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Foreign Policy Rears Its Ugly Head After Four Months Of The Joe Biden Presidency

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Four months into the Joe Biden Presidency, foreign policy is rearing its ugly head in so many ways.

We have China claiming exclusive rights to much of the South China Sea, and creating naval issues with the United States and other nations that have territories in the Pacific.

We have Russia under Vladimir Putin being belligerent in so many ways, including claiming sole rights to much of the Arctic as climate change leads to melting of much of the ice in that region, opening up new potential for commerce and naval expansion, and being challenged by the US and other nations.

We have North Korea still engaged in nuclear testing and remaining a threat to South Korea and other Asian neighbors.

We have Iran remaining a threat in the Middle East, and the issue of trying to stop Iranian nuclear development.

We have the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which led to an 11 day war, and growing antisemitism around the world, and domestically in America.

We have the growing threat of authoritarianism spreading around the world in so many nations and regions.

We have the continuing global threat of climate change, and also of terrorism.

While the challenges are massive, Joe Biden came into the White House with the most foreign policy expertise since George H. W. Bush and Richard Nixon, so the nation is in good hands for these foreign policy challenges!

Donald Trump, The Republican Party, And Two “Big Lies”!

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Donald Trump lost the national popular vote twice, by massive margins, much more than George W. Bush in 2000, Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and John Quincy Adams in 1824.

Together, he lost by nearly 10 million votes–2.85 million in 2016, and 7.1 million in 2020.

The “Big Lie” is that Donald Trump won EITHER time, 2016 and 2020.

It is clear that the Russians and Vladimir Putin helped to fix the election in 2016 in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, giving Trump the victory by a combined total of about 78,000 votes.

In 2020, Trump lost much more massively, even in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, along with Georgia and Arizona, but his party is perpetuating a myth that helped to provoke the Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021, for which Donald Trump should be held accountable and be in prison!

Conservatism and the Republican Party are being destroyed, and the idea that nearly 70 percent of Republicans in polls believe the “Big Lie”, and refuse to acknowledge Joe Biden won the Presidency is beyond any sense of reality. This undermines American democracy, rule of law, and respect for the Constitution.

The Republican Party officeholders, with the exception of a small group, including Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, Adam Kinzinger, Lisa Murkowski, and a few others, has become a Fascist Party, a right wing Populist Party, a worshipper of Donald Trump, as if he is their Adolf Hitler or Benito Mussolini, unwilling or unable to accept the truth, and living in an alternate reality!

America Became Part Of The World This Week In 1917!

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America became part of the world this week in 1917, when President Woodrow Wilson went to Congress on April 2, 1917, and asked for a Congressional Declaration of War against Imperial Germany, the Austro Hungarian Empire, and the Turkish Empire, putting us into “the Great War”, later called the World War, and after entrance into World War II, termed World War I.

Although America went back into isolationism in the 1920s and 1930s, the nation learned that it was a false decision, and since World War II, we have recognized that we are part of the world, and cannot ignore what is going on outside America, as it can and has threatened American national security.

President Joe Biden faces many foreign policy challenges, most significantly with China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, but with many other authoritarian nations that also undermine America’s basic values.

While Biden wishes to deal with the many domestic challenges, he will not be able to ignore the many problems other nations pose for the United States!

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!

Priority For Joe Biden And Secretary of State Antony Blinken To Support Allies And Be Tough On Adversaries

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With the confirmation of Antony Blinken as Secretary of State for President Joe Biden, the priority is for both Biden and Blinken to make perfectly clear that foreign policy will return to normalcy.

This means that America must restore the close relations with our NATO allies, and with Asian allies, including Japan and South Korea, all heavily damaged under Donald Trump.

It also means being tough toward our adversaries, including the Russian Federation and Vladimir Putin; China; North Korea; and Iran, making clear we are not cozying up to these dictators, while dealing with them in a “tough love” atmosphere.

It also means we cannot allow Saudi Arabia to manipulate America, as it did under Donald Trump.

It also means working in unison with other nations on climate change, and promoting a series of fair trade agreements, instead of imposing higher tariffs on Americans, as Trump practiced.

Confrontations might occur, hopefully not, but we must make clear that America will uphold democracy as part of its historic mission, and will never abandon its democratic allies in the world!

