Do Those Trump Trials Make Sense Yet?

There was a piece of advice I got once, early in life, that was a bit vulgar but also very true. "Don't ever fuck yourself trying to fuck someone else."

It makes me think about where we are right now with this Joe Biden vs. Donald J. Trump thing. And while the head of this very long snake is before us now, ready to chomp down on some flesh, it's been working its way to us for quite a long time.

Ever slowly. Inch by inch.

Think back to all of these indictments against Donald Trump, and the trials and even the conviction. It did sometimes amaze me, the fervor and tenacity that they went after him with. They were out for blood. They wanted this man out of the picture permanently.

Granted, this started long before Joe Biden was the president. But it became clearer once Joe Biden was the president.

For a long time, I kept wondering, what's the real threat here? What does Trump know?

There were the many questions about 2020, of course. Not only were people silenced for even suggesting the election may have been stolen, but many are also still being drug through the courts, or like Steve Bannon, going to jail.

Was this to bar Trump from running and keeping him out of the White House where he may be able to potentially open this question up for some real answers?

I am still not sure. This entire operation against Trump may go way deeper than any of us might ever believe. There may be even darker secrets in the Democrat's closets than what we think the big one now might be.

But that's for another day.

The thing is, the Democrats are in a real pickle, and it's something they won't be able to get out of easily. If at all. They got caught in one the biggest lies of the century and they're now working very hard to pretend to be shocked after what will go down in the history books as probably the wort presidential debate performance in American history.

Set that aside, though. We want to focus on those trials. If it were nothing else, what they were more than anything, were a big part of the huge cover up regarding Biden's health.

It was all about look over there. If they could keep the 24-hour news cycle focused on Trump, perhaps you'd miss the gaffes or the trips and falls. Perhaps you'd not see Biden getting lost on stages or pay too much attention to handlers dressed in bunny costumes leading him around.

The fact is that they knew. The Democrats. The White House. They knew all along something was not right with Joe Biden, but they kept it under wraps. For a long time, they mostly got away with it. Granted, Fox News talked about it non-stop. So did overseas news agencies like Sky News in Australia.

But all the other networks? It was wall to wall coverage of Trump's criminal this and Trump's indictment that and Trump's conviction.

Folks, step right up. We have the most amazing attraction you simply can't miss. Introducing the J6 committee to feast your eyes on. Come one, come all and see the amazing wonders of the evilest man in America. 

In other words, it was all about don't look over here. Perhaps if you could give the media and the people something else to keep their attention on, you'd miss the classified documents in the garage story, or the gaffes, or you'd ignore the fact that Biden wasn't doing press conferences or holding cabinet meetings on a regular basis.

You'd forget about Hunter Biden's laptop and all the juicy details it might contain because something juicier was happening with Trump.

It dawned on me. That's what this may have been all about. The truth. The truth they wanted us badly to be hidden from. That something wasn't right with Biden. If they could just hold out to the end, though, maybe they could fix it. 

I mean, worst case scenario they make it through the election and Biden wins. They could just pull the 25th Amendment, seat Harris as president, and the next four years and possibly eight were set. They just had to keep eyes off the White House and Joe Biden to whatever extent they could.

Trump was their way to do that. Get all eyes and attention on him. Make it juicy. Make it look good. Make it seem devilish in any way you can. But for Heaven's sake, keep the focus on him. Whatever you do, and we mean, whatever you do, don't dare look at us.

Not only could you have wall to wall coverage on the indictments and trials, but you could also have wall to wall coverage from pundits talking about it all. All the while, what would be left in the news cycles to address Biden and all the questions that might loom about him?

"Biden accidentally called the president of Eqypt the president of Mexico...ha, ha, ha, silly Joe...now getting back to this Stormy Daniels thing."

The problem is, they got caught in the lie. They got caught in the deception, and let's face it, it was all already backfiring on them and badly. All the polls seemed to show that. The more and the harder they went after Trump, the more popular he'd become.

Now they're caught in it. They fucked themselves trying to fuck somebody else. For going on 7 years, it's been the same thing. They wanted to go after Trump. Because the debate happened, and when it did, there was no other way to spin that.

No amount of Trump coverage would be enough to distract attention away from Biden. But seeing how bad Biden really is at this stage, it makes the whole pursuit of Trump clearer as to the why of it all.

It sounds crazy. I know it does. But when you think about it, how crazy is it, really? 

