World War I

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

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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!

Time For DC Statehood: Long Overdue

Ronald 18 Comments

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!

US Covid-19 Deaths Now Greater Than US World War I Losses

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America has surpassed the losses the nation suffered in World War I over a year and a half, with COVID-19 losses in just three and a half months.

But the nation is moving on, accepting a loss that will reach 200,000 by Labor day, and likely a third to a half million by the end of 2020.

Most people are tired of sacrifice, and Donald Trump and his crazy followers are clearly not interested in using face masks, engaging in social distancing, or denying themselves any pleasures, whatsoever.

So the thought of death as something that is to be ignored, and using the argument that people die every day, is ignoring the reality that we have become a nation which no longer values the elderly. We are forgetting that one day those of the population who are younger, and have lost concern about their parents, grandparents, and others of older age, are showing a total lack of respect for age, and what these older people have contributed to this nation and its successes.

Death has, sadly, become a cheap commodity, even for those who claim false religiosity, but are not serious in preserving life!

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!

Ronald 1 Comment

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!