Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Opinion. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 12, 2024

And the Truth is . . . Out There

We are seeing and hearing much disinformation and outright lies being foisted on the American people. It is hard to separate fact from fiction. What is the worse, however, is when fiction is intentionally presented to foster fear and anger thereby affecting policies and elections. Worse yet is when the disinformation is provided by someone who is selling themselves as an upstanding, mother-next-door woman. Shame on her!

Below is the case in point from Senator Katie Britt's (R-AL) Republican rebuttal to the State of the Union address. 

The Republicans’ rebuttal to the State of the Union on Thursday stayed in the news throughout the weekend. On Friday, independent journalist Jonathan Katz figured out that a key story in it was false. Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) described a twelve-year-old child sex trafficked by Mexican cartel members, implying that the young girl was trafficked because of President Joe Biden’s border policies.

Katz tracked down the facts. Britt was describing the life of Karla Jacinto, who was indeed trafficked as a child, but not in the present and not in the U.S. and not by cartels. She was trafficked from 2004 to 2008—during the George W. Bush administration—in Mexico, at the hands of a pimp who entrapped vulnerable girls. Jacinto has become an advocate for child victims and has told her story before Congress, and she met Britt at an event for government officials and anti-trafficking advocates.  (Letters from an American)

It is hard to separate truth from fiction anymore. Especially what is coming from the mouths of Republicans. Alternatively, the fact check of the President's address was favorable. There were rounding of numbers and small exaggerations, but nothing of the magnitude of creating a totally fictitious story that bears l only a passing resemblance to reality. 

And then I ask myself, why are Republicans afraid that Americans will vote? The party is trying to limit voter access.

Don't look now, the freedoms you may be losing are your own!


-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Thursday, February 22, 2024

A Martyr?


 I heard a statement that really disturbed me yesterday on the news program that I was watching.

“I got indicted four times ... all because of the fact that I’m in politics,” Trump said. “They indicted me on things that are so ridiculous.”

“It is a form of Navalny,” Trump said. “It is a form of communism, of fascism.” (AP News)

Wow. 

So Trump thinks he is a martyr?

And he thinks the charges are ridiculous. Such are the insights into the mind of a dangerous authoritarian egomaniac. He got off light on the charges because in my mind he should be charged with treason, espionage, inciting an insurrection, and an accessory to murder.

And he continues to disparage the legal system of the U.S. and the rule of law for holding him accountable for his transgressions. 

His continued assertions that he is being prosecuted only because he is a political candidate, while it plays well with his base, are just not true. If he were not a political candidate he would be in jail pending trial on his classified document charges. Period. But because he is a candidate he is allowed to turn our legal justice system onto the theater of the macabre and a continual political rally. 

Why does Trump want immunity from his actions? Because he idolizes leaders like Putin who can have rivals eliminated without consequences.

Be afraid--be very afraid! Our country is founded upon the principle that no one is above the law! It has worked since the republic was founded. It is sad that somehow a man got elected as president who does not believe in these fundamental principles upon which this nation was founded as stated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Trump misleads hardworking people into believing that he is working for them, when in reality he is only working for himself. His Go Fund Me page is but another example of not taking responsibility for his own decisions and trying to get working Americans to pay for his transgressions. 

That so many are misled by what he says and do not look deeper into what he has done is truly disturbing. 

And now a martyr? 

Trump is not now and never will be a martyr for any cause other than himself.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

#trumpdictator #trumpcriminal #trump #presidentalelection

Saturday, February 10, 2024

It is a National Crisis, or . . .

 


. . . well maybe the border really isn't a national crisis after all. Maybe it is only an election issue.

Wow!

How many Americans were misled into believing the border crisis was a national security issue of the utmost importance, only to find that, no, wait--just kidding!

The Republicans have been making an issue of the open border nearly every day imploring the administration to do something to fix the situation. And when, in a bipartisan moment of sanity a bill is proposed that accomplishes many of the goals in a rational and measured manner, suddenly there is no border crisis--it is an election issue. President Biden made it clear:

“If the bill fails, I’m going to be absolutely sure about something: The American people are going to be aware of why it failed. … Every day between now and November the American people are going to know the only reason the border is not secure is Donald Trump and his MAGA Republican friends.” (The Washington Post)

I am not sure what defines a national security crisis, but they do not tend to evaporate with the wind. 

