Month: August 2023

President Kamala Harris. Roll that nightmare scenario around in your mind for a bit. In my opinion, it is a very real possibility, proof of the old adage that no matter how bad a situation is, it can always get worse. Presently, she is poised to replace President Biden.

Regardless of one’s political leanings I cannot conceive why any clear-thinking voter would not be frightened by the prospect of a Harris presidency. As vice president, she has not accomplished anything positive. For example, President Biden appointed her as “Border Czar” and gave her the responsibility of formulating a policy to resolve the border crisis. Has she done so? No. Has she even made a good faith effort to do so? Not that I can see. Her “show” meetings with various Latin American leaders were a complete waste of time and accomplished nothing positive. Presently, the border crisis is worse than ever, and figures to deteriorate further. Has she even been to the border? Not to the areas that really need attention.

The electorate, much of which rejoiced when she was elected, is no longer being fooled. The latest NBC News poll in June reported her positive rating at 32%. Her negative rating was 49%. Those are the worst ratings in the poll’s history. Even worse, a solid majority of Americans believes President Biden, if re-elected, will not be able to complete a second term. Moreover, a recent Associated Press/NORC poll disclosed that 77% of respondents believe he is not suitable, due to age or other reasons, to serve a second term. That means that, if re-elected, Harris, would be the most likely vp to ascend to the presidency since Harry Truman in the 1940’s. At the time, few people thought FDR would live long enough to finish a fourth term., and Truman was being seriously judged as a potential president.

She makes few public appearances, which actually is good, because whenever she does, she says something incomprehensible that leaves one shaking one’s head in disbelief. She has become the queen of the non-sequitur. I question not only her work ethic but also her intelligence. I don’t know how she ever got through law school and got elected DA and US Senator. (Actually, I have my theories, but I’d rather not open that “can of worms.”)

Progressives are trying to characterize any criticism of Harris as racial and misogynistic. As President Biden might say, that is pure malarkey. That is their standard specious claim whenever they have no viable argument or defense, and the voters are getting wise to it. The fact of the matter is that Harris is not the first vp or vp candidate to be denigrated by the electorate and the media. Just in my lifetime, I can recall Harry Truman, Richard Nixon, Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin who were also victimized for various reasons.

Conclusion

I believe there is something more sinister at play here. I have long held a deep suspicion and fear that the progressive Dems who control Biden have been planning a Machiavellian plot to perpetuate their control over the government. Being cognizant of Biden’s declining cognitive health and growing unsuitability in the eyes of the public and fearful that he would not be re-elected they may be planning for Biden to resign before the 2024 election, voluntarily or not. Harris would then succeed him, complete his term, and then run as an incumbent in 2024. Talk about “going from the frying pan into the fire!”

Paranoid? Possibly, but I would not put anything past the crew that managed to perpetuate hoax after hoax over approximately one-half of the country over the past several years.

1.  First of all, I would like to offer a little historical perspective regarding presidential debates. Generally, in my opinion, debate performances have not affected the polls appreciably. Most viewers have a preconceived judgment of the candidates, and absent a momentous blunder they are not likely to change their opinion. According to Pew Research some 60% of voters consider them to be “useful, but not determinative.” Yes, there have been a few notable exceptions. For example, when Nixon debated JFK in 1960, JFK, who had been largely unknown, came across on tv as young, vibrant, and full of “vigah.” On the other hand, Nixon appeared to be gloomy and sweaty and displayed his habitual foreboding appearance and “5 o’clock shadow.” Interestingly, most persons who listened on radio thought Nixon had “won” the debate, whereas a majority of those who viewed it on tv thought JFK had.

2. Eight participants is too many for an effective debate. It’s too hard for any single person to make a strong, lasting impression. I think the significant exception was Trump in 2016.

3. Trump skipping it was wise for him, although bad for the tv ratings. He has a big lead in the polls, which is not likely to change. Why jeopardize it by allowing himself to be the focus of attacks by the other candidates looking to make a splash?

4. In my view, Haley was the big winner, but at this point I still see her as a possible vp or a candidate for the next cycle.

