2025

Trump’s cabinet nominations will begin confirmation hearings this week. The hearings will be held from Tuesday, January 14th, through Thursday, January 16th. Apparently, the Senate doesn’t like to do serious work on Mondays or Fridays!?! Maybe those are travel days to and from their home states??

Article II is the section of the Constitution that deals with the executive branch. In Section II, it makes clear that while the president is the executive, he hires certain positions spelled out in the Constitution and others established by law with the “advice and consent” of senators. If the Senate is in recess, the president can make temporary appointments.

Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution states:

“He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.

The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.”

In modern times, a president-elect nominates his picks for top officials ASAP after winning the election. Planning should ideally begin before Election Day.

Oversight committees in the Senate can conduct confirmation hearings before Inauguration Day on January 20. They can refer nominees to the full Senate or quick votes when the new president takes the oath of office. But things frequently take a lot longer.

For all the drama generated every four years by Cabinet appointments, defeat of a nominee by a vote in the Senate is extremely rare.

The only time a nominee by a new president was rejected by a Senate vote occurred in 1989, when George H.W. Bush nominated John Tower, a former senator from Texas, to be his secretary of defense.

Tower was undone by stories of his excessive drinking and what press reports at the time referred to as “womanizing,” and which Pentagon files back then documented as placing “special attention on the secretaries” as an arms negotiator in Geneva. [Perhaps Pete Hegseth should take note of this fact.]

So, without further ado, here is the list of scheduled confirmation hearings for this week:

9:00 a.m. – Doug Collins, Department of Veterans Affairs

A former congressman from Georgia, Mr. Collins is a Baptist minister and former US Navy chaplain and Air Force Reserve colonel. He was one of Trump’s most vocal supporters during the first impeachment hearing.

Mr. Collins will appear before the Senate Veteran’s Affairs Committee. The VA provides health care to former members of the US armed forces.

9:30 a.m. – Pete Hegseth – Department of Defense

Former “Fox & Friends” weekend host and Army National Guard combat veteran. His fitness for the cabinet position has come into question amid allegations of excessive drinking and sexual misconduct.

Mr. Hegseth will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Pentagon chief’s authority over the US military is second only to that of the president’s.

10:00 a.m. – Doug Burgum – Interior

Former governor of North Dakota and businessman, Mr. Burgum has also been tapped to lead the National Energy Council. Trump has said the council would seek to establish US energy dominance around the world.

Mr. Burgum will appear before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The U.S. Department of the Interior protects and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage; provides scientific and other information about those resources; and honors its trust responsibilities or special commitments to American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and affiliated Island Communities. It is the chief steward of US public lands.

So tomorrow will have a fairly “light” schedule with only three confirmation hearings. At this time, it is not anticipated that any of the hearings will require multiple days. The most controversial of the three nominations is certainly Pete Hegseth. I suspect the hearing could be a bit contentious given allegations made to date. Certainly, there will be questions about the allegations that he will have to answer. I’m looking forward to watching some of it.

A Bit Better

Okay, so I feel a bit better this morning. I’m halfway through my caffeine fix for the day. I hugged my fur babies all day and all night yesterday. I read some comforting articles and am listening to Morning Joe this morning. I’m feeling better.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m still nauseated that I have to see “that man’s” face and hear his voice for four more years! But, I’m starting to feel hopeful again – I said starting. I’m not fully there but I’m on the way.

Yesterday, I read several posts on Twitter (I still refuse to call it X) that blamed white women for not showing up. These posts predictable came from black people, both men and women. I can only say I take exception to that statement.

Did 100% white women vote for Kamala? No, of course not. However, 100% of black women didn’t vote for Kamala; 100% of black men didn’t vote for Kamala. In fact, 100% of no voting block voted for either candidate.

Let’s take a look at the numbers – not just the percentages, but the raw numbers too!

In 2020, a total of 155.4 million votes were cast – 81.2 million for Biden vs 74.2 million for Trump. In 2024, a total of 138.5 million votes were cast – 66.8 million for Harris vs 71.7 million for Trump. So, in 2024 approximately 17 million people did not vote for either of the two major party candidates. Did they stay home? Did they vote third party? I suspect some of the elderly (and maybe some of the younger voters) passed away. My mother was one – I suspect she wasn’t the only one.

