The Progressives--A Long Range Plan--Part 4

Wilson's first term concentrated on issues dealing with domestic policy. The Revenue Act passed in 1913 lowered tariffs and gave us the 16th Amendment imposing the Federal Income Tax. The 17th Amendment, being considered by some for repeal, gave us the direct election of senators now no longer responsible to the citizens of their home state. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 provided a central banking system so that we had flexible currency and the rediscounting of commercial paper. We gained the Federal Farm Loan Act that provided federal assistance to farmers and established the National Park system with the National Park Service Act of 1916. And let's not forget the Clayton Antitrust Act and its impositions on big business.

Wilson's second term was taken up by World War I or "the war to end all wars." To Wilson's credit he did not rush the country into the war in Europe until certain issues forced his hand. He did offer to mediate the war and he did not move to build up the army probably something he regretted. His comment to the peace faction in the US was that an army build up would be to provocative. Indeed, Wilson got himself in trouble in Philadelphia while making a speech where he declared that "sometimes a nation can be too proud to fight."

Wilson was not inactive when it came to criticizing the warring nations. He warned Germany about her submarine warfare because the Germans made it perfectly clear they would attack those who supplied England.That came true when the Lusitania was sunk by German subs killing American passengers. One would think that the sinking of the Lusitania would be enough to cause America to go to war but that was not the case because the Germans promised to restrict submarine attacks to combatants. That did not work because Germany was losing the war.

The issues that took America into World War I were the Zimmerman note and Germany's decision to renew unrestricted submarine warfare on noncombatants. Germany made overtures to Mexico. They suggested that Mexico invade the United States and when Germany won the war Mexico would be given the land they had lost to the US. This infuriated Wilson and he asked and received a declaration of war against Germany and her allies. Wilson told the public that this was a war to make "the world safe for democracy." It was America's entrance into the war that caused the defeat of Germany and her allies Austria-Hungary and Turkey.

What we need to pay attention to is what happened at home after Wilson took us to war. The Congress passed and Wilson signed the Espionage Act in 1917. This made it illegal to pass information on to the enemy or convey false information to any branch of the United States military.

In 1918, the Sedition Act was passed. It prohibited citizens from speaking, printing, or writing anything bad about the United States government or military. Government officials such as the postmaster general had the power to stop the delivery of mail if he deemed it to come under the Sedition or Espionage Act. All foreign publications had to be translated and approved by censors. If American publications did not obey their newsprint could be shut off effectively ending their ability to publish.

Citizens were not to speak out against the government in their own homes. Jonah Goldberg points out in his work, "Liberal Fascism" that a man in Wisconsin was put in jail for two and a half years for criticizing a fund raising drive by the Red Cross. Another incident concerned a movie showing British troops committing atrocities during the American Revolution got the producer a ten year jail term. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes stated that these actions, that saw tens of thousands of Americans being arrested, were constitutional. Does any of this sound familiar?

Historically speaking, my history teachers and professors taught that this was all okay. One came away with the impression that all these policies and all the new government agencies created to implement these policies were necessary to help the downtrodden and create a safe home front. We had emergencies that we had to deal with and only the government could do that. Now an expanse of time has passed and we are able to do a critical analysis of the Progressives. Good causes or not the Progressives showed a willingness to interfere in areas not supported by the Constitution. They did this and do this because they believe that we are unable to fulfill the legacy left to us by Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers. Thus government must take over and direct us and spend our money for us. Government knows best.

With the passage of time we can see clearly the path of the new Progressives who by changing their name from liberals, what they became at the end of the Wilsonian era, are going back to their roots. They speak of unity and centralization. They believe that government knows best. They constantly speak of change something that has devastated our education system. They bring wars that seem to need fighting yet they are wars to enhance their grip on our country. In the words of the immortal Pogo, "We have met the enemy and he is us." And that "us" can show up as a Progressive liberal or a compassionate conservative Republican.

