Russia-Ukraine War

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

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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)!

Inspirational Speech By President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Before Congress!

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Tune Magazine’s Person Of The Year, Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, just delivered a very inspirational speech to a joint session of Congress, after traveling to the United States, and meeting in the Oval Office with President Biden.

Zelenskyy asked for more military support, making clear that he was not requesting US Troop involvment, as Ukranians want to defend their own country from the 300 day war waged by the Russian Federation.

This was an appropriate time to have Zelenskyy visit, and anyone who is unwilling to support Ukraine is clearly against the promotion and sustaining of democracy in the world.

Hopefully, with a tough winter ahead, Ukraine can continue, with US and NATO support, to push back Russia’s aggression, and undermine Vladimir Putin!

Most Dangerous Times Since Cuban Missile Crisis 60 Years Ago This Week!

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Sixty years ago this week, America and the world faced the potential of nuclear war, during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the time of the Presidency of John F. Kennedy and Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

It was a very terrifying time, which this author and blogger, a college freshman at the time, remembers very well, but thankfully, the issue of possible nuclear confrontation was resolved peacefully.

Now, however, the threat of the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin, in its eight month war against Ukraine, using nuclear weapons, presents a challenge as great as sixty years ago.

Now we have President Joe Biden leading the challenge to Russia, with the support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but the Republican opposition, led by potential House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, is indicating that it will not insure continued military and financial support to Ukraine.

This is exactly the wrong message to give to Putin, and encourages him to continue his aggression, which presents a real threat to all NATO nations!

So we could be facing World War III, a horrifying concept, and Joe Biden will have to fight in the way that Franklin D. Roosevelt fought eighty years ago in World War II, to refuse to reward aggression, which will only make the world more dangerous!

Worrisome How Economy Issue Is Making Many Voters Ignore Abortion And Democracy Issues!

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It is infuriating how, according to polls, many Americans are so obsessed with economic issues, that they are ignoring the most important matters—Abortion Rights and the Threat to American Democracy!

Anyone with any sense of history would know that the Republican Party presided over nine of the last ten recessions going back to 1953 onward, with the only exception being the brief recession in 1980 under Jimmy Carter!

It is lack of knowledge and being easily manipulated by propaganda that the economy will be better under Republicans, when it has NEVER been better, and inflation was high under Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush at periods of their Presidencies!

The world is not going to be better just because gasoline prices come down, and food prices come down, and neither of these issues is caused by Democrats and Joe Biden, but rather by international circumstances, including the Russian war on Ukraine.

Hopefully, common sense will prevail in three weeks, as it is extremely worrisome to think that the right of women to control their own body, and the preservation of democracy hangs on a thread of gas and food prices, when this will pass, but we cannot afford the loss of basic human rights and American democracy!

Kevin McCarthy Would Be A Disaster As Speaker Of The House!

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Trepidation is growing at the looming possibility that Kevin McCarthy could become the Speaker of the House of Representatives in January 2023, two heartbeats away from the Presidency!

While John Boehner and Paul Ryan had their major shortcomings, either of them would be far superior to McCarthy, who has demonstrated his total lack of morals, ethics, and principles in his years working his way up leadership to the potential Speakership!

McCarthy was totally freaked out on January 6, 2021, and momentarily said and did the right thing in condemning Donald Trump, but his ambition took over, and he made up with Trump at Mar A Lago, and denied reality of the criminal activities of that day, including ignoring the suffering of US Capitol police officers!

McCarthy was willing to ditch Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and work with Elise Stefanik, Jim Jordan, and the 147 House Republicans who refused to accept that Joe Biden won the Presidency!

He is willing to work with the most extremist members of his caucus, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, and he has made it clear that the goal of the Republicans is to destroy ObamaCare (The Affordable Care Act), as well as phase out Medicare and Social Security, and move to impeach President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and other cabinet officers, even though none would be removed from office by such action!

The lunatic fringe of the Republican Party would hold the reins of power, and promote chaos, including trying to adopt a national abortion ban! As conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post and MSNBC host Chris Hayes have stated, the Republican Party would “wreak havoc”, including threatening not to raise the debt limit, and stopping aid to Ukraine, a gift to Vladimir Putin!

So the Republicans would do what Donald Trump was doing in his Presidential term—cozy up to Putin, and undermine NATO, a horrifying scenario, which would undermine both American democracy and efforts to maintain democracy in Europe and elsewhere!

Donald Trump IS The Most Important Issue In Midterm Elections!

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After the January 6 House Committee hearings yesterday, and the Supreme Court unanimously rejecting Donald Trump’s attempt to manipulate the issue of the national security documents at his Mar A Lago estate, it has become perfectly clear!

The issue of the Midterm Elections next month is the issue of what will happen to American democracy, as Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to the future of the American republic!

There are many other issues, including the “Election Deniers” crisis, abortion rights, the economy, gun violence, the climate crisis, the Ukraine invasion by the Russian Federation, and the future of the Joe Biden Presidency, among others.

But Donald Trump MUST be prosecuted, and prevented from being able to run for President again in 2024, as a first step above all else!

The Electoral Count Act needs to be revised so that what happened on January 6, 2021 cannot happen again, and since Trump promoted sedition and treason, he must be barred from the ability to run for public office, under the 14th Amendment, Section 3!

