World War I

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!

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!

500,000 Souls Lost To COVID 19 Pandemic In One Year: A Great Human Tragedy!

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In 51 weeks, one week short of a year, we went from zero deaths to 500,000 deaths from COVID 19–February 29, 2020 to February 22, 2021!

The population of Atlanta—the number of dead in Arlington National Cemetery—the total of deaths in World War I, World War II, and Vietnam combined, which took two years in World War I, four years in World War II, and 12 years in Vietnam—this is the loss of a half million souls!

A President (Donald Trump) who presided over the greatest loss of life in one year, and showed no concern, no compassion, no decency, no empathy, as compared to a President (Joe Biden) who commemorated the loss tonight at the White House, and exudes concern, compassion, decency, empathy, not only on the loss of life in COVID 19, but on all issues that affect the American people!

We are finally on the road to recovery, although it will still be a long, hard fought battle, but thank goodness we have a decent President to take us through the darkness!

Domestic Terrorism At Its Peak As Inauguration Of Joe Biden Occurs Eight Days From Today

Ronald 10 Comments

America is living through a literal nightmare, after the right wing Trumpist Fascist attack on the US Capitol Building on January 6!

Nearly a generation after the September 11, 2001 Attacks by Al Qaeda, we now have domestic terrorism at its peak as the inauguration of Joe Biden occurs eight days from today.

There are reported threats not just on Washington, DC, but also on all fifty state capitals in the next week, with plans revealed for a major threat on this coming weekend, and increasing as January 20 comes upon us!

And we have a unhinged, mentally deranged President now facing a second impeachment, which is justified, but will incite ever more reaction by lunatic seditionists and traitors.

That is why this author and blogger advocates that the inaugural ceremonies be held inside a fortified US Capitol building, not outside, as is customary!

In 1985, Ronald Reagan, then the oldest President at an inauguration, now to be surpassed by Joe Biden, had his second inauguration inside the US Capitol due to the coldest Inauguration Day in American history, with the temperature being 7 degrees Fahrenheit.

There are reports that a multitude of right wing, white supremacist, and neo Nazi groups are targeting not just the inauguration but other locations, and already, the Washington Monument has been shut down, and a high unscalable fence has been built around the US Capitol site, and also the Supreme Court across the street.

Washington DC is becoming a place where security and protection is forever changing due to a multitude of plots by extremists even before this disastrous January 6, 2021 event, and this is a sad, depressing time for American democracy!

But our constitutional system of government is worth fighting for, to protect the republic that has survived Civil War, the Great Depression, and two World Wars!

Presidential Egomania Led To Disaster Under Woodrow Wilson, Herbert Hoover, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, And Now Donald Trump

Ronald 3 Comments

The problem of Presidential egomania has led to disaster under a number of Presidents.

It caused Woodrow Wilson to promote civil liberties violations during World War I, and to refuse to negotiate with the US Senate over the Versailles Treaty and League of Nations. It also led to his paralytic stroke in the fall of 1919, which undermined the rest of his term, and his refusal to step aside for Vice President Thomas Marshall at a time of tumultuous internal events in the last 17 months of his term, including the infamous Palmer Raids (Red Scare) in 1919-1920.

It caused Herbert Hoover to refuse to adjust his view on laissez faire, causing the Great Depression to become much worse, and lead to his massive defeat by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. That economic disaster was made even worse by Hoover’s refusal of cooperation with the President Elect, adding another million people to the unemployment rolls before the 1933 inauguration of his successor.

It caused Lyndon B. Johnson to damage his domestic Great Society legacy by his insistence on continuing the war in Vietnam, and then finally being pushed out of the race for reelection in the spring of 1968, leading to the election of Richard Nixon.

It caused Richard Nixon, who had some real accomplishments in domestic and foreign affairs, to destroy his own Presidency by his own insecurities and desire to get his “enemies”, leading to the Watergate Scandal and his downfall less than two years after an overwhelming reelection victory in 1972.

So two Democratic and two Republican Presidents, all of whom had ability and intelligence, threw away their Presidencies due to egomania!

