Demand Grows to Strip Trump of Nuclear Authority
By Thom Hartmann A...
As he continues with his talk about fire and fury and the total destruction of North Korea, is it time to take the power to use nuclear weapons away from Donald Trump?
Donald Trump isn't backing down from his threat to rain fire and fury down on North Korea.
At a press conference yesterday in Bedminster, New Jersey, he told reporters that this threat was real - and not "a dare".
"He does something in Guam, it will be an event the likes of which nobody has seen before, what will happen in North Korea. You'll see. You'll see. And he'll see. He will see. It's not a dare. It's a statement."
Thanks to California Congressman Ted Lieu and Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, there is legislation in the House and the Senate right now that would ban any president - including this one - from using nuclear weapons without a declaration of war from Congress. Seems pretty reasonable right now, doesn't it?
"Do reckless comments of @realDonaldTrump scare you? Support HR 669 by @SenMarkey & me. Requires approval of Congress for nuclear 1st strike." - Ted Lieu
"Worried about @realDonaldTrump using #nuclearweapons? My bill w/ @tedlieu would restrict his ability to launch a preemptive #nuclear strike." - Ed Markey
Comments
#2
Revolution or apocalypse? Your choice.
#3
And yet, his most ardent supporters will still be thinking along the lines "Nuke 'em till they glow" without a single rational thought about the consequences. As evidenced by the fact that he still has any support at all in polling, there are people for whom "reality" is whatever TV channel they're tuned into at the moment.
Question: How do we prevent such people from voting? Or better still: How do we prevent narcississtic sociopaths from running for POTUS? Surely we should require some basic mental health standards for Presidential candidates. Trump and "W" have clearly demonstrated how dangerous and destructive the Presidency can be in the hands of a wannabe dictator in the former, or a malleable fool in the latter.
#4
The solution would seem to be Ban trump. He seems to become crazier by the day.
#5
DEMAND from Your Congress Person, that IMPEACHMENT process begin IMMEDIATELY!
#6
Does T. Rump (sorry, I can't bring myself to call him President Trump) scare me with his 'quick draw' threats and insults? You bet! We're all going to die because the two most immature, thin skinned psychotic dictators in the world started hurling insults and threats at each other. If these two want to fight, give them each a hammer and put them in a cage. Let everyone else stay home and watch them instead of the other way around.
Still, I think all this posturing is chaff to take our attention away from the Russian thing. If (When) it's found that Russia & T. Rump stole the election, I don't want then President Pence taking over. If the Russians helped the republicans steal the election, the election, itself, should be thrown out, then we'll have yet another special election but without Diebold's help this time. Since Hillary and her cohorts cheated, too, Bernie will run against ....Pence??
As for taking away his right to push the button without any input from anyone else or any other official okee dokie, ABSOLUTELY!! How could it have ever been this way in the first place?! Who gave just one man that kind of power? That must have happened back when seemingly qualified men were voted in.
#7
Isn't dropping an atomic bomb declaring war?
#8
One finger, one button...that is a scary thought. Actually 5000 nukes in the arms of the United States...ostensibly to keep the peace...now that should keep you awake nights.
Just how many wars/skimishes/overthrows/conflicts has the US supported/instigated since WWII? 25? 50?...and here we are with one finger poised over one button...yikes!
#9
President Trump is doing what the President of the most powerful nation in the world is supposed to do when a evil dictator threatens attack a territory of yours. What the hell is he supposed to do. Run and pretend nothing is happening. That worked great in Libya. Are we to stop standing up for those who can't stand up for themselves. If we always did that we would be speaking German right now.
#10
Six of one, half dozen of another: does the Congress really possess cooler heads to protect us from a sudden swoop into war, or will the Neo LibCons abuse their authority and plunge us into war because their owners want bigger and more profits? Either The Donald takes us to war because of a bruised ego coupled with a hot temper, or the Congress (together with their bed partners; the mass media outlets,) are going to take us to war as a business model. Take your pick: slow and planned, or sudden death? And still this country sleeps on... I tried to talk to a man today about things and he went from being pleasant and jovial, to being abrupt and pushing me out the door. People just don't want to hear it. They think if they ignore it, the Free Market is going to take care of it on its own. What can one say? Stupid is as stupid does. I just wish they would stop dragging the rest of us down the rabbit hole!
