Department Of Health And Human Services

Imagining A Theodore Roosevelt-Donald Trump Meeting!

Ronald 8 Comments

At a tumultuous time like now, in late March 2025, after two months of the second Donald Trump Presidency, it seems appropriate to make a comparison between a past President, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President, and Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th President.

First, the similarities:

Both TR and Trump were Republican Presidents, although massively different in philosophy and outlook.

Both TR and Trump ushered in massive change, revolutionary in many ways.

Both TR and Trump were attention grabbers on a daily basis, constantly creating news and publicity.

Both TR and Trump were egomanics, having an element of insecurity that required them to insist on “rocking the boat” on a regular basis.

Both TR and Trump could be described as “characters”, highly outspoken more than any other combination of Presidents.

It has been said that TR wanted to be “the bride at every wedding, and the groom on every wedding cake”, and that Trump wanted to be equally admired and noticed constantly.

TR was toasted by Great Britain as a great man during and after his Presidency, and loved every minute of it, while Donald Trump was toasted as a great man during his first Presidency by the Saudi Arabian government, and loved every minute of it!

Both TR and Trump were born to wealth and in New York City, with TR in Manhattan, and Trump in Queens County, and with TR’s vacation home in Nassau County, Long Island, at Oyster Bay, and Trump’s vacation home in Palm Beach County, Florida at Mar a Lago.

As former Presidents running again for reelection in 1912 for TR and 2024 for Trump, both were victims of assassination attempts, with TR more seriously wounded than Trump, but both showing a defiant spirit at the time of their being victims.

Now, the massive differences between TR and Trump!

TR was our youngest President ever at age 42 and ten and a half months of age in September 1901, while Trump was our oldest inagurated President age 78 and 7 months in January 2025, and he will be the oldest President when he leaves office in 2029, surpassing Joe Biden in that statistic if it occurs.

TR believed in a need for a stronger, more engaged national government, challenging the conservative, laissez faire philosophy of the Republican Party, and proudly asserting he was a “progressive”.

Trump has declared “war” on the federal government, wanting to cut down the involvement of the national government in a wide variety of ways, promoting a return to state and local government control as in the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

TR was the promoter of environmental reform and conservation of natural resources, regarded as the single most significant President in that area of policy.

Trump has made clear his desire to shut down most environmental and conservation efforts, and promote more drilling and more industrial use of natural resources, despite the reality of climate change and global warming. He is attempting to cut back on national parks, national conservation lands and national monuments in a dramatic fashion.

TR believed in the need for federal government regulation for consumers, regarding food and drug protection, while Trump has allowed himself to appoint a Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, who is reckless and unstable, and has created great concerns about the protection of health for the American people.

TR promoted openmindedness on workers’s rights, while Trump has demonstrated that he is unconcerned about the average working man and the significance of labor unions.

TR believed in the concept of corporate regulation and responsibility, while Trump has the belief that corporations should not be regulated, and corporate taxes should be cut, both in his first term, and now in his second term. So TR utilized the anti trust laws, while Trump has not and will not do so.

TR and Trump both were involved in the issue of the Panama Canal, with TR promoting a revolution in the area of Colombia which broke away, became independent with US support, and agreed to the building of the Canal, while Trump is now promoting US takeover the Canal, which was given back by treaty in 1977 under Jimmy Carter, and returning to Panamanian control in the year 2000.

TR was aggressive in his relations with the rest of Latin America, promoting the “Big Stick” policy, with intervention in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, while Trump has created tensions in the entire Western Hemisphere, and including our Canadian neighbors to the North, as well as the nations south of the US.

TR cultivated good relations with Japan, while looking down on China, while Trump is being aggressive in his policies toward China, and ready to use tariffs against all nations, including those in Asia.

TR wanted good relations with Europe, particularly with Great Britain and France; was suspicious of Germany; and critical of Russia and its mistreatment of Jews and other minorities. Trump, on the other hand, seems ready to abandon NATO and our close alliances with Western democracies since World War II, and is cozying up with our traditional antagonist, the Russian Federation..

TR won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to negotiate the treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War, while Trump is hoping for a Nobel Peace Prize by resolving the Russia-Ukraine War.

