The Republican Party

 “I know it’s in the Constitution, but I don’t care!  Make me!”

                -Senator Mitch McConnell 

The Republican Party has sold its soul to the Devil!   That’s all there is to it.

The Republican Party started out as a noble party under Lincoln, was against the spread of slavery, and eventually urged Congress to abolished it, even adding an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the 13th Amendment.  This is one of the greatest accomplishments even achieved by any group of people.  

Under Theodore Roosevelt, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act was passed, breaking up large corporate monopolies that were choking the U.S. economy, not to mention American workers.  Roosevelt went on to establish the national park system, preserving the beauty of our natural wonders for future generations to enjoy.

President Eisenhower presided during the 1950s, the decade after World War II in which Americans prospered.  He also established the Interstate Highway system.

Nixon, it has been forgotten, was for the working man, establishing safety regulations, and attempted to establish a living wage and a health care system back in the 1970s.  The term “Nixon Republican”  meant the working man.  He also supported the Equal Rights Amendment, and helped to establish the Environment Protection Agency.   Congress, however, rejected many of these proposals, and then Watergate intervened.  Nixon’s greatest fault, which led to his downfall, was that he hated everybody, and acted upon that emotion.

It was Reagan who began to cut taxes for the rich, with his belief in trickle down economics, and many of the wealthy flocked to him, and the present state the U.S. is in was where this all started.

Today’s Republican Party, and I mean every U.S. Senator and Representative, is participating, or condoning, unethical behavior.  I mean cheating!  Openly cheating.  Everyone knows this, they know it, but they don’t care.  In fact, they are doing everything to advance it.  This is worse than Watergate!

How, you might ask?!  

First look at the laws they are attempting to pass, with voter suppression.  The Republican Party is attempting to make it harder for people to vote, especially people in low income areas, and minorities, that would normally vote Democratic.  They, the Republicans, are trying to eliminate early voting.  They are trying to take away the voting rights of convicted felons after they’ve been released from jail and have paid their debt to society.  (Yes, I abhor the crimes they’ve committed, and they deserve be punished, but after they do their time and paid their debt, and have their voting rights restored, they should not be taken away from them again on a whim.)  

They want to cut down the number of polling stations in cities, especially those with large minorities to discourage them from voting.   Normally in a typical polling place, lines are short, and one would wait a maximum of 15 or 20 minutes, which isn’t bad at all.  This is because normally there are many polling places in a city, serving small areas, so everyone will have easy access to polls and vote for whomever they please in a short span of time.  Now, many cities, especially those run by Republican governments, have few polling places, and depending on income and ethnicity, the fewer polling places there are, and the harder it is to access them.  

Long lines of voters result in this, having to wait long hours to vote rather than a few minutes.  This is done deliberately by the city and state governments, run by the Republican Party.  The purpose here is to discourage voters so that after waiting in line literally all day, they would give up and go home without being able to vote.  This is to the benefit of Republican candidates.  

Now Georgia has pass laws not only restricting voters, backtracking to Jim Crow, but they have also passed a law forbidding anyone to distribute food and water to anyone waiting in line to vote

They want to eliminate voting by mail.  

Then there is the case where ballots with votes are torn up and thrown away, without being counted.  This happened in Florida in 2000 during the Bush-Gore debacle, where both sides where fighting for the electoral votes to determine the outcome of the presidential election.  A little known fact is that ballots from low income areas of the state were thrown out without being counted.  If they were counted, Gore would have been president rather than Bush, and the direction the U.S. was taking would have been for the better.  No such luck.

They, the Republicans, are intent on taking away voting privileges from anyone they can who would vote against them.  

At present the Democrats in Congress are attempting to pass H.R.!, the voting rights bill.  This will give access to ALL qualified voters, removing any restrictions Republicans are trying to place on them for fear of losing elections.  The Republicans are opposed to this.  Why?

Trump tried to overturn the election of 2020, in which he lost to Joe Biden.  He pressured Georgia’s Secretary of State to subvert the election and give Trump a victory.  He failed, but he plotted his revenge on this.  More on that shortly.

When Trump declares voter fraud, Republicans believe him.

When state bills pass denying certain people their right to vote, or make it difficult for them to do so, Republicans support them.  

Their excuse to all the laws they pass is to “prevent voter fraud.”  The reality is, voter fraud is extremely rare, and the perpetrators will most likely be caught, even during these turbulent times.

This is downright cheating.  Not only that, but its unethical, immoral, wrong, dishonest, unconstitutional, and is against all freedoms and beliefs on which this country, this democracy, this republic (we are both) stands.

I have presented only a few examples, but there are many more, enough to fill volumes.  Just from all that I mentioned here, what does this tell you about the Republican Party?  What is their objective is all this?  I feel that it wants to be the single ruling party of the United States to which they can eventually take away the rights of all American citizens and give privileges to those that would support them.  They want to eventually eliminate the Constitution for which it stands.  Does this sound far-fetched?  Remember what Mitch McConnell said when he refused to hold a Senate hearing for Merritt Garland when he was nominated for a Supreme Court judge by Obama: 

 

“I know it’s in the Constitution, but I don’t care!  Make me!”

McConnell was the Senate Majority Leader when he said it, but now he’s the Minority Leader, and he seems to be losing more power day by day, thank God!

What does the above quote tell you about him?

