Pictured: (L-R) Former Energy Secretary Ernest
Moniz, Secretary of State John Kerry
Moniz, Secretary of State John Kerry
and Under Secretary Wendy Sherman
Focused Agenda
President Obama had the best Secretaries of State (Hillary Clinton and John Kerry). Trump's sycophants can't compare...
Focused Read, excerpted, in about 3 minutes
Pictured: Former Secretary of State John Kerry
and Former High Representative of the Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
( Image courtesy of "Mid East Eye" )
and Former High Representative of the Union for
Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
( Image courtesy of "Mid East Eye" )
"John Kerry: Diplomacy Was Working Until Trump Abandoned It
The president put us on a path toward conflict and turmoil with Iran.
(By John Kerry / Mr. Kerry was secretary of state under President Barack Obama.)
President Trump says that on his watch, Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.
But if he had wanted to keep that promise, he should have left the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement in place.
(Emphasis is mine.)
Instead, he pulled the United States out of the deal and pursued a reckless foreign policy that has put us on a path to armed conflict with Iran.
After Mr. Trump authorized the killing of Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani last week, Iran announced it was no longer obligated to follow the agreement, which had reined in its nuclear ambitions, and it launched ballistic missiles at two Iraqi bases housing American troops, to little effect.
Adding to the turmoil, the Iraqi Parliament approved a largely symbolic resolution to expel American troops who have been fighting the Islamic State.
Though Mr. Trump has since walked back from the brink of war, I can’t explain the chaos of his presidency as it lurches from crisis to crisis, real or manufactured.
The president has said he “doesn’t do exit strategies.”
Clearly he doesn’t do strategies, period.
This moment was nothing if not foreseeable the moment Mr. Trump abandoned the 2015 agreement, which was working, and chose instead to
isolate us from our allies,
narrow our options in the region and
slam shut the door to tackling additional issues with Iran through constructive diplomacy.
Now the drone strike that eliminated General Suleimani has almost certainly nailed that door shut.
President Trump had the right to jettison an agreement he disliked. But we’re witnessing the consequences of that heedless act in a region that is today significantly more volatile than when his administration began in 2017.
Strategies have consequences — and so does the lack of a strategy.
(Emphasis is mine.)
Let’s get one straw man out of the way. General Suleimani was a sworn, unapologetic enemy of the United States...
He won’t be mourned or missed by anyone in the West. ...
That underscores the tragic irony of Mr. Trump’s decision to abrogate the nuclear agreement:
It played into General Suleimani’s hard-line strategy
by weakening voices for diplomacy within the Tehran regime.
(Emphasis is mine.)
What Iranian diplomat would be empowered by a skeptical supreme leader to explore de-escalation with a country that broke its word on a historic agreement and then,
in their words, “martyred” arguably Iran’s second most powerful figure?
Presidents make lonely, difficult decisions about the use of force to protect our interests —
usually with the solace of knowing at least that diplomacy had failed.
The tragedy of our current plight is that diplomacy was succeeding before it was abandoned.
(Emphasis is mine.)
In 2013, I sat down with Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, for the first meeting between our countries’ top diplomats since the 1979 revolution and hostage crisis.
Iran at the time had enough enriched material for eight to 10 nuclear bombs and was two to three months from being able to build one.
Two years later, after intense negotiations, we had an agreement that would be signed by seven nations and endorsed by the United Nations Security Council.
Diplomacy had achieved what sanctions alone had not: Iran couldn’t have a nuclear weapon during the life span of the agreement; and if it cheated, the world was resolved to stop it.
(Emphasis is mine.)
What did we turn over to President-elect Trump in 2017?
Iran was in compliance with the nuclear agreement.
Our allies were united with the United States.
There were no missile attacks on United States facilities.
No ships were being detained or sabotaged in the Persian Gulf.
There were no protesters breaching our embassy in Baghdad.
Iraq welcomed our presence fighting ISIS.
And Iran would be unable to move toward a nuclear weapon without our knowing it through inspections authorized by the agreement.
None of our allies thought the work was over after the deal was struck.
But we had laid a foundation of diplomacy from which other issues might be addressed.
