Month: October 2023

Another Shocking Event: 9/11 For Israel, Threatens Survival And Stability In Middle East!

In a stunning week, where the Speaker of the House of Representatives was repudiated for the first time in American history, now, shockingly, Israel faces issues of its survival and stability after the totally unexpected intelligence failure which led to sustained attacks by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, from the Gaza Strip.

This is the greatest tragedy since a half century ago, when at the same time on the calendar, there was the Yom Kippur War between Israel, Egypt, and Syria.

The loss of life, the number of wounded, and the shock of Israelis being taken captive, has stunned everyone who thought that Israel never had its national security and safety to be in danger.

Of course, the United States supports Israel in this crisis, but it does not take away from the reality that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is an extremist right wing government, which as I write, has apparently rejected the idea of a government of national unity, with the purpose of disposing of the most extremist right wing Orthodox Jewish religious elements in the government coalition.

There could be a massive war crime in the Gaza Strip, leading to the death of thousands of civilians who have nowhere to escape the potential bloodshed as Israel works to punish and destroy Hamas and the terrorist threat to Israel’s future.

This is a time of mourning, and of prayers required, that somehow, the developing tragedy will not lead to a massive loss of life unmatched in Middle East history!

And without a stable House of Representatives and an installed Speaker, the US government is faced with the crisis of having problems helping Israel, as well as Ukraine, in what has now become two major foreign policy crises faced by President Joe Biden!

The Great, Prominent Speakers Of The House Of Representatives In History

At a time of chaos and anarchy over the issue of the Speakership of the House of Representatives, it is instructive to examine the history of that office, which has had 55 individuals filling that role.

A small number of Speakers of the House of Representatives have made history, and are seen as exceptional.

The longest serving Speaker was Sam Rayburn of Texas, who held that position for 17 years, only ended by his death in 1961.

Henry Clay of Kentucky, arguably the greatest Presidential candidate who did not win the Presidency in all of US history, served a total of 10.5 years as Speaker of the House.

Thomas (Tip) O’Neill of Massachusetts was third longest serving, 10 years from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s.

John W. McCormack of Massachusetts served 9 years in the 1960s, followed by Nancy Pelosi, who served 8 years from 2007-2011 and 2019-2023.

Dennis Hastert of Illinois, later disgraced by conviction on sex charges, is the longest serving Republican Speaker, serving a few days less than Pelosi, but still about 8 years at the end of the 20th and early 21st century.

Champ Clark of Missouri served about 7 years in the 1910s and Carl Albert of Oklahoma served about 6 years in the 1970s, followed by slightly less service in days by Joseph Cannon of Illinois, often called the “Czar” of the House because of his great authority that was tamed by “revolution” in House rules in 1910, and by Tom Foley of Washington State in the 1990s.

So about 87 years out of the total of 234 years of the history of the House of Representatives were served by these 10 individuals, with the other 45 serving a total of 147 years among them.

Kevin McCarthy’s 9 month tenure made him the third shortest serving Speaker, only more than Michael Kerr who died in office in 1875, and Theodore Pomeroy, who served one day in 1869.

Mainstream Conservative Republicans (Problem Solvers Caucus) Need To Unite Against Jim Jordan As Potential Speaker!

The thought of Ohio Congressman Jim Jordan as the next Speaker of the House of Representatives should be enough to convince mainstream conservative Republicans to unite and prevent the horrors of a man fully backed by Donald Trump, and just about the most wretched member of the Republican Party, alongside Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz and Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene and Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert.

The Problem Solvers Caucus is a group made up of moderate Republicans (32) and Democrats (31) who are rational players in the halls of Congress, loyal to their parties, but pragmatic and willing to “cross the aisle” to accomplish results.

Among those Republicans who can prevent a disaster are the following 14 members:

Don Bacon of Nebraska
Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
Anthony D’Esposito of New York
Andrew Garbarino of New York
Nick LaLota of New York
Mike Lawler of New York
Marc Molinaro of New York
Thomas Kean Jr of New Jersey
Dusty Johnson of South Dakota
Mike Garcia of California
Young Kim of California
David Valadao of California
Tony Gonzales of Texas
Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin

Five of this group are from New York, and 3 from California, in districts that were won by Joe Biden in 2020.

If most of this group and some others united, they can demand that neither Jim Jordan nor Steve Scalise of Louisiana become Speaker, as one of these 14 would be a far better selection to promote unity, and insure that continued aid to Ukraine will flow!

Total Chaos In The Republican House Of Representatives! :(

The Republican Party is on the brink of extinction, as they are now proving that not only do they have a totally corrupt, evil President that they refuse to repudiate at large, but also their House majority is a total disaster.

To think that the two leading likely successors to Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House are the evil, nasty, corrupt Jim Jordan of Ohio, who had sexual charges lodged against him from years ago; and Steve Scalise of Louisiana, who spoke years ago to white supremacist groups, and had contact with David Duke, the former Ku Klux Klan leader, over many years, is enough to make one vomit! 🙁

Neither should even be in Congress, and the thought that one of them could be two heartbeats away from the Presidency, is extremely troubling and disconcerting!

