Russian connection – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Getting into Putin’s mind

David Posnett — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 19:35:27 +0000

Two interesting and excellent analyses:

(1) New Yorker Hour on NPR for 3/11 Stephen Kotkin on Ukraine (20 min – Apple Podcast)

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-new-yorker-radio-hour/id1050430296?i=1000553758866

It’s impossible to understand the destruction and death that Vladimir Putin is unleashing in Ukraine without understanding his most basic conviction: that the breakup of the Soviet empire was a catastrophe from which Russia has yet to recover. Some experts, including John Mearsheimer, have blamed NATO expansion for the invasion of Ukraine, arguing that it has provoked Vladimir Putin to defend his sphere of influence. Stephen Kotkin, a professor of history and international affairs at Princeton University, and a research scholar at the Hoover Institution, respectfully disagrees. Putin’s aggression is “not some kind of deviation from the historical pattern,” he tells David Remnick. Russia in the nineteenth century looked much as it does today, he says. “It had an autocrat. It had repression. It had militarism. It had suspicion of foreigners and the West.” Kotkin describes how and why the Putin regime has evolved toward despotism, and he speculates that the strategic blunders in invading Ukraine likely resulted from the biases of authoritarian rulers like Putin, and the lack of good information available to them. Kotkin is the author of an authoritative biography of Joseph Stalin, two volumes of which have been published; a third is in the making.

And this one too:

Putin’s Road to War: Julia Ioffe (interview) | PBS FRONTLINE

Mar 9, 2022

“Brilliant analysis of Putin’s current mindset and it’s implications. About 40 minutes well spent.”

1,333,616 views

Trump era feels like a state of emergency

David Posnett — Sun, 28 Apr 2019 15:26:44 +0000

Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31287805@N04/37680955841/

Letter published in the Boston Globe Sunday, April 28, 2019:

Continue the unfinished business of the Mueller Report

Liz Goodwin and Jess Bidgood’s article “Peril for Trump in Mueller aftermath” (Page A1, April 21) was a relief. The Mueller report confirms the need to keep investigating Donald Trump’s wrongdoings. Congress has been handed a directive to continue the unfinished business necessary to change the dangerous course this country is on due to a reality show called the Trump presidency.

Investigating the investigators is a smoke screen. Trump’s uncontrollable impulse to settle scores will cause him to self-destruct. Although he may not have colluded with the Russians’ election interference, he certainly collided with it and accepted the benefits. You don’t have to murder someone committing political suicide. Trump usually cites “everyone” when he tries to make up support for many of his ill-advised ideas. This time we all know he obstructed justice. Now we have a chance to do something about it and save our country.

We have come a long way from George Washington, who could not tell a lie, to a president who cannot tell the truth.

Steven A. Ludsin

East Hampton, N.Y.

Release the Mueller Report

David Posnett — Fri, 05 Apr 2019 22:18:53 +0000

Attorney General William Barr missed Tuesday’s congressional deadline to #ReleaseTheReport, so Move On organized 300 events accross the country to protest.

Even Rachel Maddow got in on the act!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cvqLMfyc5c

On Long Island there were rallies in Mineola and in Patchogue each attended by about 70-80 demonstrators. Here are some pictures.

The response from those driving by was overwhelmingly “thumbs up”.

There is a Russian Asset in the White House

David Posnett — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 00:40:48 +0000

From Peggy Backman:

https://www.facebook.com/NowThisPolitics/videos/1002264426639490/UzpfSTEwMDAyNjI5MzQ3ODUwODoyMzQzODg1NjQxMTQyNTg/

It’s really quite simple.

Treason

David Posnett — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 02:25:38 +0000

“President Trump proved not only unable, but unwilling to stand up to Putin, He and Putin seemed to be speaking from the same script as the president made a conscious choice to defend a tyrant against the fair questions of a free press, and to grant Putin an uncontested platform to spew propaganda and lies to the world.”

Senator John McCain

LEE ZELDIN IS AN EXTENSION OF DONALD TRUMP! He has remained pretty much silent on this latest presidential debacle.

Follow these hashtags on Twitter

#treasonsummit

#OccupyLafayettePark

There are Confront Corruption/Demand Democracy rallies around the country this Wednesday, July 18th, including in front of the WH:

https://www.confrontcorruption.org/

Addendum (7/18):

More here on the response by NYS Republicans to Trump: https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/politics/news-politics/republicans-responding-trump-offer-range-responses.html

Hedging their bets? Trying to minimize potential fall out? But:

Where is the primal outrage?

