Journalists

Ron DeSantis Denying Truth Of African American History: A Whitewash Of The American Past!

It is absolutely infuriating beyond belief that Florida under Ron DeSantis is denying the truth of African American history, and American history at large, in setting a new curriculum that whitewashes the truth of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, lynchings, and horrendous race riots in that state and elsewhere, causing mass destruction and death over the centuries.

To tell students that slavery “benefited” slaves by teaching them “job skills”, and that race riots saw African Americans both being victimized but also being perpetrators of the riots, is a bald faced lie, making Florida look worse than 1960s Alabama and Mississippi!

In the past, the Confederate myth perpetuated lies and racism, and finally in the 1960s and moving forward, the truth was being taught.

As a professor who has taught for a half century, I refuse to teach lies and mistruths, but imagine those who teach at all levels who are in danger of losing their jobs and professions over political interference by a governor, who seems as if he is George Wallace on steroids!

And Florida is setting the stage for other “Red” states to impose the same censorship and manipulation of the truth on students, which will undermine the future of a multiracial society, as nothing can be done to overcome the reality that in 2045, the white population of America will be less than half the nation, and already, non white groups are a majority of young people in many parts of the nation.

This does not bode well for the future of interracial cooperation, and Ron DeSantis must be opposed legally in court to work against this poison he is promoting!

What does this say about the truth of the treatment of Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, and native Americans, which also must be taught, and known by future generations!

The old saying is: “The Truth Shall Set You Free”!, and that must be the motto of all educators, and most specifically, American historians and journalists in this struggle against reality!

A Salute To The Free Press And Committed Journalists!

As the year 2022 goes into the history books, and 2023 brings its new challenges, it is time to applaud and salute the free press and committed journalists for pursuing truth and facts, and continuing the never ending battle for freedom and democracy in the United States and worldwide.

Those who attack the free press in America and elsewhere are enemies that must be challenged and confronted in every way possible, as it is the free press that promotes progress and shows us reality.

Evil is a force that is always present, but we must thank committed journalists, newspapers, periodicals, and cable and internet websites that continue to pursue the goal of expanding basic civil rights and humane outcomes in the midst of the constant barrage of mistruths, propaganda, and discrimination.

So whenever someone attacks the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Politico, Huffington Post, and a multitude of other news media, they are attacking all decent people who simply want to live their lives wishing for the promotion of peace, tranquility, and the protection and betterman of human rights worldwide.

Presidents Day 2022: New Documentaries On Abraham Lincoln And Lyndon B. Johnson, And New Siena College Research Institute Presidential Survey

Today is Presidents Day 2022, and yesterday and continuing are documentaries on Abraham Lincoln on History Channnel (Sunday to Tuesday); and on Lyndon B. Johnson on CNN (Sunday and Monday).

And Siena College Research Institute, which conducts a Presidential survey among historians, political scientists, and expert journalists, in the second year of each Presidency, just posted a new survey form, as they always do one year into a new Presidency.

So sometime later in the year 2022, the results of the survey will be announced.

And this Presidential scholar, a participant, has just indicated how he ranks the Presidents, including Joe Biden for the first time.

It will be interesting to see what, if any changes, will occur now that Donald Trump is out of the White House, and Joe Biden has served one full year!

The Horrors Of Donald Trump Keep Growing With New Revelations

The horrors of Donald Trump keep growing with new revelations, including:

Trump was on the brink in June 2020 of using the Insurrection Act of 1807, allowing for martial law.

Trump was on the brink of having COVID 19 patients sent to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.

Trump allies were involved in an attempt to run a Joe Biden campaign bus off the road in central Texas in late October.

Trump was investigating journalists through their emails and phone logs, who had criticized him, and had plans to prosecute them.

Trump wanted to prosecute Congressmen Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of California for their work on the House Judiciary Committee in investigating Trump.

Trump looked at the Justice Department as his private law firm and defender, not the independent department it is supposed to be.

