Monday, January 20, 2025

Trump's Inaugural Speech.

Donald Trump was sworn in as President earlier today. and then delivered this speech.  A few things have been highlighted where they provide a preview of coming attractions:

Donald Trump: Thank you. Thank you very much everybody. Well, thank you very, very much. Vice President Vance, Speaker Johnson, Senator Thune, Chief Justice Roberts, justices of the United States Supreme Court, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and my fellow citizens.

The Golden Age of America begins right now.

From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world. We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer. During every single day of the Trump administration, I will very simply put America first. Our sovereignty will be reclaimed. Our safety will be restored. The scales of justice will be rebalanced. The vicious, violent and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end. And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous and free.

America will soon be greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before. I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success, a tide of change is sweeping the country, sunlight is pouring over the entire world, and America has the chance to seize this opportunity like never before.

But first, we must be honest about the challenges we face. While they are plentiful, they will be annihilated by this great momentum that the world is now witnessing in the United States of America.

As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens, while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.

We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad. It fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens, but provide sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions that have illegally entered our country from all over the world.

We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders, but refuses to defend American borders or more importantly, its own people. Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina, been treated so badly. And other states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago.

Or more recently in Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense. They’re raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country, some of whom are sitting here right now. They don’t have a home any longer. That’s interesting, but we can’t let this happen. Everyone is unable to do anything about it. That’s going to change.

We have a public health system that does not deliver in times of disaster, yet more money is spent on it than any country anywhere in the world. And we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves, in many cases to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them. All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly.

My recent election has a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal, and all of these many betrayals that have taken place, and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and indeed, their freedom.

From this moment on, America’s decline is over. Our liberties and our nation’s glorious destiny will no longer be denied, and we will immediately restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of America’s government. Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250 year history, and I’ve learned a lot along the way the journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one that I can tell you.

Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom, and indeed to take my life. Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear. But I felt then and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again. Thank you. Thank you very much.

That is why each day under our administration of American patriots, we will be working to meet every crisis with dignity and power and strength. We will move with purpose and speed to bring back hope, prosperity, safety, and peace for citizens of every race, religion, color and creed. For American citizens, Jan. 20th, 2025 is Liberation Day.

It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society, young and old, men and women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, urban, suburban, rural and very importantly, we had a powerful win in all seven swing states, and the popular vote we won by millions of people.

To the black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote. We set records and I will not forget it. I’ve heard your voices in the campaign, and I look forward to working with you in the years to come. Today is Martin Luther King Day and his honor, this will be a great honor, but in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality. We will make his dream come true. Thank you. Thank you.

National unity is now returning to America and confidence and pride is soaring like never before. In everything we do. My administration will be inspired by a strong pursuit of excellence and unrelenting success. We will not forget our country. We will not forget our Constitution and we will not forget our God. Can’t do that.

Today, I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense. It’s all about common sense.

First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.

We will reinstate my remain in Mexico policy. I will end the practice of catch and release. And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.

Under the orders I signed today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities. As Commander in Chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions and that is exactly what I am going to do. We will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before.

Note:  The Alien Enemies Act of 1798 is regarded as extending powers during wartime.  The United States is not (yet) at war.  Invocation of terrorist status for these groups and this statute indicate a freighting extension of martial authority into what are police matters, and possibly intervention in Mexico.

Next, I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices.

This is pretty much nonsense. 

The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill.

There is not national energy emergency, and oil and gas production is currently at capacity considering price at the wellhead. 

America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have, the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on Earth and we are going to use it, and they use it. We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top and export American energy all over the world.

As its expensive to produce American oil, if the price of petroleum goes down, American production all so does. 

We will be a rich nation again and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.

With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers.

Wasting, in effect, four years of effort, and pushing us closer to environmental disaster. 

In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice. We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago and thank you to the autoworkers of our nation for your inspiring vote of confidence. We did tremendously with their vote.

I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.

Tariffs are demonstrated to hurt the country imposing them.

For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury coming from foreign sources. The American Dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.

This is flat out dumb.  A second revenue agency would simply be stupid.. 

