The Era of rivalry, Biden vs. Trump and their respective parties

Donald Trump had a bad hair day. He paid the price for backing fools.

A Republican operative close to Trump said it best. "Like every other Trump catastrophe, he did this to himself with stupid and reckless decisions."

ABC reports, "At least fourteen of Donald Trump's handpicked candidates are projected to have lost their election bids, according to an ABC News count -- results that have some Trump aides concerned as the former president prepares for a "big announcement" regarding his potential 2024 presidential run.

"In addition, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' strong performance in Trump's adopted home state was a wakeup call for some Trump advisers, sources said. DeSantis, seen as a potential 2024 presidential rival for Trump, easily won reelection.

"On his Truth Social account, Trump said Tuesday was a "GREAT EVENING." Some of Trump's most high-profile candidates saw losses in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio."

"Great evening?" That is Trump lying to his followers. He does that a lot.

ABC Continued, "Trump was particularly unhappy as he watched two candidates he endorsed in Pennsylvania -- Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz and gubernatorial candidate Doug Mastriano -- lose their elections. Trump had been in the state rallying for both candidates just three days earlier."

Trump usually blames others for the catastrophes he creates. No difference here.

"A day later, Trump was angry with his wife, Melania, and Fox News host Sean Hannity, for pushing Trump to endorse Oz. The former president is also blaming aides for misguiding him on some of his other endorsements," ABC.

"Trump told advisers Tuesday night that he was also shocked that the Georgia race between incumbent Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and GOP challenger Herschel Walker was too close to call."

Next week Trump is expected to announce his run for the Presidency in 2024.

No matter how hard we try, we can't get rid of the jerk.

 

Pennsylvania just re-elected a dead guy.

Pennsylvania Reelects Dead Democrat


DeLuca died in October...

Not everyone is as obsessed with Trump and some folks on the Left are.

 

NPR reports, "Since Russia said its troops were pulling out of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Ukraine and its Western backers have been cautiously welcoming what could be a major setback for Moscow's invasion.

"For weeks, Ukrainian forces have been advancing on Kherson — the only Ukrainian regional capital that Russia managed to take over since its invasion in February.

"Russian defense chiefs said Wednesday they were pulling back their troops to the east bank of the Dnipro River, to save the lives of soldiers and civilians. The world is watching to see if Russian forces actually retreat.

"The top U.S. military officer says a withdrawal has already begun."

"Right now, the early indicators are they're doing what they say they're doing and we're seeing those early indicators," Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday."

Many remain suspicious. The Russian military has many sophisticated weapons, including tactical nuclear ones.

 

ABC reports, "Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia next week, an Indonesian government official said Thursday, avoiding a possible confrontation with the United States and its allies over his war in Ukraine.

"U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and other world leaders are to attend the two-day summit that starts next Tuesday. The summit would have been the first time Biden and Putin were together at a gathering since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

"Russian Foreign Ministry and Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed later Thursday that Lavrov will head Russia's delegation at the G-20 summit instead of Putin. He did not give a reason.

"Putin’s decision not to attend the summit comes as Russian forces in Ukraine have suffered significant setbacks. Russia’s military said it will withdraw from Kherson, which is the only Ukrainian regional capital it captured and a gateway to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula.

"Russia’s announced retreat from Kherson along with a potential stalemate in fighting over the winter could provide both countries an opportunity to negotiate peace, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Wednesday."

 

Great news! We could use some.

NPR reports, "Stocks surged in their biggest rally in two years on Thursday, after a better-than-expected inflation report showed that the galloping price increases that consumers have endured all year are beginning to slow.

"The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1200 points, or more than 3.7%, over the course of the day to close at 33,715.37, the highest since the middle of August. The Nasdaq soared more than 7% and the S&P 500 more than 5%.

"Consumer prices in October were 7.7% higher than a year ago, according to the Labor Department. That's a slower pace of inflation than September's 8.2% rate. It's also the smallest year-on-year increase in prices since January.

"And the price hikes between September and October were significantly smaller than forecasters had expected.

"The Fed is widely expected to adopt a smaller increase of 0.5 points when policymakers next meet in December. Wall Street analysts said that Thursday's inflation reading will give the central bank good reason to go with a smaller hike.

