Month: February 2017

The 2017 C Span Presidential Survey First Impressions: What It Tells Us

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The new 2017 C Span Presidential survey, the third in a series with earlier surveys in 2000 and 2009, reveals a lot about how scholars evaluate Presidents and their performances in office.

The survey is based on 91 Presidential historians judging our Presidents on ten categories, and adding up points to rank the Chief Executives.

What stands out as glaring is that two Presidents with earlier higher ratings have dropped dramatically, as a result of recent research.

Woodrow Wilson’s racism and civil liberties abuses in office have dropped him from 6 to 9 to 11, but with his overall performance still seen as significant enough to be in the top quarter of our 44 Presidents.

Andrew Jackson has dropped from 13 and 13 to 18, and is now behind other 19th century Presidents, including James Monroe, James K. Polk, and James Madison, who he used to be above, and that is clearly due to his anti abolitionist viewpoint and defense of slavery; his native American policy (Trail of Tears); and his destruction of the Second National Bank (causing the Panic of 1837).

One might argue that we should not judge Presidents by our own time and changing views, but it is clear historians do precisely that.

New C Span Presidential Survey Released, Changing Perceptions Of America’s 44 Presidents From Washington To Obama

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For a Presidential scholar or junkie like this author, today was a glorious day, with the announcement of the new C Span Presidential survey, the third such survey, after 2000 and 2009.

There will be time to analyze the details of the survey, which included 91 scholars judging all our Presidents in ten different categories, the same as in 2000 and 2009.

The number of scholars is far greater than it had been in the past two surveys.

For the first time, Barack Obama was ranked, and he achieved the spot as number 12 of all the Presidents, a great start, although in my May article on History News Network, which is found on the right side of my blog, I rank him Number 11.

But there is time for Obama to rise into the Top Ten, as appreciation of the 44th President is certain to grow as time passes.

What stands out the most to this scholar is how even the worst Presidents have more virtue and good intention, even if they failed, than our President Donald Trump in his first month in the White House.

Trump has disgraced the office he holds, and his being in office, even for a short time, undermines the reputation of the 44 men who held the position before him.

This is indeed a tragic moment in American history.

Most Disastrous Press Conference Of Any President In American History Occurred Today!

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Donald Trump demonstrated total mental disorder at his first press conference as President this afternoon. There has never been a press conference like this one, not even under Richard Nixon.

His behavior was bizarre, unhinged, scary to watch, and totally delusional.

Trump showed that he has the symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder, and just mentioning nuclear weapons in the press conference was terrifying.

He lied, deceived, exaggerated. showed ignorance, and that he was living in a virtual reality outside of the real world.

He showed no concern about antisemitic attacks on Jewish Community Centers all over America in recent weeks, and instead talked about how he was the least antisemitic person there was.

Trump also said he was the least racist of anyone, and also asserted that he had the greatest electoral vote victory since Ronald Reagan, which is not true, but he said he had been told that, which showed how ignorant and lacking in curiosity he is to investigate issues on his own.

We have never had a President like this, not even Richard Nixon, and we are in a constitutional crisis, with him attacking the intelligence agencies, the news media, the foreign policy establishment, and anyone else who dares to challenge him on any issue.

My article on HNN yesterday that said Trump would not last more time in office than, at the most, between James A Garfield and Zachary Taylor in duration (6 and a half to 16 months), has taken off on HNN, and I was interviewed on CTV News Channel in Toronto for five minutes at 905 pm tonight, and will share that link when and if I am able to obtain it.

The Reality: Mike Pence Likely To Become President

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The situation Mike Pence faces as Vice President after less than a month in office is that he must be starting to realize that he will become President at some point during this term.

The same situation faced Gerald Ford in December 1973, when he became Vice President under the 25th Amendment, the first such use of that amendment just passed six years earlier.

Ford knew that Richard Nixon was in trouble, and Mike Pence knows Donald Trump is in trouble.

Both Ford then and now Pence must “walk on eggs”, and be careful about what they say and do, in order to avoid any untoward indications of interfering with the procedures used to judge whether the President they serve is someone who should be removed from office.

But at the end, it is likely that Mike Pence will feel a need to utilize Section 4 of the 25th Amendment, to remove Donald Trump from office as a danger to national security and stability, due to reckless and unstable behavior in the Oval Office.

Both Ford and Pence owed their elevations to the Vice Presidency to their Presidents, but just as Ford was prepared to take over the Presidency. so will Mike Pence be ready when the time is right. which is likely sometime later this first year of the Trump Presidency, which seems assured to be abbreviated to probably more than James A. Garfield (199 days) but much less than Zachary Taylor (492 days).

