Month: August 2018

Tenth Anniversary Of “The Progressive Professor”: 6,066 Entries And Counting!

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Today, August 11, 2018, is the TENTH anniversary of “The Progressive Progressive” blog!

In these ten years, I have published, including this entry, 6,066 contributions to political and historical discussion of public issues.

It has been a thorough delight sharing my thoughts and perceptions with many others, and I applaud all those readers who have contributed to this blog with their comments and thoughts.

This blog not only has these entries with major topics easily found, but also has my History News Network columns, my radio appearances, my cable and lecture videos, my two published books, and a wide variety of relevant websites on history and politics.

I plan to continue this blog for many more years, and to see America overcome the crisis and threat represented by Donald Trump, and I hope my audience will keep their loyalty, and that new participants will join those who have added so much to this website.

So cheers and good health and fortune to all who see this!

Two Republican Presidents’ Last Speeches: Eisenhower On Military Industrial Complex; Reagan On Welcoming Immigrants From All Nations

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In 1961 and 1989, two Republican Presidents, acknowledged as the greatest Presidents of their party after Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, gave their last speeches as President.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his Farewell Address on January 17, 1961, warned of the dangers of the “Military Industrial Complex” having too much power, and endangering American democracy by taking America into “adventurism” in foreign policy.

We did not listen to that warning, as we engaged in war in Vietnam and later in Iraq, both failed wars, causing mass loss of life in those nations, as well as among American military personnel, and with no long range benefit to the United States or the world.

in 1989, on January 19, 1989, his last full day as President, Ronald Reagan spoke at a ceremony awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Secretary of State George P. Shultz and to former Montana Democratic Senator Mike Mansfield, who had served as Reagan’s Ambassador to Japan.

Reagan spoke of “Lady Liberty”, the Statue of Liberty, and the fact that one can go to any other nation, and is still seen as a foreigner, but anyone who comes to America from any nation of the world can be greeted and accepted as an American, who can contribute to America’s advancement. He also spoke of the undocumented immigrants who walk long distances just to have a chance, an opportunity, to earn a living and support their families, and how they contribute their labors at great sacrifice, to the betterment of America.

Reagan said that America draws its “strength from every nation of the world and every corner of the world”, and “if we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost.” Reagan also said: “It is bold men and women, yearning for freedom and opportunity, who leave their homelands and come to a new country to start their lives over”.

These two Republican Presidents set a higher standard for America internally and in the world, and instead, now we have a President who wants to start a “Space Force”, which is designed to create an American military dominance and monopoly in space, insuring a future world war by crazy militarists who want to force America on the world, rather than welcome people from foreign shores to America to enrich and strengthen American democracy.

We are at a crossroads, and it is time for mass marches and storming of the White House to demand the resignation of Donald Trump, and if Mike Pence wishes to pursue crazy ideas as Trump does, and right now is mouthing such sick ideas in his own public utterances, then Pence needs to resign in disgrace as well!

Donald Trump’s White House Culture Of Corruption: One Of Sleaze, Crooks, Scam Artists, Incompetence, And Pure Greed

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Donald Trump’s White House is one of sleaze, crooks, scam artists, incompetence, and pure greed!

Who among people who work around Donald Trump have faced accusations or more, fitting the descriptions above?

The list is long, with no special order, with the first list (10) being former officials.

Michael Flynn, former National Security Adviser
Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign Chairman
Steve Bannon, former Senior Counselor to the President, and former White House Chief Strategist
Anthony Scaramucci, former White House Director of Communications
Hope Hicks, former White House Director of Communications
Tom Price, former Secretary of Health and Human Services
Scott Pruitt, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency
Rex Tillerson, former Secretary of State
Sean Spicer, former White House Press Secretary
Reince Priebus, former White House Chief of Staff

The list of officials (14) who are still working for Donald Trump, and fit the title of this blog entry, include, in order of ranking in the cabinet:

Secretary of The Treasury Steven Mnuchin
Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Secretary of The Interior Ryan Zinke
Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson
Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao
Secretary of Energy Rick Perry
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Former Secretary of Homeland Security, and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly
Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen
Director of the Office of Management and Budget and Acting Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Mick Mulvaney
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders
White House Lawyer Rudy Giuliani

These two lists and total of 24 people are only the best known and most reported upon, but there are numerous others, lower down in influence and notice, who have also added to the degradation of the Trump Presidency.

Also, there is the corruption within the Trump family, including Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner, making this President’s family the most disgraceful First Family we have ever seen.

And we cannot ignore the reality that Vice President Mike Pence seems involved in the Trump scandals, if nothing else than simply his silence, and his constant nodding like a bobble head behind Trump, as he makes outrageous accusations and personal attacks.

