History

Anti Intellectualism Run Rampant: The War On Knowledge, Education, Facts, Science, History

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America is in a crisis of anti intellectualism run rampant, and it is undermining the nation in the present and the future!

There is a war on knowledge, education, facts, science and history.

Ignorant people, led by the President of the United States, are telling us we do not need any of these basic parts of a decent society.

This, if not overcome, will lead to the deterioration and decline of the country, to the detriment of all of us.

Just because many Americans do not move on in education beyond high school does not mean it is a virtue.

The saying “Ignorance is bliss” is NOT true!

” Alternative Facts”: Denial Of Science, History, Economics, And Reality, By President Becoming More Incompetent By The Day

Ronald 8 Comments

It is becoming more scary and horrifying by the day, as Donald Trump shows more mental incompetence .

He promotes “alternative facts”, which means lies, and denial of science, history, economics, and basic reality!

He says children going to school is not an issue or danger, and that the CoronaVirus Pandemic will go away soon, magically.

It is now clear, if not earlier, that our President is totally unhinged, insane, dangerous, and will likely be more so if he loses the election, and refuses to concede, or face the reality that he has to leave the Oval Office on January 20, 2021.

Anyone who tries to say that Joe Biden is showing signs of dementia, needs to think of all the evidence that it is Donald Trump who has shown dangerous levels of dementia, not Joe Biden.

Trump cannot pronounce words correctly, and recently, he was referring to Yosemite National Park in California, and called it YO SEMITE!

He is constantly slurring his words and making a fool of himself, as well as repeating statements over and over, and demonstrating a vocabulary that is high on extreme words, but showing no understanding of reality.

The thought that this man has the nuclear codes becomes ever more terrifying, as Trump starts to show evidence of total mental deterioration under the stress of realizing he is way behind Joe Biden in the states that gave him the electoral vote victory in 2016.

Joe Biden Makes Himself Available Regularly On The Internet: New Method Of Campaigning For President

Ronald 6 Comments

The Presidential campaign of 2020 for Joe Biden has begun in a distinguished manner. There were people wondering where he was, but he has answered by presenting his ideas and concerns on a daily basis now that we are just about five months to Election Day!

Joe Biden is on the internet just about every day with a video or interview, as campaigning person to person is not possible with the COVID-19 Pandemic raging across the globe, and just today, the horrid figure of 100,000 deaths in three months, an average of 900 a day, stares at us.

At the rate that this pandemic is expanding, and with the expectation that there will be a second wave, based on history and science, we can expect, sadly, that there will be 200,000 dead by the end of August, and 300,000 by Thanksgiving!

So Joe Biden must campaign in a new way, and he manages to express thoughts of concern, empathy, compassion, decency, and humanity, but that is nothing new for Joe Biden, as that is who he is!

Meanwhile, Donald Trump expresses none of the above traits, and disgusts more Americans every day, who rightfully blame him for the inadequate response to the pandemic. There is the belief at least one third to maybe one half of the deaths could have been averted if actions had been taken in January and February and early March, rather than waiting to mid to late March, when the virus was spreading widely!

Joe Biden gives us hope and a Presidential presence, even though he is not President, reminding us of Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy and Barack Obama in his ability to deal with a crisis, although not of his making.

One Third Of Americans Are Ignoring Facts Of History And Science To Their And Our Detriment!

Ronald 5 Comments

With the summer coming on us, and the CoronaVirus Pandemic spreading rapidly in rural America, we are witnessing a third or more of Americans totally ignoring the facts of history and science!

They are giving in to their own whims and desires, and showing how they have no concern over the loss of life of 100,000 people in a bit more than two months, more than the Korean and Vietnam Wars combined and nearing losses in World War I.

They are also ignoring the history of the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919, which had a bigger second wave in the fall of 1918 than it had in the early months of 1918.

They are ignoring scientific and medical evidence that we are far from through this nightmare.

But all that matters is having their drinks in crowded bars; exercising incessantly in gyms to show off for others how strong and muscular they are; tending to their dire need for tattoos and hair coloring; and hugging and touching everyone. This is because they cannot control their behavior, and sacrifice for the common good, of their children, parents, grandparents, neighbors, fellow workers, and even strangers, whose lives should matter just as much as those people they personally know.

