For the last four years, I’ve been waiting for my government to initiate programs that would make the world safer and improve the lives of Americans.

Sadly, I was disappointed time and again as terrorists killed innocent people, our enemies attacked sovereign countries, Americans protested violently, the rights of my neighbors were diminished, free speech was hampered, and our political parties could not enact laws because of petty feuding.

Our enemies were trying to take advantage of our weak former president. The US was no longer the leader of the free world, and no longer would rogue countries big and small shutter when an American president pursued military or economic action. The former administration kowtowed to other nations to a disgraceful level.

One of the more serious situations is the illegal stream of migrants entering our country. I cannot understand how liberals could support open borders and unchecked flow of people into our country. The financial, social, religious, and economic implications of this phenomenon are tremendous, now, and far into the future. Twenty million people is often cited as the number of illegals in our country. And even though we were told that immigrants were being vetted, many murderers, rapists, pedophiles, and common criminals have settled in our country.

Joe Biden was an empty suit president. He accomplished very little in the past four years. His second in charge was as bad as her boss. The pair lied to the American people and let things including all kinds of lawlessness prevail. The streets of our major cities are now more dangerous and filthy. Local politicians are turning a blind eye to outrageous and illegal activities.

Donald Trump is a flawed man whose character has been character has been exposed by many. His style is a major impediment to his ability to get things done. But he’s rallied on the backs of people who supported him for the last eight years and many new people who voted Republican for the first time.

There’s a new optimism prevalent in the country that many Trump haters are beginning to appreciate and encourage. For one thing, the new president immediately began to make good on his promises during the presidential campaign. Much of the work he has done so far is related to his ability to mandate action for the short run, but it cannot be used indefinitely.

Trump has undone hundreds of inane orders that Biden mandated during his tenure. The most impressive action so far has been the policy of finding the worst of the illegal immigrants who entered our country. Hundreds of bad actors have been incarcerated or targeted and will be sent back to their countries. Even Trump haters must applaud this very successful endeavor. Related to this is the dramatic decrease in the number of people entering the US on a daily basis.

Trump has already begun to flex his muscles by putting countries on notice to meet their guarantees and assurances, by threatening to use economic sanctions. Columbia defied the US for a few hours and caved in relating to taking back criminals from Columbia that migrated to the US. Trump threatened to tack a tariff on Columbian coffee, and the president of Columbia relented because a tariff would hurt the county economically.

Military force is the most dramatic power the US has, yet economic sanctions are also very powerful. By installing tariffs to gain acceptance of proposals, the US can clean up messy diplomatic situations without the loss of lives. So far Trump has been letting the world know he is not averse to using tariffs to force compliance. But he has many other tools at his disposal such as cutting back foreign aid and disrupting the movement of money and other products, most important are energy restrictions on oil. It’s possible for the US to effectively bankrupt other countries such as Russian, Iran and North Korea. This can be accomplished without firing a shot or a missile.

Trump is ready and able to use non-military strength to elevate the US to the levels it once enjoyed and have been flittered away by Joe Biden. His first targets should be the aforementioned rogue nations and China. The US must take action to head off escalated violence perpetrated by the likes of Iran and North Korea. Both of these two-bit governments are using military assets directly or through proxies, Iran in the Middle East and against Israel and North Korea in the Ukraine. Iran’s nuclear development must also be addressed in the near future.

There is a tremendous surge of optimism throughout the US. I hope all Americans give their support to the new president. Perhaps this support will lead to peace and unity among all nations.

The LA fires have gotten a tremendous amount of attention in the press, as well they should.

Billions of dollars of damage resulted from out-of-control fires in several of the most elite neighborhoods in America that were seemingly unprepared for what happened. The owners of the homes were left in the street as their houses and prized possessions burned or melted in fires.

As I watch the news casts depicting the damage, I can’t help feeling sorry for those who have lost so much. There is a lot of blame that will ruin the careers of many politicians in California as the causes and responses to the fires are investigated.

How are the residents of the LA neighborhoods going to put their lives back together? The insurance companies that sell them fire insurance certainly will have financial problems. Moving forward, the same companies, if they survive, will likely not insure homeowners against wildfires again in the future.

