Herbert Hoover

Natural Disasters Overwhelming America In 2011: Reminders Of The Dust Storms Of The 1930s And Mississippi River Flood Of 1927

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America seems to have been besieged by natural disasters this year, not that it is unique to 2011, but between the horrible tornadoes that hit Alabama and numerous other states in April, and the emerging Mississippi River Flood affecting many states right now, it reminds one of the natural disasters of the 1920s and 1930s!

In 1927, we witnessed the worst Mississippi River Floods ever, at least to now, with the possibility that we might see a worst disaster in the making as the author writes!

Back then, Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover, the winning candidate the following year for President, gained a great reputation for his efforts to help those in distress, even though he seemed inept to deal with the Great Depression which followed.

And on this day in 1934, a massive storm sent millions of tons of topsoil from the Great Plains eastward, affecting New York City, Boston, and Atlanta. This was the time of the Dust Bowl, which sent many farmers from the Great Plains out west to California and other western states in desperation.

Franklin D. Roosevelt took action to deal with the Dust Bowl, with federal regulation of conditions of growing crops and helping farmers in other programs under the Agricultural Adjustment Administration.

With recognition that hurricanes, earthquakes, and fires can also do tremendous destruction, and have in the recent past in this country, it makes trying to cut the deficit in the budget and deal with the national debt all that much more challenging!

Is Unemployment The Priority Of The 112th Congress? Apparently Not!

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Considering that we have more unemployed people, over 15 million now, greater than ever in American history, one would think that the 112th Congress would be doing something about it.

However, any such thoughts have been shown to be just that, thoughts, as the Republican House of Representatives, led by Speaker John Boehner, is clearly unwilling to address the issue, certainly not with more spending to create public service jobs, even though there is clearly a need for infrastructure building and rebuilding.

If anything, the goal is to cut government spending, and to stop interference in state government budget crises, as President Obama attempted to do in the first two years of his administration, with a Democratic Congress.

The effects of the state budget crises all over America is to cause growing unemployment in public jobs, and the rhetoric is more toward ignoring the plight of millions of Americans, who are discovering that the GOP majority they created in the House of Representatives, plus the takeover of many Governorships by Republicans, is showing utter disregard of the unemployed and unfortunate among us.

It is likely that this 112th Congress will go down as the least productive since the time of Herbert Hoover, in regards to the reality that unemployed people are desperate, and the “99ers” are left without any income, in an economy that offers no hope of any change for many years, and for some of them, probably never!

Since the GOP controls the budget matters before it gets to the US Senate, any chance of Democrats or President Obama doing anything substantive for the unemployed, seems unlikely.

The only hope is that the nation will see how the Republicans simply don’t care about those less fortunate, and that these unemployed, plus many people fortunate to have a job, will react by throwing the Republicans out of control of the lower chamber in 2012!

A Look At Post Presidencies On Presidents Day

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As we celebrate Presidents Day, on the third Monday of February, it is significant to look at post Presidencies and their impact.

Among earlier Presidents, a few stood out in public office after the Presidency.

John Quincy Adams served nearly 18 years in the House of Representatives from Boston, and led the fight against slavery and the “gag rule” which banned discussion of slavery on the floor of the House.

Andrew Johnson served briefly back in the Senate where he had been the only Southerner to remain loyal to the Union, of all the Senators from the Confederate States.

William Howard Taft served nine years as Chief Justice after almost a decade out of the White House, and came up with the plans for the Supreme Court Building.

Herbert Hoover served President Truman in reorganization of the executive branch as the head of the Hoover Commission after World War II.

Richard Nixon wrote numerous books on foreign policy, and became regarded as an elder statesman who was asked for advice by every President, despite the disgrace of the Watergate Scandal.

Jimmy Carter has been heavily involved in Habitat for Humanity and the Carter Center, engaged in promoting diplomacy and free elections and better living conditions all over the world, and has also been a prolific author.

George W Bush has been involved in Haitian relief and other activities, and his father,  George H W Bush, now will be honorary co chairman of the University of Arizona Civility Institute, an outgrowth of the violence which led to the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords last month, sharing that responsibility with Bill Clinton.

And Bill Clinton has been a “whirlwind” of activity with the Clinton Global Initiative, which aims to help the promotion of prosperity and human rights all over the world, with the support of the business community, and he also was involved in the Haitian relief after last year’s earthquake, and now is to be part of the Civility Institute activities at the University of Arizona.

