I’m reminded of that statement (perhaps apocryphal) when I think of Senator Johnson’s views on Social Security. From WPR:
Under federal law, Medicare and Social Security are known as “mandatory spending,” meaning their funding is automatically renewed each year. Johnson called for changing that, arguing their funding should be voted on each year by Congress along with the rest of the budget.
He re-upped that position in January as Republicans were sparring with Biden over raising the nation’s debt limit, telling reporters that when it comes to the budget, lawmakers should look at “everything, every year.”
If the Social Security program is to be re-legislated and re-authorized and re-appropriated each year, what security will recipients have (given we haven’t passed the budget in regular order in many years, before the beginning of the fiscal year, in 1996).
“We had to destroy the village in order to save it.” The quote harkens back to the massacre of approximately 500 unarmed villagers at My Lai by US soldiers.
This brings us to Seymour Hersh,who first gained recognition in 1969 for exposing the My Lai Massacre and its cover-up during the Vietnam War, for which he received the 1970 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. In the 1970s, Hersh covered the Watergate scandal for The New York Times, and in 2004, he reported on the U.S. military’s torture and abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib in Iraq for The New Yorker. Hersh has won five George Polk Awards and two National Magazine Awards.”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seymour_Hersh
This brings us to Hersh’s latest blockbuster revelation: “ How America Took Out The Nord Stream Pipeline. The New York Times called it a “mystery,” but the United States executed a covert sea operation that was kept secret—until now.” https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the-nord-stream
It hardly took a genius to figure this out. The US had means, motive, and opportunity. Hersh just filled in the details.
It seems that Hersh, after having to resort to the London Review of Books to get his articles published, has been relegated to publishing at substack…evidently the price of exposing US misdeeds and war crimes once too often.
Here’s Johnny, doing what Johnny does. He wants to bri g up an entirely unrelated issue, so he pretends it’s related. The linked article makes clear that “destroy the village to save it” wassaid about Ben Tre, not My Lai.
Why has Johnny done this? Johnny loves to excuse Putin’s war crimes, but he can’t write “war crimes” and “Putin” in the same comment, so he instead hijacks any comments section he can to accuse the U.S. of war crimes.
War crimes in Vietnam? Absolutely. In Iraq? Almost certainly. The simple fact is, war brings war crime. So, Johnny, war crimes committed by Russian troops in Ukraine? Johnny? Or by Wagner mercenaries hire by Russia?
C’mon Johnny, do you really care about war crimes? Sure doesn’t seem li!e you do. Seems like you don’t mind when Pooty-Poot does it. Repeat after me: “Vladimir Putin is guilty of massive, repeated war crimes in Ukraine, Syria, Georgia and Chechnya.”
Better hurry, Johnny, before Moldova joins the list.
Meanwhile, war crimes against the Nord Stream pipeline? Seriously? How old are you?
Jonny boy used to pretend he was a progressive (cough, cough). I guess Jonny boy cares more about promoting Putin’s war crimes than he cares about seniors.
Battle of Bến Tre
https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Battle_of_B%E1%BA%BFn_Tre
Just to make sure little Jonny boy does his history lesson.
You have to love it when Ducky goes off on a delirious and incoherent rant.
However, the publication of Hersh’s article does raise several important questions. If Germany has friends like the US, who destroy a major source of its energy, do they really need enemies? And what does this tell other countries about being a US ally and about the laughable “rules based order?”
But the more interesting question is why there was so little interest in covering the story at the outset by the mainstream media. And why so much nonsense about Russia’s blowing up its own pipeline? There was lots of rumor and innuendo about suspects other than the one whose President had said that “there would not be a NordStream?”
Hersh has said that the story was not hard to find. So why there has been little interest in covering Hersh’s piece? I just searched at the NY Times website and no article came up. Apparently identifying the culprit behind the destruction of a huge piece of energy infrastructure was deemed not fit to print! So much for a well-Informed electorate being a prerequisite for democracy!
@ JohnH
I’m not particularly into crowd mentality or the “madness of crowds”, but has the thought ever occurred to you that when you have 4–5 people on a single blog labeling you a Putin stooge, is that cause for any cartoon bubble metaphoric light bulbs to pop up over your head?? I suppose next you’re going to tell us that Yevgeny Prigozhin is a misunderstood orphan boy??
“So why there has been little interest in covering Hersh’s piece? ”
I read through about half of it. It is not substantiated. which is why others are not picking up on it. He makes some pretty big assertions, without any real evidence. I cannot say if the story is true (or false), since there was really no evidence to confirm. responsible media will not pick up and promote unsubstantiated stories.
“I read through about half of it. It is not substantiated. which is why others are not picking up on it. He makes some pretty big assertions, without any real evidence.”
And this is not the first time Hersch has written something that had no real evidence behind it. But come on – when has Jonny boy ever cared about the real world?
“You have to love it when Ducky goes off on a delirious and incoherent rant.”
No troll – you are the one going off on a totally unrelated rant. We would ask you to grow up but it seems little Jonny boy never will.
JH: ever thought about why there’s so little interest in your breathless exposes? Or you?
Do you have a choir—St. Petersburg?—that hangs on your every word, ignorant of history, waiting, salivating for more tidbits only from the fountain of John?
st pewtre is nice this time of year, in about a month the red sox start spring training camp over in tampa!
Hersch’s claim that the US took out Nord Stream (WAR CRIMES WAR CRIMES – a pipeline was damaged) seems not to have any corroboration. It also seems that some of Hersh’s other stories may not be credible:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/prize-winning-reporter-seymour-hersh-no-stranger-controversy-2023-02-09/
Oh wait – I might be questioning someone on his journalism, which to serial liar JohnH is censorship.
Hey Jonny Boy – you are doing a great job of making sure CoRev and Bruce Hall are not our leading liars. Keep up the good work!
“It seems that Hersh, after having to resort to the London Review of Books to get his articles published, has been relegated to publishing at substack”
You linked to his Wikipedia bio so how could you miss how widely he published for a number of big time publications. And all those awards? Yea he was a prolific writer and journalist but you pretend his writings were censored. Another pointless lie from our most worthless troll.
Something else for little Jonny boy to get all excited about!
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/vladimir-putin-s-right-hand-man-threatens-yet-another-country-in-europe-it-is-our-territory/ar-AA17w2j3?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=430a97ddf5424175b8d41b87608acb37
For this reason, Kadyrov suggests that the Russian army should take back ‘its’ territory. As if that were not enough, he also threatens to hit German Chancellor Olaf Scholz – saying he should be ‘punched in the face’.
East Germany, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Poland – Jonny boy wants Russian troops to kill their children and rape their women. JohnH – what a guy!
A wise man, with words of wisdom, from the past:
https://econbrowser.com/archives/2022/10/jobs-vs-employment-in-the-ces-and-cps-employment-series#comment-286659
Thinking about the Republicans unceasing 50 year war on Medicare and Social Security – by either “sunsetting” or giving it to Wall Street or “by eliminating mandatory spending via conservative courts” or constantly raising the full benefit age (they are suggestion to 70 now) – (ref: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/13/opinion/columnists/republicans-medicare-social-security.html) – I saw this article on how Repubs convincing Americans not to take a life-saving vaccine during a pandemic lowered life expectancy in the US from around 79 in 2019 to around 77.5 in 2022 (and still dropping) https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-u-s-lost-years-of-life/ Repubs like Sen Ron “Ivermectin” Johnson are destroying the village by hook or by crook.
“Over the past century people have been living longer lives around the globe. Then COVID hit. Now, nearly three years into the pandemic, with highly effective vaccines widely available, life expectancy in many middle- and high-income countries has started to bounce back. But in the U.S., it is still dropping. A study last year found that life expectancy in most Western European countries recovered in 2021—most likely the result of high vaccination rates that reduced mortality, particularly among the elderly. But the U.S. has continued to see declines, in part because of lower vaccination rates as well as a devastating opioid epidemic.”
Having old people die prematurely does seem to be part of the Republican plan to shore up Social Security. This has certainly a large part of the Bruce Hall agenda. MAGA!
Count on pgl for yet another misleading comment. Back in the day, Hersh was a prized writer.Times change. He’s persona non grata…a national treasure being shunned for exposing the truth about how US power behaves.
Back in the day John B. Taylor was a real economist. Back in the day we could trust Jeffrey Sachs. Some people change. You never change – you have been a liar moron and total jerk for over a decade.
BTW Babbling noted the same thing I did. Now Jonny boy – why didn’t you try to insult him too? Or Moses? Oh that’s right – your little pathetically childish insults are an embarrassment. And you are basically a gutless little poodle running around the Kremlin begging Putin for a bone.
Perhaps back in the day. But TODAY his work seems to be lacking in evidence. It may be true and it may be false. But it certainly lacks evidence TODAY. If you want to make blockbuster accusations, it cannot be an opinion piece, which is what this is when lacking credible evidence.
My point exactly. Well said!
Funny! The pot calling the kettle—-pgly and Ducky regularly go off on unrelated rants. In their minds, they are the only ones entitled to do that…just like the US feels that they are the only ones entitled to wage illegal wars.
I trust you do know that EVERYONE and I mean EVERYONE knows you are the most worthless troll ever. Write whatever dishonest babble you want – NO ONE cares.
never once have I heard Johnh comment negatively about a major illegal war conducted by Russia right now. he only justifies it by saying the usa has done it. that is sophomoric, justifying poor behavior because somebody else did it. mature adults do not conduct a conversation that way. what Russia is doing today is WRONG. it is IMMORAL. and their punishment will be deserved.
We just have to put social security tax on the incomes of rich people. Then the village will be saved for eternity.
In addition allow the trust fund to sell bonds as a way to get past the short term deficit that comes from baby boomers being such a big draw out of the system for the next decade or two.
If Biden wants another Reagan-Greenspan type commission, we would do well to put you in charge.