Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The Supreme Court, under John Roberts, has become Trump’s plaything. Trump can fire anyone he wants, he can arrest anyone he wants, and racial profiling is now legal.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 28 (278 total reports)
03.09.2025-09.09.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The Supreme Court, under John Roberts, has become Trump’s plaything. Trump can fire anyone he wants, he can arrest anyone he wants, and racial profiling is now legal.
Visual Stories!
Everyday this nation, under this administration steps one step closer to fascism. Indeed, many say we have already crossed that line. One Step Closer
Top Links of the Week
09.09.2025
Chief Justice John Roberts Is Trying His Darnedest to Make Trump a Dictator
The Supreme Court under John Roberts has become Donald Trump’s plaything. Roberts’ court has given Trump the power to 1) fire anyone he wants, and 2) arrest anyone he wants. This once-sacred branch of government now rubber-stamps anything the conservative president wants—including racial profiling. This is no longer the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), it is the Supreme Court of Trump — U.S. Trump owns the Republicans, he controls his cabinet, and he dictates the rulings of this court. Our primary hope lies in persistent resistance and showing up at the mid-term elections.
08.09.2025
Fear of Losing the Midterms Is Driving Trump’s Decisions
This article by The Atlantic staff writer, Jonathan Lemire, examines what is keeping President 47 up at night. The mid-terms and the strong chance of losing the House. According to Lemire, some of this president’s worst memories are the impeachment trials he faced when he lost the House in the 2018 election. Usually, Presidents are blamed for the economy when going into the midterms, and this administration’s economy is not looking pretty. This week will be significant as the Supreme Court takes up the legalities of Trump’s dictatorial use of the EEPA (Emergency Economic Powers Act) to create tariffs. Some say—as Lemire points out—that a Trump win in the Supreme Court (allowing him to keep the tariffs) might actually be worse than a Trump loss. Revealing how ineffective the tariffs have actually been. Either way, it does reveal a path forward for those who want to stop this administration’s determined march towards fascism. Turn up and win the mid-terms. Staying home is not acceptable. Not voting is the same as voting for Trump.
05.09.2025
The Biggest Test for the Supreme Court Yet
Tariff law may not be your usual enjoyable morning reading material, but Paul Rosenzweig, legal and justice scholar, points out that the upcoming cases before the Supreme Court about this president’s right to declare an international emergency and thereby be able to take over the right to impose tariffs (and by association, military occupation of cities), is what is truly at stake. The focus is on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which, Rosenzweig points out, “grants the president certain emergency authorities to deal with any unusual or extraordinary threat to the American economy from abroad. The IEEPA gives the president wide-ranging economic powers to ‘block’ transactions, for example, or to ‘regulate’ or ‘prohibit’ importation of foreign goods if the president thinks it necessary. Will the Conservative Court under ultra-conservative Chief Justice, John G. Roberts, Jr., continue to grant broad license to this president in their unified quest to attain an authoritarian government? It’s an important week to keep an eye on tariff laws, whether you enjoy it or not.
04.09.2025
The Fight for Truth
This is an important transcript from the podcast, “The David Frum Show,” in which he interviews award-winning journalist and author, Jonathan Rauch. In it, they discuss how disinformation has become a “central political strategy,” but especially how this administration moved from a “fire hose of falsehoods,” in Trump’s first term, to a “machinery of lies,” in this second term. The latter is imminently more dangerous because it means that lying has moved to the organization of government, not just the machinations of one crazy, old man. The podcast also examines the frailty of Donald Trump, including the possibility that a major health event recently occurred and what a J.D. Vance presidency would look like. As I said, this is a critical conversation that you’ll want to read, if not listen to.
03.09.2025
September 2, 2025
This President seems determined to make the United States into a barbaric nation that reflects his own predatory inclinations. Trying to hide the removal of up to 600 children over the long weekend in the middle of the night is but one action this last week that Heather Cox Richardson points to as this administration’s emphasis on cruelty and hatred. To argue for leniency because, “these are children,” falls on deaf ears in an administration that has only been too obvious in treating children in a predatory manner. We mustn’t lose sight that this is not just Trump’s rapacious cruelty, but an entire administration urged on by the likes of Stephen Miller, Kristi Noehm, and Project 2025. It will take us decades to sort out the damage these people have done to the nation’s reputation and the lives of children around the world. Perhaps when the insanity is done, the trials for human rights crimes can begin. These people belong in prison, but if there really is someplace worse—that is where they should go.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Most presidents are aged by threats to global peace or economic stability, but Trump has no empathy. What is aging him is the fear that the Epstein Files will be released. Keep up the pressure; demand the files!
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 27 (277 total reports)
27.08.2025-02.09.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Most presidents are aged by threats to global peace or economic stability, but Trump has no empathy. What is aging him is the fear that the Epstein Files will be released. Keep up the pressure; demand the files!
Visual Stories!
