State Department

Henry Kissinger Reaches Age 100: Mixed Views On His Reputation And Legacy!

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Henry Kissinger, arguably the most significant Secretary of State in American history since World War II, turns age 100 today.

Sadly, Kissinger has a very checkered history, seen as outstanding in some ways as National Security Adviser and then the head of the State Department under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

But he has also been held complicit for supporting the prolonging of the Vietnam War under Nixon; backing the military coup in Argentina, which led to brutality and the deaths of tens of thousands of Argentines by death squads; the overthrow of the Chilean democracy in 1973, leading to the brutality of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorial regime until 1990; support of the Pakistan dictatorship war against Bangladesh and India in 1971; and the bombing of Cambodia in 1970 and after during the Vietnam War.

On the positive side, he was involved in the negotiation of the Paris Peace Accords ending the Vietnam War; pioneering the policy of detente with the Soviet Union; promoting the opening of relations with the People’s Republic of China; and involvement in shuttle diplomacy that ended the 18 Day Yom Kippur War between Egypt and Israel in 1973.

So Kissinger is looked at by experts as both a “war criminal” but also a statesman who won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Vietnam War.

Kissinger has been unable to travel freely to many areas of the world, since he left office in 1977, as he could have faced arrest for the evil deeds he endorsed and supported.

He will remain controversial in the future after his passing, but one thing is certain!

You cannot study the history of the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford Presidencies, without realizing the great impact, both negative and positive, of the German Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany!

Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, Josh Hawley And Other Republicans Back Putin In Ukraine Crisis—Crazy!

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In the midst of the Ukraine Crisis promoted by Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation, we are seeing insane developments!

Former President Donald Trump; his former CIA head and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Missouri Senator Josh Hawley; and a multitude of other Republicans and Trumpites, incluidng the Fox News Channel evening talk show hosts, are praising Putin, showing no concern about Ukraine, and attacking Joe Biden in the midst of the worse foreign policy emergency since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962!

Just try to imagine what Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Senator Barry Goldwater, or Senator Joseph McCarthy would say, if they saw the Republican Party selling out to the Russians, a nation that has always been a menace and threat to American democracy!

The refusal of many Republicans to back President Biden in the midst of a massive emergency situation is a scenario that undermines our ability to deal with the danger of Ukraine being overrun by Russian military forces, in a manner not seen since World War II!

Donald Trump Foreign Policy A Total Disaster!

Ronald 12 Comments

President Donald Trump has totally destroyed American foreign policy, creating a massive disaster which will impact the nation and the world for long beyond his tenure in office.

He has damaged our relationships with our democratic allies in NATO, along with our alliance with Japan and South Korea.

He has developed a total admiration for authoritarian dictatorships, including Russia, China, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, the Philippines, and Brazil.

He has created a situation in the Middle East that is causing disintegration of any hope of stability, by helping Russia, Iran, Syria and Turkey massacre the Kurdish minority that helped the world against ISIS. And he claims to be unwilling to trust Iran on the repudiated Nuclear Deal, but now is helping them and Vladimir Putin to increase their influence in the Middle East, a situation which also endangers Israel.

ISIS now is again a major threat to the world, particularly to our allies in NATO, and Trump seemed to encourage that with his outrageous comments last week, showing lack of concern with that reality. But it will also affect the United States as well over time, and will make it more dangerous for Americans to travel world wide, as ISIS will be out to attack Americans, as well as Europeans.

Trump is totally clueless on foreign policy, and has fired anyone who has any sense of reality on the subject, and now has sycophants working to destroy the Foreign Service and the State Department, a long range detriment to any future President who will follow Donald Trump in the Oval Office.

This is only one of a multitude of reasons why Donald Trump needs to be removed from the Presidency, but will 20 Republicans join 47 Democrats in doing what needs to be done, to rid the Presidency of this menace to the nation and to the world?

Sadly, the odds are strongly against it!

Trump Declares War On Federal Government, Wishes To Return to Pre Pendleton Act Spoils System

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Donald Trump has set out to declare war on the federal government bureaucracy, wishing to return to the pre Pendleton Act Spoils System, that reigned from the time of Andrew Jackson in the 1830s to the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883 under President Chester Alan Arthur.

Arthur, a Republican who succeeded the assassinated James A. Garfield, who had been murdered by a crazed office seeker, Charles J. Guiteau in 1881, made civil service reform his major accomplishment in his three and a half years in the Presidency.

The federal bureaucracy is certainly not perfect by any means, but at least it requires qualifications and the passage of examinations, rather than just political connections, to gain a federal government position.

Most federal bureaucrats are highly qualified and dedicated, but Donald Trump wants political hacks to operate federal government agencies, and to ruin union and labor rights of federal government workers, thereby returning America to the Gilded Age mentality that reigned 135 years ago.

Donald Trump will eventually leave office by hook or by crook, but the damage he is doing is detrimental to the long term stability and health of all federal government agencies, and will make many young people unwilling to consider federal government careers.

Every government agency from the State Department and diplomatic corps, through those agencies that deal with human needs, such as education, healthcare, housing, and also those which deal with the environment, the economy, defense and so many other crucial areas of government, will now become sewers run by incompetent, corrupt, and uncaring political crooks.