The Republican Party knows that it is losing support in a big way, and they know that they will be voted out of office should events continue as they are doing, so they are making a last ditch effort to remain the majority and will stop at nothing to do so, even breaking as many laws as possible, and they are openly doing this.

There is one more issue in this subject alone:  revenge.  The New York Times published two articles on its front page (March 25, 2021), side by side, about this very issue.  In the first there was the issue of Georgia, when state officials from the secretary of state down to the county boards to stop Trump from overturning the decision of Georgia’s voters when they voted in Biden’s favor, given Georgia’s electoral votes to Biden, rather than Trump.  Now state Republicans are trying to strip all these officials of their power.    They tried the same thing in Arizona.  What these people have in mind is to permanently oust them from their position and replace them with loyal Trump Republicans, who will bend to the will of Trump and his cronies, no matter what.  Forget about ethics and what is fair and what the voters want. 

In a parallel article, the Democrats are making the effort to ban gerrymandering, mandate automatic voter registration,  and expand early and mail-in voting.  The Republicans are opposed to all of this.  Their reason is that more Democrats would be registered to vote and the Republicans would be permanently in the minority.  

They want to stop all this and will go as far as firing, and ruin the careers of any official who gets in their way, including judges.

How about if the Republicans would offer something that would really benefit the U.S. and the American people as a whole, and make them want to vote for them because they believe they would be the better choice for the American people as a whole, meaning ALL Americans?!  They will not do that.

All they care about is money and power.

This is only the tip of the iceberg!

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As of this writing, two shootings have occurred in Georgia and Colorado, resulting in the deaths of 18 people.  Both killers had assault rifles, able to shoot a massive amount of bullets at once.  Other shooting throughout the past few decades was the same story, be they at schools or other public places.  The shooter was always deranged, with an assault rifle and huge amounts of ammunition.  

In 1994, President Bill Clinton put a 10-year ban on assault rifles, to last until 2004.   In that period of time, shootings decreased a great deal.  Some did happen, such as Columbine, but in general, they decrease, and less lives were lost because of it.  When the time came up for renewal in 2004, President Bush, who is a Republican, and Congress let it pass.  Then the shootings and killings went up again.  Is this a coincidence?  I don’t think so!

Whenever a shooting, whether in a school involving young children or in a supermarket involving innocent shoppers, a bill aways comes up to ban assault rifles.  There are speeches and serious, sometimes inflammatory debates, with Republicans saying that they (assault rifles) are needed, banning them would only increase the murder rate, and would be a violation of the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the right to keep and bear arms.  

First, I support the Second Amendment as much as anyone would, and having a gun can be necessary for one to protect his or her own home and their families (if you don’t discount people playing with guns, resulting in a killing due to their own stupidity), but assault rifles, machine guns, etc., are not necessary.  Hunters don’t need them to hunt deer or other meat.  Second, it has been proven that the easy acquisition of assault rifles increase mass killings, not decrease them.  They make things worse, not better.

The real reason is that the N.R.A. (National Rifle Association) is a very powerful lobby that funds Republican candidates for office, and keeps on supporting them, so the N.R.A. can determine what weapons are banned or not, and these Republicans got along.  They are simply puppets.  I have never seen Democrats being pawns of this organization.  In other words, it’s the money.  Buy a Republican politician and he or she will do anything you say.  Note:  I am aware that this equally applies to many Democrats, but with them, the problem is not yet severe.  Notice I said “yet.”  

So the Republicans refuse to help ban assault weapons, and the killings 

continue.

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Economically, there is a lot to say, but I’ll try to get the point across without saying too much.

Tax cuts for the rich are the main liability here.  First, it’s based on the beliefs of trickle down economics.  Cut taxes on industries, they will spend the windfall on more production, creating more jobs, employing more people, and increasing the revenue based on taxes from these additional employees, which will be greater than the amount of money cut.  

Nice thought, except it doesn’t work.  It never has, and it never will, yet Republican politicians keep doing this.  In reality, the money that is cut is simply stashed away in private bank accounts and the money benefits nobody.   

Many of the wealthy people who have their tax cuts simply hoard it in a bank account in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands, any tax free haven they can acquire.  This is of no benefit to the United States.

In reality, the rich do not need tax cuts at all.  The money that they have paid in taxes is never missed by them, so what is the point?  Simply to buy votes for the candidate who made these cuts in the first place.

This tax money goes to our police force, fire departments, municipal systems, schools, roads, everything that services our societies.  Tax cuts mean that these necessities will be cut and society will have a lot less of this, which can be detrimental to our society;  i.e. less tax money for the police means less policemen leading to an increase in crime.  Take it from there.  Yes, a lot of tax money is wasted on useless projects and grants, but these are never cut from the budget, nor will they be because local politician support these so they can receive more votes.

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As for the environment, National Parks have been set up in the early 20th century by none other than President Theodore Roosevelt (a Republican) to preserve our natural heritage for future generations to enjoy.

Nonetheless, today’s Republicans are passing laws for companies to mine these parks, cut down old growth forests, pump oil, all of which will destroy the environment of these parks and nature preserves, and kill a lot of endangered species.  The Republicans don’t care.  A long as it makes money for them, these companies can destroy the environment.

And that is exactly what these Republicans are doing.  They are destroying the United States in any which way they can, and they don’t care.  I have given a few examples, but a lot more can be added.  Under President Clinton, we had a budget surplus, and we were well on our way to paying the national debt.  When Bush came into office, he cut taxes, the surplus was gone, and the debt increased, and we are in worse shape than ever.  

