Republican administrations going backwards in time: Trump, Bush 2, Bush 1, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, Eisenhower.
Eisenhower was the last good one, and he would be considered a progressive by today's standards. He gave us the interstate highway system. Among other things.
Now let's do the Democrats: Biden, Obama, Clinton, Carter, Johnson, Kenned…
Republican administrations going backwards in time: Trump, Bush 2, Bush 1, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, Eisenhower.
Eisenhower was the last good one, and he would be considered a progressive by today's standards. He gave us the interstate highway system. Among other things.
Now let's do the Democrats: Biden, Obama, Clinton, Carter, Johnson, Kennedy. It is not hard to find great things each of them accomplished for America. Even LBJ was good on civil rights and anti-poverty.
I'll add "Share it" to your list. It isn't enough for us to know what Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society have planned for the country. We need to spread the word far and wide, in digestible bits, to everyone we encounter.
It’s not enough to share it. We need Biden to show resolve at the border. Even if it’s only a show. The repuklicans know how to use it against us and we cannot let them have the narrative. The wonton murder of innocent civilians in the Middle East will be blamed on Biden’s continued release of military ordinance to Israel. Biden needs to call an international resolve to a real two-state solution. Well that’s my opinion for the day. If there are protests and rioting on the streets of Chicago during the convention, it’s Day Ja Voux ( I can’t spell in French) all over again.
I wonder how many "persuadables" there are in the US relative to the election. Would two "performative" moves like you suggest make a difference?
There is almost nothing that is humane that Biden could do at the Mexican border without Republican support in the House of Representatives. And that is the point. They have been instructed to block any legislation by Wanna Be King Donald. But...Biden could further hammer away at the fact that Republicans in the House HAD A BILL to strengthen the border - the bill they ASKED for and then shot down like an enemy missile. Bipartisan support be damned. Make the Border Problem a Republican Caused Problem.
The Palestinian issue is complicated beyond words. Anything Biden does, or does not do, loses votes. To halt military help to Israel would destroy his support from one side. Would it gain him enough support on balance? It pains me to put this discussion into political strategy - when the suffering is so enormous. But politics is survival.
Does anyone really think if Biden withheld military support from Israel that Netanyahu would suddenly change his vicious stripes? Does anyone really think that Israel's extreme "coalition cabinet" would respond to pressure from an American president? Have you ever listened to them? America has been struggling with the abuses in the West Bank for a long time. Do you think the settlers who act like Jewish Taliban care about international pressure?
Those of us who are appalled by the Gaza disaster are not one issue voters. And while I have no good answers about the Middle East - other than the unrealistic idea of handing Gaza over to the UN - I do agree that would be best. But have you met Netanyahu? Do you think he or the vast majority of Israelis would allow some Blue Helmets to rule them?
The Gaza situation, as horrible as it is - is a small problem when compared to the horrors described in today's letter from HCR.
Gaza would seem like child's play if Trump and Project 2025 were installed next January. Imagine the next steps by Putin if his puppet was president. Imagine the millions of people rounded up in camps across America.
Again, I am not minimizing the abuses and outrageous conditions in the Middle East. But obsessing over that when there is so little we can do (after trying for decades!) is like ignoring the very large Earth destroying asteroid that will hit the planet on January 20, 2025.
The idea that we would let Trump return to office, the idea that women's reproductive rights and actual health safety are being destroyed, the idea that Project 2025 could actually come to pass - these worries far surpass anything that is happening in any other part of the world.
And if that insane event comes to pass, what will unfold in Ukraine and perhaps Poland and Finland...would make us forget Israel and Gaza quickly.
To withhold aid to Israel in its forever struggle to simply exist would be a gift to Iran and Russia. Iran does not believe Israel should exist. It uses Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis to execute its campaign to wipe Jews off the map.
And Putin loves the distraction from his own atrocities. Please read this:
Bill, your comments are filled with pragmatism, a thinking process some single issue voters find wanting, some purists find cowardly, and some shallow pool opinionaters are incapable of conceiving: and their loud voices demand and draw attention
Pragmatism requires perspective from all the many angles of “what’s possible?”, what isn’t, and what happens as a result. It can be exhausting to game it all out, but someone’s gotta do it
Thank you, Bill, for this. I wish people understood that there is nothing that Biden can do other than what he is doing to influence Bibi and the fundamentalists who support him. Bibi has made it clear that he will do what he wants and if more innocent Palestinians die, so what. I have longed been appalled by the actions of Jewish settlers in the West Bank. And now we have protests all over campuses in the US which is fine if they would stay peaceful and not attract outsiders who just love this sort of thing. At Portland State the university prez allowed them to set up near the library. So of course, some broke into the library and now the police are likely to be involved. The protesters are very well organized for provision of food and medical aid stations, etc. which suggests to me that other than students are involved. The school has been shut down for two days. What about the other students. What about the Jewish students who no longer feel safe and hear derogatory remarks. Russia loves all this of course and I am sure has a finger in the pie somehow. And Iran loves it too. As for death star prevailing in the election, I encourage everyone to vote D. Those who have or will vote uncommitted are fooling themselves especially if they are immigrants and/or Muslim. They will be part of the deported or be put in camps or whatever else that monster and his minions have planned.
Michele, I wish you'd say "Israeli settlers" instead of "Jewish settlers." Not everyone who lives or governs in Israel is Jewish, and not all Jews are Zionists. Ascribing Israel's bad treatment of Palestinians to Jews is what stokes antisemitism.
And you know with all the chaos, you know who comes around and says remember the good old days when we had peace during my years in office and you know so many buy into it. We can easily cause our own demise. I will not live under a Trump administration. I will either leave the US or prepare for battle as in that ole Patrick Henry slogan.
Michele, I completely share your distress about the Jewish settlers--I saw it first hand in the West Bank where settlers had seized the best part of Palestinian land, had built these huge villas, and would not allow Palestinians in there neighborhood! And since this horrific conflict began, the army has provided settlers with rifles they are using to indiscriminately kill Palestinians. This is not OK! Bibi wants to annihilate the Palestinians--the defense minister directed Gazans to three towns proclaiming them safe only to bomb all three. If Bibi invades Rafah and we continue to provide him with weapons, I will not be a happy Biden voter....
The campus pro-Palestinian protests and the over-the-top reaction to them in some cases (police violence, Zionist counter-protester violence at UCLA) are all going to benefit Trump and work against Biden. This may sound like a conspiracy theory, but I could well imagine a Republican operative paying some agitators to stir up passions on both sides of the issue to stoke violence between the two sides, not exactly an unknown tactic in managing public opinion. Instead of beating each other up (there's already enough violence in the world), the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students should be banding together to push for cease-fire and solution of the Israel-Palestine problem, which has festered for far too long. Surely they can agree on that.
If anyone thinks that ANYTHING at all will be better under Trump, they are delusional. His only interest is himself. He is mentally unstable. How could he possibly make anything better?
I don't care if withholding aid to Israel loses support from one side or that it will please Iran and Russia. Supplying weapons that are used to bomb the very people we loudly proclaim to want to provide food and medicine is just wrong! Settlers seizing Palestinian land to build themselves gleaming white villas also has to stop. Perhaps I too would join Hamas if that happened to my family's property!
I do agree with you that a trump presidency would be the ultimate dire danger to befall us and the world. I don't know what is worse--what he is going to do or that there are enough braindead people that would vote for him....
Thanks Bill. I share the same thoughts and feeling.
I am terribly worried about this situation however I always come back to this thought, Netanyahu and his strong arm tactics created Hamas. I know, sounds crazy but stay with me for a second.
