25th Amendment

Republican Hypocrisy As Usual, Now On Afghanistan!

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Republicans in Congress are utilizing hypocrisy, as usual, now on Afghanistan.

Donald Trump signed an agreement in late 2020, insuring the end of US involvement by May 1, 2021.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Taliban leadership, and signed the agreement.

Donald Trump spoke as late as late June to a crowd, bragging about the fact that he had arranged for the end of US involvement in Afghanistan.

But now, both Trump and Pompeo, and innumerable others in the Republican Party, are accusing Joe Biden of betrayal.

In late June, 56 percent of Republicans in public opinion polls endorsed getting out of Afghanistan, along with about 70 percent of Democrats and Independents.

Trump signed the agreement to withdraw, and Biden followed up on it, with a delay until August-September 2021.

Biden had been against staying in Afghanistan, while Vice President under Barack Obama, so it is a long standing viewpoint.

This does not mean that Joe Biden is not to be criticized for lack of timely planning to assure the safety and ability of Afghans and their family members who worked with the US military forces, and women who had seen great strides, but wanted to leave, also to be able to flee.

But when Florida Senator Rick Scott, a true scumbag, says the 25th Amendment should be used to remove Biden, one is tempted to say where were you when Donald Trump was demonstrating corruption and incompetence? Why did you NOT vote to convict Donald Trump on impeachment charges as a threat to American democracy?

The issue of Afghanistan is being used simply as a political tool by the conservative right wing, when they could not care less about Afghans who helped us, and Afghan women.

In fact, the Republican Party has no concern for women’s rights, in Afghanistan, or in America!

47th Anniversary Of Richard Nixon Resignation, And Gerald Ford Becoming The 38th President!

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Today, August 9, in 1974, the nation and the world witnessed Richard Nixon resigning the Presidency.

The event also elevated Gerald Ford to become the 38th President, and the only one NOT elected Vice President or President, due to the 25th Amendment, which saved the nation after Vice President Spiro Agnew had earlier resigned in October 1973, due to corruption charges.

If there were no 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967, Speaker of the House Carl Albert, a Democrat, with no desire to be President, and having a well known liquor problem, would have been the successor to the Oval Office.

Certainly, Albert would have been preferable to Spiro Agnew.

But despite controversy over Ford pardoning Nixon on September 8, 1974, which was a major factor in his defeat to Jimmy Carter in the 1976 Presidential election, Ford has been perceived in recent decades as the “right” person in a time of turmoil.

One can criticize President Ford, but also, one can see that Ford calmed the nation and in many ways, has been perceived in a better light over the decades.

A Very Emotional Time With Many Thoughts Which Will Require Time To Process

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The last 48 hours have been the most emotional roller coaster imaginable!

It began with great excitement as Georgia saw the victory of both Democratic Senate candidates, the Reverent Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff, marking the first African American Senator from a Deep South state since Reconstruction, and the first Jewish Senator in the history of the state.

It also meant that the Democrats would control the US Senate under new Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and that Joe Biden would be able to have more success with a Congress controlled by his party, even if paper thin control.

But then, we had the first attack on the US Capitol Building, the home of Congress, since the British attacked on August 24, 1814 during the War of 1812, and done by a right wing Fascist terrorist, insurrectionist group of Donald Trump supporters, and egged on by Trump himself, as well as his son, Donald Trump, Jr. and Rudy Giuliani, former NYC Mayor. These three men are guilty of treason and sedition and need to be held accountable!

The Capitol was defiled, and our national security was in danger, and it caused America to be ridiculed in the eyes of the world, which have seen America as the image of democracy being threatened by an egomaniac who wanted absolute power!

So even though at this writing, there are only 13 days to the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the push is on to impeach and remove the President, a second attempt, or to invoke the 25th Amendment, with great pressure being brought on Vice President Mike Pence by Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to prod the Trump Cabinet to join him in taking the Presidency away from Trump, and giving the authority for the remaining days of this term to Mike Pence.

There will be much need to process these events, as the nation and its future remain at risk, as this author and blogger publishes this entry!

Shocked And Stunned By Today’s Events, But Conclusion Is Donald Trump Needs To Be Removed NOW!

