Despite recent successes with the economy (tariffs), immigration and peace initiatives (Syria, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine), the resistance to the new administration continues to be relentless. Trump is just not likeable. His self-aggrandizing actions are disturbing.

The only problem is Democratic jawboning about the new Trump administration by liberal leaders has not generated any productive ideas. It must be attributable to a lack of effective leadership. Singing songs and using foul language has not paid any dividends. Now liberal politicians are storming places where illegal aliens are being jailed.

The political environment in the US has been increasingly antagonistic and nothing close to accommodative for the past decade. Dems and Republicans have been acting like street gangs taking verbal potshots at each other and making it impossible to do the people’s business. Control and power have replaced the quest for effective, productive and sensible governance. Republicans continually belittle Democratic chatter for no good reason; the complaints are moot and naïve. They should just let the liberals drown in their pitiful rhetoric.

Dems spend every waking hour trying to think of ways to incarcerate Donald Trump, or at least embarrass him. They fail miserably time and again and have infuriated Trump. Trump certainly believes in a strong presidency but claims that he is a dictator who wants to decrease the rights guaranteed in our Constitution are absurd. He in turn is now using his political clout to tear apart the Democratic Party by constantly reminding voters that Biden and his sycophants are responsible for so much chaos in our country including a weak economy and flagrant crime.

Trump effectively uses his political prowess and his bully pulpit to upend ineffectual attacks by his detractors. The liberal left was unable to prove that Trump broke the law on a number of occasions. A great number of voters no longer give credence to liberal accusations about any Trump “scandals” they claim to have uncovered.

It’s amazing that so many politicians get away with outright lies, distortions and improper use of government funds. Musk’s Doge group has uncovered billions of dollars of fraud and lies in their review of government spending. These include Social Security payments to deceased Americans and continued funding of scandalous projects that are frivolous and/or completed. Did you ever notice that money provided to needy groups in the US and overseas never runs its course? This funding never ends, even when they are not needed. There is no accountability. Democrats use federal funds to bolster political ideologies.

The real question is, why don’t Americans support Trump more enthusiastically, even when he is successful? He has assumed the role of caretaker of government spending, something disparately needed. Ten and twenty year projects are still being funded, but funds are forever going into the pockets of sham artists, not needy causes. These situations are being identified.

Trump closed the southern border in record time. Now, no one is crossing our borders illegally, and criminals are being rounded up and sent back to their countries of origin. Twenty million people have illegally come to the US. In the future, we will see dramatic situations in politics, social behavior, economic stability and legal standing as the country tries to digest these interlopers.

While protecting their incompetent past president, Democrats enacted and supported mandates that impacted every part of our nation. The rule of law and due process that critics say Trump is discarding were not practiced by liberals who established sanctuary cities and ignored crime. There has been criminal destruction of property and had total disregard for rights of law-abiding fellow citizens. The legal system fell apart while Biden was in control.

Biden didn’t stop there. His subordinates spent millions of dollars to portray Republicans, including Trump, as unpatriotic. Not one of their outrageous charges proved to be true.

And then you ask, why Trump is defamed that every turn?

No doubt Trump’s aggressive style is tough to swallow. But closing-down ineffectual and illegal programs that are costing taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars will benefit our country. Let Doge have at it.

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In the interest of full disclosure, I was born a Catholic and attended a major Catholic university. I stopped participating in Catholic holidays and rituals during my first year at college.

The recent death of Pope Francis is a sad event. But the adulation he has been receiving does not reflect his actual accomplishments. I do, however, feel a bit guilty criticizing a man who dedicated his life to God.

Pope Francis was no more than a satisfactory pope. He seemed concerned with global problems and world peace, and anxious to opine on some very controversial global issues affecting individual countries. Unfortunately, his followers are giving him too much credit for accomplishing any meaningful changes in the Church. And from my perspective, Francis could have done much more for his flock.

Francis and his conservative allies shot down many significant proposed changes in Catholic doctrine. The wide scale sex scandal has still not been fully addressed or adjudicated. Abuser priests of young boys, young girls and adult women should be tried by laic authorities and drummed out of the priesthood. There should be no Mulligans for guilty priests. What could be more distressing to the parents of an abused child than an abuser who has been under psychological control of the Church committing yet another abusive action. Changing venues is not adequate punishment that should be doled out to offenders of helpless people.

I believe that many Catholics who gave up their faith in the Church in recent years will not return until the situation is cleaned up and all abusers are defrocked and put in jail.

Francis did not appoint new blood to the College of Cardinals. He was elected by conservatives who accept nothing but the old dogma of Catholicism.

Women should play an equal role in the world of Catholicism, yet they cannot play the part of a priest, much less a cardinal who has the power to change Catholic doctrine. The whole world has accepted the fact that 1/2 of the population, women, deserve the right to be heard in the policies and teachings of very important groups of people. No efforts were supported by Francis to enable women to serve as priests.

The ability to end a marriage and continue to practice Catholicism has been discussed, but nothing has changed. To make matters worse, church leaders often give special dispensation to powerful people who are divorcing and want to remain practicing Catholics.

The right of a woman to choose is another issue that haunts Catholics. Francis has not helped the cause of women in this regard. His adamant stand against abortion and contraception has delayed the ability of millions of women to control their families and avoid disease.  

And then there is an issue that diminishes a priest’s ability to advise members of his flock. Since most family disputes usually involve marital affairs, money, and children, why would any person seek out a Catholic priest as an advisor? They have no first-hand experience in these areas. Allowing priests to marry and conceive children would be beneficial.

And a final note. Catholicism is generally a religion of poor people. Collecting money from poor people and amassing billions of dollars of financial assets is disingenuous. The Vatican should be more generous giving aid to its followers.

I’m sad to report that Francis left many issues unresolved. And the cardinals he ordained during his tenure will do little to change the current situation.