Never Trumpers? Not Quite: What the World Thinks About America and Trump

 In 2016, the liberal left governments of the world were stunned as Hillary Clinton, the Democratic heir apparent to Barack Obama, was forced to conceded her candidacy for president. How was this possible, that a brash businessman and political outsider had denied Hillary her long awaited “coronation”  that the Left believed was all but inevitable?

For the next four years, Donald Trump proceed to dismantle the Status Quo. Nothing and no one was safe. Even the “Deep State’s” hold on government was threatened. Few of Americas allies and trading partners felt safe. Even military alliances felt threatened as Trump began demanding that allies start picking up more of the costs for their own defense.

Up to then, the burden fell largely on the United States while they redirected money to their economies. Then came the 2020 election, and the Status Quo was back in power, and their nightmare was over.  It was time to restore order. But that wasn’t all that happened, the 2020 election displayed for the world to see just how deeply divided Americans were.

To make matters worse, it showed the extent the Status Quo was willing to go to retain its power by propping up a man in obvious mental decline and expecting everyone to play along. This was “The emperor has no clothes” writ large for all the world to see. Confidence in American was now in a freefall.

 President Biden’s approval rating  averaged just 42%. His Vice President, Kamala Harris, was polled as the worse VP in U.S. history (and then the Democratic Party had audacity to put her up as their presidential nominee!). By the time Biden and Harris left office, America’s allies and trading partners had serious concerns. It seemed that nearly everyone was talking about America’s power in the past tense.

We left Afghanistan, after 20 years of war, worse off than when we arrived. Iraq wasn’t doing so great either, and our regional “arch-nemesis”, Iran and all its “baby vipers” like Hamas, Al Qaeda, ISIS, and Hezbollah, were feeling more emboldened than ever. China was now viewed as the new world economic superpower, and it wasn’t being shy backing it up. Not since WWII has nations in the Pacific felt so endangered.

We found ourselves butt deep in the shenanigans that triggered the war between Ukraine and Russia and even threatened the integrity of NATO over promises and deals which should never had been made.  Illegal immigration was out of control and our politicians lacked the will to stop it. But, as the expression goes, “history doesn’t often repeat, but it does rhyme”.

On November 7, 2024, Donald Trump accomplished what few---here at home or overseas--- thought was possible. He defeated the “swamp”, despite years of attempts to financially break him, attacking him and his supporters criminally, and constant political propaganda by the “impartial” mainstream media (cue sinical laughter). They even literally tried to assassinate him.  In Europe as well as Asia, Latin America, and Africa, friend and foe alike did their best to villainize  or humiliate him or anyone who openly supported “The Donald”.

It’s been written by biblical scholars that God would often consigned his chosen prophets to the desert wilderness, to be scourged by the blistering hot winds and sand, the blazing sun, the barren landscape, and constant thirst in order to prepare them for their chosen task ahead.

While no one (especially me) is claiming that Trump has been chosen by any other deity for anything, there’s no question that he has been purged of any doubts or illusions about who he is up against or what it will take to defeat an oligarchy which has destroyed the Republic and substituted in its place, a neo-fascist corporatocracy.  Perhaps more importantly, it has shown who has Trump’s back, both individually and globally.  So, where does the world stand?

Let’s start with Europe, which has traditionally been the focus of our interests for over 200 years. We were settled by Europeans and our country was founded on the ideals of the European Enlightenment and on the model of ancient Rome and Greece.  

Twice now we’ve bailed Europe out of two devastating world wars. We left some of our bravest behind, buried in European soil. Through the Marshall Plan, we invested billions to help raise the continent up from the ashes in which it found itself. We were also instrumental in saving western Europe from the clutches of communist tyranny. We’ve been there ever since, forging close partnerships politically, economically, and militarily.

According to a Visual Capitalist survey from January 2025,  40% Europeans generally are undecided about Trump’s second bite at the presidential apple (a Pew poll shows a 31% approval rating for Trump). While 38% see Trump’s presidency as a potential disaster of global proportions and 22% believe that it may herald in a new American “golden age” which could affect the world. Compare those numbers with that of President Obama where 53% had a positive opinion about him.

The UK is among those with a low opinion of Trump. Despite being our closest ally, 54% disapprove President Trump. 31% are on the fence and just 15% support Trump. As an aside, approval for Trump in Canada is a chilly 28% while the Aussie’s 35% positive rating.

In Germany, Trump’s confidence level is just 13% with 85% having low or no confidence in him. In Sweden it’s 81% no confidence. France and Spain both give Trump a thumb’s down with a negative 78% each. The Dutch and Greeks have only 25% approval rating for Trump. Among the Swiss, 44% are undecided while 23% like Trump, but 34% don’t.

The only place in Europe where Trump actually received positive numbers was in Poland with a 51% confidence level and Ukraine (which is heavily dependent on the U.S. for aid) which gave Trump an approval rating of 44%.  Still, 37% of Ukrainians had no confidence in Trump. As for Russia, 67% had a negative opinion about Trump with only 20% having a positive view of him.

Turning to Asia, only India and the Philippines had a positive impression on “The Donald”. In India it was 56% while in the Philippines that number was 77%. In South Korea, which is heavily dependent on U.S. military support, Trump’s confidence level was 46% with 52% have a negative opinion. In Japan, another country which depends heavily on the U.S., just 36% are confident in Trump and 61% aren’t. Lastly, in Indonesia, polling shows a 30% positive confidence level for Trump and a 40% negative.

In looking at Africa and the Middle East, our main ally, Israel has 71% approval rating of Trump. Israel’s neighbor, Lebanon, things were different. 67% voiced no confidence in Trump.  Nigeria, and Kenya do as well with a  58% and 65% positive approval respectively, whereas Turkey, a key NATO and EU ally, has an 84% negative level of confidence in President Trump. In Tunisia, just 12% said they had trust in Trump (75% didn’t).

In looking at three of the largest economies in Latin America, 89% of Mexicans reported no confidence in Trump (much of that, no doubt, coming from his crackdown on illegal immigration). Only 8% said they could trust Trump. In Brazil, President Trump’s positive confidence level was only 28%. 60% said “no”. Meanwhile, in Argentina, it was worse. 69% turned down Trump. 28% said “si”. It bears mentioning, that of the last five U.S. Presidents, Obama has had the highest global approval rating. First term Trump was the lowest.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that those on the political Right had the highest levels of confidence in President Trump. In Israel it was 86%. 55% in Australia and 50% in Italy. In Hungary, Trump polled a 57% positive rating. It was 58% among conservatives in South Korea. Among the Poles, it was a plus 61% for Trump.

