Month: September 2021

The US Senate Parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough: Most Powerful Figure In Senate Deliberations!

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Very few people are aware of the job of the US Senate Parliamentarian, or the holder of that position, Elizabeth MacDonough.

She has held that job since 2012, appointed by then Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

The first woman to hold that position, she is the sixth person to be in that job, since it was created in 1935.

She is designed to be a nonpartisan official who determines what and what cannot be done under the “reconciliation” process in the Senate, which can allow certain budgetary situations to move forward without meeting the filibuster requirement of sixty senators.

Without that, very little could be done in a Senate which for only the fourth time in history has seen an evenly divided Senate.

The 47th Congress (1881-1883); 83rd Congress (1953-1955); and the 107th Congress (2002-2003) are the only times before the 117th Congress, where we have seen such a situation.

So this woman, Elizabeth MacDonough, highly respected, has tremendous power over the Joe Biden agenda, and now has made clear that immigration reform cannot be utilized under “reconciliation”, a blow to action on that issue, which seems unlikely to be able to be overcome!

Supposed Unpopularity Of Vice President Kamala Harris According To Conservatives: Preposterous!

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It is laughable how conservative websites and Republicans are promoting the view that Vice President Kamala Harris is the most unpopular Vice President since Spiro Agnew in the 1970s.

Think about the Vice Presidents since who are seen as positive forces—Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, Walter Mondale, George H. W. Bush, Al Gore, Joe Biden.

Two of these–Ford and Bush became President, while Mondale and Gore lost Presidential races, and Biden has now become President.

Who has been left out?—-Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, Mike Pence.

Dick Cheney was certainly competent in a basic sense, but evil in his abuse of the office, promoting torture in the War on Terror, making money through Haliburton, and being a basic nasty individual, who many thought was really President instead of George W. Bush in the latter’s first term, until Bush finally asserted his authority over Cheney, and their relationship deteriorated.

Dan Quayle was a basically not too bright VP, who scared people at the thought that he might become President, when George H. W. Bush had some health scares.

But compared to Cheney and Quayle, the absolutely worst Vice President in modern times since Spiro Agnew was Mike Pence, who fawned all over Donald Trump, never spoke up when it was appropriate and necessary to do so, and now we learn, he was considering NOT keeping his oath that required him as Vice President to announce the Electoral College vote on January 6, 2021!

Of all people, it was Dan Quayle who convinced Pence he had no choice. And Pence was under threat caused by his own boss, Donald Trump, and yet refuses to condemn him and speak out on the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection!

Instead, his rabid desire to be President, which will never happen, makes him live in an alternative world, and to think his so called “good Christian” image will propel him to the White House in 2024!

No sane or decent person would call Mike Pence someone who would be “popular” or “decent”, but delusional Republicans and conservatives instead lie about history of Pence, and also, Cheney and Quayle!

The fact is that the “best” Vice Presidents since the 1970s are Walter Mondale, Al Gore, and Joe Biden! And Al Gore won the national popular vote over George W. Bush, but as we all know, lost the Electoral College!

Kamala Harris, the first woman, first biracial, first African American and Asian American Vice President, will survive the vicious attacks on her character and capability, and will join the list of outstanding Vice Presidents!

Her background as District Attorney of San Francisco; California Attorney General; and US Senator makes her perfectly capable and qualified, and her character, empathy, decency, and compassion match that of President Joe Biden!

And if fate has it that Harris might become President in this term or in a future term by election, the nation will be in good hands!

Confidence In US Military Leadership Grows Under General Mark Milley And The Joint Chiefs Of Staff

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General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and General Kenneth McKenzie, head of the US Central Command have added stature to the image of the military by their recent actions.

Bob Woodward’s new book tells us that Milley informed his counterpart in China after the election and after the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection that the government was stable, and that Donald Trump would not be a threat to unleash a nuclear attack.

McKenzie yesterday apologized for the drone attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, which took by mistake the lives of ten civilians, including seven children, on August 30, after the attack by ISIS K terrorists killed 13 American military men and women at the Kabul airport during the evacuation from Afghanistan. The purpose was to kill terrorists, but was a horrible misjudgment, which sadly happens in times of war and conflict.

