Is it time congress puts a leash on Biden?

 CONGRESS NEEDS TO REASSERT THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL ROLE

BIDEN'S POLITICAL MACHINATIONS ARE PUTTING THE WORLD AT RISK

If it was inappropriate to allow Ukraine to use U.S. long range missiles for 2 1/2 years, why is it appropriate now? Can the Biden administration be trusted to make decisions in the best interest of the country? If Biden was incompetent to run for reelection is he now competent to set foreign policy, especially when war is the outcome? These are questions that congress should be publicly debating right now. 

We see that Biden is not willing to just go peacefully into the sunset, he is attempting to set the stage for foreign policy for the next 4 years. He does not have the constitutional right to make these decisions and it is time to reintroduce the War powers act of 1973. Someone should be sounding the alarm, before it is too late. 

The power to make unlimited war has been causing serious problems for at least the last 20 years. Congress is delinquent in their responsibility, that is clearly set out in the constitution. I suspect many would rather someone else make those decisions, that way they can point the finger at someone else. 

It is time leaders in congress, especially Democrat leaders, if there are any that are willing to put the fate of the country before party politics, to confront Biden now and let him know his legacy will be the 25th amendment or some other action, if he continue to take this country on a path to WW3.

Secondly, it is time to remove the blanket policy of giving the power to make war over to the president. It is the responsibility of congress and steps should be made now to reinstate that responsibility. 

Biden, irrelevant at G20 meeting.

 RED CARPET FOR CHINA LEADER

BIDEN NOT PRESENT FOR GROUP PICTURE

The status of the United States under Joe Biden was on full display in Brazil for the annual G20 meeting. It is reported he may have well stayed home as the meeting was centered on the arrival and pageantry reserved for Xi Jinping of China, who received the red carpet treatment and a lavish dinner. Brazil and China are both founding members of the BRICS group which is becoming the alternative economic system. 

China has now become the number 1 trading partner in all of South America selling everything from electronics and Electric cars and buying beef, grain and other commodities. It is a symptom of the decline of the U.S. that is occuring around the world.  Amazingly most of our leaders are focused elsewhere as was evident when Biden choose this setting to Ok long range missile attacks on Russia by Ukraine. Was this a feeble attempt by Biden to gain some relevance?

The U.S. is in trouble, with a $36 trillion debt, a withering manufacturing base, deficits that make up over 25% of the budget, and being on the verge of war in several places. At home, it is more of the same politics of division and refusal to reevaluate objectively the policies that have placed the United States in this position. It seems many just want the party to go on until it is all over, and that may be very soon.  

The U.S. can no longer keep the dollar as the reserve currency or demand submission from others by force, neither militarily or by economic warfare. The reality is much of the world is moving on, viewing the U.S. as a  sloppy drunk at a formal party, hoping that they just go home. 

The U.S. needs to do just that, go home and get your house in order, before you want to tell the rest of the world how to live.

Is Biden trying to pull the trigger on WW3 ?

IS THIS A DOMESTIC POLITICAL MOVE?

OBVIOUSLY NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF UKRAINE OR THE U.S.

If you remember in the weeks before the November election, Zelensky was pushing for the use of U.S. long range missiles to strike inside Russia, most likely Moscow and St. Petersburg. Russia was quick to respond by revealing their policy that any attacks facilitated by western powers will be considered a joint attack on Russia. These missiles will be operated by U.S. soldiers and facilitated by U.S. tracking and targeting ability. Russia stated that this would indicate to them that it would be time to use nuclear weapons in response to these attacks. At the time Biden refused to give that permission.

Yesterday, 12 days after the election, Biden gave Ukraine the go ahead to use U.S. missiles and U.S. personnel to strike deep into Russia, 60 days before Trump is to take office.

While Trump is forbidden to communicate directly with Moscow, I assume someone is calling Putin to use restraint and not respond to such attacks with nuclear weapons. Many assume that such a nuclear attack would be small tactical weapons used on Ukraine, Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons to defeat Ukraine. That is happening at a quickening rate without their use.

It seems no one believes that Russia would dare to just skip all the bullshit and hit Washington and London. Is it a gamble worth taking as Ukraine is not going to win this conflict no matter what the west does?

I suspect that Moscow will not take the bait, and will at least see what the the next administration's position will be.

