We All Know What the Problem Is…

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A good guy with a gun… really? A good guy with a gun… a whole bunch of them stood by for 30… 40… 50 minutes, while grade school children died.

Their solution to this problem is insufficient. Their answer to this question has now proven to be WRONG.

We are a nation that believes in giving people the benefit of the doubt. We believe others are acting in GOOD FAITH because that’s how we would act. Our hearts may break when these acts of insanity happen, but we believe there is a better way.

More guns, more police, more security… POLITICAL THEATER.

Endangering the lives of everyone. Officers included.

We must forge a better way.

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https://jackcharbonneau.com/2020/01/20/2-our-right-to-bear-arms/

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President Trump spent four years pushing the boundaries of the Oval Office… banning Muslims because of their country of origin, banning immigrants from Mexico because of COVID. Funneling BILLIONS of dollars away from our Department of Defense for his Border Wall… tracking the menstrual cycles of immigrant women being held in detention.

Even personally profiting off of our Secret Service by charging exorbitant amounts for accommodations while staying at his properties.

The lengths to which he would go for HIS constituents was unending. A constant barrage of Executive Orders, supporting the agendas of his DONORS and his political consultants.

And if The Court struck one down, they’d just change the language and try it again… because it’s all about Making America Great Again…

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“If the President does it, it’s not illegal.”
-Richard M. Nixon

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“No obstruction, no collusion.”
-Donald J. Trump

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/05/25/jan-6-panel-is-told-that-trump-indicated-support-hanging-pence-during-insurrection/

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And that precedent STILL STANDS.

The Occupant may change, but the OFFICE remains… no matter who holds it.

The People choose the agenda when we elect our President, NOT the other way around. ‘There’s nothing I can do’ should not be in the vocabulary of the President of the United States… it is a CHOICE. They CHOOSE not to act.

Who do our elected officials work for… who should they be working for.

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It’s a degradation of the Social Contract. For over an HOUR. With a weapon of WAR, inside an elementary school… and those Police Officers FROZE. Worse still, they stood between parents and their children. They made the situation worse by enabling the shooter.

Twenty-plus years. BILLIONS of dollars. Security measures, more cops, more guns… what makes anyone think that their city isn’t NEXT? Imagine if we did the same thing after 9/11. Imagine if we invested all that time and effort into securing our skies… but decided we should continue to allow box-cutter knives on flights. The ONE THING that made that tragedy possible.

Police Officers are moms and dads, too. They are HUMAN BEINGS, fallible to the core… just like ME. Just like all the rest.

They should be out there fighting truancy. They should be out there locking up shoplifters and stopping domestic disputes. They didn’t sign up to go to WAR. They didn’t join the force to practice psychology, dealing with undiagnosed mental illnesses… and why would anyone expect them to? For god’s sake… why would anyone expect our TEACHERS to.

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https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/26/biden-response-texas-school-shooting-00035523

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If the President of the United States will not ACT to save the lives of children, then how can we continue to call him Our President? If not him, then WHO? Congress? The Senate? Violence happened in their workplace and yet they still do not ACT…

WHY?

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/28/us/politics/nra-convention-guns.html

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We all know what the problem is…💰

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They bombard us with insanity, pitting one side against the other… leaving us to chase our own tails instead of solving problems. NO ONE is coming to take away our guns, but teenagers don’t need access to weapons of war unless they are serving in one.

No one is shocked to see that it happened… everyone is shocked to see that no one in Washington is willing to do what’s necessary, to ensure it won’t happen again.

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/29/politics/adrian-alonzo-ellie-garcia-uvalde-shooting-cnntv/index.html

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How could anyone… he was a child. From what we’ve learned of him so far… it sounds like there were a whole host of people who let that young man down.

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“How do we stop this from happening again?”

That question now has a very CLEAR answer. The price of our inaction will be paid in LIVES… and to be SILENT is to be COMPLICIT.

-JC

Testify

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Many years ago… long before I became the heathen atheist I am today… on the evening of January 17, 1991. The night Desert Shield became Desert Storm… that was the night I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior.

At a little Southern Baptist church. Attending a youth group meeting with my best friend. They all said, ‘This is it! As foretold… you have to accept Jesus cause he’s coming back!’

That all seemed pretty rational… when I was 12 years old.

