Andrew Jackson

Supreme Court Finally Upholds The Constitution, And Rebukes Donald Trump On Tariffs!

Ronald 22 Comments

After acting totally submissive toward Donald Trump in his first year of his second term, finally the Supreme Court majority, including two Trump appointees—Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, along with Chief Justice John Roberts and the three Democratic women justices–have delivered a solid rebuke to Trump on the subject of protective tariffs.

This is long overdue, as the Court has developed a reputation as the most extreme right wing Court in a century, and Chief Justice Roberts presides over a majority which usually has no desire to challenge executive power of the President.

This dangerous trend, hopefully, will continue to be challenged in future cases, particularly on birthright citizenship rights, which are contained in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified after the Civil War.

Donald Trump does not care about the reality that protective tariffs are a disaster, as they were in causing the Panic of 1893 and the Great Depression of the 1930s, because Republican Presidents Benjamin Harrison (prodded on by future President William McKinley’s promotion of high tariffs) and Herbert Hoover stubbornly imposed them on the American people, destroying the economy.

With the economy not doing well, despite Trump’s delusional statements, this repudation of Trump’s tariffs should be seen as a blessing by him, as well as the American people.

But instead, Trump is railing against his own Republican Justices who have “defied” him, and one wonders how it will show up in his State of the Union Address next Tuesday.

Will he openly condemn Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett in his speech, or will he be diplomatic and maybe just lightly tease them?

This should be a very interesting moment of confrontation between the Supreme Court members who show up and the President of the United States!

It reminds one of past clashes of Presidents and Supreme Courts, including under Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson with Chief Justice John Marshall; Abraham Lincoln with Chief Justice Roger Taney; Franklin D. Roosevelt with the majority conservative Court and Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes during the New Deal; and other controversies involving Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and Barack Obama and Supreme Court decisions!

The $175 Billion raised in tariffs this past year were a financial burden on the American consumers, and should be returned to the American people with a refund per taxpayer of $1700, as suggested by Illinois Governor JD Pritzker. However, it seems that Trump has no concern of the damage done to the average American, while constantly engaged in grift for personal gain, having enriched himself in the past year, a crime against the Constitution!

The Total Preposterous And Outrageous “Prager University” Presidential Rankings Survey!

Ronald 20 Comments

The Right Wing Propaganda Organ known as “Prager University”, which is NOT a university, but a well financed attempt to distort the reality of American history, extol the virtues of unbridled capitalism, work against “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion”, and undermine science, has come out with a 2026 Ranking of American Presidents.

Anyone who would believe the virtues or veracity of this listing needs their heads examined, as it is a total distortion of the office of the Presidency to the extreme imaginable!

All Presidents except William Henry Harrison (one month) and James A. Garfield (6 months) are included, but with the decision NOT to include Donald Trump, even though he finished his first term five years ago, but using the excuse that he is presently in office, so not to be placed in the listing for now.

One can be certain when a later version of this so called “Ranking” is published in the future, Donald Trump will end up very high on the list, probably in the top five, based on the crazy order of the Presidents compiled by the propagandists promoting this pure trash of a listing.

So without listing every President, let’s look at the most significant cases of total distortion.

The survey starts off with George Washington Number 1 and Abraham Lincoln Number 2, but after that, the listing goes totally awry.

Ronald Reagan is Number 3, which is a major distortion of reality, but then is followed by, of all people, Calvin Coolidge at Number 4. That is an example of how wacky this survey is, when examined in detail. No one who has any intelligence would rate Coolidge as anything more than in the bottom third of the Presidents.

The rest of the top 10 are in order—Thomas Jefferson, Dwight D. Eisenhower, James Monroe, James Madison, John Adams, and Theodore Roosevelt. Monroe, Madison and John Adams in most cases would be in the middle of the second ten, not the top ten, but otherwise, not terrible, except to put Coolidge above the Founding Father Presidents and Theodore Roosevelt, as well! How crazy can one get?

