11/08/2025

general hospital characters today and in the past

chump has no style and never has.  this video notes his new 'do.  it's hideous, of course.  but it reminded me of what a prisoner of the 80s donald chump is.  it looks as though some 1 sprayed rave all over it to hold it down.  does rave still make hairspray?  is rave even still around?  young men used to use rave hairspray in the 80s if they were part of what was then called the 'college music' scene.  i remember 1 of the guys from husker du, for example, describing his own hair style as like a bread box.  i never got that.  to me it looked like a book open in the middle - a hardcover book.  but that's the 'style' that chump is going for in 2025.

he is beyond ridiculous.

okay, 'general hospital.'  what episode did i watch yesterday?  believe it was wednesdays.  again, i have youtube tv so with abc not currently on it, i'm watching it on hulu.  i'm a day or 2 behind.  but if you have hulu, turns out that they add that day's episode of 'general hospital' at 7:00 pm.  

gio went to the quartermaine mansion is his slow step towards getting back together with his family.  tracy was there and they talked.  she explained that she now owns the mansion.  he was happy for her but wouldn't let her trash ronnie - pointing out that she came into the diner (bobbie's - which, for longterm viewers, used to be ruby's) and would talk to him and she's a kind person.  tracy didn't want to hear that and when he asked where every 1 was, she told him they abandoned her for ronnie.  he told her that monica left her the house because she knew tracy could keep the family together.  he said ronnie was family, she was monica's sister.  and tracy went on about how she'd never forgive ronnie.  he told her she was now the eldest and head of the family, so she had to.  she didn't agree but sort of did.  a smarter person would have picked up the phone and asked people to come home and bring ronnie with them for 1 night (ronnie's leaving port charles).  but tracy's not a smart 1.  never has been.  jane elliot's a great actress but they are really making tracy unlikeable of late.  

i honestly thought tracy went too far at the memorial for monica.  that's when she shoved drew out - just pushed him out.  drew's a bad guy - so is tracy - but drew, if you don't know, is in a wheel chair.

it was sort of cruelty along the lines of bette davis' regina in 'the little foxes.'  

and i don't need tracy to have a nice side.  but if they are trying to groom her to be the edward or, especially, lila of the show, they're going to have to give her a few more dimensions. 

if they don't, i'll still like tracy but she never grew and actually reverted.

back when the mafia jerk was frank and he was trying to marry his daughter to luke, tracy was more mature.  we're talking before luke and laura on the run - that long ago.  she's like a spoiled teenager these days.  i don't think she could pull off any of her grand schemes from the past today because she's too busy having public fits and giving away her hand before she should.

jane elliot's a great actress and we're lucky to have her playing tracy in any form or manner but i just don't think the writers know what they're doing.  

so what else.  the new mafia guy, the bald man whose name i can't remember, anna's very suspicious of him.  she called chris mckenna's character (i just realized that was chris playing the character this week - he was great on 'state of affairs' and in a t.v. commercial he used to do) and left a message about her suspicions.

and why?

to me that was bad writing.

she asks jason for help in a face to face scene.  i'll leave that alone because i'm not fond of that - she can't do her own legal investigation so she's asking jason - a friend - to spy on a friend of his.  so jason tells her that she may be thinking faizon is still alive because that's what the mafia wants her to think.  that's when she should call chris' character (jack?).  instead, she goes to her car in an empty parking garage, gets in, with window rolled down so any 1 can here and makes the call.  she leaves a voice mail - a long 1.  then she finally attempts to start her car.  and a hand from the backseat covers her mouth with cloth.  when she comes to, she's handcuffed to a chair somewhere.  why would she sit in the parking garage when she was worried about her safety - she and laura are both worried regarding this mobster and it's why laura talked to sonny about it - and chat away on her phone.  if she'd started the car upon getting into it, she still couldn't have ended up drugged, not pretending otherwise.  but having her be frightened - and we don't see anna really frightened for herself very often - and go to a dark and empty parking garage to have a phone conversation while she's sitting there and with her car window open?  that just made her look stupid.  and anna isn't generally seen as stupid. (she's 1 of my favorite characters.)

let me leave parentheticals.  covering 'gh' i've been asked in e-mails lately about my favorite characters.

they are:

1) laura
2) tracy
3) alexis
4) nathan
5) portia
6) sonny
7) drew (i know he's evil but i enjoy the character - and really loved the actor as ryan on 'all my children')
8) jason
9) anna
10) olivia
11) ned
12) carly
13) britt 
14) lucy
15) gio
16) emma
17) carly


that list was as it came to mind; however, laura is and always will be my number 1 favorite character - or always will be as long as she's played by genie francis.  

