Iraq War

Comparing Kamala Harris To Mike Pence, Dick Cheney, Dan Quayle, Spiro Agnew!

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Kamala Harris has been Vice President for nearly a year, and has faced brutal criticism and attacks, and suggestions by some that she resign, because she has not been assertive in the role of Vice President.

Of course, these suggestions come from Fox News Channel anchors Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham, who are actively involved in attempting a coverup of the events of January 6, 2021, even though they were stunned by the events of that day, and tried to reach Donald Trump to express their dismay.

It is insulting that conservative supporters of the January 6 Insurrection have the gall to attack Kamala Harris, when the major issue is that she is a woman, and of mixed African and Asian American heritage, as her father is from Jamaican origin and her mother of Asian Indian origin.

Who are the critics turning to as models?

Is it Mike Pence, who refused to speak up at all to Donald Trump for four years, but at least had the guts to uphold the Electoral College vote for Joe Biden on January 6, facing the threat of being hanged by rioters? That is his only redeeming quality.

Or is it Dick Cheney, who while qualified by experience, was a dangerous, out of control Vice President, under George W. Bush, who enriched himself by America’s engagement in two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq through leadership of Haliburton, and endorsed the use of torture against war prisoners?

Or is it Dan Quayle, who made everyone nervous for four years about the health of George H. W. Bush, as Quayle demonstrated how dumb and clueless he was?

Or was it Spiro Agnew, who resigned from office as a felon, after nearly five years a heartbeat away from the Presidency under Richard Nixon?

The only truly reputable Republican Vice President in the past half century was George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan! Although it must be said that the abbreviated Vice Presidency of Nelson Rockefeller under Gerald Ford was also decent!

Meanwhile, Democrats could be proud of their Vice Presidents—Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; Al Gore under Bill Clinton; and Joe BIden under Barack Obama!

Kamala Harris is in the tradition of decency and dignity of Mondale, Gore, and Biden, and will do a fine job over the next three years, with her excellent qualification as former San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, and US Senator!

Adam Kinzinger Not Running For Reelection, But Should Begin A Presidential Campaign For 2024

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This author and blogger is not in agreement with Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger on most issues, as he is a conservative in his views.

But Adam Kinzinger is an honorable man, with courage, guts, and principle, and has demonstrated it by the reality that he is one of a very small brand of Republicans in Congress who has voted to impeach Donald Trump, and has agreed to join the January 6, 2021 House Committee investigating the US Capitol Insurrection, and Donald Trump’s role in that tragedy!

His congressional district has been wiped out by reapportionment and gerrymandering in the Democratic dominated state of Illinois, but this should not stop him from running for President.

He has had 12 years in Congress by the time he retires, and has served in the US Airforce as a Lieutenant Colonel rank, and was engaged in both the Iraq War and Afghanistan War, so his credentials are top notch!

He is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, an important credential for anyone considering running for President.

Kinzinger needs to challenge Donald Trump or his lackeys, who bow to him, such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, and innumerable others who kowtow to Donald Trump, and promote the “Big Lie”, that Trump won the Presidential Election of 2020.

Bill Clinton Illness And Colin Powell Death Reminders Of Fragility Of Life

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The past few days reminds us, even if we try to forget, of the fragility of life.

First, Bill Clinton, age 75, had a dangerous urological and blood infection, that required six days in the hospital, and will require a few weeks of further recovery at home.

And this morning, we have the shocking news that former Secretary of State, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and National Security Advisor Colin Powell has died of COVID 19 complications at age 84, despite having been fully vaccinated, although he was suffering from cancer.

Powell was a truly great American, a man much admired. But his defense of the claim of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) before the United Nations, which justified the Iraq War under George W. Bush at the time, was proven to be a lie, undermining somewhat his reputation.

Still, as a mainstream Republican, Powell supported Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, Hillary Clinton in 2016, and Joe Biden in 2020, and was an especially leading critic of the danger represented by Donald Trump.

So we are thankful that Bill Clinton is recovering from his illness, and greatly saddened by the death of Colin Powell!

Fox News Channel: 25 Years Of Promoting Hatred, Bigotry, Lies, Fear, And Evil!

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Fox News Channel, the purveyor of hatred, bigotry, lies, fear, and evil, is now celebrating its 25th anniversary, being created in 1996.