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© 2024 Jim Bauer

They're Stepping Up the Campaign, But Not Stepping Up the Game

Is it any wonder that Donald Trump is winning in key swing states, and not just by a little? It's by a lot. At the same time, one demographic, the black vote, that Democrats heavily rely on, is showing signs of deep attrition. They are also losing Hispanic votes. And let's not ignore the reality that they lost the blue collar vote to Trump before, and they really haven't gotten it back since.

And it's not just on one issue that the Biden administration is flailing. Bidenomics has been an abject failure as a campaign centerpiece because no matter how hard they try to sell Americans on the idea it has worked, people aren't seeing the results when they open their wallets or pay their bills.

Then there's the border crisis, ongoing supply chain disruptions, and of course billions of taxpayer dollars being sent over to Ukraine to aid them in what can only be classified as a losing battle.

People are also seeing all of the chaos that seems to be rampant across America, and they are blaming Biden largely for most of it.

Protests are happening on nearly every street corner from every issue imaginable. LGBTQ+ flags being displayed on the White House, even in one case overshadowing the American flag, doesn't sit well with most Americans, despite the Democrats and the media trying to convince us it's a "mainstream movement." We have had multiple disasters in infrastructure and travel from train derailments to bridge collapses and in-flight mishaps. The same guy heading these disasters is still there and they say he's doing a good job. Crime rates in nearly all metrics have risen, and dramatically.

Very little is good, right now.

Of course, as poll numbers continue to be abysmal for the Biden administration, they are ramping up efforts to try to convince people that voting for them is the answer to all of the problems we are faced with now.

The question is, how do you sell this? It wasn't like this four years ago when Donald Trump was president, and everyone knows it. Even some staunch Democrats. If they don't know it, they have their heads buried in the sand. 

To top it off, everyone knows who is at fault for all of it as well. And it's not Donald Trump. The issues we have now that are important to the American people to be solved were caused by the Biden administration and their policies. 

Interestingly, Biden isn't doing much of this campaigning. They are sending out Kamala Harris to make the appeals. The problem is, she is disliked more than Biden is. How is her message going to resonate when she is considered to be worse, and moreover, when Americans have to consider that if Biden wins, she may well become the president?

The thing that the Biden administration seems to have missed in all of this is that in order to win elections—at least to fairly win one—you have to deliver the goods. They haven't done that. In other words, it's too late. The record is the record and it's not a good one. You can't sell a man a car with no wheels and suddenly convince them you can make it drivable.

The damage has already been done. Beyond that, to have a situation where it is clear their ideas weren't better than Trump's makes it even harder to convince people, "Well, now we've got it. Just give us another four years to prove it."

One key issue Kamala has been sent out to address is the economy. Especially into the black communities where they are trying to shore up some of the attrition. It's a disaster, though. And it's that way because of their policies and their actions. 

And what is she going to do? She's going to try to talk up Biden's initiatives and plans for the future. Except, those initiatives and plans already caused the economy to be an issue Americans are concerned about. It's already siphoned off wealth and opportunity. 

You mean you want to do more of what hasn't worked? And even if you come up with a different plan, if you had no idea the cause and effect of the old one, what makes us believe now you have the right idea this time?

I think the bottom line is that all the campaigning in the world can't and won't undo what they have already done. Like I said before, it's just too late. Going out now and promising gold and silver in the next four years is a moot effort, because your effort should have been exhausted in the last three years with provable results to show for it now.

Voters are essentially thinking, "You keep telling us things will be better. We keep waiting for you to show us that."

Meanwhile, at the same time they keep promising results, they aren't doing the actual work that will produce them. And voters haven't missed that little point either. It's one thing to say what you are going to do. At some point you have to actually do it.

It seems that what their campaign has been reduced to is, "But, but, but." They are going to make excuses for their failures, pass blame unfairly for the problems, overstate the dangers if they don't win, and promise more "solutions" they don't actually have.

The question is not really, "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" It's, "Why aren't we better off now?"

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The Democrats Are Poised to Lose More Than Just an Election

I swear they (the democrats and the media) have become more unhinged than ever before. And it makes it all too clear they know they are losing. It's not even really a question anymore. They simply know it and it is driving them literally insane.

Because they've tried everything, and nothing has worked. It's all falling apart, and they can't stop it. Not this time.

Yeah, I know. I'm one of those who seriously calls the legitimacy of the 2020 election into question. Either way, does it really matter now if they did or didn't? I mean, it's a dangerous thing if they did and could succeed in doing it again. But that's the thing. They can't do it again with the numbers so stacked against them.

So, it doesn't really matter anymore. The American people have the power to right the ship, and they are steering it correctly right now as we speak. The democrats don't have enough manpower to grab the wheel strongly enough to make it go the way they want it to.