 

CNBC reports, "Russia’s announcement of its completed withdrawal from Kherson, the only Ukrainian provincial capital it captured since the war began, has been met with celebration by many in Ukraine and the West — even prompting some in the U.S. government to suggest an opening for diplomatic talks. President Joe Biden, however, maintains that the timing of talks must be up to Ukraine.

"Meanwhile, analysts warned that the Russian pullout Kherson in southern Ukraine is likely to be fraught with danger for both sides.

"Ukraine’s government said it was skeptical about Russia’s withdrawal, although its forces on the ground appeared to be exploiting the opportunity to target large groups of Russian troops preparing to withdraw."

“Unfortunately, we do not advise the population to return there,” Danilov said, adding that Ukrainian forces are actively working to clear the area.

“The population should be very careful about this issue until our Armed Forces give the go-ahead to return to those towns and villages,” he added.

 

The Republican Party needs to swallow a bitter pill. It needs to rid itself of Donald Trump. Republican Senator Pat Toomey agrees, and for extremely obvious reasons. What should have been a red wave became a ripple, if that.

CNN reports, "Republican Pat Toomey is retiring from his Pennsylvania Senate seat at the end of the term. But before he goes, he is speaking some hard truths to his party.

"Asked Thursday by CNN’s Erin Burnett about how Republicans lost the contest to replace him, Toomey was blunt that “President Trump inserting himself into the race … was never going to be helpful.”

"Trump had endorsed Mehmet Oz in the primary and rallied with him the final weekend before the general election.

“We were in a moment, we were in a cycle, we were at a time when it’s good for Republicans for the race to be about President Biden, who is not popular, whose policies have failed. And instead, President Trump had to insert himself and that changed the nature of the race,” Toomey aaid.

“All over the country, there’s a very high correlation between MAGA candidates and big losses, or at least dramatically underperforming,” he added.

"In Toomey’s home state, aside from Oz’s 4-point loss to Democrat John Fetterman, Trump-backed Doug Mastriano lost the governor’s race by 15 points, a landslide in a state as closely divided as Pennsylvania.

"In battleground Michigan, Trump-endorsed Tudor Dixon lost by 11 points to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a defeat that led to a blue wave down-ballot in the state. In Illinois, the Trump-backed gubernatorial candidate lost by 10. In the Maryland governor’s race, the Trump-backed candidate lost by 25.

"On the Senate side, Blake Masters, the Trump-picked candidate in Arizona, trails Sen. Mark Kelly in a race that is still too close to call. Herschel Walker, another high-profile candidate backed by Trump, finds himself headed for a runoff in Georgia on December 6 against Sen. Raphael Warnock."

Trump declared a “Big Victory” on his Truth Social website Friday.

 

Republicans are casting blame on Republicans for their hapless performance in the 2022 mid-terms. In doing so, they are forgetting an important factor.

By overturning Roe vs. Wade the conservative court played an important role in the GOP's kissing your sister showing on November 8.

 

Former vice president Mike Pence is a master at the understatement. It comes from his unwillingness to commit, particularly in a television interview. Then again, politicians by nature are afraid of commitment, and rarely answer a question from the interviewer. Instead, they talk, mostly about themselves, but rarely say anything of importance.

Pence said Donald Trump’s rhetoric during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was “reckless?”

Reckless? It wasn't reckless it was dangerous. Dangerous for our country. Dangerous for Pence and his family. And dangerous for lawmakers who were running for their lives on Jan. 6.

On Jan. 6, 2021, far-right extremist groups loyal to Trump descended on the Capitol, many chanting “Stop the steal!” as they echoed Trump’s unfounded allegations of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election. Many also chanted “Hang Mike Pence!”

The Post reports, "Five people died in or as a result of the Jan. 6 attack, and about 140 police officers were assaulted when a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol, breaking through security barriers and forcing lawmakers and aides to barricade themselves inside their offices as they feared for their lives. Police rushed other members of Congress, including the House and Senate leadership, to secure locations.

"I think it's basically the third election in a row that Donald Trump has cost us the race, and it's like three strikes, you're out. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result," Republican governor Mike Hogan of Maryland.

Donald Trump is currently full-steam ahead on announcing his candidacy for President on Tuesday.

What the hell is the Republican Party doing? Well, whatever it is, it cost them. Americans rejected extremism.

