Category: Progressive Commentary

President-elect Donald T**** has not signed the agreement with the General Services Administration (GSA) that would require him to disclose donors to his transition fund and limit individual contributions to $5,000. Because of this,  T**** is keeping secret the names of the donors who are funding his transition effort. This will make it impossible to see, except for the likes of Elon Musk and his ilk, what interest groups, businesses or wealthy people are helping launch his second term, and no-one will know what they are getting for their money. And unlike with campaign contributions, foreign nationals are allowed to donate to the transition as well. 

By dodging the agreement, T**** can raise unlimited funds from unknown donors to pave the way for him to take over the government. And since the amount of hush-money he takes in can easily surpass the cost of even the most extravagant transition, T**** can pocket the rest. Those seeking to curry favor with T**** now have the unlimited opportunity to do so without their names or potential conflicts ever entering the public record. In essence, T**** has put access to and influence with the president of the United States of America up for sale to the highest bidders in what amounts to a secret auction. 

This action by Donald T**** represents not only the epitome of governmental corruption and greed at the highest level, it also illustrates the depths of depraved indifference to duty, honor and country to which our next president has willingly  descended.

#OnePathForward

#Progressive-commentary’’

Pr

One of the myths about the war in Europe is that the U.S. can’t afford to keep sending weapons and money to Ukraine. However, the fact is that foreign aid is not simply America tax dollars being sent overseas. 

In reality, a significant portion of American foreign aid is “tied aid,” meaning it must be spent on American-made goods or services. This practice aims to benefit the U.S. economy while providing assistance abroad. Some 75%` of American foreign aid consists mostly, as in the case of virtually all military aid, American made or assembled goods. And all of it done by American workers in American factories.

The remaining 25% of American foreign aid, loosely categorized as “Humanitarian Assistance,” includes emergency relief for natural disasters, conflict zones, and refugee crises. The majority of this is channeled through U.S.-based agencies which then work with a mix of primarily local non-nonprofit organizations (NPO’s) to implement specific projects abroad.

True, there are cash disbursements associated with America foreign aid. This occurs when a direct cash transfer is the most efficient manner of furthering our country’s foreign policy. Such disbursements are not the norm and are scrutinized and monitored closely.

The bottom line is that T****’s isolationist, “America First” policies and his plan to significant reduce America foreign aid would have a negative impact on the American economy and working class. Also, It’s important to note that foreign aid spending accounts for only about 1% of the U.S. Federal budget, significantly less than many Americans believe.

The fact is that America First isolationism is a reality-defying fraud. No country, not even North Korea, exists in isolation. America is the richest, most powerful and influential country in the world. The global interconnectedness of economic and political systems makes homeland isolationism impractical and is stupid and shortsighted.

Donald T****s plans to greatly reduce foreign aid and claims that such assistance is merely wasted taxpayer dollars fail to acknowledge the reality of its strategic and economic benefits for the U.S. as well as our standing as a world humanitarian leader.

Because they are being lied to by Donald T****,  his followers  either remain unaware of the facts or choose to dismiss them, Not willing to stray from their narrow, right-wing world view, the MAGAs don’t hear or know the truth. 

Or perhaps they just don’t care to know.  

#OnePathForward

#Progressive-commentary

Because he is a criminal defendant, full disclosure has given Donald T**** access to all federal grand jury material relating to his Jan. 6 indictment. He knows what the witnesses, mostly Republican insiders and his closest advisors, have said under oath. He understands the clear and immense risks he faces at trial. That’s why it was critical for T**** to delay his trial until he could again be elected  president and  have the federal charges dismissed. If not, he knew he was going to prison. 

The public has the right to have full knowledge of what T**** did on Jan. 6 and could do again. That is why it has always been  essential for all the evidence gathered during Prosecutor Jack Smith’s investigation to be presented in open court before the election. It wasn’t. The only saving grace is that Smith dismissed the charges “without prejudice,” which means that they can be re-instated at a later time. 