Interestingly, however, among the Dutch and Spanish Rightwing parties, Trump’s numbers weren’t that high. Just 35% of conservative Dutch approved of Trump while 31% of the Spanish conservatives did. Conservative Germans had only a 21% positive opinion of him while it was just 21% among conservative Argentinians.

Looking at another poll, this one done by the European Council on Foreign Affairs, the question was posed as to whether Trump was a good thing for the American People, 69% of those surveyed in Saudi Arabia said “yes”. So did 50% in China, 59% in Russia, and 85% in India. Ukraine and Indonesia weren’t so sure. Just 37% of Ukrainians said “yes: as did 38% of those in Indonesia.

Interestingly, when it came to Europe in general, only 34% of those polled thought that President Trump would be a good thing for Americans in general. England polled the lowest with only 24%.

The same poll also showed that 75% of Indians felt that Trump’s reelection was going to be good for the world in general. However, from there the numbers quickly drop. Just 49% of those surveyed in Saudi Arabia agreed as did only 35% of Russians. In China it was 34% and 29% in Turkey.

Once again, Europeans displayed their low opinion of “The Donald”. 22% saw Trump’s second term as positive for the world. 15% of the English agreed with 50% a hard “no”. However, a paltry 13% of South Koreans were looking forward to Trump 2.0. It bears mentioning that 48% weren’t sure. 15% were sure…that Trump needs to go.

In a related poll, this one from June 2024 by Pew, respondents in 34 countries were asked their overall opinion of the United States. In general, 54% had a positive view of U.S. while 31% held a negative opinion. In looking at those with the highest opinions of the U.S., Poland had the highest with 86%. Ghana and Kenya were tied with 78%. They were closely followed with Israel, South Korea, and Thailand with 77% each.

In looking at the countries with the highest negative opinion of America, we have Tunisia with 87%. Our NATO partner, Turkey, was second with a 77% negative view of the U.S. Malaysia had a 65% negative opinion of the U.S. followed by Australia at 60% and Singapore showing a 50% negative opinion of the United States.  As an aside, just one in five Europeans regard America as an ally.

There’s no question that Donald Trump is a polarizing figure. Most people, whether here in the U.S. or abroad, either like him or hate him. There are very few in the middle or with no opinion. With America’s influence waning, confidence in the American Presidency could have a serious impact on global relations no matter how much saber rattling there is. In the high stakes game of global politics, the only thing worse than being disliked is being ignored like Trump's predecessor was. 

Trump has proven to be an excellent business negotiator despite (or because of) his bravado and unpredictability. That’s good for America. But in our highly integrated world, success has to be viewed from a position of a mutual win for all concerned. Furthermore, we have to accept that we are no longer the “big dog” on the block. Might alone doesn't make right. We sometimes have to allow others their time in the sun. Is Trump capable of that? I don’t know. Only time will tell.

 

Thank you for reading "Another Opinion", the Op/Ed blog page for the "militant middle".  Here at "A/O" we truly value our readers. At A/O we seek the facts as they exist, not partisan talking points.  We hope you find our articles informative and engaging. Comments are welcome, provided they are not vulgar, insulting or demeaning.  Another Opinion is offered without charge and is directed toward all independent and free-thinking individuals. We ask, however, that you "like" us on whatever platform you found us on in order to keep our articles available for free to others. Lastly, in order to keep costs down, we depend on passive marketing, and therefore, depend on our readers to please forward our posts along. Below you will find links to the sources we used in writing this article. Thank you. 

 

Europe’s Concern Over Trump Isn’t a Universal Opinion

What People Around the World Like and Dislike --- About theAmerican Society and Politics

In a new poll, Europeans express little faith in America’sfuture influence

Why is the World Betting Against American Democracy?

Alone in a Trumpian World: The EU and global public opinionafter the US elections

Pew: Views of the U.S.

 

President Biden, Storming Washington, and What Kind of America Do We Want?

The Republicans have lost two important seats in Georgia and as a result, will lose control of the Senate. Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell will now be the Senate minority leader. Democrats are already in control of the House. Trump has held off conceding the election, though it's clear that Biden is the victor. Trump is expected to concede, but doesn't have to say that Biden won "fair and square". That's because it appears that he didn't. But there's a bigger story being played out here.

Americans have had mounting doubt about the legitimacy of elections going back to at least George W. Bush and Al Gore in 2000 (remember "dangling chads"?).  Hillary Clinton's defeat in 2016 sparked another round and launched a nearly four year investigation into alleged Russian collusion and a rigged election, amplified by the media, which was at least partially complicit.

 Ultimately, it was proven that not only was there no Russian collusion, but that the whole story was  concocted by the Clinton-Obama camp to discredit Trump (which also goes to show the extent those in power will go to keep power. I dare say they will go much further); an opening salvo to destroy Trump's credibility.

Now, with the 2020 election over, we're being told that China this time was directed involved in the election results by the Right.  We're told that the voting machines were rigged; that fake ballots were used; that the dead rose from their graves and somehow voted for the Democrats; that the vote counts stopped as soon as the Democrats had enough votes to win. Meanwhile, the victors, the Democrats, are telling us that the election went just fine. That our elections can't be rigged unlike the results in 2016.

Is any of it true? To be honest, I don't know. I've seen a lot of footage which reputedly shows illegal vote counting in process. I've read numerous articles about the reliability of some of the voting machines. We know the "Russian collusion" of 2016 was a hoax at taxpayer expense.

Frankly, I see no reason to think the claim of Chinese involvement is anything but utter garbage. Why would Russia or China try to destable the country when we are quite able and willing to do it to ourselves? It's just something else to cause us to doubt the legitimacy of our electoral system.

But here's the real issue. Americans, especially on the Right, have long believed that the we're losing our freedoms and I agree, although perhaps not to the extent that they do. We are certainly not a Constitutional or democratic Republic any longer. We are a defacto Corporatocracy, controlled by an small group of Oligarchs. We are a surveillance state which is just one major crisis away from becoming an all out police state.

We no longer feel we have a say in what's going on (academic studies conclude that's pretty much the case. Congress and the Presidency follows the dictates of the 1% and a relatively few very powerful global corporations). Therefore, we feel threatened. We have come to believe that we have only two arrows in our Constitutional quiver---the ballot or the bullet.

If we can no longer trust the ballot, the only remaining option is a revolt. Could it happen? Yes, it's certainly possible. However, with the tools of the surveillance state already in place, it would be hard to pull off. I don't think, however, that we are expected to pull it off. Historically speaking, the larger and more complex a society is, the more difficult it is to topple.

