Month: January 2018

Alan Dershowitz Supports Donald Trump, While Laurence Tribe Warns Of Danger He Presents: Why The Split Over Trump?

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Alan Dershowitz is a renowned law professor, and so is Laurence Tribe.

But Dershowitz sees Donald Trump as not having done anything that is impeachable, while Tribe has said that Trump could be impeached or indicted while in office, and is a danger to the Republic.

How can two renowned Harvard Law School professors have diametrically opposite views of Constitutional Law?

One could say that any two experts can disagree on constitutional matters, since there can be honest differences of viewpoint.

But when one looks closer at the two men’s careers, one can start to understand that Dershowitz has long been a gadfly, who often seems to revel in publicity and attention, even if it is based on notoriety. He has often been involved in major controversies, and in many ways, he is the Donald Trump of the legal profession, a real character who has elements of egotism and narcissism in his basic DNA.

On the other hand, Laurence Tribe has had a distinguished respectable career speaking up for progressive values, but avoiding the constant limelight that Alan Dershowitz revels in on a regular basis.

When the history of the Trump Presidency is written in the future, Alan Dershowitz will not look credible and respectable, but Laurence Tribe will have dignity and principle as the basis of his entire life.

January 20 Presidential Inauguration Days

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Since 1937, as a result of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, we have had the President of the United States inaugurated every fourth year, so there have been 21 such inaugurations from 1937 to 2017.

Every President since Franklin D. Roosevelt, with the exception of Gerald Ford, has been inaugurated on January 20 since 1937. So 13 Presidents have had the excitement of inauguration at the US Capitol before crowds of varying sizes.

The greatest inauguration crowd was in 2009, when Barack Obama took the oath of office for the first time, and this author and blogger was fortunate enough to have been at his inauguration with his older son, and a video of that experience is on the right side of this blog.

The electricity in the crowd in 2009 was special, as it was in 1961, when the youngest elected President, John F. Kennedy, was inaugurated, and gave one of the top three inaugural addresses in American history, after Abraham Lincoln in 1865 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, both on the original Inauguration Day of March 4.

In 1941, FDR was sworn in to an unprecedented third term in the Presidency, and in 1949, Harry Truman was sworn in after shocking America with his surprise victory over Thomas E. Dewey, something no one other than Truman himself, expected to occur.

In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in after the greatest popular vote percentage victory in all of American history.

In 1973, Richard Nixon was sworn in for his second term, with no former President present, as Lyndon B. Johnson was not feeling well enough to attend, and then his passing two days later, at age 64.

And in 1977, Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale were sworn in as President and Vice President, with no one able to know that 41 years later, today, that they were both alive and in their 90s, and flourishing.

And in 1981, former movie actor and California Governor Ronald Reagan was sworn in, and at the same time, 52 Americans who had been held hostage in Iran were freed.

So January 20 has had its historic moments, including Donald Trump taking the oath exactly a year ago, after a much smaller crowd to witness, and followed by a Woman’s March the next day.

On First Anniversary Of Inauguration, Donald Trump Causes Shutdown Of Government, Which Will Destroy His Presidency In American History!

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Here we are on the first anniversary of the Trump Presidency, and the government is shut down, due to Donald Trump’s destroying any chance of a deal on immigration, after having had a televised meeting at the White House on Tuesday, January 9, and claiming he would sign any bill that came to his desk.

Two days later, Trump had changed his mind, and used the term “Shit Hole”, to describe people from the continent of Africa and from Haiti and El Salvador.

So this shutdown is clearly on the desk of Donald Trump, who has claimed “The Art of the Deal”, but in effect, has done for the government what he did in his businesses six times, going bankrupt.

This disaster, occurring when the Republican Party controls both houses of Congress and the White House, is unprecedented, and it will cause the GOP to lose control of both houses of Congress in November at the midterm elections.

The right thing for Donald Trump to do is to resign, and today would be an appropriate time to do so.

Instead, Donald Trump is tweeting this morning, complaining about his inability to go to his estate in Palm Beach, and celebrate the anniversary of his inauguration, therefore breaking yet another promise to people who were told that they would get the opportunity to meet the President and have a picture with him this evening.

