Civil War

Six Months Of No Major Crisis For Trump Presidency, But “Good Luck” Is Assuredly Coming To An End Soon!

Ronald 2 Comments

Donald Trump has finished six months in office, and he has been extremely lucky, as there has been no major crisis that has arisen in domestic or foreign affairs, with only his own promotion of chaos and incompetence causing him problems, along with the inept Republican Party, which has the majority in Congress, and has failed to accomplish anything of significance.

But ever since 2011, the Republican House and since 2015 the Republican Senate, has proved they cannot govern, and it is quite certain that the American people will vote them out of the majority in 2018, at least in the House, with the Senate very unlikely to switch due to only 8 Republican seats up to 25 for the Democrats.

Trump has proved he cannot even work with the party that he is supposed to represent. He is now in the process of totally alienating the Republican Establishment due to his actions, statements, and outrageous behavior on a daily basis.

The “good luck” that Trump has had in regards to no major crisis is assuredly coming to an end soon, as many challenges lie ahead, with North Korea’s nuclear threat growing exponentially, and Trump having said North Korea would not develop as a threat to America, but now they are, as their missile testing indicates a nuclear weapon on top of a missile could lead to a nuclear attack on Alaska, Hawaii, the whole Pacific Coast, and conceivably as far east as Chicago. And as they continue their testing unabated, the whole Atlantic Coast, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Washington DC, and all the way down to Georgia could come under attack.

The problem is that Trump has no experience, no substance, no knowledge, no skills to deal with such an overwhelming crisis, which could be worse by far than September 11.

It could be the ultimate disaster in American history if the wrong policy is followed, or the wrong development occurs.

We have to pray that the military men around Trump—Secretary of Defense James Mattis, newly appointed Chief of Staff John Kelly, and National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster—can pool their great military experience and careers and convince Trump of the right path to follow to avoid an ultimate disaster.

If everything goes wrong, Donald Trump could preside over the mass loss of life and destruction unmatched in American history, and possibly worse than the loss of life in The Civil War, World War I, and World War II combined, and this is not just about America, but the loss of life in the Korean Peninsula, including American military personnel, and also Japan, which suffered from the only nuclear disaster in wartime in world history, and most certainly, is terrified at another such event occurring 72 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki!

152nd Anniversary Of “The Nation” Magazine, The Oldest Weekly Publication In America!

Ronald Leave a comment

Yesterday, July 6th, was the 152nd Anniversary of “The Nation” Magazine, the oldest weekly publication in America!

Started right after the Civil War’s end in 1865, “The Nation” has always been hard hitting, principled and honest!

It has held to liberal values more than any similar publication, never diverting from it in any fashion.

It has often been attacked and vilified but has always stood proud for its beliefs in equality, justice, freedom, and against right wing extremism from wherever it has emerged.

Many brilliant scholars and authors have penned essays for “The Nation”, and has helped to make it one of the great examples of literary excellence over a century and a half of American history.

It has never had a great amount of financial support, but has somehow survived through difficult times, including the Red Scare in 1919-1920 under Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer (Woodrow Wilson), and the Second Red Scare of the late 1940s and early 1950s, generally known as McCarthyism, but much more than just one Wisconsin Republican Senator who was allowed to go berserk from 1950-1954.

“The Nation” is leading the charge against Donald Trump, and is part of the great journalistic tradition of challenging government authority, when it aims to take away our civil liberties and civil rights.

The Media Created Donald Trump, And The Media Will Destroy Him, With The Truth About His Corruption And Malfeasance!

Ronald Leave a comment

The news media created Donald Trump, giving him lavish coverage and publicity, and enabling him to gain public support with his over the top proposals, which any sane person could have realized was political hype at its worst.

Donald Trump has become the worst con man in American political history, but it is the news media that will bring him down, ultimately, through their thorough, hard hitting exposing of his corruption, and his collusion with the Russians, with more evidence every day of his transgressions.

Plaudits are due to the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, ABC, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, CNN, and many other media sites and journalists, who are doing the detective work that will help the Special Counsel Robert Mueller collect the dots that will force Trump out of office sometime next year.

Trump is running scared, acting guilty, and his continued assaults on the news media are a threat to American democracy, but he will not win out in the end, one can be assured. He has degraded the Presidency, and it will take time and healing to recover the prestige and dignity of the office after he is forced out.