The Progressives--A Long Range Plan--Part 3

By the time he walked into the White House on March 4, 1913, Woodrow Wilson had acquired a heavy resume. Son of a founder of the Southern Presbyterian Church who had also served as a Chaplin in the Confederate Army, Wilson was an 1879, graduate of Princeton. He attended the University of Virginia for one year when he returned home probably because of his health. He entered the law firm of an old U of V classmate and passed the Georgia Bar. He was not all that happy as an attorney so he applied to and was accepted at Johns Hopkins where he earned a PhD in history and government in 1886. To date he is the only president who obtained a doctoral degree. He would go on to serve as president of his Alma Mater at Princeton and as governor of New Jersey from January 17,1911-March 1, 1913.

Wilson was a member of the Democrat Party. He was a major figure during the Progressive movement of the early twentieth century. As such he was a man interested in change including the changing of the Constitution a document he considered cumbersome. At on point, Wilson stated that we should work to bring "the Executive and Legislature closer together". What Wilson was really looking at was taking our government over to a parliamentary system similar to that of Great Britain's. He was not a fan of our system of checks and balances because it was impossible to lay blame for any problem that might arise.

Wilson's time in office is very interesting in that his first term was consume with the implementation of his domestic agenda. Wilson ran on a platform calling for a "New Freedom". He promised that he would make changes to the antitrust laws, reform currency and banking regulations and revise the tariff. Indeed he accomplished many of his goals.

In 1913, Congress passed and Wilson signed the Underwood Tariff that lowered rates and revenue from tariffs. We made up the shortfall of funds by passing Amendment 16 that gave Congress the right to levy and collect the now infamous income tax.

Wilson initiated a series of acts to help farmers by providing farm extension agent who assisted farmers by teaching them new farming methods. WOW teaching farmers how to farm. Maybe those that did not know how to do that should have been in another vocation.

Laws to curb child labor, assist seamen, help the railroad and the unions were also part of the New Freedom Wilson espoused. A big change came with the Federal Trade Commission whose purpose was to stop trade practices that were deemed unfair.

One major piece of legislation was the Clayton Antitrust Act. This act differed from Sherman in that the Sherman Antitrust Act, passed in 1890, was designed to break up the Trusts, large companies becoming monopolies. Clayton made inroads because it was aimed at stopping what was deemed to be anti-competitive practices in a competitive market. Thus price fixing, forcing retailers to not sell another companies goods, and certain mergers or purchases of other companies could fall under the provisions of the Clayton Antitrust Act. The major move by the government was that the officers of such a company could be held accountable yet interestingly enough was that Clayton exempted labor unions and agricultural organizations.

The argument can and has been made that government had to become involved because the times were such that people were suffering and something had to be done. But is this the way a people who live in a republican form of government are suppose to act? With the Clayton Antitrust Act, Wilson introduced identity politics to the political arena and it was an item that would not only continue to grow but would create an anger within the country that may not be fixable.

Sam's Club and Rice

I want all of you to realize that this entry is a direct result of a news story declaring that Sam's Club, and certainly it is only a matter of time before other grocers join in, has rationed rice that comes in 20lb. bags. Someone, I presume at Sam's or maybe the evil Wal-Mart, has come to the conclusion that folks buying rice in large quantities are hoarding and trying to escape the escalating price of food. God forbid you should decide to take care of you and yours. There was a time when this would have been considered frugal behavior. Indeed, it is my understanding that those who belong to the Mormon religion ask their members to keep a couple years of food on hand in case of hard times.

Rationing is something we usually associate with shortages. If we do have a rice/food shortage we must ask why. Let me give you two words, government subsidies. We have been subsidizing American farmers for one reason or another ever since the depression. We are at it again in that we are subsidizing them to grow corn so that we can turn it into ethanol and burn it. I thought it was dumb to use petroleum to make polyester and plastic and wear it. This ethanol thing is one of the stupidest things we have ever done. Why are we doing this? We are engaged in the War on Global Warming or Climate Change, the latest war in the strategy of the Progressives.

Government officials would tell you that we subsidize agriculture because we want to save the small farmer. I would suggest that the small farmer disappeared with the Romans. What we are really doing is subsidizing Big Farming and bad agricultural practices.

In reality we probably have too many farmers in the country who continue to do the same things they have been doing since World War I. They grow crops. If the farmers in an area have a good crop that year in that region they all have a good year. Price for the crop in a surplus year will go down because there is too much product. In a bad year all the farmers will be low on product but price will be up. Unfortunately the farmers will not have a lot to sell. Costs, meanwhile, continue to go up for equipment and those fluids needed to run that equipment. Right now there are farmers growing corn for ethanol and they are not making money because the price of gasoline and diesel is through the roof. Meanwhile commodity prices are going crazy and the speculators have pushed those prices through the roof. Do the farmers consider growing something other then corn or whatever the major crop is for their region. Seldom do they do this. I live in Pennsylvania. My wife and I have put in a garden this year. Summer and winter squash, tomatoes, peas, carrots, radishes, zucchini, lettuce, cauliflower, broccoli, are but a few things in our garden. Farmers' fields will be full of corn, soybeans, and hay. Talk about your diversity and forward thinking.

Are we really looking at a food shortage? Are food prices going to make gas prices look like a good deal? Are we going to continue to allow the hoax of Climate Change? Isn't Al Gore's green hedge fund enough proof of what this is all about? Are you going to let them buffalo you on the ethanol matter, a fuel that requires 100 gallons of petroleum to make 90 gallons of ethanol a fuel that will give us lower mileage per gallon and is dirtier then what we have?

We subsidize farmers and the price of food goes up. We subsidize oil companies and they don't drill for oil or build refineries. We subsidize schools and test scores go down. We subsidize colleges and the cost goes up as the money goes to the likes of Ward Churchill. Without subsidies Ward Churchill would not be a professor and Colorado University would not be there. Can you find the common key here? Keep in mind that it is today's Progressives, Clinton, Obama, Pelosi, Reed, and indeed compassionate Bush, are up to their eyeballs in this. Take a close look at the picture on this entry, it is cat food. Is it the meal of the future for you and me

The Progressives--A Long Range Plan--Part 2

How are you feeling? A bit worn out? Tired? Well you should because you are at War. Oh, I know. You're here in the states not in some foreign country like Iraq or Afghanistan. Still, you are at war.


Like most Americans you get up in the morning and prepare yourself for the day. Shower, brush your teeth, shave, comb your hair, dress and show up at the breakfast table. So far so good. The wife is smiling and the kids are being kids getting ready for school or play. Then you do what you do every morning, you turn on the radio to catch the news. By the time you're done with your toast, maybe even your cereal, you feel like someone has been hitting you with a baseball bat for several weeks. The problems seem overwhelming. You ask yourself, what is going on here? What is going on are the wars being waged by the Progressives.

The Progressives learned with World War I that war was their friend. They were able to unite the people around this dreaded emergency and have the government take greater control of the country. War was good.

I am not talking about war that is carried on against a foreign enemy in places like Iraq or Afghanistan. I am talking about nice wars. Wars that we would almost leap to participate in because they are truly a good cause. Take the first good war, the one to get you to wear your seat belt. Wear your belt because it will save your life. However, many opted not to wear the belt something they believed was their right to do. Well, the Progressives then made seat belt wearing mandatory and if you got caught not wearing it you received a ticket and a fine. Progressives, the state, knows what is best for you.

While Teddy Roosevelt was the first Progressive president bringing us trust busting of big business, Woodrow Wilson put us firmly on the road to government control of the population. Wilson was a centerist. At the age of 29, he wrote "Congressional Government" wherein he suggested that America become a centralized parliamentary government. Indeed he stated the it was our checks and balances system that was making life difficult. Wilson took his cue from Roosevelt after he saw how successful Roosevelt was in using the presidential "bully pulpit".

Wilson used World War I to bring government and private businesses together with the War Industries Board and Wilson allowed them to make their own regulations. The private business guys must have thought that they had died and gone to heaven.

But there was more to be done. Once government and business were involved in the first of many private-public relationships, the folks had to be convinced. Wilson created the Committee on Public Information or CPI and put George Creel, a former muckraker, in charge. The CPI was our first ministry of propaganda. It multiplied like so many rabbits. In the end the CPI had twenty subdivisions.

Wilson filled his administration with additional muckrakers and liberals. Clarence Darrow who defended evolution in the Scopes Trial, said that he questioned a man's patriotism if he asked the terms of peace. Children were asked to sign "'A Little American's Promise'" where they pledged to clean their plate and pray for America.

Now you might say what is wrong with all of this. On the face of it nothing at all. In reality it was the first foot of the government coming through the door.

The Progressives--A Long Range Plan--Part 1

One of my major concerns and gripes about America and Americans was our inability to look into the future and make a plan for it. Other nations, most notably China, have been able to develop policies that seem to take into account what the world might be like decades out and maybe even longer. But I must admit that I have erred about this for the Progressives did develop a plan and it is being put into place.

The term Progressive Era conjures up in the mind of many people progress. Indeed progress was made. There are, however, two questions that must be asked. What type of progress was made and at what cost, if any, to the populace and our system of government as described in the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.

The Progressives came into being because of the turmoil in this country during the time period spanning 1890-1920. Unions were attempting to make headway on matters such as wages and benefits. Radical political elements were in place ranging from populists, to socialists and anarchists. Striking workers engaged in battles not only with management, they also rioted in the streets and fought the local and state police. The political elements wanted to overthrow the government and replace it with their own brand. Enter the Progressives.

To put it bluntly, the Progressives believed that the best way to solve the nation's problems was through centralization and government regulation. Regulate the big companies referred to as Trusts and if necessary force them to break into smaller entities. Keep in mind that the Constitution would have to be ignored and Teddy Roosevelt was willing to do just that.

Teddy was a piker when compared to Woodrow Wilson. At first glance Wilson looks like a meek, mild manner college president and indeed he was. He served as President of Princeton from 1902-1910. Wilson believed that since Congress was so cantankerous and all they did was write legislation nothing was really being accomplished. Wilson, therefore, recommended that we change our government to the parliamentary system with a concentration of power in the hands of the prime minister. That, we know, did not happen.

What did happen was World War I. It gave Wilson his opportunity to do what he believed was necessary, putting power into the hands of the government. War allows this to happen.

Wilson formed the War Industries B0ard or WIB. It was chaired by Bernard Baruch who was then charged with getting the business men to love and embrace the state. Jonah Goldberg in his book "Liberal Fascism" cites Grosvenor Clarkson the historian of the WIB,"'It was an industrial dictatorship without parallel---a dictatorship by force of necessity and common consent which step by step at last encompassed the Nation and united it into a coordinated and mobile whole.'" Now your initial reaction to that might be sure, the nation comes together to fight a the war and we cannot abide a lot of nonsense. You would be correct but what this did was teach the Progressives that war could be a good thing for their goals.

What is the Appropriate Label for Jimmy Carter?

James Earl Carter, 38th president of the United States, is having a difficult time shaping his legacy. Anticipating a bad showing in the history books, he continues to run around the world in an effort to salvage his reputation and his legacy. Let's take a little trip back in time to the 1976 presidential race.

The competitors for the office of president in 1976 were Gerald Ford and James Carter. President Ford, the incumbent, came to the office as a result of the resignation of Richard Nixon. James Carter was the Governor of Georgia. Ford, the experts tell us, had angered a lot of Americans by pardoning Nixon for his involvement in a scandal known as Watergate. Governor Carter, an Annapolis graduate, was an appealing choice for many Americans after the tumultuous Watergate affair. Initially Carter had a wide lead in the polls but Ford would narrow that lead to 2 points by the time of the election. James Carter took the oath of office in January of 1977.

The new president presented himself as a humble, religious man from Plains, Georgia. Indeed, he took great pride in the fact that he was a peanut farmer. As it would turn out, many Americans wished he had chosen to remain in that position.

During his time in office we saw the first major gas crisis. Long lines appeared at the pumps. Eventually we had alternate day pumping based on an odd-even system using license plates. Carter proved to be ineffective when dealing with OPEC. Despite the fact that he created the Cabinet Post for a Department of Energy, nothing was done to turn the nation in a new direction.

With the overthrow of the Shah we saw the mullahs come to power in Iran. We were called the Great Satan by the mullahs and their followers. Eventually they took over our embassy there and held a number of Americans hostage for 444 days. This crisis crippled Carter and he spent a vast amount of time in the White House not doing the nation's business.

His domestic policy and programs were almost as good as his foreign policy. Under his administration we would suffer stagflation. Interest rates went into double digits. Prices went up. People lost their jobs. And the president told us that we were suffering from a "malaise" In his fireside chat to us he exclaimed, in the face of rising fuel oil prices, that we should put on our sweaters and pretty much get use to it.

With prices rising and wages not keeping pace, we were in one of the worse economic times I personally can remember. I was a teacher at the time. We negotiated a 7% wage increase but inflation was at 12%. I was not making up ground at that rate and a lot of my fellow Americans were in the same boat with me. Needless to say, James Earl Carter was a one term president.

Now Carter is trying to establish his legacy. He has been a gadfly flitting from one spot to another to put a sheen on Jimmy Carter. He has sat down with wretched people like Hugo Chavez and now he has spent time with Hamas, a group of avowed terrorists who swear that they will destroy Israel. I can think of only one other president who was as much the egomaniac and that was Woodrow Wilson. Jimmy Carter needs to return to Plains, Georgia. Above all else, the state department needs to revoke his passport before he does some serious damage in the world in his effort to salvage his own ego.

The First Progressive-Our Downfall Begins

Born on October 27, 1858, to a well to do family at 28 East 20th Street, New York City, Theodore Roosevelt at the age of 42, would go on to become the youngest president of the United State. He would also become the first Progressive President of this country.

Roosevelt was a frail child. His asthma was so bad that his father would take him outside and carry him up and down the block in front of their home until the attack was over. The senior Roosevelt would convert an area in their home into a gym for young Teddy. There Roosevelt would exercise lifting weights. He would grow in strength and he would become a member of the Harvard rowing team upon entering that institution. Along with great physical strength was his mental strength. He was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the honor society fraternity, and graduated magna cum laude in 1880.

Roosevelt would have an illustrious career. He would serve in the New York Assembly. He was a naturalist, historian, writer, explorer, author and cowboy. He would suffer an unbelievable tragedy with the death of his mother and wife who died on the same day in the same house. That would lead to his cowboy career in the American west and put him on the path to conservation of the nation's resources. Roosevelt, however, would also become the nation's first Progressive thus being responsible for initiating a policy of big government regulation.

Teddy became president because of the assassination of William McKinley. In 1898, McKinley took aim at the large, monopolistic companies being created in America. Carnegie, Rockefeller, Schwab and many other industrialists came under the scrutiny of the U.S. Industrial Commission of Trusts. Roosevelt would pick up on the businesses, now know as Trusts, and would set out to break them up and regulate them through the government. Indeed, Roosevelt gained quite a reputation as a "Trust Buster" breaking up 44 such industries during his time in office. Though not the biggest of the Trust Busters, that was a title won by William H. Taft with 90 Trust Bustings, Roosevelt put this nation on a path still taken by those who wish to return us to the day when the government told us what our rights were much like the King of England did prior to the Revolutionary War.

Roosevelt brought the presence of government regulation into the lives of countless Americans and American industries. Big Oil, Big Steel, Big Food, Big Drug, no one was safe from his scrutiny. He even proposed universal health care and national health insurance. Big brother and Big government had come on the scene.

As you go to the polls in this primary and general election season take a look at the beginning of the turn about for America. For the past almost 11 decades we, as a nation, have been regressing. We are losing out personal liberties while telling our government that we want health care to be a right. We can't figure out why college is so expensive while we tell our government that we want more grants and loans for college. We tell our government to give us more of the same failed policies like social security, medicare and Head Start. Khrushchev told us years ago that they would bury us. I believe that we are going to do the job for them and they will conquer us without a shot being fired only this time it will be the enemy within, those politicians who call themselves Progressive. The liberal chickens have come home to their roots.