In fact, this evening on MSNBC, Chris Matthews will host an hour review of the many activities of Bill Clinton since his Presidency ended 20 years ago.

So on this day when we commemorate Presidents, let’s remember the contributions of former Presidents as well!

Presidents and Split Congresses: A New Observation

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A while back, the author wrote about split Congresses, whereby the House of Representatives and the Senate have been placed in the hands of opposing political parties.

As indicated, it has now happened for 12 years since 1900–under President William Howard Taft 1911-1913, President Herbert Hoover in 1931-1933, President Ronald Reagan 1981-1987, and now President Barack Obama from 2011-2013.

And as reported, in each of the first three cases, a Republican President faced a Democratic House and Republican Senate, while now for the first time a Democratic President faces the opposite, a Republican House and Democratic Senate.

What has now been realized through the assistance of one of my History students, Stephanie Mundo, at Florida Atlantic University, is the observation, never crossing my mind, that the “people’s branch”, the House of Representatives, which is elected every two years, has been in each case put into the hands of the party opposing the President, while the Senate, which only turns over one third at a time due to the six year Senate terms, remains with the President. So the vote of no confidence is demonstrated by the House of Representatives becoming the center of opposition.

This fact really makes sense, and may only be of concern to true academics and political junkies, but it IS an interesting point, and I wish to thank Stephanie Mundo for making me realize that interesting, and actually very significant, point of analysis about split Congresses.

January 20: Historic Day Over And Over Again! :)

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Today is January 20, which has been Inauguration Day for the President of the United States every fourth year since 1937, due to the 20th Amendment which was added to the Constitution in 1933 in record time, after the horrors of waiting four months until March 4, 1933, to see the transition between defeated President Herbert Hoover to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the worst days of the Great Depression.

So every President since then has been inaugurated on January 20, with the exception of Harry Truman in 1945 (upon the death of FDR), Lyndon Johnson in 1963 (upon the death of John F. Kennedy), and Gerald Ford ni 1974 (upon the resignation of Richard Nixon). But Truman and Johnson were later inaugurated for a full term on January 20, with only Gerald Ford never experiencing the pomp and circumstance of Presidential Inauguration Day, as a result of his defeat for a full term of office in the 1976 Presidential Election to Jimmy Carter.

Round numbers tend to carry more weight, somehow, so today it is 50 years since John F. Kennedy took the oath and 30 years since Ronald Reagan uttered the oath.

It is also 30 years since Jimmy Carter left the White House, and 10 years since Bill Clinton left the Oval Office.

Kennedy and Reagan have become the favorite Presidents of the poorly informed general public, based on public opinion polls every year to commemorate President’s Day every February.

But it is worth some consideration to think about the contributions of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton AFTER they left the White House!

Carter has already had the second longest retirement of any President, and in mid September 2012, he will surpass Herbert Hoover as the longest retired President ever, and since he is seemingly in tip top shape physically and mentally at age 86, it seems likely he will beat the Hoover record.

Often called the best former President in American history, while far from the best President in office, Carter has stirred some outrage and animosity for some of his views and statements in the past thirty years, particularly regarding Israel and the Arabs.

But despite this, he has been engaged in many good deeds, including Habitat for Humanity and promotion of democracy and free and fair monitored elections all over the world through the Carter Center in Atlanta, and he has great acceptance as an outstanding man promoting peace and diplomacy and the fight against poverty and hunger in the world community.

His stature has risen, and he is the author of about ten books, the most prolific author ever, even surpassing Richard Nixon.

Meanwhile, Bill Clinton in ten years time has pursued a similar commitment to peace, diplomacy, and the fighting of hunger and poverty through the Clinton Initiative. He has a great international image and is seen, much like Carter, as a man of wisdom and principle. He has written his memoirs and has given advice to President Obama, and has stood by very proudly as his wife has become an exceptional Secretary of State after being a Senator from New York for eight years.

Both men have their definite faults and shortcomings, as all of us do, but both have gone the extra mile and done the office of the Presidency proud, setting a distinct image and imprint on the potential of a former President to have a major impact even beyond his years in the Oval Office!

So there is a lot to celebrate on January 20 this year!

The Tea Party Nation, Religion, And America’s Presidents!

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Judson Phillips, the founder of the Tea Party Nation, a specific Tea Party group, has condemned the Methodist Church for supporting the DREAM Act for children of illegal immigrants, for backing Obama health care which he considers “socialism”, and he says the church is the “First Church of Karl Marx”!

