Education Department

Donald Trump’s Greatest Crime: Destruction Of Federal Government Agencies, Long Term Damage

Ronald 4 Comments

Possibly the greatest crime Donald Trump has perpetrated in his 15 months of being President is his destruction of federal agencies.

This is particularly true of the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Interior Department, the Education Department, the Housing and Urban Development Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but really all departments in the federal bureaucracy have been affected.

Trump has trashed the FBI and the Justice Department, and Jeff Sessions has been the worst Attorney General in modern history. Trump has worked to destroy the credibility of the Department of Justice, not only in the investigation of his scandals, but also the reversal of so many civil rights policies.

The State Department has so many vacancies in the Foreign Service, and so many able diplomats in the Diplomatic Corps have resigned.

The Interior Department under Ryan Zinke has been a disgrace on the matter of protection and perpetuation of national parks and national monuments.

The Education Department under Betsy DeVos has worked to undermine public education at all levels, and undermined protection of minorities and women under education laws.

The Housing and Urban Development Department under Ben Carson is ignoring the major problems of public housing, and not protecting the rights of tenants.

The Department of Health and Human Services has tried to destroy ObamaCare, but has failed at that, while putting obstacles in the way of those who wish to engage in the program.

The Environmental Protection Agency under Scott Pruitt is a total tragedy, rife with scandal and disgraceful actions against the environment.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau may be on its death bed under Mick Mulvaney, an extremely corrupt person, who is also the head of the Office of Management and Budget.

We are in the midst of a great tragedy that will not be undone for decades and one feels helpless as one sees the federal government deteriorating!

The Plot To Privatize The Department Of Veterans Affairs, And The Firing Of Secretary David Shulkin, Just A Beginning To Privatize Much Of Federal Government

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It is clear that Donald Trump, and his right wing friends, billionaires Charles and David Koch, and other right wing extremists, are out to destroy the Federal government involvement in just about every government agency other than the original cabinet agencies created in 1789–State, Treasury, (War)Defense, and Justice.

So the firing of Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin is clearly a move to make Veterans Affairs privatized, which is a horrible idea, as taking care of our veterans should not be based on the profit motive. There is also a plan to privatize Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Education, the Post Office, and other government agencies.

Those who care about a responsive national government being protected must understand that “war” has been declared by the extremists on the right, who do not give a damn about the lives of 325 million Americans, only downgrading federal government as it has operated since the beginning of the 20th century and President Theodore Roosevelt.

Regulation and intervention has advanced America, but the big corporations and the elite wealthy want to reverse, and destroy, all progress for average Americans to make our nation more humane and responsive.

This is the time for liberals, progressives, and Democrats to work to deny the success of this plot, so every caring American must work to get rid of the Republican majority in Congress, so that the fight against the evil of the Trump Presidency can move forward.

Statesman Jimmy Carter Reaches Age 90, Fourth President In A Row To Reach That Magical Age!

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Today, October 1, is the 90th birthday of former President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), making him one of four Presidents in a row to reach that magical age.

Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush all reached the age of 90, Bush just this past June, and Ford and Reagan dying at age 93, with Ford being six weeks older than Reagan.

Now six Presidents, including John Adams and Herbert Hoover, have reached that age, and it is clear that modern medicine and sanitation have helped the Presidents in office from August 1974 to January 1993 to have accomplished this massive achievement!

Carter also has set an ongoing record of nearly 34 years out of office, and shares that with his Vice President, Walter Mondale, as the longest surviving team in the White House in American history!

Carter has long been vilified, and called a “failure”, “the worst President of modern times”, and other insulting terms by people who are ignorant, lacking in knowledge of what makes a President significant.

No one is going to assert that Carter was a highly successful President in the top ten or fifteen, and the fact that he was soundly defeated by Ronald Reagan in 1980, harms his historical reputation, as Presidents who lose reelection never stand high in polls of Presidents in history.

But this man was decent and honest, humble and sincere, and accomplished the following:

The Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, the most outstanding accomplishment in Middle East diplomacy of any President before or since.