It is very clear that TR, were he alive today, would be a major critic of Donald Trump, and would have no issue in confronting him openly and “in his face”.

The question is how would Trump react to such scathing and extreme criticism!

Donald Trump “Wrecking” American Government Agencies!

Ronald 16 Comments

Donald Trump and Elon Musk have become a “wrecking ball” on American Government agencies, as they are determined to reshape the federal government.

Without Congress having taken action to end agencies or transform agencies they had created, the executive branch headed by Trump has set out to do great damage to a multitude of such agencies, firing thousands of workers and making massive budget cuts without any backing by Congress, creating a horrendous crisis!

Among the agencies under attack are the following 20:

US Agency For International Development
Department of Education
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Commission
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Department of the Interior
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Health and Human Services
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Central Intelligence Agency
Center For Medicare and Medicaid Services
Centers For Disease Control and Prevention
National Institutes of Health
Food and Drug Administration
Social Security Administration
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Public Broadcasting Service
National Public Radio
Occupational Safety And Health Administration
United States Postal Service

When one considers that the US Government, with about 2 million workers is the largest employer in the nation, and that 30 percent of government workers are retired veterans, the magnitude of the disaster that is occurring across the nation is massive, and will affect all Americans, not just those who are removed from government service!

Federal Involvement In Education Since 1953 Under Threat Of Termination!

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The United States federal government never came around to realizing the significance of a federal engagement in promotion of education to all of our children and adults alike, until the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961).

The creation of the Department and cabinet post of Health, Education, and Welfare took place in the first year of the Eisenhower Presidency, even with a Republican controlled Congress.

Long overdue in all three areas of the cabinet position, after 26 years, it was recognized that the HEW Department was much too massive, so in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, the HEW Department was divided into Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education.

Almost from that event, many Republicans and conservatives declared war on the Education Department, arguing for a return to state control of all Education initiatives, despite the reality that many states, particularly in the South and Great Plains were clearly inferior in their commitment to education.

Unable to bring about the demise of the Education Department, even with Republican contenders for the Republican Presidential nomination over many election cycles advocating its destruction, the new gambit was to promote “”Charter Schools” and “Home Schooling’.

This was designed to take away funding from public schools, and then along came Donald Trump, and his “war’ on public education, starting in his first term, and now actively working with Elon Musk and Project 2025 activists to destroy completely the Department of Education by closing down its offices, and limiting its funding, deapite it being funded by Congress.

So now there is a full scale destruction in process, but to get rid of the Department of Education, a cabinet agency, would require action of Congress, not the outrageous, and unconstitutional removal of funds and staff by Trump, Musk, and other right wing extremists who wish to destroy an essential agency.

So the question is whether the survival of the Department of Education can be accomplished in the present disastrous situation!

With Confirmation Of Pete Hegseth, Can Any Trump Nominee Be Defeated?

Ronald 24 Comments

With the reality that the US Senate confirmed, by a tie vote broken by Vice President JD Vance, the nomination of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, one must wonder will there ever be FOUR Republican Senators who will stand in the way of any Donald Trump nominee?

One could argue that the defense of the nation, the protection of all Americans, is endangered by having a Secretary of Defense, who has zero qualifications for the position, and has a history of alcohol problems and sexual promiscuity, which could make him suspect of being compromised by foreign spies, in a worst possible scenario.

But with the reality that this nomination went through, is there any hope of any of the other objectionable nominees being stopped?

Tulsi Gabbard is a real security risk if she becomes Director of National Intelligence.

Kash Patel is a danger if he is made head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the next decade, the worst possible nominee since J. Edgar Hoover passed away in 1972.

And Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, a true loose cannon with drug and alcohol problems and delusional behavior and beliefs, is a massive threat to the health and safety of 340 million Americans, with his anti vaccine lunacy and denial of basic science.

So the question arises: Can four Republican Senators be counted upon to reject any or all of these controversial nominees?

One would hope Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins might follow through, but can they be expected to reject all three of these controversial nominees?

Can Mitch McConnell do so as well, considering his concerns about national security and foreign policy, and his having had polio as a child?

But will anyone else, such as Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who is a doctor and has expressed concern about RFK Jr’s crazy views on public health?

