Israel-Gaza War

Pure Hysteria About Mamdani “Socialism”, Depicting Him As A “Communist” And “Islamic Terrorist”, By Republicans!

Ronald 8 Comments

New York City is very likely to elect Zohran Mamdani the 111th Mayor a week from now, despite the dire warnings being spread by Republicans and corporate leaders, and even many religious leaders, both Jewish and otherwise.

There is pure hysteria being spread that Mamdani, a self described “Democratic Socialist”, is a “Communist” and an “Islamic Terrorist”, as he is of the Muslim faith.

The Jewish community is deeply divided over Mamdani, who has been harshly critical of the Israel-Gaza War, which has killed about 65,000 Palestinians. Some Jewish groups who are totally supportive of any tactic or policy of the Israeli government under Benjamin Netanyahu see Mamdani as a dire threat to Jews in New York City and elsewhere.

The fact that Mamdani has plans to help the struggling middle class and poor, rather than cater to the wealthy elite, also has led the Republican Party nationally under Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump, to portray him with the lunatic accusation that he is a “Communist’, which demonstrates total ignorance and stupidity about the meaning of the term.

If anything, Trump himself being too “cozy” with Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation and Kim Jong Un of North Korea (both Communists), belies the manipulation of public opinion being perpetrated by a Republican Party, which clearly does not care about the rapidly worsening economic conditions caused by Trump’s refusal to care about the economic plight of tens of millions of Americans who were told the cost of living would decrease under Trump in his second term.

Growing Dangers For Donald Trump After Nine Months In Office!

Ronald 46 Comments

President Donald Trump claims he has had major successes in his first nine months of his second term.

The truth belies that.

The last two months saw another trillion dollars added to the National Debt, to an all time high of $38 trillion, the fastest increase in history.

The attempts of Trump to gain backing of Vladimir Putin to end the war against Ukraine has failed, and another planned summit is now off.

The Israeli hostages were freed, but very little progress on the so called “20 point plan” has occurred, despite intervention of Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who are spending time in the Middle East.

The government shutdown, now in its 23rd day, second longest ever, is beginning to have a deleterious effect, as government workers are not being paid, and SNAP (Food Stamp) benefits are about to end for milions of needy Americans, and Trump is showing no signs of concern about the effect on the American people of his refusal to negotiate with the Democrats.

Speaker Mike Johnson is making a horrendous reputation for himself, refusing to swear in a newly elected Congresswoman, in order to hold off dealing with the revelation of the Epstein files.

The lunatic Tariff policies of Trump has totally alienated Canada, which now says the relationship of long standing has been irreparably harmed, and will never be the same.

These are just a few of the horrendous developments going on as Donald Trump destroys the White House, and demands $230 million from taxpayers as compensation for the prosections and convictions he faced for the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection, which sadly failed to prevent his coming back to the White House in the Presidential Election Of 2024.

Release Of Israeli Hostages A Major Accomplishment For Donald Trump, BUT What About Preserving Democracy In America?

Ronald 12 Comments

The deal struck by President Donald Trump that has led today to the release of Israeli hostages is a major accomplishment, for which Trump deserves credit and praise.

However, Trump is over the top in his belief that a new world has emerged in the Middle East, as if this arrangement solves all of the issues involving the Palestinians and Israel, and the reality that Hamas has not been totally dissolved.

So the likelihood is for future warfare and conflict, and more bloodshed down the road, if not immediately.

This is a sad situation, but is a realistic assessment.

So while Trump can be praised for what he has done, and it has made him popular in Israel, the reality is that it does not make up for the total destruction of American democracy and the rule of law at home in America.

Trump has been engaged with his sycophants in the Cabinet, in the MAGA Republican Congress, and in the Supreme Court, in undermining the Bill of Rights.

It is clearly well along toward establishment of an authoritarian Fascist government, that is nativist, racist, misgonynist, homophobic, and imperialist oriented on the world stage, with his threats toward Latin America, Canada, and NATO, and his creating tensions around the world with his crazy tariff policies.