For many years I was a good lil’ Christian Soldier, spreading the Word of Jesus as best I could. I memorized the Bible verses and tried to live as He would (WWJD). But as I grew older… as it always goes… I began to ask questions. Eventually there came a point where, either I didn’t like the answers that they gave… or they didn’t want to share with me the knowledge that I sought.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2022/05/22/southern-baptist-sex-abuse-report/

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In the spring of 2001, I had a conversation with a devotee of the Krishna Consciousness Movement outside Mars Music on my way to work. I asked him a question that had been brewing in the back of my mind for quite a while.

The teachings of Jesus of Nazareth only go back some 2000 years, whereas the writings associated with their movement go back many thousands of years before that… so I asked him, ‘What does your movement think of the teachings of Jesus?’

His answer was quite profound.

He said, in essence… Jesus, by his own admission, was a prophet. He was sharing the Word of God with those who needed it here on Earth. To those people, living in that part of the world, at that particular time. He said what was needed for them to understand… to help them see the LIGHT.

Burnt offerings, animal sacrifices, greed, institutional corruption… all had led them astray. Away from what was necessary for them to make it back to Godhead… to Heaven. To be in the Presence of The Lord.

He said, ‘I am the Way and the Life. No one comes to The Father except through me.’ This is how it’s done, without the unnecessary attachments that had taken them away from the TRUTH. That their relationship with God was personal, and they didn’t need anyone else involved.

He told those people, at that time, exactly what they needed to hear… so that they might find salvation.

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At that time I was still a fairly devout Christian, so I instantly recognized what he was saying as blasphemous… but I still gave him a $20 donation so I could have a copy of their Good Book, The Bhagavad Gita.

Probably the best twenty dollars I ever spent.

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And who am I to go yelling obscenities into the NIGHT? As if I had some kind of influence or power… I’m just some guy from KANSAS. Just an average American Citizen… it’s not as if I’m married to a Supreme Court Justice or something.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2022/05/20/ginni-thomas-arizona-election-emails/

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But I will continue to TRY. Because there is a NEED… because nature abhors a vacuum. Cowardice has seeped into the Leadership of BOTH PARTIES, and the unrest continues to GROW.

So allow me to offer an alternative “theory”… one that might REPLACE the toxic one that’s floating around today.

**The American People are BEING divided.**

We’re being lied to… that’s why nothing ever gets done.

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They said All Men are created EQUAL.

All MEN… as in Mankind. Homo Sapiens. The species to which we belong. A Declaration of a basic FACT. The foundational TRUTH upon which the framework of our society was built. Our Union. Our National Identity.

Their belief in this idea that had never been proven, set the initial parameters for the experiment in which we currently live. It wasn’t a suggestion… it wasn’t optional. It is THE principle from which all our rights come.

If we sway from this principle, the experiment no longer functions. If the system that was conceived fails to secure the rights of The People, the United States no longer exists… it becomes something else.

The Rights and Ideals laid out in Our Declaration of Independence, the ones that we would all fight and die for… are a declaration of WAR. Against Tyranny. Against Monarchial Rule… against the OPPRESSION that inevitably comes from both.

The Declaration of Independence is our Mission Statement, the goal we wish to reach. The path may be winding, but the destination remains the same… Equal Justice Under Law. Equal. Means. Equal.

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The opinions of a vocal MINORITY are allowed to dominate the headlines. On cable news outlets, on newspaper websites, and on entertainment news programs. The opinions of the MINORITY… presented as if they were held by everyone.

The MAJORITY of this Nation does not believe in Replacement Theory.

The overwhelming MAJORITY of this land CELEBRATES our diversity, because we know… they’ve come here seeking OUR way of life. They come here believing in the WORDS that were written, just hoping for that CHANCE…

Because it is SELF-EVIDENT.

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The opinion of the MAJORITY is being REPLACED with the opinion of the MINORITY, overruling the Will of The People… and it’s being done by a very wealthy and powerful MINORITY…

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https://www.thelist.com/270406/tucker-carlsons-net-worth-the-fox-news-anchor-is-richer-than-you-realize/

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… because it is profitable.

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They profit off of our division.

So long as we remain SILENT.

-JC

Variations On a Theme: D.S. al finé

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IF I were to sit down and think about it hard enough… I’ll bet I could come up with a list of at least 100 reasons why I cannot vote for anyone running as a Republican this fall. Chief among them, the delegitimization of the Office of President of the United States.