But what is new, as Trump always promises and then fails to follow through, as he is a massive liar.

Here is a man who seemed to understand the torment “Dreamers”, the children brought to America illegally by their parents but knowing no other nation, were facing, but really, he could not give a damn, and neither could his hard hearted, cold followers, many of whom have done nothing for the nation, and live off government welfare in the heartland of the nation, and are simply racists and nativists. They contribute nothing to the nation except hatred and prejudice, and one wishes there was a way to deport them, and make citizens of the “Dreamers”, who have not personally broken the law and have contributed to the nation in so many ways, including being in the military.

So the quandary of these “Dreamers” continues, and the CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program) is suspended for this moment, as the flu rages throughout the nation.

And the Opioid Crisis worsens without action, and the need for infrastructure continues, and the government is put into further chaos, as government workers and services in many areas comes to a halt.

This anniversary will be always remembered, and will further stain the Presidency of Donald Trump, and one can only hope and pray that Donald Trump will be forced out of office in 2018, as how much more can this nation tolerate?

The Trump Presidency will go down in history as the worst of all time, as his Presidency’s reputation has been destroyed yet further by this government shutdown, which may last a long time.

A Year Of Donald Trump: A Horror And A Nightmare!

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I published on Sunday a summary article on the first year of Donald Trump at History News Network–historynewsnetwork.org. I have published regularly on Donald Trump on History News Network, and some of those articles have been picked up also by Time Magazine and Newsweek Magazine, and all of those articles are on the right side of my blog.

A day before the anniversary of the inauguration, I will summarize here the points that I made in that article:

Donald Trump has been a nightmare, and his unpredictability, and the refusal of the Republican Party to come to grips with it, has created a constitutional crisis greater than the Watergate Scandal under Richard Nixon 45 years ago.

Donald Trump has demonstrated clear authoritarian leanings that endanger all Americans and their basic freedoms and national security.

Donald Trump has undermined the judicial branch of government. with his attacks on an independent judiciary, and his appointments of unqualified people to lifetime positions on the federal district courts and federal circuit courts.

Donald Trump has assaulted the Bill of Rights, and is a threat to the civil rights and civil liberties of African Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans, women, gay and transgender Americans, and members of the news media who dare to investigate and question his white supremacist, nativist, racist, and misogynistic utterances and policies.

He has connected himself to dictators and authoritarians in nations like Russia, China, Turkey, Egypt, and the Philippines, and in the tradition of such past regimes as Nazi Germany , Fascist Italy, and the Soviet Union.

Donald Trump has pursued policies that threaten and undermine the domestic reforms of Presidents from both political parties from the time of Theodore Roosevelt onward, endangering the Social Safety Network of Social Security. Medicare, and Medicaid, and government regulation of industry and big business, and oversight of key problems involving the environment, consumer safety, labor protections, health care, and science and education.

Donald Trump has given us the most corrupt and incompetent cabinet and advisers , making the shortcomings of Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, and Richard Nixon pale in comparison. There is no sense of ethics, commitment, scruples, or compassion on the part of Trump and his team, but only with the advancement of the top one percent, over the needs of millions of ordinary people.

Trump’s family has become in one year more controversial, and lacking in ethics and morals, than any Presidential family in history, with the aim seeming to be a family dynasty with no limit on their lust for money and power.

Donald Trump has undermined foreign policy and international relations, alienating our allies, and consorting with dictators all over the world. He has declared war on the diplomatic community, the national security apparatus, and the intelligence agencies that are out to protect American national security. He has been reckless in his dealings with North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico, and with the Middle East cauldron. He has alienated our allies, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea with his weird, unpredictable behavior.

Donald Trump’s narcissism, ignorance of history and science, obnoxious behavior and incessant lying make him a terrible model for the future generation of Americans, who used to be able to look up the President of the United States as someone they could respect.

These reasons are justification for action to remove Donald Trump from the Presidency, whether by impeachment, use of the 25th Amendment, or forced resignation after indictments of family members and top advisers by Robert Mueller’s investigation.

