1960s

Tumultuous Time On Redistricting In The House Of Representatives, With Revival Of “Jim Crow” White Supremacy In South!

Ronald 24 Comments

The shocking series of events, begun by the Supreme Court decision in Louisiana V. Callais on April 29, has provoked other Southern States to promote similar racial gerrymandering and redistricting, favoring the Republican Party.

Then, the Virginia State Supreme Court has negated the popular referendum for redistricting, favoring the Democratic Party, upending all projections regarding the House of Representatives in the 120th Congress (2027-2029).

This is a tumultuous time that can allow for the possibility that the Republicans will be able to overcome their disadvantages, which normally, in a midterm election, would lead to gains by the Democratic party, out of power in the White House, and with many reasons why they should gain control of the House of Representatives, particularly with only a three seat edge by the Republicans, a very tenuous situation.

The idea that Jim Crow Racism of the post Reconstruction period of the Gilded Age would come back a century and a half later, and the effective repeal of the legendary Voting Rights Act of 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and his Great Society programs, is extremely depressing and demoralizing.

But, there is no guarantee of what the ultimate effect of the Supreme Court decision will be long term.

But clearly, many of the African American members of Congress from the South are likely to lose their seats, and the Republicans, the party that ended slavery, now will have the reputation of being the White Supremacist party that the Democrats were for nearly 90 years until the 1960s.

More Turnover In Congress As Lawmakers Choose To Leave!

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With the Midterm Elections 2026 about eight months away, there is more massive turnover than has been seen in the past.

Out of the 535 members of Congress in both houses, an amazing total of 68, about one of every eight members, are choosing to leave.

In the US Senate, eight members are retiring, while four others are running to be their states’ governors. Four Democrats and four Republicans are leaving for retirement, while two Democrats and two Republicans are running for governor.

In the House of Representatives, 50 members are leaving, with retirements being 13 Democrats and 10 Republicans for a total of 23, while 27 others (8 Democrats and 19 Republicans) are running for Governor or Senator).

Many of those retiring are leaving due to their ages, but others because of disillusionment as to what Congress can accomplish in a divided nation, which is more so than since the 1960s.

First Session Of 119th Congress Ends, Leaving Millions Without Health Care Coverage!

Ronald 5 Comments

The 119th Congress, First Session, has ended with the reality that the Affordable Care Act (Obama Care) has been gutted, with up to 22 million Americans left without health care coverage, a major tragedy.

Many of these Americans have serious health conditions, and now are in an impossible situation, leading to the reality that many will die as a result.

What the Republican dominated Congress has perpetrated is to abandon millions of Americans in their mad quest to give further tax cuts to people who do not need them.

Even Mitt Romney, the 2012 Presidential nominee of the Republican Party, has now come out for taxing millionaires, reversing his campaign back in 2012 against President Barack Obama, which contributed to his defeat.

With a growing oligarchy of super wealthy people, the nation is in dire financial straits that denies people a basic human right to health care.

European countries and Canada, and many other nations elsewhere, provide national health insurance, and yet, Republicans and Donald Trump have no concern about the welfare of those less fortunate, who are dependent on what was passed into law in 2010.

If it was up to the mean, nasty Republicans, they would look to eliminate Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security over time, goals the party has had since the 1930s and 1960s.

So this is a time where Americans have to come to grips that the Republican Party is only concerned about the elite top ten percent, and every effort has to be made to insure Democrats take over Congress, and start to take action against the evils of Donald Trump and his Cabinet Officers!

Total Disarray In State Department, Justice Department, And Health And Human Services Department: Undermining National Security, Constitutional Protections, And Public Health!

Ronald 36 Comments

After nearly a year of the second Trump Presidency, there is total disarray in the State Department, in the Justice Department, and in the Health and Human Services Department.

And that is making a general statement, as ALL government departments and agencies are in “Free Fall”, undermining American national security, the rule of law, and the public health of 340 million Americans.

Many experienced diplomats, attorneys, and medical and health spcialists have been forced out of government service, or have resigned, undermining the protections provided by these talented former government employees.

As a result, our intelligence capability and our alliance with NATO is harmed, and it endangers American foreign relations long term.

As a result, the concept of the rule of law is historically damaged, as the government goes after critics with unsubstantiated charges, and is ignoring true issues involving civil rights advancements since the Great Society of the 1960s.