To restore confidence and effectively is to our federal government, my administration will establish the brand new Department of Government Efficiency.

M'eh. 

After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression, I will also sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America. Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents. Something I know, something about. We will not allow that to happen. It will not happen again.

Under my leadership, we will restore a fair, equal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law and we are going to bring law and order back to our cities.

This week I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life. We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit based. As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.

This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate, with full back pay. And I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty. It’s going to end immediately.

Our armed forces will be free to focus on their sole mission: defeating America’s enemies.

Like in 2017, we will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.

My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier, that’s what I want to be, a peacemaker and a unifier. I’m pleased to say that as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office, the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families.

Thank you. America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the all and admiration of the entire world.

A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs. President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent. He was a natural businessman and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of Panama after the United States, the United States, I mean, think of this spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal.

What the crap.

Changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico is flat out dumb, and changing the name of Denali is insulting to Native Alaskans. And frankly hardly any American cares much about William McKinley. 

We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made and Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharge, charged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form. And that includes the United States Navy and above all, China is operating the Panama Canal and we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama and we’re taking it back.

So the peacemaker is, apparently, going to seize the Panama Canal. 

Above all, my message to Americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and vitality of history’s greatest civilization. So as we liberate our nation, we will lead it to new heights of victory and success. We will not be deterred.

Together, we will end the chronic disease epidemic and keep our children safe, healthy, and disease free. The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.

And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.

Ambition is the lifeblood of a great nation and right now, our nation is more ambitious than any other. There’s no nation like our nation. Americans are explorers, builders, innovators, entrepreneurs and pioneers. The spirit of the frontier is written into our hearts. The call of the next great adventure resounds from within our souls.

Our American ancestors turned a small group of colonies on the edge of a vast continent into a mighty republic of the most extraordinary citizens on Earth. No one comes close. Americans pushed thousands of miles through a rugged land of untamed wilderness.

They crossed deserts, scaled mountains, braved untold dangers, won the Wild West, ended slavery, rescued millions from tyranny, lifted billions from poverty, harnessed electricity, split the atom, launched mankind into the heavens and put the universe of human knowledge into the palm of the human hand.

If we work together, there is nothing we cannot do and no dream we cannot achieve. Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback. But as you see today, here I am, the American people have spoken. I stand before you now is proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do.

In America, the impossible is what we do best. From New York to Los Angeles, from Philadelphia to Phoenix, from Chicago to Miami, from Houston to right here in Washington, DC, our country was forged and built by the generations of patriots who gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom. They were farmers and soldiers, cowboys and factory workers, steel workers and coal miners, police officers and pioneers who pushed onward, marched forward, and let no obstacle defeat their spirit or their pride.

Together they laid down the railroads, raised up the skyscrapers, built great highways, won two world wars, defeated fascism and communism, and triumphed over every single challenge that they faced. After all we have been through together, we stand on the verge of the four greatest years in American history. With your help, we will restore America’s promise and we will rebuild the nation that we love and we love it so much.

We are one people, one family, and one glorious nation under God. So to every parent who dreams for their child and every child who dreams for their future, I am with you. I will fight for you and I will win for you. We are going to win like never before. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly but we are going to bring it back and make it great again, greater than ever before. We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage and exceptionalism. Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent and totally unpredictable.

America will be respected again and admired again, including by people of religion, faith, and goodwill. We will be prosperous. We will be proud. We will be strong and we will win like never before. We will not be conquered. We will not be intimidated. We will not be broken and we will not fail.

From this day on, the United States of America will be a free, sovereign and independent nation. We will stand bravely. We will live proudly. We will dream boldly, and nothing will stand in our way because we are Americans.

The future is ours and our golden age has just begun. Thank you. God bless America. Thank you all. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. 

 


Saturday, January 20, 1945. FDR Reinaugurated.


The fourth, and modest, inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt took place on the South Portico of the White House.

His address. 

The Almighty God has blessed our land in many ways. He has given our people stout hearts and strong arms with which to strike mighty blows for freedom and truth. He has given to our country a faith which has become the hope of all peoples in an anguished world.
So we pray to Him now for the vision to see our way clearly to see the way that leads to a better life for ourselves and for all our fellow men—and to the achievement of His will to peace on earth.