They simply failed. The democrats. They failed. They failed to win over the hearts and minds of the America people to buy into their narratives. They failed to prove the criminality of Trump and they failed to prove that his ideas weren't actually better than theirs.

It's over. The fat lady has begun her song.

I mean, take the latest accusation as a measure of the insanity. Now they want to say he will be a dictator. They are comparing Trump to Hitler and the Nazi Party. 

Think about that for a minute. A former president who so strongly supported Israel and planted the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem, and all but declared it the Capitol of Israel. He's going to be compared to Hitler and the Nazi Party who sought to destroy Jews and wipe them off the face of the Earth in the worst genocide perhaps the world has ever seen.

And since when did communism, Marxism and fascism become good things? When did those espousings become akin to democracy and American freedom? Because that's what they are saying leads them to the comparison. Because Trump says he wants to root those things out.

The dictator argument is just the final straw to clutch for them. "Ooh, we'll really get people running scared now and thinking twice about putting this evil man back into the White House."

The problem is that the American people are not so stupid to actually believe this. Nor are they stupid enough to think that any of the things Trump is talking about rooting out is bad for America. These are exactly the problems we have, that have permeated certain aspects of current culture and dug in like a cancer.

These are things destroying America right now. 

The democrats are learning one thing. They can't unseat Trump. The more they try to knock him down the more firmly he stays upright. And people are listening to his message. They are examining their own lives and seeing the reality which is in stark contrast to what the Biden administration has struggled to sell them on.

I think even J6 failed miserably, the false narrative of what the democrats have tried so hard to convince the American people of. Even if you admitted that these were in fact Trump supporters, perhaps the realization by many is that what they actually were, were Americans who simply stood up for their values and principles and a country they love.

Who do you blame for it happening? Donald Trump? Or the government itself which caused the faith of the American people to be shattered in such a way that they felt there was a need to try to take back their country?

In other words, people simply had a reason to question 2020. Because after four years of relentless attacks on Trump by the left and the media, fostering manufactured hate that many, who voted for Trump, questioned the source and the strength of, were given enough reason to doubt the results that they went seeking answers.

Whether or not that's what was really behind J6, other than the other idea that it was manufactured by the democrats to hide the real results doesn't matter. You can see it both ways, and both ways still point to questions Americans have had about what really happened.

The bottom line here is that I think the democrats know the writing is on the wall. And the fact that they have lost their power to control the hearts and minds of the American people has them fit to be tied.

They can't throw Trump in jail. They can't kill him. They can't steal another election from him. They can't keep him off ballots. They can't bar him from running. And more importantly, they can't convince the American people of any of the wild things Trump has been accused of being.

And what's worse for them? They can't stronghold the advancement of their agenda which is to fundamentally change America into a country far removed from the aspirations of the founding fathers. And that bothers them too. That the vast majority of the American people can't be swayed. They can't be forced to adhere to a new way of thinking. They can't be convinced that the America we knew was the bad place, and wrong idea they've wanted so badly to portray it as.

If Trump wins in 2024, and I think he will, it sends a clear message to the democrat party that America is not dead and is stronger than ever. That the resolve of the American people has not been chipped away at. That there is still hope America stands just as strong and as proud as it did for so many generations before.

In an odd way I think one might be able to astutely compare the democrats to the old Empire of Japan, who falsely saw America as a nation severed from its values and strength to preserve Her. As Isoroku Yamamoto once rightly observed, "I fear we have awakened a sleeping giant." I think that is exactly what the democrats have done here, and the majority is now poised and ready to bring down the evil regime that sought to bring the country to its knees and turn Her into an unrecognizable place far removed from who we once were.

If Trump wins, it may just be the end of the progressive agenda ever having the chance to succeed again.

And perhaps that's what the left fears more than anything. Not just losing an election. But losing their power forever and losing their ability to create the New America they wanted so badly to give birth to.

I guess I can relate to their pain and insanity. When you have lost everything, that hurts. And it makes you lose your mind. 

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Is America Slowly Becoming Lost?

It is unfortunate that it has to be said, but it just seems like our political environment right now is just in a shambles. And it's not just a left or right thing. It's the entire thing. From a completely dysfunctional administration in the Biden/Harris presidency, from democrats who deny all things real and a media that supports false narratives and fails to report the news accurately, or even with honesty or integrity.

From the upper leadership on the republican side such as Mitch McConnell having frozen in front of the camera several times, clearly too old to continue to serve the American people nor the party effectively, from guys like Fetterman wearing jump suits to work.

