Korean War

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!

Foreign Policy Rears Its Ugly Head For Joe Biden

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Every President enters office wishing to deal with domestic policy and change.

But invariably, foreign policy rears its ugly head much too often!

Woodrow Wilson came to office in 1913, not expecting the First World War I to break out in 1914, and bring us into that war in 1917.

Franklin D. Roosevelt came to office in 1933, wishing to deal with the Great Depression, but also had to deal with the growing Fascist threat of Japan, Nazi Germany, and Fascist Italy, and eventually, entrance into World War II!

Harry Truman came to office in 1945 to end World War II, but had to deal with the Cold War with the Soviet Union, and send troops to Korea.

John F. Kennedy came to office in 1961, and had to deal with the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.

Lyndon B. Johnson came to office in 1963, wanting to promote the Great Society, but also had to deal with the Vietnam War.

Every other President in modern times has had to face similar issues, and now, Joe Biden must deal with China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran as major headaches, as he tries to resolve the COVID 19 Pandemic Crisis!

America On The Road To Worst Loss Of Life Than Any And All Wars In American History!

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America is on the brink of the worst loss of life in its history, having already surpassed World War I, The Vietnam War, The Korean War, and all other wars, except World War II and the Civil War.

With the greatest loss of life being in the Civil War (620,000), that is likely to be passed by mid year 2021, no matter whether Joe Biden becomes President in January 2021, as the projection is for 400,000 by that date, and any policy to deal with the COVID 19 Pandemic will take time, so sadly, but assuredly, America will pass the Civil War in totals.

By the time the pandemic is overcome, it is likely that America will surpass the 1.4 million combined killed in all of America’s wars combined!

And the Spanish Flu Pandemic estimate of 675,000 from 1918-1920 seems likely to be surpassed, and the way things are developing, the total loss of life from the COVID 19 Pandemic may surpass 2 million over time, more than the wars and the Spanish Flu Pandemic combined!

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

Ronald 6 Comments

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!

Time For DC Statehood: Long Overdue

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The Democratic controlled House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a Washington DC statehood bill, the first time it has come up for a vote since 1993.

Only a handful of Republicans supported it, and it is clear why that is so. A slight percentage of residents in DC are African American, (47 percent) but whites are 45 percent of the population, and it is likely that a majority in DC in the future will be white, or that the population mix will be the most balanced of any part of the nation.

Right now, it is assured that if Washington DC became a state, it would have two Democratic Senators and one Democratic Congressman or woman.

But that should not be the issue regarding representation, and it only adds to the view that Republicans are unwilling to care about anything affecting African Americans, as they look more than ever as if they are Confederate sympathizers a century and a half after the Civil War.

Donald Trump spends more time defending Confederate statues and monuments than he does working on dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic, which has killed more American in four months than in World War I, or in the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined.

DC has more population than Wyoming and Vermont, and not much behind Alaska and North Dakota, and it deserves to have proper representation for its citizens.

Hopefully, with a Democratic President and Democratic controlled Congress next year, we might see DC become a state!

Pandemic Now Affecting Sun Belt “Red” States, Not “Blue” States, And Yet Trump Ignores It And Refuses To Wear Face Mask As Example To Americans!

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The COVID-19 Pandemic is raging in the Sun Belt, more furious than ever, the so called “Red” states, including Florida, Texas, and Arizona, while before it was more manifested in the Northeast and the Pacific Coast, so called “Blue” states.

But Donald Trump is ignoring the pandemic, which has killed 125,000 Americans in four months, more than World War I, or more than Vietnam and Korea combined!

He continues to refuse to set an example of the importance of wearing a face mask, and has, in a grievous manner, held political rallies in Oklahoma, Arizona and Wisconsin, and intends to do more such rallies, and is exposing thousands to the potential of spreading the virus.

This includes dozens of Secret Service agents, which demonstrates his lack of respect even for those who protect him!