Roosevelt would be the only US President to be elected to more than two terms, and after him jealous Republicans caused the Constitution to be amended to prevent that reoccurring, which we can now all be grateful for as it will theoretically prevent Donald Trump from trying for a their term, should old age or dementia not remove him from politics before the end of his claimed current term.  While still hated by some conservatives, FDR is the last American President who might be regarded as "great", although that status can be debated.  He certainly was one of the best Presidents in the nation's history, and his long administration fundamentally altered the country and shaped the post war United States up until, it would seem, today.

Outgoing Vice President Wallace administered the oath to his successor Harry S. Truman, which had been the long standing tradition.  It was the last time it would be observed.  Wallace was dumped as insiders, including FDR, knew that FDR was on death's door and that the incoming Vice President would become President.  Wallace was feared by many because of his very far left views.

The Germans started evacuating East Prussia.

The evacuation of East Prussia would be a major human tragedy, although one that receives very little attention as the Germans brought it upon themselves.  The mass migration into the Reich would end centuries of German presence in what is now once again part of Poland.

The Red Army took Prešov, Slovakia.

The Hungarian Provisional Government entered into an armistice with the Allies.

The Allies progressed in the Ardennes and the French 1st Army commenced an offensive in the Vosges region.

The Nationalist Chinese took Muse, Burma.

Last edition:

Friday, January 19, 1945. Martin Bormann and Hitler's mistress Eva Braun arrived at the Führerbunker.

Tuesday, January 20, 1925. The Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention

The Soviet–Japanese Basic Convention between the Soviet Union and Japan was signed.  It provided:

JAPAN and the UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS, desiring to promote relations of good neighbourhood and economic co-operation between them, have resolved to conclude a Convention embodying basic rules in regulation of such relations and, to that end, have appointed as their Plenipotentiaries, that is to say :

His MAJESTY THE EMPEROR OF JAPAN :

Kenkichi YOSHIZAWA, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Republic of China, Jushii, a member of the First Class of the Imperial Order of the Sacred Treasure ;

THE CENTRAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS :

Lev Mikhailovitch KARAKHAN, Ambassador to the Republic of China ;

Who, having communicated to each other their respective full powers, found to be in good and due form, have agreed as follows :

Article I.

The High Contracting Parties agree that, with the coming into force of the present Convention, diplomatic and consular relations shall be established between them.

Article II.

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics agrees that the Treaty of Portsmouth of September 5th, 1905, shall remain in full force.

It is agreed that the Treaties, Conventions and Agreements, other than the said Treaty of Portsmouth, which were concluded between Japan and Russia prior to November 7, 1917, shall be re-examined at a Conference to be subsequently held between the Governments of the High Contracting Parties and are liable to revision or annulment as altered circumstances may require.

Article III.

The Governments of the High Contracting Parties agree that, upon the coming into force of the present Convention, they shall proceed to the revision of the Fishery Convention of 1907, taking into consideration such changes as may have taken place in the general conditions since the conclusion of the said Fishery Convention.

Pending the conclusion of a convention so revised, the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics shall maintain the practices established in 1924 relating to the lease of fishery lots to Japanese subjects.

Article IV.

The Governments of the High Contracting Parties agree that, upon the coming into force of the present Convention, they shall proceed to the conclusion of a treaty of commerce and navigation in conformity with the principles hereunder mentioned, and that, pending the conclusion of such a treaty, the general intercourse between the two countries shall be regulated by those principles.

         (1) The subjects or citizens of each of the High Contracting Parties shall, in accordance with the laws of the country : (a) have full liberty to enter, travel and reside in the territories of the other, and (b) enjoy constant and complete protection for the safety of their lives and property.

         (2) Each of the High Contracting Parties shall, in accordance with the laws of the country, accord in its territories to the subjects or citizens of the other, to the widest possible extent and on condition of reciprocity, the right of private ownership and the liberty to engage in commerce, navigation, industries and other peaceful pursuits.

