Month: May 2022

The Nation In Crisis Over Mass Gun Murders

This author and blogger was on vacation in DC to see his older son, but the news cycles did not give him or anyone a break!

The shocking mass murder of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas by an 18 year old disturbed young man who purchased two AR-15 style rifles, is incomprehensible to fathom!

It has happened too often before, and yet the nation is paralyzed and unable to react, due to the evil power of the gun lobby, the National Rifle Association, and almost all Republicans in Congress and in state legislatures!

Ironically, the party that is “pro life” to the point of wanting to prevent any and all abortions, is unwilling to do anything to protect children in schools, as well as adults in all kinds of situations, including theaters, shopping malls, supermarkets, nightclubs, churches, synagogues, mosques, outdoor concerts, and every other imaginable location!

America is killing its children, while demanding every fetus must be born, an absolute insanity, and no compassion is witnessed in Texas about the horrendous disaster, and the unwillingness of law enforcement to go in and attempt to save the children and teachers!

Texas has become the model of the absolute worst in America in so many ways, with Florida a close second, and this indicates the disastrous future of the nation if gun rights win out over human rights to live!

Taking A Break For One Week, Will Be Back Next Tuesday

This author and blogger is taking a break for one week, visiting family in Washington DC.

I wish all my readers a great Memorial Day holiday, and will resume commentary on Tuesday, May 31!

Ten Alternatives To Donald Trump Begin To Emerge In Republican Party

It is now clear that Donald Trump will have challengers emerging in the Republican Party, those who have broken with him and are not afraid to challenge him for the Presidential nomination of the party in 2024.

These include the following ten individuals:

Former Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie
Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse
Utah Senator Mitt Romney
Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger
Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley of South Carolina
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson
New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu

To Deny Rape, Incest, Life Of Mother As Abortion Exceptions Is A Crime!

Many people are anti abortion for religious reasons, but for the anti abortion movement to believe that there should be no exceptions, —not rape—not incest—not life of the mother—is beyond the pale, no matter what else anyone thinks about abortion!

This author and blogger prefers fewer abortions, but to insist on no exceptions, and for a young girl being forced to have a pregnancy go to term, is simply horrendous!

There is no responsibility placed on the male that brought about the pregnancy, often unintended, or occurring by violence!

And there will always be wealthy women who gain abortions, so this also becomes an issue impoverishing the poor and minority women ever more, adding to their victimization!

The best answer is fewer abortions, but ultimately, it IS a woman’s right to control of her own body, and religion is in the eyes of the beholder, and separation of church and state is a basic tenet of American democracy, which must be reasserted!

The Bush Presidencies Gave Us The Two Worst Supreme Court Justices: Thomas And Alito!

The legacy of George H. W. Bush, and his son George W. Bush, gave us, as all Presidencies do, positives and negatives in the long run of history.

But it is now clear that each of the Bushes gave the nation the two worse Supreme Court Justices in modern American history, both with an extremely narrowminded and vicious streak!

This is referring to the senior Bush appointment of Clarence Thomas in 1991, and to the junior Bush appointment of Samuel Alito in 2006.

Both Justices are so called “originalists’, who believe the Constitution must be understood in 1787 perspective, and do not accept the idea that 235 years have passed, and the situation of many groups, including the issues of gender, race, and sexuality, along with the concept of privacy, needs to be updated.

So we are on the cusp of a likely Supreme Court decision denying every woman the right to control her own body, whether a pregnancy comes about by rape or incest, as well as the danger to the life of the mother!

It also seems an opening not only to outlaw all abortions, but make it a criminal act of the mother and the doctor and hospital staff, and does not consider the effects on all women, whether pregnant or not.

Only a heartless autocrat with hate and vindictiveness in his or her heart would wish to impose tight government regulation on the private lives of women, or really, even men, who are affected by the imposition of a Judicial dictatorship, taking away a right guaranteed for 50 years, an unheard of reversal!

So the Bushes will go down in history in a very negative fashion for, whether realizing it or not, imposing religious views and personal vendettas of Supreme Court Justices they appointed on more than half of the population!

Two Key Republican Senators To Defeat In November: Ron Johnson And Marco Rubio

Two key Republican Senators who are targets to be defeated in November’s Midterm Elections are:

Ron Johnson of Wisconsin

Marco Rubio of Florida

Both have served 12 years in the Senate, and both have horrendous records, but the battle to retire them will not be easy.

Johnson defeated twice the outstanding Democratic Senator, Russ Feingold, a major tragedy, and he has been a “loose cannon’ and a total Trump supporter, including refusal to reject the “Big Lie” that Trump won the election, and to acknowledge Joe Biden as President.

His most likely opponent is Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes, who is African American, 35 years old, and would be a refreshing addition as a progressive reformer to the US Senate.

Rubio has demonstrated that he is ultimately interested in running again for the Presidency as he did in 2016, making clear he does not appreciate being a Senator, and seeing it only as a stepping stone. After saying he would not run again in 2016 for his Senate seat, he changed his mind and ran and won again. But he has shown lack of courage and conviction and his willingness to kowtow to Donald Trump, who insulted him immensely, but now he continues to back the former President and his “Big Lie”.

His opponent will be Congresswoman Val Demings, who is African American, 65 years old, with a long career in law enforcement, and head of the Orlando, Florida Police Department, before serving in a Central Florida Congressional seat since 2017. She has been inspirational as a speaker and advocate for progressive reform.

Doug Mastriano: Authoritarian Christian Nationalist Election Denier A Massive Threat!

Pennsylvania and the nation at large has a new threat to American democracy, in the nomination of Doug Mastriano as the Republican Gubernatorial nominee for the upcoming state election in November.

Mastriano is a far right authoritarian Christian nationalist, a retired US Army Colonel, who is a Donald Trump loyalist, and has promoted the “Big Lie”, that Trump won the Presidential Election of 2020 over President Joe Biden.

He was present at the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection, and breached barriers set up by the US Capitol Police, although he did not enter the Capitol during the riot and bloodshed that followed.

Mastriano was subpoenaed by the January 6 House Committee on February 22, to explain his involvement with Trump, but has not responded to the subpoena.

He has indicated that he will, if elected Pennsylvania Governor, appoint a Secretary of State who will insure that the electoral votes of the Keystone state go to Trump or whoever is the Republican nominee in the Presidential Election of 2024, no matter what the popular vote results are.

He has also promoted the idea of limiting voting, and outlawing abortion in all circumstances, including rape, incest, and even life of the mother. He invokes Christian religious rhetoric, and has promoted conspiracy theories. He has also limited media ability to cover his public events. There are many Republicans who think he is an direct threat to their party’s success in the Fall elections, due to his clearcut extremism.

Matriano also resisted the promotion of masking to deal with the COVID 19 Pandemic, and has demonstrated that he is very dangerous in his views on public health matters.

It is essental that Democratic Gubernatorial nominee Josh Shapiro, presently the Attorney General, defeat Mastriano in the upcoming election, as Mastriano is perceived as a “clear and present danger” to the state of Pennsylvania and American democracy!

North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn Career At An End!

In a time of so much depressing political news, one good result yesterday in the primaries held in five states!

Young North Carolina Congressman Madison Cawthorn, who has been an embarrassment and a total nightmare in so many ways, lost his primary race, and will be the youngest “retired” former Congressman in American history at age 27 at the end of 2022!

One wonders if other Republican Congressmen or women who have been horrendous such as:

Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia
Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado
Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida

could also be retired from Congress, and really, the list is much longer than these most outrageous members of all!

“Great Replacement Theory” A Ticking Time Bomb Promoted By Republicans

The Republican Party, Fox News Channel and other extremist right wing media, and specificially Tucker Carlson, have been promoting a hateful, conspiracy laden theory, the “Great Replacement Theory”, warning of the future America where the white population, by demographic change, will become a minority by 2040.

That should not be an issue to all stable, decent people, who know one does not judge anyone by race, religion or skin color.

But sadly, it is being utiized to alarm and terrify and propagandize unstable people to think it is acceptable to strike out and promote mass murder, as happened in Buffalo this past weekend, but has occurred many other times over recent years with lack of any gun regulations.

It is not just African Americans who are becoming victims of crazed mostly young white men, but also Jewish Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, and Muslim Americans, with Jews and African Americans most often threatened. And also, hate has spread to gays, lesbians, and transgender Americans!

It is also an attack on immigration, when America has always been a nation of immigrants, and with the aging of the population, there is a dire need for more immigrants for the labor force and economic growth!

It portends high levels of violence and bloodshed, and even the danger of open civil war!

It is domestic terrorism at its worse, much more prevalent and dangerous than even foreign terrorism!

Foreign terrorists are applauding how Americans are undermining themselves from within!

Pennsylvania Primaries This Week: Crucial State In 2022 Midterm Elections

Pennsylvania, the “Keystone” State, is crucial in the 2022 Midterm Elections, both Senate and Governorship, and the primaries are this Tuesday.

The Republicans are running lunatic MAGA candidates for the Senate, some more extreme than others, a nightmare in the making! They include Dr. Mehmet Oz, Hedge Fund executive David McCormick, and Kathy Barnette.

The Senate race is three way for the Democrats, with Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman in the lead in public opinion polls, but over the weekend suffering a stroke, which could upend the race, and make it more difficult for the Democrats to gain that Senate seat, crucial to a Democratic majority. His opponents are Congressman Conor Lamb, and State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta.

The Republicans have State Senator Doug Mastriano endorsed by Donald Trump running for Governor, while the Democrats have a very reputable, well regarded Attorney General of the state vying for the Governorship, Josh Shapiro.