Author: Ronald

The Conservative Political Action Conference: The Cult Of Personality Supporting Donald Trump Without Question Or Qualms

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The Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend was a telling example of where conservatism has gone—to a cult of personality supporting Donald Trump without question or qualms.

It is very clear that intelligent conservatives, many who write commentary, and those conservatives, many who worked for Ronald Reagan, the Bushes, and for GOP nominees Bob Dole, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, are horrified by the utterances, actions, and personality of Donald Trump.

But the “mob” of ignorant “groupies” who worship Donald Trump are clearly mean spirited, and as racist, nativist, misogynist, and white supremacist as their leader, and their and his behavior at the CPAC conference was shocking, terrifying, and disgraceful.

Trump put on a show of more than two hours, ranting and raving like a maniac, in his longest speech in office. He hugged the American flag twice in a lunatic manner, and attacked every imaginable critic and “enemy”, and cheers were heard for his continued attacks on John McCain months after his passing, totally reprehensible. And through it all, there were cheers from people who sound like the next generation of Nazis and Fascists.

One would think this was a rally of Nazis at Nuremberg, and was similar to the rally at Charlottesville, Virginia, that led to violence and the murder of one young woman, an event in which Donald Trump claimed that “both sides” had good people at that rally.

There were no good people at CPAC, none, and it is a sign of how Donald Trump has promoted hatred, fear, violence, and is intent on destroying everything good and decent ever promoted into law by responsible Republicans, as well as Democrats.

The threat of Donald Trump to American democracy is real, and the movement to take action against the 45th President is in full gear, with the hope that future damage can be prevented, but we are at a turning point that is crucial for the future of the American republic and for democracy.

White Nationalism The True Terrorism Threat In America, And Encouraged By Donald Trump’s Rhetoric

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White Nationalism is a far greater threat in America than Muslim terrorism, or undocumented immigrant crime.

The mass murders that have occurred in recent years are most of the time done by white supremacists.

And the problem is that Donald Trump’s racist and nativist rhetoric incites a lot of these people, as at Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, but also the motivation for many other incidents of gun violence.

No one is saying that Muslims or undocumented immigrants from Latin America are totally innocent of any violence, but the numbers of native born Americans who see religion and race as motivations for violence is much higher by comparison.

But if one listens to Donald Trump, one would think only undocumented immigrants or Muslims are responsible for the high level of gun violence, as when such a situation arises, the President always draw attention to it, while ignoring the numerous cases where white supremacists are engaged in the violence.

March 4 Presidential Inauguration History Significant So Many Times In American History

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Today is the original Presidential Inauguration Day through 1933 every fourth year.

Some March 4ths stand out.

1801–Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated, the first time an opposition party takes over the Presidency, and without any bloodshed or violence.

1829–Andrew Jackson is inaugurated, and a mob descends on the White House to celebrate, and windows, glasses, and China are broken.

1841–William Henry Harrison is inaugurated, gives the longest inaugural address in history, and takes sick with pneumonia that evening, and dies after one month in office.

1861–Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated at a time when Southern states have broken away from the Union and declared their independence.

1865–Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated for his second term, and gives the greatest Inaugural Address in American history, calling for peace and reconciliation when the Civil War ends, and his future assassin, John Wilkes Booth is in the crowd and moving toward the inaugural stand as Lincoln speaks.

1913–Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the Democrats, after a half century of Republican dominance of national government.

1933–Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated at the worst moments of the Great Depression, and FDR talks of a New Deal for the American people, the second greatest Inaugural Address, and the Congress pushes through the 20th Amendment, setting up future inauguration dates to be on January 20, starting in 1937.

Michael Cohen Is The John Dean Of The Downfall Of Donald Trump

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45 years ago, White House lawyer John Dean testified before Congress about the corruption he participated in for President Richard Nixon, and later went to prison for a short time for his testimony and cooperation in the Watergate Scandal investigation.

Now, Michael Cohen, the personal lawyer for Donald Trump has testified before Congress about the corruption he participated in, and will go to prison, with his testimony and continued cooperation in the vast number of Trump scandals likely to shorten his sentence, a totally justifiable action when it occurs.

After Dean started to testify in 1973, it took 14 months until Richard Nixon resigned, but this time, with rapid action by the Democratic House of Representatives on many fronts of investigation and questioning people around Trump, it should not take 14 months for Trump to resign.

The day of reckoning for Donald Trump and his family is coming rapidly, and Trump will NOT survive the term as President, and will NOT be the Republican nominee for President in 2020, and if he was so, it would insure a massive GOP defeat in Congress!

Trump: “Socialism Is Corruption, Exploitation, Decay”. And What Is Unregulated Capitalism And A Trump Presidency?

Ronald 10 Comments

Donald Trump is being a demagogue when he said recently that the Democratic Party opposition is promoting socialism, which he defines as “corruption, exploitation, and decay”.

The question is what is unregulated capitalism in the Trump Presidency, if it is not “corruption, exploitation, and decay”? Trump has no desire to regulate the worst evils and sins of capitalism.

If Trump is left to his motivations, he wishes to enrich only himself and the top one percent billionaires, and to hell with the quality of life of the rest of the nation.

If Trump were to have free reign, we would have the wiping out of the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson, the accomplishments of Barack Obama, and the environmental accomplishments of Presidents since Theodore Roosevelt.

If Trump could do just what he wanted, the alliances with Western Europe and Asia would be destroyed, in favor of allegiance to authoritarian dictators such Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong Un, and Mohammed bin Salman.

If what FDR, LBJ, Obama, TR and so many others have done to make life better in the nation and in the world is to be considered “socialism”, then ok, we are a “socialist” nation, and need to keep on that track, as that brings out the best of American ingenuity and compassion and basic moral and ethical values.

Donald Trump Defends And Believes Murderous Authoritarians Mohammed Bin Salman, Kim Jong Un, And Vladimir Putin: The Degrading Of The Moral Authority Of The Presidency

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Donald Trump is the most despicable President in American history, not because he negotiates with authoritarian dictators in the hope of avoiding conflict, but because he, publicly and privately, will take their word, and believe what they say, when they deny murderous activities against Americans and against journalists.

So we have Mohammed bin Salman who was well aware and responsible for the horrific murder of American journalist and Saudi Arabian national Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018.

So we have Kim Jong Un who was well aware and responsible for the mistreatment, torture and death of American student Otto Warmbier in 2017.

So we have Vladimir Putin who has arranged the death of journalists and other critics who have been murdered outside the Kremlin and in foreign nations by chemical agents, and also denies involvement in the 2016 Presidential election in the United States in favor of Trump over Hillary Clinton.

By publicly accepting these three liars and their denials, Trump adds to his reputation as a massive liar, who has no concern for human rights and common decency.

In so doing, Donald Trump degrades the moral authority of the American Presidency, and besmirches the office.

For that, he will be condemned in history, and it will cement his last place status among Presidents, below James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson.

37 Indictments And Plea Deals And Counting: And No Corruption And Trump Is Not Connected To Any Of This?

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Donald Trump supporters, and I know some of them, claim that the corruption around Donald Trump has nothing to do with him, and that he has not broken the law in any fashion.

The Trump Presidency has so far seen 37 indictments and plea deals, including his National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, his first campaign chairman Paul Manafort, his personal lawyer Michael Cohen, campaign aide Rick Gates, foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, and Trump adviser Roger Stone. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as many of his cabinet members or past figures in the White House have engaged in corruption, and many will likely face legal consequences in an investigation still being pursued by Robert Mueller and the Southern District of New York.

To claim that Trump has nothing to do with all this is totally preposterous, and Trump supporters forget that anyone is judged by the company they keep, and already, there is more corruption around Donald Trump, than around Richard Nixon, Warren G. Harding, or Ulysses S. Grant. And with the exception of Nixon, the other Presidents were not personally involved in corruption, and Trump is much more corrupt by comparison to Nixon.

And Nixon had some real accomplishments, while Trump has none, other than his Supreme Court Justice appointments.

Michael Cohen To Testify That Donald Trump Is A Liar, A Cheater, A Racist, And A Con Man: So What Else Is New?

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Former Donald Trump lawyer and loyalist Michael Cohen, who faces three years in prison for lying to Congressional committees, is testifying today before the House Oversight Committee on his former boss.

In his opening statement, revealed before his testimony later today, Cohen informs us that Donald Trump is a liar, a cheater, a racist, and a con man.

Trump has lied more than 8,000 times in his Presidency of two years, more by far than any President, including Richard Nixon.

Trump has cheated with multitudes of women, and has lied to all three of his wives on his extramarital affairs.

Trump is a clear racist against African Americans, Latino and Hispanic Americans, and consorts with and endorses white supremacy, which includes antisemitism, even though he has had Jewish advisers and Jewish cabinet members, who are a disgrace to their faith for their support of him, all based on their wealth and greed.

Trump is a con man, who has manipulated an ignorant 30-35 percent base who struggle every day, but are told that their failure to succeed is due to racial minorities, rather than the outrageous massive tax cuts to the wealthy elite of Donald Trump’s supporters who love associating with him at Mar a Lago, and at White House gatherings.

He tells this clueless base that coal is good and has a future; that tariffs will help their Midwest and Great Plains base; that harming the environment is good for the economy; that women need to be controlled in their lives; that religious extremism is good as part of American culture; that separating children from their parents at the Southern border is legitimate for protection of national security; and that his embrace of authoritarian dictators is better than close friendship with democratic nations in Europe and Asia.

What Cohen is telling us really is not new, for any intelligent human being who has paid attention, and now realizes that the election, with clearcut Russian interference and promotion of anti Hillary Clinton propaganda, was steered toward a close popular vote count in Midwestern states, that undermined the popular vote margin of Clinton, far greater than eight Presidents of the United States had in their victories.

Meanwhile, the Republicans, led by Oversight Committee member Jim Jordan of Ohio, will attack Cohen as a liar, but it will fall flat as there is no purpose for Cohen to lie at this point, as his prison term is set. Jordan has his own scandal, involving the wrestling program at Ohio State University, when he was an assistant coach, and sexual abuse was occurring. People engaged in scandals should not defend a massive liar, cheater, racist, and con man as Donald Trump clearly is, and has been all of his life!

Military Invasion Of Venezuela The Wrong Thing For America To Promote

Ronald 2 Comments

The situation in the South American nation of Venezuela is horrendous, with massive starvation and suffering, under a horrible dictator, Nicolas Maduro, and his refusal to allow food and medical aid to come in from next door Colombia.

There is no question but that Maduro must be removed from office, but that is not through US military intervention directly.

The United States has used military force in Central America and the Caribbean on a irregular basis since the time of Theodore Roosevelt, and helped to overthrow the South American Chilean government of Salvador Allende in 1973 during the Richard Nixon Presidency, although in that situation, no US troops were sent in, simply collaboration with military generals.

But the changes in government promoted by the US invariably led to more harsh right wing dictatorships, and have undermined the relationship of the United States with its neighbors in Latin America.

Many foreign nations have withdrawn recognition from the Venezuelan government, and Juan Guaido, the leader of the National Assembly, has been declared the de facto interim President by that body.

Economic pressure and attempts to win over the military are appropriate by all nations which love freedom, but the worst possible action would be to send in military forces, which would incite civil war, and likely make America the villain, and cause a long intervention and the loss of many lives, both Venezuelan and American.

But it seems as if Donald Trump, Mike Pompeo, and John Bolton are bent on military action, just as they seem to be moving in that direction regarding Iran.

So we could have two massive wars as the 2020 Presidential and Congressional elections come upon us next year, just as with George W. Bush and Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld and unwise, and unsuccessful military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have undermined America, and cost a great amount of treasure, both human and capital.

A Joe Biden-Beto O’Rourke Ticket Might Be The Trick For The Democrats

Ronald 23 Comments

One of the scenarios that is being discussed, regarding the Democratic Party and the Presidential Election of 2020, is that former Vice President Joe Biden and former Texas Congressman Beto O’Rourke might be the ticket to victory.

Biden remains in the lead in many public opinion polls, and has long been admired and loved by many Americans, including this blogger. Of course, in a career of 44 years in government, some of his initiatives, including a tough crime bill, making it more difficult to declare bankruptcy, and his conduct of the Clarence Thomas-Anita Hill Supreme Court hearings, undermine his appeal to many. Also, his tendency to talk too much, and in an embarrassing manner, also is not appealing to many.

On the other hand, his 36 years in the Senate, including chairmanship of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee has made highly respected by many legal authorities and foreign policy specialists, as well as the leadership of many foreign nations.

Beto O’Rourke ran a very close race in Texas against Senator Ted Cruz, and has a very appealing personality, and has the added edge of looking as if he is related to the former Attorney General and US Senator Robert F. Kennedy, with whom he shares the same first and middle name. Even though he is not a Kennedy, he reminds many of the former Presidential contender who was assassinated in 1968.

However, O’Rourke has some youthful arrests that could dog him, and is seen by many as too moderate a Democrat, although one must realize he is from El Paso, Texas, not exactly a site of overly progressive heritage. Many might say he is a “Blue Dog” Democrat in his six years career in the House of Representatives, now ended.

So for Progressives who like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Joe Biden and Beto O’Rourke seem too moderate and centrist, and it all comes down to whether a Sanders or a Warren could actually carry the nation, and make up for the shortcomings of Hillary Clinton in the Midwest and among white working class voters.

Biden being 78 at the time of the next inauguration is definitely a problem, but O’Rourke would be 48. It all comes down to selection of a running mate who Joe Biden would be compatible with, which in Joe’s case is not a big problem, because he gets along well with most people he has associated with, and has a record of “crossing the aisle” and working with Republicans, many of whom admire and praise him, even if they disagree on the issues.