Author: Ronald

A Proposal To Increase Membership In House Of Representatives After 2030!

Ronald 3 Comments

A movement is growing to promote a proposal to increase membership in the US House of Representatives after the next census in 2030, going into effect in 2032.

The House of Representatives has been set at 435 members since 1913, and capped officially at that number since 1929, with the exception, temporarily, of additional seats in 1959 with the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as the 49th and 50th states.

From the original 65 members in 1790, with each seat representing roughly 35,000 constituents, presently the 435 members represent roughly 770,000 constituents as of the 2020 census figures.

By 2040, if no additional seats are created, each district will represent approximately 875,000 constituents.

The ratio of population from largest states to smallest states was 12-1 in 1790; 70-1 in 2020; and would be 77-1 in 2040 (between California and Vermont).

The number of seats recommended to be added would be 150, which means almost all states that have lost seats to other states by reapportionment since 1931 would no longer be losing seats.

The average House district would decline to about 565,000, but one problems is how the chamber would seat another 150 members, plus the issue of office space and office buildings.

Some have said that the House of Representatives is “chaotic” as it is with 435 members, let alone 585.

And the Electoral College would change from 538 (including Washington DC and the 24th Amendment) to 688, requiring 345 electoral votes, rather than 270 electoral votes, to win the Presidency!

We shall see if any action on this proposal will move forward!

The Longevity Of Presidents Analyzed

Ronald 4 Comments

There is a lot of debate and discussion about Joe Biden’s age.

One needs to examine the history of Presidents and longevity.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, the time of modern America, 40 percent of Presidents (8) have had a short life span, as witness:

Theodore Roosevelt 60
William Howard Taft 72
Woodrow Wilson 67
Warren G. Harding 57
Calvin Coolidge 60
Franklin D. Roosevelt 63
John F. Kennedy 46
Lyndon B. Johnson 64

Other Presidents, 60 percent, (12), have had very long life spans, including

Herbert Hoover 90
Harry Truman 88
Dwight D. Eisenhower 78
Richard Nixon 81
Gerald Ford 93
Jimmy Carter 99 on the coming October 1
Ronald Reagan 93
George H W Bush 94
Bill Clinton 77 and counting
George W. Bush 77 and counting
Donald Trump 77 and counting
Joe Biden 81 on the coming November 20

Then, in a classification by himself, is Barack Obama (62), and seemingly in great health and physical shape!

My conclusion: Presidents and people in general are living longer and healthier, and one cannot deduce from the problems of Senator Diane Feinstein and Senator Mitch McConnell that President Joe Biden will be unable to finish his time in office.

But if, sadly, that becomes an issue, there is absolutly nothing wrong, and a lot very positive, about the ability of Vice President Kamala Harris to take over the Presidency.

When one considers Vice Presidents who succeeded their Presidents during a term, three of them—-Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Lyndon B. Johnson excelled—-while the other six who succeeded were far from outstanding.

But we managed to survive all of the time, and Kamala Harris is 59 years old, the general age of most Presidents upon taking office, and perfectly capable of being Chief Executive if an emergency arises!

Should There Be A Second Mount Rushmore, And Which Presidents?

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Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, constructed between 1927 and 1941, is world famous with 60 foot head sculptures of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.

Millions have visited Mount Rushmore, and there has been discussion at times about the concept of a second Mount Rushmore, although not clear where it would be, but likely location might be in Colorado in the Rocky Mountains, a massive undertaking if ever agreed upon to do!

The question beyond whether there should be a second such monument to four more Presidents is what Presidents should grace such a monument.

In this author’s and blogger’s view, the likely choices should be the following:

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882-1945)

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969)

John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

Barack Obama (1961- )

FDR, Ike, and JFK have been seen as highly deserving, and Obama was a turning point, for sure, in Presidential history.

Not everyone would be contented with these choices, but it would seem that these four Presidents would make the best combination.

84th Anniversary Of World War II Beginning A Reminder Of Need To Support Ukraine Against Russia!

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September 1, 1939 was the beginning of World War II, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

The threat of totalitarianism that Nazi Germany represented created a crisis in American foreign policy for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, as isolationists strived to keep America out of World War II as not our war, since we had two great oceans that separated us from war elsewhere in the world.

Many of the isolationists were Republicans, but included naive people from all political persuasions and walks of life.

Americans did not want to get involved in the war, but eventually, it was forced upon us by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

If that had not happened, America might have faced a likely threat from European Fascism without allies.

This is important to keep in mind as the Russia-Ukraine war has ended 18 months and counting, and there is growing demand by isolationists and the right wing of the Republican Party in Congress to stop funding for Ukraine in its defense.

These critics include apologists for Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation, and they seem unperturbed at the reality that Russia, if successful in Ukraine, will put its sights next on NATO nations, including particularly, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, but with grand designs to recreate the old Soviet Union before 1989!

The South Of Slavery And Racial Segregation Now The South Of Denial Of Health Care And War On Women’s Rights!

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The American South, the area of slavery and racial segregation in its past, is once again demonstrating that it is the area of denial of civil and human rights.

In the past, it was the Democratic Party that worked to deny human rights and dignity.

Now it is the Republican Party, the party that had fought for civil and human rights in the mid 19th century.

