Richard Nixon

More Than Half Century Since Watergate Break In: Major Figures Still Alive!

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The Watergate Break In that brought down Richard Nixon a half century ago has at least five major individuals involved in the history of the event still alive today.

There are Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward (82) and Carl Bernstein (81), who jointly investigated and exposed the scandal that began in June 1972, coming up to 53 years ago.

Also, there is John Dean (86) who was Richard Nixon’s White House lawyer, who also turned evidence against him, but was disbarred for his earlier coverup for Nixon.

Also, one of the Watergate prosecutors was Jill Wine-Banks (82), and of all people, Hillary Clinton (77) was a member of the staff advising the House Judiciary Committee engaged in the impeachment of Richard Nixon.

All five were young people in their late 20s when they became part of American history in a massive way!

Donald Trump, The Disruptor In Chief!

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Donald Trump is the Disruptor in Chief.

He has declared the Gulf of Mexico is the Gulf of America.

He wants Veterans Day (November 11) and V E Day (May 8) to be renamed.

He wants Alcatraz, an infamous prison off of San Francisco, closed six decades ago and a much visited national park since then, to be renovated and reopened for the “worst of the worst” criminals.

He has no shame, and portrays himself as a potential Pope before the Catholic Church conclave to select the successor to Pope Francis.

He also shares the image of Darth Vader on “Star Wars Day”, May 4, as a muscular image of himself.

He wants to put tariffs on foreign produced films.

He wants to purge the Smithsonian Institution and its various museums of any references to race and gender.

He has mounted an attack on higher education at the top Ivy League universities.

He wonders if he must obey the Consitution that he swore the oath to enforce both in 2017 and 2025.

He wants anyone opposed to him and his actions in the past and present to be prosecuted by a Justice Department that is his personal fiefdom.

He has taken action against corporations, law firms, and media organizations to force them into compliance or face the consequences.

He refuses to make sure the laws are faithfully executed, even from federal courts, and doubts about the veracity of “due process”.

He lies incessantly without a sense of shame or guilt, and no one can trust anything he says.

There has never been a President anything like him, not even Richard Nixon at his worst!

Signal Gate Scandal Made Worse By Forced Removal Of Michael Waltz!

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The move by Donald Trump to oust National Security Adviser Michael Waltz, due to the Signal Chat Leak Crisis, is a bad omen for the future of American National Security.

Waltz was a traditional conservative Republican, who gave up his House seat in Florida to take on the challenge of engaging in promoting American national security.

But in the Trump White House, which is bending over backwards to please Vladimir Putin and to abandon Ukraine, Waltz was seen as a “problem”.

What should have happened was the dismissal of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, not Waltz, and putting Waltz in as United Nations Ambassador is an indication that his status is much reduced.

Meanwhile, Marco Rubio taking on the position of National Security Adviser temporarily is totally crazy, as being Secretary of State is more than enough work for one man.

And Rubio is no Henry Kissinger, who held both jobs, but in reverse in the Nixon and Ford Administrations.

This whole situation is an indication early on that Trump is on the way, possibly, to more turnover in his second term, than in his first term, which set a record of such turnovers in American history.

The international order is going to be in great danger, with an unstable, unpredictable, and unreliable Chief Executive in the Oval Office!

A Half Century Since End Of Vietnam War, A Continuing Tragedy!

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It is difficult to conceptualize that the most divisive moment in American history since the Civil War, the Vietnam War, ended fifty years ago tomorrow.

The tragic escape from the US Embassy in Saigon, South Vietnam, by the American military and diplomatic personnel, and many South Vietnamese trying to make it onto the helicopters, and many falling to their deaths, marked the end of an involvement by the US, lasting 20 years.

This caused the greatest loss of American lives, other than the Civil War and the two World Wars, a total of 58,000 American military personnel.

An involvement in the war begun by Harry Truman providing military and economic aid to France, beginning in 1950;

followed by about 2,000 “advisers”, under Dwight D. Eisenhower;

an escalation to 16,500 soldiers, including Green Beret combat forces, under John F. Kennedy;

a massive escalation to a final total of 549,500 soldiers in March 1968, under Lyndon B. Johnson;

and very slow withdrawal and dragged out combat until a peace agreement was finalized in March 1973, under Richard Nixon;

and then, the final collapse of South Vietnam by April 1975, under Gerald Ford.

