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John Hills, a law professor at Indiana University and author of "The Political Centrist," says tough political exchanges are endemic to the American political system. Others say putting crosshairs on representatives in Congress like Giffords on websites or its equivalent wasn't the practice since the times of Jefferson and Adams. We looked at the letters of George Washington during the long struggle with the British and it showed composure and civility even in dire circumstances and difficulties. Criticism by Washington of the lack of help and risks he was exposed to throughout the war was worded carefully, with civility and yet conveys the great urgency. What about the letters of Jefferson and Adams who were on opposite sides of the debates of that time, a time more infused with momentous issues because of the French revolutionary tide in those years? A letter to Abigail Adams, from Washington, June 13, 1804, gives a glimpse of that relationship: "The friendship with which you honored me has ever been valued, and fully reciprocated, and altho' events have been passing which may be trying to some minds, I never believed yours to be of that kind, nor felt that my own was. Neither my estimate of your character, nor the esteem founded on that, have ever been lessened for a single moment, although doubts whether it would be acceptable may have forbidden manifestations of it. Mr Adams friendship and mine began at an earlier date. It accompanied us thro' long and important scenes. The different conclusions that we had drawn from our political reading and reflections were not permitted to lessen mutual esteem, each party being conscious they were the result of an honest conviction in the other. Like differences of opinion existing among our fellow citizens attached them to the one or the other of us, and produced a rivalship in their minds which did not exist in ours." Jefferson in this letter says that one act of Adam's gave him a moment of personal displeasure, the last appointments by Adams as President "from among my most ardent political enemies." This says Jefferson "laid me under the embarrassment of acting thro' men whose views were to defeat mine, or to encounter the odium of putting others in their places...If my respect for him did not permit me to ascribe the whole blame on the influence of others, it left something for friendship to forgive, and after brooding over it for some little time, and not alwasys resisting the expression of it, I forgave it cordially, and returned to the same state of esteem and respect for him which had long subsisted...I maintain for him and shall carry into private life an unform and high measure of respect and goodwill, and for yourself a sincere attachment."...

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Sharp swings in attitudes have left America divided in terms of education. A comparable situation exists also in the UK as areas with more education access have separated from areas with less access to higher education. As the WSJ analysis points out at one time social cohesion prevailed in the postwar years till 1970 with educational attainment playing a small part leaving social cohesion intact. Even in the period 1970-1990 when there was a shift for college educated women to prefer Democratic Party and white men without a college degree to prefer Republicans this was not a significant gap. The Democratic Party appealed to less educated union voters in manufacturing industries as well as it did with college educated men and women. This gradually fractured during the Clinton and Obama administrations as the Democratic Party  moved closer to the higher educated and drawing more support from new tech industries than manufacturing. Nowhere is this more evident  than in the way college educated women have shifted to the Democratic Party and white men without a college degree have moved to the Republican Party. Swings of different types are normal in elections and politics. But swings purely based on education are rare in American politics and not healthy for the democratic system of government. As the analysis from WSJ/NBC News shows college educated women favor Democratic Party by 33 percent margin. And the swing is even deeper for white men without a college educated degree who favor Republican by a 42% margin. This is the situation before the 2018 U.S. Congressional elections. The combined group of college educated women and white men without a college degree make up 40% of the U.S. voting public. This makes each group unreachable for the other party, a situation unimaginable for many of America's leaders if they would be living today- from presidents Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. White voters make up 70% of the electorate, and a situation where they would be unreachable for Democrats would be unthinkable or unimaginable for Truman, John Kennedy. And Eisenhower would also find it unimaginable that he would have to writeoff college educated women in his campaign.  By returning the Labour Party to its roots Britain is combatting this tendency for fracturing of social cohesion. In the way the UK's Blair administration moved away from Labour party's roots in manufacturing and the trade unions, the Democratic administrations under Clinton and Obama  moved away from manufacturing industries and the trade unions.   Most of the postwar leaders of the stature of Eisenhower and Kennedy would have seen such a situation as a significant failure in political leadership. ...

