I think I will just leave this here (not that anyone will notice)
This should be unbelivable in this day and age of information.. The guy occupying the White House is so far removed from reality...
This should be unbelivable in this day and age of information.. The guy occupying the White House is so far removed from reality...
I listened to the entire thing, though it was exactly what I expected, which is to say more regurgitating of rhetoric in the fact of facts and investigations. Woof. I can't wait for this election to be over for the last time.
Indeed. It has been fun in a sick sort of way to see Trump lose over and over again.
If that hour long phone call was inbelievable enough, this Op-Ed piece in the January 3 2021 Washington Post has ALL TEN LIVING former Secretaries of Defense signing on! If these guys have come together to put their names on something like this, they must have some fear that Trump will try through his 'acting' current Secretary of Defense to try and get the military involved in his ploys to keep himself in power.
I never thought I would see the day when the transfer of power from one president to another would devolve down to the level of banana republics... Unbelievable!
Here it is in its entirety ...
From the Washington Post:
Opinions
All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory
Opinion by Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld
Jan. 4, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. GMT+11
Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld are the 10 living former U.S. secretaries of defense.
As former secretaries of defense, we hold a common view of the solemn obligations of the U.S. armed forces and the Defense Department. Each of us swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear it to an individual or a party.
American elections and the peaceful transfers of power that result are hallmarks of our democracy. With one singular and tragic exception that cost the lives of more Americans than all of our other wars combined, the United States has had an unbroken record of such transitions since 1789, including in times of partisan strife, war, epidemics and economic depression. This year should be no exception.
Our elections have occurred. Recounts and audits have been conducted. Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts. Governors have certified the results. And the electoral college has voted. The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived.
As senior Defense Department leaders have noted, “there’s no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of a U.S. election.” Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory. Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.
Transitions, which all of us have experienced, are a crucial part of the successful transfer of power. They often occur at times of international uncertainty about U.S. national security policy and posture. They can be a moment when the nation is vulnerable to actions by adversaries seeking to take advantage of the situation.
If that hour long phone call was inbelievable enough, this Op-Ed piece in the January 3 2021 Washington Post has ALL TEN LIVING former Secretaries of Defense signing on! If these guys have come together to put their names on something like this, they must have some fear that Trump will try through his 'acting' current Secretary of Defense to try and get the military involved in his ploys to keep himself in power.
I never thought I would see the day when the transfer of power from one president to another would devolve down to the level of banana republics... Unbelievable!
Here it is in its entirety ...
From the Washington Post:
Opinions
All 10 living former defense secretaries: Involving the military in election disputes would cross into dangerous territory
Opinion by Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld
Jan. 4, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. GMT+11
Ashton Carter, Dick Cheney, William Cohen, Mark Esper, Robert Gates, Chuck Hagel, James Mattis, Leon Panetta, William Perry and Donald Rumsfeld are the 10 living former U.S. secretaries of defense.
As former secretaries of defense, we hold a common view of the solemn obligations of the U.S. armed forces and the Defense Department. Each of us swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. We did not swear it to an individual or a party.
American elections and the peaceful transfers of power that result are hallmarks of our democracy. With one singular and tragic exception that cost the lives of more Americans than all of our other wars combined, the United States has had an unbroken record of such transitions since 1789, including in times of partisan strife, war, epidemics and economic depression. This year should be no exception.
Our elections have occurred. Recounts and audits have been conducted. Appropriate challenges have been addressed by the courts. Governors have certified the results. And the electoral college has voted. The time for questioning the results has passed; the time for the formal counting of the electoral college votes, as prescribed in the Constitution and statute, has arrived.
As senior Defense Department leaders have noted, “there’s no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of a U.S. election.” Efforts to involve the U.S. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory. Civilian and military officials who direct or carry out such measures would be accountable, including potentially facing criminal penalties, for the grave consequences of their actions on our republic.
Transitions, which all of us have experienced, are a crucial part of the successful transfer of power. They often occur at times of international uncertainty about U.S. national security policy and posture. They can be a moment when the nation is vulnerable to actions by adversaries seeking to take advantage of the situation.
This call was so disheartening and yet so utterly expected.