Donald Trump Authoritarianism

Dick Cheney, Most Controversial Vice President, Dies At Age 84!

Ronald 1 Comment

Dick Cheney, the 46th Vice President of the United States, under the two terms of President George W. Bush, passed away at age 84 on November 3.

The most controversial Vice President since John C. Calhoun under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson 170 years earlier, Cheney was termed “Darth Vader” by the multitude of critics, who condemned Cheney and Bush for intervention in Iraq on false premises of “Weapons of Mass Destruction” that were never found, but caused the deaths of about 4,500 American military personnel in a war that lasted for nearly a decade.

Cheney was seen as corrupt in his corporate dealings, and had a tough public persona that caused great anger and vehemence against him.

Cheney promoted the use of torture, including waterboarding, against Muslim suspects, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Cheney came across as “tough as nails”, harsh, uncompromising, and many observers felt he was more the President in the first term of George W. Bush, than Bush himself.

In the second term, Bush became more assertive, and the role of Cheney declined in influence.

The public image never changed, but ironically, Cheney and his daughter, former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney, became the image of a family which resisted the threat of Donald Trump, making Dick Cheney in retrospect seem less evil and threatening by comparison.

The idea that Dick Cheney would actually “cross the aisle” and vote for Kamala Harris in 2024 is a sign of how much the Republican Party had changed from the time of Bush-Cheney to the time of the authoritarian oriented Donald Trump!

Cheney had served as a Wyoming Congressman and Republican Whip in the House of Representatives, after being White House Chief Of Staff to President Gerald Ford, before being a creditable Secretary of Defense under President George H W Bush.

80th Anniversary Of End Of World War II: Concerns About Future Of International Affairs Under Donald Trump!

Ronald 13 Comments

Eighty years ago, World War II finally came to an end, with the surrender of Japan, four months after the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The United States became the leading nation in the world, and was relied upon by democracies in Europe and Asia in the Cold War Years from 1945-1991, and the post Cold War Years since 1991.

But now, under Donald Trump, much of the world’s nations are not trusting the United States anymore, and Trump is alienating our allies in NATO as well as Asian nations.

At a summit in China, with Russia and India also present, those three nations made it clear that they were not going to let the United States under Donald Trump dictate to them, or control them through tariff wars and Trump rhetoric about American superiority.

Trump has alienated the largest populated nation in the world, India, over his 50 percent tariffs, and India is cozying up to its former rival, China, which is making clear its desire to control the world’s future as the dominant nation.

Meanwhile, Russia continues its war against Ukraine, and the summit of Trump and Vladimir Putin has led to no breakthrough on ending the war.

And Israel, determined to take over the Gaza Strip and allow the US to make it the Middle East “Riviera”, is committing genocide against the civilian population, and creating a long term continued nightmare for America in the Middle East.

So even though the 80th year anniversary of the end of the worst, most devastating war in human history, is being celebrated, the seeds of a truly horrifying World War III by an emboldented, authoritarian tyrant named Donald Trump, is provoking the majority of the world’s population against American dominance.

Trump also is now threatening Venezuela; and pursuing Greenland control being taken away from Denmark; and the issue of the Panama Canal is another worrisome matter.

The international situation at present is highly combustible, and America is clearly in rapid decline in prestige and influence at this anniversary.

A new close alliance of China, Russia, and India is a nightmare scenario, far more than even Nazi Germany and Japan during World War II.

Republican Vice Presidents Since 1969—Vance The Worst Of The Worst Since Spiro Agnew! :(

Ronald 4 Comments

In the past 56 years, we have had six Republican Presidents—Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump.

In that same period, we have had eight Republican Vice Presidents—Spiro Agnew, Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, George H W Bush, Dan Quayle, Dick Cheney, Mike Pence, and JD Vance.

It is well recognized that three of these six Republican Presidents are rated higher than the other three—meaning Ronald Reagan, George H W Bush, and Gerald Ford.

