Author: Ronald

Nancy Pelosi, The Most Powerful Woman In American History; And Ann Coulter, A Domestic Terrorist Who Should Face Charges Of Promoting Insurrection Against The Welfare Of The American People

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Two women stood out this week, one displaying her true greatness, and the other demonstrating that she is a disgrace who wishes ill for the American people.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stood up to President Donald Trump, and refused to bend on the Border Wall, and Trump has now caved in totally, not only on the criminal shutdown of the federal government, but also on delaying the State of the Union address.

She has proved to be, easily, the most powerful woman in American history by far, and the best Speaker since Thomas “Tip” O’Neill (1977-1987), and makes former Republican Speaker Paul Ryan look pitiful by comparison, having no guts or courage to stand up to Donald Trump.

When one thinks of other women who have played a major public role in American history, we can think of Hillary Clinton, who would have been the most powerful and influential woman in American history, had she not been robbed by Russian collusion of winning the Electoral College.

We can refer to several woman US Senators with longevity—such as Margaret Chase Smith, Barbara Mikulski, Diane Feinstein–and several Congresswomen, including Jeannette Rankin, Marcy Kaptur, Patricia Schroeder, and Nita Lowey—and Supreme Court Justices such as Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

But none have had the impact and significance that Nancy Pelosi has had in 33 years of service, and with a successful four year term as Speaker from 2007-2011.

At the same time, Ann Coulter has proved once again that she is a dangerous radical, out to undermine American government, through sowing hate and division, and proving she has no empathy for anyone except the extremely wealthy and powerful right wing forces in America.

She should have a complete collapse in her book sales, and should be ignored by the news media and cable tv shows, as she is effectively a domestic terrorist sowing insurrection, and she should be facing charges and spending years in prison for her anti American actions that are equivalent of treason.

For sure, when the history of recent times is written, Nancy Pelosi will stand out in a positive fashion, while Ann Coulter will be condemned to the dust heap of history, of traitors to America and its advancement.

Donald Trump’s Government Shutdown Creating Psychological Torture On Millions Of Americans, And Endangering Public Health And National Security: A Criminal Act Which Should Lead To Immediate Removal From Office

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Donald Trump’s Government Shutdown. now in its 34th day, is creating psychological torture on millions of Americans, and endangering public health and national security.

It is a criminal act, unsurpassed by any President in American history, a grab for absolute power by a tyrant who wishes to destroy our Constitution and system of checks and balances.

It should lead to immediate removal from office, not even wait until an impeachment trial, as it is endangering

a great economic depression;

a danger of nuclear war;

a public health and safety crisis regarding our food and drug supply;

the likelihood of a massive terrorist incident as horrible as September 11;

the danger of a disaster in air traffic;

the eviction from homes and apartments of millions of Americans, making them homeless; causing massive hunger and starvation;

the undermining of the health of the elderly, the disabled, the poor, and those with serious diseases;

the worsening of morale of such crucial government agencies as the Secret Service, Immigration and Custom Enforcement, Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, and innumerable other agencies;

the likelihood that many dedicated federal government agencies will see many of their work force permanently leave government service, creating a massive shortage of qualified people to take care of government services for 325 million Americans;

and causing America to become the laughing stock of the world, as the nation goes from one crisis to another every day, and every area of government policy getting worse by the days and weeks and months.

We have had two years now of crisis and anarchy, and it is just fortunate that there has been no major foreign policy crisis, but one can sense it is coming, and we have an incompetent, demented, unstable, ill tempered collaborator with the major enemy of the United States, Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, who wishes our nation ill!

Urgency To Raise Marginal Tax Rate On Wealthiest To 70 Percent, As Existed In Years 1936-1951, And 1963-1980, With 90 Percent Between 1951-1963, All Of Which Created The Middle Class

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With the middle class rapidly diminishing, and poverty spreading to more and more of Americans, a trend since 1980, it is urgent that America go back to the tax policy that prevailed from 1936-1980.

From the time of the New Deal at its peak in the mid 1930s through the year of the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, the US government, by its tax policy, created a growing and prosperous middle class, and while the wealthy complained about the tax rates, it did not harm them, but made a vast difference to the nation.

The marginal tax rate, meaning the tax rate above a fixed income, reached 70 percent from 1936 to 1951, and was raised further to 90 percent from 1951-1963, followed by a return to 70 percent from 1963-1980. It allowed a growing middle class to improve their life style and buy goods and services that could not have occurred without this small sacrifice by the wealthy.

