Congress

The Year Of Democratic Women On The Ballot Coming In 2018: Ten Incumbents And Two Seeking Election To The US Senate

Ronald Leave a comment

In the midterm Congressional elections of 2018, a total of 12 Democratic women will be on the ballot for the US Senate, with 10 coming up for reelection and two making major challenges against Republicans in Arizona and Nevada.

Altogether, there are 16 Democratic women in the US Senate in 2017, so all but six are facing reelection battles.

This includes women in Trump won states—Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Claire McCaskill in Missouri, Debbie Stabenow in Michigan, and Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin.

Additionally, in Hillary Clinton won states, the following Democratic women are up for reelection–Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts. Kirsten Gillibrand in New York, Diane Feinstein in California, Mazie Hirono in Hawaii, Maria Cantwell in Washington State, and Amy Klobuchar in Minnesota.

Jacky Rosen is competing for the Nevada Senate seat against most endangered Republican Senator Dean Heller, and Kyrsten Sinema is trying to win the Senate seat of Jeff Flake, who is not running for reelection in Arizona.

The odds for both Rosen and Sinema are seen as good, and could tip the balance of the US Senate, but only if the other women, particularly in Trump won states, are able to overcome their disadvantage.

Therefore, while all of the Democratic women except Heidi Heitkamp are backed by the pro choice Emily’s List organization, it is important NOT to have a litmus test for Heitkamp, who while supportive of Trump about 51 percent of the time, still supports many Democratic Party goals, although she is not truly pro choice on abortion. If we want purity, then the Senate will be lost, as such a Senator as Joe Manchin of West Virginia, also running for reelection, is not any more pro choice than Heitkamp. The party needs to be more inclusive if it is to win and keep control of the US Senate in the future.

Donald Trump’s Authoritarian Bent Grows

Ronald 5 Comments

Donald Trump’s authoritarian bent is growing daily.

He intervenes to say what should happen to Bowe Bergdahl in the criminal justice system, and it backfires on him.

He intervenes to say that the terrorist who killed eight people and wounded twelve in lower Manhattan should get the death penalty, after first suggesting that he be sent to Guantanamo Naval Base, where terrorists from September 11 remain housed, and that insures complexities in the upcoming trail of this perpetrator.

He intervenes to say that the Justice Department and the FBI should follow his desires, and go after Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, with his constant chant of “Lock Her Up” still being mouthed by his crazy supporters in the general population.

He intervenes to attack the news media for reporting FACTS, and the judiciary for going against him on his travel bans, when it is their job to report, and to follow the Constitution, not the President’s orders.

Donald Trump is emerging more and more as a Fascist, who needs to stopped in his quest for absolute power before it is too late, and the Republican Party in Congress will be condemned in history if they do not step in and stop him pronto.

We are not a dictatorship, and Donald Trump is not an Emperor or King, and he must be put in his place.

Thankfully, the Mueller investigation is moving forward toward ultimate accountability and justice, which should consider not just removal from the Oval Office for Donald Trump, but prison time for him and his son in law and son as well.

The Urgency Of Gun Control Legislation To Stop “War Zone” Syndrome, And Save Multitude Of Lives, While Preserving Reasonable Gun Rights

Ronald 1 Comment

The shock of the Las Vegas Massacre, following the Orlando Pulse Massacre, the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre, and so many others, demands the attention of Congress, as the urgency of gun control legislation presents itself.

We must stop the “War Zone” Syndrome that has led to more deaths by domestic terrorists than on September 11, if one counts all the death since 2001.

No one is saying that the Second Amendment should be destroyed, although it is clear that the Founding Fathers did not intend for all citizens to have firearms, as the amendment discusses a “well regulated militia”, and not the concept of everyone carrying firearms, even those who are mentally ill or have had criminal convictions.

But to demand a return of the Brady Bill, named after Ronald Reagan’s Press Secretary, James Brady, permanently disabled by the Assassination attempt against Reagan in 1981, but not renewed under George W. Bush in 2004, is not to ask too much.