And now, we have Donald Trump, who is allowing the nation to be decimated by the COVID 19 Pandemic, politicizing face masks and social distancing, and therefore, responsible for the greatest loss of life in a short time in American history, and facing almost certain repudiation by the American people in ten days!

The difference is that Trump’s egomania and narcissism is far more dangerous than that of Wilson, Hoover, Johnson and Nixon, as he is the first one to indicate he will refuse to accept the election results and to leave office peacefully.

Trump is creating a massive political and social crisis as we have voter intimidation and threats already occurring.

The Republican Party is working to delegitimize the election count, already occurring in California, a state that the Republicans are insured of losing, but are brazenly taking illegal actions!

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!

COVID 19 Pandemic And Health Care Crisis Will Be Decisive Factors That Decide 2020 Elections

Ronald 8 Comments

The 2020 Presidential and Congressional Elections are being decided based on the COVID 19 Pandemic and the Health Care Crisis related to it, and to the reality that 20 million or more Americans are in danger of losing their health care under the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care).

Obama Care is far from perfect, but to strip it away from desperate people who have it as their only lifeline is cruel, heartless, and terrifying, and the voters clearly will decide to punish the party and the President very willing to harm people, even though they claim to be the part of Life, while having no concern about the loss of 215,000 lives, likely to be doubled by Inauguration Day.

The American people may not love the Democratic Party and Joe Biden, but they do love living and having a government that cares about them, and they see in Joe Biden and Kamala Harris leaders of empathy, decency, compassion who would change the course that Donald Trump and the Republican Party have taken us on, causing the greatest loss of life since World War II, and in just seven months time.

So Joe Biden will win handily in three weeks, and the Democrats will gain control of the US Senate and add to their numbers in the majority of the House of Representatives, and will take action after January 20, 2021, with commitment to purse a policy similar to the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt nine decades ago!

Trump With COVID 19 Creates Turmoil And Crisis, And Brings Up 25th Amendment And Succession Law

Ronald 18 Comments

Donald Trump, having contracted the COVID 19 Virus, creates turmoil and crisis, and brings up the 25th Amendment of 1967, and the Presidential Succession Law of 1947.

Trump has been reckless in NOT promoting face masks and distancing, particularly at his close up rallies, but also in the Oval Office and at other White House sites, and his family refusing to wear masks at the Presidential Debate last Tuesday was totally irresponsible!

Trump should be sidelined for a week or more if he has a mild case, but if severe, it creates a real crisis, that requires the 25th Amendment to be invoked, and brings up the Presidential Succession Law, passed by a Republican dominated Congress in 1947.

If Trump is unable for a period of time to perform his duties, then Vice President Mike Pence can take over as Acting President, as George H. W. Bush did in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan had cancer surgery; and twice under President George W. Bush, having colonoscopies, Dick Cheney was briefly Acting President.

It should have happened when Ronald Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981, but it was not invoked.

Were Trump to fail to survive, Mike Pence would become President, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would be next in line, followed by Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley of Iowa. The fact that Pelosi is 80 and Grassley 87 is alarming, of course, and right after them would be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is 56, and Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin who is 57.

Whatever one’s feelings toward Donald Trump, we should all hope for his complete recovery, but it certainly upends the Presidential Election of 2020, and makes the likelihood of a Vice Presidential debate next week less likely, and would seem to lead to the cancellation of the two remaining Presidential Debates, which really should not be occurring after the disastrous first Presidential Debate, in any case!

Time will tell of course, never a dull moment!

Finally, it is truly ironic that the news of Trump having COVID 19 occurs on the 101st Anniversary of Woodrow Wilson suffering a paralytic stroke in 1919, five months after contracting the Spanish Flu Virus while at the Versailles Peace Conference in France after World War I.

Wilson was never as energetic after suffering from the virus, and it seems to have undermined his case for the Versailles Treaty. And once he had the stroke, his wife ran cabinet meetings, and Vice President Thomas Marshall and the American people through the news media were NOT kept informed about his condition, and we had the longest period of incapacity of any President, lasting until he left office 17 months later in March 1921.

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!