Author: Ronald

Two New Inaugurated Democratic Governors Give Us Hope For Future!

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This week saw the inaugurations of two new young Democratic Governors in the Northeast-Mid Atlantic area, and both represent great hopes for the future.

In Maryland, a state which has advanced in the areas of race and gender more than most states, we saw the inauguration of an African American governor, Wes Moore, formerly head of the Robin Hood Foundation, a Rhodes Scholar, and serving in the war in Afghanistan. He is only the third African American governor in US History, and is very inspiring and charismatic at age 44.

And in Pennsylvania, we saw former state Attorney General, and newly inaugurated Governor Josh Shapiro, who is equally inspiring, and is seen by some as the first Jewish President in the future, take over leadership of a crucial state in the Electoral College past, present, and future. He is 49 years old and offers great potential in the future beyond the governorship.

So while there is so much cynicism and negativism about American politics among many Americans, there is indeed a sense of hope for the future!

Seditionists In Republican Caucus In Charge In The House Of Representatives In The 118th Congress!

Ronald 5 Comments

A sad, tragic, and threatening circumstance now is reality!

The Republican controlled House of Representatives in the 118th Congress has become the property of seditionists and traitors, those who promoted “Election Denial” and the US Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021!

Extremists, led by Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia; Lauren Boebert of Colorado; Matt Gaetz of Florida; Paul Gosar of Arizona; Scott Perry of Pennsylvania; Jim Jordan of Ohio; James Comer of Kentucky; and others has been given power and membership on committees that will now be out to wipe out the truth and the investigation completed by the January 6 House Committee!

And any one of them could call for a vote at any time to dislodge Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, who has sold his soul, ethics, morals, and principles in order to accomplish his lifelong goal to be Speaker!

Chaos and anarchy are ahead of us, and sham investigations and supposed scandals will be the center of attention, without any real conclusions that are truthful, only designed to divide America further, without regard as to the effect on average Americans!

And the likelihood of a financial crisis over the debt limit will cause great turmoil and suffering, totally reckless and unnecessary!

Abortion Rights A Winning Cause When Americans Vote On The Subject

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The right wing extremist majority on the US Supreme Court may have ended Roe V Wade in June 2022, and many states, “Red” states, have worked to destroy a woman’s right to control their own bodies.

It is all very disconcerting, the lack of respect for women, and men would not tolerate if they were told, for instance, they had to get a vasectomy, so that they could not make every woman pregnant without personal responsibility of the man involved!

But when one looks at Americans voting on the subject of abortion rights, we find that those opposed to abortion lost in many state and congressional races in 2022, and that the rights of women were upheld consistently.

And in six states in 2022, there were ballot measures which insured abortion rights:

California, Michigan, and Vermont voted to insure state constitutional rights to abortion.

Kansas and Kentucky voted to reject ballot measures to take away abortion rights, and both states are generally “Red”, although the Kansas Governor, Laura Kelly, is a Democrat.

Montana voted down The Born-Alive Infant Protection act, and is also seen as primarily “Red”, although Senator Jon Tester is a Democrat in his third term.

So it is clear that there is widespread support for abortion rights, so the battle must go on!

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday: Republicans Backtracking On Civil Rights!

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Today is the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, and yet, the Republican Party is doing everything imaginable to backtrack on Civil Rights!

The Supreme Court, with Republican appointments controlling six of the nine seats, is working very hard to negate the Voting Rights Act, Affirmative Action, and so much more, and among those most promoting backtracking is African American Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who is a total disgrace on the issue of civil rights, which actually advanced his career!

Republican Governors, led by Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and other governors, mostly in the South, are mandating that teachers cannot discuss race and ethnicity, and the truth of American history, because some white children might feel “bad”, as if history should be totally sanitized!

This includes literature as well being censored, an absolute outrage, with the goal of keeping young people ignorant, and complying with the demands of many prejudiced white parents, who do not want their children exposed to truth and facts!

It also includes the goal of making it harder for poor people and those of color to be able to vote, a backtracking on the Voting Rights Act of 1965!

So we have Republicans mouthing quotes of Martin Luther King, Jr, but working assiduously to promote a white supremacy version of history and literature, in a nation becoming less white by the decade!

This is a human tragedy of massive proportions, and must be resisted by decent and educated people who do not want a sanitizing of our history and literature, and instead, a full accounting for past shortcomings, in order to promote a better future in a multiracial society!

Truman Vs The 80th Congress; Biden Vs The 118th House Of Representatives!

Ronald 2 Comments

75 years ago, President Harry Truman, looking like a “loser” to many observers, chose to use an attack strategy against the Republican 80th Congress (1947-1949), calling them the “Do Nothing” Congress, and gaining a nickname, “Give Them Hell Harry!”

Everyone underestimated him tremendously, and he staged a magnificent upset victory, winning a full term in the Presidency despite low public opinion polls at the time, defeating the clearcut favorite candidate, Republican Presidential nominee Thomas E. Dewey, and winning back control of both houses of Congress for the 81st Congress (1949-1951).

Now, President Joe Biden, who most observers never expected to be the Democratic Presidential nominee in 2020, and to have the Democrats win the Senate along with the House of Representatives in both 2020 and keep the Senate in 2022, is being given a golden opportunity to run a campaign against the small margin Republican House of Representatives in the 118th Congress, and they are making it very easy by their disastrous tactics and public image!

So Joe Biden will run a Truman like campaign and give the Republican House “hell”, with all of his accomplishments in his first two years.

He has a great chance to win reelection, with a low unemployment rate, lowered inflation, and courageous leadership against Russia in Ukraine. Just as Truman took a strong stand against Russia in the Berlin Blockade Crisis of 1948, Biden is coming across strongly in the Ukraine Crisis!

