Month: February 2026

A Massive Crisis As US And Israel Wage War On Iran, Throwing Mideast Into Chaos!

Ronald 35 Comments

What seemed evident has occurred, as Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel have this morning waged war on Iran, throwing the Mideast into chaos, and endangering stability of not only that area, but also the entire world, and also, endangering American national security itself!

Negotiations were going on with Iran, which was having discussions with Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, neither officially in the government, to prevent them from trying to develop nuclear power that could, in theory, but without substance, someday lead to nuclear weapons. So what is clear is that “Regime Change” is the goal of this military intervention.

But all of a sudden, war is waged in the midst of the negotiations, and it seems clear it is designed to take pressure off Donald Trump regarding the “Epstein Files”, with the growing indication that Trump engaged in rape and abuse of underage girls over the years with the support of the despicable Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Trump did not go to Congress to gain backing for what he is doing, violating the War Powers Act, and he has demonstrated that his earlier professed “isolationist” views on foreign policy in his first term, have now been obliterated as he has proved to be an extreme aggressor in his year and more of his second term, including:

removing Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela without allowing opposition leaders to replace him;

threatened seizure of Greenland from Denmark;

has spoken of retaking the Panama Canal from Panama despite the Panama Canal Treaty that gave it back to Panama in the year 2000;

talked about Canada becoming the “51st State”;

has waged tariff wars against all nations, and in so doing, alienated our NATO allies and our Asian allies;

and has been belligerent toward international organizations, including the United Nations, but also so many other groups.

This development can be seen as promoting the goal of Trump to rally American “patriots” in support, and therefore, allow him to insure that his Republican Party, with the additional plan for action to interfere in the Midterm Elections of 2026, insure that the Democratic Party would be unable to gain control of either house of Congress. That would guarantee that Trump’s determination to control absolute power escalates ever more.

What is perfectly clear is that the war waged on Iran will not resolve itself in the short term, will not be equivalent of a Venezuela situation, and likely will require combat troops in the Middle East once again, at potential great cost of life on all sides including Americans, and will be a massive budget buster, harming our long range economic outlook.

So what millions of Americans did by electing Donald Trump, demonstrates how short sighted, lacking in knowledge, and often pure ignorance they were. So the long term battle for America for the long term, the battle for democracy and the rule of law, suffers ever further!

The Age Issue In Congress

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A total of 24 members of Congress in 2026 are over the age of 80, and 13 of them are planning to remain in Congress, if the voters agree in this upcoming Midterm Election of 2026.

Among those leaving are:

Nancy Pelosi of California, former Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, age 85
Steny Hoyer of Maryland, former Democratic House Majority Leader, age 86
Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, former Republican Senate Majority Leader, age 84
Dick Durbin of Illinois, Senate Democratic Whip, age 81

Among those 80 or over who are remaining in Congress, and are running for reelection are:

James Clyburn of South Carolina, former Democratic House Whip, age 85
Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, Republican Congresswoman, age 82
Maxine Waters of California, Democratic Congresswoman, age 87
Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Democratic Senator, age 84
Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Republican Senate President Pro Tempore, age 92
Jim Risch of Idaho, Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, age 82
Angus King of Maine, Independent Senator, age 82
Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Democratic Senator, age 80
Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Democratic Senator, age 80

While age alone should not be the only factor in judging who should be in Congress at an advanced age, it is perceived that Congress, overall, is out of touch with the vast number of Americans of younger generations!

The Massive Defiance By Federal Judges Of Donald Trump, Including His Own Judicial Appointments!

Ronald 42 Comments

When the Supreme Court by a vote of 6-3 rejected Donald Trump’s tariffs as outside his rights, as it is up to Congress to decide on tariff policy, the President lashed out at those members of the Court who were part of the majority, including two of his appointments, Associate Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, along with Chief Justice John Roberts.

But the record shows that federal judges, including appointments by all Presidents since Ronald Reagan, and even Trump appointments, have been active in rejecting another policy that is crucial to Trump’s agenda, mass detention and deportations of illegal immigrants, but also legal immigrants and even citizens by the abuses of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).

More than 100 legal challenges to this abusive policy have been filed daily in recent weeks, and as of mid February 2026, at least 373 federal judges have ruled against the administration’s mass detention policies, ordering release or bond hearings in more than 1,600 cases. At the same time, ONLY 28 judges, including 20 appointed by Trump, have sided with the administration’s position. And 44 Trump “judges” have been included in those who have ruled against its positions on mass detention. And a total of 3500 cases have been rejected overall, and only 150 cases supportive of the Trump policy.

