In order to ensure that this thread continues to meet TL standards and follows the proper guidelines, we will be enforcing the rules in the OP more strictly. Be sure to give them a re-read to refresh your memory! The vast majority of you are contributing in a healthy way, keep it up!
NOTE: When providing a source, explain why you feel it is relevant and what purpose it adds to the discussion if it's not obvious. Also take note that unsubstantiated tweets/posts meant only to rekindle old arguments can result in a mod action.
More than half of the tax cuts proposed in former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's (R) tax plan would flow to America's wealthiest citizens, according to a report released by the nonpartisan group Citizens for Tax Justice, which advocates for "requiring the wealthy to pay their fair share."
While Americans at every income level would get a tax break under the presidential hopeful's plan, the report concludes, the size of that break would differ vastly. Those part of the poorest 20 percent of the country would receive, on average, a $227 cut, while those in the top 1 percent could expect about $82,392 -- a nearly 53 percent share of the individual income tax cuts.
In rolling out his tax proposal, which he unveiled earlier this month, Bush has occasionally adopted a populist tone, telling supporters at a North Carolina factory that “my plan will help those who live on their paychecks, who haven’t seen a raise in a while.”
He touted the plan as a way to lower taxes, simplify the tax code, eliminate loopholes and make the American economy more competitive, describing his planned tax cut for the highest bracket as a return to Reaganism.
"At 28%, the highest tax bracket would return to where it was when President Ronald Reagan signed into law his monumental and successful 1986 tax reform," he wrote in an op-ed announcing the proposal.
As The Huffington Post's Zach Carter and Ben Walsh previously reported, that's an even steeper tax cut for the wealthy than the 33 percent rate George W. Bush supported in 2000. Jeb Bush's plan also calls for cutting corporate taxes and the capital gains tax rate.
Over the past year, evidence has steadily emerged of a growing Russian military presence in Syria. As Bashar al-Assad’s armies have failed him in the field, he has increasingly relied on outside help. Initially, that help came from Hezbollah and Iran, but now it appears to be Moscow’s turn. And Washington may finally be waking up to what looks like a substantial Russian intervention in Syria.
New satellite images, obtained by Foreign Policy, of construction at an air base near Latakia leave little doubt that U.S. policy toward ending the conflict in Syria, such as it is, is now in total disarray. As they say, seeing is believing.
And with that, Obama's Syria policy (and possibly his entire Middle East policy) can now be deemed a total failure.
EDIT: And let's not forget how easy it will be for Republicans to hang this failure on Hillary as well (not that I think that it will matter at this point; she's toast).
If you think around 3000 Russian personnel will make a dent in a Islamist insurgency numbered well over 100k then your are being very very wishful. Not to mention Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia will ramp up support in cash, training, and recruiting etc. Not to mention the troubled regions of the Caucasus will have propaganda in the picture of possible Russian coffins flying home from the Middle East.
Anyways...
A leading conservative lawmaker eager to dethrone House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is ratcheting up the pressure for a shutdown battle over Planned Parenthood that neither Boehner nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) want and are trying desperately to avoid.
“I cannot and will not fund a vile, racist organization who specializes in convincing mothers to kill their children and then selling their baby parts to the highest bidder," Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) said in a written statement to TPM Tuesday. "During the funding debate two years ago, Mitch McConnell finagled a $2.8 billion dam for his home state. And now when it comes to keeping his pro-life campaign promises, I’m pretty certain he still knows how the process works.”
Huelskamp is a signatory to the letter circulated by conservative House lawmakers pledging not to fund Planned Parenthood, even if that means a government shutdown at the end of this month. Huelskamp and other anti-abortion lawmakers are standing by that promise, despite efforts by House and Senate leadership to channel their outrage with Planned Parenthood towards other anti-abortion bills.
Huelskamp is a leader of the conservative wing of the House GOP conference that is deeply disaffected with Boehner. He has bucked GOP leaders on multiple occasions in the past, and was famously photographed in the House chamber in 2013 brandishing an iPad that displayed a plan to launch a coup against Boehner, who was ultimately re-elected as speaker.
Over the past year, evidence has steadily emerged of a growing Russian military presence in Syria. As Bashar al-Assad’s armies have failed him in the field, he has increasingly relied on outside help. Initially, that help came from Hezbollah and Iran, but now it appears to be Moscow’s turn. And Washington may finally be waking up to what looks like a substantial Russian intervention in Syria.
New satellite images, obtained by Foreign Policy, of construction at an air base near Latakia leave little doubt that U.S. policy toward ending the conflict in Syria, such as it is, is now in total disarray. As they say, seeing is believing.
