Month: June 2022

Secret Service Has Been Compromised Before, And Now Seems Likely Once Again!

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The US Secret Service has gone through difficult times, with corruption, incompetence, and scandal in recent years.

Also, the US Secret Service has, by observation of Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post in her book, “Zero Fail: The Rise and Fall of the Secret Service”, published in 2021, developed a special loyalty among some of its agents to Donald Trump.

As a result, the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, regarding what she was told by two agents with Trump on January 6, 2021, is being challenged. But Leonnig this morning has claimed that Tony Ornato and Bobby Engel are Trump loyalists, and are willing to lie over what happened.

The indications are strong that these agents told her what she said, that Trump lunged at the driver of the SUV, trying to force the Secret Service to take him to the US Capitol to lead the attack on Congress, as there is no reason for her to make that up, but is simply reporting what she was told.

No Secret Service agent should feel such personal loyalty that they compromise the truth.

If this is simply male braggadocio, that requires higher level appropriate action, and if they lie under oath to cover up, they should face prosecution!

The Trump Presidency Reached A New Low With Cassidy Hutchinson Revelations Yesterday!

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After seven years of the Donald Trump nightmare, since he announced for President on June 16, 2015, a new low has been reached, with the Cassidy Hutchinson revelations yesterday before the January 6 House Committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Insurrection on the US Capitol.

It is now clear that Donald Trump wanted to lead the Insurrection himself by going to the US Capitol in support of armed supporters, and that the Secret Service agent was physically under threat from Trump, trying to force his automobile to take him where the threat was massive.

Nothing that Richard Nixon did a half century ago comes anywhere near the lawlessness and lack of concern for the Constitution and rule of law by Donald Trump!

Cassidy Hutchinson clearly is the equivalent of John Dean and Watergate fifty years ago, and realize she is the latest in line of a long list of Republicans who have testified, not Democrats!

And yet, delusional and clueless Trumpites still, somehow, can defend a man who had no regard for human life, except his own!

There is no way to give Donald Trump a pass, and he MUST be prosecuted for a whole group of crimes that no one else could escape prosecution, and he must be prevented legally from ever running for public office again!

Senators Susan Collins And Joe Manchin Were Bamboozled By Supreme Court Nominees!

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It is now clear that Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia were bamboozled by Supreme Court nominees Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

All three claimed that they understood that Roe V. Wade was established law, and that they had no intention of conspiring to reverse abortion rights.

This is a major embarrassment for both Collins and Manchin, and sullies their reputations long term, although it seems clear that they are arrogant personalities, who really do not care about public opinion, which is overwhelmingly pro choice on abortion.

The three Supreme Court Justices, by all ethics and morality, should be forced off the Supreme Court for lying under oath before the US Senate Judiciary Committee, but of course they will face no such action.

And all three were chosen by a President, Donald Trump, who lost the popular vote by 2.85 million, and who was put into office by Russian collusion, confirmed by a Republican Senate majority in 2010 to be reality.

The Supreme Court has lost any respect or reputation, and clearly has become a right wing extremist group wishing to destroy much more than abortion rights!

A move to add members to the Court seems urgent, but can only happen as a long shot at this point, so the nation is a victim of right wing extremism, very disconcerting!

The Bush Presidencies Will Be Forever Stained By Thomas And Alito Appointments!

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Every President has policies and appointments that historically make him look positive, but they also have policies and appointments that historically make him look negative.

The two Presidents Bush, father and son, will never be forgiven for their horrendous appointments of Clarence Thomas in 1991 by President George H. W. Bush, and Samuel Alito in 2006 by President George W. Bush!

And the appointment of Alito could have been even worse, as if timing had been different, he would have been Chief Justice instead of John Roberts!

Roberts was scheduled to be an Associate Justice nominee to replace Sandra Day O’Connor, but the day before the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings began, Chief Justice William Rehnquist died, and George W. Bush, overnight, decided Roberts would be his replacement, and later selected Alito to replace Sandra Day O’Connor.

