Biden Farewell Address Reminiscent Of Eisenhower

President Joe Biden’s Farewell Address was reminiscent of the Farewell Address of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961.

Eisenhower warned of the dangers of the “Military-Industrial Complex”, and his Farewell Address is regarded as one of the three greatest Farewell Addresses, alongside George Washington in 1796 and Jimmy Carter in 1981.

Biden brought up the dangers of the “Tech-Industrial Complex”, referring to billionaire oligarchs, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others, who are having a great impact on Donald Trump, presenting a threat to American democracy.

Biden spoke of the Gilded Age, when millionaires and tycoons such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan and others abused their powers, leading to the Progressive Era age of reform.

The term “Robber Barons” used in the late 19th century and early 20th century, particularly by Theodore Roosevelt, was employed by Joe Biden.

Now, it is Billionaires, not Millionaires, who are the threat to any concept of concern about what is good for the vast majority of Americans. Most of the Cabinet Officers around Trump fit that category.

Biden also cited his accomplishments in office, which like Jimmy Carter, will not be fully appreciated during his lifetime.

Pete Hegseth Character And Fitness Wanting, But Unlikely To Be Rejected As Head Of Pentagon, A Worrisome Scenario!

Pete Hegseth came across as arrogant, cocky, very self assured, in his Senate hearing to be Secretary of Defense. His character and fitness for the position are wanting.

His alcohol problem, his sexual improprieties, and his extremist views about the Pentagon, and the role of woman and racial minorities, should all be factors in his being denied confirmation.

Hegseth is, by far, the least qualified person to be considered to lead the Pentagon, but since Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa, who had been a skeptic, made clear, after being under lobbying pressure, that she would support him, it makes the odds of defeating him very low!

We are in a sad state of affairs when Hegseth is one of a number of Donald Trump nominees who should not be confirmed, but little chance of any success at this point.

Major Accomplishments Of Jimmy Carter Under Attack By Donald Trump!

Jimmy Carter’s funeral briefly united America around the greatness of this President in ways many had forgotten.

Among his multiple achievements that now are under attack by Donald Trump are:

The Panama Canal Treaty, which resolved a basic wrong in the proper way.

The Department of Education, which was separated from its original home, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Major Environmental Accomplishments, the most of any one term President, at least until Joe Biden.

The basic characteristics of Morality, Ethics, Compassion and Decency that Carter represented.

And now, Trump has raised the flag to full staff at Mar a Lago, against the 30 day mourning period for any President who has died, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has ordered the flag in the US Capitol raised for the Trump inauguration, defying the respect due to Carter having been President.

In 1973, Harry Truman had died on December 26, and when Richard Nixon was reinaugurated on January 20, 1973, the flag remained at half staff, but now that respect is being defied!

Los Angeles WildFire Tragedy Worst In American History!

The Los Angeles WildFire Tragedy is clearly the worst natural disaster in American history in the sense of its effect on the citizens of California in numbers, as compared to other natural disasters.

Land and homes, businesses, schools, churches and other structures have been destroyed in massive numbers, and covering an area larger than the cities of San Francisco, Boston and Miami combined, and more than twice the land area of Manhattan.

This is the result of climate change, and a warning of the future, and it is tragic that a natural disaster no one could possibly have planned for has become a political issue in the hands of the Republican Party and Donald Trump.

It is urgent that the Trump Administration recognize the reality of climate change, as it is an existential threat to all mankind!

Trump Cabinet Hearings: Possibility Of Rejection By Some Republican Senators!

With one week until the inauguration of Donald Trump to a second non-consecutive term, the time has arrived for the consideration of the approval or rejection of his Cabinet nominees.

There are so many controversial nominees, and one wonders if there are Republican Senators who are willing to come out against such individuals as:

Pete Hegseth–Secretary of Defense
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.–Secretary of Health and Human Services
Tulsi Gabbard—Director of National Intelligence
Kash Patel—Federal Bureau of Investigation Head

And there are others who are also objectionable on verious grounds, but likely will sail through, but with the above having the likelihood of some being rejected.

