Theodore Roosevelt

Trump Use Of Executive Orders At All Time High, And Way Beyond The Norm!

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Donald Trump is setting records for the use of the power of Executive Orders, and the use of this tactic is seen as leading the nation toward an authoritarian dictatorship, with Congress and the Courts unable or unwilling to intervene to halt, or control the use of that tactic.

The all time record of Executive Orders is with Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served longer than any other President, 12 years and 39 days, and utilized executive orders a total of 3,721 times.

Woodrow Wilson was second with 1,803, followed by Calvin Coolidge with 1,203; Theodore Roosevelt with 1,081; Herbert Hoover with 968; Harry Truman with 907; William Howard Taft with 724; Warren G. Harding with 522; Dwight D. Eisenhower with 484; and Ronald Reagan with 381, closing out the top ten.

Recent Presidents—Bill Clinton with 364; George W. Bush with 291; Barack Obama with 276; and Donald Trump first term 220.

Notice that Executive Orders have been used much more often by Republican Presidents, who, except for Theodore Roosevelt, tend to be more conservative.

So far, in two months of his second term, Donald Trump has issued at least 100 Executive Orders, the fastest clip in American history, and may end up surpassing all Presidents, except possibly FDR and Wilson, if the rate continues at the same clip!

Just today, Trump has issued an Executive Order attempting to have the President control federal elections, an abuse of the right of state and local governments to do so!

Imagining A Theodore Roosevelt-Donald Trump Meeting!

Ronald 6 Comments

At a tumultuous time like now, in late March 2025, after two months of the second Donald Trump Presidency, it seems appropriate to make a comparison between a past President, Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President, and Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th President.

First, the similarities:

Both TR and Trump were Republican Presidents, although massively different in philosophy and outlook.

Both TR and Trump ushered in massive change, revolutionary in many ways.

Both TR and Trump were attention grabbers on a daily basis, constantly creating news and publicity.

Both TR and Trump were egomanics, having an element of insecurity that required them to insist on “rocking the boat” on a regular basis.

Both TR and Trump could be described as “characters”, highly outspoken more than any other combination of Presidents.

It has been said that TR wanted to be “the bride at every wedding, and the groom on every wedding cake”, and that Trump wanted to be equally admired and noticed constantly.

TR was toasted by Great Britain as a great man during and after his Presidency, and loved every minute of it, while Donald Trump was toasted as a great man during his first Presidency by the Saudi Arabian government, and loved every minute of it!

Both TR and Trump were born to wealth and in New York City, with TR in Manhattan, and Trump in Queens County, and with TR’s vacation home in Nassau County, Long Island, at Oyster Bay, and Trump’s vacation home in Palm Beach County, Florida at Mar a Lago.

As former Presidents running again for reelection in 1912 for TR and 2024 for Trump, both were victims of assassination attempts, with TR more seriously wounded than Trump, but both showing a defiant spirit at the time of their being victims.

Now, the massive differences between TR and Trump!

TR was our youngest President ever at age 42 and ten and a half months of age in September 1901, while Trump was our oldest inagurated President age 78 and 7 months in January 2025, and he will be the oldest President when he leaves office in 2029, surpassing Joe Biden in that statistic if it occurs.

TR believed in a need for a stronger, more engaged national government, challenging the conservative, laissez faire philosophy of the Republican Party, and proudly asserting he was a “progressive”.

Trump has declared “war” on the federal government, wanting to cut down the involvement of the national government in a wide variety of ways, promoting a return to state and local government control as in the Gilded Age of the late 19th century.

TR was the promoter of environmental reform and conservation of natural resources, regarded as the single most significant President in that area of policy.

Trump has made clear his desire to shut down most environmental and conservation efforts, and promote more drilling and more industrial use of natural resources, despite the reality of climate change and global warming. He is attempting to cut back on national parks, national conservation lands and national monuments in a dramatic fashion.

TR believed in the need for federal government regulation for consumers, regarding food and drug protection, while Trump has allowed himself to appoint a Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, who is reckless and unstable, and has created great concerns about the protection of health for the American people.

TR promoted openmindedness on workers’s rights, while Trump has demonstrated that he is unconcerned about the average working man and the significance of labor unions.

TR believed in the concept of corporate regulation and responsibility, while Trump has the belief that corporations should not be regulated, and corporate taxes should be cut, both in his first term, and now in his second term. So TR utilized the anti trust laws, while Trump has not and will not do so.

TR and Trump both were involved in the issue of the Panama Canal, with TR promoting a revolution in the area of Colombia which broke away, became independent with US support, and agreed to the building of the Canal, while Trump is now promoting US takeover the Canal, which was given back by treaty in 1977 under Jimmy Carter, and returning to Panamanian control in the year 2000.

TR was aggressive in his relations with the rest of Latin America, promoting the “Big Stick” policy, with intervention in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, while Trump has created tensions in the entire Western Hemisphere, and including our Canadian neighbors to the North, as well as the nations south of the US.

TR cultivated good relations with Japan, while looking down on China, while Trump is being aggressive in his policies toward China, and ready to use tariffs against all nations, including those in Asia.

TR wanted good relations with Europe, particularly with Great Britain and France; was suspicious of Germany; and critical of Russia and its mistreatment of Jews and other minorities. Trump, on the other hand, seems ready to abandon NATO and our close alliances with Western democracies since World War II, and is cozying up with our traditional antagonist, the Russian Federation..

TR won the Nobel Peace Prize for helping to negotiate the treaty ending the Russo-Japanese War, while Trump is hoping for a Nobel Peace Prize by resolving the Russia-Ukraine War.

It is very clear that TR, were he alive today, would be a major critic of Donald Trump, and would have no issue in confronting him openly and “in his face”.

The question is how would Trump react to such scathing and extreme criticism!

Trump’s War On Federal Government: Young Civil Servants, Higher Education, Veterans, And More! :(

Ronald 30 Comments

Donald Trump’s war on the federal government is an attack on the future and on so many other areas of life.

It is a war on young people who have and wish to enter public service, with many thousands of probationary workers now unemployed, due to major cutbacks in many federal agencies.

It is a war on higher education, cutting funding for training and educating an intelligent work force in the sciences, the humanities, and all other areas of public knowledge.

It is a war on our patriotic veterans, who are losing many government jobs, and a cutting of programs to help veterans who risked their lives, and now are being denied adequate consideration of their health and welfare needs.

It is a war on protection of our national security, with mass purges of dedicated intelligence, foreign policy, and defense personnel who have dedicated their lives and careers to protecting the homeland from foreign threats of authoritarian government, including Russia, China, North Korea, and Iran.

It is a war on health care, science, and medicine, and endangers all Americans when it comes to threats from many diseases worldwide, that now will not be dealt with in an efficient matter, and will cost a multitude of lives.

It is a war on the environment, conservation, and the realities of climate change, guaranteeing worldwide disasters that will threaten human existence in the future.

It is a war on our long held alliances with democracies in Europe and in Asia, and antagonizing, unnecessarily, our neighbors, Canada and Mexico, and inciting anti Americanism in Latin America. It is causing our closest allies in NATO and in Asia to reconsider sharing intelligence information.

It is a war on public virtue, with a certainty that we will witness the greatest level of corruption and concentration of wealth in the hands of a few evil individuals, ever seen in American history, far surpassing the earlier corruption that took place under Presidents Ulysses S. Grant, Warren G. Harding, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, and even the first term of Donald Trump.

The Trump Presidency is setting America back to an earlier time before all of the great reforms that took place from the Progressive Era of Theodore Roosvelt and Woodrow Wilson; the New Deal of Franklin D. Roosevelt; the Fair Deal of Harry Truman; the New Frontier of John F. Kennedy; the Great Society of Lyndon B. Johnson; the movements forward under Republicans Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon; the accomplishments under Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton; and the advancements under Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

Trump State Of The Union Address: Highly Divisive And Lies, Lies, Lies! :(

Ronald 14 Comments

Donald Trump gave the longest State of the Union speech ever delivered last evening, about 9,900 words lasting about 100 minutes, surpassing Bill Clinton’s State of the Union speech in 2000.

The speech was highly, extremely divisive, unusual as Presidents usually try to promote a sense of unity when giving the State of the Union address, even with the opposition party, but instead Trump was gloating about his victory, which he exaggerated regarding its magnitude.

Trump, as usual, lied, lied, and lied some more, distorting and exaggerating reality, facts, and truth.

Trump lied about Joe Biden’s record, calling him the worst President in US History (which was an example of projection about himself).

Trump also took a dig against Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, the primary promoter of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, that became law under Barack Obama, but now is on the chopping block.

Trump also claimed that there are people over 100 years of age, up to 300 years old, who are collecting Social Security, a clearcut attack on that program that has existed for 90 years since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt. There is fear that Social Security may not be paid in future months, due to the claims of waste, fraud, and abuse that are totally preposterous, and with layoffs of civil service employees in that agency.

Trump also promoted the idea of seizing the Panama Canal and taking over Greenland from Denmark, which will antagonize Latin America and NATO respectively, as Trump promotes “imperialism”.

Watching the smirks of Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Vice President JD Vance was infuriating, as the nation clearly is evenly divided, but there was no interest in crossing the aisle and promoting cooperation, with the Congress more divisive and the majority unconcerned about compromise and negotiation.

Trump’s promotion of tariffs with Canada, Mexico, and China will raise the cost of living dramatically, and soon, and goes against the record of history, that tariffs are counterproductive.

Plaudits to newly elected Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, who gave the Democratic response to the State of the Union, and introduced herself to the nation as a legislator who should be respected and paid attention to in the future of the Democratic Party.

The battle ahead for the average American taxpayer and families will be a long, bitter struggle, but the Democrats must not sit on the sidelines, but instead march, demonstrate, organize, and vigorously fight with every bone in their bodies against the extreme right wing tilt of the Republican Party, which has repudiated so much of their heritage over 170 years of their history from Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt to Dwight D. Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan!

Pure Insanity: The Gaza Strip, Added To Panama Canal, Greenland, Canada, As Expansionist Ambitions Of Donald Trump!

Ronald 37 Comments

America and the world is in a season of pure insanity, with lunatic, out of control President Donald Trump, setting out to dismantle many federal government agencies with the assistance of billionaire Elon Musk, who holds no government position and is a danger to the nation and the world, alongside the 47th President!

But also, Donald Trump, supposedly a President who was “isolationist” and wanted America to withdraw from world commitments, is on a rampage to have the United States take over the Gaza Strip, and remove all Palestinians permanently from their land!

This, if it occurred, would be truly “ethnic cleansing”, similarly to what America did to its native Americans over the past four centuries!

THere is ZERO support in the Middle East to relocate, forcibly, 2 million Palestinians, and imagine if one was to say that the Jewish population of Israel should leave their land under force of a foreign nation that has no business getting involved in any threatened, and forced, relocation of population?

And Trump is a threat not only on the Gaza Strip, but also to the Panama Canal treaty signed and ratified by the US Senate a quarter century ago under President Jimmy Carter, a rightful action to undo three quarters of a century of exploitation by the United States from the time of Theodore Roosevelt onward.

And Trump also is threatening Denmark over its territory of Greenland, all over wanting access to the mineral resources of that barren island of only about 56,000 people, endangering US relations with our European allies in NATO.

And putting tariffs on Canada, and then having a 30 day delay, is inflaming anti American sentiments in Canada, among all political views in that nation, and the insult of Trump suggesting that Canada become the 51st state, and calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “Governor”!

Donald Trump is out of control, acting maniacally, and his Republican Party is ceding all rights of Congress to promote checks and balances, as required under the US Constitution!

America is in a constitutional crisis and an American national security crisis, and the only winners are our adversaries in Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and foreign terrorists!

Talk Of A Trump Third Term And Putting Trump On Mount Rushmore Pure Lunacy!

Ronald 13 Comments

The lunacy and craziness around Donald Trump continues, with talk of a Trump third term, which will never happen, as it would require a new constitutional amendment and a repeal of the 22nd Amendment!

Both would need a two thirds vote in the House of Representatives and in the US Senate, followed by three fourths of the states (38) ratifying by a majority in both houses of the state legislatures in 49 states plus the one house legislature in Nebraska.

Additionally, Florida Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna has, crazily, proposed that Donald Trump be put on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt!

First of all, putting anyone else on Mount Rushmore is a massive job, and highly unlikely ever to occur!

But if such a suggestion was to be followed through on over time, it should be Franklin D. Roosevelt, not Donald Trump!

And if one was to propose a Republican President, it would be more reasonable to put Dwight D. Eisenhower or even, although not something this author and blogger would promote, Ronald Reagan!

As it is, Mount Rushmore has a Federalist (Washington); a Democratic-Republican (Jefferson); and two Republicans (Lincoln and TR), so the argument for an additional President should be for a Democratic President, with FDR clearly the major example, or possibly Harry Truman!

All this is silliness, as there will never be additions to Mount Rushmore!

And with Trump rated either number 45 or at best number 43 tied with Franklin Pierce and above James Buchanan and Andrew Johnson, in surveys of historians and political scientists, it is truly delusional to consider him worthy of being on Mount Rushmore!

The way Trump is beginning his second Presidency will only insure that he will be number 45 in all rankings of intelligent, educated scholars, and with any American who has a brain, and ethics and morals!

Biden Farewell Address Reminiscent Of Eisenhower

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President Joe Biden’s Farewell Address was reminiscent of the Farewell Address of Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1961.

Eisenhower warned of the dangers of the “Military-Industrial Complex”, and his Farewell Address is regarded as one of the three greatest Farewell Addresses, alongside George Washington in 1796 and Jimmy Carter in 1981.

Biden brought up the dangers of the “Tech-Industrial Complex”, referring to billionaire oligarchs, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others, who are having a great impact on Donald Trump, presenting a threat to American democracy.

Biden spoke of the Gilded Age, when millionaires and tycoons such as John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, JP Morgan and others abused their powers, leading to the Progressive Era age of reform.

The term “Robber Barons” used in the late 19th century and early 20th century, particularly by Theodore Roosevelt, was employed by Joe Biden.

Now, it is Billionaires, not Millionaires, who are the threat to any concept of concern about what is good for the vast majority of Americans. Most of the Cabinet Officers around Trump fit that category.

Biden also cited his accomplishments in office, which like Jimmy Carter, will not be fully appreciated during his lifetime.

Jimmy Carter’s Post Presidency Unmatched By Any Other President!

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Jimmy Carter’s post Presidency of 44 years will, forever, remain unmatched.

Carter left office at the early age of 56, and survived health challenges to reach age 100, also highly unlikely, ever to be matched or surpassed.

Carter established the Carter Center to promote human rights in 1982, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum was opened in 1986 in Atlanta, and this blogger and scholar visited the site two times, finding it a very impressive memorial to the President.

Carter also spent several years teaching at Emory University in Atlana.

Carter wrote a total of 33 books in his lifetime, more than any other President.

Carter participated in building housing for the poor through Habitat For Humanity.

Carter traveled the world, fighting disease, promoting free elections, and advocating resolution of various international conflicts.

Carter had varying relations with his successors and predecessors, becoming particularly close to President Gerald Ford, creating the closest friendship with a fellow President since John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.

Other Presidents who were active after their Presidency included John Quincy Adams, who served in the House of Representatives for nearly 18 years, and wrote a diary from age 12 to age 80.

Also, Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, and Theodore Roosevelt ran for the Presidency after their terms in office.

William Howard Taft served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court for nine years after his Presidency.

Also, Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon, along with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama presently, have been active, but none on the level of Jimmy Carter.

Carter’s historical ranking is sure to rise from the mid 20s to the top one third over time, as his passing makes the true Carter scholarship ever more expansive in the next generation!

Jimmy Carter, The Best One Term Environmentalist President

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Jimmy Carter may have only had one term in the Presidency, but regarding environmental issues, Presidential scholars and Environmental experts agree he had the most productive one term we have seen, although it may be that Joe Biden’s one term might be seen in evaluation in the future as having surpassed Carter.

Carter put solar panels on the White House, which his successor, Ronald Reagan, had removed.

Carter put tens of millions of acres in Alaska off limits to developers, specifically 56 million acres under the 1906 Antiquities Act passed under Theodore Roosevelt.

Before he left office, he added another 100 million acres in Alaska of Wildlife Refuge under protection, an amazing accomplishment.

Carter had a great Interior Secretary, Cecil Andrus, former Governor of Idaho, who worked against the domination of mining, oil, timber, and grazing interests, and limited control of dams that could harm the health of rivers.

Also, Carter presided over the creation of the Department of Energy as a Cabinet post.

One can only imagine how much more Carter might have done had he won reelection in 1980 over Ronald Reagan.

As it is, Carter is rated as one of the top eight environmental Presidents, alongside Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden.

The Republican Party Is Dead; It Is Now The Trumplican Party!

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It is now official!

The Republican Party has died at the age of 170!

Born in Ripon, Wisconsin on March 20, 1854, as an antislavery and antislavery expansion party, it passed away on July 15, 2024, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as Donald Trump selected Ohio Senator JD Vance as his Vice Presidential running mate!

The legacy of the Republican Party, and its great Presidential luminaries—Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan–has been repudiated by selecting the future potential leader of the party, JD Vance!

He rejects the foreign policy principles the party pursued in the years since 1945, and with the “mainstream” Republicans of the Reagan-Bush era totally repudiated in domestic affairs by the era of Donald Trump.

It can now be renamed the TRUMPLICAN Party!