I am a conservative by nature, by intellect, and by desire. I believe in the four foundations of the conservative movement which I believe most Americans would agree with, fundamentally. Those four cornerstones are: Liberty, Tradition and Order, Rule of Law, and Moral Government. How are these under threat given today’s Republican Party and Donald J. Trump? I believe they are under dire threat.
Liberty means political liberty being able to freely speak your mind on matters of public interest. Liberty means religious liberty to worship as you believe or to not worship at all. Liberty means economic liberty in the pursuit of your own property and participation in a free market society. And Liberty most importantly means freedom from government oppression and arbitrary use of force. However, this also means, as the Founders of our Nation understood, for the common good individuals give some of their “rights” to their government.
Tradition and Order, simply means Conservatives believe society has evolved values over history that have led to an orderly society. These values have been based on human nature, belief that societies have been built that respect human rights and that can repel attacks on these rights. Conservatives’ believe that society changes through evolution over time, not revolutionary actions.
The Rule of Law provides a means to preserve life, liberty, and property. The Rule of Law also evolves over time but provides society with an ordered approach in how to support Liberty, Tradition and Order, and a Moral government. The Rule of Law puts no one above the law, no group, and no individual.
Moral government means for a government to exist it must – to be just, to be valid – the government must be based on a moral foundation. These morals are not unique to any religion but are part of human nature and reflected by cultures around the world. Our Founders spoke of “natural laws”, not religion and certainly not a specific religion. These morals provide guidance in the actions of government – whether that is in the form of legislatures, courts, or executive offices.
Today, the Republican party in many ways fundamentally does not reflect these foundations of Conservatism.
Take each of these cornerstones of modern Conservative thought.
Liberty – today’s Republican party has, and is, censuring any Republican who speaks freely, who speaks truth to power. It is no longer the party of freedom of thought, freedom of speech. Look at the lengthy list of current and former Republicans who have been driven out of the party and out of their roles because they had the temerity to speak their minds. And the one singular thread of being driven out? Their right, their duty to speak their minds on Donald J. Trump and present their critical thoughts on his actions, his words, and his policies. Think of Liz Cheney, one of the most conservative Representatives in the House, number 3 leadership role within the Republican House caucus – driven out of her leadership role and censured from the Republican Party. Think of Adam Kinzinger – a rising star within the Republican Party, Lt. Colonel in the Air Force Reserve – driven out of the Republican party due to his opposition of Trump’s role contributing to the attack January 6 on our Capitol and his participation in the House committee investigation of January 6th. Think of the ten Republican Representatives that voted to impeach Trump after January 6 – Reps. Liz Cheney, David G. Valadao, Adam Kinzinger, Anthony Gonzalez, Peter Meijer, Reps. John Katko, Dan Newhouse, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Fred Upton, Tom Rice. Eight of the ten left their offices, either by losing their primaries, or retiring from office. Only two remain in the House. And look with concern, perhaps more rightfully fear with what is being proposed in Project 2025, and being supported by the just now released 2024 Republican Platform – civil servants must pass a “loyalty” test, pledging their loyalty, essentially to a empowered President, who under the proposals within Project 2025 will take direct control of all of the Civil Service and Federal agencies. Fear that Liberty going forward will not mean “freedom from government oppression and arbitrary use of force.” Under Project 2025, the President’s role rises supreme over the other branches of the government with complete autonomy. Think Liberty is under threat? Yes, the November election represents a threat to Liberty should Donald J. Trump be elected.
Tradition and Order – the foundation is the respect for human rights, that society has evolved over time to support human rights. Yet, within Project 2025 – echoed again by the Republican 2024 Platform – are plans to dismantle civil rights laws and protections. These are focused on removing protections for women and minorities. Title VII protects against discrimination and harassment
based on race, color, national origin, and religion, as well
as sex, while Title IX becomes more specific in prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities. Think this concern is overblown? Know that Donald J. Trump has lost many civil suits concerning racial discrimination. That Donald J. Trump to this day still does not condemn, let alone even criticize, white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. Just this week a march was conducted in Nashville by a group -Patriot Front – who Trump in 2016 called “good people” – shouting “Sieg Heil” (Hail Victory) used by the Nazi’s in Nazi Germany. If Trump is elected society will de-evolve, through extremist, reactionary actions stripping away civil rights that have evolved over decades or longer within our country.
Rule of Law – simply to protect us all, equal under the law with no group or individual above the law. Yet look no further than the Supreme Court ruling on Presidential immunity separating immunity under “official acts” versus no immunity for “private” acts. Immediately, Trump and his attorney-initiated pleas that all his actions from 2016 through early 2021 fell under the definition of “official acts”. His attempt to hide his “hush money” payment to a porn star, his actions on January 6th, his attempts to overthrow the election results with the fake electors across numerous states, and his refusal to return government property in the documents case – are now all being plead as “official acts”. Given the Presidential authority and autonomy should Project 2025 proposals be acted on – the President virtually and in reality becomes above the law. The role would have the authority to claim every and any action taken by a President would be “official acts”, not “private acts”. Even assassinating a political opponent could be justified as an “official” act under the Constitution, with the President protecting the country in his role as the head of the military – being Commander in Chief. Think this is farfetched? Think again!