The most successful strategy that affects President 47 is keeping attention on the Epstein Files. Don’t let him distract you; keep asking why he won’t release them. https://youtu.be/_KywDujjLnc?si=n6C67KNx6MPusFls
Top Links of the Week
02.09.2025
The Anti-Trump Strategy That’s Actually Working
The job ages most presidents because of threats to global peace or economic crises, but President 47 is a narcissist and feels no empathy. What is obviously aging him are the Epstein files. This article points out how terrified Trump is that this will become his legacy: the abuse of power and money by billionaires (including himself) to force teenage girls to have sex with them. Our best strategy to wear down this president is to keep up the pressure and force the administration to release the files. Donny will do anything (or sell anyone) to distract us from these files. Don’t let him. Stay razor sharp and keep bringing them up whenever possible. Ask those you know who have supported this predator why they think Trump is having them buried. Keep pressing.
01.09.2025
Is this the moment when America tips into authoritarianism?
This interview of Garrett Graff, bestselling author about key moments in U.S. history, is crucial to understanding the new turf we are facing, not just under Trump, but from Project 2025. Graff argues that authoritarianism “has” arrived, not “will” arrive, and the actions of this administration in August are proof of that arrival. He cites the occupation of the capital and the search of Trump antagonist, John Bolton’s, unwarranted home invasion as prime examples, also the takeover of the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian. The behavior of these federal agents, Graff points to agents, “operating in masks, operating without normal law enforcement identification and credentials, operating with unmarked vehicles—things that we would recognize normally as abuses of civil rights and civil liberties.” All point to a takeover by this authoritarian regime. As this president threatens to send National Guard soldiers to 17 cities across the United States, we must stay aware; this is not the government acting on behalf of its people; it is an authoritarian regime acting to silence dissent. If you’re not actively against this regime, you are supporting it.
29.08.2025,
2 firefighters arrested by Border Patrol while working active fire in Wash.
I highlight this article because it points out the obtuse and asinine policies of this administration. Two firefighters, bravely working to stop a forest blaze in the state of Washington, were arrested and removed by Trump’s henchmen. The ridiculousness of this action, arresting people who are putting their lives at risk and actually working to protect this nation, is taken by minions of a fascist regime that is blindly undermining the country. What an analogy for the state of this administration: arrest people who are preventing the country from burning down.
28.08.2025
The Wannabe Dictator
Jim Acosta’s commentary this morning focuses on this Administration’s attempts to make the President a dictator. Acosta analyzes the blatant moves this President has taken (and continues to take) and points out that Trump began this campaign by telling Sean Hannity and the American people he was going to be a dictator. Yet, he was elected; both by those who voted and those who stayed home. The truth is apparent: if you are not resisting this administration, you are supporting it. Each of us will be accountable for the actions we took at this time to either stop this takeover or to support it through our silent acquiescence.
27.08.2025
August 26, 2025
As Ms. Cox Richardson points out in this commentary, President 47 is becoming increasingly vocal about pulling out all the stops and claiming a dictatorship. He surrounds himself with sycophants and holds three-hour “Dear Leader” meetings resembling the fawning tribute gatherings of North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Trump goes further by saying the U.S. public supports having him become a dictator (he has made this statement twice this week). Sadly, polling says that a large percentage (75% according to the Washington Post—a Jeff Bezos enterprise) of Republicans actually do support this claim. Using these skewed numbers and the praise of his cultic followers, the President is continuing his efforts to take over cities with Democrat leaders in Blue States. The primary goal of this President at this time is to keep us from delving into the Epstein files. We need to keep our eye on that ball. We need to keep pressing on that point because it is one of the only areas that Democrats and some Republicans agree on. Which is why the Predator-in-Chief is scared. Most presidents fear failing economies or global conflicts; this president fears being outed for the sexual predator that he is. The stress is evidently aging him. We need to keep up the pressure and even intensify it. Don’t let this go!
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
As Trump tries to hide the Epstein files and Project 2025 tries to hide the undermining of democracy, it is an important time to ask Republicans: “Is this what you wanted?” https://youtu.be/hPwDLib0YYA?si=L-_bYe9oD6aFcxCd
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 26 (276 total reports)
20.08.2025-25.08.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
As Trump tries to hide the Epstein files and Project 2025 tries to hide the undermining of democracy, it is an important time to ask Republicans: “Is this what you wanted?” https://youtu.be/hPwDLib0YYA?si=L-_bYe9oD6aFcxCd
Visual Stories!
He is turning the U.S. into a militarized nation with concentration camps in every red state. Meanwhile, he is doing his best to hide the files that would tell the truth about Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Ask those who voted for him: “Is This What You Wanted?”
Top Links of the Week
26.08.2025
If You Are Not Working to Defend America, You Are Helping Trump Destroy It
This song will be too old for many to recognize, but in 1931, Florence Reece, whose husband was a Union Organizer for the United Mine Workers, wrote a song that was covered by folk legend Pete Seeger, called, “Which Side Are You On!” The sentiments of the song are timeless and—as this article points out—apply to the situation in the United States today. If you’re not defending America, you’re helping Trump destroy it. I know which side I want my children to say I was on. This administration is trying to destroy the U.S. democracy. Trump is their front man, but Project 2025 and Vladimir Putin are the brains behind this attack. Don’t let them distract you from their primary goal. It is time to take a stand. Resist the autocracy, let your voice be heard. In the words of Ms. Reece, “Don’t listen to their lies, poor folks ain’t got a chance, unless they organize.” (1931, Florence Reece).
