Cassidy Hutchinson: Confessions Of A Decent Republican

Tuesday, September 26th, 2023 

My Dear America:

It seems as though finding Decent Republican Politicians these days is about as easy as finding Unicorns playing in your backyard.

They are both very rare animals and are hard as hell to find these days.

I was very lucky to find one of those Rare Decent Republicans on Television on Monday night guesting on Rachel Maddow's program.

Cassidy Hutchinson, one of the star witnesses at the January Sixth Congressional Hearings, was on Rachel's program talking about her new book that is just coming out.  The book is called "Enough".

As is usually the case, Rachel Maddow conducted an informative interview with Miss Hutchinson.

Cassidy Hutchinson is a young lady who has a lot going for her.  She is young, attractive and seems to have a good head on her shoulders.  She had a lot of interesting things to say during the interview including the fact that she has had to fight off the advances of some of the more prominent villains of the January Sixth Scandal including Matt Gaetz and Rudy Giuliani.

It certainly could not have been easy for Cassidy Hutchinson to testify to the January Sixth Committee and like John Dean and Alexander Butterfield back in the Watergate Committee Hearings, blow the lid off the Donald Trump led scandal.  According to what I heard last night I think that Miss Hutchinson's book will be revealing a lot more than she revealed to the Committee and to Rachel Maddow.  

I felt bad for Cassidy Hutchinson as she discussed what she had been through since clearly like John Dean and Alexander Butterfield before her back in the Watergate Era, Cassidy was a True Believer in her President until his increasingly Criminal and Anti Democratic Behavior caused her to have no other choice but to jump off the Trump Train to allow her to live with herself and retain her self respect.  

Although Decent Republicans seem to be increasingly hard to find, Cassidy Hutchinson is certainly not the only one of her kind.

Mitt Romney has, for the most part, shown himself to be Decent and honorable although he is presently looking forward to leaving the Senate and heading for the Utah Hills.

Liz Cheny and Adam Kinzinger both signed onto the January Sixth Committee knowing that serving on that Committee would probably be the end of their Republican Congressional Careers. Neither one is still in Congress.  

What we have seen throughout the January Sixth Committee Hearings is that there continue to be at least some Decent Republicans unwilling to accept Lies in order to succeed in the Republican Party.  

Unfortunately, however, it seems to be all too easy for many of those Decent Republicans to go along with the nonsense rather than to, like Cassidy Hutchinson, tell the truth and refuse to accept Donald Trump's Republican Bullshit. 

During her interview with Rachel Maddow Cassidy Hutchinson called on Decent Republicans to come to their senses and take back their party.  

Hopefully at least some Republicans will follow Cassidy Hutchinson's lead and realize that supporting Democracy is far more important than supporting Donald Trump and MAGA Republican lies

In any case I wish the best for Cassidy Hutchinson.  She seems to be an intelligent young lady and a good writer.  I would hope that perhaps MSNBC or CNN might pick her up as a commentator on Donald Trump's many upcoming trials.  I think having Cassidy Hutchinson commenting on the trials would provide some very relevant perspective from someone who knows what she is talking about.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

Advice Democrats Don't Need Right Now From Washington Post Columnist David Ignatius

 Wednesday, September 13, 2023

My Dear America:

Let me be clear about the fact that like many people in America, especially Democrats, I have a great deal of admiration and respect for Washington Post Columnist (and Novelist) David Ignatius.  MSNBC and CNN Viewers will probably easily recognize the face of David Ignatius because he is often on their programs and is often on other Network news programs, as well.  To be honest I have often found myself, as I am sure that other Democrats have as well, in total agreement with Mr. Ignatius as he has commented in his column and on Television mostly on Foreign Affairs issues that affect The United States of America.  Clearly Mr. Ignatius has proven himself over and over to be someone with highly respectable Intellectual and Foreign Policy credentials.

So basically what I am trying to say is that I am a great admirer of David Ignatius.  I think that he has had a great deal of insight with regard to American Foreign Policy and up to now, American Politics.

Unfortunately, in his latest Washington Post Column titled "President Biden Should Not Run Again in 2024" I think that Mr. Ignatius has made a serious mistake in judgement in his recommendation against Joe Biden running for a Second term.  