Because of that, they delegitimize the continued relevance of their own Political Party… so I will vote accordingly.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/04/14/rnc-debates-commission/

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On the flip side of that, right now I can’t seem to come up with a list of 10 reasons why I should vote FOR the Democratic Party. Yes, the GOP is running on NO national agenda, other than to OPPOSE. Their dog whistles have now become blow horns. They champion causes that disturb the MAJORITY of Americans and they slow any attempt to further the causes of Social Justice and Equality, even as their party holds a MINORITY in Congress.

The Democrats can’t protect a Woman’s Right to CHOOSE. The Democrats can’t protect our Right to VOTE. A Police Officer murdered a man with his knee while he had his HANDS in his pockets… yet the Democratic Party can’t pass a Justice Reform Bill that has that man’s name on it.

ONE PARTY is doing everything they can to roll back the clock, denying us that More Perfect Union, while the OTHER PARTY can’t seem to tie their OWN SHOES. And when they lose this fall, they’ll say it’s all OUR fault… THE VOTERS.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Bro

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I guess they’ll have to spend more MONEY on “voter education” next time around.

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I have no desire to vote FOR the Democratic Party. They have NO AGENDA. No message. No unifying principle that defines who they are… other than pleasing their DONORS at all cost… and yet somehow they say, it’s not THEIR fault.

It’s the VOTERS’ fault.

Yes, it is the voters’ fault… because we’ve allowed this BS to go on for way too long. The charade is UP. The jig is OVER… the “BIG LIE” walks hand-in-hand with the “BIG GRIFT” and we are ALL being taken for a RIDE.

The Democratic Party has become the Neville Chamberlain to the Republican Party’s Adolph Hitler. The President continues to seek bipartisan solutions to problems caused by the OTHER PARTY… while the other party won’t even recognize him as the legitimate President of the United States.

And why do we feel like it’s all our fault? WE VOTED! Just like they told us to.

But it always seems just out of reach… ‘Not this election, but the NEXT! Next time, with YOUR HELP… your financial support… we’ll get this DONE!’

… tick tock tick tock…

Time passes, and the narrative rolls along.

The conversation moves on, and the crisis de jure dominates the front page. War. Terrorism. Climate change. Inflation. Jobs. Jobs. Jobs…

Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.

The People haven’t moved on… the Politicians have. Leaving in their wake a mountain of DEBT. A heaping PILE of unfinished business and unresolved problems, many of which they’ve raised MONEY on while they were in office.

Don’t talk to me about being a PRO-CHOICE party if you can’t pass a bill protecting a Woman’s Right to Choose. If the ACA can continue to STAND because it’s seen as Congress exercising its power to levy TAXES, then there must be a legislative path forward that will secure the support of all 50 Democratic Senators.

Yet one Senator still stands opposed.

And NO ONE seems surprised! He’s just doing what his “constituents” want him to do. He works for the people he represents… THE DONORS.

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Women are the MAJORITY in West Virginia Senator…

STAND UP for the rights of your constituents.📢⚖️🙌 #RoeVWade #AbortionIsHealthcare #MenForERA #ERANow #CEDAW pic.twitter.com/2BIi8C8t7A

— Jack Charbonneau (@MrJLCharbonneau) May 11, 2022

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https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgmwqp/greg-abbott-baby-formula

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This isn’t a story of US vs THEM. This is a story of preparedness. This is a story of an inability to anticipate the consequences of enforcement of rules and regulations. This is a story about the real-life impact bad government has on ALL our lives.

This is a story demonstrating how incompetent our government has become, as they can’t even get the SIMPLE THINGS right.

It’s as if we must TEACH our government how to WALK all over again.

I can SEE the problem, just as clearly as everyone else. We’re stuck with no alternatives. BOTH parties contributed to this crisis… and it’s not as if this crisis couldn’t have been anticipated.

It was the Federal Government that enforced the law, shutting down that producer. It was the Federal Government that failed to anticipate the downstream impact of shutting down only ONE PRODUCER… knowing that they produce 1/3 of our domestic supply of formula.

And it was the Federal Government that crafted the legislation, that turned a BLIND EYE to the rise of a monopolistic takeover of our FOOD SUPPLY.

From the FIELD to the TABLE. Every aspect of our agricultural industries, from production to logistics has been SLIMMED DOWN. Cutting the FAT. Leaving more meat on the BONE at the end of the day… for less mouths.