Now, it has been proposed that the marginal tax rate go back up to 70 percent on incomes over $10 million, so notice this is not raising taxes on the first $10 million of income, and is not going to strip the top one percent of their wealth by any means.

The middle class dwindled once the tax rate was allowed to plummet under Ronald Reagan onward, and has led to an economy where former middle class people, who still think they are middle class, have to work second and third jobs, and both wife and husband must work full time, in order to struggle to remain in the lower middle class at best.

This is not good for the struggling middle class, and in the long run, is a detriment to the wealthy. The anger and bitterness over the unfairness of our tax policy endangers everyone.

Instead of keeping the tax rate at what it was, the wealthy have had three massive periods of tax cuts, under Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and now Donald Trump. It is time for that horrible tax policy to come to an end, as the wealthy do not need any more exploitation of the middle class and the poor to be on their necks.

January 22-23, 1973, An Historic 48 Hours: The Death Of Lyndon B. Johnson, End Of US Involvement In Vietnam War, Abortion Rights Approved By Supreme Court

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Rarely in American history has there been a period of 24-48 hours with events occurring that have had such a massive impact on the nation, as January 22-23, 1973.

We saw the death of President Lyndon B. Johnson on January 22, 1973, at the age of 64, two days after he chose not to show up at the second inauguration of Richard Nixon, leaving no former President at those festivities. He died, depressed that the Vietnam War had not been ended, but 24 hours later, the Paris Accords were announced, ending US involvement in Vietnam, leading to withdrawal of all US military forces within two months, although later those Accords were violated by North Vietnam in April 1975, leading to the unification of North and South Vietnam.

Also, on the day that LBJ died, the Supreme Court came up with a decision that has more divided America to this moment, in a social sense, than any other, and that was Roe V Wade, allowing abortion rights to women in the first two trimesters, spurring a right wing “Pro Life” movement, and the promotion of Christian extremist movements in American politics, which helped to bring about the victory of Donald Trump and Mike Pence in 2016.

The Great Society programs of LBJ have been under attack since 1973, particularly under Ronald Reagan, and now Donald Trump, and the effects of the Vietnam War still permeate American society.

And if the right wing has its way, we will eventually see the reversal of the Roe V Wade decision, although the vast majority of Americans support abortion rights.

The Reality Of Racial, Ethnic And Misogynistic Division On The Anniversary Of Martin Luther King, Jr’s Holiday And 90th Birthday Commemoration

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Today is the celebration of the heritage and message of the Reverend Dr. Luther King, Jr, who was assassinated in 1968; had a national holiday established in his honor in 1986; and whose 90th birthday would have been last week on January 15.

King spent his life trying to unite people, and promoted the civil rights movement, but sadly, in the age of Donald Trump, the reality is one of racial, ethnic and misogynistic division, which is daily encouraged by the 45th President, who revels in dividing people, and disrupting society.

It is highly discouraging to see the kind of hatred that includes the murder of black churchgoers in South Carolina; the murder of gay men in Orlando, Florida; the death of a woman in Charlottesville, Virginia at a white supremacist rally; the slaughter of Jews in a Pittsburgh synagogue; and the rampant antisemitism, Islamophobia, and misogyny being exposed daily of prominent public figures.

We are more divided now than we have been since the 1960s, and this after an eight year period where many thought there had been great progress in race relations and civil rights, and something must be done to defuse this dangerous situation which now exists in America.

We owe it to the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. to do the best we can to bring down the temperature of the stresses and tensions which are destroying all internal civility in America.

Inspiring January 20s—1961 And 2009, And Then Depressing January 20s, 2017 And Today

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Today is commemorated as the Presidential Inauguration Day every four years, since the passage and ratification of the 20th Amendment in 1933, changing the date from the original March 4 from 1789 to 1933, to the new date starting in 1937 and every fourth year after.

The history of January 20 is one of two particularly inspiring Inauguration Days, those of John F. Kennedy in 1961, with his soaring oratory, and Barack Obama in 2009, with the largest Inauguration crowd in American history, and with this author and blogger in attendance with his older son, witnessing the historic event.

Kennedy was the youngest elected President, and the first and only Catholic President, and Obama was the first and only mixed race African American President, and both appealed to the highest ideals of the American spirit.

Already, both are rated in the top third or better of our Presidents, and both will always excite and inspire our image of what America could be.