From a complete landscape of old and tired people like Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi not offering anything new to the American public, simply vying for power and support from within, to an entire landscape of political rivalry unlike anything we have seen before.

Even when it comes to voters, is anyone being honest anymore? Does anyone really care about the health of the nation and the direction we go? Is our vote about doing what's right or simply winning? And how much is anyone really paying attention to what's really going on? How many of us really care? 

And now, of course, we have the ouster of Speaker McCarthy further exacerbating at least the appearance of dysfunction.

Look, at the end of the day we have to get back to the old understanding that there has to be compromise. That we all can't have things completely our way and that for the common good we have to be able to at least find common ground and have the ability to accept that we can only ultimately meet somewhere in the middle.

Even looking back at Biden's first day in office, why could he not have taken some time to carefully examine what went right about Trump's policies and keep the ones that worked in effect? For the good of the people? Instead, he simply dismissed everything, wiped the slate clean and here we are now feeling the awful pains of that terrible decision.

Trump actually did examine some of Obama's policies, and he kept many of them in place while rearranging or only slightly altering others—but of course he removed things that clearly were not working.

Many presidents in the past have done it this way as well, including Obama.

Beyond all of this there's just no accountability. There are no checks and balances. We have a media absent from letting us know what's really going on and truly wanting to dig deep into the issues we all face.

The media is doing nothing to advance the peace or prosperity of the people of the country. Or to advance anyone's understanding of what's right or wrong or why. It's not giving anyone the ability to think outside of their own biases and actually formulate working, sensible opinions on where we are and where we need to go, and who is responsible for advancing our cause or setting it back.

In an odd way it may be part of where Trump's appeal stems from—from all sides by the way—despite outward appearances we are led to believe. And that's that while all of the establishment is fighting a miserable battle, trying to win that thing, this thing, or the other thing, he's simply reaching out to the American people from the outside looking in and letting us know it's a disaster and telling us why.

We need change. And we need it badly. Not only from our elected officials, but from the American people as well. And from the media. We need to get back to that United We Stand, Divided We Fall culture that once permeated the collective American psyche.

We need to be able to recognize the pitfalls of all of this dysfunction and honestly call it out for what it is, rather than simply take political sides through all of it just because. 

How many times have we heard so many people complain, "The two-party system is broken," only to fall heavily to one side or the other, and then defend their side even when they are clearly wrong? Sure, I am a conservative republican. But not to sound like a broken record, I am an American first and foremost above all other things.

Do I side with my side more often than the other side? Yes. Is it because of bias? I'd like to believe it is not. I'd like to believe that I simply have the ability to be honest about what either side is doing and make a judgement based on how I feel about it rather than how I think I should feel about it.

The problem we face, and I have repeated this several times, is that unless we recognize the dysfunction and begin the process of weeding out our bad apples, from both sides, we may not ever be able to get back to any sense of normal. We may not be able to save ourselves from the disaster we are ultimately creating, fostering, or allowing to continue.

Was ousting McCarthy the right decision? Maybe. Maybe not. Should Pelosi have faced stark criticism and disdain from her own party all the while she was Speaker and mucking up the place? Maybe. Should older elected officials like Feinstein (before she passed away) or Mitch McConnell pass their batons on let fresh voices in? Probably.

Should the American people demand it? 

The question really becomes, "Who is now in Congress that actually belongs there? Who is now in Congress who is actually doing the work of the People?"

It would be an extremely short list on both sides. And if the American people were paying attention, and perhaps even if the media were doing their jobs, we'd have already cleaned house. It goes back to what I said earlier about the complaint of the two-party system. That we allow the two-party system to decide for us who to vote for instead of making those decisions on our own, based on our own personal analysis of who's running on whatever side.

It's the argument that we need term limits.

Something I tend to agree with now. But what have I have always said is that no one remains in office who is not elected by the people to remain in office. So, we can argue all day long that too many people stay too long, but at the same time we the people continue to return them to their offices election after election after election.

We're in a shambles because few people care and the people "in charge" know it. We're in a shambles because no one who holds any office right now feels any threat that they may not be able to return if they get things wrong. We're in a shambles because almost everyone in Congress is out of touch with the needs of the American people. We're in a shambles because not a single elected official understands how their policies actually affect the average citizen. And because not a single policy affects them. We're in a shambles because like most Americans, the media has picked a side. We're in a shambles because no one bothers to listen anymore, or to deeply think about all of the unintended consequences of what is essentially a feel-good idea that looks good on paper, or is comforting to certain, select ears.

