January 21, 2025

Permission to republish original opeds and cartoons granted.

The Battle For The Soul Of America: January 20, 2025 Edition

By Rick Manning

One moment will stick in my brain for a very long time from the Trump Inauguration. It was a moment created by the unusual cancellation of the normal pomp and circumstance due to predicted cold weather which led to the parade being indoors at the local professional ice hockey arena.

While the speech laying out part of his vision was inspiring and the sight of Kamala Harris sitting glumly waiting for the whole thing to get over symbolized the sadness felt by those Americans who opposed President Trump, the moment was bigger than either of these events.

It occurred pretty late in the day, but before the Inaugural balls began.

At the end of the presidential parade, President Donald Trump did something extraordinary.

He kept many of his promises right in front of the millions of Americans who were watching. He signed Executive Orders to make our border more secure. He signed an Executive Order to end our taxpayer’s funding the Paris Climate Accord scam. He signed an Executive Order to rescind more than eighty Biden orders which harmed domestic energy production.

And then he threw the pens to the crowd.

Not since Andrew Jackson had the public camping out on the White House grounds has the public been so much a part of an Inaugural. And right in front of God and the American people, Donald Trump kept many of the promises he made during the election.

After being told that up is down and right is left and lies are the truth that must be followed at your peril, the American people witnessed and cheered a man keeping and laying the groundwork to keep the promises he made to them.

Putting Americans first, by allowing Americans to be a part of his historic moment by making it theirs through the simple toss of pens to the crowd used to sign documents which set the stage for restoring the American century synopsized the Trump years.

And as someone who has been in politics my whole life, and has supported President Trump for a decade, I can honestly say, I was amazed and yes a tear came to my eye.

The fight for America is still on, and it will never end.  Individual liberty and our constitutional principles of limited government have to be battled for each and every day.

But there is renewed hope in this American restoration project because we have a leader who believes in the American people to make the decisions that affect their lives, rather than one who preferred to make them for them, under the guise that government knows best.

Day one of making America great again is complete, and a great day it was.  Now onto the hard work in the battle for the soul of America.

Rick Manning is the President of Americans for Limited Government.

To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2025/01/the-battle-for-the-soul-of-america-january-20-2025-edition/

Government For The People

By Robert Romano

It’s official now. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance have accepted their oaths of office to uphold the Constitution and have been sworn into office, with President Trump wasting no time getting to work after the traditional ceremonies including his Second Inaugural Address where he declared the beginning of “the golden age of America” wherein he would immediately take actions to secure the border, restore dominant American energy production, get inflation under control, withdraw once again from the Paris Climate accords, to stop federal government censorship and the weaponization of the federal government.

To that end, following the Inaugural, Trump, Vance and their families took part in attending the Presidential Parade at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C. wherein attendees, who braved the cold to attend after the National Mall outdoor ceremonies were canceled, were among the first to witness the signing of some these immediate executive actions taken under law by the President.

In his remarks prior to the signing, Trump thanked everyone at the arena and to all his supporters for helping to make his election possible, and described the Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement as history-changing: “MAGA was the most successful political operation, political movement in the history of the country, maybe even the world.”

Trump added, “Because we’re not finished yet. We’ve got a long way to go.” He’s right, as the President must also work with Congress on actions that require their attention including the upcoming budget reconciliation bill that will extend tax relief, further secure the border, rescind regulations, boost production and help lower prices.

But within his own powers under the Constitution and federal laws, Trump at the event went on to take some immediate actions in front of the more than 20,000 assembled guests — truly government for the people that Abraham Lincoln once described.

These included the first order rescinding 78 Biden executive actions that former President Joe Biden had implemented that according to the new executive order were “harmful” to the country: “The previous administration has embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government.  The injection of ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion’ (DEI) into our institutions has corrupted them by replacing hard work, merit, and equality with a divisive and dangerous preferential hierarchy.  Orders to open the borders have endangered the American people and dissolved Federal, State, and local resources that should be used to benefit the American people.  Climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation.” Now, they’re all gone with the stroke of a pen.