The idea that the US would issue an apology is a welcome situation under the circumstances, and humanizes the military, which is a good thing to occur.

We are fortunate we have patriots in the US military who are there to protect, preserve and defend the Constitution and rule of law, and prevent the horrors of a nuclear war unleashed by a dangerous, mentally deranged President, who wanted to seize power by coup, and has no scruples, ethics, or morals!

We are fortunate also that our military can admit and take ownership for a horrible blunder, but compensation should be paid to relatives of the ten who were killed.

Rational Republicans Are Deciding To Abandon Office, Or Leaving The Party!

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Rational Republicans, facing bitter attacks, and threats, are deciding to abandon office, or leaving the party.

There is a need for a strong, alternative party in a democracy, so the need is present for those who are Republicans to stay and fight.

But Congressman Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio has decided not to run for reelection after four years in the House of Representatives, after having voted to impeach Donald Trump after the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection.

And New Hampshire state legislator William Marsh has become so disgusted that he has announced he is becoming a Democrat, after attacks on him for insisting on an appropriate COVID-19 Vaccine and Mask Mandate, bitterly opposed by the Republican Party locally and nationally.

Others, such as Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois have joined the January 6 House Committee investigation, with Cheney being Vice Chairman, working with Democrats to push the probe.

Both face a difficult path for reelection, as do the other House Republicans and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who also voted to impeach Donald Trump, and face the voters in 2022.

Chief Justice John Roberts Has Lost Control Of The Supreme Court, And His Own Reputation Is At Stake!

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The Supreme Court is in crisis, as its reputation, and that of its leader, Chief Justice John Roberts, is at stake!

It is now the most rightwing Supreme Court since the 1920s and early 1930s, as extremism has taken over an institution which is supposed to be moderate centrist!

Past Chief Justices, including John Marshall, Charles Evans Hughes, and Earl Warren, had the ability to impact other members of the Court, and convince them to work toward moderation!

But John Roberts has clearly lost control of a Court which includes three Donald Trump appointees, with only the first choice, Neil Gorsuch, coming across as lacking in controversy outside of the fact that he became the replacement for Antonin Scalia, instead of Barack Obama’s choice, Merrick Garland!

Brett Kavanaugh has a cloud over his head and reputation as a sexual abuser, much like Clarence Thomas, appointed by George H. W. Bush thirty years ago, and having a deleterious effect on the Court for three decades!

And Amy Coney Barrett is clearly not Justice material, and her extreme religious swing to the far Right has besmirched the memory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Had she been still on the Court, she would have prevented the atrocious decision of the Court to back the disgraceful Texas abortion law that now Attorney General Merrick Garland is suing to prevent the loss of a constitutional right for women to control their own bodies!

Gavin Newsom’s Massive Recall Victory A Major Plus For Democrats In 2022 And 2024!

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California Governor Gavin Newsom won a massive victory in the Recall Election perpetrated by Republicans in the state.

He won just about the same percentage of the vote that he had won when elected Governor in 2018, and the same amount that President Joe Biden won when elected in 2020.

Larry Elder was a true disaster, and weakened the Republican Party in California, already in a very weak position since the anti immigration legislation passed in 1994, and rejected by the courts.

The Republican Party fell into a total collapse, and have not been able to win many Congressional seats since, and are a weak minority in the California state legislature.

Even Orange County, usually Republican, backed keeping Gavin Newsom by a small margin, and has seen its four GOP Congressmen lose their seats in 2018, and only two of those four seats were won back in 2020.

This smashing victory puts Gavin Newsom into the national spotlight ever more, as he represents one of every eight Americans as it is, so if Joe Biden does not run for reelection, Newsom, assuming he wins a second term, which is highly likely, may announce for President.

That could set up an interesting challenge for Vice President Kamala Harris, also from California, unless Harris becomes President upon the possible demise of the President, giving her an automatic advantage.

George W. Bush Makes Clear Donald Trump Is A Threat To Democracy

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Former President George W. Bush gave a great speech on September 11, comparing the foreign terrorism of September 11 to the domestic terrorism of January 6, 2021.

Bush defended American democracy, and condemned Donald Trump supporters who lay siege to the US Capitol.

The speech so upset former President Donald Trump that he felt a need to attack Bush, but the guilt of what Trump perpetrated showed through.