Donald Trump is a total failure in this crisis, and will go down as responding worse than even Herbert Hoover in the Great Depression or James Buchanan in the pre Civil War years!

“The Forgotten War” 70 Years Later: Still An Area Of Danger And Concern

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On this day, June 25, 1950, 70 years ago, the Korean War began as Communist North Korea invaded the Republic of South Korea.

It is often termed “the forgotten war”, as many Americans seem to think, due to poor education, that Vietnam was the major war right after World War II, highly regrettable that so few know of the sacrifices of American soldiers in that horrid conflict.

The United Nations, under American leadership of 21 nations, entered the war under the US authorization of President Harry Truman, although it was an undeclared war, never subject to Congressional vote, and instead was termed “a police action”.

Some have argued it was an “illegal war”, and that it started the abuse of power of Presidents in sending troops overseas in foreign conflicts, including the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, the Afghanistan War, the Iraq War, and many other interventions, often not even known or paid attention to by American news media.

The Korean Conflict, which seems as a more appropriate name since it was not a declared war, went on until there was an armistice on July 27, 1953, and in those 37 months, over 33,000 Americans were killed, and many thousand of more troops wounded. The conflict has never resulted in a peace treaty.

About three million people died in that conflict, the majority of whom were civilians, and it was the deadliest conflict in east Asia, more than the Vietnam War or the Chinese Civil War. All of the major cities of the Korean peninsula, both in North and South Korea, were laid waste, and families were divided permanently for many decades.

The same Communist government that started the war has gone through three generations of leadership–grandfather, father, and now son, and Kim Jong Un seems on the road to provoking a new war with South Korea, which has become very democratic and prosperous.

Every American President has been dogged by the problem of the Korean peninsula, but now even Donald Trump has been bested by the North Korean dictatorship, and it seems likely that Kim Jong Un could be a threat not only to South Korea, but to Japan, and to American territories in Guam and the state of Hawaii, and the entire Pacific Coast of the United States. His development of nuclear weapons makes North Korea a potential threat over time even to the east coast of the United States, including Washington DC and New York City as the key targets, as was the case for Osama bin Laden on September 11, 2001.

So when Joe Biden, God willing, becomes the 46th President in January 2021, he will face the daunting task of, hopefully, preventing a new war, whether nuclear or conventional.

The Korean War Veterans Memorial in Washington DC deserves every American visiting, and reflecting on the losses and damage done in the name of saving South Korea from becoming part of a united Communist dictatorship, but the future is gloomy.

One Third Of Americans Are Ignoring Facts Of History And Science To Their And Our Detriment!

Ronald 5 Comments

With the summer coming on us, and the CoronaVirus Pandemic spreading rapidly in rural America, we are witnessing a third or more of Americans totally ignoring the facts of history and science!

They are giving in to their own whims and desires, and showing how they have no concern over the loss of life of 100,000 people in a bit more than two months, more than the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined and nearing losses in World War I.

They are also ignoring the history of the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919, which had a bigger second wave in the fall of 1918 than it had in the early months of 1918.

They are ignoring scientific and medical evidence that we are far from through this nightmare.

But all that matters is having their drinks in crowded bars; exercising incessantly in gyms to show off for others how strong and muscular they are; tending to their dire need for tattoos and hair coloring; and hugging and touching everyone. This is because they cannot control their behavior, and sacrifice for the common good, of their children, parents, grandparents, neighbors, fellow workers, and even strangers, whose lives should matter just as much as those people they personally know.

This one third or more is only concerned about “me, myself, and I”, and that is the downfall of civilization in the long run, as catering to their own selfish desires is a sign of loss of morals, ethics, and common decency.

The nation will pay heavily for this recklessness, but sadly, only when some of this deplorable group die or have close family members or friends die, will they belatedly get the message—SACRIFICE—as Americans in past generations, far less spoiled, expected as part of their social responsibility!

