[I ask for prayers for the elderly woman who was severely injured as a pedestrian in Fillmore last Friday.]

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Like every conservative Republican I am overjoyed at Donald Trump’s election victory. The most destructive federal government in American history has finally been stamped-out.

Supremely challenging repairs are needed to fix those four years of wild, hyper-irrational Democratic policy damage. That old Obama promise to “fundamentally transform the United States of America” nearly came true. Serious questions remain, for example, how to eject 20-million illegal aliens. Many ruinous Biden-Harris actions have no cure, like the surrender of Afghanistan, the death and abandonment of hundreds of thousands, and the gift of $85-billion in military equipment to the Taliban.

Trump will have only four years to complete the necessary work. It has never been more important for him to appoint the most trustworthy, competent, and experienced members to his cabinet. I find only three of his nominees deficient so far: Matt Gaetz, Pete Hegseth, and Tulsi Gabbard. Hegseth is a great guy! I admire his military service record and attitude. But he is not ripe enough to be Secretary of Defense. He’s smart enough, conservative enough, but not experienced enough to take over this top job. Use him in an important but less critical position, or as assistant. The man for this job is Mike Pompeo: West Point, Harvard Law, Congressman, CIA Director, and Secretary of State. He is an extraordinary man with impressive accomplishments. If Trump’s avoidance of Pompeo is due to past criticism of policy, shame on Trump! He is wasting and disrespecting a sterling asset.

After a little research on Tulsi Gabbard, I would not consider her for any top job. I admire her military service. But she has been too complementary of Putin and her biography is strewn with liberal inclinations. She’s also a Tulsi-come-lately to the Republican Party.

Lastly, there is Florida Representative Matt Gaetz. Trump has nominated Gaetz for Attorney General. I was frankly shocked to hear this. Gaetz’s character and conduct while in office is hyper controversial with serious investigations ongoing. Gaetz is not qualified for this job!

It appears to me, a strong Trump supporter, that Donald Trump needs more guidance in picking his cabinet. He has only one opportunity to get this right. Choose the best. Concentrate on COMPETENCE and experience, as well as fidelity.
There is much talk of Trump ushering in a new “golden age” for America. While I hope so, my instincts tell a different story. If Trump has the time he can effect huge change for the better, but Obama-Biden-Harris policy calamities have thrown sand in the machine. First off, we continue to be unprepared for war and war is here. Recent warnings accrue about providing ATACMS missiles to Ukraine because of their scarcity in US inventories, and nuclear fears. But we are into the third year of the Russia-Ukraine war and haven’t even fired-up production, while Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea boast of their readiness. It doesn’t take a Sun Tzu to know that if you lack sufficient quantities of critically important stuff you make more of it! But we haven’t.

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My greatest fear for the new administration is its probable abandonment of Ukraine in its most dire need. Those who advocate cutting-off Ukraine’s war supplies are ignorant of political history, especially of communism. In a few words, progressive global war began in August 2008 with the Russian invasion of Georgia. No one did anything to stop it so Russian aggression continued into Crimea, and later into Ukraine proper. Where next if Russia is not stopped cold in Ukraine? The dominos are Moldova, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia – France? Of course, Russia’s demonic buddies, China, Iran, North Korea, and the Jihad hoards forever seeking the submission of all non-Muslims, have jumped the gun, provoking arrogant overreach. (My missile is bigger than your missile.) Our enemies think they are invincible – war has come because they want war.
As Ukraine goes, so goes Europe – then the world.