sen. Murphy's effective leadership and brilliant communication during these dark days. His work is a beacon for us all, thank you Senator. Our struggle goes on, but it goes on together.
I celebrate your remark Dave!
And I was just reminded - in thinking about Chris's example, that great reference that John F. Kennedy made:
"Of those to which much is given, much is expected.
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country."
I am often days now reminded that we are living uplifting times, as we are seeing this example in an increasing number of steadfast souls!
🤡
Thank you, Senator Murphy. Thank you for keeping us consistently informed and updated with facts. Thank you for being a Congressional model of inspiration and leadership…exactly what the American people need from the ENTIRE Democratic Party. Thank you for your courage in standing up to tRump and his Regime. And, thank you for your never wavering commitment to your constituents and all Americans and making sure your decisions are always based on our best interests.
I couldn’t be more proud to support you! ✊🏻🌹
One really does have to wonder whether Chris Murphy is simply anti-American or suffering from extreme TDS. The fact is that Iran had enriched uranium at 60% or greater which is what is required for weapon's grade but not any type of civilian nuclear use which only requires 20% enrichment. Perhaps Chris would like to wait to respond when NJ goes poof in a mushroom cloud.
Everyone understands that the Iranian regime is evil and dangerous. Some of us think this is not the way to handle it--by becoming the handmaiden of Israel and getting dragged into their fight. Trump ran on a supposed promised to keep us out of forever wars in the Middle East. You think this will do that? Some of us do not.
Why do you assume a pre-emptive strike against Irans solves the problem once and for all? Do you really think Iran, with 92 million people, doesn't have more scientists at the ready to pick up and continue--only this time, do a better job of hiding what they're doing? Do you really think this is a one-and-done action--that bombing these sites solves everything? And do you really think the bunker-busting bombs destroyed all of its bomb-making capacity? Most experts do no think this.
It doesn't solve the problem once and for all. That is why Israel is continuing to bomb Iran. It just solves the three sites that Israel couldn't destroy themselves.
Adding to your comment: They may have moved the material before the strikes and the IAEA has not discovered leaks of radioactive material.
He’s Anti-American. But even worse all these TDS on here have an even worse characteristic. They are self-loathing. They are ashamed of being a patriot. They are ashamed of being white or Jewish or Christian. If they weren’t then their standing invitation to liberal progressive cocktail parties and echo chamber events would be revoked. They are violent and vulgar. They promote burning down cities and property. They are Marxist fools.
Oh for goodness sake. Yet another typical Right-wing attack on Democrats that claims we aren't patriots and are actually Marxists. It's beyond pathetic. My uncle died fighting for this country. I have the flag that draped his coffin. He would be appalled at Trump and the Right-wing, bigoted faction of this country. I am White and I am not the least bit ashamed of it. But I would never tout it, as you do here. Wake up. We have a tyrant in the White House who gets to do whatever he wants. As the joke goes, "It's a good thing Congress isn't around to see any of this."
Trump is a sociopathic manipulator of his followers. He's turned the Republican party into the Party of Trump. He's a powerful grifter who couldn't care less about the American people.
Spot on!
Then why is Trump doing exactly what I elected him to do?
Every family has veterans and gold stars. Every single one. Mine included. I would never speak for any of them. That’s disrespectful. You don’t know what anyone would have said who has passed.
That's preposterous. I am not "speaking" for my uncle. I know what his values were from my mother, his letters, and what he was like as a person. What's insulting is to treat the dead as silent. They die, but who they were remains alive in the people who remember them.
Fred Trump Jr was a Lt. in the air national guard. That’s DJT’s older brother. And you are speaking for the dead. Not a good look. Stand on your own 2 feet.
Well isn't that nice. Meanwhile, Donald sure wasn't. Donald had FIVE deferments, four for education and one medical deferment for bone spurss in his feet during the Vietnam War. That medical deferment was granted after he graduated from college in 1968, letting him avoid the draft. That draft status was at first a temporary exemption (1-Y classification), but in 1972 it was changed to a permanent exemption. These are facts.