The war divided the nation, as it was the greatest division since the Civil War, and so many survivors’ lives from the war effort suffered dearly, and many of them became victims for years after in so many ways, including those still alive fifty years later!

The nation owes a debt to these surviving veterans, which has never been fully repaid, and now, with cuts in the US Department of Veterans Affairs under Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, the failure to follow through on proper treatment and benefits will be a continuing tragedy!

Whatever “Honeymoon” Trump Had Is Gone, Based On Public Opinion Polls At End Of First Hundred Days!

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Donald Trump supporters and the President himself love to say he has had a “honeymoon”, even though his 49.9 percent victory in the popular vote in the Presidential Election of 2024 was the worst since Richard Nixon in 1968 and John F. Kennedy in 1960.

But polls now coming out show Trump’s “honeymoon’, if it existed, is over, as he has the lowest public opinion rating after 100 days in office of any President since public opinion polls began decades ago.

Trump has 44 percent support in the Fox News Poll, down from 45 percent after the first hundred days of his first term!

Meanwhile, Joe Biden had 54 percent; Barack Obama had 62 percent; and George W. Bush had 63 percent at this point of their administrations.

This is a bad sign for Trump, who, one must recall, lost the popular vote by 2.85 million in 2016 and by 7.1 million in 2020!

Trump has never been able to gain majority support of the population at any time, despite his delusions that he is widely accepted!

And in The Economist poll after 100 days, Trump is rated even lower than in the Fox News poll, at 41 percent!

55th Anniversary Of Earth Day, But Trump Is Promoting Defiance On Environmental Issues!

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Wisconsin Democratic Senator Gaylord Nelson is considered the brainchild of Earth Day, first celebrated on April 22, 1970, and embraced by President Richard Nixon, who went on to accomplish one of the best environmental records of all Presidents, considered just behind Theodore Roosevelt.

Later Presidents, and especially Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton (with the encouragement of Vice President Al Gore), Barack Obama, and Joe Biden—all Democrats—advocated for the environment, while Ronald Reagan in particular, and even more so, Donald Trump, have worked against facing the threat of climate change and global warming.

Instead, Trump is promoting drilling for oil and natural gas, mining for coal, and cutting down forest lands, all undermining the future of the planet, and American conservation of natural resources.

Already, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin is on a campaign to reverse the great progress made under Joe Biden and earlier Democratic Presidents.

Trump Cabinet And Team Most Controversial And Incompetent America Has Seen From Any President!

Ronald 60 Comments

After three months in office, Donald Trump has created a Cabinet and other Team members seen as the most controversial and incompetent of any in American history.

The people he selected have proved to be the most arrogant, nasty, meanspirited, and “in your face” of any Presidential Cabinet America has seen.

And the sense is clear that the potential for corruption, malfeasance, and grift is massive, more so than the first Trump term, and more than that of Richard Nixon.

Among those who are seen as fitting the description above include:

Thomas Homan, Border Czar, Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Stephen Miller, Homeland Security Adviser and Deputy Chief of Staff
Russell Vought, Director of Office of Management and Budget
Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense
Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Pam Bondi, Attorney General
Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security
Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce
Kash Patel, FBI Director
Tulsi Gabbard, Director National Intelligence
Karoline Leavitt, White House Press Secretary

By comparison, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is a “choir boy”, but even he has repudiated all of the views and principles of his political career, “selling his soul” to Donald Trump! 🙁

The concept of Trump and his Cabinet and other advisors following the rule of law, the Constitution, and the perpetuation of American democracy, tragically, does not exist! 🙁

JD Vance, An Opportunist And Untrustworthy Heir Apparent To Presidency! :(

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Vice President JD Vance, in his first three months as the 50th Vice President, has demonstrated that he is an opportunist who is untrustworthy.

Vance has stirred a lot of controversy with his statements and actions, making clear of his goal of being Donald Trump’s successor in the White House.

With Donald Trump’s often irrational and contradictory statements and policy changes, stirring a lot of chaos, the sense is that Vance might, at some point, succeed to the Oval Office during this term.

This is a man who has completely reversed himself from his views and thoughts about Donald Trump.