As a Democrat I find the recommendation by Ignatius for Biden not to run in 2024 unwelcome and obnoxious for many reasons.

What is really weird is that most of the Ignatius column reads like a campaign document listing the accomplishments that the Biden Administration can be and should be proud of.  

Then the Column veers off into a listing of reasons why Biden shouldn't run again in 2024.

The main reason that Ignatius seems to cite is the fact that many Americans including Democrats complain that at his age (80) he is too old to run for President again.  

That is a ridiculous charge made by a 73 year old writer and columnist who admits to the many accomplishments made by the Biden Harris White House.  Biden was elected in 2020 beating an elderly and insane candidate named Donald Trump who is today being criminally pursued all over the country.

Ignatius indicates in his column that Biden's greatest accomplishment has been stopping Trump.  I certainly agree with that.  So why wouldn't Joe Biden want to stop Trump again.  Besides, who in the Democratic Party can guarantee that they can beat Trump.  Nobody that I can see.  

Ignatius also brings up the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris does not have incredible poll numbers and is not very popular in the Democratic Party.

Yes, Vice President Harris may not have the best poll numbers and may not be thought of as the most popular person in the Democratic Party but the truth is that she is a Dynamic Campaigner and a very capable Vice President.

She has shown her stripes over and over and has been in the forefront of the Biden Administration's reactions to such important issues as supporting the Tennessee Justin's when the Tennessee legislature tried to throw them out.  Vice President Harris was also the Administration's point person in pushing back hard against the outrageous actions of Ron DeSantis in trying to whitewash the subject of Slavery in the state of Florida.

I am sure that David Ignatius means well in his recommendations regarding Biden and Harris but I would hope that he comes to his senses soon and sensibly recognizes that this coming election is not only going to be a referendum on Joe Biden and Kamala Harris but it is also going to be a referendum also on whether or not Democracy is going to survive in the United States of America in the coming years.

Please Mr. Ignatius things are going to be hard enough for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the coming years.  For God's sake please don't make it any harder for them to stave off the possible Dictatorship of an American Hitler named Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis or Vivek Ramaswamy.

We know Mr. Ignatius that you are trying to do your job responsibly but in making it harder for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to do their difficult jobs you are presently playing with Fire and if you inadvertently help Donald Trump or one of the other MAGA Flunkeys get elected we may all kiss Democracy Goodbye.

I know you don't want that.

Neither do I and neither do millions of other American Voters.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

HUCKSTERS ON PARADE - A Trumpless Shameless Republican Spectacle on the Debate Stage in Milwaukee

 August 24th 2023

My Dear America:

August 23rd, 2023 was not exactly a slow news day prior to the Fox News sponsored Republican Debate that was broadcast from Milwaukee, Wisconsin last night.  

My afternoon yesterday started off with an announcement on MSNBC that a plane had dropped like a rock from Russian skies with Yevgeny Prigozhin thought to be inside.  Of course it wasn't really a mystery how this had happened.  Prigozhin had challenged Russian Military leaders, as well as Vladimir Putin and seemed to be continuing to be a pain in the ass to Putin in the past few months.  Prigozhin's days had been numbered since his revolt along with his Wagner Group Comrades and his number just happened to come up yesterday.

Another important story yesterday was the surrender of Rudy Giuliani and others at the Fulton County Georgia Court House.

But the Main Story of the Evening was the First Fox News sponsored Republican Candidates Debate that was being held in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Certainly the fact that Donald Trump had chosen to skip this debate probably meant that not as many people would probably watch it.  After all, Donald Trump seemed to be already running away with the Republican Party Nomination to be the party's Nominee for President in 2024.  What did he have to gain by participating in the debate.  Besides, he had other things to do.  Namely, to prepare for turning himself in at the Fulton County Jail today.  

Despite the fact that Indictments and arraignments have been stacking up recently, Trump's popularity in the Republican Party strangely enough seems to continue to improve with each passing indictment and arraignment.  

Although I was playing music online with my friends during the debate I was able to watch a rebroadcast of the show on a Fox News channel later on in the evening.