25.08.2025
Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre wrote a memoir. Months after her death, it's coming out
We cannot ethically let this go. It is possible that the president of the United States is a child predator who raped minors, and he is trying to hide the evidence. A victim of Epstein’s abusive pedophile ring, Virginia Giuffre, wrote her memoirs before taking her own life last year at the age of 41. Years of trying to bring her trauma and the abuse of many others to light failed, and she finally succumbed to despair. We can make sure that her death was not in vain by insuring her voice is heard posthumously through this book. Please find ways you can support this book, Ms. Giuffre, and the multiple other victims of Epstein/Ghislaine’s abuse and President 47’s coverup.
22.08.2025
How ICE Became Trump’s Secret Army
Every authoritarian needs its own secret police force, and Trump has ICE. Make no mistake about it, this is HIS police force. He dictates where it goes, what laws it enforces, and who it arrests. Noem may appear to be in charge of it, but it’s all a modeling opportunity for her. She is nothing more than a Donny-Sycophant. No credentials for the position, no ability to lead. It is imperative to the agenda of Project 2025, Stephen Miller, and Trump, that they balloon this secret police agency and the concentration camps it oversees. A federal judge declared one of those despicable camps (Alligator Alcatraz) closed. Not only is the site dumping raw sewage into the wetlands around it, but it was built on a national heritage site, the Florida Everglades. Building was halted on the site before, when MAGA-cult lackey, Ron DeSantis, tried to turn it into a tourist airport for those wishing access to the Everglades. This waste of money could have been averted with a little research, but it’s unlike this administration to delve into environmental issues or care about the results when discovered. Beware ICE, it is the secret police force of this fascist government.
21.08.2025
Trump Has No (Legal) Power to Mess With the Election
The “fine print” of this article is really important: Trump has no (legal) power to mess with the election. No “legal” power, but the Trump Administration—and their supporters—have never cared about legalities. They break the law and then wait for the courts to catch up. Expect that strategy to remain active this year and during the next presidential election. I encourage governors to mimic Karl Rove’s strategy of using the states to effect the election. In the first reelection campaign for her husband, President Obama’s wife, Michelle, said, “When they go low, we go high…” now she says, “going high didn’t work…” I agree with her completely. This is a death struggle for democracy, and Democrats need to meet the MAGA right head-on.
20.08.2025
Six states to send troops to D.C. And, Texas lawmakers to vote on redistricting today
Sometimes there are so many stories of the U.S.’s slide into anarchy and authoritarianism that it’s difficult to keep up, but that was the intentional point (and plan) of Steve Bannon and Project 2025. They purposely wanted to overwhelm the public so people would A) become overwhelmed, and B) be too spread out to respond to the biggest issues. Today’s news feed is along that line. The president is especially trying to “flood the zone” to distract us from his number one enemy-of-the-moment; the Epstein Files. However, that’s not the primary concern of Project 2025; their major aim is to distract us from the One Big Beautiful (Ugly) Bill. We need to encourage each other to keep our eye on two balls: the next election and the release of the Epstein Files. Put your energy into resistance and resilience.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This week, Trump goes to great ends to try and distract his MAGA followers from the Epstein files. He wants to be remembered for being a peace-maker, not a child abuser. Don’t let him distract you. RELEASE THE FILES!
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 25 (275 total reports)
13.08.2025-19.08.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This week, Trump goes to great ends to try and distract his MAGA followers from the Epstein files. He wants to be remembered for being a peace-maker, not a child abuser. Don’t let him distract you. RELEASE THE FILES!
Visual Stories!
Don’t give up, keep pressing for the truth behind the Epstein files. Just exactly why is Trump so afraid of letting people see the details of these documents? One of his many, many campaign promises was to release these files so people would know the powerful players who supported the heinous couple of Epstein and Maxwell. Release them! The Epstein Files.
Top Links of the Week
19.08.2025
August 18, 2025
Heather Cox Richardson produces well-researched and informative Substack commentaries on a regular basis. This review of Trump’s recent false bravado, evident in his indignant treatment of Zelensky and E.U. leaders, as well as his obscene kowtowing to Putin, reminds us what a narcissistic, ego-driven oaf the United States decided to elect as its president. Trump never fails to embarrass; however, the rest of the world seems to be learning how to stroke his massive ego and appease his tiny mind. Zelensky, especially, has learned to adapt and countered the last despicable meeting Trump and Vance had when they tag-team bullied one of the greatest leaders this world has to offer at the moment.
18.08.2025
Why Trump will fail
substack.com/p/why-the-scumbag-in-chief-attracts?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user%2FSubstack
Robert Reich is a clear voice with a lot of political history in this modern era. In this Substack commentary, he illustrates why Trump is bound to fail like other authoritarians before him (and around him). They live in “cocoons of flattery.” All the sycophants with whom he has surrounded himself will not tell him the truth; they will only tell him what he wants to hear. They have learned that truth-telling leads to firing in this administration, and, as Reich explains, “So they learned that if they wanted to be rewarded with promotions, money, and power, they could not rely on the normal processes and systems of recognition for jobs well done. If they were to make anything of themselves, they must instead become ass-lickers, lapdogs, and sycophants.” Reich tells us that failure is inevitable, but in the meantime, there is—and will be—a lot of pain. Until we finally get rid of this egomaniacal monster.
