World War II

November 9–Kristallnacht 1938 And Berlin Wall Collapses 1989

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November 9 is a momentous day in world history, and specifically in German history.

In 1938, we had Kristallnacht (Night of the Broken Glass), the beginning of widespread violence and arrest of Jews in Germany by the government of Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.

This is often seen as the beginning of the Holocaust that led to six million Jews and seven million others being slaughtered in concentration camps during the ensuing World War II.

This event is even more significant after the tragic death of 1,400 Israelis on October 7 by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

November 9 in 1989 is a much more pleasant event, as the Berlin Wall was overcome by crowds beginning on that day, marking the end of the Cold War and the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, as well as the reunification of Germany in 1990, an event that is a great moment in history!

Historic Divide Among American Jews On Israel-Hamas War

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A stunning development has occurred in the American Jewish community, as they divide over the proper response of Israel to the October 7 Hamas Massacre of 1,400 Israelis and some foreigners.

Originally, there was unity about the outrage of the worst loss of Jewish life since the Nazi Holocaust of World War II.

But Israel’s decision to invade the Gaza Strip and wage full scale war against Hamas has led to a bitter division within Jewish families and within generations.

Many younger American Jews are critical of the right wing government of Benjamin Netanyahu, and are calling for a cease fire despite the intention of Hamas to destroy Israel and kill all Jews worldwide.

Pro Palestinian sentiment, as they now become the victims of Hamas, is widespread.

Most American Jews of the older generations are much more supportive of Israel’s war strategy, but even within families, there are bitter division, something one could not have imagined.

Alarming Antisemitism Emerges On Many College And University Campuses

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The rise of antisemitism on so many college and university campuses, as well as in American society in general, is alarming.

One can believe that the lives of Palestinians matter, as much as Israelis, but the war between Israel and Hamas is causing a tremendous overreaction by some students and faculty members, and is causing danger and questions of personal safety and security for many American Jews.

The issue of antisemitism has always been a problem with white supremacist groups, but now it is rearing its ugly head in other communities. A small educated group of intellectuals and students have no concern about the reality of Jews in world history, and seem unaware or unconcerned about the Nazi Holocaust that slaughtered six million Jews under Adolf Hitler in World War II.

To deny Israel has a right to exist is as horrible as to say that Palestinians have no similar rights to peace, tranquility, and acceptance!

The Biden Administration is working on coming up with support for the Jewish community, both on college campuses, and in society in general.

Joe Biden’s Five Speeches On Democracy Struggle Against Trumpism!

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Ever since Joe Biden was inaugurated President on January 20, 2021, he has discussed the threat to democracy represented by Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans.

Biden spoke on Inauguration Day in January 2021; in his first speech to Congress in April 2021; twice in 2022, in Philadelphia in September and at Union Station in Washington DC in November; and most recently in Arizona a few days ago when he dedicated a new John McCain Library.

It is clear to anyone who is paying attention that America faces its greatest crisis in preserving democracy since World War II.

In that regard, Joe Biden is following the lead of Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War and Franklin D. Roosevelt in World War II!

Hooray! :) Jimmy Carter Reaches The Age Of 99, A Record Never To Be Broken! :)

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This is a day to celebrate as the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) has reached the magic age of 99 today, despite being in hospice and rejecting medical treatment.

His wife, Rosalynn, is 96 and in early stages of dementia, but their 77 year marriage endures.

No one who is President will ever reach this major achievement of Carter, and one can be certain that assessments of his Presidency, often quite critical, will become more reflective and positive in the future, as Carter actually had a number of policies that have endured.

These include the Camp David Accords (the Israeli-Egyptian Treaty); the Panama Canal treaties; the promotion of human rights around the world; major initiatives on the environment, making Carter the greatest one term President on that issue, and number 3 overall in the assessment of environmental historians, only trailing Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon; and the creation of three cabinet agencies in Health and Human Services and Education (dividing the Health, Education, and Welfare Department created under President Dwight D. Eisenhower); and the Department of Energy, created in the midst of the Oil Crisis of the late 1970s. He also added less to the national debt than any modern President.

Joe Biden was the first US Senator to endorse Jimmy Carter in 1976, when many thought Biden was crazy to do so, as no one saw Carter as a likely nominee of his party or President of the United States. The two men share many common traits.

And Carter has said his favorite President is Harry Truman, who like Carter and Biden, has often been underrated and underestimated.

One could say the three men—Carter, Biden, and Truman—are in many ways, the most decent Presidents since World War II.

And one more point: These three men have never been cited as those who have cheated on their wives, and their marriages endured without scandal!

Jimmy Carter also has been the true example of a “good Christian”, as he has practiced the decency and compassion promoted by Jesus Christ.

Carter is a wonderful, compassionate, decent human being, and there are very few Presidents who fit that description!

So as a nation, let us celebrate this great man–Jimmy Carter–the total opposite of the most crooked and horrendous President of the United States in its history–Donald Trump–who still poses a threat to American democracy as we near the 250th anniversary of American Independence in 2026!

To Kevin McCarthy And MAGA Republicans: NO Cut In Aid To Ukraine! :(

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As I write this, it seems as if we are on the road to a costly and unnecessary government shutdown on Sunday, provoked by extremist right wing MAGA Republicans, and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy unwilling to resist them, and instead to make a deal with Democrats and mainstream Republicans in the House of Representatives.

