Opposition to a strike in Syria is mounting.
By Thom Hartmann A...
According to top administration official, President Obama will not strike Syria without Congressional approval. During an interview on NPR, Deputy National Security Adviser Blinken said, “the president has the authority to act,” even without congressional approval, but added, “it's neither his desire nor intention to use that authority absent [of] Congress backing him.” And, that approval is looking less and less likely.
The Think Progress Blog did an analysis of public statements given by Representatives in the House, and found that only 44 said they will definitely vote to approve military action. More than 200 members of Congress say they will definitely vote against the strike, or that it's highly unlikely that they would support it. Even those senators who support some type of action are looking for an alternative. Democratic Senators Joe Manchin and Heidi Heitkamp are circulating a resolution to delay action, and resolve the conflict using diplomatic means.
In addition, it's not only the U.S. Congress that opposes a military strike in Syria. United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon warned that “ill-considered” military action in Syria could have “tragic consequences” for the Syrian people. President Obama, and those who support the strike, now stand in opposition to the U.N., Russia, China, and some European nations – not to mention a vast majority of the American people.
When President Obama was asked Friday about acting without congressional approval, he refused to speculate on how he might act. Perhaps the weight of an international push back, combined with the vocal opposition of Americans, will keep our nation from triggering a potential world war.
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Re: Texas Secession & the Railroad Commision
The Railroad Commission consists of 3 state wide elected Commissioners. It was originally created during the Gilded Age to combat the power of the railroad monopolies but is now widely viewed as corrupt. It operates under the radar and has massive power. It regulates transportation and the oil industry. A good summary can be found at http://texaspolitics.laits.utexas.edu/1_9_8.html.
I am a 53 year old Texas native. If we were stupid enough to secede there would be massive flight from the state and the economy would go into a tail-spin. There is not nearly as much oil around as there used to be and we know it.
The gentleman swimming pool contractor from Tarrant county seems to be very impressed by the lack of building code regulation in rural areas as well as the sizeable highway construction in his area. The lack of building codes in rural areas is the bane of unsuspecting home buyers and presents a large cost to cities annexing these areas. He seems to think that a company's reputation is a customer's safeguard against shoddy workmanship, but it is difficult to find a business that has been around very long, and defects in workmanship may take ten or twenty years to show up. I would like to know how long how long his business has been around.
Texas used to have an excellent highway system, but over recent years the "starve the beast" folk have been in charge and have refused to raise the gas tax from 20 cents/gal, the same rate it was in 1991. It is rather hallarious, and sad, that our fiscally responsible Republicans have been very happy to put road building on the credit card to the point that the service on the debt ($800 million in 2011) exceeds the money left for building new roads ($600 million).