Danger Of Charlie Kirk Becoming Martyr And Provoking Political Violence! :(

Ronald 11 Comments

The unfortunate assassination of Charlie Kirk is leading to threats to various groups who he constantly attacked in his statements and appearances, with the financial support of billionaries who wish to control the future with their right wing extremism.

So the Democratic National Committee, various Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), and a multitude of others who were not in agreement with his extremist rhetoric, are now being theatened.

Charlie Kirk is becoming a martyr for so called “good Christians”, who are anything but that, but simply those exploiting his death to promote their agenda against the rights of women, racial minorities, immigrants from Latin America and Africa, gay and transgender people, Muslims, and even Jews (except in regards to the Gaza War).

Violence and intimidation are being utilized, and Donald Trump is talking about retribution and revenge, an excuse to continue his quest to promote authoritarian tyranny and destroy our American democracy and the rule of law.

Shocking Assassination Of Charlie Kirk A Danger Sign For Future Of American Politics! :(

Ronald 40 Comments

The shocking assassination of right wing activist Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, at a Utah University speaking event yesterday, is a danger sign for the future of American politics.

Kirk was a controversial and outspoken figure, who had millions of followers on social media who followed his extremist rhetoric, which had elements of racism, nativism, misogyny, Islamophobia, and attacks on gay, lesbian and transgender people.

And despite his recent pro Israel support on the Gaza War, Kirk also had uttered antisemitic assertions, and was promoting a white Christian MAGA nationalism mentality.

Kirk had the full support of Donald Trump and his children, JD Vance, and all of the most influential Trump Cabinet and advisers, and was seen as the most controversial and divisive young advocate of Trump policies, along with Stephen Miller.

Now, sadly and troubling, we are seeing, already, right wing attacks on the left wing, without any idea of who the assassin was, and that person’s motivations, as the manhunt continues as I write this entry.

And the fear is that Trump and his Cabinet will step up even more abusive and aggressive attacks on the vulnerable groups that have already been victimized in the past eight months.

Here we are on the 24th anniversary of September 11, and now a crisis on what the American future will be, and the fear of many more victims of violence and bloodshed that may be perpetrated by the extremists of both sides of the political spectrum.

This is a time that America should be uniting in mourning a death that should not have occurred, not a time for retribution and revenge!

80th Anniversary Of End Of World War II: Concerns About Future Of International Affairs Under Donald Trump!

Ronald 13 Comments

Eighty years ago, World War II finally came to an end, with the surrender of Japan, four months after the defeat of Nazi Germany.

The United States became the leading nation in the world, and was relied upon by democracies in Europe and Asia in the Cold War Years from 1945-1991, and the post Cold War Years since 1991.

But now, under Donald Trump, much of the world’s nations are not trusting the United States anymore, and Trump is alienating our allies in NATO as well as Asian nations.

At a summit in China, with Russia and India also present, those three nations made it clear that they were not going to let the United States under Donald Trump dictate to them, or control them through tariff wars and Trump rhetoric about American superiority.

Trump has alienated the largest populated nation in the world, India, over his 50 percent tariffs, and India is cozying up to its former rival, China, which is making clear its desire to control the world’s future as the dominant nation.

Meanwhile, Russia continues its war against Ukraine, and the summit of Trump and Vladimir Putin has led to no breakthrough on ending the war.

And Israel, determined to take over the Gaza Strip and allow the US to make it the Middle East “Riviera”, is committing genocide against the civilian population, and creating a long term continued nightmare for America in the Middle East.

So even though the 80th year anniversary of the end of the worst, most devastating war in human history, is being celebrated, the seeds of a truly horrifying World War III by an emboldented, authoritarian tyrant named Donald Trump, is provoking the majority of the world’s population against American dominance.

Trump also is now threatening Venezuela; and pursuing Greenland control being taken away from Denmark; and the issue of the Panama Canal is another worrisome matter.

The international situation at present is highly combustible, and America is clearly in rapid decline in prestige and influence at this anniversary.

A new close alliance of China, Russia, and India is a nightmare scenario, far more than even Nazi Germany and Japan during World War II.

A Time To Celebrate: 17 Years Of “The Progressive Professor”, But Also A Time To Mourn The Demise Of The American Experiment! :(

Ronald 4 Comments

Today, August 11, marks precisely SEVENTEEN years of this author and blogger publishing commentary on this blog, “The Progressive Professor”, that was created in 2008, with the support and encouragement of my older son, David Feinman, who knew I had a passion to share my thoughts on American history, government and politics with others!

In those 17 years, there have been to date 8,550 articles published, and 28,532 comments made by my readers and followers. The comments added have been invaluable, and have, immensely, improved the whole concept of the blog, so I wish to thank all of those individuals who have committed themselves to contributing their thoughts and ideas, to the benefit of all those who read the blog daily.

In the present political climate, one cannot be certain that there will be a continuation of the blog long term, as these are dangerous times to be expressing thoughts, many of them critical, of events and personalities.

We may be witnessing the collapse of American democracy, the Constitution, and the rule of law, and we may not survive the Presidency of Donald Trump, with the ability to restore what we had over nearly 250 years–an evolving nation with many faults which moved toward “a more perfect union”.

That has been destroyed by a quarter century of deceit and right wing extremism, motivated from the time of the Presidential Election of 2000, when Al Gore was denied the Presidency in favor of George W. Bush by a Supreme Court which showed it had no principles other than promoting aggrandizement of the nation by the wealthy.

Barack Obama came along and gave us hope of recovery, but faced great and fierce opposition, and the right wing extremist factions worked to, once again, undermine the American experiment by denying Hillary Clinton the Presidency in 2016 in favor of Donald Trump, who had ill intentions from the beginning.

Donald Trump worked at destroying the American Republic, and the nation was only, miraculously, saved in 2020 by the good fortune of Joe Biden coming along at the right time.

But the right wing forces attempted a coup d’etat, an Insurrection, NOT as some people claimed just a “riot”, but now being wiped out as if it never happened, as those who were involved in criminal acts have been “exonerated” by Trump pardons.

But the “disease” promoted by Trump and minions–the spreading of nativism, racism, misogyny, and homophobia by religious extremists—managed to convince gullible and poorly educated Americans to vote in 2024 to overcome and destroy the Republic that they did not fully appreciate, a shocking development.

Now, the rest of us are forced to suffer the ignorance, stupidity, and bias of ill informed and ill educated people, and are seeing our civil liberties destroyed.

Personally, having retired completely from teaching at the university level after 53 years, this author and blogger is, fortunately, continuing to give lectures to adults and senior citizens in South Florida, but it is difficult to predict what will happen in the short run and long run regarding this blog.

I just wish to hope for the best for myself, and all those who read my blog, as we move forward to chart whatever the future brings, which at this moment, does not look promising.

The future seems, sadly, likely to see the promotion of authoritarianism; the collapse of the economy with destructive tariffs; and the triumph of evil in international affairs, as witnessed by the Russia-Ukraine War and the Israel-Gaza War.

Thanks again, for your support and encouragement, to all those who read and contribute to this blog.

Ten Days Away, Coming Back To New Controversies Surrounding Donald Trump! :(

Ronald 19 Comments

This author and blogger took a vacation, visiting my old “haunts” in New York City, where he lived until 1989.

While it was great getting back to “my origins”, for only the third time in the past 36 years, new controversies erupted around Donald Trump and his administration while I was away.

At least ten areas of crisis grew while this author and blogger was away on vacation.

The earlier decision of CBS to cancel Stephen Colbert, occurring days before this author and blogger took a break, just to gain the ability to merge with new ownership accepted by Donald Trump, was just the beginning. And Trump celebrating Colbert’s show ending next May was a moment of total disgust!

Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because she revealed a report of weak employment growth in July, and massive revision downward of May and June figures, numbers she had no control over adjusting.

Trump’s tariffs, which will raise the cost of living dramatically in future months, are due to take place on August 7, with some nations being “punished” more than others, including Canada and Brazil, and all Americans paying the price for this insanity, as tariffs cause economic collapses historically!

