Month: October 2021

Republicans In Leadership And Many In Congress Continue To Perpetuate the “Big Lie” About 2020!

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It is shocking and dismaying that nine months after the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States, we still have Republicans continuing to perpetuate the “Big Lie”, that Donald Trump won the election, and it was “stolen”!

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise refused to acknowledge that Joe Biden is President this past weekend on a news interview show, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has disgraced himself in backing Donald Trump, with both Scalise and McCarthy and a multitude of other Republicans afraid to alienate Trump.

The Republican Party is full blown Fascism in its intent and strategy, and they make it clear that they will not cooperate in the investigation of the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection, except for two House members, Liz Cheney of Wyoming, and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, who have shown guts and courage to go ahead and join the investigatory House Committee on January 6, undermining their own hold on their seats in Congress.

Wyoming And Liz Cheney: Very Important House Race For 2022!

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Who would think that the state of Wyoming, the smallest state in population (less than 600,000), and least densely populated state (although it is 10th largest in land area), would become the center of attention in the upcoming midterm Congressional elections?

There is only one statewide At Large House district, with the seat being held by Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.

Liz Cheney is reliably conservative in voting record on every imaginable issue, and no Democrat is likely to be able to take that seat in the upcoming elections. But it is a Trumpite Republican mindset which is the bigger threat, as Liz Cheney has shown principle by voting to impeach Donald Trump, and has become Vice Chair of the House Select January 6 Committee to investigate the Insurrection that took place, the first time since the War of 1812 that the US Capitol and Washington DC came under attack.

Liz Cheney has lost her third ranking position as the House Republican Conference Chair as of May 2021, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other Congressional Republicans have constantly denounced her. The Wyoming Republican Party has voted to censure her for supporting impeachment of Trump and agreeing to be Vice Chair of the investigation of the January 6 Insurrection, and wants her to resign or be defeated in the 2022 state primary.

There are at least six Republicans planning to challenge Cheney in the primary, but Cheney has gained the backing of a number of sitting members of both houses of Congress, as well as some former such individuals.

So the odds are very favorable that Liz Cheney will keep her House seat, and she has hinted at mounting a campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2024!

Joe Biden Upholds Barack Obama And Bill Clinton, Cancels Donald Trump, On Environmental Protection

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President Barack Obama greatly expanded protection of national monuments during his time in office, including Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah, and also Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, off the coast of Rhode Island.

The first and the third national monuments were created by Obama in 2016, and the second created by Bill Clinton in 1996 and continued protected under Obama.

All three were dramatically reduced in size by Donald Trump in 2017, to promote development, mining, ranching, drilling, and fishing to take place on the lands, with the first two monuments also having sacred native American significance, which had been ignored by Trump.

But now, President Joe Biden has restored the entire expansion under Obama and Clinton, reversing Trump’s actions, a fantastic development!

Environmentalists and native American tribes are rejoicing, along with many conservation groups, including the Conservation Lands Foundation, for which my older son works as its Washington DC lobbyist!

The US Senate Majority Is Up For Grabs In 2022!

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The US Senate has had 1,994 members since 1789, and there have been great Senators, mediocre Senators, and wretched, horrible Senators.

One third of the US Senate comes up for election in every even numbered year, so the entire Senate is elected over a six year period.

Right now, 20 Republican seats are up for 2022, compared to 14 Democratic seats.

With a 50-50 Senate, only the fourth time in history that the Senate has been evenly divided, after 1881-1883, 1953-1955, and 2001-2003, it is a crucial time for both parties, wishing to gain a majority of the Senate.

Five Republicans are retiring—Richard Shelby of Alabama; Roy Blunt of Missouri; Richard Burr of North Carolina; Rob Portman of Ohio; and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania.

Three Republicans have not announced if they will run for reelection in 2022–Lisa Murkowski of Alaska; Ron Johnson of Wisconsin; and John Thune of South Dakota.

Only one Democrat, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, has not yet announced if he will run for reelection in 2022.

Twelve Republican Senators are running for reelection, as compared to 13 Democratic Senators.

The big goals for Democrats is to defeat the following five Republicans:

Marco Rubio of Florida
Rand Paul of Kentucky
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, if he runs
Chuck Grassley of Iowa
Mike Lee of Utah

Also, the hope is that Democrats can win the seats of retiring Senators as follows:

Roy Blunt of Missouri
Richard Burr of North Carolina
Rob Portman of Ohio
Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania

So now a year before the elections, there is the theoretical possibility of the Democrats gaining up to nine seats, but truly, that is being highly idealistic, and unlikely to occur.

It all comes down to what Democratic seats are in danger, which would seem to include the following:

Mark Kelly of Arizona
Raphael Warnock of Georgia
Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada
Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

So the odds are in favor of the Democrats in theory, having a chance in nine states, while the Republicans have a chance in four states.

The “Clear And Present Danger” Of A Fixed Presidential Election In 2024!

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The Republican Party under Donald Trump has become anti democratic organization, bent only on winning and maintaining power, no matter what the cost involved!

With so many Republican states working to limit voting rights, and many such states trying to gain control of the counting of votes in elections by putting Secretaries of State in office who will do the party’s bidding, whether for Donald Trump or someone else, we could have the national Presidential election of 2024 with a true constitutional crisis!

Republican state legislatures could work to deny a Democrat the electoral vote of a state even when such Democrat has won the popular vote!

Also, the presidential election could be contested to the point that neither candidate wins a majority of electoral votes, and the election goes to the House of Representatives, with gerrymandering likely insuring a majority of states having Republican controlled state delegations in the House, and leading to 26 or more states with a Republican majority choosing to give their electoral votes to the Republican nominee, no matter what the vote count demonstrates!

So the possibility of a “clear and present danger” of a fixed Presidential Election in 2024 is real, not imagined, and is very worrisome!

The War On Knowledge, Facts, Truth, Particularly On History And Science!

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In 2021, America sadly lives in a time of a war on knowledge, facts, and truth!

This is particularly true on the subjects of history and science!

We are being told that the sad and troubling moments of American history should not be taught to our younger generation, and that the myth of perfectibility and positive moments should be taught instead, rather than facing the widespread reality of racism, sexism, nativism, and the promotion of evil leaders over time who have undermined American democracy!

We are also being told that science is not to be respected or believed, and that scientists and doctors are conspiring against the health of the American people in regards to the COVID 19 Pandemic! This is a dangerous conspiracy theory and will cause the longevity of the pandemic!

And former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has proposed that parents decide what the teachers of their children are to teach, to control the curriculum, a shocking and outrageous assertion! A vast majority of parents, sorry to say, are ignorant, lacking in appropriate educational credentials, and even if so called “educated”, it is not their place to decide the curriculum and promote mind control!

America Is In A New “Gilded Age” Of Obscene Wealth And Monopoly Capitalism: Reform Is Essential!

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At the beginning of the 20th century, America escaped the Gilded Age period of obscene wealth and monopoly capitalism, under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Robert LaFollette Sr., George Norris, and others who promoted the Progressive Era.

The Progressive Era was far from perfect, but it gave hope of escaping the worst elements of the GIlded Age in the last third of the 19th century.

We have had ups and downs since the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the New Frontier, and Great Society, particularly with the triumph of conservatism under Ronald Reagan and the two Presidents Bush, and then made ever worse by Donald Trump.

But now, the news of billionaires having arrangements to keep their wealth from being taxed by overseas havens and even South Dakota allowing such reprehensible tactics is highly disturbing. This, along with the clear cut monopoly of Facebook promoting division, conflict, polarization, and affecting even young girls’ self image due to the toxic Instagram social media site, cries out for strong movement toward another “Progressive Era”.

The idea that concentration of wealth and power rivals and is clearly greater than the time of John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J P Morgan, and other monopolists of the late 19th and early 20th century is totally outrageous!

But is it possible in a nation with a 50-50 US Senate and a six vote margin in the House of Representatives to accomplish necessary reform?

This present, disturbing situation is a massive crisis of American democracy, with the threat of Donald Trump possibly regaining power, and destroying any possibility of reform!

Facebook And Social Media In General A Deleterious Force: A Need For Regulation!

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This author and blogger can recall the “good old days”, when there was no Facebook and other social media companies, obsessed by profit, and unconcerned about dividing America into opposing forces that see those who disagree with them as dire enemies.

The expose by a whistle blower of what many have sensed was reality has led this author and blogger to decide not to spend time on social media, and instead to back off and focus more on the major news sources to keep up with the constant flow of events.

Despite the criticism of reputable journalism sources–including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times–the record of their reliability over the long haul makes them the best source of information. They are more reliable than even electronic media on cable networks.

Clearly, there needs to be some kind of government regulation to overcome the reality that social media helped to inspire the January 6 Insurrection, and is a danger to the future of American democracy. Also, it is clear that the COVID-19 Pandemic and resistance to vaccination and masking is due to the influence of Facebook in particular, and that Instagram, owned by Facebook, has had a horrific event on self image, particularly of teenage girls.

Social Media has gone out of control, of any sense of responsibility to America, only centered on profits!

Democrats In Disarray; Progressives Vs. Moderates—What Is The Future Of “Social Infrastructure”?

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It now seems clear that the progressive vs moderate battle in the Democratic Party is making the party look in disarray.

One must realize that with a 50-50 Senate and only a 6 vote margin in the House, this is not the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, or the time of Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society.

If Georgia’s two Senate seats had not been won in a runoff in January 2021, the opposition Republicans would be in charge, and nothing that the Democrats want would be occurring, or have the potential of occurring.

And as much as there is anger toward West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, it would not work to attack them to the point where either might consider switching parties.

So the future of “Social Infrastructure” now seems essential to pare down from the proposed $3.5 trillion over 10 years to, more likely, a figure in the $2 trillion level.

This means some of the programs proposed will have to go by the wayside or be cut back in coverage or years, an unavoidable situation, highly regrettable, but reality must set in, sadly!

The Supreme Court Majority Is Becoming Very Outspoken, Controversial In Actions And Statements!

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The Supreme Court of the United States is supposed to be a nonpolitical body, that balances the law and the Constitution.

Of course, there are, and always have been, so called “liberals” and “conservatives” on the Court throughout its history, but the present Supreme Court with six conservatives and three liberals is badly unbalanced, and it is clear that the Court is the most extreme one sided to the conservative side that it has been since the 1930s, nearly a century ago!

There are three appointments to the Court by Donald Trump (Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett); two appointments by George W. Bush (John Roberts, Samuel Alito); and one appointment by George H. W. Bush (Clarence Thomas).

There are already ethical and moral problems with Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas, regarding their behavior and treatment of women in their past; and Amy Coney Barrett was rushed through to confirmation more rapidly than normal after the sudden death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, so that Donald Trump had one more appointment close to the Presidential election, which should have been left to the winner of the election, which turned out to be Joe Biden.

Also, a majority of the Court was chosen by Presidents who lost the popular vote in 2000 and 2016, although the two Bush II appointees actually came in the second term when Bush II did win the popular vote.

And now, since the horrendous decision to allow the Texas antiabortion law to go into effect without a full hearing, taking away a constitutional right of women to control their own bodies, in effect since Roe V. Wade in 1973, the criticism of the Court’s action has led to Thomas, Barrett, and now Alito to issue political criticisms which are not appropriate for Supreme Court Justices. They should NOT be making public statements, no matter what they are thinking, but they clearly are on the defensive and have politicized the Court by their utterances, as well as their actions.

It is not surprising, therefore, that the reputation and public opinion rating of the Supreme Court has declined radically in the last few years, and particularly in the present year of 2021!

The Supreme Court is moving far to the Right as the nation is clearly moving to the Left, in a nation in which the white majority is rapidly declining, and will be the minority (under 50 percent) by 2045 at the latest.

So a constitutional crisis is at hand, and there is the danger of a future 7-2 conservative Court, with Stephen Breyer refusing to consider retiring at age 83, claiming he does not plan to die on the Court. This is a preposterous statement, and could end up denying Joe Biden any Supreme Court selection if a Democratic Senator dies or is incapacitated, or if the Senate goes Republican in the midterm Congressional Elections of 2022!