While this conflict has been depicted as all out war, it has not been the case. Russia has followed a policy of increasing attrition and is in the final stages of rendering the Ukrainian military impotent. It has avoided destroying the government buildings in Kiev, maybe because of historical reasons, it has not destroyed all the railroad and vehicle bridges across the Dnieper river. it has not attempted to take out the leadership Ukraine. One may now expect that Zelensky and his administration better be very deep underground and not come out until after January.

We also need to be concerned that we may now see a joint attack on Iran by Israel and the U.S. 

Is this a real serious foreign policy or an attempt to lay WW3 in the lap of the next president, in an effort to hoble his ability to conduct domestic reform of the government.

Maybe Trump should put out the word, that if they start WW3 the U.S. will let them all fend for themselves. Without engaging in Ukraine and the middle east Trump would have plenty of time to deal with problems at home.

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Trump disrupts Pentagon, DOJ and Intel.

 LET THE GAMES BEGIN

ALL NEED MASSIVE REFORM

The Pentagon now finds that Pete Hegseth, a captain in the Minnesota National guard, is their new boss. It is an interesting nomination for the Secretary of Defense and much will depend on the staff that can be put together to function in this new role. Some believe the pentagon is top heavy with high ranking officers. It is noted that in WW2 with over 11 million members of the armed forces, fighting on several continents, had 7 Four star officers. Today with only 2 million the U.S. has 44 four star officers, most go on to work in the defense industry after retirement.

We will see how this nomination goes over, we can expect Trump has a backup if this one doesn't make it. The defense department does need a thorough audit and examination as to where does all the money go.

Trump's nomination of Matt Gaetz for attorney general will without doubt make a lot of sparks fly. Gaetz is very bright and articulate, but can be a little abrasive at times. Maybe that is just what is needed for a department that seems to believe it needs to pick winners and losers and has seemed to be motivated by partisan politics.  The idea may be that many will resign rather than work for Gaetz. It will be very interesting.

Tulsi Gabbard's nomination, as director of National Intelligence, puts her in charge of all those infamous three letter agencies.  A firm believer in constitutional rights and transparency, it will be a hard nut to crack with these guys, who believe they know what's best for the world. After their insistence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and their 51 former brass that signed a letter swearing that all the dirt on Hunter Biden was Russian disinformation was the ultimate piece of real disinformation.  Tulsi is contemplative and has good judgment, does not seem prone to hasty actions, maybe a good place for her. Lets see how these guys behave. 

The top position in these jobs needs to set the tone and objectives, they do not need to know every detail of its workings, but they need to find the right people who understand these agencies and implement the objectives of the director and the president.

So far these may be the most controversial, but of course, there is more to come.

Trump's can dos and probably nots.

 BORDER SECURITY SHOULD BE NUMBER 1 PRIORITY

ENERGY PRODUCTION WILL LOWER PRICES

As the Trump administration takes shape at a quick pace we can expect that this will allow Trump to get going very quickly. While some of his picks are questionable, and if they are willing to administer administration policies, we will have to wait and see. I suspect that Trump will have little patience with foot dragging.

While everyone has great expectations, what are the realistic expectations of this administration.

It does seem that Trump has a mandate to secure the border, so it should be his number 1 priority as it will be difficult for congress to oppose this agenda. This is a real possibility for success.

Increased energy production and lowering of energy prices will begin to lower the prices of most everything we buy, he should be able to implement policies to do just that.

As for tax reform that will be another issue, he will be able to get some of his ideas through, like tax on tips, which is basically unenforceable and very unequally enforced depending on where people work.  No tax on social security is a possibility.

Reform of the Justice department, Pentagon and Intelligence agencies will be another issue, hopefully some progress can be made, but there will be very hard resistance from the entrenched bureaucracy.

In foreign affairs, while many still believe in prolonging the Ukraine conflict, it is going to resolve itself in due time, as Russia is advancing everywhere and no amount of aid is going to change this outcome. The natural course of the conflict will provide the end of this, the question is can they all work out a lasting peace.

The middle east is the toughest problem, it is now near total war, a war that Israel can't win without U.S. intervention that will bring in many other players. It is the worst situation at the moment. It is on the verge of becoming WW3. An end to the Ukraine conflict would free up Russia and China to be positive players in a solution, they now have strong influence on Iran. This coupled with strong restraint from the U.S. on Israel could be, yes could be, a possible end to this situation. I suspect it will require a unified partnership from allies on both sides to bring that about. So far we have seen little diplomacy from the west, just threats and sanctions. I am not sure that I see any diplomats on the horizon yet, we can only hope. None of the major countries want war, it seems the leadership of Israel believes if they can destroy Iran they will have no enemies in the future, a very dangerous and unrealistic idea.

Much of the Trump presidency will be out of his control due to the complicated foreign situation, something that is out of his control. Hopefully he will focus on reform and making the country united and strong and put it in a better position for the future.

Trump's picks will be crucial for success.

 JOB OF CABINET MEMBERS IS TO FACILITATE POLICIES OF PRESIDENT

NOT PROTECT THE BUREAUCRACY

The daily media spin and attempts to create division in the Trump team is underway. Rumors and speculation of who will be nominated for cabinet positions is all over the place. Some to push certain people, some to create anxiety in Trump supporters.

The report that Mike Pompeo and Nikki Haley are not being considered is some relief. Reports of Marco Rubio for Secretary of state is concerning, I suspect he will not have the president's agenda as his foremost concern.

Trump needs every House and Senate vote he can get, so Republican Representatives and Senators from states with Democratic governors should all be out of the question. Nominees from states with Republican governors need to have their replacements vetted before being nominated.

I do expect that Trump will be in a position to hit the ground running on Jan. 20, 2025, unlike in 2017 where he was vulnerable to the machinations of the entrenched bureaucracy that is all about self preservation and manipulation. We can expect they are planning now on how to hinder Trump's agenda rather than implement it. His best strategy is to begin by setting an example by firing the head of the FBI and CIA and hopefully replacing them with less biased heads of these important positions.

Another very important pick will be Attorney General, we can expect he will be getting advice from all over for the place, so far, no one has been mentioned.

The Secretary of State is a very powerful position, it must be filled with a thoroughly loyal and competent person, that can be trusted and be truthful and transparent to the president, a rare person for Trump to find in the bureaucracy. A person also must have the trust and competence to be trusted by allies and competitors, a very hard position to fill. I see no Kissinger or Jim Baker at present, hopefully one exists. I suspect it needs to be someone who is not in the government now, maybe John Mearsheimer, Jeffrey Sacks or someone who can be a realist, not an ideologue or a delusional advocate for the impossible.

Sometimes the cabinet position is more of an agenda setter and the real work is done by the appointments just under the head.

I suspect some of these mentioned are being floated to get the reaction, both from the opposition and Trump supporters, none of these positions are final until they are sent to Senate in January, don't be surprised if there are changes. 

The next 60 days will be crucial for Trump's success or failure, we can bet there are those who seek to sow the seeds of failure on both side of the isle. Washington is indeed a minefield that requires very careful navigation.

Attempts to manipulate Trump underway.

 TRYING TO AGAIN MAKE INCREASED MILITARY SPENDING THE PRIORITY

IS IRAN REALLY ATTEMPTING TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP?

Last time Trump was elected President he relied on the word of former military generals, that his number 1 priority should be a dramatic increase in military spending. He feel for it, and squandered his hope of building a wall and quickly controlling the border. I suspect he will not fall for this again.

I suspect these same manipulators believe that putting forth the intelligence story that Iran is attempting to assassinate him will convince him to go to war with Iran. I again suspect he is likely to not believe much that they will be telling him. A very sad state of affairs.

While we all want a strong military, before 1 more cent is increased in the pentagon budget they need to submit to a independent audit of the Military budget. Hopefully if the situation is that dire, they will cooperate and make such an audit to be completed in record time. It is very suspicious that with a budget of over $880 billion, compared to maybe $70 billion by the Russians and $220 billion by the Chinese, we are found not be able to produce artillery shells. An audit is more warrented than ever before as I understand that such an audit has never happened, amazing.

I am no expert on military equipment other than small arms, It is often reported that the pentagon loves to spend enormous sums on over engineered and very expensive equipment that often flounders when exposed to the rigors of war. They are very impressive when displayed in controlled environments, with very well trained soldiers, but often in war this equipment needs to be able to function with a minimum of training. We also here of sophisticated maintenance crews to keep this equipment running often every day care.

Can our planes fly if they lose their computers, can our crews hit targets without GPS input? These things need to be considered, by people who actually must use and maintain this equipement, not senators and salesmen.

Then there is the issue of how much of this equipment is dependent on parts produced by third parties, especially China. I suspect much more than anyone understands.

In WW2 we were the "Arsenal of Democracy", because of our vast manufacturing capacity, I suspect this is no longer the case. Fancy and expensive weapons that cannot be quickly replaced puts this country in a dangerous position. Now is the time and the opportunity to examine the real state of our defenses.