Netanyahu and his cabinet’s suppression of the Palestinian people gave Hamas a reason to be created “Support Hamas and We’ll Fight Netanyahu’s Suppression”. I find it ironic, if any race should understand the harm of suppression, it is the Jewish people. Hmmm didn’t we just finish Passover ~ the exodus of the Jewish people from the Egyptian suppression???? If history has taught us anything, suppression is not sustainable.
What does Netanyahu need to continue his suppression of the Palestinian people? American support. American withdrawals that support who is going to step in? China, Russia?? China doesn’t want this mess, they are focused on expanding their economy. Russia ~ well lets just say their a little busy this week trying to suppress the Ukraine people. Heck, they are using N Korean/Iran weapons.
So that leads us to who could Netanyahu turn to for support? Iran has a deal with the Russians to supply weapons to Russia for their war. Iran needs the cash from that arrangement. Now there is not to say the Iranians don’t have a stash they will use to attack Israel. I’m sure they have a stockpile with Netanyahu’s face on it but they have a commitment to Putin.
But here is the big picture, just a public announcement by the Democrats that they will no longer support or vote for any aid to any government which suppresses people. Of course they would use better vocabulary than what I am typing here but you get the picture. Let’s put Netanyahu in the same bucket as Putin and Orban. Trump threatened to pull the US out of the NATO, I think it is time to use a page from that playbook and threaten to pull American aid to Israel.
Like the student’s are saying our continued support of Israel is just like supporting know oligarchs. Israel suppression of the Palestinian people is no different.
After this announcement runs a couple of news cycles, then Biden can step in and have a conversation with Netanyahu. The conversation could go something like “This is the deal Bebe, the Palestine people live in Gaza and free this means, they control their own water, electricity, etc….free to travel wherever they like or no more aid. Deal or No Deal??
I feel today’s leaders are not like those of the past who were willing to take risks and lead. Leadership means making difficult and uncomfortable decisions.
Yo.., "the students"..., they've got this one right. And they darn sure are not alone. We sat and watched the 'tube' as over a million people in England took to the streets to demonstrate support for the plight of the Palestinians when this erupted. But,here in our "christian nation" the people who have really had enough of an apparent catering to jewishness know that its generally better to just be quiet, and not risk getting accused of being anti-semitic, or whatever else. Meantime, at the base of this whole mess exist human beings wrapped around some religious belief as their justification for in-human behavior Of course, skin color and physical appearance, all influenced by wealth... don't forget the price of oil...etc, yup, that plays right into it.
Hamas was created in Egypt as an offshoot of The Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1980s. It was always for annihilating all the Jews, and ending Israel’s existence.
Netanyahu stupidly thought he could manage them by enabling them. But he wasn’t the reason they formed.
Brilliant Bill Alstrom, simply brilliant summation for everyone to think about digest and determine we must vote Blue everywhere, not just the presidency, but most absolutely the presidency. The world is a complicated place and one person cannot solve it all. Most importantly your comment on voting basted on a single problem solves nothing. One truly must recognize sometimes we need to compromise and then come back another day to address. Thank you Bill for your brilliant summation. Can you repost as a general comment. So that all will see and not just those who chose to follow replies to a specific comment of another on HCR’s followers. Thank you, thank you.
Excellent response, Bill. Congress has, with its inaction, created the situation at our southern border. Demands that the President unilaterally "do something" would only worsen the situation, because I can guarantee that what would happen is that our reactionary justices would overturn it, and accuse the President of acting beyond the scope of his office.
Gaza is now uninhabitable. A new area must be used to house the 2.2 million Gazans. I suggest that the triangle of land south of Gaza known as the Negev be joined to Gaza and the West Bank. That will make them contiguous. The north border will then become Israel's southern border. Create a DMZ at the border as Korea has. This should satisfy Hamas and create a chance for a new government. Gaza will have access to the Med. The Israeli blockade will end. A kind of Marshall Plan will be needed to get Gaza cleaned up and functioning. The $3+ billion a year now given to Israel will then be used in the new Palestine. This creates the "two state solution."
From 30,000 feet that solution looks terrific. I like the logic.
But what is the Israeli incentive to do this? And while Hamas might be "receptive", having a two state solution is not their stated goal. Their mission, their raison d'etre, is the elimination of all Jews from the region. They are still angry about "Nakba" - with good reason. But unless Hamas decides it wants peace instead of vengeance and extermination, nothing will change.
There is a reason that Egypt restricts Palestinians from entering freely into their country.
Nothing will change until Netanyahu and his religious radicals are replaced. Nothing will change as long as Hamas rules - as a puppet of Iran.
I just don’t have any idea how to… I take that back I do. It’s convening a UN sponsored international committee that would guarantee Israel’s right to exist, install an international force to insure that a new emerging Palestinian state would be devoid of extremists. And that is alll wishful thinking. As for the border, this comment bugged me to no end when HS was asked about an executive action and Myorka responded that it would t hold up in court which was of course a political diversion. It doesn’t matter if it would hold up in court. This one issue is poison and it will hurt Biden and anyone who denies it is t too bright.
Your post is more excellent than I can put into words! In my view you have distilled the various situations accurately, and I completely agree with everything you wrote here. Thank you! (Now I just have to figure out how best to get it in the hands of those who willfully deny the truth.)
I agree. If for nothing but a show of strength, Biden should take bold steps at the border and with Israel to call for a ceasefire. We can’t afford to lose our coalitions in this election. Those who are upset with the Democrats could make the biggest mistake of their lives by staying home rather than voting. Trump will be their biggest nightmare and will destroy their causes. I pray they will have the maturity to understand that first, we must win. Then they can bring their protests to the President and he will listen! We just can’t play nice right now. That’s what Trump and his voters are counting on, as they roll over us with a tank………..That will be “deja vu”!
Listen to the students...Palestinians, Jewish, etc. The Jewish people, & also us Americans, have been lied to for a long time, like more than 75 years, on this Palestine issue. Check out the documentary "Israelism." I saw it streaming on YouTube. Check out new presidential candidate Jill Stein, brutalized while being arrested at a peaceful protest. Didn't we have enough police misconduct after George Floyd's murder?? Israel is very capable of supporting themselves after all this time. Why won't the Freedom Flotilla be released from Turkish waters??? Check out other historians than Heather Cox Richardson, although she is very good on many issues. Learn the more accurate version of Oct. 7th.
Listening, Beverly, requires some skills. It's not just a passive activity.
Another key part of Heather's today was her account of the Powell memo's vitriol against "the liberal bias" that used to buoy all of America's higher education -- its hatred of any humanities.
The humanities taught listening -- to "others," to communities other than one's own.
That's gone. The billionaires don't want anyone skilled in seeing, respecting, gifted in referring to individuals. Life for the billionaires reduces to packaging, labeling, commodifying.
They won, Beverly. Even you, when referring to the documentary "Israelism," do not connect any of it to any context bothering you today. Of the hundreds of other commenters today, how many cite any humanities as part of their efforts to center the human?
Thank you Phil. The movie explains how students are taught about allegiance to Israel. When they ask questions later on, they learn another version. Simone Zimmerman started "If Not Now" that works with "Jewish Voices for Peace" to get justice in GAZA & West Bank. The other young man got disillusioned as a IDF military man & joined "Breaking the Silence."
Not to make light of a horrific situation, 'wonton murder' sounds like a Chinese plot to poison someone. Perhaps you mean 'wanton'. French is not the only problem. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
Rachel, if you don't already have a grassroots community, I recommend checking out markersfordemocracy.org. We've already had guest speakers from groups that are working diligently to reach our young voters. There are at least 3 zoom meetings weekly plus other activities. Check us out!