To demand that background checks be done on gun purchasers; that loopholes that allow people to buy weapons online and at Walmarts and at gun shows without any search about their backgrounds be ended; that mentally disturbed people not be allowed to purchase weapons; and that the concept of allowing the expansion of gun silencers legislation, allowing gun owners to be able to fire at will without any sound being made for the potential victims to be aware of the sounds so they could duck or evade; or other reasonable measures, should be seen as sensible.

We have the highest gun violence rate of any Western civilized nation, comparing to Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and we must work to lower the death rate from suicide as well as violence against innocent civilians.

This should not be a partisan issue, as the Republicans, as well as the Democrats, need to see the issue of public safety as their major responsibility, and the National Rifle Association and its despicable leadership including Wayne La Pierre, who only are concerned with profits, must be defeated in their effect on our government policies.

All kinds of activities are licensed in our society, and guns need to be regulated in a responsible manner.

Can Donald Trump Survive As “Independent” President? NO, As His Future Is Predetermined Already By His Earlier Actions!

Ronald 2 Comments

Donald Trump is acting more irrationally by the day, and his movement toward an “Independent” Presidency will not work, as his future is predetermined already by his earlier actions.

The intellectual conservative Right has abandoned him.

Many Republicans in Congress are moving to abandon him.

His right wing propagandists (such as Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin) are abandoning him over his deal with the Democrats on the “Dreamers”, as he now seems to have agreed to allow DACA kids to stay in America, after making a statement through Attorney General Jeff Sessions that was hard line, and almost immediately reversing himself.

The Democrats might be, seemingly, cooperating with Trump on some matters, such as DACA, and the extension of the debt limit, but they are eager to take over the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections, and to impeach him.

The intelligence community and the diplomatic community and much of the civil service bureaucrats are only too willing to undermine him for his attacks on them.

The news media, with facts, is on full scale attack, except for Fox News and Breitbart.

Many of his original staff and leading figures have either been forced out or have resigned, with more to come.

The trio of military people around Trump–John Kelly, H. R. McMaster, James Mattis–are very unhappy, and it could be that they are working to undermine him.

Trump has few true friends left, and even his family is enmeshed in scandal with him.

So the clock is ticking, and Trump will not survive in office for long, as impeachment resolutions loom, and Robert Mueller is closing in with Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort the lead figures in the undermining of the foundation that Trump thought he had control of, but does not, in fact. Do not be surprised at the coming likely resignation of Donald Trump from the Presidency.

Expect that Donald Trump will be gone within the next six months, with a good target date being the Ides of March, the 15th of March, the anniversary of the demise of Julius Caesar in 44 BC!

The Urgent, Required Need To Rebuild Puerto Rico And The US Virgin Islands As A “Marshall Plan”

Ronald 2 Comments

America has a major challenge that it has no choice but to meet in a committed and responsible manner.

That is, we MUST spend whatever it takes in public funds to rebuild two of our territories–the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands– both decimated by Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria within the last two weeks.

The population of these two island nation territories are US citizens, nearly 3.7 million and a bit over 100,000 respectively.

There has been total destruction, and what is now needed is a “Marshall Plan”, similar to what the Unites States invested in the rebuilding of Western Europe after World War II.

There is no way to evade this responsibility, but we also must realize that the likelihood of a mass migration to the US mainland is likely, as it will take years to rebuild.

And many who migrate will decide to remain permanently in North America, and that is their right as US Citizens, as they are NOT immigrants.

Expect Florida in particular to be dramatically affected by growth in Puerto Rican migration, which has been rapidly increasing in recent years, particularly in the Orlando area of Central Florida.

We must greet and welcome these citizens as they come to the mainland, and do whatever we can, as individuals, to smooth the transition of people, who in many cases, are shell shocked by the horrible experiences they have had in these past two weeks.

We cannot allow the Republican Congress to ignore this plight, and for Donald Trump to bully these newcomers as a group of mostly Hispanic immigrants, and more important than tax cuts for the wealthy, is to impose tax increases on those best able to afford it, and who have had such massive tax breaks by legislation passed under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Donald Trump And Jeff Sessions: The Ultimate Nativists And Racists In Modern American History

Ronald Leave a comment

President Donald Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have taken the most outrageous action imaginable, in declaring DACA ended within six months unless Congress finally gets its act together and promotes immigration reform.