5. On the other hand, I think DeSantis was the biggest loser. Based on his exemplary record as governor of Florida he was generally viewed as the strongest challenger to Trump. Unfortunately for him, he was flat, and he failed to distinguish himself from the rest of the pack. He could be this cycle’s Jeb Bush.

6. In any debate the best way for a candidate to resonate is to come up with a memorable soundbite. This is especially true when there is a crowded field. Few viewers watch the entire debate, but most will catch a soundbite on the news. In my opinion, the best ones from Tuesday were: (a) Haley quoting Margaret Thatcher. “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.“ and (b) Vivek Ramaswamy on the climate change issue. “The anti-carbon agenda is the wet blanket on our economy. “

7. Abortion is a minefield. It is a highly emotional issue with radical viewpoints among the voters that absolutely killed the GOP in 2022. The latest poll I have found, conducted by Pew Research in 2022 disclosed that about 70% of Americans support abortions under certain circumstances, the later the term, the lesser the degree of support, which is logical. Pew reported very few hardliners. Only 19% thought it should be legal in all cases; only 8% thought it should be illegal in all cases. Obviously, there is plenty of room to carve out a reasonable law that would satisfy most people. The big question for me is can medical science reach a consensus at which point a fetus feels pain and could survive outside the womb.

8. I would prefer fewer candidates in future debates, but it seems like the GOP wants more participants in the future, not fewer.

8. Vivek is running as an unknown, non-politician, outsider. This strategy worked for Obama and Trump. Will it work for him? I don’t think so, but we’ll see? Also, many, if not most, Jews will interpret his anti-Israel comments as anti-Semitic.  Is he one?  He needs to walk back those comments or it will hurt him in certain key states.

9. Don’t read too much into the debate’s tv ratings. Fox News estimated that as many as 50 million watched some part of it. But, it is not known how much of the debate they watched. Also, many viewers watched in groups or streamed it. By contrast the in 2016 the first Clinton-Trump debate drew 84 million.

Conclusion

Don’t get too excited yet. It is very early. The NH primary is not until February 6. The list of candidates for both parties needs to trimmed to a workable number, perhaps, three or four, before the process gets serious. Candidates will drop out as their financing dries up and the primary season gets underway.

The GOP MUST embrace early voting and voter harvesting in order to compete with the Dems.

More to come.

Below please find a list of significant historical events that have occurred during the month of August.

August 1, 1838 – Slavery in Jamaica, which had been introduced by Spain in 1509, was abolished.

August 1, 1944 – Fifteen year-old Anne Frank, who was fated to be captured by the Nazis three days later and killed at Bergen-Belsen, wrote her final entry into her famous diary – “[I] keep on trying to find a way of becoming what I would like to be, and what I could be if … there weren’t any other people living in the world.”

August 2, 1776 – Most of the 55 signatories to the Declaration of Independence signed the original document (not on July 4, as is commonly believed).

August 2, 1923 – President Warren Harding died suddenly and was succeeded by Calvin Coolidge.

August 3, 1492 – Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain seeking the elusive Northwest Passage to Asia. Do you remember the names of the three ships in his convoy? See below.

August 5, 1583 – Explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert founded the first British colony in North America in present-day Newfoundland.

August 5, 1861 – President Abraham Lincoln signed into law an emergency war measure to levy a 3% income tax on income in excess of $800.

August 5, 1962 – Actress Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson), symbol of Hollywood glamor and sexuality, was found dead from an overdose of sleeping pills.

August 6, 1945 – The US drops an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians, destroying the city, and hastening the end of WWII.

August 6, 1962 – Jamaica achieved independence, ending some 450 years of colonial rule first by Spain and then by England.

August 6, 1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.

August 7, 1964 – Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which provided legal “cover” for the US’s entry into the Vietnam War.

August 9, 1945 – The US dropped a second atomic bomb (on Nagasaki).

August 9, 1974 – President Richard Nixon resigned as a result of the Watergate scandal.

August 11, 1965 – Six days of racial riots began in the Watts section of LA. The riots resulted in a reported 34 deaths, over 3,000 arrests and property damage estimated at $40 million

August 13, 1961 – East Germany put up the Berlin Wall separating West and East Berlin.

August 14, 1935 – FDR signed the Social Security Act.

August 14, 1945 – V-J Day commemorating Japan’s surrender, which marked the official end of WWII.