 

A 51-seat majority in the Senate is far more critical to the Democrats than a 50-seat. Here is why.

ABC explains, "With the party's midterm wins, Senate Democrats have officially clinched control of their chamber for the next Congress, but it's now in the hands of Georgia voters to determine just how powerful their majority will be and how much difference Democrats can make in furthering President Joe Biden's agenda.

"But Democrats are holding their breath for Georgia's Dec. 6 runoff election between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican candidate Herschel Walker. That's because a 51-seat majority would make governing much easier.

"Republicans, at the same time, are looking to even the score with the Georgia midterms -- to keep the Senate in its current 50-50 power sharing agreement."

"When Herschel [Walker] wins, we're gonna have a 50/50 Senate," Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Rick Scott told reporters Monday. "Right now it'd be better to read 51, 52, 53 but by him winning, we will be able to block some bad legislation because it takes 51 plus to get this stuff done," Scott said.

Not sure what Scott is saying. With the veep's vote, the Democrats have 51. Perhaps he was speaking to the Republican base. They aren't very bright. They elected Trump as an example who is now a pariah within his own party.

That said, Democrats are going all out to get to 51.

"It's obvious that 51 is better than 50," Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said during an appearance on CNN Monday.

One big reason: judges.

"Democrats have been eager to counter the Supreme Court by filling the lower courts with more liberal justices -- and because confirming them is one of few things that can be done in the Senate with a simple majority," ABC.

And they can do it much quicker and easier with 51.

 

Educationally challenged rural voters make up the Republican base, and they are killing their own party, as this past election shows. With an unpopular Democratic President at the helm, and economic woes such as cruel inflation, this election should have been a Republican wipe-out.

It wasn't.

CNN reports, "Washington Republicans are in an uproar hours ahead of Donald Trump’s expected launch of a new presidential run, exacerbated by the party’s protracted wait for the House majority it will use to try to weaken President Joe Biden.

"Trump apparently plans to open the 2024 election cycle at his Mar-a-Lago resort Tuesday evening, despite the failure of his election-denying acolytes in the midterms and unusual ambivalence among GOP lawmakers over his prospects.

"His unsuccessful attempt to leverage the congressional elections to display his own power set off a mess of infighting and recriminations over the failure of the GOP to stir a red wave to claim big congressional majorities. It also raised questions over Trump’s own 2024 general election viability. The result is that the GOP in Washington is further weakened and Trump is under some of the most intense pressure he’s faced during a turbulent political career – even if there’s no sign yet that his enduring power base in the party’s adoring grassroots has eroded.

"The ex-President had clearly hoped to claim credit for a banner Republican midterm performance to supercharge his bid to win back the presidency, but the party failed to recapture the Senate – and a whole week from Election Day, it is still waiting for its control of the House to be confirmed. Its eventual margin will be far smaller than it had hoped, meaning the majority will be volatile and hard to manage."

The finger-pointing is emerging over a disappointing performance for Republicans. Trump-style extremism was repudiated at the ballot box in a vote that ought to have been a referendum on an unpopular sitting president in a tough economy – rather than one on a predecessor who left the White House but won’t go away, " CNN.

 

Christopher Beem writes, "Election denial, born of former President Donald Trump’s petulant insistence that he had actually won a race that he clearly lost, is one of the most harmful legacies of his tenure. Now its most visible proponent, Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, has come up short in her election bid.

"May that be the end of corrosive, cynical strategy which caused untold harm to our political system.

"To be clear, Republicans have known for a long time that the party’s embrace of the lie that Trump was somehow cheated in the 2020 election was a charade. “It was always a lie. The whole thing was always a lie. And it was a lie meant to rile people up,” Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas."

But the rural voters that formed the Republican base believed the lie. That is why so many Republicans were repeating the Big Lie. It was popular within the Republican base as Beem notes.

Ahead of the 2022 midterms, polls showed that a majority of Republicans still questioned whether President Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. GOP politicians – not wanting to alienate a huge part of their base – drilled down on the falsehood, repeated it and then swore allegiance to it. On the campaign trail this election cycle, there were hundreds of election deniers on the ballot in every state who claimed to believe that Trump won the 2020 election.

Tonight Donald Trump will announce that he will run for President in 2024. Obviously, he has limited intelligence. He is a loser, but he doesn't know it.

Everyone else does.

 

The generally accepted view as to why two Polish farmers are dead is as follows.

The Times reports, "Poland’s president said on Wednesday that a Ukrainian air defense missile had most likely caused a deadly explosion in his country a day earlier, calling it an “unfortunate accident” and easing fears that his country and its NATO allies could be drawn into a direct conflict with Russia.

"President Andrzej Duda said early indications suggested that Ukrainian efforts to counter a barrage of roughly 100 Russian missiles had been the cause of the blast on Tuesday that killed two farm workers — not a direct attack on his country."

“We have no evidence at the moment that it was a rocket launched by Russian forces,” Mr. Duda told reporters. “However, there are many indications that it was a missile that was used by Ukraine’s antimissile defense.”

Ukrainian air defense missile? Most likely?

There is a problem with that explanation. Missiles don't disintegrate when they hit the ground and blow up. There are large chunks of them to be inspected by Polish experts., and identification of the source should be easily determined.

So, the question is, is the explanation true or a matter of convenience?

Now let us assume it was a Russian missile. It is safe to say Putin did not decide to go to war against NATO. That means, if the missile was Russian, it was an accident.

So do we really want to go to war against a nuclear superpower? The safe answer is a resounding NO!

 

The Biden economy is humming along. The voters finally realized that and gave the Democrats a break in the mid-terms. If it is not broken, don't fix it.

ABC reports, "Americans stepped up their spending at retailers, restaurants, and auto dealers last month, a sign of consumer resilience as the holiday shopping season begins amid painfully high inflation and rising interest rates.

"The government said Wednesday that retail sales rose 1.3% in October from September, up from a flat reading in September from August. The increase was led by car sales and higher gas prices. Still, excluding autos and gas, retail spending rose a solid 0.9% last month.

"Even adjusting for inflation, spending increased at a solid pace. Prices rose 0.4% in October from September, much less than the overall sales figure.

"Steady job growth, rising wages, and higher savings after many people cut back on travel and entertainment during the pandemic have enabled surprisingly steady spending by consumers.

"Analysts said Wednesday's government report on retail sales points to a healthier economy than previously expected. Morgan Stanley revised its forecast for growth in the October-December quarter to 1.7% at an annual rate, up from an earlier projection of 0.7%."

 

Donald Trump is an idiot, and the largely rural voters that make up the Republican base are fools for making him their savior. Their unrelenting support for Trump cost their party a great deal in the mid-terms, including a defeat in the Senate and attaining only a razor-thin majority in the House.

How foolish is Trump? Let's allow CNBC to explain.

"Former President Donald Trump announced Tuesday night that he was running for president in 2024, laying out an aggressively conservative agenda that includes executing people convicted of selling drugs.

The campaign will be Trump’s third run for president, but his first time trying to win votes since his refusal to accept his 2020 election loss and his frantic effort to hold onto power led to the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

"Trump barely mentioned the 2020 presidential race, nor did he bring up his two separate impeachments trials, the first for leveraging U.S. foreign aid in an effort to extort Ukraine into investigating the Biden family, and the second for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

"Trump said the “gravest threat to our civilization” was what he called the weaponization of the Justice Department and the FBI, which is currently investigating his handling of classified documents and his role in a massive effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results and prevent Congress from certifying Biden’s victory.

"Trump also said he would demand a sweeping new slate of election restrictions, including requiring only paper ballots, only allowing voters one day to vote, requiring photo ID in order to vote and “all votes counted by election night.”

Trump doesn't know that the states control elections, not the federal government.

The Florida governor is widely expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination, but he showed no signs of urgency to enter the race now that Trump is in.

“I mean, seriously. We just ran an election,” DeSantis said. “We have this Georgia runoff coming, which is very important for Republicans to win that Georgia runoff.”

This is a perfect strategy for DeSantis to take – and one that makes Trump look a) needy and b) more focused on himself than the Republican Party.

Trump's overriding reason for announcing his candidacy? He loves the attention ... even if he looks stupid attaining it.

 

In the face of a barrage of criticism regarding their party, Republicans continue their policy of total silence.

I can't wait for these investigations to begin. The number one question -- What in the world are Republicans going to investigate? They don't know. They speak in vague generalities.

CNN reports, "After clinching the majority in the House of Representatives in the midterm elections, top Republicans on Thursday outlined a broad range of investigative targets focused on President Joe Biden and his family’s business dealings."

“In the 118th Congress, this committee will evaluate the status of Joe Biden’s relationship with his family’s foreign partners and whether he is a President who is compromised or swayed by foreign dollars and influence,” said Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the top Republican on the House Oversight Committee. “I want to be clear: This is an investigation of Joe Biden, and that’s where the committee will focus in this next Congress.”

The perfect illustration of "vague generalities."

To find grounds for impeachment, the Republicans are going to investigate Biden's son.

"Comer said Republicans have made connections between the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and the president that they believe requires further investigation. Comer said his team has spoken with multiple whistleblowers who say they were involved in schemes involving the Biden family, reviewed Hunter Biden’s laptop, and received “previously unknown transactions,” CNN.

That's ludicrous. Some Republicans say they want to impeach our President, but they have no idea what they are going to impeach him for.

This is to get back at Democrats for their investigation of President Trump's role in the coup attempt to overthrow our elected government and his theft of classified documents when he left the White House. Both are the subject a criminal probe by the DOJ.

Trump said the “gravest threat to our civilization” was what he called the weaponization of the Justice Department and the FBI.

President Biden is prepared.

CNN explains, "More than four months before voters handed Republicans control of the House of Representatives, top White House and Department of Homeland Security officials huddled in the Roosevelt Room to prepare for that very scenario."

No doubt Republicans will continue their silence. It is the smart thing to do.

 

David A. Andelman writes, "Each day, it would seem, Russian President Vladimir Putin has become ever more adept at creating more victims and new enemies – solidifying, even enlarging, the ranks of those arrayed against him, and strengthening the resolve of those he would seek to conquer. At home and abroad, there seems to be no limit to Putin’s appetite to wreak mayhem in pursuit of an ever more elusive victory.

"The first missile to have landed in Poland – a NATO member – on Tuesday may well have been a Ukrainian anti-aircraft rocket intercepting an incoming Russian missile a short distance from one of Ukraine’s largest cities, Lviv, as suspected by Polish and NATO leaders. (President Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, has insisted the missile was not Ukrainian)

"But the proximate reason for this action was in fact Putin’s utterly inhumane carpet bombing of Ukrainian infrastructure. This is all part of Putin’s misguided, and likely futile, effort to hammer the nation into submission – a hail of rockets designed to knock out electricity, water, and other critical civilian infrastructure as winter looms.

"But beyond these most recent missile attacks lies a laundry list of horrors Putin has launched that only seems to have driven his nation further from the pack of civilized powers that he once sought so desperately to join."

We are not getting the complete story.

Viewers have seen large chunks of these missiles on news reports. From these pieces, it is a relatively simple matter to discover the origin of the missiles. Instead, we get weak responses like "possibly" or "most likely" the missiles were from Ukrainian air defense weaponry.

At first, Zelensky disagreed with that reasoning, but he backed off and now agrees with the NATO and Polish assessment.

 

Donald Trump is gone. He just doesn't know it. As this thread shows, his cult members, rural voters that form the Republican base, do not have the intelligence and knowledge to defend him, mostly because his criminal acts are true -- instigating a coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021 and the theft of classified documents recovered by the FBI.

Republican leaders have had it with him, too. Trump was voted into office by losers, and the Republican Party has been paying the price for that ever since.

NBC reports, "At the same time former President Donald Trump was declaring his third bid for the White House on Tuesday night, a ballroom full of GOP governors, donors and lobbyists were tuned in to the Republican many have indicated they would prefer: Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida.

"DeSantis, fresh off a decisive victory that reinforced Republicans’ grip on power in his home state, made no mention of Trump, or the announcement taking place 168 miles away. The move by the party’s de-facto leader hardly appeared to register — though the next presidential primary was top of mind.

"In interviews, attendees of the annual meeting of the Republican Governors Association said there were plenty of discussions about 2024, what lessons the party can take from the midterms and how they should adjust their messaging. Those Republicans said they felt additional contenders were present at the conference as both parties see a number of governors as attractive potential alternatives to Trump and President Joe Biden, should the president’s intent to seek re-election change.

"Lombardo was the only Trump-endorsed gubernatorial candidate to win a state Biden carried in 2020. But Republican nominees for governor fell short in critical battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arizona — where the party lost control of the governors’ mansion — with candidates who hugged Trump tightly."

Little wonder as to why Republican leaders are disenchanted with Trump. Trump is a loser. As Republican Governor Mike Hogan pointed out, Trump is responsible for losses in the last three elections.

Republicans will maintain their silence on this thread.

 

CNN reports, "Meet the “Never-Again Trumpers.”

"That’s how former House Speaker Paul Ryan described himself in an interview with ABC News that aired over the weekend. Here’s what he said:

“I’m proud of the accomplishments [during the Trump administration] – of the tax reform, the deregulation and criminal justice reform – I’m really excited about the judges we got on the bench, not just the Supreme Court, but throughout the judiciary. But I am a Never-Again Trumper. Why? Because I want to win, and we lose with Trump. It was really clear to us in ’18, in ‘20 and now in 2022.”

CNN continued, "Ryan, who left Congress in 2019, has grown increasingly outspoken about his feelings about Trump and the future of the Republican Party.

"In late October, he told Fox Business Network that the “new swing voter in American politics is the suburban voter, and it’s really clear the suburban voter doesn’t like Trump, but they like Republicans.” And he added: “So I think anybody not named Trump, I think is so much more likely to win the White House for us.”

"Ryan’s position on Trump is an interesting one. It gives the former president credit for what he accomplished in office while suggesting he is neither the present nor the future of the GOP.

"Which is where, I think, some of the more serious challengers to Trump in 2024 will land. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, would do well to echo Ryan’s viewpoint – give Trump credit for what he did as president while making clear that his political appeal has shrunk to the point where it would be a mistake for Republicans to nominate him again."

 

ABC reports, "Iran has begun producing enriched uranium at 60% purity at the country's underground Fordo nuclear plant, official media reported Tuesday, describing it as a response to a resolution by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog.

"From Vienna, the U.N. nuclear watchdog — the International Atomic Energy Agency or IAEA — said the 60% enrichment at Fordo comes on top of similar production at the Natanz plant in central Iran.

"The IAEA also said that Iran plans a “significant expansion” in its production of low-enriched uranium at Fordo and a second production building at Natanz. Fordo is some 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the capital of Tehran.

"Enrichment to 60% purity is one short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%. Nonproliferation experts have warned in recent months that Iran now has enough 60%-enriched uranium to reprocess into fuel for at least one nuclear bomb.

"Earlier this month, the IAEA said it believes that Iran has further increased its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. As recently as last week, the agency criticized Tehran for continuing to bar the agency’s officials from accessing or monitoring Iranian nuclear sites.

"It has been nearly two years since IAEA officials have had full access to monitor Iran’s nuclear sites, and five months since the surveillance equipment was removed."

Our thanks go out to President Trump for these developments. He destroyed the Iranian Nuclear Agreement in May 2018 which prevented Iran from making a nuclear bomb.

 

Trump lost the popular vote in 2016. The Trump administration had multiple setbacks in the 2018 election as it lost control of the House, state houses, and state legislatures. Trump lost reelection in 2020 by seven million votes. Democrats are praying he is the Republican nominee for President in 2024.

ABC reports, "From the moment he left the White House in defeat last year, Donald Trump has teased the prospect of a third presidential campaign. But in the week since he officially declared his candidacy, the former president has been uncharacteristically low key.

"There has been no massive stadium kickoff rally, notable for someone who has turned such events into a signature of his public life. His newly reinstated Twitter account, which helped fuel his political rise nearly a decade ago, sits silent with its more than 87 million followers.

"He hasn't announced plans to visit the key early voting states that will shape the contest for the Republican nomination, nor has he sat for a round of high-profile interviews. Indeed, since his announcement speech, Trump hasn't held a public event.

"The former president, who has spent his post-White House years positioning himself as the undisputed leader of the GOP, is now facing heated criticism inside the party for contributing to a disappointing showing in this month's midterms. And other Republicans are openly teasing presidential runs of their own, making clear they won't stand aside for Trump's nomination.

"Meanwhile, the legal pressure on Trump is intensifying. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel last week to oversee the Justice Department’s investigation into classified documents recovered from the former president's Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as key aspects of a separate probe involving the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and efforts to undo the 2020 election. And on Tuesday, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the imminent handover of Trump’s tax returns to a congressional committee after a three-year legal fight."

In short, Trump is a loser. By their silence, Republicans will agree. They never discuss their own party.

 

According to the Times, The deadliest mass shooting in the country so far this year was the massacre in which 19 children and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24. It happened 10 days after 10 people were shot and killed in a supermarket in Buffalo.

Nov. 22: Chesapeake, Va.
A longtime store manager at a Walmart opened fire in a break room as the store was preparing to close for the night, killing six people, the authorities said. The gunman was found dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the police.

Nov. 20: Colorado Springs
At least five people were killed and 18 injured in a shooting at an L.G.B.T.Q. nightclub. The gunman was injured and taken to a hospital.

Nov. 13: Charlottesville, Va.
Three University of Virginia students, all of whom were players on the football team, were killed and two were wounded when a gunman, a former football player, opened fire in a garage after a field trip to see a play in Washington.
********************************************************************************************************************************************
Despite these massacres and countless more, the NRA-sponsored Republican Party refuses to allow meaningful federal gun regulations to keep guns out of the hands of the deranged and the criminal element. They quickly change the subject from the mass murders which are occurring every week to a question of Second Amendment rights.

The ludicrous argument targets the educationally challenged that make up the Republican base in America's rural counties.

No one with a high school diploma can accept this laughable argument.

There are two separate issues that are mutually exclusive.

Every American of legal age and no negative history has a right to bear arms. No American has the right to arm himself with an assault rifle or automatic pistol and senselessly murder other Americans.

But the Republican Party refuses to admit the difference between a Constitutional right and mass murder.

 

There are Americans among us who want to restrict voting.

They are called Republicans!

CNN reports, "The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to block counties from offering early voting on Saturday, rejecting an emergency request from Republicans.

"Counties in Georgia are not required to offer early voting on Saturday, but many have said they will do so, after Democrats successfully sued to challenge instructions from state officials claiming that early voting the Saturday after Thanksgiving was unlawful.

"The move is a victory for Democrats, including Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is seeking reelection in a December 6 runoff election against Republican Herschel Walker. Three Republican Party committees had sought to block voting on the Saturday after Thanksgiving."

Republicans will remain silent. They never talk about what their party is doing.

Why is that?

 

After 3 Mass Shootings, a Thanksgiving With 14 Empty Chairs

A janitor working his shift at a Virginia Walmart. A 40-year-old woman returning home to Colorado Springs for the holidays. A young man at his girlfriend’s side, watching her friend perform in a drag show.

Three college football players. A mother who worked to help foster children. One bartender who remembered your drink and another who danced.

White and Black, gay and straight, old and young. The collection of the newly dead from just three of this month’s mass shootings are the very picture of the ideals — inclusivity, setting aside differences — that America prides itself on at this time each November.

Fourteen people who did not know their last Thanksgiving was already behind them.

What in the world are Republicans thinking? We don't have a clue, and they won't tell us.

Republicans captured the House in the November mid-terms, and their leader is the leading candidate for the Presidency in 2024.

Something is seriously wrong with America right now.

 

The NRA-sponsored Republican Party refuses to consider the reinstatement of an assault weapons ban despite the massive carnage.

The AP reports, "When President Joe Biden speaks about the “scourge” of gun violence, his go-to answer is to zero in on so-called assault weapons.

"America has heard it hundreds of times, including this week after shootings in Colorado and Virginia: The president wants to sign into law a ban on high-powered guns that have the capacity to kill many people very quickly.

"A weapons ban is far off in a closely divided Congress. But Biden and the Democrats have become increasingly emboldened in pushing for stronger gun controls — and doing so with no clear electoral consequences.

"Just over half of voters want to see nationwide gun policy made more strict, according to AP VoteCast, an extensive survey of more than 94,000 voters nationwide conducted for The Associated Press by NORC at the University of Chicago. About 3 in 10 want gun policy kept as is. Only 14% prefer looser gun laws," AP

Republicans do nothing and they remain silent on the issue.

Consequently, Americans will continue to kill each other.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving. a man went shopping in Chesapeake, Virginia. He purchased a semi-automatic pistol. Later that day he killed six people.

No doubt Republican legislators had a fine Thanksgiving dinner two days later.