Trump was nonchalant about the January 6 Capitol Insurrection, and was clearly enjoying mayhem, and did not take any action to end it for four hours, while Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi were in danger, and realize they were the top two in the line of Presidential succession after Trump.

Many new books and revelations are coming out, and the Trump Organization, and potentially Trump and his children face the likelihood of indictment in New York City, New York State, Washington DC, and Georgia, on financial charges, and the promotion of the “Big Lie”, trying to change the election results that saw Joe Biden become President.

He is still promoting conspiracy theories, specifically in Arizona and Georgia, undermining belief that elections are being administered fairly, and trying to change the future election system in many states, undermining faith in American democracy!

Donald Trump And Disposal Of Human Rights, The Goal Of Jimmy Carter Four Decades Ago

In the late 1970s, President Jimmy Carter enunciated his belief in human rights, and pursued a policy of denunciation of those nations which denied human rights to their citizens.

Now, four decades later, President Donald Trump has totally reversed such a policy, and has embraced leaders of nations which massively violate human rights.

So we see Trump embracing Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation ; Kim Jong Un of North Korea; Xi Jinping of China; Mohammed Bin Salman of Saudi Arabia; Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt; Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey; Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines; Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil; Jaroslaw Kaczynski of Poland; Viktor Orban of Hungary; and other authoritarians who deny basic civil rights and civil liberties to their citizens, and persecute minorities and immigrants in their midst, and threaten journalists, extremely alarming and disturbing.

At the same time, Trump attacks and is critical of the leaders of the United Kingdom, France, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Canada and the other nations in NATO, and it is clear that he is enamored with dictators over democratic leaders.

In so doing, Trump is undermining the concept of liberal democracy, and destroying American constitutional principles, damaging the image of America, and destabilizing international affairs.

Donald Trump Goes Off The Rails After Massive Repudiation By Voters On Election Day

Donald Trump went off the rails more than usual after the massive repudiation by the voters on Election Day.

It seems impossible for Donald Trump to behave in words or actions during any 24 hour cycle.

After Tuesday’s results, Trump has done the following:

Sent thousands of military personnel to the US Mexico border, claiming wrongfully that Central American migrants, mostly women and children escaping violence and personal threats are carrying leprosy and smallpox, but not providing decent living conditions for soldiers waiting for a “caravan” which is not really such, and is no danger to the American national security, and wasting an estimated $200 to $300 million in the process.

Insulted several black women journalists at the press conference on Wednesday, including the renowned April Ryan.

Engaged in degrading behavior toward Jim Acosta of CNN, and suspended his right to participate in future press conferences, and his Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders created a fake video to try to demonstrate that Acosta was aggressive with a female Presidential aide.

Fired Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, and hired a flawed, biased Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General, instead of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a move to destroy the Robert Mueller investigation.

Went to the commemoration of the centennial of the end of the First World War, and insulted veterans by not going to a cemetery outside of Paris because of the rain, and then went to a Paris ceremony separately, and left early from the events of the weekend to return home.

Promoted nationalism, which caused the First World War and the Second World War, and was repudiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, who called for a European Army to protect the continent from possible threats in the future, including Russia, China, and, get this, the United States under Donald Trump.

Condemned California for the horrendous forest fires that have devastated that state, and threatened to cut federal funding to deal with that issue, showing no understanding of nature and science.

Trump has insulted our European allies, veterans, firefighters, and our journalists who report the truth to keep us free and democratic.

Trump has displayed ever further his total lack of knowledge and understanding of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, diplomacy, history and science.

He has also shown yet again that he is a misogynist, a racist, a nativist, a super nationalist xenophobe, a threat to American democracy and the rule of law.

The Trump Crowds And Trump Bullyism And Lies: What Do They Tell Their Children After These Rallies?

The issue of basic morality and ethics, and the power of a crowd, comes into play as one watches Trump crowds at campaign rallies over the past two years since Donald Trump became President.

It is one thing to excuse people who had hope for change who voted for Donald Trump two years ago.

