Monday, February 4, 2013

The Telegraph and History

When The [Macon] Telegraph endorsed Obama they give no valid reasons for the endorsement. Judging from the endorsement their primary reason was the fact that he is black.

The first paragraph of the endorsement informs us that; 
"When historians explore the 2008 presidential election at some future time after the glow of the moment has worn dim, they will find several history-making moments." 
What they do not tell you is that those "...history-making moments." will not be found in The [Macon] Telegraph which has went out of their way to mislead and deceive the people of middle Georgia about the Obama Administration.

Historical acts; when the first time Black Attorney General and first time Black President is cast off by the The [Macon] Telegraph and we are told "its not news" and it is "all politics" as can be seen in the following video clips something is badly wrong. This is the gospel according to the Editorial Page Editor Charles E. Richardson of  The [Macon] Telegraph. 



We are talking about "Contempt of Congress" by the first Black Attorney General and a declaration of "Executive Privilege" by the first Black president to cover up the crimes of the United States Justice Department. 

What is so amazing about this the United States Supreme Court has ruled that "Executive Privilege" can not be used to cover up crimes by the Executive Branch of Government. "In US v Nixon (1974), the court ruled that claims f executive privilege on consultations with the President could not survive the need to investigate crimes...." 

See Why Obama's Claim of Executive Privilege Won't Hold by Edward Morrissey of The Fiscal Times.

We are talking about the death of Federal Agents and the death of thousands of Mexican Nationals, including women and children connected to the guns sold to the Mexican Drug cartels under the supervision of the Justice Department. 

The following is a minute insight into the way history can be twisted by historians.  As we look at day to day developments we see the media today doing the same thing. Journalistic integrity, honesty and morality in the media are a thing of the past.

Even more disgusting is the fact that academia has joined in the fiasco. Right here in middle Georgia we can point to Mercer University President William Underwood and his willingness to bring in The [Macon] Telegraph to teach the students journalism. It is reasonable for people to conclude that honor, honest, and integrity just does not matter to these people. As a result the truth is buried by the media and the con-artists prevail with their flim-flam.
The [Macon] Telegraph is at the top of this list and Underwood knows it.

The following was first posted on Tuesday, October 4, 2011
More Roosevelt History!

We have to wonder if Franklin D. Roosevelt was so bad why he constantly rates in the top tier of presidents.

Burton W. Folsom, Jr. in his book, “New Deal or Raw Deal?” points out some interesting facts starting on page 7. Mr. Folsom cites the “adulation” of Henry Steele Commager and Richard B. Morris, two of the most distinguished American historians of the twentieth century. It is pointed out that Commager “…wrote over forty books and became perhaps the bestselling historian of the century. From the first year of Roosevelt’s presidency, Commager lectured and wrote articles in defense of the New Deal.”

Furthermore “Richard Morris, his junior partner at Columbia, was a prolific author and president of the American Historical Association." 

Mr. Folsom points out their “…assessment of Roosevelt and the New Deal: The Character of the Republican ascendancy of the twenties had been pervasively negative; the character of the New Deal was overwhelmingly positive.”

It is noted that:

“Commager and Morris’s assessment highlights four main points of defense for Roosevelt and the New Deal that have been adopted by most historians for the last seventy years: first, the 1920s were an economic disaster; second, the New Deal programs were a corrective to the 1920s, and a step in the right direction; third, Roosevelt (and the New Deal) were very popular; and forth, Roosevelt was a good administrator and moral leader.”

 The story goes on about how:

“These four points constitute what many historians call ‘the Roosevelt legend.’” Also it is important to note that: “…the works of Arthur M. Shlesinger, Jr., and William Leuchtenburg have been essential in shaping and fleshing out this view of Roosevelt….”
Schlesinger won “…the Pulitzer Prize and was probably the best-known historian in America.” And “his three volumes on the rise of Roosevelt and the early New Deal became landmark books.”

In addition to this “Leuchtenburg, a professor at Columbia University and the University of North Carolina, wrote the standard one-volume history of the New Deal. Leuchtenburg studied and wrote his Ph.D. dissertation under the direction of Commager.”

It does not end here, we find that “No one has ever, and maybe will ever, train more New Deal historians than William Leuchtenburg.” 

We are told: “These four parts of the Roosevelt legend have a strong cumulative effect and historians regularly place Roosevelt among the top three presidents in U.S. history.”

Mr. Folsom notes that 

“The four points of defense are currently intact, and are usually found in most histories of the New Deal and in virtually all of the American history textbooks today.”

As we continue, it is noted that Kennedy 

“…cites Leuchtenburg, Schlesinger and four other similar historians and writes, ‘Though I sometimes disagree with their emphases and evaluations, they laid the foundation on which all subsequent study of that period has built, including my own.’”  And it is pointed out that: “Thus, the Roosevelt legend seems to be intact.”

Now let us take a look at what the world-renowned Jim Powell has to say in his book “FDR’s Folly”. Up front in the introduction page [xv] we find that Powell draws:


 “…on major findings by economists about the actual effects of the New Deal – how it promoted cartels, imposed confiscatory taxes, made it harder for companies to raise capital, made it more expensive for companies to employ people, bombarded companies with dubious antitrust lawsuits, and relentlessly denounced employers and investors, prolonging high unemployment. Published during the last four decades, whose findings have been virtually ignored by pro-New Deal political historians like James MacGregor Burns, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. Frank Freidel, William Leuctenburg and Kenneth S. Davis. In his autobiography, Schlesinger acknowledged that he ‘was not much interested in economics.’”
Now if we jump to “The great Depression – America, 1929 – 1941” by Robert S. McElvaine who “…is Elizabeth Chisholm Professor of Arts and Letters at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.…”

We noted in the introduction of this book, reasons to “tread with care” and McElvaine seem to confirm this reasoning when he tells us that “Any work of History is a matter of selection.”  He could have added opinion too!

We then find where McElvaine tells us “The more apparent one is that counter-cyclical policies that were begun in the New Deal as a means of trying to combat the Great Depression worked largely as they were intended to.”

This is contrary to historical evidence. We then find what we feel are nothing more than plain damn bigotry. He continually takes swipes at Ronald Reagan and the Republicans and perhaps there would be nothing wrong with that but we find that in a lot of instances there is not any historical evidence to support what he advocates.

McElvaine puts forth: 


“Oddly, although Ronald Reagan is usually taken to have been far more ideologically committed than FDR was, Roosevelt worried more about the ill effects of continued deficits and tried repeatedly to cut back on speeding. Reagan paid lip service to spending cuts, but he proved far more willing to accept massive deficits (and their short-run economic benefits to the country and political benefits to him and his party) than FDR ever had been during peacetime.”
Historical records prove Roosevelt only became concerned with deficit spending when he felt it would affect his chances for reelection. As for McElvaine’s jab at Reagan, the Reagan administration’s economy is a matter of public record.

There is much more information on how Roosevelt’s legacy was shaped and it is not a pretty picture.

With the cards stacked like this Hugo Chávez could come out in the top tier.

We would like to hear your comments or e-mail us at wetrack@windstream.net.

Have a nice day. 

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