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https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2020/03/09/climate-tariffs-debt-and-isolation-drive-some-farmers-suicide/4955865002/

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All we have to do is read the news and everyone can SEE it. It should have been a Presidential priority from DAY ONE. Where’s the Democratic Party? Where’s the party that supposedly represents our FARMERS… the GOP?

IF we assume that our legislators work for the DONORS, then it is clear that they are getting exactly what they want.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/12/us/politics/meatpackers-trump-covid.html

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One party is BEHOLDEN to the DONORS while the OTHER party is hesitant to ACT, because it might scare away their DONORS… and that’s why nothing gets done.

They can’t FUNDRAISE on a problem that’s already been SOLVED.

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Madam Speaker, @amazon has a plan for women who will be effected by this decision… they’re not waiting til Nov.

In 2018, this issue gave you the gavel.
In 2020, this issue gave your party the hat trick.

In 2022… your party needs to EARN our #vote.🎯 #ERANow📢⚖️🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/Wqvry7UJ5C

— Jack Charbonneau (@MrJLCharbonneau) May 6, 2022

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Our two-party system is now BROKEN, and the parties will not seek to reform themselves. They continue to thrive on the dysfunction. They’ve become masters of the GAME they’ve created… and the losers of past political contests become the LEADERS of their party.

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@3:58 in the video: “I know folks- Republicans, Democrats, Independents; purple people, blue people, white people…”

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And why is that? Because he raised a massive amount of MONEY.

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https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/11/politics/jaime-harrison-fundraising-record-south-carolina-senate-race/index.html

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In my experience… the phrase ‘purple people’ is a dog whistle.
I can now see why he lost.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/27/harris-attacks-bidens-record-on-busing-and-working-with-segregationists.html

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… be sure and “Get out the VOTE” this fall.

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And so now we’ve come ‘round FULL CIRCLE. It was the ultimate catalyst that drove me to start my political endeavor back in February 2018, and the crisis continues to this day… unchanged.

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https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/15/us/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-sunday/index.html

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And it’s all like variations on a theme… I swear I’ve heard this song before. The People demand it with their VOTE, but after the election the conversation starts to change.

The answers we seek as a Nation can be found… but only if we stand UNITED. As EQUALS. MY rights are not secure unless YOUR rights are secure. My Liberty is not secure unless your Liberty is secure as well…

And right now, neither Political Party is doing what’s necessary to secure our Democracy.

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That needs to change.

-JC

The Will of The People

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The recently leaked draft opinion in the case of ‘Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health’, shows us that the rights of Women and Girls are not seen as Equal to those of Men by a majority of the Justices on our Supreme Court.

Their rights are transient. They’re subject to the whims of whomever holds office at any particular time, and they can be given or taken away as those officials see fit. There is no protection or guarantee. The author of that draft opinion sees women as merely a vessel, unworthy of Equal Standing under law.

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The word ‘woman’ appears only 77 times. #ERANow #MenForERA #CEDAW https://t.co/FpRL7HXelK pic.twitter.com/E1fTeyDxjg

— Jack Charbonneau (@MrJLCharbonneau) May 4, 2022

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Below is a copy of the email I sent this evening to President Joe Biden, asking him to call for the publication of the 28th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

None of us will truly be FREE… until all of us are.

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With respect,

Mr. President… where are you? Talk about a legislative grand-slam! Right now, at your discretion… with your say so, we can begin celebrating the 28th Amendment to our Constitution!

How long must Equality wait?

Talk about monumental… that’s Walt Disney at the gates of Disney World right there! Open arms and silly hats for everyone.

It’s the realization of the core principle our Nation was founded upon… that we are ALL created Equal. Let there be NO DOUBT!

What President worth a damn wouldn’t want to see the fireworks display they’d put on for something like that? What President seeking RE-ELECTION in the 21st Century wouldn’t want to do all that they could to ensure Equality reigned supreme.

I won’t take up much of your time Sir, but I was reminded today of the relationship between Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy; and how when History came calling… President Kennedy had no choice but to embrace it. One step closer to Equality, one step closer to realizing that Dream.

The fight for Civil Rights had to move forward. There was no more time for delay. He knew he had to start that process… if only they had what YOU have at your fingertips today.

OPINIONS. Everyone has one, you know the old saying… the ones that smell the worst are usually dropped by a lawyer. I’m surprised D.C. doesn’t smell more like Dodge City.

Two years ago, 38 of the 50 United States voted to ratify the 28th Amendment to the Constitution, recognizing Equality for Women and Girls. The requirements have been met.