But, the fact is, we had a major decline in voter turnout. I find this very odd, especially considering how many early vote counts were so high they set new records! I don’t know how to explain this.

Moving on, while the Democratic candidate garnered between 14 and 15 million fewer votes in 2024, the Republican candidate garnered between 2 and 3 million fewer. Again, this highlights the fact that more Democrat voters either stayed home or voted third party or whatever. But, voters for both major parties were less enthusiastic than they were in 2020! Again, I don’t know how to explain this.

Let’s look at the gender gap:

Women favored Biden over Trump by 15 points in 2020, whereas women favored Harris over Trump by only 8 points in 2024. Of all the women voters, 53% voted for Harris, while 45% voted for Trump. Note this is all women, regardless of race. I think this surprises me the most. Is this based on gender bias? I have a hard time believing that women think a women is less qualified than a man in today’s world, but what do I know?

Men, on the other hand, favored Trump over Biden by 8 points in 2020, whereas men favored Trump over Harris by 13 points in 2024. Of all the men voters in 2024, 42% voted for Harris, while 55% voted for Trump. Again, this is all men, regardless of race. Gender bias? Yeah, it looks like it to me.

I think these two metrics clearly indicate a gender bias against a women in leadership. What the hell people!?! It’s 2024 for goodness sake – surely we’re past this crap! Women serve in combat these days!

Now comes the ethnic votes. White voters voted 41% for Harris and 57% for Trump. Black voters voted 85% for Harris and 13% for Trump. Latino/Hispanic voters voted 52% for Harris and 46% for Trump. Asian voters voted 54% for Harris and 39% for Trump. All other voters voted 42% for Harris and 54% for Trump. These represent ethnic voters in total, regardless of gender.

Black men favored Biden over Trump by 60 points in 2020, while they favored Harris over Trump by 56 points in 2024. Not sure I can call a 4 point drop gender bias. Black women favored Biden over Trump by 81 points in 2020, while favoring Harris over Trump by 84 points in 2024.

Here’s a biggie – Latino men favored Biden over Trump by 23 points in 2020, while favoring Trump over Harris by 12 points in 2024! That’s a huge 35 point swing in 4 years. Gender bias? If I were a betting person, I’d say hell yes! Latina women favored Biden over Trump by 39 points in 2020, while favoring Harris over Trump by only 22 points. Gender bias? Not sure. The 17 point decline could be as much because of unknown candidate as anything else.

I have to say I was very surprised by the Latino vote, especially after the horrible jokes made during the Madison Square Garden rally! I felt sure that rally would turn the Latino population towards Harris. Clearly, the Latino community thinks Trump’s immigration policy means all Latinos except them! Good luck on that score!

White men favored Trump over Biden by 23 points in 2020, which did not change in 2024. White men still favored Trump over Harris by 23 points in 2024. White women favored Trump over Biden by 11 points in 2020, while favoring Trump over Harris by 8 points in 2024.

As to age, voters 18-44 voted 51% for Harris and 46% for Trump, while those 45 and over voted 46% for Harris and 52% for Trump. I think this surprised me a lot. It surprises me that so many people approaching retirement voted for Trump. The GOP as a whole, and Rick Scott specifically, has indicated they want to seriously curtail both Social Security and Medicare, both of which affect seniors the most! So I fail to understand why seniors (or those approaching senior status) would vote Republican, regardless of the candidate!

I’m also surprised at the younger voters. I would have assumed (yea, hee haw) that younger voters would be extremely interested in climate change and progressive programs. Yet, nearly half voted for Trump who thinks climate change is a hoax and we should go back to the dark ages!

As to income, families making less than $50,000 a year voted 47% for Harris and 50% for Trump. Those making $50,000 or more voted 49% for Harris and 48% for Trump. This also surprised me. Those on the lower income scale are the most to be hurt by Trump’s policies. So, it boggles my mind why half of them would vote for Trump!

Please note the breakdown by age or income includes all voters, regardless of gender or ethnic backgrounds.

Most surprising to me are the results of first time voters. Of these, 43% voted for Harris and 56% voted for Trump. Again, this is all first time voters, regardless of gender or ethnic backgrounds. I would have thought first time voters were younger people and, again, I would have thought progressive policies and climate conditions would have been high on the list of important issues.

