.

NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Thursday, August 27, 2015

GOP Plans New Iran Sanctions - Idiots on Parade



How are those Cuban sanctions 
working out?
  • There have been economic sanctions on Cuba longer than most people on earth have been alive.  They have been a failure.  The Communist government is firmly in power.
  • Now the GOP Hawks are beating their chests for more sanctions on Iran.  Nevermind that sanctions were started on Iran in 1979.  
  • Bottom line - Sanctions don't work.  But sanctions allow politicians to strut in front of the Sheeple voters back home and declare, "Look, I am doing something."


(Bloomberg News)  -  Opponents of the Iran deal aren’t expecting the Congressional vote next month to go their way, but they are already planning for the day after their loss. Republicans in Congress are preparing several bills to sanction Iran. Even if those never reach a vote, the proposals could be problematic for Democrats well into 2016.
The White House has compared the Iran deal to Obamacare in terms of its historical impact. Republicans agree.
“The analogy to the Affordable Care act is ringing in my ears,” said Representative Mike Pompeo, one of several Iran deal critics developing new sanctions proposals. “The American people get who the Iranian regime is. The American people will reward elected officials who do the right thing.”
All the proposals seek to capitalize on the administration’s promise to keep up pressure on Iran for its non-nuclear mischief, including over its support for regional terrorism and its human rights record. And Pompeo says new sanctions have a chance of passing, even if Congress can't block Obama's deal.
“We’ve seen 400 votes plus for significant sanctions. This wouldn’t be terribly different from that in substance,” said Pompeo. “The arguments would be the same.”
In the House, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce already has a new sanctions bill that could be resurrected in the fall. That bill was similar to legislation put forth by Senators Mark Kirk and Robert Menendez, a Republican and a Democrat, during the nuclear negotiations.
In the Senate, Kirk is now working with Marco Rubio to explore new legislation, several Senate aides said. Menendez is working separately with Lindsey Graham. Kirk and Menendez also have a bill to reauthorize the Iran Sanctions Act, set to expire at the end of 2016, for 10 more years.
Read More . . . .


A
Napoleon's Continental System
Simply, blockades or embargoes are mostly failures.  The British navy blockaded France under Napoleon.  France in turn embargoed trade with Britain.  The only real result was minor damage to the economies of both sides.  The wars themselves went on and on and on.
.
Thomas Jefferson's Embargo  -  Jefferson's worthless embargo against Britain was meant more to punish his Federalist Party enemies than the English.  Britain laughed at Jefferson and kept right on with their policies.
.
World Wars I and II  -  Germany was cut off from foreign trade in both world wars.  In neither case did it really impact the Imperial or Nazi German war machines.
.
Japan Embargo  -  FDR's embargo actually caused the Japanese Empire to roll the dice, attack Pearl Harbor and invade the Philippines.  FDR wanted the U.S. to go to war.  Some speculate that FDR's embargo was designed to encourage a Japanese attack.

Cuban Embargo  -  This embargo has been going on longer than most Cubans or Americans have even been alive.  Again, the embargo has been a total failure.  The Cuban government has proven they don't need trade with the U.S. to exist.  

No comments: