Episode 1: Threats To Democracy As We Celebrate Memorial Day

A MEMORIAL DAY THOUGHT

On May 27th, the U.S. will commemorate Memorial Day. Memorial Day honors members of the U.S. military who died in service to the nation or because of battle. It pays tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of liberty and the American way of life. It is traditionally celebrated on the last Monday in May.

There are two other days during the year when the U.S. honors its military. Armed Forces Day is celebrated on the third Saturday in May. It is a day to honor those who are currently serving in the U.S. military. Veterans Day is observed on November 11th and pays tribute to those who have previously served in the military.

The U.S. military protects and defends the American way of life. Without the brave people who serve, the U.S. would not exist as a representative democracy with an economy based on free markets and trade. A special thanks should be given to all those who have served honorably in the military throughout the nation’s history.

Unfortunantely, not all of those who served in the military have done so honorably. The most notable of the dishonorable include the armchair generals. This category includes career military officers embraced by the Washington D.C. establishment who have little to no combat experience. The establishment often relies on these officers to justify endless wars that have no path to victory. Examples of such conflicts include the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Middle Eastern wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Those officers provide cover for D.C. officials who feed the modern military industrial complex, something that former President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against.

This Memorial Day, Americans should also remember the importance of having an effective Commander in Chief (U.S. President) to lead the military. Peace in the world is achieved through strength. This was the policy of former President Ronald Reagan who put the Soviet Union out of existence while barely firing a shot. Former President Donald Trump also embraced that policy which brought unprecedented peace to the Middle East and the world.

That peace lasted until Joe Biden became president. Since taking office, Biden has embraced woke policies that have weakened the military. This and Biden’s policies of appeasement have resulted in less people joining the military.

Reagan and Trump often deferred to military officials on the ground rather than armchair generals. Their policies brought peace to the world. Those policies also saved the lives of countless U.S. soldiers.

Ignorance, greed, and hate are the biggest threats to representative democracy in the U.S.

Biden administration officials and their propagandists in the establishment media repeatedly accuse Trump Maga Republicans of being a threat to democracy. They are wrong! For starters, the U.S. form of government is not a pure democracy. That is a good thing. In a pure democracy, the public votes directly on laws and policies. It is equivalent to mob rule, also known as mobocracy.

Framers of the U.S. Constitution settled on a representative democracy as the nation’s form a government. This is a form of democracy where the people vote for representatives. The representatives then vote on laws and policy initiatives that impact society. The U.S. form of government is now under assault due to the ignorance, greed, and/or hate that consumes a substantial number of Americans.

U.S. Framers understood that an informed citizenry was the best way to ensure the survival of the republic. Too many Americans today are not properly informed as to what is going on in the U.S. and around the world. They rely on a media that has picked sides and reports slanted news or flat-out lies. Other Americans stick their heads in the sand and hope that things will improve. The solution to this ignorance is for Americans to get information from multiple sources including network/cable television, talk radio, print news, books, and social media. Armed with the correct facts, Americans will make better decisions about what is in theirs and the nation’s best interests.

Greed is another obstacle to a representative democracy. Too many Americans today want something for nothing, or more for doing less. U.S. Government officials have created a sense of entitlement in the minds of some Americans. Officials often make laws and policies that benefit a segment of society at the expense of another. Recent examples include President Joe Biden’s cancellation of billions in student loans, and his administration’s government subsidies to the failing electric vehicle industry. Whether it is done for votes or to reward political cronies, this type of governance breeds resentment along with that sense of entitlement. Americans must get back to work in a society that embraces meritocracy and rewards hard work.

Hate is the greatest threat to a free and civil society. Hate impairs an individual’s ability to make reasonable decisions. Over the past nine years, Americans on the left along with their media propagandists have made villains out of MAGA Republicans and those who object to the left’s agenda. This has caused Americans to fragment into diverse groups and then turn on one another. A well-reasoned debate about issues is healthy in society. Hate will destroy a society from within.

Trump wows massive crowds in Jersey and the Bronx

Former President Donald Trump held a massive rally in Wildwood, New Jersey on May 11, 2024. The 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee spoke at the rally for ninety minutes. The event drew an estimated crowd of 100,000 people according to a spokesperson for Wildwood. Some media commentators questioned the crowd size, but they offered no proof to support their assertions that far less people were in attendance. During the rally, Trump challenged the media in attendance to turn their cameras around and show the crowd. But none did as he noted.

As to substance, Trump hit on hot-button topics that are important to Americans. Issues he pledged to address if elected included illegal immigration, crime, taxes, inflation, oil drilling, electric vehicle mandates put in place by the Biden administration, ongoing wars around the world, reining in the deep state, and more. On the issue of abortion, he supported the court decision reversing Roe v. Wade which sent the matter back to the states for the voters in each state to decide.

On style, Trump was himself. He called opponent Joe Biden a moron. Trump also accused Biden of being corrupt, incompetent, and the worst president in U.S. history. Comments like these turn some people off to Trump. But those same people would not vote for him regardless of his rhetoric. That aside, Trump has a public speaking style which holds the attention of his audience.

Some experts questioned Trump’s decision to hold the rally in New Jersey. The last time a Republican presidential candidate won Jersey was in 1988. But Trump’s internal polling seems to suggest that Jersey is in play for 2024. And Wildwood is a short distance from Pennsylvania, a swing State.

The success of the Jersey event prompted Trump to do a rally in New York City’s Bronx section on May 23, 2024. That rally drew thousands of people according to reports. The last time a Republican presidential candidate won New York State was in 1984.

Some experts believe that Biden would barely draw one-hundred people at a rally in Jersey or the Bronx. Biden’s people know this. Which partially explains why Biden asked for two presidential debates just days after Trump’s Jersey rally.

Trump should renegotiate debate deal with Biden

Incumbent Democrat President Joe Biden and Republican challenger Donald Trump have tentatively agreed to two debates ahead of the November 5th presidential election. The first debate hosted by CNN will take place on June 27th. The second one will take place on September 10th hosted by ABC. Trump and Biden have agreed to bypass the Commission on Presidential Debates, leaving them free to negotiate the debate terms. The Commission has organized every presidential debate since 1988. But recent presidential debates have had too many interruptions by the audience, debate moderators, and the candidates. All this noise has defeated the main purpose for debates, which is to let voters know where the candidates stand on key issues before the election.

The debates are being held in the studios of Democrat-friendly networks, hosted by moderators partial to Biden. Moderators will be able to cut off the mic of a candidate who goes over his time-limit or interrupts the other. The candidates will sit during the debates. Biden demanded these conditions, which could be a trap to damage Trump and make Biden look good. To avoid this possibility and to make the debates more beneficial to the voters, Trump should seriously consider renegotiating the debate terms.

The one debate condition that Trump and Biden will surely leave in place is the exclusion of third-party candidates. None of those candidates has any chance of winning. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is running as an independent and is the only third-party candidate polling in double digits. It is not clear whether Kennedy draws more votes from Biden or Trump. So, it is best to exclude Kennedy from the debates thereby setting up a clear rematch between Trump and Biden.

Biden is not in a superior bargaining position despite being the incumbent president. He has consistently trailed Trump in the polls. Behind the scenes, Democrat officials, big-Dem donors, and the party’s radical left base worry that Biden will lose the election. Some experts speculate that if Biden’s downward trend continues, the Dems will try to remove him as the party nominee before the Dem convention in August. So, he must debate to solidify his position as the presumptive Dem nominee. He wants to hold the first debate ahead of the convention to build momentum and convince the Dems he can win. He wants the second debate to occur before early voting by mail begins.

Although Trump is leading in the polls, his bargaining position is not solid. He previously pledged to debate Biden anytime, anyplace, and anywhere. But given the lawfare and oppressive tactics Dems have used against Trump since 2016, he could walk back his pledge by explaining how Biden’s debate terms are a set-up and not in the best interests of the voters.

Trump should insist on the following conditions before proceeding with any debates. First, the debates should take place at a neutral location with an impartial moderator. Second, a streaming service should be used to televise the debates, giving television networks the option of showing the debates. Third, the questions should be agreed on in advance to avoid any gotchas and keep the debate focused on issues within the scope of the presidency that impact Americans. Fourth, the moderator’s role should be limited to asking the questions, keeping time, warning candidates when they have ten seconds left to answer, and then cutting off a candidate when time is up. Fifth, the candidates should be forced to stand during the debates.

As to format, the moderator should direct a question to one of the candidates who answers. The opponent then responds, and the candidate who got the question first replies, all within specific time limits. The candidates will alternate as to who gets the question first. The first debate should be about domestic policy. Foreign policy should be the subject of the second one. Each debate should be no more than two hours long. These debate terms and conditions will ensure that voters get the information they need before voting in the election. As to fact-checking, the candidates will be free to do that during the debate, and the media will undoubtedly spend endless time doing so afterwards.

If Biden will not agree to those terms and conditions, then Trump should skip the debates. Biden needs the debates more than Trump. Instead of participating in potentially rigged debates, Trump’s time would be utilized more effectively on the campaign trail and ensuring that the GOP has a ground game in place to ensure voter turnout/integrity.