Month: June 2021

C-Span Presidential Historians Survey 2021 Announced Today!

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For all Presidential followers, including scholars and specialists in the American Presidency and Presidential history, today is a great day, as C-Span announced its Presidential Historians Survey results for 2021!

It will take time to analyze the results, but a few points stand out:

Barack Obama went up from 12th to 10th in the overall listings.

Donald Trump ended up tied for 42nd out of 44, with Franklin Pierce, with only James Buchanan at 44 and Andrew Johnson at 43 below him.

Woodrow Wilson slipped from 11th to 13th as he continues to decline in overall rankings.

Andrew Jackson slipped dramatically from 18th to 22nd, and is now just in the middle of the overall rankings.

James K. Polk slipped from 14th to 18th, a continued decline in overall rankings.

John Adams and John Quincy Adams both rose four points from earlier rankings.

Bill Clinton dropped from 15th to 19th, a dramatic decline after having risen in earlier rankings.

Jimmy Carter ended up tied with James A. Garfield at 26th, and in the “battle” of Gerald Ford vs Carter, Carter came out ahead for the third time in the four C-Span surveys, in 2000, 2008 along with 2021, with Ford ahead in 2017.

The Horrors Of Donald Trump Keep Growing With New Revelations

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The horrors of Donald Trump keep growing with new revelations, including:

Trump was on the brink in June 2020 of using the Insurrection Act of 1807, allowing for martial law.

Trump was on the brink of having COVID 19 patients sent to Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.

Trump allies were involved in an attempt to run a Joe Biden campaign bus off the road in central Texas in late October.

Trump was investigating journalists through their emails and phone logs, who had criticized him, and had plans to prosecute them.

Trump wanted to prosecute Congressmen Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell of California for their work on the House Judiciary Committee in investigating Trump.

Trump looked at the Justice Department as his private law firm and defender, not the independent department it is supposed to be.

Trump was nonchalant about the January 6 Capitol Insurrection, and was clearly enjoying mayhem, and did not take any action to end it for four hours, while Mike Pence and Nancy Pelosi were in danger, and realize they were the top two in the line of Presidential succession after Trump.

Many new books and revelations are coming out, and the Trump Organization, and potentially Trump and his children face the likelihood of indictment in New York City, New York State, Washington DC, and Georgia, on financial charges, and the promotion of the “Big Lie”, trying to change the election results that saw Joe Biden become President.

He is still promoting conspiracy theories, specifically in Arizona and Georgia, undermining belief that elections are being administered fairly, and trying to change the future election system in many states, undermining faith in American democracy!

Joe Biden And Infrastructure: Showing Proof Of Bipartisanship, But Also “Reconciliation” Tactic Being Used

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This is a defining moment on the issue of infrastructure, as it appears that enough Republican Senators have agreed to back a $1 trillion plan on roads, bridges, railways, and broadband.

Clearly, the disaster in Surfside, Florida, where a condominium building collapsed, causing a major loss of life, and demonstrating the danger of global warming on buildings near waterways and coast lines, makes infrastructure projects, long needed, an urgent matter.

But additionally, there is a need for spending on “human infrastructure”, including child care, education, and health care, part of Joe Biden’s American Families Plan, which few if any Republicans will support.

So clearly Budget “Reconciliation”, where the 50 Democratic Senators plus Vice President Kamala Harris together will be enough to pass such larger spending priorities.

Certainly, the bipartisan deal is essential, but the Human “Infrastructure” in some form of legislation, is essential.

Political maneuvering and some compromises will be unavoidable to keep all Democrats in support of the broader legislation in some form.

Journalism Essential Protection To Preserve American And Foreign Democracy From Authoritarianism

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Journalism is an honorable profession, and the promotion and protection of the institution and the people who spend their lives promoting truth and facts is essential, in order to preserve American and foreign democracies from authoritarianism.

Of course, there are those journalism sites and individuals who choose to use their influence to peddle lies and mistruths, (such as Fox News Channel, Newsmax, One America Network), but it will not take away the validity and reality that major news sites ARE reliable, no matter how much naysayers claim otherwise.

All human beings make mistakes, and no journalism source is 100 percent accurate, but history tells us that reliable journalism sites are correct more than 90 percent of the time.

When one sees the shutdown of the Hong Kong democracy newspaper, and the crackdown on all expressions of truth, facts, and democracy in many nations around the world, it makes the defense of freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the right to vote ever more urgent into the future.

So the struggle against authoritarianism requires recognition in America of such news sources that have proved their value and accuracy over the long haul, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS, and a multitude of other news sources!

Republicans Are A Dinosaur, Only Representing White Rural Areas, Wealthy, Bigots, In Nation Rapidly Changing

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The Republican Party has become a shell of its old self, and is no longer truly representative of conservative ideology.

It no longer is concerned about deficits and increase in the national debt, except when the Democratic opposition is in power.

It no longer concerned about national defense, as many of its present officeholders have attacked the military leadership for standing up to insurrectionists who attacked the US Capitol on January 6, including General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff being criticized by the likes of Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Fox News Channel talk show hosts.

It is no longer concerned about truth and facts, as it attacks science knowledge and historical knowledge, and is unconcerned about global warming and climate change.

It is no longer concerned about racial equality and fairness, part of its founding principles under Abraham Lincoln.

It no longer appeals to millions of African Americans, Hispanic-Latino Americans, college educated suburbanites, urban areas, the middle class, women voters, and the younger generation.

They are more concerned about rural areas, where most people are whites, but can wield power due to gerrymandering, and the ability to control the Electoral College and the US Senate, where democracy has been under attack, and favors fewer voters nationally.

They are more concerned about representing those who hate immigrants, and people of color, and want to control women’s reproductive choices.

They are appealing to the extremely wealthy and powerful corporations, while working to undermine workers’ rights and labor unions.

They want to promote mind control and dictate to educators how science and history are taught.

They represent a dwindling white population stirred to fear by bigots in the Republican Party, who wish to resist the rapidly changing population which in 2045, will be a majority minority, with people of color together being the majority, and particularly so with people with Hispanic-Latino heritage.

Mike Pence Stands Up For His Role In Presidential Election Of 2020 At Reagan Library: A Moment To Be Praised!

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This blogger and scholar is no fan of former Vice President Mike Pence.

Pence’s hardline right wing Christianity is distasteful to the extreme, and the thought that he, after being a total sycophant to Donald Trump, might become President, is a monstrous nightmare.

But on January 6, 2021, Pence did his duty to uphold the Electoral College vote that clearly demonstrated that Joe Biden had won the Presidential Election of 2020.

He did the same thing as Richard Nixon did in 1961; Hubert Humphrey did in 1969; and Al Gore did in 2001; and also what Nelson Rockefeller did in 1977, Walter Mondale did in 1981; Dan Quayle did in 1993; Dick Cheney did in 2009; and Joe Biden did in 2017.

Pence defended his role in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum last night, and he faced the threat of being lynched by the Capital Insurrectionists, with his own boss, Donald Trump, unwilling to intervene or care about the health and safety of his loyal lieutenant.

Donald Trump deserves life in prison for his treason and sedition, and lack of concern for human life on that day, and in many other cases over his destructive four years in the Oval Office.

So while not supportive of any future for Pence, he should be saluted for doing his constitutional duty, as other Vice Presidents have done throughout American history!

Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani Suspended From Practicing Law In New York

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Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani was suspended from practicing law in New York, due to his lying about the Presidential Election of 2020, undermining American democracy, and supporting the Fascist authoritarian Donald Trump in his quest to destroy America in every way possible. His misconduct and corruption is massive!

Giuliani could have retired from public life after September 11, and gone down as a hero, but his greed, selfishness, and growing dementia (which is clear to anyone who pays attention), has now doomed him to being a villain in American history long term!

Giuliani helped to incite the January 6th US Capitol Insurrection, and needs to be indicted, convicted, and sentenced to life in prison as a traitor and seditionist!

To think that in 2007, Giuliani led polls for the Republican Presidential nomination, and seemed a “reasonable” potential candidate at the time, makes one shocked at his fall and degradation!

Evil and the devil took over Giuliani’s personality, and he and another potential Presidential contender in 2007, former Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas, will go down as mentally disturbed, corrupt individuals who deserve the total rebuke of historians who look back on the recant degradation of the Republican Party, which will never recover from what Donald Trump has done to the party of Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Dwight D. Eisenhower!

“Ranked Choice System” Being Used In NYC Mayoral Primary

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Only 12 of the 50 states of the Union have a larger population than New York City, which began its Mayoral primary yesterday, using a “ranked choice system” method, which required a candidate gain 50 percent plus one to be the nominee.

With 13 candidates on the ballot, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams leads with 31.7 percent of the vote, but when this new method is put into place over the next few weeks, in theory, he could be defeated by second place finisher Maya Wiley with 22.3 percent of the vote, or third place finisher Kathryn Garcia with 19.5 percent of the vote.

Every voter could rank his or her second to fifth place alternative choices, and it will likely take a few weeks until two candidates are left, and one wins 50 percent plus one vote.

if Adams wins, which is likely, he will be the second African American mayor, after David Dinkins (1989-1993), and if Wiley or Garcia wins, it will be the first woman mayor and of a minority status.

Republicans Bringing Back The “Jim Crow Era” On Voting Rights

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The Republican Party is shaming its own history by bringing back the “Jim Crow Era” on voting rights.

The movement to guarantee that all Americans can vote is being made out to be a bad development, with false claims of voter fraud, when the Presidential and Congressional Elections of 2020 were conducted properly, with no evidence of fraud.

But former President Donald Trump has claimed he won the Presidency, still saying so seven and a half months after the election results were finalized.

So the Republicans are preventing a full restoration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was curtailed by the evil action of the John Roberts Supreme Court in Shelby County V Holder in 2013.

This is very frustrating, as the filibuster, requiring 60 votes just to debate the topic, is being denied!

It will require voters to be very dedicated to overcome the corrupt, evil action of the Senate Republicans!

Mike Pence Has No Political Future

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Former Vice President Mike Pence was booed and called a “Traitor” at a “Faith And Freedom Coalition” right wing conference over the weekend.

This demonstrates how far right wing many Republicans have become, as they are tied to former President Donald Trump, and are angry that Pence did what he had to do on January 6, 2021, to certify the victory of Joe Biden in the Presidential Election of 2020.

The fact that Pence was in danger of being hanged on the day of the Capitol Hill Insurrection makes one ever more shocked at how he is now being treated, as if his life being in danger was not important!

It is clear that the chances of Pence to run for the Presidency, be the nominee, and have any chance to win, is less than Zero at this point!

Mike Pence, with his extremely narrow religious views should never get near the Oval Office in any case, but it is clear that he needs to give up the idea of having a political future, and instead, just write, lecture, and be on corporate boards, where he can become extremely wealthy, but his Vice Presidency has made certain that his office seeking career is over!