Moral government – the tenant is simple……for a government to be legitimate it must be moral, morals that are grounded across societies and across religions. Not specific to any one religion. How can a government be moral if an immoral, amoral individual is leading it? An individual who is a non-repentant sinner, an individual who believes he has done no wrong. Yet is proven to be a serial adulterer, a serial liar, a philanderer, and womanizer, even found guilty in civil court of sexual abuse (just short of rape), a convicted felon of thirty-four cases of business fraud. I believe given the autonomy and authority under Project 2025 proposals, Donald J. Trump would have the ability to corrupt our Federal government into his own image a government bent on revenge and retribution, a government focused on benefitting only those loyal to Donald J. Trump.
The Republican party, this current version – is no longer a conservative party – it is extremist and reactionary and being corrupted by an individual who would see himself be “king” – who has proven over his lifetime to be immoral and corrupt. Come November, this country has a choice, a clear choice to continue to strive to be as Ronald Reagan said “that shining city on the hill” or do we slide into an critically divided society unable to work for the common good as dreamed by our country’s Founders, driven there by an individual who only seeks to profit himself and his brand, and those pledging total loyalty to him.
Category: politics
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Okay, how many of us remember the following:
Trump Steaks
Trump Water
Trump Wine
Trump University
Trump Hotels and Casinos
Trump Style
Trump Magazine
Trump Vodka
Trump Burger
Donald Trump, The Fragrance
Trump Shuttle
Trump Steakhouse
The list can go on ad nauseum. Failed businesses, attracted investors, many of these ended up in lawsuits between the investors and the “Orange Jesus” himself…..Donald J. Trump.
So, this got me to thinking now that Trump’s Truth Social has gotten approval to merge with Digital World Acquisition Corporation word on the ground says that Donald is going to get a huge payout….perhaps up to $3 billion dollars. I got curious.
Truth Social says they have fifteen million users. However, social media research firms like “SimilarWeb” say monthly users are in the five million user range (their last count in February). Trump Media the “owner” of Truth Social lost over FORTY-NINE million dollars through the first 9 months of 2023, having only brought in $3.4 million dollars of revenue. Trump owns seventy-nine million shares of Truth Social – which has no real value, is not a publicly traded company.
So where is the value coming from if Trump is supposed to gain over $3 billion dollars in the merger?
Digital World Acquisition Corporation was formed as a “shell company”. It was really positioned from its formation to provide Trump Media with a vehicle to go public. Its stock is listed at $36.94 (as of 3/24, down 13.71% in the last trading day) a share. That is the basis for these estimates. When first formed in September of 2021 the stock went to $100 a share but has fallen and had a price generally around $12-17 a share until just in the last few weeks when news that the merger was to be allowed broke and the price went up to $42 a share, but in the last two days has been drifting lower.About DWAC financial performance and I am not making this up. The company has listed no income, NONE, since 2021. It lost over FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS IN 2023. So, how in the hell can its stock be worth anything? Speculation, pure and simple. Some say investing in stocks is gambling, and in the case of DWAC gambling in a house made from a deck of cards. Here is another interesting issue with DWAC. Where did this company get interested buyers in its stock when it formed? Who were they? Hope you are sitting down, this is not being made up, this is not some conspiracy theory. These are facts revealed through DWAC’s financial statements and disclosures to the Security Exchange Commission – SEC.
This house of cards has been financed through the Chinese….and in all cities, Wuhan (ironic, huh?)
On September 3, 2021, DWAC commenced trading on the Nasdaq, after selling twenty-five million shares in its IPO.
On October 20, 2021, DWAC and Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) announced that they had entered into a definitive merger agreement that would combine the two entities, allowing TMTG to become a publicly traded company. DWAC was created with the help of ARC Capital, a Shanghai-based firm specializing in listing Chinese companies on American stock markets that has been a target of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) investigations for misrepresenting shell corporations. Some investors were surprised to learn that their investment money was being used to finance a Trump company. In 2021, the DWAC Trump venture was linked with another company, China Yunhong Holdings, based in Wuhan, Hubei, until its lead banker who was running the merger promised to sever ties with China in December 2021, stating that Yunhong was to “dissolve and liquidate”. In February 2022, Reuters reported that the connection between Shanghai-based ARC Capital and Digital World was more extensive than thought, with ARC having offered money to get the SPAC off the ground.
In August 2022, DWAC secured shareholder approval for four three-month extensions to close the deal, deferring shareholder meetings until September 8, 2023. The firm needed to close the deal by that date, or have 65% of shareholders approve another extension, or face liquidation. Shareholders approved a one-year extension on September 5, 2023.
In March 2023, Digital World Acquisition fired its CEO Patrick Orlando. And all the current directors of DWAC are Trump loyalists – including Trump’s sone Donald Trump Jr.
