Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Don’t be distracted; this president has dug himself a hole with Epstein and Iran, and the only way he can see his way out of it are distractions.
https://www.communitiesoftrust-jerrygoebel.com/youthadvocacy
Youth Advocacy
Year 5, Week 04 (306 total reports)
22.04.2026-28.04.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Don’t be distracted; this president has dug himself a hole with Epstein and Iran, and the only way he can see his way out of it are distractions.
https://www.communitiesoftrust-jerrygoebel.com/youthadvocacy
Visual Stories!
This acoustical reggae tune examines the qualities of a bully—particularly the one in the White House. He is manipulating his base (still) with a series of distractions, but stay the course. This song says, “Stand Up, Push Back, and Push Back Hard.” https://youtu.be/0DuvWGtK1x4?si=XhBUra1jPIt8A2Jb
Top Links of the Week
28.04.2026
Why Bullies Always Fail — as Trump Is Failing
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/why-bullies-always-fail-as-is-trump
Robert Reich is a prolific writer helping us gain a deeper understanding of the political and historical perspective into the T.R.U.M.P. administration. He points out, “Trump believes that might makes right — that the stronger are entitled to attack and exploit the weaker.” Reich points to Stephen Miller telling CNN correspondent, Jake Tapper, “We live in a world, in the real world, Jake, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power,” then Reich goes on to describe that this mindset is no longer true in our current world. This is how he puts it, “If the United States stays on this course, it will find itself bereft of allies and friends, a lonely superpower in a lawless international system it has helped to create.” This administration’s mindset is a self-defeating deception that will (according to Reich) bring this president down—and the country if we don’t continue to stand up to him. This president is a bully, and like other bullies, he is a coward at heart. In example after example, he backs down when people push back against him. Use your voice, use your creativity, gather your connections, and stand up to this bully. Our children’s future depends upon it.
27.04.2026
Proving the GOP is a Cult
This article by John B. Alexander of “Daily Kos” looks at all the GOP has done to become cult followers of a president with NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder). Alexander lays out a litany of decisions this body of congressional men and women have made that have undermined the nation they serve and instead serve the demigod of their cult. Here’s how Alexander puts it: “To prove that the GOP has become a cult, one has but to look at their unconscionable behavior. Knowingly, they function to the detriment of America and often in contravention to their oath of office. The examples of their cult behavior are legion.” The rest of his article goes on to identify examples of bills passed and appointments approved that have caused damage, not just to the U.S., but to the world. On Saturday, the 25th, there was an alleged assassination attempt on this president (again). It is difficult to believe this is not another staged event given that it has been done before, and this president is obviously willing to do anything to distract from his past behavior and gain back points in his rapidly sinking poll numbers. MAGA cult members are already using the event to say, “This is why the president needs his new ballroom.” It’s hard to believe that he would willingly attend the White House Correspondents Dinner in the first place, after refusing to do so throughout his entire presidency and having been humiliated by Obama at the same dinner on April 30, 2011. Whatever comes of this event, please do not let it distract you from the important resistance we must continue pursuing to prevent this administration from destroying democracy in the United States. RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!
24.04.2026
What Makes Bullies Like Trump Cave?
In this article by editor Win McCormack of The New Republic, we receive additional insight into the true nature of this president. McCormack says, “Trump is a bloated, pretentious, cowardly bully, and like all bullies, he can be made to stand down…” The journalist then presents case after case to verify his assertion. T.R.U.M.P. is not just a cowardly narcissist; he is also a sadist. A sadist gets pleasure from exploiting the pain of the weak. The weaker their prey, the more pleasure they feel. That is why this president was so enamored with Epstein’s exploitation of girls. There was a good meme today that stated, “Every single member of what is left of the GOP should be forced in front of the camera every single day and made to read Trump’s latest posts out loud and then look right down the barrel of the camera and say, ‘I still support this man as president.’”—Stephens_Ben of The Resistance. Thank you, Mr. Stephens_Ben, for articulating what so many of us feel. Let’s make sure that we can tell our children and children’s children that we did all we could to end this lunacy
23.04.2026
On the Brink of Global Recession
David Frum always provides an in-depth assessment of current political issues from a historical perspective. In this article (podcast), he interviews Adam Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, for a conversation about the state of the world’s economy. They discuss the economic effect of the war in Iran, the United States’ reputational hit caused by Trump’s tariffs, and the chance of a global recession. There are multiple important points in this article, but the primary insights were how the U.S. (under this administration) has gone from a stable insurer of the world markets to a hated profiteering and racketeering piracy threatening the world market. Here is the observation that Frum makes while likening this administration to the Habsburgs of Spain and Austria from the late 1200s to the early 1900s. From states, “But the No. 1 power, while stronger than any other power, was never stronger than all the other powers. And what would happen was anyone who emerged as the strongest power, all the other powers would combine to tear down the strongest power because they perceived it as a threat to each of them in turn.” Project 2025, T.R.U.M.P., and the GOP have turned the US economy into that hated “strongest power.” The coalition being built against the U.S., because of their undependable behavior, strengthens daily. We are fast becoming “The Hated Economy,” if not the least dependable. And, it isn’t this administration, it’s the fickleness of the U.S. people swinging from liberalism to illiberalism. From Obama to T.R.U.M.P. From a system of fairly reliable laws to a system of elites raping (literally and figuratively) their people.
22.04.2026
April 21, 2026
Donald is losing on multiple fronts. In her commentary this morning, Heather Cox Richardson takes a deep dive into all sides of this story. There is no discernible strategy (or off-ramp) for his war of choice in Iran, and the president keeps undermining the peace process with his own midnight tweets and manic ravings. His cabinet continues to disintegrate with continued examples of chronic character flaws and public displays of incompetence. The president continues to start new wars of choice by posting pictures of himself as Jesus Christ and attacking Pope Leo XIV. Then, when you think it couldn’t get worse for him, he loses an important vote on gerrymandering in Virginia (although a judge could reverse that win in the near future). All told, this president has shot so many holes in his bone-spurred feet that one wonders if he has any shoe leather left to make the trek to golf courses this spring.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Don’t let the Epstein Files fall off your radar. This week we look at news that reminds us of the elites who believe the globe—its resources and its people—are their playthings.
Youth Advocacy
Year 5, Week 03 (305 total reports)
15.04.2026-21.04.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Don’t let the Epstein Files fall off your radar. This week we look at news that reminds us of the elites who believe the globe—its resources and its people—are their playthings.
Visual Stories!
I’ve never been one for drawing hard lines in the sand around politics or religion; thinking that both are variations of opinions more than facts. However, this administration has changed that. Now, I believe the future of democracy and the world in which our children will grow up is at stake. This song with a 2000’s pop-punk energy states we are either actively resisting this administration and the elites that rule our world or we are “Compliant.” https://youtu.be/Mfqp4IQ6HL4
Top Links of the Week
21.04.2026
April 20, 2026
Aides to President T.R.U.M.P. are doing their best to keep him out of briefings about the Iran War in real time because he is too impatient. As a result, the “Mum Effect” (advising a leader with only the information that he WANTS to hear and fearing the disclosure of information that a leader NEEDS to hear to make informed decisions) is rampant in this administration. This president has never wanted to hear facts that are counter to his opinion. He is an “Opinion First, Information Second” person (confirmation bias). As a result, he has an entire cabinet of pandering sycophants that only have an audience of one. Ms. Cox Richardson points this out in the number of aides that are now beginning to reveal all the character flaws of their leader. We recently saw the ouster of Kristi Noem and Pam Bondi; yesterday, we witnessed the resignation of the Secretary of Labor, Lori Chavez-DeRemer; and we are currently watching Kash Patel sue The Atlantic over accusations of public drunkenness and using taxpayer funds for personal use: flights, security details, and more. This is a result incurred when the first priority of hiring is 1) loyalty to the president, followed by priorities 2, 3, 4, and 5) loyalty to the president, while somewhere way down the list is a vague, working knowledge of something related to the job you will be doing… It is hard to think of a cabinet member that wasn’t hired according to these priorities. This administration is proving itself unsustainable primarily because there is never enough air in the room for anyone except Donald T.R.U.M.P. Keep an eye on this as the Iran War progresses and others need to be “thrown under the bus.” The emperor indeed has no clothes, nor substance, nor sustainability. That does not mean we can relax and wait for his failure; for the sake of our global future, we must do all we can to bring to light just how dangerous this man is. What can you do to overcome the lethargy of those overwhelmed by the rapidity and preponderance of the daily dramas of this White House? What can you do to remind people of the crises behind the news this administration seeks to bury. The rape of children by this president and the elites that surround him? We are all tired, but we must all be resilient.
20.04.2026
What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s Private Retreat
This article by Noah Hawley of The Atlantic is an excellent explanation of the moral danger we are in by allowing an elite class to control the world. He begins by comparing the protagonist of the movie in the movie, “There Will Be Blood,” with Jeff Bezos. In the movie, Hawley points out, the oil-baron protagonist, Daniel Plainview, beats a man to death in a bowling alley and then declares to his chauffeur, “I’m finished.” Hawley’s point is that Plainview is not saying he is finished as a person, but finished feeling moral consequences for his actions. It is this sense of “finished” that Hawley says he saw revealed at a Bezos’ retreat for the ultra-influencers of the world. The elite of the elite—Bezos, Musk, Zuckerberg, and now, T.R.U.M.P.— are declaring to the world that they are done with empathy, they are done with consequences, they are freed from the ramifications that give most of us a guiding morality. Hawley points to the response the current billionaire president made to the question, “Is there any check on your power?” He stated, “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.” As evidenced by the powerful elite named in the Epstein files, all of humanity is the plaything of these elite megalomaniacs. They have no repercussions, they have no boundaries, there is no such thing as failure, and no such thing as cost. Everything and everyone else exists solely for their pleasure and convenience. One could hear Bezos declare with Marie Antoinette, “Let them eat cake (and let them order it from Amazon…).” How will your actions influence the end of this oligarchy? Not just your vote, but your daily voice? What can you do on a daily basis to call attention to this gross injustice?
17.04.2026
Pope James David Vance the First
David Frum’s tongue-in-cheek take in The Atlantic highlights the arrogance and audacity of this administration. Frum begins with this thought: “The Trump administration doesn’t seem to have many rules, but one of them is that once the president picks a fight, his posse must show up to support him, no matter how ill-advised the conflict. And few senior officials are more eager to back up the boss in every embarrassing beef than Vice President Vance, who recently seems to have decided that he, and not Pope Leo XIV, is the true arbiter of Catholic doctrine.” In their desperate attempt to justify this unjustifiable war of choice, this entire administration has gone to great lengths to win over White Nationalist, Far-Right, conservative Christians. Hegseth tried to pull off a theological coup yesterday when he thought he was quoting scripture, but instead was quoting director Quentin Tarantino, from the movie, Pulp Fiction. Alternatively, insulting the pope and depicting himself as Jesus Christ hasn’t been a win for the mentally deranged man who frequently tweets at 0400 in the morning. It would be a kindness to the president and a gift to the world to take the president to a prison room that specializes in caring for the deranged elderly.
16.04.2026
Is Anybody Actually Winning Trump’s Iran War?
In this David Frum podcast from The Atlantic, it should come as no surprise that the current beneficiaries of T.R.U.M.P.’s Iran expedition (war) are Russia (who is making about $1 billion per day in oil revenues) and China (who is learning how to win a war against the United States). Neither of these countries (and also Iran) could have a better defense than to let this president continue his subversion of the United States. And, as if this administration didn’t have enough battles to fight, he is picking more battles; against the pope, against the Fed, and against his own cult followers (MAGA and the GOP). Yesterday, I posted Jim Acosta’s piece that this president just doesn’t care anymore. He doesn’t care about his party, he doesn’t care about his supporters, he doesn’t care about his cabinet; he has gone full rogue. He is, as one article in The Daily Beast stated, “The most powerful idiot in history.” We too should be taking lessons from Iran and others who are teaching us how to fight back against this bully. T.R.U.M.P. backs down when his prey is not easy to defeat. When they are not as helpless as the children that Epstein fed to him. He is, after all, the TACO president (T.R.U.M.P. always chickens out). Iran has stood up to him, the people of Hungary stood up to him, the people of Minneapolis stood up to him, Pope Leo is standing up to him, and Iran is standing up to him. He has no longevity. He bores easily. He doesn’t have the mental acuity to sustain a chess game or a strategic encounter. Many have shown that; Kimmel, Harvard University, Mamdani. It’s time for the voters of the United States to show the same resilient courage. Stand up to him, push back against him—and push back hard. He will lose, he has no long-term support. He doesn’t build coalitions. He’s just in it for himself (and largely by himself). He is like a black hole imploding. He will suck in who he can suck in, but don’t let him suck you in. Stand up, push back, be resilient.
15.04.2026
The Great Betrayer
https://jimacosta.substack.com/p/the-great-betrayer?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user%2FSubstack
Jim Acosta’s commentary this weekend matched up with many others citing the dangerous meltdown of this senile president. I would venture to say that he is in the final stages of narcissistic collapse. If he were an elderly man in a nursing facility, no doubt the staff would be concerned about his mental state. In a similar article, David Frum of The Atlantic chronicles the social media tweets the night that Donald went after the pope and posted a meme of himself as Jesus Christ. The posts began rolling out at about 22:00 and continued until 04:50 in the morning, just before dawn. Acosta and Heather Cox Richardson both point out that this is especially alarming behavior for a man who has access to the nuclear codes. In this commentary, Acosta calls T.R.U.M.P. the “Great Betrayer” because he has taken on another dangerous quality (evident in those experiencing narcissistic collapse) he doesn’t appear to care what his own supporters think of him, meaning… he is bound by no one. We have witnessed what happens when this man doesn’t get his way; now imagine that behavior with no limitations. The world is in imminent danger because of this man, now more than ever.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Let us focus on the defeat of the illiberal hero, Viktor Orbán, by Peter Magyar. This was a victory of the people and shows that they can be soundly defeated if people turn out to vote.
Youth Advocacy
Year 5, Week 02 (304 total reports)
06.03.2026-14.04.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Let us focus on the defeat of the illiberal hero, Viktor Orbán, by Peter Magyar. This was a victory of the people and shows that they can be soundly defeated if people turn out to vote.
Visual Stories!
T.R.U.M.P. has gone off the rails, and the scarier fact is, he has given up caring what people think about him. He doesn’t care about the backlash from MAGA or the GOP. He’s out to build his monuments and attack his enemies wherever or whoever they are. As his own cabinet is beginning to learn, he has no loyalties; all of his relationships are transactional, and the only question he asks is, “What have you done for me lately?” This jazz tune examines the truth about his followers; they are, “Just Pawns to Him.” https://youtu.be/cXtMbXjRS2Q?si=iOUgiQb1kAVuACGR
Top Links of the Week
14.04.2026
Hegseth’s Unholy War
There’s a great line that Peter Wehner uses in this The Atlantic article that sums up the theology of Pete Hegseth and this White House. He says, “The defense secretary seems less interested in being on the side of God than in insisting that God is on his side.” This has been a full week of deceptions—even by this administration’s standards. Melania started by saying she had no involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, then the president took on Pope Leo, and posted a meme to his social media depicting himself as Jesus Christ, the healer. Shortly thereafter, he took it down and said he thought it was a picture of him as a doctor working for the Red Cross (by the way, the president is not a doctor nor Jesus Christ). Interestingly enough, of all the things that MAGA has witnessed—that their president is a pedophiliac rapist and has used his powers to grift copious amounts of money for his family and himself—this is the one thing they are most upset about. This is one of the worst parts about MAGA and social media, people start out with their own “truth,” and then look for whatever will affirm what they already believe. On the other hand, this administration went “all in” on Viktor Orban and lost “biggly” in Hungary. The key this week remains that illiberalism can be defeated. Voter turnout and maintaining resistance are the keys. We need to keep resisting. Orban had sixteen years to fortify his voting machine, but couldn’t deal with overwhelming voter turnout. The key is in our hands—and on our feet. Get your ballot in. We need to overwhelm the GOP, MAGA, and Project 2025, as this president would say, “We need to send them back to the dark ages.”
13.04.2026
Hungary Just Ousted the Unoustable
Viktor Orban served as an authoritarian road map for Project 2025’s design to overthrow U.S. democracy. Now, he can serve as a democratic road map for ousting illiberalism. Péter Magyar, who defeated Orban, celebrated what many believed only months ago could not be done. Magyar’s promises should empower candidates hoping for a similar uprooting of this administration and far-right agendas worldwide. Magyar promised he would “impose a wealth tax and imprison Fidesz officials (Fidesz is the name of Orban’s party) he accused of pilfering public coffers.” He also declared, “We will not be a country of no consequences.” Magyar’s win is a huge loss for Putin, T.R.U.M.P., Vance, and many other authoritarian players in Europe and worldwide. Vance flew to Orban’s aid at the last minute (but wound up causing a 3% drop in Orban’s ratings). While this is a clear win for global democracy, we need to take heed: it required a voter turnout of 79%. We cannot defeat this regime by staying home; in fact, that is how we lost last time. Make plans to vote and make plans to make sure your vote counts. Be redundant. It truly is the most important issue of this generation: will our children grow up in a democracy or an oligarchy? Your turnout will make the difference.
10.04.2026
There's growing disquiet in the military. The Iran war made it worse
If you’re wondering why this administration is shifting to automatic registration for the draft and increasing the age limit from 35 to 42, one needs look no further than the number of service members who are 1) not reenlisting, and 2) seeking discharge. Hegseth and T.R.U.M.P. are repeatedly asking the military to take illegal actions that conflict with the Constitution and international law. According to this NPR article by Kat Lonsdorf and Tom Bowman, retention is the number one means of maintaining a functioning military, and this administration is driving out existing service members from the rank and file, but also from the highest, longest-service ranks. Major issues being reported in career-counseling centers include the bombing of a school in Iran, the use of the National Guard in U.S. cities, and Hegseth’s major restructuring of the Pentagon, including firing Gen. Randy George, the Army Chief of Staff, in the midst of the Iran War. According to Lansdorf and Bowman, “The Army career counselor said that in 2025, they had the highest number of retirees come to see them for guidance on getting ready to leave than in any previous year in their experience, approximating nearly a doubling of such retirees from 2024.” Personally, I want to thank those of the military for serving the Constitution, not this administration. They are being asked to make extremely difficult, life-altering decisions, and many are deeply disappointed that it has reached this point, but they can’t work for an immoral and dysfunctional leadership. It is time we, as a country, also start making life-altering decisions to say we can’t support an immoral and dysfunctional leadership either. Neither this administration nor the GOP Congress that has sheltered it. What can you do today?
09.04.2026
Trump Is Wishcasting Victory in Iran
Wishcasting is when a person makes up a wish for what they want to happen, then hope it comes true. This panel of experts from The Atlantic, hosted by Adam Harris and including Nancy Youssef and Tom Nichols, tells us that this is the primary strategy of Donald T.R.U.M.P. in Iran. And the president wants us all to call upon Tinkerbell and wish for the same thing. T.R.U.M.P. also wishes the Epstein files would go away and that the Strait of Hormuz would go back to the way it was before he attacked Iran. To date, the GOP MAGA cult seems content to join him in searching for falling stars and calling out empty fantasies. Unfortunately, no one besides his cabinet sycophants and the GOP seem to join the president in his wishcasting strategy. They are more prone to the reality of the situation. The 3-4 billion dollars the president is spending daily on this “incursion,” the 1.5 trillion he is asking Congress to approve for continued funding in a budget that abandons health care for children and seniors at home. If you voted for him or stayed home in the last election, this is your guy, and you are just pawns to his wishcasting.
06.04.2026
Trump's Defeat in Iran
Robert Reich’s commentary this morning gives us an insider’s handbook into defeating T.R.U.M.P. He analyzes the behavior of those who have turned the conman’s threats against him and won. He doesn’t just provide insight into how this administration caved into Iran, but also diverse groups such as China, Russia, Canada, Minneapolis, Harvard, law firms, and individuals like Jimmy Kimmel and E. Jean Carroll. Reich also covers those who caved into T.R.U.M.P. and wound up losing “Biggly.” The bottom line is, “give in to T.R.U.M.P. and you lose your dignity, plus whatever else he wants to steal from you.” Those who caved into this president, according to Reich, include Europe, ABC, Columbia University, The National Museum of American History, and a number of law firms. The fact remains, we have a lunatic in the White House who is like the proverbial “loose cannon” flailing about on the deck of a wooden ship. Congress, who has become this president’s pawn, needs to step up to its responsibility and administer the 25th Amendment against both his cabinet and him.
05.04.2026
Congress Can End Trump’s Unconstitutional War in Iran
I’m pulling an article this morning from a conservative source because I want to show how widespread the alarm over the President’s sanity has become. This article examines the constitutional reasons that James Madison and the other writers of the Constitution decided to separate the powers of the congressional purse from the powers of a wartime president. Congress can—and must—stop this president from carrying out his illegal actions in Iran. Even threatening to bomb civilian targets can be considered a “war crime,” and that is exactly what this president and his “Secretary of War” are doing. There can only be a few reasons why so many respected military leaders are being fired or deciding to quit; they are being asked to make their troops do something illegal. Whether this is bombing civilian targets with tactical nuclear weapons or starting a ground war without congressional approval, the reasons are dire, and this president must be stopped. More than stopped, his powers must be taken away from him, and his cabinet dissolved. His propensity for violence and retribution will not go away just because his actions are curtailed in Iran. He has already shown that he is willing to continue his wars against other targets—both internally and externally. Replacing Pam Bondi with Todd Blanche is merely painting over the deeper issues at the Department of Justice (will they rename that to the “Department of Presidential Retribution”?) Blanche will simply continue doing the bidding of the Madman-in-the-White-House. Bondi was let go because she wasn’t corrupt enough—and she will be remembered as a model of corruption. Stopping the war in Iran isn’t enough. It’s just the immediate issue. It needs to be done, but it’s only treating a symptom, not the cause. The cause is T.R.U.M.P. He must be removed, and his sycophants with him. Unless Congress acts, they are complicit. They are as much responsible for this president’s actions as the madman himself.
04.04.2026
The War in Iran Is a Failure of Intelligence
It is reported that many of the MAGA far right are increasingly open to using the 25th Amendment after this week’s Easter tirade by the president. Nothing else is working in Iran, so T.R.U.M.P. decided an expletive-laced post on his Truth Social was the best method for getting the Iranian leaders to surrender and open the Strait of Hormuz. The result is that it undermines the credence of articles like this that look at the lack of rational intelligence within the walls of the White House at this time. This article compares the intelligence provided to George Bush in the Iraq War compared to the intelligence provided to this administration. The point of the author, Shane Harris, is that Bush 43 had horrible intelligence leading him to war, while this president had excellent intelligence that he ignored. I see that as less a failure of intelligence, than an example of stupidity, perhaps (given Sunday’s post) an example of insanity.
03.04.2026
Trump Is the Most Dangerous Man in the World | Common Dreams
Reading foreign journalism is very important. It gives us a broader perspective of how the world views the United States and often without the bias of the increasingly small panoply of billionaires that own the media in the U.S. This article, written by two foreign experts, C. J. Polychroniou (a political economist/political scientist), is interviewed by Alexandra Boutri, reminds us of how dimly others see—not only this president—but those who elected him. In one paragraph, discussing Trump’s free-ranging, emperor-like tendencies, Polychroniou reminds us, “What else can one expect from people who believe that explosive conflict in the Middle East will trigger Christ’s return and see Trump as the man God has chosen to defeat the satanic forces in the United States and Christianize it?” The world outside the U.S. sees it as a country that swings on a whim, and that—if elections are allowed—the country might vote liberally again in 2028 for a president whose viewpoints and intellect are similar to Barack Obama, only to be followed by a newer version of T.R.U.M.P. and a renewed, angrier Project 2025. After what this administration—and those who supported it—have done to the global reputation of the U.S., it may never again be able to gain the trust of the foreign nations it needs to thrive.
02.04.2026
Five takeaways from President Trump’s address on Iran
If it was the president’s goal to reassure the U.S. public and stock markets that the war in Iran was going well, then this journalist and others think he should’ve not said anything. The top takeaways that most are pulling from this speech are that this administration has nothing new to say and no new insights to offer as to why Iran was invaded and what the end goals are. If anything, the president looked tired and old (probably because he is both). This commentator, Neall Stanage, from “The Hill,” said that the speech was notable for its lack of relevance. T.R.U.M.P. let us know that the precipitous rise in gas prices is “Iran’s fault.” That if Iran doesn’t do what he wants (whatever that is), he is going to “hit them very hard,” and, “Bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong.” Once again, if this speech was meant to answer questions or ease concerns about this invasion, it backfired. Stock market prices dropped sharply after the speech, declining—according to Stanage—by 1 percent and Brent Crude oil jumped another $6 per barrel.
01.04.2026
Lions Led by Donkeys
This evening, Donald T.R.U.M.P. is holding a press conference at which he will likely announce that 1) he will tell us he is going to decimate Iran for not doing what he wants or 2) the U.S. has accomplished its objectives and declare victory in Operation Midnight Hammer (for those of you unfamiliar with this administration’s Orwellian double-speak, this is the non-war, war that was declared arbitrarily on the country of Iran by Netanyahu and T.R.U.M.P.). We won’t know which objectives were accomplished (or need to be accomplished) because they change on almost an hourly basis and depending upon whom is standing in front of the mic at any given time. The truth is, this president is getting bored of this adventure and has been watching his ratings take a shellacking at the polls. This The Atlantic article, by Eliot A. Cohen, examines how no leadership in U.S. history has been more poorly prepared to lead the military forces of the country. It has been a complete waste of lives and other resources. MAGA cult followers and Republicans, this is on you, this is your guy, and your guy is bored with Iran because he has too many battles back on U.S. soil to fight and he still wants to invade Cuba. T.R.U.M.P. is at war, not just with foreign governments, but domestic powers as well. He is at war within his own cabinet, with MAGA, with the Supreme Court, with voters, with the media, with higher education, with lines at airports, a crashing economy and stock market, and with the price of well, almost everything in the U.S. economy… he also has to make sure the Epstein files aren’t closer to being revealed and continue with his retribution campaign (now expanded to judges that don’t rule in his favor) to make matters worse, all of this is cutting into his golf time, his new ballroom, his Nobel Peace Prize, and parties at Mar-a-Lago.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This president verified his insanity this week, and Congress must use the 25th Amendment to impeach both him and his cabinet; otherwise, they are complicit in whatever actions he takes.
Youth Advocacy
Year 5, Week 01 (303 total reports)
31.03.2026-05.04.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This president verified his insanity this week, and Congress must use the 25th Amendment to impeach both him and his cabinet; otherwise, they are complicit in whatever actions he takes.
Visual Stories!
This melodic rap song focuses on those who supported putting MAGA in control of the U.S. The world has lost trust in this country. You are complicit whether you actually voted for him or stayed home and let others do your dirty work. This song says, “This is Your Guy.” https://youtu.be/KIWkHMVHc8I?si=9EpKLoSTKKLp-b-1
Top Links of the Week
05.04.2026
Congress Can End Trump’s Unconstitutional War in Iran
I’m pulling an article this morning from a conservative source because I want to show how widespread the alarm over the President’s sanity has become. This article examines the constitutional reasons that James Madison and the other writers of the Constitution decided to separate the powers of the congressional purse from the powers of a wartime president. Congress can—and must—stop this president from carrying out his illegal actions in Iran. Even threatening to bomb civilian targets can be considered a “war crime,” and that is exactly what this president and his “Secretary of War” are doing. There can only be a few reasons why so many respected military leaders are being fired or deciding to quit; they are being asked to make their troops do something illegal. Whether this is bombing civilian targets with tactical nuclear weapons or starting a ground war without congressional approval, the reasons are dire, and this president must be stopped. More than stopped, his powers must be taken away from him, and his cabinet dissolved. His propensity for violence and retribution will not go away just because his actions are curtailed in Iran. He has already shown that he is willing to continue his wars against other targets—both internally and externally. Replacing Pam Bondi with Todd Blanche is merely painting over the deeper issues at the Department of Justice (will they rename that to the “Department of Presidential Retribution”?) Blanche will simply continue doing the bidding of the Madman-in-the-White-House. Bondi was let go because she wasn’t corrupt enough—and she will be remembered as a model of corruption. Stopping the war in Iran isn’t enough. It’s just the immediate issue. It needs to be done, but it’s only treating a symptom, not the cause. The cause is T.R.U.M.P. He must be removed, and his sycophants with him. Unless Congress acts, they are complicit. They are as much responsible for this president’s actions as the madman himself.
04.04.2026
The War in Iran Is a Failure of Intelligence
It is reported that many of the MAGA far right are increasingly open to using the 25th Amendment after this week’s Easter tirade by the president. Nothing else is working in Iran, so T.R.U.M.P. decided an expletive-laced post on his Truth Social was the best method for getting the Iranian leaders to surrender and open the Strait of Hormuz. The result is that it undermines the credence of articles like this that look at the lack of rational intelligence within the walls of the White House at this time. This article compares the intelligence provided to George Bush in the Iraq War compared to the intelligence provided to this administration. The point of the author, Shane Harris, is that Bush 43 had horrible intelligence leading him to war, while this president had excellent intelligence that he ignored. I see that as less a failure of intelligence, than an example of stupidity, perhaps (given Sunday’s post) an example of insanity.
03.04.2026
Trump Is the Most Dangerous Man in the World | Common Dreams
Reading foreign journalism is very important. It gives us a broader perspective of how the world views the United States and often without the bias of the increasingly small panoply of billionaires that own the media in the U.S. This article, written by two foreign experts, C. J. Polychroniou (a political economist/political scientist), is interviewed by Alexandra Boutri, reminds us of how dimly others see—not only this president—but those who elected him. In one paragraph, discussing Trump’s free-ranging, emperor-like tendencies, Polychroniou reminds us, “What else can one expect from people who believe that explosive conflict in the Middle East will trigger Christ’s return and see Trump as the man God has chosen to defeat the satanic forces in the United States and Christianize it?” The world outside the U.S. sees it as a country that swings on a whim, and that—if elections are allowed—the country might vote liberally again in 2028 for a president whose viewpoints and intellect are similar to Barack Obama, only to be followed by a newer version of T.R.U.M.P. and a renewed, angrier Project 2025. After what this administration—and those who supported it—have done to the global reputation of the U.S., it may never again be able to gain the trust of the foreign nations it needs to thrive.
02.04.2026
Five takeaways from President Trump’s address on Iran
If it was the president’s goal to reassure the U.S. public and stock markets that the war in Iran was going well, then this journalist and others think he should’ve not said anything. The top takeaways that most are pulling from this speech are that this administration has nothing new to say and no new insights to offer as to why Iran was invaded and what the end goals are. If anything, the president looked tired and old (probably because he is both). This commentator, Neall Stanage, from “The Hill,” said that the speech was notable for its lack of relevance. T.R.U.M.P. let us know that the precipitous rise in gas prices is “Iran’s fault.” That if Iran doesn’t do what he wants (whatever that is), he is going to “hit them very hard,” and, “Bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong.” Once again, if this speech was meant to answer questions or ease concerns about this invasion, it backfired. Stock market prices dropped sharply after the speech, declining—according to Stanage—by 1 percent and Brent Crude oil jumped another $6 per barrel.
01.04.2026
Lions Led by Donkeys
This evening, Donald T.R.U.M.P. is holding a press conference at which he will likely announce that 1) he will tell us he is going to decimate Iran for not doing what he wants or 2) the U.S. has accomplished its objectives and declare victory in Operation Midnight Hammer (for those of you unfamiliar with this administration’s Orwellian double-speak, this is the non-war, war that was declared arbitrarily on the country of Iran by Netanyahu and T.R.U.M.P.). We won’t know which objectives were accomplished (or need to be accomplished) because they change on almost an hourly basis and depending upon whom is standing in front of the mic at any given time. The truth is, this president is getting bored of this adventure and has been watching his ratings take a shellacking at the polls. This The Atlantic article, by Eliot A. Cohen, examines how no leadership in U.S. history has been more poorly prepared to lead the military forces of the country. It has been a complete waste of lives and other resources. MAGA cult followers and Republicans, this is on you, this is your guy, and your guy is bored with Iran because he has too many battles back on U.S. soil to fight and he still wants to invade Cuba. T.R.U.M.P. is at war, not just with foreign governments, but domestic powers as well. He is at war within his own cabinet, with MAGA, with the Supreme Court, with voters, with the media, with higher education, with lines at airports, a crashing economy and stock market, and with the price of well, almost everything in the U.S. economy… he also has to make sure the Epstein files aren’t closer to being revealed and continue with his retribution campaign (now expanded to judges that don’t rule in his favor) to make matters worse, all of this is cutting into his golf time, his new ballroom, his Nobel Peace Prize, and parties at Mar-a-Lago.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The power of the people was on display this week with “No Kings” protests taking shape in small and big towns throughout the United States, and indeed, the world.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 52 (302 total reports)
18.03.2026-31.03.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The power of the people was on display this week with “No Kings” protests taking shape in small and big towns throughout the United States, and indeed, the world.
Visual Stories!
My heart told me this week that many of us needed a hopeful song that looked forward to the end of this madness. We’re seeing cracks in the MAGA facade, and we need to put a chisel in those cracks and drive it deeper. This happy-go-lucky tune channels the hit song, “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” I hope you enjoy it and find it both uplifting and empowering. “What a Joy,” https://youtu.be/KSCZPNJMAGk
Top Links of the Week
31.03.2026
Trump’s Executive Order Diverting Border Security Funds to TSA Is a Blatantly Criminal Act
Do I like airport lines backed up for literally blocks? Of course not. Do I like that TSA is not being paid? Of course not. But like Andy Craig, this journalist from The Unpopulist, I also don’t like this president breaking the law to use discretionary funds at his whim and fancy. Craig compares T.R.U.M.P. to King Charles, I, who attempted to bypass the Parliament from 1629 to 1640, resulting in the “Glorious Revolution,” of 1688; a civil war, and the King’s execution. Despite Congress giving this president a 10-billion dollar slush fund, it is not his to do with as he will. It is allocated by Congress and overseen by Congress. Though his Republican lackeys have consistently let this president do whatever he wants, his choice to personally determine what to do with this unheard-of, enormous sum of money (from the One, Big, Beautiful Bill) crosses a constitutional line. The Constitution was designed to give Congress, not the president, spending and allocation powers. As Craig points out, this is not a “flaw” in the system, it is the bedrock of the system. It is what separates an autocrat from a democratic president. Pleased as I would be to see TSA employees paid and lines flowing at the normal snail’s pace, I am not in favor of an autocratic government. Similarly to posting ICE in airports (a ploy that even Steve Bannon admits is designed to make us feel more comfortable with their public presence ahead of the mid-term elections), this is a sign of a deeper and more sinister plot to undermine our Democratic government.
30.03.2026
Photos From the Third Nationwide ‘No Kings’ Protest
The biggest news this weekend is the people (over 8 million) who showed up in large and small towns around the globe to put U.S. politicians on the alert. No more wars, no more distractions, no more T.R.U.M.P., and no more kings. Atlantic captures photos from around the U.S. (small towns and large) of people who will not be intimidated—or distracted—by this administration. The countdown to invoking the 25th Amendment has begun!
27.03.2026
March 26, 2026
Heather Cox Richardson arguably offers the best-researched political commentary available today. In this article, she examines how the United States has gone rogue and become untrustworthy as a global partner. She examines the graft of this White House under this president, not just by his family but among insiders in the cabinet and among Republican representatives. T.R.U.M.P. has worked to align himself with global dictators and authoritarians, including supporting Putin at a moment when he is openly offering military information to Iran in a war this president started. In my own opinion, one cannot blame just this president without pointing an admonishing finger at the 35% of voters who put him into office and those who stayed home and let others vote for him in their stead. What other countries have learned from this is that even if the U.S. swings back to a saner leadership after this election, there is no telling what it will do when it swings back again in following elections. Other countries are forming partnerships that don’t include such a feckless population so easily swayed almost daily by conspiracy theories.
26.03.2026
What we know and don't know about Iran war negotiations
It seems awkward to be asking whom to trust: the demented would-be king in the White House or the fanatical religious fundamentalist Ayatollah in Iran. But here we are, an extremely awkward time when lying is part and parcel of a politician’s tool kit. It almost boils down to, “Whose lie seems less untrue?” It is particularly difficult with this president and his administration, who seem to prefer lying to truth-telling. The reality they have to sell—especially in regard to this war—is particularly undigestible. But… so is the reality about the economy, so is the reality about climate change, so is the reality about graft and traitorous behavior, and… of course, so is the reality about the Epstein files.
25.03.2026
March 24, 2026
Heather Cox Richardson quotes economist Paul Krugman as saying, “People close to Trump are trading based on national secrets.” These are not just the acts of profiteers; these are the acts of traitors. Someone, in the inner circles of this White House, tipped off investors about actions that were going to take place on a battlefield, and those people—including representatives of Congress—used that information to invest over a half billion dollars. This should not surprise us from an administration that revealed military secrets on public social media to journalists (without consequence). Keep this information on your files so we can remind lawmakers when (if) we can vote again.
24.03.2026
America's wealth gap is growing, and Trump's policies are making it bigger
There is an economic term called Mudsilling. It refers to a powerful upper class that intentionally creates a permanent underclass to serve their economic needs, and it comes from a construction term whereby a mudsill is the lowest threshold that supports the foundation for a building. Nothing could describe the Project 2025 economy better. In my article review yesterday, we examined who is profiting off the aggressions of this administration. The presidency, Congress, and our Supreme Court have demonstrated they are doing all they can to rob the poor and give money to their ultra-wealthy benefactors. Relying on the midterms is not enough. Our current president has already indicated that he does not want voting to occur, and the recent action of sending his private shock troops (ICE) to airports is but one indication that he will also take over polling places. We need to be more assertive if we want to save our democracy for our children. We need to show our elected officials that we will not tolerate a mudsill economy.
23.03.2026
Who Is Profiting from the War in Iran - and What We Can Do About It
This brief article by the editors at Daily Kos is important if you want to know 1) why war is so profitable, 2) who profits from it, and 3) what you can do to resist this cycle of blatant racketeering. Among those who are profiting the most from this war in Iran is the president himself, his family, Netanyahu, Putin, China, petroleum companies, and even Iran itself! The editors go on to reflect upon a piece by James Carville about how we can respond and what Democrats can do to target such exploitation in the future.
20.03.2026
Trump Had No Plan B for Iran
If Tom Nichols of The Atlantic wrote it or has it in his podcast, I want to understand the commentary. This article takes a deep dive into the behind-the-scene thinking (or lack thereof) of this administration’s decision to join Netanyahu in bombing Iran. Despite being told by military and intelligence experts who are familiar with the region, T.R.U.M.P. ordered this invasion thinking it would be a one-bomb-run ordeal and the regime would collapse. So confident were they of their own “brilliance” that there was no Plan B. As Mr. Nichols puts it, “Trump’s Plan A was to hit Iran hard, watch the theocrats flee, and then hand power to a government of his own choosing. Should such things not come to pass, Plan B was … well, apparently, there was no Plan B.” Nichols goes on to squarely lay the blame for this invasion on those responsible. Here are his words: “Some observers have criticized American planners for failing to anticipate such a move. This is unfair: The intelligence community and the U.S. military have analyzed, planned, and exercised for this scenario for decades. The failure came not from the national-security community, but from the civilians, and specifically the commander in chief, who evidently refused to heed warnings from his senior military advisers that the Iranians would do exactly what anyone paying attention suspected they would do.” Once again, Nichols points out, “T.R.U.M.P.’s arrogance,” is putting the United States—and the world—at extreme risk. This presidency is the worst presidency since, well, since his last presidency. Let’s just hope the globe can recover from what the people of the United States (voters and stay-at-homers alike) have unleashed.
19.03.2026
The Iran War’s Next Threat Is to Food and Water
The Atlantic’s Vivian Salama looks behind the scenes and into the near future to analyze the global implications of T.R.U.M.P.’s grandiose encroachment into Iran. Salama does a deep dive into the story behind and beyond simply the effect of this “invasion” on food and water in the region, not just gas and oil for the United States. According the this administration, they didn’t think that their invasion would cause this many problems, which begs to remind us how imbecilic this President can be and how intentionally blind he has become cocooned by his sycophantic followers. Let us not also become victims of myopic vision looking at only how this incursion affects us nationally or locally. It’s not just about gas and oil prices, it is about access to food and water, which is becoming a far greater menace to the world.
18.03.2026
Nobody Wants To Clean Up Trump's Mess In The Strait Of Hormuz
Ryan Grenoble and Marita Vlachou of HuffPost aptly name this post-Iran, non-war invasion as a “no-alition of the willing.” Turns out this administration is learning you can’t invade a country with only Israel’s support, insult all of your allies, then expect them—or the population of the United States—to be supportive. And it drives this administration more insane (if that’s possible). Adam Serwer of The Atlantic posts a similar headline and discusses T.R.U.M.P.’s unreadiness for the chaos he has caused. He quotes the president as saying, “On Monday, Trump told reporters that Iran wasn’t ‘supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East.’ He said, ‘They hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait,’ and “nobody expected that. We were shocked.’” This is just another illustration of how obtuse this administration is and how it will not listen to anyone who doesn’t praise, “The Dear Leader.” The world will pay the price for this incompetence. Rising oil prices affect everyone and nearly everything from shipping to fertilizer. In the United States, this is further complicated by all the internal battles this administration has started from the nonpayment of TSA employees to ICE running rampant on city streets. It almost seems trite to say (and too ubiquitous) elect a clown, expect a circus. What can we do? Keep the focus on the Epstein files, keep demanding their release. All of this is a distraction from sending this president where he belongs, not in the White House, but in an orange suit.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Mudsilling is a political term defining when a ruling economic class intentionally designs a political structure to keep others enslaved in poverty. The U.S. is a mudsill economy.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 51 (301 total reports)
18.03.2026-24.03.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Mudsilling is a political term defining when a ruling economic class intentionally designs a political structure to keep others enslaved in poverty. The U.S. is a mudsill economy.
Visual Stories!
This week’s Blues/Rap song focuses on the Pedo-in-Chief and reminds him, “We Will Not Forget.” https://youtu.be/Z0Xt8Ch4aaI?si=okNFBWjRDIlcFb5i
Top Links of the Week
24.03.2026
America's wealth gap is growing, and Trump's policies are making it bigger
There is an economic term called Mudsilling. It refers to a powerful upper class that intentionally creates a permanent underclass to serve their economic needs, and it comes from a construction term whereby a mudsill is the lowest threshold that supports the foundation for a building. Nothing could describe the Project 2025 economy better. In my article review yesterday, we examined who is profiting off the aggressions of this administration. The presidency, Congress, and our Supreme Court have demonstrated they are doing all they can to rob the poor and give money to their ultra-wealthy benefactors. Relying on the midterms is not enough. Our current president has already indicated that he does not want voting to occur, and the recent action of sending his private shock troops (ICE) to airports is but one indication that he will also take over polling places. We need to be more assertive if we want to save our democracy for our children. We need to show our elected officials that we will not tolerate a mudsill economy.
23.03.2026
Who Is Profiting from the War in Iran - and What We Can Do About It
This brief article by the editors at Daily Kos is important if you want to know 1) why war is so profitable, 2) who profits from it, and 3) what you can do to resist this cycle of blatant racketeering. Among those who are profiting the most from this war in Iran is the president himself, his family, Netanyahu, Putin, China, petroleum companies, and even Iran itself! The editors go on to reflect upon a piece by James Carville about how we can respond and what Democrats can do to target such exploitation in the future.
20.03.2026
Trump Had No Plan B for Iran
If Tom Nichols of The Atlantic wrote it or has it in his podcast, I want to understand the commentary. This article takes a deep dive into the behind-the-scene thinking (or lack thereof) of this administration’s decision to join Netanyahu in bombing Iran. Despite being told by military and intelligence experts who are familiar with the region, T.R.U.M.P. ordered this invasion thinking it would be a one-bomb-run ordeal and the regime would collapse. So confident were they of their own “brilliance” that there was no Plan B. As Mr. Nichols puts it, “Trump’s Plan A was to hit Iran hard, watch the theocrats flee, and then hand power to a government of his own choosing. Should such things not come to pass, Plan B was … well, apparently, there was no Plan B.” Nichols goes on to squarely lay the blame for this invasion on those responsible. Here are his words: “Some observers have criticized American planners for failing to anticipate such a move. This is unfair: The intelligence community and the U.S. military have analyzed, planned, and exercised for this scenario for decades. The failure came not from the national-security community, but from the civilians, and specifically the commander in chief, who evidently refused to heed warnings from his senior military advisers that the Iranians would do exactly what anyone paying attention suspected they would do.” Once again, Nichols points out, “T.R.U.M.P.’s arrogance,” is putting the United States—and the world—at extreme risk. This presidency is the worst presidency since, well, since his last presidency. Let’s just hope the globe can recover from what the people of the United States (voters and stay-at-homers alike) have unleashed.
19.03.2026
The Iran War’s Next Threat Is to Food and Water
The Atlantic’s Vivian Salama looks behind the scenes and into the near future to analyze the global implications of T.R.U.M.P.’s grandiose encroachment into Iran. Salama does a deep dive into the story behind and beyond simply the effect of this “invasion” on food and water in the region, not just gas and oil for the United States. According the this administration, they didn’t think that their invasion would cause this many problems, which begs to remind us how imbecilic this President can be and how intentionally blind he has become cocooned by his sycophantic followers. Let us not also become victims of myopic vision looking at only how this incursion affects us nationally or locally. It’s not just about gas and oil prices, it is about access to food and water, which is becoming a far greater menace to the world.
18.03.2026
Nobody Wants To Clean Up Trump's Mess In The Strait Of Hormuz
Ryan Grenoble and Marita Vlachou of HuffPost aptly name this post-Iran, non-war invasion as a “no-alition of the willing.” Turns out this administration is learning you can’t invade a country with only Israel’s support, insult all of your allies, then expect them—or the population of the United States—to be supportive. And it drives this administration more insane (if that’s possible). Adam Serwer of The Atlantic posts a similar headline and discusses T.R.U.M.P.’s unreadiness for the chaos he has caused. He quotes the president as saying, “On Monday, Trump told reporters that Iran wasn’t ‘supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East.’ He said, ‘They hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait,’ and “nobody expected that. We were shocked.’” This is just another illustration of how obtuse this administration is and how it will not listen to anyone who doesn’t praise, “The Dear Leader.” The world will pay the price for this incompetence. Rising oil prices affect everyone and nearly everything from shipping to fertilizer. In the United States, this is further complicated by all the internal battles this administration has started from the nonpayment of TSA employees to ICE running rampant on city streets. It almost seems trite to say (and too ubiquitous) elect a clown, expect a circus. What can we do? Keep the focus on the Epstein files, keep demanding their release. All of this is a distraction from sending this president where he belongs, not in the White House, but in an orange suit.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Let’s keep our eye on the ball. The release of the Epstein files will bring this administration and those Pedophile Protectors surrounding him down. That’s why they (not just ‘he’) are working so hard to distract us. Release the files!Peace
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 50 (300 total reports)
11.03.2026-17.03.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Let’s keep our eye on the ball. The release of the Epstein files will bring this administration and those Pedophile Protectors surrounding him down. That’s why they (not just ‘he’) are working so hard to distract us. Release the files!
Visual Stories!
This week’s Blues/Rap song focuses on the Pedo-in-Chief and reminds him, “We Will Not Forget.” https://youtu.be/Z0Xt8Ch4aaI?si=okNFBWjRDIlcFb5i
Top Links of the Week
17.03.2026
How Trump's Treasury is shifting sanctions to punish his critics and reward friends
This NPR article by staff writers, Chiara Eisner and Robert Benincasa, reminds us, once again, how small a human, Donald T.R.U.M.P., is.There seems to be no tool too sacred for him to not turn into a weapon of revenge, and just as he is using the Department of Justice to seek revenge on those who annoyed him, the Department of “War” to attack those who stood in his way, he is now using the Department of Treasury to attack those who have stood against him. That includes people internationally as well as companies internally. This president will get his revenge. Sadly, the more decrepit he becomes (and closer to his physical or political demise), the more revenge is important to him. This administration has been chastised by the ICC (International Criminal Court), by the U.N. and even by the Nobel Prize committee, but it only seems to add fuel to his fire. One can only imagine those surrounding him at Cabinet meetings seeking his favor by telling him what a great human being he is, all the while enabling him to commit continually worse atrocities.
16.03.2026
Trump Has Replaced International Law With the Rule That Might Makes Right
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/trump-might-makes-right?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=other
Walden Bello received the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, in 2003, and was named Outstanding Public Scholar of the International Studies Association in 2008. He is well-positioned to write and speak to this subject of how world politics has disintegrated under Donald T.R.U.M.P.’s administration and with the onset of practices designed by Project 2025. Citing Prime Minister Mark Carney, Bello tells us that T.R.U.M.P. has foregone the United Nations and supplanted it with a “Might Makes Right” strategy. Also, like Carney, the professor and author reminds us that our only hopeful path lies in resistance. That is true globally as well as individually. What can you do today that will resist the continued power-grabbing of the madman in the Mar-a-Lago? Intentional actions, big and small, make a difference. Writing your senator to protest the SAVE ACT, or supporting someone you know who is assertively protesting this administration, all make a difference. As the Obamas like to remind us, “Don’t just boo, do something!”
Trump keeps asking Americans to sacrifice — for things they don’t want
Aaron Blake of CNN Politics asks us if we are feeling a bit of déjà vu this week, with this administration’s admonishment that we should all expect to embrace short-term pain for long-term gain. He suggests that we might have heard this before, like during COVID, like during the tariffs, and like now during the Iran War (er… Operation Fury, er… “Short-Term Excursion”, er... “Massive and Ongoing Operation,” er… “Campaign for Iran Liberation,” apparently, we haven’t settled on a name yet, because we haven’t settled on a mission). When this “action” started, oil was around $60 per barrel; now it is just over $100, and some analysts say it could go as high as $200. So, we are being asked to “tighten our belts.” Meanwhile, the “Department of War” is certainly not tightening its belts. Over the last month, Daily Kos writer, Oliver Willis, tells us that, “Hegseth has also presided over an internal spending spree at the Pentagon. Newly released reports of expenditures showed the purchase of a $98,329 Steinway & Sons grand piano, $60,000 for Herman Miller recliner chairs, $124,000 for ice cream machines, and $139,224 on 272 orders of doughnuts.” This weekend, the president is flying down to his Pedo-Castle on the sea, Mar-a-Lago, for another round of golf with his billionaire supporters. If you weren’t invited, just think of it as another opportunity to experience “short-term pain.”
12.03.2026
Dario Amodei’s Oppenheimer Moment
Ross Anderson of The Atlantic compares this moment in our history to the precipice the world faced when Julius Robert Oppenheimer completed his work on the atomic bomb in 1945. Anderson points out the ethical dilemma Oppenheimer faced as he proverbially “turned over the keys” of the bomb to the Truman Administration. The columnist discusses the 15,000-word manifesto developed by Anthropic CEO, Dario Amodei, entitled, “Machines of Loving Grace.” He also reviews the (what now might be considered naiveté) of the scientists of Oppenheimer’s time as they dreamt about the positive applications of atomic energy for world peace and economic development. Few of those many ideas saw any relevant development, while the destructive force of atomic energy was deployed twice against Japan. Now, instead of Truman, we have world leaders like Putin, Netanyahu, and T.R.U.M.P. vying to decide how AI and nuclear energy will be used—for or against humanity. I agree with Mr. Anderson that we are teetering on a critical “Oppenheimer Moment,” and need to make our voices heard in this debate. Use your choices to support Anthropic. I know many are against the use of AI, for multiple reasons, but that is similar to being against the use of atomic energy in the time of Oppenheimer. Ceding your opinion is allowing others to use it. Others like those named above. Others like Pete Hegseth and this administration. Like Tom Homan and the MAGA Republicans already supplying Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses to ICE for use in facial recognition and unlawful civilian surveillance.
11.03.2026
Trump Can’t Decide Whether the Iran War Is Still Going On
This article by David A. Graham of The Atlantic takes us to a very dangerous place: the mind of this President as he tries to explain the Iran war to the press. Graham points out, “Reporters at the press conference, perplexed, asked Trump about the gap. ‘You said the war is ‘very complete,’ but your defense secretary says this is just the beginning, so which is it?’” T.R.U.M.P.’s response? “Well, I think you could say both.” With oil prices skyrocketing and tankers jammed in the Persian Gulf, T.R.U.M.P. appeared to blame price hikes on oil companies. As Graham points out, he “… even called on oil-tanker captains to ‘show some guts’ and sail through the contested Strait of Hormuz, according to Fox News’s Brian Kilmeade, though he hasn’t volunteered to personally dodge Iranian missiles aboard a floating makeshift bomb.” As frequently the case with this administration, chaos and confusion reign. Graham cites reporting by his others at The Atlantic: “As my colleagues Marie-Rose Sheinerman and Isabel Ruehl reported last week, Trump offered 10 different rationales for the war in its first six days alone.” The bottom line is that every day brings new lies by this administration. Graham explains the rationale (although I hesitate to ever use any word relating to “rational” with this circus of miscreants): “The problem is that Trump wants to operate with complete freedom from any restrictions and without waiting for advisers’ input. Asked when the war would completely end, T.R.U.M.P. told CBS, ‘Wrapping up is all in my mind, nobody else’s.’ That’s not very reassuring, for stock markets or anyone else.”
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
War (or whatever you call it) has a way of creating its own fog. This administration already defaults to lies over truth. Expect that to get worse. In the meantime, our role remains to be firm, stand up, and defy.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 49 (299 total reports)
10.03.2026-04.03.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
War (or whatever you call it) has a way of creating its own fog. This administration already defaults to lies over truth. Expect that to get worse. In the meantime, our role remains to be firm, stand up, and defy.
Visual Stories!
A demented president, a gaggle of Republican sycophants and cabinet members. This country tune reminds us it’s ”A Different Lie; A Different Day.” https://youtu.be/q7w2ofLh09k?si=AW8I59gah0DBkDkc
Top Links of the Week
10.03.2026
What Anthropic’s Clash With the Pentagon Is Really About
Someone bombed a girls’ school in Iran with a U.S.-made Tomahawk missile. The standard press responses throughout the administration have ranged from Trump’s, “no one knows who… there’s lots of Tomahawks in the area…” to Hegseth’s, “It’s under investigation.” Earlier this week, my blog focused on an AI company called “Anthropic,” that was standing up and defying this administration at the risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in military contracts. Well, Anthropic held fast and the Administration designated them as a “Supply Side Risk,” a term usually reserved for hostile foreign nations. In turn, Anthropic rightfully sued for breach of contract and that suit went to court today supported by dozens of AI engineers from multiple companies—even some who were with companies that are opponents of Anthropic. Even though these engineers are business opponents, they are not ethical opponents. It seems that many of us do not want the people who targeted a girl’s school in Iran to determine how AI will operate in a war or in domestic surveillance without interaction from humans—preferably democratically elected ones. Thank you to Anthropic’s CEO, Dario Amodei and these engineers for standing up to this administration. Boo to Sam Altman and OpenAI for kowtowing to them. Folks, you know what to do. Since this became an issue, Claud AI (made by Anthropic) has become the No. 1 AI app download in the U.S. Let’s join them as we all “Stand Up and Defy,” this kakistocracy.
09.03.2026
America Isn’t Divided by Race. It’s Divided by Class
William Spivey, of Level, writes to remind us of the history of classism in the United States. His position can be summed up in the following statement: “America built a caste system that protects wealth by weaponizing color.” Personally, I have been in enough jails, prisons, and watched enough trials to give credence to his statement. In almost every trial I’ve seen (juvenile and adult), if you had the money to hire an attorney, you either received a much lighter sentence or no sentence at all. It wouldn’t matter where I was visiting (I’ve had similar experiences working in multiple states), the punitive division wasn’t along the lines of race; it was along the lines of poverty. The poor are always misrepresented in our prison system. They cannot afford justice, and—tragically—minorities are far too often a majority of the impoverished. Spivey points out that this unfairness of representation applies all the way up to the Supreme Court, who recently ruled, “Documented racism isn’t enough to sway their rulings; a plaintiff must prove racism was the intent.” As Spivey reminds us, “Sometimes, it isn’t the intent, just the means. Does that make anything any less racist?” As we watch the Epstein chaos unfold, we are reminded that wealth without boundaries often results in wealth without constraints. Again, I quote Spivey, who reminds us, “That 10% of people who control 72% of the wealth effectively control our government, banks, and law enforcement.” Mid-Terms will tell us if that richest percentage is strong enough to cancel elections in a democracy. We need to do all we can to “Stand Up and Defy,” to show adherents of this billionaire president and his cabinet that there is a cost to their callousness.
06.03.2026
Would Trump Risk an Oil Crisis?
Rogé Karma writes this in-depth article for The Atlantic examining the history of oil prices and (predominantly) Iran. Of course, one cannot write about Middle East oil prices and Iran without also writing about the Strait of Hormuz. Hundreds of ships are now anchored idly in the waters of the Persian Gulf, and insurers will not cover losses on these tankers, so they will not move. About 20% of the world’s oil flows through those straits, and blocking them is causing oil prices to skyrocket. Does T.R.U.M.P. care? About as much as he cares for the lives of soldiers being lost in this war. Perhaps a bit more, because oil prices will impact the U.S. economy, and that will impact mid-terms (if the U.S. has them). Karma points out that the president has said he would use military escorts to protect tankers accessing Hormuz. But that would take much more planning than this administration has shown itself capable of doing so far. In addition to blocking the strait, Iran is targeting the production facilities of oil producers around the Persian Gulf. This includes nations/kingdoms such as the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Iraq. We still do not know the goals of this war, except that the president said on Truth Social this morning that he will accept nothing less than Iran’s unconditional surrender. It is evident that Iran knows that this war is not as supported domestically as Pete Hegseth and Donald T.R.U.M.P. want us to believe. Reuters says that only 25% of the U.S. population supports this war. Is the president even aware of that? Probably not. The evidence points out that this President only surrounds himself with people who affirm his actions. He is surrounded by sycophants that will not let any light shine in. That is why it remains so important that we take action and visibly show the Republicans surrounding him that they are not just disliked, but even loathed. Active defiance is the only way we can restore democracy to the United States. Don’t give in.
05.03.2026
The American King Goes to War
Adam Serwer, of The Atlantic, gives us a constitutional framework for T.R.U.M.P.’s unilateral decision to engage in an illegal war with Iran. He points out, “Who can decide when a country goes to war is one of the crucial distinctions between a republic and a monarchy. The Founders’ decision to give Congress the authority to declare war is not a coincidence. It was one of several deliberate moves to limit the ability of an executive to wage war based on grudge, impulse, or personal profit. The restraints on the executive branch’s ability to wage war exist to ensure that if the nation makes a choice to go to war, it does so only after careful planning and deliberation. That is to say, the opposite of what happened here.” Serwer points out that there is no plan for post-invasion reconstruction, and the explanation for why the U.S. started the war changes on a daily basis (and depending upon whom grants the press an interview). Serwer does not believe there is a plan; however, his partner at The Atlantic, David From (in his weekly podcast), says essentially, the plan is simple: take out the top 40 people and continue to take people out until you find a person that is willing to do what T.R.U.M.P. wants, then let that person build a coalition and rebuild the country. Serwer continues his important history lesson by quoting Akhil Reed Amar, author of “America’s Constitution: A Biography.” Serwer explains, “Dividing the authority to wage war between the executive and the legislature was a deliberate innovation because ‘in England, the king had the power to both declare war and command troops.’ The king was seen as the embodiment of the people, and therefore his decisions regarding war and peace did not require their consent. America is famously founded on the opposite proposition. A monarch can take their nation to war for petty or personal reasons; a president should not be able to.” As of this morning, the Republican-led Congress seems comfortable granting their leader, King-like powers. Democrats (sans John Fetterman, D-PA) are feigning resistance, but only so they can later point out they voted against T.R.U.M.P. What can we do against such odds? Continue to use your voice to demand answers. Why did we invade Iran? What is the plan now and beyond the next 4-5 weeks? Who will rebuild their infrastructure once Israel and the U.S. have destroyed it? Is this a war against nuclear weapons, against terrorism, for regime change? Will this administration follow proper channels prior to any other preeminent invasions (for example, of Cuba)? When will the Justice Department release the unredacted Epstein files?
04.02.2026
The ghost in the machine has changed sides
You might wonder why I’m featuring this article, by Jeff DeGraff, on my blog today, but if you’ve been following the domestic war between Pete Hegseth, this administration, and the leaders of Anthropic, you will certainly understand. In this article, DeGraff discusses the concept of “Spectral Accountability” and British philosopher Gilbert Ryle’s concept of “The Ghost in the Machine.” Briefly (very briefly), Spectral Accountability examines human agency in the AI decision-making process. This administration wants to use AI without human agency, allowing AI to decide on military strikes or how to monitor the public in its own defense. If you’re not comfortable with the way this administration has already been monitoring, arresting, and even shooting U.S. citizens, then you should be uncomfortable—even shocked—at how Hegseth and this administration are clumsily trying to bully Anthropic. We know—we don’t assume—that we are preemptively at war with Iran for two reasons: 1) to shift the focus from the Epstein files, and 2) so T.R.U.M.P. can declare emergency powers and avoid mid-term elections. We know this based on this administration’s behaviors and clues from the Supreme Court instructing T.R.U.M.P. how he could use emergency powers legally. The Roberts court is trying to teach this administration how to end democracy by a sort of political “Whack-a-Mole”; the administration blunders and the Court tells T.R.U.M.P.’s lawyers what they did wrong and how to do it differently next time. What we must also learn from this glimpse into this presidency is that we must be courageous and defiant. Minneapolis taught us that this administration will back down when faced with a community of like-minded, resolute, peaceful protesters. Bovino is gone, Bondi and Noem are digging their own legal graves while lying to Congress, similarly with Rubio and Hegseth, and T.R.U.M.P. will eventually have to face the consequences of his primary role in the Epstein empire. But only if we “Stand Up and Defy!”
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
T.R.U.M.P. is not running for president; he is running from jail. If U.S. citizens saw the unredacted Epstein files, EVEN REPUBLICANS wouldn’t pretend to support him.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 48 (298 total reports)
24.02.2026-03.03.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
T.R.U.M.P. is not running for president; he is running from jail. If U.S. citizens saw the unredacted Epstein files, EVEN REPUBLICANS wouldn’t pretend to support him.
Visual Stories!
A cadre of capitalist billionaires controls this president and the Republican Congress. T.R.U.M.P. is allowed to retain power as long as he does what they wish. This song focuses on calling out those people, “Elitists of the Land.” https://youtu.be/V5W-DfebEN4?si=B-gAJmBkOPPxTC2j
Top Links of the Week
03.02.2026
Trump Has Given America a Constitutional Dilemma
This reporting by The Atlantic reporter, Tom Nichols, tells us that congress has two ways to respond to T.R.U.M.P.’s illegal war efforts, first in Venezuela, now in Iran (and next, Nichols doesn’t mention, in Cuba). They have a blunt instrument, to turn off the funding, and a dull instrument, “The War Powers Resolution.” Both have their levels of fallibility, with shutting the funding perhaps being the more irresponsible. Shutting off the funding leaves U.S. Troops undefended in foreign lands, The War Powers Resolution gives four months of funding for this administration to end hostilities and/or explain their rationale and mission to congress and the U.S. Public. The down side is that it signals to foreign powers that they just need to extend the war by that amount of time and then the U.S. will be gone. Now, I’m going to venture into personal commentary aside from the well-researched journalism of Mr. Nichols. We have to remember that T.R.U.M.P. is not seeking to retain his presidency, he is seeking to stay out of jail. If the truth of what has occurred in the Epstein files becomes public, this president would face a backlash that NOT EVEN THE REPUBLICANS could feign support for. This President would face the same accountability as other politicians found in these files in countries which are not controlled by a cadre of billionaires that use the presidency to fund their wealth and power. Our singular hope, at this time, is to demand the complete (unredacted) release of those files. T.R.U.M.P. must be held accountable as well as those that have been protecting him for years, decades.
02.03.2026
Congress gears up for vote on Trump's war powers in Iran — after the battle began
This administration is relying on the laggard response of Congress to impede its aggressive global actions. Congress meets after-the-fact tomorrow to discuss T.R.U.M.P.’s invasion of Iran, but his administration is already discussing another invasion of—well, who is left?—Cuba. This is the M.O. of Project 2025, and this White House moves so fast that the legal system cannot keep up. As this article points out, even if Congress passes a resolution to limit T.R.U.M.P.’s wartime powers, it is highly unlikely they will be able to pass a bill that will thwart the Republican-led House and Senate and be veto-proof when it goes before the President. In other words, Congress is legally impeded from responding. It falls back on voters to overwhelmingly and resoundingly kick out this administration and the Republicans who have kowtowed to everything this President has desired. Nothing short of complete change and impeachment will stop this administration and the Project 2025 madness.
27.02.2026
The High-Stakes Fight Between Hegseth and Anthropic
I’m going to ask you—for the sake of how important this article is—to imagine the degenerate, T.R.U.M.P. Minion, Pete Hegseth. Imagine Donald T.R.U.M.P. and him equipped with the most advanced AI defense program available to mankind. Now, imagine them using it as a weapon of war and a weapon of internal monitoring of citizens. Please forgive me for asking you to do that exercise. This article tells us why that is important. Anthropic, the company that designed Claude AI, wrote (as journalist Idrees Kahloon describes it), “…an 84-page constitution, a ‘soul document,’ that aims ‘to avoid large-scale catastrophes’ such as a “global takeover either by AIs pursuing goals that run contrary to those of humanity, or by a group of humans’ to ‘illegitimately and non-collaboratively seize power.’ When Anthropic began working with this administration, allowing it to use their software, they made two stipulations: “That its technology not be used either for mass surveillance of American citizens or for lethal autonomous-weapons systems.” In short, Hegseth does not want to be hemmed in by these stipulations; he wants free rein over the use of this software to do with as this administration desires. To get his way, he is threatening Anthropic’s leadership with conflicting options: “Either the Trump administration would invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) to compel Anthropic to provide the no-guardrails model it desires (a hypothetical creation sometimes referred to as ‘WarClaude’), or the government would sever ties with Anthropic and label it a ‘supply-chain risk.’” Kahloon states that Brendan Steinhauser, a former Republican operative in Texas who now leads the safety-oriented nonprofit Alliance for Secure AI, told me. “This could lead to us losing control of autonomous weapons.” Steinhauser argues that Hegseth should back down rather than provoke a civil-liberties nightmare. This is the nightmare Orwell warned us about, and we need to urge what’s left of Congress to support Anthropic’s constitution. We need to act in defiance of this upcoming nightmare where this administration turns loose AI on those they deem enemies—both external and internal.
26.02.2026
US and Iran begin talks seen as crucial to prevent conflict
https://apple.news/ApGShGJlhQtGBYMFGV5RnPg
Somehow, having Jared Kushner (who walked away with billions from the Middle East during the first T.R.U.M.P. presidency) and Steve Witkoff (T.R.U.M.P.’s long-time real estate friend and golf partner) doesn’t make me feel like the United States is being fairly represented in Iran. What we do know is that a substantial U.S. naval presence lies off the shore of this country, and T.R.U.M.P.’s daily demagoguery becomes increasingly threatening with every hour. In his State of the Union, T.R.U.M.P. praised the military, but never explained to the parents, Congress, or the rest of the United States what in the hell the military was doing back in Middle East waters after being expensively sent to the waters off of Venezuela (estimated costs are about $3 billion so far for the round trip). Is T.R.U.M.P. worried about Iran’s nuclear program? Didn’t he say that was obliterated back on June 25, 2025? Are we there to “re-obliterate” it? Isn’t it up to Congress to decide who we go to war with? Is it not the purview of our elected Congress to at least hear the case for war and decide if it is the best course of action for the United States’ interests? One would think that a President that was recently told by the Supreme Court that he is not unilaterally able to set U.S. economic policy through tariffs would also understand that he cannot set U.S. political policy by involving the country in wars against other nations (or regions). The U.S. does not belong to the T.R.U.M.P. family yet! We have to stand up and defy these actions. Defiance needs to become part and parcel of all of our lexicons. Defy and act. It is our duty to this country, our globe, and our children. As stated during the State of the Swamp rally yesterday, “We defy because we love America.”
25.02.2026
President Trump’s State of the Union Variety Show
I’ll proudly admit I did not watch the State of the Union (SOTU) address yesterday. I didn’t want to give him my rating to this administration, and I already knew what their “Dear Leader” would say. In this article by Tom Nichols of The Atlantic, my low expectations were affirmed. Basically, Nichols tells us that the address was more a circus than a speech, with T.R.U.M.P. being the ringleader. Here’s how Nichols puts it: “But Trump tonight went far beyond what even the most self-indulgent presidents would have envisioned. Beset by scandal, facing multiple defeats in America’s courts, and hitting levels of unpopularity that would make President Richard Nixon nod with empathy, he turned the State of the Union into a vulgar, populist carnival.” I think that Nichols’ closing is especially worthy of merit; here is what he states: “Trump made a great show of honoring a handful of U.S. military heroes. Meanwhile, thousands of young men and women are a world away, waiting for his orders to go to war. The president of the United States might have taken a moment tonight to tell their families why they’re out there and what they’re supposed to do. But why bother? The show must go on.” As for me, I gave my rating to the alternative, “State of the Swamp” show by Democrats in a different location. I know the Dems are trying to win over the “Turning Point” crowd that seems less directed with the death of their demagogue leader, Charlie Kirk, but I found the atmosphere disappointing. It seemed more like a circus carnival to me (but keep in mind I’m admittedly an old fuddy-duddy). In contrast, the speeches and panels were electrifying. The primary message was made during a panel/crowd involvement rally that stated, “We defy because we love America.” I know that is why I’m going to continue to join in defiance of this Republican-supported authoritarian regime.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Expect a diatribe full of lies tonight at the State of the Union, or… lower his ratings and join us live on YouTube watching the Democrats’ alternative gathering, “The State of the Swamp.”
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 47 (297 total reports)
18.02.2026-23.02.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Expect a diatribe full of lies tonight at the State of the Union, or… lower his ratings and join us live on YouTube watching the Democrats’ alternative gathering, “The State of the Swamp.”
Visual Stories!
As this administration makes more authoritarian demands that undermine citizens’ rights by telling social media platforms to inform them when someone is negative about ICE or this government’s policies, it is time for us to join together and remember the strength of unity and courage. This song, modelled after CCR’s “Fortunate Son,” tells us to remember that “Courage is Stronger,” https://youtu.be/VRM3KKNh1Ro?si=GQdR5JYJGsCIvRom
Top Links of the Week
24.02.2026
February 23, 2026
This morning’s commentary by Heather Cox Richardson is a perfect preparation for those who might be tempted to T.R.U.M.P.’s diatribe of fresh lies and (most likely) condemnation of those against his autocratic policies; no doubt now including the Supreme Court (which Donald refuses to capitalize, to him, it is the “supreme court”). I’m sure we’ll also get plenty of the “fixed election,” “all Joe Biden’s fault,” “ false media’s reporting of the economy,” and more of the drivel that he’s been posting non-stop on his late-night potty site, Truth Social. If you, like my own State Senator, Democrat Patty Murray (who said in a recent e-mail to constituents, “I’m not going to dignify his lies and sit through that in person,”) do not plan to give credence to his lies, lower his views and raise the ratings of the alternative gathering, “The State of the Swamp,” which Democrats will lead tonight on YouTube or at “DEFIANCE.org.”
23.02.2026
Call Them What They Are
Tom Nichols, a journalist with The Atlantic, says what this administration does not want us to discuss. The government created by Project 2025 and led by Donald J. T.R.U.M.P. is not acting like Nazi’s, they are a modern form of Nazism. They don’t just dress up like Nazi’s, speak like Nazi’s, have policies like Nazi’s, or use phrases from Nazi’s. They are Nazi’s. They are fascists seeking totalitarian power in this hemisphere and the destruction of the U.S. democracy. It is time that we call out those who support (or supported) this government: “You are like those who stood aside while Hitler rounded up the Jewish population and had them put into concentration camps.” Now, you might say (as many of the German population did), “We didn’t know it would be this bad…” But that is no excuse. Either you didn’t read the literature and supported T.R.U.M.P., read the literature and gave approval to this type of regime, or you stayed home to let others make this awful decision for you. It has become apparent that most people who tacitly (or explicitly) supported this regime have too many “sunk costs” to change their minds now. Therefore, it remains up to the rest of us to refuse to back down, to make sure we defend our constitution and this democracy.
20.02.2026
Social Media Platforms Receive DHS Orders to Identify Users Who Criticize ICE
Last week, I posted a blog by Richard Reich, encouraging Kristi Noem to check his social media for attacks on her and on ICE. This article looks a little bit more in depth at the orders given by ICE Barbie for social media platforms to turn over information on people who attack ICE or identify locations in their cities where they are found. It tells us who those orders have been issued to and who, so far, is complying. Of course, we know that Bezos’s Google is compliant—and will continue to do whatever this administration asks them to. META is another platform that should not surprise us. But the article also tells us that most of those who comply inform users that their names are being subpoenaed. Folks, let’s not succumb; let’s burn the boats behind us. Make this administration’s government ungovernable. This is our time to be assertive and respond just as the people in Minneapolis did; nonviolently but courageously.
19.02.2026
Trump Has A Favorite Tool For Keeping MAGA Followers Loyal. Experts Say It's Highly Effective.
This article by Jillian Wilson of Huffpost examines “Echo Chambers” that occur in social media sites. It not only examines them from how this President uses them to keep the MAGA faithful in line, but also how those of us who receive our news largely from social media can fall prey to these echo chambers as well. An echo chamber, in this regard, is a feedback loop in our social media that only feeds us the news we want to hear. Therefore, left-leaning news feeds like Bluesky are most likely to receive news with a liberal slant, while MAGA followers, who follow T.R.U.M.P.’s Truth Social, are only going to receive the news that he deems worth sharing. That includes the disgusting racist video he shared (yet, Karoline Leavitt finally confirmed it was not a staffer, but the president himself that tweeted the video depicting the Obamas as simians). We live in an age where it is especially critical that we investigate our sources—especially if our sources are from social media. It is also important to ask other people for their sources: “Where did you get that news? Did you verify any other sources?”
18.02.2026
Concerns over autocracy in the U.S. continue to grow
Frank Langfitt, of NPR, examines the growing concerns many scholars have about the insidious movement towards authoritarianism in the United States. He quotes Steven Levitsky, a professor of government at Harvard University and co-author of “How Democracies Die,” who says the U.S. is in a “competitive authoritarianism.” Here is his definition: “Under competitive authoritarianism, countries still hold elections, but the ruling party uses various tactics — attacking the press, disenfranchising voters, weaponizing the justice system, and threatening critics — to tilt the electoral playing field in its favor.” While Levitsky also quotes other scholars that say that T.R.U.M.P. is merely using executive orders to respond to the liberal policies of the previous president (Biden), he also points to the words of ultra-right advisors to the President like Steve Bannon, who said they would “deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to polling places to root out undocumented migrants trying to vote.” If you read the two-part blog I posted last week based upon The Atlantic’s David Frum’s podcast, you would have seen that the situation is much more precarious than this article would indicate. This administration has concrete plans for preventing a fair mid-terms election; they cannot afford to lose power, and they know they will. It might come down to “more than the election” for these people to be stopped. We have to be ready to continue, like the courageous people of Minneapolis, to continue our peaceful resistance on the street. Republicans need to see—once and forever—that supporting this administration is a one-way ticket out of office. It remains up to us.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This is a violent, fascist regime that is damaging our reputation internally and externally. This week, we examine commentaries and articles that tell us how to peacefully fight back.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 46 (296 total reports)
11.02.2026-17.02.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This is a violent, fascist regime that is damaging our reputation internally and externally. This week, we examine commentaries and articles that tell us how to peacefully fight back.
Visual Stories!
We owe a debt to the people of Minneapolis. Their stance of nonviolence in the face of radical violence by this administration’s masked death squads is a timeless lesson in standing up to oppression. This song, modeled after the anti-T.R.U.M.P. band “Green Day,” focuses on the debt we owe to that city and its leaders. https://youtu.be/Oy3_U_MKpLs?si=9wvNFOJ-qiiaBZ9u
Top Links of the Week
17.02.2026
February 15, 2026
If I can use this blog to point to stellar writers like David Frum and Heather Cox Richardson, then I would be happy. In this commentary by Ms. Cox Richardson, she helps us understand the goings-on at the recent gathering of the 62nd Munich Security Conference. First, she presents the history of the event and the historic relevance of this year’s gathering, where their new report states: “We may be present at its destruction (of the conference). ‘The world has entered a period of wrecking-ball politics. Sweeping destruction—rather than careful reforms and policy corrections—is the order of the day. The most prominent of those who promise to free their countries from the existing order’s constraints and rebuild stronger, more prosperous nations is the current US administration.’” Marcus Rubio was present to do what sycophants regularly do for this administration. While their “Dear Leader” tweets from behind walls in eerily early morning hours, his lackeys are sent to “tone it down” and tell us what Project 2025 really wanted Donald to say. Also present were a number of representatives like Gavin Newsom, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Representative Jason Crow. They pleaded on behalf of keeping the door open for a saner United States in the future, with Crow stating: “Our foreign policy is being turned into an extortion ring for Big Oil, for the Trump family, for elites…” The damage of this administration will be long-lasting, but we can’t just point to them and say, “They’ll be gone soon…” We must also remember all the people that voted—and still support—this administration. And all the people who did not show up to vote. We must be courageous and bold, like the people of Minneapolis, if we hope to end the MAGA era and Project 2025. A slight win at the polls will not be enough in the midterms. With all the manipulations that this administration is preparing to do, we must let the MAGA faithful know their time is done and they will not be tolerated. Let your representatives see and hear you! Do not let your guard down or give up hope. If we can learn anything from the people of Minneapolis, it is that this violent administration can—and will be—defeated.
16.02.2026
A short note to Kristi Noem
Thank you to Robert Reich for this column; it really sizes up what I and apparently many other U.S. citizens are thinking right now. Kristi Noem, who made her early claim to fame by shooting her dog and bragging about it on social media, continues her unethical, immoral, and even illegal campaign to attack the American people on Donald T.R.U.M.P.’s behalf by assigning officers to illegally collect the names of people who say irksome things about her pet project, I.C.E. Essentially, Reich tells her, “Look me up…” He then does a short review of Noem’s stint as a cabinet member and not only the poor job she has done, but also the illegal actions she has taken. If you, like me, post items that might disturb ICE Barbie’s sensibilities. Our names are likely to turn up in her database. Hopefully, the only access she will have to that database in a few years will be from those who visit her in prison.
13.02.2026
How Trump Could Break the 2026 Elections
This is my second blog reviewing this important podcast from David Frum of The Atlantic. Frum continues his conversation with Stephen Richer about how the T.R.U.M.P. Administration could undermine voting in 2026 and beyond. Sadly, it wouldn’t be as difficult as many people think. They both (Frum and Richer) point out that all that this administration needs to do is disrupt voting in key polling stations across the U.S. That’s important, not all the polling places, but less than a dozen key ones. The invasion of the Macon County Elections Office is a dry run of what they could do elsewhere. If they can create the illusion of discrepancy (and just the illusion would do), it would give Speaker Mike Johnson (already one of T.R.U.M.P.’s minions) the ability to refuse to seat members from the House in those districts. This would prevent Johnson from handing over the gavel to the minority House Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, and prevent a democratic majority in the House that could call for the president’s impeachment. Stephen Bannon has already said they would send Homeland Security Agents to surround polling stations around the nation, but this strategy reveals that it doesn’t have to be “all” the stations across the nation—or even a lot—only the ones in contested districts that Republicans stand to lose. That’s how the Democrats could lose the next election and how the current administration could maintain power. Let’s hope the Democratic leadership has a strategy to block this possibility and, in the meantime, let’s make sure we “keep our feet down on the street” (as Vaclav Havel and Mark Carney encourage us). Remember, there are Republicans who are beginning to turn against this administration and they need to see our faces and hear our voices. Be courageous, remain resilient, be a dissident.
12.02.2026
How Trump Could Break the 2026 Elections
There is so much in this podcast from The Atlantic, by David Frum, that I’m going to do something unusual and take two days to discuss it. This podcast delves into three important topics. First, Frum examines the racist and idiotic video posted by T.R.U.M.P. featuring the Obamas as simians, which was posted, then rapidly removed (apparently, as soon as the sycophants around the president found out what their doddering overseer had been doing with his phone late at night). This is how Mr. Frum reviews it, “When the president is acting like some kind of internet troll, some kind of Klansman with access to an AI machine, he discredits everything that his administration is doing that looks like something that another administration might also do.” Secondly, Frum goes on to interview Stephen Richer, the former Republican County Recorder of Maricopa County, who has probably been closer to Ground Zero in this administration’s attempts to undermine the 2020 elections than any other authority. Frum points out that Richer’s bravery and fortitude during the attacks directed at him while county recorder are unmatched. Here’s how Richer recalls it… “It’s like Whac-a-Mole. And weirdly, the burden of proof always seems to be on those of us who won all the court cases, those of us who won all of the audits, and yet it’s on us to disprove every single wild-eyed allegation. I really hate that framework—I think it should instead be on the movant, so to speak, on the people who are alleging the thing, to have to bear the burden of proof.” Richter and Frum analyze the recent break-in at the Georgia elections office. They recount that some of the wilder conspiracy theories circulating are that the election was rigged by Maduro from Venezuela, and that—in exchange for his release—he will admit to using some “Magical Software” to fix the 2020 elections. Tulsi Gabbard’s presence was not requested by anyone (although T.R.U.M.P. said that Pam Bondi was behind it), but Gabbard felt she was not getting enough air time with “Dear Leader” and being on the scene would increase her presence within his inner sphere. The bottom line is this: Europe is passing laws that punish a politician if they lie to people; the U.S. is backwards. If there is anything this administration excels at, it is conspiracy theories, and—even if they are outlandish—Richer’s point is that the burden of proof is on disproving them, not proving them. This administration has weaponized falsehood, and the onus is on us to verify the validity of what they say. One thing is certain: if it comes out of the lips of this administration, ask these questions: 1) Is it verifiable? and 2) What do they benefit by lying? Tomorrow, we will cover more of this conversation and look at Frum’s third area, the 250th anniversary of the publishing of the literary series, “The [History of the] Decline and Fall of Rome.”
11.02.2026
The US slips to its lowest-ever rank in a global corruption index
Pam Bondi meets with the House Judiciary Committee today, and according to this poll by Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), that hearing couldn’t be more timely. The U.S., according to Hanna Ziady of CNN Business, is slipping in transparency and increasing in the perception of corruption by its own citizens. Now, the United States has reached a point where we awaken daily to a new atrocity committed by this administration against its own people. Most of those atrocities are fueled by a justice department, led by Pam Bondi, that does whatever this administration tells it to do. Let’s hope that today’s hearing makes that clear and that the Democratic leadership will do more than whine about the situation. Polls like this reveal how deeply the fabric of the democracy in the U.S. is fraying. Coupled with the 2025 Human Rights Watch report on the declining state of civil rights in the United States, these combined reports should leave lawmakers (and those who voted for this administration) ashamed. This is the direct result of those who voted for this administration—or stayed home instead of voting. This is the country they are responsible for; there is no possible way anyone can say, “We didn’t expect this…” T.R.U.M.P. made it clear he was going to be a dictator, and they elected him anyway. But this attack can be blunted, as the people of Minneapolis revealed, by organized, consistent acts of nonviolence. We are strongest when we take to the streets together. When our voices are united. When we act like we believe that courage is stronger than corruption.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The gaslighting we are all experiencing from this administration forces us to be more alert and vigilant. They commit unthinkable atrocities, pretend to apologize, and then attempt to normalize their abhorrent behavior.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 45 (295 total reports)
04.02.2025-10.02.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The gaslighting we are all experiencing from this administration forces us to be more alert and vigilant. They commit unthinkable atrocities, pretend to apologize, and then attempt to normalize their abhorrent behavior.
Visual Stories!
Do not believe a word from this administration; it is built upon lies, determined to deceive and distract. What we are now learning about the Epstein files is that they spread wider and are even more despicable than ever assumed. This song reminds us, “We Must Remain Vigilant!” https://youtu.be/EoyftGC2kxM?si=xvBJNxCLqFATa9xB
Top Links of the Week
10.02.2026
Carl Sagan’s 9 timeless lessons for detecting baloney
I admit to being a Carl Sagan geek. I loved both his books and his television series, but that’s not why I’m suggesting you read this column. Sagan’s timeless advice on detecting baloney is perhaps more important than when it was first written, and it clearly stands the test of time. This is a fairly short article and well worth the read. It is also well worth passing on to those you know who all-too-easily consume the baloney in today’s social media environment.
09.02.2026
Hard hats and dummy plates: Reports of ICE ruses add to fears in Minnesota
No shame, no shame, no shame. That is the defining quality of this administration. A people—just like their leading representative, without morals, without conscience, without scruples. No shame, no shame, no shame. This article by Jake Offenhartz of the Associated Press examines how ICE has been using cars without plates, disguising themselves (in Kristi Noem’s Barbie-like fashion) and showing up at Mexican restaurants, Home Depot parking lots, and churches in the attempt to round up the quote of arrests set by Stephen Miller and this White House. They have used children to bait teachers and parents, they have broken into private property, houses, and cars, warrantless. This is a gestapo, this is a military force led by those without shame. No shame, no shame, no shame. But let their names be remembered. Let’s not forget those who recruited these people, who sent them out in masks to terrorize neighborhoods, to arrest children, to murder citizens. No shame, no shame, no shame.
06.02.2026
How Autocrats Meddle With Elections
This illuminating article by Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic is part of a series from The Atlantic called “Autocracy in America.” In this final episode, Ms. Applebaum interviews voting expert par-non, Stacey Abrams, of Georgia. The author begins by giving us insight into the history of gerrymandering and what is different about the current administration’s attempts to undermine the voting system. Abrams states, “We have never had a president of the United States explicitly state that the line should be redrawn, not based on population, but based on voter outcome. And when you do that, when you decide that the districts are not designed to allow voters to elect their leaders, it is designed to allow leaders to elect their voters—that is a shift of power, and it is exactly what redistricting is designed to preclude.” Abrams also analyzes the Republicans’ anti-democratic proposed new law, the Orwellian-named “Save Act.” “The SAVE Act has a disproportionate effect on very targeted communities: the 69 million women who may have changed their names after marriage, and transgender people who may have had name changes. They’re going to say that you don’t have proof of your right to vote because your name does not match your birth certificate and your Social Security card. That means that millions of people would be disenfranchised and would have to go through multiple hurdles to get back on the rolls. You knock out a group who also are more likely to vote Democratic than Republican.” There is much more to this article—and the series is unmatched in analyzing this topic; it is well worth your time to review.
05.02.0226
Trump vs. Canada
David Frum of The Atlantic interviews Jason Kenney, former Premier of Alberta, former Canadian minister of immigration, and former Canadian minister of defense, to look at the damage this administration has done to the U.S. relationship with their northern neighbor. But initially, Frum poses the question many of us are asking in light of the unparalleled corruption of this administration: “What can we do?” Here’s now Frum poses the query: “The New York Times has estimated that the Trump family has made over $1 billion in this first year-plus of the Trump administration. The New Yorker has an update in which they estimate the Trump family’s stake at $4 billion. Whatever the actual number is, again, it is an astonishing sum never before seen in the history not just of the United States, but of any pure democracy, and such things are unimaginable, or have never happened before. And we’re left feeling, What can we do?” All of this lends itself to explain why T.R.U.M.P. and his fanatical supporters are working so hard to block the mid-term elections. Here’s how Frum puts it: “…one of the reasons why Donald Trump is so panicky to ensure that, by any means necessary, he retains control of Congress, both houses, in 2026 and why he so covets a third term: because only by overthrowing the electoral system of the United States can he feel that he has security from some of the legal risks to which he might be exposed if the implications of these latest reports turn out to be valid and true.” Vigilance, I cannot stress that word enough. We’ve seen how far these people will go to protect their power and wealth. We’ve also seen how morally bankrupt they are and the apparent lack of concern shown by those surrounding T.R.U.M.P. So far, there is no law they will not break—including murder in broad daylight—and that there are no apparent consequences for these actions.
04.02.2026
U.S. Has Seen ‘Decided Shift Toward Authoritarianism’, Rights Group Claims
Rebecca Schneid of Time reveals a new report from the Human Rights Watch (HRW), that states, “the United States has taken a ‘decided shift toward authoritarianism’ in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term.” This is how the report defines that shift: "The administration’s racial and ethnic scapegoating, domestic deployment of National Guard forces in pretextual power grabs, repeated acts of retaliation against perceived political enemies and former officials now critical of him, as well as attempts to expand the coercive powers of the executive and neuter democratic checks and balances, underpin a decided shift toward authoritarianism in the U.S." The report goes on to say, “Under relentless pressure from US President Donald Trump, and persistently undermined by China and Russia, the rules-based international order is being crushed, threatening to take with it the architecture human rights defenders have come to rely on to advance norms and protect freedoms.” The article defines five areas where this administration has undermined human rights: 1) Immigration, 2) Structural Racism, 3) Foreign Policy, 4) Democracy and the right to vote: Silence Critics, and 5) Gender, Sexuality, Reproductive rights. The U.S., which, at times, has been a symbol of freedom, is not becoming a leading example (and cause) of global authoritarianism, spreading disinformation and undermining human rights across the world. A question to the MAGA faithful: “Is this what you wanted?”
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This administration cannot allow elections to go forward, and T.R.U.M.P. is calling for future elections to be “nationalized.” We must stand as dissidents like the brave people of Minneapolis.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 44 (294 total reports)
28.01.2025-03.02.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This administration cannot allow elections to go forward, and T.R.U.M.P. is calling for future elections to be “nationalized.” We must stand as dissidents like the brave people of Minneapolis.
Visual Stories!
Prime Minister Mark Carney told the leaders of the WEF that our world faces “a rupture, not a transition.” This song examines his statement that we need to be “clear-eyed.” https://youtu.be/_VtZPSq_YH4?si=NxONl4sZZenULvYS
Top Links of the Week
03.02.2026
Trump calls on Republicans to ‘nationalize’ future elections
What happens when a doddering, demented fool has unlimited power and unquenchable anger while also having access to unequalled power and has surrounded himself with people who only fortify his worst cravings? He goes back and tries to rectify the lies of his life. This is what our entire justice department (including the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the director of the DNI) is doing in Fulton County, Georgia. And though they will never be able to prove that T.R.U.M.P. won the election, they can sow doubt among enough of his cultish followers to undermine the next election. T.R.U.M.P. is calling to “nationalize” future (not just the next, but all future elections) because he knows he is losing. Certainly, the GOP and his cabinet will not try to rein him in, nor will the Supreme Court. If he has his way, the press will not be able to as well. As Prime Minister, Mark Carney stated, there is a “rupture, not a transition” in the system. We must remain vigilant and become dissidents if we do not want Fascism to take root in the United States.
02.02.2026
American Dissidence
Gal Beckerman of The Atlantic needs to be thanked for this article. In it, he unpacks that word “dissident,” and some of it’s vital history. He reminds of dissidents from our past and other cultures facing similar oppression. Argentinian Mothers whose children were abducted by the government, The Underground Railroad, the words of Frederick Douglass, yhe man in Tiananmen Square with two shopping bags and confronting four tanks. He reminds us (as Prime Minister, Mark Carney did at the WEF) about Václav Havel, that being a dissident is about “ordinary people with ordinary cares.” Beckerman points to “the reaction of regular people in Minneapolis,” and that it “is not, fundamentally, about an ideological or policy disagreement with the administration. The movement that has arisen on the city’s frigid streets is about defending what any reasonable American would call ‘normal’—the expectation of a life without the threat of violence and coercion.” Take the time to read this article and learn the difference between “resistance,” and “dissidence.” Increasingly, “ordinary people with ordinary cares,” will be called to the street in protest of this administration’s fascist tendencies.
30.01.2026
January 29, 2026
Heather Cox-Richardson is one of the leading voices today reminding us to be vigilant. In this Substack, Cox-Richardson runs down a list of reasons we need to remain on high alert. I’d like to point out to people that, in his speech to the WEF in Davos, Prime Minister Mark Carney called us to vigilance as well, without ever mentioning T.R.U.M.P.’s name once. That is important, along with Rachel Maddow and others, I want to remind my small band of committed readers that our problems will continue long after this current president is gone. It is the cult that supports him, the think tank of Project 2025, and radical, conservative White Nationalists like Stephen Miller, that are a continued danger to the world. Remain vigilant; the worst thing we could do is ease up out of defiance in the face of the administration’s so-called “about-face” in Minneapolis. The modus operandi of this administration is to make horrendous oversteps and then feign sorrow while throwing some low-level bureaucrat (like Greg Bovino) under the bus. These steps are merely acts to distract us and lead us to think that future moves by this administration are “not that bad, compared to what we’ve experienced.” We must fight the urge to normalize this behavior! We must fight the urge (even desire) to accept mitigated responses, as Cox-Richardson has stated, “The correct response to Dachau was not better training for the guards.”
29.01.2028
Allying with the United States Is a Big Mistake
In this commentary by Dr. Michael Rubin, in the politics and economics journal, 1945, the former Reagan administration Pentagon official warns foreign governments that “Washington’s repeated abandonment of partners is no longer an exception but a defining feature of U.S. policy.” This is a warning pertinent, not just because of this administration (who has turned U.S. partnerships on its head), but because of a contemporary conservative bent to isolate from global relationships. Rubin says, “The conclusion is stark: allies should assume U.S. commitments can evaporate when political incentives shift.” International relationships are built upon the foundation of trust, and trust is hard to find in a political and economic climate where Americans have nominated someone like Donald T.R.U.M.P. not once but twice!
28.01.2026
Rachel Maddow Welcomes GOP Backlash To Fatal ICE Raids: 'This Is Called Political Change'
On December 28, Rachel Maddow received the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism and asked fellow journalists to focus less on Donald T.R.U.M.P. and more on the people. According to HuffPost’s Marco Margaritoff, Maddow’s coverage of the horrific events in Minneapolis this last week and the apparent about-face of this administration reflects that type of journalism. She said, “That is what has forced the Trump administration to change course. That is what has forced Trump to back down. Principled, peaceful, relentless protest is the democratic means of saving a democracy, and that is the only way to win for the long term.” This is a reminder by Maddow that we must remain active and vigilant. Only by doing what Prime Minister Mark Carney says is to “take the sign out of the window and put our feet down on the street,” can we defeat this administration and its spineless GOP supporters.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
A week including a second murder by T.R.U.M.P.’s masked police, but also accented by two lights on the horizon: the Speech at Davos by Mark Carney and the testimony of Jack Davis.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 43 (293 total reports)
21.01.2025-27.01.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
A week including a second murder by T.R.U.M.P.’s masked police, but also accented by two lights on the horizon: the Speech at Davos by Mark Carney and the testimony of Jack Davis.
Visual Stories!
This administration—and the Republican cult followers who support it—thrives on cruelty and controversy. We mourn with the people of Minneapolis while admiring their nonviolent stance in the face of abhorrent intimidation by this administration. Seven Democrats sided with the T.R.U.M.P. administration this week in support of ICE (and their names are listed below). In the meantime, we stand with the people of Minnesota in fervent resistance to facsism. This song states: “It’s time to Take Our Country Back.” https://youtu.be/UxNvMBxsb84?si=SoeKzayGlJsmJY7b
Top Links of the Week
27.01.2026
Jack Smith lays it out: Trump has shattered the rule of law
In this article by Heather Digby Parton of Salon, the journalist lays out similarities between Jack Smith in his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee and Premier Mark Carney in his historic speech to the World Economic Forum. Both leaders lay out practical, straightforward insights into the aberrant behavior of Donald J. T.R.U.M.P. Carney presents his evidence to a world in need of economic and political responses to a regime seeking domination; Smith presents his evidence of a greedy evil man, willing to use violence and those who support him to retain power—even when he knows he is lying to them and breaking the very laws he pledged an oath to support. Both men (Carney and Smith) present go-forward opportunities for dealing with the chaos this man—and his regime—have inflicted upon the nation and the world. As resistors, we need to have this type of solid evidence and specific strategies to support our endeavors. Though the Republicans tried to goad Smith into angry, petulant responses, similar to those this administration has become famous for employing, they were unsuccessful. Like Carney, Smith remained professional and stuck to the most important facts of his investigation. Neither sunk to the levels of those who opposed them.
26.01.2026
Pete Hegseth Should Stay Out of Minneapolis
Between March and April, 1930, Mahatma Gandhi led people on a 240-mile, 24-day march from Sabarmati to Dandi to protest the British monopoly on salt. It was an act of civil disobedience grounded in the principles of Satagraha—“truth-force” or nonviolent resistance designed to confront injustice without causing harm. These principles were later adopted and taught by Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the nonviolent civil rights movement from 1965 until his death in 1968. During those times, the leaders reminded followers to use non-violence to respond to overwhelming power and violence by the unjust regimes they were confronting. A central tenet of the principle of Satagraha is that the more violent the oppressors become, the more world opinion will turn against them. We are seeing a similar occurrence today in the cities that the T.R.U.M.P. administration has been targeting. This insightful article by Tom Nichols of The Atlantic reveals how deeply this administration wants to unleash havoc on Blue American cities like Minneapolis. Lies continue to roll off the tongues of this administration like bats evacuating a cave at sunset. What becomes evident is the grotesque violence this administration is willing to condone and, indeed, encourage. The strength of the leadership of Minneapolis and the people of that city is inspirational. In the face of horrific oppression, they are showing us how to fight when one is under-resourced. And who resources these evil goons dressed in balaclavas? Our own Federal Government, including seven Democrats who recently voted to continue funding ICE, are Tom Suozzi (New York), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (North Carolina), Laura Gillen (New York), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), and Marie Glusenkamp Perez (Washington). Were it not for them, the continued funding of ICE in the Republicans’ recent DHS bill would have been dead in the water. This Republican government, with the support of these Democrats, is voting for continued chaos and even murder in our cities. Let’s continue to resist and remember their names when midterms come.
23.01.2026
Trump 0, Europe 1
https://paulkrugman.substack.com/p/trump-0-europe-1?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user%2FSubstack
In this Substack commentary, Paul Krugman deftly analyzes T.R.U.M.P.’s recent faceplant at the World Economic Forum. Some of the wisdom that I pulled from Krugman’s commentary are: “Trump then confirmed the old adage that bullies are also cowards.” “There is no reason to believe that Trump has learned a lesson. Learning is not something he does.” And, “But Europe has learned a lesson. Appeasing a bully doesn’t work, especially when, as anyone watching Trump’s Davos rant could see, that bully is experiencing rapid cognitive decline. But standing up to him does work.” Indeed, the emperor has no clothes, but that doesn’t make him any less dangerous. The doddering old fool has got to go. He has access to great power and will continue to wield it in cruel and childish ways. This is a time for resistance to strengthen itself or, as Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney tells us, to “take the sign out of the window.”
22.01.2026
An Open Letter to European Leaders
This opinion paper by Brian O’Neill is wise in depth and broad in perspective. It warns world leaders about trying to appease Donald T.R.U.M.P. Like a schoolyard bully, appeasement doesn’t work with him; a bully will only push for more. I think it is difficult for many of us to think like this sadistic man, simply because most of us are raised to have some semblance of compassion in our hearts and empathy in our interactions; this President does not. He is devoid of value and vacant of empathy. In fact, he enjoys the suffering of others. If we can tell anything from his sordid past, it is that the weaker his victim, the greater the pleasure he receives from causing them pain. Read this article to get a historical perspective of the administration’s manoeuvres and techniques and why accommodation will not work, and, as a reminder, if you didn’t read the content of Premier Mark Carney’s post yesterday, please read it today. Like Mr. O’Neill, Carney reminds us that the old ways have passed, they have ruptured, and it is time for new strategies among resistors.
21.01.2026
'The old order is not coming back,' Carney says in provocative speech at Davos
https://apple.news/AC5x7njQmTV6xQ8FzXy_5yQ
This article by John Paul Tasker makes me realize what it is like to be a citizen of a “Sandwich Country.” A country whose leader is like a slab of meat between two extremely articulate and well-educated world leaders. Both Mark Carney and Claudia Sheinbaum-Pardo are well-educated, well-spoken global leaders who—just by their very existence—make Donald T.R.U.M.P. look like a piece of meatloaf. In this article, Tasker shares a speech that Canadian Prime Minister gave at Davos’ Annual World Economic Forum. Carney points out that the world has changed since the U.S. elected Donald T.R.U.M.P.—for a second time—and it’s not going to return to the pre-Project 2025, Republican-backed era. It is to our shame that this man was chosen by so many who voted (and so many who stayed home). But it has made it clear to the rest of the world that the U.S. cannot be trusted. This is a forever consequence of those who wanted a white, Christian, nationalistic, authoritarian leader to rule over them, and the rest of the world is building coalitions to protect themselves against the future stupidity of an ignorant, social-media-addicted culture. I thought this speech was the best speech I have heard to world leaders since Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This week, the T.R.U.M.P. Administration defended the murder of a U.S. citizen, the invasion of a foreign country, and the threatening of a NATO ally. How far will they go to hide the Epstein files?
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 42 (292 total reports)
07.01.2025-12.01.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This week, the T.R.U.M.P. Administration defended the murder of a U.S. citizen, the invasion of a foreign country, and the threatening of a NATO ally. How far will they go to hide the Epstein files?
Visual Stories!
How far will we let one madman go to hide his involvement in the Epstein Files? Will we let him invade countries? Will we let him shoot our neighbors? This song states; “It’s time to Take Our Country Back.” https://youtu.be/UxNvMBxsb84?si=SoeKzayGlJsmJY7b
Top Links of the Week
12.01.2026
Trump Has No Plan for Venezuela
In this podcast, David Frum of The Atlantic interviews David Rothkopf; broadcaster, businessman, journalist, author, and—as Frum says—the preeminent historian of the National Security Council and the foreign-policy process in the United States, author of the 2005 book Running the World, a history of the creation and development of the National Security Council. This podcast points to how deeply unprepared this administration was in their follow-up plan to the storming of Venezuela. Not only was it unprepared to lead the nation of Venezuela, but its plan was flawed from the onset. If you read one article about this invasion and the direction of this White House for future invasion plans, make it this one. Well-researched and perhaps two of the foremost global experts on this topic. One of my favourite quotes by Rothkopf was, “We are having, essentially, on a remarkably fast, wide-ranging basis, a lobotomy being performed in the United States government at precisely the wrong moment because we have a president who is purely an impulse engine with no sense of history and who needs to be constrained by that kind of process, which he is eliminating.”
09.01.2026
The Wrath of Stephen Miller
This article by the team of Ashley Parker, Michael Scherer, and Nick Miroff at The Atlantic reminds us of the dangerous fascist behind the worst policies of this administration. Even more important now, as his warped mind has created the dangerous situation at ICE that is resulting in the shooting of people within the boundaries of the United States. There’s no doubt that Miller is the most powerful advisor in this administration; this article shows just how powerful he has become and how far-reaching his White Christian Nationalist ideals have spread throughout this White House. Miller is the “Martin Borman” of T.R.U.M.P. (Borman was Hitler’s private secretary and closest advisor). Though Borman committed suicide as it became apparent that Hitler’s regime was collapsing, he was condemned posthumously for his role in the Nazi regime. Let’s hope history remembers Miller in the same manner.
08.01.22026
Photos released of Renee Nicole Good, the US citizen killed by ICE in Minnesota
Remember the name, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, but also remember the names, Stephen Miller, Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem, Tom Holman, J.D. Vance, and, of course, Donald T.R.U.M.P. Renee was murdered yesterday in Minneapolis, but this would not have happened had it not been for the policies of Project 2025, the compliance of the Republican party, the brinksmanship of Donald T.R.U.M.P and the files of Epstein. Yes, all of this is tied together, resulting in the death of a peaceful woman who was shot by an inept ICE agent, hired without proper training by a federal agency run amok under the White Nationalist fanaticism of racist fascists who could only come to power under the likes of Donald T.R.U.M.P. Right now, Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey are seeking to reveal the truth and keep the peace amidst a plethora of lies and conjectures from regime leaders in the White House administration. What can we do? Support fact-finding, continue resisting, share the name and character of Ms. Macklin Good, a mother of a six-year-old, who, according to this article, described herself on social media as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.”
07.01.2026
Trump team puts a target on Cuba, with threats and oil blockade
Trump and Rubio have made clear the collapse of Cuba’s communist government is not only a likely side benefit of Maduro’s ouster but a goal.
https://apple.news/AwpPvAt1VQryeJWWMjUPL4g
This article, written by two journalists at the Washington Post, Karen DeYoung and David Ovalle, does a deep dive into the dark and vicious plans of those in this administration that have Cuba in their sights for the next invasion. There’s no doubt T.R.U.M.Ps lackeys have to move quickly—and will. They want to cement their gains from their illegal foray into Venezuela, and Cuba is the next-door neighbor. This is Marco Rubio’s dream, and the article dives into why. It’s worth the read to try to understand the lunacy behind this White House’s colonialist criminal behavior.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
There’s an unchecked madman in the White House surrounded by sycophants and following a plan designed by fascist white nationalists. This is the year we need to oust T.R.U.M.P. and Trumpism.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 41 (291 total reports)
31.12.2025-05.01.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
There’s an unchecked madman in the White House surrounded by sycophants and following a plan designed by fascist white nationalists. This is the year we need to oust T.R.U.M.P. and Trumpism.
Visual Stories!
T.R.U.M.Ps mind is rapidly degenerating. He is focused almost solely on retribution, and it exacerbates his already advanced dementia. Let us make sure that our minds are focused on resilience, not retribution. This soulful video show will help remind you of what will keep you mentally and emotionally whole during all this T.R.U.M.P.-induced chaos. Resilience Retribution.
Top Links of the Week
06.01.2026
Trump Seizing Greenland Could Set Off a Chain Reaction
According to the T.R.U.M.P.’s Truth Social, he doesn’t have to seize Greenland because it already belongs to him. This article by Shane Harris, Isaac Stanley-Becker, and Jonathan Lemire of The Atlantic looks at the chain events that could occur if this administration actually attempts to forcibly seize this island of 56,000 inhabitants that is a member of NATO. Stephen Miller’s wife, Katie Miller (as much a lunatic as he is), posted a picture of Greenland with the U.S. Flag superimposed upon it. People underestimated the insanity of this administration before Venezuela, but not any longer. There are no guardrails on this presidency, and he is only being encouraged by the white nationalist, colonialists that surround him. The abduction of Maduro (no matter how bad he was) was an illegal and impeachable offense, and this president must be impeached as well as his entire cabinet. The only way that is going to happen is if we show Congress how opposed we are to what this administration is doing. We must do all we can to display our resistance—and all we can to make sure our votes are counted in the midterm elections. What can you do today?
05.01.2026
President Trump Totally Meant to Ask Congress Before Attacking Venezuela
This article by Alexandra Petri in The Atlantic is a bit tongue-in-cheek, but perhaps what is needed after this preposterous weekend that the world experienced. What we have further affirmed is that the current president is a demented madman, operating without any guidelines or consequences and solely on the advice of people who surround him completely because they will grotesquely saturate him with adulation. Whatever concoction they inject into T.R.U.M.P.’s veins to keep him vertical is working for Project 2025. This is their plan that we witness unfolding. They announced their intentions in the release of the recent National Security Strategy whereby the United States gives up interests everywhere else in the world and focuses on consolidating the North American continent under their rule. At this point, these whacky white Christian nationalists have to get as much accomplished while they still have the orange carney in charge. They have no backup plan; J.D. Vance doesn’t have the chops or patronage to continue these brazen acts of undermining international and national law. How much longer does that give Project 2025? Who knows? But they have to consolidate their power further, both in a Pan-American strategy and an U.S. internal strategy. Look for this administration to leapfrog into other nations posthaste and to declare a national emergency that will allow him to call up the military to carry out his retribution agenda and occupy Blue America. A blue wave at midterms is our only salvation; then, quick action by Congress to impeach this entire administration and isolate the Supreme Court in rapid-fire succession. Our part is to continue resisting, showing up at marches, and to turn out a massive blue wave at midterm elections. No time to rest now; gear up and get out there.
02.01.2026
Promoting a New Segregation
Jonathon Feingold and Victor Ray of LiberalCurrents describe how this administration is attempting to “Make Anti-Black Racism Great Again.” Pointing to J.D. Vance and other members of this administration, the authors tell us, “Vance embodies and stokes the white male grievance that animates MAGA’s racial politics. Which helps to explain why the GOP now fuses myths of white male victimhood with censorship that erases decades of academic scholarship detailing how Black Americans—not white men—face systemic discrimination in America.” Project 2025 was undeniably (and even proudly) a product of white nationalists. This administration makes no attempt to cover up the policies pushed by the likes of Stephen Miller and others who want to make the U.S. hostile to any racial groups besides whites, or even any other diverse cultural mindsets that don’t fit their strict, Christian Anglo standards. Our advocacy and support for these groups becomes more important on a daily basis, and this article is an important reminder. What can you do today to advocate for diversity and stand against this administration’s fascist behaviors?
01.01.2026
December 30, 2025
In this Substack commentary, Heather Cox Richardson reminds us how this administration has circumvented the Constitution at every possible opportunity. She points to how boldly Trump and his fanatics have chosen an illegal path to power, quoting the President’s claim that he has, “the right to do anything I want to do. I’m the president of the United States. If I think our country’s in danger—and it is in danger in these cities—I can do it.” And followed up by Vice President J.D. Vance’s reiteration of the sick musings of Nazi political theorist, Carl Schmitt: “There’s no law, there’s just power.” Cox Richardson reminds us of the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been lost because of Elon Musk’s dismantling of USAID and the damage that will be done because of the Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill, pointing to this administration’s track record, saying, “…administration policies put money into the pockets of the rich, especially Trump, who leveraged tariff discussions to win permissions to build golf courses, invested in cryptocurrency, and received donations to various projects from people with business before the government. When Congress tried to exercise its duty of oversight, administration officials treated the members with contempt, refusing to appear or declining to answer questions, talking over them, or insulting them.” As she closes her reflections, Cox Richardson reminds us of the power resistance has built to this administration’s blatant abuses of power. The “No Kings Day” rallies, the “near historic disapproval ratings…” the bipartisan actions to override Trump lackey, Mike Johnson, in the House, and the “Epstein Transparency Act.” In a hopeful tone, the commentator tells us, “As we reach the end of 2025, it appears the law is catching up to an administration that began the year by acting as if the law and the Constitution didn’t exist.”
31.12.2025
The Plan That Foretold Trump’s 2025
David A. Graham of The Atlantic reviews Project 2025’s successes and shortcomings from the last year, declaring it, “the single most successful policy initiative of the entire Trump era.” This should alarm us, as Graham reminds us, “It was a policy white paper, an implementation plan, a recruitment database, and a worldview, all rolled into one.” He also informs us that the primary result of the plan has been to consolidate power behind their reality show carnie, Donald J. T.R.U.M.P. None of us need to be reminded how dangerous that is—and he is. This president is purely narcissistic, and every relationship in his life is transactional. He does nothing if it doesn’t benefit his family or himself financially. As the evils and fallacies of this plan reveal themselves through its actions, particularly how it has targeted women, the LGBTQ+ community, minorities, the poor, and—of course—immigrants. We are only beginning to realize the deep white nationalistic perversity of those who wrote and follow this agenda. We must do all we can to continue to resist.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Award-winning journalist, Rachel Maddow, of MSNow, tells us that “the story is the people, not the administration.” How can we follow her hopeful advice in examining what really matters in the news today?
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 40 (290 total reports)
24.12.2025-29.12.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Award-winning journalist, Rachel Maddow, of MSNow, tells us that “the story is the people, not the administration.” How can we follow her hopeful advice in examining what really matters in the news today?
Visual Stories!
Trumpism is targeting specific groups to make them feel disempowered and weak. It is an intentional design of Project 2025 to target women, the LGBTQ+ community, minorities, the poor, and—of course—immigrants. We need to be their advocates! This soulful song, Protect the Weak and Powerless, encourages us to act on their behalf.
Top Links of the Week
30.12.2025
Why ICE Is Getting Away With It
This well-researched article by Nancy Gertner of The Atlantic examines the background of why I.C.E. is able to consistently get away with ignoring the human and constitutional rights of immigrants and citizens in the United States. Primarily, she tells us we have two Supreme Court Justices to thank for their immoral (but legal) behavior. One was a 1984 decision by conservative Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, in which she rejected the “Exclusionary Rule” for immigrant courts. As Gertner points out, “the exclusionary rule is designed to deter police misconduct—the idea being that the police will avoid such conduct if it risks undermining a conviction.” The other is a ruling by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, which Gertner points out, “appears to have eliminated, or at least seriously limited, the possibility of lawsuits for damages after individuals are unlawfully detained, searched, or experience excessive force at the hands of ICE.” Together, these rulings basically gave I.C.E. free reign to forget the Constitution in arresting (kidnapping) people off the streets of the United States. We need to do all we can to protect the victims that this administration and conservative interests, like Day O’Connor and Thomas, are targeting. They are purposely trying to undermine the rights of women, LGBTQ+, immigrants, and minorities. If we are allowed to elect a new wave of politicians in the mid-term elections, we need to make sure that, along with impeaching Trump and his sycophants, they also reform the Supreme Court of John Roberts, which has become an arm of this administration.
29.12.2025
Rachel Maddow calls on the media to cover “the people,” not Donald Trump
John Russell of LGBTQ Nation writes about an award speech given by Rachel Maddox last week that has important implications for all of us. She asks journalists to recognize that the real story in an authoritarian takeover (such as the one the U.S. is experiencing) is not the politicians, but the people. In elaborating on this, she tells journalists they need to focus their attention more on what people are doing to stop this regime, rather than what this regime is doing to disempower people. How does this apply to our own lives? What can I do daily to focus more on the true power of democracy—people—and less on T.R.U.M.P. and his regime? I find this a very hopeful outlook that I promise to focus on myself.
26.12.2025
Supreme Court Suggests Trump Might Use Insurrection Act
Some people are celebrating the Supreme Court’s recent decision to uphold a lower court’s ruling that T.R.U.M.P. cannot send the National Guard to Chicago. Khalid Rahman, of Newsweek, tells us to beware of celebrating too early. This ruling is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Already, conservatives like Brett Kavanaugh are giving Donald a masterclass in invoking the Insurrection Act and calling the military, rather than getting the National Guard to do his dirty work, to occupy “Blue Cities” across the United States. Apparently, this administration needed a primer in the "How-To's" by inside folk at SCOTUS (The Supreme Court of Trump - US) because no one in the White House was bright enough to figure this out themselves. Now, conservatives across the U.S. are jumping onboard and calling on T.R.U.M.P. to invoke the Insurrection Act and take over the country militarily. As the election nears, and this administration’s approval ratings continue to plummet, look for increasing desperate acts for them to retain power. This Supreme Court is a radical conservative’s dream team and will do all it can to make sure the conservatives stay in power. Prepare for more intense attempts to use military action inside the U.S. and outside. They are getting desperate.
25.12.2025
Tracking how much of Project 2025 the Trump administration achieved this year
What would a White Nationalist government look like in the United States? One need look no further than Project 2025 as implemented during the T.R.U.M.P. Administration. After initially lying to the American public (no surprise there), he knew little to nothing of the Project 2025 agenda, appointed three of the original writers of Project 2025 to his cabinet. According to Amanda Becker, who originally wrote this article for The 19th, “There is a saying in Washington, D.C., that personnel is policy: the people put in charge of implementing key policies shape their ideologies.” The T.R.U.M.P. appointees include Russell Vought, of the Office of Management and Budget, Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s top trade advisors, and Brendan Carr, now in charge of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Together, with the full support of this administration, they have focused their sights on dismantling reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ rights, education, and the military. They seek nothing less than to destroy democracy and turn the United States into a White Nationalist, fascist, autocracy. They are not done with their agenda; in fact, they are doubling down. Do not underestimate them. They have everything at stake to retain power and undermine the Constitution. They see this as their religious duty. They are dangerous fanatics, and T.R.U.M.P. is just the frontman. For the sake of our children’s future, we must resist them, and to do so, we must recognize how deeply they are embedded in the right's agenda and administration.
Russell Vought, one of Project 2025's key architects, heads Trump's Office of Management and Budget, which he has likened to the "nerve center" through which a president can exert their influence across the federal government. Peter Navarro, who wrote Project 2025's section on trade, is a top trade adviser to Trump. Brendan Carr, who wrote a section suggesting reforms to the Federal Communications Commission, is now in charge of the agency.
Reproductive Rights, LGBTQ+ Rights, Education, and the Military,
24.12.2025
December 21, 2025
In this Substack commentary, Heather Cox Richardson reminds us of the history of the separation between church and state. She does this in the face of this administration's attempts to politicize religion. Most recently in the inept form of J.D. Vance’s speech to the MAGA cultists at a Turning Point convention. Richardson reminds us that this is not the first time a political entity has tried to force religion on the public. During the Civil War, resurrectionists attempted to force citizens to accept Christianity as a state-imposed religion. Repeatedly, some voices have held the line. Despite what Vance and Project 2025 went to venerate, this was not formed as a Christian country. This is a country of religious freedom. It seems that conservative Christians have yet to learn that a right comes with a responsibility. The right of religious freedom comes with the responsibility to protect the freedom of others' religion.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Rep. Representative Robert Massie summed it up saying, “I can’t believe how badly they botched this.” Trump sycophants picked this week what mountain they would die on, and it is the Epstein Files. They could have been transparent, but the temptation to lie about their Dementee-in-Chief’s role was too tempting.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 39 (289 total reports)
17.12.2025-23.12.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Rep. Representative Robert Massie summed it up saying, “I can’t believe how badly they botched this.” Trump sycophants picked this week what mountain they would die on, and it is the Epstein Files. They could have been transparent, but the temptation to lie about their Dementee-in-Chief’s role was too tempting.
Visual Stories!
Trumpism takes all of the air out of the room and not just in the U.S. He is a global menace. If, at times, you feel overwhelmed by what he’s doing lately, remember that is their goal: to leave you feeling overwhelmed and helpless. This country-style tune is for you. Do what you can, no matter how small. Keep resisting, be David to your own Goliath.
Top Links of the Week
23.12.2025
Trump tests the First Amendment: A timeline
https://www.cnn.com/politics/free-speech-trump-timeline-vis?cid=external-feeds_iluminar_flipboard
Kaanita Eyers and Matt Stiles of CNN offer a timeline of how Trump and Trumpism have sought to undermine First Amendment values. As the authors remind us, this important amendment protects the freedom of religion, speech, and press; the right to peaceful assembly; and the right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances.” It also bars the government from enacting laws that prevent the “free exercise” of these rights. It has been a primary goal of Trumpism to intimidate those who have spoken against this administration, and these two journalists give us a timeline of the actions the Trumpists have taken to try to generate fear in their most vocal critics. Eyers and Stiles quote Burt Neuborne, a civil liberties professor at New York University Law School. “The Trump administration is ‘trying to frighten Americans out of exercising their First Amendment rights by denying them benefits if they dare to do something that Trump doesn’t like.’ Neuborne warned that the ‘net result’ would be ‘a society that is not exercising their First Amendment rights. The First Amendment rights are there, but it’s too costly to exercise them.’” I have to admit, I took a recent trip to the U.S., and—even with the little work that I do—I was concerned that my work would flag me at the border. We need to keep up the resistance and keep up the pressure. We can’t allow these miscreants to stifle our speech.
22.12.2025
They’re Delusional If They Think This Is Going to Go Away’
It seems apparent that the hard-core MAGA sycophants have picked the hill they are going to die on. Late Friday night, the Justice Department, according to The Atlantic journalist Sarah Fitzpatrick, sent an email to Epstein survivors that Pam Bondi would try to speak with survivors to “express support for them.” In typical White House style, these days, she canceled the meeting saying Bondi,“was at Walter Reed today for a prescheduled routine appointment,” and emphasized that “no call was missed” because “that meeting was never scheduled.” This administration is having a difficult time keeping up with its own lies, but not a difficult time continuing to harm Epstein Survivors or the American public that demands to see those files without redactions. The mockery of a release that the White House did present to the public was radically redacted, including full pages that were blacked out and photos of anyone that were related to Trump (including Trump) or his buddies. If we are to believe what was released, only Bill Clinton and a few celebrities are indicted in these files. Fitzpatrick tells us that Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, said that the day’s release, “‘grossly fails to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the law’ that Trump signed last month. When I talked with him late this evening, he told me, with reference to the Justice Department, ‘I can’t believe how badly they botched this.’” It appears that Donald Trump’s predatory protectors are never going to give up the real files without more court battles and delays. Is this what we want in a President, someone willing to continually lie and seek revenge rather than be honest and transparent—even when ordered by the court? It is far past time for a complete revealing of these files, regardless of what they reveal. What is Trump so afraid of that he is willing to start a war and kill people to distract us from these files? As of Sunday morning news shows, Rep. Massie has said that they were considering an inherent contempt action against Pam Bondi. This rarely used action would fine Bondi for every day she doesn’t release the complete Epstein files. It seems apparent that this is the only way that the victims of these crimes, as well as the American people, will get anywhere near the truth.
19.12.2025
This Is What Presidential Panic Looks Like
Donald Trump delivered a fear-drenched rant live from the White House.
Read in The Atlantic: https://apple.news/APCi8_Q_6T8-Zvo8flGmFKA
According to Tom Nichols of The Atlantic, Trump usurped our living rooms last night to tell us what “piggies” we are and how we need to “shut up.” It was a night of ugly panic as Trump told us that the economy is great and that countries all over the world adore him and the United States. Obviously, the “Nodfather” only hears from his cultic cabinet sycophants and has no reliable access to outside opinion. Here’s how Nichols put it: “Americans saw a president drenched in pure panic as he tried to bully an entire nation into admitting that he’s doing a great job. For 20 minutes, he vented his hurt feelings without a molecule of empathy or awareness.” Nichols continues by saying, “The president has been unraveling for weeks, and his speech tonight, like Trump himself, was unworthy of America and its people.” It is enjoyable to watch this boisterous bully fall apart in real time. An increasing number of people are finding him increasingly tiring. It just isn’t happening fast enough, and he is still causing an horrendous amount of global and national damage. It’s time, Donald, to go away.
18.12.2025
Americans Are Turning Hard Against Trumpism
According to Matt Johnson of The Bulwark, the support for Trump and Trumpism is rapidly disintegrating. They are tiring of Trumponomics or, as Johnson says, “Create a problem, announce a partial fix that leaves everyone worse off than where they started, and declare victory.” People are also tiring of Trump’s performative cruelty—even former MAGA diehards like Marjorie Taylor-Greene (who admonished him publicly for his social media response to the death of the beloved Rob Reiner and his wife). In nearly all areas that measure a president’s popularity, Trump is flailing. He just doesn’t see it because no one in his circle tells him the truth. This is a well-researched piece by Johnson, and I would encourage you to read it—especially if you, like me, would be gleeful to see the end of this regime.
17.12.2025
The Longest Suicide Note in American History
Anne Applebaum, a staff writer for The Atlantic, presents a well-researched article analyzing the disastrous state of the new Trump administration’s defense policy. As the title suggests, she believes it’s a suicide note for America’s future. Essentially, Trump’s policy will inflict damage on the United States that external enemies couldn’t do over the last two centuries. In essence, this is a traitorous policy change destroying the U.S. from the inside out. Applebaum argues that it practically grants Russia free rein in Europe and China free rein in Asia (with the exception of a takeover of Taiwan). The article points out that this is essentially an internal memo for far-right conservatives, built on conspiracy theories, lacking research, and designed to protect the interests of white billionaire technocrats. She points out that, “like the Bible,” this policy seems to have been written by a committee as the style of writing varies throughout. It looks more like the ultra-right conservative groups that surround Trump rather than the work of the brain-addled president himself. Applebaum warns that, if implemented, this policy will lead to the U.S.’s downfall on the global stage. Perhaps the only way to reverse this insanity is through a solid mid-term defeat, the impeachment of Donald Trump and his cabinet, and a rewrite of a new National Defense Policy. We have to turn out the vote, folks. And we need to keep up the resistance.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
As the mid-terms approach, the S.S. Trumpism is looking increasingly frail. That is certainly no reason to relax. We must continue resisting with all our ability.SINKING
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 37 (287 total reports)
03.12.2025-09.12.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Questions are surging about who actually leads the ragtag band of incompetent sycophants appointed by “Dear Leader,” Donald Trump.
https://www.communitiesoftrust-jerrygoebel.com/youthadvocacy
Visual Stories!
This week’s video focuses on the criminality of not just Donald Trump, but Trumpism. It is not just enough to impeach and prosecute the man, we also have to focus on impeaching and prosecuting his regime. Remove the Regime!
Top Links of the Week
16.12.2025
The Specific Thing That Left-Wing Populists Don’t Get
This article by Joseph Heath in The Atlantic should be mandatory reading for all liberals who want to impact social thought. It takes apart the liberal preference to deal in cognitive terminology and compares that to the populist preference to target the “gut." For example, Heath points out, “Liberals speak about affordability, while populists talk about groceries,” and “Liberals speak about taxing billionaires, while populists talk about next month's rent.” Heath tells us that Zohran Mamdani represents a liberal who understands the populist medium. Heath's point is that liberals won't defeat populist platforms as long as they can't move from the ephemeral to the practical. Do you have a populist in your family or circle of friends that you want to reach? Follow this advice to be more effective.
15.12.2025
Inside Stephen Miller’s Dark Plot to Build a MAGA Terror State
I appreciated both the in depth and insightful aspects of this article by Gary Sargent of The New Republic. It shows the roots of Stephan Miller, Trumps pick for United
States Homeland Security Advisor. Miller carries an extraordinary amount of weight with Trump but also with far right conservatives, or, as this article points out, White Nationalists. To Miller, immigration is purely a numbers game based on his premise that, “If allow third world immigrants, you will become a third would nation.” Miller seeks to arrest and deport more than 1 million people a year, raising the rate of arrests from 1000 daily to 3,000. The United States is not equipped to handle that many arrests and deportations leading the government to hove to warehouse arrestees. The beauty of this article lies in its analysis of Stephon Miller's psychosis. The upbringing, mentors, and conservative (racist) thinkers that formed
his cruel ideas. It also compared his mant philosophies with actual research. You will find this article well worth the read, especially if you want to understand the
maligned philosophy behind this administration’s White Nationalist policies.
12.12.2025
Inside Chicago’s Neighborhood ICE Resistance
The attack on America by Donald Trump and his cronies is a reflection of the cruelty behind Project 2025, Trump himself, the fear consumed conservative Republicans that support MAGA, and the horrible, incompetent staff Trump has chosen to enforce his policies. Someday, we can only hope they will all spend their day in court. In the meantime, there are stories like this to both inspire and provide practical knowledge for resisting ICE in our own communities. This article takes an in-depth look at how people in the Trump-ravaged city of Chicago are resisting ICE in their own neighborhood and how you can too.
11.12.2025
The State That Handed Trump His Biggest Defeat Yet
This article filled me with hope… and despair. It speaks of Indiana’s legislative fight to prevent Trump from forcing them to accept a gerrymandering bill. There was strong opposition to the bill from the people of Indiana, but many Republicans supported it until they got to the legislative building and saw the opposition to the bill close hand. Once in the chambers—surrounded by glass with their votes visible to the public—and with intense public pressure by phone and mail, they gave the Trump cult a huge defeat. This was despite a full-court press from the Trump administration and his lackeys, including two visits from J.D. Vance and personal calls from Mike Johnston. The lesson for all of us is that our voices matter; so does transparency. Being seen by the public matters. The pressure on the Republicans from the Trump Administration was despicable and terrifying. The Trump Cult released their goons, and the death threats were plentiful. Thankfully, the Indiana Republicans held. The death threats and bullying tactics seemed to have an alternative effect, with Republicans digging into their positions. We need to be grateful to these Congress people for holding to their values, to the people of Indiana for standing up to Trumpism. We also need
to take this lesson to heart. This was a major Trump defeat. It can be done, and
that should both give us hope and remind us to continue resisting.
10.12.2025
Bring Back the Neocons
Scholar, commentator, and author, David Brooks, begins this article by asking, “What comes after Donald Trump?” I respect Mr. Brooks a great deal; he is one of the few conservative minds I listen to regularly. I’m excited to see someone as astute as him stating, without a doubt, that the end of Trump is nigh. “What comes next,” is not just a question for conservatives, but for all of us. Perhaps it is more pressing for conservatives, because that time is imminent—and perhaps even immediate. I’m trying to keep this review brief (though it is difficult for me not to elaborate on Trump’s demise). The pressing question for all of us, which Mr. Brooks discusses at length in this article, is, “Will the death of Trump also include the death of Trumpism?” and, if so, “What comes next—particularly for conservatives?” Mr. Brooks longs for a return of Neo-Conservatism, reflecting on a day when neo-conservatives were an intellectual bunch, prone to reflecting, as Mr. Brooks puts it; “They asked the big questions—not just ‘How can we win the next election?’ but ‘How can we create a civilization to be proud of ?’” I would like to see that question asked not just by conservatives, but also many Democrats that have perhaps overstayed their welcome in the political arena. It is also a very personal question, one we MUST ask before we go to any voting booth, anytime, “What kind of government will this candidate leave for our children?”
Youth Advocacy
Questions are surging about who actually leads the ragtag band of incompetent sycophants appointed by “Dear Leader,” Donald Trump.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 37 (287 total reports)
03.12.2025-09.12.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Questions are surging about who actually leads the ragtag band of incompetent sycophants appointed by “Dear Leader,” Donald Trump.
Visual Stories!
This week’s video focuses on the criminality of not just Donald Trump, but Trumpism. It is not just enough to impeach and prosecute the man, we also have to focus on impeaching and prosecuting his regime. Remove the Regime!
Top Links of the Week
09.12.2025
Hegseth Defense Collapsing as Fresh Leaks on Strikes Grow More Damning
Only in a vacuum of deliberate and sustainable leadership can mini-potentates like Pete Hegseth, Linda McMahan, Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Kristi Noem exist. Picked not for their expertise but their sycophantic devotion to their dear leader, it seems even the “Nodfather” has his limits with their incompetence as rumors fly that neither Hegseth, Patel, nor Noem will make it to the new year. The illegal murders of humans off the coast of Central America are now beginning to wind their way through the courts as the increasingly obvious lies of Hegseth become apparent in lieu of videos revealing how much he knew about the “double-tap” executions of survivors of a questionably legal strike in international waters. As debate surges about whether video of the second strike will be released for public review (Trump first said “yes,” but then later said “no,” while insulting the female journalist who raised the question). Meanwhile, Hegseth has remained staunch in not wanting the public to see the results of his orders and tries to throw those under his chain of command under the bus, blaming them for the second strike and claiming, first, he had left “hours” before the second strike and second, he could not see the victims because of the “fog of war…” The question remains whether this was a war crime or a murder, but the real question is “who is actually leading this ragtag group of incompetents?”
08.12.2025
Hegseth declares end of US 'utopian idealism' with new military strategy
Over the weekend (and hiding from the news cycle), Project 2025 and the Trumpists announced a change of international relationships that take us back to pre-WWII relationships. Quickly following that announcement, two parties vociferously applauded the changes: Putin and the cult-followers of Donald Trump in the Republican Congress. Then, the administration put out beleaguered Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, in front of a deeply conservative audience (the annual Regan Defense Forum) to act tough and announce the changes. He declared no more “utopian idealism” and that the Trumpists had basically decided to divide the world into newly determined “spheres of influence”. The US will get all the Western Hemisphere, China will get all of Asia (as long as it doesn’t aggressively grow its military), the Europeans will have to divide up Europe and deal with Russia on its own (and pay their own expenses). Africa was not mentioned in his comments, so apparently, they are included with Europe and left to figure out their own path. Gone will be the day that we seek to foster world peace through friendships and decades-old relationships with reliable partners in Europe; instead, we will begin forcing these determinations on other nations. Hegseth also announced that he will increase arms at the southern border with Mexico and establish a new “Get Tougher” policy (whatever that means).
05.12.2025
Marco Rubio Is More Dangerous Than Pete Hegseth
Pete Hegseth is a dangerously incompetent sycophant, but he does not operate in a vacuum. The one behind the buildup of forces off Venezuela is a hard-core hater, Marco Rubio. He’s the one with what remains of Donald Trump’s ear (when “The NodFather is actually awake”). Rubio has been anti-Venezuelan for decades, and the policy we see being perilously enacted off the coast of Central America is one of his fantasies come to life. The White House is already doing its best to throw those under Trump and Hegseth under the bus for the murders that are occurring off the coasts of Central America, but when the truth comes out and these people are finally tried, Rubio’s name should not be left off the list of culprits.
04.12.2025
For First Time in Decades, Child Deaths Will Rise This Year
This morning, there were several stories to cover, but one stands out as the most tragic and significant. This statistic represents the global cost of the cruelties of Project 2025 and Trumpism. The current administration has canceled crucial assistance programs both domestically and internationally. They have even burned food that was intended for overseas delivery. Moreover, they have prevented medicine from reaching developing nations, which could have significantly reduced AIDS and other preventable diseases. Regrettably, this administration will never be held accountable for the deaths caused worldwide, and now the consequences are finally catching up with them. If you voted for Trump, you voted to increase child deaths globally, and this is the burden you must now bear. This is the price of “America First,” which has truly transformed into “Billionaires First” under this administration.
03.12.2025
White House defends strikes on boat survivors, but it's unclear where the buck stops
The Trump Administration is incapable of creating sustainable policy, and its approach to Venezuela (and indeed, all of Mexico and Central America) is a classic example. They have committed nearly all of the U.S.’s naval and air resources to the area, leaving Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, practically undefended. They have ordered air strikes against alleged drug smugglers with no viable proof of such activity. They have ordered “no survivors” on those strikes and allowed the murder of civilians left in the debris of those air strikes murdered. Meanwhile, Trump has pardoned the President and convicted felon of Colombia, Juan Orlando Hernández, and ordered him released from prison. Hernández was sentenced to 45 years in prison for flooding the U.S. with 400 tons of cocaine, enough for 4.5 billion doses on the streets of the country. Hegseth has denied giving the “No Survivors” order and is now passing blame to Admiral Frank M. Bradley, who was in charge of the mission. But Hegseth is the Director of the so-called “Department of War” and can’t pass this buck. As Senator Adam Smith, ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, stated in an NPR Morning Edition interview: "Yeah. It was a CYA moment for Hegseth. He's the secretary of defense. You know, he's putting them in a terrible spot by giving them these highly questionable orders. And then after that, to come out and say, hey, it was that guy, not me. That's not leadership, and it's also not honest.” It seems to me Secretary Hegseth is the one who's responsible for what happened here. Further complicating the matter is the Justice Department’s go-ahead for these attacks. Also, recorded in Smith’s interview, he stated, "This memo that's out there explaining the legal justification for this is fascinating, because half of it says, this is why this is an armed conflict, why these narcoterrorist groups are such a threat. They're doing all these awful things. And the other half says, no, it's not a war, so therefore we don't have to get permission from Congress," said Smith. "They say it's legal, and yet they went to great pains to make sure that Hegseth wasn't the one who gave the order. So obviously, they're a little nervous about that point." We have an idiot in the White House, slowly succumbing to dementia, and his fawning cabinet, who would do anything to win his adulation and cover their own butts. It is past time to impeach Trump and his cabinet. In order to do that, we have to step up to vote in November to make a landslide against Trump and his Republican enablers.
