BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS

BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS

Just a bit of history

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As I listened to the news this morning that covered the weekend, I thought back to another time when a highly regarded journalist wrote an op-ed that made more sense than many of today’s journalists. I thought I’d share it with you.

WRITTEN BY CHARLES M. BLOW OF THE NEW YORK TIMES in 2013.

(Charles McRay Blow (born August 11, 1970) is an American journalist, commentator and former op-ed columnist for The New York Times and political analyst for MSNB):

Barack Obama is a “lawless dictator” hell-bent on subverting the Constitution and making himself “a king”.

This is the latest meme from “the Republican messaging machine,” which is citing as evidence the president’s recent pledge to use executive orders to advance his policy objectives when Congress refuses to act. “We have an increasingly lawless presidency,” Rep. Paul Ryan charged last week.

But is the basis for this superheated rhetoric true?

In his first five years in office, Obama has issued 168 executive orders. That’s “fewer than any two-term president in more than 100 years.”

George W. Bush issued 291 executive orders.

In his two terms, Ronald Reagan issued 381 executive orders.

Richard M. Nixon issued 346, and Harry S. Truman issued 907.

So with Obama issuing less than half as many such orders as his predecessors, how does he qualify as a dictator?

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Now, let’s jump to our current events:

As of June 12, 2026, President Donald Trump (R) had signed 266 executive orders, 79 memoranda, and 149 proclamations in his second presidential term, which began on January 20, 2025.

Makes me wonder if they hated Obama because he’s black or is it because he’s a Democrat or is it just because they were sore losers and yet, even today, still can’t face the reality fact, just like trump, that their candidate lost the election.

For crying out loud, Obama was inaugurated in 2009! That’s SEVENTEEN years ago and they are still trying to get him out of office. They just won’t let go! Same with Biden.

Whatever trump does wrong, it’s never his fault. Blame Obama or Biden!

While Maga might be sitting there shaking their heads and saying I have no idea what I’m talking about and Obama should have been impeached, read these cold hard facts and think again.

Health care: Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat was the first to try for an affordable health care act. He tried with his “Tactical Committee on Medicare in 1937 and again in 1939 with the Wagner Health Care Act.

In 1946, THE REPUBLICANS decided they had no interest in national health care and rejected any possible plan.

Poverty: It all began with the Great Depression in 1929. The country never fully recovered.

National Debt: In 1776, the USA borrowed money from France and the Netherlands to fund our war effort of the American Revolution. In 1773, we already owed $43 million. In 1791, the debt had grown to $77.1 million. (Oh, yeah, I forgot, you’re going to blame Obama for this, too.)

Gun Control: The National Firearms Act of 1934 was instituted by Democrat President Roosevelt to keep automatic weapons out of the hands of people like Capone, Luciano, etc. Didn’t work then, either. In 2005, the Republicans introduced a bill to Congress to repeal that act. So far, it’s modified version is still in effect.

Welfare: The history of welfare in the US started long before the government welfare programs we now know were created. In the early days of the USA, the colonies imported the British Poor Act. In the 1880s and 1890s, a greater effort was made for the government to assist the poor. You can’t blame that one on either Obama or Biden.

Religion: The ACLU used the courts to change school policy. In 1948, the Supreme Court used the “Separation of Church and State: argument to outlaw prayer in schools. (Oh right, Obama who was only 13 at that time, is to blame for that, too).

Class Warfare: Looking back on history, there has always been that distinction between the rich and the poor. If you didn’t live in high society but still managed to keep a roof over your head and food on your tables, you were middle class. Those who were forced to wear raggedy clothes and go hungry, were poor. (Oh, yeah, Maga, you’re gonna blame Obama for this, too.)

All I can really say to the Maga people is GROW UP! You can’t have things your way all the time.

While there have been some really great Republican presidents, there have been an equally number of great Democrats.

We are NOT, as your orange leader would like to call us, “Dumocrats”.

To prove my point there, compare speeches by Obama and trump, then try and tell me that we are the dumb ones.

I guess I’m annoyed because in this year alone, and it’s only the middle of June, he has ruined the reflecting pool and the East wing of the White House, the front lawn of the White House …. ALL OF WHICH DO NOT BELONG TO HIM! It all belongs to the American People.

So, while you’re busy searching history to check on what I’ve written, also check on which president has done the most damage to America.

It clearly won’t be the Democrats.