Second Blog Post Of Quick Chatting

Blog Post Of  Quick Chatting
Day to day chit chat and small talk. Light hearted or serious.
Chatting about what you do when you have the free time or the spare time. Chatting about your day, your evening, your weekend or your week.
Salutations: Hello, good morning, good afternoon, good evening and other small talk.

I had some time before my appointment, so I decided to purchase a donut and a beverage.

The donut shop was not busy.
I stood behind a customer; that was having a conversation with the employee behind the cash register.
I quietly and politely waited to be serviced.
When I saw that I was not going to be acknowledged I just quietly left.
For the record I was not mad.

I have been reading Babbitt.
I recently purchased You Can't Go Home Again.
Babbitt (novel)
Author
Sinclair Lewis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babbitt_(novel)

You Can't Go Home Again
Author
Thomas Wolfe
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Can%27t_Go_Home_Again



First Blog Post Of Quick Chatting
Link https://notmuch1.blogspot.com/2019/12/blog-post-of-quick-chatting.html

FactCheck Posts:Pelosi Did Not ‘Defend’ Soleimani

Link To https://www.factcheck.org/2020/01/pelosi-did-not-defend-soleimani/
Link To https://www.factcheck.org/

FactCheck Posts
Pelosi Did Not ‘Defend’ Soleimani
By Robert Farley
Posted on  Friday,January10,2020
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani as “provocative and disproportionate.” But, contrary to the president’s contention, she did not “defend” Soleimani.
In fact, we were not able to find any examples of Democrats who have defended or “mourned” the death of Iran’s top military commander, despite such claims from several other Republicans.
On Jan. 2, the Pentagon announced that, at Trump’s direction, American troops used a drone and killed Soleimani, Iran’s top security and intelligence commander, at Baghdad International Airport. The Pentagon statement said Soleimani “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.”
The statement further noted that “Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more. He had orchestrated attacks on coalition bases in Iraq over the last several months – including the attack on December 27th – culminating in the death and wounding of additional American and Iraqi personnel. General Soleimani also approved the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad that took place this week.”
In a press release put out that day, Pelosi warned that the strike “risks provoking further dangerous escalation of violence.” Pelosi also noted that the military action was taken without Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Iran and “without the consultation of the Congress.”
But nowhere in the release did she “defend” Soleimani, as Trump claimed in remarks to the press on Jan. 9.
Trump, Jan. 9: You know what bothers me? When I see a Nancy Pelosi trying to defend this monster from Iran, who has killed so many people, who has so badly — I mean, so many people are walking around now without legs and without arms. Because he was the big roadside bomb guy. He was the one who would send them to Afghanistan. He would send him to Iraq. He was big. That was his favorite thing. He thought it was wonderful. He doesn’t think it’s wonderful anymore. When Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats want to defend him, I think that’s a very bad thing for this country. I think that’s a big losing argument, politically, too.
Those comments echo similar statements made by other prominent Republicans.
In an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News on Jan. 6, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley said, “The only ones mourning the loss of Soleimani are our Democrat leadership and Democrat presidential candidates.” And in an interview with Fox News’ Lou Dobbs on Jan. 8, Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, said, Pelosi and the Democrats are “in love with terrorists” and “mourn Soleimani more than they mourn our Gold Star families who are the ones who suffered under Soleimani.” (Two days later, Collins apologized for his remarks.)
Again, we are not aware that Pelosi or any other Democratic leaders or presidential candidates publicly “mourned” the death of Soleimani or defended him. Our colleagues at PolitiFact looked into Haley’s comment and found that while most of the Democratic presidential candidates expressed concern about Trump’s move escalating tensions with Iran, they prefaced their comments by saying that Soleimani had the blood of American soldiers on his hands, and should not be mourned.
