On Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) blocked an effort in the Senate to hold a quick vote on the nearly $40 billion aid package for Ukraine that passed in the House on Tuesday.
“My oath of office is to the US constitution not to any foreign nation and no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States of America,” Paul said on the Senate floor before blocking the vote. “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy.”
Paul blocked the vote because he wanted to include text in the bill that would create a special inspector general for oversight of the billions being sent to Ukraine. He initially offered to include the oversight as an amendment, which would have been voted on separately, but he ultimately wanted to change the legislation.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) were hoping to get the legislation passed on Thursday night, demonstrating the bipartisan support for spending massive amounts of money to fund Ukraine’s war. Paul’s objection will set the vote back at least one week.
“The vast majority of senators on both sides of the aisle want it. There’s now only one thing holding us back the junior senator from Kentucky is preventing swift passage of Ukraine aid because he wants to add at the last minute his own changes directly into the bill,” Schumer said.
In the House, the $39.8 billion aid package passed in a vote of 368-57, with only Republicans voting against the legislation. The vote came as Americans are facing soaring gas prices, and over 8% inflation rates, a 40-year high. “Americans are feeling the pain [from inflation] and Congress seems intent only on adding to that pain by shoveling more money out the door as fast as they can,” Paul said.
Hurrah for Rand Paul. Shame on the “anti war” left that isn’t anti war anymore.
“My oath of office is to the US constitution not to any foreign nation and no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the national security of the United States of America”. This is war of choice.
There is no viable antiwar left in this country. The only antiwar sentiment you’re going to find in America is on the populist right.
I can’t help but notice that this was Rand Paul and not Bernie Sanders or any of the Democrats in the Senate who tried to stop this insanity.
I agree. Unfortunately, hope faded away when the “Inspector General (IG)” was the main issue in question after reading all the political mumbo jumbo. We’ve had IGs for the Iraq and Afghanistan debacles. Other than reports about mismanaged/missing large amounts of money which were quickly dismissed, I didn’t remember any constructive results. This bill is likely to be $50 Billion and pass next week with an IG. A nuclear holocaust isn’t going to start itself, people.
Someone in charge of oversight? That won’t go down well. Ukraine being one of the most corrupt countries in the world, there are a more than a few counting on lining their pockets already.
There are more than a few already lining their pockets from the previous distributions 🙂
“more than a few counting on lining their pockets already.”
Kolomoisky, zelensky’s puppet master, is at the head of the line; no one has found the billions he “disappeared” in his time in kiev.
He now is more behind the curtain but still obviously pulling the strings.
thank God for Rand Paul.
how can we afford $40 billion for Ukraine right now (most of it weapons) when food prices, gas, rent, everything, sky-high.
war and debt (and inflation) are busted. we need peace and prosperity.
for us to be pumping-in weapons but not simultaneously making diplomatic peace efforts is …. ghoulish and wicked. And with no oversight at all about who gets rich or who gets weapons (or to whom they later pass those weapons). this situation is getting more and more dangerous every day.
It’s ideology and Old man in his twilight years running the country, hopefully he will collapsed and leave as soon.
Then we will have Harris. There is no hope.
Than God for Rand, but he’s still only one man. We’re still going to lose the money.
Half of it is weapons and troops, the other half is free cash for criminals.
Of course we can afford it, we just print more money. We could afford to spend $40 billion on America too, but that would empower the working and middle classes, which is the last thing the oligarchy wants.
This is a waste of money but Biden/Blinken and the NeoCon forces in Washington are invested in it and seemingly cannot seek peace with Eastern Ukraine
Spot on,
Imagine the gall — wanting oversight on how the $$ are spent!
Good for Rand. The neocons are livid and will go after him with a vengeance.
U GO RAND, MY MAN….
Good. Except, Rand Paul seems to be the lone holdout.
Whatever support he has, isn’t willing to come out openly.
Fifth columnists will carry the day whatever Paul tries. That is the fate of America.
Russia overcame their fifth columnists to some extent.
No reason the United States can’t.
Hope you can. Some day. After all no one knows what is in store of history.All the best.