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The events of January 6, 2021 have shocked and stunned the nation and the world, and this author and blogger will comment on it once he has recovered from the emotional turmoil he experienced watching these events unfold!

But clearly, one conclusion is evident!

Donald Trump, the worst and most dangerous President in American history, MUST be removed NOW, not on Inauguration Day, two weeks from now!

He is a danger to American democracy, and to the national security of the United States!

So Vice President Mike Pence, who asserted himself today by calling in the National Guard to Washington, DC, over the objections of Donald Trump, must invoke the 25th Amendment, and serve as Acting President, taking away all authority from Donald Trump, and the Cabinet officers have a responsibility to work with Pence to put this into effect!

There is no time to waste, and the destiny of America puts the burden on Mike Pence!

Donald Trump Demonstrates Mental Instability And Lunacy, Presenting Issue Of 25th Amendment

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The mental health and condition of President Donald Trump is deteriorating rapidly, and he appears more than ever to be displaying mental instability and lunacy, which is bringing up the issue of the 25th Amendment possibly being considered for use.

Trump has been on Twitter during his COVID 19 illness, attacking his own cabinet members, including Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, along with FBI head Christopher Wray.

He is talking about arresting former President Barack Obama; his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, who is miles ahead of him in all polls; his former opponent, Hillary Clinton; Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who was the subject of a kidnap plot by right wing fanatics; and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who is calling for Congressional legislation on removal of the President as a threat to national security and safety.

He has also termed Democratic Vice Presidential nominee Kamala Harris as a Communist, endangering her life with extremists by labeling her with such a ridiculous label, reminiscent of former Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy’s Communist “witch hunt” in the 1950s. This will increase the number of threats and dangers to Harris, as she runs for Vice President, and when she is Vice President, a heartbeat away from the Presidency. It will also affect her husband and his two children, who are Jewish. There is a tone of racism in the attack on Harris, as she is of mixed race, with a Jamaican father and Asian Indian mother, a tactic used by the right wing against former President Barack Obama, with his Kenyan African father and his white mother.

As we are down to 25 days until Election Day, and with Trump still apparently affected by powerful steroid drugs, the nation sits on the precipice of the danger of bloodshed and violence, and it seems necessary for powerful leaders in the government to take responsible action to protect the nation from such threat presented by the 45th President of the United States!

Donald Trump Is Committing Political Suicide Every Day, As Joe Biden Lead Grows Rapidly

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It is clear now that President Donald Trump is committing political suicide every day, as Joe Biden’s lead grows dramatically.

Biden’s lead had been about 6-8 points just a few weeks ago, but now it is as high as 14-16 points.

If that actually happened on November 3, and probably will not occur to that extent, Joe Biden would win in territory such as Ronald Reagan in 1984, or Theodore Roosevelt in 1904.

Trump has caused his own demise by his horrific debate performance; by his intention to destroy health care for 20 million people; by his inaction on COVID 19 all year; by his behavior when in Walter Reed Medical Center and then when he came back to the White House last night; and now rejecting any further negotiation on COVID 19 relief of tens of millions of Americans, including stimulus checks for the unemployed, help to small businesses, and aid to industries, such as airlines and restaurants, causing a downturn on the stock market today.

It is clear that Donald Trump is maniacal now on his medication, and is a danger to national security, and yet, Vice President Mike Pence and the Cabinet are unwilling to invoke the 25th Amendment, so the nation teeters and totters with no one in charge of the ship of state!

Kamala Harris Main Arguments To Use Against Mike Pence In VP Debate On Wednesday Evening

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Arguably the most important Vice Presidential debate since the first one in 1976 is taking place this Wednesday in Salt Lake City, Utah, when Vice President Mike Pence confronts California Senator Kamala Harris.

The possibility of a female Vice President in the next Presidential term heightens interest in this debate between a Vice President who has been unwilling to express his own views with his President, by every measure we have; and a Senator, who headed the Justice system of the state with one eighth of the American people residing, in California.

Kamala Harris needs to address major issues with Mike Pence, and if necessary, be persistent!

These include:

Why are you NOT asserting yourself in this COVID 19 crisis, and allowing Trump family members to run rampant over your responsibility to the nation to invoke the 25th Amendment?

Why are you not emphasizing masks, social distancing, and avoiding large rallies on your own part?