I have to say that I think that all of the participants in the debate were lucky that Trump wasn't there to suck up all the political oxygen in the room.  Trump's absence might have been a mistake on his part because without him there the other Candidates on the debate stage actually had a chance to introduce themselves to the American voters watching the debate.

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida led things off by talking about such things as eliminating the United States Department of Education.  Unfortunately, he was not the only debater on stage willing to deep six the Education Department.  He also talked about how Florida got rid of "Critical Race Theory" and AP Courses in Black Studies in Florida High Schools despite the fact that Critical Race Theory has not been taught in Florida High Schools or in High Schools anywhere.  I was pleased to see that the fact that Desantis revealed that he would not support the War in Ukraine caused most of his Debate stage opponents to push back hard on this.

Desantis seemed to be joined in his opinion regarding Ukraine with Vivek Ramaswamy, a 38 year old businessman with virtually no political experience but certainly a lot of moxie who was prepared to insult and provoke his way to the front of the debate line in the Milwaukee debate.  Ramaswamy was ballsy and articulate and unafraid of mixing it up with his debate stage opponents.  When those opponents reacted to his arrogance and obnoxiousness, Ramaswamy smiled a phony smile broadly.  Clearly Ramaswamy made it clear in all his positions taken in the debate that he was a strong and willing Trump Ass Kisser and would gladly pardon Trump, whether or not Trump was or was not convicted in any of his pending state or Federal cases.

Ramaswamy was not the only Republican Debater willing to pardon Trump even if he was convicted of a crime.  In a show of hands of who would pardon Trump regardless of his conviction of a crime or crimes, only Asa Hutchinson and Chris Christie, Two former Federal Prosecutors, did not raise their hands.

Hutchinson, who was also an Arkansas Governor did not have much of a chance to say very much during the debate.

Christie, however, had quite a bit to say about why he is running and how he feels about Donald Trump.  Christie bragged about running a Blue state of New Jersey as Governor.  He also bragged about socking it to the Teachers Unions in New Jersey.  Christie also seemed to be very annoyed with the Debate moderators when they asked him a question about UFO's.

Tim Scott also seemed to have it in for the Teacher's Unions.  He also seemed to have it in for Attorney General, Merrick Garland and FBI Director, Christopher Wray, Both of whom he stated he would fire if he was Elected.

Doug Burgum was the Governor of North Dakota who, when he was finally allowed to get a word in edgewise, talked about Small town Values.  I doubt whether his candidacy will get much traction although he seems to be a nice guy.

In my opinion I thought that former South Carolina Governor and Former United Nations Representative Nikki Haley was the person on the stage that I was most impressed with.  When other Republicans onstage were bashing Joe Biden for blowing up the debt Nikki Haley pointed out that Republicans had blown up the debt worse than Democrats with tax cuts for the wealthy during the Trump Administration.  Although Nikki Haley was clearly Pro Life she also seemed to have a more reasonable and realistic attitude about abortion complaining about extreme positions of other Republicans like wanting to lock up women who have abortions.

Mike Pence seemed to have a pretty good night on the debate stage.  He promoted his well deserved Conservative credentials and didn't let anyone on the stage push him around.  Mike stated clearly and most people on the stage agreed with him that on January Sixth of 2021 Mike Pence did the right thing in conducting the Congress to certify the election even though Donald Trump pressured him not to do so.

All in all, I was glad that I watched the First Republican Debate and got to see that not every Candidate on the Republican Ticket was terrible.  

I would never vote for any of them but I could live with a couple of them if, God Forbid, they might be elected.  I actually would be willing to take any of them over Donald Trump except for Robot Ron DeSantis and Egomaniac Vivek Ramaswamy.

I feel, however, convinced that the winner of the 2024 Election will be Joe Biden and deservedly so.  I would not want any of the characters I saw on the stage last night to be in charge of the country dealing with all that Joe Biden has had to deal with.  

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

     

Twin Traitors On The 2024 Presidential Campaign Trail

 Tuesday, July 25th, 2023

My Dear America:

There is something Deadly Wrong going on in America today.  Sometimes I feel as though I'm the only one who sees how bad things are.  But I'm not the only one who knows how bad things are.  My Wife knows it.  My Children know it and most of my friends know it too.  We can all see where we are today and where we are headed.  we can clearly recognize just how close to the edge of madness our Country's political system has become.  