I’m Canadian; Mom is American though.
Unless Americans want to end up like Canada under Trudeau, though, they had better start paying attention to their grassroots politics.
The Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland is all but a Ukrainian Azov Nazi in the Banderian tradition of her family.
Yes, but they had to have a revolution to bring it about. In a sense, we have more obstacles to overcome than the old Soviet Union, as with the corruption in Gov’ment in all of the institutions, the MSM being little more than a Gov’ment Press(Pravda) the institutions of learning being indoctrination camps, the country being flooded with invaders from around the world that will only add to the division in the country, a financial crisis on the horizon, and yet many here still believe we are a ‘Free Country’. We have our ‘Soma’ of various types, and don’t know if we have enough people left in the country who even know how bad it is, and are like crabs in a steam pot not knowing their fate until it is too late.
There was no revolution in modern Russia, at least no violent revolution in the classic sense.
The transition from Soviet era crony communism to nation-state oligarchal crony capitalism, to nation-state liberal democratic republic, were revolutionary yet peaceful changes.
The last communist holdouts sent out the tanks, and the tanks peacefully sided with the Russian people.
Putin’s purge of oligarchs and their organizations, particularly within the media, was also done within a stable legal framework. Despite constant US/EU interference in Russian domestic politics.
The main difference between the US and Russia, is the Russian people were united in demanding an end to authoritarian rule. The US is divided by the left-right social civil war.
Russia had no left-right divide; they had all experienced communism then crony capitalism in short order. Liberal democratic republicanism was the best deal.
Americans had that liberal democratic republic, and most want to go back to the previous social evolution. This also separates them from the Russian experience; they had the right paradigm, but it was cheated from them.
Leftists, want power. It seems to be a function of having no useful job skills and counting on that crony government/NGO job. Whatever remains of the real left, seems unable to repudiate their extremists.
The long discredited extreme rightists acted no differently; big on idealistic talk pretexting extremism, but largely purged from the mainstream conservative movement for only delivering trouble.
You have to admire the courage it takes to stand up to the US War Machine and Military Industrial Complex that owns the Swamp.
He has shown great courage. But to expand the metaphor, if the MIC were a crocodile, I don’t t think the crocodile owns the swamp. Rather the swamp owns the crocodile.
Paul should be admired for trying to stand up to the neocon war mongering lobby. But one has to be pessimistic about outcome.American people lost willingness to stand up to the ruling clique’s machinations long time ago. Remember the days of ant Vietnam war .Where is a George McGovern or Eugene McCarthy or their likes.If any one tries to oppose the war the neocon controlled MSMs would drown his/her voice.America is taken over lobbies and fifth columnists with malicious aims. Election conducted as a ritual every four years to “elect” a president.Both candidates put up by the same oligarchs with deep pockets to finance them.Wonder why Americans should take this sham seriously and waste their time to “vote”. Just see what difference is there between Trump and Biden be it JCPOA or Palestine. The election is a comedy play for the oligarchs.Paul should keep in mind that this “Ukraine War” is play for Rothschilds and and Goldman Sachs and other banksters to prop up the crashing dollar by sizing the wealth of Russia as they did in Iraq Libya etc. Can he stand up to this formidable force? Best of luck.
Well said Thomas!👏
Thank you for blocking this insane spending bill!
Just vote no. The best reason to oppose the bill is because it’s wrong to send more weapons of death and destruction into a war we helped start close to a decade ago. When is it going to be enough lives lost thanks to our recklessness? This isn’t going to save a single life, it won’t make a single person more free or prosperous and there is nothing in it for the American people. A new cold war is bad enough, this could lead to a hot one, a very hot one.
Don’t just oppose this because of the lack of oversight, oppose it because it’s wrong. And do you know what? I have a feeling that if Ron were in, he wouldn’t use oversight as an excuse, he would do exactly as I would, he would simply say no.
And isn’t it sad that the best we have is still standing with the wrong side? Let’s say he gets his oversight, he’s then in favor of killing Russians with our money and possibly bring about WWIII? And for what? To get more Ukrainians killed trying to keep the Donbass, which is full of people who don’t want to be Ukrainian?