The best examples of successful overthrows of governments are the so-called "Rainbow Revolutions" of Eastern Europe; the "Pots and Pans" revolution of Iceland; and, of course, the Second Revolution in Russia following Gorbachev. The uprisings during the "Arab Spring" are another great example.  Even the recent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, while apparently unsuccessful due primarily to the COVID outbreak, merit close study as does the Tiananmen Square uprising of 1989 in China.

These were sustained protests aimed at key government centers. They were largely non-violent since the State is always looking for an excuse to declare martial law and call out the National Guard or military. The protests sought to disrupt not just the operation of government, but the personal lives of those in power; to make it nearly impossible to function or for them to go or do anything.

They are also disregarded the official media which serves the interests of the Status Quo. The media's job is to divide the opposition into as many factions as possible in order to render it impotent. That includes manufacturing events to pit the various groups against each other (which the media has already been doing for awhile now). It is to discredit or vilify the opposition and its leaders.

The State will do everything possible to disrupt and infiltrate the opposition that they can. In the U.S. they've been doing that going back to at least the 1920's they infiltrated the KKK, Odd Fellows, the Socialist Party of America, unions, and other groups. During the 60's and 70's, it was the anti-war movement, the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Black Panthers, the Civil Rights Movement, the American Indian Movement (AIM), the Women's Liberation Movement, and so forth.

They threatened and attempted to blackmail MLK, Malcolm X,  Cesar Chavez of the National Farm Workers Association among others. Wonder whatever happened to activist unionism? Wonder no more.  It was "defanged" like all the other groups which posed a threat to the Status Quo. Heck, more recently they did it within Occupy Movement and the Tea Party.  The singular goal of the Status Quo is to maintain or expand the power and control of the Status Quo.   

Naturally, I'm not proposing anything. I am, however, saying that when people no longer have faith in the government; that when they no longer believe their vote counts, then the State leaves no option for the people they will, like a cornered animal, strike out, be it Left, Right, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, or whatever. I'm sure those in power are keenly aware of this, just as I'm equally sure they are prepared for such an action by the people.

Those in power will use patriotic sounding words like "our democracy", the "People's representatives" or "doing the People's business". They will tell us that protests against government "aren't who we are". That we are a nation of laws except they fail to mention that there are two sets of laws. One for them and another for everyone else. That speaking up is "Un-American". They will act surprised by any protests or acts of resistance. Perhaps some of it will be actually true. It's so hard to differentiate their lies from the truth anymore. 

Nevertheless, those in Washington are largely out of touch with what the average American endures, let alone those among the working poor or homeless. Anything to tug at our heartstrings so that we back down. Anything to obfuscate the corruption of government and acumination of wealth and power. It's the silk glove covering the mailed fist.

People, regardless of political ideology, race, gender, or religion, must wake up to the fact that this is not "our" country any longer. The ruling Oligarchy has near absolute control of America. One percent controls as much wealth than the bottom 90%. The inequality gap is the widest of any industrialized nation. Our healthcare and educational systems are among the worse. Our social safety net is inadequate at best (we rank toward the bottom when it comes to infant mortality and child poverty).

Most of our well paying manufacturing jobs have been outsourced overseas. We're now largely a low paying service economy.  Unions, once the backbone and voice of the Working Class are mute.  Our infrastructure is crumbling and yet we spend more money on the military that the next ten nations combined, including Russia and China. We are taxed without input. And now, even our supposed national voice---the election process itself---is no longer reliable.

There's an old curse---"may you live in interesting times". I'm sure the next four years will be interesting times without a doubt. The only question is what, if anything, can we do about it? What, if anything can the American People---Left or Right---do restore or rebuild the America we want to live in; that we want our children and grandchildren to live in? The answer is up to you.

 

"The Top 0.1% percent...owns about the same wealth as 90% of America"

U.S. Defense Spending Compared To Other Countries

How Does the United States compare with child well-being?

Addressing Child Poverty: How Does the United States CompareWith Other Nations?

2020's Defining Moments and the Stimulus Package

 

2020 has been described as being everything from "challenging" to "historic". However, it's one that won't soon be forgotten. If we were to pick a symbol for the year, surely a dead skunk in the road would be it. So, let's briefly take look at some highlights of the past "stinker" of a year before delving into the year's main story, COVID-19 and the stimulus package.

The year kicked off with the protests and riots unlike anything we've seen since the 1960's following the deaths of Breonna Taylor in Louisville Kentucky in March and George Floyd in Minneapolis Minnesota in May; both at the hands of the police. It should of been taken as warning of what was coming.

 

Protests, Riots, and Calls for Racial Justice

Whether their deaths were racially motivated or simply poor decision making by all concerned,  it sparked massive waves of protests and riots nationwide along with looting, arson, random attacks on individuals, and destruction of property which had nothing to do with racial justice.

It also saw the appearance of so-called "Right Wing" militias (often wrongly labeled as "neo-Nazi" or "racist" by the media), which tended to be rather well behaved, and Leftist groups like Antifa which, despite its name, was more akin to the Nazi Brownshirts or Communist Red Front than not.

Black Lives Matter showed its true colors as a race-centric neo-Marxist group, which, along with Antifa, turned out to be surprisingly organized and well funded. It's worth nothing that both groups were labeled by the media as "peaceful" despite the chaos they caused. Race baiting seems to be back in fashion.

 

We Can Still Be Friends

The media continued to pound President Donald Trump at every opportunity as they have since he was first elected. Never once did they let up or give him any serious credit, even when there were historic diplomatic breakthroughs like the four Arab nations agreeing to officially recognize  Israel---Sudan (which lost the moniker of a terrorist sponsoring state), the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, and Bahrain (which was promised high tech weapons  and diplomatic favors including financial aid).  

Relations between Kosovo and Serbia were normalized, while Muslim Kosovo also agreed to recognize Israel. Meanwhile, the UK  formally said "goodbye" to the European Union as Brexit took effect. The virus shut down the pro-democracy moment in Hong Kong to China's relief as it upped the ante in challenging America and her Asian allies for dominance.

 

Presidential Election:  The Ole Cup and Balls Trick

In 2016, we were told that Russian meddling in the election caused Hillary Clinton to lose his bid for president; not her inability to connect with voters, and surely not her questionable behavior (like Benghazi). We were told to ignore the rigging of the Democratic Primary against Bernie Sanders even though it was admitted and the head of the DNC was fired (as was her successor). This year, despite ample evidence of ballot corruption, we're told that our electoral system is safe and there is no way fraud could have taken place, so ignore the evidence and videos. Nothing to see. Move along.

Biden's Cabinet picks (as I've recently pointed out in my previous two articles) are primarily retreads from the Clinton and Obama administrations. Throughout Biden's 47 years in office, he has repeatedly shown himself not to be a friend of the working and middle classes or small business owners. He has perpetually pushed to cut taxes for the wealthy, favored deregulation and bailouts for big business, while supporting tax hikes on everyone else. Even seniors and veterans aren't safe.