And with that, Obama's Syria policy (and possibly his entire Middle East policy) can now be deemed a total failure.
EDIT: And let's not forget how easy it will be for Republicans to hang this failure on Hillary as well (not that I think that it will matter at this point; she's toast).
I don't think anybody anywhere was very impressed with Obama's Syria policy. But then again, I don't actually believe there is a good Syria policy. Just a whole load of bad ones with different flavours. I think Obama bungled the whole red line thing. But the Russians actually allowed him a (fairly) elegant way out there, but other than that, Syria is just a fucked up situation and the best way to deal, although horrific, is to contain it (and diminish the grossest of civil rights violations), let it play out and offer as much humanitarian aide as possible to the civilians caught in the clusterfuck. I think that that is mostly what the world is doing. Everybody is supporting their favourite faction in whatever inconspicuous way they can (rich oil sjeiks financing ISIS/al Nusra, West bombing ISIS and helping FSA and Russia and Iran helping Assad), which is just going to drag this war out even longer
On September 16 2015 08:59 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: If you think around 3000 Russian personnel will make a dent in a Islamist insurgency numbered well over 100k then your are being very very wishful. Not to mention Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia will ramp up support in cash, training, and recruiting etc. Not to mention the troubled regions of the Caucasus will have propaganda in the picture of possible Russian coffins flying home from the Middle East.
A leading conservative lawmaker eager to dethrone House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is ratcheting up the pressure for a shutdown battle over Planned Parenthood that neither Boehner nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) want and are trying desperately to avoid.
“I cannot and will not fund a vile, racist organization who specializes in convincing mothers to kill their children and then selling their baby parts to the highest bidder," Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) said in a written statement to TPM Tuesday. "During the funding debate two years ago, Mitch McConnell finagled a $2.8 billion dam for his home state. And now when it comes to keeping his pro-life campaign promises, I’m pretty certain he still knows how the process works.”
Huelskamp is a signatory to the letter circulated by conservative House lawmakers pledging not to fund Planned Parenthood, even if that means a government shutdown at the end of this month. Huelskamp and other anti-abortion lawmakers are standing by that promise, despite efforts by House and Senate leadership to channel their outrage with Planned Parenthood towards other anti-abortion bills.
Huelskamp is a leader of the conservative wing of the House GOP conference that is deeply disaffected with Boehner. He has bucked GOP leaders on multiple occasions in the past, and was famously photographed in the House chamber in 2013 brandishing an iPad that displayed a plan to launch a coup against Boehner, who was ultimately re-elected as speaker.
You're missing the point. The Russian goal is not the reunification of Syria under Assad. Their goal is merely to preserve Assad's power base in the west of the country and effective cede the east to ISIS. With Russian support (and it's going to be far more than 3,000 troops -- just wait), Assad won't be going anywhere any time soon. Furthermore, Russia's military presence and operations in Syria will hamper America's ability to conduct its own operations.
In other words, Obama has failed his objectives of "degrading" ISIS, overthrowing Assad, and propping up "moderate" rebels.
A group of House Republicans plans to call for action on climate change in time for Pope Francis' visit to the Washington, D.C. next week, according to National Journal.
Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) penned a resolution stating that human activity contributes to climate change and urged his fellow Republicans to sign on.
"This is a call for action to study how humans are impacting our environment and to look for consensus on areas where we can take action to mitigate the risks and balance our impacts," he told National Journal.
The resolution, which was first reported by ClimateWire, has gained the signatures of nine House Republicans in addition to Gibson, according to National Journal. They hope to unveil the resolution as soon as Thursday.
Rep. Robert Dold (R-IL), one of the Republicans who signed onto the resolution, said he doesn't believe climate change should be political.
"As an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster for many years, I know firsthand why we must all work to strengthen conservation programs and other policies that promote public health, protect our environment and keep our air clean," Dold said in a statement to TPM. "Climate change is occurring and human contributions to this change are important to acknowledge and understand. Protecting the environment is not a partisan issue, which is why we must work together to find a sensible path forward that improves our planet for future generations."
Pope Francis has been outspoken in calling for world leaders to address the impacts of climate change. And numerous Republicans, including Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-KS) and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush have dismissed the Pope's comments.
On September 16 2015 08:59 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: If you think around 3000 Russian personnel will make a dent in a Islamist insurgency numbered well over 100k then your are being very very wishful. Not to mention Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia will ramp up support in cash, training, and recruiting etc. Not to mention the troubled regions of the Caucasus will have propaganda in the picture of possible Russian coffins flying home from the Middle East.
