Racism

Ugly Nativism Rears Its Head Once Again With Donald Trump!

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Nativism–anti immigrant rhetoric—has reared its ugly head, with Donald Trump attacking immigration once again, pandering to the most ignorant and despicable elements of American society.

America is a land of immigrants, with only native Americans having a claim to being otherwise, but we all know how native Americans have been treated throughout American history for four plus centuries!

Generation after generation, hatemongers have exploited the disease of nativism to divide Americans and gain or retain political power.

They have used hateful rhetoric to attack Catholics, Jews, Asian Americans, Hispanic-Latino Americans, African Americans, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and every other minority sect that goes against their white Christian supremacy advocacy!

America has been strengthened and prospered by immigration over and over again, and the nation has been renewed by the contributions of people who come to our shores, and those who are born here of immigrant parents.

Demagogues, including Donald Trump, and a multitude of MAGA Republicans, have picked up where others pursued an equivalent agenda in past generations.

But the idea of setting up massive detention camps and reviving the separation of children from their parents is horrifying, and reminds us of the Nazi concentration camps, and similar mistreatment of minorities in China, and innumerable other dictatorships in nations around the world, which do not gain much publicity in news media.

Every effort and motivation must be made to stop the promotion of hate and division, as it only promotes authoritarianism within America and internationally!

Donald Trump Escalates Hate And Racism, And Republicans Remain Silent!

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Former President Donald Trump, the leading Republican nominee for President, continues to escalate hate and racism in his campaign rallies, and Republicans remain silent!

Trump spews forth Hitler propaganda, and expresses great admiration of Vladimir Putin, making clear his threat to upend American foreign policy of support of NATO, and Ukraine’s war with Russia!

Trump talks of massive deportations and hostility toward immigration; building a Mexico wall to prevent migration from Latin America; and resisting any struggle against Climate Change.

Trump is a one man wrecking crew in so many ways, and Republicans, including those trying to overcome him for the Presidential nomination, refuse to condemn him openly.

Trump has become a constitutional crisis leading a Fascist oriented party, who is declaring war on American democracy and the rule of law!

A Half Century Ago, The Nation Was Saved From Spiro Agnew!

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Exactly 50 years ago, the nation witnessed the resignation of Vice President Spiro Agnew on October 10, 1973, on charges of criminal conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud, which led to a pleading of no contest to a single felony charge of tax evasion.

That moment, while maybe not reflected on then or since, in retrospect, was an absolute blessing for the nation, the Presidency, and American democracy!

Sprio Agnew was, arguably, the most dangerous and corrupt Vice President in American history, a man who worked to divide the nation and promote evil in a monstrous way, including attacks on news media, and being in general “an attack dog” for the corrupt intentions of President Richard Nixon.

Agnew employed racist language, reminiscent of later what Donald Trump would do, and forecast the right wing populism that would be used by Republicans in later decades.

Agnew attacked liberals and anti Vietnam War protestors, and was vicious in his rhetoric, reminding many of former Red Scare provocateur Senator Joseph McCarthy, and gained a reputation as “Nixon’s Nixon”!

Even now, a half century later, when this author and blogger gives lectures on Richard Nixon, and mentions Spiro Agnew’s name, it gets a negative reaction from audiences!

But what is often forgotten is IF Agnew had not been investigated and found to be corrupt, as well as his evil doings as Vice President, he would have succeeded Richard Nixon when he resigned 10 months later on August 9, 1974!

Instead, the nation was fortunate that there was a 25th Amendment, and that Gerald Ford became Vice President by nomination of Nixon and approval by both houses of Congress!

Gerald Ford proved to be a savior, being the right person at the time of the Watergate Scandal, to be the successor to a President seen as the most corrupt in American history, until the disgraced Presidency of Donald Trump surpassed Nixon in the level of venality! 🙁

Outrageous Racism By Eleven Republican Senators On Joint Chiefs Of Staff Nominee!