I’d say; Good for Rand, like so many others here are doing, but is it really? Is it good that he’s willing to piss away forty billion getting more people killed, just so long as he gets some oversight?
Honestly, if that’s the best we can do, it’s not close to good enough.
I agree wholeheartedly. But I’m wondering if he thought that was the only avenue he could take knowing the “vast majority”, as Schumer said, support it. There has to be members of congress that think this whole thing is batshit crazy and they’re more concerned about getting reelected instead of thinking about the consequences of pushing Russia further into a corner.
I’m sure he knows the Pentagon just, don’t do accounting, at all.
Hell, the Pentagon can’t account for $Trillions of dollars and can’t pass an audit.
True. But there is no morality with sociopaths in office. If you kill the incentive for getting free $$$, that might have more weight.
Agreed. Rand Paul shouldn’t take a stand on accounting, he should take a stand. Having the numbers add up in a useless bloodbath doesn’t make it less useless.
I have noticed that Rand has a way of pulling his punches. He’s not the man his father is.
At least one sane person in the Senate. The neocons in both parties want to take advantage of the media-created hysteria, just like they did to invade Afghanistan and Iraq.
But just like then, those who opposed the craziness will be punished. While those who went along with it will face no consequences, not even in the future when the hysteria is finally recognized as a mistake.
How could ANYONE in congress oppose having oversight of the immense amounts of cash being sent to Ukraine, “eastern european NATO allies” and our domestic arms industry, all of whom have a track record of duplicity and corruption going back decades??? (just as an example; look at the miscellaneous assortment of trash “supplied” to the Afghan Army, and try to figure out how that junk could ever have cost US taxpayers the billions of dollars we were charged for it).
We’ve already admitted we have “no idea” what happens to US aid (reported as being US weapons, but in fact, it applies to ALL US aid, including cash handouts) that have been given to Ukraine once it gets into the country; but looking at the few pictures allowed to be published of the sad sack nature of Ukrainian troops fighting in the Donbas, it AIN’T reaching them.
Congrats to Rand Paul; I hope he perseveres.
And you know that the aid will never reach the Ukrainian civilians. Especially the undocumented ones spread in Poland and other European countries.
Zelensky and the other “patriotic Ukrainians” in his government will pocket the cash, and then expect the EU to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction, weeping his odious crocodile tears over the devastation that he bears a significant (not full, but significant) responsibility for. I can’t believe the West has made a HERO out of this chucklehead.
They had to. Americans love superheroes and fairy tales. If not for this most ridiculous story, the people might recognize straight off that it is kleptocracy, just like during the pandemic.
No need to mention that obvious INCONVENIENT Truth,he was there and available, probably they told him if he is up to it for presidency of Ukraine as a joke,since he is a comedienne, then they all realised that ;’ it’s possible “and he is likeable right minority background and (bloody)scenario written, and we have HERO fro this chucklehead .
Hmmm…perhaps the nut didn’t fall quite so far from the tree as I’d previously surmised. While Rand still has a long ways to go to rival his father, I guess this is a good beginning.
If he runs true to pattern, he’ll roll over on it next week after the Senate returns and he’s milked it for what he can get out of it.
True enough Thomas, true enough.
Sadly, yes.
I fear you’ll be proven correct.
Again: he’s not RON Paul.
Actually, he’s a lot like his dad, the main difference being that being a gigantic pork-monger in the House is a different process from bringing home the bacon in the Senate.
The proposed IG may be a latent speedbump, but that might be all we can get, unless he’s setting up for a filibuster. Even then, without backup he’s got no chance. Apart from such a useless gesture, what would you have him do? He’s one guy with one vote and he’s massively outgunned if not shunned.
It’s not a good beginning, rather a showmanship…!
Unlike Father, Unlike Son…!
This smells like Congressional maneuvering. If congreff affembled really wanted that $40B sprayed I doubt one principled guy could hold the valve shut. I think Ukraine is heading south and inflation is heading north. I think the rats are plopping off the ship. Just an impression, but taking anything at face value in DC is probably wrong.