If potential homeowners can insure their homes, will banks underwrite mortgages. If mortgage money is not available, only people with significant resources will be able to rebuild. Will the State of California help home builders, the insurance companies and the banks? It’s an issue given California’s precarious financial condition.

And what about the cleanup. A huge area has been destroyed. The area contains a serious amount of toxins that need to be cleaned up before new structures are built.

The square footage of the 9/11 and its cleanup was small compared to the LA situation. Hundreds of people were poisoned by toxins exuded by the remains of skyscrapers after 911 during the cleanup. The California situation is far greater in scope.

Presumably, the entire infrastructure of the neighborhoods that were destroyed needs to be rebuilt. You can’t build a house unless the homes have access to electricity, plumbing, sewage, etc.

The 500-pound gorilla in the room is whether LA will be able to finance the next Olympics as planned. What’s more important, rebuilding the neighborhoods afflicted by the wild fires or financing an athletic contest? Perhaps Paris will step up and agree to host the next Olympic Games.

I can’t stop thinking about the devastation. Why would the same homeowners build another house on the old site when wildfires may overwhelm the area again, again and again?

Dysfunctional politicians are looking for people to blame for the catastrophe. Whose fault is it that there was not enough water or firefighters to battle the wildfires? It’s going to take several years before the affected land will be ready for new homes.

This devastation caused by Nature and/or some idiots who dropped a cigarette in a bad place is going to take years to rectify. Good luck with this project.

President-elect Donald Trump hit the ground running. He’s just as aggressive as he was four years ago. He is selecting cabinet members and aides that are well suited to carry out his agenda.

What does Trump need to do to get America back on track? To gain respect from the rest of the world should be first to-do item on his list.

It’s perfectly clear that most other leaders of the world resent the US. They are jealous of the power of our nation, the wealth of our citizens, the freedom of our country and the creativity and intelligence of our people. There is no other country in the world that has the same quality of life and democracy that Americans enjoy.

Naturally, when one person has more freedom, talent, creativity, money and a better lifestyle, others will be jealous. Americans have a bullseye on their backs.

Many countries partake in the generosity of the US. Many of these same countries hate America. Still millions in these countries want to immigrate to the US.

I’m amazed that so many countries accept our help and still harshly criticize us. Frankly, the way they speak at the United Nations about America is an abomination. The US provides a safe home for the UN to meet and pays most of the expenses, and yet most of the countries that benefit by the UN harshly criticize us. With friends like this, we don’t need enemies.

I confess, I am a patriotic supporter of the country. For the most part, I stand behind the US as it tries to make friends by giving others aid and security.

In summary, I believe the US has an angel on its shoulder. We do not steal from other countries; we want peace; and the only strings attached are that those participating in our generosity should support us diplomatically. This has not been true under the Biden administration.

Donald Trump has zeroed in on countries that accept our aid and do not pay their way. NATO is primarily financed with US funding, and certain members of NATO refuse to pay their fair share of expenses.

Canada is protected by the US military and the Canadians tax goods exported to the US.

Mexico has done next to nothing to assist the US in stopping illegal immigration.

Trump is right to demand loyalty from countries around the world that we support.

Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, Iraq and many Arab states have behaved intolerably. It is only right for the US to sanction bad behavior of these countries.

Russia is governed by a megalomaniac and has attacked a sovereign nation.

China wants to rival the US, and it does things that prove that they want to fight the US for world domination.

Iran is destabilizing the Middle East. The country is controlled by Ayatollah thugs who terrorize other countries. And soon Iran will have a nuclear capability.

Donald Trump is saying he will be aggressive and take on countries no matter how powerful they are. He has the perfect weapon to accomplish his goals, economic sanctions. The US should bankrupt Russia, Iran and North Korea.

Unfortunately, Trump is still trying to convince Americans he is the right person to lead the US. This is unnecessary. He will only be serving one term. He is a lame duck right out-of-the-box. He should stop worrying about politics and do things that will make America great again.

Joe Biden is going away, thankfully. The Democrats are a poor excuse for a national political party. This status is going to affect national politics for many years.