Month: May 2020

Donald Trump More Desperate By The Day, As Every Poll Shows Him Losing Massively!

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Public Opinion Polls have been amazingly consistent in 2020, with even Fox News Channel Polls showing Donald Trump losing badly.

His horrific reaction to the CoronaVirus Pandemic is sealing his fate, if there was ever any doubt.

It is not that Joe Biden is a perfect candidate, but he is the alternative, and his empathy, compassion, authenticity and decency shine through, and always has.

Donald Trump is the new Herbert Hoover, without his intelligence, ability, and life accomplishments.

But the Pandemic and the highest unemployment rate since Hoover left office 87 years ago insure a major repudiation of the 45th President!

Donald Trump Botched His Last Attempt To Show Concern For The American People, In His Atrocious Reaction To Covid-19 Pandemic!

Ronald 28 Comments

Donald Trump, the extreme narcissist, and mentally very unstable, and more dangerous every day for the nation, botched his last attempt to show concern and empathy for the American people, by his atrocious reaction to the CoronaVirus Pandemic!

Any chance he had to redeem himself to the American people and his historic reputation is lost, as he has refused to promote contact tracing or testing, and is very willing to accept mass loss of life without any guilt or conscience!

All that matters to Donald Trump is to be reelected, with the thought that if somehow, through foreign collusion, voter suppression, or gerrymandering combination, he is reelected, the nightmare we are living through will become much worse!

This is not just about massive loss of life, but also the abuse of power by a reenergized President who will go further in destroying the Constitution and Bill of Rights, setting up a Fascist dictatorship that his Republican Party will abide by. This will be instead of promoting the principles enunciated by Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and other historic Republicans of principle and common decency over the 166 years of the party’s history!

Once we lose our basic civil liberties and civil rights, how can we ever regain them? How can we protect the vulnerable among us, including the disabled, the elderly, the young, and racial and ethnic minorities, which will suffer more than the general population?

That is why, as stated in my History News Network article of April 29, the Election of 2020 is the most significant one since 1940, in that our whole way of life is in danger, as it was in the four previous elections discussed in the article—1860, 1864, 1932, and 1940!

Donald Trump, The President Of Death, Willing To Sacrifice Lives For Economic Greed!

Ronald 2 Comments

President Donald Trump is clearly the President of Death, willing to sacrifice lives for economic greed!

By demonstrating no empathy or compassion for the 78,000 victims so far of the CoronaVirus Pandemic, he will be condemned in history!

By not appreciating and saluting the medical personnel who are sacrificing their safety, and in numerous cases have died doing their job, he will be condemned in history!

By encouraging people not to wear face masks and take other precautions, he has made the life of many state governors more difficult, as they face crazy, anti quarantining demonstrators who have no concern for human life, except for their own lives, and for this he will be condemned in history!

By acting as if the virus would not affect his own supporters, as well as his critics, and even the White House staff, including those who work around him, including Secret Service agents, he will be condemned in history!

The fact that the virus has become a problem in the White House may be a sign of Karma coming for Donald Trump and his family, and for Vice President Mike Pence and his family, as their refusal to take precautions and wear face masks to set an example for their followers’ health and safety, makes them complicit in what might happen, and for this Donald Trump will be condemned in history!

Donald Trump has no concern for people in nursing homes, in prisons, in public housing, in meat packing plants, or agricultural labor, as to him, they are all lowlifes, and he has no concern for human life, just his own aggrandizement!

At a moment of great crisis, one of the worst moments in American history, Donald Trump has proven he is a total failure, and he just might become one of the victims of his own mismanagement!

If that were to transpire, we would have a nation in which a large percentage, certainly a majority, would not mourn his passing!

75th Anniversary Of VE Day, And 136th Birthday Of President Harry Truman

Ronald 12 Comments

Seventy five years ago today, the nightmare of World War II in Europe came to an end with the surrender of Nazi Germany, although the war against Japan continued for four more months until VJ Day on September 2, 1945.