Ghislane Maxwell, in prison for 20 years for sexual abuse of young girls, connected with the Jeffrey Epstein Scandal, was moved to a minimum security prison, after being interviewed by Trump’s Deputy Attorney General. This is seen as an attempt to move to pardon her, and avoid revelations of whether Donald Trump was involved in the sexual abuse, another sign of a coverup to protect Trump.

Texas is attempting to use the abuses of gerrymandering to insure possibly five more House seats to go to the Republican Party, an effort to insure Republican control of the House of Representatives, with the support of Donald Trump. Democrats have left the state, to try to avoid such abuses from occurring.

The National Museum of American History, connected with the Smithsonian Institution, temporarly removed an exhibit showing Trump’s two impeachments, although it now claims it will be restored in the future.

The number of ICE arrests is multiplying, including at immigration hearings, when people show up at their required appointments, gain a new court date, but then are grabbed by multiple ICE agents wearing masks, acting like the Nazi Gestapo!

The number of government workers are being decimated, which makes a future set of shortcomings that will affect Americans in many areas of government involvement, most notably the National Weather Serivce and the upcoming hurricane season, as well as air traffic control, which delayed this author and blogger’s flight to New York City by a TEN hour delay! 🙁

Trump has moved nuclear submarines closer to Russia, as relations between Trump and Vladimir Putin worsen, and as the Russian war against Ukraine continues unabated.

The mass starvation of Gaza residents by Israel continues, and Trump’s inability or lack of concern about what is seen by many as a growing Holocaust.

So trying to “escape” from the news really is not truly possible, as the nightmare of Donald Trump continues! 🙁

Scott Pelley Of “Sixty Minutes” Issues Warning On Authoritarianism!

Ronald 10 Comments

Journalist Scott Pelley of CBS’s “Sixty Minutes”, has many years of reputable work at that news source. He gave a scathing commencement speech at Wake Forest University in North Carolina a week ago, against the authoritarian ideology of Donald Trump, which has provoked wild, vehement accusations from Fox News Channel and its disgraceful talk show hosts.

Pelley, rightfully, warned of the threat to freedom of speech and press represented by the Trump Administration’s attack on journalism, higher education, and law firms.

He also condemned the arrest of foreign students on visas for their use of their right of freedom of speech to criticize the Israel-Gaza War, as well as the attacks on voting rights being perpetrated by the federal government under Donald Trump.

Pelley condemned the fear being promoted by Trump loyalists who are working to undermine the Bill of Rights, and his rhetoric was uncompromising, setting an example for Americans who are terrified at the authoritarian bent of Trump and his supporters.

Pelley has been attacked as being “unhinged”, another of a multitude of examples of “projection”, accusing critics of Trump of what Trump and his supporters do regularly, speak and act in an “unhinged” manner.

Pelley is doing a great service in using his reputation to promote opposition to the dangerous trend that is running amuck around Trump, the movement toward authoritarian Fascism.

If Americans lose the First Amendment, then democracy and the rule of law is lost long term.

Horrific Murder At Israeli Embassy In DC Of Young Couple Committed To Promoting Peace In Middle East!

Ronald 12 Comments

The tragic murder of a young couple at the Washington DC Jewish Museum, at an event sponsored by the Israeli Embassy, is a great human tragedy, and a sign of how antisemitism and hatred, along with the Israeli government total war on Gaza, has led to this disastrous event. This couple was dedicated to promotion of Middle East peace.

Unfortunately, Antisemitism has been mixed with opposition to Israel’s government policies, and all Jewish institutions and Jews on college campuses are threatened as a result of a war that has, seemingly, no end.

One should mourn the deaths of these two young people and others who are threatened and intimidated, but one can also say that people in Gaza should not be treated as if they are all Hamas terrorists, after the horrendous October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Innocent women and children being killed endlessly is not something that anyone should support.

There has to be a solution whereby the humanity of both Israelis and Arabs can be appreciated, even more at a time of a tragedy such as this.