I am scared to death that it may already be too late.  Just like it may be for Climate Change.  I hope that is not the case but it is difficult to clearly recognize just how close to the end of Sanity and Democracy we may truly be in the United States of America.

Good God, the madness is everywhere you look.  Yes, I recognize just how Insane I sound but the truth is that I'm not Insane.  I'm just worried that not enough Americans are clearly recognizing just how incredibly important this coming Presidential Election is going to be for the future of Democracy in America.

For Christ's Sake, Two of the Higher Polling Candidates already signed up for the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary are not simply just Right Wing Nuts.  Dumb Donald Trump and Reckless Ron DeSantis are Straight Up Traitors. 

Yes, I said Traitors.

Among the many good things that President Joe Biden has done is to change the American policy toward Ukraine.  

One of the main reasons that Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. Congress was that Trump blatantly tried to keep arms shipments that the United States Congress had authorized for Ukraine from being delivered to Ukraine.  Who can forget that "Perfect Call" that Trump made to Ukrainian President Zelensky in which Trump showed his inappropriate favoritism for Vladimir Putin.  Trump also did everything he could to weaken NATO, making it very difficult, but luckilly not impossible, for Joe Biden to help repair the damage and bring NATO back to Unity and Strength.

Clearly Donald Trump feels a genuine Affinity and an Authoritarian Kinship with Russian Leader, Vladimir Putin.  We have all seen Trump kissing Putin's ass over and over again during the Trump Administration.  We also heard Trump praising Putin's brilliance at the beginning of the Ukrainian Conflict until he realized just how out of step he was with the rest of the country.  These days Trump seems to be going out of this way not to make any comments on Putin or the Senseless Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

Can anyone really believe that if We were unlucky enough to have Donald Trump return to the White House that Trump would do anything other than try to help Putin defeat Ukraine.  

The answer is "No."  If it walks like a Traitor and Talks like a Traitor it's a Freakin Traitor.

The other Traitor on the Republican Campaign Trail who has shown himself to be totally unfit to run for President but is doing it anyway is Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis has, up to this point, shown himself to be a disturbingly reckless clone of Donald Trump's cruel policies although in some instances this Nazi influenced White Jackbooted fool has sometimes outdistanced Trump in his hurtful treatment of human beings in his home state of Florida.  

Book Bans

LGBTQ Bans

Fights with Disney, one of Florida's main employers

He has sent representatives to Texas to lie to Illegal Immigrants in order to send them to other states.

He even seems to have had the gall to see some good things about Slavery that he thinks should be taught in schools 

This guy is a real Jackass.

Oh, and he has said about Ukraine that the United States should not be involved in a "Territorial Dispute."

A Territorial Dispute is not what has happened in Ukraine.  

Russia cruelly and violently Invaded their Neighbor, Ukraine and Russia has been continuing for over a  year to attempt to destroy their Next Door Neighboring Country.  There is no territorial dispute.  This war would be over immediately if and when Russian forces had the good sense to return back over the border to their own country and left the Ukrainians to live peacefully, free and democratically in their own country, which they were doing for many years prior to the Russian Invasion.

It seems logical to believe that these Two Obnoxious Republican Traitors do not have a snowballs chance in hell to be elected President even if one of them becomes the Republican Nominee for President.  

But I find it difficult to believe in logic anymore.  Logic would have told me in 2016 that Donald Trump would not have been elected President and that Hillary Clinton should have been Elected.  She had more votes in 2016.  Yet Trump became President.  Illogical.

Logic also would have told me that in 2020 when Trump obviously lost the election to Joe Biden that he would not try to manipulate the system and stage a Coup to stay in power.  But Surprise Surprise, Trump tried to manipulate the system and if Mike Pence wasn't a bit more concerned about the Constitution than Kissing Trump's ass Trump might have pulled off his coup.

And as we look forward to the 2024 Election would it be logical for us to believe that if Donald Trump loses this election that he will this time go gently into that good Mara Lago night.

I don't think so.

We Democrats have a lot to think about this next time around.  But first we have to win the 2024 Election for Joe Biden.  Enough with the whining about how old Biden is.  That doesn't matter.  Trump is only a few years younger and he is a Traitor who should never be allowed near the White House ever again.