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Haberman, Swan and Igielnik of the NYT who have followed the Trump campaign closely, say the closing message is Immigration and the Border for the former president as the campaign enters its closing days. Democrats are also talking about tough action on this issue by increasing Border Patrol agents, increasing funding for technology at the border, and getting the Republican Lankford legislation passed as a top priority for Harris to permanently address shortcomings in US border protection. Without this legislation -that Mr. Trump blocked in the US Congress to use as a campaign issue- the most important missing piece of the puzzle of fixing the border by ending asylum and processing quickly, and removing loopholes that allow illegal entry into the United States, no permanent solution could be achieved is not to be taken lightly. Do a large majority of Americans grasp the need for tough but also comprehensive action with broad bipartisan support changing America's laws on the Border? That is now the question as Harris plans her own fight to limit immigration to legal entry as planned by the government to meet American needs. ...

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DJT tariffs are selective and reciprocality makes them fair. This also cushions the impact on consumers and countries. Countries who have blatantly unfair tariffs for decades can then decide as in EU, China, India, Japan, S. Korea, Mexico and Canada, can decide how they will respond by looking at what they need to do for fair trade. Some tariffs are intended also as domestic policy for failure to control of fentanyl into the US as with CMC countries Canada, Mexico and China. US producers will make goods sourced from these countries at home and as DJT says about autos from Mexico this will lead to American producers in Detroit picking up production and bringing manufacturing back home to USA. Most goods Americans use were made in the US in the postwar period from 1950-1980, American manufacturing will get the boost it so badly needs after unfair trade practices from other countries in the EU, Japan, Taiwan and China. By April this policy will be in place, by June in 6 months the policies will be fully operational at entry ports in the US including Los Angeles and Long Beach. All tariffs are selective, carefully evaluated for individual countries and products and regions based on reciprocality a principle that is fair to all countries and the principle on which the world trading system is founded. Individual companies and industries that gain this or that benefit may present it differently saying is good or bad based on their interest and profits- for the US and American people the principle of reciprocality provides a yardstick that is both fair and in the long term interest of bringing jobs and higher wages to the US. ...

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The Guardian's Greenhouse says the UAW sees the tariff action with 25% tariff on cars imported into the US starting April 2 2025, as a positive step.  Shawn Fain of the UAW who had the support of president Biden during his term 2020-2024 says DJT's actions match those taken by Biden to help working class Americans and the middle class. Supporting the president “for stepping up to end the free trade disaster that has devastated working-class communities for decades”. “Ending the race to the bottom in the auto industry starts with fixing our broken trade deals, and the Trump administration has made history with today’s actions.” Greenhouse is concerned that the way it is being implemented can create problems with tariffs on one day and off the next. The reason for the on again off again action was to give Mexico, Canada, and China time to respond with action they have not taken on fentanyl flows into the US, and Mexico time to address migrant trafficking across its borders. The US International Trade Commission study in 2024 on the 25% tariff on US auto imports cited by BBC shows it would reduce imports by 75%, increase prices by a modest 5%, and increase revenues of auto makers in the US by 5%. Figures such as prices going up by $6000 may apply to BMW's that are imported from Germany and carry high price tags for a very small very affluent customer group unrepresentative of the US automobile market. ...

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Scott Bessent, DJT's senior most economic executive says-“There’s nothing that tells me that Powell should step down right now. He’s been a good public servant." The media is making much out of DJT criticism of US central bank Fed chairman Powell. Yet Powell is one of the original appointments by DJT in 2018 and has done his job carefully and methodically, explaining to the public each step of the way. He correctly pointed out the role of supply chain in inflation during covid and was careful to calibrate his moves so that the Fed is ready to respond but does not overreact. His explanations were direct and his manner humble enough to get him respect. In fact DJT may have made one of his best appointments in Jay Powell who was nominated in the Senate by a vote 84-13 in 2018. Compared to his predecessors his style and work carefully monitoring inflation and unemployment to strike the right balance is far better than any of his predecessors going back to the 1980's, and complements the work done on trade for a level playing field by DJT.     ...

