Category Archives: Politics

US Constitutional Trip-Hazard

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It appears that the US has had a particular “trip hazard” within it all along. Not an error of commission so much as an error of omission. We have been so busy heaping praise and devotion to our Constitution that the cold eyes of criticism have not held sway. To be sure, here criticism also means “analysis and judgment of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work“. For crying out loud, even Einstein’s theory of relativity, which has been endlessly validated, is still subject to criticism yet it is physics and based on mathematics.

Can it be true that the Founders were able to construct a constitution so tight, internally consistent and prescient that the future could never evolve in a way that calls for revision. Seriously, could they have believed this?

The view from 30,000 ft shows that there are circumstances wherein safety rails meant to restrain a runaway President have failed. To date the US President is still subject to many restraints except for a part requiring Congress provide effective a counterweight to the executive. The current circumstance is where the Congress chooses not to summon self-control enough to exert its constitutional responsibility to declare war or not. To declare war is to draft and execute a policy directing the US to summon resources and direct military engagement with another state. This was done properly and for the last time by FDR in 1942 against axis-aligned Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania (Google).

Perhaps the Constitution does not disallow a wide-eyed march into chaos and ruin by majority rule. In other words, within the constraints of this founding document, there are pathways to self-destruction. It is conceivable that the founders hadn’t considered a self-immolation led by a madman in the future. Could they have anticipated that 1 or 2 of the 3 branches of government would choose not to execute its responsibility to provide effective checks and balances? After all, why would rational citizens allow the nation they love to celebrate fall into collapse?

Actually, the Republican majority party in Congress probably doesn’t believe that there is a failure of checks and balances on their part. Why would they challenge the president, their national party leader and lord of the MAGA movement? The Trump network is large and powerful and getting ‘primaried’ is a likely outcome for sheep who stray from the flock.

In effect, accusations of constitutional disobedience spread across all party members is less fearsome than near-term personal electoral defeat. MAGA Republicans fear that their careers hanging separately is more likely than hanging together. Safety in numbers.

Somewhere there is a coterie of planners who, having drafted Project 2025 now underway, are busy plotting the transition to illiberal democracy. Who are these big-money usurpers, and how do we turn the rock over and expose them to the light of day?

# 47 Must be physically removed from office

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Unless Trump is physically removed from power, the current conflict in Iran will blossom into WW III as Iran bombs our bases in our allied countries. He will not relinquish the White House voluntarily even if lawfully removed from power, so the Congress must be prepared to drag him off-site. This will be the first step in the recovery of America. His little buddy, JD Vance, cant be trusted either but I don’t know how that can be dealt with.

Not that Iran will beat the US, but with the US distracted and bogged down with its foreign military projects and complete destruction of foreign relations, there is the likelihood of oil shortages throughout Asia. Our opponents will use this lull in US global hegemony to settle scores in other parts of the world. Does the invasion of Cuba really make sense now or ever?

How long will China and everyone else allow the US/Israel war to cripple their oil supplies by the blockade of the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz?

Russia and Iran understand asymmetric warfare. We do not. We strut around thumping our chests bragging about how great we are. Our weapons are indeed impressive as everyone has noticed. If only our grasp of international politics matched our facility with warfare.

N. Korea will use US distraction and it’s overextended military as well as lost international good will to invade S Korea. China may decide to invade Taiwan in a year or two. Do people honestly think that this all consuming American distraction in the Middle East will not be exploited by the bad actors of the world?

Trump is a madman who is leading our country into the graveyard of collapsed empires.

MAGAs are cognitively impaired enough to not see him for what he is and their elected representatives who have circled around him have everything invested in MAGA voters transfixed by him. MAGAs are cognitively impaired enough to not see him for what he is and their elected representatives have circled around him have everything invested in MAGA voters transfixed by him. By cognitively impaired I just mean that the the fear center in their brains can’t let go despite what they see and hear.

Who gave you the authority … ?

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Copied from a source whose name may be off-putting to MAGA Americans. The words of the UAE businessman should stand apart from sanctimonious misperceptions burrowed under the skin of MAGA supporters.

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“One of the UAE’s top businessmen, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, just lashed out at Trump over the Iran War.

His Excellency President Donald Trump,

A direct question: Who gave you the authority to drag our region into a war with #Iran? And on what basis did you make this dangerous decision?

Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger? And did you consider that the first to suffer from this escalation will be the countries of the region itself!

The peoples of this region have the right to ask as well: Was this your decision alone? Or did it come as a result of pressures from #Netanyahu and his government?

You have placed the countries of the #GulfCooperationCouncil and the Arab countries at the heart of a danger they did not choose. Thank God, we are strong and capable of defending ourselves, and we have armies and defenses that protect our homelands, but the question remains: Who gave you permission to turn our region into a battlefield?

For before the ink has dried on the #BoardOfPeace initiative that you announced in the name of peace and stability, we find ourselves facing a military escalation that endangers the entire region. So where did those initiatives go? And what is the fate of the commitments made in the name of peace?

Most of the funding proposed in those initiatives came from the countries of the region themselves, and from Arab Gulf countries that contributed billions of dollars on the basis of supporting stability and development. And these countries have the right to ask today: Where did this money go? And are we funding peace initiatives or funding a war that exposes us to danger?

More dangerous than that, your decision does not threaten only the peoples of the region, but also reaches the American people whom you promised peace and prosperity. And here they are today, finding themselves in a war funded from their money and taxes, with costs ranging, according to the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS), between 40-65 billion dollars for direct military operations, and could reach 210 billion dollars including economic impacts and indirect losses if it lasts four to five weeks, not to mention the sacrifice of Americans themselves in a war in which they have neither camel nor she-camel.

You have even broken your promises not to get involved in wars and to focus only on America and put it at the top of your priorities, as you ordered foreign military interventions during your second term that included seven countries: Somalia, Iraq, Yemen, Nigeria, Syria, Iran, and Venezuela, in addition to naval operations in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific Ocean. You directed more than 658 foreign airstrikes in your first year in office, which equals the total strikes in Biden’s entire term, for which you directed your arrows of criticism for involving the United States in foreign wars.

Your Excellency the President, these numbers have severely reflected on your approval ratings among Americans, which have declined since your inauguration for the second term, by about 9% in just 400 days.

These numbers say something clear: Even within #TheUnitedStates, there is growing concern about being dragged into a new war, and about exposing the lives of Americans, their economy, and their future to unnecessary risks.

True leadership is not measured by war decisions, but by wisdom, respect for others, and pushing toward achieving peace. And if these initiatives were launched in the name of peace, then we have the right today to demand full transparency and clear accountability.”

Apology to the World

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I hope that peoples of the world understand that America’s president, Mr. Trump, is mightily disliked in the US and his opposition is only growing. His behavior at Davos in particular was humiliating for a growing majority of my countrymen. On behalf of the millions of Trump opponents, please understand that this won’t last forever and that we regret that our friends and allies have been exposed to this blithering idiot.

The Republican party has surrounded him in exchange for political protection and votes, but lately Republican congresspeople have been jumping off the MAGA barge like rats in a fire. While he crosses over every red line and is excused by his party, the rest of the country is obeying the laws and norms of our national heritage. While he wreaks havoc on everything he touches, he tries to rule by decree. This is dictator behavior.

Alienating America’s friends and NATO allies while threatening annexation of sovereign nations can only be the work of a greedy and deeply ignorant man. On top of that he fancies that certain dictators in the world are his friends. His voters were primarily interested in a candidate who would “kick ass and take names”. They wanted someone who could eliminate what they called the “deep state”. Trump has a persistent group of about 1/3 of the conservative voters who support him through thick and thin, but they don’t sound very educated.

Now the hidden brainwaves working in the Trump White House have dreamed up the idea of the “Board of Peace“. Accepted are the countries of UAE, Bahrain, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Vietnam have already signed up. Rootin’ tootin’ Putin too.

It is plain to see that the American Constitution is inadequate for this and other circumstances. What if he is removed by the 25th Amendment but refuses to acknowledge it? His executive branch controls the major law enforcement agencies. If they refuse to remove Trump from office, who will do it? Foremost is needed a mechanism for the physical removal of a president from the White House and confiscation of the nuclear codes that follow him. Such authority and mechanism should be defined in the US Constitution. The current US Supreme Court’s conservative majority has adopted a legal theory called “originalism” at least since Justice Scalia’s time.