We asked the White House when Pelosi defended Soleimani, but it did not respond.
Several times in the past week, Pelosi has made comments critical of Trump’s actions. But she never defended Soleimani.
Pelosi, in a Jan. 4 press release calling on the administration to brief Congress: “The Trump Administration’s provocative, escalatory and disproportionate military engagement continues to put servicemembers, diplomats and citizens of America and our allies in danger.”
Pelosi, in a Jan. 5 “Dear Colleague” letter: “As Members of Congress, our first responsibility is to keep the American people safe. For this reason, we are concerned that the Administration took this action without the consultation of Congress and without respect for Congress’s war powers granted to it by the Constitution.”
Pelosi, in a Jan. 8 press release, after the administration’s briefing: “Members of Congress have serious, urgent concerns about the Administration’s decision to engage in hostilities against Iran and about its lack of strategy moving forward.  Our concerns were not addressed by the President’s insufficient War Powers Act notification and by the Administration’s briefing today.”
The speaker elaborated on her position during a press conference on Jan. 9. She again said Trump “conducted a provocative, disproportionate airstrike against Iran which endangered Americans and did so without consulting Congress.” But she said she was aware of “just how bad Soleimani was.”
Pelosi, Jan. 9: And so what happened in the view of many of us is not a promotion of peace, but an escalation. Not that we have any confidence in the goodness – or the good intentions of Iran, and we certainly do not respect, and I from my intelligence background, know just how bad Soleimani was. It’s not because we expect good things from them, but we expect great things from us.
Later in the press conference, Pelosi described Soleimani as “a terrible person” who “did bad things.”
Pelosi, Jan. 9: As I say, we have no illusions about Iran, no illusions about Soleimani, who was a terrible person. Did bad things. But it’s not about how bad they are, it’s about how good we are, protecting the people in a way that prevents war and does not have us producing, again and again, generations of veterans who are suffering.
Trump’s comments occurred about the same time that Pelosi spoke, and we don’t know if Trump heard her remarks when he made his. But House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy responded directly to Pelosi’s remarks and parroted Trump’s claim that she was “defending” Soleimani.
McCarthy, Jan. 9: I never thought there would be a moment in time that the Speaker of the House of Representatives would actually be defending Soleimani. … Did you listen to what the Speaker just said? “Soleimani was a bad person, but…” There is no “but.” He’s a bad person because he killed American soldiers. … He’s a bad person because he was planning more against Americans. The president was right in his actions, and we are safer today for it.
Later that afternoon on the House floor, Pelosi again argued that Trump’s actions “endangered our servicemen and women, our diplomats and others,” but added that Soleimani “was somebody that we do not mourn the loss of.”
Pelosi, Jan. 9: But with the President’s actions last week, he endangered our servicemen and women, our diplomats and others by taking a serious risk of escalation with tensions with Iran. This does not come with any respect for Iran. We know what bad actors they are in the world. We know that Soleimani, I from my Intelligence background, know that Soleimani was somebody that we do not mourn the loss of, a bad – he did very evil things in the world. But, we also know that when we take an action, we have to understand the ramifications of it.
We take no position on whether the president’s actions to take out Soleimani will ultimately make Americans more or less safe. But there is a distinction between criticizing the president’s decision to kill Soleimani and “defending” him, and there is no evidence that Pelosi defended Soleimani or “mourned” his death. In fact, she has made statements directly contradicting that claim.