A total switch which remains startling, but now the emphasis is on denying health care to millions of poor whites and minorities, and taking away the right of women to control their own bodies and reproductive life.

The Medicaid Program enacted into law by Lyndon B. Johnson in 1966 now is being denied to help the health and safety of poor Americans, most particularly in Texas and Florida, but throughout the American South, as well as other Republican controlled states.

The section of the nation that demands that all fetuses be born, no matter what condition they are in, or how the woman became pregnant, is only too willing to deny health care, which undermines and shortens the lives of their less fortunate constituents.

This is so mind boggling, and it is as if the American South is still fighting the Civil War a century and a half later, continuing to be lacking in humanity and common decency.

The Trial Of The Century Awaits Us In Georgia And Washington DC!

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With the likely televising of the Georgia Trial of Donald Trump, and possibly the same for the Washington DC federal trial as well, there is no question that we are awaiting the “Trial of the Century”.

In the 20th century, we had a number of so called “Trials of the Century”, including:

The Leopold-Loeb Murder Trial of 1924

The Scopes Evolution Trial of 1925

The Lindbergh Kidnapping Trial of 1935

The Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Espionage Trial of 1951

The O J Simpson Murder Trial of 1994-1995

Only the last one was covered by television, but only the Rosenberg Trial had anywhere near the same impact that the Donald Trump Trials will have!

Donald Trump Finally Gets His Comeuppance, No Longer In Control Of His Destiny!

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Donald Trump is finally getting his comeuppance, learning he is no longer in control of his destiny!

His attorneys tried to dictate to federal judge Tanya Chutkan that his federal trial be delayed to April 2026.

His attorney acted like a bully, raising his voice, but was told to tone down.

Chutkan asked for an alternative between the original plan for January 2024 and April 2026, but with no willingness to negotiate, the Trump attorney was shown the power of the courts, and the date was just pushed back two months, and will start on March 4, 2024!

Ironically, if that date holds, it will be the 235th anniversary of the official Inauguration date of Presidents from 1789 through 1933. The federal government under the Constitution was declared in effect on that day in 1789.

However, in reality, George Washington actually was inagurated 57 days late, on April 30, 1789, due to delays in being able to leave his Mount Vernon estate’s tobacco planting season to travel by horseback to New York City, the first capital of the nation.

This would be the only time that the President was not inaugurated on time, an interesting piece of trivia!

Donald Trump Likely To Be Convicted On Some Of 91 Charges Over 4 Indictments!

Ronald 1 Comment

When one looks at facts, realities, and evidence, the odds are very good that Donald Trump will eventually be convicted on some of the 91 charges brought against him under 4 indictments.

There is so much evidence that is clearcut, and Trump has “put his foot in his mouth” in a symbolic sense so often, that to believe that there will not be a jury of 12 people in one or more of the four indictments, who will convict him on one or more charges, is to live in an alternate universe of one’s own making.

It is true that as long as just one juror in each of the four cases votes not to convict, that Trump could be saved from conviction, but again, that is such a long shot, that it would seem to anyone who believes in reality that Trump WILL be convicted!

Also, some of the people charged in at least the Georgia case are bound to “flip”, and that will help to promote conviction of Trump on at least some of the charges against him.

But since so many charges are closely related, it is highly likely that Trump will be convicted on a majority of the charges brought against him!

It is essential that the American people be able to see the federal trial, as well as the state of Georgia trial, as then there will be no way for conspiracy theorists to deny reality, when it is on display in the courtroom!

Vivek Ramaswamy Is Trump 2.0! Highly Dangerous Candidacy!

Ronald 2 Comments

Vivek Ramaswamy, the 38 year old biotech billionaire entrepreneur candidate for the Republican Presidential nomination, has become the big star of the first Republican Presidential debate, despite having zero qualifications for the Presidency.

He is a young, brash, cocky, arrogant Donald Trump 2.0, who is clearly vying to be Donald Trump’s Vice Presidential running mate, if Trump is, as seems likely, the Republican candidate for President for a third time, despite his four indictments and a total of 91 counts against him.

Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, and Chris Christie made him subject to their attacks, and rightfully so, as he has no background in foreign policy, and promotes an extremist right wing agenda that would be a disaster if he was to end up in the Oval Office in the future!

And his statement that Donald Trump was the greatest President of the 21st century, over Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and George W. Bush, is a clear sign of his lunatic nature, and the danger of his candidacy for the Trump cult, which lives in an alternate universe!

60th Anniversary Of March On Washington: Need For Renewal Of That Effort!

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Today, 60 years after the famous March on Washington in 1963, and the legendary speech by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther, King Jr. calling for justice and basic civil rights for African Americans and other discriminated groups, we are having a commitment to restore the civil rights that are under attack in recent years by the US Supreme Court, the Republican Party, and extreme right wing forces.

It is expected that about 100,000 people will participate in today’s commemoration in Washington, DC, as compared to the 250,000 who did so on August 28, 1963.

The struggle against forces that have taken away the right to vote requires a new national commitment to restoring the weakened Voting Rights Act of 1965.

And the open racism and nativism and misogyny promoted by Donald Trump and his minions must be fought tooth and nail through lawsuits, marches, and demonstrations against state governments that are limiting basic human rights, with Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and Alabama in the leadership of setting American rights and freedoms in the wrong direction!