Ukraine is a miserable corrupt hell hole during the best of times. No more American taxpayer funds for Zelensky and his criminal thugs!
I vacillate with Rand Paul. I can’t stand him when he’s a deficit hawk but then signs on for GOP budgets that increase spending and deficits. On the other hand, as someone to the left of the Dems, I appreciate when he has spoken up against surveillance and the like.
Every single politician who wants to rush this money out the door with no ledger and no auditing is, in my opinion, duplicitous. This is absolutely the road to money laundering and maybe some of those politicians in such a rush want to get their sticky fingers on it.
He’s one of the few in Washington that has the gonads to stand up to the ‘War Party’. Like his father, he sees through the corrupt profiteers in both parties. We need more like him, unfortunately, he is like a lone wolf.
It’s still going to pass sadly. This is a temporary procedural block, they can easily get a filibuster override for it. Plus, Rand is opposing it only because he want to add oversight on how the money is spent, not because he opposes spending it, per se.
Things are not doing well — as many experts predicted. Once Russia took absolutely priority regions — Azov Sea coast and Crimea-adjacent Kherson, there was no need for military pressure on Kiev. Instead, Russia is focussing on degrading Ukrainian military. As they put all of their strength into holding the line in the east — Russia is focusing less on making territorial advance but on degrading Ukrainian military along the widest frint area.
At the same time, daily destroying weapins storage, especially new arrivals accross Ukraine, as well as cutting the front off rail connections and supplies.
It is a desparate situation. Boris Johnson recommended to Zelenski to withdraw from thevEast and build new defensive line. Zelenski, that is, US, have decided to stick to Donbas. They believed own propaganda in sucessful pluckines of Ukrainians in the face of stodgy Russian poorly equipped military.
Several military experts believe that Ukrainian army is reaching the limit and are on the verge of collapse.
This is while our Defence Secretary called Russian Defence Minnister to suggest a – cease fire! Under nirmal circumstances, a goid idea. Not here.
The whole purpose of Russian intervention was to DEMILITAIZE and DENAZIFY. Russia must achieve demilitarization first by degrading milittary. Since West
does not believe Ukraine needs to be denazified — Russia is on its own. Degrading military will be felt when unuts on the ground lose commanding officers, do not get rotation from the front and get shelled all the time unable to get weapons resupply.
At the same time, Ukraine has blocked port of Odessa by not allowing about 70 foreign cargo ships to leave. Some crews have been evacuated home. But ships are there to be hostages preventing Odessa from being taken by the sea.
After military understanding comes a deal on Denazificatiin.
This may not be possible without insuring that West Ukraine cannot dominate Kuev politics. Tgeirv Nazi revival and fancy dress should be kept to this region bordering EUv counties — where tolerance to Nazi ideology is higher. The line goes through Zitomir and Vinitsia.
If Ukraine is federalized — problem solved by insuring there could be no domination.
If nothing positive happens soon on political front — and it want, Odessa solution will be found. Poland already lost Odessa as a seaport.
Ukraine decision to stop transiting Russian gas to Europe shoulld make EU leaders look stupid. They richly deserve it. Russia retaliated promptly against Ukrainian Gas company, and the situation is snowballing.
I do not see Zelenski featured much lately. No speaches to parliaments. No glorification. Aziov thugs have show their colors — holding civilian hosteges. Now they want exchange for Russian prisoners.
But ine thing is certain — they must change the
name. Azov Sea coast is now under Russian control. And it will remain that way in perpetuity most likely.
The biggest crises facing the UAF is the inability to meet its conscription goals. Those who are conscripted are often told they will not see any fighting. There are numerous reports that international mercenaries, primarily from NATO countries, have been engaged in most of the UAF operations. Analysts say these mercenaries were meant to provoke a stronger Russian reaction in NATO’s push for war against Russia.
There will not be a military victory in Donbass for the war criminals as there was in Iraq etc this means that there will not be a white wash of the crimes against humanity committed there. There is now nowhere for the Western leaders who participated in the Holocaust to hide and they will go before the ICC.