DWAC disclosed in an October 2023 regulatory filing that after investors had canceled $467 million of their commitments, the firm would return the remaining $533 million of the $1 billion it had raised.
On March 22, 2024, DWAC shareholders approved a deal to merge with TMTG. Following the vote, the share price closed the day at $36.94 following an open value of $43.92 and a high of $46.70, just prior to the vote.
So, no sales, no profit, huge loses, but an influx of investment facilitated through Chinese investment companies. Stock value, none based on assets – of any kind – stock value is pure speculation.
One other note on DWAC.
On June 29, 2023, three people were arrested on charges that they had illegally traded DWAC based on nonpublic knowledge before the proposed merger was announced in 2021.
The founder of the DWAC SPAC, Miami banker Patrick Orlando, had been discussing the deal with Trump since at least March 2021, as The New York Times reported days after the TMTG deal was announced. This may have skirted securities laws and stock exchange rules since SPACs are not allowed to have a target company in mind prior to going public. The formation of the SPAC was announced in May 2021, and it was taken public that September. By mid-2021, people affiliated with TMTG were telling Wall Street investors that the company was nearing a deal to merge with a SPAC. Trump and Orlando had initially discussed a deal through another of Orlando’s SPACs that was already publicly traded, but it was deemed too small for the Trump deal. Deal discussions could have been proper when the first SPAC was being considered but improper after the SPAC was formed. DWAC stated in three prospectuses that it had not had “any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.”
Orlando’s stake in DWAC increased by $420 million from the original $3 million he invested.
In late 2021, the SEC and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority asked DWAC for information about stock trading and communications with TMTG prior to their deal being announced. (DWAC disclosed this request in a December 2021 regulatory filing.) The company disclosed in June 2022 that the SEC was expanding its inquiry, and days later said a grand jury seated by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) had subpoenaed DWAC and each member of its board, as well as documents.
On July 3, 2023, DWAC announced its intent to settle by paying an $18 million fine to the SEC and revising some of its filings. On July 20, the SEC announced the settlement.
One of the notable early investors – In October 2021 it was reported, based on information provided by congresstrading.com, that House representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) had purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 DWAC shares after the Trump merger was announced. Interesting, huh?So, you have a shell company created for the purpose of benefiting Trump Media, you have illegal discussions taking place in its formation between its CEO Patrick Orlando and Donald Trump (for which the SEC fined DWAC eighteen million dollars). You have a failure of the initiative to raise money and it turns to Chinese investment companies that fronted DWAC up to three hundred million dollars. You have Federal criminal investigations of several of the founders of DWAC. You have DWAC with no sales, no income, huge loses, but a listing on the NASDQ which will give Trump Media access to investment markets and the ability to sell stock. You have Trump media with less than five million users, losing tens of millions of dollars a year. Who would like to invest in this scenario? Only the gullible, only those who have placed blind fealty to Donald Trump. Every single investment analysis of DWAC gives it an “-F” or “overvalued” rating. Normally I would feel sorry for these individuals, but in this case with these facts so easy to find…. once this “business” goes bankrupt, Trump will have once again successfully “grifted” and “conned” from those who really cannot afford to lose their money. No, I will not feel sorry for them.
None of this associated with Donald J. Trump surprises me. Just look at the lengthy list of failed businesses, “smoke and mirrors” that he has used for decades. But what does surprise me is that our news organizations – large and small – seem to have ignored what seems to be an especially important news story. One that involves Donald J. Trump, his family, and associates that factually through SEC required financials and documents show what the House Judiciary Committee accuses Joe Biden and his family of doing (setting up shell companies, using their political influence, accepting foreign money, etc.) – Trump and his family are actually doing, factually doing to the tune of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Years ago, during my high school years, I read John F. Kennedy’s book “Profiles in Courage”. The book was about eight US Senators who in US history, chronicling instances where they defied the pressures of various forces – their party, their state legislature, their President, but above all their constituents the American people – in a moment of national crisis, enduring insults from all sides.
Senator Kennedy wrote the book in the mid 1950’s while on convalescent leave from back surgery due to injuries during WWII. He had a interest in political courage from his days in college where his senior thesis was on Great Britain’s lack of political courage to rearm and confront the overt efforts of Germany under Adolf Hitler in rebuilding their military.
Why is this book relevant today? In today’s political environment of hyper partisanship the lack of political courage in not just concerning, but frightening. This lack of political courage exists on both sides of the isle, but is glaringly apparent on the right within the Republican Party.
Rather than courage, they express their fear. Kennedy described this as being, in parentheses I add my thoughts:
– pressure to be liked (fear of being disliked)
– pressure to be re-elected (fear of not being re-elected), and
– pressure of the constituency and interest groups (fear of their voters, fear of special interest groups, fear of Political Action Committees).
This fear that permeates the Republican Party today is grounded in their banner bearer, their nominee for President – Donald J. Trump. Men and women within the Republican Party that condemned Trump’s actions after the November election leading up to the January 6th attack on our Capitol and our democracy have succumbed to their fears, abandoned their principles, and violated their oaths to protect and preserve our Constitution and our Republic. And those that did not, they have been driven out of the Republican Party.