What they have done is the ultimate nativist and racist action in modern American history. Both of them will be condemned in history for the hateful action they have taken, and in the process disrupting and destroying millions of American families, by forcing deportation of young men and women, brought here without their consent by their parents looking for a better life, and now sent back to nations they do not remember, and which they have no knowledge of their languages and cultures.

Just imagine if any of us were told you are deported, even though you have not committed a criminal act, and you are thrown into a society you have no experience with, and are separated from family members and friends who are what makes your life worthwhile.

imagine how that upends your life, as a law abiding young man or woman, who is working, paying taxes, many going to college, some into the military, and one person helping to rescue victims of Hurricane Harvey being killed in that storm. Imagine those who are patriotic as much as anyone, and may have opened up their own business, or bought a home, and had children, now faced with total disruption of their lives.

One can expect some of these young men and women might commit suicide, rather than face deportation. Many may face harassment and hate from white supremacists, who have been emboldened by this action.

This is a crime against humanity, something that should be brought to the International Court of Justice in the Hague, the Netherlands, as there is no justification to do this to young people who had no control over their lives at a young age.

Time For Direct And Massive Federal Action After Hurricane Harvey

Ronald 7 Comments

The horrible disaster of Hurricane Harvey demands direct and massive federal action, including tens of billions of dollars to rebuild ravaged Houston, the fourth largest city in America, as well as nearby areas that have been devastated.

The idea that charity and local efforts will be enough is preposterous, and Congress must do whatever needs to be done.

It is time for wealthier Americans to do their part, after having gained massive tax cuts under Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush.

Instead of tax cuts once again, which Donald Trump wants for the wealthy, they must have their taxes increased dramatically, as they were in World War II, and also the higher rates under Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1950s and Richard Nixon in the 1970s, both Republican Presidents.

They can complain all they wish, as that is the American tradition, but they have been very fortunate, and already own the vast majority of the nation’s assets, and it is now their responsibility to do their part, and to thank the nation for their good fortune, also accentuated by the tax cuts in the 1980s and 2000s that greatly distorted the class system in America, and made this nation more stratified than Great Britain.

And corporations must pay the taxes they are responsible for, instead of lobbying constantly for special treatment.

Unfortunately, with a GOP Congress, they may not come through for Houston and Southeast Texas, and if they do not, that is the campaign issue for the Democrats in the midterm Congressional elections of 2018 and the Presidential and Congressional elections of 2020, including on the state level.

Trump In Danger Of Facing Massive Resignations With His Controversial Personality, And Unwillingness To Be Controlled!

Ronald Leave a comment

Donald Trump has growing problems with his staff, and faces the threat of massive resignations in the near future.

Rumors abound that Gary Cohn, Chief Economic Adviser; Secretary of State Rex Tillerson; Secretary of Defense James Mattis; Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao (wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell); White House Chief of Staff John Kelly; and National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster are all having major problems with their boss.

The White House is still in chaos as Trump does not wish to be controlled in any form by anyone, and rages often, which could undermine his own health, and causes worry about his growing level of mental instability.

No President has ever gone through so many people being fired or resigning in the first seven plus months of a Presidency.

It seems likely that September will be the most tumultuous month of the Trump Presidency so far, with so many issues on the agenda, and this after the tumultuous month of August, even with Congress not in session.

But now Congress is back, and it is not just Democrats who are ready to go on the attack against Trump, but also many Republicans, as well as conservative intellectuals and writers.

The pressure is growing on Trump, and with the Mueller investigation in full swing, the Trump Presidency is getting closer to a time when it seems clear that Trump will be unable to handle the pressures of being President.

So the sense of a coming resignation at some point seems ever more likely. It would save the nation from the nightmare it has been going through in 2017!

Gerald Ford, The Right Person To Succeed Richard Nixon, But Is Mike Pence The Right Person To Succeed Donald Trump? NO!

Ronald 1 Comment

On this day in 1974, the nation was fortunate that Richard Nixon resigned, and Gerald Ford became President of the United States.

We needed someone like Gerald Ford to heal the nation after the Watergate Scandal, and Ford fit the situation very well.