Right now, "A show" is what counts. Outwardly stepping on the button and doing something, no matter how well phrased or intended would certainly be proclaimed a total disaster by the (R)ssholes. Just like how our 'pull-out' from afganistan was twisted by the twisters. I mean, when the entire (R) family has signed on to prevent this administration from fixing it, so that the (R)'ss can use it as their platform.., anything Biden might do will be used to humiliate him. But, I do agree that a carefiully scripted "show" at a key moment , sans critical details, could confuse the maggatts while giving the rest of us some satisfaction.
Bob, how about posting the 10 key points, starting with the installation to the presidency of a "Christian King" with what amounts to dictatorial authority. The REAL thing is NOT trump, the puppet. It’s the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025!
But chump is the means by which they plan to achieve success. He is the carnival barker who is announcing the main attraction. If course, he thinks that he is the main attraction.
I assume T. will also put his own maniacal spin on things, and cannot be counted on to reliably just follow their lead. He will be his own man, and do his own thing. I presume Putin has as much control over him as does the Heritage Foundation. The Saudi Prince too. Look at whom he has gotten to fund his various business enterprises. It is scary stuff. We All Do Better With Biden!
Brilliant! And the GOP has been selling tickets for the past 40 years by GRAB-ing their base: riling them up about guns, religion, abortion, border. I don't think we can change the minds/hearts of the hard core. But there are plenty of "undecideds" and young voters to reach. We need numbers so overwhelming that even the cleverest gerrymandering cannot succeed.
Didn't we have enough of this forked-tongued snake oil salesman the first time? There are ways to save ourselves from the greedflation gang who will do whatever Narcissimo trumpolini dictates. Plenty of good ideas in all of the above.
Boggles my mind that people recall those four years as being better than what Joe has done. Every single day was worse than the day before. Propaganda is powerful, just like the Nazis knew
Google Paul Weyrich, co-founder of Heritage. His resume will curl your hair. Like Roger Stone, he's been doing his dirty work while flying under the radar of most Americans since at least the '70s. Few people have any idea how far back the tentacles of these plotters go.
This is exactly Why we need to know Who, What, Where, and When about the Heritage Foundation. They have been brewing the present circumstances for Decades! Seems like they want to take over the world. We MUST know more!
There is nothing righteous or respectable about the Heritage Foundation with their "self-righteous" pamphlets (which I used to read and respect to my regret!!!! ...when I was voting "on the side of the enemy." They have been brainwashing their readers just like Hitler...with their "our readers are above the rest of humanity" attitude.
"A Christian King" in the form of DT is an insult to the Christian faith!!! He is not a Christian.
Jessica, you are correct!!! DT is a large empty puppet . I cannot believe, America, the land of the free and the home of the brave" would bow to this fake .....the Republican Party has made into their "god". (I am sure Putin is laughing at us so hard that he is falling out of his chair!)
That would require that I sort through the entire text again. I'm not sure I can do that. I will, however look over my un-cut posts to try and isolate some specific highlights for notable specific changes with their attending full statements.
I'm working on it. It will take some time. My choices may not agree someone else's. But I'll cull some particulars that piss me off. Each chapter is around 30 pages so if anyone has a favorite part of government it is available in full.
Andra Watkins is a NYT bestselling author who “escaped” from a Christian Nationalist church decades ago. She has read and dissected the almost 1000 page Project 2025 manifesto.
“Mainstream media outlets miss Project 2025’s Biblical language and imagery. They speed-bump over the radicalized religious fanaticism of this document and its framers. Post by post, I’m spelling it all out.”
And vote hard: chase down your registration to be sure you are registered, deliver your ballot the safest way you can, stand in long lines in crappy weather, take Imodium, wear a catheter, take a meal, take water, take coffee, sit down on the sidewalk, lean against a building … and do not let anyone intimidate you,
Bob Lewis (or ANYONE??)..you would not happen to know the name of the organization, mentioned in this forum about a week or so ago, and its effort to analyze and condense the 1000+(?) pages of the Project 25 document? I neglected to bookmark the site, despite best intentions. Now I find it impossible to locate that reference in our previous forums. Having read and skimmed a number of pages in the orginial "Project 25" document, I would welcome a thorough synopsis. If not Bob, perhaps someone in the forum might be able to help? I'd be very grateful. Thanks.
I've written a series of posts on Project 2025. Each post is comprised of excerpts taken from a given chapter. I provide no commentary or opinions as I believe the quotes speak for themselves. I want folks to make up their own minds, not simply follow mine.
Here is a link to a description of the project with commentary regarding its anticipated effects. It is from a response to an earlier post of mine on Jeff Tiedrich's Everyone is Entitled to My Own Opinion posted on 20 April by Munchygut.
I have taken the advice of some other commenters, and have written a more thorough discussion of the project and my opinions of it. It is available for free on my site Polytricks, if you'd like to read it.
I have taken the advice of some other commenters, and have written a more thorough discussion of the project and my opinions of it. It is available for free on my site Polytricks, if you'd like to read it.
It was Ike, career soldier and former commander of Allied Forces in Europe during WW II, who coined the term "military-industrial complex" while warning the nation of the danger of its growing influence on national affairs.
I think Eisenhower was a lot like Grant (aside from the obvious) in the way they ran their administrations. They were both rather naive in trusting their appointees. And in both cases they were 'betrayed' by politics.
Eisenhower was drafted as president because the Republicans were so desperate to get back into the White House after 20 years out of power that they were willing to take a "squish" as their candidate, and picked the guy all the ex-GIs would vote for, which they did.
Rule of law, steps towards equality,infrastructure. Not a bad president. Why did he chose Nixon as his VP??? Such a shame Ike wasn’t a Democrat = no Nixon!
Yes, not bad....As many as 1.3 million people may have been swept up in the Eisenhower-era campaign called 'Operation Wetback.' The largest mass deproration program in American history.l....so not bad, horrendous.
Well, my Dad was such a dyed in the wool Dem he voted for Stephenson both times but he was not unhappy about Ike. Nixon and Goldwater? A totally different thing.
TC, my man! Are you telling me that the ex GIs didn't vote for "Mr. Republican", Robert Taft, the son of the only man to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court even while having trouble getting out of the bathtub, William Howard Taft?!?!?
So true its hurts Daniel as I went to William Howard Taft High School in Los Angeles, the Taft Toreadors. When I pressed my history teacher on Taft he quickly changed the subject to Chester Arthur claiming Arthur was the worst President [ 1881-1885] but, Chester did not have a orange hair.
And he was cordially hated by the "real" Republicans. All three of the "good" Repuiblican presidents - Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower - were flukes forced on the scumbags if they wanted to take power.
Abe Lincoln’s insistence of Free Labor, internal improvements and his reverence for the Rule of Law was Republican in 1860 and are obvious Joe Biden’ Democratic Party goals and achievements for 2024.
Terry, in 1860 a "real Republican" was essentially the newest kid on the political block. I believe their new leader, Lincoln, emerged as a consensus "next best" candidate from a deadlock between two other politicians who had joined the fledgling party. ...not a bad "compromise."
Here's a Wikipedia article which is kinda fun to read. My great-grandfather was the Chairman of the Allen County Indiana Republican Party. He had attended one of Lincoln's speeches in Chicago and was impressed enough to sign up for the duration. I don't know if he was a delegate to this convention or not, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Annabel, i just found out recently that i am not too distantly related to one of the Democratic presidents you have listed. My daughter is deeply involved with our family tree with the ancestry thing and with my great grandmother's maiden name of, '' Carter'' she did an extensive research and revealed to me we are related to Jimmy Carter. I was somewhat surprised at finding that out. We are from Georgia just like former president Carter is.