15.08.2025
Trump's Tariffs and 'One Big Beautiful Bill' Face More Opposition Than Support as His Job Rating Slips
Like a wild animal, Trump is at his most dangerous when he is cornered. His poll numbers are sliding, and even his MAGA worshippers want to know what is in the Epstein files. Look for his trip with International Criminal and Trump Puppeteer, Vladimir Putin, to be one big, beautiful sellout. Hopefully, Trump won’t give Putin back Alaska, but do expect him to “make a deal” on Ukraine. Of course, without Zelensky’s presence, any deal is bogus. Trump will do anything to distract people from his criminal behavior and pedophilic past. Norway’s prime minister, Mr. Jonas Gahr Støre, said that Trump already cold-called him to ask for a Nobel Peace Prize. Remember, this president has no integrity and, therefore, no boundaries.
14.08.2025
Trump's Urging For Epstein Distraction Will Lead To Shocker At Putin Summit: Michael Wolff
For those Trump supporters who are finally beginning to realize that this President will do anything—ANYthing—to cover up his crimes, you won’t be shocked when he sells off Ukraine and national interests to curry more favors from his big-time boss, Vladimir Putin. We can put a stop to this, but it will take bold actions, like Governors Newsom and Hochul are proposing in their states. In the meantime, do all you can to let your representatives know; this is not the America we want.
13.08.2025
The trial run
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-trial-run?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=user%2FSubstack
Robert Reich, who is by no means an alarmist, is raising red flags over this Administration’s takeover of Washington, D.C. In his words, “It’s important to see Trump’s occupation of Washington, D.C., as a trial run for a possible military occupation of the United States, including martial law, later in his term.” This is what Project 2025 has wanted ever since they got their patsy president elected. They want nothing short of prohibiting voting and the continuation of democracy in the United States of America. Let this also be a test case for resistance! What can you do today to throw a wrench into their belief that they have a mandate for this behavior?
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The whole Epstein cover-up should teach us about Trump and his supporters. He is not “President in Chief,” he is “Predator in Chief.”
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 25 (275 total reports)
23.07.2025-29.07.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The whole Epstein cover-up should teach us about Trump and his supporters. He is not “President in Chief,” he is “Predator in Chief.”
Visual Stories!
Trump Supporters seem to take pleasure in the conquests of their Predator-in-Chief. Looney Representative Nancy Mace of South Carolina says she watches ICE arrests for fun and relaxation. All of this is so shortsighted. The pendulum will swing back, and cruelty will stop being a national principle. Here’s my latest song for your enjoyment, So Shortsighted.
Top Links of the Week
29.07.0225
In His Latest Turn Toward the Insane, Trump Said Obama “Owes” Him Big for Presidential Immunity
Charles P. Pierce has this correct. This is just the “latest turn” towards the insane in the deterioration of the Office of the President and the degeneration of the mind of Trump. If President 47’s links to Epstein reveal anything to us (and they do), it is that Trump is not the “President in Chief,” but the “Predator in Chief.” His staff are not lackeys; they are lampreys. They live off his kills. Unlike a Great White (that hunts to fill its voracious hunger), Trump hunts to satisfy his rapacious lusts. He loves to prey on the innocent, and this Epstein episode should reveal to us that the more innocent the victim, the more pleasure he experiences. Insanity? Yes… Out of control? Definitely.
28.07.2025
Transcript: Trump’s Vile New Epstein Ploy Humiliates MAGA: “Sham”
As the administration of President 47 does all it can to distance itself from the crimes of his best buddy, Jeffrey Epstein, even some MAGA followers are calling “foul.” Trump has sent Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche—who is also Trump’s lawyer—to (according to Ghislaine Maxwell’s attorney) seek a pardon in exchange for exonerating the Presidential Predator. The reason that even some MAGA folks aren’t buying this ploy is because part of Trump’s election platform was releasing the files saying there was evidence of a deep state in the Democratic party of pedophiles and the files would prove it. Unfortunately, for the Predator-in-Chief, the files apparently name him, if not as an abuser of the underage girls that Maxwell and Epstein procured, then at least as a witness in the deeds. The White House (and his sycophants) are doing all they can to make Maxwell look like a victim here, BUT SHE IS NOT! As the author of this story states, “In fact, many of Epstein’s victims have described her as something of a procurer for him. She would round up young women to come and give Epstein massages and perform sex acts. And according to some of the victims, she actually participated physically in some of those acts. She was convicted in 2021 of a variety of actions connected to Epstein: sex trafficking of a minor, transporting a minor, conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, and so on. And she’s currently serving a 20-year sentence.” Many MAGA followers were 100% behind these claims of bringing these sex traffickers to justice and now they are now aghast that their own candidate is trying to cover this up. Sorry, Trump supporters, you own this, this predator is the guy you voted for and if his pre-election behavior didn’t tell you how depraved he is, then now you must suffer the consequences. How far will this administration go in their efforts to cover up 47’s behavior? That remains to be seen.