This is what I mean.  The Republicans are destroy our economy, our environment, destroying the rights that women and minorities have fought for these past few decades, and ignoring the Constitution of the United States.  They are passing laws denying certain citizens the right to vote just so they can become the majority permanently, because they know that if everyone voted, they would remain a minority.  They will now openly lie, cheat, and steal to obtain power, and it has been shown that they are becoming a tyrannical force, threatening the very existence of the United States.

To sum it up, the Republican Party is not an asset, but a liability and a serious threat to the American people as a whole and if they are allowed to continue as they do, the United States will be destroyed, as a country, as a position in the world, and the American people will discover what it is like to live in a third rate country with no money, with a tyrannical ruler.  No, I am not exaggerating.  I mean this literally.  If the Republican Party continues to exist, America will be destroyed, along with all our freedoms, wealth, privileges, and our standing in the world.

The Republicans now in charge know this, but they don’t care, as long as they have their wealth and power.

Remember what Mitch McConnell said:  “I know it’s in the Constitution, but I don’t care.  Make me!”

Does this sound far-fetched?  Let’s list this, one by one.

1. They are opening lying and cheating in our elections, and will stop at nothing either to win, or to overturn the elections in their favor.

2.  They do not care about gun control, or how many innocent men, women or children are killed in massacres by crazy people.  They are being funded by the N.R.A., and will do anything they ask.

3.  They do not care about the environment.  They are destroying the environment, mining and logging sensitive parts of the world, including our national parks, just to make money for big companies, who will continue to fund their party, and themselves.

4.  They do not care about people’s rights.

5.  They do not care about the economy.  As long as they have money in their own coffers, which they have obtained illegally, and it increases, they will have no regard for anyone else.

6.  They do not care about rebuilding our infrastructure, which has greatly deteriorated and needs to be rebuilt, badly.

7.  They do not care about education, or providing new opportunities for the young and less fortunate.  

8.  They do not care about jobs and the unemployment rate, although they claim that they do, and some of them believe it.

9.  They do not care about the U.S. Constitution.  If it were up to Mitch McConnell and his cronies, the Constitution would be abolished.

10.  They do not care about the American people.  They do not care that America is declining, just as long as they have and can keep their wealth.  Basically, they want to destroy, or abolish, everything that made America great in the first place.  i.e.  It was immigration, with their hard work and talents that propelled America to be a world power, and the Republicans now want to abolish it.  Yes, we have a problem of illegal immigration, but it can be fixed to everyone's benefit, but they don't want to do this.  This is one such example.

11.  They do not care about morals and what is right.

12.  They do not care about anything, or anyone, but themselves.

On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Capitol was attacked by thugs, incited by outgoing President Donald Trump.  After the insurrection, which failed, the Republicans did absolutely nothing.  They refused to indict Trump and exonerated him, giving him the full right to run for office again and his privileges restored, all of which should have been taken away from him.  I think the main reason here is that the Republican Senators voted to pardon him was because they did not have the guts to prosecute him, fearing retaliation.  

What does this say about the Republican Senate?  They are MORAL COWARDS!  Nothing more!

So there you have it.  The Republican Party, once a noble party under Abraham Lincoln when it was first established, has deteriorated into a self-serving party with no regard for others, no regard for human life, and no regard for the freedom and well being of the United States.

We, as Americans, can’t have that!

We can no longer afford it!  The Republican Party must go!  Permanently!  And it must be replaced by a party that’s a lot more decent and far-seeing.  A party, a common-sense party, that will put the interests of the American people first, that will stand up for what they truly believe in, even if it is unpopular at the times, and will put country before party, and is willing to see eye-to-eye with other parties as they do their business in Congress.  Above all, they must be willing to work with anybody and everybody, regardless to party affiliation after the election is over.  Once the election is over, it’s over.  The winners have their seats.  Now let’s get down to business and run this country right!

I would call it the Progressive Party, but don’t be certain on the name.  If you have a better name, I would like to hear it.

Anyway,  at present, we must permanently get rid of the Republican Party and all of its amoral and immoral ways it wishes to govern this country.  We need to form a new party.

We deserve better!  

-Alastair Browne

On Trump's Defeat

 Note:  This essay was written before the attack on the U.S. Capital on January 6, 2021.  However, this does not outdate this essay, rather, it proves that it's right.  Every point in this essay still applies.  People fear that Trump will run for office again in four years, but with all the charges he is facing in New York State and Georgia, that remains to be seen.  (Translation, I seriously doubt it.)

To all Foundationers:

      Donald Trump has lost his bid for re-election, and it couldn’t have come soon enough.  It is a well-deserved defeat, and the salvation of the United States. 

     I have stated from the very beginning that the purpose of this page is to communicate new ideas to get the U.S. moving again, and to preserve its place in the world as a superpower, but a good one, one that the rest of the world can look up to and respect.

      The page is also meant to point out faults that are bringing this country down, and how they can be corrected.

      These past four years is when this page was needed the most.

      On the election of Donald Trump as president, I knew this country would be in for some rough times, but how rough even went beyond my imagination.  We have had an ignorant, immature, narcissistic, and above all, dangerous leader who alienated the entire world, included our own country, deserted our allies, Kurdistan being the prime example, and cozied up to our enemies:  Russia, China, and North Korea.  I am familiar with the phrase “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer,” but here, I feel that Trump has turned traitor towards the free world all together.