As to you telling me I am "speaking for the dead," where do you get that line of thinking? I am not putting words in my deceased uncle's mouth. I am speaking about his values, which I (not you) know about from my own experience, from the experience of others in my family, from his friends, and from his letters, which I own. It is you who dishonors the dead by disallowing anyone to talk about the values held by people they knew well.
Wow he’s really broken your brain. Obama and Biden weren’t in the military.
It’s not relevant to me.
They didn't get deferments.
Well then let’s give them the Medal Of Honor. Aren’t you progressive liberals getting tired of getting humiliated? You’re getting your a#$$# kicked.
You start your comment out with a lie. You want to know one family that doesn't have any veterans?
DONALD BONESPURS TRUMP's family.
Really? Marxism died almost 50 years ago when most every government realized it doesn’t work. I suspect you are among those who believe George Floyd deserved his death.
Of course George Floyd didn’t deserve his death. And the cop who choked him is in jail as he should be. That’s a disgusting intellectually lazy comment. Marxism was just reborn with the democrats primary in NYC. Marxism is actually better than communism. Just ask Stalin. NYC is going to lose a lot of people, rich companies and its tax base. But don’t worry because the illegal immigrants who you nut jobs hide will have nice rooms at the Plaza.
Glad to hear you agree former cop Derek Chauvin deserves his justice.
Marxism hasn’t been reborn in NYC with Mandani’s likely victory as NYC mayor.
NYC mayors are tightly constrained by NYS laws arising from the city’s mid-1970s financing crisis. (GFord told NYC to “drop dead.”). The City comptroller holds almost as much power as the mayor. So don’t worry about NYC—we’ll muddle through our crises one way or another.
By the way, there’s a recent film about NYC’s mid-1970’s crisis “Drop Dead City.” It might be on YouTube.
Not to mention the curious timing of a CCP heavy jet with transponder turned off diverted to Iranian airport. While Iran didn't yet have a delivery system such as ICBM for a nuke, it's possible they had enough raw material for a dirty nuke to be dropped on Israel, making the situation crucial. One thin that is clear is that by not telling Democrats about the action, there were no situational leaks, which should be of concern to Democrats. Frankly the oppositional defiance of the Left has made everything they say suspect, especially in light of over 24,000 bombs dropped without Congressional approval by Obama during his tenure.
Go away
Weak
^"Please leave us alone to wallow in our groupthink. It's been months, and alot of us Democrats are going through withdrawal."
Let’s examine the facts.
First, there was no intelligence that Iran was about to produce a nuclear weapon with its uranium. Second, Trump’s constant taunts of Iran encouraged them to almost certainly remove the 800 pounds of non-enriched uranium to another facility. Thus, if the goal was “denuclearization,” it seems to have failed. Third, the nuclear facilities were not fully destroyed. Fourth, the United States had to beg China to tell Iran not to close the Strait of Hormuz, thus projecting China as a stabilizing world force. Fifth, Trump ignored all our NATO allies’ efforts to de-escalate. Sixth, to the extent the ceasefire endures, Iran now has nuclear components and no incentive not to enrich the uranium into weapons after seeing negotiations with the U.S. as futile. Seventh, Iran has taken steps to remove any supervision or coordination with the IAEA following the U.S. strikes. Eighth, the ability of the ceasefire to endure is highly dubious, and some of the most intense strikes happened after Trump claimed there was a ceasefire.
Actually Marius….ir really makes me wonder where you and your disgusting ilk and brain are from.
If what he’s done is illegal, what can be done to hold him accountable? It seems Supreme Court immunity leaves us no recourse; is this true? It’s maddening to witness. Thanks for being tirelessly outspoken Senator.
In what way it what Trump has done illegal. Not only have previous presidents (i.e. Clinton and Obama) done this, including the extra-judicial killing of an american citizen, albeit a dual citizen and known terrorist, but we are not at war with Iran. This was a surgical strike. The fact is that one cannot debate such actions in Congress before hand without telegraphic the ennemy and putting our men and women in harm's way.
