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 Nikki Haley was born in Bamberg, South Carolina in 1972, her father became US citizen 1978, her mother 2003, according to her autobiography. She was governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and served as the US ambassador at the United Nations under president Trump. Article 2 of the US Constitution sets out that only natural born citizens can be president of the US. Commentators have opined that the natural born citizen requirement was put in to mean that the citizen was not naturalized at some later date. During the 1730's under British Common Law and under the Naturalization Act of 1790 of the First US Congress children of Ameircan citizens born overseas were considered to be American citizens. This was true of Barry Goldwater born in Arizona before it became a US state, and Romney born in Mexico, Senator McCain born in the Panama Canal Zone. This is why when one parent is an American citizen as for Obama and Cruz this law prevails. When a child is born in the US he is considered to be a citizen at birth under the laws of the US and natural born under Article 2 of the US Constitution. Supporting US literacy about civics  knowledge for children is the best way to get the best outcomes for the civic life of the United States as promoted by Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor through iCivics site, and by Lyrarc under the Movement for Global Literacy. ...

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As the Nation faces discord over the right Path Forward it is important to remember- the pandemic's costs for a once in a century event are still being added up. Not just 1 million dead. 1 million with struggles over Long Covid. The toll on the elderly affecting tens of millions of caregivers. 10 million affected by decision not to vaccinate- with adverse symptoms and at work, 20-50 million affected by the financial losses stemming from the pandemic hit to jobs and work in 2019-2020. As the Nation discusses its future there is a sense that many have been left behind even with the best intentions of government. With huge wins in infrastructure now and ahead of us,  the wins are not enough in cutting pharmaceutical and other day to day living costs. Harris has a plan and Trump has no plan for Cost of Living Action. Yet a lot more could have been done for cost of living action given a president with a single focus determination to fix problems, make the large investments needed and full support of both houses of Congress. It is this lack of full Congressional support of a determined president for taking action that has led to insufficient effort to fix cost of living, wages and public services- something that needs to change to bring help to the middle class and lower income working people of America. ...

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Why the Straits of Hormuz are a critical path in the seas near Iran and Saudi Arabia through which much of the world's oil supplies flow. With the U.S. gaining oil sufficiency the straits of Hormuz oil supply lanes in the seas are critical to countries such as China, Japan and India which lack enough internal supplies of oil. Japan's prime minister mediated between the U.S. and Iran to keep the oil supplies lanes open and free of the conflicts and rivalry that have taken place in the region. After initially saying Iran was responsible for some tankers that caught fire, president Trump reversed himself saying that it was unintentional. The U.S. maintains oil sanctions on Iran but is careful not to worsen tensions further, and Iran suffering from the sanctions pursues a policy of trying to wait out the U.S. sanctions.

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The Economist magazine says Mr. Trump's claim that he could fix things because he is an outsider is now quickly proving to be false. The lack of experience works against the Trump administration as it stumbles from one crisis to another. The tweets that were used to turn voter sentiment against opponents now work the other way. There are other problems that are noted here but not emphasized to the extent they need to be. Mr. Trump, as Peggy Noonan, a Reagan aide, has pointed out in the WSJ, risks alienating the very blue collar vote, and older voters whose interests he claimed to defend. This happened with the Ryan Republican House health care bill as millions of poor Americans approaching retirement were one of the worst affected groups. The Economist points out that the next project to tackle tax reform has the same possible consequences for the Trump blue collar base, as it says Republican plans for tax reform are seen as regressive. Tax reform has eluded previous administrations, and requires more experience in building coalitions which the Trump administration lacks in its confrontational attitude towards Congressmen on both sides of the aisle who disagree with him. Improving the U.S. trade position, infrastructure investment are other areas that the administration plans to tackle, yet the first 100 days show that the lack of experience and the lack of a calm composed mind is hurting the Trump administration, to the point of policies that hurt the very voters who put their faith in the Trump administration to improve things. A similar process is unfolding in Britain as it faces a Brexit negotiation that the Economist points out has been badly handled by prime minister Theresa May, and could lead to worsening the economy if no deal is reached because the European Union sees that it is not in its interest to do so, and Ms. May realizes only later that she has taken nationalist sentiment a bit too far for a European economic arrangement to work and provide mutual benefit. A continent wide economic arrangement that it was the wisdom of past leaders from Britain, France and Germany to support for over six decades is not easily undone by one vote, or one government. ...

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The U.S. commander in Europe, Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, says Russia respects strength, and the U.S. must add capability in this situation where Russia is no longer a partner with the U.S. and Europe as it appeared to be previously. He sees the U.S. as ready to meet all its commitments and protecting democracy. He also says Twitter is not the best way to communicate policy as president Trump does, and that he receives his instructions through the chain of command.