Kennedy also wrote about this in his book. He wrote, “In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds office’; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”
This fall, the American people will have a choice. From that choice our people will get, as Kennedy said, the government they deserve. And it is not the choice between two bad alternatives, two aged candidates, two political parties.
The choice is about what this country chooses to be as it moves forward. It will be a choice of a vision of a country moving forward, seeking a path forward for all its people, of a country that will seek solutions to the issues it faces, of a country that chooses to continue to be a leader of the free world. Or it will be a choice of a vision of a country that seeks to benefit only those loyal to a single individual, benefiting primarily only those that already sit in a positions of wealth and power, of a country where government will extend its reach into the most private aspects of personal freedoms, of retreating from positions and policies that have secured the nation’s position leading the free world, that have built the world’s strongest economy and kept the world from entering disastrous world wide conflicts for the past eighty years.
This fall it will be up to the American electorate to determine what type of government we chose to have. A government that governs for the common good, or a government that governs only for those that pledge their fealty, their faith and loyalty, to a single individual.
In this time, in this place we need our elected officials to stand to the test of Kennedy’s “Profiles in Courage”. As he wrote, “The true democracy, living and growing and inspiring, puts its faith in the people – faith that the people will not simply elect men who will represent their views ably and faithfully, but also elect men who will exercise their conscientious judgment – faith that the people will not condemn those whose devotion to principle leads them to unpopular courses, but will reward courage, respect honor and ultimately recognize right.”
Today, now, we need our elected officials to put their principles and their country, ahead of their party, ahead of their party’s leader, even ahead of their constituency. They need to govern their actions on what is right, and let the chips fall how they may afterwards.
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Here is an “historical what if?” and how It relates to what Is happening In Europe, Ukraine, and our country today.
As Hitler came to power in the 1930’s he stated to the German people and the world he would “protect” German speaking people who were being discriminated against. Hitler used this as a pretext to walk into Austria, then take over the Sudetenland, and finally carve apart Czechoslovakia. He was allowed to do this in both Austria and Sudetenland without opposition and was empowered by the 1938 Munich Agreement for his actions in Czechoslovakia – the Munich Agreement that he soon ripped apart. Bottom line, he felt no constraints to using his “bully pulpit” – the German military to achieve his goals.His next action was the invasion of Poland and with that action he initiated the reaction of both France and England to declare war.
From all of this came WWII, with all its horrors, more than seventy-three million killed – more than half that total in Europe, Europe laid waste. And the USA suffering over four hundred thousand killed and several times that wounded.
Now, that is history. Those are the facts.
How does that play out today and what might history have been had those events in the 1930’s played out differently?
Imagine an alternative history if in the mid-1930’s the allied powers of France and England had intervened in Hitler’s actions in Austria, Sudetenland, or Czechoslovakia? Or more importantly, imagine an alternative history if allied powers with Poland had been able to arm them sufficiently to resist the German invasion. Just a few hundred anti-tank guns, just a few hundred anti-aircraft guns, just a very few hundred or so modern fighters. Imagine how that would have affected not just the invasion, but the next five years, Hitler would have been stymied, his goals not achieved. Perhaps World War II, in all its horror and the deaths of tens of millions be averted. All for Poland’s lack of being able to defend itself, for the lack of only few hundred of select weapons. Tens of millions of deaths averted, a continent devastated diverted. How might history have been written but for the lack of these actions?
And how do those years, 80 years or more ago echo in today’s world? Perhaps even shouting out to the present what actions are necessary to avoid repeating those times?
Today, we have Russia under the leadership, the dictatorship, of Putin. Putin has publicly said to Russia and the world that he will protect Russian speaking populations wherever they are being discriminated against, wherever they are being subjugated. The Russian government has articulated what might be called the Putin Doctrine, a blanket assertion that Moscow has the right and the obligation to protect Russians anywhere in the world. Given the fall of Russian empire in 1917 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 Russian speaking populations exist outside of Russia throughout eastern Europe. Significant Russian speaking populations exist in the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Significant Russian speaking people exist in Moldova, Poland, and Hungary. Putin has used this pretext, the Putin Doctrine, to justify his invasion of Ukraine, to protect the Russian speaking populations there.
Without the military support of the USA and its western European allies in NATO, Ukraine would have fallen by now. Not in the initial weeks of the invasion as Ukraine put up a much greater resistance than Putin could have imagined, but in months Ukraine would have fallen. Putin would then have been able to walk into Moldova. With Ukraine and Moldova within his sphere Putin would then have leverage over Hungary, would insist that Poland open Russia land access to Kaliningrad which is an enclave with over two hundred thousand Russian citizens lying on the Baltic Sea surrounded by Poland. Putin could demand the land bridge be ceded to Russia. Putin would turn his attention to the Baltic states, with an invasion of those three states very likely. All these actions taken to “protect Russian speaking peoples.”