Barack Obama And Joe Biden Reach Their Rhetorical Best, As Presidential Campaign Winds Down

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Former President Barack Obama has kept his rhetoric down for much of the four years of his successor, but now, with only a week to go to the Presidential Election of 2020, he has utilized his great rhetorical gifts with a blistering, incisive, and at times, ridiculing, attack on Donald Trump, well deserved.

It is a pleasure to see Obama come out in full support and defense of his Vice President, Joe Biden, in such a dramatic and brilliant manner. Obama mocked Trump for saying that the leaders of Russia, China, and North Korea wanted him to win, and Trump’s complaint about Sixty Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, stating that if Trump cannot handle Sixty Minutes, how can he handle real crises such as the COVID 19 Pandemic, which Trump refuses to take responsibility for, and now has said cannot be dealt with, other than by a future vaccine.

At the same time, Joe Biden is fired up, and is at his best rhetorically, as well, as he campaigns vigorously in the battleground states. And his visit to Warm Springs, Georgia, the vacation home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, reminds us of a time nine decades ago when we faced a situation thought to be the greatest since the Civil War, but now surpassed by the challenge of not just a Second Great Depression, but also the worst health crisis since the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-1920.

Donald Trump continues to sink in the polls, and soon, the American people will make a clear cut decision to remove this tyrant from office and hold him accountable for his multiple crimes!

Donald Trump Disparages Military Service, Heroism, And Sacrifice

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One would think America had reached bottom with Donald Trump behavior and utterances, but no, not so!

We now learn that Donald Trump, who used “bone spurs” as the excuse to avoid military service during the Vietnam War, has regularly disparaged military service, heroism, and sacrifice, and it has all been confirmed by Fox News Channel, imagine that!

Calling those who served or serve in the military “Suckers” and “Losers”,

and not wishing to visit cemeteries to honor the dead,

and more concerned about the effect on his hair at a military site if it rains or is windy,

and condemning Senator John McCain as a “Loser’ for being captured and imprisoned for five years in Vietnam,

and threatening his son Donald Jr if he joined the military, when he was young, with him being disowned by his own father,

What can one say, and how can Donald Trump recover from this revelation, as already, there are hints that many military retirees, and family members, and troops presently serving, are rapidly abandoning Trump, with a sense of outrage and fury, and rightfully so!

Donald Trump has no patriotism, no loyalty to the nation he leads, and yet he is unwilling to condemn the evils of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and is clearly compromised, so is a traitor, clear and simple!

Trump is a disgrace to the Oval Office, and must be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, and face life in prison, along with his evil wife and first three children!

He is a stain upon the Presidency, and it will take years to undo the damage he has wrought!

Time For Republican Giants George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman To Endorse And Vote For Joe Biden, As Essential For Nation’s Future!

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Now that the Republican National Convention is done, and with Donald Trump acting more crazy and corrupt by the day, it is time for action by well known Republican leaders!

Many former Republican members of past Presidential administrations, as well as many who had worked for Donald Trump until they were forced out or quit on their own, have condemned Trump and crossed party lines to endorse and support Joe Biden.

Also, many former Republican members of Congress have done the same, and so have many conservative commentators who are columnists for newspapers and online media.

The amount of rejection of Donald Trump is a record breaker, and has never been matched by any previous President so outraging party members that they abandoned ship.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Republican office holders in the House of Representatives and US Senate, although privately, many have expressed unhappiness, but are unwilling to speak up in opposition, particularly if they are on the ballot themselves this year. So, as a result, many of them will go down in a flaming and crashing defeat this November, and have, in the process, lost all their dignity and self respect!

But at this time, there are three high profile Republicans who need to stand up and show their principles, reject Donald Trump openly, and endorse Joe Biden to save the nation!

The first is former President George W. Bush, who had through confidential sources, made clear he is not supporting Donald Trump, who has trashed him and his family for years, including the departed George H. W. and Barbara Bush, brother Jeb Bush, and the former President himself.

It is time for Bush to speak up, as a retired President, and openly condemn Trump and endorse Biden, who he knows very well, gets along with, and respects. Party lines do not matter now, but the nation and its future, so come on, George W, and redeem some of your reputation harmed by your eight year Presidency!

Secondly, Utah Senator and 2012 Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who voted for impeachment conviction of Donald Trump on one of two counts, and has been a strong critic of Trump, needs to go further than not voting for Trump, as in 2016, and then voting for his wife.