But sadly, now we are in a crisis, which makes Richard Nixon look better, something thought to be impossible after the Watergate Scandal. We never thought we could have a worse and more corrupt President than Nixon, who with his manifest shortcomings actually had some positive contributions.

But with Donald Trump, we have a wrecking ball out to destroy American domestic policies since Theodore Roosevelt onward, and American foreign policies since Harry Truman onward.

We have a President who has collaborated and colluded with the Russian government of Vladimir Putin, and yet we have one third to 40 percent of the nation totally in delusion, and proving that as PT Barnum said long ago, “There’s a sucker born every minute!” People who should know better have their heads in the sand, as if they are ostriches, and nothing will convince this ill informed and morally deficient portion of the population to see the reality of the disaster we face.

Donald Trump gave a bitter, divisive Inaugural Address two years ago today, and has not stopped from his mission of total destruction, and division of our population with his insults, his racism, his nativism, his misogyny, his repudiation of our long time allies, and his promotion of the destruction of the environment and the concept of civil rights and civil liberties in our Constitution and Bill of Rights.

January 20, 2017, was not a day to celebrate, and January 20, 2019 is not either, as the Federal Government Shutdown continues, with the long range goal of the undermining of the Federal government agencies, and the destruction of the lives of millions of dedicated workers, and the collapse of the American economy, as we hurtle toward another Great Recession or maybe even another Great Depression.

It is impossible to have hope that we can survive this Trump disaster without long range damage and harm that will permanently undermine the future of American democracy.

Wrong For Vice President Mike Pence And His Wife Karen Pence To Promote A Bigoted, Narrow Minded View Of Gays, Lesbians, And Transgenders, Not In The Tradition Of Jesus, Who Promoted Tolerance And Open Mindedness

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It is extremely disturbing to see Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, the Second Lady, Karen Pence, to be promoting an anti gay, anti lesbian, and anti transgender agenda.

Karen Pence is teaching art at a right wing “Christian” school that bans gay, lesbian, transgender or bisexual teaching and other staff members, and also bans students of those descriptions or students who have parents of those groups.

They also promote an extreme right wing view of Christianity, including against premarital sex, adultery, and preach that women are to obey their husbands.

What century are we in? This is NOT a Christian nation, as we have always promoted, from the Founding Fathers onward, the principle of the separation of church and state.

We may have a majority of people in this nation who were born to a broad based Christian parentage, but of many different sects and beliefs, and that is not the same as saying we are a “Christian” nation, as we are a nation of all religions, with no favoritism or preference for any one religious belief. Jews,Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, other religious minorities, and even atheists and agnostics are all protected from any persecution, discrimination, or mistreatment by any institution.

For Karen Pence to have such a narrow minded view when she could be the next First Lady is a demonstration of a woman and her husband being so outrageously hateful, discriminatory, and prejudiced, and is unacceptable in a future President or First Lady.

We have never had this before, and if the Pences end up in the White House, and try to impose their theocratic views on the nation, they are in for a massive battle and struggle, as the vast number of Americans will not tolerate such bigotry.

The Wealthiest And The Poorest Presidents

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The American Presidents have varied greatly in wealth acquired or inherited in their lifetimes.

Some were born poor, such as Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton, due to family circumstances, with Clinton and Nixon acquiring wealth in their lifetimes, but Johnson would still be the seventh poorest President at death, according to statistics.

Materials gathered by scholars have led to conclusions on the net worth of our 44 Presidents, including their post Presidential years.

Easily, at least by the knowledge we have now, Donald Trump is likely the wealthiest President, although subject to change by further Congressional investigation of Trump’s finances, sure to come in the 116th Congress by congressional subpoenas. By estimate, Trump is wealthier than all the other 43 men who have been President of the United States.

After Trump, probably John F. Kennedy, had he not been assassinated, would have inherited close to $1 billion later in his life.

Other than Trump and Kennedy, George Washington would be considered the wealthiest President, in modern terms, around $580 million.

Behind him would be Thomas Jefferson ($234 million); Theodore Roosevelt ($138 million); Andrew Jackson ($131 million); James Madison ($112 million); and Lyndon B. Johnson ($108 million), with all those numbers being estimates.

Other Presidents who had substantial estimated wealth would include Herbert Hoover ($82 million; Bill Clinton ($75 million); Franklin D. Roosevelt ($66 million); and John Tyler ($57 million). Clinton acquired most of his wealth post Presidency by speeches and authored books, and will likely rise much higher if he lives a long life.

