Month: October 2018

The Attack On Birthright Citizenship And The 14th Amendment By Donald Trump, Mike Pence, And Lindsey Graham

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Donald Trump has opened up a new area of attack on constitutional law, claiming that he can, by executive order, end birthright citizenship for infants born of undocumented immigrants, bypassing the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of citizenship for all born in the United States in 1868, exactly 150 years ago.

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, for once, is correct when he says that is not possible legally, as executive orders cannot end what is in the Constitution or its amendments.

It is also a fact, despite some, like Vice President Mike Pence, and South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham who claim otherwise, that legislation by Congress also cannot end what is in the Constitution or the amendments.

The only way to change what is in the Constitution or its 27 amendments is by another constitutional amendment, as occurred when the 18th Amendment banning liquor (Prohibition) was passed in 1919 and fourteen years later, with much discontent, the amendment was repealed by the 21st Amendment, the only way Prohibition would ever have ended.

If it was that easy to change what is in the Constitution or its amendments, then there would be a move to end the Electoral College, but that will never happen legally unless an amendment is passed by two thirds of each of the two houses of Congress, and three fourths of the states’ legislatures (38 out of 50).

The idea that Lindsey Graham is suddenly a great friend of Donald Trump, after the way that Trump trashed his good friend, the late Arizona Senator John McCain, is infuriating. One can be certain that McCain would fight this idea that Trump has suggested that he has the authority, all on his own, to destroy the language of the 14th Amendment. It is certain that McCain would be angry at Graham for his changed behavior, and it makes one wonder what is going on in Graham’s disturbed mind that he does not know the basic reality of constitutional law.

Of course, those on the Right would say the Supreme Court could justify what Trump wishes to do, and in theory, a lawless Court, which has already made decisions clearly and purely political in the last ten years, could by a 5-4 vote, including compromised Justice Brett Kavanaugh, do such. But it is hard to imagine that Chief Justice John Roberts would wish to be part of a majority that would undermine his reputation and that of his Court in the long run of history.

If such a disgrace were to happen, the Supreme Court would lose its credibility for all time, and would be helping Donald Trump to destroy our democracy, and impose an authoritarian dictatorship on our nation.

There is absolutely no moral or ethical way that this could happen, and be allowed to stand!

And also, the thought that an infant would not have the opportunity for a good life in America, simply because his or her parents were not documented at the time of his or her birth, is to deny the whole point of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, and the reality that tens of millions of immigrants, and not all legal, with many “slipping in” through our borders and not realized what they had done, contributed to our nation’s greatness.

Think of the refugees from Cuba and Vietnam who came to a nation welcoming them from their personal tragedies in the past half century, and think of the refugees who came from all over the world over two centuries to a nation that gave them a chance to succeed and prosper, and benefit all of the American people!

Midwest Governorships (Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa) All May Go Democratic In 2018, Affecting Future Reapportionment In States And Congress

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With six days to go to the Midterm Elections of 2018, it seems more likely than not that the crucial area of the Midwest will see a tidal wave of Democratic Governorships.

Minnesota is already Democratic controlled in the Governorship, and will likely remain so.

The states of Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa all are tending Democratic, with a victory over Scott Walker in Wisconsin the most heralded election of them all, if it occurs.

If all or most of these states go Democratic in the Governorship races, reapportionment of the state legislatures and the US House of Representatives after the 2020 Census will be under control of Democrats, unlike what happened in 2010 after the last census.

Such victories by Democrats could also have an impact on the Presidential Election of 2020, as it would boost the chances of the leading Midwesterner who might seek the White House, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, part of the tradition of Hubert Humphrey, Eugene McCarthy, Walter Mondale, and Paul Wellstone. Being from a state that borders on Iowa and its first in the nation caucuses in 2020 is an advantage for Klobuchar.

Another possible gainer would be Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, and both Klobuchar and Brown would have an edge on gaining the white working class support in their section that fell short for Hillary Clinton, and helped Donald Trump to win the Electoral College in 2016.

So watching the Midwest this next Tuesday night and Wednesday will be a center of attention, and also include Congressional districts that are likely to flip Democratic in these states.

The Possibility Of Two African American Governors In Neighboring Southern States–Florida (Andrew Gillum), Georgia (Stacey Abrams)

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The possibility is growing, with one week to the midterm elections of 2018, that we may be witnessing an event no one would have thought possible at any point in American politics.

That would be the election of two African American Governors in the South, but that now seems more likely than before.

Florida is on the verge of electing Andrew Gillum its first male African American Governor, and Georgia is on the verge of electing Stacey Abrams its first, and the nation’s first, female African American Governor.

The more likely choice to win is Gillum, since Abrams’ opponent in Georgia, Brian Kemp, is the state’s Secretary of State, and has the ability to control the voting rolls, and has rejected adding 70,000 voters, most of them African American, to the voting rolls for no good reason.