This is but another example of the MAGA Republicans doing everything they can to tear down the country rather than build it up. They speak enticing words during the night that stir many to action, but their follow-through pales when exposed to the light of day. Their true intention is to destroy and recreate the U.S. in their own exclusive and more authoritarian image. Dissent and counter opinions based upon fact are not allowed. 

There is no doubt that we, as a country, need to get control of the border. Even democrats agree and were ready to support the bipartisan bill, which also provided aid to Ukraine and Israel. 

Shame on the Republicans for not securing the border when they had a chance to do something for country instead of the cult into which they have been indoctrinated!

And shame on the Republicans for not supporting our allies Ukraine and Israel!


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Schizophrenia in Congress

Congressional Republicans have a terminal case of schizophrenia.

It has become clear that many are not working in the best interests of the country, but rather for narrowly defined personal purposes. 

The situation with the currently proposed combined border control, Israeli aid, and Ukrainian aid bill is the case in point. 

Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney, (R-WY) described the situation as follows:

“On Trump’s orders, Republicans  in Congress are rejecting the border security deal. They’re also abandoning America’s allies in Ukraine. Trump and the [Republicans] are losing the war on purpose in an inexcusable betrayal that will strengthen America’s enemies for years to come.” (X (formerly Twitter))

America needs to deal with the border, but I firmly believe that no one political party has the complete answer. It is through compromise bills where the most important issues of each competing view are addressed that the best and most enduring answers can be found.

America also needs to resoundingly and strongly support its allies Israel and Ukraine--let's stop playing around and get onto the playing field and make a difference. 

I remember that the congressional republicans have played this game before, during the end of the Obama administration when they failed to confirm a Supreme Court nominee, choosing instead to wait until after the election, which effectively hamstrung the Supreme Court for about 9 months. 

I sincerely hope that We the People can elect a better functioning Congress in November.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Constitutional Crisis


 The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, is violating the U.S. Constitution and Texas Constitution by attempting to thwart the Federal efforts to remove barbed wire he directed to be installed at the border with Mexico after a recent Supreme Court Ruling. 

Sadly, a number of other Republican governors are supporting the Texas governor against the ruling of the Supreme Court. 

This is bad!

Where are we as a nation and a society headed if the rule of law is disregarded in America?

An opinion piece in The Washington Post describes the dangerous situation:

In a jaw-dropping statement last week, Abbott echoed the secessionist rhetoric of the Confederacy. He claimed that the federal government“has broken the compact between the United States and the States” and that, therefore, Texas has “the right of self-defense.”

But no state has the right to defy the Supreme Court. Abbott’s unhinged declaration came two days after the court issued a 5-4 decision in the Biden administration’s favor. By law, that ended the months-long standoff between the governor and the president.

Incredibly, however, 25 other Republican governors issued a statement Thursday endorsing not just usurpation of presidential power, but also defiance of the nation’s ultimate authority on the Constitution and our laws. “We stand in solidarity with our fellow Governor, Greg Abbott, and the State of Texas,” the GOP governors proclaimed.

Article 1, Section 1 of the Texas Constitution is quoted below:

Sec. 1. FREEDOM AND SOVEREIGNTY OF STATE. Texas is a free and independent State, subject only to the Constitution of the United States, and the maintenance of our free institutions and the perpetuity of the Union depend upon the preservation of the right of local self‑government, unimpaired to all the States. (Feb. 15, 1876.)


I am concerned that the Republican Party is laying the foundation for disregarding the constitutional authority of the Supreme Court. The only way to thwart that is to begin removing, through impeachment, those officials who have taken an oath to support and then choose not to support The Constitution.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Friday, January 5, 2024

Liars, Crooks, and Thieves


 I remember an amusing joke we used to tell every so often. 

It is simply, How do you know that a politician is lying?

Answer: Their lips are moving. 

Our Republic has reached a new level of political thievery and lying and, sadly, it seems that one of the political parties has perfected the means to make grand theft and Constitutional crimes seem common place and acceptable. 

For instance:

The Democrats on the House Oversight Committee today [December 4, 2024] released a 156-page report showing that when he was in the presidency, Trump received at least $7.8 million from 20 different governments, including those of China, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, and Malaysia, through businesses he owned. (Letters from an American)

The first article of the U.S. Constitution reads: “[N]o Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under [the United States], shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument [that is, salary, fee, or profit], Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” (Letters from an American)

Yet, the Republican-controlled House has both stopped investigation into Trump's wrong-doings and launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden's alleged wrong-doing of the same nature when there is, so far, zero evidence of any Constitutionally prohibited activity.