The record shows that 122 Joe Biden appointments have ruled against the Trump Administration, and 112 Barack Obama appointments have also done so. The remaining rejections have seen 38 Bill Clinton judges, and a total of 43 George W. Bush judges, and 7 judges each appointed by Presidents George H W Bush, and Ronald Reagan.

But sadly, if a Circuit Court rules against what District Court judges have done, it can reverse the actions of those lower courts, so the battle for constitutional rights is a major crisis long term at this point!

Most Divisive, Lie Filled, Polarizing State Of The Union Speech In American Presidential History!

Ronald 37 Comments

Donald Trump has created the most divisive, lie filled, polarizing State of the Union speech in the entire history of the Presidency last evening!

It was a torture watching it, and seeing how Trump set out to create an ever bigger chasm than he has himself created in the first year of his second term in the White House.

Lies, deception, distortion, hate, manipulation of facts and truth were rampant from the beginning through to the long bitter end, of what became the longest ranting speech ever delivered by an American President, at one hour 48 minutes.

Trump has created an alternate reality, and his party is in lockstep with his deception and lies, demonstrating that they have no ethics, morals, or scruples, as all they desire is to keep power, promote autocracy and oligarchy, and clearly have no conscience.

Instead of trying to appeal for bipartisan support, instead, Trump went out of his way to attack the Democratic opposition, and act in a totally unPresidential manner. This included attacks on immigrants and on the Gay community, totally outrageous and divisive. His attacks on Somalians in Minnesota, and his claim that “illegal aliens” are the major crime threat, rather than people born in America, were total falsehoods, but plays to his MAGA supporters.

It was telling that only four Supreme Court Justices, including three who voted against his tariff policy—Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Elena Kagan—along with Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh—showed up for the address, and all four sat stone faced, in what had to be a difficult moment for them.

It was shocking how Trump has no concept of math when he made statements on economic matters that indicate total ignorance of percentages, and his economic statistics were totally delusional, not the real world reality.

Trump lives in an alternate reality, and the thought that, in theory, the nation has to deal with this dangerous delusionist for three more years, is terrifying.

His statement about fighting fraud, and that such work done by Vice President JD Vance, would lead to balancing the budget, is totally off the wall, and ignores his own personal fraudulent activities, including enriching himself by at least a billion dollars in this past year, against the emoluments clause of the Constitution.

Trump has no concern about the harm done by his Presidency to civil liberties, racial equality, economic opportunity, and environmental protection, and he demonstrated how immature he really is, as he aligns himself with authoritarian regimes around the world, instead of promoting democracy at home and abroad!

What was more inspirational was the official Democratic response to the State of the Union, by newly inaugurated Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, truly outstanding in her presentation, and giving her more national exposure.

The American people are likely to be outraged at large about Trump’s speech, and it helps promote the likelihood of a Democratic victory in November, hopefully in both houses of Congress!

Dire Threat Of War With Iran, As Donald Trump Displays Again His Reckless Side!

Ronald 8 Comments

Donald Trump ran for the Presidency in 2016 as a critic of the Iraq War and Afghanistan War under George W. Bush, and dragging on beyond Bush’s time in office.

Trump was clearly sounding like an isolationist, but now he is displaying an imperialist, aggressive foreign policy, totally opposite of what he professed ten years ago.

Trump has enjoyed showing his ability to bomb countries; invade and overthrow the leader of Venezuela; and side with dictators around the world.

Now, he is flirting dangerously with inciting war with Iran, even though his own military leadership is reported to be highly doubtful that such a military invasion would work out any better than it was with Iraq and Afghanistan.

For a person who evaded the draft based on “Bone Spurs”, he is acting a lot like Vladimir Putin of Russia.

And there seems to be no desire to have Congress play a role in such a military adventure, and therefore, to ignore the War Powers Act of 1973, which admittedly, has not been able to control Presidents when they decide to intervene overseas.

It will be interesting to see what Donald Trump says, or does not say, about Iran tonight in the State of the Union Address.

However, it seems clear that America is about to embark on a very reckless mission, not realizing that the size of the area and population of Iran, four times larger than Iraq, is a danger zone, and could escalate into a massive Middle East War with Arab nations drawn into it, as well as Israel.