Former President Jimmy Carter has asked that Kemp do the right thing and resign as Secretary of State, as he would be giving up that job after the election whether he wins or loses the Governorship, but Kemp has refused.

That election could have a second round runoff as in Georgia, one is required to win a majority of all votes cast, and there is a third independent candidate on the ballot, which may prevent any candidate from reaching 50 percent plus one.

In Florida, Ron DeSantis, the Republican opponent of Gillum, is running a nasty and racist race, making him look even more evil than outgoing Governor Rick Scott, who is trying to win the Senate seat of Bill Nelson.

It will be down to the wire in both races, and in the Florida Senate race, and hopefully, the Democrats will manage to win all three, but it is hard to be totally confident at this point.

The Growing Danger Of Further AntiSemitic Attacks In America, Precipitated By The Right Wing White Supremacists And Religious Extremists

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America is in a major crisis, now clearly the worst domestically in a half century, and the growing danger of further attacks on American Jews is alarming.

We have a President who consorts with white supremacists, and overlooks their antisemitic acts and utterances.

And there are right wing religious extremists, whose goal is to convert American Jews to their warped brand of Christianity.

The hatred that the Pittsburgh Massacre assassin possessed was encouraged by the hate filled websites on the internet, fueled further by the refusal of Donald Trump to hold many of his followers accountable for their hatred, and his actual encouragement of violence against the media, which he calls “the enemy of the people”, because they have the nerve to hold him responsible for his words and actions.

Face it, Donald Trump is a pure right wing demagogue who hates our democracy, and would love to persecute any minority and any individual which stands in his way of wanting absolute power.

There is no truce possible when a President, unlike any in American history, has declared war on our institutions and our traditions, so no one who feels Donald Trump is a menace can sit on the sidelines and just figure the future is preordained, as it most certainly is not so.

Resistance and opposition must continue for the preservation of the traditions and institutions of America to survive into the long term future.

We have not come through the trials of the Civil War, the Great Depression, and the Cold War to allow any mentally unhinged person to take away our future!

The Most Tumultuous Of Many Weeks Under The Presidency Of Donald Trump

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Donald Trump has been President for 92 weeks–one year nine months and one week—and each week has been one of tumult and turmoil, with the situation becoming more dire by the week.

But sadly, this past week has been the absolute worst, with the mail bomb threats against two former Presidents and their wives, and many other top Democratic leaders, as well as other key public figures and CNN; and then the worst attack of antisemitism in all of American history in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, leading to the death of 11 Jews and wounding of six other people, including four police officers.

The divisive rhetoric of Donald Trump, constant insults and name calling, which incites right wing extremists, is getting worse as the Midterm Elections of 2018 come upon us in nine days.

There is fear that it might have an effect on the elections, and in the wrong direction, rather than the need for a repudiation of Donald Trump and his behavior and divisiveness.

The thought that some are expressing, that it will lead to the continuation of Republican control and embolden Trump further toward authoritarian actions is enough to cause any decent, fair minded person, a lot of stress.

One has to believe that justice, equity, fair play will triumph, but we will not know until after November 6.

The Facts About Barack Obama’s Achievements On The Economy , Corruption, And Health Care, As Compared To Donald Trump’s Record

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With the Midterm Elections of 2018 only ten days away, we are now in the season of lying about Barack Obama’s record by Republicans, who act as if the 44th President accomplished nothing while in office, and was an abject failure.

Somehow, the experts see it differently, as the C Span Poll of Historians in 2017 put Obama 12th of all Presidents, and the American Political Science Association poll of 2018 puts Obama as 8th among all Presidents.

Obama brought about the greatest economic revival from a economic collapse in US History, far better than Franklin D. Roosevelt and the ending of the Great Depression, only brought about ultimate entrance into World War II, while Obama brought about an end to the Great Recession without a major war. The stock market nearly tripled under him, and the unemployment rate went from 10 percent when George W. Bush left, to under 5 percent when Obama left office. But Donald Trump tries to claim that magic took place when he came into office, and that the present booming economy is all his doing, ignoring the recovery under his predecessor. It is clear that the economy’s improvement would have been much the same under Hillary Clinton had she won the Electoral College and become our President.

There was no corruption under Barack Obama of note, and no one was indicted or convicted, while the record of the George W. Bush administration had quite a lot of corruption, but already Donald Trump has seen more corruption in less than two years than Bush had in eight years. Trump’s cabinet and other advisers have demonstrated more corruption than any in American history. and so many people have been indicted or pleading guilty in the probe on Russian collusion.