When she told me we were related to a President, i told her, please tell me it's not Donald TUMP. I would have kept that hidden for sure!
I took your lede to mean 'the order from best to worst at moving the US back in time.'
Of course, that wasn't your intent, but Trump, Reagan and Nixon would be the true regressives. The Bush's were bungling fools who tried to rule like conservatives and Ford and Eisenhower were fairly good at not breaking anything even though both of their administrations were marred by recessions.
None of them legislated as conservatives but rather as repressives, especially to the poor and people of color. Except Trump, who was repressive to everyone except the uber rich and the corporations.
Don't forget that Eisenhower and the Dulles brotheres engineered the overthrow of both the Democractic governments of Guatemala and Iran and look where that has led us!
Not enough people know about the atrocities committed by our CIA. Countries we interfered with that ultimately created some of the migrant issues we scream about…Iran, Guatemala - coup on democratically elected Arbenz. Eisenhower carried it out. Cuba, Chile, Argentina, the US accepted the fraudulent election in Honduras because United Fruit wanted control of resources. It’s a long list of sheer corruption…that we dare shake our fists at others is beyond audacious.
Again, I’ll say or remind folks that the natural order of things is change - and usually that means change or progress for something better - not trying to hold back the hands of time or in some instances, trying to turn the clock back to days long gone by[e]! Think of the definitions, the context, the meanings and perceptions of the words: conservative, moderate, liberal [progressive] … with the passage of time, most things generally improve and make our lives’ better and/or easier and we have to learn to change with the changing times. However, we have those among us who are either afraid of change or are just too lazy or stubborn and prefer to resist change. Of course all change may not always or necessarily be good, but it is inevitable and we will or must have to adapt to live with and/or control, manage it!
It seems that the political party that one would think should [have been] be trying to conserve things like clean air, clean water, undisturbed areas of forests and wildlife, reluctant to accept the realities of climate change, has been the party that has failed or that has been recalcitrant to live up to that conservative label in these areas.
Just a small reminder of “Houston, we have a problem”. Remember, it was Ronald Reagan, before he ever likely thought of running for president of the United States who was widely known for saying: “progress is our most important product”.
If you really want to bookend these two lineages, put Roosevelt /Truman after Kennedy and Hoover after Eisenhower. Literally the high and low points of the 20th century. So far we have the low of the 21st century courtesy of Trump...not sure that it can get worse. I hesitate to say Obama was the high point with 3/4 of the 21st century yet to go.
Terry, I have discovered through hard experience that one should NEVER, EVER say
"it can't get worse" for it surely seems to tempt fate to prove one dead wrong. It can ALWAYS get worse! We are spared to some degree in the Orange One by the blindness of his all too apparent narcissism and his reliable tendency to accuse others of precisely what he has on his own mind in an explicit form of projection. Were we to be confronted by someone brighter, with better education and less blinded by his own narcissism, we would likely have an even worse nightmare in someone we couldn't so easily recognize until it was too late. The Bill Barrs and Mitch McConnels of our political world come to mind.
LBJ gave us what I like to call LBJcare, more commonly known as Medicare. That's also major.
Nixon actually gave us the EPA, and he tried to give us a population policy, whch would have done us a lot of good, as we're way overpopulated now. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church let him know that they would prevent his re-election if he went ahead with that. So our population grew from a little over 200 million when he was elected to the current 335 million.) We are using up groundwater, threatening our agricultural production, at a time when we've recently learned the importance of keeping critical supply chains in house.
Nonetheless, US immigration policy will add nearly 80 million to the population over th e next four decades, according to the Census Bureau, equivalent to four New York States.
Eisenhower was indeed, a very competent and thoughtful president who accomplished some very good things for the nation.
But let's not forget that it was Eisenhower who approved two apparently innocuous but very telling alterations to our national lives - the addition of 'under God' to the pledge of allegiance, and the addition of "In God We Trust' to our paper currency.
Both were the fruition of attempts by members of the business community in order to align capitalism with Christianity, and thus be in contrast with godless communism. We can still hear the echoes of this success in the three right wing buzz words so commonly applied to the Democratic Party ; socialism, communism, and Marxism.
No fan of Nixon, but the EPA and his revenue sharing with the states were good things, otherwise, he was a crook and caused a lot of dead Americans due to his undermining of the U.S. getting out of Vietnam. Johnson knew about his actions and was livid. However, nothing was done due to "politics".
Unfortunately, it isn’t just a trend. Yes, I second Bob Lewis. Read Project 2025. Leonard Leo and other wealthy radical conservatives are behind this project. It is well thought-out and planned. Trump is just the puppet to carry out this takeover.
Eisenhower gave us the framework for an Interstate Highway System, which was not implemented under a judicious use of the "Rule of Law". Eminent domain in particular was used as a tool for social engineering to transfer wealth from middle class nonwhite people and was upheld by the "Rule of Law". To this day our cities still suffer from the bad effects of this program.
Republican administrations going backwards in time: Trump, Bush 2, Bush 1, Reagan, Ford, Nixon, Eisenhower.
Eisenhower was the last good one, and he would be considered a progressive by today's standards. He gave us the interstate highway system. Among other things.
Now let's do the Democrats: Biden, Obama, Clinton, Carter, Johnson, Kennedy. It is not hard to find great things each of them accomplished for America. Even LBJ was good on civil rights and anti-poverty.
The trend is clear.
Everything that the GOP has planned is contained in Project 2025.
Read it.
Vote
I'll add "Share it" to your list. It isn't enough for us to know what Leonard Leo and the Federalist Society have planned for the country. We need to spread the word far and wide, in digestible bits, to everyone we encounter.
It’s not enough to share it. We need Biden to show resolve at the border. Even if it’s only a show. The repuklicans know how to use it against us and we cannot let them have the narrative. The wonton murder of innocent civilians in the Middle East will be blamed on Biden’s continued release of military ordinance to Israel. Biden needs to call an international resolve to a real two-state solution. Well that’s my opinion for the day. If there are protests and rioting on the streets of Chicago during the convention, it’s Day Ja Voux ( I can’t spell in French) all over again.
I wonder how many "persuadables" there are in the US relative to the election. Would two "performative" moves like you suggest make a difference?
There is almost nothing that is humane that Biden could do at the Mexican border without Republican support in the House of Representatives. And that is the point. They have been instructed to block any legislation by Wanna Be King Donald. But...Biden could further hammer away at the fact that Republicans in the House HAD A BILL to strengthen the border - the bill they ASKED for and then shot down like an enemy missile. Bipartisan support be damned. Make the Border Problem a Republican Caused Problem.
The Palestinian issue is complicated beyond words. Anything Biden does, or does not do, loses votes. To halt military help to Israel would destroy his support from one side. Would it gain him enough support on balance? It pains me to put this discussion into political strategy - when the suffering is so enormous. But politics is survival.
Does anyone really think if Biden withheld military support from Israel that Netanyahu would suddenly change his vicious stripes? Does anyone really think that Israel's extreme "coalition cabinet" would respond to pressure from an American president? Have you ever listened to them? America has been struggling with the abuses in the West Bank for a long time. Do you think the settlers who act like Jewish Taliban care about international pressure?
Those of us who are appalled by the Gaza disaster are not one issue voters. And while I have no good answers about the Middle East - other than the unrealistic idea of handing Gaza over to the UN - I do agree that would be best. But have you met Netanyahu? Do you think he or the vast majority of Israelis would allow some Blue Helmets to rule them?
The Gaza situation, as horrible as it is - is a small problem when compared to the horrors described in today's letter from HCR.