25.07.2025
Questions about Epstein files follow lawmakers home
GOP lawmakers can run, but they can’t hide. In order to prevent the House from having to deal with the embarrassing Epstein files—and their Orange Leader’s involvement—Speaker Mike Johnson sent his members home. According to this article, these cowardly sycophants will get little respite in trying to hide in their home districts. Voters want to know what and who was in those files, and they don’t want it watered down by Trump, Bondi, or any of his other lackeys. Quit hiding the pedophiles, Republicans; time to come clean.
24.07.2025
The Ugly Truth About ICE’s Abusive Detention Centers
Congratulations Trump Supporters, this is the United States that you voted for. No longer the “shining city on the hill,” no longer a country that says, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Now, the United States is a country known for its concentration camps and violent arrests of men, women, and children in its shopping markets, parking lots, and on the way to work, school, or court. Supporting a President who is using all his political power to hide his involvement with a known pedophile. This is your America, you must be very proud.
23.07.2025
Trump supporters report higher levels of psychopathy, manipulativeness, callousness, and narcissism
This study published by Craig S. Neumann and Darlene A. Ngo in the Journal of Research in Personality tells us a great deal about those who favor Donald Trump. As the study states, “They have a tendency towards malevolent personality traits—sometimes called “dark” traits—that include tendencies such as manipulativeness, callousness, narcissism, and a lack of empathy.” Neumann points out that, “This paper was several years in the making, starting as a result of the 2016 election, and was designed to address why some people might view favorably a political figure with a history of business failures, bankruptcies, misogynistic statements caught on video, use of charity money for a self-portrait, etc.” Neumann is a Regents Professor of Psychology at the University of North Texas. All this serves to remind me that appealing to the empathy of Trump supporters will not work. Those with the so-called Dark Traits are not repulsed by images of people being brutalized or incarcerated; in fact, some might actually be exhilarated by it—apparently enough to support an Administration that uses cruelty as a measurement of success. What works instead? The attacks on Stephen Colbert and other late-
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Trump voters, congratulations! Your president has once again sought to close an investigation into his behavior, this time for pedophilia and using Jeffrey Epstein to set up relationships with teen girls. You must be so proud!
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 24 (274 total reports)
16.07.2025-22.07.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Trump voters, congratulations! Your president has once again sought to close an investigation into his behavior, this time for pedophilia and using Jeffrey Epstein to set up relationships with teen girls. You must be so proud!
Visual Stories!
If there is no information in these files that is linked to the President, why not do as Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, and Donald Trump all promised pre-election and release the entire file? This week’s song, with a circus theme to it, is “The Files of Epstein.”
Top Links of the Week
22.07.2025
Democracy Upside Down
This article by Skye Perryman, a lawyer and the president/CEO of Democracy Forward and the Democracy Forward Foundation, points out how those who voted for Donald Trump have turned Democracy upside down on a state level. The latest case he points to is the work of the ultra-conservative Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton, and Donald Trump to overturn Texas law (voted for by the will of the Texan people) to undermine Dreamer legislation in that state. Those who voted for this Administration can watch how the Trump Administration now uses its influence to undermine the laws of states, even in cases without the help of a MAGA attorney general, as when Trump used the National Guard and Marines to invade California. In the article, Perryman points out that other Presidents have used the National Guard in the past, but always in cases to enforce human rights, rather than take them away. Thanks to Trump supporters, your vote may not matter federally and in your own state. Indeed, another dangerous precedent for those who voted to undermine democracy by electing this president.
21.07.2025
This Is the Presidency John Roberts Has Built
If we look behind the daily theatrics and clown show of this presidency, we would not only see Project 2025 and the undying fealty of MAGA minions, but also the conniving craftiness of Chief Justice John Roberts. Peter M. Shane, a distinguished scholar in residence and an adjunct professor at the New York University School of Law, makes the following points about this Chief Justice’s enablement of Trump’s authoritarianism: “Roberts upheld the first Trump administration’s “Muslim ban” on the grounds that the president’s national-security role precludes courts from taking account of the bigotry undergirding an immigration order. He remanded a lower court’s enforcement of a congressional subpoena for Trump’s financial information, writing that “without limits on its subpoena powers,” Congress could exert ‘imperious’ control over the executive branch and ‘aggrandize itself at the President’s expense.’ He has come close to giving the president an untrammeled right to fire any officer in the executive branch at will. And he took the lead in inventing a presidential immunity from criminal prosecution that could exempt the president from accountability for even the most corrupt exercises of his official functions.” Of course, Trump is not bright enough to get to where he is by himself. Trump is identified by his crass graft and spectacular misogyny. He needed the likes of Mitch McConnell, Roberts, and Project 2025 to power his dominion, and they have enabled him.