Harry Truman is rated Number 12, behind Grover Cleveland at Number 11, which seems ridiculous, followed by Andrew Jackson as Number 13 and James K. Polk as Number 15, both who have otherwise collapsed to lower than Number 20 with recent reevaluations that have caused their rapid decline. Ulysses S. Grant is Number 14, higher than the rise he has gained in legitimate rankings.

John F. Kennedy ends up Number 18 and Franklin D. Roosevelt as Number 20, with of all people, William Howard Taft in between as Number 19, clearly totally lacking in reality.

The Two Bushes, HW and W are Numbers 21 and 22, with Bill Clinton behind them as Number 23, followed by the largely unimpressive many Presidents that have been ranked low for many decades in surveys.

But once we reach the 31-42 range, the bottom of the list, we discover Lyndon B. Johnson Number 35 behind Herbert Hoover Number 33, as well as behind Gerald Ford Number 27 and Richard Nixon Number 29. How crazy can one get to come up with such rankings?

And it gets worse, as Woodrow Wilson is Number 37, followed by Barack Obama Number 38, Jimmy Carter Number 39, and then followed by two Presidents who belong in the bottom, Andrew Johnson Number 40 and James Buchanan Number 41. One might be harshly critical of Wilson, who has declined in rankings in recent years, but to put him in the bottom six of all Presidents is preposterous! And placing Obama and Carter in this bottom group is outrageous beyond belief and reality!

But one might ask, well, who is the absolute bottom at Number 42, and it is, unbelievably, Joe Biden! Whether one admires Joe Biden’s Presidency or not, to put him dead last is the height of craziness, not based on facts!

Notice that the three recent Presidents who demonstrated compassion, empathy, common decency and humanity, morals, ethics, and had no corruption—Obama, Carter, Biden—end up in the bottom five of these listings, which is testimony to how disgraceful this listing of Presidents really is!

This so called “Prager University” Poll is total garbage, and no serious scholar or intelligent citizen would accept the presposterous and outrageous compiling of this propaganda organ, that deserves to be disposed of as extremist and lunatic in nature!

Presidents Day 2026: Need For Updated Assessment, And One Scholar’s Viewpoint!

Ronald 30 Comments

Presidents Day is tomorrow, Monday, February 16, a good time, after a full year of the second Presidency of Donald Trump, and one retirement year of Joe Biden, to reassess rankings of Presidents, particularly recent Chief Executives.

C Span is likely in process of reassessing its rankings of Presidents, last done in 2021, as Joe Biden became President, and Donald Trump became, at the time, a former President who had been defeated for reelection, but mounted an illegal, unconstitutional attempt to overthrow the results of the Presidential Election of 2020 through the US Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021.

There can be disagreement over many Presidents and their rankings, but with the reality that in recent years, the following Presidents have seen their stock rise in assessments of scholars, in chronological order:

Ulysses S. Grant
Harry Truman
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Lyndon B. Johnson

At the same time, the following Presidents have seen their stock fall lower in assessments of scholars, in chronological order:

Andrew Jackson
James K. Polk
Woodrow Wilson
Ronald Reagan

In the view of this scholar, author, and blogger, the thought is that the following recent Presidents will be likely to benefit the most in the future in rise in rankings from where they are presently, in chronological order:

Gerald Ford
Jimmy Carter
Barack Obama
Joe Biden

But the debate over Presidential performance will continue, certainly, to be heatedly debated for the long term future.

Presidents With Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Ronald 37 Comments

Many public figures have the psychological condition known as “Narcissistic Personality Disorder”, as well as do millions of ordinary citizens, wanting constant attention and adoration.

Among them are a substantial group of American Presidents, nearly one of every four Chief Executives.

The list would include, in chronological order:

Andrew Jackson
Andrew Johnson
Theodore Roosevelt
Woodrow Wilson
Franklin D. Roosevelt
John F. Kennedy
Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon
Bill Clinton
Donald Trump

The most destructive Presidents with this syndrome, clearly, are Donald Trump, Richard Nixon, Andrew Jackson, and Andrew Johnson in the long run of history, in that ranked order.

The other six listed here, while possessing NPD, can be seen as having a greater, overall, positive influence on their time in office, despite their shortcomings and weaknesses.