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After a period when Democrats let the narrative be shaped by "the entitlements crisis" and questioning the legacy of president Roosevelt- who many including Mr. Trump believe setup the groundwork for the prosperity of the early postwar years in America- the vision of the New Deal and FDR is back, says Glickman in the Washington Post. He says the New Deal order lasted from 1932 to 1980 when president Reagan was elected. Conservatives were skeptical about the New Deal, and Democrats such as Al Gore joined the Conservatives with their faith in limited government and unregulated or less regulated markets. To this was added the faith Democrats such as Mr. Clinton put in a new policy of openness in trade with China that ultimately led to todays $ 1 billion a day deficit with China. There is a new sense says Glickman that the tide is reversing and that FDR is now seen as the new ideal for a fairer and better America, and better investment in the people of America. ...

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Which dilapidated or broken road and bridge infrastructure will be rebuilt first under president Biden's plan? The WSJ looks at the $110 billion in new funding over 5 years to do this. In addition $66 billion for rail, and $39 billion for public transit. So much needs to be done. The list goes on and on. The head of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation, Mr. Tymon, says projects that were not going to get done in 6 years will now get done in 2 years. This is the big difference today, compared to the period under president Obama when little got done. After president Trump put a big spotlight on broken American infrastructure enough of a consensus exists to get on with the work in a big way. Normally the federal government provides about 50% of the funding for state highway and bridge projects. Take Rhode Island, Biden's bill would provide $300 million a year over 5 years, over $60 million over previous yearly levels. Of Rhode Island's 777 bridges 19% are deficient or dilapidated. The longer the bridge is deficient the costlier it becomes to fix. Bad infrastructure affects industry in multiple ways, a problem ignored for too long. Some of them date back to 1903, some to 1958.  In Woonsocket Rhode Island, 5 older bridges are deficient that are vital for local companies, including textile mill, and plastics manufacturer.  One deficient bridge at Naval Station, Newport, to Quonset Business Park with 200 companies is handling steady truck traffic. These are critical bridges for manufacturing says the city's Mayor.  Another state Missouri shows how the Biden investment will change infrastructure in the states. Annual capital funding of $1 billion will go to $1.5 billion over 5 years, says the Director of Missouri's Department of Transportation. That puts within reach all $3 billion of wish list projects that were considered high priorities. ...

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WSJ reports that the former president's supporters will rally to his side but swing voters might be repelled by this latest legal controversy including the context in which it happened that of a sordid affair. Mr. Trump built his support base out of two mistakes of president Obama, his neglect of rural America, and neglect of American manufacturing. And of the mistake of president Bush in pushing America into two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that put money into wars with no productive purpose that needed to be put in rebuilding America's infrastructure. Others could have done this, Mr. Trump aggressively pushed ahead and found himself first. President Biden has closed the chapter on the wars by ending them, he has also closed the chapters of neglect of American manufacturing and put working families and America at the top of his agenda at every point. And as he did at the State of the Union address in 2023, made it personal by reciting what his father has told young Joe about standing up for working families. Biden's abilities rival that of president Lyndon Baines Johnson, who had as much experience in the US Congress as Biden, and delivered the passage of Medicare and Social Security for all Americans. Biden has done something that ranks similar with trillions of dollars for the Inflation Reduction Act, CHIPS and Science Act and pandemic assistance, and has the conviction that there is much more to be done. ...

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Following the Nuclear Security Summit in March 2016, U.S. president Obama says world leaders had expressed concern about Mr. Trump's comments in private conversations with him. Obama said- "even those countries that are used to a carnival atmosphere in their own politics want sobriety and clarity when it comes to U.S. elections because they understand that the president of the United States needs to know what's going on around the world." Obama said that comments by Mr. Trump showed a person "who doesn't know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally. Mr. Trump said in a NYT interview that "Now, wouldn't you in a certain sense have Japan have nuclear weapons when North Korea has nuclear weapons?" Trump has defended these comments in a televised townhall meeting held by CNN in Milwaukee. Obama was critical of these comments as upsetting the situation in Asia where the U.S. has made great sacrifices in World War II, and today "underwrites the peace and prosperity of that region." Adding that "you don't mess with that."...

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Strengthening labor rights in Mexico is part of the effort by Democrats in Congress to amend the Trump agreement with Mexico and Canada. Democrats say the lack of worker protections inside Mexico hurts U.S. workers wages and prospects. Democrats say the USMCA agreement negotiated by president Trump lacks enforcement provisions needed to ensure Mexico lives up to the agreement. Differences with the Trump administration which says these changes can be placed in followup legislation could hold up the agreement till after the 2020 elections in the U.S.

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This WSJ analysis shows that in the counties that flipped to Biden in the U.S. election about 40% of the people had white collar jobs and were better educated and in metropolitan regions. Of the counties that flipped to Trump about 20% had white collar jobs with only 1.4% jobs growth whereas the improvement in the counties that flipped to Biden had much higher jobs growth of 5.3%. Where Biden prevailed 70% of America's GDP is generated, where Trump prevailed 30% is generated. One is white collar in metropolitan regions, in cities and suburbs, better educated. The other is blue collar, less educated. One blue collar is hit hard by the pandemic, the other is white collar but also includes some of the people hardest hit in the pandemic of minorities in the cities and suburbs. In truth none can benefit without bringing all along. And loyalties shift as most of the professional class was once with Republicans who were the party of business. The sending out of American manufacturing to China has not only affected the economy, it has also changed the parties as the Republicans took up the cause of American manufacturing workers changing the two parties. For most of the twentieth century this was not the case as FDR, Truman and Kennedy-Johnson, were Democratic presidents supported by blue collar workers.   ...

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President Trump's focus in the State of the Union message in 2020 in the U.S. Congress was on what he had done for U.S. prestige and perception- "In three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America's destiny. We have totally rejected the downsizing." "We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back." The theme of the speech- "The Great American Comeback." No longer were other nations be allowed to take advantage of America, American interests would come first, and this also meant blue collar working families and middle class. Trade deals with Mexico and Canada, trade deal with China, reversing of the trade deficit, bringing back about 12,000 of the 60,000 thousand factories lost over two administrations Democratic and Republican of the last 16 years with many more factories in the pipeline, increasing jobs and incomes in an unprecedented way, were all the focus of the speech. The president basically sidestepped the impeachment for Ukraine policy and implementation, and focussed on the optimism from reversing American decline in trade, jobs, and manufacturing under past Republican and Democratic administrations.   ...

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The long economic boom in Turkey under Erdogan appears to be coming to a close with president Trump's doubling of tariffs on Turkey's steel and the collapse of the currency Lira, leading to a dramatic decline in confidence of foreign investors. For years warnings have come about Turkey's overdependence on dollar denominated foreign loans to finance credit and growth, with the confidence of foreign investors finally shaken with the deterioration of relations with the U.S. over the arrest of a U.S. pastor leading to a tariff war.

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The 2018 U.S. Budget deal that passed the U.S. Senate on February 8 meets nearly all of the priorities set by Democrats in Congress for increases in spending, says Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky, the senior Democrat in the House Budget Committee. Part of the deal are increases in funding for domestic programs favored by Democrats. As a result Democrats are having difficulty taking a stand on the budget and forcing a shutdown of government on the basis of a single issue, that of children who were brought unlawfully into the country by their parents but offered protection under president Obama's Dreamers legislation called DACA.  Reflecting this ambivalent position Representative Pelosi of San Francisco, made a spirited defense of the Dreamer legislation with a 8 hour nonstop speech, plans to vote against the budget deal, yet says the compromise was fair and helped achieve Democrats priorities on other issues that affect the whole country. Democrats from the most liberal section of the party plan to vote their conscience on the issue, and Pelosi called merely for a commitment from Speaker Ryan to have a vote on legislation that would address the issue of the Dreamers, children of unlawful immigrants. Speaker Ryan offered no commitment on Dreamers except to say any immigration legislation would have to be something president a Trump supports. In the previous vote that led to a government shutdown a settlement was reached between the two parties in a matter of days when Majority Leader McConnell of the Republicans committed to a debate on immigration. On the Republican side the Freedom Caucus members oppose lifting spending caps to address priorities in spending supported by Democrats and to some extent by president Trump, because it worsens the deficit. The budget deal lifts spending caps for this fiscal year for domestic and military spending by about $300 billion. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky emphasized this issue with his opposition to the budget deal and delayed the deal till the final vote in the Senate 71 in favor and 28 against.  ...

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The U.S. orders the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston, Texas. The State Department in a statement said China was conducting "massive illegal spying and influence operations throughout the U.S. against U.S. government officials and American citizens," saying such activities have increased. Footage on local television stations purportedly showed people burning documents on consulate premises, and firefighters were called, says this report in the WSJ. In Copenhagen, Secretary of State Pompeo citing two hacking indictments and U.S. jobs stolen by China's policies, said  "President Trump has said, 'Enough, we're not going to allow this to continue to happen." The two hacking indictments relate to two hackers in China working for China's civilian intelligence agency, targeting American firms involved in coronavirus research and stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of sensitive information from companies around the world, says this report in the WSJ. ...

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This analysis by Julian Borger of the Guardian newspaper cites experts including former Defense Secretary Perry, on the problems with the Trump escalation of rhetoric with North Korea. The U.S. president promised "fire and fury" in a tweet he made, after the increased sanctions passed in the United Nations had already raised the pressure on the North. Perry says the president has no plans to back up what he says, which hurts U.S. credibility posture. The North Koreans responded by saying they are looking at an attack on the U.S. Guam air and naval base in the Pacific. Other experts warn of the danger of stumbling into something unprepared, and increasing the unpredictability with and adversary who is unpredictable to begin with. Wolfsthal, an expert from the earlier administration under president Obama, says the risk of escalation becomes very high because a miscalculation could take place. Rex Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State, tried to tamp down the stressful situation by saying that no action is planned. The U.S. insists it is open to negotiating, but the condition is North Korea putting the ending of its nuclear weapons and missile program on the table. The North Koreans have conveyed their opennesss to negotiate at a meeting in Manila, objecting to the U.S. "hostile" policy as an obstacle.    ...