A leading conservative lawmaker eager to dethrone House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is ratcheting up the pressure for a shutdown battle over Planned Parenthood that neither Boehner nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) want and are trying desperately to avoid.
“I cannot and will not fund a vile, racist organization who specializes in convincing mothers to kill their children and then selling their baby parts to the highest bidder," Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) said in a written statement to TPM Tuesday. "During the funding debate two years ago, Mitch McConnell finagled a $2.8 billion dam for his home state. And now when it comes to keeping his pro-life campaign promises, I’m pretty certain he still knows how the process works.”
Huelskamp is a signatory to the letter circulated by conservative House lawmakers pledging not to fund Planned Parenthood, even if that means a government shutdown at the end of this month. Huelskamp and other anti-abortion lawmakers are standing by that promise, despite efforts by House and Senate leadership to channel their outrage with Planned Parenthood towards other anti-abortion bills.
Huelskamp is a leader of the conservative wing of the House GOP conference that is deeply disaffected with Boehner. He has bucked GOP leaders on multiple occasions in the past, and was famously photographed in the House chamber in 2013 brandishing an iPad that displayed a plan to launch a coup against Boehner, who was ultimately re-elected as speaker.
I don't value Russian forces as highly as American forces, but 3000 properly equipped Americans would sweep ISIS into the sea. Assuming they did not cripple themselves by limiting the scope of the mission ala Iraq, Vietnam, etc.
On September 16 2015 08:59 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: If you think around 3000 Russian personnel will make a dent in a Islamist insurgency numbered well over 100k then your are being very very wishful. Not to mention Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia will ramp up support in cash, training, and recruiting etc. Not to mention the troubled regions of the Caucasus will have propaganda in the picture of possible Russian coffins flying home from the Middle East.
Anyways...
A leading conservative lawmaker eager to dethrone House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is ratcheting up the pressure for a shutdown battle over Planned Parenthood that neither Boehner nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) want and are trying desperately to avoid.
“I cannot and will not fund a vile, racist organization who specializes in convincing mothers to kill their children and then selling their baby parts to the highest bidder," Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) said in a written statement to TPM Tuesday. "During the funding debate two years ago, Mitch McConnell finagled a $2.8 billion dam for his home state. And now when it comes to keeping his pro-life campaign promises, I’m pretty certain he still knows how the process works.”
Huelskamp is a signatory to the letter circulated by conservative House lawmakers pledging not to fund Planned Parenthood, even if that means a government shutdown at the end of this month. Huelskamp and other anti-abortion lawmakers are standing by that promise, despite efforts by House and Senate leadership to channel their outrage with Planned Parenthood towards other anti-abortion bills.
Huelskamp is a leader of the conservative wing of the House GOP conference that is deeply disaffected with Boehner. He has bucked GOP leaders on multiple occasions in the past, and was famously photographed in the House chamber in 2013 brandishing an iPad that displayed a plan to launch a coup against Boehner, who was ultimately re-elected as speaker.
I don't value Russian forces as highly as American forces, but 3000 properly equipped Americans would sweep ISIS into the sea. Assuming they did not cripple themselves by limiting the scope of the mission ala Iraq, Vietnam, etc.
I don't have any doubt that whatever force Russia finally puts in Syria will be strong enough to preserve Assad indefinitely and wreak havoc on the FSA. I also wouldn't be surprised if Iran gets more involved in Syria now that the nuclear deal is going through.
On September 16 2015 08:59 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: If you think around 3000 Russian personnel will make a dent in a Islamist insurgency numbered well over 100k then your are being very very wishful. Not to mention Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia will ramp up support in cash, training, and recruiting etc. Not to mention the troubled regions of the Caucasus will have propaganda in the picture of possible Russian coffins flying home from the Middle East.
Anyways...
A leading conservative lawmaker eager to dethrone House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is ratcheting up the pressure for a shutdown battle over Planned Parenthood that neither Boehner nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) want and are trying desperately to avoid.
“I cannot and will not fund a vile, racist organization who specializes in convincing mothers to kill their children and then selling their baby parts to the highest bidder," Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) said in a written statement to TPM Tuesday. "During the funding debate two years ago, Mitch McConnell finagled a $2.8 billion dam for his home state. And now when it comes to keeping his pro-life campaign promises, I’m pretty certain he still knows how the process works.”
Huelskamp is a signatory to the letter circulated by conservative House lawmakers pledging not to fund Planned Parenthood, even if that means a government shutdown at the end of this month. Huelskamp and other anti-abortion lawmakers are standing by that promise, despite efforts by House and Senate leadership to channel their outrage with Planned Parenthood towards other anti-abortion bills.
