December 2, 2020

Michael Flynn Advocates Martial Law

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/michael-flynn-martial-law-new-election-192704689.html

This man is a traitor and so is anyone else who is advocating this. These people are real fascists and enemies of democracy and disloyal to our country and our constitution.

December 2, 2020

Post Trump Era

It seems that there are some Republicans separating themselves from Trump now that it is clear that he is on his way out. I wonder what the Post Trump Era will be like in regards to the Republican Party. Will there be more Trump types, or will more moderate Repubs like Mitt Romney take control? I would rather see anti-Trump moderates prevail instead of Trump clones. What do you think? Should we want more moderate Repubs like Kascich and Romney as opponents, or does it not matter? I would like to see Trump and his supporters disappear.

November 14, 2020

Supreme Court

The Repubs expect us to try to pack the Supreme Court. That would be a mistake, because the next Repub Admin would just do the same. The solution is to put a 10 year term limit on Justices. The same Justice could be appointed for multiple terms. This means that the Supreme Court would more closely reflect the will of the American people when they elect the President, who would appoint or re-appoint Justices. What do you think?

November 11, 2020

Trump's Treason

I am very concerned that Trump may attempt to use the Military to stay in office. Why else would he fire the Secretary of Defense and purge the top officials at the Pentagon? This is not the behavior of someone who intends to leave office in two months. As surreal as it sounds, Trump may be planning a military coup. I hope I am wrong, but I would put nothing past this deranged narcissist.

November 7, 2020

The Biden Presidency

So I think that it will be a fun exercise to speculate who will serve in a Biden Administration. Maybe Hillary back as Secretary of State? Joe and Kamala have a lot of work to do to heal the Nation and re-establish America's reputation around the world. They will need a great team of professionals in the White House to do this. Who would you suggest?

March 4, 2020

Bernie's Error

Bernie's key error was not putting more resources into South Carolina before that primary. He probably would not have won, but he might have been able to slow Biden down by blunting Joe's success there. Bernie needed a strong second in South Carolina. Instead, Biden had a blow-out win. The timing of this was critical for Joe. It gave him a major surge just a few days before Super Tuesday. Bernie had a chance to knock Biden out. Instead, Biden got a shot in the arm at just the right time.

Sanders still has a lot of delegates and is a pretty close second to Joe, but Biden has the momentum. My guess is that Biden will win, and it is too late for Sanders. If Sanders did catch up to Joe in the upcoming Primaries and actually beat him, it would be a remarkable comeback. I do not expect that to happen. My feeling is that Joe will probably be our nominee. I will fight for him to defeat Trump in November.

March 2, 2020

Biden Versus Bernie

I think that the contest is getting down to the two of them. I like them both, for different reasons. Bernie because of his Progressive Policies and his fight for Working Class People. Biden for his steadiness, his years of experience in both Foreign and Domestic Policy, and the fact that he will take the fight directly to Trump.

I honestly would prefer Bernie based upon his policy proposals alone. I do agree with some people who worry that Sanders has too much baggage and will not be the strongest candidate against Trump. Biden on the other hand is more moderate than I would like, but he is the stronger candidate to take the fight to Trump.

For me I like Sanders but he is the riskier candidate. I am not sure that we can afford the risk given the terrible possibility of four more years of Trump. Joe Biden is the safer candidate. He might not be exciting younger voters with a grand progressive vision like Bernie, but Joe has experience, gravitas, and security on his side.

So, even though Joe and Bernie are both very different kinds of candidates, I like them both for different reasons. Bernie might be more exciting, but I think Bernie is the riskier candidate and Joe is the safer candidate. And we must defeat Trump by all means. So that is my two cents.

March 2, 2020

A Prediction

It is hard to predict the future, but here are a few ideas. Right now, it is a contest between Bernie and Biden, maybe with Bloomberg thrown in as a wild card. That said, I see three main possible outcomes- 1) Bernie wins a majority of delegates before the Convention, 2) Biden wins a majority of delegates before the Convention, or 3) Bernie and Joe both split the delegates fairly evenly, both have a plurality, neither has a majority.

[Correction- what I meant was that neither candidate would earn enough delegates to secure the nomination before the Convention.]

I think that the third option right now is the most likely. If Biden and Bernie both have a lot of delegates, but neither has a clear majority, the Convention will decide who the candidate will be. My prediction is if this happens, the first ballot at the Convention will confirm neither candidate.

Once delegates are released and Super Delegates are in play for the second ballot, Biden will win on the second ballot. He will then become the nominee. Then a lot of the Bernie supporters will be upset, yet still many of them will vote for Joe in the General Election. So, my prediction is that Joe will get the nomination, and then will go on to defeat Trump, whether narrowly or decisively, I do not yet know. We shall see.

[Edited]

March 2, 2020

Hypothetical- Bernie And Biden

If Biden and Bernie both split the delegates and it goes to a brokered convention, do you think that Joe would agree to put Medicare For All in the Democratic Platform to get Bernie's support? Do you think that Biden and Bernie might come to some sort of détente, or will it just be bad blood and a fight? Or could they compromise at some point?

March 1, 2020

Social Democracy

I think that many Americans have an aversion to the term "socialism", but not to actual social programs. The older generation has Social Security and Medicare, and they love those programs. It could be argued that those two well-loved programs are socialist programs. It depends on your terminology. I personally would rather refer to them as "progressive" programs.

The term "socialism" has been demonized in American politics for decades and decades. They called FDR a socialist when he implemented Social Security. They called Social Security a "socialist" program to demonize it. They did the same with LBJ and Medicare later on.

These types of programs are no different from Sander's Medicare For All. They are social welfare programs that a majority of people want. They just do not like to call them "socialist", as that term has been demonized. Maybe better to use the term "progressive" for programs that people love and want, like Social Security, like Medicare. And those programs are overwhelmingly liked by the older generation as well as many younger demographics. For example, my Step-father is a Republican, but God forbid that you try to take his Social Security away.

Also, I have seen some people compare Democratic Socialism to Communism. This is a smear campaign against Social Democracy. Social Democracy and Communism are two entirely different things. Republicans continue to equate them, but it is a false equivalency. China and Russia in the 20th Century were not Socialist Countries- they were Communist Dictatorships. They are nothing like Social Democracies. Social Democracies are countries like Denmark and Norway which have democracy and strong private sectors that pay taxes to support a strong social safety net. Universal Health Care, Child Care, Free University, Good Pay, Long Vacations, etc.

This is what Social Democracy proposes. Comparing that to Totalitarian Communist Dictatorships shows a profound misunderstanding of what Socialism/Social Democracy is. Communism has no democracy and no private sector. Social Democracy has both a strong private sector and a democracy with a strong social safety net. Social Democracy and Communism are night and day, no matter how much propaganda says that they are the same. They are nothing alike.

So, Social Democracy and Communism are night and day and are not the same thing. To put forward that false equivalency is to help the Republicans, who like to smear any social program as some form of communism. Universal Health Care and Free University are socialist ideas, not communist ones. Socialist societies are democracies with private sectors and safety nets. Communist societies are totalitarian societies with no democracy, no private sector, and no freedom. Do not confuse the two.