         (3) Without prejudice to the right of each Contracting Party to regulate by its own laws the system of international trade in that country, it is understood that neither Contracting Party shall apply in discrimination against the other Party any measures of prohibition, restriction or impost which may serve to hamper the growth of the intercourse, economic or otherwise, between the two countries, it being the intention of both Parties to place the commerce, navigation and industry of each country, as far as possible, on the footing of the most-favoured nation.

The Governments of the High Contracting Parties further agree that they shall enter into negotiations, from time to tune as circumstances may require, for the conclusion of special arrangements relative to commerce and navigation to adjust and to promote economic relations between the two countries.

Article V.

The High Contracting Parties solemnly affirm their desire and intention to live in peace and amity with each other, scrupulously to respect the undoubted right of a State to order its own life within its own jurisdiction in its own way, to refrain and restrain all persons in any govern mental service for them, and all organisations in receipt of any financial assistance from them, from any act overt or covert liable in any way whatever to endanger the order and security in any part of the territories of Japan or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

It is further agreed that neither Contracting Party shall permit the presence in the territories under its jurisdiction :

     (a) of organisations or groups pretending to be the Government for any part of the territories of the other Party, or

      (b) of alien subjects or citizens who may be found to be actually carrying on political activities for such organisations or groups.

Article VI.

In the interest of promoting economic relations between the two countries, and taking into consideration the needs of Japan with regard to natural resources, the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is willing to grant to Japanese subjects, companies and associations concessions for the exploitation of minerals, forests and other natural resources in all the territories of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Article VII.

The present Convention shall be ratified.

Such ratification by each of the High Contracting Parties shall, with as little delay as possible, be communicated, through its diplomatic representative at Peking, to the Government of the other Party, and from the date of the later of such communications this Convention shall come into full force.

The formal exchange of the ratifications shall take place at Peking as soon as possible.

In witness whereof the respective Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention, in duplicate in the English language, and have affixed thereto their seals.

Done at Peking, this twentieth day of January, One thousand nine-hundred and twenty-five.

                    (L. S.) K. YOSHIZAWA.

                    (L. S.) L. KARAKHAN.

Japan and Russia, and then Japan and the Soviet Union, never got along well.  They had fought the Russo Japanese War some twenty years prior, and Japan had heavily intervened in Siberia during the Russian Civil War.  There remains tension between them over the the Sakhalin.

Last edition:

I had no idea Sanka was this old.

Thursday, January 20, 1825. The Treaty of Washington City.

The Treaty of Washington City between the United States and the Choctaw resulted in a large portion of land being ceded within in what would soon become Arkansas.

Last edition:

January 19, 1825. The reason that today is Tin Can Day.

Labels: 

Friday, January 20, 1775. The Fincastle Resolutions.


The Fincastle Resolutions were adopted by the fifteen elected representatives of Fincastle County, Virginia, which was on the frontier at that time.

Fincastle, Jan. 20, 1775

In obedience to the resolves of the Continental Congress, a meeting of the freeholders of this county was held this day, who, after approving of the association framed by that august body in behalf of all the colonies, and subscribing thereto, proceeded to the election of a committee, to see the same carried punctually into execution, when the following Gentlemen were nominated: Reverend Charles Cummings, Colonel William Preston, Colonel William Christian, Captain Stephen Trigg, Major Arthur Camp-bell, Major William Inglis, Captain Walter Crockett, Captain John Mont-gomery, Captain James McGavock, Captain William Campbell, Captain Thomas Madison, Captain Daniel Smith, Captain William Russell, Cap-tain Evan Shelby and Lieutenant William Edmondson. After the election the committee made choice of Colonel WILLIAM CHRISTIAN for their chairman, and appointed Mr. David Campbell to be clerk. The following address was then unanimously agreed to by the people of the county, and is as follows.

To the Honorable Peyton Randolph, Esq; Richard Henry Lee, George Washington, Patrick Henry, junior, Richard Bland, Benjamin Harrison, and Edmund Pendleton, Esquires, the Delegates from this colony who at-tended the Continental Congress held at Philadelphia: Gentlemen, Had it not been for our remote situation, and the Indian war which we were lately engaged in, to chastise those cruel and savage people for the many murders and depredations they have committed against us (now happily terminated, under the auspices of our present worthy Governour, his Excellency the Right Honourable the Earl of Dunmore) we should before this time have made known to you our thankfulness for the very important services you have rendered to your country, in conjunction with the worthy Delegates from the other provinces. Your noble efforts for reconciling the Mother Country and the Colonies, on rational and constitutional principles, and your pacifick, steady, and uniform conduct in that arduous work, entitle you to the esteem of all British America, and will immortalize you in the annals of your country. We heartily concur in your resolutions, and shall, in every instance, strictly and invariably adhere thereto.