August 15, 1969 – The Woodstock festival began in Bethel, NY.

August 16, 1896 – Gold was discovered along the Klondike River in Alaska, precipitating what became known as the Great Klondike Gold Rush.

August 18, 1920 – Ratification of the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote.

August 21, 1959 – Hawaii was admitted to the Union as the 50th state.

August 24, 79 A. D. – The volcano, Vesuvius, erupted destroying the cities of Pompeii, Stabiac and Herculaneum.

August 24-25, 1814 – During the War of 1812 the British attacked Washington D.C. and burned much of the city, including the White House and the Capitol.

August 26, 1883 – One of the most catastrophic volcano eruptions ever recorded occurred on the island of Krakatoa in Indonesia. It produced tidal waves of 120 feet and killed 36,000 persons.

August 28, 1963 – Over 250,000 persons participated in the March on Washington in support of civil rights. One of the many speakers was the Reverend MLK, who gave the famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

August 31, 1997 – Princess Diana died from injuries suffered in an auto accident while fleeing from pursuing paparazzi.

Birthdays – Francis Scott Key (wrote the “Star Spangled Banner”), 8/1/1779 in Maryland; Herman Melville (wrote “Moby Dick”), 8/1/1819 in New York City; Ernie Pyle (WWII war correspondent), 8/3/1900 in Dana, IN; Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong (Jazz trumpeter), 8/4/1901 in New Orleans; (Quiz question #2 – Do you know the derivation of his very unusual nickname?); Raoul Wallenberg (saved 33,000 Jews from the Holocaust), 8/4/1912 in Stockholm; Barack Obama (44th US President), 8/4/1961 in Honolulu; Alfred Lord Tennyson (poet, wrote “Charge of the Light Brigade”), 8/6/1809 in England; Alexander Fleming (discovered penicillin), 8/6/1881 in Scotland; Herbert Hoover (31st US President), 8/10/1874 in West Branch, IA; Alex Haley (wrote “Roots”), 8/11/1921 in Ithaca, NY; Cecil B. DeMille (directed “The Ten Commandments”), 8/12/1881 in Ashfield, MA; Annie Oakley (sharpshooter), 8/13,1860 in Ohio; Alfred Hitchcock (British film director, “The Birds,” “Psycho”), 8/13/1899 in London; Fidel Castro, 8/13/1927 in Cuba; Napoleon Bonaparte, 8/15/1769, on the island of Corsica; T. E. Lawrence, 8/16/1888 in North Wales, Quiz Question #3 – Who played Lawrence in the Oscar-winning movie, Lawrence of Arabia?); Menachem Begin, 8/16/1913 in Poland; Davy Crockett, 8/17/1786 in Tennessee; Meriwether Lewis, 8/18/1774 near Charlottesville, VA; Orville Wright, 8/19/1871 in Dayton, OH; William Jefferson Clinton (42nd US President), 8/19/1946 in Hope, Arkansas; Benjamin Harrison (23rd US President), 8/20/1833 in North Bend, OH, (Quiz question #4 – He was the grandson of another president. Who?); Leonard Bernstein (conductor and composer), 8/25/1918 in Lawrence, MA; Lyndon Baines Johnson (36th US President), 8/27/1908 near Stonewall, TX; Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (aka Mother Teresa), 8/27/1910 in Yugoslavia.

Quiz Answers

1. Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria
2. The most likely story is as a youth Louis would dance for pennies in the streets of his home city of New Orleans. To prevent other boys from stealing the pennies he stored them in his mouth, which would then become so stuffed as to resemble a satchel. Someone dubbed him “satchel mouth,” which became shortened to “Satchmo.” Many of his friends called him “pops.”
3. Peter O’Toole
4. William Henry Harrison

THIS IS AN AMENDED BLOG. PART OF THE PREVIOUS VERSION WAS ERASED IN ERROR.

I have been finding it extremely difficult to keep up with all of the allegations and indictments against Donald Trump. Quite frankly, in my view, at this point they have become “white noise.” One might ask, which indictments are legitimate, and which are vindictive, merely intended to taint his reputation in advance of the 2024 presidential election?