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Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville has, single handedly, blocked promotions and confirmations of 300 military personnel for seven months, due to his opposition to the allowance for military families to travel to states that permit abortions.

Tuberville has undermined national security, and embarrassed us before our international allies, as well as our enemies.

Finally, however, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has been able to force a vote on the top three people coming up for promotion and elevation in rank to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

But, interestingly, the new Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Charles Q. Brown, Jr had 11 Republican Senators vote against him, while two other appointees, Randy A. George and Eric M. Smith, were confirmed with 96-1 and 96-0 votes respectively.

So the question is why was the vote 83-11 for Brown? And the answer clearly is that Brown is African American, the second person of that race to be Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, following General Colin Powell, while George and Smith are both white!

What an outrage, and who are these eleven despicable and racist Senators? 🙁

Tommy Tuberville of Alabama
Ted Cruz of Texas
Josh Hawley of Missouri
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
Marco Rubio of Florida
Mike Lee of Utah
Roger Marshall of Kansas
Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming
Eric Schmitt of Missouri
Mike Braun of Indiana
JD Vance of Ohio

All but Mike Lee voted yes on George and all eleven voted for George.

So the only conclusion is PURE RACISM, including by Cuban American Republican Senators Cruz and Rubio!

All eleven of these Republican Senators need to be called out, and exposed and condemned, and every attempt at kicking them out of the Senate when they come up for reelection is essential, as their behavior is totally reprehensible! 🙁

60th Anniversary Of Birmingham Church Bombing Which Killed Four Black Girls! :(

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The 60th Anniversary of the Birmingham, Alabama Church Bombing which killed four young black girls is being commemorated at a time when Republicans, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and many other Republicans, are trying to deny the truth of African American history.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and former Alabama Democratic Senator Doug Jones, who successfully prosecuted Ku Klux Klansmen four decades later who did the dastardly deed, commemorated the horrid events, and made clear that the truth and the reality of history cannot be suppressed because some people might feel disturbed.

Alabama was a center of racial violence and bloodshed six decades ago, and even now, the state legislature has refused to create legitimate congressional and state legislative districts to reflect that 28 percent of the state is black, and the federal courts have intervened.

Sadly, for much of the South, the old South of pre civil rights days has reared its ugly head again, with the difference being that in the past it was a segregationist Democratic South, and now it is a biased, racist Republican South!

The fight for civil rights and teaching of the truth of the past is a battle that cannot be abandoned, and must be pursued without pause!

The Sick, Insane, Warped Republican Voters And Donald Trump!

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The latest Wall Street Journal poll on the upcoming Presidential Election Of 2024 shows Donald Trump ahead of all his Republican opponents for the nomination, winning 59 percent of the vote, 46 points ahead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and further ahead against the rest of the field!

And 78 percent of the Republican party members in the poll believe Donald Trump did nothing wrong, despite having four indictments and 91 counts levied on Trump, and with trials coming up, where he is likely to have at least some counts leading to convictions.

With this information, one must conclude that a vast majority of Republican supporters and voters are sick, insane, warped individuals, who do not care for the Constitution, rule of law,and common decency and compassion for fellow Americans!

The Republican Party base has become a Fascist group, supporting authoritarianism, and clearly racist, misogynist, nativist, homophobic, and antisemitic, and also willing to consort with foreign totalitarian dictators in Russia, North Korea, and China!

And yet, there are also people who are of minority background, who are only too supportive of a very dangerous man, who has lied his whole life, and is a disgrace of an excuse for a human being!

The nation is in great danger, therefore, as we move toward the 250th anniversary of nationhood in July 2026, less than three years from now!

60th Anniversary Of March On Washington: Need For Renewal Of That Effort!

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Today, 60 years after the famous March on Washington in 1963, and the legendary speech by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther, King Jr. calling for justice and basic civil rights for African Americans and other discriminated groups, we are having a commitment to restore the civil rights that are under attack in recent years by the US Supreme Court, the Republican Party, and extreme right wing forces.