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Janet Yellen preceded Mr. Powell as Fed chairman, to head the U.S. central bank. Mr. Powell has warned that it took 8 or 9 years for the Fed policies to work to get tighter labor markets where minorities and other less advantaged groups could find employment. A better solution has to be found. Crises should be anticipated and prevented such as the mortgage crisis of 2009- banks, business, regulators in government, bank policy and political leaders all have a responsibility to ensure this. A mediocre leadership in each field alone could have led to the crisis of this magnitude in 2009. The pandemic is a second blow to these same groups in society struggling to make a living and has added many more. Two large whole sections of society were hurt in the rescue from that banking debacle with shoddy mortgages. The rescue involved low interest rates and the offshoot effect of this was to reduce the return on savings of people in retirement or close to retirement who in the past could depend on interest rates of somewhere between 5 to 8% annually to increase their savings over a decade. The high costs of medical care as a result of artificially inflated medical costs and poor managing of this cost are a burden for this section of society- with diminished savings from both low interest rates and loss of employment from the financial crisis. The young people with high tuition burdens were the other section of society hit hard. Tuition costs are also out of control similar to medical costs, putting great burdens on whole sections of society in an unconscionable way for a society that claims to be "for the people." Mr. Mnuchin, Mr. Trump's Treasury Secretary, did not have a close understanding with Mr. Powell. As Mr. Powell enters the last year of his term as Fed chairman, his close relationship with Ms. Yellen at Treasury is seen in a positive way by the WSJ. Powell worked at Treasury in the 1990's. After 2012 to 2018 both Powell and Yellen were at the Federal Reserve, working closely and having adjacent offices. Will this duo make a difference? ...

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It should be remembered as NHK points out that Mr. Obama never visited the Main Building of the Hiroshima Museum and only spent a little time in the East Building. It is the Main Building that Prime Minister Kishida- who represents Hiroshima City in parliament - wants Biden, Scholz and other G7 leaders to see. It is only in the Main Building that leaders can see the graphic images of the devastation of the atomic bomb dropped by the plane Enola Gay on Hiroshima.  A suggestion is for NHK to give a private broadcast to G7 leaders of the documentary already shown in Asia on NHK television last week.  Having seen it one can say that it in no way affects the use of nuclear deterrance. A suggestion for the Hiroshima Museum authority is for it to also show the devastation of Japanese bombing in Asia from World War II that  may have created the insular feeling in American public about the dropping of the bomb and only thinking it could have come sooner to save lives for the Allies, itself creating conflicting feelings and affecting mental health. A recent exhibition in Barcelona showed the Nazi bombing of Republican parts of Spain leading to millions of refugees crossing over to Europe. Similar situation happened in China and the images may have created America's insular feeling about the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. It is in everyone's interest to know, to comprehend the devastation in all places, the conflicting narratives that were told, and for people as spiritual values teach us to develop the virtuous conduct, the concentration and the wisdom that both the Bible and the Buddhist suttas teach Americans, Europeans and Asians. Something that was lost in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.    ...

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WSJ talks to Adam Grant, Prof. of Organizational Psychology at Wharton School of Business, on the importance of experimenting with different ideas. For every decision A and implementing it one forgets that there were other decisions that could have been made B, C, D or E, and each one offered new ways to experiment and try out new ideas. Grant is author of the book-" Think Again - The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know." Here he talks about how some CEO's used the pandemic (a problem) as an opportunity to experiment with new ideas on work to create productive happier workplaces. Others were too afraid to experiment. Grant says research data shows people are more likely to stay in a hybrid structure, because it gives them flexibility. From the productive workplace perspective this means people have to develop new skills and new muscle in a kind of experiment. This is what he says many CEO's are fearful to try out, now that they are reverting to the old workplace in the office-to what they know.  His biggest fear is that the experimentation that covid brought to us will stop. He sees four days of focused work a week or six hours of concentration in work a day, as way better than 8 hours of distracted work or five unmotivated days. Not just personal bonds are necessary says Grant, clear roles and goals are needed. And people need to be excited about what they are doing, which is possible he has found when they know the work has meaning for people who they are serving. ...