In 2016, we defused deep disagreements with Iran over prisoners and averted conflict when American sailors inadvertently entered Iranian waters and were detained by Iranian forces.
We were working with allies to deepen sanctions on Iran for its involvement in Yemen, its transfer of weapons to Hezbollah and its actions in Syria, its human rights violations, its threats against Israel and its ballistic missile program.
The nuclear agreement would have been justified if it did nothing more than prevent Iran from building a bomb. But it also created opportunities for the United States to bring pressure on Iran on other issues.
President Trump could have built on that, with the luxury of knowing that the urgent, immediate nuclear threat had been put back in the bottle.
(Emphasis is mine.)
We know what Mr. Trump did instead.
He put his disdain for anything done by the last administration ahead of his duty to keep the country safe.
He alienated our allies.
He recklessly rushed ahead without any strategy.
We have been left with an incoherent Iran and Iraq policy that has made the region more dangerous and put Americans at greater risk.
After the president ignored Rex Tillerson and James Mattis, his first secretaries of state and defense, who argued that we should stay within the agreement, he found a new secretary of state, Mike Pompeo,
who tweets video of Iraqis celebrating the killing of General Suleimani — eerily reminiscent of 2003,
when Iraqis were spotted celebrating the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.
It was fantasy then and it is fantasy now to believe this bodes well for our relations with Iraq, as Parliament’s vote on American forces underscores.
We are left to ponder another paradox:
To assure allies that his decision was not rash, Mr. Trump will have to call on hard information from the very intelligence community he has cheerfully attacked for three years.
Mr. Trump’s foreign policy requires an unreliable regime in Tehran to behave reasonably in order to save Mr. Trump from himself.
This is the tragic failure of his abandonment of diplomacy.
We have too often forgotten that the United States should never go to war on a
lark,
for a lie or a mistake.
We have also seen the divisions over Vietnam and Iraq tear at the fabric of life in our country.
Yet now, young Americans are again worrying that they might have to die
because their political leaders did not exhaust or even explore, but rather abandoned the possibilities of diplomacy.
Our diplomacy should not be defined by bluster, threats and brinkmanship, tweets or temper tantrums, but by a vision for peace and security addressing multiple interests of the region.
(Emphasis is mine.)
( Courtesy of "The New York Times" )
Focused Thought in 30 seconds
Diplomacy not war!
Focused Action shared in 30 seconds
You can read and the retweet this 3-part Tweet here
It was not "breaking news" all day and night but it should have been!
Focused Point of Interest, excerpted, in about 2 minutes
“Surprise, Surprise: The DOJ’s Hillary Clinton Investigation Has Been A Bust
After more than two years, an inquiry into the Clinton Foundation and Clinton’s tenure at State is nearly done—and there’s reportedly absolutely nothing to show for it
Back in 2017, buoyed by President Donald Trump’s calls for investigations into “Crooked Hillary & the Dems,” the Justice Department launched an inquiry into Hillary Clinton and Republicans' pet conspiracy theories about her and her career.
Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions asked U.S. Attorney John Huber to look into concerns that the FBI hadn't fully pursued cases related to the Clinton Foundation, as well as Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State, including the baseless “Uranium One” conspiracy theory championed by conservatives.
Now, Huber is finally almost finished with his much-vaunted Clinton investigation—
and, unsurprisingly, there isn't really anything to show for it.
(Emphasis is mine.)
The Washington Post reported Thursday that after continuing on for more than two years, Huber's investigation “has effectively ended with no tangible results.”
After combing through documents and conferring with federal law enforcement officials looking into the Clinton Foundation in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Post reports that Huber has “found nothing worth pursuing,” let alone any criminal charges.
The U.S. attorney has not yet officially reported any results to the Justice Department, however, and the inquiry is technically still ongoing. But officials cited by the Post say that Huber's years-long investigation has by this point “largely finished”—and with nothing to show for it.
Despite Republicans' long insistence on Clinton's wrongdoing—and Trump's favorite “lock her up” rallying cry—the fact that the Huber investigation has reportedly been a bust doesn't seem to come as much surprise to those inside the Justice Department itself.