There are also those who either left or were forced out due to controversy over their disagreements with Trump, with Gary Cohn, former Chief Economic Adviser, and H. R. McMaster, former National Security Adviser, two of the more well known and competent people who could not survive in the Trump White House.

So again, this list above is far from complete, but it demonstrates, minus Cohn and McMaster, the disaster of the Trump Presidency, easily the most corrupt and incompetent administration, with the strong likelihood of more indictments and convictions once the Trump Presidency has been completed, than any other President, certain to surpass Richard Nixon, Warren G. Harding, and Ulysses S Grant, for the level of disgrace brought upon the White House!

There will be many volumes in the future, analyzing and dissecting all of the specific examples of corruption during the time Donald Trump will have been in office.

Treason In US History: Benedict Arnold, Aaron Burr, John Tyler, Jefferson Davis, And Now Donald Trump

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Treason is a tough issue to approach.

Certainly, Benedict Arnold committed treason, and is condemned for it in history, when he attempted to hand over West Point, New York and its thousands of soldiers to the British in 1780, during the American Revolution.

Some observers think Aaron Burr may have committed treason after leaving the Vice Presidency in 1805, attempting to seize part of the Louisiana Territory or take away Spanish territories further west. He was arrested, brought to trial for treason, and Chief Justice John Marshall ruled he had not committed treason by the normal definition, and conspiracy without actions should not lead to conviction. Still, many people then and since, think Burr was guilty of treason.

President John Tyler gave up his citizenship, and supported the Confederate States of America, becoming part of the provisional Confederate Congress in 1861, before his death in 1862, therefore committing treason.

Jefferson Davis committed treason, as President of the Confederate States of America, as did Vice President Alexander Stephens and other public officals, and arguably, General Robert E. Lee, and other Confederate generals, as well.

And now, it is becoming more likely that the 45th President, Donald Trump, has committed treason by colluding with the Russians to fix the Presidential election of 2016. The President is indicting himself by his own Twitter comments, and contradictory statements being made on a regular basis, and he exudes guilt, and has for many months.

The Robert Mueller investigation is mounting evidence that is leading to that conclusion, and the Southern District of New York investigation, particularly in relation to Michael Cohen, is also moving in that direction.

A proposal that I would wish to make regarding this whole situation.

John Tyler, when he died, was not accorded the normal situation of a President who passes away—that is, flying the flag at half staff, and giving a President a state funeral.

The same, of course, was the case with Jefferson Davis.

So it seems appropriate to say that when Donald Trump passes away, no matter what happens in the interim regarding the present investigation of his behavior and actions, there should be no flying the flags at half staff, and no state funeral, as a traitor should not be accorded such an honor.

Of course, his death and burial would be reported, but it should not be given the dignity of what every other President, except John Tyler, was accorded!

Eve Of Richard Nixon Resignation From Presidency 44 Years Ago, And Sense Trump Is On Road To Similar End

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We are on the eve of the 44 year anniversary of the resignation of the 37th President, Richard Nixon, who faced the reality that he had been impeached by the House Judiciary Committee, by a bipartisan vote.

Nixon had also been ordered by the Supreme Court, which included four Justices selected by him, to hand over the Watergate “smoking” tapes, which demonstrated his guilt.

It was certain that the US Senate would move to convict him on impeachment charges, had he chosen to fight, but Republican Senators, headed by Hugh Scott of Pennsylvania and Barry Goldwater of Arizona, and leading House members, had gone to the White House to inform Nixon that he did not have the support to survive an impeachment trial vote of two thirds of the Senate and more, convicting him, and removing him from office.

It was tomorrow, August 8, 1974, that Nixon went on television, and announced he would resign at noon the next day, August 9, and Vice President Gerald Ford would succeed him in the Oval Office.

As we come up to this anniversary, there is a growing sense that Donald Trump is on the road to a similar end.

No one believed Richard Nixon would resign, but he did, and few are willing to believe that Donald Trump will resign, but it looks more and more likely.

Trump is indicting himself on Twitter, and his involvement in Obstruction of Justice seems clear, along with other violations.

And his family members are in trouble too, particularly Donald Trump Jr and Jared Kushner.

The Robert Mueller investigation is moving fast forward, and it seems, at least to this author and blogger, to be inevitable that Vice President Mike Pence will be President by the end of the year.

We shall see how accurate this author and blogger is, so stay tuned!

