Sources Documenting Historic March 18, 2025, Telephone Meeting of East-West Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Donald Trump of the United States of America

Side by side 

Official Mention of 

Historic Government Actions

Instructive Variations 

» Official Website President of Russia     » White House Website President of USA 

Telephone conversation with President of the United States Donald Trump March 18, 2025,  http://en.special.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/76477   Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the United States Donald Trump.  The leaders continued their detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation surrounding Ukraine. Vladimir Putin extended gratitude to Donald Trump for his striving to achieve the noble goal of ending the hostilities and loss of life.  Confirming his fundamental commitment to finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict, the President of Russia expressed willingness to thoroughly work out possible solutions in cooperation with the American partners, aimed at reaching a settlement that would be comprehensive, reliable, and lasting, and, naturally, take into account the essential need to eliminate the root causes of the crisis, as well as Russia's legitimate security interests.  Concerning US President's proposal to declare a 30-day ceasefire, the Russian side outlined a number of significant points regarding ensuring effective control over a possible ceasefire along the entire frontline, as well as the need to stop the forced mobilisation in Ukraine and rearming the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was noted that some serious risks exist pertaining to the intractability of the Kiev regime which had repeatedly sabotaged and violated negotiated agreements. An emphasis was made on barbaric acts of terrorism committed by Ukrainian militants against civilians residing in the Kursk Region.   It was pointed out that a complete cessation of providing Kiev with foreign military aid and intelligence must become the key condition for preventing an escalation of the conflict and making progress towards its resolution through political and diplomatic means.   Referring to Donald Trump's recent appeal to spare the lives of the Ukrainian servicemen surrounded in the Kursk Region, Vladimir Putin confirmed that the Russian side was willing to embrace humanitarian motives and guaranteed that the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine would live and be treated fairly in accordance with Russian legislation and international law in the event of surrender.  During the conversation, Donald Trump put forward a proposal for the parties to mutually refrain from strikes on energy infrastructure for 30 days. Vladimir Putin responded favourably to the proposal and immediately gave the relevant order to the Russian troops.  Just as favourable was the Russian President's response to Donald Trump's suggestion to implement a well-known proposal regarding the safety of navigation in the Black Sea. The leaders agreed to begin talks to further work out specific details of such an agreement.  Vladimir Putin made it known that on March 19, the Russian and Ukrainian sides would carry out an exchange of prisoners, each swapping 175 people. Additionally, as a gesture of goodwill, 23 heavily wounded Ukrainian soldiers currently receiving aid at Russian medical facilities will also be repatriated.  The leaders confirmed their intention to continue efforts aimed at reaching a settlement in Ukraine bilaterally, with due regard in particular to the aforementioned proposals by the US President. For this purpose, a Russian and an American expert task forces are now being formed.  Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump also addressed some other international issues, including the situation in the Middle East and in the Red Sea region. Joint efforts will be made to stabilise the situation in the crisis spots and establish cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation and global security. This will, in turn, contribute to improving the overall ambiance of relations between Russia and the United States. One positive example is the recent vote in the UN on a resolution on the Ukraine conflict, in which the two countries aligned their stances.  The leaders expressed mutual interest in normalising the bilateral ties in light of the special responsibility for ensuring global security and stability borne by both Russia and the United States. Within that context, they addressed a wide range of areas where the two countries could establish cooperation, discussing several ideas aimed at fostering potential ties of mutual interest in economy and energy.  Donald Trump expressed support for Vladimir Putin's idea to hold ice hockey matches in both the United States and Russia between Russian and American players from the NHL and the KHL.  The presidents agreed to stay in touch on all the issues raised.  March 18, 2025 Source President of Russia Official Website News   / March 18, 2025, “Telephone conversation with President of the United States Donald Trump” http://en.special.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/76477