Next up was an executive order that Trump described in his remarks to the Capitol One attendees was an “immediate regulation freeze” to stop all pending actions and to prevent any more regulations from the Biden administration from being issued.

Then, two orders were signed that implement a temporary hiring freeze at the federal government and the second to require all federal employees return to the office for in-person work after Covid era work-from-home actions were never rescinded.

And then a memorandum that Trump said would help “defeat inflation and radically bring down the cost of daily life” including, according to the memo, directing all departments and agencies, to “deliver emergency price relief, consistent with applicable law, to the American people and increase the prosperity of the American worker.  This shall include pursuing appropriate actions to:  lower the cost of housing and expand housing supply; eliminate unnecessary administrative expenses and rent-seeking practices that increase healthcare costs; eliminate counterproductive requirements that raise the costs of home appliances; create employment opportunities for American workers, including drawing discouraged workers into the labor force; and eliminate harmful, coercive ‘climate’ policies that increase the costs of food and fuel…”

Next, there as an order immediately withdrawing for the second time from what Trump called the Paris Climate accords “ripoff” and also a letter to the United Nations explaining the withdrawal.

And, a directive to the federal government to, as Trump described, “immediately end all federal government censorship of the American people.” The order explained, “Over the last 4 years, the previous administration trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the Federal Government did not approve.  Under the guise of combatting ‘misinformation,’ ‘disinformation,’ and ‘malinformation,’ the Federal Government infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens across the United States in a manner that advanced the Government’s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate.”

The order added, “Government censorship of speech is intolerable in a free society.”

Finally, an executive order that Trump said would “stop the weaponization of law enforcement” and “directing every federal agency to preserve all records pertaining to political persecutions under the law administration… and beginning the process of exposing any and all abuses of power.”

The order directs “The Attorney General, in consultation with the heads of all departments and agencies of the United States, shall take appropriate action to review the activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority of the United States, including, but not limited to, the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission, over the last 4 years and identify any instances where a department’s or agency’s conduct appears to have been contrary to the purposes and policies of this order…” and preparing a report for recommendations so this never happens again.

And it directs “The Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with the heads of the appropriate departments and agencies within the Intelligence Community, shall take all appropriate action to review the activities of the Intelligence Community over the last 4 years and identify any instances where the Intelligence Community’s conduct appears to have been contrary to the purposes and policies of this order…” and also preparing a report of recommendations.

On the record keeping aspect of ending weaponization, the order requires and warns, as Trump did, to preserve all documents: “departments and agencies are directed to comply with applicable document-retention policies and legal obligations.  Instances of noncompliance with document-retention policies or legal obligations will be referred to the Attorney General.”

And that was just at the Capital One Arena.

Upon returning to the Oval Office, President Trump pardoned and otherwise commuted the sentences of Jan. 6, 2021 protesters who were convicted of crimes.

Trump declared a national energy emergency to free up federal lands for energy exploration, production, and refining and otherwise including the use of either eminent domain or defense production if necessary, stating, “If an agency assesses that use of either Federal eminent domain authorities or authorities afforded under the Defense Production Act (Public Law 81-774, 50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) are necessary to achieve this objective, the agency shall submit recommendations for a course of action to the President…”

Trump also for the second time declared a national emergency on the southern border to finish the construction of the border wall, seal the southern border from any more unauthorized entries, coordinate a Department of Defense military response in conjunction with the effort so the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Border Patrol and restoring the authorities from Trump’s 2019 border emergency declaration.

To help that along, Trump also issued a separate order in conjunction with the emergency declaration that specifically makes the military’s job to protect the borders: “It is the policy of the United States to ensure that the Armed Forces of the United States prioritize the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the United States along our national borders,” and to that end, “No later than 10 days from the effective date of this order, deliver to the President a revision to the Unified Command Plan that assigns United States Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) the mission to seal the borders and maintain the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and security of the United States by repelling forms of invasion including unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities.”

