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Former Congressman David Stockman also headed Reagan's Office of Management and Budget. Not of the Reagan White House Office, but the Office of the entire United States. Here's what he said about the failed budget negotiations:
"Fiscal governance in Washington is totally kaput. They never pass an annual budget resolution and enforcement plan, which was taken as a sacred duty back in the day; and there are never even annual appropriations bills for the mere 25% of the budget still subject to the Congressional “power of the purse”.
Instead, what occurs is a perennial string of short-term Continuing Resolutions (CRs) followed by an 11th hour, 3000 page pork-ridden “Omnibus Appropriations” bill that no one has read and which gives log-rolling (i.e. more domestic for more defense) a new definition.
In short, the debt ceiling was the only fiscal control mechanism left. And even that has been neutered time after time in the last decade by the hideous, flat-out lie that if the Treasury on any given day is one dollar short of being able to cover all of its due bills it must default on each and every one of them including interest payments, thereby destroying the credit of the United States. Yada, yada.
Finally, that lie was being put to the test and would have been eviscerated sometime next week. Yet after a lifetime on the public teat, Kevin McCarthy like his two GOP predecessors surrendered to the Doomsday Machine because he works for the GOP wing of the Swamp, not the voters, current and future.
And he did so while expectorating the most risible of lies: Republicans are changing the culture and trajectory of Washington—and we’re just getting started.
Not close. Not in the ballpark or even the catcher’s box behind home plate.
The deal does absolutely nothing to change the current “trajectory” toward fiscal disaster because it reduces nary a dime of built-in spending for defense, entitlements/mandatories, veterans and net interest, while those items account for 89% of the $80 trillion of built-in spending over the next decade."
“I would say to my soul, O my soul, this is not the place of despair; this is not the time to despair in. As long as mine eyes can find a promise in the Bible, as long as there is a moment left me of breath or life in this world, so long will I wait or look for mercy, so long will I fight against unbelief and despair.”
-- John Bunyan
...to bomb Iran's energy network "back into the stone age," how will Iran respond?
Strategic jihad? Will they level central Washington with ten, explosive fifteen-passenger vans?
No, something far worse.
Iran announced today that it will strike the world’s most important energy facilities, located in Arab countries and Israel, all within range of Iran’s precision missiles, in response to any new US and Israeli strikes:
1. Ghawar Oil Field, Saudi Arabia, backbone of Saudi production, disruption puts 5%+ of world oil supply at risk
2. Abqaiq + Khurais, Saudi Arabia, 7M+ bpd throughput, world’s largest oil stabilization plant
3. Ruways Refinery + Zakum Oil Field, UAE, 2nd largest offshore oil field, 1M+ bpd
4. North Ghadir Gas Field + Ras Laffan LNG, Qatar, world’s largest gas field with 25% of proven reserves, 20% of global LNG trade
5. Burgan Oil Field, Kuwait, 67B barrel reserves, 2M bpd
6. Sitrah Refinery + Al-Mihaj, Bahrain
7. Leviathan + Tamar Gas Fields, Israel, ...
The Trump Administration has banned all new humanoid robots from China, which the FCC terms "unacceptable risks" to U.S. national security.
Many major robotic vacuum brands like Roborock and Ecovac are either based in China, or source parts from foreign countries — even iRobot's Roomba. Among other features, robot vacuums often have the ability to map your home, listen to conversations, and there have been security breaches that demonstrate the devices' vulnerabilities.
"Advanced robotic devices collect data that could be leveraged by malign actors to surveil Americans, enhance the capabilities of foreign intelligence services, or to remotely commandeer the robots," the FCC said. It cites several use cases for robots: guarding data centers and other "critical infrastructure" protection, manufacturing and "U.S. military dominance" that the FCC says illustrate the need to have a "secure domestic advanced robotics supply chain."
Earlier this year, the FCC banned imports of new ...
