Authoritarianism

Joe Biden’s January 6 Anniversary Speech An Epic Moment That Will Be Remembered In History!

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President Joe Biden gave an epic speech in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol Building yesterday, marking a year since the horrendous tragedy of the January 6, 2021 Insurrection perpetrated by Donald Trump! It will be remembered in the long run of American history!

Biden laid the blame for the violence, bloodshed, loss of life, and destruction incited by a now former President, who has acted like a spoiled child for a year, refusing to accept defeat, as it hurts his ego!

Donald Trump will face prosecution this year, possibly in three locations—Washington DC, New York City and State, and Georgia. His older children will also face justice, and the Trump family will go down as the most disgraced Presidential family by far in American history!

Matt Lewis, a well known conservative, said that Biden’s speech yesterday shows he finally became President in a full sense. Many conservatives are intelligent and ethical enough that they realize what a total disaster and tragedy Donald Trump has been for the American nation!

Trump has promoted mental illness that he has in millions of ignorant, biased Americans who have authoritarian tendencies, and the fight for the sustainment of democracy is in full swing, as to abandon it would defy the story of American history, the struggle for equality and justice!

President Joe Biden After One Year: A Grade Of B!

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Nearly one year has passed since the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States.

After one year, an honest assessment would give Biden a B grade, due to the incomplete nature of his agenda, but with hope for further progress in 2022, despite nearly united Republican Party opposition.

What has the Biden Presidency accomplished?

!. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, a $1.9 trillion economic stimulus bill, in the midst of the COVID 19 Pandemic
2. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, promoting massive efforts to deal with physical infrastructure projects that are sorely needed.
3. Accomplishing the vaccinations of 61.7 percent of the American people to deal with the COVID 19 Pandemic.
4. The appointment and confirmation of 40 federal judges in his first year, despite Republican Party opposition, the most such appointments in the first year of a Presidency since Ronald Reagan’s first year 40 years ago.
5. Major progress on promotion of the environment and conservation, including canceling oil and gas leases and emphazing the climate agenda to fight global warming and climate change.
6. Promotion of people of varying backgrounds in Presidential appointments in all areas of government, including his Cabinet members and other positions of authority and influence.
7.Lowering of unemployment to 4.2 percent, while more than 6 million jobs have been created, an all time high for the first year of a Presidency.
8. Restoring good relations with our allies, including the NATO nations, and Pacific partners.
9. Bringing back dignity and class to the White House, including the First Lady, and the President’s own character, which includes compassion, decency, empathy, and sincerity.
10. Promoting massive social reform regarding children, the elderly, immigration, criminal justice, women’s rights, gay rights, protection of voting rights, and health care advancement, all this in limbo at the moment, but hopefully much of it accomplished in 2022!
11. Standing up for human rights and against authoritarianism worldwide.
12. Making clear that a thorough investigation and accountability for the January 6, 2021 Insurrection is a priority in 2022.

There is so much more that could be listed, but it is clear Joe Biden has had a moderately successful first year, and that the potential for a rise from a B grade is very likely in 2022!

Journalism Essential Protection To Preserve American And Foreign Democracy From Authoritarianism

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Journalism is an honorable profession, and the promotion and protection of the institution and the people who spend their lives promoting truth and facts is essential, in order to preserve American and foreign democracies from authoritarianism.

Of course, there are those journalism sites and individuals who choose to use their influence to peddle lies and mistruths, (such as Fox News Channel, Newsmax, One America Network), but it will not take away the validity and reality that major news sites ARE reliable, no matter how much naysayers claim otherwise.

All human beings make mistakes, and no journalism source is 100 percent accurate, but history tells us that reliable journalism sites are correct more than 90 percent of the time.

When one sees the shutdown of the Hong Kong democracy newspaper, and the crackdown on all expressions of truth, facts, and democracy in many nations around the world, it makes the defense of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the right to vote ever more urgent into the future.

So the struggle against authoritarianism requires recognition in America of such news sources that have proved their value and accuracy over the long haul, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and a multitude of other news sources!

Joe Biden Restores NATO And G-7 Nations’ Faith On Reliability Of America, After Donald Trump Disaster!

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President Joe Biden is committed to restoring the NATO alliance and the confidence of the G-7 Nations as he has meetings and events for the next week, culminating in the summit with Vladimir Putin of Russia in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday June 16.

Biden has known Putin for a long time, and is willing to confront him, and make certain that Putin understands his resolve to do everything to undermine Putin’s determination to restore the old Soviet Union and restrict human rights in Russia and threaten Eastern Europe.

Tough talk will help, but there is no way to know if NATO, the G 7 and Joe Biden can work against the authoritarian nature of Putin with any possibility of success. The kowtowing of Donald Trump to Putin in his four years in the White House was very destructive on relations between the US and Russia.

