Donald Trump

83rd Anniversary Of Pearl Harbor, And Donald Trump Foreign Policy Views The Greatest Threat Since Then!

Today is Pearl Harbor Day, the 83rd Anniversary of the Japanese attack on our naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which brought America into World War II.

Isolationist and “America First” mentality had brought America into a naive view about world affairs, and America was caught off guard.

We are now in danger of that occurring eight decades later, with the isolationist and supernationalist mentality of Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans.

Just as many public figures before 1941 made excuses for Japanese aggression in the Pacific and Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Europe, to our detriment, now we have Donald Trump and his lunatic followers who would rather “trust” authoritarian dictators than to enforce alliances against them.

So we have apologists for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s warfare in Ukraine, who wish Ukraine to just surrender.

And we have belief that other authoritarian dictators around the world can be our “friends”, while moving toward aggressive reactions to our territorial shared neighbors of Mexico and Canada, and are ready to use protective tariffs, which were a major cause of the Great Depression against major trade partners other than Mexico and Canada.

And the signs are that after having formed NATO in 1949 which kept the peace and promoted stability in Europe, as well alliances with Asian nations that did the same, that now we are ready to repudiate such alliances, and promote being close to authoritarian leaders around the world.

This is pure suicide and insanity, but Donald Trump and his minions are totally ignorant and clueless on international affairs and national security.

And we seem ready to put a dangerous woman, Tulsi Gabbard, in charge as Director of National Intelligence, who has cozied up to Vladimir Putin and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, undermining our ability to defend our nation.

The prayer is that America will wake up from the repeat of history of 80-90 years ago, and secure American national security, but the likelihood is just the opposite, to the detriment of all Americans!

Musk, Ramaswamy Want To Destroy Federal Programs, Must Be Prevented

The unofficial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), formed by Donald Trump, and headed by billionaires Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy has no government authority, but is insanely proposing cutting the federal budget by up to $2 trillion, or one third of the total government spending, purely insane in nature!

Rather than raise taxes on billionaires and millionaires, including Musk and Ramaswamy, as well as other less wealthy, but prosperous Americans, so that they pay their “fair share”, Donald Trump wants another massive trillions of dollars tax cut for the elite wealthy, similar to his massive tax cuts in 2017, and earlier ones under George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan.

About one fourth of all of the national debt of America occurred under Donald Trump in his first term, and he is ready to add trillions to the national debt while cutting important programs.

Among those being targeted are:

Veterans Health Care
Drug Development and Opioid Addiction Treatment
State Department Funding
Housing Assistance
Justice Department Funding
Education Spending
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Health Care (Affordable Care Act, also known as Obama Care)
Federal Student Loan Program
International Security Programs
Head Start Program

Additionally, the goal is to cut the federal work force, get rid of talented and competent and experienced public servants, and hire lackeys who would do Donald Trump’s bidding, and in the process, promoting total chaos and anarchy in the federal government.

Also, some Republican members of Congress would love to get rid of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, programs adopted under Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, and constantly the subject of attacks by right wing forces!

Democrats, while not the majority, must do whatever they can to prevent such outrageous actions, finding those Republicans in both houses who have principles and ethics, too few, but they are there!

This is a true existential crisis of massive proportions, and every effort imaginable must be waged to prevent such a disastrous set of circumstances that would destroy the federal government!

Our government cannot go back to “states rights”, which supposedly was resolved by the Civil War!

The Gilded Age was the late 19th century, and we cannot go back 150 years under any circumstances!

Preemptive Pardons Essential To Protect Courageous Leaders!

There is growing discussion of the concept of “preemptive” pardons being given by President Joe Biden, to a whole group of political figures who helped investigate and bring Donald Trump and others around him to legal accountability, particularly for the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection, but also other illegal activities.

The list could include all members of the January 6 House Committee that investigated the Insurrection, but also others who have been openly critical of Donald Trump over the years, which is legion in numbers.

The fear is that Donald Trump and his FBI nominee Kash Patel want revenge and retribution against political “enemies”, and even those in journalism and the media, which makes for a list that could be massive.

Clearly, not everyone who might be endangered by civil or criminal charges that might be brought by the FBI can be calculated, as to the risk of prosecution.

But beyond the list this author and blogger presented two days ago, there is real concern about such politically courageous figures as:

Liz Cheney
Adam Kinzinger
Adam Schiff
Jamie Raskin
General Mark Milley
Prosecutor Jack Smith

and innumerable Trump Administration employees who broke with Trump.

Even Dr Anthony Fauci, who had such a sterling career since Ronald Reagan onward, has become the target of those lunatics who think that the Pandemic and response to it was mishandled, a disgraceful lie!

And there is danger to the free press, including the NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, NBC, and PBS, among others.

We are entering dark times, brought about by the stupidity, ignorance, and self-centeredness of so many Americans, including people I know personally, who only care about “Me, Myself and I”, and not the nation at large.

At this rate, our American democracy, rule of law, and enforcement of the Constitution is in dire straits!

Guarantee Of Chaotic 119th Congress!

The 119th Congress (2025-2027) is guaranteed to be chaotic, and might be worse in performance than the 118th Congress (2023-2025).

With the final count having finally been settled in the House of Representatives, there will be a total of 220 Republicans and 215 Democrats, but since Matt Gaetz resigned, and Michael Waltz of Florida will be National Security Adviser, and Elise Stefanik of New York will be United Nations Ambassador, the actual balance for the first few months of the new year will be 217-215, until special elections fill those three seats.

This means any one Republican abandonment, or members absent for votes, and chaos will reign, and Democrats may gain the majority on some issues, and even, if there is opposition to the Speaker by a few Republicans, could lead to new elections for the House leadership.

Also, while the Senate now has 53 Republicans, there is a high likelihood that at least four or more Republican Senators will reject a number of Donald Trump’s Cabinet appointments.

The 118th Congress was reckless and chaotic enough, but now there will be fewer Republicans than in the last Congress in the lower chamber, and some Senators will be unwilling to bow to Donald Trump on some of his outrageous nominees for the Cabinet, and other actions by the 47th President when he takes the oath of office!

Kash Patel’s “Deep State” List For Prosecution: Dire Threat To American Democracy!

Donald Trump’s nominee for FBI head, Kash Patel, is a danger to American democracy, and would revive the bad, abusive record of J. Edgar Hoover from 1924-1972.

The FBI was reformed after Hoover’s passing, and the ten year term of service was designed to take the organization out of politics, but now Trump wants this evil man, who talks about the “deep state”, to begin prosecution of a long list of political, government, and media leaders.

This is outrageous, and endangers the nation dramatically if this unqualified and dangerous man is given power to do what he wants.

Among those he wishes to prosecute (of a longer list) are the following 25 individuals:

Joe Biden
Kamala Harris
Hillary Clinton
James Comey
John Brennan
John Bolton
Bill Barr
Lloyd Austin
Mark Esper
Merrick Garland
Gina Haspel
Eric Holder
Cassidy Hutchinson
Andrew McCabe
General Mark Milley
Lisa Monaco
Robert Mueller
John Podesta
Samantha Power
Rod Rosenstein
Jake Sullivan
Miles Taylor
Alexander Vindman
Christopher Wray
Sally Yates

These are Democrats, Republicans, intelligence officials, Justice Department officials, people who exposed the corruption of Donald Trump, and others who were concerned about abuses of power under Trump.

The fact that the FBI appointment is a ten year term, not just while a President is in office, makes this nomination the most dangerous of all of Trump’s appointments, and must be fought bitterly to prevent Patel from accomplishing his evil intentions!

Trump Appointments In November Finish With Kash Patel As FBI Head, An Alarming Development!

Donald Trump finished the appointment process in the three weeks since he won the Presidential Election of 2024, with the very disturbing appointment of Kash Patel, an extreme loyalist, as new head of the FBI, effectively shortening the ten year term of Christopher Wray that he made upon taking office in his first term in 2017.

The FBI’s past included the corrupt leadership of J. Edgar Hoover from 1924-1972, but with the agency having been reformed in the half cantury since then.

But now a lot of the corruption and abuse of power of that half century is likely to return, as Patel has made it clear he is out to pursue revenge against those who pursued the scandals and corruption of Trump in his first term, which led to two impeachments and four indictments.

Patel has threatened retribution against “deep state” officials he plans to target. He has also attacked the news media, therefore potentially making the FBI an agency out of control, with the intent of “cleaning house” in that agency and setting out to prosecute those he considers “enemies” of Donald Trump who “caused” his prosecutions, including the events of January 6, 2021.

Patel would need to be confirmed by the US Senate, and he adds to the list of highly objectionable nominees, and the question arises, how many, if any of these individuals, can be rejected by the Senate and yet not be put into office by so called “recess” appointments!

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

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

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!

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

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.