Donald Trump

Ten Days Away, Coming Back To New Controversies Surrounding Donald Trump! :(

Ronald 19 Comments

This author and blogger took a vacation, visiting my old “haunts” in New York City, where he lived until 1989.

While it was great getting back to “my origins”, for only the third time in the past 36 years, new controversies erupted around Donald Trump and his administration while I was away.

At least ten areas of crisis grew while this author and blogger was away on vacation.

The earlier decision of CBS to cancel Stephen Colbert, occurring days before this author and blogger took a break, just to gain the ability to merge with new ownership accepted by Donald Trump, was just the beginning. And Trump celebrating Colbert’s show ending next May was a moment of total disgust!

Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because she revealed a report of weak employment growth in July, and massive revision downward of May and June figures, numbers she had no control over adjusting.

Trump’s tariffs, which will raise the cost of living dramatically in future months, are due to take place on August 7, with some nations being “punished” more than others, including Canada and Brazil, and all Americans paying the price for this insanity, as tariffs cause economic collapses historically!

Ghislane Maxwell, in prison for 20 years for sexual abuse of young girls, connected with the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal, was moved to a minimum security prison, after being interviewed by Trump’s Deputy Attorney General. This is seen as an attempt to move to pardon her, and avoid revelations of whether Donald Trump was involved in the sexual abuse, another sign of a coverup to protect Trump.

Texas is attempting to use the abuses of gerrymandering to insure possibly five more House seats to go to the Republican Party, an effort to insure Republican control of the House of Representatives, with the support of Donald Trump. Democrats have left the state, to try to avoid such abuses from occurring.

The National Museum of American History, connected with the Smithsonian Institution, temporarly removed an exhibit showing Trump’s two impeachments, although it now claims it will be restored in the future.

The number of ICE arrests is multiplying, including at immigration hearings, when people show up at their required appointments, gain a new court date, but then are grabbed by multiple ICE agents wearing masks, acting like the Nazi Gestapo!

The number of government workers are being decimated, which makes a future set of shortcomings that will affect Americans in many areas of government involvement, most notably the National Weather Serivce and the upcoming hurricane season, as well as air traffic control, which delayed this author and blogger’s flight to New York City by a TEN hour delay! 🙁

Trump has moved nuclear submarines closer to Russia, as relations between Trump and Vladimir Putin worsen, and as the Russian war against Ukraine continues unabated.

The mass starvation of Gaza residents by Israel continues, and Trump’s inability or lack of concern about what is seen by many as a growing Holocaust.

So trying to “escape” from the news really is not truly possible, as the nightmare of Donald Trump continues! 🙁

Taking Another Break From The Horrors Of The Trump Presidency!

Ronald 74 Comments

It has been an exasperating six months for this author and blogger, as we are witnessing the persistent attack on American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law by Donald Trump and his Cabinet officers and other loyalists.

So another break, going on vacation again, is in the offing, with the expectation that there will be a resumption of commentary by the week of August 4.

Meanwhile, to my readers and followers, I wish you all peace and tranquility, a major challenge in these times!

Past Presidential Disputes Never Anything Like Trump With His Predecessors!

Ronald 5 Comments

Donald Trump’s incessant attacks on many of his predecessors in the White House is unparalleled in American history!

Trump has attacked over the years not only Barack Obama, but also Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and both Presidents Bush in vehement and outrageous ways.

In the past, there were cases of “bad blood” between Presidents, but nothing on the scale of what Trump has done.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had strong criticism of each other, as well as Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams, and neither Adams attended the inauguration of his successor. But later, Adams and Jefferson revived their former friendship, with extensive letter correspondence over the last 14 years of their lives.

John Tyler, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan were unhappy with Abraham Lincoln’s policies during the Civil War.

Andrew Johnson had issues with his successor, Ulysses S. Grant, and refused to attend Grant’s inauguration.

Theodore Roosevelt fought bitterly against his own annointed successor, William Howard Taft, and challenged him in 1912, and both TR and Wilson were at odds very often with Woodrow Wilson.

Herbert Hoover was very bitter in his loss to Franklin D. Rooosevelt, and during the terms that FDR was in office, probably more vehement than any other situation other than Trump, and FDR never invited Hoover to visit the White House.

Harry Truman was critical of Dwight D. Eisenhower to some extent, and he and Richard Nixon were dire enemies, until Nixon brought the Truman piano in the White House to the Truman Library in 1969.

Jimmy Carter tended to be critical of other Presidents, but in the case of Gerald Ford, they became the best of friends after both had left office. Carter remained a strong critic, but in a dignified manner, of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

Despite past rivalries, both Bush Presidents and Bill Clinton became good friends in later years, and the same for Barack Obama and the two Bushes.