What is stopping this scenario from playing out? Afterall, Putin has been reported to have stated these goals to his inner circle. What is stopping this “future”?
Ukraine. One word – Ukraine and its ability to resist Putin’s invasion. That and a unified NATO. These are the only things keeping Putin from achieving his desired goals.
Are these at risk?
It only takes a moment of your time to look at the headlines in the news today and see emphatically that yes, they are..
The Republican House is refusing to provide critical military funding to support Ukraine. Even though seventy percent of that funding stays here in the USA as the munitions, the firearms, the support equipment is all being build, manufactured here in the US. Even more importantly, to provide Ukraine with this military assistance the US is factually rebuilding our internal critical capacity to support our own military with munitions, firearms, and support equipment. Through the funding of Ukraine, we are building up our own critical military manufacturing capacity which has wasted away since 1991 and the fall of the Soviet Union. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s opposition to the military funding for Ukraine is undermining our own security and is a gross dereliction of his sworn duty. Without American military funding support Ukraine will fall.
Today’s news also includes NATO. The NATO alliance was THE key component of holding the Soviet Union at bay in Europe from 1946 until 1991. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union NATO’s purpose has evolved over the past thirty years. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union there was clear concern about the detritus, the litter, from the Soviet dissolution. Europe saw numerous conflicts arise in the aftermath. The war in the Balkans, internal conflicts with the border of the old Soviet Union meant NATO still had a purpose of common defense, the alliance still was needed. It has continued to evolve and expand as it’s purpose is to promote common defense, support liberty and democracy – often supporting critical EU initiatives. As the Prime Minister of Great Britain said, “You don’t cancel your home insurance policy just because there have been fewer burglaries on your street in the last 12 months!” With the resurgence of a Putin led Russia willingly using its military to achieve its goals, NATO relevance increased tenfold overnight.
Yet today the leading Republican candidate, the presumed nominee, has ranted that he would effectively dissolve NATO, and allow Russia – even inviting Russia – to attack NATO members. The Republican candidate would, in fact, remove the USA from the NATO alliance. Should that happen, should Donald J. Trump be re-elected, should he then remove the USA from the NATO alliance the scenario above where Putin would be unrestrained, just as Hitler was unrestrained prior to the start of World War II, would effectively take place. And the USA would be drawn into a resulting conflict the world has not seen since 1939.
It is critical the USA support Ukraine with military funding – it not only constrains Putin’s ambition, but it also effectively builds up American military capacity for the future. It is critical the USA maintains its participation and LEADERSHIP of NATO as a bulwark to Putin’s goals and critical to the security of not our most important trade and democracy partners, but also essential to our country’s economic and military security.
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It is far past time Trump supporters do not give Trump a pass on his outrageous statements. Their excuse for him is that he makes these statements “just to get attention”, that he really “does not mean” what he says, that he is just a “promoter”. As a President, as a nominee for President, his words carry weight, they have consequences.
Here are two examples of where his supporters should not give him a pass.
First, within the last 48 hours Trump taunted Nikki Haley for her time as his ambassador to the UN. He castigated her performance and said the only reason he wanted her as his UN rep was to allow the then Lt governor to be made governor. But where he really crossed the line and should be held accountable was when he said, “Where is her husband? Where is he? He’s gone!” Nikki Haley’s husband is honorably serving this country in the National Guard and is on his second overseas deployment in Africa. He is serving this country and our security. This harkens to General Kelly – Trump’s chief of staff in the White House for over 18 months – stating on record that Trump when talking about soldiers and sailors that died in service or were maimed said, “What was in it for them? They were just suckers and losers.” Think about that statement – men and women who gave their lives and their bodies to secure our nation and our freedoms – just “suckers and losers”. How can anyone think this man would deserve a second term in the White House.
Second, within the last 24 hours Trump has made the following statement at one of his South Carolina rallies, “he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines on defense in a stunning admission he would not abide by the collective-defense clause at the heart of the alliance if reelected. Why is this so egregious? There have been several writings on how Donald Trump in his four years as President fractured the NATO alliance. His bruising meeting in Brussels at a NATO meeting, to published reports he wanted to remove the USA from the alliance. There have also been analyses on how Putin factored Trump’s impact on NATO and how Putin believed he had been given a “window of opportunity”, even a wink/wink from Trump for Putin to act in Ukraine. This was heightened by Joe Biden’s election where Putin believed he had to act before Biden could heal those factures. Bottom line, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was impacted by Trump’s Presidency. It might also be good to understand why NATO was formed in 1949 – there were three reasons. First, to deter Soviet Union expansionism. Second, to eliminate militarism from growing again in Europe which had led to two disastrous world wars in the previous 35 years. And third, to create conditions leading to a more politically integrated and unified Europe. For 75 years NATO has been successful in those three. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, militarism within Europe ceased to exist, and within Europe arose a desire to integrate not just politically, but economically with the formation of the European Union. Trump’s statements on NATO, given Putin’s propensity to use military power to recreate the Soviet Union and its hegemony over eastern Europe (with a goal to dominate all of Europe) is dangerous. Extremely dangerous to the USA and our security. It might also be good to understand, given Trump’s outrageous statements on member nations military spending, since the fall of the Soviet Union every, EVERY, member nations military spending to GDP has fallen. Our own military spending has fallen since 1991 from 5.3% of GDP to 3.4%, a fall of over 39%. Germany’s has fallen from an average above 5% from 1960 to 1991 to about 1.5%. England’s from above 5% in that same time to just above 2%. Trump’s undermining of the NATO alliance has factored into Putin’s equations and view on reinvigorating Russia. Trump’s statements are dangerous…and have an impact. Again, how can anyone think Donald J. Trump is deserving of another term in the White House?