The thought of a Chief Justice Samuel Alito is horrifying, although Alito has done tremendous damage to the institution of the Supreme Court in his 16 years he has served!

As it is, Chief Justice John Roberts, like Alito, picked by a President who lost the popular vote in 2000, has not distinguished himself, has proved to be a weak leader, and will go down as a failure. His reputation historically will suffer in the long term!

Two Republican Majority Courts Supported Abortion Rights, But Not Now In 2022!

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In the case of Roe V. Wade (1973), decided by 7-2, Abortion Rights for women was made federal law, with five of the seven votes being Republican appointments:

Harry Blackmun (Nixon)
Warren Burger (Chief Justice) (Nixon)
William Brennan (Eisenhower)
Potter Stewart (Eisenhower)
Lewis Powell (Nixon)

In Planned Parenthood V. Casey (1992), a later case on abortion, with some limits, the decision was 5-4, with all 5 in the majority being Republican appointments:

Sandra Day O’Connor (Reagan)
Anthony Kennedy (Reagan)
David Souter (HW Bush)
Harry Blackmun (Nixon)
John Paul Stevens (Ford)

All of these Republican appointed Justices were considered to be “conservatives” in their time frame, although Blackmun, Brennan, and Stevens came to be seen as “liberals’ over time, and O’Connor, Kennedy, and Souter came to be seen as “moderates”.

The definition of “conservative” has changed dramatically in the past half century, so all of the Republican Justices would be seen by right wing Republicans in 2022 as “RINOS”, Republicans In Name Only!

In 2022, in Dobbs V. Jackson’s Women Health Organization, all six Republicans voted to end abortion rights, although Chief Justice John Roberts wanted only further limitations on abortion, and therefore dissented while joining the other five Republicans.

These appointments were by two Presidents who lost the popular vote when they were elected by the Electoral College, along with Clarence Thomas appointed by George H W Bush.

Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh both had charges of sexual impropriety brought against them, while Neil Gorsuch gained a place on the Court that was meant for Barack Obama appointee Merrick Garland, and Amy Coney Barrett replaced the recently deceased Ruth Bader Ginsburg just a week before an election in which Donald Trump lost by 7 million votes to Joe Biden, who should have been allowed that appointment.

US Joins 4 Recent Nations Banning Abortion, While 59 Nations Have Expanded Abortion Rights!

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The United States, supposedly the leader of the “free world”, has now joined four other nations recently banning abortion, including Poland, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Honduras!

Meanwhile, at least 59 other nations, which put America to shame, have expanded abortion rights, including all other democracies in Western Europe, some areas of South America and some nations in Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.

Most of the Middle East and Africa restrict or ban abortion, as well as areas of Latin America and Asia.

First Time Ever A Constitutional Right Granted Has Been Taken Away: Abortion Rights!

Ronald 10 Comments

This has been a very emotional, disturbing 24 hours, causing the rise in blood pressure in millions of Americans!

The Supreme Court has taken away abortion rights after 49 years, as the right wing extremists on the Court, appointed by Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, both of whom lost the popular vote in Presidential elections, have decided women should not control their own bodies.

This has never happened before, to take away a right granted, and to say that abortion is not in the Constitution, is a ridiculous argument! For instance, political parties, Cabinet members, end of African American slavery, rights to vote for women and racial minorities, Social Security, Medicare, and a massive number of other activities and basic functions of government, all came AFTER the writing of the Constitution 235 years ago! Originalism is preposterous in running a goverment centuries later!

The Trump appointed Justices lied in their confirmation hearings when they said Roe V. Wade was established law, as if it was, there is no justification for making women bear children, especially those who have been victims of rape or incest, or where life and well being of the mother is at stake!

The Court Justices lying are grounds for their impeachment and removal, as they tricked Senators who voted for them, including Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Susan Collins of Maine!

The “Pro Life” Court Votes To Promote More Gun Deaths!