It is extremely inappropriate for the members of the “Presidents Club” to be lambasting others in that group, and it was refreshing that Carter and Ford became friends, and that the Bushes and Clinton were cooperative, as well as Obama with the Bushes.

But then, Donald Trump has destroyed the idea of camaraderie among the small, select group who have the opportunity to be President of the United States.

Donald Trump Revives Barack Obama Hatred With Crazy Charges Of Treason Regarding Presidential Elections Of 2016 And 2020!

Ronald 8 Comments

Donald Trump is attempting to divert attention from the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal, which has caused an uproar among MAGA Republicans.

His latest tactic is to have Tulsi Gabbard, former Democratic Hawaii Congresswoman with a controversial record on foreign policy issues, and appointed Director of National Intelligence by Trump, to conjure up almost a decade later that President Barack Obama was involved in a conspiracy to destroy Trump’s election in 2016 over Hillary Clinton, and even making claims about the Presidential Election of 2020, which Trump still contends was “fixed” by the Democrats.

This ploy is being utilized, despite Marco Rubio, presently Secretary of State, and head of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2019, asserting back then that Trump was assisted in winning in 2016 by Russian collusion.

It is a shock that Trump and Gabbard are claiming that Barack Obama has committed treason, a charge never labeled by a sitting President against a former President, who has been subjected to constant attack by Trump going back as far as 2011 onward.

This diversion from the damage and harm that Donald Trump is waging against the American people, and his willingness to do anything to take attention away from the Epstein Scandal, is stunning.

But no matter what Trump, Gabbard, and Attorney General Pam Bondi work to accomplish, there will be no actual charge of treason, as it has no basis, and just further proves how far Donald Trump is willing to go to promote retribution and revenge against so called “enemies” of his criminal activities.

Presidential Abuse Of Powers In A Multitude Of Ways!

Ronald 10 Comments

After a totally exasperating six months in office, there is no doubt that there has been massive Presidential abuses of power, unmatched in American history, in the second term of Donald Trump.

Trump has utilized more executive orders than any of his predecessors; has issued a massive number of pardons, in most cases totally uncalled for, including for those engaged in the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection; has ignored a vast number of federal court orders; has attacked universities, news media, law firms, and corporations that dared to challenge him; and has managed to intimidate the Republican majority in both houses of Congress to do his bidding.

All this creates the image that Trump perceives himself as a “King”.

In foreign affairs, Trump has upended traditional diplomatic relations and alliances of many decades, with his massive attack on trade patterns through his imposition of high protective tariffs; and his changing diplomatic relations with our long standing allies in Europe and Asia. He has also antagonized our Canadian and Mexican neighbors, creating a tense situation on both our northern and southern neighbors, unprecedented in our history.

The Level Of Evil, Mendacity, Mean Spiritedness, Cruelty Under Donald Trump Unmatched In US History!

Ronald 55 Comments

With six months of this unending nightmare of the second Trump Presidency now completed, it is absolutely clear that this administration and President is unmatched in American history, and even rare in world history!

The level of evil, mendacity, mean spiritedness, and cruelty that Donald Trump and his supporters have visited upon Americans of all kinds of backgrounds, is shocking and beyond all belief, that there is a sense of decency in play, as clearly, it is not so!

Revenge, resentment, retribution, punishment, and harming people is the aim of the Trump Presidency, rather than compassion, decency, ethics, morality, and empathy.

Horrible Tragedy: Gutting Of So Many Federal Commitments And Agencies!

Ronald 7 Comments

Six months have passed since the second Trump Presidency began, and it is now perfectly clear that Donald Trump has waged total war on the federal government, both commitments of long duration, and of agencies and departments of long standing.

The Republican Party in Congress, and the Supreme Court six member majority, are complicit in these horrendous actions.

USAID (US Agency For International Development), which provided life saving aid to millions of poor people, including particularly children, around the world, has been destroyed.

PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Program For Aids Relief), the major accomplishment of former President George W. Bush, which saved at least 26 million lives in Africa from the AIDS epidemic, has been gutted.

The Department of Education, created under President Jimmy Carter after being part of a combined agency under President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a commitment to federal engagement in education standards and support, has been cut dramatically.

FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), created under President Jimmy Carter, had been on the chopping block until the recent Texas Flood Disaster, but still is in danger of being eliminated, as the federal government is moving toward leaving weather and natural disasters to the states to handle on their own.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service, created under Republican President Richard Nixon, are both crucial agencies facing massive cuts in personnel and ability to do their work to protect Americans.

