North Korea – * Failed Pols

I do not fault stupid people for making the stupid decision to elect Donald Trump in 2016.

I do fault smart people for making stupid decisions. These include:

1. Senators who voted to acquit Donald Trump in his no-witnesses-allowed impeachment trial, including primarily Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell:

* Impeachment of Donald Trump (2020-02-05)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Donald_Trump#Acquittal

* Mitch McConnell (2020-02-05)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_McConnell#Impeachment_trial

2. Members of the GOP who voted to disenfranchise voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin – before, during, and AFTER the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol – including Paul Gosar (AZ-04), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Jody Hice (R–GA-10), Mo Brooks (R–AL-05), Scott Perry (R–PA-10), Josh Hawley (R–MO), and Louie Gohmert (R–TX-01).

* 2021 Storming Of The United States Capitol (2021-01-06)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol

* 2020 United States Presidential Election Electoral College Count (2021-01-06 – 2021-01-07)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2020_United_States_presidential_election_Electoral_College_count

3. Donald Trump’s cabinet, who could have invoked the 25th Amendment to remove POTUS at any time:

* Cabinet Of Donald Trump (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_of_Donald_Trump

4. Social media, including especially Facebook and Twitter, for allowing their social networks to be used as platforms for hate speech.

* Donald Trump On Social Media (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_on_social_media#2021

5. Mainstream media, including especially CNN (on the left) and Fox News (on the right) for not doing their jobs – asking questions until they get answers – and allowing POTUS to lie unchecked.

* Veracity Of Statements By Donald Trump (2017-01-21 – PRESENT)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veracity_of_statements_by_Donald_Trump

6. Lawmakers at all levels, for failing to fix bad laws and for failing to enact good laws. Changes that must be made going forward include:

Limiting POTUS power:

Executive order power must be limited.
All cabinet members (acting/interim/actual) must be confirmed by Senate.
Treaties and tariffs must be the role of Congress so that POTUS cannot engage in trade wars.
War Powers Act must be updated to limit POTUS power to deploy the military.
Special Counsel Act must be updated to make clear that POTUS cannot fire special counsel.

Writing better and new laws:

Impeachment Act of 2021, to define how impeachment is conducted, including the requirement to have witnesses.
Follow the lead of The Restatements Of The Law project (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restatements_of_the_Law) and codify major SCOTUS cases, including especially Roe v. Wade.
Fix the Census.
Fix immigration.
Fix SCOTUS processes, such as limiting appointments to 2 per POTUS with the number of SCOTUS justices fixed at the number of Federal Circuits (currently 13).
Election reform, including who is qualified to run for POTUS and that tax forms must be disclosed to do so.

Just to name a few.

Stupid people, bad laws, and lies got us into this mess.

Smart people, good laws, and the truth can get us out of this mess.

LAW >> MAN.

#FailedPols
https://www.failblog.com/

North Korea may be preparing to launch a missile or space rocket, as indicated by recent commercial satellite images of a site near Pyongyang. Alternatively, Kim Jong Un may be pushing some Trumpian buttons. After last month’s denuclearization talks in Vietnam between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un broke down, satellite images indicate new activity at the North Korea missile site known as Sanumdong.

In the past, North Korea assembled satellite launching rockets and intercontinental ballistic missiles at the facility. According to NPR, Recent U.S. satellite images from DigitalGlobe now show vehicles parked nearby, rail cars in an adjacent rail yard, and cranes at the site.

After examining the images, Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Project at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, said, “When you put all that together, that’s really what it looks like when the North Koreans are in the process of building a rocket.”

According to Donald Trump’s account of his talks with Kim Jon Un, Kim offered to dismantle the Yongbyon complex, which is the main research and production facility for North Korea’s nuclear program. In exchange, however, according to Trump, Kim wanted the U.S. to lift all sanctions on North Korea. Trump refused.

“Sometimes you have to walk and this was one of those times,” said Trump.

North Korea’s foreign minister, however, stated that North Korea was only asking for a partial lifting of sanctions, not complete sanction relief. Kim had also offered to permanently stop nuclear testing as well as long-range rocket testing.

Christopher Dickey, world news editor at The Daily Beast, remarked, “I think we’re going to see a new round of testing of launch missiles, and also a testing of Donald Trump.”

Dickey stated that the Sanumdong site has been used for satellite launches, but never for intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launches. “But that doesn’t matter,” Dickey said. “Kim Jong Un is obviously doing this to tweak Trump. To say, ‘Look. We can do this, and maybe we can go back to testing ICBMs as well’…Trump has kind of boxed himself into a corner.”

Meanwhile, Trump insists that he’d be “very disappointed” if North Korea were preparing to launch a missile.

Photos show North Korea rebuilding missile facility | ABC News [2019-03-06]

North Korea restores rocket launch site: Report | Fox News [2019-03-07]

Category: North Korea

* Erik’s Editorial: The Guilty Parties Who Put American Democracy At Risk In The Name Of Donald Trump

North Korea: Launching a Missile, or Pushing Trump Buttons?