President Harry Truman was in office only 26 days, and VE Day happened to be his 61st Birthday, so today we celebrate a humble man, who met the challenge of ending the war against Japan, and coping with the Cold War threat of the Soviet Union.

The only President since 1900 not to have attended or graduated college, still Harry Truman was a learned man, as he was a reader and interested in gaining knowledge. Unlike Donald Trump, who hates to read and has displayed evidence that he has no knowledge to speak of on any topic imaginable, including as a few: History, Science, Medicine, Math, Spelling, Economics, Foreign Policy, The Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and common decency, empathy, compassion, and humanity!

Truman came in at a difficult time, with the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945, and was a bit overwhelmed, but met the challenge, and demonstrated courage, guts, decisiveness, and principle.

One can be sure that if Harry Truman were alive, he would have choice curse words for the only other President who shares the first four letters of his last name.

Truman ranks as 5th or 6th in rankings of Presidents, while Trump is assured last place for the eternity, below James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson!

May 7, 1945 And May 7, 2020: The End Of One Crisis And The Growth Of The Worst Threat In 75 Years!

Ronald 18 Comments

Seventy five years ago, World War II in Europe ended with the German surrender, although it was not officially announced to the world until the next day, which, coincidentally, was new President Harry Truman’s 61st birthday, only in office for 26 days, upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 12, 1945.

It is true that the war against Japan did not end until after the atomic bomb was used in August 1945, with surrender of Japan on September 2, 1945. But the dire threat of Adolf Hitler was over on May 7, 1945.

Now, 75 years later, America is in the worst crisis since World War II, with 33 million people out of 155 million employed before the CoronaVirus Pandemic hit, now unemployed, and many losing their homes, having no food to eat, many in mortal health danger, and we have a President and administration sitting by and doing nothing, only interested in reelection.

And on this day, 75,000 Americans have died in about two months, more than the Vietnam War or the Korean War, and each day now, about as many are died on Pearl Harbor Day (December 7, 1941) or September 11, 2001!

Trump and his cronies in the Republican Party seem to live in an alternate world, where one can kick around the population and yet think they are going to be given power again, to do ever more damage to the American people.

The only way that Trump can be reelected is by foreign government collusion; state governments who promote illegal gerrymandering; and state government purging the voter rolls, promoting voter suppression by other tactics, including fewer voting locations and dates, and denying felons who have completed their debt to society the right to vote as in Florida and a few other states.

The Republicans know that they cannot win honestly, and that the future of their party is dim, but they will engage in any form of corruption to promote nativism, racism, Islamophobia, and gay bashing.

The Democrats have a massive job on their hands to insure a truly fair election, including voting by mail for those who wish to use that method of voting, for any reason!

A Reverse War On Poverty: Senior Citizen Communities, Working Class In Factories, Urban Concentrations, Prisons, And Health Care Workers–“Dispensable” Populations In Trump’s America

Ronald 15 Comments

It is now clear that those who are suffering the most in this CoronaVirus Pandemic are the powerless:

Senior Citizens in Assisted Living Facilities and Nursing Homes

Working class people, many of them immigrants, working in meat plants or others working in assembly line type jobs

Poor people living in urban concentrations of housing

People in prisons, both staff and prisoners

Those directly engaged in health care

These groups are the front line of the assault by the CoronaVirus Pandemic, in Trump’s America!

He and his governing class, and the wealthy and upper middle class are, to a great extent, unaffected by this health crisis.

And Trump has the nerve to wish to cut taxes on the elite, while wanting to deny assistance to state and local governments, particularly in the major concentration of population states, many but not all so called “Blue States”.

This must be fought bitterly, as it is a declaration of war by Donald Trump on the American people, for the benefit of the aristocracy that has grown by leaps and bounds, and has no issue with Donald Trump’s lack of humanity and concern for his fellow Americans!

