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WSJ poll in January 2025 shows DJT has the support of the American people to make changes and at the same time not enough support for major changes the president elect has promised to make. Deport all migrants with criminal records 75% support. On large scale deportation of migrants 70% disapprove deporting long time residents who have no criminal records. Does this long time resident mean people who are here before 2021 when for the first time migrants reached 200,000 in mid year 2021 exceeding the 150,000 peak in DJT's first term, is not made clear by this report on the WSJ poll. This is the point mid 2021 when Biden was supposed to have removed Mayorkas as Homeland Secretary and come up with new legislation with Republicans to close the border before a surge.  Ending birthright citizenship- 64% disapprove 31% approve. Set tariffs on all foreign goods- 48% approve 46% disapprove Eliminating programs for healthcare, education, social safety net- 60% disapprove 34% approve. Eliminate the Department of Education, and eliminate replace career civil service officers- 60% disapprove. ...

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This may be one of the best responses at the confirmation hearings on an important topic of climate. Watch Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders in confirmation hearings with Le Zeldin for EPA Administrator. Lee Zeldin said "climate change is real," and DJT was talking in "the context of the economic cost of some policies where there is a debate and a difference of opinion among parties."

In responding to Senators Lee Zeldin promised cooperation with a bipartisan spirit to tackle climate change, talk to other countries including China about climate change action, and work with individual states including Alaska and Utah which have clean water and air concerns. His demeanor and responses were calm and collected and expressed a desire to fulfill the hopes of most of the Committee Democrats and Republicans through actions of the EPA on climate and the environment.

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Repairing his sail near New Zealand gave Charlie Daniel the right mood to sail again. He wrote on the bulkhead on the cockpit- "Sail like yourself and enjoy it." Underlining yourself. From the coast of Brittany to the world sailing on the Vendee Globe race, solo, nonstop and unassisted, is one of the great achievements. Charlie Daniel made the trip to the Cape of Good Hope, to the coastline on the coast of South America, up to the Equator, and back up the French coast in 64 days. Here he is interviewed in Le Monde about key moments on that trip. Competing with fellow sailor Yoann Richhomme who he has known and sailed with for 20 years, Charlie Daniel was aware that mistakes could be costly. He stayed vigilant, analyzed every weather file until the very end, to take the best rout and not make errors. At times he felt Richhomme was overcanvassed and pushing too hard, in the Southern Ocean, Daniel doing 600 miles in 24 hours told his team that it was too intense that it was wearing down the boat with a long way to travel and he proved right. A crack in the hull was on the inner side which he fixed in New Zealand. At the time he had a negative mood that did not last. ...

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There were 2.5 million encounters at the US Border in Trump's first term says the BBC, under Biden's first term this number quadrupled to 10 million. Had the Biden administration done what it did for China policy and tariffs, quietly leaving them in place and tried sincerely to listen and work with Republicans, replaced Mayorkas in 2021 June when the migrant numbers reached 200,000 far surpassing the 150,000 high under DJT, and negotiated a new law by the end of 2021, this would have stopped asylum, added resources and closed the border in a timely delivery of needed action.

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The major part of 4.5 million deaths have been saved in the US just by the decline in smoking. About 4.5 times the losses during Covid pandemic 4.5 million American saved lives just from the efforts to cut smoking of the last 2 decades, and better cancer screening and treatments. Stopping cigarette advertising saved millions of lives. It means letting processed food companies advertise freely, the FDA not doing its job by letting  companies use Red Dyes in food, and lobbyists for plastics companies not stopping PFAS contamination are all costing American lives in the hundreds of thousands. Cancer rate for women keeps increasing as men cancer rate drops. Men took up smoking in large numbers and the decline in smoking had a bigger impact for men's cancer rate. The overall cancer rate has dropped by 34% since 1991 largely because of the decline in smoking. Men's cancer is now almost even with women in 2021 compared to men having 1.6 times the rate of women in 1992. For women increase in breast feeding and having children at a younger age reduced some kinds of breast cancers, as women had children later, and higher use of alcohol, physical inactivity, obesity added to increase in cancer rates. ...

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BBC News shows how Pam Bondi, former Attorney General of Florida, handled questions from Senators at her confirmation hearings for Attorney General. With a calm demeanor Pam Bondi comes as a relief after the withdrawal of Matt Gaetz.  She said- people want safe streets, people want "America to be safe again. Of course they want the good economy and cost of living. And that will make America Great Again, and I don't see how that has become a bad word."