Biden has repeatedly backed cuts in Social Security and support for veterans. But, not to worry! It seems that Biden isn't quite all there. Many expect a short tenure in office before being forced to stepped down and replaced by Kamala Harris as the first female president.

 

The COVID Virus: The New Normal

Not since the 1919 Influenza outbreak has a virus had such a far reaching affect on society. Businesses and restaurants have been shuttered, laying off millions of workers. Ordinary people have been forced to self-quarantine.  When we do go out, we're expected to wear mask and only go where we absolutely must and return home as quickly as possible, and don't forget to wash your hands thoroughly with the sanitizer you're now expected to keep in your car, your purse, or pocket.

Of course, we can't forget "social distancing"; maintaining that invisible six foot barrier between you and the next person. Government has stepped in to ensure that we can't gather in groups of more than  ten. They don't want us attend weddings, funerals, or religious services, movies, family gatherings (and especially if it involves singing), but apparently protests, political events and shopping at big box stores are okay. Just no small local stores. 

Americans are scared, which seems to be the way the Status Quo wants it. As a result, we've seen hoarding and artificial shortages. If there's any doubt that in a crisis, self-interest will always prevail, this should have removed all doubts. As a result, we've willingly accepted so-called "temporary emergency" restrictions to many of our freedoms. Many a despot has come to power using "temporary emergency" measures. Freedoms, once lost, are hard to reclaim just as power, once obtained, is hard to surrender.

Nevertheless, what we have entered is a "new normal" of masks, sanitizers, and self-imposed restrictions of movement. It's part of what the elites are calling "the Great Reset". It will be their attempts to reverse any changes President Trump made to the Status Quo, and to implement new ones under Biden/Harris. How far this "reset" will go depends on how much resistance they encounter. Based on the previous months, I expect very little.

The media will do its best to sell it. So will Hollywood, and naturally, so will Wall Street and  Madison Avenue since they all make up this Oligarchic Corporatocracy that is now America. Unions, once the voice of the working class, long ago sold out, leaving millions of blue collar workers high and dry, not to mention unemployed or underemployed.

But there is some good news I suppose. Earlier this year most Americans received a "stimulus" check of around $1200 (some countries gave citizens as much as $7000). It helped, but was nowhere near enough for the long term, especially as many were nearing the end of their unemployment benefits. Many more were looking at the possibility of facing repossession or foreclosure.

 More recently, Congress offered the American People $600. To call it insulting would be a gross understatement. The public was (rightfully) outraged. Social media was flooded with stories about illegal immigrants getting $1800 or Pakistan receiving billions to study "gender differences". But, how true were these stories?  What was in the 5600 page bill?

 

The Devil is in the Details

While Americans felt that the stimulus bill was supposed to be by and for us, it was, in fact, not. The bill did include billions in foreign aid, much of which was for education and infrastructure development in places like Tibet, Laos, Cambodia, and Egypt. There was $33 million set aside for "pro-democracy" programs in Venezuela (basically political bribery). $1.65 billion to Jordan which can use the money however it wants.

Four billion was authorized to help other countries purchase vaccines for the COVID virus. $130 million went for programs to empower women overseas and promote gender equality, while another $15 million went to help at-risk women and girls from religious extremists. $25 million went to World Bank to help with refugees. $40 million went to Syria for the purpose of providing medical assistance to those exposed to chemical weapons as well as first responders. So, what about us? Did we get anything besides the $600 lump of coal from Congress?

 

 Political Afterthought: The Voters and the Stimulus Package

The $900 billion dollar stimulus bill does include a few perks for Americans. Well, first some good news. At President Trump's insistence, we could get a check for $2000 rather than $600. However, the biggest roadblock is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has indicated that he will oppose the increase in order to keep the bill's cost from skyrocketing (we could cut the foreign aid pork but that would be rejected by members of both parties anxious to score brownie points with their financial backers).

Nevertheless, the bill does include funding to help extend unemployment benefits up to $300 per week, which is half of the amount provided this past spring. Schools and universities will get $82 billion. $7 billion is for expanding broadband internet access. $285 billion goes to a program called Paycheck Protection Program. It's to help guarantee employers' ability to meet payroll. $12 billion of that has been earmarked for minority owned businesses. However, the program has come under criticism in that the majority of money goes to large corporations not adversely affected by the pandemic.  Many have used the money to cover top level executive bonuses.

$10 billion will go to the childcare industry, which has been hit hard by the mandatory shutdowns. The bill also includes a ban to prevent doctors, hospitals, and others in the medical industries to send so-called "surprise" bills to patients. They define this as bills for services not previously explained to and acknowledged by the patient or their family. That one, I suspect, will need a lot more clarification.

The bill also provides a provision to prevent evictions, foreclosures, and repossessions for the next 30 days (but not interest charges or late fees). $13 billion will go for food assistance such as SNAP, food banks, and food pantries. $175 million of that is earmarked for Meals on Wheels and similar programs.

Lastly, there is nothing in the bill that provides illegal immigrants with a stimulus check. Only those here legally and possess a green card will receive a payment, which will be for $600 like the rest of us.

While the stimulus bill is far from perfect (much of the funding of foreign countries is unnecessary, at least at this time), it does provide some badly needed relief, especially to those worried about losing their homes or cars, those on SNAP or depend on food programs.

Sadly, not included in the package is assistance for senior care, help with utilities like heat or shelters. As of now, it seems likely that most of us will receive $600, not the $2000 President Trump wanted. It also appears that this is just the beginning of our "new normal", at least for the foreseeable future.

 

A Look at What's in the Stimulus Package Trump Signed

Long-term care industry expresses disappointment as Congresspasses stimulus bill

Foreign Aid in Congress' December Stimulus Package

Biden failed veterans as VP, he'd fail them again as President

 

 

 

Filling in the Blanks: The Balance of Biden's Cabinet Picks

Every President wants to make their mark. They look to standout; to make a statement. One way is their choices for Cabinet. After all, they reflect on the President and his policies. Last week's article gave you a good picture of what you can expect from President-elect Biden. This week, we will fill in the details.

Biden's choice for Secretary of the Interior is Deb Haaland, the first Native American (her father is of Norwegian ancestry and her mother is of the Jemez Pueblo tribe) to head that department. She will be responsible for not just federally owned parks and natural resources, but for tribal lands as well.

She supports AOC's "Green New Deal", Medicare for All, and abolishing ICE.  She has a law degree from New Mexico's School of Law with an emphasis in Indian Law. Rep. Haaland is Catholic and a single mom. She currently represents New Mexico in Washington. 