The US Military And Defense Department Have Daunting Challenges Ahead

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At a time when Climate Change presents overwhelming challenges to the entire planet, the threat of massive war also is a daunting challenge that is faced by the US military and the Defense Department.

The Russian war on Ukraine has led to Vladimir Putin formally annexing four areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, the largest land grab since the end of World War II.

Putin is threatening nuclear war if any of the annexed territories are attacked, and the threat of World War III is real.

President Joe Biden and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) have made clear that an attack on any land of any NATO nation, including those on the border of the Russian Federation, will lead to a unified response.

Additionally, the growing threat of a Chinese attack on Taiwan is alarming, as the US has said they would come to the defense of Taiwan, which could lead to war that could spread to Japan, South Korea, and Australia as well.

And of course, there is always the threat of North Korea and Kim Jong Un.

The US military has had troubles recruiting for volunteers among the younger generation, with many not in physical condition to be accepted, and yet, the thought of a reinstituted military draft after 50 years of no draft would certainly cause a bad political reaction.

Even Russia has learned that, with its decision to mandate forced service in its military in Ukraine, causing widespread fleeing and hiding by Russian men, causing disarray in Russia, and weakening Putin’s hold over his population, with growing opposition to the war effort.

A Growing Sense Of Overwhelming Challenges Facing America As Midterm Elections Arrive In Six Weeks!

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This author and blogger has a growing sense of overwhelming challenges facing America as the nation faces the Midterm Elections of 2022 less than six weeks from now.

The horror of the massive damage of Hurricane Ian, after all the other natural disasters that Climate Change have brought to the nation and the world in the last few years, is multipled by the threat to American democracy and democracies elsewhere.

More than any other midterm election cycle, the present one is a challenge to the stability of the American nation.

America is a divided nation with at least a third of the nation living in delusion and fantasy, and with the worst elements of human nature displaying themselves on a regular basis. This includes, in no special order, misogyny, nativism, racism, homophobia, theocracy, and the promotion of Fascist ideologies.

Promotion of conspiracy theories and incessant lying and deceit by Donald Trump and a vast number of Republicans undermine the American nation and the world!

We are on the brink of not only disarray increasing in America, but the possibility of a World War III, promoted by an unstable, evil tyrant, Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, as he continues the assault on Ukraine!

The challenges reminds us of the 1930s and early 1940s, demonstrating that the battle for democracy and social unity is a never ending struggle!

White House Chief Of Staff Ron Klain Summarizes Joe Biden’s Record In Office After 19 Months!

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White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain has summarized Joe Biden’s record in office after 19 months.

After a period of struggle and disappointment, now Joe Biden’s record is quite amazing for a President in office just a bit more than a year and a half, a truly transformational President!

As Klain describes it in an interview with POLITICO, Joe Biden “has delivered the largest economic recovery plan since Roosevelt.”(Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal)

Biden has brought into law “the largest infrastructure plan since Eisenhower.” (Dwight D. Eisenhower and the Interstate Highway System)

Biden has accomplished “the most judges confirmed since Kennedy.” (John F. Kennedy)

Biden has accomplished “the second largest health care bill since Johnson.” (Lyndon B. Johnson and Medicare) and (after Barack Obama and the Affordable Care Act)

Biden has “the largest climate change bill in history.” (since Jimmy Carter promoted need for change)

Also, we have seen the first gun control bill since Bill Clinton’s time. (Brady Bill legislation)

And Biden has placed the first African American woman on the Supreme Court (Ketanji Brown Jackson) (After Lyndon B. Johnson placed the first African American man on the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall)

Additionally, as many observers have noted, we have seen 9.5 million jobs created; accomplished the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years; forced the rich and corporations to pay their fair share of taxes; lowered drug prices and general health care costs, including insulin costs for Medicare recipients; lowered the national debt; confirmed the most diverse set of judges to the federal bench; accomplished the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the American Rescue Plan to combat the COVID 19 Pandemic; canceled some student loan debt; and passed the CHIPS and Science Act, and the PACT Act to help sick veterans from our wars.

In foreign policy, Biden ended America’s longest war (Afghanistan), which Donald Trump had arranged to end actually three months earlier than Biden; strengthened NATO by adding Finland and Sweden; took out Al Qaeda’s top leader; and come to the defense of Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

Despite Critics, Joe Biden Has Accomplished More Than Any President Since LBJ!

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President Joe Biden has many critics, including those who think he should not run for reelection in 2024 due to his age.

But with recent successes, and adding to what was accomplished earlier, and despite strong attacks by Republicans, Joe Biden has actually accomplished more in domestic affairs than any President since Lyndon B. Johnson six decades ago!

The amazing difference is that Biden has had to work with a 50-50 US Senate, only the fourth time we have had an evenly divided Senate, unlike what LBJ had in the 1960s and Franklin D. Roosevelt had in the 1930s!

His long experience in the US Senate, and his ability to communicate, has led to results no one could have predicted.

Additionally, his success in unifying NATO, and gaining support for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance, make the US safer, and the world safer.

And support of Ukraine in the Russian war on that nation has made Russia lose massive numbers of troops.

Just imagine if Donald Trump was President!

The domestic successes of Biden would never have been accomplished, and Trump would have supported Russia against Ukraine, and almost certainly, would have taken America out of NATO!