Of all voters, 35% say that America’s best days are in the past! What?!? Over 1/3 of Americans think we should live in the past??

Of all voters, 65% say abortion should be legal. The results of the election would indicate this issue was not a top priority, since clearly 65% did not vote for the candidate who favored restoring protections under Roe v Wade!

Of all voters, 73% said democracy is under threat. Again, the results would indicate this issues was not a top priority.

Finally, of all voters, 60% disapprove of the job the Supreme Court is doing. Count me among those voters! I think those of us that disapprove of SCOTUS’ job do so because we feel the Court has become partisan and is making decisions based on partisan bias rather than on the law! At least, that’s what I think. Again, it seems to me this was not an overriding concern in the long run.

So, there we have it. Are white women to blame for the results? I don’t think so – at least not entirely! I think there’s plenty of “blame” to go around. This was, by far, the oddest election cycle. We had the original Democratic candidate drop out late in the game in favor of the sitting VP, who most people didn’t really know. We had a spate of disinformation again (like in 2016) that, for whatever reason, was believed by many people.

You know, it’s always easy to quarterback on Monday morning. Hindsight is always 20/20! The fact is the Democratic party needs to regroup – figure out why we lost the working people’s votes and figure out how to get them back. Trump appealed to their dissatisfaction with their lives, whether he told the truth or not. People chose to believe him, which only emphasizes their dissatisfaction!

Get it together Democrats! We’ve got work to do! We can’t sit around and wallow in self-pity! Put your big boy/girl panties on and get to work!

Meanwhile, I’ll turn the volume down on the TV – I can’t stand listening to that man. I hate him and his whole grifting family! I’ll pray for forgiveness tonight!

IMHO . . .

Second Assassination Attempt

So, Trump had a “scare” on Sunday while he was playing golf. A lone man had apparently set up a spot to try to assassinate the former president. Luckily, the Secret Service spotted the gun and the man before anything untoward could happen.

I glad Trump wasn’t shot or harmed. I don’t wish that on anyone – I abhor violence.

However, what I also abhor is people using an event like this to attack other people. Both JD Vance and Trump are claiming the rhetoric from the left is what has caused the two assassination attempts. I find that more than a little hypocritical!

Vance has pointed to the fact that no one has taken any shots at Biden or Harris. It’s almost like he’s asking someone to try it! Some of the fanatics on the right could certainly see it that way. Heck, even Elon Musk got into the act, saying on his twitter platform “has anyone noticed that no one’s taken a shot at Joe Biden or Kamala Harris?” After a lot of push back for such a remark, Musk deleted the post and basically alluded to it being a “joke”! Some joke! I assume the Secret Service is looking into the matter – they did acknowledge they were aware he made the comment.

But, back to Vance. He said when someone calls a candidate a fascist, a threat to democracy, of course it’s going to be perceived as a call to arms by those on the left. Apparently, Vance has forgotten just last week Trump called Harris a Marxist, a fascist, and if elected, she would make sure no future elections would be held!

I think Vance should worry more about his boss’s rhetoric. The first “assassin” was a registered Republican who supposedly supported Trump. As I mentioned in an earlier post, if this was not a staged event, I believe the shooter was committing suicide by cop.

In this second instance, it appears the man had voted for Trump in 2016 but may have become disillusioned with him after Jan 6th. From an interview with the son (who specifically said he was not speaking for his father), the man was very concerned with the war in Ukraine. He traveled to Ukraine and helped set up the international army that helped with the fighting. His son said he was very immersed in making sure Ukraine won the war.

It sounds like Routh (the shooter) might not have been too happy with Trump’s policy concerning Russia v Ukraine. Don’t forget the week before, Vance had been interviewed about how Trump proposed to end the Ukraine war in one day if he got re-elected. Vance said Ukraine would give up the territory that Russia already held and Ukraine would promise not to join NATO!

That plan/policy sounds pretty much antithesis to what Routh wanted. Could that have been the impetus to plan an assassination? Will we ever know what the reason was, why he wanted to shoot/kill Trump? I don’t know whether we will or not.

One thing I do know – I know there has been no rhetoric from Biden or Harris that would drive Routh or anyone else for that matter to such lengths. Harris is constantly saying there is so much more that unites us than what separates us!