Which opens up organizations that facilitate the penetration of U.S. borders to direct military targeting, including an order defining drug cartels that are moving fentanyl and other deadly drugs and also human slave trafficking across the southern border to be designated as terrorist organizations.

Another memorandum was issued to “Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President”.

Another order ends all federal government Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs that according to the order, “forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government”—these policies by the government but also private employers have appeared to violate the Civil Rights Act including Title VII—and will require monthly meetings with the heads of the White House Office of Management and the Office of Personnel Management and department and deputy agency heads with updates for the President so that he “may formulate appropriate and effective civil-rights policies for the Executive Branch…” and another order making merit the sole basis for hiring in the federal workforce.

All this — and more — under laws that Congress has already enacted, on the very first day in office. Trump is wasting no time getting to work, and the American people can rest easy knowing the steady hand is back at the wheel. Thank you, Mr. President!

Robert Romano is the Vice President of Public Policy at Americans for Limited Government.

U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.

12:10 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.)  Wow.  Thank you very, very much.

Vice President Vance, Speaker Johnson, Senator Thune, Chief Justice Roberts, justices of the Supreme Court of the United States, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and my fellow citizens, the golden age of America begins right now.  (Applause.)  
 
From this day forward, our country will flourish and be respected again all over the world.  We will be the envy of every nation, and we will not allow ourselves to be taken advantage of any longer.  During every single day of the Trump administration, I will, very simply, put America first.  (Applause.) 
 
Our sovereignty will be reclaimed.  Our safety will be restored.  The scales of justice will be rebalanced.  The vicious, violent, and unfair weaponization of the Justice Department and our government will end.  (Applause.)  
 
And our top priority will be to create a nation that is proud, prosperous, and free.  (Applause.)

America will soon be greater, stronger, and far more exceptional than ever before.  (Applause.) 
 
I return to the presidency confident and optimistic that we are at the start of a thrilling new era of national success.  A tide of change is sweeping the country, sunlight is pouring over the entire world, and America has the chance to seize this opportunity like never before.  
 
But first, we must be honest about the challenges we face.  While they are plentiful, they will be annihilated by this great momentum that the world is now witnessing in the United States of America. 
 
As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust.  For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.  
 
We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home while, at the same time, stumbling into a continuing catalogue of catastrophic events abroad. 
 
It fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions, that have illegally entered our country from all over the world.  
 
We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people. 
 
Our country can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, as recently shown by the wonderful people of North Carolina — who have been treated so badly — (applause) — and other states who are still suffering from a hurricane that took place many months ago or, more recently, Los Angeles, where we are watching fires still tragically burn from weeks ago without even a token of defense.  They’re raging through the houses and communities, even affecting some of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals in our country — some of whom are sitting here right now.  They don’t have a home any longer.  That’s interesting.  But we can’t let this happen.  Everyone is unable to do anything about it.  That’s going to change. 
 
We have a public health system that does not deliver in times of disaster, yet more money is spent on it than any country anywhere in the world.  

And we have an education system that teaches our children to be ashamed of themselves — in many cases, to hate our country despite the love that we try so desperately to provide to them.  All of this will change starting today, and it will change very quickly.  (Applause.)
 
My recent election is a mandate to completely and totally reverse a horrible betrayal and all of these many betrayals that have taken place and to give the people back their faith, their wealth, their democracy, and, indeed, their freedom.  From this moment on, America’s decline is over.  (Applause.)
 
Our liberties and our nation’s glorious destiny will no longer be denied.  And we will immediately restore the integrity, competency, and loyalty of America’s government. 
 
Over the past eight years, I have been tested and challenged more than any president in our 250-year history, and I’ve learned a lot along the way. 
 
The journey to reclaim our republic has not been an easy one — that, I can tell you.  Those who wish to stop our cause have tried to take my freedom and, indeed, to take my life. 
 