Ronald 6 Comments

The Supreme Court of 2022 is the most extreme right wing Court since the 1920s!

It has “good Christians” who wish to protect every fetus from conception to birth, while not caring how mothers, who often are victims of rape or incest, or in danger of losing their lives by carrying to term, cope with the attitude that it is not the job of government to protect and provide for the lives of children once they are born!

But, at the same time, these “good Christians” are endorsing by their decision on gun rights yesterday, to prevent protection of the American people in public places from unstable people who now will have the right to have their guns displayed and carried in all kinds of situations.

These include subways, churches, supermarkets, schools, parks and every other potential situation, insuring the already horrendous mass murders that are occurring regularly all over the nation, will now be multiplying by order of the Supreme Court!

This insane Court ruling not only threatens the ordinary citizen, but also law enforcement personnel, and insures that those who are racists, nativists, homophobes and anti semites now have open license to kill with impunity!

To use the idea of rural America as being the same as urban and suburban America demonstrates that the Court majority have not spent much time in New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and other major urban and suburban areas.

It mwans that all of us in public places now are at an increased danger of being victims of gun crimes, far surpassing what happened in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas!

The blood and lives of future victims of gun violence will be on the conscience of the six right wing Justices who live in an alternate reality, and shows the need for Court reform, including adding Justices to the Supreme Court to bring it back to sanity!

Democrats Determining Which States Will Have Early Presidential Primaries In 2024

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With the Presidential Election Of 2024 coming onto the horizon soon, the Democratic Party is holding hearings to decide which five states should be permitted to hold Presidential primaries early on, a major boon to the states that are selected.

It has been traditional for Iowa (a caucus), and New Hampshire and South Carolina (primaries), and Nevada (caucus) to lead the pack, but now there are 16 states and Puerto Rico competing to be among the first few to be allowed to do so in 2024.

They include by area of the nation:

New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland–Northeast

South Carolina, Georgia, Texas—South

Iowa, Oklahoma, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois—Midwest

Nevada, Colorado, Washington—Far West

Also, Puerto Rico

There is no way that one can predict what states will be chosen.

However, this blogger and author would suggest the following five choices:

New Jersey; Georgia; Michigan; Nevada; Washington

The order could be Nevada, New Jersey, Georgia, Michigan, Washington.

Of course, there are innumerable scenarios, but this would be my suggestions, and we shall see what happens.

The main point is that this blogger and author believes small rural states, such as Iowa and New Hampshire, should not have an unusual emphasis as in the past.

The five states sugggested above have diversity of population, and major urban and suburban areas, much more representative of the nation at large.

And ideally, Iowa and Nevada should be informed they must hold primaries, along with North Dakota and Wyoming, the only four states to do so in 2020.

Donald Trump Is Criminal In So Many Ways!

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The January 6, 2021 House Committee Hearings make it clear to anyone who is sane, that Donald Trump is criminal in so many ways!

Trump was willing to see his Vice President Mike Pence assassinated by a mob!

Trump was willing to see mass loss of life of members of Congress, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi!

Trump was willing to pressure state legislators to promote a false narrative on a stolen election, “The Big Lie”, and used the power of his office to intimidate many, although there was, thankfully, pushback!

Trump was willing to intimidate and terrorize election workers, and destroy their sense of safety!

Trump was willing to promote extremists against Republicans who dared to challenge anything he said or did at any time in his Presidency and since he left office!

Face the facts:

Trump is a criminal, and could have been part of Organized Crime!

Trump is a seditionist and traitor, inspiring the US Capitol attack, and defying constitutional norms!

Trump is an evil force, undermining American democracy, and incites his supporters, which include anti semites, nativists, racists, white supremacists, misogynists and homophobes!

Donald Trump and all of his collaborators need to be held accountable legally, and face the consequences of trial, conviction, and imprisonment, as a lesson to any future authoritarian elements, who would wish to emulate his actions and behaviors!