BRIEFINGS & STATEMENTS Outcomes of the United States and Russia Expert Groups On the Black Sea  The White House March 25, 2025 Outcomes of the United States and Russia Expert Groups On the Black Sea in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia March 23-25, 2025   https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/03/outcomes-of-the-united-states-and-russia-expert-groups-on-the-black-sea/   In line with presidential-level discussions between President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir Putin, the United States facilitated bilateral technical-level talks with the Russian delegation March 23-25 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.  Following those discussions:  The United States and Russia have agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force, and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea.  The United States will help restore Russia’s access to the world market for agricultural and fertilizer exports, lower maritime insurance costs, and enhance access to ports and payment systems for such transactions.  The United States and Russia agreed to develop measures for implementing President Trump’s and President Putin’s agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities of Russia and Ukraine.  The United States and Russia welcome the good offices of third countries with a view toward supporting the implementation of the energy and maritime agreements.  The United States and Russia will continue working toward achieving a durable and lasting peace.  The United States reiterated President Donald J. Trump’s imperative that the killing on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict must stop, as the necessary step toward achieving an enduring peace settlement. To that end, the United States will continue facilitating negotiations between both sides to achieve a peaceful resolution, in line with the agreements made in Riyadh.  The United States expresses gratitude to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his leadership and hospitality in once again facilitating these important discussions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  Source White House Official Website / Briefings & Statements, March 25, 2025, “Outcomes of the United States and Russia Expert Groups On the Black Sea” https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/03/outcomes-of-the-united-states-and-russia-expert-groups-on-the-black-sea/  [No notes on or transcript of actual two presidents’ meeting]  ENDXXXXXXXXENDXXXXXXXXXEND

Other Website Records of the March 18, 2025, Presidents Putin and Trump Telephone Conversation

“Full text of Kremlin’s Official Readout of the Telephone Conversation between President Putin and President Trump on March 18, 2025 (in our [Pravda English] translation)”: 

The leaders continued a detailed and frank exchange of views on the situation around Ukraine. Vladimir Putin expressed gratitude to Donald Trump for his efforts to help achieve the noble goal of ending hostilities and human casualties.

Confirming Russia’s fundamental commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, President Putin stated his readiness to work closely with American partners to explore possible solutions. These solutions must be comprehensive, sustainable, and long-term, while also addressing the root causes of the crisis and respecting Russia’s legitimate security interests.

Regarding President Trump’s initiative for a 30-day ceasefire, the Russian side highlighted several key points: ensuring effective monitoring of any ceasefire along the entire line of contact, halting forced mobilization in Ukraine, and stopping the rearmament of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Serious concerns were also raised about the inability to reach agreements by the Kiev regime, which has repeatedly sabotaged and violated previous agreements. Attention was drawn to the barbaric terrorist crimes committed by Ukrainian militants against civilians in the Kursk region.

It was emphasized that a key condition for preventing further escalation and pursuing a political and diplomatic resolution must be the complete cessation of foreign military aid and intelligence support to Kiev.

In response to Donald Trump’s recent request to spare the lives of surrounded Ukrainian servicemen in the Kursk region, Present Putin confirmed that the Russian side would act on humanitarian grounds. In the event of surrender, Ukrainian soldiers would be guaranteed life and humane treatment in accordance with Russian laws and international norms.

During the conversation, Donald Trump proposed a mutual 30-day halt on strikes against energy infrastructure by both sides of the conflict. Vladimir Putin responded positively to this initiative and immediately issued the corresponding order to the Russian military.

President Putin also responded constructively to Donald Trump’s proposal to implement a well-known initiative on maritime security in the Black Sea. The leaders agreed to begin negotiations to work out the specific details of such an agreement.

Vladimir Putin informed Donald Trump that on March 19, there will be a prisoner exchange between the Russian and Ukrainian sides — 175 for 175. Additionally, as a goodwill gesture, 23 seriously wounded Ukrainian servicemen currently receiving treatment in Russian medical facilities will be released.

The leaders confirmed their intention to continue working toward a resolution of the Ukrainian conflict through bilateral channels, including on the basis of the aforementioned proposals by the U.S. President. To this end, Russian and American expert groups are being established.

Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump also discussed other international issues, including the situation in the Middle East and the Red Sea region. Joint efforts will be made to stabilize these crisis zones, strengthen cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation, and enhance global security — steps that will help improve overall U.S.-Russia relations. One positive example of this cooperation was the recent consensus vote at the United Nations on a resolution concerning the Ukrainian conflict.

Both leaders expressed mutual interest in normalizing bilateral relations, recognizing the special responsibility of Russia and the United States for maintaining global security and stability. A wide range of potential areas for cooperation was discussed, including economic and energy partnerships.

Donald Trump supported Vladimir Putin’s idea of organizing hockey matches in both the U.S. and Russia between Russian and American players from the NHL and KHL.