The state governments are already becoming worse operated than ever, and now the Republican Party is, in league with Donald Trump, conspiring against the American future in the name of the selfish interests of the wealthy and privileged.

The needs of the vast percentage of Americans who are not wealthy and privileged will be made much more difficult, and with the growing percentage of Americans who are not white, being governed by a white supremacy mentality of the federal government and the Republican Party, the seeds for future civil war and violence is growing. This endangers the civil order and undermines the great progress made over the past century plus by Presidents and Congresses of both political parties.

So the deleterious effects of Donald Trump are multiplying like cancer, and there is no sign of being able to stop this growing damage to the American Republic.

Donald Trump’s Greatest Crime: Destruction Of Federal Government Agencies, Long Term Damage

Ronald 4 Comments

Possibly the greatest crime Donald Trump has perpetrated in his 15 months of being President is his destruction of federal agencies.

This is particularly true of the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Interior Department, the Education Department, the Housing and Urban Development Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but really all departments in the federal bureaucracy have been affected.

Trump has trashed the FBI and the Justice Department, and Jeff Sessions has been the worst Attorney General in modern history. Trump has worked to destroy the credibility of the Department of Justice, not only in the investigation of his scandals, but also the reversal of so many civil rights policies.

The State Department has so many vacancies in the Foreign Service, and so many able diplomats in the Diplomatic Corps have resigned.

The Interior Department under Ryan Zinke has been a disgrace on the matter of protection and perpetuation of national parks and national monuments.

The Education Department under Betsy DeVos has worked to undermine public education at all levels, and undermined protection of minorities and women under education laws.

The Housing and Urban Development Department under Ben Carson is ignoring the major problems of public housing, and not protecting the rights of tenants.

The Department of Health and Human Services has tried to destroy ObamaCare, but has failed at that, while putting obstacles in the way of those who wish to engage in the program.

The Environmental Protection Agency under Scott Pruitt is a total tragedy, rife with scandal and disgraceful actions against the environment.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be on its death bed under Mick Mulvaney, an extremely corrupt person, who is also the head of the Office of Management and Budget.

We are in the midst of a great tragedy that will not be undone for decades and one feels helpless as one sees the federal government deteriorating!

The Plot To Privatize The Department Of Veterans Affairs, And The Firing Of Secretary David Shulkin, Just A Beginning To Privatize Much Of Federal Government

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It is clear that Donald Trump, and his right wing friends, billionaires Charles and David Koch, and other right wing extremists, are out to destroy the Federal government involvement in just about every government agency other than the original cabinet agencies created in 1789–State, Treasury, (War)Defense, and Justice.

So the firing of Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin is clearly a move to make Veterans Affairs privatized, which is a horrible idea, as taking care of our veterans should not be based on the profit motive. There is also a plan to privatize Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Education, the Post Office, and other government agencies.

Those who care about a responsive national government being protected must understand that “war” has been declared by the extremists on the right, who do not give a damn about the lives of 325 million Americans, only downgrading federal government as it has operated since the beginning of the 20th century and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Regulation and intervention has advanced America, but the big corporations and the elite wealthy want to reverse, and destroy, all progress for average Americans to make our nation more humane and responsive.

This is the time for liberals, progressives, and Democrats to work to deny the success of this plot, so every caring American must work to get rid of the Republican majority in Congress, so that the fight against the evil of the Trump Presidency can move forward.

Donald Trump And Afghanistan: No More Interest In Reform, Only Killing, A Prescription For Disaster!

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Donald Trump’s speech on Afghanistan last night was what this blogger expected: Trump the warmonger, a complete switch from his “isolationist” stand during his Presidential campaign.

It was very predictable, as again, Donald Trump proved to be what he has always been best at being, a massive liar and manipulator of the truth!

The man who was a draft dodger, on the basis of bone spurs in the 1960s, and said his “Vietnam” was avoiding sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) with women at that time of his life, now has become a war President, and is allowing his overly dominant military administration to “charge on” in Afghanistan, after 16 years, the most of any American war, and inability to resolve the matter.

Afghanistan caused the loss of Alexander the Great in ancient times; of the British Empire in the 19th century; and of the Soviet Union from 1979-1989.

It is a “hell hole” with no end, and already 2,400 Americans have died in that war, and the war has also cost an estimate of between $841 billion to $2 trillion dollars, a massive waste of money that has undermined the nation! And over 20,000 men and women have been wounded, many of them seriously, and mental issues have arisen among many of these veterans, and many others who were not physically harmed.

And to top it off, Trump has indicated there is no interest in trying to make life better for Afghan civilians, but rather just to kill terrorists!

That is a prescription for endless, constant war, and bitterness, and continued growth of terrorism for decades on end!

The Taliban control an estimated 35-60 percent of the nation, and opium production in the major province that produces the drug is 80 percent under their control.

The Afghan mentality is that you kill their relatives, for generations after, the goal will be revenge, so a war is unwinnable.