America could end up involved in a morass that will last years, and while Iran is a problem with the potential for nuclear military development, it is seen by many as a “fool’s errand” to engage in what could be a long, drawn out war, with heavy casualties and major effects on the national debt over many years.

More Turnover In Congress As Lawmakers Choose To Leave!

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With the Midterm Elections 2026 about eight months away, there is more massive turnover than has been seen in the past.

Out of the 535 members of Congress in both houses, an amazing total of 68, about one of every eight members, are choosing to leave.

In the US Senate, eight members are retiring, while four others are running to be their states’ governors. Four Democrats and four Republicans are leaving for retirement, while two Democrats and two Republicans are running for governor.

In the House of Representatives, 50 members are leaving, with retirements being 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans for a total of 23, while 27 others (8 Democrats and 19 Republicans) are running for Governor or Senator).

Many of those retiring are leaving due to their ages, but others because of disillusionment as to what Congress can accomplish in a divided nation, which is more so than since the 1960s.

As State Of The Union Address Occurs, Donald Trump’s Ratings Are Rapidly In Decline!

Ronald 65 Comments

President Donald Trump is about to give his State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress this Tuesday, February 24, just as public opinion ratings demonstrate that he is rapidly declining in support among many voter groups.

As it is, his ratings have been, depending on the poll, as low as 36 percent positive, and at best 40 percent.

The issues of the economy (Affordability), the Epstein Files Scandal, the horrors of ICE, the Health Care cuts, and now, the Supreme Court rejection of his tariffs, are all weighing on him, as he lashes out at his critics, and has personally attacked the Justices who rejected his tariffs, particularly two of his own appointments—Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett—along with Chief Justice John Roberts.

Also, Trump’s aggressive foreign policy is also alienating many voters, and his unstable rants and attacks on his critics alarm many Americans.

Various groups that made the mistake to support him in the Presidential Election of 2024 are turning strongly against him.

This includes:

White Women
Latinos
Working Class Non White Voters
Young Men
College Educated Suburban Voters

The strong Democratic gains in the off year elections in November 2025, and the gaining of seats in state legislatures and other offices in areas traditionally Republican in special elections, is also an alarm bell in the night for the upcoming Midterm Elections of 2026.

Even with mid decade redistricting occurring in Texas and elsewhere at Donald Trump’s insistence, the likelihood of Democrats taking back the House of Representatives majority, and even having a growing possibility of regaining the Senate majority, is seen as strong.

We are seeing Americans alarmed at the threat of interference by the Trump Administration on the issue of the right to vote, and attempts to restrict those who can vote.

This includes the fear that ICE might have agents at voting locations, which would be a massive threat designed to intimidate voters.

Supreme Court Finally Upholds The Constitution, And Rebukes Donald Trump On Tariffs!

Ronald 22 Comments

After acting totally submissive toward Donald Trump in his first year of his second term, finally the Supreme Court majority, including two Trump appointees—Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, along with Chief Justice John Roberts and the three Democratic women justices–have delivered a solid rebuke to Trump on the subject of protective tariffs.

This is long overdue, as the Court has developed a reputation as the most extreme right wing Court in a century, and Chief Justice Roberts presides over a majority which usually has no desire to challenge executive power of the President.

This dangerous trend, hopefully, will continue to be challenged in future cases, particularly on birthright citizenship rights, which are contained in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified after the Civil War.

Donald Trump does not care about the reality that protective tariffs are a disaster, as they were in causing the Panic of 1893 and the Great Depression of the 1930s, because Republican Presidents Benjamin Harrison (prodded on by future President William McKinley’s promotion of high tariffs) and Herbert Hoover stubbornly imposed them on the American people, destroying the economy.

With the economy not doing well, despite Trump’s delusional statements, this repudation of Trump’s tariffs should be seen as a blessing by him, as well as the American people.

But instead, Trump is railing against his own Republican Justices who have “defied” him, and one wonders how it will show up in his State of the Union Address next Tuesday.

Will he openly condemn Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett in his speech, or will he be diplomatic and maybe just lightly tease them?

This should be a very interesting moment of confrontation between the Supreme Court members who show up and the President of the United States!

It reminds one of past clashes of Presidents and Supreme Courts, including under Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson with Chief Justice John Marshall; Abraham Lincoln with Chief Justice Roger Taney; Franklin D. Roosevelt with the majority conservative Court and Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes during the New Deal; and other controversies involving Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and Barack Obama and Supreme Court decisions!