The presidents agreed to stay in contact on all issues discussed. https://news-pravda.com/world/2025/03/18/1157249.html

Readout The White House, March 18, 2025, “The below is attributable to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt” 

By U.S. Mission Russia | 18 March 2025 | Topics: News, Political Affairs, President of the United States, Press Releases U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Russia

“President Donald J. Trump’s Call with President Vladimir Putin”
Home | News & Events | President Donald J. Trump’s Call with President Vladimir Putin

Today, President Trump and President Putin spoke about the need for peace and a ceasefire in the Ukraine war. Both leaders agreed this conflict needs to end with a lasting peace. They also stressed the need for improved bilateral relations between the United States and Russia. The blood and treasure that both Ukraine and Russia have been spending in this war would be better spent on the needs of their people.

This conflict should never have started and should have been ended long ago with sincere and good faith peace efforts. The leaders agreed that the movement to peace will begin with an energy and infrastructure ceasefire, as well as technical negotiations on implementation of a maritime ceasefire in the Black Sea, full ceasefire and permanent peace. These negotiations will begin immediately in the Middle East.

The leaders spoke broadly about the Middle East as a region of potential cooperation to prevent future conflicts. They further discussed the need to stop proliferation of strategic weapons and will engage with others to ensure the broadest possible application. The two leaders shared the view that Iran should never be in a position to destroy Israel.

The two leaders agreed that a future with an improved bilateral relationship between the United States and Russia has huge upside. This includes enormous economic deals and geopolitical stability when peace has been achieved. https://ru.usembassy.gov/president-donald-j-trumps-call-with-president-vladimir-putin/

With Particular Interest in 

Variations in Documentation and 

Usage of Terms (the latter highlighted mainly in blue)

Assembled from Sources 

Prolific Southern-Born American Writer Dr. Carolyn LaDelle Bennett focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

Latest book: Are There No Champions? Yes and No

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Now Reflects on Then: Government Today is characterized by Buffoonish Arrogant Ignorance; NO Washington, Madison, Franklin, Hamilton Conceiving or Practicing Good Government

Review of some of the Thoughts of the Framers 

Fresh from under Monarchical Tyranny

Madison, Hamilton

“In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in…: 

… enabling the government to control the governed and

… obliging (the government) to control itself.”

Checks and Balances (Federalist 51)

In his February 8, 1788, essay “The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments,” James Madison Jr. (known as the Father of the US Constitution) “explained how the Constitution’s structure checked the powers of the elected branches (of government) and protected against possible abuses by the national government.”

Excerpt from Original Document

“… In a society under the forms of which the stronger faction can readily unite and oppress the weaker, anarchy [reigns] … as in a state of nature where the weaker individual is not secured against the violence of the stronger…. 

“Justice is the end of government. …

“… Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the constitutional rights of the place. It may be a reflection on human nature, that such devices should be necessary to control the abuses of government. …”

Framers of the Constitution of the United States of America

Connecticut      Oliver Ellsworth (Elsworth)*     William. Samuel Johnson     Roger Sherman	Delaware      Richard Bassett     Gunning Bedford, Jr.     Jacob Broom     John Dickinson     George Read	Georgia      Abraham Baldwin     William Few     William Houston*     William L. Pierce*	Maryland      Daniel Carroll     Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer     Luther Martin*     James McHenry     John F. Mercer*
Massachusetts      Elbridge Gerry*     Nathaniel Gorham     Rufus King     Caleb Strong*	New Hampshire      Nicholas Gilman     John Langdon	New Jersey      David Brearly (Brearley)     Jonathan Dayton     William C. Houston*     William Livingston     William Paterson (Patterson)	New York      Alexander Hamilton     John Lansing, Jr.*     Robert Yates*
North Carolina      William. Blount     William R. Davie*     Alexander Martin*     Richard. Dobbs Spaight     Hugh Williamson	Pennsylvania      George Clymer     Thomas Fitzsimons (FitzSimons; Fitzsimmons)     Benjamin Franklin     Jared Ingersoll     Thomas Mifflin     Gouverneur Morris     Robert Morris     James Wilson	Rhode Island  Rhode Island did not send any delegates to the Constitutional Convention.	South Carolina      Pierce Butler     Charles Pinckney     Charles Cotesworth Pinckney     John Rutledge
Virginia      John Blair     James Madison Jr.     George Mason*     James McClurg*     Edmund J. Randolph*     George Washington     George Wythe*