Health Care Costs Push People Into Poverty, And Republicans Have No Concern

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Anyone who has health care issues can be pushed into bankruptcy and poverty by medical bills, but the Republican Party has no concern about how such a situation destroys the lives of millions, and further undermines their health and life longevity.

America is the only advanced nation that does not have national health care for all, and even when Republicans have town hall meetings and meet with constituents who have health issues, their reaction is one of lack of compassion and utter disinterest.

One has to wonder how these Republicans, who often claim to be “religious” and “good Christians” can look in the mirror and not feel great guilt.

What is it about the Republican mind that they cannot have compassion and wish to make the life of the elderly, single mothers and children, the poor, and the disabled, who all face great challenges every day, a bit easier?

To claim that health care in the 21st century is not a right, but a privilege, is mind boggling.

An idea first broached by Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, a century later, is still a battleground, rather than an agreed upon issue that should unite the American people in wishing to promote a long, healthy life for all Americans. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama have all worked to advance health care, but we still have this refusal to recognize the right of all people to health care, and those who cannot afford it, often having to go bankrupt.

Republicans, Normally States Rights Advocates, Now Trying To Limit States Rights On Sanctuary Cities, Marijuana Laws, And Oil And Gas Drilling!

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The Republican Party is long famous for promotion of states rights, and their strong stand against national government authority over the states.

Oh, until now, when they are doing their best to LIMIT states rights.

The Trump Administration and the Republicans in Congress are working to undermine “sanctuary cities”, major cities around the nation which are working to protect and support undocumented immigrants from arrest and deportation, as long as they have no criminal record.

Also, with eight states allowing marijuana use, and medical marijuana permitted in many other states, we have Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump Administration trying to promote enforcement of penalties, that has led to tens of thousands of people in prisons, for possession and or sale of the drug, when there is no connection between marijuana and crime, or auto accidents, or deaths.

Also, oil and gas drilling off the coasts of the United States, is an attempt to take away environmental rights of mostly “blue” states, but with Florida, under Republican Governor Rick Scott getting special dispensation on the matter, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie working with Democrats to prevent such drilling off of New Jersey shores. But all the other states, along the Atlantic Coast, from New England to Georgia; the Pacific Coast; and Alaska should also have the freedom and authority to ban such energy exploration as detrimental to the environment.

When one compares the “Red” States and how they are governed, to the “Blue” states and their greater progress and open mindedness, it is as if we have two nations, and the Republicans are becoming so extreme that a chasm has developed between them and the Democrats.

Cory Booker And Kamala Harris Appointments To Senate Judiciary Committee A Boost To Their Predicted Presidential Candidacies In 2020

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The appointment of New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and California Senator Kamala Harris to the Senate Judiciary Committee is a boost to both legislators, both considered likely Presidential candidates a year from now.

Booker is African American, and Harris is mixed race with a parent born in Jamaica and a parent born in India.

Both have exceptional credentials, with Booker having bachelors degree in political science and masters degree in Sociology from Stanford; a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford, where he earned an honors degree in American history; and a law degree from Yale Law School. He served on the Newark City Council from 1998-2002; as Newark Mayor from 2006-2013, and has been in the US Senate since 2013. He has also served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; and the Environment and Public Works Committee. He is an impressive orator and highly intelligent and qualified.

Kamala Harris graduated Howard University in Washington, DC, and Hasting Law School of the University of California. She worked in the San Francisco District Attorney’s office and the City Attorney’s Office, and then was elected and served as San Francisco District Attorney from 2004-2011, followed by election and service as California Attorney General from 2011-2017, and was elected to the Senate to serve beginning in 2017. She serves on the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs; Budget Committee; and Intelligence Committee; as well as her recant appointment to the Judiciary Committee. She is highly regarded for her oratory and intellectual brilliance.

Having had the excellent experience of Barack Obama in the Presidency, we now have the possibility of another person who is not white being a future President, and very possibly over time, both of them, with Harris being 56 and Booker 51 in 2020, so the long range potential is clearly present, if not in 2020, for a future President Booker or President Harris or both over time!

Prince Harry Wedding And American Presidents–NO To Trump, Yes To Obamas, Clintons, Bushes!