And Trump seems to be stirring up trouble with neighbor Pakistan, a Muslim nation with nuclear weapons, with his hostile rhetoric.

It seems as if Trump has decided to be a warmonger–continuing in Afghanistan, while fighting ISIL (ISIS), and stirring up China with threats of trade wars, while trying to deal with North Korea, without starting a new Korean War or using nuclear weapons on Kim Jong Un; and threatening to break the Iranian nuclear agreement; and also suggesting action in Venezuela; as well as trying to deal with the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, Syria, and Iraq.

All that Trump seems to be able to do is make money all of the time, while promoting American imperialism overseas, insuring engagement in more wars, and spending taxpayer money to glorify himself as a “tough guy” in international affairs, while avoiding diplomacy, and cutting the State Department budget by up to 40 percent, including NOT having many ambassadorial positions filled or even nominated after seven months in office!

Trump is a true proponent of unregulated capitalism and American militarism, precisely what has led to so much turmoil and suffering caused by the top few percent of the population who worship Wall Street and the Pentagon as the answer to all problems in America.

Meanwhile, the white and minority working class become the cannon fodder for Trump’s egotism and narcissism, as he continues to divide America, and has no concern about the tremendous damage he is causing, creating an atmosphere of civil anger and disrespect that has split America like no time since the 1960s, and in many ways, worse than that decade 50 years ago!

Massive Cuts In State Department, Transportation Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency Proposed

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The Trump Administration is calling for massive cuts in the budgets of the State Department, the Transportation Security Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others government departments.

To cut the State Department when our foreign relations are in such flux makes no sense, and endangers our national security.

To cut the TSA, when the emphasis has been on trying to prevent terrorism in our airports and on our airlines, seems totally suicidal, particularly for an administration emphasizing the issue by having a travel ban on six Muslim nations.

To cut the EPA endangers cleanup of our air and water, and undermines our ability to deal with the reality of climate change and global warming.

It all seems to be part of White House Adviser Stephen Bannon’s desire “to deconstruct the administrative state”, all of the government agencies and programs created since the time of Theodore Roosevelt through the Presidency of Barack Obama.

To many, it would seem to be promoting total chaos and anarchy in a dangerous world.

Is Donald Trump Machiavellian, As He Meets With Critics And Opponents And Ignores Many Loyal Supporters? Trying To Figure Out Trump!

Ronald 11 Comments

Donald Trump is inscrutable, hard to figure out, as he meets with critics and opponents, such as Mitt Romney and Al Gore, and ignores many loyal supporters, including Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie. He seems to be a true Machiavellian.

The latter two went to bat for Trump, and are now being pushed aside. At the same time, Romney is being courted, and Trump has such good things to say about him, although the dangling of the State Department is continuing into a third week.

Meeting Al Gore, after daughter Ivanka had a meeting with the former Vice President, was a surprise, and Gore had good things to say about Trump, and yet, then Trump hires a climate denier, Scott Pruitt, Oklahoma Attorney General, to run the Environmental Protection Agency.

Who is the real Donald Trump is anyone’s guess, but he is having loads of fun as all sorts of people are coming to Trump Tower and kissing his ring.

But the signs are clear that Trump, no matter who else he appoints, is going to be a revolutionary figure of the Right, cooperating much more than we might have thought before the campaign’s end, with the Republican leadership in Congress!

A Businessman Knows How To Run A Government Successfully? The Case Of Herbert Hoover As A Rejoinder To Donald Trump!

Ronald 66 Comments

Donald Trump loves to say that his business experience qualifies him to be President. But his business experience has mostly been failures and bankruptcies, and he inherited money from his father, which gave him an unfair advantage, compared to 99 percent of Americans, and he set out to take advantage of every legal trick and method of manipulation to enrich himself at the expense of others, including often not paying his bills.

We have had only one businessman, Herbert Hoover, as President, and he became a total disaster after he was elected in 1928. But he was not born to wealth, was orphaned before age 10,and accomplished his great business career with his own efforts and intellect, and became a multimillionaire in the mining industry by age 40, and then devoted himself to public service.

But the difference between Trump and Hoover is that Hoover served many years in government, working for Democrat Woodrow Wilson, and Republicans Warren G. Harding and Herbert Hoover, before he ran for President.

He had never been elected to anything, but he had been an extremely successful and outstanding figure in the First World War effort, and served eight significant years as Secretary of Commerce. Hoover stands out as one of the small group of really exceptional cabinet officers, which usually includes other agencies, such as the State Department, the Treasury Department, the Justice Department, and the Defense Department as the major areas where notable cabinet members serve a President.

Unfortunately, he had no ability to overcome the Great Depression that began in October 1929, as he was tied to a laissez faire political philosophy, and did not know how to gain backing in Congress. He was also a poor communicator, who was unable to inspire the American people with his public speeches and radio addresses. Hoover’s personality was very introverted, and he did not inspire confidence. So his business background failed him when it mattered, as President of the United States.

One can be sure that if Hoover was alive today, he would be shocked and stunned at a con artist, Donald Trump, who has had four bankruptcies, and has no understanding of government or world affairs, would have the gall to think he was qualified to lead America in the 21st century.