*Indicates delegates who did not sign the Constitution
United States National Archives and Records Administration “Meet the Framers of the Constitution” The original states (not including Rhode Island) appointed 70 individuals to the Constitutional Convention that met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, May 25, 1787, through September 17, 1787. Thirty-nine delegates attended and were signers of the Constitution of the United States of America. The ages of these delegates ranged from 26 to 81 (the latter Benjamin Franklin “who was so infirm that he had to be carried to sessions in a sedan chair”). https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/founding-fathers

National Constitution Center 

Summary of Federalist 51

Excerpt (minor editing) 

Cognizant of the fact “that human nature (is) imperfect” and those among the kingly, the aristocracy, the upper classes or otherwise holders of the reins of power “would seek to secure greater (and greater) political power” (and hang on interminably and with impunity) …, the Framers 

“… concluded that the best way to control the national government was to harness the political ambitions of each branch (of government) and use them to check the ambitions of the other branches.”

“The Framers of the US Constitution conceived the separation of powers dividing the powers of the national government into three separate branches” (legislative, executive, judiciary: lawmaker, manager, examiner/umpire) with the intent of preventing “any single branch of government from becoming too powerful”; and simultaneously giving “each branch of government … the power to check the other two branches….” Thus, was enshrined the “checks and balances” principle.

Madison, Hamilton (minor edit)

“If (human beings) were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern (human beings), neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

“In framing a government which is to be administered by (human beings) over (human beings), the great difficulty lies in this: you must … enable the government to control the governed; and … oblige (the government) to control itself.”

Constitution Center Historic Document Federalist 51 (1788) James Madison | 1788 Summary https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/historic-document-library/detail/james-madison-federalist-no-51-1788
Library of Congress Federalist Nos. 51-60 (Federalist No. 51) “The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper CHECKs and BALANCES Between the Different Departments” From the New York Packet Friday, February 8, 1788, Author: Alexander Hamilton or James Madison https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/text-51-60

Related Current News Peg March 2025

ABC News 

“(US President Donald) Trump continues to call for judge’s impeachment after chief justice’s rebuke” “Chief Justice John Roberts issued a rare statement defending the judiciary.”  By Kelsey Walsh, Katherine Faulders, Laura Romero, Peter Charalambous, and Molly Nagle March 18, 2025, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-insults-federal-judge-amid-legal-battle-deportation/story?id=119909983

CBC News 

“U.S. Supreme Court’s chief justice speaks out after (US President Donald) Trump calls for judge to be impeached” “John Roberts didn't mention Trump by name, but said calls to impeach judges are inappropriate” Thomson Reuters March 18, 2025, https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/scotus-roberts-trump-judges-1.7486671

SAD day in America

 

One of the deadly, self-annihilating conditions in today’s government and caliber of leadership is not only that there are no (founding era) Washingtons, Madisons, Franklins, or Hamiltons; but that there are no binding principles (evident in US domestic and foreign affairs). 

In and around the US Government today, there are no obliging principles or binding standards. 

There are no governmental or political, moral or ethical, experiential or intellectual prerequisites or in-service standards or discipline (behavioral rules) that all persons involved in and around the US Federal Government (in contracts or otherwise, even media) are bound (must obey), and to which they are held strictly responsible.

In contemporary times (roughly since the Clintonian 1990s), there has been evident in the individual character and conduct in and around public office what can only be described as rewarded buffoonery and self-righteous malevolence, criminality, corruption and ineptitude.

PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

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“Golden” Evokes Dark Side: FLASHBACK to 1940s Golden, 1800s Gilded

Gilded Age or Golden Era

or 

Both

In US history, the former was a period (1870s) of gross materialism and blatant political corruption. 

The latter was a period (1940s-1950s) of rampant fear mongering and gross repression.

Mina Elwell writes of Hollywood’s “Golden Age”

It was an era that was “paired a volatile political environment” and “created a world in which the political beliefs or personal lives of filmmakers and actors could be weaponized to silence them.” Or, stated differently, powers at the helm used the mechanism of government as a weapon to silence art and artists.

For example, Elwell reports, the film "Citizen Kane" of that era “was openly booed at the 1942 Academy Awards”; and backlash to the film’s satirical rendering of “the powerful William Randolph Hearst” included “a vast campaign to destroy the film and its co-writer, director, and lead actor Orson Welles.”

In Hollywood’s GOLDEN AGE 

“Sexual violence was incredibly pervasive ….” 

“Rape was a constant threat for women working in Hollywood” and

“Sexual harassment was the norm.”

“Behind the glamorous facade…, Hollywood could be cruel and violent.” Elwell, Mina “Hollywood's Blacklist Era: The Dark Side Of 1940s Entertainment May 1, 2023, Grunge https://www.grunge.com/1273485/hollywoods-blacklist-era-dark-side-1940s-entertainment/

David Walsh comments on the Forty-seventh's golden 

In the lead up to the 2025 academy awards assembly, David Walsh noted that US President Trump had “declared a new cultural ‘Golden Age’ (in the performing arts) by

• Putting himself in charge of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts…
• Naming a group of “has-beens and imbeciles” (Walsh’s adjectives) his special ambassadors to the film and television industry”; and 
• Declaring his “Golden Age” duo: Golden Age Hollywood-Golden Age USA.

“These are billionaire executives,” Walsh writes. And to them, all is “business.” “Business is business.”

As Walsh sees it, the masterminds now laying siege in Federal Washington have their sights [their mandate, they seem to say] on 

“Full-scale repression of immigrants” 

“Attacks on the democratic rights” of the whole US population

Decimation of “public health and public education” 

Undoing “any hindrance” perceived by the “oligarchs in charge” to be “restrictive” to or “inefficient” in the “accumulation of corporate profit and personal wealth” and

Unbridled “preparations for new, more calamitous wars.”

Enabling their mission will be fully funded on demand and fully weaponized “military, CIA, FBI and every other agency of repression.”

In view of present-day conditions threatening life and liberty at home and abroad, Walsh calls to mind the principles of the film industry and performing arts; and issues what might be described as a call to action on behalf of humanity.

“Filmmaking was never simply a money-making operation,” Walsh writes. And today there is a pressing “need to live up to the best, democratic, radical traditions of American filmmaking” — “not its worst, most self-involved, trivial and nationalistic.”

While “it is true that art cannot save the world, or even itself; … art and the artists have unique responsibilities. … They are beholden to suffering humanity to see that their work does not serve merely as a toy for their own diversion or that of the…” ruling faction or upper class.

“In the history of filmmaking…, the greatest figures have oriented themselves toward the sufferings, hopes and struggles of broad layers of the population. Film and television are not a technical-organizational undertaking, an empty machine for showing off one’s skill; but a critical means of communicating important truths about life and reality.” Walsh, David February 27, 2025 “Trump, Musk and fascism, the film industry and the Academy Awards” https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/02/27/ztlv-f27.html

 

As we move forward in the current era, we might reflect on history, US History, and on thoughts emanating from sources and voices 

outside particular the pods and chambers of echoes.

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PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

Latest book: Are There No Champions? Yes and No

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USA Extremism Intermingles, Draws Surprising Cohorts

 In the MOMENT

In RETROSPECT

“… We believed, and we believe in what we were expressing.” 

“Two (on screen) … millions (in real life) gave their lives and were prepared to sacrifice everything in the fight against fascist and racist NAZI Germany” said actress Vanessa Redgrave in the moment of the film “Julia” in an acceptance speech at the (50th) Academy Awards April 3, 1978, held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion https://aaspeechesdb.oscars.org

“I salute you and I pay tribute to you (who have) … stood firm and … refused to be intimidated by the threats of a … bunch of Zionist hoodlums whose behavior is an insult to the stature of Jews all over the world and to their great and heroic record of struggle against fascism and oppression.… 

“I salute all of you for having stood firm and dealt a final blow against [a] period when NIXON AND MCCARTHY launched a worldwide witch hunt against those who tried to express in their lives and their work the truth that they believed in.”

RED SCARE 1900s - 2000s

THE RED SCARE (Background) “… illustrates the ease with which excuses can be offered and accepted “for taking away civil liberties” … then steamrolling “into overreach on the part of governments at all levels” says author Clay Risen.

The second Red Scare also labeled McCarthyism is linked to Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, initially “a little-known junior senator from Wisconsin until February 1950 when he claimed to possess a list of 205 card-carrying Communists employed in the U.S. Department of State.” 

Henceforth, until he was dethroned, the senator “became a tireless crusader against Communism … in a period that has been commonly referred to as the Red Scare.” Source: Eisenhower Library Online Document: https://www.eisenhowerlibrary.gov/research/online-documents/mccarthyism-red-scare

EXCERPT from a Risen Interview with Chapter 16 “Revisiting a Witch Hunt” 

CHAPTER 16: Joseph McCarthy, at least three US presidents [Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon], and one presidential candidate [Robert F. Kennedy] had roles in the Red Scare. (Chapter 16 is a publication of Humanities Tennessee)

RISEN: He (Joseph R. McCarthy) was a useful tool for a lot of different groups because he was willing to say stuff they couldn’t. … People who wanted to protect their reputations could feed stuff to McCarthy, and McCarthy was willing to say it. He became a puppet for these folks, even though, obviously, I think he did have his own volition and his own ideas about where he was going.

RISEN (on TRUMAN): With the death of the thirty-second US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Vice President Harry S. Truman “was dropped, midstream, into a lot of issues that, even a year before, he probably didn’t anticipate (having) to deal with. … [He] was ultimately a little naïve…, (believing) that the American public had too much common sense to be drawn in (either) by the far left and communism, or … into red baiting and the Red Scare.”

RISEN (on NIXON): “… Everything was in service of Richard Nixon…, an amoral opportunist” who “started off as a centrist, very concerned about civil liberties and the potential for overreach”; but … when he saw that he could make a real splash, he dug in [on the Red Scare].”

RISEN (on EISENHOWER): The thirty-fourth US President Dwight David Eisenhower “created a compromise …, reinforce[ing] the establishment and push[ing] aside the far left and the far right…,” demonstrating “faith in the establishment and in the ultimate wisdom of moderation.” However, “had he taken on McCarthy more aggressively, he could have done more to disabuse more people of (widespread) conspiracy theories and witch hunting.”

RISEN (on Robert F. KENNEDY, a member of Joseph McCarthy’s Staff during the Red Scare): “There is probably a lot to be said about why (his) … was not a profile in courage….” “Early on… [Robert F.] Kennedy was … an opportunist…” and while it is unclear “whether he agreed with what McCarthy was doing…, like his brother [John F. Kennedy],” [Robert F. Kennedy] “fundamentally believed in anti-communism and that Communists needed to be attacked in every way.” https://chapter16.org/revisiting-a-witch-hunt/ Patterson, Jim, February 24, 2025, Chapter 16 “Revisiting a Witch Hunt: Clay Risen’s Red Scare offers a fresh take on the legacy of Senator Joseph McCarthy,” https://chapter16.org/revisiting-a-witch-hunt/ Jim Patterson is a Nashville freelance writer whose work appears often on the United Methodist News website. He has been a reporter for The Associated Press in Nashville and senior writer and public affairs officer for Vanderbilt University; author of Red Scare: Blacklists, McCarthyism, and the Making of Modern America by Clay Risen (also author of other books and a New York Times reporter and editor, https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Red-Scare/Clay-Risen/9781982141806

NAZISM 1900s – 2000s

In the year of the 70th anniversary of Victory in World War II, the founding of the United Nations and the institution of the Nuremberg trials, the UN General Assembly adopted 

“… the Russia-initiated resolution on combating glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.” 

“The resolution denounces the glorification of the Nazi movement and former Waffen SS members in a number of countries, which is done by unveiling monuments and holding demonstrations. It points to persisting attempts to desecrate or destroy monuments erected in honor of those who fought against Nazism in WWII.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, December 18, 2015, https://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1520357/

“NEVER AGAIN” 

What does it mean in practice?

Is it just another (thoughts and prayers) mantra: casual, careless, cavalier utterance …babytalk, meaninglessness?

What exactly does Never Again mean to delusional men who occupy positions of enormous power, men bereft of human values and moral sensibility, men who believe that the lands they cause to be razed and ruined, the bombs and chemical weapons they order to be released or exploded upon all nature—

“… will somehow spare them.”

 

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PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

Latest book: Are There No Champions? Yes and No

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FOUR C’s — Careless, Corrupt, Chaotic, Callous (and an “I” for Incompetent) — are US

(Are we? —Toys R’ Us might disagree)

Inmates at Helm
Misters M and T (& Co), and A Streak that Crosses Aisles

MUSK Contributions to Donald Trump

Musk Personal contribution	$130 million+
Musk “America PAC”	$200 million+

US Government Contributions to Musk

$21 billion	Promised or Awarded	Since 2008 (still flowing-Feb 2025)
$76.7 million	Promised	Since 47th’s Inauguration

WHAT FOR

National Aeronautics and Space Administration: “Flying NASA to the moon” US government-exorbitantly funds, via “federal contracts,” Elon Musk’s “private space company… ‘SpaceX.’”

Since the start of recordkeeping in this area, money promised to SpaceX

PROMISED in US government contracts, research grants, and other forms of public assistance	$20.7 billion
NASA (contracts with) in above promised	$14.6 billion
PROJECTED (if NASA exercises all options in every contract	$56.4 billion
US government Paid out to date	$8.7 billion
US Government in Debt to Musk	US Government in Debt to Musk
US Department of Defense (promised) contracts with Musk’s SpaceX	$5.6 billion Up to max future payout $32.8 billion
US Department of State subsidiary US Agency for International Development (USAID) PROMISED TO Musk’s SpaceX subsidiary Starlink	(circa) $2.3 million
US Department of Commerce owed to Musk’s SpaceX	$1.4 million
US Department of Veterans Affairs owed to Musk’s SpaceX	$578,875

Money to Tesla Electric Vehicle Company Run by Musk

US Government boost of Tesla income via tax credits to Tesla-buying customers	$3.4 billion
US Department of Energy low-interest loan to Tesla for help developing new electric vehicles	$465 million
US government contract with Tesla for “‘armored electric vehicles’” (under current scrutiny)	$400 million
US government purchases solar and vehicles	$4.5 million

(Federal data analyzed by The Independent)
Independent UK: “Here’s how many billions Elon Musk’s companies are making from U.S. taxpayers: While their boss takes a sledgehammer to federal agencies, SpaceX and Tesla are earning big money from government contracts,” writes Io Dodds February 23, 2025, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/musk-government-contracts-spacex-tesla-taxes-b2703141.html

US Government Spending in Top 50 Recipients

Source USA Spending FY 2008 through FY 2025 – Five area Recipients

*(Akb = Also Known By)

$30.2 Billion	LOCKHEED MARTIN CORP akb* 22 other names	Five US Gov Awarding Agencies	Department of Defense National Aeronautics and Space Administration  Department of Homeland Security Department of Transportation Department of Justice
$21.9 Billion	ROCKWELL COLLINS AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED Akb 52 other names	Five US Gov Awarding Agencies	Department of Defense National Aeronautics and Space Administration  Department of Homeland Security Department of Transportation General Services Administration
$20.1 Billion	THE BOEING COMPANY Akb 23 other names	Five US Gov Awarding Agencies	Department of Defense National Aeronautics and Space Administration  Department of Homeland Security General Services Administration Department of Energy
$10.2 Billion	LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION Akb 3 other names	Three US Gov Awarding Agencies	Department of Defense National Aeronautics and Space Administration  Department of Homeland Security
$9.3 Billion	LEIDOS HOLDINGS, INC. Akb 45 other names	Five US Gov Awarding Agencies	Department of Defense  Department of Veterans Affairs Department of Health and Human Services Department of Transportation Department of Energy

USA Spending dot Gov “Recipient Profiles.” https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient

“Which Inmate Is Running the Asylum?” 
Electoral Vote https://www.electoral-vote.com/

Trump, “Musk and his Band of Bros”

“With Trump, way back in 2016 (campaign) or 2017 (commencement of his administration), we kept looking for the underlying plan, the logic, the chess moves. And it turns out those things weren't there.

“We are not inclined to make that mistake again with Musk. It is possible he is brilliant in other domains, but in this domain, he's lost.”

An Infamous, Callous 5 Bullet Electronic Missive

People “who work for the federal government, either as regular employees or as contractors, are, by and large, loyal and hardworking public servants who—in many cases—left money on the table by agreeing to work in the public sector. They have families (and) mortgages…. They have lives. They are human beings.

“To make them jump through stupid, insulting hoops—like they are trained seals begging for a treat—is just reprehensible.”

The infamous electronic mail arrives and “quite a few high-ranking Trumpers (tell) their underlings to ignore (it).” Among the Trump-appointed high-rankers casting doubt on or putting a spanner in the bulleted missive are “FBI Director Kash Patel and DNI Tulsi Gabbard.”

The careless, callous creature then appeals to his would-be master (?) who then posts an apparent ‘I’m with you- keep pitching’ message via “his very sad little social media platform.” And the callous bulleted missive returns threatening immediate termination of service of those failing to respond to said missive. The sitting president’s I’m with you- keep pitching, my boy, apparently turned to comme ci, comme ça or you’re on your own, partner.