You know, I can not help but add this comment. “Where is Melania? Where is she? She’s gone!” Melania has made no public appearances with Donald Trump at any of his campaign events. Melania has made no appearances with Donald Trump at any of his depositions or court appearances. In fact, in the last year she has only been known to have dinner in public with Donald Trump one time, last November, in Mar-A-Lago. Vanity Affairs has reported that Melania is refusing to appear in public with Donald Trump as she is infuriated with him about his affairs (only one of which involves Stormy Daniels, the porn “star”). Perhaps Melania knows better than any of us about the character and the qualifications of Donald Trump to serve another four years in the White House? -
Four criminal cases, ninety-one felony counts, four judicial districts, over 120 jurists found cause for criminal charges in four grand juries. More civil lawsuits are being pursued than you can count on the fingers of your two hands. One of which may cause the Trump Organization to be greatly dissolved and unable to do business in the state of New York, the center of their operations. They all lie at the feet of the leading candidate for the Republican party, Donald J. Trump.
A serial womanizer, a serial adulterer, a serial liar, found to have sexually assaulted a woman by trial, found liable in defamation of that woman after trial and fined over $83 million dollars. Accused by another eighteen women who have gone public claimed he sexually assaulted them (sexual assault is defined as sexual contact without consent). Having sex with a porn star – currently under criminal trial due to alleged use of campaign funds as “hush money” paid to Stormy Daniels.
In the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape where Trump exclaimed “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything.”And he confirmed this attitude and belief in a deposition where he responded to an attorney’s question:
Carroll’s attorneys quoted the video to Trump then asked, “That’s what you said, correct?”
“Well, historically, that’s true with stars,” Trump replied.
“It’s true with stars that they can grab women by the p—-?” Trump was asked.
“Well, if you look over the last million years, I guess that’s been largely true,” Trump said. “Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately, or fortunately.”
“And you consider yourself to be a star?” Trump was asked.
“I think you can say that, yeah,” he said.
In his own words, he confirmed that he believes he can do whatever he wants with women – and that lends considerable credence to the 18 women who claim he sexually contacted them without their consent…..sexual assault.
And now, two cases going before the Supreme Court as caused by the behavior and actions of a man who believes he is above the law. One case on his disqualification to run for office due to the Fourteenth Amendment. The other (on an expected appeal to the Supreme Court) due to a judicial court and now an appellate court ruling that as President Donald J. Trump was not above the law, and that he is not immune from prosecution. And likely more court cases yet to be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Donald J. Trump has been a disaster for this country – history will not be kind to him. Donald J. Trump has been a disaster for the Republican Party. Loser of the 2018 election, loser of the 2020 election, loser of the 2022 election. Donald will be taking the “Grand Ole” party over the cliff with him in November. Mark my words. A disaster from which the Republican party may need to happen for the party to recover and become what it once was…. the party of liberty, the party of law and order, the party of moral government, the party of fiscal responsibility. -
I have picked up a couple of books to read, about the founding of our nation, our republic. One book, “First Principles – What America’s Founders learned from the Greeks and Romans and How that shaped our Country” tries to provide the reader with insight into how our first four presidents were impacted by their upbringing, their education and how this shaped our Constitution and our government.
Within just the first few pages something leaped out at me, and struck me with the context of a single word and it’s meaning from the late 1700’s versus how that word is used today.
That word is “virtue”.Today’s definition often centers around morality, for example the “virtue of tolerance” or the “virtue of charity”. Or it may mean a trait of excellence including those of moral, social, or intellectual traits.
But, the word’s meaning in the late 1700’s through the early 1800’s had a different meaning, a different context. Virtue comes from the Latin term “virtus”. It is associated with character, valor, excellence, courage, and worth. Traits associated (rightfully or wrongly) with Roman emperors and leaders. For the people of the late 18th century “virtue” was essential to public life. It meant putting “the common good before one’s own interests”. It was the “lynchpin” of public life at that time.
