August 25 Different Years: Deaths Of Three Icons—Ted Kennedy, John McCain, Dolly Parton

Ronald 1 Comment

August 25 is a memorable date, sadly the day of passing of three icons who represented the best of America.

Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy died of cancer on August 25, 2009, a major liberal icon, who stands out as one of the greatest Democratic Senators in US history.

Arizona Senator John McCain died of cancer on August 25, 2018, a major conservative icon, who stands out as one of the greatest Republican Senators in US history.

Dolly Parton,a legendary country music singer, song writer, actress, businesswoman, and philanthropist, died of cancer on August 25, 2026. She stands out as one the most wonderful public figures, who while avoiding direct engagement with politics, spoke up for women’s rights, African American civil rights, gay and transgender rights, and for justice, humanity, empathy, decency, compassion unmatched by any entertainer in US history.

It is public figures like this that remind us that there are evil forces in public life, and most noticeably in the age of Donald Trump and his sycophantic Cabinet officers, most members of the Republican Party, and the one third of Americans who support him with no doubts or reconsideration of their backing him.

But there are also the two thirds of Americans who appreciate the goodness and public contributions of individuals such as Ted Kennedy, John McCain, and Dolly Parton.

In the long run of history, the good people who contributed to the advancement of America will be legendary, after the evil forces are overcome with patience and fortitude.

Donald Trump Has Destroyed The Long Alliance Of Canada And The United States!

Ronald 32 Comments

President Donald Trump has systematically, and without any good reason, destroyed the long alliance between Canada and the United States.

Canada has been a great neighbor with no major, or even minor issues, for the past century and a half.

We share a 5,500 mile boundary with Canada, the longest boundary of any two nations with each other.

Trump has acted in a maniacal manner, and is now imposing 50 percent tariffs on a wide variety of Canadian products, and Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney, has rightfully, refused to give in to the bully that Trump has become.

So Canada will match tariff for tariff, undermining the economies of both nations, and creating unnecessary hostility for no good reason imaginable.

Most notably, hundreds of products from this “tariff war” will rise dramatically, with automobiles and fish being two such examples.

And this threatens the North American Free Trade Agreement that has existed between the US and Canada, as well as Mexico.

This will, particularly, affect the US states that border Canada, including Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska.

Border crossings are also being affected, and bridges that connect the two nations, are also being the center of controversy.

And Trump has spoken of Canada becoming the “51st state”, a totally crazy assertion, but part of Trump’s imperialistic desires.

And now, Trump is proposing a change of Lake Ontario to Lake America, another outrage, as that name has been the normal name for centuries even before the creation of the United States and of Canada.

This is a tragedy of massive proportions, and will not easily be overcome when Trump leaves office, and if a Republican succeeds him in the White House, could be long term damage that will undermine North American security and economic stability.

In Latest Polling, Trump Is “Under Water” In 47 States!

Ronald 27 Comments

In a shocking new poll regarding Donald Trump after 19 months of his second term in the Presidency, only three states—Wyoming, Idaho, and West Virginia—have positive ratings about his performance.

In those three states, Trump has a positive rating of Plus 14 in Wyoming; Plus 9 in Idaho; and Plus 6 in West Virginia.

The lowest net Job Approval Rating was Minus 83 in Washington, DC; followed by Maryland and Vermont at Minus 50 ratings. Hawaii at Minus 48; Washington at Minus 42; Illinois at Minus 41; Connecticut and Rhode Island at Minus 40.

But also, the “battleground states” that will matter in the 2028 Presidential Election have poor ratings for Trump as well, with Arizona Minus 23; Georgia Minus 31; Michigan and Nevada Minus 27; Pennsylvania Minus 26; and Wisconsin Minus 28.

Among other states, the Minus Scores are as follows:

New Hampshire and Maine 31
New York 36 and Connecticut 40
New Jersey 34 and Virginia 27
North Carolina 25 and South Carolina 28
Ohio 26 and Indiana 34
Iowa 34 and Minnesota 32
New Mexico 32 and Colorado 34
California 34 and Oregon 37
Texas 22 and Florida 18

With Trump “Under Water” in “Battleground States”, and even in so called “Red States”, including South Carolina, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Texas, and Florida, an electoral “disaster” in the upcoming Midterm Elections of 2026, and even in the Presidential Election of 2028, seems highly likely at this point.