Gaza would seem like child's play if Trump and Project 2025 were installed next January. Imagine the next steps by Putin if his puppet was president. Imagine the millions of people rounded up in camps across America.
Again, I am not minimizing the abuses and outrageous conditions in the Middle East. But obsessing over that when there is so little we can do (after trying for decades!) is like ignoring the very large Earth destroying asteroid that will hit the planet on January 20, 2025.
The idea that we would let Trump return to office, the idea that women's reproductive rights and actual health safety are being destroyed, the idea that Project 2025 could actually come to pass - these worries far surpass anything that is happening in any other part of the world.
And if that insane event comes to pass, what will unfold in Ukraine and perhaps Poland and Finland...would make us forget Israel and Gaza quickly.
To withhold aid to Israel in its forever struggle to simply exist would be a gift to Iran and Russia. Iran does not believe Israel should exist. It uses Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis to execute its campaign to wipe Jews off the map.
And Putin loves the distraction from his own atrocities. Please read this:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/6/iran-and-israel-from-allies-to-archenemies-how-did-they-get-here
Bill, your comments are filled with pragmatism, a thinking process some single issue voters find wanting, some purists find cowardly, and some shallow pool opinionaters are incapable of conceiving: and their loud voices demand and draw attention
Pragmatism requires perspective from all the many angles of “what’s possible?”, what isn’t, and what happens as a result. It can be exhausting to game it all out, but someone’s gotta do it
Thanks for what you do here
Thank you, Bill, for this. I wish people understood that there is nothing that Biden can do other than what he is doing to influence Bibi and the fundamentalists who support him. Bibi has made it clear that he will do what he wants and if more innocent Palestinians die, so what. I have longed been appalled by the actions of Jewish settlers in the West Bank. And now we have protests all over campuses in the US which is fine if they would stay peaceful and not attract outsiders who just love this sort of thing. At Portland State the university prez allowed them to set up near the library. So of course, some broke into the library and now the police are likely to be involved. The protesters are very well organized for provision of food and medical aid stations, etc. which suggests to me that other than students are involved. The school has been shut down for two days. What about the other students. What about the Jewish students who no longer feel safe and hear derogatory remarks. Russia loves all this of course and I am sure has a finger in the pie somehow. And Iran loves it too. As for death star prevailing in the election, I encourage everyone to vote D. Those who have or will vote uncommitted are fooling themselves especially if they are immigrants and/or Muslim. They will be part of the deported or be put in camps or whatever else that monster and his minions have planned.
Michele, I wish you'd say "Israeli settlers" instead of "Jewish settlers." Not everyone who lives or governs in Israel is Jewish, and not all Jews are Zionists. Ascribing Israel's bad treatment of Palestinians to Jews is what stokes antisemitism.
And you know with all the chaos, you know who comes around and says remember the good old days when we had peace during my years in office and you know so many buy into it. We can easily cause our own demise. I will not live under a Trump administration. I will either leave the US or prepare for battle as in that ole Patrick Henry slogan.
Michele, I completely share your distress about the Jewish settlers--I saw it first hand in the West Bank where settlers had seized the best part of Palestinian land, had built these huge villas, and would not allow Palestinians in there neighborhood! And since this horrific conflict began, the army has provided settlers with rifles they are using to indiscriminately kill Palestinians. This is not OK! Bibi wants to annihilate the Palestinians--the defense minister directed Gazans to three towns proclaiming them safe only to bomb all three. If Bibi invades Rafah and we continue to provide him with weapons, I will not be a happy Biden voter....
The campus pro-Palestinian protests and the over-the-top reaction to them in some cases (police violence, Zionist counter-protester violence at UCLA) are all going to benefit Trump and work against Biden. This may sound like a conspiracy theory, but I could well imagine a Republican operative paying some agitators to stir up passions on both sides of the issue to stoke violence between the two sides, not exactly an unknown tactic in managing public opinion. Instead of beating each other up (there's already enough violence in the world), the pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel students should be banding together to push for cease-fire and solution of the Israel-Palestine problem, which has festered for far too long. Surely they can agree on that.
If anyone thinks that ANYTHING at all will be better under Trump, they are delusional. His only interest is himself. He is mentally unstable. How could he possibly make anything better?
I don't care if withholding aid to Israel loses support from one side or that it will please Iran and Russia. Supplying weapons that are used to bomb the very people we loudly proclaim to want to provide food and medicine is just wrong! Settlers seizing Palestinian land to build themselves gleaming white villas also has to stop. Perhaps I too would join Hamas if that happened to my family's property!
I do agree with you that a trump presidency would be the ultimate dire danger to befall us and the world. I don't know what is worse--what he is going to do or that there are enough braindead people that would vote for him....
Thanks Bill. I share the same thoughts and feeling.
I am terribly worried about this situation however I always come back to this thought, Netanyahu and his strong arm tactics created Hamas. I know, sounds crazy but stay with me for a second.
Netanyahu and his cabinet’s suppression of the Palestinian people gave Hamas a reason to be created “Support Hamas and We’ll Fight Netanyahu’s Suppression”. I find it ironic, if any race should understand the harm of suppression, it is the Jewish people. Hmmm didn’t we just finish Passover ~ the exodus of the Jewish people from the Egyptian suppression???? If history has taught us anything, suppression is not sustainable.
What does Netanyahu need to continue his suppression of the Palestinian people? American support. American withdrawals that support who is going to step in? China, Russia?? China doesn’t want this mess, they are focused on expanding their economy. Russia ~ well lets just say their a little busy this week trying to suppress the Ukraine people. Heck, they are using N Korean/Iran weapons.
So that leads us to who could Netanyahu turn to for support? Iran has a deal with the Russians to supply weapons to Russia for their war. Iran needs the cash from that arrangement. Now there is not to say the Iranians don’t have a stash they will use to attack Israel. I’m sure they have a stockpile with Netanyahu’s face on it but they have a commitment to Putin.
But here is the big picture, just a public announcement by the Democrats that they will no longer support or vote for any aid to any government which suppresses people. Of course they would use better vocabulary than what I am typing here but you get the picture. Let’s put Netanyahu in the same bucket as Putin and Orban. Trump threatened to pull the US out of the NATO, I think it is time to use a page from that playbook and threaten to pull American aid to Israel.
Like the student’s are saying our continued support of Israel is just like supporting know oligarchs. Israel suppression of the Palestinian people is no different.
After this announcement runs a couple of news cycles, then Biden can step in and have a conversation with Netanyahu. The conversation could go something like “This is the deal Bebe, the Palestine people live in Gaza and free this means, they control their own water, electricity, etc….free to travel wherever they like or no more aid. Deal or No Deal??
I feel today’s leaders are not like those of the past who were willing to take risks and lead. Leadership means making difficult and uncomfortable decisions.
Yo.., "the students"..., they've got this one right. And they darn sure are not alone. We sat and watched the 'tube' as over a million people in England took to the streets to demonstrate support for the plight of the Palestinians when this erupted. But,here in our "christian nation" the people who have really had enough of an apparent catering to jewishness know that its generally better to just be quiet, and not risk getting accused of being anti-semitic, or whatever else. Meantime, at the base of this whole mess exist human beings wrapped around some religious belief as their justification for in-human behavior Of course, skin color and physical appearance, all influenced by wealth... don't forget the price of oil...etc, yup, that plays right into it.
Hamas was created in Egypt as an offshoot of The Muslim Brotherhood in the late 1980s. It was always for annihilating all the Jews, and ending Israel’s existence.
Netanyahu stupidly thought he could manage them by enabling them. But he wasn’t the reason they formed.
Some advice for President Biden: "Be careful which Country's leader you hug and kiss. Such can cause unintended consequences."
Thanks, Bill!!!!
I couldn't agree more and cried myself to sleep last night.
Brilliant Bill Alstrom, simply brilliant summation for everyone to think about digest and determine we must vote Blue everywhere, not just the presidency, but most absolutely the presidency. The world is a complicated place and one person cannot solve it all. Most importantly your comment on voting basted on a single problem solves nothing. One truly must recognize sometimes we need to compromise and then come back another day to address. Thank you Bill for your brilliant summation. Can you repost as a general comment. So that all will see and not just those who chose to follow replies to a specific comment of another on HCR’s followers. Thank you, thank you.
Excellent response, Bill. Congress has, with its inaction, created the situation at our southern border. Demands that the President unilaterally "do something" would only worsen the situation, because I can guarantee that what would happen is that our reactionary justices would overturn it, and accuse the President of acting beyond the scope of his office.
Gaza is now uninhabitable. A new area must be used to house the 2.2 million Gazans. I suggest that the triangle of land south of Gaza known as the Negev be joined to Gaza and the West Bank. That will make them contiguous. The north border will then become Israel's southern border. Create a DMZ at the border as Korea has. This should satisfy Hamas and create a chance for a new government. Gaza will have access to the Med. The Israeli blockade will end. A kind of Marshall Plan will be needed to get Gaza cleaned up and functioning. The $3+ billion a year now given to Israel will then be used in the new Palestine. This creates the "two state solution."
From 30,000 feet that solution looks terrific. I like the logic.
But what is the Israeli incentive to do this? And while Hamas might be "receptive", having a two state solution is not their stated goal. Their mission, their raison d'etre, is the elimination of all Jews from the region. They are still angry about "Nakba" - with good reason. But unless Hamas decides it wants peace instead of vengeance and extermination, nothing will change.
There is a reason that Egypt restricts Palestinians from entering freely into their country.
Nothing will change until Netanyahu and his religious radicals are replaced. Nothing will change as long as Hamas rules - as a puppet of Iran.
I just don’t have any idea how to… I take that back I do. It’s convening a UN sponsored international committee that would guarantee Israel’s right to exist, install an international force to insure that a new emerging Palestinian state would be devoid of extremists. And that is alll wishful thinking. As for the border, this comment bugged me to no end when HS was asked about an executive action and Myorka responded that it would t hold up in court which was of course a political diversion. It doesn’t matter if it would hold up in court. This one issue is poison and it will hurt Biden and anyone who denies it is t too bright.
Your post is more excellent than I can put into words! In my view you have distilled the various situations accurately, and I completely agree with everything you wrote here. Thank you! (Now I just have to figure out how best to get it in the hands of those who willfully deny the truth.)
The typical pivot to 'blame Biden.'
Thankfully he has broad shoulders!
I agree. If for nothing but a show of strength, Biden should take bold steps at the border and with Israel to call for a ceasefire. We can’t afford to lose our coalitions in this election. Those who are upset with the Democrats could make the biggest mistake of their lives by staying home rather than voting. Trump will be their biggest nightmare and will destroy their causes. I pray they will have the maturity to understand that first, we must win. Then they can bring their protests to the President and he will listen! We just can’t play nice right now. That’s what Trump and his voters are counting on, as they roll over us with a tank………..That will be “deja vu”!
Deja vu
Also "wanton." Wonton is a Chinese dumpling.
Of course.
Of course
Agree
Listen to the students...Palestinians, Jewish, etc. The Jewish people, & also us Americans, have been lied to for a long time, like more than 75 years, on this Palestine issue. Check out the documentary "Israelism." I saw it streaming on YouTube. Check out new presidential candidate Jill Stein, brutalized while being arrested at a peaceful protest. Didn't we have enough police misconduct after George Floyd's murder?? Israel is very capable of supporting themselves after all this time. Why won't the Freedom Flotilla be released from Turkish waters??? Check out other historians than Heather Cox Richardson, although she is very good on many issues. Learn the more accurate version of Oct. 7th.
Listening, Beverly, requires some skills. It's not just a passive activity.
Another key part of Heather's today was her account of the Powell memo's vitriol against "the liberal bias" that used to buoy all of America's higher education -- its hatred of any humanities.
The humanities taught listening -- to "others," to communities other than one's own.
That's gone. The billionaires don't want anyone skilled in seeing, respecting, gifted in referring to individuals. Life for the billionaires reduces to packaging, labeling, commodifying.
They won, Beverly. Even you, when referring to the documentary "Israelism," do not connect any of it to any context bothering you today. Of the hundreds of other commenters today, how many cite any humanities as part of their efforts to center the human?
Thank you Phil. The movie explains how students are taught about allegiance to Israel. When they ask questions later on, they learn another version. Simone Zimmerman started "If Not Now" that works with "Jewish Voices for Peace" to get justice in GAZA & West Bank. The other young man got disillusioned as a IDF military man & joined "Breaking the Silence."
Deja vu
Yep. It was Too early to google it. Or I was lazy.
Not to make light of a horrific situation, 'wonton murder' sounds like a Chinese plot to poison someone. Perhaps you mean 'wanton'. French is not the only problem. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)
No question about it.
I believe the most important audience are the young. New voters or newish voters. Too many are abstainig. How do we reach thm??
Rachel, if you don't already have a grassroots community, I recommend checking out markersfordemocracy.org. We've already had guest speakers from groups that are working diligently to reach our young voters. There are at least 3 zoom meetings weekly plus other activities. Check us out!
There are orgs doing just that. Google them.
What a wonderful community we have created here--ask a question, and people will send in substantive, useful answers !
https://www.project2025.org/
And you have to use the www.
Thank you for the link. I haven't read the report, just read about it, so now I have no excuse not to be informed.
And do read "DARK MONEY" by Jane Mayer.
Right now, "A show" is what counts. Outwardly stepping on the button and doing something, no matter how well phrased or intended would certainly be proclaimed a total disaster by the (R)ssholes. Just like how our 'pull-out' from afganistan was twisted by the twisters. I mean, when the entire (R) family has signed on to prevent this administration from fixing it, so that the (R)'ss can use it as their platform.., anything Biden might do will be used to humiliate him. But, I do agree that a carefiully scripted "show" at a key moment , sans critical details, could confuse the maggatts while giving the rest of us some satisfaction.
Bob, how about posting the 10 key points, starting with the installation to the presidency of a "Christian King" with what amounts to dictatorial authority. The REAL thing is NOT trump, the puppet. It’s the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025!
But chump is the means by which they plan to achieve success. He is the carnival barker who is announcing the main attraction. If course, he thinks that he is the main attraction.
I assume T. will also put his own maniacal spin on things, and cannot be counted on to reliably just follow their lead. He will be his own man, and do his own thing. I presume Putin has as much control over him as does the Heritage Foundation. The Saudi Prince too. Look at whom he has gotten to fund his various business enterprises. It is scary stuff. We All Do Better With Biden!
Main thing is, we've got a middle class now!
A middle class educated also in humanities, Jessica, or not?
Look at who is VP choice, a chumpette or an old guard. Will give a hint as to who has final say. May even be a cat fight.
Will we even know before the Republican Primary?
Brilliant! And the GOP has been selling tickets for the past 40 years by GRAB-ing their base: riling them up about guns, religion, abortion, border. I don't think we can change the minds/hearts of the hard core. But there are plenty of "undecideds" and young voters to reach. We need numbers so overwhelming that even the cleverest gerrymandering cannot succeed.
I dream with you, but have you watched the young piss on Joe and blame him for Bibi’s mess. Just what Dems need, NOT
So true, Jeri. He's being used by the even more lethal forces.
Yep, the big dogs are on the job now. No hesitation like before. Repub control smells so good. Like blood in the water for sharks.
Didn't we have enough of this forked-tongued snake oil salesman the first time? There are ways to save ourselves from the greedflation gang who will do whatever Narcissimo trumpolini dictates. Plenty of good ideas in all of the above.
Boggles my mind that people recall those four years as being better than what Joe has done. Every single day was worse than the day before. Propaganda is powerful, just like the Nazis knew
Google Paul Weyrich, co-founder of Heritage. His resume will curl your hair. Like Roger Stone, he's been doing his dirty work while flying under the radar of most Americans since at least the '70s. Few people have any idea how far back the tentacles of these plotters go.
This is exactly Why we need to know Who, What, Where, and When about the Heritage Foundation. They have been brewing the present circumstances for Decades! Seems like they want to take over the world. We MUST know more!
Jessica Fleming,
There is nothing righteous or respectable about the Heritage Foundation with their "self-righteous" pamphlets (which I used to read and respect to my regret!!!! ...when I was voting "on the side of the enemy." They have been brainwashing their readers just like Hitler...with their "our readers are above the rest of humanity" attitude.
"A Christian King" in the form of DT is an insult to the Christian faith!!! He is not a Christian.
Jessica, you are correct!!! DT is a large empty puppet . I cannot believe, America, the land of the free and the home of the brave" would bow to this fake .....the Republican Party has made into their "god". (I am sure Putin is laughing at us so hard that he is falling out of his chair!)
Donald, Jessica, is not "a large empty puppet."
He's full of shit and the gaseous odors emanating from his diapers.
He's also full of the labeling vitriol which tens of millions of fellow American share, all like him having been schooled bereft of humanities.
I think expanding on my previous commentary is a good idea. I've been clearing my mind reading a lot of Thoreau to expunge the project.
I'll see if I can form a cogent explanation of what I've read and how I think it affects our country. Which ideas I find most upsetting and why.
It is a decades long fever dream of the Heritage Foundation.
That would require that I sort through the entire text again. I'm not sure I can do that. I will, however look over my un-cut posts to try and isolate some specific highlights for notable specific changes with their attending full statements.
PLEASE do so, Bob. It's Clear how much we need and want it, and thankfully you have the ability to Summarise
I'm working on it. It will take some time. My choices may not agree someone else's. But I'll cull some particulars that piss me off. Each chapter is around 30 pages so if anyone has a favorite part of government it is available in full.
THANKS SO MUCH, Bob! Will be a Great Help to Many of us.
I will.
For those who don't have the time or courage to read all 887 pages, Carlos Lozada of the NYTimes did. Here's a gift link. It's much worse than I initially thought. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/opinion/project-2025-trump-administration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ok0.bGDB.XSdoODgAibOS&smid=url-share
This site also explains it very well: https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/unpacking-the-propaganda
Thank you for the link and for alerting us to the existence of this organization.
Thank You, MisTBlu, I think. Terrifying.
That is the word!! TERRIFYING.
Thank you for gifting the link
Thanks MisTBlu
Thanks for sharing
Take a Valium first - it's terrifying!
Andra Watkins is a NYT bestselling author who “escaped” from a Christian Nationalist church decades ago. She has read and dissected the almost 1000 page Project 2025 manifesto.
“Mainstream media outlets miss Project 2025’s Biblical language and imagery. They speed-bump over the radicalized religious fanaticism of this document and its framers. Post by post, I’m spelling it all out.”
https://project2025istheocracy.substack.com/
Companion read: The Kingdom, The Power and The Glory by Tim Alberta. 🤯
And vote straight Blue!
And vote hard: chase down your registration to be sure you are registered, deliver your ballot the safest way you can, stand in long lines in crappy weather, take Imodium, wear a catheter, take a meal, take water, take coffee, sit down on the sidewalk, lean against a building … and do not let anyone intimidate you,
I vote in Washington state, where everyone votes by mail. Very civilized.
Here in NV, too, but the GQP, run by false electors, want to change that.
If Project 2025 is implemented, I'm not sure elections will be held again.
Based on what we know reading it would most likely be more horrifying that what has been reported.
Bob Lewis (or ANYONE??)..you would not happen to know the name of the organization, mentioned in this forum about a week or so ago, and its effort to analyze and condense the 1000+(?) pages of the Project 25 document? I neglected to bookmark the site, despite best intentions. Now I find it impossible to locate that reference in our previous forums. Having read and skimmed a number of pages in the orginial "Project 25" document, I would welcome a thorough synopsis. If not Bob, perhaps someone in the forum might be able to help? I'd be very grateful. Thanks.
I've written a series of posts on Project 2025. Each post is comprised of excerpts taken from a given chapter. I provide no commentary or opinions as I believe the quotes speak for themselves. I want folks to make up their own minds, not simply follow mine.
Here is a link to a description of the project with commentary regarding its anticipated effects. It is from a response to an earlier post of mine on Jeff Tiedrich's Everyone is Entitled to My Own Opinion posted on 20 April by Munchygut.
Perhaps this is what you are referring to.
https://www.stopthecoup2025.org/unpacking-the-propaganda
Here's another link from a comment above.
For those who don't have the time or courage to read all 887 pages, Carlos Lozada of the NYTimes did. Here's a gift link. It's much worse than I initially thought. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/opinion/project-2025-trump-administration.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ok0.bGDB.XSdoODgAibOS&smid=url-share
Thank you so much for these links, which I moved to my email for careful reading, and sharing...
I have taken the advice of some other commenters, and have written a more thorough discussion of the project and my opinions of it. It is available for free on my site Polytricks, if you'd like to read it.
I appreciate your help and your comments. Thank you!!
I have taken the advice of some other commenters, and have written a more thorough discussion of the project and my opinions of it. It is available for free on my site Polytricks, if you'd like to read it.
Scary
I said that before reading Project 2025. Now I use the word terrifying.
It was Ike, career soldier and former commander of Allied Forces in Europe during WW II, who coined the term "military-industrial complex" while warning the nation of the danger of its growing influence on national affairs.
I think Eisenhower was a lot like Grant (aside from the obvious) in the way they ran their administrations. They were both rather naive in trusting their appointees. And in both cases they were 'betrayed' by politics.
An insightful observation. Both expected appointees to behave in line with how authority is honored in the military.
Yes, and with concomitant disciplinary followup for the greedy/foolish.
Interesting factoid, the highest tax rate in those days was in the 90’s…what deficit!
Eisenhower is an exception
Eisenhower was drafted as president because the Republicans were so desperate to get back into the White House after 20 years out of power that they were willing to take a "squish" as their candidate, and picked the guy all the ex-GIs would vote for, which they did.
Rule of law, steps towards equality,infrastructure. Not a bad president. Why did he chose Nixon as his VP??? Such a shame Ike wasn’t a Democrat = no Nixon!
Yes, not bad....As many as 1.3 million people may have been swept up in the Eisenhower-era campaign called 'Operation Wetback.' The largest mass deproration program in American history.l....so not bad, horrendous.
Why? To balance the ticket. Also, too, to find a bride for his grandson :-)
Well, my Dad was such a dyed in the wool Dem he voted for Stephenson both times but he was not unhappy about Ike. Nixon and Goldwater? A totally different thing.
Exaxctly.
TC, my man! Are you telling me that the ex GIs didn't vote for "Mr. Republican", Robert Taft, the son of the only man to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court even while having trouble getting out of the bathtub, William Howard Taft?!?!?
So true its hurts Daniel as I went to William Howard Taft High School in Los Angeles, the Taft Toreadors. When I pressed my history teacher on Taft he quickly changed the subject to Chester Arthur claiming Arthur was the worst President [ 1881-1885] but, Chester did not have a orange hair.
Ha! That's funny, Bryan.
So you're an Angeleno like me. I went to Loyola High School
Yup, like TC but, I headed north to Big Sur then to the Monterey Pop Festival & got a big 🎶 dose ... of other realities.
And I to Luther Burbank Junior High School.
It's now Taft Charter High - just in the4 vicinity of my neighborhood in the SFV.
Perhaps your teacher was just referring to the 19th century re Arthur?
Daniel AND Teddy Roosevelt’s Secretary of War.
I am.
Written with Taft in mind
https://youtu.be/80TUlmVOEAQ?si=CtMcJeRi0oyVWOnw
Spot Check Billy
Indeed. Harry Truman first tried desperately to get Ike to run as a Democrat. (“Truman,” David McCollough).
In that group. Lincoln was the original Republican president.
And he was cordially hated by the "real" Republicans. All three of the "good" Repuiblican presidents - Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Eisenhower - were flukes forced on the scumbags if they wanted to take power.
What was a real Republican in 1860?
Abe Lincoln’s insistence of Free Labor, internal improvements and his reverence for the Rule of Law was Republican in 1860 and are obvious Joe Biden’ Democratic Party goals and achievements for 2024.
Made very clear before 1860 in the intensely followed Lincoln-Douglas "debates".
Terry, in 1860 a "real Republican" was essentially the newest kid on the political block. I believe their new leader, Lincoln, emerged as a consensus "next best" candidate from a deadlock between two other politicians who had joined the fledgling party. ...not a bad "compromise."
Here's a Wikipedia article which is kinda fun to read. My great-grandfather was the Chairman of the Allen County Indiana Republican Party. He had attended one of Lincoln's speeches in Chicago and was impressed enough to sign up for the duration. I don't know if he was a delegate to this convention or not, but I wouldn't be surprised.
Annabel, i just found out recently that i am not too distantly related to one of the Democratic presidents you have listed. My daughter is deeply involved with our family tree with the ancestry thing and with my great grandmother's maiden name of, '' Carter'' she did an extensive research and revealed to me we are related to Jimmy Carter. I was somewhat surprised at finding that out. We are from Georgia just like former president Carter is.
When she told me we were related to a President, i told her, please tell me it's not Donald TUMP. I would have kept that hidden for sure!
I took your lede to mean 'the order from best to worst at moving the US back in time.'
Of course, that wasn't your intent, but Trump, Reagan and Nixon would be the true regressives. The Bush's were bungling fools who tried to rule like conservatives and Ford and Eisenhower were fairly good at not breaking anything even though both of their administrations were marred by recessions.
None of them legislated as conservatives but rather as repressives, especially to the poor and people of color. Except Trump, who was repressive to everyone except the uber rich and the corporations.
Don't forget that Eisenhower and the Dulles brotheres engineered the overthrow of both the Democractic governments of Guatemala and Iran and look where that has led us!
Not enough people know about the atrocities committed by our CIA. Countries we interfered with that ultimately created some of the migrant issues we scream about…Iran, Guatemala - coup on democratically elected Arbenz. Eisenhower carried it out. Cuba, Chile, Argentina, the US accepted the fraudulent election in Honduras because United Fruit wanted control of resources. It’s a long list of sheer corruption…that we dare shake our fists at others is beyond audacious.
Among other things Pres. Eisenhower accomplished was to propose and sign into law the first Civil Rights Act since Reconstruction.
Robert 🙏🙏
Again, I’ll say or remind folks that the natural order of things is change - and usually that means change or progress for something better - not trying to hold back the hands of time or in some instances, trying to turn the clock back to days long gone by[e]! Think of the definitions, the context, the meanings and perceptions of the words: conservative, moderate, liberal [progressive] … with the passage of time, most things generally improve and make our lives’ better and/or easier and we have to learn to change with the changing times. However, we have those among us who are either afraid of change or are just too lazy or stubborn and prefer to resist change. Of course all change may not always or necessarily be good, but it is inevitable and we will or must have to adapt to live with and/or control, manage it!
It seems that the political party that one would think should [have been] be trying to conserve things like clean air, clean water, undisturbed areas of forests and wildlife, reluctant to accept the realities of climate change, has been the party that has failed or that has been recalcitrant to live up to that conservative label in these areas.
Just a small reminder of “Houston, we have a problem”. Remember, it was Ronald Reagan, before he ever likely thought of running for president of the United States who was widely known for saying: “progress is our most important product”.
If you really want to bookend these two lineages, put Roosevelt /Truman after Kennedy and Hoover after Eisenhower. Literally the high and low points of the 20th century. So far we have the low of the 21st century courtesy of Trump...not sure that it can get worse. I hesitate to say Obama was the high point with 3/4 of the 21st century yet to go.
Terry, I have discovered through hard experience that one should NEVER, EVER say
"it can't get worse" for it surely seems to tempt fate to prove one dead wrong. It can ALWAYS get worse! We are spared to some degree in the Orange One by the blindness of his all too apparent narcissism and his reliable tendency to accuse others of precisely what he has on his own mind in an explicit form of projection. Were we to be confronted by someone brighter, with better education and less blinded by his own narcissism, we would likely have an even worse nightmare in someone we couldn't so easily recognize until it was too late. The Bill Barrs and Mitch McConnels of our political world come to mind.
LBJ gave us what I like to call LBJcare, more commonly known as Medicare. That's also major.
Nixon actually gave us the EPA, and he tried to give us a population policy, whch would have done us a lot of good, as we're way overpopulated now. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church let him know that they would prevent his re-election if he went ahead with that. So our population grew from a little over 200 million when he was elected to the current 335 million.) We are using up groundwater, threatening our agricultural production, at a time when we've recently learned the importance of keeping critical supply chains in house.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/08/28/climate/groundwater-drying-climate-change.html
And propublica recently projected that MILLIONS of Americans will be climate refugees within the next several decades
https://www.propublica.org/article/climate-change-will-force-a-new-american-migration
Nonetheless, US immigration policy will add nearly 80 million to the population over th e next four decades, according to the Census Bureau, equivalent to four New York States.
Eisenhower was indeed, a very competent and thoughtful president who accomplished some very good things for the nation.
But let's not forget that it was Eisenhower who approved two apparently innocuous but very telling alterations to our national lives - the addition of 'under God' to the pledge of allegiance, and the addition of "In God We Trust' to our paper currency.
Both were the fruition of attempts by members of the business community in order to align capitalism with Christianity, and thus be in contrast with godless communism. We can still hear the echoes of this success in the three right wing buzz words so commonly applied to the Democratic Party ; socialism, communism, and Marxism.
I'm late to the party today... Annabel, it goes back more than a century. Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover can be added to that list.
No fan of Nixon, but the EPA and his revenue sharing with the states were good things, otherwise, he was a crook and caused a lot of dead Americans due to his undermining of the U.S. getting out of Vietnam. Johnson knew about his actions and was livid. However, nothing was done due to "politics".
I agree with you Annabel; it has been all downhill for the GOP since Ike.
Unfortunately, it isn’t just a trend. Yes, I second Bob Lewis. Read Project 2025. Leonard Leo and other wealthy radical conservatives are behind this project. It is well thought-out and planned. Trump is just the puppet to carry out this takeover.
Eisenhower gave us the framework for an Interstate Highway System, which was not implemented under a judicious use of the "Rule of Law". Eminent domain in particular was used as a tool for social engineering to transfer wealth from middle class nonwhite people and was upheld by the "Rule of Law". To this day our cities still suffer from the bad effects of this program.