     He has also wrecked the economy by lowering taxes for the wealthy, so they can fill their coffers and ally with Trump, at the expense of the middle and working classes.

    Trump, and the entire Republican Party, today stands for nothing except the acquisition of wealth and power.  No more.  They do not care about the American people, they do not care about the Constitution, and they do not care whether America lives or dies, just as long as they have their piece of the pie.

    Trump has caused riots, divided this country, turned his back on refugees, promoted racism, and the list goes on.  I have posted the reasons on this page, so you can go back and refer to them.  Each post gives you one more reason why Trump should never be re-elected and serve another four years.

     Why does Trump receive so many votes?  Why was he so popular?  A magnetic personality, telling the masses what they want to hear, even if they are outright lies.

     This page was inspired by Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy, and if you have read it, refer back to Foundation and Empire, where Hari Seldon’s plan for a new empire goes astray because of the rise of a powerful new leader, known as The Mule.  This “Mule” is able to use his mind, his brain waves to win over his enemies to his side and serve him, and from here, he was able to build up a new empire threatening the Foundation’s plan.  Foundation itself is drawn into it, but eventually, with help from the mysterious Second Foundation, the Mule is eventually defeated (not overthrown, defeated).  I’ll let you read the trilogy.

     And that’s just how it was with Trump.  Although not as intelligent, and having the manners of morals of a spoiled child, Trump, like the Mule, was able to woo a lot of followers even from the camps of Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.  Eventually, Trump was defeated by Biden.

     And that’s good.  In the trilogy, the Foundation went through a series of crisis that they had to overcome long before the Mule, but here, we went directly to the Mule/Trump.  But there is no need to fear his return.  He may stick around after he leaves office, may start “Trump TV,” with some watchers, but contrary to what many fear, Trump isn’t going to last.  First, he is a defeated candidate, and they all fade, even the good ones.  Second, Trump is four hundred million dollars in debt, and his creditors will come around demanding payback.  Trump is not rich!  He just lives like a rich man.  Third, Trump will be the target of many investigations, and he is liable to serve jail time.  Fourth, the people will tire of hearing him say the same old speeches and soon walk away.

      Trump has had his day.  He will fade, even if you don’t know that yet.

      The damage is great.  Trump almost destroyed our country, and we still have Mitch McConnell, and he will have to be dealt with.  How, I don’t know.  We also have to keep electing Democrats to both the House and the Senate.  Note, this page originally was not affiliated with any political party, but after what the Republicans are doing, and continue to do, we cannot support them.  All they want is money and power, they do not care about the U.S. Constitution, and Mitch McConnell has admitted this.

     This past election have shown what the American people can do when their backs are to the wall.  They came out in droves and not only stood up for what they believed in, but casts votes in spite of the fear of voter suppression.  This was the highest voter turnout in all U.S. history, even with the obstacles such as the pandemic and voter suppression.  Nothing was able to stop them, and this is why I still have hope in the American people after all.  We are going through a rough time, but we’ve had rough times before, and we have always prevailed.  This time is no exception, and we will prevail when hard times come again, and they will.

     FOUNDATION would like to congratulate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on winning the Presidential election, and wish them a prosperous and successful four years.  Both of them have shown that they have the potential to achieve this success, even in the face of their enemies.  Good luck to them.  We will back you all the way.

...and now for the Democrats (see previous letter below)

      Not much to say here, except that since I've written every Republican Senator to stand up to Mitch McConnell, I figured that I better write to the Democrats to stand behind these Senators should they choose to do so.  This way, McConnell will be outnumbered and defeated in however he wants to exercise his power.  If the Senators would cross the aisles and united with the other party on an important issue that needs to be address, then McConnell will have to give in.  The power of a united government.

     Again, feel free to copy this letter and send it to any or all Democratic Senators.  To write to the Republicans, see next post.

                                     “I know it’s in the Constitution, but I don’t care!  Make me!”

                                                                -Senator Mitch McConnell

Dear Senator (Democrat):

      My name to Alastair Browne.  I reside in Durham, North Carolina, and I am reaching out to each and every member of the United States Senate.  Please read this entire letter.

      I would like to bring up the subject of Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader of of the Republican Party.

     As you very well know, Senator Mitch McConnell has vowed to obstruct the policies of our incoming President, Joe Biden.   He has vowed to wreck the economy, or at least slow it down, and sabotage Biden’s presidency.  I could get into greater detail about this, but this is the main point of this letter - we have an obstructionist in the Senate, who holds a lot of power, and he has to be dealt with before he does any more damage.

     All Senator McConnell cares about is power, and he will do anything to get and keep it.  He does not care about the Constitution, as noted in above quote, he does not care about the American people, all he cares about is himself.

     Of course, you and your fellow Democrats know all this, and that is why I am writing to you.  There is still a way to stop Senator McConnell, even now.

     I have recently written to every Republican explaining all this, and I encouraged them not to vote along with Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republican Senate should they be in disagreement.  I asked them to stand up to Mitch McConnell, to say “NO,” to tell him that they do not represent him but the American people, if necessary.  I encouraged them to vote their conscience and beliefs, and should Mitch McConnell try and blackmail them, or threaten them in any way, shape of form, to vote their beliefs anyway, and let the chips fall where they may.

     This is where you come in! 

      In the event that there are Republican Senators who want to vote against Mitch McConnell on any issue, you have to go across the isle, reach out to them, and stand with them, regardless of any party affiliation.  They will need your support.  There may not be many of them who do, but those that do, along with the Democrats, with be able to override McConnell on whatever he demands.