We assure you, Gentlemen, and all our countrymen, that we are a people whose hearts overflow with love and duty to our lawful sovereign George III, whose illustrious house, for several successive reigns, have been the guardians of the civil and religious rights and liberties of British sub-jects, as settled at the glorious Revolution; that we are willing to risk our lives in the service of his Majesty, for the support of the Protestant religion, and the rights and liberties of his subjects, as they have been established by the compact, law, and ancient charters.

We are heartily grieved at the differences which now subsist between the parent state and the colonies, and most ardently wish to see harmony restored, on an equitable basis, and by the most lenient measures that can be devised by the heart of man.

Many of us, and our forefathers, left our native land, considering it as a kingdom subjected to inordinate power, and greatly abridged of its liberties. We crossed the Atlantick, and explored this then uncultivated wilderness, bordering on many nations of savages, and surrounded by mountains almost inaccessible to any but those very savages, who have incessantly been committing barbarities and depredations on us since our first seating the country. These fatigue and dangers we patiently encountered, supported by the pleasing hope of enjoying those rights and liberties which had been granted to Virginians and were denied us in our native country, and of transmitting them inviolate to our posterity. But even to these remote regions the hand of unlimited and unconstitutional power hath pursued us, to strip us of that liberty and property with which God, nature, and the rights of humanity, have vested us. We are ready and willing to contribute all in our power for the support of his Majesty's government, if applied to constitutionally, and when the grants are made by our own representatives; but cannot think of submitting our liberty or property to the power of a venal British parliament, or to the will of a corrupt Ministry.

We by no means desire to shake off our duty or allegiance to our lawful sovereign, but on the contrary shall ever glory in being loyal subjects of a Protestant prince, descended from such illustrious progenitors, so long as we can enjoy the free exercise of our religion, as Protestants, and our liberties and properties, as British subjects.

But if no pacifick measures shall be proposed or adopted by Great Britain, and our enemies will attempt to dragoon us out of these inestimable privileges which we are entitled to as subjects, and to reduce us to a state of slavery, we declare, that we are deliberately and resolutely determined never to surrender them to any power upon earth, but at the expense of our lives.

These are our real, though unpolished sentiments, of liberty and loyalty, and in them we are resolved to live and die.

We are, Gentlemen, with the most perfect esteem and regard, your most obedient servant.

The resolutions interestingly expressed love for the Crown, while obviously drafted in the spirt of defiance against it.

Last edition:

Tuesday, January 17, 1775. Diligent attention in the use of arms.

Sunday, January 20, 250. Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.

 

20 January 250





Final Pardons.

President Biden pardoned Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley and members of the January 6 House Committee as one of his last acts to protect them against revenge prosecutions in a second Trump administration.

This should not have had to occur, although I agree with his decision (which presumed that preemptive pardons, widely accepted in the US, do anything, which I do not think they do), and speaks poorly of the psychology and culture of the America we currently live in.

A tragic day.

Donald Trump will be sworn in as President of the United States today.

It can be argued, although it will not be, and in fact this is mostly just a mental exercise, that the action will be null, void, and of no effect and that for the first time in its history, by the end of the day, the United States will not have President.

This is why:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Oh, I know, you're thinking, if you read this late in the day; "I saw Chief Justice John Roberts swear Donald J. Trump in as President".  If you are reading it early, and are inclined to watch, you will see that occur.

Yes, he did, or will.

But, by the same token, John Roberts could have gone down to Hooters with the guys from the court, and rather than leave a tip, have sworn in a waitress as President of the United States.

Here's the thing.  Anyone can take the oath, the Constitution doesn't allow an insurrectionist to be President, unless 2/3s of Congress lifts the disability, and Trump is an insurrectionist.  He can't be President, and therefore, the oath will have no effect.  It will be null and void, ab initio.  