Just as Richard Nixon had his “Waterloo”, so will Donald Trump, as long as people understand it will take time and patience, but that it will happen, whether the Republican Congress wants it or not, as the American people will demand transparency and action as the evidence grows toward the inevitable step to remove Trump. One author, Frank Rich, in New York Magazine, has said we are in July 1973 in the Nixon crisis, and that in about another year, as with Nixon, Trump will be forced out.

We survived earlier constitutional crises in the Civil War era, and the Watergate era, and we will survive once again, with media having a large share of the credit, utilizing the term–“The truth shall set you free!”

And for those who fear Vice President Mike Pence becoming President, there is no question that he would be the most extreme right wing President in history, but the removal of Trump will help to temper him in his actions and statements, particularly once a Democratic House of Representatives becomes his “watchdog”. And even if we have a continued Republican Senate, which is highly likely, not much will be accomplished, with the reality that the House of Representatives controls all money bills.

As much as Pence is a problem, he is not mentally unhinged and unstable as Donald Trump has proved to be, and the way he comes to power will make it more difficult for him to accomplish many of his goals, as long as the Democrats gain the 24 or more seats needed to win control of the House, and that must be the goal in the next 16 months until the midterms in November 2018.

July 2 An Historic Day In So Many Ways!

Ronald Leave a comment

July 2 is an extremely historic day in American history in so many ways, more than typical.

July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence, with the document being printed, and beginning to be signed on July 4.

July 2, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed Morrill Act, granting land for state agricultural colleges.

July 2, 1863, Second day of Battle of Gettysburg, turning point battle of Civil War.

July 2, 1881, President James A. Garfield was shot and mortally wounded by Charles Guiteau, died 79 days later on September 19, 1881, a tragedy I devote a chapter to in my Assassinations book, now out in paperback from Rowman Littlefield.

July 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, most path breaking and historic civil rights law in American history.

July 2, 1986, the Supreme Court upheld Affirmative Action in two cases.

Republican Party History And Reputation Under Attack In Present Constitutional Crisis

Ronald Leave a comment

The Republican Party was founded in 1854 in opposition to the expansion of slavery, and included many abolitionists within its midst.

The Republican Party became the Party of the Union, and under Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican President, the Civil War was fought, and the Confederate States of America was defeated, and slavery was abolished.

The Republican Party then promoted citizenship and the right to vote for African Americans.

Then, the party lost its way and became the party of Big Business in the Gilded Age, and was engaged in widespread corruption.

But in the Progressive Era of the early 20th century, under President Theodore Roosevelt, and Congressional leaders such as Robert La Follette Sr. of Wisconsin and George Norris of Nebraska and many others, the party became one of reform oriented ideas.

Then, in the 1920s and through the years of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman, the party became one of opposition to progressive ideas, with a few exceptions of leaders in Congress and in the states.

With the coming of Dwight D. Eisenhower, and the rise of the liberal wing of the modern GOP, under Nelson Rockefeller, William Scranton, and George Romney. and many US Senators, the battle was fought against a takeover of the party by the extreme right, headed by Senator Barry Goldwater, but despite his defeat for the Presidency in 1964, the coming of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan ushered in conservative ideas, and the GOP became captive to the myth of Reagan.

The party became captive to a foreign policy of intervention in the Middle East, and promotion of massive tax cuts to the wealthy, and destruction of the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson and the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt, but were stopped in their quest by Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Now, however, the Republican Party has become more extremist under the most corrupt President in American history, much more than Richard Nixon.

Donald Trump is for the wealthy elite, and that is why the Republicans in Congress are overlooking the disaster occurring before our eyes daily.

The Republican Party history and reputation are under attack in the present constitutional crisis, while at the time of the Nixon constitutional crisis, many Republicans spoke up and led the struggle against the illegalities of the Watergate Scandal.

The future of the Republican Party is at stake, and this could be the time that we will look back on and realize that it led to the demise of the Republican Party as we know it!

Gun Violence Against Congressman Steve Scalise And Others Deplorable, And Incited By Bad Blood On Both Sides, And By Donald Trump!

Ronald 7 Comments

The shocking violence in Alexandria, Virginia, by a crazed gunman, who shot five people, including House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana is a sign of escalating violence in this nation, incited by bad blood on both sides of the political spectrum, but also by Donald Trump, who in the past two years has called for violence against his opponent Hillary Clinton, and encouraged violence by his supporters at his campaign rallies against any critics, and that he would pay their legal costs, or so he said.