Addendum 7/22: a related blog post: https://opinion8ed2.wordpress.com/2018/07/22/its-up-to-us/

There is a Bear in the Woods

David Posnett — Mon, 04 Jun 2018 21:37:51 +0000

From Bryan Erwin. T.A.S.C.

I have exciting news.

Now, we have our first ad.

We are running this ad starting tomorrow.

We based it on the famous Reagan “Bear in the Woods” ad from 1984. We even got the same narrator! (Different bear though-ha!)

We are hoping this gets attention and goes viral.

Please support TASC if you believe in the mission and want to see more ads like this:

www.takeactionsuffolk.org

our ad:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qc00fumt8hzyuro/THERE_IS_A_BEAR_R1%20YOUTUBE%20SPEC.mp4?dl=0

based on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpwdcmjBgNA

Saturday Night Massacre Repeat?

David Posnett — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 06:30:35 +0000

Saturday Night Massacre 2018 version?

Contrary to much of the discussion on TV, the raid on Michael Cohen (Trump’s personal lawyer) by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York tells us that

i) Mueller is sticking closely to his mandate

ii) that he has uncovered some potential and serious criminal activity which he has referred to the FBI/DOJ because it is beyond his baileywick

iii) the FBI, the Attorney General and at least one judge have all found sufficient reason to issue a warrant and conduct the search.

This is a good analysis in the Slate.com. And this is amusing too.

Clearly some criminal activity has been identified.

At the same time, it looks as though Trump is seriously considering firing people, including Mueller. If that happens, it is time for everyone to take to the streets!

For Eastern Long Island: http://act.moveon.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response-events/13338/?source=taf

If you are not on Eastern Long Island, check this site to find a rally near you: https://www.trumpisnotabovethelaw.org/event/mueller-firing-rapid-response/search/

The “dustbin of history” and November reckoning

David Posnett — Sun, 18 Mar 2018 23:41:30 +0000

John Owen Brennan, 7th director of the CIA, was the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from March 2013 to January 2017. wikipedia.org

https://www.yahoo.com/news/ex-cia-boss-john-brennan-131502100.html

McCabe’s firing: FBI’s Andrew McCabe fired days before retirement; Trump applauds Sessions’ move

More on McCabe: In war of words with Trump, fired FBI’s McCabe says he will no longer be silent

More: Retired four-star Army general: Trump, ‘under the sway of Putin,’ threatens national security

And then there is this from Howard Dean: “Based on what Brennan has said and what the Mercer’s did, I am thinking there will be treason charges before we are done with all this”. Brennan in the last few days said, in public and in front of microphones that he thinks Trump “is a threat to national security” (which should make any American patriot worthy of the name take a stiff drink; the late chief of the CIA thinks the current President is a national security threat? And is saying this in public? Whew! https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/17/1749894/-Howard-Dean-says-this-means-Treason?detail=emaildkre

LZ (Tump’s choir boy), are you going to join the dustbin of history? November reckoning!

The Trumpist from Suffolk County

David Posnett — Thu, 08 Mar 2018 13:44:49 +0000

Perry Gershon, Democratic Candidate for New York’s First Congressional District

Published by Medium.com March 7th 2018

Traveling across Suffolk County, I’ve seen how disappointed and frustrated people are with Congressman Lee Zeldin. I’m hearing how they want someone in Washington who fights to grow the middle class on Long Island, make our communities safer, and ensure everyone has access to affordable health care — someone who fights for what’s right. But that’s not what Rep. Zeldin is focused on. He’s backing an agenda that’s out of touch with of Suffolk county, beyond that of even a “regular” Republican representative.

Zeldin’s 9% grade from the League of Conservation Voters, his opposition to consumer protection, and his radical anti-choice views are not representative of our community. But Zeldin’s frightening extremism, however, is on display in his politicized attacks on the Mueller Investigation, the DOJ, and FBI, and his unconditional alliance with the NRA. And he bears responsibility for the Trump tax plan and its destructive effects on Long Islanders. Luckily, we can defeat him in November.

The Mueller Probe:

Zeldin has led the effort to delegitimize the country’s law enforcement — simply because Mueller’s investigation is going after the truth. Zeldin has joined with Rep. Devin Nunes leading the criticism of the FISA warrant process and even holds the absurd position that we need a special counsel to investigate the special counsel. Mueller’s probe is doing the job and has already led to 22 indictments against Russians and other conspirators for meddling in the US elections in 2016. And the investigation is nowhere close to finished!

In the face of these indictments, Zeldin has not called for congressional efforts to combat the threat Russia poses to our elections. He has not taken any affirmative steps to protect the 2018 and future elections. And he fails to even recognize that Russian hacking was an effort to discredit US elections and played a role in Donald Trump’s victory. Simply put, our Congressman has refused to acknowledge that our democracy is under attack because he is putting Party over Country.

Zeldin’s crusade culminated on Feb. 28 when he issued a formal letter to Attorney General Sessions requesting appointment of a new Special Counsel to investigate the FBI and DOJ. Co-signed by 12 other far-right congressmen, the letter was so extreme that even Devin Nunes, himself, did not co-sign it. A week later, he even claimed that: “Donald Trump & family being investigated for winning election w/no evidence they committed any crime to win the election. Sick, crazy & wrong!” Seriously? Zeldin has become a conspiracy theorist, using the words “transparency” and “accountability” to describe an effort to politicize law enforcement and undermine the rule of law in the defense of a potentially corrupt president.

The Tax Plan:

Republicans in Congress pushed a tax plan that’s good for corporations and special interests and devastating for Long Island families. Their plan benefits the richest one percent of Americans, at the expense of Brookhaven, Smithtown, Westhampton, and all our other communities. The tax plan eliminated the State and Local Tax deduction(SALT), which will hit Long Islanders hard by raising taxes and causing property values to decline.

Zeldin’s claim that he stood up for Long Island by opposing the final version of the tax plan simply is not good enough. He voted to empower Paul Ryan, who, in his role as Speaker of the House, led the tax fight. He hasdoing nothing to restore the SALT deduction that Suffolk County relies on. He has repeatedly supported and defended Donald Trump, who has prided himself on the bill. Worse yet, Zeldin stated that his objection to the bill was not its elimination of SALT, but to the limits being imposed all at once. Zeldin even claimed he would fully support a phase in of all of the injurious provisions if they occurred over 3–4 years. It’s clear that for Zeldin, it is ideology first and Long Island last.

Gun Control and the NRA:

Zeldin’s reaction to the Parkland shooting is shameful. He has resisted all calls for common sense gun safety laws, has refused to back a ban on weapons of war, and even thinks its smart to arm teachers.

Unfortunately, this comes as no surprise. He is not only proud of his A rating from the NRA but has taken more money from the NRA than any other congressperson from New York. He has a long history of supporting fringe positions that threaten New York residents’ safety. In 2015, he co-sponsored a bill that allows the transportation of firearms in locked containers across state lines, effectively facilitating gun-trafficking into New York State. Just last year, he co-sponsored another bill that would allow gun owners to carry concealed weapons across state lines. Both bills would essentially render New York State’s gun safety laws null and void.

We deserve a Congressman who will protect the Mueller probe and support our law enforcement agencies, do everything in his or her power to restore the full deductibility of state and local income taxes, and fight for effective and commonsense gun safety. Long Islanders are fed up with Donald Trump and his enablers in Congress like Rep. Zeldin. People are looking for bold ideas and real solutions. It’s time Long Island had a strong voice to fight for high-paying jobs, affordable health care, and safer communities. If we’re going to change Washington, we’ve got to change the people we send there. Come November, let’s fight, together, and make sure Rep. Zeldin doesn’t have another term in Congress.

Perry Gershon

Zeldin Pushes Lies

David Posnett — Fri, 23 Feb 2018 13:43:33 +0000

Published as a Letter to Editor, The East Hampton Star, Feb. 22

Needs to End

East Hampton

February 18, 2018

To the Editor,

The scope of the Russian crimes, as put forth in the indictments of 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies, is astounding — from the infiltration of state voting systems to social media trolling to email hacking and dumping. Without the special counsel, it is highly unlikely the extent of these attacks would have ever come to light.

These indictments, and the previous ones (Manafort, Gates) completely undermine Trump’s endless proclamations that Mueller’s investigation is “nothing but a witch hunt.” And yet after the indictments were announced, Lee Zeldin tweeted, “We have heard @realDonaldTrump repeat over and over again that he did not collude with the Russians. After Rosenstein’s statement today, the extraordinarily dishonest narrative otherwise needs to end.”

While the question of collusion has yet to be resolved, the only extraordinarily dishonest narrative that needs to end is the one proffered by Trump and his enablers — that the investigation is fake news, a Democratic hoax, a product of F.B.I. bias.

In November, vote Zeldin out of office. We need a representative who defends our country, not one who defends the interests of a loathsome con man.

CAROL DEISTLER