Why is this important? “Virtue” runs constantly through the recorded words, the public statements of the Founders of our republic. It was repeatedly, in their written documents. As the book states “The word virtue appears over 6,000 times in the collected correspondence of the Founders and other writings of the Revolution’s generation, as compiled in the US National database – Founder’s Online – which includes over 120,000 documents.” The word “virtue” is found more often than the word “freedom”. The practice of “virtue”- of putting the public good ahead of self-interest was paramount in public life then and may explain why George Washington appeared so large in the post-revolutionary era. He was a man of “virtue”.I could not help but think of how that word was essential to public life during the formation of our country and how that word today would ill fit our “leadership” today. Rather than virtue (either that of the late 1700’s or of today’s understanding of the word) far too many in Washington DC misconstrue notoriety with virtue, with social media presence with character, with how they might benefit themselves rather than how they might benefit “the common good”. How have we gone from a society where our candidates asked us to pledge allegiance to our country to pledge allegiance to themselves, where candidates pledged themselves to bring the country together to solve the nations issues, to candidates who say, “Only I can solve these nations problems.”
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I have said this many times, that history is a great teacher and those that fail to learn from history are apt to repeat it. Here is something to think about as it pertains to factual past US history and factual recent history concerning Donald Trump.
In 1943 in the heart of the USA’s war against Japan our nation’s submarine fleet was having great success against the Japanese merchant fleets. The Navy had determined that our latest subs, the GATO class, were able to submerge to a depth of just over four hundred feet which was one hundred feet deeper than the Japanese believed they could dive. Therefore, the Japanese set their depth charges to a maximum depth of three hundred feet. This diminished the damage they could do to our country’s subs. In that year, 1943, US Congressman Andrew May toured our Pacific fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor Hawaii and was provided the information on the depth our subs could dive and how that benefited them when attacked by the Japanese. Representative Andrew May served as Chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs in 1943. Afterwards Representative May held a press conference where he told the gathered press the Japanese were setting their depth charges to shallow.
Soon after this American sub losses increased in the Pacific. Vice Admiral Lockwood, commander of the U.S. submarine fleet in the Pacific, estimated that May’s security breach cost the United States Navy as many as ten submarines and eight hundred crew members killed in action. Loose lips sink ships, as the saying goes. Representative May was voted out of office in the next election.
How does this relate to current events?
In April of 2021, shortly after leaving office, Donald Trump shared classified information about US nuclear submarines with a billionaire Australian businessman at his Florida private members club, Mar-a-Lago. This has been reported by not just US news media (including Fox News), but also international news media.
The Australian businessman has been identified as Anthony Pratt, who heads one of the world’s largest packaging companies. It has been reported that Pratt later shared sensitive details about the US submarines with “scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists”.
American defense and intelligence authorities say this will endanger the country’s most critical defense resources, our nuclear submarine fleet, and endanger the country’s national security.
Federal prosecutors have now interviewed Pratt twice and he will likely be called by prosecutors to testify against Trump in Trump’s classified documents trial, which is due to start in May.
It is reported Trump revealed at least two critical pieces of information about the tactical capacities of US submarines, including “how many nuclear warheads the vessels carried and how close they could get to their Russian counterparts without being detected”.
For all of this…..Donald Trump swore in his oath of office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”. With his grandstanding for Pratt, Donald Trump has put our country’s security and that of our navy and our sailors at risk.
He is not worthy of another term in the White House where he can further harm our country, our citizens, our institutions, our agencies, our armed forces, and our allies. The saying “four and no more” was true in 2020 and even more true in 2024. -
What would you think if one of the political parties developed a plan to subvert home rule, seeking to have local officials appointed by the state rather than elected by the people? For clarity, “home rule” allows local governments the right to self-govern, to set their governance on taxes, education, health, etc. It also protects the local government from state intervention. Think about that.
What would you think if one of the political parties began circumventing legislation by taking over a state’s judiciary and adopting amendments to a state’s constitution, which effected widespread policy changes, including lowering the number of judges on the State’s Supreme Court and then putting the lower courts and local governments under the control of the state legislature? Think about that.
What would you think if one of the political parties began rescinding the votes of certain non-felony types of prior convicted criminals or mandating who might attend which schools, both private and public? Think about that.
What would you think if one of the political parties enacted laws affecting personal relationships, who could socially gather, or what might take place in the bedroom between consenting adults? Think about that.
What would you think if one of the political parties enabled a state legislature the power to modify or nullify any local government? Think about that.
I think, most of us, would agree these acts, if they took place, would be un-American and damaging to our democracy. These actions would directly undermine the foundations of our American democracy. These acts would violate our democratic principles of Representative Government, Rule of Law, Consent of the Governed/Popular Sovereignty, Justice, Liberty, and Equality.
There is a saying that those that forget history are apt to repeat it. For those of you thinking this could never happen in the USA, it has happened. From the 1870’s until the 1920’s, throughout the old Confederacy, these acts were manifest across the South. These are well documented having happened in North Carolina and duplicated elsewhere. Villages, towns, and cities had their elected governments abolished with the states taking over their governance, laws were passed outlawing interracial relationships, bills were passed taking away the right to vote from specific groups of people, schools were closed, schools were segregated, judiciary systems were taken under direct control of governorships or state legislatures with the courts then “packed” with political appointees. In hundreds of cases (thousands?) duly elected individuals were forced out of office by Governors or state legislatures.