The negotiated return of the Panama Canal, to its rightful owners, the nation of Panama, righting the wrong done by Theodore Roosevelt early in the 20th century.

The strong principle of human rights as an important goal in American diplomacy.

The third best record of any President on environmental reform, and creation of public lands, only behind Theodore Roosevelt and Richard Nixon, and more amazing, since Carter only had one term in the White House.

The establishment of the Health and Human Services Department, the Education Department, and the Energy Department, all added to the President’s cabinet.

Out of office, Carter won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, for his human rights record; his promotion of fair elections around the world and the advancement of health care and education through his Carter Center; and his building of housing using his own and his wife Rosalynn’s hands, as part of Habitat For Humanity.

He also wrote 28 books, making him the most prolific President of modern times, and competing with Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and Richard Nixon for his extensive writings.

Jimmy Carter set a new standard for former Presidents giving their service to the nation, as Bill Clinton has done, and Carter is often called the best former President of the United States for his contributions in the 34 years since he left office.

Jimmy Carter had obvious shortcomings, but he has lived long enough to be regarded as a statesman, and be given the respect he deserves!

So Happy 90th Birthday, Mr. President!

Former Presidential Contenders Who Have Gone Far Right Since: Mike Huckabee And Lamar Alexander

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When one looks back at past Presidential campaigns at the numerous Presidential wannabees who failed to gain the nomination, one realizes the evolution of some of them from a respectable moderate conservative view to an extremist far Right advocacy now!

It is astounding to see people the author once respected going off the deep end, in their desire to conform to the Tea Party crowd!

Two such examples are former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who sought the GOP nomination in 2008, and former Tennessee Governor and Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander, who sought the Presidency in 1996 and 2000, and served as Education Secretary under President George H. W. Bush.

Huckabee has his own talk show on radio and a Fox News Channel show as well, and he sounds like a total right wing lunatic these days, instead of the reasonable, personable conservative he was as Governor and as a candidate for President. It is astounding how he has caved in to the Tea Party crowd in his mad quest to enrich himself by saying what his right wing audience wants to hear!

And Alexander, now a Senator from Tennessee, was someone to be respected, but now is off the wall in his views, including wishing to end the minimum wage, which is already way behind the cost of living, but yet he wants to keep low wage workers in permanent poverty!

Both should be ashamed of themselves, as their legacy will be the destruction of their reasonable moderate conservative image, which at the time of the Presidential Elections of 1996, 2000, and 2008, made them decent alternatives to Bob Dole, George W. Bush, and John McCain!

The Week Of Reckoning For GOP Candidates–Three Challenges

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The week from today, Labor Day, through next Monday, will have a dramatic effect on the Republican race for President.

Today, in South Carolina, six of the candidates (all but Rick Santorum and Jon Huntsman) will participate in a Palmetto Freedom Forum, in which each candidate will sit on the stage for 21 minutes, and have questions shot at them by South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, Iowa Congressman Steve King, and conservative constitutional scholar Robert George of Princeton University.

DeMint will ask questions on how to make government smaller, while King will challenge the candidates on the subject of immigration. George will touch on the hot button social issues: abortion, gay marriage, and affirmative action. He is also likely to ask questions about federalism, the idea that some government agencies on the national level are not needed or allowed under the Constitution, such as the Education Department.

This is the kind of challenge that could make or break candidates, and then on top of that, there are two debates by next Monday night–one sponsored by MSNBC on Wednesday and the other by CNN next Monday, and it gives Rick Perry his first time on the national stage debate; but also allows Jon Huntsman his last real chance to start gaining notice and move up in the national polls; Michele Bachmann the chance to outshine Perry; Mitt Romney the chance to come back from second place in the polls after seeing Perry rise above him; the opportunity for Ron Paul to look like more than a fringe candidate; and the last chance for Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain and Rick Santorum to look as if it is worth going on as candidates.

So this next week is one in which Sarah Palin will be watching, and probably being thankful she has not entered the Presidential race, and solidifying her decision to stay out of it, as running for President is for those who are unafraid of challenge, which Sarah obviously is, having quit as Alaska Governor in the middle of her one term!