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Was president Biden right to get the Fed, the FDIC and Treasury to cover the uninsured deposits in Silicon Valley Bank. Is it a good use of taxpayer money? $25 billion was provided by the Treasury to the Fed to stabilize other medium sized banks. The answer from the administration is that it was necessary to protect working families from any effects on the overall economy of the ripple effect on medium sized banks that were left unregulated by former president Trump's 2018 roll back of regulation on banks with less than 250 billion in assets.The Office of the Budget has shown that the government recovered all except $31 billion from the much larger bailout of 2008. Paul Krugman in NYT says the assets of SVB are invested in long term US Treasury securities which have value and should cover most of the cost of insuring depositors. Moral hazard is covered by the management at SVB and Signature losing their jobs and by the losses in stock value and bonds which are left unprotected as a cautionary signal to investors. A much larger impact is hidden in the hearts and minds of Silicon Valley who will be expected to reflect on the nature of their self serving deal where they oppose regulation of tech monopolies and of regulatory action except where it serves their  own interests, and see a laissez faire system that works for them but not for workers and families across communities in states across America. A situation made worse by the loss of America's manufacturing base on which issue Silicon Valley neither reflected or acted. ...

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About 600 US and European company brands are leaving Russia. This report in the WSJ shows how ordinary Russians are coping with jobs in limbo. Many of these companies are continuing to pay employees but jobs remain uncertain. This includes companies like Sweden's IKEA that are popular in Russia. As western sanctions make operating difficult companies future is uncertain. This is creating anti-Western sentiment particularly in the rural areas which use mostly Russian made products and which are Putin's main source of support. Even Russians who question the attacks on Ukraine are skeptical how the withdrawal of these companies helps find a solution for Ukraine. This is happening even as the errors made by 4 term German chancellor of increasing the dependence of Germany on Russian energy supplies from 36% during Putin's annexation of Crimea to 55% today are becoming abundantly clear.That makes an energy embargo on Russia difficult for Europe, with German business saying this would be "catastrophic" because it is unprepared even though this alone provides about $1 billion a day to Putin's Russia. Meanwhile EU and other western leaders call attention to India's drawing 1-2% of its energy supplies from Russia even though one month of Indian imports is equal to just one afternoon of European oil and gas imports from Russia. India has done more than Merkel's Germany to meet the need for humanitarian vaccine assistance for the poor countries of Asia and Africa, Middle East, and is now engaged in meeting the needs of the world for foodgrains after the fallout from an Ukraine crisis that is a result of emboldening of Russia from Merkel's policies.  ...

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Negative interest hurt the vulnerable the most- consider how much in interest would have to be deposited in retirement accounts savings of retirees to make up for lost interest over two decades. It could be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. It has added to the poverty in the Nation as interest income went gradually to negligible amounts. It also disincentivised savings,  and reduced the cost of capital so that hundreds of billions of dollars of retirees and other people's income was shifted into startups and dubious investments that did little to add to essential public services, education, healthcare, that would improve the quality of life for workers, families and children.It was in effect a misuse of economic policy to serve one section of the population at the expense of the large majority of the people in the Nation, and a shift of hundreds of billions of dollars over two decades from the vulnerable who needed it most to other uses. And aggravating the situation resulting from the failures in investing in manufacturing in the US that put whole communities at risk, neglecting the investment in infrastructure that helps ordinary people the vast majority in the nation the most. Only now are these investments being taken up by the Biden administration reallocating funds to infrastructure, manufacturing and clean energy, to retirees, and to communities across America. During this time of two lost decades for America, and into the future, the great nations of Asia, China and India, have advanced and are advancing with focused attention on the needs of all the people in their nations, and most importantly of all in advanced infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.  ...

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Germany's new president Steinmeier vigorously defends democracy and the European Union, in his first major speech after accepting the post of president. He calls for "push back together" against the foes of democracy. Passion and commitment marked the style of president Gauck, says Furstenau of DW.com, and this is true also for Steinmeier. Both also share personal conviction matched with personal experience, Gauck as a pastor in the former GDR looking for alternatives as the GDR crumbled, and Steinmeier is respected for his exceptional work in diplomacy for Germany. Both bring a striaghtforward manner but tremendous sincerity, so that the message is heard with respect from all parts of Germany. Furstenau calls him a German and European patriot. In Gauck's last speech he called for affirming Germany in the EU- "although voices may praise the fool's gold of long outdated nationalism, we will remain Germans- as Europeans, although the uncertainty of our times may be alarming, we will not flee from our responsibility." Steinmeier echoes the same message, backed up with personal conviction and long experience in serving Germany. Gauck called for a "vigilant democracy" that maintains the basic conditions for peace and dialogue, and also shows the willingness to defend the republic and the Basic Law, because " we do not want our country or other European member states to become the playthings of actors who are pursuing entirely different interests." In his acceptance speech Steinmeier called for courage, after Gauck had laid down the theme of Germans "not overlooking the potential within us.... trusting in our own strength and staying calm and composed."   ...

