Jimmy Carter

Trump’s War On Federal Government: Young Civil Servants, Higher Education, Veterans, And More! :(

Ronald 30 Comments

Donald Trump’s war on the federal government is an attack on the future and on so many other areas of life.

It is a war on young people who have and wish to enter public service, with many thousands of probationary workers now unemployed, due to major cutbacks in many federal agencies.

It is a war on higher education, cutting funding for training and educating an intelligent work force in the sciences, the humanities, and all other areas of public knowledge.

It is a war on our patriotic veterans, who are losing many government jobs, and a cutting of programs to help veterans who risked their lives, and now are being denied adequate consideration of their health and welfare needs.

It is a war on protection of our national security, with mass purges of dedicated intelligence, foreign policy, and defense personnel who have dedicated their lives and careers to protecting the homeland from foreign threats of authoritarian government, including Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

It is a war on health care, science, and medicine, and endangers all Americans when it comes to threats from many diseases worldwide, that now will not be dealt with in an efficient matter, and will cost a multitude of lives.

It is a war on the environment, conservation, and the realities of climate change, guaranteeing worldwide disasters that will threaten human existence in the future.

It is a war on our long held alliances with democracies in Europe and in Asia, and antagonizing, unnecessarily, our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, and inciting anti Americanism in Latin America. It is causing our closest allies in NATO and in Asia to reconsider sharing intelligence information.

It is a war on public virtue, with a certainty that we will witness the greatest level of corruption and concentration of wealth in the hands of a few evil individuals, ever seen in American history, far surpassing the earlier corruption that took place under Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and even the first term of Donald Trump.

The Trump Presidency is setting America back to an earlier time before all of the great reforms that took place from the Progressive Era of Theodore Roosvelt and Woodrow Wilson; the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt; the Fair Deal of Harry Truman; the New Frontier of John F. Kennedy; the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson; the movements forward under Republicans Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon; the accomplishments under Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; and the advancements under Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

As Donald Trump Is About To Give His State Of The Union Address, His Public Opinion Ratings Are Lowest Except For His First Term!

Ronald 17 Comments

As Donald Trump gets ready for his State of the Union Address on Tuesday evening, his public opinion ratings (Gallup Presidential Job Approval polls) are the lowest of any President since 1945, except for his first term first month!

From Harry Truman to Trump, below are the ratings, in order of high to low!

Harry Truman 87
Lyndon B. Johnson 78
John F. Kennedy 72
Gerald Ford 71
Dwight D. Eisenhower 68
Barack Obama 67
Jimmy Carter 66
Richard Nixon 59
Bill Clinton 58
George W Bush 57
Joe Biden 57
Ronald Reagan 51
George H W Bush 51
Donald Trump 45 (2025)
Donald Trump 44 (2017)

So Donald Trump is not gaining approval for his radical, anarchistic, and disruptive domestic and foreign policies, with a majority of Americans uneasy about the direction of the nation!

Federal Involvement In Education Since 1953 Under Threat Of Termination!

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The United States federal government never came around to realizing the significance of a federal engagement in promotion of education to all of our children and adults alike, until the administration of Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953-1961).

The creation of the Department and cabinet post of Health, Education, and Welfare took place in the first year of the Eisenhower Presidency, even with a Republican controlled Congress.

Long overdue in all three areas of the cabinet position, after 26 years, it was recognized that the HEW Department was much too massive, so in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, the HEW Department was divided into Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education.

Almost from that event, many Republicans and conservatives declared war on the Education Department, arguing for a return to state control of all Education initiatives, despite the reality that many states, particularly in the South and Great Plains were clearly inferior in their commitment to education.

Unable to bring about the demise of the Education Department, even with Republican contenders for the Republican Presidential nomination over many election cycles advocating its destruction, the new gambit was to promote “”Charter Schools” and “Home Schooling’.

This was designed to take away funding from public schools, and then along came Donald Trump, and his “war’ on public education, starting in his first term, and now actively working with Elon Musk and Project 2025 activists to destroy completely the Department of Education by closing down its offices, and limiting its funding, deapite it being funded by Congress.

So now there is a full scale destruction in process, but to get rid of the Department of Education, a cabinet agency, would require action of Congress, not the outrageous, and unconstitutional removal of funds and staff by Trump, Musk, and other right wing extremists who wish to destroy an essential agency.