Then, again, I suppose there will always be a few loonies out there that will take pot shots at politicians on any given day. Perhaps it would be better if we discussed how Routh was able to get an assault rifle in the first place. As a felon, he was not legally allowed to purchase a gun! Hmmm – was there a breakdown in background checks? Is it possible we need tougher background check laws??

Sorry, but to me, Vance blaming Democrats for the shooting is more like the pot calling the kettle black. Clean up your own house before you attack someone else’s!!

IMHO . . .

Enough Is Enough!

Just as a point of interest, Kamala Harris made two rally stops in North Carolina yesterday – Charlotte and Greensboro. My sister drove the 2.5 hours to Charlotte to attend that rally, admittedly smaller than the Greensboro venue. The entire round trip took her about 12 hours, due to tire pressure issues. [She had a small nail in one of the tires and had to stop every hour or so on the way home to refill with air. She made it home safely and got the tire fixed this morning!] She had a great time, despite the tire issue and being exhausted. Sadly, she went alone, but made some new friends while there! [I couldn’t go because of my mobility issues.]

But, back to the debate (in a way). One of the issues that came up during the Trump-Harris debate on Tuesday involved Trump’s claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, OH, eating dogs and cats of the local residents. I think I may have briefly mentioned that ridiculous claim.

Well, it’s gone from bad to worse. Since Tuesday, the city of Springfield has received bomb threats that required the evacuation of the Springfield City Hall, two schools and the local motor vehicle facility! Reports of threats to various immigrants in the city have also been received.

Enough already! When did we become a nation filled with so much hate and intolerance? Oh yeah, that would be roughly 2015 or 2016 when the Orange One decided to run for president. His first speech? He mentioned the rapists that were coming from Mexico! Then he quickly moved to all Muslims – the infamous Muslim ban! Remember all the “love”?

I suppose there has always been a sector – not sure how big, but certainly more quiet/under-ground – that was filled with hate for anyone who didn’t look like them. You know, the skin-heads, white supremacists, the KKK, etc. They were more secretive BT (“before Trump”), but they were there nonetheless. Now, they’re out in the open. Picketing in their white hoods or other “uniforms”. And they’re much more vocal with the hate speech.

I’m here to say “enough – cut it out”. Most of the Haitians in Springfield are legal immigrants. They are hard working and just want a better life for themselves and their families. As I’ve seen a lot on Facebook, if you don’t look like this (a Native American), then you are likely an immigrant.

Let’s face it, the vast majority of Americans come from immigrants. My father’s family came from Ireland in 1848 during the potato famine. My mother’s family came from Germany (Bavaria) in the early 19th century as well. While both sides claim some native ancestors, I kind of doubt it. I sent my DNA to Ancestry and the results did not reflect any native heritage.

So basically what it seems to be about is “race” rather than immigration status. I haven’t heard of much brouhaha over European immigrants (Danes, Swedes, etc.) – you know, the “white” immigrants. No, I hear almost exclusively the negatives of immigrants of color (Mexican or Latinos, Middle East, etc.). I guess that means the hate mongers only want immigrants that are white. This is not a huge surprise, I guess. But, considering we’re in the 21st century, it is very disappointing.

Enter Trump and Vance who both egg on the negativity and hate, and you’re left with a very unsettling situation! A dangerous situation!

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again (and again and again) – we’re better than this! As my mother taught me, if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all!

I think if I were on the city council of Springfield, OH, or the mayor or city manager, I think I’d look into what legal action could be taken against the Trump campaign, and Trump and Vance individually, for perpetuating and worsening a bad situation! Their rhetoric has cause a very unstable situation in the city, one that is becoming more dangerous.

I’m kind of surprised that some of the individual Haitians haven’t come together to file some type of class action regarding defamation. Again, the rhetoric coming from the campaign, not just Trump or Vance either, is putting the Haitians in danger. They are being threatened to the point that some parents are not sending their children to school for fear of their getting hurt!

Apparently, Trump and Vance only understand legal action! In a statement in an interview Wednesday or Thursday, Vance said that the “rumor” [his word, not mine] might prove to be false, BUT . . . then he went on to detail the snatching of pets in order to consume them!

I got a clue for you guys! If you don’t know it to be true, don’t repeat it! That’s something we teach our children at young ages – not to participate in gossip mills and spread falsehoods that can hurt people! You are supposed to be grown ups – act like it!