At the same time, those who have committed criminal acts, as for instance those at the US Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021, receive pardons and commutations, and are emboldened to continue their earlier threats to law and order.

And corporations are well aware that they can abuse consumer and environmental regulations, and Presidential pardons for corporate abusers are readily available, as we move back to deregulation. similar to the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

Additionally, children and adults both are threatened by the attack on vaccines, and the whole nation is endangered by the failure to provide adequate protection from natural disasters, with the cutbacks in the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

And the attack on science in general is a dire threat, as we are witnessing destruction of research that will have a deleterious effect on America.

The Donald Trump Presidency is causing a long term destructive effect that will undermine the future generations of Americans!

Six Decades Ago, LBJ Accomplishment For Independence Day, Contrasted With Donald Trump In 2025! :(

Ronald 21 Comments

Six decades ago, right as the Independence Day celebrations were about to take place, the Democratic controlled US Congress passed the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, bringing about the greatest period of civil rights reforms, including the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was signed in August.

President Lyndon B. Johnson presided over the massive amount of political, social, and economic reforms known as “The Great Society”, which also included the Immigration and Nationality Act of October 1965, and the passage of Medicare in 1965, Medicaid in 1966, and the Food Stamp Act (SNAP) in 1964.

That period of time saw great hope and optimism that the nation had moved in the proper direction toward true justice, progress, and freedom.

Sadly, now, after six decades, we are witnessing a massive backtracking of civil rights, immigration reforms, and social and economic reforms, with the present move by Donald Trump and the Republican Party to reverse all of the great reforms of “The Great Society”, with their “Big and Beautiful” bill, that seems ready to promote massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Food Stamps (SNAP), all major moments of the Presidency of LBJ.

This is a time of great feelings of betrayal and sadness over what has changed from the optimistic and expansive times of the federal government back in the 1960s!

Harris Has Promoted Idea Of Prominent Republican For Her Cabinet If She Wins Presidency

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Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris stated in her joint CNN interview with Tim Walz last week that she intended to select a prominent Republican to be part of her Cabinet if she is elected President.

As this author and blogger indicated a couple of days ago, this has been a common trend in Presidents, with every President since the 1960s doing so.

The most common decision has been for Democratic Presidents to select Republicans to be Secretary of Defense, as national security is a prime issue at all times.

So John F. Kennedy selected Robert McNamara; Bill Clinton picked William Cohen; and Barack Obama chose Robert Gates and then Chuck Hagel–all to be Secretary of Defense.

So therefore, it would seem appropriate for Kamala Harris to select Adam Kinzinger to be her Secretary of Defense if she enters the Oval Office!

Crazy, Tumultuous America 158 Years After The End Of The Civil War!

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Today, April 9, marks the end of the American Civil War in 1865, 158 years ago!

Today, more than a century and a half since then, America is, arguably, more divided than it has ever been, including the tumultuous 1960s!

Now, the South, once Democratic and hardline on the issue of racial discrimination, is Republican and hardline on the issue of racial discrimination!

Now, the nation that would not give women the right to vote or basic legal rights in the 19th century, is in the process of stripping away a woman’s right to control her own body, and decide whether she wishes to have children every time she engages in sexual intercourse, by choice or by force!

Now, we have a former President, Donald Trump, who has abused power massively, much more than even Richard Nixon a half century ago, and the party of Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower bows to him in a cult like fashion, ready to put him back to power and destroy all of the progress of American democracy in the past century or more!

America is on the cusp of the possible destruction of the Constitution and the rule of law, and is on a tear to provoke violence and bloodshed in the determination that the Second Amendment, which has been horribly distorted, shall rule supreme, and that anyone, no matter how mentally disturbed he or she is, is entitled to weapons of war to use on American streets!

America, a nation built on the contributions of immigrants, is once again promoting nativism against people of different colors, languages, customs, and religions, with no sense of the dignity of all human beings!

America, a nation built on freedom of religion, and separation of church and state, is now seeing religious extremists attempting to promote a national theology of white supremacy Christianity, leading to antisemitism, anti Muslim, anti Hindu, and all other religious beliefs in the name of a supposed absolute deity!

America, a nation built on three equal and balanced government branches, is now witnessing the judicial branch gone amuck, in its determination to promote an absolute, narrow minded version of the Constitution–Originalism–which refers on the nation as it was in 1787 at the time of the Constitutional Convention, as if the 236 years since then are an aberration of the original principles of the Founding Fathers!

A nation which does not grow and change is a nation in decline, and in a world where there are massive threats that create danger, that can only undermine the nation which has been a model for the world of the possibilities of expansion of basic human rights!

This is a time for reflection, and for determination NOT to allow the evil forces which surround us to achieve their wicked goals!

Republicans At It Again: Out To Destroy Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid!

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The Republican Party at large, since the 1930s and Franklin D. Roosevelt and the New Deal, have tried to destroy Social Security.

The Republican Party at large, since the 1960s and Lyndon B. Johnson and the Great Society, have tried to destroy Medicare and Medicaid.

Individual Republicans have not followed the party lead over the years, but substantially even in 2022, most Republicans want to cut and destroy these programs, which have done so much for the middle and lower classes.

So the battle is on for the midterms, to insure that these programs promoted by FDR and LBJ, are not undermined!

Time To Make Clear That “Social Infrastructure” Bill Is Over TEN Years, NOT One Year, And Essential!

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It is very disconcerting to see West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema, and some moderate Democrats in the House of Representatives, make clear their opposition to the proposed $3.5 trillion “Social Infrastructure” legislation, while supporting the $1 trillion “Physical Infrastructure” bill that has bipartisan support in the Senate.

The “Physical Infrastructure” bill covers roads, bridges, airports, rails, water systems, clean drinking water, cleaning the environment, and high speed internet access, and is urgently needed, gaining a 69-30 bipartisan vote in the Senate.

But the “Social Infrastructure” bill, over TEN years, NOT one, would cover many urgent matters, including:

Expansion of Child Tax Credits and establishment of paid family and medical leave
Expansion of Medicare to include dental, hearing, and vision benefits and possibly lower the Medicare age from 65 to 60
Funding for Elder Care and Disabled Care in their homes
Funding for Child Care so young children would have two years of publicly funded pre-Kindergarten Education
Funding for two years of Community College Education for students after high school
Funding for Climate Change legislation and promotion of electric vehicles
Provisions to lower the price of prescription drugs
Infrastructure investment for Native American communities
Increase in taxes on wealthy people and corporations, which in many cases pay ZERO taxes right now
Bolstering the Internal Revenue Service’s staff and enforcement resources to do its job of raising tax collection

If passed into law, it would be the biggest expansion of the social safety net since the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1960s!

The lie that is being spread is that the $3.5 trillion bill is all in one year, when it is actually over ten years, or $350 billion per year.

Meanwhile, the defense budget, bloated with lots of projects that are not needed but bolstering the profits of defense corporations which pay bribes to get their programs funded, is $700 billion per year, double the amount for the infrastructure bill.

This means that defense over the next ten years would be 7 TRILLION, double the social spending, but of course, defense is presented as one year at a time, while social reforms are portrayed as all at once, when it is totally false!

It is urgent that both pieces of legislation pass, and not be derailed by lies and deception. Government for all the people, not just the privileged, is long overdue!

Twenty Years Since September 11, And The Terrorists Won! We Have A Divided America Worse Than The 1960s!

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It has now been a full generation since September 11, 2001!

Sadly, the terrorists won!

We have a more divided America now than we had in the 1960s!

There is no sense of unity, and one of the two political parties, the Republican Party, is a shell of itself, totally contradicting the heritage of the party, and now a full blown Fascist Party, which has no concern about public health, public safety, or common decency!

It is nearly impossible to accomplish any great goals, as occurred with the “Great Society” in the 1960s, as the Republicans are nihilists, libertarians, who do not care at all about anyone other than themselves. Their wealthy benefactors only care about keeping taxes low, not dealing with the many social and economic problems of a society which is becoming more inequitable every year.

The Supreme Court is the most extreme it has been since the 1920s, and is losing public respect, and there is no sense of humanity, empathy, compassion in the public sphere by close to half of the Congress, only out to promote cruelty and suffering of the masses of Americans.

So the terrorists won. and only the corporations and wealthy have benefited, and this portends future conflict that could escalate the terrible divisions now so evident in America!