This one third or more is only concerned about “me, myself, and I”, and that is the downfall of civilization in the long run, as catering to their own selfish desires is a sign of loss of morals, ethics, and common decency.

The nation will pay heavily for this recklessness, but sadly, only when some of this deplorable group die or have close family members or friends die, will they belatedly get the message—SACRIFICE—as Americans in past generations, far less spoiled, expected as part of their social responsibility!

Donald Trump Goes Off The Rails After Massive Repudiation By Voters On Election Day

Ronald 18 Comments

Donald Trump went off the rails more than usual after the massive repudiation by the voters on Election Day.

It seems impossible for Donald Trump to behave in words or actions during any 24 hour cycle.

After Tuesday’s results, Trump has done the following:

Sent thousands of military personnel to the US Mexico border, claiming wrongfully that Central American migrants, mostly women and children escaping violence and personal threats are carrying leprosy and smallpox, but not providing decent living conditions for soldiers waiting for a “caravan” which is not really such, and is no danger to the American national security, and wasting an estimated $200 to $300 million in the process.

Insulted several black women journalists at the press conference on Wednesday, including the renowned April Ryan.

Engaged in degrading behavior toward Jim Acosta of CNN, and suspended his right to participate in future press conferences, and his Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders created a fake video to try to demonstrate that Acosta was aggressive with a female Presidential aide.

Fired Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, and hired a flawed, biased Matthew Whitaker as Acting Attorney General, instead of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, a move to destroy the Robert Mueller investigation.

Went to the commemoration of the centennial of the end of the First World War, and insulted veterans by not going to a cemetery outside of Paris because of the rain, and then went to a Paris ceremony separately, and left early from the events of the weekend to return home.

Promoted nationalism, which caused the First World War and the Second World War, and was repudiated by French President Emmanuel Macron, who called for a European Army to protect the continent from possible threats in the future, including Russia, China, and, get this, the United States under Donald Trump.

Condemned California for the horrendous forest fires that have devastated that state, and threatened to cut federal funding to deal with that issue, showing no understanding of nature and science.

Trump has insulted our European allies, veterans, firefighters, and our journalists who report the truth to keep us free and democratic.

Trump has displayed ever further his total lack of knowledge and understanding of the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, diplomacy, history and science.

He has also shown yet again that he is a misogynist, a racist, a nativist, a super nationalist xenophobe, a threat to American democracy and the rule of law.

Celebration, As This “Progressive Professor” Blog Reaches Its 6,000th Posting, After Nearly Ten Years!

Ronald 6 Comments

Today, June 8, 2018 is a day to celebrate, as this posting you are now reading is the 6,000th posting since the author began this expression of his beliefs and of important historical and political events nearly ten years ago.

In two months and three days (August 11), it will be exactly ten years since my son, David Feinman, knowing my strong knowledge of history, and passion for politics, suggested that I start a blog.

Now, nearly ten years later, my blog not only includes the 6,000 postings, but also many intelligent and contributory comments by my readers and supporters.

It also includes a wide variety of web sites on the right side, as well as all of my History News Network articles, and those reproduced on Time and Newsweek, as well as articles on The Hill website.

Additionally, my C Span events on my Assassinations book, and a wide multitude of radio appearances are included, especially those on WWGH 107.1 FM, Marion, Ohio, over the past year, as well as others on Blog Talk Radio and other sites, and also relevant newspaper articles, and several videos of lectures on Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon B. Johnson at Florida Atlantic University Lifelong Learning in Jupiter, Florida.

This has been a fascinating and enriching nearly ten years, and I hope to continue to do this blog for many more years.

And I invite all of my readers to continue to contribute their comments and ideas, as they add a lot to this blog!

Donald Trump-Kim Jong Un Summit: Inadequate Preparation And Unlikely Success

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Donald Trump, after canceling the proposed summit with Kim Jong Un, has reversed course, and has decided to go ahead with the meeting on June 12.

Many observers and experts feel this is a mistake, as it is clear that Donald Trump has inadequate preparation, and faces unlikely success.

North Korea has a history of misleading and lying on agreements, and Donald Trump is too subject to flattery and vanity, and it is feared that he will be taken advantage of by a wily, smarter Kim Jong Un, who wants to add to his stature on the world stage, but has no intention of giving up nuclear weapons.

