US Politics Mega-thread - Page 2153

President Barack Obama’s plans to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal over the next 30 years could cost taxpayers nearly $1 trillion, according to a new study that suggests the project’s long-term price tag will far outpace available Pentagon estimates.

The study, by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a Washington D.C.-based think tank that works closely with the Pentagon, is the latest attempt by independent researchers to determine the actual costs of Obama's ambitious plans for updating the nuclear triad — the intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarines and aircraft capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The White House, which announced plans to replace the U.S.' aging arsenal in 2013, has to date only released a $73 billion estimate that covers fiscal years 2016 to 2020 — years before the program's costs are projected to spike.

Researchers Todd Harrison and Evan Montgomery found in the study that the actual cost could total $963 billion between 2014 and 2043. “Ultimately, this report finds that the Pentagon will…require as much as $12 to 13 billion per year in additional funding to support nuclear maintenance and modernization during the 2020s, when spending on U.S. nuclear forces will peak,” Harrison and Montgomery wrote.

Their findings are consistent with a widely cited assessment of $1 trillion published last year by the Monterey Institute for International Studies. Previous cost projections for Obama’s nuclear overhaul have varied widely, largely due to methodological differences, but most analysts agree that the official projection inadequately represents the costs because it stops short of the program’s “bow wave” — or peak spending years — in the late 2020s.

Many lawmakers and anti-nuclear advocates say the modernization plans are not affordable under budget restrictions that extend until 2021, but Harrison and Montgomery note that there are few feasible options for shaving down these costs. Aside from removing an entire “leg” of the nuclear triad — some experts have suggested that ICBMs are lowest priority and could therefore be dropped — the other "plausible" reductions they were able to identify “would not provide much savings when those savings are needed most,” in the next five years.

And considering that their projections will only spike nuclear spending to five percent of total U.S. defense spending even during the modernization "bow wave," scaling back these costs is not likely to be a top priority for lawmakers. "This is still a hunt for small potatoes," Harrison said at a press conference introducing the report on Tuesday.

On August 05 2015 23:04 whatisthisasheep wrote:
One of Trump's biggest critics decided to change his tune.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/04/boy-was-i-wrong-about-donald-trump-heres-why/
Trump even used Gawkers prank to benefit himself
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQ3hu4oMqaM
You gotta hate on whats great

On August 05 2015 14:57 Mohdoo wrote:


I've been going through lol scenarios in my head where Trump actually is this downright fucking amazing negotiator and gets all this done. 4 years later, the US has an outstanding economy due purely to Trump getting us a ton of amazing deals.

On August 05 2015 15:17 Mohdoo wrote:


One thing I will say in support of Trump: I think too much emphasis is placed on the idea of having loads and loads of experience in this or that. When someone is president, they have a giant staff of advisers. Does Trump really need foreign policy experience? Or is being president really just about being a leader and knowing how to form a good team? Is it not possible that someone who is a really good leader, charismatic and well spoken could be a great president? I'd argue it's more about the team than the person.

On August 05 2015 23:22 Yoav wrote:

But would Trump pick good foreign policy advisers? I doubt it. Would he even know where to look? Would he have a good economic team? I doubt it. The guy doesn't know shit about the economy. You need to have a basis of knowledge to pick advisers. This is why a President Kerry would have been awesome.

On August 06 2015 01:59 Mohdoo wrote:


Can you elaborate on what you think makes this task so impossible? Could he not hire consultants the same way candidates hire campaign managers and the like? How is it such an unknowable thing? I'm sure there are a few people you could hire to give you a very thorough rundown on the pros/cons/views of a wide range of candidates.

Another ill-advised ad lib from Jeb Bush, another opportunity for Democrats.

Looking to curry favor with religious conservatives at the outset of a competitive primary fight, Bush on Tuesday repeated his call to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood — and then he went even further, questioning the amount of government support for women’s health programs generally.

The Romneyesque unforced error drew a fast and furious backlash from Democrats, causing Bush to backtrack almost immediately and to acknowledge that he “misspoke.”

The controversial comment came as Bush started to acknowledge the importance of federal funding for some women’s health programs, and then stopped mid-sentence to qualify his remarks, asserting that he believes the current amount of funding is likely too much.

“I’m not sure we need half a billion dollars in funding for women’s health programs,” Bush said, before continuing with his point. “If you took dollar for dollar, there are many extraordinarily fine organizations, community health organizations that exist, federally sponsored community health organizations to provide quality care for women on a wide variety of health issues.

“But abortion should not be funded by the government, any government in my mind,” he concluded.

Bush, who told the audience that, as governor, he defunded Planned Parenthood in Florida, prefaced his comments by acknowledging that Democrats are likely to attack his comments — and the GOP’s current fight against Planned Parenthood, which gained steam after the release of several controversial videos that allegedly show organization officials talking about the sale of fetal tissue and organs.