Barack Obama Reaches 57 Years Of Age: His Legacy, Despite Donald Trump’s Temporary Destruction, Is Insured, And Will Be Restored Over Time

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Barack Obama reached the age of 57 two days ago, and many would think that his legacy is destroyed, by the words and actions of Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Temporarily, yes, much harm and damage has been done, but the long term legacy of Barack Obama will survive the temporary setbacks, and his accomplishments will be restored over time.

The same desire to destroy the legacy of a successful Presidency was attempted by the Republican Party and the conservative movement after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death in 1945.

The same motivation, to destroy both the New Deal of FDR and the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson was attempted in the 1980s under President Ronald Reagan.

Both times, the Republican Party was unable to destroy the good programs that had been accomplished, although funding was often cut.

Now, under Donald Trump and the worst group of Republicans, far more disgraceful and despicable than after World War II or in the 1980s, the desire is not just to destroy everything Barack Obama did, but also to strike at the heart of progressive and liberal America, which brought about Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Civil Rights, and environmental and consumer reforms.

But the American people, or at least the majority of them, have seen the virtues of what FDR, LBJ and Barack Obama have done for the nation, as they are the three Presidents who accomplished the most of any Presidents in the past 85 years, although Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton made smaller contributions, and even Republican Richard Nixon, despite all of the reprehensible policies he pursued, actually did improve on the New Deal and Great Society.

The hate and viciousness of Donald Trump will never erase the decency, dignity, warmth, sincerity, empathy, compassion, ethics, morality, and accomplishments of the 44th President of the United States.

The record of the 45th President will be marked as the absolute bottom of the Presidency, while Barack Obama, already rated number 12 by the C Span 2017 Presidential Historians Survey, and number 8 by the 2018 American Political Science Association Executive Leadership Survey Presidential poll, will soar higher as time passes, and further reflection makes Americans realize just how great a President he was. Of course, he had his faults as all Presidents and human beings have, but he will rank in the top tier throughout the long run of American history.

11 Democrats, Non-Southerners, Who Became Republicans Over The Past Half Century

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It is a well known phenomenon that a massive number of Southern Democratic politicians switched to the Republican Party in the years and decades after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under the administration of President Lyndon B. Johnson.

But it would be instructive to trace those Democrats, in their younger days, who were not Southerners, who made the switch from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.

Following is a list of the more prominent such examples, numbering eleven.

In the early 1960s, actor Ronald Reagan, who had been a liberal Democrat and union leader in his younger days, became a Republican, influenced by his wife Nancy’s father, and soon was recruited by Southern California businessmen to run for Governor, and that was the beginning of an amazing transformation in views.

Donald Trump originally was a Democrat, and contributed to New York City and State Democrats, became an Independent, then went back to the Democrats, and finally allied himself with the Republican Party in 2011 and after.

Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, started off as a Democrat, and worked for the Robert F. Kennedy campaign in 1968, and voted for the 1972 Democratic Presidential nominee, Senator George McGovern, before becoming an Independent, and then a Republican.

Elizabeth Dole was a Democrat who worked for Lyndon B. Johnson, but later became a Republican in 1975, married Senator Bob Dole, and was a cabinet member twice, sought the Presidential nomination herself, and then was a Senator from North Carolina from 2003-2009 as a Republican.

Vice President Mike Pence left the Democratic Party in the early 1980s, after having supported Jimmy Carter in the 1980 Presidential election, and ran for the House of Representatives and Governorship of Indiana as a Republican.

Condoleezza Rice, left the Democratic party in 1982, and became the National Security Adviser and Secretary of State under Republican President George W. Bush.

Ben (Nighthorse) Campbell left the Democratic Party in 1995, while a US Senator from Colorado, and became a Republican.

Susana Martinez left the Democratic Party in 1995, and later served as Governor of New Mexico as a Republican.

Norm Coleman left the Democratic Party in 1996, while serving as Mayor of St. Paul, Minnesota, and later was a Senator from Minnesota for one term as a Republican.

Herman Badillo, former Bronx, New York Congressman, left the Democrats in 1996, and identified with the Republican Party.

Michael Bloomberg left the Democratic Party in 2001 before running for Mayor of New York City as a Republican, just as Rudy Giuliani had done before him.

The Complete Destruction Of The Reputation Of Rudy Giuliani Before Our Eyes

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Rudy Giuliani once had a career one could admire.

Rudy Giuliani began as a Democrat, became an Independent, and then a Republican politically.

He became noted as the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York during the 1980s, prosecuting significant cases against Organized Crime , and against corrupt corporate financiers.

Giuliani served as New York City Mayor from 1994-2002, and the quality of life improved, and the rate of violent crime went down dramatically.