Senior Justice officials cited by the Post said that the investigation had largely been viewed as little more than a way to appease Trump and his Republican allies, and officials expected the inquiry was “unlikely to lead to anything of significance.” ...
The news of the DOJ's fruitless investigation comes just a few months after the State Department completed its own investigation into Clinton's emails and use of a private server, which found that while 38 individuals did commit 91 security violations in emails sent to or from the private server, ultimately the server largely wasn't used for transmitting classified information.
... “There was no persuasive evidence of systemic, deliberate mishandling of classified information.”
Of course, Clinton being cleared of wrongdoing by Trump's own executive branch isn't about to stop the president from bashing Hillary nonetheless.
(Never mind the fact that six of Trump's own associates have been convicted of crimes, or that private email use has reportedly been rampant throughout the Trump administration.)
Less than an hour after the Post report came out, Trump was back on the campaign trail attacking Hillary, repeating his favorite 2016 talking points to a crowd of supporters—Clinton's innocence be damned.
“Crooked Hillary—you should lock her up, I'll tell you,” Trump told supporters."
“Crooked Hillary—you should lock her up, I'll tell you,” Trump told supporters."
You can read more here
Alexander Hamilton!
Focused Monthly Inspiration
( #itsNovember2020Now )
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Just my random thought this week!
MORE, if you want more!: See blogger's choice of informational sources/resources
↓↓↓↓↓↓
→ Some of my favorite Direct sources & resources for Democrats:
* ( My personal favored and most informative follows are also shared here, below, with the understanding that readers will always apply their own critical thinking to any information provided anywhere by anyone. #StrongerTogether does not share sources of information lightly but -- no one is perfect! -- so always #DistrustAndVerify -- even if it's me. I am using a "star" rating that is strictly based on my situational experience with the work of the media personality specifically in relation to issues of interest to me. )
The Democratic National Committee has been scaling up since January 2017 and becoming more "rank and file friendly
The new Democratic Party Chair (DNC), Tom Perez, came in in early 2017. During his election and during the year long Democratic Party Unity Reform Commission I advocated for my personal wish list, with a particular focus on making it easier for single moms to be active participants in the Party.
Of course, I did not hear back from anyone, directly, but there have been responses and everyone needs to know, the DNC has been and continues to work at being responsive to rank and file Democrats.
Some of my wish list, but not limited to, was...
ONE: A simple, main calendar that lives on the Democratic National Party website with all relevant dates and include links to state and local committees, clubs, etc. -- they've done that by expanding their events calendar and making it members friendly. You can find the calendar and engage here
ONE: A simple, main calendar that lives on the Democratic National Party website with all relevant dates and include links to state and local committees, clubs, etc. -- they've done that by expanding their events calendar and making it members friendly. You can find the calendar and engage here
TWO: A newsletter, where members could get a big picture view of happenings across the nation -- they've done that by creating the DNC "Battleground Brief", which can be found under their press release tab here
THREE: A safe place for members to share thoughts and ideas with leadership --they've done that by creating a private community on Facebook: "Democratic National Community" ... you can request to join here
Engage!
Engage!
Democratic Party Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, defacto President of the United States is MIA... #Go2TheSource
You can find the Speaker's Twitter feed here
You can find the Speaker's Facebook Page here
The Democratic Party Website
Also, NOT exactly a Democratic Party specific source under a GOP majority but a good place to hear and to watch speeches & hearings directly, i.e. #Go2TheSource C-SPAN
+
→ Some of my favorite, most active organizations:
Michelle Obama's initiative ...
"Who We Are
When We All Vote is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization that is on a mission to increase participation in every election and close the race and age voting gap by changing the culture around voting, harnessing grassroots energy, and through strategic partnerships to reach every American.
Launched in 2018 by co-chairs Michelle Obama, Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monae, Chris Paul, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, When We All Vote is changing the culture around voting using a data-driven and multifaceted approach to increase participation in elections.
In the months directly before the 2018 midterm elections, When We All Vote organized 2,500 local voter registration events across the country, engaged 200 million Americans online about the significance of voting, and texted nearly four million voters the resources to register and get out to vote.