It is said that those who don't know their own history are condemned to repeat it. Japanese leaders are rightly criticised for their continued attempts to whitewash Japan's WWII crimes in China, Korea and South East Asia.

It is also true that terror bombing was not invented by the United States. The Nazis unleashed it at Guernica in 1937 and again on British cities in 1940.

The Japanese bombed Chongqing for six years. The British destroyed Dresden and many other German cities.

But no other bombing campaign in WW2 was as intense in the destruction of civilian lives as the US bombing of Japan in 1945. Between 300,000 and 900,000 people died.

As Jamal Maddox put it to me so well, how was it that the country that entered the war to save civilisation ended it by slaughtering hundreds of thousands of civilians?

On August 06 2015 02:57 GreenHorizons wrote:

This whole planned parenthood thing has been pretty ridiculous from the start. Republicans might of had an issue if they didn't go full stupid with it.

On August 06 2015 02:41 GreenHorizons wrote:


I think he would surround himself with people like his lawyer who didn't think spousal rape is a thing, and his campaign adviser who called Rev. Sharpton's daughter a N****r.

On August 06 2015 03:05 Mohdoo wrote:


I don't think so. I think planned parenthood and gay marriage are two issues where that ship has sailed. I don't think being against either of those things is viable on a national stage.

THE UNITED States may be turning a corner in presidential politics. Although the election itself is more than a year away, the latest reports to the Federal Election Commission show that a wealthy oligarchy of donors has come to dominate campaign finance, particularly in the crowded Republican contest. Fewer than 400 families are responsible for almost half the money raised in the campaign so far, according to an analysis by the New York Times. This class of wealthy patrons, some with new fortunes and others of long-standing, is throwing money into campaigns, not of all which will end happily. But the preeminence of this clan of tycoons so early in the season is not a good sign.

The post-Watergate reforms sought to limit the corrosive power of money in politics, enhance transparency and encourage candidates to raise funds from a broad base of supporters. But new vehicles have become available that do the opposite, encouraging wealthy donors to make unlimited contributions, concentrating the power of the plutocracy and overwhelming the impact of small donors.

One of the most important of these channels is the super PAC, an organization that can accept unlimited contributions. Super PACs, which must disclose donors, are supposed to be independent of the candidates, but in fact most are not. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, in the 2012 election, all the presidential super PACs together raised about $26 million by June 30 of the year before the vote. Now, at the same point in the cycle, they have raised $258 million, nearly 10 times more. Moreover, the super PACs dwarf the actual campaign organizations in fundraising. The total the super PACs have raised is nearly double the more than $130 million the presidential campaigns raised in the first six months of this year, the center reports. The super PACs are the tangible result of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision that opened the floodgates to unlimited campaign giving. A second vehicle, groups that claim to be social welfare organizations, is also worrying because the donations do not have to be disclosed to the public.

The Times analysis of FEC and Internal Revenue Service records shows that candidates are becoming dependent on a small pool of wealthy Americans. The analysis found that about 130 families and their businesses provided more than half the money raised through June by the Republican candidates and their super PACs. The Democrats also have some big-money fat-cats, but they also have a wider base of smaller donors.

What’s wrong with this concentration of wealth and power? The nation has often been ruled by elites, and rued it. But the potential to warp the political system is ever-present when such large sums are poured into politics. A quick scan down the list of the biggest donors shows that many of them would be affected by government policy under a new president — tycoons who have made their fortunes in private equity, hydraulic fracturing and oil field services, technology and other businesses.

North Carolina is not one of the states where the U.S. military training exercise dubbed "Jade Helm 15" is taking place this summer. Nevertheless, three men from Gaston County were charged with conspiring to arm themselves with illegal explosive devices to combat what they saw as a potential military takeover, according to court documents unsealed Monday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte.

The documents alleged Walter Eugene Litteral, 50, Christopher James Barker, 42, and Christopher Todd Campbell, 30, stockpiled weapons and discussed how to build homemade explosive devices. Litteral also allegedly tried to purchase a firearm for Barker, who is a convicted felon.

A tipster first contacted the FBI in June after becoming concerned that Litteral and Campbell were "preparing to use lethal force against United States government forces in order to defend against the imposition of martial law or other infringements on their rights," according to an affidavit. The affidavit noted that the two men had discussed their belief that "Jade Helm 15" was actually a cover for the implementation of martial law with the tipster.

Litteral ordered a great deal of military-grade equipment from the tipster, including approximately 60 rounds of ammunition for a .338 caliber long-range rifle, Kevlar helmets and body armor, according to the affidavit. He requested that the equipment be delivered by July 15, the start date of the military training exercise. He also purchased smokeless rifle powder, two-way radios and balaclavas.

The affidavit cited recorded conversations that showed Litteral allegedly planned to have his house rigged with explosives should any government agents come knocking.

On August 06 2015 03:19 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Also the for the second day shots were fired in MS where the jade helm exercises were taking place.



Source

On August 06 2015 03:36 Gorsameth wrote:

So not only Texas is this stupid?
Wow.