Of course, this above list and the judgment on these Presidents is subject to debate and discussion, which is welcomed in comments!

Unchecked Presidential Power Without Accountability!

Ronald 21 Comments

Donald Trump has, in a multitude of ways, and with the assistance of Republicans in Congress and the states, and the majority of the United States Supreme Court, gained unchecked Presidential power without accountability.

By comparison, Richard Nixon was a “choir boy”, and other Presidents who have been objectionable in different ways, such as Andrew Jackson, Andrew Johnson, and George W. Bush, pale by comparison!

Trump has horribly abused executive orders and issued outrageous pardons and commutations to law breakers, not only those from the January 6 US Capitol Insurrection, but also others who have committed other kinds of criminal acts.

Trump has incited the most extreme of MAGA Republicans to threaten lives of politicians who speak out or oppose him in any way.

Trump has worked to fix the elections in 2026, by outrageous interference promoting extreme gerrymanderins.

Trump has become an abuser in foreign policy, and totally alienated foreign nations and their leaders, and is very willing to undermine Ukraine, and promote the aggression of Vladimir Putin, as well as other authoritarians all around the world.

Trump has demonstrated extreme racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, nativism, and consorted with antisemites, while supposedly working with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Every day for more than ten months, Trump has worsened and undermined the lives of Americans, and instilled fear in people who are not white Christians.

And the problem is that his followers and his Cabinet and other top figures around him are only too willing to do his evil deeds with glee!

So even when and if Trump leaves the scene, the fear is that the cancer he has introduced into American government will be pursued beyond his lifetime!

Kamala Harris Memoir Burns Bridges, Likely Insures End Of Political Career!

Ronald 2 Comments

Former Vice President Kamala Harris, by publishing a memoir with strong statements about many political leaders she has worked with, is likely burning her bridges, making it highly doubtful that she will ever again hold public office.

History records that once a Presidential nominee has lost election to the White House, the odds are extremely high that such individual will never be President.

There are only six cases of a defeated Presidential nominee going on to be elected President–three before the Civil War, once in the Gilded Age, once in the mid 20th century, and finally, Donald Trump.

Two of the cases–Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump– won the Presidency, then lost, and then returned, so unusual and special cases. In the case of Cleveland, he won in 1884, lost in 1888, and won in 1892. Trump won in 2016, lost in 2020, and won in 2024.

The three before the Civil War were Thomas Jefferson, who lost in 1796 and won in 1800; Andrew Jackson, who lost in 1824, and won in 1828; and William Henry Harrison, who lost in 1836 and won in 1840.

Finally, Richard Nixon lost in 1960, but then won in 1968 and 1972.

So the odds of Harris coming back are very low, but additionally, by being critical of Joe and Jill Biden and the Biden Staff, and stating her reasons for not selecting Josh Shapiro or Pete Buttigieg as her Vice Presidential running mate instead of Tim Walz, has caused controversy and a sense of anger by those individuals and others.

And it is generally well known that Kamala Harris was not an easy person to work for, losing staff regularly in the Senate and the Vice Presidency.

One gets the feeling from her appearance on Rachel Maddow, and on “The View”, that she does not seem to have the “fire in the belly” to compete in another strenuous Presidential campaign.

It would have been easier for Harris to have run for California Governor, with assurance of an easy victory, and a major role in the largest state’s impact in reaction to Donald Trump and the Republican Party, just like Gavin Newsom is now waging.

So it seems clear this is the end of any serious “comeback” by Kamala Harris to national politics.

Instead, she is on a major speaking tour to promote her book, and to spread the argument of strong opposition to the horrors of Donald Trump, but not a formal national or state role in that effort.

Past Presidential Disputes Never Anything Like Trump With His Predecessors!

Ronald 5 Comments

Donald Trump’s incessant attacks on many of his predecessors in the White House is unparalleled in American history!

Trump has attacked over the years not only Barack Obama, but also Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and both Presidents Bush in vehement and outrageous ways.

In the past, there were cases of “bad blood” between Presidents, but nothing on the scale of what Trump has done.

