Author: Ronald

Fifty Years Since Robert F. Kennedy’s Assassination: What Could Have Been

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Impossible to believe, but it has been a half century since Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, right after winning the California primary in the 1968 Democratic Presidential race.

The course of history changed dramatically with that horrendous event.

It led to the Presidency of Richard Nixon.

It led to the rise of the Right in American politics, begun under Nixon, greatly expanding under Ronald Reagan, and reaching its most destructive stage under Donald Trump.

It seems highly likely that Robert F. Kennedy would have been elected President, and would have transformed the future of America in a very different direction than it took at the time.

The war in Vietnam would have ended sooner, and saved many lives on both sides of the war.

The Supreme Court would have been dramatically different if RFK had had four appointments, instead of Richard Nixon.

The reforms of his brother, John F. Kennedy, and his successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, would have continued, and led to a more equitable, fair minded government.

Instead of taking steps backward, civil rights and civil liberties would have been greatly enhanced.

No one is saying that Robert F. Kennedy would have been a perfect President, and he had his own demons, including his association with Senator Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s, and his often secretive and narrow minded views and personality shortcomings that every human being has.

But it can be believed that Robert F. Kennedy would have made America a greater nation than it turned out to be in the past half century!

This is the time for my readers and supporters to read Chapter 10 of my book, ASSASSINATIONS, THREATS, AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: FROM ANDREW JACKSON TO BARACK OBAMA (Rowman Littlefield Publishers, 2015, Paperback 2017), available from the publisher, and from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Books A Million.

The Die Is Cast: Trump Says He Can End Investigations, Reject Subpoenas, And Pardon Himself! Time To Move Toward Impeachment Or Lose Our Republic!

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Donald Trump has now declared that he is above the law, and that he can do what he wants with his executive authority.

Trump said in a tweet that he can end the Robert Mueller Investigation into Russian Collusion and Obstruction of Justice, and other charges whenever he wants to.

He has said that he can fire Mueller and anyone else when he decides to do so.

He has stated that he can reject a subpoena to testify from the Special Counsel, and refuse to cooperate.

And he has said he can pardon himself, although since he claims he has done nothing wrong, he does not plan to do so.

This is a President totally out of control, and giving us a warning of future intentions.

If the Republican Party sits by and does nothing to move toward impeachment and conviction, it will be part of a history of destroying the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the rule of law.

The time to take action is now, before it is too late, and we have lost our Republic, so there is no justification for any further delay in taking action!

200 Year Closest Relationship Of Adjoining Nations Threatened: Donald Trump And Canada

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Exactly two hundred years ago, the United States and Canada under British control signed agreements that settled boundary disputes–The Rush Bagot Agreement of 1817 and the Convention of 1818.

With a bit further agreement in a treaty with Great Britain, known as the Oregon Settlement of 1846, the final issue of boundaries was resolved.

Canada became independent of Great Britain 150 years ago in 1867, and since then, there have been no major issues between the two nations which share a boundary of 3,987 miles, and a boundary between Alaska and Canada of 1,538 miles.

There has been total cooperation and peace between the US and its wonderful neighbor, unheard of elsewhere in the world.

But now, Donald Trump is stirring up bad feelings and tensions with Canada over trade and tariffs, a totally ridiculous and reckless move by a mentally unstable President.

Canada has been such a good neighbor, and has fought in every American war alongside our troops, and yet, Donald Trump has no appreciation or respect for our Canadian neighbors.

This is a great tragedy, one of many sins and outrages, that might forever change the sense of peace and stability on our long joint borders with Canada.

Somehow, this insanity must be overcome, and soon!

Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un Summit: Inadequate Preparation And Unlikely Success

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Donald Trump, after canceling the proposed summit with Kim Jong Un, has reversed course, and has decided to go ahead with the meeting on June 12.

Many observers and experts feel this is a mistake, as it is clear that Donald Trump has inadequate preparation, and faces unlikely success.

North Korea has a history of misleading and lying on agreements, and Donald Trump is too subject to flattery and vanity, and it is feared that he will be taken advantage of by a wily, smarter Kim Jong Un, who wants to add to his stature on the world stage, but has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons.

The idea that Trump allowed the number two figure in North Korea, the spy chief responsible for so much harm over a long period of years, to spend two hours in the Oval Office alone with the President, except for translators, and with no advisers or Cabinet members, is shocking, as who knows what was discussed.

This follows the unwise decision of Trump to allow top Russian figures in the Oval Office last year the day after he fired FBI Head James Comey, for investigating Russian Collusion.

No such private Oval Office meetings have ever happened before under any President of the United States.

We do know that Trump said he did not bring up the horrible violation of human rights in North Korea, the most backward and totalitarian nation in the entire world.

It is not that bringing up human rights will bring change, but for an American President to avoid the topic completely, not care about the people of the nation who live under such dire oppression, is so disturbing.

But then, Trump has a history of courting dictators, including Vladimir Putin of Russia, and the leaders of China, the Philippines, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,and others, while being highly critical of our democratic allies in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, as well as Canada and Mexico. He prefers autocracy to republican democracy or parliamentary democracy as a form of government, and has wished he could be President for life as is now the situation in China.

Donald Trump’s ignorance of history and facts puts America and its national security in a very dangerous position, and now there is news that Trump plans a summit with Putin, shortly after the North Korea summit.

We could be in the most dangerous situation diplomatically in decades, due to the willingness of Trump to forge ahead against the advice of diplomats and his own advisers.

California Has Larger Economy Now Than The United Kingdom (Great Britain), Fifth Largest In World

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As of last month, the state of California officially is the world’s fifth largest economy.

The Golden State just passed the United Kingdom (Great Britain), and is now only surpassed by four nations: The United States, China, Japan, and Germany.

Who would ever have thought when the US fought Mexico in the late 1840s, gained control of California in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, and saw the Gold Rush begin, starting the development of California population so rapidly, that California became a state by 1850, that this mega state would develop an economy larger than all but four nations?

California today has 40 million people, one out of every eight Americans, and has a technology sector in Silicon Valley, and is the world’s entertainment capital in Hollywood.

California is also the nation’s major agricultural sector in the Central Valley agricultural heartland.

It also has become a major positive in the economy after the collapse during the Great Recession. Financial services, real estate, manufacturing, and the information economy are all major pluses in the California economy.

Its economy is one seventh of the entire nation’s economy, and the job growth from 2012-2017 is one sixth of the entire improvement of the country.

The major areas of economic growth are in San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego.

Its Congressional delegation, by far the largest, consists of 53 House Members and 2 Senators, and a substantial number of them—16 in the House—play a major role in Congress.

The outgoing Governor, Jerry Brown, is seen by many as possibly the greatest Governor in the nation right now, having presided over the revival of the California economy in the past eight years.

California has also led the fight against Donald Trump on such issues as immigration and sanctuary cities; gay rights and gay marriage; and climate change and global warming.

And Nancy Pelosi. the former Speaker of the House from 2007-2011, and Minority Leader since then; and Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader now angling to be the next Speaker of the House if the Republicans retain the majority, are both from California.

So California is, in so many ways, a nation onto itself, and could sustain itself if need be, but at the same time, the future could be three Californias, as the state initiative process has led to a possible ballot question in November, that would set up three states instead of one–Northern California; Southern California; and California, which would consist of the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

Each state would have about one third of the population of 40 million.

Whether this occurs or not, California will continue to be a major part of the world economy and the American political system.

Donald Trump Declares Trade “War” On European Union, Canada, Mexico: Suicidal For Consumers, Workers, Corporations

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Donald Trump has declared a trade “war” on the 28 nations of the European Union, as well as Canada and Mexico.

This protectionist binge will be suicidal for consumers, workers, and corporations.

It will cause rapidly rising inflation in consumer prices; loss of employment in many industries and agriculture; and add billions of dollars in costs to corporations, which will lead to price increases and worker layoffs.

Along with the massive backtracking on the Dodd-Frank Act regulating Wall Street banks after the Great Recession of 2007-2009, it will bring about another Great Recession in the next year, and possibly worse, a return of the conditions of 1929 under Herbert Hoover, leading to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff of 1930, and a great worsening of the Great Depression that affected America for an entire decade.

It will also cause the NATO alliance to fray at its edges, as the European allies, and particularly the major ones–Great Britain, France, Germany–will retaliate against the nation that they used to look to as their leader.

And our relations with our neighbors–Canada and Mexico–will be the worst in a century, and undermine global security and stability.

And the Republican Party, while complaining privately, will show no ability to stand up to Donald Trump, and fight him, and their party will be permanently damaged by their cowardice!

Freedom Of Speech And Racism, Antisemitism, Nativism, Misogyny: Public Rebuke Of Public Figures Required As Punishment, As With Roseanne!

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The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

Anyone can say whatever they wish to say, and if they use social media, they can express their thoughts in print.

But that does not mean that the right to speak should protect racists, antisemites, nativists, and misogynists from public condemnation, or that it should protect public figures from public rebuke, including potential loss of their employment, and any other public punishment short of imprisonment.

The case of Roseanne Barr is such a case.

Roseanne Barr can certainly have her own thoughts and opinions, but that does not protect her from public denunciation, and actions to punish her, and take away her career.

For any public figure to express such biases as Roseanne Barr has done for many years is simply disgusting, and beyond the pale.

And it should be the same for every politician, whether local, state or national, to face repudiation and to be forced out of office as unAmerican.

And for a President to use his office to spew hate and disdain for so many groups of Americans should, just by itself, be justification for impeachment and removal from office.

Remember that impeachment has nothing to do with legalities, and any President, Vice President, Federal Court Judge or Justice, and any Cabinet officer can be brought up on impeachment charges on any grounds that a majority of the House agree are reasons for impeachment.

Donald Trump’s verbal behavior on Twitter and in the public square, as well as his actions, are a better case for impeachment than was faced by Andrew Johnson in 1868 and by Bill Clinton in 1998-1999.

And it seems clear more than ever that the case against Donald Trump for impeachment far surpasses even the impeachment route pursued against Richard Nixon in 1974 before he resigned in disgrace!

Mixed Messages: Scuttling The Iran Deal, But Cozying Up To North Korea, Meanwhile Alienating Our Traditional Allies In Foreign Policy

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Donald Trump is schizophrenic in so many ways.

And in foreign policy, that is particularly dangerous.

Trump has scuttled the Iran deal, and made eventual war against that nation more likely.

At the same time, despite his cancellation of the summit with North Korea, already Donald Trump is changing his mind, and it now seems that the summit with Kim Jong Un might take place, but with unreasonable, irrational expectations.

To believe that North Korea will give up its nuclear program entirely is to believe in fantasy, as Kim Jong Un has now seen how unstable Donald Trump is. If Trump is ready to scuttle the nuclear deal with Iran and threaten them, what would make North Korea comfortable and confident enough that their regime would be left alone if they gave up their nuclear weapons?

Instead of saying can North Korea be trusted, how about whether the United States government under Donald Trump can be trusted to keep any agreement?

And in the meantime, Donald Trump has alienated our traditional allies in foreign policy, the NATO nations (and particularly Great Britain, France and Germany), and also South Korea and Japan, along with Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Why should South Korea feel safe with an unstable, mercurial American leader who is fighting with their government over trade policy at a time when that nation could be decimated by a nuclear or conventional war with its neighbor?

One could say that American foreign policy in 2018 is the most unstable, unpredictable policy ever seen in American history since the end of World War II, and no sign of the return of any stability anytime in the near or long term future, as long as Donald Trump is President.

Donald Trump Throws Everyone Who Worked And Supported Him “Under The Bus”, As His Only Purpose Is To Promote His Own Glory

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Donald Trump is for Number One, himself, and has been so all of his life.

He bullied kids when he was a teenager, and he has bullied adults in his work and personal life ever since.

The problem is that he has never been held accountable for his behavior, both in business and in personal life.

He does not care about Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort, Michael Cohen. George Papadopoulos, Rick Gates, Roger Stone, or anyone else in legal trouble, and in many cases, facing prison for the dirty deeds they did for Donald Trump.

He does not care about the multitude of people who have worked for him in the Presidency, and who he has dumped unceremoniously over his 16 months in office.

He uses everyone to advance himself, insults them, gets them to lie for him, and spends not a minute concerned about their welfare in any form.

He cares not about the nation, but only about himself, and that includes his mistreatment of his three wives, including Melania, who mysteriously has been “missing” for nearly three weeks without any explanation that makes sense. His lack of respect for women is worse than any accusations against earlier Presidents.

He cares only about money and glory, and will see his children in legal trouble and loss of reputation, due to his own selfish, narcissistic nature.

He does not care how much he hurts women, racial minorities, immigrants, children, workers, farmers, and undermines the rule of law, social justice, and basic ethics and morality. He lacks the capability to have compassion, empathy, and common decency toward fellow human beings.

Donald Trump is a very sick man mentally, and a threat to American values, and the urgency to remove him from power and make him legally accountable for his crimes must fuel momentum for a Democratic takeover of both houses of Congress this November in the midterm elections.

Trump Policy Of Separating Children From Parents At Border A Massive Violation Of Basic Human Rights That Must Stop

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It is shocking news that Donald Trump’s government has made it a policy of separating young immigrant children, many of them babies and toddlers, from their parents at the border, when these people escaping gang violence, drug cartels, and bloodshed in Central America arrive at the checkpoints, and apply for safe haven status.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency have become the center of mistreatment and lack of basic humanity and compassion toward these immigrants, while Donald Trump talks as if these mostly mothers and young children are terrorists, drug dealers, and rapists, as he has been doing since he announced his Presidential campaign three years ago.

The shock is even greater that it is now documented that at least 1,500 children, many of them infants, have been handed over to foster care at a crucial age, and the government has lost contact as to where these children are.

That means many may never be reunited with their mothers or fathers or both, and in many cases, are too young to even remember who their parents are.

The emotional trauma that these children are being put through, including those old enough to remember their family members, is incalculable, and is a crime against humanity.

It seems that many of these children may have been handed over by miscalculation, lack of concern, and corruption to criminal elements, human traffickers, who will sell these children on the international market, leading to potential sexual abuse and mistreatment, and in many cases, making them slaves to those who are illegally “adopting” them.

With all of the outrages Donald Trump and his administration have been engaged in, this action and the blunders and lack of concern coming out of it, in many ways is the most egregious legal violation and crime of all.

And this from a President who claims to be “Pro Life”, and is backed by extremist right wing Evangelical Christians who have no concern about the lives of immigrants, but only about abortions being prevented, and who has a wretched Attorney General in Jeff Sessions, is enough to infuriate one beyond belief.

Every day, Donald Trump becomes more Fascist oriented, and the urgency of removing him and his ilk from office sooner rather than later, is urgent!