Pete Butteigieg is slated to head up the Department of Transportation. Butteigieg is the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana and former U.S. Naval Intelligence officer.  He attended Harvard (majoring in history and literature) and Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. He will be the first gay Secretary of Transportation. His partner is Chasten Glezman, a teacher, writer, and LGBQT activist. He previously worked on John Kerry's presidential campaign and for several global management consulting firms.

Butteigieg identifies as a "democratic capitalist", which combines capitalism with a strong welfare state, emphasizing a reduction of "excessive" individualistic freedoms. It also supports expansion of collective bargaining and competition laws.

Jennifer Granholm has been picked to be the Secretary of Energy. Ms. Granholm is the former Attorney General and Governor of Michigan. She has been a political commentator for CNN. Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, her family moved to the United States when she was four years old. She graduated UC Berkeley with a degree in Political Science and French. She then went on to attended Harvard Law School.

She served on a number of boards of directors, mainly involved with the automotive, financial services, and defense industries. She worked on Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential Campaign.  Ms. Granholm is married to Dan Mulhern, a graduate of Yale University's School of Theology.

Neera Tanden is Biden's choice for Director of the Office of Budget and Management (OMB). Neera is a political consultant and president of the left-center Center for American Progress, a influential Democrat think tank designed to counter conservative think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and the libertarian oriented Cato Institute.

Neera, who describes herself as a "Clinton loyalist", has worked extensively for the Clintons and the Obama Administration, where she helped draft the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare").  Previously she served in the Clinton Administration as a associate director of domestic policy and worked on energy and healthcare issues.  Ms. Tanden was the domestic policy advisor to First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Ms Tanden worked on Hillary Clinton's Senatorial campaign and stayed on as her legislative director. She worked on Hillary's 2016 primary and general campaigns.  A graduate of UC Los Angeles, she obtained her law degree from Yale University.  She is married Ben Edwards, who is an artist.

Next on the list is Brian Deese, nominee for White House Economic Advisor. Deese was the senior political and economic advisor to President Obama. He previously served as the deputy director of the OMB and National Economic Council. He is currently the Global Head of Sustainable Investing for BlackRock, a global investment management corporation. Deese also had worked on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign, and then went to work for the Obama campaign.

Deese obtained a BA degree from Middlebury College in Vermont and then earned a law degree from Yale University.  After graduating, he went to work for the Center for American Progress as a senior economic policy analyst.  During his tenure with the Obama Administration, he was involved with the automotive industry bailout of General Motors and Chrysler. He is married.

The unenviable job of White House Press Secretary will fall to Jennifer Psaki. She was the White House Communications Director under President Obama and previously, a spokesperson for the Obama State Department.  She also served as the Deputy Press Secretary during the Obama Administration. Ms. Psaki appears as a political commentator on CNN.

Ms. Psaki graduated from William & Mary College with a degree in English. After graduating she worked as deputy press secretary for the John Kerry 2004 presidential campaign. She is married to Greg Mecher, the deputy finance director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The White House Domestic Policy Director will be Susan Rice. That name should be a name familiar. She was ambassador to the United Nations and National Security Advisor under President Obama. Most notably, she was caught up in the fiasco of Benghazi, triggered by then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's illegal weapons sales. She was also a strong advocate for the invasion of Libya and the subsequent assassination of Gaddafi. 

Dr. Rice supported reopening relations with Cuba, the Paris Accords on Climate Change, and the Iranian Nuclear Deal. She is an advocate for anti-poverty policies as well as strengthening rights for LGBQT and people with disabilities. 

Dr. Rice attended Stanford University and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar where she obtained her PhD in International Relations. She worked for the Clinton Administration on the National Security Council and assistant secretary on African Affairs. She joined the Brookings Institute, a non-partisan think tank, before working as a foreign policy advisor to John Kerry, Michael Dukakis, and Barack Obama.  

In addition to her long political career, Dr. Rice has served on the board of directors of Netflix, several global management consulting firms and the Council of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Rice is married to Ian Cameron, an executive producer at ABC.

America has long been losing the battle when it comes to education. Although we currently rank second (just behind the UK) in educational systems, we rank in the second tier when it comes to the basics---math, reading, and science. Domestically, our schools struggled with attendance, absentee parents, top heavy (and often overpaid) administrators, underpaid teachers, and inadequately funded classrooms. The result is often throwing more money at the problems without any serious accountability and higher taxes (as in Kentucky).

The individual heading up the Department of Education has a lot of work ahead of them if our schools are brought up to par with the rest of the world and we are to remain competitive.  Biden's choice for Secretary of Education is Dr. Miguel Cardona.

Miguel Cardona is Puerto Rican. He grew up in a housing project in Connecticut where Spanish was his first language. He graduated from Central Connecticut State University with BS in Education. He obtained a MA degree in Bilingual Education from the University of Connecticut (UConn), followed by a Education Specialist Certificate, and a Doctorate in Education.

In 2019, he was appointed by Connecticut Governor Ned Lemont as Commissioner of Education. It's worth nothing that he was brought to President-elect Biden's attention by Linda Darling-Hamilton, who is handling the transition team for Biden, which she also did for incoming President Barack Obama.

With the ongoing pandemic, the Office of the Surgeon General will play a much more visible role than usual. Dr. Vivek Murthy has been selected for that position.  Dr. Murthy will be the first Surgeon General of Indian heritage (both of his parents immigrated from India).  Dr. Murthy will co-chair Biden's COVID-19 Advisory Board along with David Kessler, the former Food and Drug Commissioner, and Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a Yale public health professor.

Dr. Murthy was born in Yorkshire, England. When he was three years old, his parents moved to Miami Florida, where his father, a medical doctor, opened his practice. Dr. Murthy earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and then a MBA and MD from Yale University. He is founder and president of Doctors for America, which promotes universal healthcare.

He was appointed by President Obama to several committees pertaining to medical and health policies within the Health and Human Services Department. Dr. Murthy is also active on issues pertaining to climate change and its effects on overall health. Dr. Murthy is married to Alice Chen, also a medical professional and current president of Doctors for America.

Closely tied to the Office of Surgeon General is the Office of Disease Control and Prevention. Biden has chosen Dr. Rochelle Walensky to be its new director.  Dr. Walensky is the Chief of Infectious Diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. A physician and medical scientist, she regarded as an expert in AIDS/HIV research. She is also considered a leading expert in COVID-19 research as well. Dr. Walensky is Jewish and married to Dr. Loren Walensky, a pediatric hematology and oncology specialist.   

