https://www.militarymedia.org/p/defense-industry-expansion-throttled

«Aid to Ukraine is Aid to U.S. Manufacturing»

Just saw a post on mastodon warning that countries exporting weapons should expect refugees.

I’m pretty sure the number of refugees would be increased if we DON’T support Ukraine with military aid.

«The second consequence of Ukrainian defeat is (or ought to be) of far greater concern to European and American politicians: the prospect of between 3 and 22 million Ukrainian refugees resettling in Europe and the U.S.
…
housing refugees permanently will be far more costly than providing Ukraine’s military with weapons and equipment.
….
It must be said here that Ukrainians make excellent neighbors and citizens»

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4358936-what-happens-if-russia-defeats-ukraine/

«A pair of factories in Pennsylvania continue to make all the 155-mm artillery shells that have become Ukraine’s essential munitions. A new factory, with about 150 jobs, is planned for Mesquite, Texas, over the opposition of the district’s Republican congressman, who would end all Ukraine aid. (Someone should tell politicians like him that 90 percent of the aid money is spent in the U.S.)»

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/12/ukraine-russia-war-aid/676287/?utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

I thought Republicans were all about jobs and military power. I guess this guy is a Know-Nothing isolationist.

Researchers examine the self-serving fiction of ‘objective’ political news

Source: Warped Front Pages – Columbia Journalism Review

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/house-staffer-changes-locks-george-santos-office_n_656a369ae4b07b937ff4a3cc

I wondered what the mechanics would be after the expulsion vote. Now I know.

“Academic researchers of conspiracy theories have speculated about whether their rise in the 20th century is related to the decline of religion. In a strange way, the idea that a malign cabal is running the world – while far more worrying than a benevolent God – is less scary than the idea that no one is in charge and everything is chaos.”

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2023/aug/02/everything-youve-been-told-is-a-lie-inside-the-wellness-to-facism-pipeline#:~:text=Academic%20researchers%20of,everything%20is%20chaos.

https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/11/24/new-study-finds-that-higher-cognitive-ability-is-linked-to-brexit-remain-vote

I’m not sure this is informative or useful or new. There are lots of stupid/non-stupid decisions to be made in life, and lots of shysters trying to take advantage. Are we surprised they’re successful? What can we do with this info besides feel smug or angry?

Plantation owned by Charleston County, SC, now a County Park with interpretive tours.

You should visit, but you can also support their mission from afar.

https://friendsofmcleod.org/

(For some reason, it only just now occurred to me to look something like this up. I’m slow, sometimes.)

«Poland is also a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, covered by the United States and 29 other Western allies’ commitment to its defense if attacked. More than 10,000 American troops are stationed in Poland, and 80 percent of military hardware heading for Ukraine passes through Polish transit points.

So what’s it worried about?

Beyond Russia’s snarling, there is a simple explanation: Donald Trump.»

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/20/europe-military-defense-russia-trump/

And not just the single person of Trump, obviously, but the American tendency toward isolationism.

Yeesh, that’s quite a list.

Also: thanks, Republicans.

Another example of why state-level elections matter.

https://www.wral.com/story/paul-fulton-little-wonder-why-unc-s-guskiewicz-might-leave/21162404/