The brazen military industrial complex is asserting today that the Judicial Branch is civilian Commander in Chief, not the Executive

 These people are a threat to the constitution:

Signatories:

Former Secretaries of Defense

Dr. Ashton Baldwin Carter
William Sebastian Cohen
Dr. Mark Thomas Esper
Dr. Robert Michael Gates
Charles Timothy Hagel
James Norman Mattis
Leon Edward Panetta
Dr. William James Perry

Former Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Gen. (ret.) Martin Edward Dempsey
Gen. (ret.) Joseph Francis Dunford Jr.
Adm. (ret.) Michael Glenn Mullen
Gen. (ret.) Richard Bowman Myers
Gen. (ret.) Peter Pace 

6. In certain cases or controversies, civilian control is exercised within the judicial branch through judicial review of policies, orders, and actions involving the military. In practice, the power to declare a policy/order/action illegal or unconstitutional is decisive because the military is obligated (by law and by professional ethics) to refuse to carry out an illegal or unconstitutional policy/order/action. 

 

An extraordinary open letter signed by eight former defense secretaries and five former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

 The letter also says that civilian control of the military can be exercised by the judicial branch when an administration’s decisions are challenged, and that a court ruling is decisive because military leaders are obligated by law and professional ethics to refuse to carry out illegal or unconstitutional orders.

Phony Democrat SALT Caucus is out there today boasting it is going to vote for the Manchin bill anyway, which doesn't undo the Trump tax increases on the wealthy they promised to get rid of

State, local relief not in cards for residents of high-tax states as House assesses Inflation Reduction Act :

  a group of House Democrats say they will still vote for the party’s spending package without SALT reform . . . members of the SALT Caucus ... have vowed to oppose a bill without SALT relief

 

From their website:

SUOZZI,  GOTTHEIMER, YOUNG,  GARBARINO  ANNOUNCE  NEW  BIPARTISAN  SALT  CAUCUS  TO  FIGHT  FOR  TAX  RELIEF  FOR  MIDDLE  CLASS  FAMILIES

April 15, 2021  

Press Release 

32 Democrats and Republicans join

Today, April 15, 2021, Tom Suozzi (NY-3), U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5),  Young Kim (CA-39), and Andrew Garbarino (NY-2) announced the formation of the new bipartisan SALT Caucus to advocate for new tax relief from Congress. 

  

“Our effort to restore the SALT deduction is gaining momentum. Together, Democrats and Republicans alike, we will advocate for the restoration of the SALT deduction and highlight the middle class families who have been unfairly hurt by the cap,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi, SALT Caucus Co-Chair. “The cap on the SALT deduction has been a body blow to New York and middle-class families throughout the country. At the end of the day, we must fix this injustice.”

 

“We’re formally launching a new bipartisan group — the SALT Caucus — because, for all our Members, and for the tens of thousands of middle class families we represent, it is high time that Congress reinstates the State and Local Tax deduction, so we can get more dollars back in to the pockets of so many struggling families — especially as we recover from this pandemic,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, SALT Caucus Co-Chair. “This bipartisan group we’re founding today, with members from coast to coast and across the political spectrum, are all banding together to reinstate the State and Local Tax deduction, to find a way to get this done in Congress, and to actually get tax relief for the hard working middle class families we represent.”

 

“Hardworking Californians in the 39th District and across my home state have been burdened enough by high state and local taxes. It is estimated that in the 2022 tax year, California’s 39th District will pay on average more than $640 million due to the SALT cap,” said Rep. Young Kim, SALT Caucus Co-Chair. “I am proud to fight for lower taxes for my constituents as Co-Chair of the SALT Caucus and am looking forward to working together to ensure California workers and families can keep more of their hard-earned money.” 

 

“The SALT cap penalizes working class Long Islanders. From firefighters to police officers, to teachers, to nurses, and small business owners, I hear from people every day about what a crushing blow the SALT cap has delivered them. I’m proud to be a Co-Chair of the bipartisan SALT Caucus to fully restore the deduction once and for all,” said Rep. Andrew Garbarino, SALT Caucus Co-Chair.

 

“A critical component of our overall economic recovery must be the repeal of the state and local tax deduction cap that was imposed by the 2017 tax law,” said Rep. Mikie Sherrill, SALT Caucus Vice Chair. “There is a misconception that the SALT deduction doesn’t help middle class families. But in high cost of living areas like my district, SALT does in fact make a critical difference in helping make ends meet for our middle class residents like teachers and law enforcement officers, who depend on this deduction to afford the high cost of living in our area. To be clear, the 2017 tax bill specifically targeted states and communities like mine that have prioritized key investments in our public schools, living wages for workers, environmental protections, the list goes on. I’m proud to be launching this bipartisan caucus to ensure we deliver a win on this issue for families in New Jersey and across the country.”

 

“The cap on the state and local tax deduction hurts middle class California families,” said Rep. Katie Porter, SALT Caucus Vice Chair. “During the coronavirus pandemic, our state and local governments have led public health efforts on testing and vaccines—a potent reminder of the important work they do. Restoring the state and local tax deduction, which has been in our tax code since its inception, gives taxpayers and communities the ability to invest in their priorities and levels the playing field across states for federal taxation.”

 

“Counties are on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting nearly 1,000 hospitals, more than 1,900 public health authorities and other services essential to residents’ safety and well-being. The human and financial impacts of addressing this health and economic emergency are staggering,” said National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase. “We applaud the formation of this bipartisan caucus committed to repealing the state and local tax deduction cap, which would reinstate our local control of our tax systems and strengthen the ability of our counties and local communities to deliver essential public services, such as emergency response, public health and infrastructure.”

 

The SALT Caucus leadership consists of: 

 

Co-Chair Tom Suozzi (NY-3)

Co-Chair Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5)

Co-Chair Andrew Garbarino (NY-2)

Co-Chair Young Kim (CA-39)

Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-9), SALT Caucus Vice Chair  

Katie Porter (CA-45), SALT Caucus Vice Chair

Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), SALT Caucus Vice Chair

Jamie Raskin (MD-08), SALT Caucus Vice Chair

Chris Smith (NJ-04), SALT Caucus Vice Chair

Lauren Underwood (IL-14), SALT Caucus Vice Chair

 

The other founding members of the SALT Caucus include: Reps. Danny Davis, Nicole Malliotakis, Julia Brownley, Judy Chu, Lee Zeldin, Michelle Steel, Mike Levin, Jimmy Panetta, Jimmy Gomez, Brian Higgins, Jerry Nadler, Tom Malinowski, Jeff Van Drew, Alan Lowenthal, Anna Eshoo, Andy Kim, Ted Lieu, Brad Schneider, John Larson, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mike Garcia, and Gregory Meeks.

 

You'll notice that for Drudge now it's NOT an echo of the eight-hour unknown whereabouts of Obama during the Benghazi attack

 

Obama Aide Pfeiffer: "Largely Irrelevant Fact" Where Obama Was During Benghazi Attack

Ailes on Benghazi: Where Was Our Commander-in-Chief?

 

President Obama didn’t make any phone calls the night of the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, the White House said in a letter to Congress released Thursday

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testified this morning on Capitol Hill that President Barack Obama was absent the night four Americans were murdered in Benghazi on September 11, 2012

General on Benghazi: 'We Never Received a Request for Support from the State Department'

Live video from a drone flying over the U.S. Consulate during the Sept. 11 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, was monitored at a Defense Department facility, but was not fed to the White House, senior officials say

 

 

Trump to dignify a vicious little tyrant by meeting with him, and they're calling it a victory

For the presidency, it's not:

North Korea: Trump's scored a real victory but don’t expect complete denuclearization any time soon

Editorial: On North Korea, Trump is right

Panetta: Trump Meeting "Positive Step," World "Breathing Sigh Of Relief"

Could Donald Trump end up with the Nobel Peace Prize?

Kim Jong Un can spin this any way he likes, but Trump has taunted and tortured Little Rocket Man into blinking first and the world can (temporarily) breathe a massive sigh of relief

Inhofe: The More Aggressive Trump Gets, The More He Gets Done; Brought Kim Jong-un To The Table

Trump’s Meeting With Kim Jong-un Is Another Pledge to Do What Nobody Else Can

Trump says North Korea is ‘sincere’ on reported offer to hold nuclear talks

Rules For Radical Republicans: Bush Tax Cuts Edition

Rule 1: Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.

The enemy knows the Congress is a coequal branch of the government. The problem is the Republicans and the Speaker of the House do not. You actually have more power even than that. You have 30 Republican governors. Start using them.

Rule 2: Never go outside the experience of your people.

"New revenues from the rich" is the enemy's idea, not Republicans'.

Rule 3: Whenever possible, go outside the experience of the enemy.

Bush is ancient history. Time to make your own and repudiate the past. Pass something in the House which goes farther than Bush ever dreamed, and send it to the Senate to enrage the enemy.

Rule 4: Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.

The enemy is funding gold-plated union jobs and pensions for federal and state workers at the expense of middle class Americans in the private sector who enjoy neither. It's time you reminded the middle class about that.

Rule 5: Ridicule is man's most potent weapon.

Use surrogates saying: Moochelle. Crony capitalist. Ideologue. Bolshevik. Dictator. Muslim sympathizer. Race baiter. Panetta flies cross country too much at taxpayer expense. The vice president thinks FDR talked to a television camera.

Rule 6: A good tactic is one your people enjoy.

Republicans can campaign, too. Go frequently to friendly territory and bring 2016 hopefuls with you.

Rule 7: A tactic that drags on for too long becomes a drag.

The idea of compromise became a drag a long time ago. Stop waiting for it. Go on the offensive instead.

Rule 8: Use different tactics and actions and use all events of the period.

The enemy is trying to combine everything into one event, "the fiscal cliff", which tells you they perceive they are at a disadvantage. They are. You need to keep the events separate and do things piecemeal. Raising the debt ceiling should come later, crossing the tax rates fiscal cliff should come first. Fight for spending cuts later with the debt ceiling, not now. Sequestration already gave you some spending cuts, which you should embrace.

Rule 9: The threat is more terrifying than the thing itself.

The greatest fear of the Democrats is a debt ceiling fueled government shutdown over spending cuts, but it wasn't the end of the world under Bill Clinton, and it won't be the end of the world if it happens in 2013. You actually won that in 2011. Do it again, except bigger, to satisfy the ratings agencies. Besides, it's red meat for the base.

Rule 10: Maintain a constant pressure upon the opposition.

No more appearances with the enemy, especially on the golf course. You are third in line for the presidency. Start acting like it. Visit Afghanistan to encourage the troops.

Rule 11: If you push a negative hard and deep enough, it will break through into its counterside.

The place you need to get to is the same place you were at two times when the president extended the Bush tax rates, so you should know the way. An uncompromising new insistence on tax reform and much lower tax rates might get you there. It changes the subject and focuses the argument on relieving the taxpayers. The president upped the ante. You need to see him and raise him. Aim for the moon, and you might get into orbit.

Rule 12: The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.

You might not get the radical tax reform, about which you must be deadly serious, but settling for making the Bush tax cuts permanent is a constructive alternative.

Rule 13: Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, polarize it.

Focus your attention on answering the partisanship of individuals in the pundit class. Don't fire Tea Party men. Enlist them in attacking the enemy. They are good at it, and they will repay you with support later.

The Tyrant Fears His Own: All His Life Long He Is Beset With Fear

"He who is the real tyrant, whatever men may think, is the real slave, and is obliged to practise the greatest adulation and servility, and to be the flatterer of the vilest of mankind. He has desires which he is utterly unable to satisfy, and has more wants than any one, and is truly poor, if you know how to inspect the whole soul of him: all his life long he is beset with fear and is full of convulsions, and distractions, even as the State which he resembles."