Originalism is a legal theory in the United States which bases constitutional, judicial, and statutory interpretation of text on the original understanding at the time of its adoption. Wikipedia

This philosophy seeks to limit interpretation of the Constitution to the language and meanings as well as the original intent of the 18th century document. In other words, it is frozen in time. Nobody believes that another amendment to the constitution will be supported by the required number of states. America needs a living document relating to 21st century American life.

Trump has an Edifice Complex. Apologies to Sigmond Freud.

Vice President JD “Gilligan” Vance is next in the line of succession and his inclinations as the next president are unclear. Ok, so we get rid of Trump only to have Gilligan take his place. Will he mindlessly continue the efforts of Trump”? Stay tuned.

Russia Fires Hypersonic Oreshnik Missiles at Ukraine

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At a time when the Trump administration is making enemies in the EU with talk of a military adventure in Greenland, Putin has unleashed Oreshnik hypersonic intermediate range missiles at Ukrainian civilians. The targeting of civilians is nothing new for the Russians, but the Oreshnik missiles travel at up to Mach 10 (7610 mph) which makes shooting them down problematic. Russia has held back this missile system until now., though in 2024 it apparently had fired a test shot absent explosive warheads. According to Wikipedia the Oreshnik ballistic missile system is still in the experimental stage.

The Russians have gotten quite peevish lately, claiming that Ukraine targeted the sprawling home of Putin. Targeting civilians in Kyiv as well as Lviv in western Ukraine serves the dual purpose of reminding the NATO and the EU of the threat Russia poses to them. Golly. Imagine a warring state trying to decapitate the leader of its opponent. According to reports Russia has been trying to assassinate Zelinski, so a reciprocal decapitation effort should be expected.

While Russia burns through military resources and personnel, and while the Russian economy teeters on the edge of total collapse, the conventional military threat to Europe should weaken more by the day. They are taking roughly 1000 casualties per day while their recruitment effort is falling short of that number. However, the nuclear threat remains. It is an open question as to whether Putin refrains from releasing nuclear weapons as his tenure becomes endangered. The Oreshnik missile is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads- a fact that is lost on nobody.

It’s not in the nature of Putin or his Kremlin to admit even the slightest amount of damage or discomfort caused by Ukraine. One fine day the west will learn that Putin has disappeared and a successor has surfaced. What will Russia do then? A gesture of humanity, perhaps? That would be out of character. A Russian leader could never admit mistakes or defeat. Krushchev did it, but his tenure was cut short by the politburo with Brezhnev taking his place.

The Time is Now!

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The president’s lap dog and offensive coordinator, Mr. Stephen Miller, has been yapping about America’s supposed right to annex Greenland. The pathetic swine is going on about our role as a superpower and how we should be pushing America’s weight around. I’m faint with nausea as I write this because that is what this sickening pig does to me. I’ll try to continue.

The prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, said recently that Trump’s comments about Greenland and last weekend’s abduction of Nicolás Maduro and his wife will likely lead to the collapse of NATO. NATO, in case half of America was sleeping, was a big part of what kept the world from WWIII during the cold war. But hey, Trump knows better than anyone because he is rich and has nailed down the speaking patterns of an after-dinner speaker in the hotel ballroom. His third-grade intellect is sufficient for his supporters.

There are plenty of sensible people in the USA who absolutely object to what Trump is doing to our beloved homeland and by extension to the world. It appears that his vision for America is in parallel to Putin’s vision of a large and powerful Russian empire. Putin’s ethnic pride pushes him to Russify as much western territory as possible in order to balance the USA and Europe.

Trump is not buggering America by himself. Who are those pathetic souls who grease the fascist machinery behind the scenes? There must be a list of lieutenants who do the planning and conceive of the action plans. Trump is not a detail man. He is the showboat and on-air talent.

The USA elected a mouthy billionaire real estate developer as president- twice -and what is he doing? He is looking for land to develop. He wants to repartition the world to fit his developer’s dream of having the USA pay for his indelible mark on monuments and in future history books. Another one of his businesses is the sale or leasing of his brand- TRUMP. He’ll plaster his brand without fear of recourse because we’ll let him do it. For crying out loud, he is planning to build a triumphal arch. And his supporters continue to tingle in excitement over his feats of strength and disregard for his detractors.

While Trump is casting societal norms into the ditch, we law abiding citizens must tolerate his dishonesty and incompetent mishandling of our historic nation. We tolerate it because we have respect for the constitution and the rule of law. He was twice elected to high office and we have respected his wins. The founders did not anticipate the ultraconservative majority that got elected or appointed to SCOTUS and how the country might be taken down one wall at a time.

Not only does #47 skirt the law but the news media, the fourth estate, who have previously tried to live up to their role in civic life are now conspicuously silent. The founders could not have anticipated the magnitude of trouble electronic media have contributed to a civically immature population.

It is well past time for us by the millions to take to the streets in lengthy and vigorous opposition to the current administration. We must make noise and push back in vast numbers with all of our strength. I know those who would protest with me once but not many who would do it multiple times. Arrest and reprisal must be accepted as untold millions have around the world.

America has been a land of opportunity for anyone who could summon the will power to “make it big.” Now, America is about those who have already made it big and are trying to push closer to trillionaire status. Haul up the ladder, I’m on board. Trump’s wealth has been seen as a sign of business savvy which was thought to transfer seamlessly into governing. So how did that work out?

The downfall of the United States of America is being accelerated by voters too clueless to know otherwise. Democracy is being undone by an idiocrasy from the low side of the bell curve. Citizens too stupid or too lazy to understand America’s place in the world. World history has been heavily documented so there is no excuse for civic ignorance.

Stephen Miller’s psychotic rattling of his stick in the administration’s bucket of shit in front of the White House never ceases to satisfy America’s confederation of fools. What a sad time to be alive.

Good Lord, It’s The Greenland Thing Again.

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The Fearless Overlord of the American Oligarchy, DJT, has resurfaced the Greenland question again. Louisiana’s Republican governor Jeff Landry has been anointed by Trump to a volunteer position as Special Envoy to Greenland. This move was promptly condemned by both the EU President and Denmark, unsurprisingly.

Resembling the many tragic leaders in history, Trump keeps nattering on about the need to annex Greenland for national security. The claim of national security is a kind of universal excuse that is solemnly expressed but rarely explained. We understand that an explanation might reveal the poker hand we are playing- We get it. But like a when a hammer looks around and sees only nails, what does a property developer see when he pans his orange face across a large, underdeveloped island? Bingo!!

We shouldn’t forget that Trump has been in the business of selling his name as a brand for a long time. He knows the value of an attractive brand and is not the least bit shy about plastering his family name as far and wide as possible. Look at the recently renamed “Trump Kennedy” Center in DC where he is the CEO. His coterie of sycophants are constantly trying to outdo each other with ever increasing levels of ass-kissing. Whatever shame there might have been in self-promotion is long gone.

The thing is that when a businessman who was in the business of promoting his brand begins to label government property with that brand, isn’t that a conflict of interest? His escape must be that others are slapping the brand on buildings, not him. There isn’t a single milligram of shame in him that would request that such naming happen only after he passes.

An interesting thing is that while the Trump administration is officially contemptuous of global climate change, a particular result of climate change must come about. In order to extract mineral wealth from below the ice –whatever that might be– global warming will be needed to melt the Greenland ice cap to expose that mineral wealth.

However, the motivation goes far beyond minerals. Access to the Arctic Ocean and whatever crude oil that may be pumped out from below the ocean floor is up for grabs. A US shoreline on the Arctic Ocean supports arctic military access as well as access to the new Northwest Passage that is opening up to commerce.

A surprise to precisely no one, annexing Greenland is about a new phase of American hegemony and extending the reach of military power. Perhaps Greenland is the new Manifest Destiny in the eyes of the rancid White House clique running American government just now.

I previously mentioned American hegemony. The USA has been a leading world power since the conclusion of WWII. There are presently two other powers who desire this status and are happy to help the USA to topple over as hegemon. The post WWII track record of the American hegemon is spotty at best and since the election of Trump, has begun an abrupt nosedive.

Trump’s slogan “America First” is catchy and patriotic-sounding and appeals to us as citizens of an isolated country bounded by two expansive oceans. Unlike a great many other countries, the USA has a temperate climate, warm deepwater ports, and abundant fertile farmland, minerals and lumber. Importantly, the USA had a capitalistic economic establishment favoring industrialization as a mostly democratic republic. In combination, all of this allowed the USA to rapidly tool-up after Pearl Harbor and back its fighting forces with massive quantities of war materiel and enter WWII cocked and loaded for bear. Fascism was defeated in Europe and the Pacific, and we even helped our defeated enemies get back on their feet.

In my lifetime, I’ve heard many fellow citizens try to explain our victories in WWII as the result of some unique attribute of American clean living and superior moral fiber. Never mentioned are the countries who also had clean living and high moral fiber but were unable to summon the resources to assemble a powerful war machine. American successes in WWII greatly relied on abundant natural resources, an existing industrial base and oceans that prevented tanks and troops from marching across our borders.

Today, the tell-tale voices of fascism are surfacing around the USA. People who had previously voted republican and strutted around claiming to be patriotic citizens are now saying that maybe democracy doesn’t work and an authoritarian government is needed. Let Trump be Trump!

WWII veterans and their offspring have come, passed away or retired by now in 2025. They brought a kind of optimism and energy to the growth of the USA. Technological modernism was the answer to all the ills of society. What was needed was an electrified, push button life of convenience.

If you look deep enough into virtually any peacetime period of American history, you’ll find reports of conflict, malfeasance, criminality and a myriad of dirty political dealings for the time. This represents the true baseline, ground state of America. This is bumpy ground but normal. My point is that before we indulge in self-flagellation and unrealistic expectations of our society, we should have a good think about what “normal” is actually comprised of. The inability to deal with exponential growth, uncertainty and a bit of disorder only cripples us.

Who on God’s Green Earth Wants to Invade Russia?

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Putin has said on numerous occasions that the West wants what Russia has. Seriously? You mean permafrost? -61 oF winters. A border with China? A multiethnic and antagonistic population? A shortage of warm, deepwater ports? A long history of brutal authoritarianism?? Its gleaming history with nuclear energy and vast stretches of land contaminated with radioactive soil. Yes, we in the West stare longingly at Russia for this from time to time … NOT!

Oh yes, Pootie-Poot (nickname by George W. Bush) must mean natural resources like petroleum, platinum group metals, gold, titanium, uranium, diamonds, etc. These are valuable natural resources but at what cost for a conquering power. Too high by half would be the conclusion by rational people. Recall the problems Hitler had with Operation Barbarossa. Or the disaster Napolean fell upon with his ill-conceived invasion of Russia. Like any modern state, Russia has much in the way of weapons to bear upon its enemies. But what Russia has in great abundance are brutal winters and a muddy spring season to immobilize invaders.

Like any authoritarian worth his salt, Putin continues to make the case for tightening personal liberty in exchange for layers of “state security”. Citizens have been conditioned to avoid politics in exchange for politics avoiding citizens. It seems to work.

Like nearly everywhere else, Russia is populated by good and decent folks. I’ve been there and have experienced generous hospitality from ordinary citizens in their cramped apartments. How we could be mortal enemies is beyond me.

The people we now call Russians are descended from tough people who survived conquest and occupation by many hostile invaders over the many centuries. Somehow, they even chased out the Mongols and later overcame the mechanized invasion of Nazis. As the Red Army chased the Nazis westward in WWII, they burned down their own villages and even executed Russian citizens who failed to fight and die. My Russian language professor was a Ukrainian kid whose family evacuated Ukraine for Europe in WWII to flee the advancing Red Army.

The title of this post asks, “Who on God’s Green Earth Wants to Invade Russia?” I’d offer that to try would be at best to invite a nuclear exchange, terrible hardships and losses for any invasion force. It would be a supremely bad decision. And even if an invader prevails, what have they gained? A population dedicated to guerrilla warfare and civil disobedience. Sounds like a nightmare.

The consequences of invasion and occupation of any large region would produce guerrilla warfare and civil disobedience by the surviving conquered population.

The West could benefit by making it known out loud to the Russian people and the Kremlin that we understand that an invasion or occupation of Russia by a foreign power would be a suicidal calamity for any invader. The usual rancid Kremlin propaganda must be countered with words of strength, peace and prosperity for all people. We invite Russia to be a member in the community of peaceful states who participate in open commerce and tourism.

Yes, it’s bloody obvious and is itself a kind of propaganda we should be repeating loudly and endlessly. Effective propaganda must be repeated and drummed into people’s thought processes. The US and Europe should be repeating the message of friendship and peace in order to knock down Kremlin doors, grab the bastards by the throat and give them a big wet kiss. It would be a peace and love offensive. It is the one thing we haven’t tried yet.

WTF MTG?

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Marjorie Taylor Green’s status as a GOP MAGA wingnut seems to be evolving. In fact, she has been having episodes of actual sensibility of late. What could have happened in her camp? Her open opposition to Trump is actually courageous for an elected Republican.

According to Global News, Greene said she was drawing a line on her agitational tactics on Sunday, saying America needs “a new path forward,” and for people “to come together and end all the toxic, dangerous rhetoric and divide.”

“I’m leading the way with my own example, and I hope that President Trump can do the same,” she said.

Perhaps she is having serious negative feedback on her wacky outspokenness from her district in Georgia? Or possibly the ghost of political future visited in the night to show the disastrous future of her politics for America. In any case, she has had a political Come-to-Jesus moment and is using the remainder of her term to reign in some of the MAGA madness.

Trump has refused to endorse her bid for the Georgia Senate seat and word is that she took it poorly. A cynical explanation would be that her change of heart could just be a public performance, but maybe not. Open opposition to Trump seems fatal to her career in the GOP.

I’ll offer that she should be given the benefit of the doubt in the sincerity of her transition to a lower state of rabid behavior. Especially since stepping away from #47 took courage and is likely irreversible.

So, hats off to MTG.

The Latest Crusades

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You’ve probably heard that #47 has asked the Pentagon to be ready for action. According to an article in The Hill, President #47 has labeled Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern”, or CPC. This designation stems from news that Islamic terrorists are allegedly attacking Nigerian Christians. A group of approximately 30 American Christian religious leaders and a few politicians like Ted Cruz and Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) as well as the entertainers Nicki Minaj and Bill Maher have made a convincing enough case for the President to make the CPC declaration.

The [CPC] designation compels the president to consult with the designated government, draft up a foreign policy action plan, and consult with Congress about implementation.  [H.R.2431 — 105th Congress (1997-1998) within 90 days.]  –Laura Kelly – 11/03/25, The Hill

If you read H.R. 2431 (2018), you’ll find:

Title IV: Presidential Actions – Subtitle I: Targeted Responses to Violations of Religious Freedom Abroad – Directs the President, for each foreign country in which the government engages in or tolerates violations of religious freedom (including particularly severe violations), to oppose such violations by taking certain actions and promoting the right to freedom of religion in that country. [emphasis mine]

(Sec. 405) Specifies among the actions the President may take: (1) public condemnation; (2) delay or cancellation of scientific and cultural exchanges; (3) withdrawal, limitation, or suspension of U.S. development assistance and U.S. security assistance; (4) instruction of U.S. executive directors of international financial institutions to vote against loans primarily benefiting the foreign government responsible for such violations; (5) restrictions on the issuance of licenses to export any goods or technology to such foreign government; (6) prohibition against the making, guaranteeing, or insuring of loans, or extension of credit by certain U.S. financial institutions to the violating government; and (7) prohibition of U.S. Government procurement of goods or services from such government. Provides for: (1) commensurate actions in substitution for any of the above presidential actions; and (2) binding agreements with foreign governments obliging them to cease, or take substantial steps to address and phase out, the acts, policies, or practices constituting violations of religious freedom.

(Sec. 407) Authorizes the President to waive the requirements of this Act if certain conditions are met.

(Sec. 410) Prohibits judicial review of presidential actions or agency actions taken under this Act.

My reading of Title IV of H.R. 2431 is that the President is compelled to take certain actions against Nigeria. While taking no action does not seem to be specifically barred, I didn’t see it listed as an option.

The potential threat by the President is in sending an expeditionary military force to Nigeria to stop the violence on Christians. According to Wikipedia, the population (2023) of Nigeria is estimated at 236,747,130 people. Unless the terrorists are wearing military uniforms, how will our troops find them and what’s to prevent a guerrilla war with the terrorists gradually taking bites out of our soldiers as they did in Viet Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan? Guerilla warfare has time and again proven successful against superior military forces.

America does not need another distant land war … this time in west-central Africa with guerilla fighters in the jungle. Peace through superior firepower only works if you can find the targets. Perhaps we should call in favors from Israeli special forces?

Finally, conflict between religions is a conflict between ideas. When both sides believe that they have authority based on the supernatural, short of religious conversion or death how do you decisively win such a war? A war of attrition, perhaps?

As a military conflict progresses, what is to prevent escalation on the part of US forces. Or is this just to be the work of a few military advisors? Remember, that is how the US stumbled into the Viet Nam war.