There is more behind the attack on Biden than simply trying to even the score between him and Trump—who remains angry at his impeachments and has demanded Republicans retaliate—or to smear Biden through an “investigation,” which has been a standard technique of the Republicans since the mid-1990s.

Claiming that Biden is as corrupt as Trump undermines faith in our democracy. After all, if everyone is a crook, why does it matter which one is in office? And what makes American democracy any different from the authoritarian systems of Russia or Hungary or Venezuela, where leaders grab what they can for themselves and their followers?

Democracies are different from authoritarian governments because they have laws to prevent the corruption in which it appears Trump engaged. The fact that Republicans refuse to hold their own party members accountable to those laws while smearing their opponents says far more about them than it does about the nature of democracy. (Letters from an American)

Dealing with another issue, these same republicans are demanding action on immigration, yet thwarting every attempt by the administration and even the Senate to close a deal and get the government moving again.

Now House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says the House conference does not want and will not accept a compromise, such as the one senators are working on; they want a complete change of policy. That is, the Republicans in the House, who have a majority of two, are bowing to their far-right members and insisting that until that faction’s policies are put in place over those of the Senate and the president, they will refuse to fund Ukraine, whose defense from Russian aggression is key to our own national security. (Letters form an American)

The Republicans in the House are disingenuous and are lying to the American people about their true intentions. And what are their true intentions? To ensure that a particular former president is reelected which will seriously test the ability of democracy to survive.


-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

The Day After

What did you do the day after Christmas?

Darn, I missed a holiday celebration. Of course, yesterday was Boxing Day--but we tend not to celebrate that here in the U.S.

It was also the 32nd anniversary of the fall of the Soviet Union (USSR), but that is not a holiday and their ghost is currently at war in Ukraine. 

I had a pleasantly quiet day highlighted by watching the movie Oppenheimer, I saw it in the theaters but it is now available on streaming services. It was a lazy day recovering from the adrenalin-filled rush of the holiday. 

Sadly, then I had to hear of and read a diatribe from a disgraced former president which was included in a perverted seasonal greeting on his website, which read:

“Merry Christmas to all, including Crooked Joe Biden’s ONLY HOPE, Deranged Jack Smith,” Trump wrote in the post. He has often called Smith “deranged” and has repeatedly accused the special counsel of working to further what he characterizes as President Biden’s “political agenda.” 

“Included also are World Leaders, both good and bad, but none of which are as evil and ‘sick’ as the THUGS we have inside our Country who, with their Open Borders, INFLATION, Afghanistan Surrender, Green New Scam, High Taxes, No Energy Independence, Woke Military, Russia/Ukraine, Israel/Iran, All Electric Car Lunacy, and so much more, are looking to destroy our once great USA. MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Trump continued. (The Hill)

I really do not need to read or hear this noise from a disgraced former president. He constantly touts how he is being persecuted, but no other former president (possibly no other person) has ever committed the widespread fraud and treasonous activities of this one man. I know he has freedom of speech, but I need freedom from him.

So I slipped back into the spirit of the season and blocked out the nonsense with friends and a bottle of wine.


-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Friday, December 22, 2023

Bits, Pieces and Freedoms under Fire

 It was reported on multiple news outlets that Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy. Is anyone surprised? His liabilities are estimated at between $100 to $500 million on assets of between $1 to $10 million. (CBS News)

My how the mighty has fallen from the hero mayor on 9-11 to ruin. I guess that is what hanging out with a certain former president can do to someone's character and fortunes. 


For those of us who are watching the right wing of the Republican Party and their apparent love affair with Viktor Orban, check this out: 

The US state department has warned that a new law in Hungary “can be used to intimidate and punish” Hungarians who do not agree with the government, adding to concerns from Hungarian journalists and activists who have expressed worries the law is aimed at silencing critical voices.

Hungary’s parliament approved legislation last week that creates a sovereignty protection office with broad powers to investigate Hungarians active in public life. 

While Hungary’s government argues that law is needed to improve accountability and transparency, media outlets and civil society groups say it is designed to undermine independent voices in an environment where critics are already under pressure.

Last week, 10 independent Hungarian media outlets said the law was “capable of severely restricting the freedom of the press”(The Guardian)

I guess freedom of speech is becoming a target? 