That being said, in all honesty, does that leave us much hope for 2024? I am not sure. Sure, I side with Trump. But even in that camp would I prefer a better alternative? Absolutely. And not for the reasons you may think.

It's the distraction that is the problem. And regardless of whether Biden is reelected or Trump returns to the White House, I think that distraction remains.

But beyond that, there is no real alternative on either side either. Right now we are literally caught between a rock and a hard place. Our only hope is that we are getting to a point where people begin to realize the dire state that we are in and begin to operate in a way that allows us to turn it around.

But again, I also think there comes a critical point at which we will no longer have the ability to do it.

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Evaluating Politics Has to be On the Basis of Honesty and Openness, Not Party Divisions

Let's face it, political discussions are hard. What gets in the way is either denial, defiance, or outright bias. Often times, there's just no winning—but having an open and honest political dialogue is important because so much of what happens in politics has a direct impact on our lives and even our livelihoods. 

What gets in the way as well is often not a matter of reality, but rather personal perspectives. For example, if you have someone who has always earned low wages in a fast-food restaurant or retail store, they are going to tend to view the world in a very different way than someone who is a middle-class earner. 

On top of that, in order for someone to truly evaluate what is happening politically, one has to be able to be honest with themselves, honest about the assessment, and able to step away from one side or the other and do our own homework. Because we also have to know that the media is not going to always tell us the truth any more than our politicians themselves are going to do it.

In other words, we can't even take our guy's word for it. We have to decide for ourselves what is working and what is not, and not separate ideas by political party, but acknowledge ideas by how successful they are or aren't.

I bring this up because of discussions we have about former president Trump and current president Biden and my personal observation that I just don't think anyone is being honest with ourselves about the facts. Granted, I come at this with a little bit of obvious bias. I supported Trump and I dislike Biden, and I am also a conservative republican.

But let that not sway you from my general point here.

The thing is, sometimes there are things that are simply undeniable on an intellectual, informed level. When it comes to Trump, many of us can agree there were things he got right and there were things he got wrong. Same thing with Obama to be fair. The same goes for any president or politician we have ever known. 

Let's take gas prices. We cannot deny that gas prices were cheaper when Trump was in office and is more expensive today under Biden. I think, if we are being honest, that there are also key things that one can point to that Obama did regarding policy, things that Trump did regarding policy, and things that Biden did regarding policy that had a very visible impact on what gas prices were in all three administrations and why.

In other words, we normally hold the thought—and fairly accurately—that presidents do not control gas prices. But there are policy decisions presidents can make that do impact prices at the pump to an extent. If gas prices were to have been lower under Trump and then remained lower under Biden after reversing Trump's energy policies on day one of his presidency, then we could safely assume that something other than Trump's policies drove down the price of gas.

Regardless of what side of the aisle one resides on, it should be clear that energy policy had a notable effect on what we pay for gas. Yet on the other side, there are deniers. Their argument is simply that Obama's policies finally kicked in and by the time Trump was out of office, his policies reversed Obama's course.

It's just not the case.

The stock market is another glaring example of one's economic situation over another. And again, just like with gas prices, presidents do not control the stock market. But they can have certain economic policy that either fosters a strong business climate or hinders it. 

Granted, under Obama, the stock market did not do badly. In fact it did rather well. But it really did so, mainly, due to quantitative easing which flooded the economy with money to bolster it because the real underlying economy was faltering. It ended essentially in 2014 although a 4th round came after the Covid thing happened. 

There was no QE, essentially, during Trump's term and there were clear things he did regarding policy that helped to free up business to operate and grow. It bolstered the economy and created spending activity which also, of course, fueled market returns.

Biden's economic policy has not had the same result. Inflation aside, which cannot be entirely blamed on Biden, but certainly the trillions of dollars added to the deficit under two bills and Biden's energy policy contributed greatly to it.

There are simply things you can point to that determine why something happened. And again, we have to be honest about all of that if we want to make informed decisions the next time we have to decide who is right or wrong to get us headed in the right direction. Or to decide whether or not maybe we made a mistake. Or that we missed an important detail in our evaluation.

We cannot deny failure just because it is our side failing any more than we can deny success because it is not our side succeeding. 

When Trump was president, GDP rose. That's a fact. Even after Obama told us 2.5% was the "new normal and we would just have to get used to it." Poverty rates declined under Trump. It's statistically true. Black, Hispanic and women unemployment rates dropped to historical lows under Trump. We can't say that didn't happen. Wages rose considerably under Trump, and we cannot deny that either.