So the question is whether the survival of the Department of Education can be accomplished in the present disastrous situation!

Donald Trump And Elon Musk Attack On Federal Regulatory Agencies

Ronald 32 Comments

Donald Trump and Elon Musk have declared war on many federal regulatory agencies, creating a “clear and present danger” in so many areas of government policy.

These include the US Agency For International Development (USAID); the US Department of Education, which is a Cabinet post; the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

These agencies were created by John F. Kennedy in 1961; Jimmy Carter in 1979 for the second and third listed agencies; and the latter by Barack Obama in 2010, after vigorous advocacy by Elizabeth Warren, before she won election to the US Senate in 2012.

Additionally, there has been discussion of weakening or eliminating the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), all created in the early 1970s under Richard Nixon.

This is pure madness, but at this point, Trump and Musk are like “Bulls in a China Shop”, abusing their power and no clearcut response from Democrats, state governments, and the courts, although cases are being brought to the courts, and Democrats are up in arms!

Trump Tariffs On Canada And Mexico Will Backfire!

Ronald 2 Comments

Donald Trump is committing economic suicide by imposing 25 percent tariffs on our two neighbors, Canada and Mexico.

It is guaranteed to backfire, and cause a major inflationary spiral, and shortages of all kinds of good, with corporations passing on the cost increases to American consumers.

It is tragic that America is geting involved in a trade war with our neighbor to the North, who has been the best possible ally in peace and wartime, with our border being stable for two centuries.

It is also tragic that we have a President ready to take military action against Mexico or other nations in Latin America, to impose his will not only on trade, but also his desire to retake control of the Panama Canal, breaking the international treaty under President Jimmy Carter that was ratified by a bipartisan group of Senators in 1978.

We are in a major constitutional crisis, as Donald Trump is a “clear and present danger” to international cooperation and peaceful diplomacy.

When will Congress reasert itself, and stop the mad dash of Donald Trump to create international chaos with democratic nations, while cozying up to authoritarian leaders in nations that wish America harm?

Joe Biden, Despite Low Public Opinion Ratings At End Of Presidency, Will Rise In History!

Ronald 3 Comments

President Joe Biden leaves office in three days, with low public opinion ratings, despite his multitude of accomplishments in his one term of office.

This is a sad state of affairs, but clearly, the American people at large are not very knowledgeable or good at making judgments about Presidents as they leave office.

History records that Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter left office under the cloud of negativism.

But now, Truman is generally rated 5th or 6th among all Presidents in ratings of Presidential scholars and experts.

Eisenhower is generally rated 5th or 6th among all Presidents, either ahead or behind Truman.

Lyndon B. Johnson, despite Vietnam, is rated in the bottom of the top ten, and in one survey, ahead of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

Jimmy Carter is rated in the mid 20s, but it is clear his stature will rise, possibly to the bottom of the first third, or 15 Presidents.

Joe Biden has already been rated number 14 in one scholarly survey, and despite low public opinion ratings now, it seems assured he will remain in the top third or fifteen of the Presidents.

Sadly, American public opinion is ill informed and ignorant in many respects, and when it comes to being asked who are the greatest Presidents, invariably, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan are rated at the top, not Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Many experts would say that while Kennedy and Reagan consistently are in the lower part of the top ten Presidents, that both are somewhat overrated.

So it will probably, sadly, take until Joe Biden’s life has ended, before he will be completely appreciated for all the good he did!

Growing Crisis Over Mass Deportations And Panama Canal As Donald Trump Becomes President In Two Weeks!

Ronald 1 Comment

With about two weeks before the beginning of the second Donald Trump Presidency, it is clear the issues of mass deportations and the Panama Canal will cause a major rift between the United States and its Central American neighbors.

The female Presidents of Mexico and Honduras have made it clear that they are not happy with the concept of mass deportations of their nationals in the United States.

Also, Trump’s veiled threat to Panama that the US might break the Panama Canal Treaty accomplished by Jimmy Carter, leading to the turnover of the Canal to Panama’s control in the year 2000, is an alarm bell in the night!

Trump seems ready to create new crises in the Western Hemisphere, and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, soon to be Secretary of State, seems part of the whole strategy to make any opposition in Central America as a threat to the US, similar to Cuba and Venezuela.