And finally this morning, 

I read an interesting piece yesterday: The Supreme Court Must Unanimously Strike Down Trump's Ballot Removal. Of course this refers to the Colorado ballot. I know that may seem counterintuitive to many, coming for me, but upon reading the piece in Slate, I have to agree with the headline of the article. It should be noted that I am not a constitutional scholar, but I highly recommend reading the article because the author makes a number of cogent points. Lawrence Lessing make a chilling point in closing the opinion piece:

No doubt, and again, electing Trump would be the worst political decision of the nation since the Civil War. But excluding him, wrongfully, by a close vote of the Supreme Court could well trigger the next Civil War. We must defeat him politically—not through clever lawyer interpretations of ambiguous constitutional texts.

Although he has never admitted defeat, it should be noted that he lost the popular vote in both of his presidential runs. 


-- Bob Doan, Odenton, MD

Thursday, December 14, 2023

Ineffective and Dangerous

 

Have you written to your congressional representative to express your ire at the lack of activity on meaningful critical issues?

I have!

Not that it helped. 

It is frightening that while important bills pertaining to the economy and supporting our allies are languishing that the Republican-controlled House decided to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Biden. I guess they are too busy taking direction from a twice-impeached, sex offender, criminal, megalomaniac former president who has also committed treason and incited an insurrection?

One writer puts it this way:

In a day that was chock full of political stories in which Republicans were launching attacks on Democrats, Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI) made a key point. “We have not passed an emergency supplemental, a Farm Bill, or regular Appropriations,” he said. “The story is not what they are doing. The story is what they are not doing.”  

Schatz was referring to specific, vital measures that are not getting through Congress: the outstanding funding bill for aid to Ukraine and Israel, border security, and humanitarian aid for Gaza; the Farm Bill, which governs the nation’s agricultural and food assistance programs and needs to be renewed every five years; and the regular appropriations bills that Congress must pass and that House extremists tossed out former speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over because they wanted deep cuts that he had agreed with President Joe Biden not to make.  (Letters from an American) (Highlighting mine)


I did not receive a reply from my Republican representative. I did not expect one. 

We are living with what we elected. Make a note to change that.

Oh yes, with so many important issues waiting for action what are our representatives doing? They are going on vacation! Nice optic.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL


Thursday, October 26, 2023

Back in the Saddle

 

After an almost three week disaster, the House of Representatives appears poised to resume working for the American people with yesterday's election of a Speaker!

Yay!

Not so fast . . .

Speaker of the house, Mike Johnson
Eschewing the opportunity to elect a Speaker who would provide a bipartisan approach to governing America, the Republicans managed to elect another flawed member won some have called the least prepared Speaker of the House in over 100 years. 

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) added: “Apparently experience isn’t necessary for the speaker job…. We’re down to folks who haven’t had leadership or chairmanship roles, which means their administration of the House will be a new experience for them.”  (Letters from an American)

Guaranteed to be fraught with growing pains. 

But wait, there is more:

The new Speaker does not foster an inclusive view of America, here are some of his views and actions as reported in Politico

Abortion

Johnson co-sponsored federal legislation that would have prohibited abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually around six weeks into a pregnancy. The bill has exceptions for physical illnesses that endanger the life of the pregnant person but not psychological or emotional ones.

Hours before he officially won the gavel Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told CNN that Johnson is “an extreme right-wing ideologue” who “wants to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban.”


Transgender Care


The new speaker opposes gender-affirming care for children and led a hearing about the topic in a House Judiciary subcommittee, which he chairs. 

“The so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ is anything but affirming and caring,” he said in opening remarks for the hearing. “This is adults deciding to permanently alter the bodies of children who do not have the capacity to make life-altering decisions on their own.”

Military Spending

When the House passed its defense bill largely along party lines in July, Johnson touted the addition of a variety of conservative provisions to restrict abortion, transgender medical care, the discussion of critical race theory, diversity efforts and punishments for troops who refused to take a Covid vaccine.

Johnson was among the Republicans who argued Biden-era efforts to promote diversity and combat extremism in the ranks amounted to politicization of the military and distracted troops from their warfighting mission.

Johnson was also a cosponsor of Rep. Ronny Jackson’s (R-Texas) amendment to overturn the Pentagon’s policy to reimburse troops’ for the costs of traveling to seek abortions. Speaking in support of the amendment on the House floor last month, he linked the public’s falling confidence in the military to DOD’s leadership being “overly politicized.”