18.07.2025
What the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' will change for students, schools and colleges
In my endeavor to keep our eyes on the major evils of this administration and not be distracted by sideshow stupidity (like the recent tongue-lashing of Roseanne Barr), let’s follow NPR (whose funding was just cut on July 17) and journalists, Sequoia Carrillo, Cory Turner, and Elissa Nadworny, as they examine what Project 2025 and the GOP’s One Big Ugly Bill will do to education in the United States. After being overridden in multiple states, this bill provides parents with tax credits to send children to the private school of their choice. The option is more focused on supporting religious schools and defunding public education than actually providing much-needed tax breaks to upper-middle-class parents who want their children to attend private schools with religious curricula. The Bill tightens restrictions for the 37 million children at or below the poverty line who receive health care through Medicaid. The GOP further seeks to cut food assistance to children who are at or below the poverty line. It restricts student loan programs and virtually eliminates funding for post-graduate courses. In an effort to undermine the nation’s top schools (that Donald Trump wasn’t able to get into), it will tax higher education endowment funds, so those funds can go to offset the billionaire tax cuts this administration loves so dearly. In essence, this bill seeks to cripple education for decades and force students in the United States to become less competitive than young people in other countries that promote advanced education.
17.07.2025
The Trump Administration Chose to Incinerate Food Rather Than Send It to Starving Kids
This administration and its lackeys—the GOP—continue to debase itself almost on a daily basis. With the ending of funds for USAID, it wasn’t enough to just cut money that would provide medicine to prevent the transmission of AIDS from mothers to unborn children; it wasn’t enough just to cut food programming; they had to take it one step further and burn 500 metric tons of food destined to feed about 1.5 million children for a week, rather than let it be sent to Africa. In this article by Charles P. Pierce, he states, “This administration’s commitment to public indecency remains rock-solid. If there is inhumanity anywhere to be found in one of its policy positions, they will, by God, find it, shine it up, and put it out there.”
16.07.2025
The Supreme Court Says Laws Aren’t Real
This article by Res Derelictae seeks to remind us how far the Roberts Court is willing to go to turn the Project 2025 blueprint into reality. As Derelictae puts it, “The conservative justices’ latest decision in McMahon v. New York allows the president to effectively demolish the Department of Education—a Cabinet-level department that was created by Congress, given duties and responsibilities by Congress, and funded by Congress to carry them out.” Just in case you forgot who McMahon is and what qualifies her to run the Department of Education; Linda McMahon, is a pro-wrestling promoter and sexual-abuse lawsuit defendant. Yep, those are pretty much her credentials. Yet, she has made no secret since being assigned this position that she wants to fulfill the wishes of Project 2025 to dismantle the Department of Education, and this court made the President’s moves to undermine the department by firing half of its staff; legal. Why does Project 2025 hate the DoE so much? Because it supports DEI, it supports humane treatment of transitioning young people, and seeks to prepare students for a college education so they can compete in the world instead of being part of the Mudsill Economy that is at the heart of the Republican plan.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Don’t be distracted! This President, with assistance from a MAGA Congress and SCOTUS (Supreme Court of Trump — US), is focused on dismantling democracy in the United States.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 23 (273 total reports)
09.07.2025-15.07.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Don’t be distracted! This President, with assistance from a MAGA Congress and SCOTUS (Supreme Court of Trump — US), is focused on dismantling democracy in the United States.
Visual Stories!
There have been plenty of distractions this week to keep our eyes from focusing on the primary issues before us, but we must remember the betrayal of this Congress in passing the One Big Horrible Bill. They are Compliant Cowards.
Top Links of the Week
15.07.2025
SCOTUS Judges Tear Into Court’s ‘Indefensible’ Decision to Help Trump ‘Break the Law’
This decision by Justice Roberts’ MAGA-Supporting Supreme Court (SCOTUS or Supreme Court of Trump — US) should remind us that the conservative plot to undermine democracy in the United States is deeper than the carney at the top; President TACO. The role of the Conservative Supreme Court in dismantling the Department of Education must be remembered as one of the hallmark decisions leading to the abolishing of our Constitution in the future. The primary question at stake here—and the precedent being set—is “does a President have the right to arbitrarily (and solely) dismantle an entire department of the government that was established by Congress and, if so, where else will this apply when it is a set precedent for the courts?”
14.07.2025
America Is Now a Police State
In this article, Jonathan Alter issues a warning we all—who care about what remains of the U.S. Democracy—need to embrace. Here’s how he summarizes it: “If you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail. And if you have $75 billion over four years in new funding for ICE, you—Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, and Tom Homan—will use it to fund a huge domestic army to round up four million people in the next three years, put them in ‘detention centers,’ and deport them.” These three men are as racist as any men who have lived in history—including Adolf Hitler and George Wallace—the One Big Ugly Bill has now given them a $75 billion dollar hammer to arrest and lock up the people they hate the most, anyone that is not white and doesn’t work in an industry that benefits President 47, like on golf courses, in hotels, or restaurants. Folks, the daily stupid antics of this President are only distractions to keep us from looking at the real issues of arresting those against this administration’s policies; ignoring habeas corpus, or taking away health care. Don’t be duped by the Rosie O’Donnell stories and stealing the spotlight at a FIFA World Cup Award Ceremony—all distractions. This Administration seeks to undermine Democracy in the United States, and we can’t afford to avert our gaze.
