2020 Election, Politics

The Rebellion at the Capitol

Bob Claude |

The rebellion that took over the Capitol building has now thankfully been put down. Let’s be clear – no true American nationalist would promote or condone the kind of open revolution and vandalism at our nation’s Capitol that we saw today. The fact that it was incited by a sitting American President is even more shocking. President Trumps’ statement that called the rebels “special” to him and that he “loves” them only stokes the revolt. In contrast, President-elect Biden’s call for unity and rejection of this revolt should be our guiding principle. However, three things must first happen:

  1. All of the rebels need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, even for treason if sustained by the facts.
  2. Sen. Hawley and the other objectors to the Electoral College vote must immediately withdraw their objections. This is no time for political stunts.
  3. The next order of business for the Congress should be the impeachment and removal of President Trump for inciting sedition.

Only then can we move on to recover from this shameful day in our history.

Uncategorized

The Other 9/11 Heroes

Bob Claude |

This is a photo of the Wall of Names at the United Flight 93 memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. In a rare display of unity, both President Trump and former Vice President Biden will visit the Memorial today to pay tribute to these heroes. The History Channel will also air a documentary on their story tonight.

As we remember those gave the ultimate sacrifice on 9/11, let us not forget the heroes of United Flight 93.  They refused to be victims and fought back to save the lives of their fellow Americans, even at the cost of their own.  They are an inspiration to us all and will forever show the power of the American spirit when challenged by the forces of evil. Theodore Roosevelt would have been proud of them!

2020 Election, General, Politics

Fighting the Foreign Trolls

Bob Claude |

I wish that all Americans would realize that American politics is world politics.

Theodore Roosevelt

Labor Day traditionally marks the beginning of the general election season.  After the revelations about Russian interference in the 2016 election, we now know that our political discourse is dangerously open to manipulation by malignant foreign governments.  The good news is that the US is becoming better at identifying and countering these trolls through the new US Cyber Command, which successfully took down the Russian Internet Security Agency’s effort to influence the 2018 midterm elections (see this article from the Council on Foreign Relations).  Nevertheless, Theodore Roosevelt’s advice should always be on our minds. More than ever, American politics is world politics, and all Americans need to see themselves as the first line of defense against attacks against our democracy and be informed on how to identify them.

The Alliance for Securing Democracy recently produced a helpful guide on the methods and messages authoritarian regimes like Russia, China and Iran may use in such attacks.  It points out that while their foreign policies may differ, all three see the US as their enemy and peddle misinformation that converges in various ways.  The difference between their messages and the legitimate criticism that is a hallmark of a free election is that our adversaries seek to sow despair and division, not hope and positive solutions.  Social media platforms definitely need to do more to identify and take down these trolls.  However, each of us will have an important daily role in rejecting these attacks against America and our democratic values here at home in the upcoming 2020 campaign.