Ukraine

Johnson has consistently opposed more funding to assist Ukraine, a record that will give advocates of aiding Kyiv heartburn.

Johnson received an “F” grade from Republicans for Ukraine and has argued that there’s insufficient oversight of the money and it could be better spent on priorities at home, a common talking point among opponents.

Education

Last year, the House speaker introduced legislation to cut off federal funds to schools or other entities that promote “sexually-oriented material” for young children. Opponents decried it as a federal “Don’t Say Gay” law in the image of Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ legislation that restricted school teachings on race-related and sexual orientation issues.


I have posted only a few concerns from the article which I quoted and provided a link for further review. 

Wait...Did I mention that he is an election denier? Yup. He continues to be part of the Republican Party which fosters fiction over fact.

It is clear that the Republicans have elected a Speaker that does not represent the majority of Americans and who my be intent on pushing his narrow-minded view of America onto everyone.

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL


Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Democracy in the Balance


 I am very unsettled about what may transpire in D.C. today. 

The election of a Speaker of the House could spell disaster for not only the U.S., but the world if the narrow-minded, backwards thinking Republicans install Jim Jordan as the Speaker. 

It is frightening to read about him. 

Last week, Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) called for shutting down the government in November unless Democrats agree to cutting all spending for processing or releasing into the country any new migrants. He says the demand is “non-negotiable.” But U.S. and international law require the U.S. to process asylum requests, even if a migrant arrives in between legal points of entry. 

Jordan, a staunch ally of Trump, was key to the former president’s efforts to steal the 2020 presidential election. He is now gathering votes for a bid to become the speaker of the House of Representatives after the MAGA extremists threw former House speaker Kevin McCarthy out. 

In 2017, former Republican House speaker John Boehner told journalist Tim Alberta: “Jordan was a terrorist as a legislator going back to his days in the Ohio House and Senate…. A terrorist. A legislative terrorist.” In 2021, he clarified: “I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart—never building anything, never putting anything together.”  (Letters from an American)

And from another source:

Congressman Jordan took the following actions:

  1. Suggested Democrats will try to steal the election (starting Aug. 22, 2020)  
  2. Suggested and directly alleged the election was stolen (starting Nov. 5, 2020)  
  3. Endorsed Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell’s call to investigate Dominion and Smartmatic (starting Nov. 15, 2020)
  4. Called for immediate congressional investigations of alleged election fraud (starting Nov. 18, 2020)
  5. Endorsed state legislators’ picking their own electors (starting Dec. 7, 2020)
  6. Said Trump should not concede (starting Dec. 7, 2020)
  7. Started public call to object to certification on Jan. 6 (starting Dec. 13, 2020)
  8. Supported call for “special counsel” to investigate alleged election fraud (starting Dec. 10, 2020)
  9. Called Jan. 6 the “ultimate date of significance” (Dec. 16, 2020)
  10. Met with President Trump and small group of House Republicans to coordinate plans to object to certification on January 6 (Dec. 21, 2020)
  11. Raised Trump supporters’ expectations by saying he hoped a majority of Congress will object on January 6 (Jan. 5, 2021)
  12. Helped lead the effort to vote against certification on January 6 (starting Dec. 13, 2020)
  13. Called for Trump supporters to remain peaceful, but does not say to disperse (Jan. 6, 2021 3:02 PM)
  14. Made false claims about Speaker Pelosi and security preparations for January 6 (starting Feb. 15, 2021)
  15. Revealed for the first time that he spoke with President Trump on Jan. 6 (July 28, 2021)

This course of conduct arguably sets Rep. Jordan apart from every other Republican member of Congress who supported the Big Lie, voted to object to the certification of the election, or engaged in other related activities. 

(Just Security)

Jim Jordan should have been removed from Congress for his actions which clearly violate his Oath of Office. At the very least, censured. 

I am holding out hope that an alliance between 5 or more Republicans and the democrats in the House will offer and elect an alternate person as Speaker.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Saturday, October 14, 2023

Unbelievable Turn of Events


 I am shocked that the Republicans are considering nominating Jim Jordan for Speaker of the House. 

I believe that should he be elected Speaker the government will effectively shutdown until January 2025. 

Jim Jordan should have been dismissed from Congress for ignoring his oath to "support and defend the Constitution" by engaging in the conspiracy to steal the election. 

