CIA

Donald Trump’s Inaugural Address And First Actions Show America Is In Massive Constitutional Crisis, Greater Than Watergate!

Ronald 9 Comments

Donald Trump’s Inaugural Address and first actions in office show America is in a massive constitutional crisis, greater than Watergate!

Trump’s speech was the most negative, darkest speech ever given on Inauguration Day, when usually the rhetoric is lofty and positive.

He talked about “Carnage” in the nation after eight great years of positive change under Barack Obama.

He is so insecure that he continues to brag about his accomplishments, even today while visiting the CIA headquarters in Virginia, an agency he had been highly critical of, as they investigate any Russian connection during the Presidential campaign, and with Trump still applauding Vladimir Putin of Russia, while strongly attacking NATO and the European Union, undermining our alliances from Truman to Obama.

And his changes in the White House website within an hour after Barack Obama left office is alarming–wiping out the sections on Gays and Lesbians, Civil Rights, Health Care, Immigration, Native Americans, Violence Against Women, Disabilities, Climate Change, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Public Radio, PBS, and with more certain to come.

Trump also signed into law the wiping out of an Obama initiative to lower mortgage insurance fees to help new homeowners, causing an estimated $500 increase annually, which will force some out of the home market, people who are struggling to be able to buy The American Dream, their own home.

How can Trump say he is for the people, and that they control their government, when only the wealthy and powerful will benefit, and many groups of people will suffer, massively, by his narrow mindedness and bigotry?

Trump is already in violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, with conflicts of interest all over the world, making profit off being President, and putting his foreign properties under threat of attack. Just the Trump Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue, a few blocks from the White House, is a violation of the Constitution, and leading early to impeachment resolutions.

We are in a nightmare situation, and the fear that Trump will suppress the free news media, form an enemy’s list like Richard Nixon had, and try to curb freedom of assembly, and who knows, possible thoughts of Martial Law that might be endorsed by a right wing Attorney General, Jeff Sessions!

The Growing Threat Of Donald Trump Against The Life Of His Opponent, Hillary Clinton: NOT A Laughing Matter!

Ronald 9 Comments

Donald Trump has done it again–a threat against the life of his Democratic Presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton.

On August 8, Trump spoke of “Second Amendment” remedies, that those who oppose the limiting of gun rights in any fashion, and see Hillary as a threat to those rights, might have a solution to the threat, implying action against Clinton.

He was roundly condemned for this assertion, and Michael Hayden, the former head of the CIA and NSA, said if anyone outside the hall where the speech was given had said such a thing, he would be in a police wagon being questioned, and facing prosecution.

And Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, referring to the Newtown Massacre that killed 24 young children and six teachers in December 2012, said Trump was reckless and would have blood on his hands if such an event occurred.

But Trump went ahead and said on September 16 that Clinton should agree to have her Secret Service team lay down their arms and “see what happens”, so he has not learned from the earlier incident.

Trump should be told now that his freedom of speech does NOT include such reckless language that could endanger his opponent, and that if something untoward were to happen, that he could face prosecution for having presented “a clear and present danger”, under Supreme Court case Schenck V US (1919), which limits freedom of speech.

And this is all happening in the month when there were eight incidents involving President and assassination threats, and also the assassination of Huey Long in 1935, all covered in the chapters of my Assassinations book, which will be in paperback by March 2017.

Top 10 Political Stories Of 2015

Ronald Leave a comment

As the year 2015 ends, we look back on the major political stories of this eventful year.

The ten major stories of the year are as follows:

The rise of Donald Trump, and the threat he represents to the Republican Party, the conservative movement, and to the American people in general. He is promoting a Fascist agenda, including nativism, racism, misogyny, and a belief spreading among white working class men that somehow he is the new Messiah, who will solve all of the problems brought about by the failings of the George W. Bush Administration.  These  include the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, which fueled terrorism; and the Great Recession of 2008, which is still reverberating among those less educated and more suspect to demagoguery. And also,those who refuse to accept Barack Obama as a legitimate President find Donald Trump appealing.

The surprise appeal of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who is gaining support among the millennial generation, and men and women under 45, who are more educated than average Americans, and find his democratic Socialist ideas appealing.  There is no question that the younger generation is much more liberal than other Americans, and this bodes well for the Democratic Party, if Hillary Clinton continues her move to the left, pushed that way by Sanders’ agenda.

The final acceptance of gay marriage and the advancement of gay rights on all fronts, including the rights of transgender people, but with much discrimination still evident by those who resist change.

The disappearance of John Boehner and the rise of Paul Ryan to the Speakership of the House of Representatives, and the issue of whether Ryan can be any more effective in dealing with the Tea Party Movement, which helped to bring Boehner to the point of resignation.

The growing racial tensions in the nation, due to increased examples of police abuse toward African American men, and even women, along with Latinos, and the growing militarization of law enforcement, a dangerous trend.