Who would be candidates for voting against some or all of these nominees, in order of likelihood:

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski
Utah Senator John Curtis
Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell
Maine Senator Susan Collins
Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy
Iowa Senator Joni Ernst
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis
Oklahoma Senator James Lankford

California WildFire Cataclysm A Massive Tragedy For America!

America is in an existential crisis as a result of the California Wildfire cataclysm that has done horrendous damage to our second largest city, Los Angeles!

It is a result of climate change and yet Republicans and Donald Trump choose to play politics, and clearly refuse to accept the reality of climate change.

Trump and the right wing would prefer instead to blame Governor Gavin Newsom and President Joe Biden and their perceptive environmental policies, and talk about DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) as a contributing factor, degrading women, racial minorities, and gay and transgender people as factors in the disaster, a totally preposterous assertion!

California is about ten percent of America, and has Republicans as well as Democrats, and there is an urgent crisis that requires massive intervention and assistance by the federal government to promote rebuilding for the massive destruction that has become the greatest urban and suburban disaster ever seen in American history.

If Trump and the Republicans play hardball and refuse to face reality, the nation will suffer from an economic downturn of major proportions, with massive suffering of untold experience, with the need to rebuild whole neighborhoods and communities, that have no infrastructure, and no schools, churches, businesses and everything else that makes a community prosper!

With everything else that people fear Donald Trump and the Republicans will do once the inauguration has occurred in 11 days, we are now faced with a catastrophe worsened by evil and hatred.

And this will also undermine our national security and foreign policy, if the worst intentions and motivations of Trump and his party are pursued without concern for their impact on all Americans!

Donald Trump Is A Convicted Felon, First Time In American History!

Donald Trump finally could not completely escape justice, as today, he became a convicted felon in the Hush Money Case involving Stormy Daniels in New York City, including his illegal business dealings, which led to a 34 count conviction.

For all time, Donald Trump will be part of history as a convicted felon, even though he should have been further prosecuted for the January 6 2021 US Capitol Insurrection and the taking of sensitive government documents to his estate at Mar a Lago in Florida.

But Trump was able, by legal maneuvering, to delay and prevent further action on these crucial matters.

But history will show that he was involved in corrupt actions, not only in his business dealings, but also in the Presidential campaigns of 2016 and 2020, leading to convictions for multiple defendants.

It is sad that Trump was able to avoid prison time or any other penalty, due to his being about to take the oath of office as President of the United States once again.

But future generations will know that Trump was easily the most corrupt President in American history, and sadly, may add to that in his new term, although there must be actions to make him accountable over the next four years when he violates his oath of office.

It will be a long four years, and the nation must be ready to face the challenge of the corruption of Donald Trump, and fight tooth and nail within legal boundaries against any further transgressions!

A Sense Of Doom Ahead, After Terrorism In New Orleans And Las Vegas, And Wildfire Tragedy In Los Angeles!

There is a growing sense of doom ahead of us in the year 2025, with the horrendous beginning with the terrorist attack in New Orleans, the explosion of an automobile outside the Trump Hotel in Las Vegas by an active duty soldier who committed suicide, and now the cataclysmic wildfire tragedy in Los Angeles and surrounding communities in Southern California.

It is made worse by Donald Trump, claiming wrongfully that both the New Orleans and Las Vegas incidents were conducted by migrants, illegal aliens, a totally despicable lie, but one that he has not withdrawn.

Also, Trump has blamed President Joe Biden and California Governor Gavin Newsom for the Los Angeles Wildfires tragedy, which is act of nature caused by climate change and global warming, for which Trump has renounced the need for any action, as he asserts it is not real!

In eleven days, the nation is faced by a very unstable, immoral, unethical man returning to the White House, as too many Americans were living in a dream world, forgetting the many horrors of the first Trump Presidency.