Public funding of NPR and PBS, one tenth of one percent of the federal budget, is being cut completely.

Medicaid and SNAP (Food Stamps), both coming about under President Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s, are suffering massive cuts, which will affect, in particular, rural states, but overall, the disabled, the elderly, and poor children, a total travesty!

Tens of thousands of federal employees in a multitude of agencies have lost their jobs, and with it, the federal goverment loses their generations of expertise on all kinds of issues of national security, health care, environmental protections, and so many other roles the federal government has engaged in since the Progressive Era, the New Deal, the Great Society, and commitments by Presidents of both parties in the past 50 years since the 1970s.

Immigration And Customs Enforcement (ICE) Has Become A Pure Dictatorship, Planning Massive Incarceration With No Legal Recourse For Immigrant Victims!

Ronald 13 Comments

It is totally shocking that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has, by actions of the Trump Administration, become a pure dictatorship, with the aim of massive incarceration of millions of immigrants with no legal recourse to utilize against such action, as the aim is to deport millions over the next few years. This has been revealed in an exclusive exposure by the Washington Post yesterday.

The plans of Kristi Noem, Thomas Homan, Stephen Miller and others in the Trump Administration are moving toward an evil likely even worse than the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II.

This is totally against the Bill of Rights, and is pure Fascism, with the horrid conditions at the new “Alligator Alcatraz” a sign of the mistreatment awaiting the immigrant victims while they wait for deportation, often to nations that speak a different language, and to which they have no personal or family ties.

Breaking up of families and mistreatment that includes lack of sanitation, health care, and malnutrition, all conditions that make for what could be called “internment” camps, but some would say “concentration” camps, is the future, unless somehow, this monstrosity can be deterred.

But legally, it seems at this point like a losing cause, as America descends into a right wing, fanatical dictatorship, even threatening critics who are not immigrants, for their outspokenness in criticism!

MAGA Republicans Turn Against Trump On Epstein Scandal!

Ronald 17 Comments

Shocking to believe Steve Bannon, Megyn Kelly, Laura Ingraham, Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk, Marjorie Taylor Greene, even Laura Loomer, and many other MAGA Republicans, are furious at Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi, for “covering up” the details on the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. This became evident at a right wing rally of “Turning Point USA” in Florida this past weekend.

This includes the indication that a prominent list of famous and wealthy public figures, likely including Donald Trump among them, had sexual relations with girls as young as 13, on Epstein’s private island in the Caribbean.

Also, the question whether Epstein committed suicide while in prison in 2019, or was murdered to cover up the so called “Client’s List”, is causing an eruption that is out of control, and undermining Trump support.

There are rumors that deputy FBI head Don Bongino, and even FBI Director Kash Patel, may also resign over this matter.

But this morning, unbelievably, some of the MAGA faithful seem to be backing away from criticism, and choosing to believe the report of Attorney General Pam Bondi, that there is no “Client’s List” of Epstein, and the attempt of Democrats to want an investigation in the House of Representatives failed to gain more than one Republican vote, so apparently, no investigation is likely!

And yet, MAGA Republicans are ready to accuse Joe Biden of all kinds of corruption, as they did with Bill Clinton, showing the total hypocrisy of Trump’s party!

Trump Threatens Any Republicans Who Support NPR And PBS: Time For Courage, Conscience, And Principle To Resist!

Ronald 13 Comments

Donald Trump is on a rampage to eliminate all media reporting of the horrible truths of his first six months in office.

He is trying to eliminate the free media and press through lawsuits of privately owned media, including most notably CBS and ABC; and to wipe out financial support of two institutions that have been crucial in public information and truth—National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), created during the Presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson six decades ago.

Both NPR and PBS are great treasures, who have always had citizens contribute to their well-being, including this author and blogger. But there has also, always, been public tax support of the massive positive impact of both agencies, which is a pittance, when one considers federal expenditures.

Trump’s attempt to destroy NPR and PBS, and to promote censorship of major television and cable news, as well as the best newspapers that keep America free (specifically the NY Times and Washington Post, along with the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal), along with other major print media, needs to be resisted at all costs, as the one way to insure American democracy survives the nightmare of Trump authoritarianism!

It is urgent that Republicans in Congress show some courage, conscience, and principle, and resist threats from Trump to oppose any party member who resists his desire to destroy public media that has done so much good for 60 years!

If they do not, on such a small investment as this, then it is time for the Republican Party of history to be declared dead, and admit we have a Fascist party, with elements of Benito Mussolini, Francisco Franco, Juan Peron, and even Adolf Hitler!