The political invective is higher now than it has been since the Civil War Era, and Trump cannot be said to be innocent in any fashion, and he likes to act like a bully, and intimidate his critics and opponents. But also, the two parties, Democrats and Republicans, have reached a stage where they cannot “cross the aisle”, as they often did in past decades, to accomplish major goals in legislation.

And conservative talk radio and Fox News Channel has also incited people with their poisonous atmosphere–including Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, Michael Savage, Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, Tucker Carlson, and so many others, all of whom spew hatred.

Some conservatives try to claim that Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O’Donnell, Chris Hayes, Jake Tapper, Anderson Cooper, and others considered to be progressives, are doing the same thing on their programs, but that is pure BS!

The political atmosphere has been deteriorating for the past 25 years since Bill Clinton came to the Presidency, and many of the talk show hosts on the Right have become multimillionaires in the process, and Republican leadership has gone along with this to gain their own agenda.

The fact that the shooter of Steve Scalise and others was a Bernie Sanders supporter in 2016, will, assuredly make the right wing talk show hosts further inflame the situation, so those on the left cannot remain silent, as some are advocating.

We deplore the shooting, and do not advocate violence, but that does not mean we shall remain silent in the midst of government abuses and illegalities.

The American people expect their government to be accountable to its citizenry!

John F. Kennedy A Century Later, And 54 Years After His Tragic Death: His Legacy And What Might Have Been

Ronald Leave a comment

Tomorrow, Memorial Day 2017, is the Centennial of the birth of John F. Kennedy.

It is nearly 54 years since his tragic death by assassination in Dallas, Texas.

The potential of what JFK could have accomplished is all speculation, impossible to know.

We know for sure that he was a dynamic leader with great goals for a nation, but under bitter attack from Southern Democrats and conservatives for his initiatives on civil rights, education, health care, the environment, and his unannounced plans for a War on Poverty.

We know that he was a fantastic orator, who appealed to our better nature, and our optimism.

We know that he was glamorous in his appearance, his wife, and his young children.

We know that he is looked back upon as an ideal time when America seemed to be moving forward, but was also entering a very difficult decade of turmoil and tumult, as his two successors, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard Nixon, escalated a war in Vietnam that divided the nation in a way not seen since the Civil War.

But we also do not know that he would not have done the same thing, escalate the war in Vietnam.

And we also do not know that he would have won reelection, with the likely loss of Southern states that were crucial to a reelection victory.

If he had been running in 1964, would Senator Barry Goldwater, the right wing Republican who likely would have still been the nominee of his party, been able to win, when he lost in a massive landslide to Lyndon B. Johnson?

Or what if JFK was running, if somehow, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller had somehow overcome opposition within the Republican Party for being a “New York Liberal”, and been the GOP Presidential nominee, could Rockefeller have defeated JFK?

Would a living JFK been able to wage a War on Poverty; passage of Medicare; enactment of expanded federal aid to education: promoted environmental and consumer laws; and been able to gain two major Civil Rights laws, all accomplished by LBJ?

The tragedy is that we will never know what the future would have been with a President JFK beyond November 22, 1963!

Donald Trump Has Divided America More Than Any Other President Since The Civil War, Including Richard Nixon!

Ronald Leave a comment

America has had 44 men who have served as President.

We have had a person who had no issue with slaughter of Native Americans—Andrew Jackson.

We have had a person who chose to give his loyalty to the Confederate States of America in the Civil War—John Tyler.

We have had a person who warred with our southern neighbor, Mexico, on the basis of promoting slavery expansion and American imperialism—James K. Polk.

We have had a person who was openly racist after the Civil War, and was impeached, more because of his disagreeable personality and stubbornness—Andrew Johnson

We have had a person who presided over the worst, most scandalous Presidency of the 19th century—Ulysses S. Grant.

We have had a person who presided over the worst scandals since Grant, and was seen as very lacking in any intellect—Warren G. Harding.

We have had a person who was the most crooked President in American UNTIL NOW, and caused the greatest division since the Civil War a century earlier, and resigned from office under certainty of impeachment and conviction—Richard Nixon.