It has poisoned the media environment, and allowed demagogues to prosper, including, most notably, Donald Trump.

Their evening news anchors, past and present, have done great harm to the concept of truth and the need for cooperation and unity to deal with the problems the nation has faced in the past quarter century.

Such horrendous individuals, including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Laura Ingraham, and Judge Jeanine Pirro, along with many others past and present, have misled Americans by promoting the “Big Lie” that Donald Trump won the Presidential Election of 2020; promoted white supremacy, racism and nativism; encouraged Americans to resist COVID 19 vaccinations and mask mandates; and so much else!

But the evil and lies are not just about the present, but undermining American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law in all of the events and controversies since the late 1990s, including the contentious Presidential Election of 2000; the September 11 attacks and the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars; the Barack Obama years; and the Donald Trump Presidency.

Republicans Are Responsible For Afghanistan, NOT Joe Biden Nor Barack Obama!

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Republicans are trying to make “Political Hay” on the withdrawal from Afghanistan, blaming Joe Biden and Barack Obama, but the evidence shows that it is THEIR party that is responsible for the debacle!

It was George W. Bush who authorized the invasion of Afghanistan, pushed by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.

It was Cheney and Rumsfeld who promoted taking attention off Afghanistan, by going to war with Iraq, which made the Afghanistan War a lost cause years ago.

It was Donald Trump, who made a deal with the Taliban to withdraw, and considered seriously inviting them to Camp David for a summit. This was the reason why National Security Adviser John Bolton was fired by Donald Trump in 2019!

It was constant Republican pressure in Congress, controlled in the House of Representatives in 2011 and after, and in the Senate after 2015, that prevented total withdrawal under Obama, although Joe Biden had been a clear dissenter on that issue.

It is now Republicans who are ready to abandon our Afghan allies, who helped US troops, as they promote Islamophobia, and have no concern about the danger to women and girls under Taliban rule.

One must realize that Republicans have been misogynists for a long time, and show little concern or regard for women’s rights!

On Memorial Day Weekend, Republicans Show Contempt For Preservation Of Democracy!

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Memorial Day weekend is a time for remembrance of the contributions of generations of Americans who sacrificed their lives to protect and preserve American democracy.

It is a time to give thanks to those who gave their lives for their country in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and other lesser conflicts in American history.

But now, the Republican Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ronald Reagan, has shown contempt for the concept of preservation of democracy, by refusing to back a bipartisan January 6 Commission to fully investigate the US Capitol Insurrection, which caused the death and injuries of scores of US Capitol Police.

The Republican Party has allowed itself to become part of the cancer of Donald Trump, which is destroying the party’s history and reputation.

No matter what, however, there will be full investigation and accountability for the horrid events of that day, including the threatened hanging of Vice President Mike Pence, and the murder of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and the dire threats to other Senators and Congressmen, who if not for the Capitol Police commitment, might have become victims as well!

The What Ifs Of Recent American History

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History short term and long term are affected by events that no one can predict.

There are so many “What Ifs” just in the past generation since 2000!

For example, if Al Gore had won the 2000 Presidential Election, it is debatable whether the September 11 attacks would have succeeded, and whether America would have gone to war in Afghanistan and Iraq, both engagements not fully ended, and causing the loss together of more than 7,000 American soldiers.

If the Democrats had been able to keep control of both houses of Congress in the last six years of the Barack Obama Presidency, so much more could have been accomplished in legislation, instead of by executive orders by President Barack Obama, and Obama might have been able to be as significant as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Lyndon B. Johnson, who had massive margins in both houses of Congress throughout their time in office.

If Joe Biden had not lost his son, Beau Biden, in 2015, it is thought possible that he might have defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2016, and might have defeated Donald Trump, saving America from the literal nightmare of the Trump Presidency in so many ways.

Finally, despite all of the horrors of the Trump Presidency, if it had not been for the COVID 19 Pandemic and the incompetent and uncaring handling of that crisis, it is possible to believe that Trump might have won reelection, and that would make the one term nightmare so many times worse!

60th Anniversary Of Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Farewell Address: One Of Three Greatest Farewell Addresses

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President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his Farewell Address to the nation sixty years ago today, and it reverberates through the ages, as we come upon the inauguration of a new President, on the heels of the nightmare of the absolutely worst Presidency in American history!

