McCain Commits a Felony.

While there has never been a conviction on the Logan Act, McCain is in violation of it here. It has been the law of the land for over 200 years. 

§ 953. Private correspondence with foreign governments.

Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

This section shall not abridge the right of a citizen to apply himself, or his agent, to any foreign government, or the agents thereof, for redress of any injury which he may have sustained from such government or any of its agents or subjects.

1 Stat. 613, January 30, 1799, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 953 (2004).  

I wish to apologize once again for voting for McCain in 2008.

Who is Putin

I think that there are a few errors, but a good presentation. 

Where Is the US and Russia Heading?

I have commented in the past that Russia was becoming more free, and the US was becoming less free. I doubt Trump will effect this much. 

I thought that you might be interested in this from a Russian perspective. You will need to turn on CC if you have not already as it is in Russian. 

Russia Could Be a Partner

The Washington Times had an interesting opinion piece entitled: What Is Best for America - Russia as a Friend or a Foe?  

Here is a quote from that article:

Let’s put this into a not-so-distant historical perspective. For the past 30 years, under Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin, Dmitri Medvedev, and Putin again, the Russians have been knocking on Washington’s door asking to be accepted as a friend and ally, only to be constantly rebuffed. For voluntarily dismantling the Soviet empire, throwing communist ideology out the window, liberating the captive nations, helping to defeat the Taliban, and doing their share in the war on terror they got in return the abrogation of the ABM treaty, “regime change” and “color revolutions” in the neighboring countries, bombing Serbia, vicious media demonization, an avalanche of sanctions, emplacement of “defensive” missiles in Eastern Europe, and successive rounds of NATO expansion (“RUSSIA WANTS WAR! Look how close they put their country to our military bases!”)

While I agree with this quote, I wonder who selected the title of the piece. It seems unlikely that Russia and America will ever be friends. When asked about this Putin said he was not a friend, that he was president of the Russian Federation, and it was his job to represent the interests of those 146 million people. 

No, friendship should not be the goal, Instead each country should focus on their own national interests and help each other when those interests overlap. 

I don't think anyone knows how big the overlap of American and Russian interests is. It might be quite large. But in any event Russia, and really no country, wants friends. They want partners that will focus on areas of mutual interest. That is why Russia constantly refers to the West as partners not friends.

Should Trump pursue a partnership with Russia? Absolutely. This is one reason Trump is so reviled. The Military Industrial Complex does not want a partnership. Neither does the CIA. They want hegemony. 

Why Many Voted for Trump

Why did so many vote for Trump? One reason was a strong disapproval of the US foreign policy of the last 24 years—a foreign policy drifting toward war with Russia. 

But didn't Russia want War? 

The swamp creatures scream that “the Russians brought it on themselves with their aggressive actions! What about Ukraine! Syria!”

Nonsense. The drive to make Russia’s security situation untenable started almost as soon as the Warsaw Pact was dissolved and the Soviet Union disbanded. What’s different is that Russia is now strong enough to push back. Ukraine – what would we do if Russia, or China, embraced the overthrow of a U.S.-friendly elected government in, say, Mexico, and sought to pull that country into an anti-American alliance? Syria – why is it in America’s interest to help terror-supporting states like Saudi Arabia and Qatar to overthrow a secular (and pro-Christian) government and replace it with some jihad terror group like ISIS or al-Qaeda?

It seems to me that in terms of domestic policies Trump will not be able to fulfill his rhetoric. It sounds great, but is it actually doable? But in terms of foreign policy, Trump will avoid war, and I do not understand why those who are not a part of the military industrial complex would be unhappy about this.