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Roy Cooper of North Carolina says Kamala Harris has visited the state 15 times and will be there next week. He says North Carolina is the fastest growing state in the country and was lost by 1.3%, that this time it can be won as it was won by Obama in 2008. Cooper,  two term governor of North Carolina says Mark Robinson the Republican candidate for Governor is the most extreme candidate for Governor in the US right now, with open disrespect for women, and it will draw voters to voting booths in large numbers. Cooper's view is that it will help Harris, that "all of the confluence of the issues makes this state a state Kamala Harris can win, and I believe will win." In 2020 Roy Cooper won by 250,000 votes or 5% of the vote margin over  Lt. Governor Dan Forest. The key to North Carolina is in the I-85 corridor, a suburban region with cities and university towns that are home to more than two-thirds of the state's population and casts almost 70% of the state's vote. The state's five largest counties-- Mecklenburg home to Charlotte) Wake (home to Raleigh), Guilford (home to Greensboro), Forsyth (home to Winston Salem) and Durham (home to Durham)--are all located in this area. Making many visits to the state, and strong grassroots effort is essential. Highly affluent and educated migrants from the Northeast, who traditionally tend to vote Democratic; as well as African Americans, Hispanics (an increasing population in the state), and college students are voting blocs that are likely to vote heavily on economic issues, abortion, student debt relief, and issues raised by extreme views of Mark Robinson and the future direction of the Nation. ...

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The Tunisian revollution was middle class, un-Islamic and pro-western. The people in the streets of Cairo are young, connected, non-ideological and pragmatic. They are looking for an end to despotic regimes. This is the way Cohen describes the demonstrators after his visit to Tunis. Egypt's opposition leader El-Baradei tells Cohen's colleagues Kirkpatrick and Slackman that he is pretty sure that an elected government in Egypt woulld be a moderate one. The policies of a community activist from the south side of Chicago, who as US President fails to take a clear stand in favor of freedom from repression and economic freedom for people in the Arab world.

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An economic solution to the Congolese war between Rwanda and the Congolese government in Kinshashafor the eastern provinces that are a1000 miles from Kinshasha. The proposal is from Herman Cohen who was assistant Secretary of state for Africa from 1989 to 1993. It call for a economic common market for the east African nations of Congo eastern provinces andRwanda, Burundi, Tanzania and Africa that have trading relations through the Indian ocean ports and payment of royalties to the Congolese government for use of forests and lands in the east which are in the proximity of these eastern African countries. The US and the EU have to take the lead.

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Obama picks many Californians for his energy and EPA team. Carol Browner Clinton era EPA head takes over as climate change czar at the White House, and Lisa Jackson of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection takes on the EPA head position. Steven Chu who heads the Larence Berkeley National Lab will be Energy Secretary. Add Nacy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer and Henry Waxman in Congress all Californians to the team. Colorado Senator Ken Salazar becomes Interior secretary. It will take on a host of challenges in this area to give the US a new energy and environmental protection agenda and policies after years of neglect.

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This article in the NYT provides a look at the features of the Republican House Health Care Plan- Both the Affordable Health Care Act and the House Plan provide incentives for buying insurance- the ACA bases these incentives on income levels whereas the House Plan does not provide additional help for low incomes or elderly. Incomes at $20,000 would see a loss greater than  $2000 under the House Plan and as many of the elderly poor living in high cost areas may not have the resources to make up for this loss of subisidies they may forgo buying insurance or have insurance coverage that protects only in a limited way. President Trump has given assurances that all will be covered. For people with incomes of $50,000 or $75000 the loss of $2000 subisidies would also have some impact. At larger incomes or the well to do the subsidies are not handed out under either plan. Under the ACA the emphasis was on income levels and high cost insurance areas the subsidies were greater, under the House Plan the subisidies would be higher for the elderly compared to the young but very low income levels are not given additional help.     ...