The thought of drastic moves on immigration and tariffs, and the pardoning of criminals who attacked the US Capitol four years ago, sets a mood of total despair and a sense of helplessness at what the future of America is going to be, and whether American democracy can remain strong, with the dangers that lie ahead in both domestic and foreign policy!

Jimmy Carter’s funeral today is a sad reminder of the loss of innocence, how much the ethics, morality, and decency of the 39th President, has been wiped away with the ethical lapses of Bill Clinton, the policy lapses of George W. Bush, and the multipled horrors of the Trump Presidency, now returning!

Civil Liberties of Speech And Press Under Attack By Trump!

It is extremely alarming that Donald Trump is mounting an attack on the basic civil liberties of the First Amendment, freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Trump has launched lawsuits against major news organizations, both print and electronic, and major players in social media, including Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook most prominently, are bowing to Trump, and agreeing to stop monitoring the truth level of published material, afraid otherwise of being prosecuted.

And the Washington Post publisher, Jeff Bezos, who is also owner of Amazon, would not allow an endorsement of Kamala Harris by the journalism staff, and the same with the Los Angeles Times.

The most powerful and wealthy oligarchs of technology, including Zuckerberg, Bezos, and Elon Musk, also the three wealthiest billionaires in the world, are sacrificing the freedoms of all of us for their own selfish, and ego centered protection.

So Disinformation is now in, propaganda and lies, rather than truth telling, a very dangerous move toward authoritarianism!

Alarming Trump Press Conference: Signs Of American Imperialism And War Mongering Expansion!

One day after the Electoral College counting in Washington DC that officially confirmed the victory of Donald Trump for the Presidency, Trump has held a press conference at Mar a Lago, and is stirring up elements of imperialism, militarism, and expansionism as his plans after the Presidential Inauguration on January 20.

Trump’s earlier statements and assertions regarding the Panama Canal, Greenland, and Canada were emphasized, making clear his intentions to promote expansion of American territory, in the name of “national security”.

Trump issued what could be considered threats against Panama, with his assertion, wrongfully, that Panama mistreats American ships as compared to other foreign vessels, and making it clear that he believes America should never have agreed to President Jimmy Carter’s pursuit of the Panama Canal treaty a half century ago. He emphasized the financial cost and loss of lives of Americans in building and sustaining that canal over a century. He implied that American military force might be utilized.

Trump also made it clear, that in his mind, Greenland is essential for American national security, and seems ready to use pressure on NATO ally Denmark to agree to allow America gaining control of that vast area of land, no matter how Denmark may feel about the matter, including possible use of military force. Greenland is the largest island in the world, at 836,000 square miles, which if added to the total area of the US (3 million, 532 thousand square miles), would make America have a total of 4 million 368 thousand square miles), putting America ahead of Canada and China, and only behind Russia in land area. Of course, if Canada, crazily were to become part of the US, the total land area would be 7 million 879 thousand square miles, putting the US first, ahead of Russia with 6 million 323 thousand square miles.

Trump said economic pressure might be brought on Canada, as he pursues the mission of making Canada the 51st state, a totally crazy idea, undermining the close relationship of our northern neighbor and the stability of the boundary line, which has been stable since the early 19th century by treaties. It is the longest border between two nations, at 5,525 miles long, including both the border with the mainland United States, and also with the state of Alaska.

And to top it off, Trump stated that the Gulf of Mexico should be renamed the Gulf of America, therefore creating an issue with our southern neighbor, that we share a boundary of 1,954 miles.

Trump’s threat to wage tariff increases against both Canada and Mexico are bound to undermine relations with both of our neighbors, and will cause vast inflation if allowed to be pursued.

We are faced with a person who could be considered a “madman”, who could be a danger both to America and world stability, particularly with our neighbors in the hemisphere, and with our NATO allies, which include Denmark!