It is not to say Trump was perfect. By no means. But in order to fairly assess his presidency overall, we have to at least acknowledge what he did that worked, and if not entirely give credit to Trump for having done it, but ask ourselves why we are not holding Biden to account for the things he did differently that are not working in the way they did under Trump?

Why would we not say, "Hey, Mr. Biden, what he did in this area worked. Why not keep doing that and instead of focusing on denying what worked and changing course, instead find the things that really didn't work and work on those things?"

Trump's immigration policy worked. In fact, to some extent, Obama's immigration policy was more effective than Biden's as well. Why not keep it? Trump's economic policies mostly worked. Why not keep going with that? Say what you want about Trump's tax cut, his cuts worked much like cuts JFK made and Reagan as well made. Trump's energy policy worked. Why not keep that going as well?

The bottom line is that knowing what's happening and being honest about it serves everyone in pursuing what's best for the country at large. If we can do that, all sides win, and heck, all sides can claim the victory as well.

Both sides have good ideas and bad ideas, and we as the American people are in charge of deciding which ones are good and which ones are bad, and electing people who will do the things that work as opposed to denying them and changing course, which accomplishes nothing.

Is this a call to bring Trump back in 2024? No. Not hardly. It is simply a call to open our eyes, be honest, and listen to both sides, honestly evaluate the results, and elect the next guy to lead us based on the merit of what he offers and on the basis of what the last guy didn't deliver.

If we are able to be honest. America only succeeds if we can honestly evaluate policies that work over which party made the policy, or which side we wish had.

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Right or Left, We Have to be Fair in our Analysis

Sometimes when we get deep into our politics, we tend to forget things. Or maybe we just set things aside depending on who is doing the talking—or of course, depending on who is in charge. Both sides are guilty of this, although it happens more on the left.

But the right is not without its faults, and to not call them out from time to time would show a considerable amount of personal bias which I try as much as possible to avoid. Perhaps there is some sense that I have that if I set aside biases when I write my commentary, it adds credibility to some of my points.

I am probably kidding myself, but no matter.

Take two situations we are currently talking about on the right which I think are a bit contradictory to where we might normally stand if it were our side making the decisions. The Ukraine war and the recent trip by Blinken to China.

I must stress I don't like Biden, and I don't like Blinken. I disagree with almost everything that the Biden administration is doing, wants to do, or has already done. But being a person who tries to set aside bias, I have to also make sure to evaluate each opinion I have based on some sort of reference.

What would the republican party have done when Russia invaded Ukraine? Considering our position with Ukraine at the time and our stance that Ukraine should at least be considered for entry into NATO—although not without strong provisions, a position Biden also holds—I think we would have responded in similar fashion.

We would have assisted Ukraine.

Granted, I do hold the belief that had Trump still been the president at the time, Russia would not have invaded in the first place. But that's a what-if scenario. We don't know if that would have absolutely made a difference or not.

Whether or not we, as a party, are fully committed to the idea of policing other nations, we have often acted in a way that polices nations and helps out smaller guys under attack. If Trump had made similar decisions to provide support to Ukraine, I think we, the republicans, would have supported that.

Conversely, it is fair to point out that democrats would have opposed what they now currently support regarding Ukraine.

Biases get in the way of certain judgements sometimes, as I said, on both sides.

My position is clear. I believe Putin is a madman, and I believe Ukraine should not have been invaded, deserve their independence, and also deserve our help. That's despite my overall opinion on Ukraine, which would digress from the aim of this post. It is also despite my opinion that I am not sure Ukraine should be allowed to join NATO at this time.

Enter the visit by Blinken to China to meet with Xi Xing Ping. One issue that came up was whether or not the United States supported an independent Taiwan. Republicans have railed against Biden and Blinken, essentially having said, "The U.S. wants to be abandon the people of Taiwan."

This patently untrue and an unfair accusation by republicans.

Because the United States has had a One China policy for decades. In fact, we have held this position since 1972. Even a year or so ago Biden slipped and almost indicated that our One China policy had changed, which his staffers had to then backtrack and remind the American people that our China policy had not, in fact, changed. We still are for a One China policy.

The decision by Biden and Blinken to maintain that Taiwan not be independent of China is directly in line with the One China policy we have held since 1972. Our position did not change, and Biden is not abandoning a people.

Granted, what we would actually do if China invaded Taiwan, is another question. It is a question even Trump has refused to answer, asserting that making public his position would compromise his negotiating ability with Xi Xing Ping. And that's a sensible answer.

I point these things out because I prefer to operate in a political environment of fairness and real-based analysis of positions and circumstances. I can't blame democrats for getting it wrong if I don't also criticize republicans when they do.

I can have an opinion on One China, for example. But I can't simply change the facts around it because I happen to disagree politically with the other party and the current administration. I also can't, in good faith, change my fundamental position just because the leadership has changed. And I don't also want to engage in blanket disagreement simply because the one at the helm is someone other than I would prefer to be there.

Politics, above all else, should place heavy weight on truth, and we should maintain a level of common sense and common ground. I think it helps to advance discussions and discourse, and I think it provides a level of balance to what gets decided and how we deal with it that is badly needed in this country.

To do anything else is to simply run in place, and in doing that, we get nowhere.

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A Reconsideration of a Biden Impeachment

There have been several times, throughout Biden's presidency, when calls for impeachment have been made where I have said, impeachment proceedings should be reserved for real and undeniable high crimes and misdemeanors.

In other words, it should not be molested. It should be an important and very serious part of our system of government, and people should trust that when the word "impeachment" is uttered, it actually means something, and all eyes, ears, and attention should be on the seriousness of the charge that brought it about.

The impeachment process, even as far back as Bill Clinton, I think, have been used more as a political weapon than anything else. Although, even though I think the impeachment of Bill Clinton was a huge stretch, it still had more merit than any of the impeachments posed against former president Trump.

They were simply a result of a party desperate to remove a president they did not like. It's not any more complicated than that.

It molested the process and instead of Americans being concerned about real crimes and misdemeanors, it was more of an in your face "hah-hah" moment and "this is what you get" scenario. Far from what the intentions ever were for such a process.

No one was interested in the truth, of course. They just wanted to see Trump gone. They wanted to see his legacy tarnished. They wanted something for the history books. It did not matter that the facts weren't there or that the claims were entirely outside of the realm of what any real impeachment should look like. 

Just for the history books, all that mattered is that it would claim the history that Trump was the first president to be impeached twice during his presidency.

The bottom line here, for me, is that while Biden's presidency has been nothing short of a complete and utter disaster, regardless of whether or not I believe he actually won the election in 2020, there has been nothing I have seen that I would envision would be in the realm of intent of the process to be impeachable.

That is, until now.

It is clear to me that this latest indictment of Trump has nothing to do with criminal activity and everything to do with politics. It has everything to do with an upcoming election, serious questions about Biden's own potential criminal activity being alleged and ultimately distracted from. Moreover, it is an abuse of power and an evil witch hunt to attempt to potentially remove a front-running presidential candidate from the opposing party from being able to run.

What is also worth considering, although I will admit it is a bit of a departure from the crux of this post's main point, is what really happened in November 2019? Does Trump know something? Is it possible he could have the power to find out? Was J6 actually, as many suspect, a staged event coordinated and funded by Soros, Antifa and the democrat party itself as a means to distract from any further questioning that there may have been a stolen election?

Is the indictment of Trump just another means to steal another election yet again?

I think there are serious things happening right now with Joe Biden, or at least his administration (or whoever is actually running the show) at the helm of it. Something like this really does warrant itself as high crimes and misdemeanors if ever there were any to exist. 

It would even make Nixon's pending impeachment, had he not resigned before it actually happened, look like child's play compared. In the case of Nixon, he'd have not only been impeached, he'd have been convicted.

Granted, it is easy to understand that during that time we also had a more united country. Politics was still a deeply entrenched thing, but there was a higher level of respect for the White House as well. The only reason Nixon resigned was because both sides of the aisle would fully participate in the country's best interests and convict him.

His own party could not dismiss what he did and not vote to convict.

It is very difficult for me to imagine, in this highly charged and divided political climate we are living in today, that the democrats would take seriously any impeachment charge or proceeding, regardless of evidence, let alone convict. I believe even the media would be quick to assert that any accusations or case brought against Biden would simply be retaliation by the GOP for the Trump indictment.

As well, can we trust that the American people would stand ready to maintain the integrity of the White House and rally behind an impeachment and conviction and take seriously any charge?

Nonetheless, I do feel that if there ever was a time when serious impeachment considerations should be made, it is now. If we don't go that far, we should at least give very serious consideration to having an honest, open, and thorough investigation.

After all, the highest office in the land does not belong to a political party. It does not belong to one man or woman. It belongs to all of us. The American people. And preserving its integrity and being able to have faith in our government is a higher consideration than any other. 