     You must not let these particular Senators stand alone.  A Senator like McConnell with the power he has will crush them.  You have the power to stop this, and McConnell.  If enough Senators unite to stand up to McConnell, he will lose, and perhaps be humbled enough not to exert so much power.

     This does not mean that they, other Republican Senators, should desert their party.  This does not mean they are being unfaithful, or treacherous, to their fellow Senators.  It just means that they are standing up for what is right!  

     Do not let your fellow Senators be intimated.  They must vote against Mitch McConnell on certain issues even if it costs them, because that very act of blackmail and intimidation can later be used against Mitch McConnell, exposing him to the public for what he really is.

     Should McConnell blackmail, pressure, or intimidate any individual Senator, Democrat or Republican, to vote a certain way at the risk of a certain cost, simply say to Senator Mitch McConnell, “bring it on!”

     This is the way Mitch McConnell can be dealt with and put in his place, even now, having  both Democrat and Republican Senators untie against him.

     Not all Republicans, I know, will unite.  Some are hard-core followers of Mitch McConnell, but I feel that there are a few Senators who are with him because they fear him.  You have to reach out to these very few Senators.

     All Senators and Congressmen and Congresswomen are Americans first, party members second, and in order for America is to progress as a nation, we have to return to this very belief.  We also have to return to the written Constitution, not submit to one man demands.  Remember that the election is over.  Now you have to get down to work.

    Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

   

Sincerely,

  Alastair S Browne

A Letter to all the Republican Senators, 2021

 I would like to share with you a letter I have written and sent to all the Republican Senators in Congress.  This is about Mitch McConnell, whom, I'm sure you know, has pledge to obstruct President Joe Biden's policies, especially his economic policies, for the purpose of destroying Biden's administration.  McConnell tried this with Obama from 2009-2017, which didn't work.  Why?  McConnell is a power monger who wants to control the country from behind, and will stop at nothing to get and obtain power.  

I tried to help get him out of office this past election (2020) but failed.  The answer is to appeal to the Republican Senators themselves, to see if there are any decent ones left willing to stand up to Biden for the sake of our country.  Read the letter.  It is assumed that you know the issues here, so I won't get into too much detail describing Mitch McConnell and his schemes.

Feel free to copy this letter, or better, put it in your own words, including issues I may have missed and send it to all the Republican Senators.  It may grab their attention.  If just one Senator gets this message and wants to do something about it, it will be worth it.

The Honorable (Republican Senator’s name)

United States Senate

Washington, DC.  20510

“I know it’s in the Constitution, but I don’t care!  Make me!”

                                                     -Senator Mitch McConnell

Dear Senator (surname):

      My name to Alastair Browne.  I reside in Durham, North Carolina, and I am reaching out to each and every member of the Republican Senate.  Please read this entire letter.

      I would like to bring up the subject of Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority of of the Republican Party that you represent.

     Senator Mitch McConnell has, unfortunately, vowed to obstruct the policies of our incoming President, Joe Biden.   He has vowed to wreck the economy, or at least slow it down, and sabotage Biden’s presidency.  I know that is a harsh way of putting it, and you may not agree with this, but please bear with me.  

     Because Senator McConnell has a dislike for President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party, he will do everything he can to destroy Biden’s presidency by killing any bill proposed by the Democratic Party, especially bills that, if passed, would benefit the American people as a whole.  If this means destroying health care plans, plans to rebuild our infrastructure, destroying the environment, or even destroying the economy, he will do it.  I know you are a Republican, but don’t underestimate Mitch McConnell.  He will stop at nothing to get what he wants.

      This must not be allowed to happen.  President Biden is YOUR president, and he needs your support, no matter which party he, or you, are affiliated.  You are all Americans first, party matters shouldn’t even be in the equation, and you are all working for the good of the country and the American people, not your party or yourselves.  You must also reach across the isle and talk to Democrats because, like you, they want to make America a better place, and they do have a lot to say in this matter.  You cannot ignore them.

     What I sincerely request of you all is that whenever a bill comes up in Congress that would be beneficial to the American people as a whole.  In a situation like this, you must vote your conscience, your beliefs, and what is good for the United States, even if other senators of your party, including Mitch McConnell, tell you otherwise.  You must be an individual and think for yourself, not your party.

     You represent your state, its residents, and ALL of the American people, NOT Mitch McConnell.  Stand up to Mitch McConnell if he tells you to vote on an issue in which you disagree, and vote against it.  Show courage, regardless of what will happen, and fight him, if necessary.  You may have a lot more people on your side than you realize.  Show Integrity, and do what is morally right.  We have too little of that now, and we need more people of courage and integrity to make this country better.

     Senator McConnell simply wants power.  That is all he cares about, and he will disregard the U.S. Constitution to get it.  Note the quote at the top of the letter regarding the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland for the Supreme Court under Obama.  McConnell refused to even hold a hearing, even though the U.S. Constitution required it.  We need to abide by the Constitution, at all times!

     If you allow Senator McConnell to dictate to you what he wants, the United States will not go anywhere but down, and no one will benefit from this.  Considering our position in the world, the United States cannot afford to stand still because of the disruptions in the economy he will no doubt cause

     I truly believe that Senator McConnell wants to turn the U.S. into a one-party state, taking away all our Constitutional rights, and become a totalitarian society.  If you allow McConnell to get his way 100 percent of the time, this just might happen.  This is what the American people fear.

     Please do not allow this to happen.  I am reaching out to you and all your Republican colleagues to stand up to Senator McConnell when he demands a bill to pass when he is wrong on it, or simply ignores an important issue and casts it aside to be ignored.  He has stacks of bills he has ignored throughout the years, and this cannot be allowed to continue

     Be your own individual self, and stand up for what YOU believe in, not Mitch McConnell.  Say “NO” to Mitch McConnell if necessary because America depends on it.

     We, as Americans, are going through a crisis right now, and our very survival depends on what you do in the next two to four years.  Please do what is RIGHT!  Please stand up for what you believe in, even if your colleagues don’t agree with you.  Please stand up to Mitch McConnell, please stand up for the American people, and last, but not least, please support President Biden regardless of his political party.  The election is now over, and we need to work with each other as Americans, not members of a political party.

     Thank you for your attention, and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

  Alastair S Browne

Iran is an Enemy of our own Creation

As of this writing, being the summer of 2019, U.S. naval ships are in the Persian Gulf, aiming missiles at Iran, while Iran is attacking British tankers and holding the crews hostage.  The U.S. and Iran are destroying each other’s drones, and more U.S. troops are being sent to the Persian Gulf, preparing for war.  

All this because President Donald Trump decides to renege on a nuclear deal President Obama made with Iran back in 2015, agreed upon with other countries, including Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany where Iran agrees to the limits the amount of Uranium it can enrich and use for nuclear reactors and other purposes, except in the production of nuclear weapons.  The limit would be able to go up by 2026, in which another deal can be made.  The details of the agreement are more complex, such as limiting the number of centrifuges to be used to enrich Uranium, but these are the general terms.  Most of the highly enriched (weapons grade) Uranium already produced, about 98%, went to Russia.

This was the best we could do for the moment, and I think it was a good deal, provided that Iran did not cheat, but there were watchdog organizations for that.  

When Trump came into office, he was dissatisfied at what Obama agreed upon, wanted a better deal, and reneged on the present deal, declaring it null and void.  He then reimposed sanctions on Iran.  In response, Iran declare its part of the nuclear deal null and void, and here we are about to go to war.  Whether or not we do remains to be see, but the U.S. will be to blame, whether we will admit it or not.

The present problem with Iran stems back to 1978, when, up until then, the U.S. had diplomatic relations with Shah Mohammed Reza, then ruler of Iran.  The Shah ruled Iran for 25 years, until the Iranian people rebelled against the Shah, driving him out, and installing Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, creating an Islamic Republic, in reality being a tyrannical theocracy.

Just when it couldn’t get any worse, the Iranians demanded the Shah back for trial and execution, and any country that harbored him would be targeted.  Eventually, the Shah ended up in the U.S. for medical treatment.  Iranian students stormed the U.S. embassy and held its (American) workers hostage for 444 days.  The Shah, incidentally died during this ordeal.

Then there was the Iran-Iraq War, with the U.S. Navy protecting Kuwaiti ships in the Persian Gulf, and the time when the U.S. accidentally shot down an Iranian passenger plane in 1988.

Iranian agents sponsor terrorist worldwide, and they came close to developing a nuclear bomb, and I think they will do it.  Iran has become a dominant power in the Middle East, rivaling Saudi Arabia and Israel.

This is a brief summary, but the point is that Iran is now both a dangerous and powerful enemy of the United States.

Why?

Iranian hatred of Americans isn’t new.  I personally knew someone who was in Iran in 1966, and they hated the Americans back then.

The reason was because of the Shah.  America supported the Shah so we could get cheap oil.  To the Shah’s credit, he modernized Iran and even encouraged Western culture and dress, and many Iranians loved this, but he was also tyrannical.  There was a secret police force under the Shah, SAVAK, equivalent to America’s C.I.A., where any Iranian who spoke out against the Shah would be literally sought out anywhere on Earth and killed.  This was one of the chief causes of the Islamic revolution in 1978.

It goes deeper than that, and way back further, back to the first world war in 1914, all of it because of the western world’s thirst for oil, especially in Great Britain and the United States.  This would extend all the way to 1953.

Here’s the reason why.

During the first world war, and even before then, the world had an energy revolution, switching from coal to oil for energy.  In 1914, Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, had all ships of the British Royal Navy converted from coal to oil, and from that point on, oil became vital to Britain’s national security.  This was when the British Empire was at its peak.

Britain itself had no oil of its own, so they relied on their colonies and allies in the Middle East for their what was thought to be an unlimited source.

In 1914, the British government purchased 51% of shares of oil in Persia, in what became the Anglo-Persian Oil Company.  The percentage bought made Britain a major shareholder, thereby giving them the last word on how the oil is to be used, as well as where the profits will go.  As a result, Persia only received 16% of the net profits.

On March 21, 1935, the Shah changed the name of Persia to Iran.  The oil company became the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.

In 1949, there was an assassination attempt on the Shah, Mohammed Reza’s father.  This act only increased the Shah’s power, to the resentment of the Iranian people.

In 1951, Iran’s parliament nationalized Iran’s oil, to the detriment of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.  Naturally, Britain and the U.S. objected.  This very act, I believe, marked the beginning of the road leading up to the situation in present day Iran.

As of 1952, Iran was ruled by Shah Mohammed Reza, Britain still owned the majority of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, and the United States and the Soviet emerged as the two dominant and competing world powers.

