American Democracy

Joe Biden Gives Great Speech At Convention, Passing The Torch To Kamala Harris!

President Joe Biden displayed his true greatness last night, having devoted a half century to public service, and knowing it was time to pass the torch to a future generation of leadership in Vice President Kamala Harris!

This was one of Biden’s greatest speeches, and showed his compassion and empathy for Americans who need a champion to help their advancement in America.

Biden made clear the battle for American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law, that lies ahead.

He was surrounded by his family, and Harris and Doug Emhoff, as he informed the nation that he still would work hard in his final 5 months in office, before he handed over power, hopefully, to Harris.

The convention crowd erupted in an amazing display of love and affection for the 46th President, who will go down as one of the most significant Presidents in American history!

The whole first night of the convention was magnificent, including the speeches of Hillary Clinton, Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, and New York Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, among others, as well as the surprise appearance of Kamala Harris, leading chants thanking Joe Biden for his half century of service to the nation!

Historic Moment: Joe Biden Drops Reelection Bid And Endorses Kamala Harris For President!

After 24 tortous days, Joe Biden has finally decided to withdraw from the Presidential Election contest of 2024, and has thrown his endorsement to Vice President Kamala Harris.

It was a very emotional moment for this author and blogger, when he learned of the news at 2 pm EST today, as he has been a long time fan and supporter of Joe Biden.

But it is the right thing to do, as Joe Biden has produced an exceptional record in his one term in office, and will go down as the most successful one term President since James K. Polk in the 1840s, and a lot more positive than Polk was. But at his age, it was time to move on to the future, knowing he saved democracy by defeating Donald Trump in 2020.

Now it is time to unite around Harris, and make her the 47th President, and the battle is on, against the most evil and corrupt President in American history, Donald Trump, and his dangerous Vice Presidential running mate, JD Vance!

Project 2025: Final Conclusions On Danger Of Extremist Right Wing Agenda!

This author and blogger has spent a week describing the organization, the Heritage Foundation, and its threatening leader, Kevin Roberts.

There is so much that needs to be written about Project 2025, but I will summarize for now the major ideas and points, with the possibility that in the future weeks and months, the subject of this threat to American democracy, the Constitution, and rule of law will be addressed further.

Project 2025 presents a threat to the nation in so many ways:

The possibility of a dictatorship, with dangerous followers and believers in Donald Trump, imposing their will on the American people, and destroying the nation as we come upon its 250th anniversary in 2026.

The destruction of the federal government and its agencies and departments, ending the civil service bureaucracy created under the Pendleton Act of 1883.

The threat to America’s position in world affairs, with the possibility of the destruction of our foreign alliances, and instead, collaboration with authoritarian dictatorships, based upon the Communist model, despite Trump claiming the Democrats are “Communists, Socialists”!

The destruction of the environment, as climate change and global warming becomes more of a crisis every year, undermining the health and safety of millions of Americans, mostly those who are poor and deprived.

The clear racism and antisemitism and misogyny that Project 2025 promotes, in the name of white Christian nationalism and supremacy, in a nation founded on separation of church and state.

The threat of military and police control, taking away the civil liberties of the Bill of Rights and the Civil Rights Era under Chief Justice Earl Warren and the Supreme Court in the 1950s and 1960s.

The destruction of the American economy, with the continuing dominance of corporations and billionaires, and the subjugation of workers and unions, all in the name of unbridled capitalism, as existed in the Gilded Age of the late 19th century in America.

The undermining of public education, instead promoting propaganda and mistruths about history, science, literature, and other areas of the curriculum, all part of a plan to control the minds of the future generations to accept the goals of those who wish to control them in an authoritarian matter long term!

The arrest, prosecution, and imprisonment of political critics and destruction of a free press, and expanding a judiciary that promotes a right wing agenda long term!

These threats must be met by resolve to prevent this extremism from gaining power, and destroying the American nation!

Project 2025: Authoritarian Fascism Replacing Democracy!

Project 2025, the work of the Heritage Foundation, is a declaration of war on American democracy, the US Constitution, and the rule of law.

Authoritarian Fascism would replace the kind of government we have had for nearly 250 years.

It would establish a dictatorship, with a crazed, unstable criminal in charge, and even if Donald Trump was not aware of policy details, there would be a massive number of ideological loyalists, much younger, who would be making policy and enforcing discipline, with some of them already involved in illegal and criminal activities in the first Trump administration.

