Meacham
PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL?
400? historian petition for harris 11 24 jon meachum
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https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/presidential-historian-explains-how-republicans-sold-their-soul-biblical-40-years
SEN ALEX PADILLA FLOOR HANDCUFF AT PRESS CONF NOEM
NOEM SAID PURPOSE OF NG USMC WAS LIBERATE FROM SOCIALIST GOV
TRUMP FLA SHERIFF PROTEST MET W/ VIOLENCE 6 25
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AN 6 25
On Thursday, June 12, many Democrats — and quite a few Never Trump conservatives as well — were horrified when Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) was physically removed from a briefing by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Although Padilla was not threatening in any way, he was thrown to the ground and handcuffed. Padilla, however, was released and is not facing any charges.
After the incident, Padilla commented that if MAGA Republicans are willing to treat a U.S. senator that way, imagine the fear that farm workers are feeling as the Trump Administration carries out aggressive deportation raids.
The incident with Padilla comes during a time of considerable tension in the United States, from the ongoing protests in Downtown Los Angeles to the military/birthday parade President Donald Trump is planning in Washington, DC on Saturday, June 14. Countless "No Kings" demonstrations in opposition to the parade and Trump's policies will be held in cities all over the United States.
READ MORE:'I have to go through hell': Trump complains about 'No Kings' protests during his parade
During a presidential historian Jon Meacham pointed to the treatment of Padilla as a prime example of why so many Americans are feeling a sense of "menace' during Trump's second presidency.
[VID]
Meacham told MSNBC's Willie Geist, his colleague Katty Kay and Never Trump conservative David French (who was also featured as a guest), "It is a real tactile sense of menace in the country…. The last time it was this bad — not to shake everybody's Friday morning even more than it's already shaken given what's going on — was the pre-Civil War period. You had an extraordinary amount of political violence. And we know how the 1850s turned out. And so, there are signs of a deeper condition within the country — which is a fraying, I believe, of a kind of consensus not about policy, but about politics not as total war, but as a mediation of differences."
The historian addressed fears of growing political unrest in the U.S.
Meacham told the panel, "That's what a democracy, that's what a constitutional system should be. And the prevalence of violence is politically useful for, in this case, the (Trump) Administration, and very dangerous."
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*Watch the full video below or at this link.
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an 4 25
Historian and presidential biographer Jon Meacham says the United States is not a stable and safe environment for scientists and builders anymore, because they can no longer pursue ideas that "may not find favor with" the Republican Party.
He referred to the Trump administration's recent steps to cut funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which will lead to a decline in crucial scientific research, as a "self-inflicted wound" during an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Tuesday.
"I think that's one of the particular tragedies," he said, adding that several things are "unfolding at the moment, but it's a self-inflicted wound and one that may or may not be generational."
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Meacham, who serves as the Canon Historian of the Washington National Cathedral, said that former Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, who served between the 1940s and 1960s, could not "stand each other," but were still able to agree to invest government resources in research.
"We might not see instant returns on a dollar, but that's what research is," Meacham said, referring to the views held by leaders during the Cold War period.
He added that many supporters of President Donald Trump don't want to "undo" the America that was "built by the institutions, the impulses, the investments."
"I don't think they really voted for that. They voted for this man. And whatever this man does, they're willing to follow," he said.
ALSO READ:The 'war on vaccines has started': Scientists blast 'ridiculous' Trump admin request
The cancellations of NIH-funded scientific projects “tears the long-standing fabric of the government’s contract to pursue medical research that seeks to better the healthspan and lifespan for all Americans”, Francis Collins, a geneticist who led the NIH, based in Bethesda, Maryland, for 12 years, told scientific journal Nature last week.
On Monday, the Trump administration said it would suspend $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60 million in multi-year contract funding for Harvard University after the institution indicated it would not comply with the administration's policy requests. Earlier that day, Harvard announced its decision to decline the administration's demands for policy modifications.
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Watch the video below or at this link.
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an 10 22
A presidential historian has offered a blistering assessment of former President Donald Trump's role in influencing political violence and normalizing violent rhetoric.
On Friday, October 28, Michael Beschloss made an appearance on MSNBC’s “The Beat” where he weighed in on the assault of Paul Pelosi, the husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “We’re in a time where violence islicensed and encouraged by an ex-president of the United States,” Beschloss said during the broadcast.
“An awful lot of people are encouraged by a former president to think the way you get your political goals — which may be an authoritarian, even fascist, society — is by encouraging violence,” he added. “That’s the climate we’re in.”
READ MORE: After Trump, Christian nationalist ideas are going mainstream – despite a history of violence
Paul Pelosi's attack has caused quite a stir as reports suggest it is politically motivated. Per HuffPost, "Suspect David DePape was after Speaker Pelosi, who was not at the San Francisco home at the time, according to a source briefed on the attack. The Republican Party has long demonized Pelosi in comments and political ads."
Reports have also indicated that DePape has a history of circulating conspiracy theories. Speaking along the same lines, MSNBC’s Katie Phang also spoke during the segment and emphasized that threats against politicians are at an all-time high.
On Friday, per the news outlet, authorities also indicated that "U.S. Capitol Police launched investigations into 1,820 threats and concerning statements in just the first three months of this year."
Speaking to Phang, Beschloss also chimed in saying, “You and I look at the 45 presidents of the United States ― all but about one have taken it seriously that part of their job was preserving public safety."
“Once again, Donald Trump as an ex-president and a president is in a dark category of his own,” Beschloss added. He said Trump “encouraged violence at his rallies” beginning back in 2015 during his campaign, and “did this periodically as president of the United States.”
Phang also highlighted remarks from presidential historian Jon Meacham where he issued a stern warning.
“One of the marks of the end of a republic is the normalization of political violence,” Meacham said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.” on Friday. “It just is. And everybody needs to remember, including us, that what we say matters, that words have consequences, and that things that seem improbable one hour can happen in the next.”
“Violent acts can change history,” he added. “And a mature democratic society ― lowercase ‘d’ ― has to have a way where we mediate our political differences without political violence.”
Watch the video below or at this link.