By the same token, the Hooters waitress might be 18 years old and a Ukrainian immigrant.  Swearing her in, won't make her the chief executive.

Trump is the President Elect going into this morning.  He did win the electoral vote and the popular vote.  Nonetheless, he might still be President Elect tomorrow morning, if this reading of the 14th Amendment is correct. Biden isn't President either. His term of office ended.

And J. D. Vance won't be President, he hasn't take the oath.

Now, I know that you may be thinking "but no court had declared him to be an insurrectionist". 

And indeed, while the Special Prosecutor apparently considered charging him with an insurrection related offense, he didn't.

But one court did. A court in Colorado did just that.  The larger fact of the matter is that the Constitution is drafted so that it just doesn't matter.  The 14th Amendment is drafted with the presumption that people know who is, or isn't, an insurrectionist.  After the Civil War, the US didn't put all the Southern traitors on trial. It did lift the ban on quite a few of them, however.

Having said that, in spite of their horrific act in rebelling against the Untied States in order to preserve racist human bondage, almost all of those who served the Southern cause had enough integrity to admit it and, if they chose to resume public life, to come forward and take an oath of loyalty.

This provision, accordingly, works differently than most other such matters.  Like setting the age to be President, it just sets that insurrectionist can't be President.  If there's any doubt that might be had, it would really be up to the supposed insurrectionist to seek a declaratory judgment that they weren't one.

Just as it would be if Justice Roberts, right before administering the oath, announced "I'd like to introduce you to Bubbles, whom I will now swear in as President".

Maybe.

In other words, Trump would have to go back into Court and seek a declaration that he isn't an insurrectionist, although it might be too late as he could be judicially estopped on that point by the ruling in Colorado.

As a result, again if this is correct, he will be just a private citizen, and it could be that everything he does in the next four years, in the unlikely event he is seen to be serving out four years, is null and void as well.

Or perhaps not.  If later challenged, the Supreme Court might say that as it wasn't raised, the validity of his actions will be allowed to stand.  There's some precedent for that.

But, we really don't know.

What we do know, under the 14th Amendment, "President Trump" refers to the past, not the present and the office is vacant.

Or not.

Maybe this is just all wrong, post Civil War history notwithstanding.  As it happened, the country was pretty forgiving following the Civil War and for the most part it just forgave the perpetrators of rebellion.

That's actually part of our current problem.  After the war, the Radical Reconstructionist wanted to treat the traitors harshly.  They were right.

It would have provided an enduring lesson on the cost of treason.  It would also have advanced civil rights in the American South, and the country at large, by a century.  

Likewise, Nixon should have been tried by a court, the failure to do so now resulting in the tragedy we are currently enduring.

And we are enduring one, and its about to get much, much, worse.

It's also remarkable how Synchronicity is rearing its head to give us a metaphysical dope slap today.

Today is Martin Luther King Day, or if you are in Wyoming and prefer, it's Wyoming Equality Day.

King was a great man.  He had his personal failings, as we all do, but it was his greatness, not his failings, that defined him.  He gave his life willingly for the cause of civil rights at a time in this country when resistance to the full civil rights for African Americans remained strong.

It's also the 80th anniversary of the final inauguration of Franklin Roosevelt, as we mark in a different thread.  Roosevelt also had his personal failings, but like his cousin Theodore, he was a "traitor to his class" in that he was a wealthy New Yorker who worked to save the the common American.  At the time of his last inauguration, he knew that he was dying and his running had essentially been a sacrifice of his final months for the nation.

In contrast we're inaugurating today a wealthy New Yorker whose used the common man to return himself to the oval office, but whose personal failings really define him.

That individual campaigned, twice, on the theme of "Make America Great Again".  That the nation has declined from greatness cannot be doubted.  Trump was part of that decline, and a symptom of it.  He's not responsible for much of it, and indeed if prior post war politicians, Republican and Democrat, had not ignored the growing pain of the Middle Class over the past fifty years, we wouldn't be here now.