Trump has made clear he wants to be a dictator on Day One, but clearly it would not stop on that day!

Project 2025 would allow Trump the ability to deploy the military against American citizens who utilized the right of assembly to protest government policies!

Project 2025 would promote the arrest and deportation of up to 11 million non citizens, who would be placed in internment camps, a reminder of what happened to Japanese Americans in World War II!

Project 2025 would allow the termination of tens of thousands government employees, to be replaced by Trump loyalists, who would have a deleterious effect on government policy in a multitude of areas!

Project 2025 would promote Christian Nationalism, and impose religious beliefs in public schools, already occurring in Louisiana and Oklahoma, ignoring the reality that it would undermine religious freedom and separation of church and state!

Project 2025 would allow political persecution of opponents, both in government and the media, with Trump threatening imprisonment of prominent critics, including those who investigated the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection!

Trump himself has said that while he wants everyone to vote in 2024, that he does not care if they vote after that, implying there may not be any future elections as he would be President for life!

So much more will be delineated in future articles, but all of the above is alarming to the extreme, and every effort must be made to insure that Donald Trump never gets near the Oval Office again!

Kamala Harris Would Be Favored, If Joe Biden Decided To Withdraw: So What?

If Joe Biden were to decide to withdraw as a candidate, after the disastrous CNN Presidential debate five days ago, it is clear that Vice President Kamala Harris would be favored to be the Democratic Presidential nominee against Donald Trump.

So what is this author’s and blogger’s response, as Harris is perfectly capable of being President, and arguably more so than a number of recent Vice Presidents or Vice Presidential candidates.

Would any rational observer say that Spiro Agnew, Dan Quayle, or Mike Pence were better qualified, or that Dick Cheney, with his authoritarian qualities, would have been a preferable choice? And what about Sarah Palin, who was a potential threat to be Vice President?

Most of the opposition from the right wing about Harris is based on her gender and race, as she proved to be perfectly qualified as San Francisco District Attorney, California Attorney General, and California US Senator.

While there would be those who would prefer alternatives, Harris is a hearbeat away from the Presidency already for three and a half years, and is perfectly capable of being President, and doing a good job of upholding the Constitution, American democracy, and the rule of law, and certainly far better than Fascist authoritarian Donald Trump!

Harris would unify African American women, racial minorities in general, and white progressives and moderates who would see Donald Trump as “a clear and present danger”. She would perform very well against Trump in a debate format, as well.

Her Vice Presidential running mate could be Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, who has proved he could win a “Red” State more than once; or Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, leader of a crucial “swing state”.

Time For Reality: Joe Biden MUST Step Aside, And “Swing State” Governors Are Best Combination To Stop Trump! :(

This author and blogger is shell shocked from the disastrous performance of Joe Biden last evening in his debate with Donald Trump.

Biden was clearly not well physically, having a cold and a raspy voice, but also, mentally, not “with it”, and sadly, as much as I have “loved” Biden and have been proud of him and his record, it is time for him to announce that he will not run for President.

However, the best alternative is NOT a Californian, such as Vice President Kamala Harris or California Governor Gavin Newsom, but rather two young “swing state” Governors!

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro (age 51) and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (age 53) is a perfect combination that can rally all Democratic groups of voters, and attract independents and sane Republicans who do not want Donald Trump back in the White House!

Much more analysis and discussion will occur, but the Democratic National Convention should unite around Shapiro and Whitmer as the best combination to defeat Donald Trump and his authoritarian Fascist threat to American democracy and rule of law!

Back From Costa Rica Vacation, And Republican Party Continues To Self-Destruct!

Having just returned from a Costa Rica vacation, I return to a nation embroiled in turmoil by the conviction of Donald Trump, and the Republican Party, with few exceptions, continuing to self destruct its history and legacy.

Costa Rica is a successful democracy, with people that are very happy, and committed to an environmental legacy, opportunity for all, and with a very high life longevity, a model nation which lowers blood pressure by its primary commitment to education and health care for all, and has no standing army, and the most successful long lasting democracy in Latin America.

America, on the other hand, is moving toward its 250th anniversary as a nation, divided by greed, corruption, and many evil leaders who only care about their own aggrandizement, and promotion of the undermining of American democracy and the rule of law.