McCarthy and the MAGA Republicans now want a cut in aid to Ukraine, but some House Republicans and many Senate Republicans agree with Joe Biden and the Democrats that it is essential to continue to provide aid to that nation in its struggle against Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation.

The MAGA Republicans, Kevin McCarthy, and former President Donald Trump are promoting a dangerous isolationist attitude on world affairs, much like occurred in the 1920s and 1930s.

Practing appeasement to a dictator, as with Hitler in the 1930s, and Putin now, does not lead to peace, as it emboldens such evil people, and just as World War II was the result eight decades ago, so would be the result if Ukraine is conquered, as Putin will move on to NATO nations, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, if the US and NATO stop assisting the valiant battle of Ukraine.

So the answer to MAGA Republicans, Kevin McCarthy, and Donald Trump is NO CUT in aid to Ukraine, and the Republicans will suffer at the ballot box in November 2024!

It is tragic that there will be so much harm visited on vulnerable Americans, but in the end, Joe Biden, his party, and reasonable Senate and House Republicans must stand strong and refuse to give in!

The Mental Deterioration Of Donald Trump

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Anyone who is normal can clearly see that Donald Trump is deteriorating mentally before America, everytime he writes on Truth Social, or gives a speech or an interview.

He is clearly delusional and paranoid, and continues to lie at a rate unmatched in American history by any American political leader.

He talks about Barack Obama as if he ran against him in 2016, and he says Joe Biden is about to take America into World War TWO, which occurred EIGHTY years ago, while he probably meant World War III!

Trump remains so self assured that he does not listen to or follow advice or counsel from his attorneys, and this will harm him in the upcoming trials he faces.

The thought that such a menace to civil order and common decency might be given the power to run again, and promise revenge on his “enemies” is horrifying, and further destroys the image of the Republican Party, which is clearly on its last legs, based on the craziness and lunacy not only of Donald Trump, but a large portion of the party leadership!

Foreign Policy Of America In Danger From Donald Trump!

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American foreign policy is in great danger from the threat of Donald Trump possibly being reelected to the Presidency in 2024.

His well known admiration for authoritarians in Russia, North Korea, and China; and his hostility toward the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are alarm bells in the night!

His willingness to abandon Ukraine, and allow Vladimir Putin to seize more of that nation, is an encouragement that will trigger World War III, as what would stop Putin from trying to restore the old Soviet Union, by attacking Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and more territory?

America’s relationship with Asian nations, which now are 60 percent of the world’s population are also in danger!

And our relationship with Canada and Latin America would be in disarray as well!

To imagine that Trump would be President again is like imagining that Charles Lindbergh or Henry Ford had been President in the 1930s and 1940s, cozying up to Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy during World War II!

President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has worked very hard to promote and strengthen our alliances with nations around the world, and one must remember his vast experience in foreign policy, as a US Senator, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and eight years as Vice President under Barack Obama!

84th Anniversary Of World War II Beginning A Reminder Of Need To Support Ukraine Against Russia!

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September 1, 1939 was the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

The threat of totalitarianism that Nazi Germany represented created a crisis in American foreign policy for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as isolationists strived to keep America out of World War II as not our war, since we had two great oceans that separated us from war elsewhere in the world.

Many of the isolationists were Republicans, but included naive people from all political persuasions and walks of life.

Americans did not want to get involved in the war, but eventually, it was forced upon us by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

If that had not happened, America might have faced a likely threat from European Fascism without allies.

This is important to keep in mind as the Russia-Ukraine war has ended 18 months and counting, and there is growing demand by isolationists and the right wing of the Republican Party in Congress to stop funding for Ukraine in its defense.

These critics include apologists for Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation, and they seem unperturbed at the reality that Russia, if successful in Ukraine, will put its sights next on NATO nations, including particularly, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, but with grand designs to recreate the old Soviet Union before 1989!

Joe Biden And Camp David Summit With South Korea And Japan Important Step For National Security And World Stability!

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In a world in the 2020s, in many respects just as dangerous as a hundred years ago, the need for America to build up and strengthen foreign alliances to promote democracy and security is urgent!

We are fortunate that we have a President, Joe Biden, wise enough to recognize, just as Harry Truman did three quarters of a century ago, the need to build strong international alliances to protect the US and promote democracy against totalitarian governments.

In the last century, we had Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, and Imperial Japan as the threats in World War II, and then in the Cold War years, we had the Soviet Union to combat.

More recently, we have the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, North Korea, and Iran as the leading rivals and threats to American national security and world stability.

So Joe Biden has wisely built up and expanded the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) begun under President Harry Truman, and with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, making a strong commitment to the preservation of that nation’s independence from Russian dominance!

If Donald Trump or many Republican isolationists, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, were to win the White House in 2024, the security umbrella of NATO, with its 31 nations allied with the US, would be in danger of being destroyed, and would only encourage Vladimir Putin ever more in his aggressions, just like Adolf Hitler a century ago.

The news of the meeting of South Korea’s President and Japan’s Premier with President Biden at Camp David, Maryland, yesterday, is an indication of the desire to have closer relations with two key Asian allies, as a bulwark against China and North Korea, and is all to the good for the future of democracy preservation!

Camp David has been the location of historic summits, and adds stature to the commitment of the US to the support of two key Asian allies!