George W. Bush, Richard Nixon, and Donald Trump are in the bottom third, with Trump nearly at the total bottom.

When one looks at the eight Republican Vice Presidents, only Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller, and George H W Bush are seen as above average.

Ranking the remaining five is ranking as much lower and far worse in performance, with Spiro Agnew seen as the bottom, but with Dan Quayle and Dick Cheney seen as not much better, and with Mike Pence just slightly above them.

And then, there is the present Vice President, JD Vance, who in seven months has managed to cause outrage by his utterances and his actions, making one fear the thought that he might be the successor to Donald Trump.

At age 41, if Vance became President by succession before the summer of 2027, he would be the youngest President in American history, as Theodore Roosevelt was 42 years and 10 and a half months of age when he succeeded the assassinated William McKinley in September 1901.

Compared to his predecessor, Mike Pence, Vance has managed to be much more controversial, and makes one at least admire Pence for having strong convictions, including refusing to accept Donald Trump’s assertion that he should support a rejection of the Electoral College results in the Presidential Election of 2020.

This led to the threatened hanging of Mike Pence by the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrectionists, who had set up a noose outside the building.

One cannot be sure that Vance would be any improvement on Donald Trump, as he is clearly totally unprincipled and insensitive in his statements and actions, and therefore, cannot be trusted as a potential future Commander in Chief.

Vance should be promoting the preservation of American democracy, but seems more interested in supporting the authoritarianism of Donald Trump, which presents a dire threat to the Bill of Rights and the Constitution.

By comparison, the Democratic Party has had four Vice Presidents since 1969—Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter; Al Gore under Bill Clinton; Joe Biden under Barack Obama; and Kamala Harris under Joe Biden.

While the view of Harris is too recent to be reliable, any estimation of the significance of Mondale, Gore, and Biden makes it clear that they are the top three Vice Presidents of modern times, and arguably, of all time!

Democratic Governors Rich Mine For Presidency!

Ronald 9 Comments

It turns out that in the midst of the Trump Authoritarian Crisis the nation faces, that it is much more Democratic Governors than Democratic members of Congress who are actively on the attack against the abuses perpetrated by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and the utilization of the National Guard in Washington DC, Los Angeles, and threatened expansion to Chicago and other “Blue” cities and states.

In so doing, the following group of Governors are raising attention as leading potential Democratic Presidential contenders for 2028, including

Gavin Newsom of California
JD Pritzker of Illinois
Wes Moore of Maryland
Andy Beshear of Kentucky
Tim Walz of Minnesota
Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan
Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania

In addition, other Democratic Governors, although not seen as likely Presidential contenders, are actively challenging the Trump policies including:

Kathy Hochul of New York
Ned Lamont of Connecticut
Jared Polis of Colorado
Katie Hobbs of Arizona
Maura Healey of Massachusetts
Phil Murphy of New Jersey
Josh Stein of North Carolina
Tony Evers of Wisconsin

Militarization Of Chicago And Baltimore Seems Next Trump Authoritarian Move!

Ronald 10 Comments

President Donald Trump is issuing threats of imminent militarization of Chicago and Baltimore by Natoinal Guard troops, adding to the present occupation of Washington DC, and the earlier such action in Los Angeles.

Trump is using excuse of accusations of growing crime in cities that are actually witnessing declines in crime.

The one common denominator is that all of these cities have African American mayors and are “Blue” cities in “Blue” states. This is pure racism, and racial profiling.

Meanwhile, there are higher crime cities in many “Red” states, particularly in Southern states, but there is no inclination for military intervention in such locations.

Instead, it is precisely these “Red” states that are voluntarily sending National Guard troops to operate in Washington DC, such states as South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and West Virginia, along with Ohio.

And the National Guard troops will be armed, creating a very dangerous, potentially confrontational, situation, that could lead to violence and tragedy in our nation’s capital.

We could face another Kent State University Massacre, which took place in Ohio during the Vietnam War Era in 1970!