What about John Curtis, the new Utah Senator who replaced Mitt Romney, and was thought to be a likely vote to oppose Hegseth, but did not do so?

What about James Lankford of Oklahoma, who had been a co-sponsor of immigration legislation in 2024 that Trump convinced Republicans to refuse to support?

What about Thom Tillis of North Carolina, who wavered on Hegseth and ended up supporting him in the end?

And then, there are rumors that Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania might support one of more of these three controversial nominees, and even, crazily, that Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse might support RFK Jr, who was a college friend decades ago.

Donald Trump’s “Wrecking Ball” On The Federal Government!

Ronald 30 Comments

Donald Trump, in just four days in office, has applied the “wrecking ball” on the federal government.

Thousands of civil servants in many different government agencies have been told not to come to work, and have lost access to their offices and websites.

The Civil Service system set up in 1883 under the Pendleton Act is being eviscerated before our eyes.

The plan is to end government agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) created under President Jimmy Carter; the Department of Education, also created under Carter; and radically changing the State Department, Defense Department, the intelligence agencies, and the Department of Justice, all of whom Trump considers to be the “Deep State”.

Additionally, undocumented immigrants and gay and transgender people are subject to threats and lack of protection of basic human rights.

Plans are in place to undermine public education, and promote a right wing agenda on the curriculum, ignoring the reality of American history, and denying the reality of climate change and global warming.

Access to health and medical information is being limited, and if Robert F. Kennedy Jr is confirmed as Health and Human Services Secretary, or even if replaced by some other extremist, the nation will not be ready to deal with future health crises and potential for pandemics, since there is a denial of the reality of disease threats. And any investigation of racial disparities in disease study, and also of health issues involving gays and lesbians, has been halted, an absolutely horrifying scenario!

And Trump is trying to undermine the Constitution by promoting the end of Birthright Citizenship, which is protected by the 14th Amendment, clearly a racist move to limit migration and citizenship of immigrants from Latin America, Asia and Africa.

His proposal to allow a third term defies the 22nd Amendment, and is clearly a power grab by his supporters in Congress.

And his decision to deny continued security to former members of his earlier administration, including John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, is an outrage, putting their lives in danger!

But clearly, he only cares about himself, and does not value human life beyond what it can do for his power grab.

And to top it off, the pardoning of known violent extremists who attacked the US Capitol viciously gives these threats to public order the potential to cause more violence and bloodshed, and likely receive future Presidential pardons, so it is like the Brown Shirts of Adolf Hitler!

We are living in a time of right wing radical extremism, which is a threat to the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, the rule of law, and the concept of American democracy.

And at least short term, there is not much of a reaction or counter plans to deal with this crisis which is on the level of a potential equivalent of the Civil War or the Great Depression or World War II in the past of American history!

Lack Of Principle And Guts Of So Many Republicans Disillusioning!

Ronald 59 Comments

This author and blogger is so disillusioned at the lack of principle and guts of so many Republican Senators, as it seems more likely by the day that there will be little, if any, opposition to any of the most controversial Donald Trump Cabinet nominees.

By all reasonable judgment, the nominations of:

Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Kash Patel, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services

should be rejected for a multitude of reasons.

And this does not include another objectionable nominee, Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security.

But at least four Senators would have to be willing to gamble their future and vote against, and that seems now highly unlikely.

Those most considered possible to oppose some, if not all, of these nominees, would include:

Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Susan Collins of Maine
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky
John Curtis of Utah (newly elected to succeed Mitt Romney)

Some other Republican Senators are also seen as possible holdouts, but not as likely as these four.

And even among these four, the truth is that Susan Collins is unreliable, and Mitch McConnell, despite his plans to retire, and his contempt for Donald Trump, cannot be considered in any way likely to vote against any of these nominees, when push comes to shove.

Murkowski and Curtis seem more likely, but the pressure on them and other Republicans is intense. Joni Ernst of Iowa, who first seemed likely to oppose Pete Hegseth, is now receiving blowback with her reelection race coming up in 2026, and Collins also faces reelection two years from now.

So the odds are that Trump will get all of his controversial Cabinet appointments confirmed, and the nation will face a Presidential cabinet with a number of ill qualified, and in some cases, totally terrifying, and reprehensible individuals who will undermine America and its population for the next four years at a minimum.