The rise of more domestic terrorism, including in Charleston, San Bernandino and elsewhere, some of it inspired by ISIL (ISIS), but also by right wing Christian extremism.

Barack Obama’s changed foreign policy, including opening up to Cuban diplomatic relations; making a deal with Iran’s government on nuclear weapons; attempts to cooperate with other nations to deal with Islamic terrorism, meaning ISIL (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria; and trying to work with a hostile Israeli government, led by Benjamin Netanyahu, who made life more difficult for Obama by openly consorting with Republicans over the President.

The growing impact of social issues on American politics, including not only gay rights and gay marriage, but also abortion, gun control, immigration reform, and climate change.  All of these controversies will impact politics in a dramatic fashion in 2016 and beyond.

The issue of individual rights to privacy, and the growing role of intelligence gathering and government snooping, including the Central Intelligence Agency, Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Security Agency, and other government agencies, who feel that they must intrude and investigate all social media and phones and computers, to protect us.  This is seen by many critics as a violation of our civil liberties.

The evident deterioration of the effectiveness and competence of the Secret Service, in its role as protector of the President and his family; the Vice President; the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and all Presidential candidates, as the Presidential Election year of 2016 awaits us.  The last thing we need is any incident that affects the health, safety, and lives of any of the candidates or the top leadership of government.  If such were to happen, it would undermine our whole political system and stability in massive ways!

 

Hatred Of JFK Much More In Reality Than Recalled Today

Ronald 12 Comments

As we come up to the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, it is easy to imagine that JFK was popular, and that the country was united around him.

In reality, there was a lot of hate of our 35th President.

Southern segregationists were furious with him for having taken a strong civil rights stand.

Kennedy was still being attacked for his Catholic faith by many evangelical Christians, who even today do not show any respect for the Pope and the Vatican.

Corporations were furious with JFK for having taken a strong stand against the steel industry price increases in 1962, and the oil industry in Texas was particularly condemnatory of him.

Organized crime was angry with the pursuit of the Mafia by Attorney General Robert Kennedy.

Cuban exiles were angry with JFK over the failure of the Bay of Pigs invasion, and unhappy with the survival of Fidel Castro after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis.

There was discontent within the FBI and CIA, as to the handling of issues by the Kennedy White House, which was challenging the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower talked about in his Farewell Address, after JFK had allowed himself to be influenced early on by these agencies and their agendas.

This is not to say that JFK was killed due to these opposition forces and hatred, but the point is that the nation was not one of unity around Kennedy, and he faced a daunting task to be reelected.

America was not a nation that was united anymore then, than it is now. We remember JFK fondly more for his tragic death than his ability to unite the American people and various interest groups.

Disturbing News That NSA Spying Unknown By Obama! If So, What Does That Say?

Ronald 16 Comments

The news that the National Security Agency (NSA) has engaged in massive spying NOT only against terrorists, which is understandable, but also against American citizens by invasive investigation of all phone calls and emails, and also against friendly nations, such as Germany, France and Spain, is truly alarming to the extreme!

One might say that national security requires it, but that is a slippery slope that can undermine the Bill of Rights, and do permanent damage to the concept of having allies in the world against terrorism.

If American citizens cannot trust their own government to avoid invasion of their privacy, that is alarming!

If friendly foreign governments cannot trust that America is avoiding unnecessary intrusion in their private activities, and can look at these governments as not worthy of being trusted as allies, that is alarming!

And even worse, the news that, supposedly, Barack Obama was not aware of these activities by the NSA and, also, the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies, then that is TRULY alarming, as that means we have a shadow government which operates outside the parameters of accountable government authority!

It was often said in the past that the CIA was out of control, and that agency was investigated by the Church Committee in the 1970s, and supposedly, controls were put on that agency, or were they?

Are we being lied to all along, and indeed, no matter who is President, they are often unaware of what the spy agencies do?

And if that is so, does that not mean that Presidents of either party are, themselves, subject to being watched, observed, and possibly compromised, and conceivably, be marked for being “neutralized” by these agencies?

Notice the word “neutralized”, as the author is reluctant to say precisely what he means, but anyone reading this is likely to understand the dangers that any President faces from unaccountable espionage!

And although the author has never believed in conspiracy theories, the thought has to cross one’s mind as we come up to the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy Assassination, and the belief of some that the CIA or FBI or other such agencies MIGHT have been involved in the demise of the 35th President.

This whole scenario at present is something to be really concerned with, worried about, and requires some kind of government action and oversight to stop these breaches of civil liberties and diplomatic protocol!

Comparing Apples With Oranges: Obama Versus Republican Abuses Of Power Under Nixon, Reagan, Bush II

Ronald 6 Comments

The Republican Party and conservatives are having a field day on the supposed Obama scandals over the Benghazi, Libya terror attack that killed the ambassador and three others; over the improper investigation of right wing groups by the Internal Revenue Service; and the investigation of Associated Press journalists on the basis of a national security investigation.