And the odds of the House of Representatives going back to the Democrats is outstanding, and the Senate, while difficult, with Joe Biden on the same ticket, the odds increase of the continuation of a Democratic Senate for the 119th Congress (2025-2027)!

The US Senate Hits The 2,000 Mark After 234 Years, With 8 New Senators!

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With the Senate retirements and elections of 2022 now part of history, the US Senate has finally hit the 2,000 mark of membership after 234 years of history since 1789.

There are 2,002 people who have served in the Senate, most by election, but some by appointment, with 202 appointed to fill a vacancy since 1913, with the ratification of the 17th Amendment, providing for direct popular election of the US Senate.

Eleven of the present membership of the Senate was originally appointed to fill a vacancy, but have won election to the office since then.

The 8 new Senators are:

Katie Britt (R) Alabama
Ted Budd (R) North Carolina
John Fetterman (D) Pennsylvania
Markwayne Mullin (R) Oklahoma
Eric Schmitt (R) Missouri
J D Vance (R) Ohio
Peter Welch (D) Vermont

All of the above were sworn in opening day of the 118th Congress, January 3, 2023.

Additionally, former Governor Pete Ricketts (R) Nebraska, appointed to replace Senator Ben Sasse, who resigned to become President of the University of Florida, will be sworn in on January 23, 2023 as number 2,002!

Ricketts is part of the family that owns the Chicago Cubs baseball team since 2009!

California Split: Kevin McCarthy Declares War On Adam Schiff, Eric Swalwell, Fellow Californians!

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Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy from Sacramento, California, has demonstrated in just one week how corrupt and vindictive he is!

He has declared war on two fellow Californian Congressmen, both Democrats, Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, because of their efforts regarding the impeachments of former President Donald Trump. He has promised he will deny these two courageous Congressmen from serving on the House Intelligence Committee in revenge!

Now, McCarthy is also suggesting that the Republican House of Representatives might move to “expunge” the two impeachments of Trump that took place in 2019 and 2021, trying to whitewash and change history!

This is the same man who denounced Trump, rightfully, for the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection, but then within about ten days, went to Mar A Lago and made “peace” with a President who had been responsible for treason, sedition, bloodshed, and violence, including all members of Congress of both parties, as well as law enforcement personnel, and Congressional staff members!

The Disaster Of Charlatan George Santos, A Burden For Nassau County, Long Island, New York!

Ronald 3 Comments

This author and blogger grew up on Long Island, in northern Queens and Nassau County, and lived there for four decades before moving to South Florida.

The area I used to live in is now represented in the House of Representatives by a person who lied about his background, education, religion, sexuality, and his financing for his election.

George Santos is a disgrace, and an embarrassment to anyone who is a decent human being, and his Nassau County,Long Island Republican Party has denounced him, and called for his resignation.

But Santos says he will not leave, and at this point, the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, with a razor thin margin, has decided they are not going to intervene and pursue what the Republican Party in New York wants, that the seat be made vacant, and a new election take place.

This mess makes Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy look horrible, and demonstrates how he is allowing himself to be controlled by extremists in the Republican caucus, who have no concern about the citizens of Nassau and Queens County, Long Island, New York having decent representation, whether Republican or Democrat.

Four other newly elected Republicans in New York State, and on Long Island, as well, have demanded that Santos leave.

However, it looks as if Santos is not going anywhere, and might very well serve two years, and go down in history as a totally corrupt political figure who foisted himself on the good citizens of his Congressional district!

Republicans On Suicide Watch: Promoting More Anti Abortion Legislation!

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The right wing extremist Republican Party clearly is on a “suicide watch”, as after losing so many elections on the issue of abortion in the 2022 Midterms, they are at it again, passing extremist bans on abortion in the House of Representatives!

There is ZERO chance of such disgraceful limits on women’s control of their own bodies being passed in the US Senate. In any case, any such legislation would be vetoed by President Joe Biden!

The right wingers and the Republican Party have not learned that it is a losing cause to put limits on abortion, no matter what is done by the US Supreme Court and by backward state legislatures in many Southern states and Midwestern states!

But let us hope they continue their craziness, as it will insure their defeat for the Congress in 2024, as well as the White House!

The Republican Party War On Social Security And Medicare Continues!

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The Republican Party historically has been consistently against Social Security, promoted by Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal 88 years ago.

The Republican Party historically has been consistently against Medicare and Medicaid, promoted by Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society 58 and 57 years ago.

The Republican Party historically has been consistently against the Affordable Care Act (Obama), promoted by Barack Obama 13 years ago.

Of course, SOME Republicans over the decades have supported these programs, which are very popular, and part of the “Social Justice” agenda of Democrats since the 1930s.

Actually, however, these ideas in outline were promoted by Republican progressive Theodore Roosevelt and his “New Nationalism” platform that he ran on with his Bull Moose Progressive Party campaign in 1912, more than a century ago.

The Republicans never learn that the American people at large WANT these programs, which are NOT “entitlements”, that are “given” to Americans, as taxpayers pay for these programs, and the idea that they can just be cut, while corporations and the wealthy get their tax breaks, is infuriating!

So the attempt of the 118th Congress to cut these programs will fail miserably, but will also take Republicans down, with their evil intention, to defeat, in 2024 and beyond!

The idea being proposed to “privatize” Social Security fails to recognize that George W. Bush proposed this in 2004-2005, with it failing to occur, and fortunately so!

As in 2008-2009, with the Great Recession, if one had Social Security in the stock market, they would have lost the anchor that Social Security represents, a guaranteed support!

Most people are not knowledgeable enough to know how to invest, and be assured that such investments do not turn out to be disasters!