Academic Rants

The Naked King: An Editorial After the events of the week, I find myself in a quandary needing to re-examine my somewhat neutral stance on the Trump presidency.  Actions demand a response and so I am reacting to a series of tweets made by the president on January 2, 2018, the January 8, 2018 Michael Wolff essay on Trump in New York Magazine ("Donald Trump Didn't Want to Be President"), and the Trump administration's attacks on Mr. Wolff's forthcoming book. Foremost, some of the tweets are self-made myths, some are comical, and others are inaccurate or dangerous statements.  No one will care about the president's media awards; no matter what he says, President Trump's actions have not made airline travel safer; and there is no "big" nuclear button on his desk.  However, we should not be surprised by any of this.  Donald Trump has not changed!  Mr. Trump is the same person that he was forty years ago. Years ago, before Twitter, he made o...

Year Two: The Once and Future King In many regards, the person of the year (2017) should be Donald Trump. Virtually overnight, he changed the status quo of American society by promoting a revolution of the so-called overlooked, disenfranchised, and dissatisfied. A year into the revolution has revealed few benefits for this group, but it has revealed that Trump's fog horn reached deeper into other quarters than previously disclosed. The overlooked, disenfranchised, and dissatisfied have proven to be pawns in the rise of a king. This king is only a king to this group, to others he is simply a prince trying to be a king.  However, the goal of King Trump is to become an emperor! During the presidential campaign, candidate Trump promised the overlooked, disfranchised and dissatisfied more jobs, better wages, border protection, better health care, and tax reform.  On paper President Trump and supporters have suggested he has tried, but in reality many of the promi...