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Senator Manchin of West Virginia secured a transitional use of coal, oil and natural gas in the Biden legislation including Inflation Reduction Act. The Biden team eventually accepted the need for use of oil and natural gas in the transition to clean energy. During the first Trump term the support for fossil fuels was tempered by the fact that industries looked at the situation in the long term as administrations can change every 4 years, and continued the transition to clean energy. The combination of these factors means that the transition to clean energy continues in some form.

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US president Biden will give his farewell address on Jan 15 at 8 pm Eastern Time. It marks a vital point in a five decade career of public service, unprecedented in US history. Its impact is huge coming at the time of Covid pandemic and at a turning point in rebuilding America's infrastructure. What Biden missed was that migration needed to be brought under control taking immediate action as a top priority in 2021, not getting blindsided by the fact that Republicans were using strong language and the issue had become politicized. Biden did this for tariffs with China in 2020 keeping most of the DJT tariffs, he could have done the same keeping the basic border policies of the DJT administration and negotiating with Republicans in 2021 when he was in a good position to have legislation passed. Which he did late by Feb 2024 with Senator Lankford and Republicans but failed to get it through in the primary election season, by then too late. ...

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Most Senators of both parties have worked with Senator Marco Rubio of Florida on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and have a very positive view of Rubio. Shaheen of New Hampshire, Kaine of Virgina, Duckworth of Illinois, Cornyn of Texas, Cruz of Texas, all welcomed Rubio's appointment as Secretary of State. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois even thanked Rubio for changing House rules so she could bring her new born daughter to the Senate for votes- Rubio had told her "What's the big deal?" This may be the best and most important appointment DJT has made considering how down to earth, courteous yet frank spoken Rubio has been in his work in the Senate and in talking to the public. Rubio told Cornyn about his concerns for US outbound investment hurting America. “At a minimum we should have insight into whether American investment dollars" are used for funding "activities designed to undermine the United States of America." In 2020 Rubio had poointed out how easily "Luckin Coffee" had raised money in US capital markets- it later went bankrupt. In other situations national security was involved but not considered in the proper way for outbound investment for two decades on Wall Street.   ...

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The sense that one gets from the confirmation hearings for Pam Bondi is that after Matt Gaetz pulled out, Pam Bondi with her relaxed and thoughtful manner, her experience as Attorney General of Florida, is a decent choice. Most Senators felt she had the votes for confirmation. She brings the same skills for Republicans as Susan Wiles, DJT's chief of staff- she brings a calm demeanor to balance DJT's penchant for speaking in a blunt manner.  Pam Bondi confirmed that if nominated as head of FBI Kash Patel would report to her. Chris Coon accidentally calls her "Attorney General," and says he looks forward with working with her. Coons is the Senator from Delaware that was closest to president Biden.  Senators questioned Pam Bondi, a former Attorney General of Florida who has done work for companies seeking to work with DJT, and defended DJT in the first impeachment hearing, at her confirmation hearing in the US Senate. The back and forth exchanges happened with Democrats Adam Schiff and Hirano. With Padilla Pam Bondi was not given the opportunity to respond as he insisted on a yes or no answer. Democrats Schiff wanted to know whether she would investigate Lynn Cheney or Jack Smith. Bondi said she had not seen the file and it would e improper for to say anything without studying the matter, and that she did not want to drag politics into the work at the Justice Department as had been the situation before. Hirano asked if president Biden won the 2020 election. Pam Bondi responded that "Joe Biden is the president of the US."   ...

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Israel and Hamas agree to a pause in the fighting with a deal brokered by Qatar and Egypt. The top Middle East envoys of Biden and Trump were involved in the 96 hours of negotiations that preceded the deal.

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The Food and Drug Administration approved Artificial Dye Red 3 in 1969. It banned it in cosmetics 20 years later in 1990 but did not ban it from food because of lobbying from the food industry, says this report in WSJ. This is simply outrageous.

Democrats and Republicans were both allowing lobbyists to damage the health of the American people. It took another 35 years after banning it in cosmetics to ban it's use in food this week. 

This is simply outrageous and shows politicians of three decades lacked the courage to even defend the Nation's food supply.

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The probability of rate cuts by the Fed increases with decline in core inflation even as inflation for the year is 2.9%. Higher inflation is because of 4% increases monthly of gas prices. The oil price increase is seen as a temporary factor with longer term inflation headed down.