It is expected that about 100,000 people will participate in today’s commemoration in Washington, DC, as compared to the 250,000 who did so on August 28, 1963.

The struggle against forces that have taken away the right to vote requires a new national commitment to restoring the weakened Voting Rights Act of 1965.

And the open racism and nativism and misogyny promoted by Donald Trump and his minions must be fought tooth and nail through lawsuits, marches, and demonstrations against state governments that are limiting basic human rights, with Florida, Texas, Tennessee, and Alabama in the leadership of setting American rights and freedoms in the wrong direction!

Kamala Harris Starting To Demonstrate Her Strengths As Vice President, And Potential Future President!

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Kamala Harris has been Vice President for two and a half years now, and she has had a poor public image, being often portrayed as weak and ineffective, in public opinion polls.

A lot of this is pure right wing propaganda, with heavy elements of misogyny and racism.

If one examines earlier Vice Presidents of the Republican variety, one realizes how horrendous they were:

Mike Pence, unwilling even now to stand up to Donald Trump for his transgressions, including the threat to the lives of Pence and his family on January 6, 2021.

Dick Cheney, technically qualified, but a miserable wretch of a human being.

Dan Quayle, a total disaster and embarrassment as Vice President.

Spiro Agnew, a crooked felon, forced out of office.

And then the Republican Vice Presidential nominees who, thankfully, never were in that role:

Sarah Palin 2008

Paul Ryan 2012

Jack Kemp 1996

William E Miller 1964

And then, the potential Vice Presidential list for Donald Trump, if he became the Presidential nominee again, a total nightmare of lunacy and insanity!

Meanwhile, Democratic Vice Presidents and nominees were superior by far:

Hubert Humphrey 1964
Edmund Muskie 1968
Sargent Shriver 1972
Walter Mondale 1976, 1980
Lloyd Bentsen 1988
Al Gore 1992, 1996
Joe Lieberman 2000
Joe Biden 2008, 2012
Tim Kaine 2016

The only terrible choices were Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 and John Edwards in 2004.

Harris has had an impressive career in California Government, and has been, by necessity, the most active Vice President, due to the narrow division of the Senate, necessitating that she break more tie votes in the Senate than any Vice President, surpassing John C. Calhoun under President Andrew Jackson from 1829-1832, recently!

Harris is now becoming significant, as she makes the issues of women’s rights and civil rights the center of attention, including attacking the end of abortion rights, and the promotion of outrageous interference with the teaching of American history and slavery, as advocated by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and spreading nationwide in Republican states!

This is raising her profile, as she would certainly be the frontrunner to be President after Joe Biden, either when he leaves office, or if he was unable to finish his time in office!

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

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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!

Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville Undermining Military Readiness, And Must Be Stopped!

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There is a dire need for the US Senate to change its policy that any one Senator can prevent a movement forward on a nomination, or a vote on legislation!

Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, who was a renowned football coach with a Physical Education degree from a third rate college, has held up approval of military promotions, causing hundreds of military personnel to be held effectively captive, including the movement forward on a new Marine Corps Commandant. This has been done in order to prevent women in the military from being able to gain the right to have abortions, if in their personal judgment, it is appropriate and wish to control their own bodies!

He also is vehemently anti gay and anti transgender, and has claimed white nationalists are not racists!

This is causing an uproar, with even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell disturbed about this mess, and the need is clear to do whatever has to be done to force movement on promoting the military readiness that is urgent for national defense!

The fact that Tuberville is a terrible Senator, who sadly defeated Doug Jones in 2020, arguably the best Alabama Senator in many decades, is a sad commentary on how extremist right wing Alabama has been for such a long time! The idea that a football coach with minimal qualifications on major national issues could end up in the Senate is a true tragedy! 🙁