Presidential Nominees More Than Twice In American History

Ronald 30 Comments

The history of Presidential Elections shows a total of 13 individuals who have been nominated more than twice for the White House.

Seven of these individuals ended up in the Presidency, and six others never made it to the White House.

This includes four nominees of third or minor parties who were on the ballot more than twice in a Presidential election.

The all time “champion” is Franklin D. Roosevelt, nominated and winning four times–1932, 1936, 1940, 1944–before the 22nd Amendment, ratified by 1951, prevented any future candidate to have more than two terms.

Thomas Jefferson was nominated for President in 1796, when he lost to John Adams but became his combative Vice President, and 1800 and 1804, when he twice won the Presidency.

Andrew Jackson was nominated for President in 1824, when he won the popular vote, but lost the Electoral College to John Quincy Adams. Then, he won the Presidency in the next two elections, 1828 and 1832.

Martin Van Buren was nominated for and won the Presidency in 1836, but then lost the Election of 1840, and later ran as the third party Free Soil nominee in 1848.

Grover Cleveland won the Presidency in 1884, but although winning the popular vote in 1888, lost the Electoral College to Benjamin Harrison, but then came back and defeated Harrison in a rematch in 1892, making him the first of two Presidents to have nonconsecutive terms of office.

Richard Nixon lost the Presidential Election of 1960 to John F. Kennedy, but came back and won the Presidency in both 1968 and 1972.

Donald Trump won the Electoral College in 2016, despite losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton, and then was defeated by Joe Biden in 2020. In 2024, although not winning a majority of the popular vote, he finally accomplished winning the popular vote edge over Kamala Harris, and is now serving his second nonconsecutive term, sharing that distinction with Grover Cleveland

Two major party nominees were nominated three times, but lost all those elections—Henry Clay in 1824, 1832, and 1844—and William Jennings Bryan in 1896, 1900, and 1908.

Two Socialist nominees were nominated and ran five and six times—Eugene Debs in 1900, 1904, 1908, 1912, and 1920—and Norman Thomas in
1928, 1932, 1936, 1940, 1944, and 1948.

Ralph Nader ran as either the Green Party candidate, or as an Independent, in four consecutive elections—1996, 2000, 2004, and 2008, with his impact being significant in the Presidential Election of 2000, in “throwing” the election in Florida to George W. Bush over Al Gore.

Jill Stein ran as the Green Party nominee three times, in 2012, 2016 and 2024.

Of the seven Presidents who were nominees more than twice, five of these Presidents were elected twice (Jefferson, Jackson, Cleveland, Nixon, and Trump) with Van Buren only winning once, and FDR being the lone exception of four times being elected, which now can never happen again in the future.

$40 Trillion National Debt A Crisis For America, And Mostly Occurring Under Republican Presidents!

Ronald 33 Comments

America is faced with a crisis, as the national debt just passed $40 Trillion, and no end in sight, as Donald Trump adds massively to the national debt with his extremely large tax cuts, and the costs of the Iran War.

This presents a crisis for the funding of Social Security and Medicare, which will be unable, as things stand now, to pay out to recipients the entire amount they are due on a monthly basis by the mid 2030s, and on health care costs.

The national debt reached $1 Trillion under Ronald Reagan by his second year in office, 1982.

And when one looks at all Presidents since then, it is clear that the national debt has magnified primarily under Republican Presidents since Reagan, who tripled the national debt to $3 Trillion, as well as George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.

George W. Bush started with a $5.7 Trillion national debt, and left eight years later, with $10.6 Trillion, so a doubling of the national debt.

Donald Trump started with about $20 Trillion national debt, and left after four years with $28 Trillion national debt. And in his second term, the national debt has grown from $36 Trillion up to, presently, $40 Trillion national debt.