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Prince Harry of the British royal family, and his future bride Meghan Markle, will be married on May 19 at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in England with the entire British royal family, including his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in attendance, along with many members of other royal families and world wide government leaders also present.

But President Donald Trump will not be there, as he has decided, basically with intervention by the British government, not to visit the United Kingdom, as he is not welcomed by his international behavior, and the worsening of the ties between the US and the UK, unprecedented since the beginning of the 20th century, when Theodore Roosevelt became a much honored and admired American President in the former “mother country”.

Trump would embarrass the British government with his reckless rhetoric, and controversial actions, and has turned down the chance to open up the new US Embassy in London, which he claims is a big financial waste of money, that Barack Obama incurred, when in actuality, plans for a new embassy were agreed to under his predecessor, George W. Bush,

This is just another of the multitude of lies that Trump engages in regularly, an average in the first year of his tenure of 5.6 times a day, or over 2,000 such lies in 2017.

So Trump will NOT be at the Royal Wedding, and who wants him there? NO ONE!

But Barack and Michelle Obama are close friends of Prince Harry, and most assuredly, will be invited.

Additionally, Bill and Hillary Clinton, George W. and Laura Bush, and Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter should be invited, along with George H. W. and Barbara Bush, although the senior Bush would most certainly not be able to attend, but still should be invited.

It would be a smack in the face of Donald Trump, but well deserved, and appropriate!

The Obsessive Donald Trump Hatred Of Barack Obama And Hillary Clinton A Clear Cut Sign Of Serious Mental Illness

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We have never seen such hatred and obsessiveness by any President against a predecessor or successor in the Oval Office or a presidential rival as we see with Donald Trump’s attitude toward Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

There have been other rivalries that existed, as for instance:

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson;

John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson;

Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft;

Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson;

Herbert Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt;

Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower;

Harry Truman and Richard Nixon;

Richard Nixon and Nelson Rockefeller;

Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan

as the major cases, but none of these rivalries were on the level of Donald Trump with Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

None of these was a situation of such vehement, long lasting venom, and the manufacturing of lies and accusations that are clearly paranoid and vicious to an extreme, with no possibility of being resolved.

Some of the above rivalries were long lasting, including JQ Adams and Jackson, TR and Wilson, and Hoover and FDR, but the rest ended up with reconciliation and eventual communication between the two parties involved.

That will never happen with Donald Trump, and it is a sad commentary that teaches the wrong lessons to children and to all of us, that no matter what differences one has, they can be overcome with a real effort and commitment.

The difference is that Donald Trump, unlike past Presidents, is clearly a person with a serious mental illness, which undermines the possibility of cooperation among and unity of the American people.

Off Shore Drilling Prevented In Florida By Rick Scott Intervention: Time To Prevent All Off Shore Drilling On All Coasts Of United States!

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The Trump Administration and Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke have called for open offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and in the waters surrounding Alaska, a violation of past environmental policies.

Favoring the oil and gas industries over the preservation of our coastlines is an outrage, and all Governors of the states affected have protested, rightfully.

But already, Republican Governor Rick Scott of Florida, who plans to run for Bill Nelson’s Senate seat this fall, has joined Nelson and Republican Senator Marco Rubio in pressing for leaving Florida out of the offshore drilling edict, and the Trump Administration and Zinke have caved in, clearly for political reasons.

But that is not enough, as all states with ocean shoreline should be freed from this cave in to the oil and gas industry, and we do NOT need such exploration of our oceans, and too many oil spills and accidents have occurred, which kill of ocean life and pollute the waters.

The problem is that most of the coastal states are “blue”, or Democratic states,in New England, the Middle Atlantic, and the Pacific Coast. This includes Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, with only the latter three being Republican states, as is Florida. The Pacific Coast states include Washington, Oregon, and California, along with Hawaii and Alaska, with all but Alaska being Democratic states. Alaska, Florida, and California are the top three in coastline waters.

This should not be a political issue, and the fight to protect our wetlands is one that must be fought in a vehement, no holds barred, manner.

It should also include any new drilling in the Great Lakes area and along our various river systems, as we need to move toward alternative sources of energy, as so many nations in Europe, particularly Germany as an example, are doing.