The Chief Medical Advisor on COVID-19 will be Dr. Anthony Fauci. Dr. Fauci should be familiar to most Americans by now. He is often seen and heard on TV and radio, particularly political talk shows. He has also testified before several Congressional hearings on the virus. Dr. Fauci is immunologist and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. 

Dr. Fauci is the rare exception in Biden's Cabinet picks in that he's the only holdover from the Trump Administration. Perhaps that's because he's regarded as one of the top world authorities on infectious diseases, and in particular, the COVID-19 virus. He is also an expert on AIDS/HIV research. In addition, Dr. Fauci has served in every administration going back to President Ronald Reagan.

As one would expect, Dr. Fauci is of Italian ancestry; his father was a pharmacist. He attended Holy Cross College and obtained a degree in the classics. He went on to attend Cornell University's Medical College, graduating first in his class.  He is a former Catholic and identifies as a Humanist.

In 1968 he joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a clinical associate at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. His long career has focused on diseases such as Ebola, AIDS/HIV, SARS, MERS, and developing bio-defense drugs and vaccines. Dr. Fauci is married to Christine Grady, a nurse and Chief of Bioethics Department at the NIH Clinical Center. 

Taken with last week's article, this rounds out Biden's key Cabinet picks with the exception of Labor Secretary (I expect he will name Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI)). Many will require Senate approval before assuming their jobs. Typically, incoming presidents get great leeway, I expect most, if not all, to pass muster. All are pretty bright, but a few (like Susan Rice and Janet Yellen) aren't without controversy. Practically all attended Ivy league schools. A few are noteworthy for being the first this or that.

Nevertheless, Biden's choices are overwhelmingly retreads from Clinton and Obama administrations. But, if we look at them in the aggregate, what do they tell us? They seem to indicate that Biden sticks with the familiar. He wants a return to the status quo. He is cautious. He doesn't like taking chances or rocking the boat. This administration will seek to undo much that President Trump did and attempt to continue the Clinton/Obama legacy.  That is their "Great Reset" and it will affect all of us.

 

Here's who Joe Biden has selected for his Cabinet

Biden's Administration: Here's Who has Been Named So Far

 

 

 

 

Biden's Cabinet Picks: Obama 3.0?

Well, it's official. Joe Biden is the new President and Kamala Harris becomes the first woman Vice President of the United States. Of course, there was and still remains a great deal of controversy over   the voting, but I don't think anyone truly had any doubt as to the outcome.

Donald Trump was the outsider who threatened the whole rotten apple barrel. There was no way the ruling elites---the Oligarchy---was going to allow "the Donald" another four years. They did everything possible that they could to distract, discredit, or derail Trump. The corporate media essentially "declared war" on Trump from day one. 

So with Biden as the incoming president, the political and corporate elites  can get back to their usual modus operandi of obfuscation and behind closed door deals. In short, the Status Quo is back in charge again.  The question now is what should we expect?

As I've written previously, there won't be anything new from a Biden Administration. What we'll likely see is nothing more than a de facto third term for Barack Obama. Of the 15 positions Biden has to fill in his cabinet most are Obama era retreads who are tight with the corporate-political machine. Let's take a look at some of the ones we know about.

Key to Biden's cabinet is, of course, his Vice President, Kamala Harris. Ms. Harris is close politically and personally with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, and Chuck Schumer, not to mention Obama.  

Biden's choice for Secretary of State is Anthony Blinken.  Mr. Blinken served as National Security Advisor and Deputy Secretary of State under President Obama. He is regarded as a strong interventionist, meaning that he believes in putting U.S. boots on the ground whenever and wherever U.S. foreign interests are at stake.

Blinken served as the Democratic Staff Director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as well as six years in the Senate. He is an internationalist (globalist), and has very close ties to Europe. 

The Jewish born Blinken spent a great deal of time in France as a child. He is fluent in French and describes himself as a "Francophile". His wife,  Evan Ryan, worked as the scheduler for First Lady Hillary Clinton. She went on to work on Hillary's Senate campaign, and then as Biden's Assistant for Intergovernmental Affairs.

Janet Yellen has been selected to serve as the U.S. Treasurer. She had been appointed by President Obama to head Federal Reserve Board in 2014. She previously chaired the Council of Economic Advisors under President Bill Clinton, and before that was President of the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco.

Yellen was born into a Polish-Jewish family in the Bay Ridge area in Brooklyn New York.  She holds degrees from Brown University and Yale University. Her husband, George Akerlof, is also an economist. He received a Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences and teaches at Georgetown University. Yellen is an adherent of Keynesian economics, which means she advocates using direct monetary policy to stabilize the economy rather than allow the business cycle to self-correct. 

Retired four star General Lloyd Austin III is Biden's choice for Secretary of Defense. Austin was the 12th commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and its first black commander. He previously served as the Vice Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.  Austin retired from the Army in 2016 and went on to serve on the boards of directors of defense contractor Raytheon and Nucor, the nation's largest steel producer. He also served on the board of directors at Tenet Healthcare. 

General Austin is a graduate of West Point and served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Austin is Catholic and has been married for over 40 years. His wife, Charlene, is a non-profit administrator and served on the board of Military Family Research at Purdue University. 

Alejandro Mayorkas  will head up the Department of Homeland Security. The Cuban born nominee, if approved by the Senate, would be the first Latino immigrant to hold the position. He served as Deputy Secretary of the DHS and Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under Obama.  Mayorkas strongly favors an "expansive"  definition of "asylum seekers" and open borders.  

Mayorkas had previously served as U.S. attorney for the Central District of California under President Clinton. However, while at the USCIS, Mayorkas ran into some trouble. He was accused of giving preferential treatment to wealthy and connected foreign investors. The Inspector General of DHS, however, found no violations and concluded that as Director of USCIS, Mayorkas had a great deal of latitude at his discretion.

Alejandro Mayorkas was born in Havana Cuba in 1959 to Cuban-Jewish Sephardic parents. He attended UC Berkeley and obtained his Juris Doctorate from  Loyola Law School.  Alejandro is married.

Biden has selected Avril Haines to be his National Intelligence Director. She had been previously appointed by President Obama as Deputy Director of the CIA. Prior to that she replaced Anthony Blinken as the Deputy National Security Advisor. She was the first woman to hold that position. In addition, Ms. Haines was a legal advisor for the State Department and the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs which was chaired by Joe Biden.

Ms Haines is Jewish and was born in Manhattan New York. She obtained a undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Chicago and a law degree from Georgetown University in 2001. She was a consultant for Palantir Technologies, a data mining company, and WestExec Advisors, a firm which represents "secret" high tech companies looking to do business with the Pentagon and various intelligence agencies.  Ms. Haines is married to David Davighi.