Again, Winston Churchill became prime minister after being out of office since the end of the second world war.

The stage was set for the journey to the point of no return.

Iran was always ruled by the Shah, but it also had competing parties, including an Islamic party, but they were then a slight minority.

In the partial democratic branch of parliament, there rose Mohammed Mosaddegh, a political figure who was very popular with the Iranian people, and proposed many reforms to improve their quality of life.  Granted, he was no saint, and was a dangerous man to cross, but nonetheless wanted reform for the benefit of the Iranian people, and he was succeeding in his endeavor.  

First, he tried to limit the Shah’s power, and for a while, was successful.

Mosaddegh proposed and put into action a land reform law in 1953, abolishing the present feudal farming system and granting more land and money to the peasants and less power to the Shah.  He also had many social programs to improve the lives of the Iranian people as a whole.

Iran, under Mosaddegh, wanted to claim all of its oil for its own, and it was rightfully theirs, regardless of the decades old agreement which in reality left Iran with a pittance, 16% of all profits.  No country, including the United States, would tolerate an agreement like that if they were on the wrong side of the deal.  

With 100% of its profits, the Iranian people would have been able to build Iran into a prosperous country, which is what Mosaddegh intended to do.  

Mosaddegh did have a problem with some of the Iranian populace.  There were demonstrations in Tehran, but he was determined to resolve the matter in his favor.

Mosaddegh was then the duly elected prime minister of Iran, and held more power than the Shah, who was fast becoming a figurehead.

It must be noted that Mosaddegh did take desperate measures, since he had to deal with the Shah and the British.  In order to prevent election manipulation and to limit the power of the monarchy, and to push through his reforms in land, education, the judicial system and election, parliament granted him emergency powers for a year.  

In October, 1952, Mosaddegh declared Britain an enemy of Iran and broke off all diplomatic relations.

The British government was extremely bitter over their loss of control of the Iranian oil industry.

Churchill, Britain’s prime minister, suggested to the incoming U.S. president, Dwight Eisenhower, to work with him in deposing Mosaddegh to regain control of Iran’s oil, hinting that if they didn’t, Iran would give oil to the Soviets and their allies.

This is one untruth, a lie, by Churchill.  Mosaddegh was not a socialist.  In fact, he was very anti-socialist and was also anti-Soviet.  He had no plans of supplying the Communist world with cheap oil, but that wasn’t how Britain and the U.S. saw it.  

Mosaddegh did threaten to limit cheap oil to the West, however.

With the inauguration of Eisenhower as President of the U.S., the plot, known as Operation Ajax, was commenced to usurp Iran’s prime minister.  In March, 1953, U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles directed the C.I.A. (then headed by his younger brother, Allen Dulles) to draft plans to oust Mosaddegh from his position as prime minister and reinstate the Shah.  

Mohammed Mosaddegh was extremely popular with the Iranian people because of his reforms, so the C.I.A. tried to convince the Shah to dismiss Mosaddegh, but the Shah feared this action.  The C.I.A. then instituted a propaganda campaign against Mosaddegh, including issuing threats in Mosaddegh’s name to rival parties, threatening them with “savage punishment,” should they cross him.  

In order to fight this, a referendum was submitted to voters to dissolve parliament, giving Mosaddegh the power to make the laws, which passed with over 99% of the voters approving.

Riots broke out, with the C.I.A. hiring thugs both supporting and opposing the Shah, in order to stir chaos.  This resulted in rioting, looting, and the burning of Mosques and newspapers, thereby destabilizing Iranian society.

As a result, the Shah dismissed the prime minister and was reinstated as the absolute ruler of Iran.  Once again, the U.S. and Britain received the lion’s share of Iran’s oil.  For the next 25 years, the United Stated massively supported and funded the Shah, regardless of how he ruled.  This was a major setback Iran’s political development, and its mood darkened throughout the years.

In 1978, our actions in helping to overthrow Mosaddegh caught up with us as the Iranian people rebelled against both the Shah and the United States.  The Shah was overthrown and an Islamic state was established with the Ayatollah Khomeini, the U.S. embassy was seized and its employees were held hostage for 444 days, all leading up to where we are today.

In retrospect, what would have happened if we had accepted Mosaddegh as Iran’s new prime minister back in 1952 and never plotted to oust him, would we be better today?  Perhaps we could have made a new deal with Iran, forging an agreement in buying oil that would be fair and reasonable to the West that Iran would find acceptable.

We then may have had good diplomatic relations to this day, where there never would have been an Islamic revival, Americans never would have been held hostage, and Iran would not be a threat to the Western world today, with peace in the Persian Gulf.

This is all speculation, but the chances for the above would have been great.

Since the end of World War II, the U.S. has had, and still has, a bad foreign policy.

In order to protect our interests, we help to overthrow leaders of a country, even when duly elected by its people, and install someone more willing to cater to our interests, even if he is a tyrant.

We may sustain our interests in years to come, but our actions will eventually catch up with us, and we will end up paying a very high price.  We’ve done this many times:  Guatemala in 1956;  South Vietnam in 1963;  Argentina in 1973;  Iraq in 2003.  

We are paying for these very acts today.  We stifle progress and freedom for the people of these countries, and they end up hating us, going as far as to side with our enemies whoever they may be;  i.e. Russia, China, Iran.

Is it possible to adapt a policy where we should accept whatever leader a country chooses, even if we don’t like him or her, and try and establish relations anyway?!  We may be able to pursue our interests by making agreements satisfactory to all sides, rather than to make them in our favor regardless of what the other side wants simply to satisfy our own greeds.

This is the only way we can improve our present foreign policy.

We still haven’t learned how the world works.

Alastair Browne

Book Review: Fire and Fury - Inside the Trump White House

In the Author’s Note, Michael Wolf confirms that some of these accounts are second hand information, some being variations of the real truth.  Others have been looked into and confirmed, but all information came from the White House stay, all who worked with Trump during the first nine months of his administration.  

I would like to say that I think at least 90% of the information provided in this book is true.  All of it, true or not, is believable.  All you have to do is to read the newspapers and watch the news every day and then decide for yourself.

That said, Fire and Fury is a title that fits this book perfectly.  There has been utter chaos in the White House amidst Trump and his staff, from rivalry to sheer hatred, and many people quit their jobs simply because they couldn’t take it anymore.  

This review can’t even begin to cover what is in this book.  There is a lot, and you must read this book to see for yourself, and I highly recommend it.

First, there are a couple of instances I would like to share with you concerning his infidelity.  His recent uncovering of the Stormy Daniels is nothing new, nor is it the worst.

Page 23 of the book briefly points out that Trump would covet his friend’s wives, persuading their husbands that they are not faithful.  He would then take the husband(s) for a session with girls whom he has picked up, having sex, with the wife listening in on the speakerphone.  Take it from there.

At the end of the book, it has been stated in the news that Trump had an affair with Nikki Haley, the U.N. ambassador, but the book doesn’t clearly state that.  I does say on page 306 that Trump spent “a notable amount of private time with Haley on Air Force One,” but it doesn’t mention sex or intimacy, so the jury is out on that one.

As for the rest of the book, I will just list the facts, most of which are already known, but a few of these may surprise you.

Trump’s victory came as a complete surprise, even to him.  He only ran to elevate his social standing.

Construction of buildings was all he ever mastered, but he can’t read a balance sheet.

He has no scruples.

He does not care about the American people.

He has no ability to plan or organize.

He doesn’t read anything not even a one page memo.

He cannot function as an executive.

He is incapable of performing essential tasks.

He cannot pay attention, nor can he switch focus.  Also has a short attention span.

(Don’t forget, he inherited his billions and has everybody doing everything for him.  There’s more.)

He cannot tailor his behavior.  He throws temper tantrums, sometimes lasting for two hours or more, when in any stressful situation, or if someone doesn’t agree with him.

He cannot leak cause and effect.

He hired his own family for the White House staff.  It’s illegal, but nothing is being done.  The staff claim that Jared Kushner is an idiot.  Trump’s daughter Ivanka seems to have the most control and intelligence, and can control her father.

Trump always lies.  He claims, on the infamous Billy Bush tape that someone else used Trump’s voice to embarrass him.

Hired Steve Bannon as National Security advisor, a friend of none, hater of all, and will destroy anyone he doesn’t like.  Bannon washed out of the military, constantly failed in business, and is a swindler.  Served as “Trump’s brain.”  Managed the White House chaotically.  Wants to restore America as it was between 1955 and 1965.

Trump takes credit for other people’s work.  He has never accomplished anything in office.

He has no sense of courtesy.  Will insult anyone, and will stop at nothing to do so.

Treats one lavishly if he wanted something from someone, but gets irritated if someone wants something from him.

He demands attention.  Always wants praise.  Self praising.

He considers one weak if he groveled.

Trump and his sons had business dealings with Russia during the campaign (still under investigation).

Had five draft deferments, four for college, one for bone spurs over heels. 

Is abusive and a bully.

Hated school.

Watches several hours of cable TV every night.

Backbiter, cheats people of their money and work.

Idolized by white supremacists.  Trump follower Richard Spencer is a neo-Nazi.

Denies climate change and has no regard for the environment.

White House is filled with anti-Semitism, regardless of Kuschner.

Knows nothing about the health care system nor any other issue of which he has no interest.

Trump is surrounded by difficult and sociopathic people pushing the bounds of their own power.

Has appointed cabinet members who knew nothing about what they represented.  Only qualifications was that they were billionaires.

Get’s up halfway through meetings with world leaders because he is bored.  How does this represent the U.S. in regards to the rest of the world?  How will the rest of the world respond to us?

Insults other countries.

Bannon’s attitude on foreign countries:  “Screw ‘em.”  

America First:  “Why do anything if it gives you nothing in return?”  This may not seem like much, but this can produce devastation consequences further on down the road.

Trump is thin skinned and gets upset when the media attacks him.  Is a raging, self-pitying, and tormented president.

And the list goes on…

This is whom we have for president.  Trump (and I will never call him “President Trump”) will not get any better, and the people in Washington, as well as the world, know this.

America is in great danger, and unless change comes soon, we may not survive as a country.  

Trump once said, “I can shoot someone on Fifth Avenue, make a speech, and not lose any votes.”  He can.  This shows what he is and how much support he still has, which is a lot.

This review is just a small sample of what this book contains.  I have left out a lot of important names, but you will get the idea once you read this book.

You can’t make this stuff up!  Most people working in the White House thinks Trump’s an idiot.  Read the book, even if other people say that it isn’t true.  Most of it is, and from what you read in the newspapers and see on the news, you’ll agree.

Alastair Browne