At the other end of the scale, we had 13 Presidents who had $1 million or less wealth by all estimates, in 2016 dollars, including in ranked order:

William McKinley

Warren G. Harding

James Buchanan

Abraham Lincoln

Andrew Johnson

Ulysses S. Grant

James A. Garfield

Chester Alan Arthur

Woodrow Wilson

Calvin Coolidge

Harry Truman

Notice that the bulk of these Presidents served in the years from Buchanan to McKinley, the last half of the 19th century, a total of seven out of eleven Presidents.

The three Presidents from Wilson through Coolidge also are on this list, and Harry Truman ends up as the least prosperous President at his death, as compared to Andrew Johnson the poorest at birth.

Barack Obama is rated just below John Tyler at number 13 on the wealth list at an estimated $40 million, with potential over a long lifetime to become one of the top few wealthiest Presidents by speeches, books, and other activities due to the stature and prestige of being a former President in modern times.

Other Presidents are rated in the middle on wealth, such as George W. Bush at $39 million; George H. W. Bush at $26 million; John Quincy Adams at $23 million; John Adams at $21 million; Richard Nixon at $17 million; Ronald Reagan at $14 million; Dwight D. Eisenhower at $9 million; and Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter at $8 million each.

Donald Trump, The Republican Party, And The Trump “Base” Have No Respect, Regard, Or Appreciation Of Government Employees

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Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and the Trump ‘base” have no respect, regard, or appreciation of government employees, and the role they play in the lives of 325 million Americans.

Everyone in America is impacted by the dedication of public servants who sacrifice their lives and families in many positions, and in all cases, have an effect daily on all of us.

But there are those who trash public employees as if they are freeloading, when they must meet strict standards for their jobs, and in so many cases, are not well compensated.

How would Americans live without the effect of such agencies as follows:

Department of Agriculture

Department of Commerce

Department of Defense

Department of Education

Department of Energy

Department of Health and Human Services

Department of Homeland Security

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department of the Interior

Department of Justice

Department of Labor

Department of State

Department of Transportation

Department of the Treasury

Department of Veterans Affairs

National Archives

The Library of Congress

Presidential Libraries

Smithsonian Institution

Federal Trade Commission

Federal Communications Commission

Consumer Product Safety Commission

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Environmental Protection Agency

Occupational Safety and Health Administration

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Science Foundation

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Tennessee Valley Authority

Securities and Exchange Commission

Small Business Administration

Federal Reserve Board

United States Postal Service

Social Security Administration

National Transportation Safety Board

Amtrak

Peace Corps

Central Intelligence Agency

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Secret Service

Federal Emergency Management Agency

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

National Park Foundation

The continuation of the Federal Government Shutdown is a rebuke not only to the affected government employees, but to all 325 million Americans, and Donald Trump will pay the price in public opinion polls, and in the analysis over time of historians and political scientists.

Iowa Congressman Steve King Just The Tip Of The Iceberg, As Donald Trump Is The More Significant White Supremacist And White Nationalist

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The decision of the House Republican leadership, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, to condemn Iowa Congressman Steve King and strip him of his committee assignments, is a lame and belated acceptance of the Republican Party of how racist and nativist King has been for years, with the GOP tolerating him and his promotion of white supremacy and white nationalism.

He is not the only Republican who has shown evidence of racism and nativism, and many Republicans are now worried about the long range future of the party of Lincoln, TR, Ike, Reagan, and H W Bush.

The party has catered to white supremacists and white nationalists for years, taking over that role from the old former Southern segregationists who, thankfully, abandoned the Democratic Party after the passage of the Civil Rights Act under President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

There should be no place for such racism and nativism in any establishment political party in America, but Donald Trump paid homage to them after the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, when he said both sides in the conflict had good people, which was a sign he was allied with David Duke, Richard Spencer, and the right wing radio talk show hosts that spew such hatred regularly.

Until and when the Republicans in Congress in the House of Representatives and Senate repudiate the ultimate racist, nativist, hate monger, and misogynist—DONALD TRUMP—which they refused to do to this moment, then the action taken against Steve King is pure hypocrisy, to save their own rear ends.

The Republican Party is dead in the water as a future force until they return to the progressive trends of Lincoln and TR, the true paragons of virtue in their party history.