So $20 Trillion, half the total national debt at present, but with about $3 Trillion being added annually by estimate for the next two and a half years of Trump, are due to Republican policies, including more massive tax cuts for the wealthy under Bush and Trump, and involvement in foreign wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Iran.

This is not excusing Democratic Presidents since Reagan, but the worst economic downturn, the Great Recession, since the Great Depression, explains Barack Obama adding $9.3 Trillion to the national debt in two terms; and Joe Biden, with the COVID 19 Pandemic, adding $8.5 Trillion to the national debt in his one term of office.

Bill Clinton added only $1.5 Trillion to the national debt in his two terms, and actually had balanced budgets in his second term, in league with a Republican Congress, while Republican George H. W. Bush in his one term added $1.3 Trillion to the national debt.

By comparison, Democrat Jimmy Carter in his one term only added $300 Billion to the National Debt.

Donald Trump’s Interference With Elections A Major Crisis!

Ronald 25 Comments

President Donald Trump has promoted interference with elections, creating a major crisis for American democracy.

If this interference is not stopped, the nation is moving toward autocracy and dictatorship.

Already, Trump provoked the US Capitol Insurrection on January 6, 2021, trying to prevent the House and Senate from confirming Joe Biden’s victory over Trump in the Presidential Election Of 2020.

This has led to many Republicans refusing to accept that Biden legitimately won the Presidency, and “Election Deniers” abound in Congress and in state elections ever since, undermining the concept of peaceful transfer of government.

Therefore, Trump has promoted gerrymandering of Congressional seats in an attempt to keep the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, and has claimed massive voter fraud. He has also attempted, so far unsuccessfully, to promote legislation that would prevent many eligible voters from their right to vote in elections.

The NY Times has published 12 factors that are alarm bells, including:

Manipulating the Law to Stay in Power
Stifling Speech and Dissent
Persecuting Political Opponents
Bypassing the Legislature
Using the Military At Home
Defying the Courts
Declaring False Emergencies
Vilifying Marginalized Groups
Controlling Information
Trying to Take Over Universities
Creating a Cult Of Personality
Using Power For Personal Profit

On a scale of 1-10, the most advanced threats are:

Using Power For Personal Profit
Vilifying Marginalized Groups
Creating A Cult of Personality
Persecuting Political Opponents
Bypassing the Legislature
Declaring False Emergencies
Stifling Speech And Dissent

These seven categories are 5-7 on the scale of 10.

The other five categories range from 2-4 on the scale of 10, and are rapidly being escalated.

It is urgent and essential that all actions be pursued to stop the threat to American Democracy that is rapidly escalating.

Surprising Result In Florida Democratic Senate Primary

Ronald 43 Comments

The state of Florida has set up an interesting race to fill the Senate seat vacated by Marco Rubio, when he became Secretary of State.

Former Attorney General Ashley Moody has replaced Rubio, but without any major impact or influence, so there is a possibility that the surprise Democratic nominee, state Representative Angie Nixon, could win the seat for the two remaining years of the term, until the next Senate election in 2028.

Angie Nixon, who is African American, and allies with the “Democratic Socialists”, surprisingly easily overcame her opponent, former National Security aide Alex Vindman, who had sixteen times the amount of funding, but simply did not inspire or attract voters, and lost by 150,000 votes and a 12 percentage margin.

The concern is whether a candidate who links with the “Socialist” label, and in a heavily Republican state in the past 15 years, can possibly overcome Ashley Moody. In either case, Florida will have a woman Senator, with Moody already the second woman to be a Florida Senator, after one term Senator Paula Hawkins, like Moody a Republican, who served from 1981-1987.

Donald Trump’s Devastating Effects On The Economy

Ronald 5 Comments

President Donald Trump’s economic policies have had a devastating effect in a multitude of ways, as outlined in a NY Times article.

The economy is growing at under a 2 percent rate.

The deficit for the present fiscal year is going up by more than $2 Trillion, and the total national debt level is reaching $40 Trillion.

Tariffs are causing great disarray, and much of the amount collected has been ordered returned to corporations, but meanwhile alienating America’s allies and friends.