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The Freedom Party with anti-immigration position gets 28% of the vote with centrist People's Party which is said to have handled the recent floods well at 26%, and the Social Democrats at 21%. This leaves the only prospect of a government of the Centrist parties with the Social Democrats. It also shows that Socialist party leader Mette Frederiksen, prime minister of Denmark since 2019, is right that immigration simply distracts from important economic issues of cost of living and wages for workers and families, that immigration should be stopped so that other important issues for working class families can be addressed.This is also the view of Labour Party leader Keir Starmer in Britain and of Biden-Harris in the US who want to see the Republican Lankford legislation closing the Border passed and which Harris promises to have it brought to her desk to sign.

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Emil Bowe, 43 years, is a federal prosecuting attorney at Southern Division, New York. WSJ calls him a state school kid among Ivy Leaguers, a law and order type who is passionate about prosecuting the bad guys. Emily Bowe and Todd Blanche are Deputy Attorney General and Principal Attorney General under DJT in 2025. Todd Blanche brought him in to defend DJT in 2024 cases filed against DJT.

Bowe from Seneca Falls upstate New York  went to University of Albany for BA and Georgetown for JD. He has given priority to pursuing immigration offense and narcotics crime in preference to white collar crimes and has a single minded dedication to the task. He is now overhauling the Justice Department to make the shift from white collar crime to immigration and fentanyl flows at the US borders.

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Funding for US colleges decreases, fewer high school students graduate in 2025. Fewer foreign students. All this is affecting American colleges. For two decades American colleges allowed tution to get out of control making it unaffordable for a middle class that was already hit by the American leaders who allowed America's industrial base to be shipped out to China. As factory towns dwindled in importance and worker jobs and incomes declined across the length and breadth of America, universities and colleges took little responsibility even as young men opted to not go to college. Tution fees kept rising requiring loans that could not be paid off. Today the rust belt is coming to these colleges as the DJT administration has decided to give low priority to funding these colleges and universities and new career paths are being created through apprenticeships and other vocational education.

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Throughout their work as high school teachers in Mankato, Minnesota, during Tim Walz's 8 years in the US Congress, 8 years as Minnesota Governor, Tim and Gwen Walz were a pair that depended on each other and were each others closest advisers. Gwen Walz had an office in the Minnesota Governor's offices. She has taken a strong interest in education, in Minnesota's schools and colleges and shares the same passion that Tim Walz has for the school lunch programs and other ways to build educational opportunity in the state. Jospeh Bernstein looks at the life and work of Gwen Walz, spouse of the new running mate of Kamala Harris, Tim Walz of Minnesota. In 2002 when Tim Walz was running for Governor Walter Mondale came out of retirement to fill the seat of Senator Wellstone. At a meeting she is shown with Walter Mondale whom she thanked for inspiring her with his VP choice of Geraldine Ferraro. This is memorable because Hubert Humphrey was a mentor of Walter Mondale. Humphrey's role in US politics goes back to the days when he was a candidate for the presidential nomination against John F. Kennedy in 1956 and 1960. Humphrey was Vice President under LBJ. Mondale served as Vice President under president Jimmy Carter from Georgia 1977-1981. Minnesotans have served in the VP role twice before - with Tim it would be three- all highly competent Americans with a measure of respect worldwide. ...

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Mark Landler of the NYT looks at presidents TR, FDR, Reagan, Carter, and other presidents, and compares their moral leadership with the situation under president Trump after the Charlottesville car attack. Landler says of president Trump that his reluctance to pass moral judgement is a genuine part of president Trump's beliefs. This is also why Trump has not seen the actions of some world leaders in moral terms, including Putin in Syria. Yet as is seen from the time of Jefferson and Lincoln, U.S. presidents have adopted a moral tone. This has not changed since then. The presidency is seen as a place that puts forward the best ideals of the country. Even though leaders have not always lived up to these ideals-  Landler cites the internment of Japanese in World War II by FDR, the failure of Obama to set up humanitarian safe zones for refugees in Syria, Nixon's and Clinton's personal moral failures. Yet the idea always has remained that this was part of the president's moral role and duty- to set the tone for the whole country, not to reject the idea of moral judgement itself as immaterial and not relevant, as president Trump has done. It may be a time for the country as a whole to reflect and move back to where it was, recovering what it has lost by grasping the significance of this moral idea. To do this by building literacy, tolerance, and fairness into all its actions, making this a part of the foundation of national character.        ...