This is not the right strategy for the US to be following, but seeems inevitable under Donald Trump’s leadership!

Jimmy Carter’s Legacy Could Be Affected By Donald Trump!

Ronald 1 Comment

Jimmy Carter’s legacy could be affected by Donald Trump, becoming President in 16 days.

Trump is threatening Panama over the control of the Canal Zone, which by treaty was agreed to be handed back to Panama during the Carter Presidency, and occurring peacefully in the year 2000.

Carter presided over the creation of the Department of Education, but ever since, Republicans have called for the closing of a federal agency on education, and now, it is a real threat to the survival of the cabinet agency during the Trump Administration.

Carter promoted the environment as a major goal of accomplishment, and warned of the dangers of long term dependence on oil, coal and gas, advocating nuclear and solar energy. Now, Trump is declaring war on the environment, and failing to see the dangers of climate change and global warming.

Carter promoted the importance of immigration for the future growth of America, while now, Trump is preparing to deport millions of immigrants.

Carter advocated high ethical standards and the importance of compassion and empathy, and Trump is the polar opposite of that.

Even now, Trump is complaining that Carter’s death has created a 30 day period of mourning, with the flags flown at half staff until January 28, therefore including the inauguration date of Trump on January 20. Who can say that he will not, possibly, order the return of the flags to full staff at his inauguration, as unseemly as that would be?

It should be pointed out that Richard Nixon’s Second Inauguration in 1973 included the flying of the flag at half staff for former President Harry Truman, who had passed awwy on December 26, 1972, and yet, Nixon did not complain publicly or make an issue of the flag being at half staff for his second inauguration.

In these ways and more, Jimmy Carter and Donald Trump are as diametrically opposite in dramatic and sad ways as is imaginable!

Jimmy Carter’s Post Presidency Unmatched By Any Other President!

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Jimmy Carter’s post Presidency of 44 years will, forever, remain unmatched.

Carter left office at the early age of 56, and survived health challenges to reach age 100, also highly unlikely, ever to be matched or surpassed.

Carter established the Carter Center to promote human rights in 1982, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum was opened in 1986 in Atlanta, and this blogger and scholar visited the site two times, finding it a very impressive memorial to the President.

Carter also spent several years teaching at Emory University in Atlana.

Carter wrote a total of 33 books in his lifetime, more than any other President.

Carter participated in building housing for the poor through Habitat For Humanity.

Carter traveled the world, fighting disease, promoting free elections, and advocating resolution of various international conflicts.

Carter had varying relations with his successors and predecessors, becoming particularly close to President Gerald Ford, creating the closest friendship with a fellow President since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Other Presidents who were active after their Presidency included John Quincy Adams, who served in the House of Representatives for nearly 18 years, and wrote a diary from age 12 to age 80.

Also, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, and Theodore Roosevelt ran for the Presidency after their terms in office.

William Howard Taft served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for nine years after his Presidency.

Also, Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon, along with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama presently, have been active, but none on the level of Jimmy Carter.

Carter’s historical ranking is sure to rise from the mid 20s to the top one third over time, as his passing makes the true Carter scholarship ever more expansive in the next generation!

Jimmy Carter’s Historic Foreign Policy Accomplishments!

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Now that Jimmy Carter has passed away, the true analysis of his Presidency can begin, in a way it could not do, while he was still alive.

Just as Harry Truman’s death led to “Truman Mania” over the next five to ten years, the same will happen in the next decade for Carter, and his historical ranking will rise from the mid 20s to the top 20, possibly as high as number 15, the top one third.

Carter’s foreign policy accomplishments are massive, most the case with the Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, accomplished only after 13 tortorous days, between Menachem Begin of Israel, and Anwar Sadat of Egypt, with Carter’s prodding.

But also, there are other major foreign policy accomplishments, including the Panama Canal Treaties, recognition of the Chinese government after 30 years of refusing to do so, and promotion of human rights as a factor in foreign policy.

Carter will look as a giant in retrospect, despite the Iran Hostage problem, which although disturbing, led to the ultimate freedom of American hostages, rather than their deaths. And the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, while seen as a negative for Carter, actually, in the long run led to the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Carter will shine in the future as compared to the many foreign policy disasters of Republicans Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and Donald Trump!