Jake Sullivan has been nominated for National Security Advisor. Sullivan was the senior policy advisor for Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential Campaign. He previously served as Deputy Chief of State at the State Department under then Secretary of State Clinton. Sullivan was the senior U.S. advisor on the Iranian nuclear program.

While serving in the Obama Administration, Sullivan was also Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to Vice President Biden.  He also served as Director of Policy Planning at the State Department under Secretary of State Clinton.

Sullivan graduated from Yale University with a degree in international studies and political science. After graduating, he obtained a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University in international relations. He later received a Juris Doctorate from Yale University.  He is married to Margaret Goodlander, a former advisor to Senators Joe Lieberman and John McCain.  Politically, Sullivan is considered to be an internationalist.

The person closest to the President is their chief of staff. They are the "gatekeeper" to the Oval Office.  As such, the President has to have absolute confidence and trust in them. The person chosen by President-elect Biden to be his chief of staff is Ron Klain. Mr. Klain is no stranger to the White House. He served as Biden's chief of staff in the Obama Administration.

Klain is a former political consultant, lobbyist for Fannie Mae, and former chief of staff to Al Gore during the Clinton Administration. He also served in the Obama Administration as the Ebola Response Coordinator in 2014 and 2015.  He clerked for Supreme Court Justice Bryon White and served as legislative director to U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-MA). He was the Staff Director to Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) before becoming Chief of Staff to Attorney General Janet Reno prior to assuming the same role under Vice President Gore.

Klain graduated with a undergraduate degree from Georgetown University and a law degree from Harvard University.  Klain, who is Jewish, is married to Monica Medina, a lawyer and environmental activist for the Walton Family Foundation (of Walmart fame).

Other positions have also been filled. These include Linda Thomas-Greenfield as UN Ambassador and Cecilia Rouse as Chairperson of the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA). She has a long career as a diplomat, serving primarily in roles involving Africa under both Obama and George W Bush. She will be only the second black female to hold that position after Condoleezza Rice. 

Cecilia Rouse is an economist, having received her Bachelor of Arts and doctorate degrees in economics from Harvard. She previously served on the National Economic Council under President Clinton and Council of Economic Advisors under President Obama. Her focus as an economist is labor and education economics. If confirmed by the Senate, she will be the first black female to chair the CEA.

Ms. Rouse is a director at T. Rowe Price and board member at MDRC, a nonpartisan social policy firm. research. She also serves on the Council on Foreign Relations. Cecilia is married to Ford Morrison, the son of author Toni Morrison. 

Special Envoy on the Climate, John Kerry, doesn't require any introduction. I think most people know enough about him to know where he stands on the topic of global warming. The U.S. Trade Representative will be Katherine Tai. Ms Tai is of Chinese descent. Her parents immigrated from Taiwan. She received a undergraduate degree from Yale University and a law degree from Harvard.  

Ms. Tai served in the Bush and Obama administrations in the U.S. Office of Trade Representative's General Counsel's office before becoming the House Ways and Means Committee chief council.  She worked briefly on trade cases at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Her focus is on China.

Xavier Becerra has been picked to head up the Department of Health and Human Services (HHC).  He previously served in the California State House of Representatives as well as State Attorney General. He was elected to the U.S. House and has served as the Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus under Nancy Pelosi.  He is a first generation American (his parents immigrated from Mexico). If confirmed, Becerra will be the first Hispanic to head the HHC.

Rep. Marcia Fudge, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, has been nominated as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Currently she serves on the Agriculture, Housing Administration, Education and Labor committees. She has a law degree from Cleveland State University.

Denis McDonough is Biden's choice to lead the Veterans Administration. McDonough was President Obama's chief of staff during his second term. He previously served as Deputy National Security Advisor (strategic communication) and later as Chief of Staff of the National Security Council. 

Denis comes from a devout Irish Catholic family and is another graduate of Georgetown University, receiving a Master's degree in Foreign Service. He is married. If confirmed by the Senate, he will be only the second individual to head up the VA who never served in the military.

That sums it up for now. Almost everyone either appointed or selected are retreads from the Clinton and/or Obama administrations. Most are long time political operatives known for their loyalty to the party. Many are minorities. The majority are "center left" and globalists. Don't look for any radical changes except, perhaps, those reversing many of Trump's initiatives. The principal aim of the Biden Administration will be to set matters to right for the Establishment.  

 

Here's who Joe Biden has selected for his Cabinet

Meet the contenders for Biden's Cabinet

A Message to America

 

***Due to Blogger's new format change, there are random changes font size and colors***

America has been engaged in so-called "nation building" since World War II ended in 1945. It all started with the Marshall Plan, named after its originator, former General George Marshall. The intent was simple enough; to keep Europe, which had been devastated by 12 years of war, from a total collapse. Not only was Germany a heap of ruble, but so was most of the rest of Europe, from France in the west to the Soviet Union in the east and from Sicily in the south to Norway in the north. 

As a result of mistrust and rapidly rising tensions between the former wartime allies, Stalin refused to allow the U.S. to deliver badly needed supplies, including drinking water, food, and medical supplies, to countries under its control. Part of the reason was enforce its dominance over these countries and in the case of West Berlin, to force the Allies out; this abandoning West Berlin to the Soviets.

Of course, around the clock airdrops by the Americans ensured that West Berliners were able to stave off Soviet imposed starvation. Meanwhile, American supplies flooded the rest of Europe, including England which had been brought to its knees by the war. Not only were food, fresh water, and medical supplies delivered, but so was everything imaginable to rebuild Europe, from concrete and construction equipment to manufacturing machinery to ordinary consumer goods.

Not only did the U.S. save Europe from economic and social collapse, it also did the same for Asia, including its former enemy, Japan. As a result, not only did America emerge from WWII as the most powerful military power in the world, but also as the most powerful economic nation on the planet. It was at this time that the U.S. began flexing its newfound global muscle.

At the same time, the Soviet Union, our former ally, was engaged in an all out attempt to compete with the U.S. by stripping the countries it occupied of everything of worth, from technology to scrap metal to scientists and engineers. The "Cold War" was on. From there on out the two countries would be engaged a war of wills which would involve trade wars, embargos, proxy wars, and competing propaganda. Each would do its upmost to infiltrate and undermine the other at every opportunity.

During this period, both nations focused on influence expansion by attracting allies. Part of this involved the concept of "nation building". Nation building was an attempt to help developing countries (often newly independent former colonies) create new governments complete with infrastructures and militaries. It was essential in keeping or pulling a country from the other's political orbit.