25 Days, And Major Scandal Which Brings Likely End Of Trump Presidency, And Mike Pence As 46th President Of The United States!

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Only 25 days into the Trump Presidency, and already a scandal, and it is looking as if Donald Trump will be gone before the 199 days of James A. Garfield, who was assassinated in 1881.

That would mean by August 7 that Trump will have left the White House.

It is six days until February 20, one month in office, the length of time of William Henry Harrison in the Presidency, before he died of pneumonia in 1841.

The Michael Flynn resignation as National Security Adviser puts Trump on the spot, as his “bromance” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with that of Flynn, endangers the national security interests of the United States.

Trump could be considered a traitor to the United States by many, and it seems very likely a move toward impeachment is likely in the short run.

It is also interesting that Vice President Mike Pence seems to have been the one to assert himself, and help to force Flynn out, so that is also a sign that Pence may be moving toward a possible challenge to his boss, which can be promoted by the 25th Amendment, Section 4, which I wrote about last month (January 22) on History News Network, with the article found on the right side of my blog.

One can now expect Mike Pence to be our 46th President of the United States before 2017 is over!

Trump White House Aide Stephen Miller Declares President Has Ultimate Authority And Cannot Be Challenged! This Arrogance Must Be Repudiated!

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Trump White House Aide Stephen Miller is an arrogant, dangerous 31 year old man who has the gall to declare that the nation will soon learn that the President has the ultimate authority in the nation, and cannot be challenged in his grab for total control by any federal court.

Miller is a Fascist demagogue, who would fit in perfectly in a totalitarian state, such as Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, or the Soviet Union.

The shock is that Miller is Jewish, and yet is close to Stephen Bannon, the former Breitbart News Alt Right extremist, who is White House Counselor and Senior Aide to the President. He is also associated with white supremacist leader Richard Spencer, who has promoted violence against immigrants and non whites.

Miller showed up on four Sunday news programs, and talked like an authoritarian with a cockiness and self assurance that requires a quick reprimand, and yet, instead, Trump went on Twitter to support and applaud his aide’s performance.

It is clear, day by day, that Trump is moving toward establishing an authoritarian government, but it must be stopped dead in its tracks, by the Republican Party, which must love the country more than power and expediency, or go into the dustbin of history.

The question is whether critics in the media, the Democratic Party, and among the general population, can unite to pressure the Republicans to recognize that Trump is dangerous, mentally unhinged, and has dangerous aides that must be removed by a future President Mike Pence.

Will Pence do what is best for the nation, as it is hard to believe that he is not disturbed by the actions of Miller, Bannon, and National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who is now in danger because he communicated with the Russian ambassador before Trump took office, about the sanctions put on Russia by Barack Obama in his last days in the Presidency.

The Russian connection of Trump and Vladimir Putin, the “bromance”, is a national security issue that must be fully investigated, and if shown to be undermining our nation, Trump must be forced out of office, but meanwhile, the nation is in danger from people like Miller, Bannon, and Flynn.

Donald Trump Declares War On Chicago, California, Sanctuary Cities, Undocumented Immigrants, And Common Decency, Empathy And Compassion!

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Donald Trump, in just three weeks in office, has declared war on Chicago, California, Sanctuary Cities, Undocumented Immigrants, and common decency, empathy, and compassion.

He has acted as if he can send troops to Chicago to deal with the crime problem there, forgetting that the Mayor of Chicago and the Illinois Governor have ultimate authority over problems in Chicago. The only time when Presidents have sent in the National Guard over the desires of the state Governor was in the South during the Civil Rights Era, when the Governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, refused to promote safety for black students at Little Rock Central High School in 1957 (Dwight D. Eisenhower), and when the Governors of Mississippi (Ross Barnett) and of Alabama (George Wallace) refused to obey integration orders for the state universities in 1962 and 1963 (John F. Kennedy).

He has shown signs of trying to cut off funds to California and its university system, because of a confrontational demonstration against a hate mongering right wing extremist troublemaker at the University of California, Berkeley.

He has said he will cut off all funding to Sanctuary Cities across the nation that are out to protect undocumented immigrants, who now are being arrested and deported at record rates, breaking up families, and threatening DREAM kids with the possibility of being deported to a nation they have no memory of, since they came to this nation when very young, and had no choice in where they migrated to.