So this blogger and author is taking a break, escaping from the morass we are in, and will be back near the end of the year!

61st Anniversary Of JFK Assassination: It Still Hurts!

admin 2 Comments

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.

Two Women Republican Senators Likely To Resist Trump Appointments, But Can They Gain Two Other Republican Senators As Supporters?

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Two women Republican Senators who have often disagreed with and voted against Donald Trump—Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine—are seen as likely to resist many of Trump’s controversial Cabinet nominees.

Both women voted to convict Trump on impeachment charges in his second trial. Both are seen as moderates, and have shown courage and conviction in their careers in the Senate, with Collins in the Senate since 1997 and Murkowski since 2002.

The question is whether they can gain at least two Republican colleagues to join them in fighting to reject Trump’s outrageous Cabinet nominees, including:

Matt Gaetz, Attorney General
Pete Hegseth, Defense
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Health and Human Services
Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence

It seems clear other Republican Senators are very unhappy with some, or all of these choices, but will they be willing to challenge Trump is the unknown matter.

And sadly, future Senate Majority Leader John Thune, of South Dakota, not Trump’s “favorite”, has to deal with the likelihood of Trump deciding to call for the Senate to go into recess.

This would be an abdicating of their responsibility as a co-equal branch of government, and allowing two year “recess” appointments, which might be challenged in the courts, but with no clear answer as to what the resolution on the matter would be!

Impossible To Reject All Of Trump’s Outrageous Cabinet Appointments!

admin 13 Comments

Reality must sink in, that there is no possibility to expect the Republican controlled US Senate to reject all of Donald Trump’s outrageous Cabinet appointments. Trump is not allowing FBI checks of his nominees, and threatens to force recess appointments of his nominees, if the majority Republicans do not play along!

At most, maybe one might be stopped, with the one thought to be most likely being Attorney General nominee, former Congressman Matt Gaetz, who has most members of the House of his party, and many Republican Senators really opposed to him, based on his scandalous life, but also his horrendous relationships with fellow Republicans over the years.

Sadly, Director of National Intelligence nominee, former Congresswoman and Democrat Tulsi Gabbard; Secretary of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr (also a former Democrat); and Pete Hegseth, Fox News host and nominee for Secretary of Defense, despite horrendous information about all three of them, will unlikely be able to be stopped.

All of these male nominees have been accused of sexual harassment and sexual abuse, but will likely overcome accusations of their misbehaviors, as Donald Trump has managed to do so throughout his life!

The idea that America’s Justice Department; Intelligence Agencies; Health Care System; and Military and Defense establishment are under attack by extremists chosen by a President who is out to destroy the existing system of American democracy, is a reality hard to accept.

All decent people, including this author and blogger, are fighting off a sense of despair and depression, but knowing that if good people give in and give up, then the damage done will be greater, than if there is resistance.

Disturbing Influence Of Elon Musk And Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., As Neither Should Be Near Power!

admin 15 Comments

It has only been a few days since Donald Trump won a second term in the Oval Office, surprising millions of Americans.

But now, the apparently growing influence of Billionaire Elon Musk, along with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is alarming even many who voted for Trump.

Musk, the wealthiest person on the planet, is a control freak who would wish he could be President, but is ineligible, since he was born in South Africa.

But his dominating personality and desire to influence national and international policy in ways that benefit his own bottom line, has for now, at least, attracted Donald Trump, since Musk contributed more than $100 million to the Trump Presidential campaign.

RFK Jr. has also attracted Trump support, and the fear is that he will play a major role, possibly in the Trump Cabinet, as possible Secretary of Health and Human Services or specific health agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration, advocating his crazy campaign against vaccines, and even fluoridation of drinking water.

Both many medical and dental professionals are deeply alarmed that his looney attitudes on public health will endanger America, if Trump gives him a free hand to do what he wants, which so far, is the indication of what is about to happen.

The nation is in the early stages of what is likely to be a series of nightmares on many areas of government policy, brought about by millions of Americans, who have lost all sense of sanity and common sense, in their decision to support Donald Trump, despite the many shortcomings and scandals of the first Trump Administration!