Well, howdy there, Internet people, it spell again.

So today, we're going to talk about Congress missing its chance to curtail Trump.

Congress missed what may have been the last chance to stop serious escalations in Trump's

bizarre and incoherent campaign against Venezuela.

The effort to curtail Trump's campaign against the boats and stopped a slow roll into a potential

military quagmire in Venezuela, failed by a vote of 210 to 216. The measure would have prohibited strikes against designated

organizations in the Western Hemisphere without congressional approval. A measure that was more

specifically tailored to prevent escalation against or within Venezuela also failed by an even slimmer margin.

That vote was 211 to 213. Gregory Meeks of New York, who is the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, quote,

these strikes have not been authorized by Congress, and the administration has not

sought congressional authorization to use lethal military force to address alleged criminal activity.

This discussion is occurring against the backdrop of wider belief that the U.S. may have violated the law of war

during the September 2nd strikes. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut recently said,

quote, I think there are serious questions about criminal culpability here, and there is certainly a need for more intensive

federal investigation. Beyond the designations and measures, congressional discussion seemed

almost completely detached from the actual events occurring in American foreign policy. At one point, a Republican arguing against

curtailing Trump, said, quote, this resolution is preemptive surrender. Russia delivers

nukes there. President can't respond. Once you walk off Capitol Hill, most people who watch foreign policy understand that Trump

has been actively trying to surrender Western interests to Putin for months. Ukraine just won't

go along with his plans. While Trump talks about oil, land, regime change, and military conflict that has no

clearly defined metrics for victory. The only person on the Republican side of the aisle

supportive of Trump's potential war that seems to be speaking plainly about what's happening

...