#11
Just having nuclear weapons, let alone thinking you will them, is a sign of craziness. Just think how catastrophic they are! Remember the Cuban Missile Crisis? Looking back does anyone now think we should have used the horror and destruction of a nuclear weapon to achieve 1962 foreign policy objective most Americans now probably can't even recall? Diplomacy is what got the Russian missiles out of Cuba (and OUR missiles out of Turkey and able to strike Russia). How much better if we had had on-going diplomatic relations with Cuba instead of treating them like a demon nation because Castro's Revolution threatened our desire to continue to control Cuba for our purposes, for our economic gain .JFK before he was president said we treated Cuba like our whorehouse. No surprise Cubans were glad to see the US-supported dictator Batista go and welcomed a leader like Castro who gave them hope of dignity and true independence.
#12
Get money out of politics... very, very simple
Get lobby out of politics... very, very simple
It should not require milions of dollars to get to be potus
It should not require the influence of lobby to get to be potus
#13
So a few public servants have finally figured out that Trump is not a sound minded individual... well ffnnn congratulations to them. Great, now we only have to worry about the fact that he's still an illegit public servant with supreme executive powers that will enable him to launch a non nuclear strike triggering a nuclear strike.
#14
And Wall Street is still 1929 delirious.
The Goldman Sachs cabinet members will not be able to stop or fix the crash!
#15
fff Trump....he's the biggest numbnut I've ever seen in my 60 years and I've met countless numbers of the mothers....McConnell and Ryan are a extremely close second.
#16
Reply to #12
You would just trample all over the US Constitution, wouldn't you Heph.
Maybe it shouldn't take millions to become POTUS. But then how do you explain the fact that Hillary spent millions more than Trump and she got beat?
Oh, and please review the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution. " ....the right of the people to peaceably assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievences..." = lobbying.
K2
#17
Reply to #5
On what grounds?
K2
#18
I am amazed by most of the comments here from the left. You people are afraid to the bone of Pres Trump when your concerns should be focused on the little pot-bellied dictator in North Korea. He is the one who is unstable. He is the one who is unpredictable. He is the one with nothing to lose.
For decades the US (Wash DC) both parties have done absolutely nothing about NoKo. Look at where it has gotten us. Thank the Good Lord we have Pres Trump instead of Hillary.
K2
#19
...because the "Good Lord" is a violent, petty, little diety who loves war, liars, and the rule of money -- worshipped by gullible fools who created "Him" in their own image.
#20
For those that must be wondering what ever happened to Fire and Brimstone. Fire and Brimstone is so terrifying, significantly worse than Fury, that it has been reserved for describing Hell only.
#21
Actually, no one has forgotten that except Generalissimo Manbaby, who evidently thinks nuclear conflagration would be the quickest, easiest way to "free" all the people of North Korea from their fat, blustering dictator. What will it take to free us from ours?
By his own many actions and words, or lack thereof, especially his wimpy and muddled reaction to the violence and hatred of his far-right base in Charlottesville over the weekend, the Republicans' fake president has demonstrated repeatedly to the world that not only is he a Putin puppet but also a neo-Nazi sympathizer.
And THIS is the goddamn fool whom the "religious" right's fake god has chosen to lead us out of the "valley of the shadow of death"??? Perhaps, instead of paying alms to their fire-and-brimstone preachers, Republicans should just pay their fair share of taxes and shut their lying mouths. The world would be a better place.
#22
Absolutely lovin' reading your hateful posts all the while knowing you can do nothing but throw tantrums for the next eight years. Ever tried alcohol?
You have two ultra fringe groups both intent on provoking the other. Which one is the more civil? My book says they both are trash and deserve to be treated as such. Thom dwelling on one group of assholes while ignoring the actions of the other is very telling but exactly what I would expect from a leftie/socialist.
#lockemallup
#23
And here, folks, is a classic example of false equivalency, utter hypocrisy, and a despicable liar in denial.
Yup, concerned citizens protesting hate groups are the same as neo-Nazi f*ckheads who came to Charlottesville itching for a bloody fight, dressed up as the dim-witted clowns they are in ridiculous, homemade riot gear, like in the movie, "The Gangs Of New York."
And who died or ended up in the hospital? Not a word.
Speaking of dim-witted, go back to your beloved Fux News programs and savor the false-positive coverage of your favorite white-nationalist, neo-Nazi-sympathizer pussy-grabber, who constantly spews out hatred and viciously lashes out at nearly everyone except fellow authoritariians like Putin, Duterte, and Erdoğan.
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How we got to the point of North Korea: They almost mock the president for not passing or doing anything. This is dangerous. You'll force him to pass or do anything! I don't give a damn if he doesn't do a single thing.. if he passes or does something bad it can, and may, severly damage our lives. We need good things done, and passed. Not bad things! (Doesn't anyone think before they open their mouths anymore??) Words and bad actions start wars..