Huelskamp is a leader of the conservative wing of the House GOP conference that is deeply disaffected with Boehner. He has bucked GOP leaders on multiple occasions in the past, and was famously photographed in the House chamber in 2013 brandishing an iPad that displayed a plan to launch a coup against Boehner, who was ultimately re-elected as speaker.
I don't value Russian forces as highly as American forces, but 3000 properly equipped Americans would sweep ISIS into the sea. Assuming they did not cripple themselves by limiting the scope of the mission ala Iraq, Vietnam, etc.
The problem is, it might be easy to kill or disperse the first 80-90K of the 100K ISIL militants (and yes, I agree that American troops and equipment are the best in the world). The problem is the ones who hunker down and fight a guerrilla war/ insurgency thing. As we've learned, asymmetric warfare is a bitch and the Middle East is where world powers go to bleed. This could very well become Putin's Afghanistan.
On September 16 2015 08:59 {CC}StealthBlue wrote: If you think around 3000 Russian personnel will make a dent in a Islamist insurgency numbered well over 100k then your are being very very wishful. Not to mention Turkey, Jordan, Saudi Arabia will ramp up support in cash, training, and recruiting etc. Not to mention the troubled regions of the Caucasus will have propaganda in the picture of possible Russian coffins flying home from the Middle East.
Anyways...
A leading conservative lawmaker eager to dethrone House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is ratcheting up the pressure for a shutdown battle over Planned Parenthood that neither Boehner nor Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) want and are trying desperately to avoid.
“I cannot and will not fund a vile, racist organization who specializes in convincing mothers to kill their children and then selling their baby parts to the highest bidder," Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) said in a written statement to TPM Tuesday. "During the funding debate two years ago, Mitch McConnell finagled a $2.8 billion dam for his home state. And now when it comes to keeping his pro-life campaign promises, I’m pretty certain he still knows how the process works.”
Huelskamp is a signatory to the letter circulated by conservative House lawmakers pledging not to fund Planned Parenthood, even if that means a government shutdown at the end of this month. Huelskamp and other anti-abortion lawmakers are standing by that promise, despite efforts by House and Senate leadership to channel their outrage with Planned Parenthood towards other anti-abortion bills.
Huelskamp is a leader of the conservative wing of the House GOP conference that is deeply disaffected with Boehner. He has bucked GOP leaders on multiple occasions in the past, and was famously photographed in the House chamber in 2013 brandishing an iPad that displayed a plan to launch a coup against Boehner, who was ultimately re-elected as speaker.
I don't value Russian forces as highly as American forces, but 3000 properly equipped Americans would sweep ISIS into the sea. Assuming they did not cripple themselves by limiting the scope of the mission ala Iraq, Vietnam, etc.
The problem is, it might be easy to kill or disperse the first 80-90K of the 100K ISIL militants (and yes, I agree that American troops and equipment are the best in the world). The problem is the ones who hunker down and fight a guerrilla war/ insurgency thing. As we've learned, asymmetric warfare is a bitch and the Middle East is where world powers go to bleed. This could very well become Putin's Afghanistan.
Possibly, but he can vastly limit the chances of that happening. First, the small troop number indicates that he intends to simply exist as the "backbone" of Assad and allow Assad's less reliable, Syrian, forces go out to clean up the provinces. There, his goal would simply be stability, which can be achieved with such a force (a similarly sized British force basically occupied the entire Middle East south of Baghdad during WW1 to preserve oil flows). There is also another option where he enhances the size of the force, a bit, and simply mounts a mission to discredit ISIS by continually routing them and dispersing them. That is also achievable.
Lastly, there is the gruesome option wherein Putin doesn't care about war crimes and collaborates with Assad to engage in a Sherman-like campaign (or Japanese in mainland China if you prefer that analogy). Which he also could achieve. The path to failure is easy to avoid, if you acknowledge its existence, which America has failed to do recently.
Washington state and a Native American tribe have reached an agreement on the growth and sale of marijuana, a deal that will pave the way for the tribe to run a legal cannabis store and is the first agreement of its kind in the United States, the tribe and state officials said.
Under the pact, a tribal tax equivalent to the state excise tax will be applied to pot sales to non-tribal customers on Suquamish tribal lands.
Washington voters legalized the possession of marijuana and its regulated sale when they approved Initiative 502 in 2013, and the state’s first stores opened early this year.
“This agreement is an excellent model for future compacts,” said Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board chairman Jane Rushford, according to the Seattle Times.