Realize that Mr. Phillips used to be a member of the Methodist Church, but left the church because it is involved in what he considers interference with separation of church and state!

It is alright if a religious group of the right gets involved in taking political stands, apparently, but if a more open minded, liberal church takes leadership on political controversies, that somehow is a sin!

Going on that basis, it means a third of our Presidents must have been “socialists” or followers of “Marxism”, as they were involved in faiths NOT conservative in their doctrine, or not connected to organized religion at all!

Let’s go through the list of 15 Presidents who do not fit Judson Phillips’ satisfaction on religious beliefs!

Four Presidents were Methodists, including James K. Polk, Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, and George W. Bush, plus Rutherford B. Hayes, who was unaffiliated and then Methodist later in life.

Three were unaffiliated throughout life, including Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, with Grant and Hayes unaffiliated at times, and also Barack Obama.

Four Presidents were Unitarian, very far from traditional Christian religion, including John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, and William Howard Taft.

Also, we have had two Quaker (Society of Friends) Presidents, also out of the mainstream of Christianity–Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon.

So apparently these 15 Presidents were heretics “in league with the devil”, because they had a more open mind on organized religion, and took a more compassionate, social justice view of what religion is all about!

This is exactly what we need, a President who believes in tolerance and concern for those less fortunate, as no one can be considered truly “religious” who has a narrow minded, intolerant view of those who are different than them, or less fortunate in economic circumstances!

Barack Obama’s Strategy To Deal With The Opposition Republicans: Should He Compromise And Alienate His Liberal Base? NO! :(

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The midterm elections of 2010 have set up a difficult situation for President Obama, as he faces the next two years with a split Congress, only the eleventh and twelfth years since 1900 that this odd situation has occurred!

There are those who say he should follow the example of Bill Clinton who compromised with an opposition Congress on some issues, and yet was trashed by them in a very vicious way over the six years of their shared relationship!

Or he could fight with the opposition Congress, as Harry Truman did in 1947-1948, giving them “hell”!

Of course, both these Presidents had opposition in control of both houses, so really, comparing Obama to Clinton and Truman is not a precisely similar situation!

Rather, Obama’s situation is similar to William Howard Taft from 1911-1913; Herbert Hoover from 1931-1933; and Ronald Reagan from 1981-1987. But actually, there is no precise comparison to these Presidents either, as all three had a Democratic House of Representatives and a Republican Senate, the opposite of what Obama faces in 2011-2012!

History tells us that both Taft and Hoover had unhappy years under a split Congress, and both lost re-election in a landslide, so they are not good models!

The Ronald Reagan comparison is more relevant, and went on for six years. Reagan had his principles, and while not always able to gain his agenda, he never really wavered in promoting his goals, and this was seen as making him a man of honor and principle!

Whatever Obama does is a tough choice and will affect his rating in history, but it seems to the author that he came in wanting to be a “transformational” President, and the only way to do that is to stand up and fight, stop caving in to GOP opposition, recognize that they wish him failure and have said so, and unite his liberal base by insisting on doing whatever can be done to advocate political, social and economic reform, along the lines of his very productive first two years, the most accomplished since the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson!

We do not need another Jimmy Carter or even Bill Clinton; we need another Lyndon B. Johnson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, or Woodrow Wilson who will fight his opponents and challenge the nation to greater goals!

Obama should use the powers of his office through executive orders, not give a damn about his conservative critics, and remember that he was elected by the American people to bring change, not just muddle through and waste his mandate of 2008!

If conservatives and Republicans wish to continue to be negative, so be it, and they will bring down on themselves the wrath of the American people in 2012 and beyond!

Their negativism, lack of care for the average American, and insistence on favoring the wealthy and the corporations will lead to a reaction in two years against them, and they will be repudiated, as they will be seen for what they are–obstructionists who do nothing to make the American economy improved!

Obama should wage a “war on the GOP”, and gain the nickname “Give them hell, Barack”, just as Harry Truman gained the nickname of “Give them hell, Harry”!

George W. Bush: Two Years Later, Is He Delusional? :(

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George W. Bush has been out of the White House now for two years, and has been avoiding the public spotlight, while preparing his memoirs, which will come out next week!

But excerpts of the memoir have been leaked to the press, and it does not make Bush look very good! In fact, it makes one almost wonder if he has taken to drinking again, something he writes about in his memoir!