In many ways, Putin could be more dangerous and threatening, than any Soviet leader after Joseph Stalin, including Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev in particular!

Foreign Policy Rears Its Ugly Head After Four Months Of The Joe Biden Presidency

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Four months into the Joe Biden Presidency, foreign policy is rearing its ugly head in so many ways.

We have China claiming exclusive rights to much of the South China Sea, and creating naval issues with the United States and other nations that have territories in the Pacific.

We have Russia under Vladimir Putin being belligerent in so many ways, including claiming sole rights to much of the Arctic as climate change leads to melting of much of the ice in that region, opening up new potential for commerce and naval expansion, and being challenged by the US and other nations.

We have North Korea still engaged in nuclear testing and remaining a threat to South Korea and other Asian neighbors.

We have Iran remaining a threat in the Middle East, and the issue of trying to stop Iranian nuclear development.

We have the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which led to an 11 day war, and growing antisemitism around the world, and domestically in America.

We have the growing threat of authoritarianism spreading around the world in so many nations and regions.

We have the continuing global threat of climate change, and also of terrorism.

While the challenges are massive, Joe Biden came into the White House with the most foreign policy expertise since George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon, so the nation is in good hands for these foreign policy challenges!

Elise Stefanik Sells Her Soul To Grab Third Ranking Position In House From Liz Cheney

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New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has sold her soul to Donald Trump at the young age of 36, grabbing the third ranking House Republican leadership position from Liz Cheney.

Starting off as a moderate Republican, Stefanik has now proved she is a sycophant, bowing to the Fascist dictator, Donald Trump, who is destroying the Republican Party.

By all rights, Stefanik should lose her seat, as she has no conscience, and cannot fathom that Liz Cheney is totally accurate in her view of the January 6 Capitol Insurrection.

Instead, Stefanik has swallowed the “Big Lie”, that Donald Trump won the Presidential Election of 2020 over Joe Biden, when more than 60 legal cases, and the Supreme Court, proved otherwise!

Stefanik is a traitor to American values, and will go down in history as having backed a criminal conspiracy, while Cheney will go down in history as a “Profile in Courage”.

This has nothing to do with whether one agrees with Cheney on her conservative values, which this author disagrees with profusely, but simply standing for American democracy and the Constitution against an authoritarian, Fascist take over that is destroying the heritage of the Republican Party in history!

Senator Josh Hawley A Threat To American Democracy And Civil Order, And Must Be Repudiated!

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The New Year of 2021 is upon us, and now we face a dire threat from a young US Senator, Josh Hawley of Missouri, at present the youngest Senator at age 41, who defeated Democrat Claire McCaskill in 2018.

Hawley has made a major blunder in joining the Trumpite extremists, mostly Southerners, in the House of Representatives, who are plotting to undermine the normally placid counting of the Electoral College votes in a joint session of Congress on January 6.

Vice President Mike Pence is responsible for operating a peaceful, ceremonial and routine counting of the electoral vote, as has been done constantly by the sitting Vice President at the end of every Presidential term.

Hawley is a highly ambitious young man, who is plotting a Presidential run in 2024, but he is ready and willing to be a threat to American democracy and civil order, by challenging the obvious victory of Joe Biden for the Presidency.

He is joining the true whackos who are a disgrace to the Republican Party, out to promote an outgoing President who is authoritarian oriented, and has no concern for the American people, only about aggrandizement of his own power.

Hawley is destroying his future, and is proving how reckless he is, despite criticism from fellow Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Mitt Romney of Utah, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania!

Hawley should be repudiated by all who believe in the Constitution and rule of law, and should be drummed out of the Senate for his abuse of power, as one can sense, in a fashion, he is a new Joseph McCarthy in relation to running rampant on an autocratic bent for his own advancement!

Another Opportunity To Salute The New York Times, Today 169 Years Old, A True National Treasure To Freedom Of The Press!

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This author and blogger has hailed the New York Times numerous times over its courage and principle in always seeking the truth, and has celebrated its birthday many times, and it is time to do so again, on its 169th Anniversary!

The New York Times is a true national treasure to freedom of the press, the best guardian against dictatorship and authoritarianism.

The paper has won 130 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper, and has saved America with its investigations and revelations on government and its leaders since the middle of the 19th century, along with the best, most thorough discussion of foreign affairs, as well as culture and finance.

It was responsible for exposing Watergate, along with its “sister” competitor, the Washington Post, which has won 69 Pulitzer Prizes, the second most of any newspaper, and founded on December 6, 1877, so almost 143 years old.

The fact that both newspapers are seen as the enemy of Donald Trump and crooked Republicans in 2020 is a badge of honor.

The New York Times–“All the News That’s Fit to Print”–will survive Donald Trump, and will report on all authoritarian regimes around the globe, as it has done through the years.

It is not a perfect newspaper, and neither is the Washington Post, and they have both admitted shortcomings over the years.

But to be well informed and understand public affairs, one MUST read the New York Times and Washington Post, or give up a claim to being knowledgeable on all kinds of public issues!

Fascism Is On The Horizon If Donald Trump Is Reelected: Warning Of Author Sinclair Lewis In His Work “It Can’t Happen Here” In 1935

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In 1935, Novelist Sinclair Lewis wrote a prophetic novel, “It Can’t Happen Here”, stating that what was happening in Fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini and Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler, could happen in the United States. Lewis wrote that it would be “clothed in a flag and carrying a Bible!”

This was way before the horrors of Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany reached their peaks over the next decade, but already enough evidence of the dangers of the manipulation of minds with emotional rhetoric dividing groups in a society, based upon race, ethnicity, religion, and national origins.

Lewis was warning about the potential dangers represented by Huey Long of Louisiana, who was assassinated months later in 1935, with the story of his assassination covered in my book “Assassinations, Threats, and the American Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama” (Rowman Littlefield Publishers 2015, Paperback Edition 2017).

It could also be applied later, in the 1950s, to Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin; to third party Presidential candidate George Wallace of Alabama in 1968; and to President Donald Trump.

Only Trump, with his Fascist appeal, backed up by military, police and evangelical support, and rallies to appeal to those who are racist oriented, and also nativists, white supremacists at Charlottesville, antisemitic, Islamophobic, and misogynistic, is a clear and present danger, as he is the President of the United States.

He has stoked Fascist appeals as a manipulative method for the past five years since he announced his candidacy in 2015, and has set out to destroy all traditions and norms!

A lot of intelligent people, including those I know or knew, and also a lot of not so bright people who have emotional attachment to Donald Trump, since they are ignorant and share his horrific beliefs, have rallied around him.

And yet, many conservatives and Republicans who really care about our Constitution and rule of law, and the perpetuation of our democracy, are alarmed by Trump’s constant attack on “Fake Media”.

Trump calls everyone and everything which opposes his authoritarian bent as unAmerican. He waves the American flag as if he owns patriotism, when it is his critics who are truly patriotic, and care about human rights and freedom.

Donald Trump incites in a crazy manner on Twitter daily, and in the midst of the greatest crises since the Great Depression and World War II, he ignores and refuses to take responsibility for the Second Great Depression and the CoronaVirus Pandemic!

He stokes bloodshed and violence in attacking those who are promoting the need for racial healing, and encourages right wing hoodlums in the streets of Portland, Seattle, Kenosha and elsewhere,

This presents the danger of greater violence in the two months left to the Presidential Election of 2020, and the interim to the next inauguration, and his stated refusal to accept defeat if the election goes against him, an absolutely terrifying scenario!

It would seem that his opponents, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, face constant threats of assassination, and this author of a book on assassinations is truly alarmed that someone who is a Trumpite will attempt to do that!

If Trump is reelected, this nation will be threatened in its basic values in a way never having come to power with Huey Long, Joseph McCarthy, or George Wallace, despite these earlier threats in the 1930s, 1950s, and 1960s. It will be an authoritarian dictatorship without any control, a nightmare that will mirror the horrors of Fascist Italy and even Nazi Germany!

As Sinclair Lewis wrote in “It Can’t Happen Here”, it actually “Can Happen Here”!

It Is Official: The Republican Party Has Become A Cult Around A Strong Arm Authoritarian Out To Destroy American Democracy!

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The Republican National Convention began today during the daytime hours, and Donald Trump and Mike Pence were renominated for President and Vice President of the United States.

Donald Trump avoided tradition and spoke for an hour, ranting and raving against his “enemies”, reminding those who know history of Adolf Hitler at his Nuremberg rallies.

We are witnessing the Republican Party officeholders swearing their loyalty to a man who has lied 20,000 times in office; has promoted racism, nativism, misogyny, white supremacy; has become a friend of authoritarians and alienated democratic nations; has undermined the judiciary, intelligence agencies, the foreign policy apparatus, and attacked the news media as “the enemy of the people”; has bullied and attacked all of his critics incessantly; has undermined our environment and civil liberties; has refused to take strong action against the CoronaVirus Pandemic; has shown no sense of compassion, empathy, decency or dignity in any form; and a legion of others sins and shortcomings that has never been matched by any previous President in more than two centuries of American history!

The party of such Presidential luminaries as Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush has been shamed by Donald Trump!

The party of such Congressional luminaries as Charles Sumner, Robert LaFollette, Sr., George Norris, Arthur Vandenberg, and Everett Dirksen has been embarrassed by the weak kneed refusal of today’s Republican members of Congress to show some backbone to Donald Trump!

Face the facts: the Republican Party has become a cult, and is unlikely to come back into respectability, even after Donald Trump leaves the scene, as he has done so much damage and harm, that the Republican Party name may very well go into oblivion!