But how these same people can still support Donald Trump when they see his bullyism, his over 5,000 verifiable lies in office, more than 8 per day on the average, and witness the terrible example he presents for our future generations. They will be the recipients of the long term damage he has wrought on the nation, while he is constantly enriching himself, his real aim in being President, not the welfare of the American people.

Do these parents and grandparents encourage their sons to be bullies, their daughters to accept sexual abuse, and all of them to lie openly with no consequences?

What kind of people are these blue collar, working class people, who are so poorly educated that they accept a con man, a used car salesman, as a person to follow?

One sees these people laughing, as Trump insults everyone, and encourages attacks on journalists doing their job, and tells us that the Democrats are evil, rather than opponents.

One sees these people accept without question his statements about Democrats opposing opiod addiction funding, when the Senate voted 98-1 for it, and only a total of 8 members of the House voted no.

These people have no interest in knowledge, facts, truth.

So what is the future of America when children are being brought up by parents who have no morals, ethics, or values?

A Moment To Celebrate The 167th Anniversary Of The New York Times, America’s Leading Media Source, Helping To Keep Us Free And Informed!

In the midst of the sustained attack on freedom of the press going on in 2018, today is the 167th anniversary of America’s leading newspaper, the “newspaper of record”, the NEW YORK TIMES.

Since 1851, the New York Times has published and challenged the American government, foreign governments, and powerful economic forces, who have tried to limit the ability of that paper to report the truth of the news, and the paper has won 125 Pulitzer Prizes, more than any other newspaper. Its motto is “All the News That’s Fit to Print”. It has the notable New York Times Book Review, the New York Times Magazine, and the Sunday Review, all part of its Sunday edition.

The New York Times has not been perfect, anymore than any institution, as it failed to report accurately the Holocaust going on in Europe in World War II; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East over the past number of decades; and has been accused of distortion about the Iraq War, and the US-Iran relationship. The newspaper also has been accused of engagement in plagiarism by certain journalists, and accusations of bias, and public perceptions of lack of credibility and accuracy, including attacks by Right Wing propaganda groups, and President Donald Trump, who talks about the “Failing” New York Times, which actually is in very good financial shape.

Any researcher in just about any field of knowledge uses the former NY Times Index, as this author has done, and now available in the TimesMachine, the Online Archive of every issue of the paper since 1851.

The New York Times was extremely significant in promotion of the truth, when it won the right to publish the Pentagon Papers in 1971, in the Supreme Court case of New York Times Company V. United States, winning over the attempt of President Richard Nixon to prevent publication of the documents that traced the US involvement in Vietnam after 1945 through the late 1960s.

So let us all applaud the courage and determination of the brilliant journalists of the New York Times, who are now, in 2018, doing their job exposing the corruption and illegal activities of Donald Trump and his Presidency, alongside the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and Wall Street Journal, along with other media sources, including cable news channels CNN and MSNBC, along with ABC, NBC, and CBS.

The truth shall set us free and protect American democracy and the Constitution!

Donald Trump’s Further Unraveling At Rallies In Florida And Pennsylvania: How Degraded Can He Become?

It is hard to conceive of, but Donald Trump has further unraveled at rallies he held this week in Florida and Pennsylvania.

First, the audiences, consisting of the most ignorant, delusional, despicable people imaginable, all treating him as if he is a God! How sick and disgusting these crowds were, true examples of what Hillary Clinton correctly called “deplorables”, but even that word is too nice, as trash and garbage might be the more appropriate terms!

But then to Donald Trump, attacking Mexican Americans, who are more than 36 million people in America, eleven percent of the population of the nation, only a small amount less than the African American population, saying they are worse than how he described them in his announcement speech in June 2015? This is far worse than anything Alabama Governor George Wallace ever uttered in his Presidential campaign in 1968!

Trump continues to attack John McCain who is still hospitalized and clearly dying of cancer, and one wonders, when McCain passes, will Trump say something totally disgusting about his death?

Trump continues to deny Russian involvement in the 2016 campaign, while his national security team makes clear what Russia did, and the direct threat they are presenting every day now.