And we’re just getting started. We’re helping bring even more people into the voting process because when we all vote, we all do better. ... "
"Mission: National Security Action is dedicated to advancing American global leadership and opposing the reckless policies of the Trump administration that endanger our national security and undermine U.S. strength in the world. ... "
You can learn more here
(Full disclosure, I am a member!)
"Women are already the majority. Now Let's build a Supermajority.
Women are on the cusp of becoming the most powerful force in America. But to fundamentally transform this country, we need to work together. That’s where Supermajority comes in.
LET’S GET ORGANIZED
We’re building an inclusive, national membership of women who are connected, empowered, and taking action—from increasing their level of civic engagement and advocacy to voting in record numbers.
"Meet the people behind the politicians.
You can email your two Senators and your Representative in Congress in one email here
"Postcards to Voters are friendly, handwritten reminders from volunteers to targeted voters giving Democrats a winning edge in close, key races coast to coast.
What started on March 11, 2017 with sharing 5 addresses apiece to 5 volunteers on Facebook...
Now, we consist of over 20,000+ volunteers in every state (including Alaska and Hawaii) who have written close to 3 million postcards to voters in over 100+ key, close elections."
You can find Postcards to Voters here
Town Hall Project empowers constituents across the country to have face-to-face conversations with their elected representatives. We are campaign veterans and first time volunteers. We come from a diversity of backgrounds and live across the country. We share progressive values and believe strongly in civic engagement. We research every district and state for public events with members of Congress. Then we share our findings to promote participation in the democratic process.
This movement is diverse, open source, and powered by citizens. We are proud to be a part of it.
You can find Town Hall Project here
"Born from conversations between Governor Howard Dean and Secretary Hillary Clinton in the aftermath of the 2016 election, Onward Together was established to lend support to leaders — particularly young leaders — kicking off projects and founding new organizations to fight for our shared progressive values." here
Organizing for America and the Democratic National Redistricting Committee have merged in "All On The Line":
"Barack Obama Throws All His Weight Behind ‘Issue Of Singular Importance’
You can find "All On The Line" on Twitter here
" Since #StandOnEveryCorner has grown, it’s become a stand by all of us to protect our democracy from corruption and treason...A stand not at your State Capitol, but in your own backyard. Not once every few months, but as often as you can here "
→ Fact checking organizations courtesy of the Society of Professional Journalists
in alphabetical order...
→ Some of my favorite, most informative
follows on Twitter include:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ US Intelligence | Author | Navy Senior Chief | NBC/MSNBC
⭐⭐⭐ Federal Government Operations | Vanity Fair | Newsweek | MSNBC Contributor | Author
⭐⭐⭐⭐ NBC News' chief foreign correspondent
⭐⭐ Foreign correspondent for @MSNBC and @NBCNews based in London
→ Some of my favorite, highly credible media -- at the moment:
→ Some of my favorite Talking Heads -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
→ Some of my favorite media panelists -- at the moment -- and their Twitter handles:
✅✅✅✅ Joan Walsh national affairs correspondent for The Nation; CNN political contributor
✅✅✅✅ Heidi Przybyla USA TODAY Senior Political Reporter
✅✅✅✅ Jennifer Rubin Conservative blogger at @ WashingtonPost's Right Turn,MSNBC contributor
Intel community. @ NBCNews/@ MSNBC contributor
✅✅✅✅ Betsy WoodruffSwan Daily Beast reporter, federal law enforcement.
→ Some of my favorite legal analysts in the context of Putin attacked America to install Trump investigations, primarily seen on MSNBC:
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Katie Phang
🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ 🗒️ Glenn Kirschner
→ Some of my favorite national security & foreign policy analysts/media, primarily seen on MSNBC:
✅✅✅✅✅ Wendy Sherman Director, Harvard Center for Public Leadership and Professor of Practice, Kennedy School Senior Counselor
Albright Stonebridge Group; Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs
✅✅✅✅✅ Samantha Power Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N./Obama Administration
✅✅✅✅ Richard Engel Chief Foreign Correspondent for NBC News
→ Some of my favorite Democrat Party Leaders to follow on Twitter, not in elected office but proving knowledge & experience are positives & not negatives are:
Former First Lady Michelle Obama
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Former Labor Secretary/Today's DNC Chair Tom Perez
Note: I rarely get involved in primary races -- outside of those in my own area and unless there is a glaring reason that can not be ignored, I support Democratic Party nominees in general elections. I don't support bashing Democrats.