11.07.2025
The growing surveillance state in the U.S. is far worse than you imagined
You might not be worried about who has access to your private information right now, but what if this Administration continues with its directives from Project 2025 to detain—without habeas corpus—anyone this administration sees as a threat, anyone who has spoken negatively about their actions or their beliefs? According to Maurizio Guerrero, the author of this article, we are on the verge of seeing this occur as this administration undermines the right to privacy of all citizens.
10.07.2025
Trump Loves ICE. Its Workforce Has Never Been So Miserable.
This article by Nick Miroff examines the morale at ICE, the police force that is now super-funded (from $9 billion a year to $170 billion under the new Republican-backed budget; this includes an astonishing $45 billion for new detention facilities—concentration camps—like their pet project in Florida). Whereas ICE was once a branch of the government primarily focused on preventing drugs and criminals from crossing the border, they have increasingly become a tool of mega-racist Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem (who, since the floods in Texas, can’t really remember what her actual role is in securing the Homeland from all threats, including natural disasters). Miroff explains that since the new Trump focus in immigration is deporting as many people as possible, including mothers still nursing babies and babies receiving cancer treatments, the morale of the employees has fallen abysmally. Adam Boyd, a 33-year-old attorney who resigned from ICE’s legal department last month, told Miroff he left because the mission was no longer about protecting the homeland from threats. “It became a contest of how many deportations could be reported to Stephen Miller by December,” Boyd said. You can recognize ICE these days by their unlicensed vehicles, the masks on their faces, their refusal to say who they are or who they represent, and their violent techniques to force people into their waiting vans sans rights.
09.07.2025
Meet the new national police force
Every dictator needs a secret police—and King TACO is no exception. While taking away medical care for millions and food from hungry children’s mouths, the OBBB also creates the largest domestic police force in the world; Trump’s Gestapo, or ICE. What we are witnessing in LA is but a sign of things to come in the rest of the blue states with Democratic governors across the nation. At the same time, this administration is asking more red states to follow the lead of Texas and Florida in building large-scale concentration camps for immigrants (or whomever this President deems “the enemy”). The policy of this administration to allow their “officers” to wear masks and not identify themselves is leading to copycat robberies and rapes in many cities. For the first time in US history, citizens are being told, “If law enforcement shows up at your door, call 911.” We mustn’t lose focus; this administration has to declare martial law to prevent upcoming elections, and it needs to ignite violence to do that. We must follow John Lewis’ advice and get in Good Trouble, but simultaneously, we must also remain nonviolent.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Republicans revealed themselves as the Complacent Cowards they truly are this week, falling in line with Project 2025 and Donald Trump’s OBBB, they will gut the American economy, create a permanent subclass of servants to fawn on the richest 0.001%.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 22 (272 total reports)
25.06.2025-08.07.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Republicans revealed themselves as the Complacent Cowards they truly are this week, falling in line with Project 2025 and Donald Trump’s OBBB, they will gut the American economy, create a permanent subclass of servants to fawn on the richest 0.001%.
Visual Stories!
The GOP revealed their true colors this week, a party of traitors, willing to sacrifice their constituents for something as reprehensible as a signed MAGA hat. They are a party of Complacent Cowards.
Top Links of the Week
08.07.2025
Why Do So Many People Think That Trump Is Good?
Whenever I read a commentary by David Brooks, I know I’m going in for a deep dive. This time, his thoughts invite us to try and understand the rise and adoration of someone as morally vacuous as Donald Trump. In typical Brooks-style, he takes us back to Aristotle and the role of moral excellence in Greek society, then he plays that forward through the Middle Ages and into the Age of Enlightenment. Finally, he brings us round to the moral relativism and hyper-individualism of the present age, pointing to the rise of Stalin, Mao, Hitler, and—of course—Trump. In the end, Brooks leaves us with a cursory review of the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, and this wrap-up: “Trump speaks the languages we moderns can understand. The language of preference: I want. The language of power: I have the leverage. The languages of self, of gain, of acquisition. Trump doesn’t subsume himself in a social role. He doesn’t try to live up to the standards of excellence inherent in a social practice. He treats even the presidency itself as a piece of personal property he can use to get what he wants.” As I look at those around me at those who worship the MAGA cult and their demigod, I do begin to understand how Trump is a reflection of their inner struggle, a salve for their own personal greed and racism, a way to excuse their acceptance of such a morally reprehensible ruler and the actions he has taken (and is taking). They need an excuse for their callousness, and Trump provides it. They need medication for their moral vacuum, and Trump provides it. They need a reason to be racist, and Trump provides it.