Board officials said in a news release that the 10-year agreement signed Monday will govern the production, processing and sale of marijuana on the tribe's land located in Kitsap County, which is just a few miles west of Seattle.
“Our decision to enter into retail operations comes after careful consideration,” Tribal Council Chairman Leonard Forsman said in a statement. “With the passage of I-502, we knew we needed to adapt to the changing environment surrounding our reservation and saw an opportunity to diversify our business operations."
The compact will head next to Gov. Jay Inslee for approval. A bill passed by the state legislature in 2015 allows the governor to enter into marijuana agreements with tribes in Washington recognized by the federal government.
On September 16 2015 09:58 cLutZ wrote: The path to failure is easy to avoid, if you acknowledge its existence, which America has failed to do recently.
Hey guys we have a five star general here who can end terrorism.
On September 16 2015 09:58 cLutZ wrote: The path to failure is easy to avoid, if you acknowledge its existence, which America has failed to do recently.
Hey guys we have a five star general here who can end terrorism.
No I can't. I can know, however, that that is not a military goal.
Edit: By the way, the military generals will tell you that they could end terrorism if they got to do what they wanted.
On September 16 2015 09:58 cLutZ wrote: The path to failure is easy to avoid, if you acknowledge its existence, which America has failed to do recently.
Hey guys we have a five star general here who can end terrorism.
No I can't. I can know, however, that that is not a military goal.
Edit: By the way, the military generals will tell you that they could end terrorism if they got to do what they wanted.
No shit. This idea that we couldn't stomp out an insurgency if we wanted to is so damned myopic historically. Plenty of nations/countries/peoples have been successful at it -- including the US.
On September 16 2015 09:58 cLutZ wrote: The path to failure is easy to avoid, if you acknowledge its existence, which America has failed to do recently.
Hey guys we have a five star general here who can end terrorism.
No I can't. I can know, however, that that is not a military goal.
Edit: By the way, the military generals will tell you that they could end terrorism if they got to do what they wanted.
No shit. This idea that we couldn't stomp out an insurgency if we wanted to is so damned myopic historically. Plenty of nations/countries/peoples have been successful at it -- including the US.
If by "successful" you mean conquered them for decades until the nation overthrew them and are today's communist, terrorist or militaristic dictactorships, then sure, so much success.
Romans did it a number of times. Didn't always take the first time, took like four attempts to sort out the Jews for example, but when the solved it it stayed solved.
On September 16 2015 09:58 cLutZ wrote: The path to failure is easy to avoid, if you acknowledge its existence, which America has failed to do recently.
Hey guys we have a five star general here who can end terrorism.
No I can't. I can know, however, that that is not a military goal.
Edit: By the way, the military generals will tell you that they could end terrorism if they got to do what they wanted.
No shit. This idea that we couldn't stomp out an insurgency if we wanted to is so damned myopic historically. Plenty of nations/countries/peoples have been successful at it -- including the US.
If by "successful" you mean conquered them for decades until the nation overthrew them and are today's communist, terrorist or militaristic dictactorships, then sure, so much success.
Not a lot of Native American terrorists. Or German. Or Japanese.
The United States has secretly indicted top officials connected to the government of Bolivian President Evo Morales for their alleged involvement in a cocaine trafficking scheme. The indictments, secured in a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration sting called "Operation Naked King," have not been previously reported.
Morales, a former leader of Bolivia's coca growers union, has long been at loggerheads with the DEA. In 2008, Morales expelled the agency from the country and embarked on his own strategy of combatting drug trafficking, acknowledging the traditional uses of coca in Bolivian culture and working cooperatively with coca growers to regulate some legal activity and to promote alternative development elsewhere. Morales' plan has been effective at reducing cultivation, according to the United Nations.
But that doesn't mean the DEA accepted its eviction quietly. In fact, the agency went after members of Morales' administration in an apparent effort to undermine his leadership.
The sealed indictments, revealed last week in a lawsuit filed by long-time DEA informant Carlos Toro, target Walter Álvarez, a top Bolivian air force official; the late Raul García, father of Vice President Álvaro García Linera; Faustino Giménez, an Argentine citizen and Bolivian resident who is said to be close to the vice president; and Katy Alcoreza, described as an intelligence agent for Morales. Toro said in the court document that he played an integral role in securing the indictments as part of the DEA's undercover investigation into the alleged Bolivian cocaine trafficking ring, which the agency ran out of its office in Asuncion, Paraguay.
EPT![[image loading]](http://img.huffingtonpost.com//asset/scalefit_630_noupscale/55f87e091c000028004192dc.png)