The $175 Billion raised in tariffs this past year were a financial burden on the American consumers, and should be returned to the American people with a refund per taxpayer of $1700, as suggested by Illinois Governor JD Pritzker. However, it seems that Trump has no concern of the damage done to the average American, while constantly engaged in grift for personal gain, having enriched himself in the past year, a crime against the Constitution!

Analyzing Age Of Democratic Presidential Nominees 1828 To The Present!

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The issue of age has been in the forefront of Presidential politics, as a result of the clear decline in office of both Joe Biden and Donald Trump, the two oldest Presidents ever elected.

When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, just weeks short of age 70 at the Inauguration in January 1981, it was a controversial issue, particularly right after the failed Assassination attempt of March 30, 1981, which clearly had some effect on his health over time, as signs of early Alzheimers seemed evident to many in Reagan’s last two years, including to his son Ron Reagan.

It had been pointed out that Dwight D. Eisenhower, leaving the Presidency in January 1961 at age 70 and three months, had stated that no one older than himself should be President.

But as it turned out, we have now had three “elderly” Presidents in the past half century—Reagan, Trump, Biden.

This issue has caused this author and blogger to conduct research on the age of Democratic Presidential nominees, whether winner or losers of the Presidency, going back to the beginnings of the Democratic Party under Andrew Jackson in the 1828 Presidential Election through the Presidential Election of 2024.

The record shows the following for all Democratic Presidential contenders, including first time for those nominated more than once. Altogether, 36 individuals have been Democratic Party nominees, but only 15 have ever been elected President, including two who first succeeded upon the death of the incumbent President—Harry Truman after Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Lyndon B. Johnson after John F. Kennedy.

1828–Andrew Jackson—61
1836–Martin Van Buren–54
1844–James K. Polk–49
1848–Lewis Cass–66
1852–Franklin Pierce–48
1856–James Buchanan–65
1860–Stephen Douglas–47
1864–George McClellan–38
1868–Horatio Seymour–58
1872–Horace Greeley–61
1876–Samuel Tilden–62
1880–Winfield Scott Hancock–56
1884–Grover Cleveland–47
1896–William Jennings Bryan–36
1904–Alton Parker–52
1912–Woodrow Wilson–56
1920–James Cox–50
1924–John W. Davis–51
1928–Alfred E. Smith–55
1932–Franklin D. Roosevelt–51
1945–Harry Truman 60 Upon Succession
1952–Adlai Stevenson–52
1960–John F. Kennedy–43
1963–Lyndon B. Johnson–55 Upon Succession
1968–Hubert Humphrey–57
1972–George McGovern–50
1976–Jimmy Carter–52
1984–Walter Mondale–56
1988–Michael Dukakis–55
1992–Bill Clinton–46
2000–Al Gore–52
2004–John Kerry–61
2008–Barack Obama–47
2016–Hillary Clinton–69
2020–Joe Biden–78
2024–Kamala Harris–60

Of course, age longevity and overall good health is much improved over what it was in the 19th and 20th centuries, but the clear indication is that most Democratic Presidential nominees were under the age of 60 when first nominated for those who had more than one nomination.

Nine of these Democratic nominees were in their 60s, and only Lewis Cass in 1848 (66), James Buchanan in 1856 (65), and Hillary Clinton in 2016 (age 69), were above the age of 62.

And all by himself is Joe Biden in 2020 (age 78)!

So the two oldest Democratic nominees were the last two who ran against Donald Trump, the oldest Republican nominee, although both Clinton and Biden had tried for the nomination of their party when younger, Clinton in 2008 at age 61, and Joe Biden in 1988 at age 46 and again in 2008 at age 66.

Nine of these Democratic nominees were in their 30s and 40s, with the youngest being William Jennings Bryan in 1896 (36) and George McClellan in 1864 (38), and six of the other seven being elected President–James K. Polk in 1844 (49); Franklin Pierce in 1852 (48); Grover Cleveland in 1884 (47); John F. Kennedy in 1960 (43); Bill Clinton in 1992 (46); and Barack Obama in 2008 (47). Only Stephen Douglas in 1860 (47) failed to win the Presidency, and ironically died just four months after the inauguration of his opponent, Abraham Lincoln.

The remaining 17 Democratic nominees were in their 50s, with only five winning the White House—Martin Van Buren 1836 (54); Woodrow Wilson 1912 (56); Franklin D. Roosevelt 1932 (51); Lyndon B. Johnson 1963 upon Succession (55); and Jimmy Carter in 1976 (52).