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had strong criticism of each other, as well as Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams, and neither Adams attended the inauguration of his successor. But later, Adams and Jefferson revived their former friendship, with extensive letter correspondence over the last 14 years of their lives.

John Tyler, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan were unhappy with Abraham Lincoln’s policies during the Civil War.

Andrew Johnson had issues with his successor, Ulysses S. Grant, and refused to attend Grant’s inauguration.

Theodore Roosevelt fought bitterly against his own annointed successor, William Howard Taft, and challenged him in 1912, and both TR and Wilson were at odds very often with Woodrow Wilson.

Herbert Hoover was very bitter in his loss to Franklin D. Rooosevelt, and during the terms that FDR was in office, probably more vehement than any other situation other than Trump, and FDR never invited Hoover to visit the White House.

Harry Truman was critical of Dwight D. Eisenhower to some extent, and he and Richard Nixon were dire enemies, until Nixon brought the Truman piano in the White House to the Truman Library in 1969.

Jimmy Carter tended to be critical of other Presidents, but in the case of Gerald Ford, they became the best of friends after both had left office. Carter remained a strong critic, but in a dignified manner, of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.

Despite past rivalries, both Bush Presidents and Bill Clinton became good friends in later years, and the same for Barack Obama and the two Bushes.

It is extremely inappropriate for the members of the “Presidents Club” to be lambasting others in that group, and it was refreshing that Carter and Ford became friends, and that the Bushes and Clinton were cooperative, as well as Obama with the Bushes.

But then, Donald Trump has destroyed the idea of camaraderie among the small, select group who have the opportunity to be President of the United States.

Trump’s Admiration For Presidents Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, And William McKinley! :(

Ronald 27 Comments

Donald Trump has demonstrated a fixation with three past Presidents–Andrew Jackson (1829-1837); James K. Polk (1845-1849); and William McKinley (1897-1901).

All three of these Presidents had accomplishments worthy of being recalled, but all three also had major shortcomings.

Jackson is rated number 21; McKinley number 24; and Polk number 25 in the American Political Science Association Survey in 2024.

Jackson fell 12 points in rank; McKinley 3 points in rank; and Polk 6 points in rank from nearly a decade earlier, in 2015.

In the last C Span Presidential Survey in 2021, Jackson was number 22, down from 18 and 13 in earlier rankings

McKinley was number 14, up from 16 and 15 in earlier rankings.

Polk was number 18, down from 14 and 12 in earlier rankings.

Jackson has had major problems in historical rankings with growing recognition of the “Trail of Tears”, the forcible removal of five Indian tribes from the South to Oklahoma in the 1830s. Also, Jackson was a vehement supporter of slavery, and worked to prevent abolitionists from being able to send their antislavery literature through the US Mail system. The corrupt spoils system began under him, and he was infamous for his terrible temper and killing of a number of people through gun duels. And yet, Donald Trump admires him, and promoted him in the Oval Office during his first Presidential term.

Now, in his second term, Trump has promoted James K. Polk, whose imperialistic bent, “Manifest Destiny” led to more gaining of territory than anyone except Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase. War with Mexico added the whole Southwest, and a treaty with Great Britain divided the Pacific Northwest between Canada and the United States. And Polk promoted slavery, and like Jackson, owned hundreds of slaves

Also, William McKinley has fasinated Donald Trump, with his McKinley Tariff in 1890, when McKinley was in Congress, which led to the “Panic of 1893”, the worst economic downturn until that time frame. And then, McKinley promoted going to war with Spain (Spanish American War), with the US gaining the Philippines, Guam, Puerto Rico, a sphere of influence over Cuba, and separately, annexation of the Hawaiian Islands. So McKinley, just like Polk, was a clearcut imperialist.

Trump and his fixation with tariffs finds McKinley fascinating, despite the truth of the Panic of 1893, and both Polk and McKinley and their imperialistic bent fascinate Trump, with his stated interest in taking back the Panama Canal; making Canada the 51st state; taking Greenland away from Denmark; and wanting US involvement in the Gaza Strip.