Giuliani was Mayor at the time of September 11, and was hailed for his reaction and performance in that tragic moment, and was honored as Time Magazine Man of the Year, and given an honorary Knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II in 2002.

After first entering the Senate race of 2000 in New York against Hillary Clinton, he withdrew after a prostate cancer diagnosis, but recovered from that. He became engaged in a business career, but was for awhile the front runner in polls for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination, perceived as a liberal in that race, but then faltered. He also considered running for Governor of New York in 2010 and for President in 2012, but chose to do neither.

Giuliani became an informal cyber security adviser to Donald Trump in 2017, after many decades of knowing and associating with him, and became part of his legal team involving the investigation of Trump for Russian collusion and obstruction of justice in April 2018.

Despite an impressive career in many ways, Giuliani has, in the eyes of many observers, totally destroyed his credibility and his reputation, and has become noted as a person who many think has had mental deterioration, based on his public statements and activities.

He has become a massive liar and manipulator, similar to those characteristics in Donald Trump.

He has disgusted many people who once admired him, and his private life of now three failed marriages, including a very public and messy second divorce while he was Mayor of New York, has caused many people to dismiss his earlier achievements.

When Rudy Giuliani says something, it is soon shown to be pure propaganda and working to confuse the situation surrounding Donald Trump.

So we are witnessing the complete destruction of Rudy Giuliani’s reputation before our eyes.

A few generally unknown and surprising facts about Giuliani:

When he was a Democrat in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Giuliani volunteered for the Robert F. Kennedy campaign in 1968, was a Democratic commiteeman on Long Island in the early 1970s, and supported Democratic Presidential nominee George McGovern in 1972.

Giuliani’s father served time in Sing Sing Prison for felony assault and robbery, and was an organizer for the mob in Brooklyn, all this after having trouble holding a steady job.

Also, Giuliani considered a career in the priesthood, laughable, when one considers his love life since his youth.

Also, Giuliani was blamed by some for the tragedy of September 11, for having decided to locate the Office of Emergency Management in the World Trade Center, undermining coordination between police and fire forces, and causing lack of preparedness of first responders at the time of the attack. And many observers feel that Giuliani built up his reputation as a “hero” on false pretenses.

In any case, Rudy Giuliani remains highly controversial in 2018 as he has been all of his public life.

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

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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!

Possible Democratic Gains In US Senate In Midterm Elections Of 2018

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The Democrats have a massive challenge ahead, somehow to reelect all ten “Red State” Democratic Senators, but also, at the same time, to gain at least two additional seats and have a majority of 51 or more in the US Senate.

This is crucial to stop the worst of Trump Administration policies, and to insure that any future Supreme Court or Circuit or District Court judgeships not be as extreme right wing, as are occurring now.

Six seats seem open to switching to the Democrats:

Arizona, where Jeff Flake is retiring, and where Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema is ahead of three potential Republican opponents.

Nevada, where Dean Heller is the most endangered Republican Senator up for reelection, challenged by Congresswoman Jacky Rosen, and she has been ahead of Heller in many public opinion polls.

Tennessee, where Bob Corker is retiring, and former Democratic Governor Phil Bredesen is seen as ahead of Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn.

Texas, where Ted Cruz is gaining a serious challenge from Congressman Beto O’Rourke of El Paso, and O’Rourke has raised more money than Cruz, who famously is disliked by all his fellow Senators by the testimony of many Democrats and even Republican colleagues.

Mississippi, where Thad Cochran retired suddenly due to bad health, and will have a special election to fill the seat, temporarily filled, and the hope that an upset is possible, as occurred in Alabama last fall, with Doug Jones taking a normal Republican seat. Mike Espy, former Congressman, Secretary of Agriculture for two years under Bill Clinton, and an African American, is seen as having some chance to take the seat, although not seen as likely to win, but a surprise could occur.

Mississippi, where Roger Wicker faces a challenge from state legislator David Baria, Minority Leader of the state legislature, who is seen as having a reasonable chance to win.

The first three of these six seats seem likely to go to the Democrats, which if true, would allow the loss of one of the ten “Red State” Democrats, and still have 51 seats, but that does not leave much room for error.

If all six seats, magically, went Democratic, and no loss of any of the “Red State” Democrats in November occurred, in theory, the Democrats could have as many as 55 seats, but that is clearly a result with very low potential to occur.

One more issue: New Mexico, where Democrat Martin Heinrich should have no trouble winning, but if former Republican Governor and 2016 Libertarian Party Presidential nominee Gary Johnson decides to run for the Senate, creating a three way race, it could put Heinrich’s seat in jeopardy.

So the challenge for Democrats to gain a Senate majority of 51 votes is clouded by overwhelming challenges!