Why have you not condemned white nationalism groups, including QAnon and “Proud Boys”?

Why do you refuse to resist the policy of favoritism toward Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and other dictators, and the worsening relations of the nation with NATO, Canada, Japan, and South Korea?

Why do you show no concern about the immediate loss of health care for 20 million or more people, especially in the midst of a world wide pandemic?

How do you explain all of the failures of Trump, including on;

the Mexico wall:

no health care alternative and plans to gut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security;

the inhumane treatment of immigrant children and their parents at the border;

the widespread corruption of Trump Cabinet officers and others;

Trump’s failure to match Barack Obama’s economic recovery; Trump’s constant attacks on veterans, Muslims, the disabled, and those who have died, including John McCain, and lack of respect for Ruth Bader Ginsburg;

and so many other shortcomings?

Harris will perform very well, with compassion, concern, empathy, decency, ethics, morality and persistence in asserting herself, and this will make her an excellent and principled Vice President under a President Joe Biden, who has the same character traits as she does.

And if circumstance puts Kamala Harris into the Oval Office, the nation will be well served and be in competent hands!

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

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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.

Donald Trump Seems To Be Wanting To Bring America To Its Knees And Destroy The Nation As He Sees Defeat On The Horizon

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President Donald Trump is moving to block extra funding for the Centers For Disease Control and for testing and tracing, an absolutely insane move.

Additionally, despite evidence that wearing face masks will work to end the CoronaVirus Pandemic over time, Trump refuses to call for a national commitment, and that encourages his crazy followers to refuse to do so.

Meanwhile, the death toll continues to rise, and America is the only major nation to have been unable to avoid the worsening of the pandemic, with one out of four deaths worldwide being in the United States. We are moving toward Dr. Anthony Fauci’s fear that we will soon have 100,000 cases per day, with the numbers now up to 70,000 daily.

Dr. Fauci has been prevented from speaking through the White House and has had to go to outside interviews, but his advice on the pandemic is being totally ignored.

This is pure insanity, and Trump’s poll numbers on handling of the Pandemic show that 60 percent disapprove of what he has done, but he is tone deaf and blind to reality.

It is almost as if he is like Adolf Hitler, as he was nearing defeat in World War II, ignoring reality and wanting to take Germany down to total death and destruction.

Donald Trump is a very sick man mentally, and he seems to have no concern about the loss of life, having no empathy, and refusing to express sorrow or concern about what is going on.

He senses that he is losing, and wants to take the nation down to degradation and massive deaths that might surpass the Civil War total in four years of 620,000 in a year.

If there was ever a time to remove him under the 25th Amendment, even with the election soon upon us, it is now, but Vice President Mike Pence and the Trump cabinet will not do that, and they will all be disgraced in history for the most destructive possible disaster we have witnessed in modern times!

Crisis Management: Trump Far Worse Than James Buchanan And Herbert Hoover! Time For Mike Pence To Step In!

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Donald Trump will go down as the absolutely worst Crisis Manager in American Presidential history!

Before now, it would be a tie between James Buchanan at the time of the pending Civil War in 1860 and Herbert Hoover at the time of the highest unemployment in the Great Depression in 1932!

But even they were not as undignified and self serving as Donald Trump, who is still more obsessed with his self image, and fails to show any concern about the massive loss of life which is coming to America from the CoronaVirus Pandemic, far more than any other nation, but no real concerted action occurring!

By all rights, Donald Trump has again failed in leadership for the umpteenth time, and should resign and let Vice President Mike Pence take over as the 46th President!

Never has a new President succeeded so late in the term, as Lyndon B. Johnson succeeded near the end of the third year, upon John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963, three weeks less than a year to the election.

But Pence would have the opportunity, if he chose to be a true leader, to change policy, and possibly save the Republican Party, although it is hard to imagine that he could win a full term.

Instead, at this point with seven months to the election, and about nine and a half months to the inauguration, he could gain a reputation as having worked to save the nation, as much as possible, while unable to have his own term.

One has to believe that in his heart of hearts, Mike Pence knows that Trump is a disaster, and should resign!

It is time for Mike Pence to think of the nation, not himself, and pressure Trump to leave, or utilize the 25th Amendment, pushing the cabinet majority to back him, in a last ditch effort to save the nation from the worst that is coming!