Well known as an alcoholic, joining the short list of Presidents who are defined as such (the others being distant relative Franklin Pierce, and Ulysses Grant), Bush reveals a great deal about himself in his memoir!

He tells us that he thought of replacing Vice President Dick Cheney with Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, an interesting scenario, because had it happened, Frist might very well have been the Presidential nominee in 2008, rather than Senator John McCain!

He feels that Barack Obama has not been a success, forgetting the mess that he left for the new President, the worst situation since Herbert Hoover handed over the Presidency to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933!

Even more interesting is his assessment of his greatest failure: the inability to privatize Social Security in his second term! This would have led to the total destruction of the whole system had it occurred, with the stock market crash in 2008!

But somehow, Hurricane Katrina, September 11, the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War–all of these are not depicted as failures, as compared to Social Security privatization! What planet is George W. Bush on? 🙁

Also, what was his greatest disappointment and upset? Not any of the above events, but when recording artist Kanye West called him a racist for his slow reaction to the horrors of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, particularly the flooding of New Orleans! Not the hurricane, but Kanye West calling him names, is the greatest upset Bush experienced!

By this statement of Bush, President Obama should be constantly upset over the crazy, loony verbal attacks on him by the “wingnuts” and the talk show hosts who don’t give him a pass on ANYTHING! 🙁

George W. Bush seems to the author to be a very troubled man who fails to face reality, and can too easily be “upset” by words of criticism!

Bush needs to learn the following: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” He needs to get off liquor and have some serious psychiatric help!

The question is how will the American people be able, finally, to overcome the damage he has wrought on this nation! 🙁

Jimmy Carter: Time For Re-Evaluation Of The Man And His Presidency!

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Former President Jimmy Carter turned 86 today, and thankfully, left the Cleveland hospital where he had been admitted a few days ago after taking sick on an plane flight from Atlanta, on his way to a book signing of his newly published Diary of his Presidential years from 1977-1981!

Carter is often portrayed as a “failed” President, who has become regarded as a very successful, active, accomplished former President, way beyond most Presidents!

Carter has been intimately involved in promoting world peace, fighting hunger, promoting housing for the poor through Habitat for Humanity, and witnessing the legitimacy of elections all over the world! His Carter Center in Atlanta, and his Presidential Library have been active participants in advocating social justice and human rights! He has also become controversial in his statements and actions, particularly regarding Middle East peace between Israel and the Palestinians!

Carter has never avoided those who are critical of his ideas and actions, has been unafraid of his detractors, and with his nearly thirty years of retirement, he is nearing a record for the longest post Presidency, with only Herbert Hoover having lived in retirement longer!

In September 2012, he will break the record of 31 years, 7 months and 16 days of Hoover! Around Labor Day in 2012, we will be celebrating the longevity of a man who deserves a new revision of his time in the Presidency!

With Carter’s Diary and Vice President Walter Mondale’s Memoirs coming out, and the short volume in the American Presidents series by Henry Holt and Company also being published, it is time for historians to dig into the records of the Carter Library and other archives and reassess the impact of his Presidency on America!

Despite the harsh criticisms visited on Carter during and since his Presidency, it is likely that his reputation over time will grow, and he will be regarded as a much better President than most think of him in the present!

Two Economists Agree: Obama Prevented A Depression!

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In the heated political climate that now exists in Washington, DC, the truth often is lost, and propaganda wins out, but in late July, a report by two economists proved something very significant: that the actions of President Obama in the past year really made a difference, and prevented a depression and deflation!

According to these two esteemed economists, one connected to Princeton University and the Federal Reserve, and the other to Moody’s, the gross domestic product would be 6.5 percent lower; there would be 8.5 million fewer jobs on top of the 8 million loss that has occurred; and the economy would be experiencing deflation, something unheard of since the times of Herbert Hoover!

The TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program) begun by George W. Bush and continued by Barack Obama, and the economic stimulus program promoted by Obama made a REAL difference, and it is time that this be understood and accepted, and also applauded!

But in the midst of the election campaign for Congress and the governorships this fall, truth is likely to be a victim, as impatient people want immediate resolution of the economic crisis! What they fail to understand is that IF the Republican party had been in power and refused to do everything that Obama proposed, we would be in far worse shape!

The Republicans have not come up with any alternative, but if they win control of Congress, the American people will discover that there are no magic potions, and they will soon realize that they have made a mistake in switching party control to the GOP! 🙁