50 Years Since Kent State Massacre, And Now Open Carrying Of Firearms On Government Property In Michigan–Both Outrageous!

Ronald 16 Comments

Yesterday, May 4, was the 50th anniversary of the horrific massacre at Kent State University in Ohio, where the National Guard fired live ammunition at anti Vietnam War demonstrators, killing 4 and wounding 10 students.

Many of the victims had not even been engaged in the rock throwing demonstration, but there has never been any justification for using live ammunition against students.

The Ohio Governor, James Rhodes, and the individual National Guardsmen were never held accountable legally.

Now, we have a situation in which gun toting Trumpites stormed the Michigan Legislature to protest the lockdown ordered by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, in reaction to the CoronaVirus Pandemic, which is still surging in that state.

Apparently, it is legal for people in Michigan to come into government buildings with firearms, and that should be changed.

Are we going to allow hoodlums to invade government buildings and terrorize government officials doing their duty to protect citizens from a pandemic?

Rightfully, the law enforcement authorities should have prevented the invasion, and ordered everyone out, and if they did not comply , then use force against those who have firearms.

One can be certain that if the gun toting terrorists had been African American or Latino, they would likely have been shot dead.

This is another example of the ongoing racism going on in America, and the growth of Fascist Trumpite followers, who endanger public safety!

The Alternative Vice Presidential Choices For Joe Biden, And The Likely 47th President In The Future

Ronald 5 Comments

Former Vice President Joe Biden has formed a committee to consider 12 Vice Presidential potential choices, apparently all women, based on his pledge to select a female running mate.

While the list has not been made public, it would seem clear, subject to a surprise of course, that there would be five women at the top of the list.

They would include

Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota

Senator Kamala Harris of California

Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan

Former Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams of Georgia

Harris and Abrams are of minority background, with Harris having both Jamaican and Indian ancestry, so therefore multiracial from African and Asian heritage, while Abrams is African American.

So the question arises as to who would be the best choice to be Vice President, and potentially become the 47th President if Joe Biden is unable to finish his term as the 46th President.

The view of this blogger is that two choices should be eliminated immediately, not because they are not good people, but for other reasons.

The first is Elizabeth Warren, due to her age, only six and a half years younger than Joe Biden, making for the oldest Presidential ticket in American history, not a good idea. Also, the likelihood is that the Democrats could, at least temporarily, lose a Senate seat, with a Republican governor in Massachusetts, able to make an appointment, as occurred in 2009 when Scott Brown was appointed to replace Ted Kennedy, upon his death. The Democrats cannot afford to lose a seat in a state with a Republican Governor.

The second is Stacey Abrams, who simply does not have the experience to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency. It is true that the Georgia gubernatorial race of 2018 was corrupt, and that Abrams might have been the person who should have been inaugurated.

But that is theory, not reality, and then there is the issue that if Abrams had now been Governor of Georgia, with the CoronaVirus Pandemic raging, should a governor in the midst of the crisis be running for Vice President, and the answer is no!

This also brings Gretchen Whitmer under question, as she is Governor of a state, Michigan, which has had much more severe problems with the CoronaVirus Pandemic than even Georgia. Should she be taking on the campaign for Vice President when Michigan is in crisis?

She is already highly controversial, with the strong reaction in her state by some against her restrictions and quarantine she has imposed, rightfully, but still highly divisive. She served as Minority Leader of the State Senate, after first serving in the Michigan House, so has a similar background as Abrams, with a major difference being that she was successfully elected Governor in 2018.

Both Abrams and Whitmer lack long range national experience, and one wonders if a Governor is the best fit.

And for the Democrats, the Vice Presidential choice for a Presidential campaign has always been a member of the US Senate, except in 1972 and 1984, and both years, the Democrats lost 49 states!

So we come down to two choices—Kamala Harris and Amy Klobuchar.