Biden's Presidential accomplishments are many and important.  We must not let Republican lies about Biden win out in 2024.  We are looking at an election in which the results  are clear as a bell.

Democracy must win this one and MAGA Republicans who obviously don't have Democratic values must lose.  

In 2024 when we go to the voting booth we must say "No" to MAGA Republican Traitors. 

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

  

  

Message To MAGA - Reflections On The Third Anniversary Of "Podcast For A Lost Nation

 Tuesday, July 18th, 2023

My Dear America:

It hardly seems possible that "Podcast For A Lost Nation" has been in operation on Spotify for the past three years but in July of 2023 we are beginning the Fourth Year of Presenting "Podcast For A Lost Nation".  

Although the Podcast does not seem to be destined for engaging staggering numbers of listeners, I understand that there are a lot of Podcasts available with more arriving all the time so I am Okay with my limited but steady numbers of listeners.

Many of those who are and have been listening to the Podcast are Treasured Friends and Relatives and although I am thankful for all my listeners I am extremely grateful for those closest to me who have listened and encouraged me to keep up the fight for Sanity and Democracy in the United States of America.

Thank You Mickey, Johns (A couple of them) Larry, Dave, Dom, Evan, Bruce, Rachel, Laura, Colleen, Sandy and everyone else who has tuned in over the course of the Past Three Years.

As I have revealed in Previous Anniversary Reflections I would never have begun "Podcast For A Lost Nation" without the Encouragement and Guidance of Michael Moore.  Although I am not lucky enough to know Michael personally I have been a big fan of his Incredibly Powerful Movies for a long time.  When I found out that he was doing a Podcast I tuned in.  As I expected, Michael's Podcast, "Rumble," was just as powerful as I thought it would be.  Michael Moore had been one of the few American Commentators who in 2016 thought that Donald Trump could possibly actually win the American Presidential Election.  Early on in his Podcast Episodes he identified his concern that it might be possible for Donald Trump to either win another term legitimately in 2020 or try to steal the 2020 Election and remain in office illegally.  Now, we all know how that turned out.  We are still dealing with Donald Trump's Continuing Deranged Lie that he "Won the 2020 Election by a wide margin" That was total Bullshit.

Anyway, during Michael Moore's First Episodes Michael encouraged his Podcast Listeners to consider creating their own Podcasts through Anchor and Spotify.  Mr. Moore made it sound very easy for anyone to create their own Podcast through Anchor which would make it available on Spotify and several other Podcast Sites.  Thanks to Michael Moore I followed through on his advice and found that he was telling the truth.  Anchor made setting up and continuing to make Podcasts so easy that even I could do it and I have been doing it for the past three years.  

Although the process for making the Podcast Episodes was rather simple there were a few other factors that encouraged me to resort to Podcasting.  As we all remember July of 2020 was a time when a lot of people in America and indeed all over the world were dying of Complications of Covid 19.  As we also remember President Donald Trump was, as he admitted to Journalist, Bob Woodward "Playing Down" the results of Covid.  Clearly Trump was Playing down Covid because he didn't want to become a "Loser" in the 2020 Election.

I remember feeling panicked in 2020 that Donald Trump, whose entire performance during the three and a half years he was in the Presidency was a complete horror show, could actually be Re Elected.  This prospect certainly encouraged me to take what I felt was the logical step of turning my Political Blog  called "Letters To A Lost Nation" which I had been writing since 2008 into a Podcast in July of 2020.

My wife and I had spent some time during years previous to 2016 getting involved in local politics and spending time calling Democrats on the phone for some local Candidates and even some Presidential Candidates including Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Kerry.  We found those experiences less than satisfying since mostly nobody answered our calls and sometimes those who did answer were annoyed and hostile.  In 2020 I wanted to do something to support Joe Biden who I had admired for a long time so I chose to Blog and Podcast advocating for Biden and I was very pleased when he won the 2020 Presidential  Election.  After the election I initially expected Donald Trump to do the right thing and fly off to Mara  Lago and never be heard from again, just as losing Presidential Candidates had done for many years.  

My After Election Plan in 2020 was to switch Blog and Podcast themes to more Cultural rather than Political topics following the swearing in of President Biden in January of 2021.