We are being told that Barack Obama is another Richard Nixon, when it is more appropriate to say that Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush are examples of another Richard Nixon, to a much greater level!

Nixon was involved in the promotion of break ins; internal revenue service investigations of political opponents, including Ted Kennedy; had an “enemies list”; had his aides do “dirty tricks”; blocked investigations by the Congress and the FBI. He undermined the Presidency in massive ways, and abused power in ways that have harmed the image of the Presidency ever since.

Ronald Reagan may have had a more pleasant persona, but he authorized illegal activities against Nicaragua, backed arms sales to Iran, feigned ignorance of Iran Contra, and promoted secrecy and suspicion of his opponents.

George W. Bush promoted deception and lies to get American into Iraq; engaged in the exposure of a CIA agent who opposed what he was doing; gave his Vice President Dick Cheney unprecedented power to abuse his position; had the IRS investigate liberal groups; engaged in lies and deception not seen seen Richard Nixon.

Barack Obama is NOT engaged in corruption of any kind, but his enemies are pursuing him as if he was the abuser that Nixon, Reagan and Bush II were, but it is all theater, and just like the pursuit of Bill Clinton for his personal behavior, it will fail, and the GOP will suffer as a result!

The sad part of this hot pursuit of Obama is that even liberal media are jumping on the bandwagon of attack, and they should be ashamed of themselves, as they demonstrate no knowledge of history, and are just pursuing a story to build up circulation and readership and make money, a sad moment for the media, when they allow the right wing propaganda to control them!

The Dangers Of Islamophobia On American Life And The Future

Ronald 5 Comments

Islamophobia has multiplied due to irresponsible right wing talk shows hosts, politicians, and websites that are exploiting the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya.

Sadly, Mitt Romney is adding to this hysteria by refusing to make it clear that America cannot declare war on the Islamic world, with its more than one billion population. He needs to calm the hysteria, but instead is contributing to it!

It is right that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton denounce the anti Muslim video that has caused demonstrations in the Middle East, and led to massive riots. We as a nation are not responsible for the reckless, divisive, hateful actions of right wing nuts and Christian and Jewish zealots who preach undying antagonism toward the entire Islamic world.

The reality is that we MUST coexist in this world, as a modern day Crusade would destroy this planet that seven billion people occupy!

And if we are not careful, we will have massive violence in this nation against our Muslim population, and massive retaliation by people out to defend their faith and their culture. The Muslim population overwhelmingly has denounced what happened in Libya and Egypt, and are trying to go about their lives and be good American citizens.

Just because there are some radicals does not mean that all Muslims should be painted with the same brush. Leave it to the FBI and CIA to handle that problem, as they have done very well so far!

Indeed, we need to keep watch over our own religious extremists who are willing to be outrageous in their behavior in the name of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and do not care how they divide this nation, and put it under stress and danger, and undermine our national security!

Two Events To Commemorate On May 1: Holocaust Remembrance (Yom HaShoah) And The Death Of Mass Murderer Osama Bin Laden!

Ronald 2 Comments

As we come to the end of the first day of May, we have two developments to commemorate–both Holocausts of different sizes!

Today is the day we commemorate the Nazi Holocaust of World War II, which killed 6 million Jews and 7 million other victims! It is called Yom HaShoah, and it is a day to remember the sacrifices of these millions of victims!

Ironic that on Yom HaShoah that we learn that Osama Bin Laden, the most sought man in the world, responsible for 3,000 deaths at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, has been killed by the United States through the CIA, with a statement due soon by President Obama as we near midnight!

Bin Laden also hated the Jews, so this is a double day of remembrance for those people who support Israel and Jewish survival through the thick and thin of world history!

This is a great moment, and it unites Americans like nothing since September 11!

It is thrilling to witness tourists outside the White House singing the National Anthem, and it is a time for all of us to rejoice that justice has been done!

It also makes President Obama look great, that this happened on his watch, and it strengthens him in his re-election contest in the fall of 2012! What can the Republican Party say in opposition to Obama, considering that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were unable to resolve this matter in seven years after September 11?

This will make Obama look strong on defense matters, and overcome the old myth that Democrats are weak on defense!

It will give some solace to the families of the 3,000 victims of September 11, and will make May 1 a special day in the history of the United States, to be commemorated every year as one of the major events of American history for all time!

It, however, also makes us need to be more cautious and on alert, as the odds are that Al Qaeda will want to strike back at the United States in retaliation for Bin Laden’s death!

As John King of CNN just stated, this is an HISTORIC day in capital letters, and we will applaud this as one of the major successes of Barack Obama’s great leadership in the War On Terror!