As America Reaches 100,000 Loss From CoronaVirus Pandemic In Ten Weeks, Donald Trump Celebrates By Playing Golf And Discouraging Use Of Face Masks!

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This Memorial Day weekend, as we are commemorating the loss of Americans in all of our wars, the nation is reaching 100,000 lost from the CoronaVirus Pandemic in just ten weeks, soon to pass the losses in World War I, and already having lost more than the Vietnam and Korean Wars, and September 11 combined!

And what is Donald Trump doing?

He is playing golf for the first time in 75 days, and discouraging use of face masks!

How much more despicable and unseemly can any President be?

The answer is that no one, not even Richard Nixon or Andrew Johnson, was every as venal and uncaring as the 45th President, an excuse for a human being!

This is a time of great national mourning, and yet one third or more celebrates by breaking all of the rules of wearing face masks, washing hands, and insisting on having “fun” and pleasing every whim and fancy they have, including drinking themselves silly at bars and nightclubs in close proximity to everyone else, and spreading the virus!

It looks as if the refusal, ignorance, and lack of concern about science will cause a massive second wave that we will look back on Memorial Day 2020 and realize it was a small percentage of the ultimate count that will die from this CoronaVirus Pandemic!

But too many are ignoring reality, and acting as if they are on the Titanic before it hit, and most on that ship lost their lives in 1912!

79 Days From End Of Impeachment Trial To 50,000 Dead Americans In CoronaVirus Pandemic!

Ronald 5 Comments

On Wednesday, February 5, 2020, the US Senate voted to find President Donald Trump “not guilty” on two impeachment charges.

The next day, Thursday, February 6, 2020, the first American died from the CoronaVirus, a 57 year old woman in California.

78 Days have passed from that first death on February 6, and today, 50,000 Americans have died from the pandemic, and in about two days, the death toll will pass the 54,000 killed in Korea over three years in the early 1950s, and in four days, the death toll will be 58,000, passing the number of Americans killed in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s!

All of the wars in American history, minus the three big ones (Civil War, World War II, World War I) add up to 130,832, a total likely to be passed, and World War I itself is 116,000. And certainly within possibility is the combination of these two listed numbers, for a total of 246,832 dead!

Hopefully, the World War II total of 405,000 will not be reached, or the Civil War total for both sides of 750,000!

But as stated earlier in my blog entry of April 5, 19 days ago, we could eventually surpass all wars combined, a grand total of 1,404,092. god forbid!

While we might not have avoided this crisis simply by Donald Trump being convicted and removed from office the day before the first death, it is possible to believe that the new President, Mike Pence, would have taken the advice of scientists, after taking office, and would have reacted in a very different and saner fashion than Donald Trump has done in the past 78 days!

Whatever Mike Pence has as shortcomings, it seems reasonable to think the present disaster would have been treated differently, as Pence has acted in a responsible manner since February 26, when he was appointed to head the task force to deal with the pandemic.

Pence can be criticized for being too sycophantic, biting his lip, and keeping a stiff face in public, but seriously working on the burden he was given in a manner that, under the circumstances, was likely the most that could be expected.

This blogger and author wishes to believe that history would have been different had Pence been President, and that he would have been much more proactive.

That reality, if it had occurred, would likely have been an asset in the election campaign, having come in with just nine months to the election and eleven and a half months to the inauguration, and the Republican Party might have been able to count on a possible Pence victory.

But, instead, except for Mitt Romney, the Republicans in the US Senate totally blew their credibility, and now will suffer defeats in Congress of historical proportions, and a massive defeat of Donald Trump on November 3.

To recover from this double disaster, the second Great Depression we are now in, and the greatest health crisis ever in American history, and reelect Trump, is simply impossible, if one goes by historical trends over nearly 250 years.

For the American people to commit, effectively, suicide and reward the person and party that brought about this tragedy, is simply unrealistic to imagine occurring.

If it does, then the nation will, rapidly, decline as a world leader and major power, a trend already provoked by the absolutely insane policies of Donald Trump!