Donald Trump is a psycho, a dangerously unbalanced man mentally, and he has to be prevented from becoming a threat to our Constitution and rule of law a second time.

It is urgent that he be prosecuted and have a cell in prison on a permanent basis, and his family members, including his wife Melania, who disgraced the First Ladyship, and his first three children and son in law need to be pursued for their encouragement of lawlessness!

With all of the faults and shortcomings of George W. Bush, he partially redeems himself by defending our democratic system against the totalitarian bent of Donald Trump and his ugly supporters!

The Time For Major Social Change Is Here!

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Here we are in September 2021, and it is time for major social change, what the Democrats and Joe Biden are trying to bring about as Congress returns from its summer break!

We need to provide Medicare expansion, including for eyes, teeth, and hearing.

We need to provide Medicare coverage at age 60.

We need to provide decent child care and elder care, so that many people, particularly women, can go back to work in an economy where most families need two incomes, although many poor only have one income, and are faced with the need to take care of their children or elderly relatives.

We need to provide early educational intervention before kindergarten, as a way to advance literacy and the love of learning at the age when most children are open to all kinds of knowledge.

We need to provide two years of college free tuition so that all those leaving high school have an opportunity to explore their futures, both in opening up their eyes to truth and facts, but also to career training that can improve their lives over the long haul.

We need to promote that young men do not ignore college and education, at a time when 60 percent of college students are females, leaving males behind.

We need to promote protection of the environment, and the advancement of actions to cope with climate change.

We need to promote raising the poor to a future of hope and change.

There is no excuse to avoid the responsibility of improving the lives of all Americans, and making clear that those who are more fortunate have a responsibility to pay their fair share of taxes, and this includes corporations, as well as wealthy people who invest, not only those who work!

The Battle Is On: Joe Biden Vs. Ron DeSantis, Greg Abbott, Kristi Noem, And Other Reckless GOP Governors!

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The Republican Party and its leading reckless governors—Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, and many others—are engaged in a battle against President Joe Biden and his Vaccination and Mask Mandate, and Biden is on the side of history on this!

There will be mortal wounds against these disgraceful governors who are waging war against life itself, with the numbers of dead from COVID-19 a total of 3,160 on Thursday, September 9–equivalent to the 2,977 on September 11, 2001!

One would think with 660,000 dead in 18 months, as much as the loss of life of Union and Confederate military in the Civil War over the longer period of four years, that these governors and the Republican Party, and right wing cable and talk radio, would wake up to the dire threat of COVID-19 and unite to combat the crisis!

Many children are dying, and yet we have crazy parents and political leaders furious over masks and vaccinations!

The public health and safety are primary over so called “freedom”!

Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W Bush Honor 9/11, While Donald Trump Is Making Money Off It!

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Today, the 20th Anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, is a day to mourn and memorialize the 2,977 victims of the Al Qaeda attack on America.

President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are attending all three sites to honor and show respect for what happened.

Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama are attending the ceremonies in New York City.

Former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush are attending ceremonies in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, honoring the passengers of Flight 93 who brought the terrorist controlled plane down, preventing the intended attack on the US Capitol.

Former President Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton will be attending the ceremonies in New York City.

Former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will be at home in Plains, Georgia, not involved in public events, and preserving their health as Carter nears 97 years of age on October 1, and Mrs. Carter has just passed age 94, perfectly understandable.

Vice President Kamala Harris and First Gentleman Douglas Emhoff are also attending ceremonies in Shanksville Pennsylvania, and later will join President Biden at the Pentagon.

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump will avoid all three sites, and instead be in Hollywood, Florida to give commentary on boxing matches at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, making income off those who choose to pay $50 to gain access to his statements about the boxing matches, and joined by his son, Donald Trump Jr.

Trump did issue a statement praising the sacrifices of those who died twenty years ago, but felt a need to put in a criticism of President Biden over the withdrawal from Afghanistan, forgetting that Trump initiated the final withdrawal in a deal with the Taliban, scheduled for May 2021, delayed by Biden for a few months.

So the lies, deceit, hypocrisy, and lack of concern for unity of Donald Trump, and the desire to divide the nation after having engaged in treason and sedition on January 6, 2021, continues!