His second attempt at support reportedly said something to the effect that “employees who did not follow Musk's orders would be ‘fired’ or … ‘semi-fired,’” leaving muddied the meaning of “’semi-fired.’” And post Trump the OPM messaged a declaration that employee responses to the South African’s “demands (were) optional”; and not responding “would not lead to termination.”

The consensus of opinion in some sectors, this writer observes, is that there is not only callousness and carelessness; but there is incompetence (and therefore weakness) all round.

Some “Trumpers have concluded that Musk is incompetent or … a threat, or both.” Moreover, the writer continues, the sitting US president has a habit of attracting and hiring incompetents” — as “he is himself an incompetent manager”— and questionable online content makers. The author cites the current appointment to deputy FBI director, a man whose salient qualifications are apparently “far-right, extremely whack-a-doodle, Trump-cultist podcast[ing]” heard to declare that “his mission is to ‘own the libs’ because they are ‘pure unadulterated evil.’”

The management incompetence and questionable judgment of the sitting president was evidenced in “his first term” which was “marked by all kinds of turf wars … among … underlings, usually ending in someone being (pushed out)”: vast turnover of employees and general destabilization or chaos. In his second term, “the turf wars” are seen to start “much earlier and are developing much quicker.”

Four is a long pull of years for a US President. And what happens from here to there is anybody’s guess. What is known, the writer concludes, is that the sitting president seems to be intimidated by the South African; and a general manifestation of the former’s character and behavior is spinelessness. “… Even as Musk steps on every toe in Washington, Trump doesn't have the courage to rein him in. … Will The Donald (eventually summon the courage to) impose some discipline on Musk? And, if so, will it actually come from the President, or will he send someone like Stephen Miller to do it?”

Stephen Miller, an influencer and hanger-on around media and federal government with seemingly questionable or extremist views has been in recent years a White House Director of Speechwriting (January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021) and, serving with Jared Kushner, a Senior Advisor to the President (January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021). His current double roles are United States Homeland Security Advisor and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy (both since January 20, 2025).

“That's where things stood as of 2:00 a.m. PT on Tuesday. Who knows what the situation will be by, say, 2:00 p.m. PT on Tuesday?” Source: Electoral Vote “Which Inmate Is Running the Asylum?” https://www.electoral-vote.com/

Money Plays?

Quid Pro Quo?

Revolving Door

Inmates Running the Asylum 

Run amok

The Face of US Politics

Corruption, Chaos, Carelessness, Callousness, Calculated Incompetence

There is a critical difference between the Forty-sixth and the Forty-seventh US President. And mind you, I am not one who falls in love with or holds membership in a fan club for politicians of any stripe. So, bear that in mind. 

The Forty-sixth had long overstayed his time in office. And, clearly, he was suffering a serious mental impairment. Yet, foolishly, his political party exploited this in order to manage him. Impairment (any kind of incompetence) weakens a person, leaving them terribly vulnerable. Perhaps, also, he was corrupt, criminally abusive of public office. Criminality and unethical behavior should be checked and reprimand, chastised or otherwise subjected to the rule of law—not matter who is involved. But I believe, also, that the forty-sixth was knowledgeable of public service and knew or should have known the proper role and functioning of government (the US Government). He knew what government was supposed to do. His long years (in two branches of government) would have taught him, firsthand, the difference and necessary distinction between public service and private enterprise.

The Forty-seventh is totally ignorant of that critical distinction and difference. In my view, he is uncaring of that difference and distinction and has no interest learning, let alone or honoring it. In his ignorance (ignorance also impairs, weakens, leaves vulnerable), he is also arrogantly disrespectful of government and of public servants. The forty-seventh is a private enterprise man, a buyer and seller of stuff, a wheeler-dealer. A merchant centered on self: on getting more than giving. He hasn’t a clue and cares less about Government of by and for the People.

Government, US Government, was not created to buy and sell stuff; nor was it (or its employees or leaders) meant to be bought and sold (or to preach a religion)—the essence and meaning of corruption, breakdown, destruction of all that is of (We the People American cultural) value.

Government, US Government, was not intended to serve or pander to special interests (and if it was, the system was also a work in progress toward building a more and more perfect Union). Government should be a vital servant of ALL the people—having the whole society in mind, clearly cognizant of (and emotionally embracing) the principle that the health of the whole society (society as a whole) and government (up and down the spectrum) is dependent on the health and wellbeing of all the country’s people.

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PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

Latest book: Are There No Champions? Yes and No

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