All of these seven Presidents had major issues and characteristics that undermine their historical reputation, but NONE, I repeat NONE, have divided America so much as Donald Trump. not even Richard Nixon, who actually had major domestic and foreign accomplishments, despite his many shortcomings.

But Donald Trump will go down as the absolute worst President in all of American history, and my prediction in February on History News Network, which went viral, still stands as of today—that Donald Trump will leave the Presidency by one method or another no later than the range of time between August 7, 2017–199 days of James A. Garfield and May 27, 2018–one year from today–or 492 days of Zachary Taylor!

The “Blind, Deaf, And Dumb” Loyalists To Richard Nixon, And Now Donald Trump: Nothing Will Convince Them To Repudiate Their “Hero”!

Ronald 2 Comments

Forty three years after Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace, and 23 years after his death, there are still Nixon loyalists who will swear that Nixon did nothing wrong, that the difference between him and other Presidents is that “he got caught”, a comment this blogger hears much too often, and causes me to roll my eyes, thinking what a moron such a person is, and moving on, shaking my head.

Well, now, we are seeing the same scenario with Donald Trump, who has his “blind, deaf, and dumb” loyalists who will swear by him no matter what he says or does, but if Barack Obama or Bill Clinton had said or done the same, they would be calling for his lynching!

Nothing will ever convince these Trump loyalists to repudiate their “hero”. They are helplessly “in love” with his persona, and this is very disturbing.

It is one thing to love and admire Franklin D. Roosevelt, or John F. Kennedy, or Ronald Reagan, all of whom were in the mainstream political tradition.

But to admire a person who is reckless, worships authoritarian leadership, and undermines the concept of the rule of law, is a threat to our basic institutions of government.

Many do not wish to admit the truth, that we are in a constitutional crisis much greater than Richard Nixon and the Watergate Scandal, and bordering on the danger that the Civil War under Abraham Lincoln represented to the survival of American democracy.

We must not sit back and tune out what is going on, but instead need to organize massive marches and demonstrations to force the Republican Party majorities in Congress, the Trump Cabinet officers, and Vice President Mike Pence to do what is essential for America, not for Donald Trump.

Donald Trump is NOT God, and his appointees must do the right thing, and announce their split with the President. The worst thing that could happen is that they are attacked by the extremist right wing forces that back Fascism, and they lose their paychecks. But they do not need their paychecks to survive, as millions of Americans do, and their reputation in history is endangered if they continue to back the lunatic who resides in the White House.

This is also true of Mike Pence, someone I do not admire, but has the constitutional responsibility to act, and move toward invoking the 25th Amendment, Section 4, immediately, taking authority as “Acting President” expeditiously!

History Tells Us Many States Are Not Protective Of Their Population: Reason Why We Need Federal Government!

Ronald 2 Comments

Conservatives and libertarians love to promote the propaganda that “states rights” are the best government, and that state governments are there for their population’s needs.

History tells us otherwise, clear and simple.

“States rights” promoted 76 years of slavery under the Constitution, until it was ended by the Union winning the Civil War over the Confederacy.

“States rights” promoted segregation of the races for nearly a century after the Civil War until the 1960s.

“States rights” promoted laws against marriage, including blacks and whites, and gays and lesbians.

“States rights” promoted vigilante justice, including lynchings, chain gangs, and overly harsh criminal justice laws.

“States rights” promoted men having dominance over their wives in marriages, and resulting abuses toward women.

“States rights” promoted inferior education, including denial of historical facts, and of science, favoring religious ideas over facts.

“States rights” promoted violations of voting rights, with the intent of ruling white upper classes controlling who could vote.

“States rights” promoted denial of health care to people, while insisting on all fetuses being taken to birth against a woman’s wishes.

“States rights” promoted resistance to the Bill of Rights, and to federal government political, social, and economic reforms that made America pursue the goals of democracy, equality, and justice.

Those states that have regularly promoted “states rights” have been the most backward, the most discriminatory, the most regressive. the poorest, and have depended on the more advanced and open minded states for their economic existence.

It is the “Red” states, those in the old Confederate South, and in the Great Plains and Rocky Mountain West, where we see the worship of “states rights”, as long as the elite political and religious hierarchy keep control over their populations, and keep them ignorant and under mind control.

History tells us that these states are not protective of the needs of their population, the reason we need a strong, assertive federal government, ready to step in, and having bettered life for people who are seemingly unaware how they have been manipulated by corrupt state governments.