These people are all sheep, good luck
Well therre's a lot of *passion* there, but that's all fine.
It is good to try to be correct in one's remarks however.
It's easy to make some misstatements when we get all animated :)
Marius, I think that flying bombers into another sovereign nation is a fairly plain and simple act of war :)
And we've now entered into an already established war between Israel and Iran, not that this changes *our* act of war. It's just that we've now joined the conflict, and hence *entered* that war.
I think I can understand the motivation and decision, but it's still an act of war on the part of the US. They're our aircraft flown by our military who conducted this strike.
Yeah, It’s kinda like Japan’s timing at Pearl Harbor which they screwed up.
He who hits first has the benefit of surprise, but unless you knock out the victim you’ve got a long battle ahead.
Even if the timing was not as intended with the Pearl Harbor attack - by which I think you mean that the strike came *before* Japan's *declaration* of war was officially received in Washington,
tt's an act of war either way I believe.
Yep. Act of war either way. But the Japanese gave at least a nod to the old chivalry practice of declaring war first before striking. Alas, their foreign service messaging used a code difficult for their translators so their declaration of war was delivered after the strike—raising American hackles as a stab in the back.
Iranians might consider DJT’s strike while promising two weeks for negotiations as a similar stab-in-the-back. What is done is history
It isn't illegal.
The War Powers Resolution requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of committing armed forces to military action and forbids armed forces from remaining for more than 60 days, with a further 30-day withdrawal period, without congressional authorization for use of military force (AUMF) or a declaration of war by the United States.
I think there's a bit more detail in the War Powers Resolution than that.
Something about an "imminent threat [of attack upon the US]" or the like, for the President to have the unilateral power (i.e. without approval of Congress) to act militarily.
But this is another matter that a Federal court (or appropriate Federal attorney) would be more appropriate than those of us here to report to us on :)
This is the sort of thing that the OLC would normally advise the executive branch on.
But I'm not sure that they're following that process.
Most importantly, I think it's to make sure that our governmental branches are all on the same page, as well as there being a plan for what comes *next* It's not altogether clear that such a plan has been thought through, or at least it has not been communicated with Congress if so.
So hopefully that now happens with all expediency.
Really good analysis. As someone who last lived in Iran in 1978, I would like to point out that Persia has thousands of years experience building critical infrastructure underground. The prime example is the irrigation system called QANAT that carries water underground from the mountain snow melts to the very very dry valleys hundreds of miles away.
Great write up Chris. Another major point I would add is that it plays right into Putin’s dream scenario. USA distracted by war with Iran will allow him to pursue his ambitions in Ukraine and beyond. It wasn’t just an incidental signal that Putin wouldn’t intervene or object. He was baiting Trump to attack and Trump fell for it, as he does with everything Putin dangles in front of him.
Yeah cause the previous administration would never do anything that stupid. Oh wait……….
DTK, What was the specific failure you're referring to? And does that make it OK?
I mean, I know that nothing's perfect, and mistakes get made, but isn't the goal to have a thought out broader plan before executing the initial strike(s)?
I mean maybe the current team have all that, but they've not yet shared it with Congress (or even the committees as yet) have they?
I'm just asking here.
Thank you Chris for being there for us. One thing I know is that trump doesn't do anything for America it's only to enrich himself. Congress needs to do their job. Republicans are evil.
#TrumpForPrison
Thank you, Chris, for your representation and hard work. No Kings.
Chris Murphy is just anti-Trump. If this was Obama doing it he would applaud. Just a partisan hack.
Chris Murphy's information stands as the bipartisan truth. Trump is backed by big business. Chris Murphy states reality. He doesn't have to put a 'spin' on them.
Open up to see the big picture and fact check the information before you repeat rhetoric.
There isn't a Democrat currently alive that gets to lecture people about "repeating rhetoric" after the Biden White House turned you all into small cogs in the Big Lie Machine about his mental decline.