IMHO . . .

More On The Debate

Okay, I’m up and running – kind of! Let’s face it, I’m an early to bed type of person. I get up every morning at 6:00 regardless of what time I went to bed, primarily because my two fur babies jump in bed with me to remind me breakfast time is fast approaching! How can I forget??

Anyway, I’ve had half my coffee and am semi-conscious! So, here I sit ruminating more about the debate last night.

As I’ve been going through my morning routine, I’ve been listening to Morning Joe and its guests critique the debate. It’s hard to disagree with them.

I feel more strongly this morning that Harris won the debate last night. She was cool, calm, specific and on-point! Trump, meanwhile, was chaotic and lying. He looked like a sad old man on his last gasp!

Perhaps he was on his last gasp. With any luck at all, Trump will lose in November and he will retire to the golf course – unless he’s in jail first! Anyway, I digress – back to the debate.

I felt the moderators were good. They fact-checked Trump in real time three times – yes, only three! Had they fact-checked all his lies there would have been no time for any questions! But some of the more egregious lies had to be fact-checked:

Haitian migrants in Springfield, OH are eating the cats and dogs of people who live there.
Democrats favor abortion in the ninth month and even favor killing new born babies.
To be honest, I can’t remember the last lie that was fact-checked, but does it matter?

With respect to the pet eating story, I did find a news article that involved a Canton, OH (not Springfield) woman who is not an immigrant being charged for stomping on the head of a cat, killing it, and eating it. But, again, she is NOT an immigrant and she is not from Springfield. And it is a single incident not a rampant wide-spread event.

With respect to abortions in the ninth month or infanticide, there is no state that allows the killing of a baby. Trump has repeatedly said that Governor Walz allows babies to be killed in the state of Minnesota. Such a lie! Late term abortions were never allowed except under highly unusual circumstances, such as risk to the life of the mother.

I loved the part during the debate when Harris invited everyone to attend a Trump rally to see for themselves. Trump talks of fictional characters such as Hannibal Lector; people start to leave early because it becomes boring.

Clearly, this triggered Trump who stated that Harris rallies are not well-attended and that she pays for people to come to her rallies. In reality, the only paid attendees I’ve seen are for Trump rallies. I’ve seen a couple of different ads on Craig’s List for people to go to a Trump rally in a specific location and saying they would be paid for attending!

I think I said last night that Harris got a lot of her economic policy out within 8 minutes. She touted a $6,000 child tax credit for the first year of a child’s life to help parents buy a crib or car seat, a $50,000 tax deduction for start-up expenses for small businesses (currently the deduction is limited to $5,000) to help spur innovation and new businesses, a $25,000 assistance for first-time home buyers to help people achieve their dream of owning their home, and a goal of building 3,000,000 new homes to help with housing crisis.

Trump’s response to this? She’s had three and a half years, why hasn’t she done it already. I guess he’s forgotten that Harris is the vice president, not the president.

From this point on, Harris got points across at the same time she was pushing Trump’s buttons! She knew the phrases that would trigger him, turning him into an angry old man. He didn’t address most of the questions he was asked. We never heard if he regretted anything he did on January 6th. He merely bemoaned the shooting of Ashli Babbit by a police officer while no one on the “other side” was killed! I guess he forgot about the hundreds of police officers injured or the four that died!

In short, Kamala Harris clearly had a great night, while Trump floundered like a fish out of water!

IMHO . . .

The Debate – Quick overview

The debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris has concluded just a few minutes ago. I’m listening to the post debate analysis while I write this. This will be a very quick overview of my thoughts. It’s late and I really am up past my bedtime (way past)!

This was not a “debate” as one would normally think. A debate is a discussion about a topic or topics, usually between two people. In a presidential debate, the debate normally focuses on the policy position for various issues for each candidate.

If that’s the definition, tonight was not a debate! Kamala Harris managed to get her policy stance out within the first eight minutes, especially with respect to the economy (the number one issue with the majority of voters). Trump meanwhile was reduced to an angry old man who never mentioned a single policy.

In short, Kamala Harris won this “debate” – hand down!

IMHO . . . More tomorrow after I sleep a bit!

PS Taylor Swift just announced she will be voting for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz!! Big news!