“The time is always right to do the right thing…” and there is no better time to ACT than today. 76% of the States have spoken.

Listen to The People, Sir… let History sort out the rest.

On behalf of the 38 States that have voted for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment… for the sake of every woman in this country; Mr. President, call for the publication of the 28th Amendment. Let Equality be the Law of this Land.

Now, and for all time.

-JC

The Cornerstone of Peace

In 1995, the Okinawa government erected a memorial monument named the Cornerstone of Peace in Mabuni, the site of the last fighting in southeastern Okinawa. The memorial lists all the known names of those who died in the battle, civilian and military, Japanese and foreign. As of June 2008, it contains 240,734 names including 382 Koreans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Okinawa

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall

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The decision made by the United States of America to use the first nuclear weapon in a time of war… was made out of an intense desire for PEACE.

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It wasn’t used to start a war. It wasn’t used to liberate another country. It wasn’t used in an act of aggression against a foreign country in an attempt to take away their land.

The Pacific Campaign that played out through the summer of 1945 proved to be some of the most horrific battles of the entirety of the Second World War. The People of the Empire of the Rising Sun demonstrated how far they were willing to go to secure their victory… and it would be at all costs.

Okinawa comes to mind. Where women and children took their own lives… rather than risk surrender to the advancing Allied Forces.

Millions of men, women, and children. ARMED. In defense of the Japanese Homeland. The invasion would have taken the lives of millions of American soldiers, as well as millions of Japanese civilians.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Downfall

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That theoretical invasion of the Japanese mainland would have taken the lives of Russian soldiers as well. The participation of the Soviet Union in that strategy would have been essential to its success, just as it was in ending the European Conflict.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_invasion_of_Manchuria

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Allied in a war, where we fought side-by-side with the Soviet Union. Engaged in a struggle, where we fought UNITED, in defense of modern civilization. Against Nazism and everything that resembles it. Against aggression… against true evil.

The United States and Russia. UNITED. Fighting together in a struggle for the survival of HUMANITY.

Three-quarters of a century later… our nations are not the same as they once were. These are not the countries our grandparents once knew, and nor should they be. That’s one of the lessons we’ve learned from that war. Things MUST change… or we will continue to suffer through the SAME THINGS.

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Their country is not the same…

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet–Afghan_War

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissolution_of_the_Soviet_Union

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… just as our country is not the same.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_(2001–2021)

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War

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With time our values and ideals have CHANGED. We no longer see things as they once were. But no matter how many decades have passed, there is ONE overarching principle that will never change:

The People of the United States of America will never support or defend anyone aligned with the ideals of the Nazi Party.

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Those organizations we’ve helped to develop and continue to support to this day, would never support or defend anyone aligned with the ideals of the Nazi Party.

The People of the United States of America STILL BELIEVE in the commitments established at the close of the Second World War, and we hold them as sacrosanct in furtherance of our foreign diplomacy.

I may be but ONE, but I know I speak for the MAJORITY when I say… we will not support any leader who has shown themselves to be in any way, a supporter of the ideals of the Nazi Party.

Once they’ve shown themselves to be, they are OUTCAST. Those values are not the values of a people who yearn to LIVE FREE. The Pursuit of Life, Liberty, and Happiness, as laid out in our Founding Documents, is unattainable under the rule of any leader adhering to the beliefs of the Nazi Party.

And the Armed Forces of the United States of America will continue to STAND READY to defeat those ideals… wherever they arise.

Just as they were in August of 1945.

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A war, into which we were pulled kicking and screaming… we did not seek to start that conflict. We sought the means to bring it to an end.

To secure PEACE. Not just for ourselves… but for the Soviet Union as well. For ALL Humanity. For all of HISTORY, as it will be written for generations to come.

That chapter has now been written. Our great-grandchildren will learn of our struggles and see that our Alliance stood for Just Principles… for all time.

Today, we write what comes NEXT in that story.
Chapter and verse… it is ours to decide.

The People of the Russian Federation must know… they must be made to understand. In this moment, The United States will NOT utilize our first-strike capabilities. We decided long ago, that’s not what those weapons should be used for… they are a deterrent to war.

The United States of America will never START a Nuclear War…

… because we know how it would end.

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“The only winning move is… NOT to play.”

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I believe The People of the Russian Federation feel the SAME WAY…
Regardless of what their leaders might say.

-JC