Like the U.S., the Soviet Union, sponsored campaigns and candidates in addition to aid. Once a friendly government was installed (some were elected as in the case of Chile or Argentina or the result of a guerilla insurgency as in Cuba or Angola). The war in Vietnam was more complicated. It was, in fact, a civil war as much as a ideological war. The Communist North was supplied, trained, and occasionally aided by "volunteers" from the USSR and China. The same for North Korea in that war.

As for America, we relied less on elections and more on backing military coups and juntas. If there was an election that we opposed, we did our best to disrupt it by discrediting the opposition, and if that didn't work, we would often support an overthrow of the government which often included assassinating it president and other key figures. This was what the world saw as our "spreading American democracy" which was often hidden from the America Public.

Meanwhile, powerful American corporations would step in to seize....I mean negotiate...control of natural resources or economic markets. Anyone who objected (and couldn't be bribed) were typically intimidated with threat of U.S. military might. They would usually be denounced in the media while trade would suddenly be reduced to a trickle or aid was cut off as a case was manufactured to depose them (usually involving alleged civil rights violations) as a precursor to a U.S. sponsored coup.

At this point, most leaders simply took the bribe and looked the other way.  As an aside, the truth about civil rights violations was usually true. However, as long as they cooperated, it was officially ignored. Case in point---Saddam Hussein, Augusto Pinochet or Jorge Videla. In time this corporate-government partnership became a merger of sorts into what we have today---a Corporatocracy comprised of interconnected plutocrats, or to put it much simpler, an Oligarchy.

As for our efforts at nation building, the U.S. Government spent billions if not trillions aiding countries into developing  capitalistic democracies.  Yet, despite all the money spent (that is, taxpayer money) how many countries do you think developed a government based on the U.S. model? Take a guess. We'll come back to it shortly.

Obviously for the Corporatocracy to succeed, it was necessary that both political parties be brought under its control. Controlling one party just so the other could undo everything or worse, rat them out wouldn't do. As a result, they slowly worked to oust anyone who wouldn't play ball. That included the majority of the moderates on both sides.

It also included anyone with pesky morals (some still exist, but they're a small minority and can do little). As former Speaker of the House, Sam Rayburn famously said, "To get along you have to go along".  Is it any wonder that the majority of Congress are multimillionaires? If they weren't went they first went in, they either soon became one by going along or they weren't reelected. How do you think that happens?

Now back to my question. How many countries adopted the U.S. model of government? The answer is zero. Nix. Nada. Goose egg. Instead, they adopted the English parliamentary or proportional representation form of government. It allows every party to have seat based on the percentage of seats it won in the election. Thus, everyone still has a say even if their party didn't win a majority of seats.

Under the U.S. model, it's a "winner take all" form of government. That means if your party won, you theoretically have a voice (in truth you have no voice). If not, then you're out of luck. You have no representation. Doesn't sound real democratic does it?  Some people will argue that the English system is chaotic, cumbersome, and causes deadlocks. To that, I point to Washington and Congress as prima-facie evidence when it comes to legislative logjams.  

While the U.S. has mostly gotten out of the assassination business, it's still involved in removing governments and individuals that impede corporate interests. We are still involved with acquiring natural resources, forcing open markets, and so forth, though we might say "please" first. It reminds me of a quote from Chicago mobster Al Capone. He once said "You can get further with a kind word and gun than just a kind word". That kind word is now America's economic and military might.

Meanwhile, America has moved closer to becoming a fascist police or security state. Anyone past the age of 50 cannot look back and say this is the same country they remembered when they were 20 or even 30. Our education system has been repeatedly dumbed down. We have less to say about government policies or  tax increases. They had ridiculed and demonized any and all political or social alternatives.

Our infrastructure is fracturing and collapsing.  Most cities are struggling to survive. Many are imploding due to mismanagement. A few have become nothing short of cesspools where people routinely urinate or defecate on sidewalks, live in parks, and scatter used drug needles everywhere.  Up is down. Right is wrong. Alice would feel right at home.

Politicians, once elected, are virtually impossible to remove no matter how poor their job performance thanks to partisan gerrymandering. Unrestricted campaign financing (thanks to Citizens United and wrongly labeled as "free speech") has all but removed ordinary citizens from the process.  That's why we need to eliminate Citizens United and the concept of corporations as having the same (or greater) rights as people. It's why we need to impose term limits on politicians. Ranked choice voting wouldn't hurt either. 

Corporate power within government is near absolute. It controls virtually everything, from legislation to regulation. It dictates both foreign and domestic policies.  Meanwhile, we continue to lose our freedoms precious piece by piece. We are monitored constantly. Our opinions are shaped and manipulated by a cooperative media. We "vote", but only from a small cadre of pre-vetted candidates. Don't believe me?

Ask yourself why, out of  323.2 million Americans, is it that Biden and Trump are the best each party can produce? Can't San Francisco/Oakland/Sausalito do any better than Nancy Pelosi, Diane Feinstein, or Kamala Harris?  Was Dick Chaney or George W Bush the best the GOP had? How did someone like Barack Obama, with little to no professional or political experience become president? I could go on and on regardless of political party. I bet you can too.

With Independents comprising the largest political bloc in this country, why are they and third parties blocked from getting on the ballot or participating in the debates by both parties. What are they afraid of?  Why do they have to jump over barriers the other two don't have? Not much of a free and open democracy is it?

Regardless of the outcome of this election in November, very little of substance will actually change. The elites will get back to business as usual. Some of Trump's accomplishments will be overturn (unless it can be perverted to serve their interests somehow). Individuals like Hillary Clinton and Obama will be restored to their former pedestals while their past transgressions will be securely buried forever.

However, there are things we can do if we work together. As voters, we need to ensure that our voices are heard. We need citizen based ballot initiatives or referendums. We must have the final say on any tax or rate increases no matter how large or small. It's our money, not theirs. Same holds true for salary increases of elected officials.  We need to end partisan gerrymandering by establishing independent ad hoc boards to draw the districts based on the latest census records. We also need to impose term limits.

We must remove all barriers to Indies and third parties. What's good for the Democrats and Republicans is good for everyone seeking an office. They must also open all debates to every candidate. They should be given the same coverage by the media. In short, elections must be fair and open. We must end Citizens United. Corporations are not people. They don't deserve the same rights. We also need to end corporate funding of elections, be it direct or bundled. They should also not be allowed to "help" write legislation.

Political offices which are not engaged in legislation should be non-partisan. This includes offices like Secretary of State, Treasurer, County Clerk, Auditor, County Attorney, Attorney General, Circuit Court Clerk, Secretary of Agriculture, and County Sheriff.  Judicial offices are supposed to be non-partisan, but often they're not. Therefore, they should be required to declare their registration.

If we can do this, we can take a huge step forward into repairing our broken system, and that could help returning this nation to what it was intended to be---a Constitutional Republic.