Trump Protective Tariffs

Trump And Republicans Suffer Major Setbacks!

Ronald 19 Comments

Donald Trump and the Republican Party are suffering major setbacks, and giving hope to those who believe in the preservation of American democracy!

After resisting the issue of the Epstein files, Donald Trump finally caved in, and today, the House of Representatives saw all members, except for one Republican, give up on trying to avoid revelations on the issue of sexual abuse of women and young girls, by a host of wealthy people promoted by Jeffrey Epstein, who called Donald Trump his “best friend” for many years.

And a great victory against discriminatory Texas gerrymandering was won by the decision of a three judge panel, including a Trump appointed judge, that Texas was promoting an unjust action, negating it, which gives Democrats who successfully are redistricting California, a major edge for midterm elections in 2026!

And cases are being lost in court about the use of the National Guard and ICE agents around the country, in the midst of horrendous abuses being visited on immigrants who are victims of racial profiling, even when citizens.

The Catholic clergy are also taking a strong stand against the mistreatment of immigrants by ICE Agents.

Additionally, with the effects of tariffs causing rise in prices of all kinds of goods, public opinion ratings of Donald Trump are collapsing, coming close to an all time low, near what it was at the time of the US Capitol January 6 Insurrection!

The fight for democracy will be won by resistance of decent Americans against the abuses being perpetrated by Donald Trump and his Fascist lawbreakers!

It is a fight that will take patience and determination, but it can be won!

Many Federal Judges Ruling Against Trump, But Will The Supreme Court Ultimately Uphold The Constitution?

Ronald 4 Comments

Donald Trump is on the losing side of many lawsuits, as judges at the district court and appellate court levels, including some appointees of Trump or earlier Republican Presidents, are making decisions that declare Trump is engaged in illegal actions. Constraints on his power is important not just for now, but also for future Presidencies.

These decisions include the illegality of the National Guard intervention in Los Angeles; the imposition of tariffs on many foreign nations; and the misuse of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport migrants to other nations, including El Salvador, South Sudan, Uganda, and elsewhere. And now, a federal judge has just declared that withholding $2 million in research funds from Harvard University is unlawful.

Altogether, Trump has lost 130 cases brought to court about his actions, including his abuse of executive orders, which have numbered close to 200 in seven and a half months.

The problem is that while this is good news, ultimately, the Supreme Court will have the final say on these matters, and it seems, sadly, unlikely that the majority of the very extreme right wing Court will deny Trump ability to do whatever he wants.

This means the Supreme Court seems on the road to allowance of the establishment of an authoritarian dictatorship, with no controls or regulations on the actions of Donald Trump. The Trump V US case of 2024 was a sign that the Court is not interested in putting reins on a President’s power, upending constitutional law, and the intentions of the Founding Fathers.

There is still hope of regulations being enforced, but it will be up to Chief Justice John Roberts, who has demonstrated how weak and ineffective he is; and likely, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who is very unpredictable and unreliable.

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.

Presidential Abuse Of Powers In A Multitude Of Ways!

Ronald 10 Comments

After a totally exasperating six months in office, there is no doubt that there has been massive Presidential abuses of power, unmatched in American history, in the second term of Donald Trump.

Trump has utilized more executive orders than any of his predecessors; has issued a massive number of pardons, in most cases totally uncalled for, including for those engaged in the January 6, 2021 US Capitol Insurrection; has ignored a vast number of federal court orders; has attacked universities, news media, law firms, and corporations that dared to challenge him; and has managed to intimidate the Republican majority in both houses of Congress to do his bidding.

All this creates the image that Trump perceives himself as a “King”.

In foreign affairs, Trump has upended traditional diplomatic relations and alliances of many decades, with his massive attack on trade patterns through his imposition of high protective tariffs; and his changing diplomatic relations with our long standing allies in Europe and Asia. He has also antagonized our Canadian and Mexican neighbors, creating a tense situation on both our northern and southern neighbors, unprecedented in our history.

Trump Cabinet Officers Center Of Controversy And Incompetency!

Ronald 35 Comments

The Donald Trump Cabinet is rapidly imploding.

Attorney General Pam Bondi is under attack from the MAGA crowd and Deputy FBI Head Don Bongino for allegedly covering up the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, with the indication that Donald Trump and many other prominent figures were involved in a pedophilia scandal.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took it upon himself to pause arms to Ukraine in its war against Russia, without Trump being informed of such action.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is undermining Americans’ health care in so many ways, including the fact that we have a massive Measles outbreak in several Western states, the largest in three decades, and Kennedy’s incessant war on vaccines.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has been shown to have provided delayed support for the victims of the tragic Texas floods last week, and for still advocating the end of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency).

Also, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency under Noem and Thomas Homan, and the intervention of Stephen Miller, is violating the Constitution in its mad rush to deport immigrants, which in most cases, have committed no crimes.

And Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins claims that people who are disabled, elderly, and children, who will be harmed by Medicaid cuts, can fill the jobs of migrant farm workers, to replace such deported individuals.

And Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick is backing Donald Trump’s crazy tariff wars against American trade partners, while he certainly knows from history, that high tariffs undermine the American economy, and helped to cause the Panic of 1893 and the Great Depression of the 1930s.

While America has experienced corrupt and disgraceful Cabinet officers under other Presidents in American history, NEVER have we had so many such incompetent and unqualified members of a President’s cabinet as under Donald Trump!