Republicans are the Disfunctional Political Party

Republicans have had a lot of bad elections since Donald Trump took over the party. They lost the popular vote for president in 2016, they lost the House in 2018, they lost the presidency in 2020, and they lost the Senate in 2021.

Now to add to their incompetence they ousted their House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Most of the top Republican candidates running for president in 2024 reacted grimly to the ouster of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy by a faction of hard-liners in their own party. One contender Vivek Ramaswamy, the loudmouth of the candidates, embraced the chaos and the front-runner, Ron DeSantis, notably did not denounce the move.

This is a Republican Party that has lost its mind.

They are so far away from Ronald Reagan that it is like the GOP today is not the real Republican Party.

The Democrats do not have to say or do a single thing. The Republicans have proven that they cannot govern.

And there is a lot on the table today. This past weekend, Congress passed, and President Biden signed, a short-term continuing resolution (CR) that continues to fund the federal government through November 17.

The CR does not provide funds for Ukraine and without that funding Russia will have won that war and likely be deciding which country to invade next. Those are all NATO nations and an attack on any of them draws the United States into war because we are part of NATO.

One thing we do know is that Republican Party behavior assures we will have a government totally controlled by the Democratic Party and that is a good thing.

Orange is Power! Or is Orange the New Black?

Because it’s associated with optimism and energy, many brands use orange to convey a message of positivity. If you’re looking to get your audience excited about something, go for orange. It’s an attention-grabbing, warm color that really pops when combined with cool blue or green tones.

The Orange Man believes in his heart that he is above the law and can do whatever he wants. It is not just holding and sharing secret documents. While Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence like any other American, the indictment appears to underscore his personal belief that the law does not apply to him and that he has the power to do exactly as he likes. That behavior defined his administration and post-White House life.

Late last year, Trump called for the “termination” of the Constitution, including all “rules, regulations and articles.” And he’s pledged on day one of a new administration to direct the DOJ to “investigate every radical district attorney and attorney general in America” for what he claims is the illegal and racist enforcement of the law. Trump has already pleaded not guilty to falsifying business records – charges that arose from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation of a hush money scheme. And he’s waiting to hear whether he will be charged in another special counsel investigation into the run-up to January 6, 2021, and a separate investigation into his attempt to overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in Georgia led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

After blue my favorite color is orange. Can the bright Florida sunshine bring an end to madness? A unanimous twelve man jury in each indictment will be required and that is very difficult to achieve. In conservative Florida the evidence will have to be overwhelming.

I am not betting on any guilty verdicts. I hope I am wrong.

The Sad Presidency of Jimmy Carter

President Jimmy Carter was a one term president. Ronald Reagan replaced him. The economy during his presidency was notable for a stagnant economy that included high unemployment and high inflation. It was a time of long lines for gasoline, a partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania and a siege at the U.S. Embassy in Iran. The 52 hostages held at the embassy were not released until the day after Carter relinquished the presidency. The hostage event, I believe, was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Carter’s presidency.

On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took them as hostages. The hostages were held for 444 days. If there was an effort to free the hostages it was never made public.

Today as Carter is in hospice care almost everyone talks about what a great American and president he was. It’s just not true and most of us know it.

Presidents of the US: President-elect Barack Obama on Jan. 7, 2009, with President George W. Bush and former Presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.(J. Scott Applewhite Associated Press)

Is NORAD Failing and Why?

On February 1, 2023 a spy balloon was spotted by civilians and recorded by Chase Doak, who captured on video from his driveway. He later described as a “big, round disc in the sky” and obviously posted the photo on line. What if he had not seen it and photographed it? Would the balloon tracking and ultimately shoot down ever happen? The topic of spy balloons would not be a news item.

What we don’t know is whether the balloon was being tracked by NORAD. I’m not into conspiracies but why wasn’t the balloon shot down over Alaska? Once alerted they tracked it and when another UFO was identified over northern Alaska it two was shot down.

Then a third UFO was shot down over the Yukon territory of Canada. Then another UFO was identified over Lake Huron and it too was shot won.

So what is the purpose of NORAD? From NORAD’s web site: The North American Aerospace Defense Command conducts aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning in the defense of North America.

NORAD has been asleep or lacks the ability to detect some aerospace invasion. I expect there will be a review of NORAD’s systems by congress. UFOs flying across our country before being identified is frightening.

Social Security and Medicare are Running out of Money

Sadly the congress of the United States delays confronting serious problems to the last minute. The debt ceiling was reached in January and there is casual discussion about adjusting it or doing major budget changes while the treasury secretary juggles the bills that are due now. We have an even big problem looming that will impact everyone.

Social Security and Medicare are running out of money.

Medicare’s trust fund is projected to be exhausted by 2028. Social Security’s trust fund is projected to be exhausted by 2035. When that happens the money each fund will dispense will be equal to incoming receipts. According to the Washington Post payments to doctors and health plans will likely be 90% of current reimbursements starting in 2028 and a 20 percent cut for all seniors receiving a Social Security check in 2035.

So, those are the two basic options to solve these issues: raise taxes or cut benefits. You could do similar things today. For example, to make Social Security solvent for the next 75 years, legislators could raise the tax rate from 6.2% to 8.1%. According to current actuarial projections, this would fix the problem until 2095.

Democratic lawmakers say that both Social Security and Medicare can be addressed without any cuts to the program — an approach expected to be codified in Biden’s upcoming budget, which is set to be released next month. Some liberal lawmakers have pushed for a one-line change to federal law that would require general funds from the Treasury Department to be used to pay off the shortfalls in the programs and make beneficiaries whole. Some liberal advocates, meanwhile, have pointed out that tax hikes would take care of the funding shortfall. One proposal to lift the current cap on earnings subject to Social Security payroll taxes, endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and others in the Democratic caucus, would extend funding for the program for decades. That cap is now about $160,000.

Will congress do anything before the last minute? Not likely.