Polls have shown that the country is deeply divided on this matter. Trump haters tend to believe all the allegations and want him imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole, whereas Trump supporters feel just as strongly that he is a victim of selective or unfair prosecution.

I don’t know for sure (and, in reality, neither does anyone else including the bloviators in the media), but I strongly suspect it is the latter. What I do know for sure is that that pesky little document called the US Constitution holds that Trump, like anyone else who is accused of a crime, is deemed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. His accusers and the media seem to have forgotten or chosen to overlook that fact.

For purposes of this blog I would like to focus on the indictment for Trump’s challenging the results of the 2020 election. A thorough analysis of all the various indictments would require an extremely long blog that few would care to read.

Again, what follows is my opinion. I am merely seeking to add some historical perspective, and demonstrate that Trump’s actions are not unique. In the US’s history there have been many instances of losing candidates challenging the legitimacy of the elections they have lost verbally, in the media and in the courts, and, according to my research, none has been prosecuted. In point of fact, I maintain that such protestations are protected by the first amendment to the Constitution.

Below please a few examples.

1. 1824 Presidential election – This was a four-way race among Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams and William Crawford. Even though Jackson garnered the plurality of both the electoral college and the popular vote, he failed to gain a majority of the electoral college. Thus, according to the Constitution, the House of Representatives was tasked with choosing among the top three – Jackson, Adams and Crawford. As you can imagine there was heavy political intrigue. Clay disliked Jackson and particularly disapproved of his “militaristic” bent. Ultimately, Clay, as Speaker of the House, was able to influence the vote in favor of Adams. In return, following his inauguration Adams rewarded Clay by appointing him as Secretary of State. Jackson raised holy hell. He decried that the election was “stolen” as a result of a “corrupt bargain” between Adams and Clay. He continued to “rail” against the “devils.” Adams and Clay’s actions, though suspicious, could not be proven. Was Jackson indicted for any “false allegations,” any “crimes?” No, of course not. He got his revenge by campaigning vociferously against Adams in 1828 and winning.
2. 1876 presidential election – In my opinion, this election “took the cake.” Books have been written about it, and to this day it remains the most disputed and controversial election with far-reaching historical, political, economic and social ramifications. First of all, it was plagued by widespread fraud, violence and voter suppression of Black voters. That was before and during the election. But, the real intrigue occurred afterwards. Democrat Samuel Tilden won the popular vote over Rutherford B. Hayes by some 250,000 votes, 51.5% – 48.5%. However, he only garnered 165 electoral votes. Twenty electoral votes in SC, FL and LA were in dispute which meant that Tilden was one short of the required majority of 166. It was left to Congress to decide the matter. Talk about the proverbial “smoke-filled room!” Most historians agree that ultimately the GOP stole the election by promising the Southern Dems in Congress that if they supported Hayes he would withdraw Federal troops from the South, which would end Reconstruction . This ushered in a return to segregation and Jim Crow laws, whcih, as I said, had inclacuable politcal, historical, economic and social ramifications.
3. 2016 presidential election – Most of you are very familiar with this one. Briefly, from the day the election results were in Hillary Clinton began to challenge the legitimacy of the election. She insisted that she, not Trump, was the rightful winner. Moreover, she has continually encouraged many of her supporters in the Dem party and the media to echo her allegations. Her actions cast a pall over the entire Trump presidency. They are still espousing these unfounded allegations to this very day despite the fact that after all this time no evidence has come to light to support them. Has she been indicted or prosecuted? No.

CONCLUSION

I want to make it clear that I am not blindly supporting Trump’s position in this matter. I am merely advocating the application of equality of justice. In this vein I should like to denote that Stacey Abrams has not been indicted or prosecuted for her continued unproven allegations that she was the rightful winner in the last Georgia governor election. The only difference I can see is that she is a Democrat.

The First Amendment guarantees that Trump, or anyone else, is entitled to the presumption of being not guilty until and unless found guilty in court of law. Over the last several years Trump has been accused of various crimes and conspiracies, all of which have been debunked. His supporters view this as one more instance and a thinly veiled attempt to prevent him from winning the 2024 election. Furthermore, they realize that an attack on Trump’s right to free speech is really an attack on everyone’s right to free speech.