Trump lies all the time, including about the reality that he was 15 minutes late to meet Queen Elizabeth II, and that he, inappropriately walked in front of her, blocking her.

Trump has refused to allow undocumented immigrants who have broken no laws, and who are married to American citizens, to remain, even after clear pleas for clemency, as just happened with a woman forced out, breaking up a marriage, with that woman saying about Trump, “May God forgive you!”

Trump is a very sick and demented man, clearly deteriorating before our eyes, but Vice President Mike Pence is like a bobblehead doll, nodding yes standing on the left behind every Trump rant!

Donald Trump has led a life of darkness, of being in league with demonic forces, and Karma will come, and Donald Trump will pay the price for his lying, his meanness, his nastiness, his lack of humanity, compassion, empathy, ethics, morals, and decency.

This is a continuing nightmare, seemingly with no end, and will likely lead to widespread violence against journalists, who he is constantly attacking with viciousness, and it could lead to the total breakdown of order, and the outbreak of civil war.

Something has to give, and someone needs to step in and excise the cancer in our midst, before our enemies in the world totally overcome us!

Trump-Putin Summit Clear Indication Of Treason, And Danger To Pursuit Of The Entire Truth Of The 2016 Presidential Election

Watching the Trump-Putin Summit Press Conference in Helsinki, Finland, brings confirmation that the 45th President of the United States has committed, and continues to commit treason, favoring the Russian Federation over the national security interests of the United States.

Putin won just by the fact that Trump agreed to meet him, with Russia having a weak economy and suffering from economic sanctions put upon his nation by the international community after the invasion of the Crimean area of Ukraine in 2014.

Putin leads a country which has a very small Gross National Product, and has nuclear weapons that are a fraction of what the United States has, and yet Trump makes “friends” and “trusts” Putin, while denouncing Theresa May, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel, and Justin Trudeau.

Trump calls the European Union our “foe”, and has set out to destroy the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and continues to denounce the Robert Mueller investigation of Russian collusion in the Presidential Election of 2016.

Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and even Red Scare demagogue Senator Joseph McCarthy are rolling over in their graves.

If any member of the Trump Administration cares more for his nation than his job, he or she should resign enmasse now, or be seen as complicit in “high crimes and misdemeanors”, specifically treason.

Vice President Mike Pence should confer with the Cabinet Officers, and invoke the 25th Amendment Section 4 immediately, or be also declared a traitor to America, with the only way to save his reputation being showing leadership in this greatest moment of threat to our Republic since the Civil War.

For Trump to decide to trust Putin over the national security, diplomatic, and intelligence community is a total outrage. Putin and his team are rejoicing how they have managed to compromise and manipulate a man who should never have been President in the first place, and only won due to Russian collusion.

Putin is responsible for downing of passenger jets; murdering journalists; poisoning and assassinating people in their homes on foreign soil; killing with radiation and military grade nerve agents; and sponsoring far right white supremacist groups on two continents.

It is time for mass marches all over the nation every weekend demanding the resignation, or arrest of the traitor in the White House, no better than Benedict Arnold in the American Revolution, as he has undermined our nation’s defenses against future manipulation of our democracy by Russia, which is sure to happen again.

And the Mueller investigation MUST continue unimpeded, or else the Constitution and Bill of Rights are in shreds! Thirty five indictments, six guilty pleas (including the National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and the Trump Campaign Chair Paul Manafort), and one conviction are just the tip of the iceberg!

If the American people do not come out in droves and kick the Republicans out of control of Congress, then the American people will deserve what they get, a move toward a Fascist, totalitarian government manipulated by Vladimir Putin!

The President of the United States is supposed to make sure that the laws are faithfully executed, and promote the rule of law. Donald Trump has totally failed at this responsibility in favor of being a “friend” of a Russian oligarch. He needs to be brought to justice, and sentenced to life in prison for his crimes—-Russian collusion, obstruction of justice, abuse of power, violation of the Emoluments Clause, and crimes by his cabinet officers, the most egregious of any President in American history!