Manufacturing employment is declining, despite claims otherwise by the Trump Administration.

Inflation is eating away at the average wages of tens of millions of workers.

Gasoline prices are still above $4 a gallon.

Housing costs are rising, making it impossible for millions of younger Americans to consider purchasing a home, and the interest rates are high.

Health care costs are causing massive harm to tens of millions of Americans, as many who had been on “ObamaCare” no longer can afford it, and Medicaid cuts of massive amounts are on the horizon in 2027.

Donald Trump ran his campaign in 2024 promising a better economy, but the exact opposite has occurred.

Donald Trump Creating Crises With Allies, Undermining US National Security

Ronald 81 Comments

President Donald Trump’s growing unstable behavior is creating crises with America’s allies, undermining US National Security in massive ways.

The relationship with South Korea, which the US has defended ever since the Korean War, is in crisis as Trump is now calling for cutback in joint security exercises that have protected that nation from the nuclear power next day, North Korea.

The relationship with the Gulf States in the Middle East that are allies against Iran is also being threatened, most recently the threat to attack Oman, but also the growing concern of Saudi Arabia and other nations in the area to the unstable behavior of the American President.

The relationship with Canada is at its lowest point in history, with many Canadians furious at the US attitude toward them that has developed under Donald Trump.

The NATO allies in Europe are alarmed over US belligerence and hostility toward their decision to avoid involvement in the failed Iran War. And the growing threat on oil exploration in Greenland, which is opposed by that nation and its supporter, Denmark, is worrying many about the possibility of warfare between NATO and the United States.

Other nations in Asia, such as Japan, the Philippines, along with Australia and New Zealand, are working to form their own alliances of defense, with the growing lack of trust in American support.

Latin American nations are seeing Trump revive the imperialist past behavior in the hemisphere, including threats to take over the Panama Canal.

The entire international order is being upended in a dangerous manner, with Donald Trump cozying up to authoritarian leaders, including North Korea and its threat to South Korea; China and the threat to Taiwan and other Asian allies; and Russia, in its fifth year of war with Ukraine, a danger to NATO.

AI Data Centers, And Alabama Gubernatorial Race Between Doug Jones And Tommy Tuberville

Ronald 11 Comments

The state of Alabama will have a Gubernatorial race in November between Senator Tommy Tuberville and former Senator Doug Jones.

Tuberville was a nationally renowned football coach at four universities before running for the Senate in 2020, and defeating Doug Jones.

Jones was a Senator from 2018-2021, after winning a special election after Jeff Sessions became Attorney General for Donald Trump in his first term in 2017. Earlier, he served as US Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama under President Bill Clinton, and gained wide notice for the successful prosecution of two Ku Klux Klan members for the 1963 Birmingham Church bombing that killed four African American girls, as well as the indictment of the Olympic Park Bomber, Eric Rudolph, who conducted his terrorist attack in Atlanta in 1996 during that year’s Summer Olympics.

Jones lost his Senate seat in a massive defeat to Tuberville, in a state heavily Republican for decades. But he is back again, trying to win the Governorship, as Tuberville gave up the chance to run for reelection to the Senate, and instead work to become the state’s governor.

Tuberville has gained an horrendous reputation for outrageous statements and actions in his one term in the Senate, and displays the worst elements imaginable in any Senator, making him close to the worst member of the Republican Party in the upper chamber, but he has the full support of Donald Trump.

Jones, who came across as quite decent in his three years in the Senate, and with his impressive earlier public career, is making the attempt to help the Democratic Party to regain the executive branch in Alabama.

He is making a key issue of the growing AI Data Centers, wanting a moratorium on their development as research is being conducted on the problems and dangers of AI Data Centers, which are mostly ending up in rural areas nationally, and affecting the power, water, and air of the areas around them.

Meanwhile, Tuberville has demonstrated no desire to promote regulation or controls of AI Data Centers, so this is becoming a major difference in the race, with the hope that Jones can exploit the issue and win the Governorship.

It would be a step forward if Doug Jones, a decent and principled man, were able to defeat the reckless Tommy Tuberville, and retire him from public life.