Your Independent Journal from the Heartland
Our mainstream media distorts the view of our dire situation by often reporting on the new Trump administration as just more usual political news. I never expected Ted Rall to contribute to this problem. Yet his column in the June paper, “Trump Is Shocking, But Not New,” does. He compares the new administration to those of past presidents. Rall focuses on an important issue: Trump has more room to operate now due to the lack of vigorous resistance to past presidential abuses. This history is important but not at the expense of glossing over fundamental differences.
How can we say Trump is not new? How many past presidents
• Supported putting US senators, governors and mayors who publicly disagreed with them on the floor to physically restrain and detain them?
• Conducted deportations with no legal basis or legal process at all?
• Had numerous non-partisan officials like judges and strong critics threatened or attacked during their administrations?
• Encouraged their supporters to attack our capital to disrupt a presidential election and later pardoned all who were found guilty and sent to prison?
• Used dictators as their role model?
• Used their office primarily to greatly enrich themselves and their families?
• Used many millions of our tax dollars for a huge military parade to help celebrate their birthday?
• Were openly dismissive of our Constitution?
There is a whole new level of lawlessness and corruption in the White House. If more people don’t recognize this soon, our democratic ways of the past 250 years will very likely be replaced by a fully developed dictatorship. That’s the key issue that is new.
BOB RUNDLE, Oak Ridge, Tenn.