Categories
FactCheck Posts
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doug collins
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House passes measure seeking to limit Trump's military actions against Iran

My Comment: I say thank you to the House for passing this bill.

Iran Tensions
House passes measure seeking to limit Trump's military actions against Iran
Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the resolution would send a clear message that the president shouldn't take further military action against Iran without Congress' approval.
Article Linkhttps://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/pelosi-says-house-send-clear-war-powers-statement-trump-thursday-n1113006#anchor-Bindingornot

Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020, 12:25 PM EST / Updated Thursday,Jan. 9, 2020, 6:19 PM EST
By Rebecca Shabad
WASHINGTON — The House adopted a war powers resolution Thursday with the aim of limiting President Donald Trump's military actions against Iran.
The adoption of the measure on a largely party-line vote of 224-194 came amid heightened tension between the two countries after the United States killed Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani and Iran retaliated with a ballistic missile attack against Iraqi air bases housing U.S. forces.
Republicans Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Matt Gaetz and Francis Rooney, both of Florida, voted for the measure, while eight Democrats voted against it: Joe Cunningham of South Carolina, Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Kendra Horn of Oklahoma, Elaine Luria of Virginia, Ben McAdams of Utah, Stephanie Murphy of Florida and Anthony Brindisi and Max Rose, both of New York.
Before the vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticized the U.S. drone attack on Soleimani, saying the resolution would send a clear statement that Trump shouldn't take further military action against Iran without approval from Congress.
"Last week, in our view, the administration conducted a provocative disproportionate airstrike against Iran which endangered Americans, and did so without consulting Congress," Pelosi said at her weekly news conference.
Asked whether the Trump administration misled the public in justifying the airstrike, Pelosi said that while she can't share the classified information that she has been briefed on, "I do not believe in terms of what is in the public domain that they have made the country safer by what they did."
Pelosi said that when Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed her on the airstrike over the weekend, they were "disdainful in terms of not consulting Congress" and "dismissive."
The president, asked Thursday whether congressional authorization was needed for further military action against Iran, said, "You don't have to," pointing to a need to "make split-second decisions."
Still, he said, "in certain cases, I wouldn't even mind doing it."
The five-page resolution, sponsored by freshman Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a former CIA analyst, emphasizes that if the president wants to take the United States to war, he or she must get authorization from Congress.
Specifically, it directs the president to terminate the use of U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities against Iran unless Congress has declared war or enacted a specific authorization or unless military action is necessary to defend against an imminent attack.
The legislation also says that Iran's government is a lead state sponsor of terrorism and that Soleimani was the "lead architect" of destabilizing activities around the world. It further says the United States has an "inherent right to self-defense against imminent armed attacks" and "maintains the right to ensure the safety of diplomatic personnel serving abroad."
The White House denounced the resolution later Thursday as "misguided."
"The President has the right and duty to protect this nation and our citizens from terrorism. That's what he continues to do, and the world is safer for it," spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. "This House resolution tries to undermine the ability of the U.S. Armed Forces to prevent terrorist activity by Iran and its proxies, and attempts to hinder the President's authority to protect America and our interests in the region from the continued threats."
Binding or not?
Although Pelosi said the measure has "real teeth" because it is a concurrent resolution, it wouldn't have to go to the president's desk for his signature, leading GOP lawmakers to assert that it would be legally nonbinding.
"This is a statement of the Congress of the United States. I will not have that statement diminished by having the president veto it or not," Pelosi said.
A senior Democratic aide noted that the War Powers Act sets out a clear process for the House legislation. The law says "forces shall be removed by the president if Congress so directs by concurrent resolution."
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., countered the notion Thursday, saying, "This resolution has as much force of law as a New Year's resolution."
At his weekly news conference earlier Thursday, McCarthy said, "This is a meaningless vote that only sends the wrong message that the House Democrats would rather stand with the socialist base than stand against Iran."
Because the resolution is privileged, the Senate could be forced to vote on it or a similar resolution that has been introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va.
Trump urged GOP members Thursday morning to oppose the measure. "Hope that all House Republicans will vote against Crazy Nancy Pelosi's War Powers Resolution ... " he tweeted.
The Defense Department said that the strike on Soleimani was "aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans" and that he had been actively developing plans to attack U.S. diplomatic and service members in Iraq and in other parts of the region.
Democrats have demanded that the administration share the intelligence backing that assertion. Many of them left classified briefings by top administration officials on Capitol Hill on Wednesday saying they were dissatisfied with the information presented that Soleimani posed an immediate threat or that the administration had the proper legal justification to target him.
After the strike, Democrats said they were worried that it would spark a war with Iran, which they said could be declared only by Congress. Top officials have said they based the strike on the 2002 authorization for the use of military force that Congress passed to authorize the war against Iraq when it was led by Saddam Hussein.
Iran retaliated Tuesday when it launched a dozen ballistic missiles from Iran targeting Iraq air bases housing U.S. forces. Trump announced Wednesday morning that Iran appeared to be "standing down."
Two GOP senators — Rand Paul of Kentucky and Mike Lee of Utah — left the Senate briefing Wednesday echoing Democrats' frustration with the explanation for targeting Soleimani. Lee said, "It was probably the worst briefing I've seen, at least on a military issue, in the nine years I've served in the United States Senate."
Trump said Thursday that Lee and Paul had "wanted information that is very hard to get" because the military needed to protect sources. "I get along great with Mike Lee, I've never seen him like that," he said, adding that "other people have called and said it was the greatest presentation."
Pelosi said the House would soon consider another proposal from Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., which would repeal the 2002 use of force authorization.
"It needs to be addressed, it needs to be rewritten ... specific to the danger that we are facing," she said.
Rebecca Shabad
Rebecca Shabad is a congressional reporter for NBC News, based in Washington.
Adam Edelman and Alex Moe contributed.

Contractor whose death Trump cited was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Iraq

Contractor whose death Trump cited was a naturalized U.S. citizen born in Iraq
Aaron Davis  Tuesday,1/7/2020
Article Link
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/contractor-whose-death-trump-cited-was-a-naturalized-us-citizen-born-in-iraq/ar-BBYIWiO?li=BBnb7Kz
Here is the gist of the article:
Quoted Excerpt:
An American defense contractor whose death late last month was cited by President Trump amid escalating violence with Iran was identified Tuesday as an interpreter who was born in Iraq and lived in Sacramento.
Nawres Hamid, 33, became a naturalized citizen in 2017, according to his widow. He was the father of two boys, ages 2 and 8, she said.
Hamid was killed on Dec. 27 when U.S. authorities say an Iranian-backed militia fired rockets at a military base near the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.
The attack, which injured several coalition troops, prompted Trump to order missile strikes against Iraqi militias. That in turn led to a New Year’s Eve assault on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and a retaliatory strike by the United States that killed Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian military commander.
Hamid’s death has been a rallying cry for Trump. In a tweet on Dec. 31, Trump wrote: “Iran killed an American contractor, wounding many. We strongly responded, and always will. Now Iran is orchestrating an attack on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. They will be held fully responsible. In addition, we expect Iraq to use its forces to protect the Embassy, and so notified!”
Hamid’s body was returned to the United States and buried Saturday in Sacramento, his widow, Noor Alkhalili, said in a text-message exchange with The Washington Post on Tuesday.

Congress demands answers from Trump about Soleimani killing

Monday, January 6, 2020
Congress demands answers from Trump about Soleimani killing
Quoted Excerpts:
Pompeo defended the targeted killing of Soleimani, saying the administration would have been “culpably negligent” in its duty to protect the United States if it had not killed him.
He did not provide evidence for his previous claims that Soleimani was plotting imminent attacks on Americans. Instead of arguing that an attack had been imminent, Pompeo said it was inevitable.
Trump made clear Sunday that he saw little reason to give Congress advanced warning if he orders the military to carry out further actions against Iran.

Link To Article 

https://whdh.com/news/politics/congress-demands-answers-from-trump-about-soleimani-killing/

Link To https://whdh.com/

My Comment:
Channel seven news reported that the general had been carrying a letter to deescalate tensions between Iran and the USA.

Iran Abandons Nuclear Deal as Killing of Iranian General Upends Mideast

My Comments and my opinions:

According to what I heard on the Sunday,1/5/2020 news's there was/is no evidence that general was planning anything against the USA.

In my opinion the Mideast on the whole will continue to be violent.

Iran Abandons Nuclear Deal as Killing of Iranian General Upends Mideast
Ben Hubbard, Alissa J. Rubin, Farnaz Fassihi and Steven Erlanger  Sunday, 1/5/2020
Quoted Excerpts:
American allies have largely kept quiet so as not top put themselves in the line of fire.
At the same time, no European government praised the killing of General Suleimani, emphasizing instead the increased risks to their citizens, troops and interests.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was reported to be angry with Mr. Trump for not informing him or other allies with troops in Iraq about the decision to kill General Suleimani. While carried out by the Americans, the killing is seen as having put all European citizens and troops in Iraq and the wider region at heightened risk.
Mr. Johnson, who was said to be returning early from a vacation in the Caribbean, is expected to discuss the issues with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, President Emmanuel Macron of France and Mr. Trump in the next few days, a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo complained that the response by European allies had not been “helpful.” He told Fox News in an interview: “Frankly, the Europeans haven’t been as helpful as I wish that they could be. The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well.”

Article Link  https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iran-abandons-nuclear-deal-as-killing-of-iranian-general-upends-mideast/ar-BBYDdpd?li=BBnb7Kz