Just a few months ago, in a beautiful Pennsylvania field, an assassin’s bullet ripped through my ear.  But I felt then and believe even more so now that my life was saved for a reason.  I was saved by God to make America great again.  (Applause.)
 
Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you very much.  (Applause.)
 
That is why each day under our administration of American patriots, we will be working to meet every crisis with dignity and power and strength.  We will move with purpose and speed to bring back hope, prosperity, safety, and peace for citizens of every race, religion, color, and creed. 
 
For American citizens, January 20th, 2025, is Liberation Day.  (Applause.)  It is my hope that our recent presidential election will be remembered as the greatest and most consequential election in the history of our country.  
 
As our victory showed, the entire nation is rapidly unifying behind our agenda with dramatic increases in support from virtually every element of our society: young and old, men and women, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, urban, suburban, rural.  And very importantly, we had a powerful win in all seven swing states — (applause) — and the popular vote, we won by millions of people.  (Applause.) 

To the Black and Hispanic communities, I want to thank you for the tremendous outpouring of love and trust that you have shown me with your vote.  We set records, and I will not forget it.  I’ve heard your voices in the campaign, and I look forward to working with you in the years to come. 
 
Today is Martin Luther King Day.  And his honor — this will be a great honor.  But in his honor, we will strive together to make his dream a reality.  We will make his dream come true.  (Applause.)
 
Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
National unity is now returning to America, and confidence and pride is soaring like never before.  In everything we do, my administration will be inspired by a strong pursuit of excellence and unrelenting success.  We will not forget our country, we will not forget our Constitution, and we will not forget our God.  Can’t do that.  (Applause.)
 
Today, I will sign a series of historic executive orders.  With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense.  It’s all about common sense.  (Applause.)
 
First, I will declare a national emergency at our southern border.  (Applause.)
 
All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.  We will reinstate my Remain in Mexico policy.  (Applause.)
 
I will end the practice of catch and release.  (Applause.)
 
And I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.  (Applause.)
 
Under the orders I sign today, we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.  (Applause.)
 
And by invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil, including our cities and inner cities.  (Applause.) 
 
As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions, and that is exactly what I am going to do.  We will do it at a level that nobody has ever seen before.
 
Next, I will direct all members of my cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices.  (Applause.) 
 
The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices, and that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency.  We will drill, baby, drill.  (Applause.)
 
America will be a manufacturing nation once again, and we have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have — the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on earth — and we are going to use it.  We’ll use it.  (Applause.)
 
We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export American energy all over the world.  (Applause.) 
 
We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it. 
 
With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers.  (Applause.)
 
In other words, you’ll be able to buy the car of your choice.
 
We will build automobiles in America again at a rate that nobody could have dreamt possible just a few years ago.  And thank you to the autoworkers of our nation for your inspiring vote of confidence.  We did tremendously with their vote.  (Applause.)  
 
I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families.  Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens.  (Applause.)
 
For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues.  It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources. 
 
The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before.  

To restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration will establish the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency.  (Applause.)
 
After years and years of illegal and unconstitutional federal efforts to restrict free expression, I also will sign an executive order to immediately stop all government censorship and bring back free speech to America.  (Applause.)
 
Never again will the immense power of the state be weaponized to persecute political opponents — something I know something about.  (Laughter.)  We will not allow that to happen.  It will not happen again.
 
Under my leadership, we will restore fair, equal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law.  (Applause.)
 
And we are going to bring law and order back to our cities.  (Applause.) 
 
This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.  (Applause.)  We will forge a society that is colorblind and merit-based.  (Applause.)  
 
As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.  (Applause.)
 
This week, I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the COVID vaccine mandate with full back pay.  (Applause.)
 
And I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty.  It’s going to end immediately.  (Applause.)  Our armed forces will be freed to focus on their sole mission: defeating America’s enemies.  (Applause.)
 
Like in 2017, we will again build the strongest military the world has ever seen.  We will measure our success not only by the battles we win but also by the wars that we end — and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.  (Applause.)  
 
My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier.  That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and a unifier.
 
I’m pleased to say that as of yesterday, one day before I assumed office, the hostages in the Middle East are coming back home to their families.  (Applause.)
 
Thank you.
 
America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world. 
 
A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America — (applause) — and we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley, to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs.  (Applause.)
 
President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent — he was a natural businessman — and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of Panama after the United Spates — the United States — I mean, think of this — spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal. 
 
We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made, and Panama’s promise to us has been broken. 
 
The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated.  American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape, or form.  And that includes the United States Navy.
 
And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal.  And we didn’t give it to China.  We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.  (Applause.)
 
Above all, my message to Americans today is that it is time for us to once again act with courage, vigor, and the vitality of history’s greatest civilization. 
 
So, as we liberate our nation, we will lead it to new heights of victory and success.  We will not be deterred.  Together, we will end the chronic disease epidemic and keep our children safe, healthy, and disease-free.  
 
The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation — one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons.  
 
And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars.  (Applause.)
 
Ambition is the lifeblood of a great nation, and, right now, our nation is more ambitious than any other.  There’s no nation like our nation.
 
Americans are explorers, builders, innovators, entrepreneurs, and pioneers.  The spirit of the frontier is written into our hearts.  The call of the next great adventure resounds from within our souls. 
 
Our American ancestors turned a small group of colonies on the edge of a vast continent into a mighty republic of the most extraordinary citizens on Earth.  No one comes close.
 
Americans pushed thousands of miles through a rugged land of untamed wilderness.  They crossed deserts, scaled mountains, braved untold dangers, won the Wild West, ended slavery, rescued millions from tyranny, lifted billions from poverty, harnessed electricity, split the atom, launched mankind into the heavens, and put the universe of human knowledge into the palm of the human hand.  If we work together, there is nothing we cannot do and no dream we cannot achieve.  
 
Many people thought it was impossible for me to stage such a historic political comeback.  But as you see today, here I am.  The American people have spoken.  (Applause.)
 
I stand before you now as proof that you should never believe that something is impossible to do.  In America, the impossible is what we do best.  (Applause.)
 
From New York to Los Angeles, from Philadelphia to Phoenix, from Chicago to Miami, from Houston to right here in Washington, D.C., our country was forged and built by the generations of patriots who gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom.  
 
They were farmers and soldiers, cowboys and factory workers, steelworkers and coal miners, police officers and pioneers who pushed onward, marched forward, and let no obstacle defeat their spirit or their pride.  
 
Together, they laid down the railroads, raised up the skyscrapers, built great highways, won two world wars, defeated fascism and communism, and triumphed over every single challenge that they faced. 
 
After all we have been through together, we stand on the verge of the four greatest years in American history.  With your help, we will restore America promise and we will rebuild the nation that we love — and we love it so much.  
 
We are one people, one family, and one glorious nation under God.  So, to every parent who dreams for their child and every child who dreams for their future, I am with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you.  We’re going to win like never before.  (Applause.)
 
Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)

In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly. But we are going to bring it back and make it great again, greater than ever before. 
 
We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage, and exceptionalism.  Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable. 
 
America will be respected again and admired again, including by people of religion, faith, and goodwill.  We will be prosperous, we will be proud, we will be strong, and we will win like never before. 
 
We will not be conquered, we will not be intimidated, we will not be broken, and we will not fail.  From this day on, the United States of America will be a free, sovereign, and independent nation. 
 
We will stand bravely, we will live proudly, we will dream boldly, and nothing will stand in our way because we are Americans.  The future is ours, and our golden age has just begun. 
 
Thank you.  God bless America.  Thank you all.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  Thank you very much.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  

Thank you.  (Applause.)

END  12:40 P.M. EST

To view online: https://dailytorch.com/2025/01/president-donald-trumps-second-inaugural-address/