Of course that switch in topics didn't happen thanks to those Trump Supporters whose devotion to their leader was so strong that they felt that they were willing to Deep Six Democracy rather than let Donald Trump go.

I have said time and time again, like a broken record, that I do not understand and will never really understand, although I've tried, what in the hell the attraction is about Donald Trump that would make people, who I assume are normal Americans, be willing to ditch our Democracy in favor of a Dictatorship led by Donald Trump.  

For God's Sake can't you MAGA people, many of you who are Christians, realize that Donald Trump is as far away from Jesus Christ as it is possible to be.  In addition to his unfamiliarity with the Bible his actions always speak louder than his words.

Christians, Donald Trump does not care at all about you except for what he can get from you.  He demands your loyalty but what loyalty does Donald Trump give anyone.  Ask Michael Cohen who went to jail for paying off a Porn Star for Donald Trump what lessons he has learned about being loyal to Donald Trump.  Trump re payed Cohen's loyalty by instructing his Attorney General to engineer Cohen's prosecution and incarceration for an act that Cohen did simply as a favor for Trump. It was not something Cohen did for himself.   Cohen got nothing out of it other than a Jail Sentence. Suffice it to say that Michael Cohen learned a very hard lesson as he sat in his jail cell for years.  That lesson was that it doesn't pay to be loyal to Donald Trump.

If you are planning to vote for Trump in 2024 Please think about what the consequences of your vote is going to be.

Donald Trump unleashed is not something I want to see and if you haven't given up completely on Democracy and Decent Behavior I hope that most Americans don't want to see it either.  Yes, I must admit that the man can be a Charming Con Man at times and put on a Great Act and sound sincere.  

But please note that Donald Trump's heroes are not normal American Heroes.  His bedside reading material was a book of Hitler's speeches.  That should tell you something.  What world leaders does he admire.  Not normal world leaders like Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron.  He loves Dictators like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un.  That is because he longs to be a Dictator himself.  If he is elected in 2024 and given the reins of power in America again we may have more than Immigrants locked up in American Labor Camps.  Trump has already indicated what kind of people he will be hanging out with.  Jews and Blacks won't be on the list unless it is someone sicker than himself like Kanye West.

We have seen over the past few years what it is like to have a President put the American People's interest in front of his own.  Although he has been given little credit by the American people, Joe Biden's accomplishments during the past few years have been staggering, despite Republican attempts to block his efforts to improve the lives of normal Americans. 

Only those who are as corrupt as Donald Trump should be willing to vote for a Dangerous  Egomaniac Nazi for President.  For the past few years since Trump was defeated by Biden, Trump has continued to identify Enemies of the People as Journalists, Doctors, Teachers, Librarians Professors and Scientists.

For God's Sake MAGA voters.  Wake up and look at Donald Trump Realistically before it is too late for all of us who Truly believe in Democracy in America.

Donald Trump did not Clean up the Swamp during his time in office.  He created the Worst Swamp we have ever seen and he and his Henchmen and Women are looking to do it again.

Lets not let MAGA Republicans turn America into Nazi Germany with Donald Trump as the Fuhrer.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher 

 

 

What The Hell Is Going On In Russia or Mr. Prigozhin Don't Stand Too Close To That 7th Floor Window

 Friday, June 30th, 2023

My Dear America:

This Past Weekend was a very strange weekend for all of us who are interested in what is happening and what is going to happen in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.

It has been well known for some time that Yegevney Prigozhin, the Rogue Leader of the Wagner Group Forces in Ukraine was not happy with what had been going on with the Russian Armed Forces Leadership who were in charge of what the world Calls The "War in Ukraine" and the Russian People are only allowed to call the "Special Military Operation in Ukraine."  Regardless of what it was called, the senseless Invasion of Ukraine by Russia has not been going well for over a year for either the Ukrainians or the Russians.  The only bright spot for the Russians recently was the taking of the Ukrainian City of Bakhmut after a devastating series of battles between mainly Russian Wagner Forces and Ukrainian Forces.  In the end the Ukrainian Freedom Fighters lost out to the Wagner Forces but only after a devastating loss of human lives by both sides, although it was reported that by the end of the Battle for Bakhmut The Wagner Group had lost many more lives than did the Ukrainians.