Trump’s mental decline is on full display daily and ignored by all his sycophants.
Really. Why is it that all you Trump haters accuse us of the exact horrible characteristic and actions you endorse.
Biden was brainless and now Trump is in mental decline. He’s not.
Trump is a threat to our constitution and Biden lets in $20m illegal aliens.
Trumps a felon and you progressives destroy cities, burn down buildings,
hide illegal aliens some of whom are the worst like the Maryland man, and attack law enforcement. You gin up bullshit law fare against Trump which I really shouldn’t complain about because you literally got him elected.
Trumps military strike was unlawful and ineffective. Biden is responsible for 13 lost souls in Afghanistan and his approach to terrorism emboldened Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran.
You’re hypocrites.
You'll pardon us if we don't take the word of people who *literally just got caught lying about mental decline* to diagnose anything about Trump, scooter.
By the way, you do know you can't actually give someone a medical condition by consensus with your fellow travelers, right?
Thank you Matthew for this sparkling and accurate reply
You're welcome.
Ridicule is appropriate when you say ridiculous things.
"I either missed Biden's failings for years when everyone else saw them, or I was an active part, however small, in hiding his condition from the public. BUT, I want you to know that I've completely gotten over my case of partisan blindness (or dishonesty) since Trump took office and am now both ready and qualified to talk about the President's cognitive ability."
That's a ridiculous statement, deserving of all the ridicule that can be heaped on it.
Well said and thanks again. It is good to have you on the outspoken team of common sense and bipartisan critical thinking !
So you didn't cover up Biden's mental decline for 4 years?
Please provide your supporting evidence of Trump's decline.
DJT refuses to be truthful about his physical examination and refuses a cognitive exam therefore no facts. Just his delusions.
This is no longer a conversation worth having with you.
So you admit you have no facts. I agree having any further conversation with you is irrelevant.
Compare interviews with him from the 80’s to the present. Then believe your own eyes and ears.
Yes, he is 40 years older. I still have no doubt that he is charge
Didn't we hear that during Trump's first administration? He took cognitive tests unlike Biden and passed perfectly. TDS makes many people delusional.
I wasn’t happy that Obama liquidated Alwaki without independent vetting.
Your final point is the most worrisome. Orange man is wildly popular in Israel and Netanyahu boasts about being the guy that can make the U.S. do what he wants. Republicans have invited him to speak to Congress and they are using antisemitism to wage a war on Harvard. Israel has committed war crimes in Gaza, period. That’s not antisemitism speaking, that is human rights! Finally, might does not make right and it never has. Congress must take a sobering view of the relationship with Netanyahu which may very well be coercion with false evidence.
There will always be SOME anti-semitism esp among MAGATS. Question is—why Harvard and Columbia? Is anti-semitism stronger in the Ivy’s than say in LSU or Baylor?
My response to the Democrats. Congressman Jeffries and Speaker Schumer, Your statements against the President’s bombing of Iran are true but just frustrates us who want action. I suggest this, ACT like you are in charge. When the President goes rogue with an act of war, YOU and SCHUMER call everyone back for an emergency session. Have every democrat show up and hope some brave Republicans who oppose the latest catastrophe will too. You meet in the chambers and invite the MTM network and AP, BBC, NPR, CBC, Aaron Parnas (all the brave news agencies) to cover the proceedings so the world sees that you are taking action. Have a ‘missing list’ of those who didn’t bother to show up. I want you to become the BRAVE PARTY. Americans and the world are afraid. We need you to be BRAVE so we have someone to follow and emulate. And this call to action needs to happen now. Leaders aren’t always the people in charge. Do not tell us what you think, let your ACTIONS speak for you.
Oh, do run with the idea that Democrats just haven't thrown the *right* kind of tantrum, that some other ridiculous spectacle than they've already engaged in is the key to getting their approval ratings out of the gutter.
But there's literally nowhere for you to go but up, right? Might as well.