In summary, 15 Democrats have been elected President, with 11 of them being in their 40s or 50s, and the only exceptions older are: Andrew Jackson (61); James Buchanan (66); Harry Truman (60) upon Succession; and Joe Biden (78).

So in conclusion, it is clear that the best strategy for the Democratic Party in 2028 is to nominate a candidate ideally younger than 61, or at the most age 64, but with 11 potential nominees being in their 50s in 2028, as compared to 4 between 39 and 49 in 2028, and 4 between 61 and 64 in 2028.

The Total Preposterous And Outrageous “Prager University” Presidential Rankings Survey!

Ronald 20 Comments

The Right Wing Propaganda Organ known as “Prager University”, which is NOT a university, but a well financed attempt to distort the reality of American history, extol the virtues of unbridled capitalism, work against “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion”, and undermine science, has come out with a 2026 Ranking of American Presidents.

Anyone who would believe the virtues or veracity of this listing needs their heads examined, as it is a total distortion of the office of the Presidency to the extreme imaginable!

All Presidents except William Henry Harrison (one month) and James A. Garfield (6 months) are included, but with the decision NOT to include Donald Trump, even though he finished his first term five years ago, but using the excuse that he is presently in office, so not to be placed in the listing for now.

One can be certain when a later version of this so called “Ranking” is published in the future, Donald Trump will end up very high on the list, probably in the top five, based on the crazy order of the Presidents compiled by the propagandists promoting this pure trash of a listing.

So without listing every President, let’s look at the most significant cases of total distortion.

The survey starts off with George Washington Number 1 and Abraham Lincoln Number 2, but after that, the listing goes totally awry.

Ronald Reagan is Number 3, which is a major distortion of reality, but then is followed by, of all people, Calvin Coolidge at Number 4. That is an example of how wacky this survey is, when examined in detail. No one who has any intelligence would rate Coolidge as anything more than in the bottom third of the Presidents.

The rest of the top 10 are in order—Thomas Jefferson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, James Monroe, James Madison, John Adams, and Theodore Roosevelt. Monroe, Madison and John Adams in most cases would be in the middle of the second ten, not the top ten, but otherwise, not terrible, except to put Coolidge above the Founding Father Presidents and Theodore Roosevelt, as well! How crazy can one get?

Harry Truman is rated Number 12, behind Grover Cleveland at Number 11, which seems ridiculous, followed by Andrew Jackson as Number 13 and James K. Polk as Number 15, both who have otherwise collapsed to lower than Number 20 with recent reevaluations that have caused their rapid decline. Ulysses S. Grant is Number 14, higher than the rise he has gained in legitimate rankings.

John F. Kennedy ends up Number 18 and Franklin D. Roosevelt as Number 20, with of all people, William Howard Taft in between as Number 19, clearly totally lacking in reality.

The Two Bushes, HW and W are Numbers 21 and 22, with Bill Clinton behind them as Number 23, followed by the largely unimpressive many Presidents that have been ranked low for many decades in surveys.

But once we reach the 31-42 range, the bottom of the list, we discover Lyndon B. Johnson Number 35 behind Herbert Hoover Number 33, as well as behind Gerald Ford Number 27 and Richard Nixon Number 29. How crazy can one get to come up with such rankings?

And it gets worse, as Woodrow Wilson is Number 37, followed by Barack Obama Number 38, Jimmy Carter Number 39, and then followed by two Presidents who belong in the bottom, Andrew Johnson Number 40 and James Buchanan Number 41. One might be harshly critical of Wilson, who has declined in rankings in recent years, but to put him in the bottom six of all Presidents is preposterous! And placing Obama and Carter in this bottom group is outrageous beyond belief and reality!

But one might ask, well, who is the absolute bottom at Number 42, and it is, unbelievably, Joe Biden! Whether one admires Joe Biden’s Presidency or not, to put him dead last is the height of craziness, not based on facts!

Notice that the three recent Presidents who demonstrated compassion, empathy, common decency and humanity, morals, ethics, and had no corruption—Obama, Carter, Biden—end up in the bottom five of these listings, which is testimony to how disgraceful this listing of Presidents really is!

This so called “Prager University” Poll is total garbage, and no serious scholar or intelligent citizen would accept the presposterous and outrageous compiling of this propaganda organ, that deserves to be disposed of as extremist and lunatic in nature!