One writer puts it this way:

It remains astonishing that the Republicans would consider making Jordan speaker. The hallmarks of that position are an ability to negotiate and to shepherd legislation through Congress (think of all former speaker Nancy Pelosi got done with the same slim majority the Republicans have). Jordan has none of those qualities; he is a flamethrower who, in 16 years in the House, has not managed to get a single bill through the House, let alone into law. Jordan’s elevation would reflect that for many years now, Republicans have elevated those who disdain government and whose goal is to stop it from working.

Jordan is also a key Trump ally who worked to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Former representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) has been clear she opposes Jordan’s elevation to House speaker. Today she wrote:

“Jim Jordan was involved in Trump’s conspiracy to steal the election and seize power; he urged that [former vice president Mike] Pence refuse to count lawful electoral votes. If R[epublican]s nominate Jordan to be Speaker, they will be abandoning the Constitution. They’ll lose the House majority and they’ll deserve to.” (Letters from an American)


Jordan does not and has not worked for the good of the American people during his time in Congress. He blusters and accuses without fact of evidence. He does not negotiate. 

I am holding hope that sane heads will prevail.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL


Sunday, October 8, 2023

We Need a Rainbow

Rainbow over the Atlantic
Carlin Park, Jupiter, FL
October 5, 2023

 The rhetoric spewing from a subset of Republicans is scary. 

Some of the ideas they profess can be found in the history of despotic authoritarian leaders.

The disinformation is deafening being generated is attempting to drown out fact.

The fate of our Republic hangs in the balance.

I have to begin starting with the leading candidate for the Republican nomination who paraphrased Hitler when he suggested that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country." As if that is not a frightening statement on its own, that it echos one of the most cruel and evil leaders in the history of the world is even more appalling. 

But the other disinformation continues without consideration for fact, for instance:

We are suffering runaway inflation. Nope, inflation is under control. The annual inflation rate has been below 4 percent and headed for below 3 percent for the past four months. (Inflation Rate Calculator)

Democrats are responsible for runaway government spending. Not true! But a major culprit for the US’s soaring debt is George W Bush’s and Donald Trump’s huge tax cuts that mostly benefited the wealthy and big corporations – and that will have added $8tn and $1.7tn, respectively, to the debt by the end of the 2023 fiscal year.

House Republicans are even proposing to cut funding for the IRS, which would make it harder for the tax agency to go after rich tax cheats and thereby reduce the debt. (The Guardian)


We need a rainbow. Rainbows call us to pause, for a moment, and consider something other than ourselves. Something larger than the mess we've made in our lives. Rainbows are a symbol of hope and a promise. 

The other day, I saw many rainbows. They were beautiful and at the same time mesmerizing. Maybe if we took a timeout to consider a rainbow we might figure out a way to stop seeing those with opposing views as enemies or adversaries and realize that we are all stuck together in this place and that competing opinions are the substance of a strong and healthy society.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Train Wreck


 The train wreck that is the Republican-controlled House of Representatives continues!

That the Speaker of the House was vacated and then a one week recess was announced just show how little the Republicans appreciate the duties they have been elected to execute. 

The country cannot stop for a week in the middle for budget battles because of in-house fighting! 

Great--the made history yesterday by being the first House in history that could not solve it problems internally and while keeping the needs of the country center stage. 

And on top of that, the sideshow continued as the new temporary speaker of the house, Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, showed an incredible amount of pettiness, one of McHenry’s first official acts was to order former speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to vacate her private Capitol office by tomorrow, announcing that he was having the room rekeyed. Pelosi was not even there for today’s votes; she is in California for the memorial services for the late Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). (Letters from an American)

Really? I believe there are far more important things to do than having office-envy and picking on someone who was not even at the disaster. 

And the train wreck continued.

The all need to go back to pre-school and learn how to play nicely in the sandbox.


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Sunday, October 1, 2023

Happy New Fiscal Year!

For the Federal Government it is the beginning of the new fiscal year AND another government shutdown was narrowly avoided. 

So it is a Happy New Year!

Well, for at least 45 days until the continuing resolution (CR) expires. 

I remember the government shutdown and furlough planning that I was involved in while I was a government employee. I always felt that it was unnecessarily wasteful and demonstrated that the congress had failed to accomplish one of their most basic constitutional duties: to fund the government. 

I was happy to see the bipartisan support for the resolution both in the House and Senate. 