Harris is 56 and Klobuchar is 60, and Harris’s seat in California is safely Democratic, as is Klobuchar’s seat in Minnesota, with both states having Democratic Governors who would appoint a Democrat to the seat, not true in Massachusetts.

The one advantage of Klobuchar is that she is from the Midwest, a battleground area, while California is insured to be Democratic.

Either one would be a fine choice to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, and possibly become the 47th President of the United States!

The Potential Of Justin Amash To “Mess Up” The 2020 Presidential Election Is High

Ronald 33 Comments

Michigan Congressman Justin Amash, elected as a Tea Party Congressman in the Republican “wave” of 2010, went on to a ten year career, including heading the “Liberty Caucus” and being a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, an extreme right wing group that warred against Speaker John Boehner and his successor, Paul Ryan.

Amash went on to vote for the impeachment of Donald Trump in 2019, and to leave the Republican Party, and now he is an announced candidate for the Libertarian Party Presidential nomination.

Considering that Gary Johnson, the Libertarian Party nominee received about 3.3 percent of the popular vote and 4.5 million votes in 2016, it is a concern whether Amash could perform at the same level in 2020, and whether it would harm Donald Trump or Joe Biden in the election.

Amash is complicated, as he supports the following that could bring over disaffected Democrats who wanted Bernie Sanders:

He voted against religious institutions being eligible for FEMA grants.

He supported gay marriage being left alone after the Supreme Court ruled in favor in 2015.

He has stated his opposition to political gerrymandering.

He voted against the reauthorization of the Patriot Act in 2011.

He voted against the Trump executive order banning migrating of people from seven majority Muslim nations.

He has stated his support of transgender American rights.

He has opposed building a Mexico Wall.

He has refused to support Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) without agreement that there have been abuses that need to be addressed, while believing in the basic mission of ICE.

He has opposed US support of Saudi Arabia in its war against Yemen.

He has voted against any war against Iran by executive decision, only if Congress agreed by majority vote of both houses of Congress.

And of course, he has been a consistent critic of Donald Trump from the beginning.

So, while Amash is a big Trump critic, he could get disaffected Democrats who are not thrilled with Joe Biden, to vote for him, and that could be a decisive factor in his home state of Michigan and other “swing’ states!

The House Of Representatives Likely To Be More “Blue” In 117th Congress

Ronald 3 Comments

Six months out, it seems highly likely that the House of Representatives, which turned Democratic in the 2018 midterm elections, will be more heavily “Blue”.

The present House balance is 233 Democrats to 196 Republicans, and Independent Justin Amash of Michigan, who left the Republican Party in 2019, and voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump.

There are, presently, six vacant House seats, but four of them being filled soon, and the likelihood is that the two Democratic seats and two Republican seats will remain the same. Two other Republican seats have a vacancy that will not be filled until the November 2020 election.

But if one counts all six vacant House seats, the real balance is 235 Democrats and 200 Republicans, as Justin Amash is leaving Congress as the only Libertarian member. So effectively, the balance is what it was after Election Day in November 2018. Republicans would need a net gain of 18 seats to come back to the majority, and no polls show that happening.

More women and minorities were elected as Democrats than ever before in the House of Representatives, while the Republicans remain mostly white men.

There were big gains, a total of 41 new members of the Democratic majority, and California, the largest delegation, dropped to only 7 Republicans.

The Democrats had their biggest victory since 1974, and won the popular vote by 8.6 percent, an all time high for a party that had been in the minority previously. More than half the population voted, the highest percentage in a midterm election since 1914.

Besides California’s loss of 7 Republican seat, the following states lost multiple GOP seats:

Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Texas–2 seats each

New York, Virginia–3 seats each

New Jersey, Pennsylvania–4 seats each

21 states, altogether, lost 42 Republican seats, and it now seems likely that Democrats will gain more seats in Florida, Illinois, Texas, New York, Virginia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, with the estimate being at least 10 more seats, leading to a possible majority as high as 245-190, after a few likely Republican gains.