But the exact expiration of the statute of limitations on T****’s crimes remains uncertain due to complex legal and political factors, and it may ultimately require decisions by his Supreme Court to determine the final deadline for potential prosecution. 

It is totally unacceptable that a president of the United States can attempt to steal an election and seize power, but our justice system is incapable of bringing him to trial before the next election four years later. But that is what has happened.

The America people deserve to see justice done for the January 6 insurrection. And justice demands holding the man responsible for it accountable. And that man is Donald T****. 

And justice delayed is justice denied.

#OnePathForward

#Progressive-commentary

 PETE HEGSETH

Just about everything you see about Donald T****’s Defense Secretary-nominee Pete Hegseth has to do with the fact that he paid off a woman (women?) for her silence after having sex with her. It’s easy to understand why Republicans aren’t concerned about this. Hell, their Lord and Master got busted for it and it didn’t matter a whit.

However, I am a lot more concerned with who he is that what he’s done, especially since a whole lot of other guys up there have probably done the same, or worse. So just who is Pete Hegseth? The answer is in his body art. Etched into his skin, Hegseth has self-defining tattoos associated with Christian nationalism,  white supremacy and neo-Nazis

First. there is the Jerusalem Cross, a large cross with four smaller crosses in its quadrants, predominantly displayed across his entire right chest; The symbol dates back to the 13th century and was used by the Crusaders as the emblem for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Hegseth’s claims it’s just a religious symbol and he likes it. But critics note its obvious political implications in far-right circles, and Hegseth’s refusal to acknowledge this is disingenuously pathetic. 

Second, “Deus Vult.” On his bicep, this Latin phrase means “God wills it,” and was the rallying cry for the First Crusade. Deus Vult was the battle-cry of the Crusaders as they went onto battle to massacre Muslims. The phrase has been adopted by the far-Right and white supremacist groups to justify their beliefs and causes. Hegseth most certainly knows it, and the fact that he wears it on his body advertises his belief in what it stands for.  

Third, “Cross and Sword”. This phrase refers to Matthew 10.34 in the Bible, a verse where Christ brings a sword rather than peace. Hegseth has also added “Yeshua”  to this. Yeshua was Jesus’ given, Hebrew name. It means Joshua. (Interesting to note here that there was no-one called “Jesus” running around ancient Palestine some 2000 years ago. The word Jesus is a Latin word.)

The white supremacist’s connection to the Crusades is based on a fundamental misunderstanding and deliberate misrepresentation of history, and is used to promote a false narrative of white Christian superiority. They portray the Crusades as a struggle between a “pure” white, Christian Europe and a threatening non-white Islamic world. This narrative ignores the historical reality of a diverse medieval Europe and the complex nature of the Crusades, which cannot be reduced to a simple conflict between religions or cultures. 

This distorted view of history is used to justify and inspire contemporary acts of bigotry and violence. Christian nationalists and white supremacists use this conspiratorial fabrication as a rallying cry against perceived threats to Western civilization, including Muslims, immigrants, and other groups deemed “anti-Christian”.

Interesting to note, Hegseth was one of twelve National Guard members who were removed as guards for President Biden’s 2021 inauguration over his extremist ties. 

So while everyone seems focused Hegseth’s sexual picadillos, the truth is that T****’s nominee for Secretary of Defense is a far-Right Christian Nationalist, white Supremacist neo-Nazi. And we know this because he wears the proof proudly etched into his body. T**** knows it, too,  and is clearly OK with it,. And so will all the cult-following MAGA Republican Senators who will conform him as the new Secretary of Defense. 

In truth, Hegseth can deny any knowledge of any of this if he so choses. But since the connections are clearly established in the ultra-Right, Christian nationalist and white supremacist culture, and since he wears his tattoos proudly,  he would, of course, be lying through his teeth. 

#Progressive-commentary

#OnePathForward