There actions are all illegal under international law and the laws of war. They are violations of the principles and articles of the UN Charter. They are violations of several Geneva Conventions and other international treaties. The attacks on civilians are war crimes. The use of prohibited weaponry, in these attacks, is a war crime. The collective punishment of entire populations is a war crime. The use of economic warfare is a war crime.
The Kiev-NATO illegal regime cannot break the will of the peoples of the Donbas or of Russia and so the constant attacks, the constant propaganda, the constant turning of the economic screws.
The US/Canada/NATO and EU leaders should all be included in the war crimes tribunals.
This is from Revolver News:
It’s even more than a proxy war now. Washington is actually the employer of the Ukrainian government.
On 17th April 2014 the Ukrainian government signed up to a Statement in Geneva which called for negotiations between the Ukrainian authorities and the representatives of Ukraine’s regions to find a settlement to the conflict. Those negotiations never happened because the Ukrainian authorities chose to launch their misnamed “Anti-Terrorist Operation” instead. These were war crimes and attempted ethnic cleansing…….
Later, when the Ukrainian authorities launched their military offensive on 30th June 2014, a ceasefire was in place and negotiations were underway. Poroshenko broke off the negotiations, unilaterally ended the ceasefire, and chose war instead. These were war crimes and attempted ethnic cleansing…….
Lastly, at the time of Ukraine’s second offensive launched in January 2015 Ukraine had committed itself to a peace process which the Russians had brokered in Minsk in September 2014. That envisaged negotiations with the leaders of the Donbass which again never took place as Poroshenko and the Ukrainians resolved to launch their second offensive instead. These were war crimes and attempted ethnic cleansing………
The responsibility for the war Ukraine is now fighting is Zelenski’s, even though he now admits Ukraine has lost, Zelenski et al must go before the ICC and answer for their many many crimes against humanity.
Why use economics as an excuse? This aid is going to prolong the suffering of the Ukrainian people and put a huge amount of weapons on the black market. It would be wrong if it was free
Sounds reasonable to me….
rand paul is blocking an exorbitant amount of US money being sent to the ukraine ?
right then – lets all pretend that rand paul will further endorse that money be spent bettering the lives of ordinary US mundanes – because that will never happen.
yes; i just referred to ordinary americans as mundanes – figure it out regular guys.
Short vomit inducing clip about our repug ” leaders” (sic) groveling at the feet of the hero who is defending democracy for the world, ZELENSKY:
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2022/05/14/republican-senate-leadership-travel-to-kyiv-ukraine-to-inspect-the-treasury/#more-233055
Money and weapons thrown about will win any war of course.
Without global demilitarization and denazification, peace in Ukraine cannot be achieved.
Absolutely.
Russia did not finish the job 77 years ago.
Loosely translated the term fascism means Corporationism. This is the Benito Mussolini fascism with large corporate control of the state. It was after all Benito Mussolini that gave us the term.
Nazism is an extreme form of fascism where your Corporations place themselves above all others. It is my assessment that exceptional US Corporations are leading to war over resources. Hence denazification means the end of US global corporations.
True of Mussolini and fascism, but for a different meaning of the word “corporation” or “corporate” than you seem to be claiming here.
That begs the question what different meaning can be given? Surely in the end it means global, endemic, institutionalised corruption, the tool of the corporations.
“Corporate” is from Latin for “body.”
In Mussolini’s fascism, the “corporations” were roughly similar to the “estates” in pre-revolutionary France — large socially relevant “bodies” of people with linked interests. That would include not just business/industry, but organized labor, the church, etc.
But you’re probably correct on the inevitability of outcome.
Well said. The word fascism comes from the Latin fasces, loosely translated Bundle.
F U Schumer, your a clown.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is “very ill with blood cancer,” an oligarch close to the Kremlin said in a secret recording obtained by New Lines Magazine.
“The recording represents rare testimony by someone with proven ties to the Russian government that its fanatical dictator may well be seriously unwell,” the magazine stated of the comments made during a mid-March discussion with someone described as a “Western venture capitalist.”