You might say, “But this took place at another time, from one hundred fifty years to one hundred years ago. It could not happen today.”
Think again. It is happening today…. only today in a groundswell……but how quickly could it turn into a tsunami. We have a governor in Florida who has removed locally elected officials; locally elected prosecuting attorneys and judges, a state legislature in Florida who has removed independent board of directors at public institutions of learning, new judiciary oversight boards created and populated by political appointees. There have been numerous state level voting district maps that have been determined to undermine specific group’s ability to impact local, state, and federal elections, all of these directed at Black voting districts. In the state of Texas, the state legislature passed a bill, House Bill 2127, that kneecaps the ability of cities to self-govern. The bill was primarily focused on “blue” cities, whose local politics have been dominated by Democrat party elected officials. The law is so broad that it takes away local communities’ ability to determine how they govern commerce, welfare, taxes, etc.
Where are we headed with all of this? History is a great teacher….and from that we should all be drawing caution signs. There are danger signals in these actions and we have a political candidate who has already stated his campaign will be one of “retribution and vengeance” and releases of plans being drawn up on his reelection show a designed purpose to further centralize power through a Federal government that will be organized to attack that candidate’s “political and personal” enemies list. Who is helping to forge the strategies and the plans? It is rumored that the Heritage Foundation has created a strategy paper called” Project 2025” where Trump would expand presidential authority over even nonpolitical levers of the federal government.
Think this would never happen in the USA? It is….………
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My entire life, even as a teenager, I have been a conservative and a Republican. Yet over the past thirty some years the Republican Party has moved away from the party of my childhood and the party of the majority of my adult life. Today it seems as if the Republican Party can only use political brinksmanship in it’s actions. It seems no longer to be the party of ideas, the party able and willing to put it’s proposals on the table and then negotiate outcomes that move the country forward. It seems to me it has become the party of “No”, the party against “things”, the party that has resolute “litmus” tests that it cannot breached. It also seems to be the party that cannot do anything without the use of brinksmanship, taking our economy or our nation’s security to the very edge of an abyss. This is happening again with the funding for Ukraine, and funding support for Israel.
The continual use of “brinkmanship” within Congress, more specifically, the Republican controlled House is reaching the level of self-destruction.
Sounds too alarming?
Think of the budget crisis that was manufactured by the Republican controlled House, even after their elected Speaker – Kevin McCarthy – had negotiated in good faith an agreement with the White House administration. The disruption that followed, including the expulsion of the Speaker from his role (never done before in the history of the USA) led to a downgrade of our country’s credit rating. No big deal you think? That downgrade made it more expensive for the government to borrow funds, the interest on those borrowings will haunt the USA for years to come, costing each one of us if we go to get a car loan, a home loan, credit card debt. Those costs will stay with us for years.
Now we face another act of brinksmanship concerning the funding and aid to both Israel and Ukraine. The Republican controlled House is refusing to fund either country unless they can wring concessions on border security. At least for some of the Republican House members. And that is understandable, to a degree. Our immigration laws are at fault here. Challenges in Central America to the populations in three countries in crisis are the basis for the extraordinary efforts for people to seek refuge in the USA. Yet for many Republican House members they blindly wish to cease any funding to support Ukraine. For those, they are ignorant of history, ignorant of the USA’s most critical security bulwarks (Europe’s security is a bulwark supporting US security, it is a barrier to dire security threats to our economy, our wellbeing, and a barrier to the threat of a much greater conflict which will put our military and our country on a path of direct engagement on the ground in Europe). What is worse, their ignorance is willful ignorance, intentional ignorance – and that ignorance puts all of us at risk. Putin wishes to reestablish the Soviet Union, by conquest or by dominion over the following states: Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. This is not a short list and represents a reconstituted Russia and an expanded sphere of influence. If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, the likelihood of his success in all these other countries goes up exponentially. To this date not a single American service members has died in this conflict. We have provided Ukraine around FIFTY BILLION in military aid and another THIRTY-SIX BILLION in financial aid. Of that EIGTHY-SIX BILLION dollars sixty percent (60%) are loans to be paid back. Only THIRTY-FOUR billion is direct aid and that represents LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT (<5%) of our military budget of nearly NINE HUNDRED BILLION. In the meantime, the Russian military has seen their military capacity nearly cut in half. Should Putin succeed, even without direct involvement of US military, the USA’s military budget will expand to over ONE TRILLION FIVE HUNDRED BILLION within three to five years due to increased security threats and a weakened security structure in Europe. Imagine the cost to our economy, to YOUR TAXES to support that necessary increase in military spending. And all of this does not consider at all the China is watching and should the USA fail to continue to support Ukraine it will provide them a GREEN LIGHT to take military action against Taiwan. And another risk of USA direct military engagement – which would be sharp, and costly in men and material.This Republican brinksmanship on the continued support and funding of Ukraine is not just short sighted, but it is destructive of the most basic USA security arrangements that have stood the test of time over the past seventy plus years. Their current brinksmanship is a threat to each and every one of us.
Sitting In No Man's Land 