The Wagner Group has been made up of thousands of Dirty Dozen Type Soldiers.  In other words the Prigozhin led group had been culled from some of the most dangerous Killers and Psychopaths that Prigozhin could find inside Russian Prisons who were willing to agree to kill or be killed in battle in Ukraine and in other dangerous locales in the world including Africa and Syria in exchange for their Freedom and a few Rubles.

Prigozhin made it clear in recent weeks that he was not happy with certain individuals who were in change of the Russian Military Establishment who Prigozhin felt were not supportive enough to the Wagner Troops in Ukraine.  Prigozhin complained bitterly about the lack of ammunition and other needed munitions and equipment.  Prigozhin's complaints seemed to fall on deaf ears within the Russian Military establishment, including Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin's longtime Ally and Boss.  

Reports are that the last straw for Prigozhin was the apparent bombing of a Wagner Military Camp in Ukraine by regular Russian Military forces which killed numerous Wagner Fighters and could have killed Prigozhin.  Prigozhin did not take this Russian military action well.  He gathered up what was left of his Wagner forces in Ukraine and left Ukraine moving his forces to the Russian Military headquarters in Rostov, Russia where for a time Prigozhin appeared to control the Military headquarters.  Following this move it was reported that Prigozhin and his troops were on the road to Moscow where God Knows What was going to happen.

Things were not looking well when Vladimir Putin spoke and declared Prigozhin's actions "Treasonous."

Sometime after this statement by Putin things took a strange turn.  The leader of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko supposedly reached an agreement with Prigozhin in which Prigozhin would move to Belarus as a Sanctuary and a bloodbath in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia would be avoided.  The agreement supposedly indicated that no charges would be filed against Prigozhin and the Wagner Troops would be absorbed by the Russian Army.

At the present time we don't know the whereabouts of Yevgeny Prigozhin.  One report states that he is in Minsk in Belarus living in the only hotel in Minsk that has no windows.  My advice to Prigozhin is to continue to stay in that hotel in one of the first floor rooms, since it is well known that numerous individuals who have fallen out of favor with Vladimir Putin have also strangely fallen out of high windows in recent times .  

Clearly Vladimir Putin has been tolerant of Prigozhin for a long time but it is hard not to assume that Prigozhin's days are numbered.  Certainly it does not appear as though Prigozhin is going to go quietly into retirement.  He has already opened a serious can of worms for Vladimir Putin by his statements indicating that Vladimir Putin's reasons for starting the War in Ukraine, namely that Putin wanted to rid Ukraine of Nazis, was an outright lie.  

The truth is that neither Putin nor Prigozhin are good people.  Prigozhin at least told the truth about the War in Ukraine but a saint he is not and replacing Putin with Prigozhin would be replacing one Monster with a Worse Monster.  

What does seem to be the case at the present time is that Prigozhin's brief but serious rebellion seems to have shown weakness on the part of Vladimir Putin.  What will happen as the result of that weakness is anybody's guess.  Would Prigozhin be a better leader for Russia.  

No.

But at least Prigozhin would possibly not wish to continue the War in Ukraine.

It will be very interesting to keep an eye on what is happening in Russia in the near future.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

Remembering Those Brave Individuals Who Fought And Died To Preserve Freedom And Democracy In America

 Friday,  June 2nd, 2023

My Dear America:

I just spent an extended period of time over the Memorial Day Weekend and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week thinking about the Men and Women of our Armed Forces and what they went through with their partners in Britain and France to fight World Wars in order to preserve Freedom and Democracy in our Country and in the World.  

Watching Turner Classic Movies (TCM) on Memorial Day Weekend and also FDR on the History Channel beginning Memorial Day Evening and continuing for Two nights after that was an inspiring experience.

TCM presented a weekend packed with mainly War Films like Darby's Rangers starring James Garner,  The Naked and the Dead, based on Norman Mailer's First Best Seller starring Aldo Ray, The Dirty Dozen starring Lee Marvin and a host of other well known Actors including Jim Brown, John Cassavettes, Charles Bronson, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savales and even Trini Lopez.  Even the Civil War was represented in the War Movie Marathon featuring the actually Highly Decorated World War II Hero, Audie Murphy starring in The Red Badge of Courage.

Courage was certainly on display throughout the Memorial Day Movie Marathon on TCM.  Also on display throughout these films was the Brotherhood of Battle in which Men at War protect and defend one another, along with genuinely protecting and defending their countries.

War is Hell for sure and no one in their right mind wants to join their country's army and go to other Countries to kill people for fun.  Men were willing to fight for their Country in World War II because they had no other choice.  Adolph Hitler was a despicable dictator who had essentially conquered most of Europe and was on the verge of conquering all of Europe and possibly the world with his partners in War in Japan, Italy and Spain.

When America joined with Britain and Russia and the Free French, Hitler's Blitzkrieg (Lightning War) had already conquered most of Europe along with Italy's Mussolini.  Britain was being bombed nightly by the Germans and France had already fallen into German hands when The United States was bombed at Pearl Harbor giving America no choice but to take up arms against the Japanese, the Italians and the Germans.

The truth was that many Americans were reluctant to enter into another World War after the devastating results of World War I.  The Excellent History Channel Series FDR showed that although Franklin Delano Roosevelt knew that America would probably need to enter the fight against the Nazis at some point much of the country did not want to fight until the disaster at Pearl Harbor gave them no choice but to respond to the monsters that were in the process of taking over the world.  

FDR was a very interesting character who was perfectly suited for his time.  He and his wife Eleanor, who was another interesting character saw their four sons go off to war in World War II while FDR struggled to figure out how to outwit the Nazis along with his partner in War, England's Winston Churchill.  These two Larger Than Life Leaders became close friends and recognized how the deck was stacked against the success of their Countries in World War II.  England was on the verge of defeat by the Nazis when FDR rallied the American Troops and came to the rescue of the world.

Roosevelt and Churchill were the kinds of charismatic leaders who were able to inspire their citizens and their troops to fight for Freedom and Democracy in the world.  They had their flaws but they also were nearly perfectly positioned leaders for their times and their countries.

Both FDR and Churchill were in the unenviable position of needing to encourage their citizens who had no real interest in entering another world war to follow their leadership into World War II. 

What I kept wondering as I watched the Movie Marathon on TCM and FDR on the History Channel was how the men and women who sacrificed their lives and their limbs in World War II would view what is happening in America and in the world today.  

What would those truly brave individuals think about people like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis praising Russian Dictator, Vladimir Putin as he bombs the hell out of the Democratic Country of Ukraine. 

What would those brave individuals from yesteryear think about a Republican Party that has lost its mind and its principles and in state after state pushes for Right Wing agendas like taking away the rights of Women, Gays, Blacks and Transgender people and banning books.

Would those brave veterans of World Wars I and II be Okay with rolling back Civil Rights and Voting Rights in America like Right Wing MAGA Republicans are.

I don't think that those brave souls who fought so hard for Freedom and Democracy in their time would be alright with the liars and the Chicken Hawks who want nothing more than the power to tear down Democracy and Freedom in America and turn it into a Dictatorship.  

I hope that at some point those decent American People who have been bamboozled by the American Right but still truly believe in Democracy and Freedom wake up to what they have signed onto in 2023.

As the election of 2024 creeps ominously closer it is time for Genuine Patriots , not Chickenshit Patriots to wake up to the treason and racist horrors that await us all if either Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis are elected President in 2024.

It is time to stop bitching about how old Joe Biden is and recognize that despite his age President Biden, after the disaster that was Donald Trump, has managed, with no real help from Republicans, to veer away from the traitorous rhetoric and actions of the Trump Administration and has shown the Citizens of the United States that, like FDR, Winston Churchill and the Veterans of the past, American Presidents can be and mostly are believers in Freedom and Democracy.

It is time to recognize that the American Electorate made a Serious Mistake in electing Donald Trump to the Presidency and it is incredibly important that we never make that same mistake again.  

It is time to recognize that people in America have died for the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted and may be on the verge of losing forever.

Wake up to reality, my fellow Americans, before it is too late to save the Freedoms that our Fathers, Grandfathers, Sons and Uncles fought for in our name.

Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher