pacino wrote:federal funding to the states would be cut by 215 billion due to Graham-Cassidy

Doll Is Mine wrote:

The Hill‏ @thehill
#BREAKING: NASCAR owners threaten to fire drivers, crew members who protest national anthem http://hill.cm/MWpDFgE

smitty wrote:

Youseff wrote:this worship of our military is a cultural phenomenon that is rooted in good intentions, but it's a bit ridiculous since much of our active military missions are amoral & murderous. props for having the courage to particpate in firefights, but it's hard for me to be proud of you for participating in our illegal war in Iraq.

Soldiers can't pick and choose where they are deployed. That's up to the President et al.

I went through the post Vietnam war disdain for SSAM. Thanking soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines is is a good thing to do In my view. Civilians make the decisions regarding what the military will do. The military always does its best to accomplish the mission.

swishnicholson wrote:
The man doesn't even know what color the blue

Voting in the referendum is open to some 5.2 million Kurds and non-Kurds aged 18 or over who are registered as resident in Kurdish-controlled areas of northern Iraq.

The central government has demanded that all international airports and border crossings be returned to its control, and asked all countries to "deal only with it on matters of oil and borders".
The United Nations, United States and United Kingdom have also expressed concern over the potentially destabilising impact of the referendum.
The UN Security Council warned on Thursday that the vote could hamper the fight against so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq, in which Kurdish forces have played a critical role, and efforts to ensure the return of 3 million displaced Iraqis.
Neighbouring Turkey, which has a sizeable Kurdish minority pushing for autonomy, said on Monday that it would view the results of the referendum as "null and void". However, it kept open the Kurdish oil export pipeline that crosses its territory.

Youseff wrote:

smitty wrote:

Youseff wrote:this worship of our military is a cultural phenomenon that is rooted in good intentions, but it's a bit ridiculous since much of our active military missions are amoral & murderous. props for having the courage to particpate in firefights, but it's hard for me to be proud of you for participating in our illegal war in Iraq.

Soldiers can't pick and choose where they are deployed. That's up to the President et al.

I went through the post Vietnam war disdain for SSAM. Thanking soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines is is a good thing to do In my view. Civilians make the decisions regarding what the military will do. The military always does its best to accomplish the mission.

ultimately my main problem is that we idolize the military in this country, and a lot of what our military does deserves criticism and scorn. all of this adulation and worship of people who as a collective have a very dark and destructive and often unnecessary history. we always use the phrase "fighting to protect our freedoms which we enjoy at home," which is such a hollow and dishonest statement. people should have respect for soldiers, not a deference, and there certainly should not be the constant pomp & circumstance & worship that we get now. I have other issues with the army & the people who join it but that's the main one.

pacino wrote:As you normally do, graham-cassidy has been redone tonight in order to be voted on wednesday.

Perfectly normal process!

Trying to buy off some senators

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation imposing strict new restrictions on travelers from a handful of countries, including five that were covered by his expiring travel ban. Administration officials say the new measures are required to keep the nation safe.

The indefinite restrictions apply to citizens of Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and North Korea. As part of the presidential proclamation signed Sunday, the U.S. will also bar the entry of certain Venezuelan government officials and their immediate families.

The announcement came the same day that Trump's temporary ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority countries was set to expire, 90 days after it went into effect. That ban had barred citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen who lacked a "credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States" from entering the U.S. Only one of those countries, Sudan, will no longer be subject to travel restrictions.
"Making America Safe is my number one priority. We will not admit those into our country we cannot safely vet," Trump tweeted late Sunday after the new policy was announced.
Unlike the first iteration of Trump's travel ban, which sparked chaos at airports across the country and a flurry of legal challenges after being hastily written with little input outside the White House, officials stressed they had been working for months on the new rules, in collaboration with various agencies and in conversation with foreign governments.
To limit confusion, valid visas would not be revoked as a result of the proclamation. The order also permits, but does not guarantee, case-by-case waivers for citizens of the affected countries.
The restrictions are targeted at countries that the Department of Homeland Security says fail to share sufficient information with the U.S. or haven't taken necessary security precautions.
DHS has spent recent months working to develop a new security baseline, which includes factors such as whether countries issue electronic passports with biometric information, report lost or stolen passports to INTERPOL, an international law enforcement body, and share information about travelers' terror-related and criminal histories.