i'll also note my 20 favorite 'general hospital' characters no longer on the show and number 1 is number 1 the rest will just be as they come to mind

1) jackie templeton (i loved demi moore on the show and was so ticked when she and scorpio moved away from love couple)
2) blackie (john stamos was once on 'general hospital')
3) heather (robin was the best but i also enjoyed cher's sister in the role)
4) noah (rick springfield)
5) jeff webber (richard dean anderson went on to do macguyver which may have made up for the fact that he could never do viriginal priss annie on 'gh')
6) claudia (bianca ferguson rocked the show in the 80s)
7) sarah abbott (remember her? she was heather's partner in crime)
8) monica quartermaine 
9) holly sutton scorpio (emma samms was great in this role, she was only okay as fallon on 'dynasty')
10) bobbie spencer (jackie zeman gave so much heart to the show)
11) amy vining
12) nikolas cassadine (tyler christopher was wonderful in the role)
13) luke spencer (tony geary brought life to the show and he and genie saved the show)
14) tiffany wells (sharon wyatt)
15) janine turner (i may have been the only 1 in the world who liked laura templeton but i did like the character a lot - once it was obvious she was not laura spencer - she came on when genie francis left and they tried to make you think for nearly a week that she was laura spencer and they'd hired a new actress to play her)
16) douglas sheehan (joe kelly, good with bobbie, good with everybody, he was a good guy and heather used that quality to trick him)
17) susan moore (gail ramsy)
18) miguel morez (do people know ricky martin was once on 'gh'?)
19) audrey hardy (rachel ames - good characters can sometimes be boring, audrey was never, ever boring)
20) lila quartermaine (anna lee was perfect in the role and i still miss her)

all time worst on 'gh' ever?

i think i'd go with andrea floyd - she was played by an ugly no talent - martha byrne.  on 'as the world turns,' byrne had thrown 1 tantrum after another.  poor lisa brown who was so good as nola on 'guidiing light' and then she played iva on 'as the world turns.'  martha couldn't stand other actresses and was known for being so rude to lisa who was probably 1 of the most talented actress daytime t.v. ever had.  martha also had tantrums with men on the show - usually over blocking.  she was really a piece of work.  does she even work anymore?  i haven't seen her on t.v. in years.  with her reputation, it doesn't surprise me if every 1 has washed their hands of her.


let's close with c.i.'s 'The Snapshot:'


Friday, November 11, 2025.  The first to flee in a time of need will always be Robert Kennedy Junior as we saw yesterday, all the lies in the world can't hide Chump's tanking of our economy, having told far too many lies to various courts this year our own government departments have a credibility problem, and much more.

Let's start with a basic:  What the hell are we doing?

Zohran Mamdani won the race for Mayor of NYC and we've noted that here.  We've also attempted to let him have his moment.  By that I mean, his success or failure in the job will impact more than just him.  If AOC wants to run in 2028 for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, how he does as mayor and how he's perceived will impact her chances.  Both are Socialists.

Again, this is his moment so we're not dwelling on the impact that he could have with regards to AOC.

However . . .

Are we stupid?  When the GOP is singing from the same hymnal we don't even notice now?

Repeatedly since the election, Republicans are deliberately lying.  That's Chump and Speaker of the Closet Mike Johnson for starters.

Communist.

That's what they keep calling Zohran.  And I see a lot think pieces and a lot of fantasy pieces popping up in left media none of which correct this lie.

Zohran is a Socialist.  He is not a Communist.  They are different ideologies.  

Why, on the left, as Zohran is having his moment are we not at least pushing back on this lie?

We can't count on the mainstream media.  Even if they want to be accurate, they're largely general studies majors who honestly don't know the difference between Communism and Socialism.  And more and more they're being taken over by idiots or right wingers or both  -- Bari Weis being a good example.

We need to push back and we need to refute.  

Maybe someone with animation skills could do a little clip of Zohran in animated form and call it ZOHRAN MAMDAMI: YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SOCIALIST?  Otherwise, the right-wing's doing all the defining and we're over here silent.  

Moving over to MEIDASTOUCH NEWS where they are covering Chump's latest con job.





The day after Democratic election victories, Trump assured the public, “Affordability is our goal.” That was followed by a related online rant: “2025 Thanksgiving dinner under Trump is 25% lower than 2024 Thanksgiving dinner under Biden, according to Walmart. My cost [sic] are lower than the Democrats on everything, especially oil and gas! So the Democrats [sic] ‘affordability’ issue is DEAD! STOP LYING!!!”

Whether the president understands this or not, Walmart lowered the cost of its Thanksgiving dinner by reducing the number of items included in the package and replacing brand-name products with value products. It was not, in other words, the result of the White House’s awesomeness.

The 2024 dinner included two pies -- a pumpkin pie you made from ingredients and a Marie Callender's Southern Pecan Pie.  The 2025 version?  No pecan pie and, though you can still make the pumpkin pie, you'll do so without topping it with whipped cream because whipped topping is on longer party of the dinner -- they've also switched to cheaper pie crust.  Anyone who cooks or shops for groceries can look at the two dinners and see how shabby the 2025 list is.  They've got both lists posted in JD Wolf's MTN article.  Chump keeps lying about the economy and Mike noted last night:


Chump doesn't know hardship and never has.  Every blow cushioned.  He's such an idiot, he was speaking yesterday -- or it was on the news yesterday -- saying that we had to do away with absentee voting and that every where you went to you had to show your i.d. even the gas station, even the grocery store.

Huh?

He's a damn fool.  Or a heavy smoker.  If you're burying smokes or booze at the grocery store or gas station, you have to show i.d.   He knows nothing about the average person's experience.  And it shows


He doesn't know anything about the average person's experience and he proved that as well when he was bragging on Walmart's 2025 Thanksgiving dinner which offers so much less.




Let's stay with the economy, Tony Owusu (THE STREET) takes us back in time:


In 2024, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump made inflation the centerpiece of his campaign.

The "price of eggs" being too high became a rallying cry against the incumbent presidential administration as Trump seized on a very real pain point for many Americans.

U.S. inflation rate by month [2025]
January: 3%
February: 2.8%
March: 2.4%
April: 2.3% (Liberation day April 2)
May: 2.4%
June: 2.7%
July: 2.7%
August: 2.9%
September: 3%

"Starting on day one, we will end inflation and make America affordable again, to bring down the prices of all goods," he said at a rally in Bozeman, Montana on August 9, 2024.


Affordability?  Senator Elizabeth Warren, speaking on behalf of elected Dems in Congress, wants to deliver on it.  




Donald Chump does not have a clue.  And in Chump Land, where we are at the mercy of a dementia plagued failure, things just get worse.  Farrah Tomazin (DAILY BEAST) notes job layoffs:

Layoffs in the U.S skyrocketed in October to their worst monthly level for 22 years, with Americans now facing the type of job cuts typically seen during recessions.

Despite President Donald Trump repeatedly touting that the US economy “has never been hotter,” a new report has fueled concerns about a labor market slowdown with more people out of work.
The data, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, shows that company layoffs soared last month to more than 153,000, marking the worst October for job reductions since 2003.

US employers have also announced 1.1 million layoffs so far this year - the biggest number of layoffs since the pandemic and on par with job cuts during the global financial crisis.

Donald would love for you say, "Thanks, Chump.  I have so much free time.  Can't do anything with it because you've destroyed the job market and our economy, but thanks for the free time."  

Steve Kopack (NBC NEWS) adds that "even firms that are not actively cutting jobs have warned that they do not plan to add to their headcount in the near-term, with several pointing directly to AI’s impact on their personnel needs."  Paul R. La Monica (BARRON'S) notes, "Economists for the Indeed Hiring Lab, the research arm for the popular jobs site, said in another report Thursday that job postings are now at their lowest level since 2021 and that wage growth is slowing as well."  Garrett Owen (SALON) reminds that, " Prior to the report, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the American economy was nearing a 'golden age' under the Trump administration, and said that 2026 'would be a great year'."  
Mary Jones (PENNY GEM) adds, "October 2025. In a span of just several months, 427 Michigan workers lost their jobs as five automotive suppliers filed WARN notices. The news ripples through the auto industry, with Dana Thermal Products shutting its Auburn Hills plant, NPR of America slashing its workforce, and DP World Logistics losing its only customer. These companies are all linked to Michigan's crucial automotive sector, and each has cited a sharp decline in business, sending shockwaves throughout the region. What led to this series of layoffs? And why now? The unfolding impact is just beginning."   


The economy is bad and that's Chumps fault.  And his attack on SNAP? His ignoring judges orders on SNAP?  That's him again and we need to ask the question of why the GOP hates our military personnel?  They're continuing Donald's shutdown and they're continuing this as Pretty Boo Hegseth pretends to be a Secretary of Defense and does so at a time when US military memebers and their family are being told to start using food banks.  Grasp that.  Pretty Boo put his on hair and make up salon into the Pentagon.  He fought for that.  But he can't fight to feed the people serving in the US military?  Very revealing.  Michael Moran (THE MIRROR) reports:


Amid what is now the longest government shutdown in US history, the approximately 37,000 US service personnel stationed in Germany have reportedly been advised to seek help from food banks if their wages are not paid in November.

Military personnel reportedly received their October salaries thanks to emergency funding drawn from multiple sources: $2.5 billion from summer tax cut legislation, $1.4 billion from military procurement accounts, and $1.4 billion from research and development.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CBS News: "I think we'll be able to pay them beginning in November, but by 15 November our troops and service members who are willing to risk their lives aren't going to be able to get paid." It comes as Trump issued a SNAP benefits ultimatum with a brutal warning amid the government shutdown.



Last night, Lawrence O'Donnell covered many topics in his opening monologue.  He covered the economy, he covered how the administration was filled with people out of touch with the every day life of the American people, he covered the tariffs and the Supreme Court, he covered the nonsense of pretending a sandwich was a weapon. 

He also covered how unfeeling Chump is. 



Novo Nordisk's Gordon Findlay felt dizzy and ended up on the floor in the Oval Office, legs in the air as Lawrence pointed out, and Chump's not helping and just staring off into space.  

It's another powerful moment of Lawrence cutting through the crap and connecting the dots.

But if you stream that video, note one other thing about that incident.  The minute Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Junior looks over and sees a man is collapsing, Junior panics and runs out of the room.

I guess that's what you have to do.

I mean, I guess if you don't believe in vaccines and someone's passing out, you run like crazy because maybe it's measles, maybe it's polio, but whatever's going on, you can't rsik being around the person because you're not vaccianted so you're not protected.

Our countrys President John F. Kennedy wrote PROFILES IN COURAGE.  Junior practices PROFILES IN SAVE YOUR OWN ASS - EVERYONE IN NEED LEFT BEHIND and he made that clear yesterday as  man feeling faint sent Junior fleeing from the room.


Now let's drop back to February 11, 1985, on CBS that night, the 15th episode of the second season of KATE & ALLIE aired -- "Rear Window" written by Stu Hample, directed by Bill Persky.  Susan Saint James played Kate, Jane Curtin played Allie and Frederick Koehler played Allies son Chip.

The moment we're focusing on is seventeen minutes into the video below.





Allie: Have you ever heard the story about the little boy who cried wolf?

Chip: Yeah, it's about a little boy show cried wolf.

Allie:  A shepherd.  The little shepherd went into the field one day and he got bored so he cried "wolf!" and all the villagers came running.

Kate: Right.  And when they saw that there was no wolf, they got really mad and went home. 

Allie: And the net week, he went into the field and he got bored again and he cried wolf again.

Kate: And all the villagers came and when they saw there was no wolf, there, they really got mad and went home again.  

Allie:  But the next time, there really was a wolf and the little boy cried wolf but nobody came.  And the wolf ate the little boy.  

And the wolf ate the little boy.

As we have noted repeatedly this year, over and over, the Justice Dept and Homeland Security repeatedly lie to US courts.  Non-stop lying.  And you lie to the judge?  You get a reputation -- a bad one.   That reputation is now starting to stick.  AP's Christine Fernando and Sophia Tareen report:


A federal judge in Chicago on Thursday issued an extensive injunction restricting federal agents' use of force, saying Thursday that a top Border Patrol official leading an immigration crackdown repeatedly lied about threats posed by protesters and reporters.

The preliminary injunction came in response to a lawsuit filed by news outlets and protesters who allege federal agents have used excessive force during the operation that has netted more than 3,000 arrests and led to heated clashes across the nation’s third-largest city and its many suburbs.
“I see little reason for the use of force that the federal agents are currently using,” said U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis. “I don’t find defendants’ version of events credible."


And they aren't credible.

Again:  And, the wolf ate the little boy.

That's why you don't lie in court.  You lie once and the judge has no reason to believe you again.  You were under oath and you lied.  That helps a juge decided that they don't "find defendants' version of events credible." 

They brought it on themselves and for this to happen is shameful and embarrassing. 

Chump's war on immigrant is a war on the truth.  John Woodrow Cox (WASHINGTON POST) notes:


An Afghan man who has been detained for nearly four months, despite being charged with no crime, will remain behind bars indefinitely after his asylum case was delayed once again last week.

Though the man has lived in the United States for more than four years and been repeatedly vetted by federal authorities, a Department of Homeland Security attorney announced in court that the government has not finished his background check and could not estimate when it would. Investigators have now asserted he poses a “potential threat” to national security.
At the Friday hearing in Virginia, a frustrated immigration judge acknowledged that, by law, she doesn’t have the option to grant the father of two asylum without a finalized check.

“The department’s going on a fishing expedition trying to dig up whatever they can,” his lawyer, Amin Ganjalizadeh, argued in court.

“I share counsel’s concern,” the judge told the government’s attorney, Joseph Dernbach. “You can’t give me a timeline.”

In what world is that appropriate?  In what world is the government allowed to insist that they cannot provide  timeline.  In other troubling news,  Patrick G. Eddington (MS NOW) reports:


According to stunning reporting by Joseph Cox at 404 Media, federal agents appear to be roaming around Chicago using mobile facial recognition technology, or FRT, on people to determine whether they should be deported.

And according to internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, emails viewed by 404 Media, ICE has been using the Mobile Fortify app, which “can identify someone based on their fingerprints or face by simply pointing a smartphone camera at them.” A spokesperson for Customs and Border Protection confirmed its use of Mobile Fortify to 404 Media, saying, “This is one of many tools we are using as we enforce the laws of our nation.” A DHS spokesperson told MSNBC, "While the Department does not discuss specific vendors or operational tools, any technology used by DHS Components must comply with the requirements and oversight framework."



Let's wind down with this from Senator Adam Schiff's office:

Washington, D.C. — Today, a majority of Senate Republicans voted to block U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.)resolution that would have prevented the administration from using military force against Venezuela without authorization by Congress. The resolution also emphasizes the importance of Congress asserting its power to declare war and the need to avoid getting the United States embroiled in another war.

The resolution fell just two votes short of passage. 

The vote follows at least 16 unauthorized military strikes on unidentified vessels resulting in 67 deaths and military buildup in the region and numerous threats by the administration of attacks on Venezuela. Senators Kaine and Schiff previously forced a vote on their War Powers Act Resolution, which received bipartisan support, to prohibit the unauthorized and illegal strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.  

Watch his full speech HERE. Download remarksHERE. 

Background: Prior to today’s vote, Kaine and Schiff forced a vote on their resolution in early October to reassert Congress’ sole constitutional authority to authorize use of military force. Despite garnering bipartisan support, the vote failed. In light of continued unauthorized boat strikes, Senator Schiff posted his reaction here.  

The Senators’ resolution can be found here. 

Read the transcript of his remarks as delivered below: 

I am proud to join my colleagues Senator Kaine and Senator Paul in introducing this War Powers Resolution that provides that we have not authorized the use of force against Venezuela. We meet at a precarious moment, when we might be at the precipice of war with that country.  

Today, in the Caribbean or on its way to the region are the following military assets:  

Three Arleigh Burke class destroyers: the USS Gravely, Jason Dunham, and Sampson. 

The USS Lake Erie, a Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser 

The USS Newport News, a nuclear attack submarine with torpedoes and Tomahawks. 

The USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship equipped with a flight deck for F-35s, Ospreys, and attack helicopters. 

The MV Ocean Trader, a floating base designed for special operations. 

Reaper drones, Harriet jets, and fifth generation fighters – incredibly lethal aircraft. 

But this is not all. 

The largest aircraft carrier ever built, the USS Gerald R Ford, is on its way right now from the Mediterranean. This means we will see upwards of an additional 2 dozen additional Super Hornets, and 2 dozen additional F-35s. This warship will be accompanied by three additional destroyers, bringing at least 10 of America’s best naval war ships within striking distance of Caracas. 

All told, there will be more than 400 missiles and other vertical launch systems on Nicolás Maduro’s doorstep. One hundred and fifteen Tomahawks alone, with an additional 70 coming with the Ford. Are we supposed to believe this is only about striking speed boats? If so, why will there be ten thousand American servicemembers in the vicinity? Why fly three B-52s from the United States to the region? Why have B-1 supersonic bombers flown off the coast of Venezuela in just the last few weeks for so-called “Bomber Attack Demonstrations?” That’s not my definition of the mission. That’s what the Pentagon called it. Bomber attack demonstrations – for what, to blow up fishing vessels? 

We all need to see that this has quickly become so much bigger, and so much more dangerous. And maybe that was the point. To focus the narrative on drug trafficking, so we don’t recoil from what may be right around the corner with Venezuela, and that is the use of force to achieve the goal of regime change.  

Now, I understand the president this weekend said he was not inclined along those lines. But I urge my colleagues to look at the administration’s actions, and not merely its’ words. Because if it walks like a military buildup and talks like a military buildup – it might very well be a military buildup. 

Two weeks ago, the president said: “We are certainly looking at land now, because we’ve got the sea very well under control.” And now we have the buildup I just described. People may be putting a lot of stock into the President’s most recent words, saying he wouldn’t strike Venezuela when he was on “60 Minutes” on Sunday. 

But when asked if the leader of Venezuela’s days were numbered? He also answered, “Yeah, I think so.” That’s what our Commander in Chief said with the largest warship the United States has, sailing close to Venezuela. If any other world leader moved this kind of firepower to another country’s doorstep, we know what we would believe was taking place. 

And the bottom line is this: Americans do not want another war. They do not want American servicemembers put in harm’s way, either flying missions or with boots on the ground for a war not authorized by Congress. 

Mothers and fathers of American sailors, Marines, soldiers, or pilots, do not want to lay awake at night wondering if their kids will be the ones who have to be deployed to yet another armed conflict, this time in South America. 

Last month, we came to this body with a resolution to end the unlawful strikes that this administration had been taking against boats in international waters. And we came up a few votes short. But while we remain concerned about those ongoing strikes, this debate is about a different resolution. 

This resolution is tailor-written to stop one thing: war with the nation of Venezuela. The administration has not asked Congress to authorize such a war. But the administration appears to be laying the groundwork for one anyway. If they believe a war is necessary, let them come to the Congress to make the case for one. Maduro is a murderous dictator. He is an illegitimate leader having overturned the last election by use of military force. He is a bad actor. 

But I do not believe the American people want to go to war to topple his regime, in the hopes that something better might follow. If the administration feels differently, let them come to the Congress and make the case. Let them come before the American people and make the case. Let them seek an authorization to use force to get rid of Maduro.  

But let us not abdicate our responsibility. Let us vote to say no to war without our approval.  

We do not have to wait, nor should we wait, for that war to begin before we vote. The War Powers Resolution very clearly and intentionally gives Congress the ability to prevent a President from going to war in the first place. 

The legislative history of the War Powers Act makes that abundantly clear. My colleagues might object: well, these aren’t yet hostilities and yet people are already dying. They might object: well, this is not yet imminent. And yet, with the kind of military force being brought to the region with a danger to our sailors, our Marines, our soldiers, as Senator Kaine outlined, because if Venezuela believes that we are on the precipice of war, they have the capability and might take action against our ships. It clearly meets the definition of imminent.  

Our predecessors in Congress designed this law precisely to respond to this very type of military build-up that we see here and act in advance of the U.S. being dragged into another war without Congress’ authorization. 

We in this body serve our constituents, who have told us for years, now for decades. No more war. No more use of military force for regime change. We must reassert our Constitutional power. Our duty to have the sole decision when American lives could be on the line, when war is on the line.  

I share my colleague, Senator Kaine’s concerns, having read the opinion of the Office of Legal Counsel. But regardless of what people view of the merits of that opinion, what we’re talking about here is a wholly another matter. What we’re talking about here is potential war with Venezuela. What we’re talking about here is a massive military and naval build up in the region. When hostilities may be imminent under circumstances clearly contemplated by Congress when it passed the War Powers Resolution. 

I have debated Senator Kaine whether this is our most important power, that is the power to declare war or to refuse to declare war, or whether it is the power of the purse. It may indeed be a bit of both, in the sense that one way of cutting off a military campaign is by cutting off support for that military campaign, but we have already so abdicated our power of the purse in this institution. Should we also abdicate our responsibility to declare war and allow the administration, or any administration, any president, to usurp that authority? It would be antithetical to what the Founders intended and what they wrote.  

As the founders wrote, “The power was given to the legislative branch to declare war, because the power to make war was something that an executive might grow too fond of.” So, the power was given to Congress, to this legislative body. Let’s use that power. Let’s reassert authority. Let’s say, through this resolution, if the president or the administration want to go to war for the purposes of regime change or any other purpose, that it must come to Congress and make the case to us and to the American people.   

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