→ 2020 PARTY Informational
(Full disclosure, I am a life-long, registered Democrat!)
"2020 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN RESOURCES
Democrats have a moral imperative to win back the presidency in 2020.
That’s why we’ve taken steps to ensure that our primaries and caucuses are inclusive and accessible, our debate schedule is fair, our nominating process will honor the voices of our grassroots voters, and all of our candidates will have access to the most up-to-date voter data available.
Here are the (DNC) public guidelines and resources we’ve put together that are available to every candidate, to keep our word."
You can find the link that will take you to each PDF here
"What is the CPD? The Commission on Presidential Debates (the “CPD”) is a private, nonpartisan 501(c)(3) organization. As a 501(c)(3) organization, it is eligible under federal law so serve as a debate sponsor. The CPD's primary mission is to ensure, for the benefit of the American electorate, that general election debates are held every four years between and among the leading candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United State. The CPD is an independent organization. It is not controlled by any political party or outside organization and it does not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates for parties. It receives no funding from the government or any political party, political actions committee or candidate. The CPD has sponsored general election presidential debates in every election since 1988. Although its plans for 2020 are in the developmental stage, it looks forward to bringing high quality, educational debates to the electorate in 2020 ... "
You can read more here
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(Linked) "...is our 2016 platform...a declaration of how we plan to move America forward. Democrats believe that cooperation is better than conflict, unity is better than division, empowerment is better than resentment, and bridges are better than walls.
It’s a simple but powerful idea: We are stronger together."
Owned, Created and Curated by Gail Mountain, this blog curates is often gently edits and/or excerpts select material for quick reading, with occasional personal commentary in the form of the written word and/or in the form of emphasis noted. Network For #StrongerTogether ! is not affiliated with The Democratic Party. in any capacity. This is an independent blog and the hope is you will, at a glance, learn more about the Party and you will, with a click or two, also take action on its behalf as it is provided!
( * As a privately owned blog, I reserve the right to edit or remove inappropriate comments such as hate, vulgarity, threats of violence, racism, anti-Semitism, spam, advertising or personal/abusive attacks on other users.)
A long time Democratic Party activist, Gail Mountain is a former community organizer, journalist & personal planning coach with a focus on single moms working toward careers able to support them & their families, while working toward changing the systems that once served them through leadership training. She is a former Affordable Health Care for America Act advocate (2009!); a Hillary supporter who volunteered as a Grassroots Tweeter for Hillary, a Women's Outreach for Hillary member; an OFA Truth Team member; & a DNC Factivist member...currently a media influencer, digital activist/strategist, blogger and head of curation, editor and co-Founder of The People for Kamala Harris; an editor for Progress for Democrats on Facebook; a member of a closed group supporting Speaker Pelosi & her agenda, a member of Supermajority and a volunteer for Kamala Harris for the 2020 Democratic Party Nomination for President of the United States.
You can follow her Blog
at https://networkstrongertogether.blogspot.com & you can follow her on Twitter at GKMTNtwits
( find her on Twitter
*** Sometimes life gets in the way, and it has for me right now, delaying the release of my updated ebook but "How to Influence Media in Real Time!"is coming soon and in time to begin your conversation with media and is scheduled to arrive as we head into serious primary season.
What's in the book?:
( My updated ebook, "How to Influence Media in Real Time," will be ready soon. It will include updated examples of the conversations I have with some of my “media friends” and some updated indications that media can hear us! If you have left a donation toward my effort to help Democrats win in 2020, I will send you an updated copy as soon as it is ready. New donors who leaves a name and an email on my GoFundMe Page will get one as soon as it is ready to go! Thanking you in advance for your interest. I hope you will join me in helping media be the best they can be -- by being a media influencer, too, in your own way and at your own pace. )
*
*
...for Networking for Democrats today!
g. (Unapologetic Democrat)
✊ Resisting "Fake News"
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