This blog post was originally published on November 25, 2016.  To millions of Americans, Donald Trump’s presidency posed a “clear and present” danger” to the United States.  Now, on September 13, 2019, we couldn’t have imagined how bad he would be for this country, and indeed for the entire world. Everyday, my wife and I discuss and explore the unbelievability of this man and how he is on the way to eroding and destroying the moral center of the United States.  In nearly every part of our lives, the actions of this administration are dangerous.  These areas include foreign policy, environmental protection, immigration, education, health care, taxes, and journalism.  Each day’s emergence from his bed room results in a calendar of lies. He spends time chastising and calling out the press. His speech is rambled and often incoherent.  He is worse than one could imagine and one one republican has stood up to him. Here is the original post. A Clear and Present Danger–How the New Administration Endangers Us All There is little doubt that the incoming Republican administration presents a Clear and Present Danger to all citizens in the U.S., and the rest of the world. Never has such an inexperienced, corrupt and autocratic administration been given the reigns to the American democracy. The new administration has already shown its hand in terms of comments made on the campaign trail, who was selected for cabinet positions, and White House executive positions.  This coupled with a Congress that is in denial of policies for science, health, the environment, and education based on research in these fields. Why do I think the White House presents a Clear and Present Danger? First, we have possibly the worst president-elect in history. For one, he did not secure the votes of the majority. He lost the election by more than nearly 3 million votes, and there is some suspicion that the votes tallied in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania may be contested. If the results in these three states swing to Clinton, she would win the election. Jill Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate has raised more than $2 million to fund this, and has requested recalls in these three states. Wisconsin has indicated it will begin a recall now. The Clinton campaign has joined in the effort. The Authoritarian is calling foul and is reeling.  Too bad. The words and actions The Authoritarian used and put on display during the primary and presidential campaign describe his beliefs and understandings, which resonated with many, but were repulsive to many more. Saying Mexicans are criminals, rapists, and drug dealers and calling a judge Mexican because his surname is Hispanic, and claiming he would be biased against him in his University fraud case, even though he was born and raised in Indiana. Name calling of women (“Look at that face,” saying that Megan Kelly “had blood coming out of her whatever), and using phrases such “lying Ted Cruz,” “crooked Hillary,” or “little Marco,” are part of his lexicon which he will carry to the White House, perhaps in a disguised form. He thinks of people as either winners or losers, and is quick to give his opinion. In one interview he was asked about Senator John McCain’s ordeal as a prisoner of war for seven years.  He said, “He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who weren’t captured.” Perhaps most incendiary are his racist plans to round-up “bad hombres”, and create a registry for Muslims, and one of his allies even brought up the disgraced idea of internment camps! The Authoritarian is also inept when it comes to literature, history and science. In a Tweet in 2012, he said “The concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” The new administration is a Clear and Present Danger.  In addition to his racism, sexism, misogyny, sexual assaults, and corruption, there are other concerns that are alarming. National Security The Washington Post has reported that The Authoritarian has only had 2 intelligence briefing, turning away these daily.  It’s reported that he is participating in less briefings than previous president-elects. During the election campaign he claimed to know more about ISIS and how to defeat it than U.S. Army Generals. He also said he wanted to be unpredictable and not say what he is thinking. Many experts on National Security are deeply concerned about his lack of preparation and knowledge about security. Education He had little to no respect for public education and of course he picked as Secretary of Education a person holding similar beliefs, Betsy DeVos, (see Mercedes Schneider’s blog post on her) a billionaire philanthropist from Michigan with zero experience with public schools and a predominate advocate for vouchers and charters.  His choice of DeVos is a miscarriage of justice for public education. For thirty years or more, republicans have been dismantling public education one voucher or charter at a time. And DeVos has been central in this attempt. It’s no surprise this person of privilege would be given this post. Add another billionaire to the cabinet. The New York Times journalist, Kate Zernike said this about DeVos:

But Ms. DeVos’s efforts to expand educational opportunity in her home state of Michigan and across the country have focused little on existing public schools, and almost entirely on establishing newer, more entrepreneurial models to compete with traditional schools for students and money. Her donations and advocacy go almost entirely toward groups seeking to move students and money away from what The Authoritarian calls “failing government schools.”

The Network for Public Education is calling on U.S. Senators to turn her down for cabinet secretary. Here is what the Network for Public Education had to say about her nomination:

DeVos believes that the market solves all problems, and she and her husband’s foundation spent nearly 1.5 million dollars to persuade the Michigan legislature to kill a bill to regulate charter schools in the state. Thanks to her efforts, 80% of the charters in Michigan operate for profit, without accountability or transparency. Send a clear message to the Senate that Betsy DeVos should not be confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Education. Her hostility towards public schools disqualifies her. Send your letter today. We make it easy.

More than 20,000 letters have been sent as of today. Climate Change He thinks climate change is a political issue and he falls in line with most republicans who are in denial of climate change science. This is a Clear and Present Danger to humankind. The hottest temperatures recorded since record keeping began have occurred in the past ten years, yet the president-elect of U.S. says more research is needed. And most republicans in Congress deny climate change and the related scientific research that overwhelmingly asserts the realness of climate change. And not because of natural rhythms, but because humans have been so good at burning fossil fuels. Denying climate change is the tip of the iceberg (no pun intended). To deny science in this case leads to a populace that is steeped in ignorance and is sliding off a flat earth. Ironically, in our public schools climate change is taught as part of the curriculum, whether it’s Common Core or not. So the children of republican deniers are coming home with ideas that are counter to their parents. The organization, Science Debate has for the last three presidential elections, invited the candidates to answer a series of questions on a range of science related topics. The Authoritarian was the only candidate not to accept that climate change is real. Here is what The Authoritarian said in response to this Science Debate question on Climate Science. Climate science question: The Earth’s climate is changing and political discussion has become divided over both the science and the best response. What are your views on climate change, and how would your administration act on those views?

There is still much that needs to be investigated in the field of “climate change.” (Emphasis, mine: Shows he does not accept the world’s scientific findings on climate change) Perhaps the best use of our limited financial resources should be in dealing with making sure that every person in the world has clean water. Perhaps we should focus on eliminating lingering diseases around the world like malaria. Perhaps we should focus on efforts to increase food production to keep pace with an ever-growing world population. Perhaps we should be focused on developing energy sources and power production that alleviates the need for dependence on fossil fuels. We must decide on how best to proceed so that we can make lives better, safer and more prosperous.

And finally, we should recognize that the Supreme Court adopted a doctrine of “clear and present danger,” as a rationale for the limitation of free speech on U.S. Citizens.  Although violence should not be tolerated, civil disobedience is a nonviolent and collective way of forcing the government to change policies. The danger that appears to be unfolding by The Authoritarian must be met with speech, action and nonviolent protest. You might consider linking to this article: http://jackhassard.org/how-do-we-curb-greenhouse-gas-emissions-while-developing-economies-for-an-equitable-sustainable-earth/