A respectable member of the House of Representatives for 25 years, House Minority Leader for the last nine of those years, and Vice President by appointment for eight months under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, we were fortunate that he was next in line for the Presidency, instead of corrupt Vice President Spiro Agnew, who would have been a disaster in the Presidency, dividing the nation even more than Richard Nixon.

Ford was controversial for pardoning Nixon one month into his Presidency, and it helped to cause his defeat, along with the strong right wing conservative challenge of former California Governor Ronald Reagan, but he had the right personality and instincts, and as a moderate conservative, was able to work with both parties, considering that the opposition Democrats controlled both houses.

Ford was an honest, decent man, and his wife Betty was arguably the most accessible and decent modern Republican First Lady, sharing her private turmoil with alcohol and breast cancer with the nation.

Gerald Ford lost a very close race to Jimmy Carter in 1976, so was the fifth Vice President not to be elected President, the first since Chester Alan Arthur in 1884, but he came to be admired and loved as he aged, and he ended up as the longest living President, when he died at age 93 years and 165 days on December 26, 2006, the same day of the year as Harry Truman died in 1972.

The longevity of Ford will be surpassed by George H. W. Bush if he lives to November 25, just three and a half months from now, and Jimmy Carter will pass Ford’s age on March 15, 2018, although if Bush continues to be alive, it will not break the record of longevity.

Now, however, Mike Pence would be the successor if Donald Trump is impeached and removed, or resigns from office, but Mike Pence is no Gerald Ford. Pence is much more extreme right wing conservative, unlike Ford, and is a religious extremist, promoting church and state combination in government, which is against the spirit of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The policies and programs under Pence, while certainly likely to be somewhat different than Trump, would be dramatically different from those of Gerald Ford.

So one could wish that Gerald Ford could come back from the dead to be available to succeed Donald Trump, but sadly we are going to have to live with a President Pence at some point in the near future.

We can wish him luck, but be prepared to oppose him vigorously in the promotion of his right wing agenda, with less chaos, anarchy, and craziness, but still out of the mainstream of the American people and what they want the policies of our government to be in the future.

Six Months Of No Major Crisis For Trump Presidency, But “Good Luck” Is Assuredly Coming To An End Soon!

Ronald 2 Comments

Donald Trump has finished six months in office, and he has been extremely lucky, as there has been no major crisis that has arisen in domestic or foreign affairs, with only his own promotion of chaos and incompetence causing him problems, along with the inept Republican Party, which has the majority in Congress, and has failed to accomplish anything of significance.

But ever since 2011, the Republican House and since 2015 the Republican Senate, has proved they cannot govern, and it is quite certain that the American people will vote them out of the majority in 2018, at least in the House, with the Senate very unlikely to switch due to only 8 Republican seats up to 25 for the Democrats.

Trump has proved he cannot even work with the party that he is supposed to represent. He is now in the process of totally alienating the Republican Establishment due to his actions, statements, and outrageous behavior on a daily basis.

The “good luck” that Trump has had in regards to no major crisis is assuredly coming to an end soon, as many challenges lie ahead, with North Korea’s nuclear threat growing exponentially, and Trump having said North Korea would not develop as a threat to America, but now they are, as their missile testing indicates a nuclear weapon on top of a missile could lead to a nuclear attack on Alaska, Hawaii, the whole Pacific Coast, and conceivably as far east as Chicago. And as they continue their testing unabated, the whole Atlantic Coast, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and all the way down to Georgia could come under attack.

The problem is that Trump has no experience, no substance, no knowledge, no skills to deal with such an overwhelming crisis, which could be worse by far than September 11.

It could be the ultimate disaster in American history if the wrong policy is followed, or the wrong development occurs.

We have to pray that the military men around Trump—Secretary of Defense James Mattis, newly appointed Chief of Staff John Kelly, and National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster—can pool their great military experience and careers and convince Trump of the right path to follow to avoid an ultimate disaster.

If everything goes wrong, Donald Trump could preside over the mass loss of life and destruction unmatched in American history, and possibly worse than the loss of life in The Civil War, World War I, and World War II combined, and this is not just about America, but the loss of life in the Korean Peninsula, including American military personnel, and also Japan, which suffered from the only nuclear disaster in wartime in world history, and most certainly, is terrified at another such event occurring 72 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki!