Month: November 2024

Trade With China, Canada, Mexico Are Dominant In American Economy

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When one looks at a map of the United States, based on significance of trade with our leading trade partners–China, Canada, and Mexico–it is clear that Donald Trump’s plan to impose tariffs of 10 percent on China and 25 percent on Canada and Mexico, will cause an economic calamity.

Eighteen states have China as their major supplier of imported goods; twenty three states have Canada as their major supplier of imported goods; and three states have Mexico as their major supplier of imported goods. Germany, Saudi Arabia, and India have an impact in a few other states.

So it is pure insanity to impose protective tariffs, when history tells us it always leads to economic disaster.

Republican Presidents And Corrupt Administrations

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It is a well known fact that it is Republican Presidents who stand out as having the most corrupt administrations in American history.

That is not saying that Democratic Presidents have perfect records without scandal, but in comparison, the examples of corruption are quite minor.

Also, not all Republican Presidents have presided over massive scandal.

But those Presidents who have had massive scandals include the following in chronological order:

Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Warren G. Harding (1921-1923)
Richard Nixon (1969-1974)
Ronald Reagan (1981-1989)
George W. Bush (2001-2009)
Donald Trump (2017-2021) and the future admninistration (2025-2029)

Some might say it is presumptuous to predict the future, but with the well documented propensity of Trump in his first term, and the characters he is gathering around him for his second term, one can be assured it will reach new levels of corruption of all kinds over the next four years.

As far as ranking of corruption, it can safely be said that Trump already would rank number one on the list, followed by Nixon, Reagan, the second Bush, Grant and Harding.

The “saving grace” for Harding is that his term was less than three years, and he was not aware of what was going on around him.

And the same can be said about Grant in his two terms, but cannot be said about the modern Republican Presidents.

One would think that voters would have a clue and reject such leadership, but their ignorance of history and lack of concern about decency in government is mind boggling.

So expect massive corruption, and unlikely, with a right wing Supreme Court and federal judiciary, and a Congress too willing to bend its will to Donald Trump, it will be left up to the media to expose the evils, for the record of history.

But it will not stop the horrors awaiting us, sadly!

High Tariffs On Major Trading Partners Will Devastate The American Economy!

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If Donald Trump follows through on his threats to add a 25 percent tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico, and 10 percent on Chinese imports, it will devastate the American economy in short order.

Besides worsening relations with our three major trading partners, it will cause massive rises in prices on all kinds of goods, such as:

Clothing
Furniture
Household Appliances
Toys
Food
Automobiles
Travel Goods
Smart Phones

It will worse our relations with our neighbors, and destroy the USMCA trade agreements, promoting distrust with both Canada and Mexico, who share thousands of miles of boundaries, and undermine our relationship with China, our leading rival in world affairs.

It will be destructive of international relations, and of American economic progress, which had advanced under Joe Biden, despite the inflation problem.

If Americans voted against the Democrats on the inflation issue, they will get a rude awakening under Donald Trump, as we will have similar situation as we had in the Great Depression due to Herbert Hoover and the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930, and the Panic of 1893 due to Benjamin Harrison and the McKinley Tariff of 1890.

Republican Senators Who Are Likely To Oppose Some Trump Cabinet Nominees

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Signs that a substantial number of Republican Senators are seen as likely to oppose some Donald Trump Cabinet nominees, particularly Pete Hegseth for Secretary of Defense; Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Among those Senators who have issues with Trump appointees are the following:

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Thom Tillis of North Carolina
Todd Young of Indiana
Jonie Ernst of Iowa
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
Bill Cassidy of Louisiana
Susan Collins of Maine
James Lankford of Oklahoma
Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma
John Cornyn of Texas
John Curtis of Utah (Senator Elect)
Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia

If four or more of this group vote against any of the above appointees or any others, such individual would not be able to be part of the Cabinet or other advisers.

However, the concept of a “recess” appointment could become a controversial action taken by Donald Trump, which would likely become a legal issue, and be seen as a grab for power.

Imagine That: Rand Paul Is Correct On Two Matters!

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This author and blogger has never been a fan of Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, who, like his father, former Congressman Ron Paul of Texas, is a libertarian.

But suddenly, and amazingly, one has to say that Rand Paul is totally correct on two pending matters!

Paul has come out to condemn use of the military in the deportation of immigrants, as going against the Constitution, as it is the job of civilian law enforcement to deal with such an issue!

Paul also denounced the pending imposing of 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 10 percent tariffs on China, that has been announced by Donald Trump.

Correctly, Paul says it undermines our relations under the USMCA trade agreements with Canada and Mexico, and promotes increased tensions with China, and will cause massive inflation of prices of food, gas, housing, and other parts of the economy.

The people who voted for Trump out of stupidity and ignorance on the issue of inflation will now face, as we all will, a major jump in the inflationary spiral.

This will, hopefully, at least, disillusion those voters and transform them back to support of Democrats in the future, but only after causing mass suffering among the middle class and the poor, while the wealthy gain massive tax cuts, that will add trillions to the national debt!

Democratic Party Positives In 2024 Elections

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The Presidential and Congressional Elections of 2024 produced some significant positives for the Democratic Party, despite Donald Trump’s close victory for the Presidency, and gaining of 53 seats in the US Senate and about the same tiny margin in the US House of Representatives that the Republicans already had.

Trump’s margin of victory was smaller than that of Joe Biden or Barack Obama, and Trump’s victory was less impressive than any election since the late 19th century Gilded Age. He was NOT anywhere near the landslides of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936, Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Richard Nixon in 1972 or Ronald Reagan in 1984, but Trump is trying to claim otherwise.

Also, each of these landslide victories led to a loss of seats in the following midterm elections for the President’s party, so there is hope for the future of the Democratic Party in 2026 and 2028.

Also, Democrats were able to retain control of Senate seats in four “swing” states that Trump won–Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin, while losing the Senate seat in Pennsylvania.

North Carolina, despite going to Trump, elected an entire Democratic state government team, including Josh Stein, who is Jewish, as Governor.

Also, Matt Meyer, who is Jewish, was elected Governor of Delaware.

And despite attacks by Republicans on “diversity”, the Democrats were able to win or hold Senate seats with other than white straight Christians, as witness the following:

Arizona–Ruben Gallego–Hispanic male–elected to open Senate seat

Nevada–Jacky Rosen, Jewish female, reelected

Michigan–Elissa Slotkin, Jewish female, elected to open Senate seat

California–Adam Schiff, Jewish male, elected to open Senate seat

Wisconsin–Tammy Baldwin, Lesbian, reelected

New Jersey–Andy Kim–Korean American male–elected to open Senate seat

Delaware–Lisa Blunt Rochester–African American female–elected to open Senate seat

Maryland–Angela Alsobrooks–African American female–elected to open Senate seat

Day One Of Trump: Executive Orders On Mass Deportation And Tariffs, Insuring Economic Disaster!

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Every indication is that Donald Trump will make a dramatic, negative Inaugural Address on Monday January 20, 2025.

It is also, ironically, the celebration of Martin Luther King Day, with announcement of executive orders that will promote economic deterioration, and insure that the opposition Democrats will gain the edge for the 2026 Midterm Congressional elections and the Presidential Election of 2028.

Executive orders promoting mass deportation, and announcement of high protective tariffs on all foreign goods, will create a massive economic crisis in 2025.

There will be a great shortage of workers in many industries, including agriculture, education and health services, construction, wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing and mining, and leisure and hospitality,

There are over 28 million immigrants who work hard, pay taxes, and most obey the law, even if they came undocumented, for a chance at a better life, and to have the American dream.

It will be heartbreaking if many of these people, who add a great deal to the national economy, and have children who have lived and grown up in America, suddenly have their lives uprooted in an unjust and immoral manner.

And the prospective loss of their employment, as well as their consumption of goods and paying of taxes, will undermine the American economy in a massive way.

Tariffs, as in the Great Depression of the 1930s and the Panic of 1893 in the Gilded Age, under earlier Republican Presidents Herbert Hoover and Benjamin Harrison, respectively, will again prove to be destructive and undermine the lives of Americans.

They were fooled by Donald Trump to believe he would provide a prosperous economy, when his only intention is to benefit the rich with further tax cuts, as under Republicans Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump in his first term, adding massively to the national debt.

Transgender And Immigration Issues Convinced Gullible Working Class To Back Trump!

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It is a sad reality that the working class of America–whether white, Latino, or African American– was bamboozled by Donald Trump to believe he was concerned about their lives and would promote labor causes, when nothing is further from the truth.

The high inflation that occurred under Joe Biden had nothing to do with Joe Biden and the Democrats, but was simply a reaction to the COVID 19 Pandemic, so would have occurred if Donald Trump had been reelected President.

But Republicans and Donald Trump used fear of transgender Americans and of a small number of undocumented immigrants who have committed crime to stir up the population of working class Americans, many of whom are not actively engaged in following public affairs, to convince them to vote Republican.

But now, working class Americans will pay for their decision to vote for Trump and a Republican Congress by facing the reality of a Presidential cabinet made up of multi millionaires who are promoting massive tax cuts for the extremely wealthy, and imposing of high protective tariffs.

This will lead to a massive increase in the national debt and surging prices for all kinds of imported items, causing a new wave of inflation.

The Republican Party and Donald Trump do NOT have the interests of working class people in their agenda, and labor unions will not be supported, as they have been under Joe Biden.

And Donald Trump will cut back on exixting regulations on corporations and banks, promoting more of a chasm between the working class and upper class.

Only the upper class will celebrate Donald Trump’s Presidency, once the working class becomes fully cognizant that they have been tricked into supporting someone who utilized emotional issues of transgender rights and immigration to promote their agenda of making the wealthy wealthier, and the working class and poor more exploited!

61st Anniversary Of JFK Assassination: It Still Hurts!

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As I write this blog entry, the time of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy arrives, the most tragic event of my lifetime until September 11, 2001!

A young, vibrant, charismatic, good looking young President, murdered at a time when there was hope and optimism about the future of America.

This is very different than the present sense of pessimism and dread that millions of Americans feel after the nation has put into the White House a man who represents the worst elements of the American experience.

The fact that two women–Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris–who represented the sense of hope and change that Kennedy represented six decades ago, lost to Trump is very much a source of disappointment.

It is not as if John F. Kennedy was perfect or had a perfect rcord in office, but he inspired millions by being the youngest elected President in American history.

And the fact that his nephew, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has so damaged the historical memory of both his father, Robert F. Kennedy, who was also taken from the nation by assassination, and his uncle, by his horrendous and lunatic conspiracy theories about health and medicine, is tragic.

And the fact that RFK Jr. is about to work with Donald Trump in undermining the health care system, makes the anniversary of the JFK Assassination more depressing than ever before.

Never Has Any President Had Such A Horrendous Group Of Cabinet Nominees!

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Donald Trump is setting a record for the most horrendous selection of Cabinet nominees in American history!

Every President will have critics about one or more of his appointees, but Trump beats them all, and not just the traditional four spoken about–Matt Gaetz (now withdrawn); Pete Hegseth; Tulsi Gabbard; and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

There are others who are also terrible choices, including Mike Huckabee to be US Ambassador to Israel; Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security; Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency; Doug Burgum, Secretary of the Interior; Chris Wright, Secretary of Energy; Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce; Mehmet Oz, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education.

And Trump is refusing to allow FBI Background Checks, which makes it terrifying to have Cabinet Officers who are not fully vetted!