Roger Ailes: The Bastard Behind It All

"Roger Ailes did more to degrade the tone of public life in America than anyone since Joseph McCarthy."

Click on the link below for a biography of the main influencer of forming the present Republican Party:

A short biography of a bully

How Does Trump's Character Compare To Other US Presidents?

"Historian Michael Beschloss on how Trump’s challenges in the courtroom line up against a larger history of presidential legal woes."

Click on the link below for a podcast presenting a historical view of many Presidents regarding legal events and character flaws:

What’s Past is Prologue for Presidential Norms

The USA Is Rerunning The 1850s

"I have wondered lately if the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision isn’t our era’s version of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, sparking a countrywide backlash." - - -

"March 15 is too important a day to ignore. As the man who taught me to use a chainsaw said, it is immortalized by Shakespeare’s famous warning: 'Cedar! Beware the adze of March!'

"He put it that way because the importance of March 15 is, of course, that it is the day in 1820 that Maine, the Pine Tree State, joined the Union.

"Maine statehood had national repercussions. The inhabitants of this northern part of Massachusetts had asked for statehood in 1819, but their petition was stopped dead by southerners who refused to permit a “free state”—one that did not permit slavery—to enter the Union without a corresponding “slave state.” The explosive growth of the northern states had already given free states control of the House of Representatives, but the South held its own in the Senate, where each state got two votes. The admission of Maine would give the North the advantage, and southerners insisted that Maine’s admission be balanced with the admission of a southern slave state lest those opposed to slavery use their power in the federal government to restrict enslavement in the South."

Click on the link below for the rest of the story:

https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/march-15-2024

The "Gilded Age" Is Alive And Well

"John Oliver discusses freight trains and railroads, how they’ve put profits over safety, and, crucially, what shows he watched as a child that explain…everything. "

Click on the link below for a clear example of corporate behavior that should have ended at the end of the Gilded Age. We need another Mark Twain, or another Charles Dickens, to enlighten voters and to push politicians toward a truly REGULATED capitalism:

Chris Hayes & Rachel Maddow Tell It As It Was, And Still Is

THE USA WILL BE A DICTATORSHIP UNDER TRUMP

"We just wrapped up our fall 2023 national tour. We’ve so enjoyed taking WITHpod on the road and it’s been so good to hear feedback from so many of you. We couldn’t think of a better person to have for our tour culmination than the one and only Rachel Maddow. It was a fascinating conversation all about what we can do to save American democracy, how we got to this particular political moment and her amazing New York Times bestselling book, “Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism.” We’re thrilled to share the full recording of the event with you."

Click on the link below for 90 minutes of American history and current events that everyone needs to know:

WITHpod Live with Chris Hayes and Rachel Maddow

A Pep Talk To Keep Plugging Away Promoting Reality

The Pilgrims Were Religious Fanatics: Does This Change Your Mind?

" - - - you want to change the world (but) do you really believe that people can change their minds not just on a topic but overall? I mean I kind of have to, I don't have a choice if I believe the world can change I have to believe that individuals can because one thing doesn't happen without the other. It doesn't work any other way. If you do not believe that people can change then you might as well just give up striving for a better world. You have to believe that it's possible. It's not going to be an event for most people. They're not just going to suddenly change their mind. They'll be swayed over time. Their ideas will shift slowly but surely and that's what causes the change. Sometimes it's imperceptible but if you want that better world you have to believe that individuals can change. If not. just give it up because there's no way it happens any other way. In that bus analogy, some people are only going to go five or six miles. Some are going 6,000 but as long as you can get people headed in the same direction, it's a win. And, his referring to the pilgrims as religious fanatics? That's probably a pretty good example of that because odds are he got that line from Ansel Adams, but when he saw it, he understood it. The reason he found it funny, the reason he decided it was something that he could quote, might have been your conversation the year before. It's gradual but make no mistake about it. If you want the world to change, you have to be willing to accept the idea that individuals can. And, it's probably not a great idea to write them off and just be like, well they're never going to change. And sure, that's true about some people. Some people won't change, but you don't know who they are. So, just because somebody is wearing a red hat doesn't necessarily mean that they have forsaken all reason. I mean, I know that may be hard to believe at times. But, if you want that world, you have to believe that people can change, that individuals can change. And, you have to be willing to try to help them along. It may not work and the best you ever get may be them recycling a line from a show they saw on TV. But, it shows a shift and you must keep working at it anyway. It's just a thought. Have a good day."