That is silly, and passing the buck, and what Romney needs to do is endorse Joe Biden as the person he might not agree with on many issues, but is a safe choice to lead the nation, but leaving Romney the opening to disagree on future policies if he feels a need to do so.

There is no gamble on doing this, as Romney does not face election for his Senate seat until 2024, and may very well choose not to run for another six year term at then the age of 77. And if he did, as a Mormon in Mormon dominated Utah, which saw Independent Evan McMullin, a conservative, won 21.5 percent of the popular vote in 2016, and with Hillary Clinton winning 27.5 percent, it meant together they had more popular votes and percentage than Donald Trump, as Mormons do find Trump distasteful. So Mitt Romney needs to step up like a man and endorse Joe Biden!

And finally, another leading figure, former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, who served as Ambassador to China under Democrat Barack Obama, and ambassador to Russia under Donald Trump, needs to show courage and endorse Joe Biden over his former boss. Huntsman was very quiet while in Moscow, but it seems clear he was uncomfortable, and chose to leave before this campaign year.

This author and blogger has always admired Huntsman, going back to when he agreed to go to China for Barack Obama, and then sought the Presidency in 2012 as a Republican contender. Huntsman is solid on foreign policy, and very decent and principled and rational in a party which has had horrific contenders for the most part in 2012 and 2016.

Seriously, other than Huntsman in 2012 and John Kasich in 2016, no one else made this blogger and author comfortable enough to imagine being able to accept as a potential President, with Huntsman more so than Kasich.

As a fan of Huntsman, and respecting him despite differences on some domestic issues, since I am a proud progressive, I say it is time for Huntsman to condemn Trump, and fully endorse Joe Biden.

And after the hoped for election of Biden, it would be appropriate and smart for Joe Biden to offer Jon Huntsman a top Cabinet position, such as Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, or Secretary of Homeland Security. It is common for a Democratic President to have one Republican in his Cabinet, and who better than Huntsman, who has been bipartisan and is only nearing 61 years of age in March 2021.

Come on, President Bush, Senator Romney, and most significantly, Ambassador Huntsman, do the right thing and fully endorse Joe Biden for the safety and security of the nation!

Republican Party And Its Convention Will Reflect Truth: Republicans Are Totally Lacking In Diversity

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The Republican National Convention this coming week will glorify the horrific record of Donald Trump and Mike Pence, and imagine how many lies they will utter!

They will display the most obnoxious and disgusting examples of horrible human behavior, and will tout their mistreatment of immigrants and their children at the Mexico Border.

They will overlook or deny the reality of Russian influence on Donald Trump, including assistance to make him President by corruption.

It will be one glorious glamorizing of a President who is a nativist, racist, misogynist, and is supported by antisemites and Islamophobes, although he has cordial relations with Israel and many Arab nations.

And what will stick out glaringly is that the party and its “front faces” will have very little diversity, as there are a very small number of women in Congress (9 in the Senate and 13 in the House of Representatives) who are Republicans.

There are only two Jews in the House of Representatives (Lee Zeldin of New York and David Kustoff of Tennessee) and none in the US Senate who are Republicans. And those two Jews are the only non Christian members in the GOP, with no representation by other religions or ethnicities, other than Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, who is African American.

So a white Christian party in a nation in which that group is in rapid decline is a party failing in so many ways, and if it does not diversify soon, it will be a party that is irrelevant in the future!

Half Of Nightmarish 2020 Completed, With Half To Occur: What Is Next?

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Half of the year 2020 is gone, and it has been an horrific six months:

The impeachment trail of Donald Trump, where his Republican Party refused to recognize the danger he presents, and his being in office since early February has been a series of disasters.

The outbreak of the Corona Virus Pandemic, with Trump not taking it seriously from Day One onward.

The economic collapse, which has caused the second Great Depression, but affecting a population three times larger, and no ending to be seen, with so much more desperation, homelessness, and hunger as the result.

The racial discord which has developed over the George Floyd murder by police in Minneapolis, and Trump inciting more racial animosity.

The refusal of Trump to protect Americans in combat, and labeling the bounty paid by the Russians to Taliban fighters to kill Americans in Afghanistan, as a hoax.

Five nightmares and four months to Election Day, 125 days from today, and then 78 days to Inauguration Day!

Will America survive intact over the next 203 days is the issue, extremely worrisome!

The health, safety, and lives of Americans is at stake!