Eisenhower’s Farewell Address is rated as one of the greatest in American history, alongside George Washington in 1796 and Jimmy Carter in 1981.

Ike warned against the dangers of a military-industrial complex which would take us into overseas interventions and foreign wars that would undermine our nation.

Sadly, we have seen America engage in wars that have undermined our nation, specifically the escalation of the war in Vietnam, along with the decision to have a military presence in the Middle East as a result of the Persian Gulf War, and then, long drawn out wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

These interventions in the Middle East came after the Al Qaeda terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, and America has been permanently changed as a result.

And now, we face a threat of domestic terrorism out of control, as Donald Trump leaves office, with the backing of these domestic terrorists as they attacked the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, which complicates the challenges facing Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, as they are inaugurated on January 20, 2021, three days from now!

Time For Mitch McConnell And Lindsey Graham To Be Retired By Voters!

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Two leading Republicans stand out above all who need to be retired by the voters in their states.

One is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is being opposed by Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, and first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps. In 20 years in the Marine Corps, McGrath flew 89 combat missions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. She graduated from the US Naval Academy, and has taught as an instructor there. She reached the level of Lieutenant Colonel in the military, and won many combat medals in the Iraq War and Afghanistan War. She is defined as a moderate centrist Democrat.

The other Senator who needs to be retired is Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is opposed by African American politician Jaime Harrison, who was the Chair of the state Democratic Party from 2013-2017, and is an Associate Chair of the Democratic National Committee. He graduated from Yale University and received his law degree from Georgetown University. He worked as a lobbyist and also for House Majority Whip James Clyburn.

Public opinion polls indicate a very close race in South Carolina, but in Kentucky, McConnell seems far ahead.

However, with the tumult over the Supreme Court vacancy, one can hope that at least one, if not both, of these despicable Republican leaders, could be ousted from their Senate seats, as this has happened before to others.

It seems clear that Democrats, independents, and those Republicans and conservatives who have condemned office holding Republicans for bowing to Donald Trump, just might be enough to affect change!

The Five Words Which Will Sink Donald Trump In November: “It Is What It Is”, Regarding CoronaVirus Pandemic Deaths!

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When the history of the Presidential Election of 2020 is written in the future, it will be clear that the ultimate turning point of the election, of so many controversial moments and statements, will be the five word utterance of President Donald Trump to Jonathan Swan, the young Australian journalist who works for Axios, revealed to the world on HBO two days ago:

“It is what it is”, which regards the CoronaVirus Pandemic Deaths, a total of 157,000 and rising rapidly, as I write this.

It is clear this number will be likely double what it is now by November 3, Election Day, so a total of 300,000 or more deaths!

This will mean in nine months, more than combat deaths in World War II!

Or it will mean more than total combat deaths in World War I, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, the War in Afghanistan, and the War in Iraq combined!

Or it will be 100 September 11ths!

And while Donald Trump played politics and ignored science and medicine, Americans died in tragic numbers, with Trump vilifying and ridiculing Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx and other health experts!

This is the greatest bumbling and failure to react to a major crisis since World War II, far greater than any of the wars waged by the United States since then, and will doom Donald Trump in history to last place among rankings of Presidents, where he will stay for all time, below James Buchanan, Andrew Johnson, Warren G. Harding, and Franklin Pierce, who all, by comparison, look better!

It is now sadly clear that until Joe Biden is sworn in, nothing substantial will be done to deal with the CoronaVirus Pandemic, and there is no magical solution that can take place in a few months, so even with active utilization of science and new strategies and different personnel engaged in the crisis, the likely number of deaths will continue to grow throughout 2021.

Likely, the number of deaths by January 20 will hit 400,000, and with the hope that a vaccine will be created and be available during 2021, hopefully by the end of the first year of the new administration, we will see real progress on ending the pandemic.

But the number of deaths meanwhile will likely likely rise, at best estimate, to 750,000, and could reach one million at the most pessimistic levels!

And the one thing that stands out as worse than any of this, is that Donald Trump has demonstrated that he has no ability to show or express compassion or empathy, and is only concerned about himself!

“It is what it is” will reverberate throughout history as the judgment of the horror of the Presidency of Donald Trump!