MCViewPoint

“Interestingly, a footnote in the first sentence did recognize that $2 billion of the $3 billion of Marshall Plan loans made to West Germany was forgiven in 1953, while most other European nations received direct grants rather than loans from the program and therefore didn’t have to worry about repayment.“

“As the report goes on to document, any pre-existing federal commitment to debt repayment began to quickly erode during the George H.W. Bush Administration.“

https://mises.org/power-market/biggest-debate-joke-ukraine-aid-loan-will-be-paid-back

Tho Bishop

Last night’s Republican debate was a farce from beginning to end.

The first laugh line of the evening was Fox Business personality Stuart Varney having a difficult time getting through the name of his co-host Ilia Calderón.

Awkward start for Stuart Varney… #GOPDebate pic.twitter.com/MwSwVJj4Kh— ElectionMuse (@ElectionMuse) September 28, 2023

The debate’s conclusion ended in a similarly awkward moment for the moderators, with candidates rebelling against an attempt to turn the debate into a political game of Survivor. 

Fox News actually tried to get the candidates to play Survivor and write down who they would “vote off the island.”

The candidates looked at Dana Perino like she was an insane person. pic.twitter.com/rL5YD4rrdM— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) September 28, 2023

In between,  the politicians on stage attempted to deliver carefully planned one-liners designed to demonstrate more personality than what comes naturally to them. In particular, while there is plenty to laugh at Mike Pence about, his attempted joke was not one of them.

Mike Pence absolutely bombs with the debate crowd with this joke:

“Look, I do sagree with something Tim Scott just said. Joe Biden does not belong on a picket line. He belongs on the unemployment line.” pic.twitter.com/iXHM5HIddi— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 28, 2023

The most comedic line of the night belonged to South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. Scott, whose ten-year career in the Senate has left him with no argument for his candidacy beyond latent Republican desires for diversity on the ticket, dutifully stood up to defend the increasingly unpopular bipartisan financial aid lawmakers have provided Ukraine. In response to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stating that he would reject further US financial support for the Ukrainian effort, Scott contended that 90% of the assistance is a loan that will be paid off.

Dissension arises over the proper response to the Ukraine war

Tim Scott: 90% of the money we send over there is a loan pic.twitter.com/cWuYTcB3cd— MRCTV (@mrctv) September 28, 2023

It is difficult to know whether or not Senator Scott actually believes this; most of what is said on a political debate stage should not be taken at face value.  Even if we put aside the question of his 90% figure, which is significantly inflated from the percentage of financial aid that is currently considered a loan, a sincere belief that Ukraine will be expected to actually pay back war-time loans shows a disconnect with the way the modern American empire operates.

See the rest here

Be seeing you