Vance has antagonized our traditional NATO allies with his anti Ukraine utterances, and his pro Russian and anti immigrant leanings make him clearly a man of no decency and compassion.

His nasty and aggressive interaction with Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office was highly inappropriate!

Also, his uninvited trip to Greenland, and his aggressive stance toward Denmark, has made that nation and NATO very uneasy.

As the third youngest Vice President, after John C Breckinridge (1857-1861) and Richard Nixon (1953-1961), he is perceived as the likely MAGA Republican front runner in 2028.

The thought of Vance as the likely successor to Trump is a horror, and makes former Vice President Mike Pence look a lot better!

At least, Pence did the right thing in counting the Electoral Vote results at the time of the US Capitol Insurrection, while Vance has said he would not have accepted those results, which are meant to be ceremonial.

Fact: Democrats Clean Up Republican Economic Disasters Since 1933!

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It is historical fact, whether Republicans and conservatives believe it or not, that Democratic Presidents clean up Republican Presidents’ economic disasters since 1933.

Franklin D. Roosevelt with his “New Deal” helped to resolve the Great Depression that occurred under the watch of President Herbert Hoover.

John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson brought about great economic prosperity in the 1960s after three recessions in the 1950s under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Jimmy Carter had to deal with the economic recession in 1974-1975 under Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, and the economy revived in the first three years of his term in the late 1970s.

While Jimmy Carter had to deal with a brief six month recession in 1980, a contributing factor in his defeat for reelection that year, successor Ronald Reagan had to deal with a much more damaging recession in 1982, and later again with a stock market crash in 1987.

Bill Clinton brought about great economic prosperity after the recession that occurred under President George H. W. Bush in 1992, which led to his defeat for reelection. And Clinton brought about a balanced budget in his second term in the late 1990s.

Barack Obama brought about a recovery from the Great Recession that began under President George W. Bush, leading to the greatest economic recovery in American history.

Joe Biden brought about a recovery from the COVID 19 Pandemic under Donald Trump, which caused a massive loss of employment, but economic growth in the stock market and lowering unemployment made Biden a success.

Now, with Donald Trump, second term, undermining the American economy with his lunatic Tariff Wars against the entire world, the stock market has had massive losses, and unemployment is rising, and inflation is occurring, and it wil be up to the next Democratic President in 2029 to work to overcome the massive damage being wrought!

Delusional And Unconstitutional Ideas Of Third Term For Donald Trump!

Ronald 40 Comments

As public opinion polls make clear that Donald Trump is becoming very unpopular with his dizzying, chaotic policies after just ten weeks in office, Trump is speaking about a third term as President.

This is impossible, as the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951 after Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected four times to the Presidency, limits any President to two elected terms, or if succeeding to the office, a maximum of ten years is allowed,meaning only if a Vice President comes into the Presidency with less than two years left, then he could be elected twice, for a total of up to ten years.

Already, Lyndon B. Johnson, before he dropped out of the Presidential race in 1968, could have had 9 years and two months in office, while Gerald Ford, who came in with 2 years and five months left in the term, could only be elected once, but was defeated in 1976.

To overcome this amendment would require a repeal of the 22nd Amendment, and a succession amendment that changed these limitations.

But that would require a two thirds vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, followed by support of 38 states out of 50 by majority vote in both houses of the state legislature.

Such is not going to happen, and certainly, not rapidly enough for 2028.

Clearly, Trump is delusional, with his idea that JD Vance might be elected with Trump as Vice President, and then would resign to allow Trump to come back to the White House.

But that would never happen, and still violates the 22nd Amendment.

Also, when Trump says he loves work, that is purely a lie, as he spends too much time golfing, and everyone who has observed him, knows he is lazy and does not like the details of the job, and hardly reads any important information more than one page in length.

This whole concept of a third term for Trump will never happen constitutionally, and is just a smoke screen for Trump to gain constant attention.

And his comment that he is the most popular Republican President in the past century shows his lack of knowledge and reality about Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan, who had much higher public opinion support than Trump, who has never had the backing of a majority of the American people.

It is also ignoring the massive election victories of Richard Nixon in 1972 and Ronald Reagan in 1984, compared to the less than a majority victory of Trump in 2024 and his failure to win the popular vote in 2016, losing by 2.85 million votes!