Obama also promoted the protection of preexisting conditions under the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare, which the Republicans have tried to destroy 70 times, although now all candidates for reelection are claiming otherwise, but a pure lie. Donald Trump has no concern about health care, and instead brags about the massive tax cut to the wealthy, which is leading to Republicans claiming that not only must ObamaCare be repealed, but also there is a need for massive cuts in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.

Trump supporters who believe any of the propaganda coming from Trump and Republicans running for reelection, are truly delusional, and fail to understand that the facts are very different from the myths being perpetrated by Republicans who hope to keep control of Congress after the elections in less than two weeks.

Trump, Republicans, Out To Destroy ObamaCare, Suddenly Lie And Deceive Gullible Voters, That They Wish To Preserve Preexisting Condition Coverage!

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Donald Trump and the Republican Party have reached such a low in so many ways in the past two years, but now they are going even lower.

They are clearly lying “through their teeth”, openly on camera, and denying that they have been out to destroy the Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare, from the day that it became law in March 2010.

They have tried in Congress a total of 70 times to repeal the law, including the provision for coverage of preexisting conditions, and they have been willing to take away health care from 30 million Americans.

Their Governors, including Scott Walker of Wisconsin, running for a third term, and Rick Scott, leaving the Florida Governorship after two terms, but trying to win a Senate seat, have openly lied and denied that they have worked to deny their own constituents basic health care, including expansion of Medicaid.

To see them and members of Congress look in the camera and argue with reporters that they are wrong in stating that they opposed coverage for preexisting conditions is mind blowing, as they are lying incessantly, and expecting gullible and ill informed voters to believe them.

Health care has become the number one issue for millions of Americans, and they know that the Republican Party has worked to take away health care, and that should be the decisive issue in pushing the Republicans toward loss of the House of Representatives, and many state governorships.

And since Martha McSally, Congresswoman in Arizona, trying to win the open Senate seat; and Senators Dean Heller of Nevada and Ted Cruz of Texas; and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, trying to win the open Senate seat, all voted to destroy ObamaCare, it can be hoped that maybe, just maybe, that issue will defeat some or all four of them, and allow the Democrats, hopefully, to win a majority of the US Senate.

Domestic Terrorist Bomb Threats Against News Media, Democratic Presidents And Others Caused By Donald Trump Rhetoric

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Donald Trump is guilty of promoting domestic terrorism against the News Media, past Democratic Presidents, and others, through his reckless use of incendiary rhetoric, which encourages unstable followers to commit violence.

We are under danger as a nation from a person or persons who wish to commit political assassination.

And last night, Trump continued to attack the news media and his critics, making fun of the need to be careful in his rhetoric, and then unleashing more of his condemnation of his critics. And this morning, Trump is calling the reports of threats as “Fake News”.

All law enforcement agencies are on alert and doing the work needed to uncover who the culprit is in the domestic bomb threats against George Soros, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe Biden, John Brennan, Eric Holder, Maxine Waters, Robert DeNiro, and CNN, with fear that more such bomb threats are to be found, and hoping that no one will be a victim of these bomb threats.

When Americans have to face this threat, and realize that our President makes light of it, and that most Republicans and conservative talk radio and Fox News nighttime hosts make it out that the Left is as dangerous as the Right, one perceives that our division is indeed the greatest since the Civil War.

The nightmare we are living through must somehow come out with a calm and a determination that those of us on the Left will not provoke violence, and that somehow, this crisis will pass.

But with the midterm elections now 12 days away, and hints that Trump will claim fraud if the Democrats make major strides toward a majority, at least in the House of Representatives, one has to wonder what the days after November 6 will be like.

Will law enforcement and the intelligence agencies make Donald Trump and his followers accountable and intervene if needed to keep our democracy alive, if Trump decides to assert martial law and suspend the Constitution?

This is a very scary time to live in America, but we cannot allow the destruction of our democracy!

Midterm Election History In First Presidential Midterms Since 1946, And Likelihood Of Results Of Midterm Elections In 2018

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With the Midterm Elections of 2018 upon us in less than two weeks, it is time to analyze midterm election results in the first such elections after a new President has come to office, starting with Harry Truman in 1946 and all the way through to Barack Obama in 2010.

We are discussing 12 Presidents and how they were factors in the midterm elections which followed their entering the Presidency.

Six of the 12 Presidents entered that first midterm election with their popularity in public opinion polls under 50 percent—with the order of lack of popularity being lowest to highest the following—Truman, Reagan, Lyndon B. Johnson, Obama, Clinton, and Carter. Notice this list is all Democrats except for Reagan.

The other six Presidents were above 50 percent popularity at the time of the first midterm elections–from the highest to the lowest being George W. Bush, Kennedy, Eisenhower, George H. W. Bush, Nixon, Ford. Notice this list is all Republicans except for Kennedy.

