Ronald Reagan Assassination Attempt

43 Years Since Reagan Assassination Threat, And Dangers Ahead!

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It has been 43 years since the last direct threat against an American President.

Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley on March 30, 1981, and miraculously survived and recovered, although many observers think his later diagnosis of Alzheimers Disease may have been related to that shooting.

There have been threats against Presidents and other top government officials in the four decades since, thankfully without the kind of horrible experience that Reagan went through.

But the levels of verbal violence and threats has grown exponentially, and now Donald Trump has used violent rhetoric, incitig his supporters and threatening Joe Biden, federal judges, and others, claiming “freedom of speech”.

But “freedom of speech’ does have its limits, and there is a need to make that clear to Donald Trump and everyone else, on all sides of the political spectrum, that using incendiary rhetoric could lead to prosecution and imprisonment!

The fact that we have gone through the longest period of no turnover in the Presidency, and that the 25th Amendment has only been used twice, in 1973 and 1974, is a warning of the growing reality that the nation is likely to face growing odds of a transition that we have not faced in a half century since 1973-1974.

So the office of the Vice Presidency is more significant than ever, moving forward!

March 30 In History: Reagan Shot And Trump Indicted

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March 30 becomes an historic day in American history for the second time!

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot in Washington, DC, and miraculously recovered from his wounds, the last time a President has been victimized by a would-be assassin.

And 2023, former President Donald Trump became the first occupant of the White House to be indicted, and likely to be one of a number of indictments.

41st Anniversary Of Ronald Reagan Shooting, And Growing Threats To Presidency By Enemies, Foreign And Domestic!

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It has been 41 years since Ronald Reagan was shot on this day in 1981, the last time an American President has directly been threatened by a would be assassin.

It has been 59 years this coming November 22 since President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

This author and blogger published his study of Presidential Assassinations and Threats entitled ASSASSINATIONS THREATS AND THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY: FROM ANDREW JACKSON TO BARACK OBAMA (Rowman Littlefield, 2015, Paperback 2017), and is still very concerned about the constant potential threats to whoever is President, Vice President, and other top officials of the US government, including members of Congress.

Domestic terrorism is widespread, and has been encouraged by many of the followers of Donald Trump, culminating in the US Capitol Insurrection of January 6, 2021.

Overseas terrorism and threats are also realities that require greater protection of the President, Vice President, and other federal officeholders in exponential ways more than ever before.

Trump With COVID 19 Creates Turmoil And Crisis, And Brings Up 25th Amendment And Succession Law

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Donald Trump, having contracted the COVID 19 Virus, creates turmoil and crisis, and brings up the 25th Amendment of 1967, and the Presidential Succession Law of 1947.

Trump has been reckless in NOT promoting face masks and distancing, particularly at his close up rallies, but also in the Oval Office and at other White House sites, and his family refusing to wear masks at the Presidential Debate last Tuesday was totally irresponsible!

Trump should be sidelined for a week or more if he has a mild case, but if severe, it creates a real crisis, that requires the 25th Amendment to be invoked, and brings up the Presidential Succession Law, passed by a Republican dominated Congress in 1947.

If Trump is unable for a period of time to perform his duties, then Vice President Mike Pence can take over as Acting President, as George H. W. Bush did in 1985 when President Ronald Reagan had cancer surgery; and twice under President George W. Bush, having colonoscopies, Dick Cheney was briefly Acting President.

It should have happened when Ronald Reagan was shot on March 30, 1981, but it was not invoked.

Were Trump to fail to survive, Mike Pence would become President, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would be next in line, followed by Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley of Iowa. The fact that Pelosi is 80 and Grassley 87 is alarming, of course, and right after them would be Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is 56, and Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin who is 57.

Whatever one’s feelings toward Donald Trump, we should all hope for his complete recovery, but it certainly upends the Presidential Election of 2020, and makes the likelihood of a Vice Presidential debate next week less likely, and would seem to lead to the cancellation of the two remaining Presidential Debates, which really should not be occurring after the disastrous first Presidential Debate, in any case!

Time will tell of course, never a dull moment!

Finally, it is truly ironic that the news of Trump having COVID 19 occurs on the 101st Anniversary of Woodrow Wilson suffering a paralytic stroke in 1919, five months after contracting the Spanish Flu Virus while at the Versailles Peace Conference in France after World War I.

Wilson was never as energetic after suffering from the virus, and it seems to have undermined his case for the Versailles Treaty. And once he had the stroke, his wife ran cabinet meetings, and Vice President Thomas Marshall and the American people through the news media were NOT kept informed about his condition, and we had the longest period of incapacity of any President, lasting until he left office 17 months later in March 1921.

The Urgency Of Gun Control Legislation To Stop “War Zone” Syndrome, And Save Multitude Of Lives, While Preserving Reasonable Gun Rights

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The shock of the Las Vegas Massacre, following the Orlando Pulse Massacre, the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacre, and so many others, demands the attention of Congress, as the urgency of gun control legislation presents itself.

We must stop the “War Zone” Syndrome that has led to more deaths by domestic terrorists than on September 11, if one counts all the death since 2001.

No one is saying that the Second Amendment should be destroyed, although it is clear that the Founding Fathers did not intend for all citizens to have firearms, as the amendment discusses a “well regulated militia”, and not the concept of everyone carrying firearms, even those who are mentally ill or have had criminal convictions.

But to demand a return of the Brady Bill, named after Ronald Reagan’s Press Secretary, James Brady, permanently disabled by the Assassination attempt against Reagan in 1981, but not renewed under George W. Bush in 2004, is not to ask too much.

To demand that background checks be done on gun purchasers; that loopholes that allow people to buy weapons online and at Walmarts and at gun shows without any search about their backgrounds be ended; that mentally disturbed people not be allowed to purchase weapons; and that the concept of allowing the expansion of gun silencers legislation, allowing gun owners to be able to fire at will without any sound being made for the potential victims to be aware of the sounds so they could duck or evade; or other reasonable measures, should be seen as sensible.

We have the highest gun violence rate of any Western civilized nation, comparing to Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and we must work to lower the death rate from suicide as well as violence against innocent civilians.

This should not be a partisan issue, as the Republicans, as well as the Democrats, need to see the issue of public safety as their major responsibility, and the National Rifle Association and its despicable leadership including Wayne La Pierre, who only are concerned with profits, must be defeated in their effect on our government policies.

All kinds of activities are licensed in our society, and guns need to be regulated in a responsible manner.

53 Years Since The John F. Kennedy Assassination: Still Not Recovered From The Reverberations Of That Event

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53 years ago today, President John F. Kennedy, our youngest elected President, with all of his youth, good looks, and charisma, was suddenly shot down at age 46, shocking the world, and we are still not fully recovered from the reverberations of that event in 2016.

America lost whatever innocence it had that day, and it ushered in a whole group of assassinations and attempts over the next decade and more.

Fortunately, no President has been assassinated since then, but Ronald Reagan was severely wounded in 1981, and the problem of protection of the President and the First Family remains a constant security nightmare.

Whatever our political beliefs, we can wish good health and safety for President Elect Donald Trump and his entire family, but also realize the anger, fury, and divisiveness that has continued to escalate with recent Presidents, reaching an all time high of threats against President Barack Obama, are not likely to lessen with a new and controversial President, who speaks his mind openly more than anyone in recent memory, at least since Richard Nixon.

So the challenge to try to make the Kennedy Assassination the very last ever to occur continues to face us in the future.

I wish to remind my readers that my Assassinations book is coming out in paperback in March 2017 at the very reasonable price of $17.95 from the publisher, Rowman Littlefield, and that the Kennedy Assassination is covered in detail in Chapter 9, and the Reagan Assassination attempt is covered in Chapter 14. The threats faced by Obama are covered in Chapter 16.

It is well worth your reading.