There is no debate that any felon, any criminal element–drug dealers, gangs, those who have committed major crimes–should and must be deported, but the simple act of people coming here for a better life, escaping persecution and violence in many nations, and those who overstay their visas, should not be included in the deportation.

And many do not understand or realize that millions of undocumented immigrants are making real contributions to our economy, and are not breaking the law, and are not criminal elements, and the breaking up of families and deportation of children is, in itself, a horrible criminal act by the US government.

How about cracking down on native born Americans who are felons, commit the vast number of terrorist acts in this country, and use their Christian faith as a justification for their bloodshed and violence?

Donald Trump and his administration lacks any sense of common decency, empathy or compassion.

“Progressive Professor” Blog after 8.5 Years: 5,500 Entries, 22 Million Words!

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My “Progressive Professor” blog began on August 11, 2008, so today it reaches a milestone, as it has been in existence for 8.5 years.

Why mention this?

Because as of yesterday, there have been 5,500 entries over these 8.5 years, and figuring an average of 400 words per entry (with many being much longer, and some being shorter, so averaged out to 400 words as a general assumption), the total number of words published is about 22 MILLION!

That is about four times the length of Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel, WAR AND PEACE, often called the lengthiest published work, although there actually are some books longer than that classic.

Also, this author has published 55 articles and counting on HistoryNewsNetwork.org (HNN) since the beginning of 2016, with each an approximate length of 1,000 words, so that is another 55,000 words in less than 14 months. All of those articles are found on the right side of the blog, and can be accessed easily.

I have enjoyed this commitment to writing, but I wish to point out that I have received no remuneration for either the blog or the HNN articles, and do it out of passion and principle, and hope to continue both activities for many years to come.

So this is a day to celebrate, and I thank my loyal readership for their commitment, and for their many contributions to the blog.

Donald Trump Dealt Defeat On Muslim Immigration Ban: Victory For The Constitution And American Democracy!

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Donald Trump has been dealt a stinging defeat by a three member 9th Circuit Appeals Court, with one judge appointed by George W. Bush, one by Jimmy Carter, and one by Barack Obama, and this after a district judge, appointed by George W. Bush, had put a hold on Trump’s Executive Order establishing a travel ban, which is really a Muslim ban from seven nations, none of which have sent terrorists to America, while Saudi Arabia, as an example, has sent the 9 11 terrorists, but was not on the list.

It is clear that any nation that is Muslim but which Trump has business dealings with will never be on the list. This has caused tremendous consternation, inconvenience, and personal torment for many decent people who have been blocked from entering the United States for no good reason, but Trump has no empathy or compassion, and is clearly making a grab for dictatorial power.

This is a dangerous attempt to acquire absolute power, and it must be stopped cold by the Supreme Court, which it seems, assuredly, will happen.

This judicial intervention is a victory for the Constitution and American democracy!

Trump is a Fascist, a danger to our Constitution and our civil rights and civil liberties, and massive marches are continuing, and Republicans are getting the Town Hall treatment that Tea Party people gave Democrats right after Barack Obama was inaugurated.

It now seems possible that the Republicans, who cannot come up with a solution to ObamaCare, and are endangering so many of our accomplishments in the years from FDR through LBJ and beyond, could lose seats, and maybe control, if this discontent with them and Trump continues to evolve.

The country needs to stop this far right extremism desperately!

Cabinet Of “Deplorables” Marches Forward Toward Confirmation

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The effects of election results are demonstrated once again as the Cabinet of “Deplorables” marches forward toward confirmation.

The last 24 hours have been particularly gloomy as Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Secretary of Education, and Jeff Sessions was confirmed as Attorney General.

Having a person who has never in any way been involved in public education and believes in charter schools and Christianized education is outrageous and demoralizing. America’s children will suffer as she takes over with the intention of ignoring the issues of disabled students, racial and ethnic minorities, and the protection of women and girls, and the problem of guns in schools.

Jeff Sessions reminds us too much of George Wallace, and the old saying applies–Once a bigot, always a bigot–ant to believe that he will dispense equal justice, and enforce civil rights and civil liberties, and protect women’s rights and immigrants rights, is to believe the tooth fairy.

We will soon see Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services, with an intention to destroy Medicare, Medicaid, and ObamaCare as we know it; and Scott Pruit head the Environmental Protection Agency which he has sued 14 times and would like to destroy the agency if he could; and Ryan Zinke as Secretary of the Interior, but not dedicated to preservation of the National Parks and protection of native American rights.

And other horrors in the cabinet are also in line for a vote, one that the Democrats and Progressives are unable to stop, a very depressing time.