The record shows that only George W. Bush and Kennedy saw the best results, with Bush seeing a gain of 8 House seats and 1 Senate seat, in the year after September 11, and Kennedy losing 4 House seats but gaining 2 Senate seats in the weeks after the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

And George H. W. Bush, Nixon, and Eisenhower midterms showed respectively 8 House seats and 1 Senate seat lost; 12 House Seats lost and 1 Senate seat gained; and 18 House seats and 1 Senate seat lost.

Only Ford, three months after taking over the Presidency, and with still a high public opinion rating of 54 percent, but the Nixon Watergate Scandal still reverberating with Ford’s pardon of Nixon, do we see a major loss of 48 House seats and 4 Senate seats lost.

Meanwhile, those six Presidents with a lower than 50 percent public opinion poll rating at the first midterm of their Presidency saw a much greater loss, with Carter having the smallest loss, 15 House seats and 3 Senate seats lost with a 49 percent rating.

Reagan, with a 42 percent rating, lowest except for Truman, saw a loss of 26 House seats but one Senate seat gained.

The other four Presidents—Johnson, Clinton, Truman, Obama—suffered far worse losses—with Johnson losing 48 House seats and losing 4 Senate seats, the same as Ford, who had ten points higher public opinion rating of 54 percent to LBJ’s 44 percent.

Clinton, Truman, and Obama, all Democrats,lost massively in seats in both houses of Congress—Clinton losing 54 House seats and losing 8 Senate seats; Truman losing 55 House seats and losing 12 Senate seats; and Obama losing 63 House seats and losing 6 Senate seats.

What all this leads to is the strong belief that Donald Trump, with 47 percent approval rating most recently, will see a major loss of House seats for sure, and the guess at this time, after much reflection, is that it will be between 40-45 seats. In the Senate, with the great Republican advantage in only having 9 seats open for election, and the Senate having a 51-49 Republican margin, the odds of the Democrats holding on to their seats and gaining two or more of the nine contested Republican seats would seem to lead likely to a 50-50 tie, meaning a one seat Democratic gain, but still a Republican controlled Senate at 50-50, whereby Vice President Mike Pence will still organize the Senate for the next two years. This so unless there is a move by Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who voted against Brett Kavanaugh, and has been attacked by her state’s Republican party leadership, to switch to Independent or Democratic support, and giving the Senate to the Democrats.

The Governorships generally follow Congressional results, and are extremely important for reapportionment of state legislative districts and US House districts after the Census 2020 population figures are tabulated, so having more Governors of one party over the other are crucial. At this point, it would seem likely that the Democrats will gain from 16 present Governorships by 10-11, and have 26-27 Chief Executives of states.

So overall, a Democratic gain to a majority of House seats to about 235-240 and 26-27 Governorships, but likely a tied 50-50 Senate, putting the results worse for Trump than for Reagan in the House and Senate, but not as bad as for Ford among Republican Presidents.

Donald Trump Stokes Fear, Prejudice, Insecurity, And Lies To Promote Republican Hopes To Keep Congress: Time For Public Reaction Of Repudiation

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Donald Trump is attempting demagoguery in his hope to keep the Republicans in control of Congress.

He is telling us that the Central American migrant caravan of women, children, the elderly, the disabled, and some men, walking thousands of miles looking for a better life, and escaping violence, poverty, and dangerous gangs in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, is actually a bunch of criminals, terrorists, and drug promoters, and includes dangerous Middle Eastern type people.

He is telling us that transgender people are a threat to our society, and wants to clamp down on basic civil rights of people that are treated as if they are not human beings, by so called “good Christians”, who are actually biased, prejudiced, and corrupt right wing evangelicals who do not follow the teachings of Jesus Christ.

He is telling us that he is insisting that we pursue a new nuclear weapons buildup, since he is ripping up the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty signed by the Republican President Ronald Reagan with Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev in 1987, even though Reagan is seen by the GOP as a icon.

He is telling us that we are going to see a quick tax cut for the middle class very soon, even though Congress is not in session, and will not be doing any such thing, but is simply a tactic to fool stupid Trump followers who might suddenly be realizing that Trump and the Republican Party are out to take away coverage for pre-existing conditions in health care. They might also realize that the Republican Party is out to destroy Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, if given control of both houses of Congress once again by voters who have no sense of reality.

Donald Trump lies incessantly, and stokes fear, prejudice, and insecurity, and it is past time for the American people to react with a smashing rejection of everything Trump and his party represent, as they have undermined any sense of civility. Instead, they tell us that there are riots in California provoked by Democrats, but no sign of such violence, all just in Trump’s diseased mind.

Trump’s racism, nativism, Islamophobia, homophobia, promotion of fear, and refusal to speak one iota of truth all call for total repudiation two weeks from now.