“He absolutely ruined Russia’s economy, Ukraine’s economy and many other economies — ruined [them] absolutely,” the unnamed oligarch said of Putin on the tape. “The problem is with his head. … One crazy guy can turn the world upside down.”
The oligarch “had no idea he was being recorded,” on the 11-minute tape, New Lines said, adding that it identified the man by his voice but withheld his name “because of the high probability disclosing it would lead to state retaliation”.
The Ukraine is losing up to 15,000 men per month to the war. The total Ukrainian casualties, dead and wounded, are likely already at 50,000. The weapons the U.S. and others provide, are not sufficient to sustain the war. The Ukraine has only 3 days reserves of diesel and gasoline left. The main parts of its forces are immobile and are getting surrounded by Russian forces. Their situation is hopeless.
The Pentagon of course knows this all and that is why Austin initiated the call and asked for a ceasefire.
“that is why Austin initiated the call and asked for a ceasefire”
UN, the pope and most other leaders with a consciense are asking Putin to stop this slaughter.
On 17th April 2014 the Ukrainian government signed up to a Statement in Geneva which called for negotiations between the Ukrainian authorities and the representatives of Ukraine’s regions to find a settlement to the conflict. Those negotiations never happened because the Ukrainian authorities chose to launch their misnamed “Anti-Terrorist Operation” instead. These were war crimes and attempted ethnic cleansing…….
Later, when the Ukrainian authorities launched their military offensive on 30th June 2014, a ceasefire was in place and negotiations were underway. Poroshenko broke off the negotiations, unilaterally ended the ceasefire, and chose war instead. These were war crimes and attempted ethnic cleansing…….
Lastly, at the time of Ukraine’s second offensive launched in January 2015 Ukraine had committed itself to a peace process which the Russians had brokered in Minsk in September 2014. That envisaged negotiations with the leaders of the Donbass which again never took place as Poroshenko and the Ukrainians resolved to launch their second offensive instead. These were war crimes and attempted ethnic cleansing………
There is approx. 120,000 Banderites being wiped out in the Donbass. Russia pre-empted an attack R2P.
The responsibility for the war Ukraine is now fighting is Zelenski’s, even though he now admits Ukraine has lost, Zelenski et al must go before the ICC and answer for their many many crimes against humanity.
If all what you just said is true, why couldn’t Putin just show that to the world then?
It’s been eight years (!) since the democratic revolution in Ukraine, why hasn’t he been able to convince the Ukrainan people to elect a new government?
It’s Russia’s backyard after all, they must be able to handily beat the horrible US, especially since many Ukrainians have Russian ancestry and vice versa. Basically no Americans speak ukrainian whereas a lot of Russians do.
Are you implying that Putin is incompetent when it comes to diplomacy and PR, since he’s forced to resort to violence and war?
As far as I am aware, there is a Russian saying – “one old lady said so,” and that is as much credibility as possible to your bordering on the outlandish comment of sorts.
Any other premeditated hogwash?
Believe what you want, comrade.
Sure, get on with it, communist:
The harsh realities we face, comrade:
You are back for more, communist?
You wouldn’t know reality even if it fell on u.
Blocked.
Haha, that’s totally inline with how Russkies suppress free speach when they can’t win an argument.
right then; $40 billion for ukraine – last week it was $33 billion – maybe next week it will be $50 billion.
i bet that kind of money buys a lot of tennis shoes and school books and lunches for US children.
not once in my 6 decades of life in this bastion of freedom US have i ever heard any politico bastard ever worry about US children – not even once.
shame on you uncle sam – shame on you.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have made it a crime for soldiers and officers to publicly criticize foreign military equipment. Apparently its very poor quality, wont do the job, its US corporate rubbish.
In summary 107 countries have ‘severe exposure’ to consequences of the Ukraine war. These are rising food prices, rising energy prices and tougher financial conditions.
The Western leaders will kill us all in a heart beat if there is a dollar to be made.
……..“My oath of office is to the US constitution not to any foreign nation
and no matter how sympathetic the cause, my oath of office is to the
national security of the United States of America,”
. “We cannot save Ukraine by dooming the US economy.”……..A voice of sanity this Sunday morning……