And Jordan has no concern about Ukraine’s survival, and is willing to back Vladimir Putin’s aggression on a democratic nation, which is also the homeland of this author and blogger’s ancestors!

One can hope that someone truly decent, such as Don Bacon of Nebraska or Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, could be put forth as a truly acceptable mainstream conservative alternative for the Speakership!

Military Generals Mattis, McMaster, Milley, Kelly Warn About Donald Trump!

The danger that Donald Trump presents if by some madness he came back to the Presidency in 2025 is best represented by the military leadership that worked with him, and did their best to control his dangerous tendencies toward Fascist authoritarianism.

The military is not to be loyal to any President, but instead to the Constitution of the United States, and the following four generals have expressed dismay and concern about both what happened during the Trump Presidency, and the continuing threat Trump represents.

They all make clear that a return to the Oval Office by Trump would be a national disaster.

These generals have been attacked and vilified by Trump, and the most recent case is General Mark Milley, who Trump has said should be executed for treason, a totally crazy assertion, but causing the now retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to need security to protect him and his family from deranged Trump supporters, who might take him up on his assertion and possibly threaten Milley in his retirement.

But former Defense Secretary James Mattis, who was a Four Star General and worked under Trump as Secretary of Defense from 2017-2019; H R McMaster, Lieutenant General who served as National Security Adviser to Trump from 2017-2018; and John Kelly, a General who served under Trump as Secretary of Homeland Security and then White House Chief of Staff from 2017-2019, all have sounded the alarm bell, with Kelly doing so most recently in the past couple of days.

Shocking Event: Speaker Kevin McCarthy Ousted By His Own Republican Colleagues!

In a stunning and shocking development, Republican Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has been ousted by a vote 216-210, the first time in history that a Speaker has been so removed!

There have been times when a Speaker was challenged, the most famous being Speaker Joseph Cannon in 1910, but he survived as a weakened Speaker until the next Congressional election.

Newt Gingrich in 1998 and John Boehner in 2015, when facing the possibility of an ouster, both resigned.

So this is a first, and weakens the Republican party in the House and nationally, and will reverberate in the upcoming Congressional and Presidential Election of 2024!

And a final point, Donald Trump did not comment or do anything to try to save McCarthy, who has been slavishly loyal to him after first condemning him for the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection.

Is anyone surprised? And McCarthy and the Republicans MUST USE this event to separate themselves from Donald Trump, or face final oblivion as a party under the name “Republican”!

Joe Biden’s Five Speeches On Democracy Struggle Against Trumpism!

Ever since Joe Biden was inaugurated President on January 20, 2021, he has discussed the threat to democracy represented by Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans.

Biden spoke on Inauguration Day in January 2021; in his first speech to Congress in April 2021; twice in 2022, in Philadelphia in September and at Union Station in Washington DC in November; and most recently in Arizona a few days ago when he dedicated a new John McCain Library.

It is clear to anyone who is paying attention that America faces its greatest crisis in preserving democracy since World War II.

In that regard, Joe Biden is following the lead of Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War and Franklin D. Roosevelt in World War II!

Hooray! :) Jimmy Carter Reaches The Age Of 99, A Record Never To Be Broken! :)

This is a day to celebrate as the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter (1977-1981) has reached the magic age of 99 today, despite being in hospice and rejecting medical treatment.

His wife, Rosalynn, is 96 and in early stages of dementia, but their 77 year marriage endures.

No one who is President will ever reach this major achievement of Carter, and one can be certain that assessments of his Presidency, often quite critical, will become more reflective and positive in the future, as Carter actually had a number of policies that have endured.

These include the Camp David Accords (the Israeli-Egyptian Treaty); the Panama Canal treaties; the promotion of human rights around the world; major initiatives on the environment, making Carter the greatest one term President on that issue, and number 3 overall in the assessment of environmental historians, only trailing Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon; and the creation of three cabinet agencies in Health and Human Services and Education (dividing the Health, Education, and Welfare Department created under President Dwight D. Eisenhower); and the Department of Energy, created in the midst of the Oil Crisis of the late 1970s. He also added less to the national debt than any modern President.

Joe Biden was the first US Senator to endorse Jimmy Carter in 1976, when many thought Biden was crazy to do so, as no one saw Carter as a likely nominee of his party or President of the United States. The two men share many common traits.

And Carter has said his favorite President is Harry Truman, who like Carter and Biden, has often been underrated and underestimated.

One could say the three men—Carter, Biden, and Truman—are in many ways, the most decent Presidents since World War II.

And one more point: These three men have never been cited as those who have cheated on their wives, and their marriages endured without scandal!

Jimmy Carter also has been the true example of a “good Christian”, as he has practiced the decency and compassion promoted by Jesus Christ.

Carter is a wonderful, compassionate, decent human being, and there are very few Presidents who fit that description!

So as a nation, let us celebrate this great man–Jimmy Carter–the total opposite of the most crooked and horrendous President of the United States in its history–Donald Trump–who still poses a threat to American democracy as we near the 250th anniversary of American Independence in 2026!