Donald Trump “Worship” Of Andrew Jackson And WIlliam McKinley!

Ronald 15 Comments

Donald Trump has, through his words and actions, indicated a “worship” of two Presidents, both of whom became engaged in controversial actions.

The 7th President, Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), was a clearcut racist who thought native Americans were subhuman, and defied the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall, in the case of Worcester V Georgia (1832), that upheld Cherokee Indian rights to their ancestral lands in Georgia.

That 1832 case led Jackson to announce defiance of the Court, and state that John Marshall and the Supreme Court had made its decision, now let them enforce it!

The result was the forced removal of thousands of native Americans to Oklahoma, infamously known as “The Trial Of Tears”, between 1830 and 1838, after passage of the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

About 15,000 native Americans were killed or died from disease during this forced removal, where about 60,000 native Americans, of five tribes—Creek, Choctaw, Chicasaw, Cherokee, and Seminole–were forced to “Indian land” in Oklahoma, which after a half century and discovery of oil, led to white settlement, taking away much of that territory from native Americans.

The 25th President, William McKinley (1897-1901), became infamous for having promoted the McKinley Tariff of 1890, making for very high tariffs on foreign goods, a factor in the worst economic downturn of the 19th century, the Panic of 1893, which was not overcome until the second year of the McKinley Presidency in 1898.

McKinley also is remembered for having promoted imperialism and expansion, including the gaining of Hawaii by joint resolution in 1898, and going to war with Spain, and gaining control of Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and a “sphere of influence” over Cuba, giving the US an “Empire”, and new markets for industrial goods produced by corporations in their quest for new markets for their goods.

And the US fought a three year “guerrilla war” against the Philippines, who wanted independence after being liberated from Spanish control, but instead were forced to be a colony until after World War II in 1946, an event known as the “Filipino Insurrection”, mostly ignored in teaching of American history to students!

Trump is now pushing protective tariffs on all nations, and is now advocating American expansionism by considering retaking control of the Panama Canal; suggesting Canada become the 51st state; making clear his desire to gain control of Greenland from Denmark; and suggesting that the US take over the Gaza Strip in the Middle East and force removal of the 2 million Palestinians to Egypt and Jordan.

So Trump is guided by the worst policies of two of his predecessors in the White House–Andrew Jackson and William McKinley!

Lack Of Respect For Kamala Harris By Republicans Based On Race And Gender

admin 22 Comments

It is very clear that Republicans, led by Donald Trump and JD Vance, but including many others, are demonstrating a lack of respect for Kamala Harris, based on race and gender.

The purposeful refusal of Trump, Vance, and other Republicans to pronounce Kamala Harris’s first name correctly is one sign of disrespect that is inexcusable, as that has never happened to any other candidate before now.

Also, the issue of Trump making an issue of Harris’s race identity is an insult, with his claim that he thought she was Asian Indian, until he discovered she was black, an outrageous racist comment, and utilized by other Republicans.

Also, the issue of Harris not having had her own biological children has become an issue, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the Arkansas Governor and former White House Press Secretary, has just employed that issue as a personal attack on Harris.

The fact that Harris has step children with her husband, Doug Emhoff, and that his former wife is very supportive of Harris as a step parent to her children, is ridiculed.

But it is also an attack on the millions of women who are unable to have children of their own, including by choice, but also by the fact that many are not married or have medical issues that make it impossible to bear children.

To make it out that women without biological children are somehow inferior or to be ridiculed is heartless, when having children or not having them should not be a judgment of them, anymore than the millions of men who do not have children for whatever reason.

It should be pointed out that we have had five Presidents who never had biological children, but were never ridiculed or attacked for that fact. They include George Washington, James Madison, Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and James Buchanan (who never married). Washington, Madison and Jackson had step children since their wives had children with an earlier husband.

Also, Warren G Harding has been proved to have had an illegitimate child out of marriage, and many of the slave owning Presidents before the Civil War are believed to have had slave children, but difficult to prove.

The ultimate point is that race and gender discrimination of any kind is inexcusable in a Presidential campaign or otherwise!