I think every American should be very concerned about what is happening in our government right now, especially in terms of our elections, how they are handled, how they are determined, and who gets to run, and more importantly whether we want the government deciding for us who can't run.

If the election was indeed stolen in 2020 and now the government is working to omit a potential winning candidate from the opposition party, this is how dictatorships start. 

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Too Old to Serve? Election 2024

Age is certainly a factor in the next election for president in 2024. Beyond all of the flubs from the Biden administration, which is a complete disaster, and all of the chaos and infighting among republicans right now on the GOP side, the one thing that should be abundantly clear is this.

Joe Biden has not earned reelection and is too old to serve, and likely won't make it through another four year term. Kamala Harris is not fit to be president. And even though I think Trump not only deserved another four years in 2020, even he may be too old to serve.

It's a bit of a slippery slope because what it leaves us with is a "big picture" decision at the polls. Who exactly are we ultimately having to choose to vote for? The person running for president? Or the running mate? And while we have had times in the past when a vice president did become the president for various reasons, it has not always been the best course for America.

Trump seems vibrant and full of life, but that doesn't guarantee nothing will happen.

I do think that Trump still offers the best opportunity to get America back on track. He's become a politician, for sure. But he's still an outsider. He's got bite. He doesn't play like other politicians do. He fights back, gets contentious and pulls no punches. 

I like that.

DeSantis, so far, seems like a strong and clear alternative choice. But I also think that what DeSantis brings to the table is more of the same old politician stuff. He's an establishment guy even if he says he isn't.

He is also much younger which presents an interesting alternative as well. And regardless of what my opinion overall may be about DeSantis vs. Trump, the one thing I do know is that he would still present the better choice over Biden in 2024.

I do wonder, if Trump were to become the nominee, if there could ever be a Trump/DeSantis ticket that could potentially pave the way for a determinable victory for DeSantis in 2028 and beyond, and a victory for the republican party to boot.

The thing is, we're going to also be in this boat again in 2028 necessarily since Trump can't run for a third term no matter what. So, with that in mind, we also have to make sure that in 2024, at least on the GOP side, we have to get this right.

If the next four years with Trump, for example, is like the first four years with Trump, and I am not referring to what he did, because I think Trump's presidency was a stellar success, with the media and the democrats out to take him out at every turn, that will only present more of an uphill battle for DeSantis, if he were to be vice president, because he'd be running directly as a Trump candidate.

It's a lot to consider. There are so many moving parts here. We only know we can't afford another four years of Biden and we certainly won't survive a Harris administration. So, it's a big task ahead. I think what we need to do, not just as a party, but as Americans who want to see the country headed back in the right direction, is to really think long and hard about what the best course for America is.

In the end, nothing else matters more.

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Biden Visits The Detroit Wasteland

It's a trap. That is, the unions. But Vice President Biden won't tell you that. Neither will Obama, or the entire democratic party. Because they don't want people to catch on. The truth is that Detroit us a wasteland in part due to unions who sought to siphon every penny they possibly could out of companies from wages, to benefits, to pensions and beyond.

Did anyone care to look at a balance sheet? Of course not. That would tell the real story about how much money a company could afford to pay its workers. And it would not fit the narrative that the unions wanted the workers to hear.

Companies are bad. CEOs are evil. Workers need protection from bad and evil and the unions will come to their rescue.

But they didn't, and that's the point. And one that so many workers missed then, and continue to miss today. When they think about the jobs they had that went away, they don't put the blame on the unions who essentially took those jobs away by making unreasonable and unfounded demands for more money that simply wasn't there to give. They blame it on the companies and the executives who had to make tough decisions according to what was best for the company to keep their doors open at some level.

That means shuttering some doors, and letting workers go. It is simple business. And it was the unions who caused this, and even the workers themselves. But again, that's not the story anyone will hear nor pay attention to.

So Biden made a trip to Detroit this past Labor Day to speak with workers in the wasteland, and what did he tell them? You deserve more. Forget the wasteland around you, toppled by insane demands and union work rules that made it nearly impossible for the companies to operate. Forget that in right to work states people have jobs, get paid well, and are doing well. No, workers deserve more.

But the proof that simply demanding more doesn't work doesn't matter anymore than the proof that higher taxes do not increase government revenues. They will go on and beating the dead horse until there is nothing left but dependents who will need the democrats to feed them, clothe them, and now take care of all of their medical needs.

Wake up America. Wake up workers. Let's figure out what "fair" really means instead of trying to make up a hogwash definition of it on our own.

Image is mine from my private collection © 2014

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