I was disturbed by the stripping out of Ukraine funding to attempt to appease the MAGA Republicans. It is clear that the Republican Party is no longer the Party of Reagan. A vote against Ukraine funding is a vote for Russian aggression and for Putin. It is that simple.

I have written my Representative, Brian Mast, who voted against the CR and does not approve Ukraine funding to express my displeasure on both issues.

The issue of funding for Ukraine is not a small one. Former Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) noted that it was on September 30, 1938, that British prime minister Neville Chamberlain announced he would not stand in the way of Adolf Hitler’s annexation of the Sudentenland, a key move in Hitler’s rise. “Members of the House and Senate who are voting to deny Ukraine assistance on the 85th anniversary of Neville Chamberlain’s 1938 “peace in our time” speech should read some history,” she wrote. “Appeasement didn’t work then. It won’t work now.” (Letters from an American)


-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL

Friday, September 22, 2023

Embarrassed by the House


 Embarrassed, that was how I felt about the reception that the President of the Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, received from the House of Representatives yesterday. 

It is in my mind a very simple and, believe it or not, binary choice. Support Ukraine defending itself against unprovoked Russian aggression, or support Russia in its territorial expansion. There is no middle ground. 

That House Republicans seem to be supporting Putin shows how far off the rails the party has gone. I was, however, encouraged by the bipartisan support that Zelensky received in the Senate.

The budget battle demonstrated the disjointed, chaotic, and harmful forces at play in the Republican caucus. 

As part of their demands, House extremists want to cut funding for Ukraine’s defense. This would, of course, work to strengthen Russian president Vladimir Putin’s hand in his war against Ukraine. Earlier this month, former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan told MSNBC that it is “absolutely essential” to Putin that Trump win back the White House in 2024. “I think it is Putin's main lifeline in order to find some way to salvage what has been a debacle in Ukraine for him," Brennan said. "If Trump is able to return to the White House...Putin could have a like-minded individual that he can work with, detrimental to U.S. interests certainly and detrimental to Western interests overall.” The intelligence community assesses that Putin worked to help Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections, and is pushing pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine propaganda now. (Letters from an American)

I cannot imagine any Reagan-era republican providing an ounce of support to Putin! Look how far the Republican Party has been destroyed my the Trump-era MAGA thugs.

And I want to refute those who are worried about a war with Russia. The United States has already fought and won a war with Russia, although back then it was called the Soviet Union then. The state of Russia actually was born out of that great victory in 1991. 

And what was that war called? The Cold War!

And why did we fight it? To prevent exactly what is happening now in Ukraine.


-- Bob Doan, Weston Lakes, TX


Thursday, September 21, 2023

And the Market Fell

 


I noted that even though the Fed decided not to raise interest rates yesterday, the markets fell. 

That seemed weird to me. I thought the good news would cause the markets to rise.

But then, I read the news about the budget crisis and the looming government shutdown. This is that reason that the U.S. credit rating was reduced some months ago. We have leaders who are working to instill chaos into the markets and the world to work for their own delusional personal advantage. 

One writer summed the budget crisis up as follows:

Extremists in the House Republican conference are refusing to acknowledge the deal worked out for the budget last spring by President Biden and Republican speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Instead, in order to pass even a continuing resolution that would buy time for Congress to pass an actual budget, they are insisting on cuts of up to 8% on discretionary spending that Senate Democrats, as well as Biden himself, are certain to oppose.

The White House has noted that the cuts the Republicans demand would mean 800 fewer Customs and Border Protection agents and officers (which, in turn, would mean more drugs entering the United States); more than 2 million women and children waitlisted for the WIC food assistance program; more than 4,000 fewer rail inspection days; up to 40,000 fewer teachers, aides, and key education staff, affecting 26 million students; and so on. 

House speaker McCarthy cannot corral the extremists to agree to anything unless they get such cuts, which even other Republicans recognize are nonstarters (those cuts are so unpopular that Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News reported today that Republicans are somewhat bizarrely considering changing their messaging about their refusal to fund the government from concerns about spending to concerns about border security). (Letters from an American)

Until the House Republicans can get their stuff together, we are in for a bumpy ride. 

And the markets, likely, will continue to fall. 

My answer would be for the speaker to try to find 5 or 6 republicans to work with the democrats and keep the government running. But, I guess that would be political suicide. That would be an incredible picture of bipartisanship. 


-- Bob Doan, Weston Lakes, TX

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