The idea that Trump allowed the number two figure in North Korea, the spy chief responsible for so much harm over a long period of years, to spend two hours in the Oval Office alone with the President, except for translators, and with no advisers or Cabinet members, is shocking, as who knows what was discussed.

This follows the unwise decision of Trump to allow top Russian figures in the Oval Office last year the day after he fired FBI Head James Comey, for investigating Russian Collusion.

No such private Oval Office meetings have ever happened before under any President of the United States.

We do know that Trump said he did not bring up the horrible violation of human rights in North Korea, the most backward and totalitarian nation in the entire world.

It is not that bringing up human rights will bring change, but for an American President to avoid the topic completely, not care about the people of the nation who live under such dire oppression, is so disturbing.

But then, Trump has a history of courting dictators, including Vladimir Putin of Russia, and the leaders of China, the Philippines, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates,and others, while being highly critical of our democratic allies in Europe, Asia and the Pacific, as well as Canada and Mexico. He prefers autocracy to republican democracy or parliamentary democracy as a form of government, and has wished he could be President for life as is now the situation in China.

Donald Trump’s ignorance of history and facts puts America and its national security in a very dangerous position, and now there is news that Trump plans a summit with Putin, shortly after the North Korea summit.

We could be in the most dangerous situation diplomatically in decades, due to the willingness of Trump to forge ahead against the advice of diplomats and his own advisers.

Trump Proposal To Eliminate Corporation For Public Broadcasting (PBS And NPR) Must Be Prevented, Best Bargain In Government

Ronald 1 Comment

The total federal government cost for PBS and NPR (Corporation For Public Broadcasting) in the present budget is $495 million, a half billion dollars to promote education, knowledge, public affairs, history, science, culture on television and radio.

Formed in 1965 as part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society programs, PBS and NPR have done great work and deeds for more than a half century.

How much tens of millions of Americans have gained from both PBS and NPR is incalculable.

It only costs $1.65 per person in the federal budget, with both PBS and NPR also asking for and gaining private contributions from millions of Americans, who appreciate the good work it does.

Considering so much wasted money that is spent by the federal government, this half billion dollars is a pittance, well spent and worth sustaining.

It is all part of a plan of conservatives, Republicans, and Donald Trump to promote ignorance, and discourage education, as ignorant people can more easily be controlled.

This is a battle worth fighting, and hopefully, both these valuable contributions to public discourse will be protected, along with the National Endowment For The Arts and the National Endowment For The Humanities, which promotes the arts and humanities in higher education.

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

Ronald 3 Comments

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.

Donald Trump’s Ignorance Of Science, History, Geography, Spelling, Math, Reading: Just Like His Poorly Educated Base!

Ronald 4 Comments

Donald Trump has proved himself to be totally ignorant of so many fields of knowledge.

He is ignorant of science, and of the dangers presented by climate change and global warming.

He is ignorant of history, displaying his total lack of basic historical facts.

He is ignorant of basic geography, and could not point out nations or states on a map of the world.

He cannot spell, making constant mistakes on Twitter. It is true that anyone can misspell occasionally, and that typos can occur, but it happens so often that it demonstrates that he cannot spell, or if he does, he has no concern about how his blunders in spelling appear to readers of his Twitter account. He has no concern to correct himself, or admit shortcomings in spelling.

He has no concern about math, and what kind of increased costs his Mexico Wall proposal and vastly increased defense spending request would do to the budget.

He has no interest in reading, and lacks concentration power to stick to anything he reads, the reason why he wishes all memos to him to be one page, so he has never read the text of any healthcare bill conjured up by Congress to destroy ObamaCare.

He has no concern about details about anything, just wishing to add a notch to his so called “accomplishments” list, which now after eight months is one name–Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch–but by a smaller vote margin of 55-45, the least of anyone in the 20th or 21st century, except for Justice Clarence Thomas, who was confirmed in 1991 by a vote of 52-48.

What is truly sad is that Donald Trump’s gaps of knowledge are shared by a large portion of his poorly educated base, who hate universities, professors, and intellectuals, because they revel in their own inferiority and ignorance.

This is a definite long term crisis for America, the ignorance and lack of appreciation of education and knowledge, by a substantial percentage of the masses, who would rather follow an ignorant billionaire, and hang on his every word, rather than use reason and evaluation in their daily lives.