(Mildly edited for grammar from the transcript of this episode of the"Beau of the Fifth Column" YouTube Channel on 11/21/2023)

Conservatives And US Founding Myths

Conservatives in the USA have devolved into the promotion of lies and myths in general, and such includes the Founding of the USA. Click on the link below for an evidence-based expose of ten Founding myths that are primarily believed and promoted by conservatives:

10 American Founding Myths

Women's Vote In The USA: The History

"Like the momentum for the Fifteenth Amendment, the push for rights for women had taken root during the Civil War as women backed the United States armies with their money, buying bonds and paying taxes; with their loved ones, sending sons and husbands and fathers to the war front; with their labor, working in factories and fields and taking over from men in the nursing and teaching professions; and even with their lives, spying and fighting for the Union. In the aftermath of the war, as the divided nation was rebuilt, many of them expected they would have a say in how it was reconstructed.

"But to their dismay, the Fourteenth Amendment explicitly tied the right to vote to “male” citizens, inserting the word “male” into the Constitution for the first time."

Click on the link below for the history of the steps involved in allowing women to vote in the USA. Unfortunately, it is similar to other rights efforts for women. 

I think frequently about my mother and the history of women's rights in the USA. She was born before women could vote. She graduated 4th in her high school class but could not go to college. She became a widow in 1962 but could not get a credit card in her own name until 1974.

History of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution

Distorting Black History Goes Way Back

"What can the controversy over Florida’s new Black history standards tell us about the politics of distorting the past? Heather and Joanne analyze the claims and framing of the standards and connect the curricular mandates to a century-old effort by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to control how Southern history was taught."

Click on the link below for details:

Telling Tales of History: The Florida Problem

More On The Struggle of Indigenous Nations In The USA

"Heather and Joanne reflect on the recent Haaland v. Brackeen Supreme Court decision, which upholds the 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act. They put the case into context with past struggles by indigenous communities to define their place in the American story, from Tenskwatawa’s 1800s quest for representation to the consequences of the 1887 Dawes Act to the 1960s origins of the American Indian Movement."

I have had the opportunity to visit several indigenous nations in my travel across the USA and have learned much about their struggles. Because of such, I have posted a few times on them (link) in the recent past. Click on the link below for another history of their plight:

The American Nation and Indigenous Nations: Sovereignty & Struggle

The History Of US Right-Wing Extremism

Click on the link below for a Chris Hayes podcast presenting the history of US right-wing extremism from the Civil War, through the devastation of Black Wall Street and the Oklahoma City/Timothy McVeigh bombing, to the present environment within conservatives. In essence, the problem is getting worse:

Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism with Jeffrey Toobin

Another View Of The Electoral College

"The possibility of a second Donald Trump presidency provides perhaps the strongest case ever for the Electoral College. Were the Electoral College to work as the * Framers originally envisioned, there is no chance Trump would even be a serious candidate in 2024, let alone 2016 or 2020.

"The Electoral College is perhaps the most maligned and misunderstood institution in American politics. There have been more efforts to alter or abolish it than any other institution, and polls suggest large percentages of the public support replacing it with a direct popular vote for president."

"So why did the constitutional Framers create the Electoral College?"

Click on the link below for an interesting US history lesson:

Trump is why the framers created the Electoral College

* A big qualifier

America Is NOT Great

"The International Institute for Management Development (IMD) World Competitiveness Ranking for 2023 shows the United States continuing its descent.

"The US maintained the top position from 1997 to 2009. However, in 2010 it slid to third, overtaken by Singapore and Hong Kong. This year, the US found itself further down the list, ranking ninth.

"The IMD's World Competitiveness Center monitors 64 economies worldwide. It "analyzes and ranks countries based on their ability to manage their competencies to achieve long-term value creation." This ranking does not merely assess GDP and productivity. It also considers "political, social, and cultural dimensions." The assessment is divided into four categories: economic performance, government efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure.

"Government efficiency appears to be the most critical challenge for the US. The lackluster legislative process struggles to keep pace with other countries whose governments adeptly adapt to current economic conditions."  (US Drops Further in International Competitiveness Rankings)

Nice work, Singapore (my major viewer of this blog!).

Native American History: It Must Be Taught

"In a major victory for Native American rights, the Supreme Court has upheld key provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act, giving preference for adoption of Native American children to their tribes and families. The law was passed 45 years ago to protect tribal sovereignty and to correct past government abuses. In a new book, historian Ned Blackhawk recasts the story of America to include Native American history. The author joins Hari Sreenivasan to explain why Indigenous history is essential to understanding modern America."

Click on the link below for an important look at Native American history:

Completing the American Story: How Native Americans Shaped the Nation

Texas Myths: They Are More Than The Alamo

"What can the contested and often-mythological history of Texas show us about America today?

"Heather and Joanne use the current impeachment drama surrounding Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton as a window into the dramatic and ever-shifting legacies of the Alamo and the Texas oil boom."

Click on the link below for a podcast delving into the truth about Texas history:

Texas Tall-Tales, Ken Paxton. . . And Us

"Block" History Month

"Today, we take a look at the importance of teaching a full and unflinching version of Black history and why the campaign to block it is reaching a peak at this moment in time."

Click on the link below for a sobering look at history denial in general and Black history in particular. The brain disease of magical/anti-science thinking is winning:

The Campaign to Erase Uncomfortable Truths About Black History

"Human Rights" Vs "States' Rights"

Since at least the onset of the US Civil War, groups of people within individual states have used parts of the US Constitution to support nefarious anti-democratic activity under the banner of "States' Rights." Below are some reasons why states' rights do not trump human rights and why the federal government is the final arbiter in protecting both human rights and democracy:

"The protection of fundamental human rights was a foundation stone in the establishment of the United States over 200 years ago." (link)

"Article VI, Paragraph 2 of the U.S. Constitution is commonly referred to as the Supremacy Clause. It establishes that the federal constitution, and federal law generally, take precedence over state laws, and even state constitutions. It prohibits states from interfering with the federal government's exercise of its constitutional powers, and from assuming any functions that are exclusively entrusted to the federal government. - - - " (link)

Human rights are embedded within the US Constitution and its Amendments. (link)

One has to be willfully ignorant not to see what is happening within both federal and state governments, as well as small and larger groups of organized civilians, to defy human rights by acting outside of laws protecting such. It is not unusual for these folks to cloak their action within the "States' Right" meme. Consistent with this is the phenomenon of the "Constitutional Sheriff." Click on the link below for a podcast delving into the history of sheriffs and this concept of such:

The "Constitutional Sheriff" Myth

- - - - - - -

A point to ponder: bodily autonomy is a universal, precedent-supported human right. Why is the US Supreme Court essentially finding that such is a "States' Rights" issue?

Why The Republican Party Is Anti-Democratic

"If working people were a bit more desperate about their economic situations, the wealthy believe they’d be less likely to organize, protest, or even vote."

There is no doubt that the Republican party is for the rich and is anti-democratic. To understand why one has to understand its full history and evolution of it. Click on the link below for a 12-minute video that fully exposes why it acts the way it does:

The Dark Reason The Rich Hate Democracy Revealed.

Click on the link below for an analysis of our cyclic views of wealth in the USA:

The Real Reason The Rich Flock To Davos

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The USA Is Not Learning From History

Several decades ago, the USA experienced a serious attempt to overthrow the government that was eerily similar to what it is presently going through. This happened during the 1930s/early 1940s. Rachel Maddow, per usual, has superbly delved through American history to present a multi-episode podcast on the situation:  Click on the links below to listen to the series (completed). 

Episode 1: Trip 19   OCTOBER 10TH, 2022 | 36:40 | S1:E1

Episode 2: The Brooklyn Boys   OCTOBER 10TH, 2022 | 38:30 | S1:E2

Episode 3: The Day   OCTOBER 17TH, 2022 | 38:34 | S1:E3

Episode 4: A Bad Angle  OCTOBER 24TH, 2022 | 37:43 | S1:E4

Episode 5: Shut It Down  OCTOBER 31ST, 2022 | 49:42 | S1:E5

Episode 6: Bedlam  NOVEMBER 7TH, 2022 | 41:24 | S1:E6

Episode 7: Rinse, Repeat  NOVEMBER 14TH, 2022 | 43:47 | S1:E7

Episode 8 (final episode)  NOVEMBER 21TH, 2022

Political Violence In The USA Is Not New

"Today, we take a look at our extremely steady history of political violence from the Revolution, through the Civil War, Reconstruction and Jim Crow, into the Civil Rights era, the Militia Movement and domestic terrorism, and now to our current once-again-radicalized, right-wing movement willing to use and tacitly condone violence as a political tactic."

Click on the link below for a podcast on the matter:

A History of Political Violence in the US