But Trump isn't going to make American great again.  Indeed, his election may have broken the jar of greatness beyond all repair.  That will soon be very apparent, but will the population be willing to accept the blame?

Sunday, January 19, 2025

Blog Mirror: I Could Be Wrong.

 

I Could Be Wrong.

Blog Mirror: Tomorrow will be a shameful day

 

Tomorrow will be a shameful day

Blog Mirror: January 20th: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream and Donald Trump's MAGA Nightmare.

 

January 20th: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Dream and Donald Trump's MAGA Nightmare.

TikTok? Good riddance.

 


?

Why Donald Trump, who once was anti TikTok now wants to save it is beyond me.  

I hope TikTok never returns.  I'm not concerned about it, I fully admit.  Why should we care about its demise?

Granted, thousands of twentysomething American girls hosted by the ChiCom entity that have made a living bouncing their barely clad bottoms and tops will now have to fine legitimate work, but so be it.

Friday, January 19, 1945. Martin Bormann and Hitler's mistress Eva Braun arrived at the Führerbunker.

The 1st Ukrainian Front captured Łódź and Kraków.

The 2nd Belorussian Front took Mława and Włocławek.

The 1st Baltic Front captured Tilsit.

Polish Home Army commander Leopold Okulicki ordered his troops to disband.

The 4th SS Panzer Corps reached the Danube River at Dunapentele cutting the 3d Ukrainian Front off forces from its supplies.

Martin Bormann and Hitler's mistress Eva Braun arrived at the Führerbunker.

The HMS Porpoise was sunk off of Malaya by Japanese aircraft.

French Gustave Marie Maurice Mesny was murdered by the Germans in retaliation for the death of German General Fritz von Brodowski while in French custody.  The French resistance, which had been holding von Brodowski claimed that he'd been shot while tempting to escape.

"The crew of a three-inch gun covers a front line road on which G-2 has reported 20 German tanks to be advancing. 94th Division sector, junction of France, Germany and Luxembourg. 19 January, 1945."

Last edition:

January 19, 1825. The reason that today is Tin Can Day.

Which it is.  Tin Can Day, that is.

On this day in 1825 Ezra Daggett and Thomas Kensett received the US patent on January 19, 1825.  Never mind that British merchant Peter Durand had received the original tin can patent in 1810.

'Merca!

I'm actually quite surprised that tin cans are this old.  I guess I never thought of it, really.

Last edition:

Wednesday, January 12, 1825. A type of justice arrives for the first time.

Some suggestions.

The incoming Trump administration intends to carry out “post-inauguration” immigration raids in Chicago next week, according to two people familiar with the planning and correspondence reviewed by The New York Times, an opening step in President-elect Donald J. Trump’s goal to oversee the largest deportation operation in American history.

New York Times.

I'm hoping that they'll include in the sweep Elon Musk and Melania Trump, the latter of which I suspect might be happy to be scooped up.

Also, all the Vanderpumps.

And Ted Cruz, who was born in Quebec.


Saturday, January 18, 2025

The Best Posts of the Week of January 12, 2025.

 The best posts of the week of January 12, 2025.

A gentle 


he old age refuses to yieldeth. The stubborn German.















Commemorative?

 


Some of them, apparently, cost $5,000.

I had no idea Sanka was this old.


1925 Sanka Coffee Advertisement

As I commented, my father used to drink Sanka, and sometimes I did as well.

Frankly, it's awful.

A recent edition of one of the History channel shows on coffee in the US, I'd note, is well worth watching.  American coffee came to be very mass produced, much like beer frankly, and like beer, it's really gone through a renaissance.  It's much better now than it was, say twenty years ago.


Thursday, January 18, 1945. Advances in Poland, losses in Hungary.

The Soviet 2nd Belorussian Front captured Modlin. The 1st Belorussian Front and the 1st Ukrainian Front approached encircling Lodz and Krakow, and the Germans withdrew from the latter.

The 4th SS Panzer Division nearly destroyed the Soviet 135th Rifle Corps while attempting to relieve Budapest.

The Red Army liberated the Budapest ghetto.

British commandos landed on the Dutch island of Schouwen.

Last edition:

Wednesday, January 17, 1945. The Red Army enters a destroyed Warsaw.