-- Plato's Republic, Book IX

What I See When I See Leon Panetta

Spode

The Res Gestae Divi Obama: Chooser, Declarer, Charger, Believer, Promiser, Director, Memorializer, Giver of Thanks, Uniter, Interpreter of Events, Perserverer

Naw, we don't spike the football:

When I chose Leon Panetta as Director of the CIA, I said he was going to be a strong advocate for this agency and would strengthen your capabilities to meet the threats of our time.

And when I chose Jim Clapper as Director of National Intelligence, I charged him with making sure that our intelligence community works as one integrated team.

On my first visit, just months after taking office, I stood here and I said that this agency and our entire intelligence community is fundamental to America’s national security. I said that I believed that your best days were still to come and I pledged that you would have my full support to carry out your critical work. 

Soon after that visit, I called Leon into the Oval Office and I directed him to make the killing or capture of Osama bin Laden the top priority in our war to defeat al Qaeda.

My second visit, a year later, came under more somber circumstances. We gathered to pay tribute to seven American patriots who gave their lives in this fight at a remote post in Afghanistan. As has already been mentioned, their stars now grace this memorial wall. And through our grief and our tears, we resolved that their sacrifice would be our summons to carry on their work, to complete this mission, to win this war.

Today I’ve returned just to say thank you, on behalf of all Americans and people around the world, because you carried on. You stayed focused on your mission. You honored the memory of your fallen colleagues. And in helping to locate and take down Osama bin Laden, you made it possible for us to achieve the most significant victory yet in our war to defeat al Qaeda. 

I just met with some of the outstanding leaders and teams from across the community who worked so long and so hard to make that raid a success. And I’m pleased today that we’re joined by representatives from all of our intelligence agencies, and that folks are watching this live back at all of those agencies, because this truly was a team effort.

This is one of the few times when all these leaders and organizations have the occasion to appear together publicly. And so I thank all of you for coming -- because I think it’s so important for the American people to see all of you here today.

That’s why I came here.  I wanted every single one of you to know, whether you work at the CIA or across the community, at every step of our effort to take out bin Laden, the work you did and the quality of the intelligence that you provided made the critical difference -- to me, to our team on those helicopters, to our nation.   

After I directed that getting bin Laden be the priority, you hunkered down even more, building on years of painstaking work; pulling together, in some cases, the slenderest of intelligence streams, running those threads to ground until you found that courier and you tracked him to that compound.

In the months that followed, including all those meetings in the Situation Room, we did what sound intelligence demands:  We pushed for more collection.  We pushed for more evidence.  We questioned our assumptions.  You strengthened your analysis.  You didn’t bite your tongue and try to spin the ball, but you gave it to me straight each and every time.

And we did something really remarkable in Washington -- we kept it a secret.  (Laughter and applause.)  That’s how it should be. 

Of course, when the time came to actually make the decision, we didn’t know for sure that bin Laden was there.  The evidence was circumstantial and the risks, especially to the lives of our special operations forces, were huge.  And I knew that the consequences of failure could be enormous.  But I made the decision that I did because I had absolute confidence in the skill of our military personnel and I had confidence in you.  I put my bet on you.  And now the whole world knows that that faith in you was justified. 

That’s why I still believe in what I said my first visit here two years ago:  Your greatest days are still to come.  And if any of you doubt what this means, I wish I could have taken some of you on the trip I made to New York City, where we laid a wreath at Ground Zero, and I had a chance to meet firefighters who had lost an entire shift; police officers who had lost their comrades; a young woman, 14 years old, who had written to me because her last memory of her father was talking to him on the phone while her mother wept beside her, right before they watched the tower go down. 

And she and other members of families of 9/11 victims talked about what this meant.  It meant that their suffering had not been forgotten, and that the American community stands with them, that we stand with each other. 

Leon Panetta to the Rescue: Implicates Live Feed Breakdown for Ignorant Statements

See the video here:

"[T]here was a time period of almost 20 or 25 minutes where we - you know, we really didn't know just exactly what was going on . . .."

Live Feed From Abbottabad Assault Was Cut Off For 25 Minutes

The White House was blind during that whole time:

Leon Panetta, director of the CIA, revealed there was a 25 minute blackout during which the live feed from cameras mounted on the helmets of the US special forces was cut off.

Full story here.