America is in its greatest crisis since the Civil War in the 1860s, and no certainty of its survival as a beacon for the world!

“Originalism” And “Textualism”: The Battle For The Future Of Constitutional Government Against The Late 18th Century!

The battle over how to interpret the Constitution in the 21st century is in full swing, with the extremist right wing Supreme Court majority emphasizing “Originalism” and “Textualism” as their basic ideological doctrine!

They want America to be judged by late 18th century interpretations, which means they challenge Alexander Hamilton and his “broad” interpretation of the Constitution.

Hamilton emphasized a broad interpretation, not a strict interpretation, of the Constitution, saying it needed to be a living document.

Even Thomas Jefferson, the original ideological opponent of Hamilton, came to recognize that Hamilton was correct, and so backed away from his original strict intepretation to support the Louisiana Purchase deal with France in 1803, doubling US territory and insuring that no other foreign power would gain further control in North America.

If one is to judge the Constitution by “originalism” and “textualism”, then America should not have had the multitude of changes that has made America a democracy, including among others:

Creation of Cabinet Agencies
End of African American Slavery by Amendment 13
Civil Rights Laws And Amendments (14, 15)
Women’s Suffrage (19)
Federal Government Agencies and Regulations
Federal Income Tax Amendment (16)
Democratizing of the US Senate by Amendment 17
Limitation of Presidential Terms by Amendment 22

This battle is over the future as compared to the limitations of the past, and America has come too far to allow the right wing interpretation to dictate the future of the nation!

FDR Death, And Harry Truman Succession To The Presidency Commemorated!

Sixty nine years ago, in the midst of late stages of World War II, the longest serving American President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed away at the age of 63 in Warm Springs, Georgia.

The impact of FDR in his years in office, and the continued significance of his policies and actions, reverberates in America seven decades later, and he is usually ranked second or third among all Presidents in polls and surveys of Presidential scholars.

Serving more than 12 years and starting a fourth term in office, he had a far greater impact in many ways than Abraham Lincoln, who is usually ranked as the greatest American President.

FDR’s “New Deal” still affects America, and his leadership in World War II was crucial for the survival of democracy in the nation and the world.

The death of FDR also led to the Presidency of Harry Truman, tremendously underrated throughout his Presidency and for a generation after his retirement.

But once Truman passed away, recognition of his courageous, principled leadership emerged, and now he is ranked in the top five or six of all Presidents!

His continuation and expansion of the New Deal through the Fair Deal, and his strong leadership in the emerging Cold War made his Presidency extremely significant!

A Magnificent, Fiery, Combative Speech As Joe Biden Begins The Fight Against Donald Trump And Maga Republicans!

Last night’s State Of The Union Address by Joe Biden was a magnificant, fiery, combative speech as Joe Biden begins the fight against Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans!

Anyone watching who is objective must admit that Joe Biden did a “tour de force”, and showed vigor and energy for a man who is 81 years old!

Biden has demonstrated perfect capability and knowledge to lead our nation in a difficult national and international climate, but also to care about and promote what is good for the vast number of Americans, not just the wealthy!

It was unbelievable how Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who did NOT do the usual introduction of the President, was constantly frowning and rolling his eyes, to the point that he looked totally ridiculous. Johnson refused to applaud on almost every issue, because he is the captive, as are 95 percent of Republicans in Congress, to the evil Donald Trump!

It was sad seeing conservative Republican Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, a cosponsor of an immigration bill approved by the Chambers of Commerce and the Wall Street Journal, but rejected by House Republicans, mouthing his agreement with President Biden on the value of the proposed legislation.

It was disgraceful how Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene yelled and gestured in a disgusting manner, showing total lack of respect for the President.

The Republicans in the House chamber just sat on their hands, but knowing Joe Biden has become like Harry Truman in 1948, ready and willing to “Give Them Hell” over the next eight months!

Decency and compassion and vision and competence will ultimately win out over the evil and threat to the Constitution and rule of law represented by Donald Trump.

And anyone who chooses to vote for a third party, and most particularly the embarrassing and unstable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, who is no match for his father or the family name, is undermining the struggle to sustain American democracy.

And if by some fluke, Trump wins and establishes a dictatorship, such voters will go to their graves knowing they contributed to the destruction of the American nation as we have known it!