07.07.2025
Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill: Where It Came From, What It Does
This article leads off by calling OBBB (One Big Beautiful Bill) as One Big Beautiful Meat Cleaver as it will divide America further into the haves and have-nots. As William Dowell, the author of this article notes, “Income distribution in the United States is already dangerously skewed. The BBB will make it worse. The top 20 percent of earners in the country already receive more than 50 percent of the annual US payroll. The remaining 80 percent of Americans get to fight over the scraps that remain. Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill can be expected to increase income — and wealth — inequality like a shot of steroids.” No wonder this administration seeks to increase the size of both prisons and its secret police force (ICE); it is also beginning to talk about creating labor camps (forced labor), to respond to its radical immigration policies. Project 2025 is creating a “Mudsill Economy”; a permanent underclass that will serve the richest of the rich, and the OBBB is the framework they are using. The GOP has sacrificed any shred of dignity it might have had (I use the word “might” with emphasis here); some changed their vote for signed merch from the big, orange, one himself! Despicable…
04.07.2024
25 Pics About Billionaires And The Wealth Gap That Show Just How Infuriatingly Unfair The World Is
The bill due to be signed by President 47 today creates the largest redistribution of resources in the history of the United States since George III was king. The result will inevitably be a class confrontation once people begin to feel the effects of this bill (which are designed to kick in until after the 2026 mid-term elections). It takes money from the poor and middle class through canceling health care programs for the elderly and handicapped as well as food programs for children of poverty and redistributes that money into the hands of the wealthiest in the United States. Class confrontation is inevitable; timing is the only question.
03.07.2025
Selling “Alligator Alcatraz” Prison Merchandise Is a Deranged New Low for the GOP
Yesterday, I wrote about the opening of the new Florida Concentration Camp and the glee Trump, Noem, and DeSantis displayed during its opening. I thought that was yet another low for this administration, but, as Charles P. Pierce reveals, this is just a rest stop on this administration’s descent into inhumanity. Now, you can buy “Merch” to display with your favorite Concentration Camp. One can barely imagine buying merchandise for Dachau or Bergen-Belsen, but how is this any different? I suppose those who like to still wear their cult MAGA hats would want to accessorize them with other concentration camp merchandise. How sick…
02.07.2025
The Grand Opening of an American Concentration Camp
To see the three of them (Trump, Noem, and DeSantis) laughing and celebrating at the brand-new opening of what they dub, “Alligator Alcatraz,” but what the rest of us realize is a concentration camp, is sick. If you share in the joy of this massive opening, then you are mentally ill too. President 47 flew in to celebrate this opening. You can count on him being present for openings such as these (and if his budget passes, there will be more), but not at events such as the funeral of State Rep. Melissa Hortman of Minnesota. Sad news though (tongue-in-cheek), the facility flooded the day after the grand opening.
01.07.2025
With the Big, Beautiful Bill, You Can Now Sponsor a Billionaire of Your Choosing
The Atlantic is not prone to sarcasm, so it was with interest (and some delight) that I read this commentary. According to the writer, Alexandra Petri, the OBBB (One Big Beautiful Bill) gives us each a chance to live vicariously through a billionaire of our choice. We get to watch them spend tens of millions to rent Venice for a three-day wedding, buy a larger yacht, or three more helicopters. We get to watch our tax dollars be taken out of medical care, infrastructure, and schools and put into research on living forever, living on Mars, or living with cosmetic transplants. Why wouldn’t Republicans vote for this? Why wouldn’t they continue to line their own pockets with ways to make their lobbyists richer? This is not the OBBB, it is the OOBB; One Obscene Big Bill that the Republican Senate is scrambling to pass so 47 can have it on his desk for (ironically) Independence Day.
30.06.2025
The Republicans Are About to Get Away With the Most Outrageous Lies
What’s the first lie of being a Republican? “We represent you…” The truth is, they represent those with wealth and, increasingly, they represent President 47 and Project 2025. That translates into rights for white males, conservative evangelism, and the richest of the rich. The hypocritical pronouncements of Josh Hawley and Lisa Murkowski face the light of day this week. The gross grifting of Elon Musk, Stephen Miller, Ron DeSantis, and Kristi Noem is all on display for your viewing disgust. Along with their President, they have taken grift to a new level, and this OBBB will lock in their graft for generations to come. Disgusting…
27.06.2025
Yes, the Iran Mission Was Successful. No, We Are Not Taking Questions.
This parody of the “press shouting match” by Trump sycophant, Pete Hegseth, is worth the tongue-in-cheek read. Hegseth’s own mother, Penelope, said in an e-mail, “He mistreated women and displayed a lack of character.” Hegseth says it is too early to tell what the results of the bombing had on Iran’s nuclear facility, but that Trump’s claim that they were “obliterated” is correct. Can you really have it both ways? If it’s too early to tell, isn’t it also too early to conclusively say they were completely destroyed? No wonder few people trust this administration.
26.06.2025
MAGA Dope Pete Hegseth Accidentally Exposes Trump’s Vile Scam on Iran
Trump sycophant, Pete Hegseth, proved a number of things yesterday. When you know you’re caught in a lie, get louder and more aggressive. Lately, we have seen the President drop not only bunker-busting bombs on Iran, but also F-Bombs at the media. The Vice-President flipped the crowd off in a profanity-laced speech at a Republican fund-raising dinner. Judicial nominee, Emil Bove III, told aides to tell federal judges to “F-Off,” and Hegseth yelled in his most screechy fingernails-on-a-blackboard voice at the media during a press conference at NATO. All of this to say, we are not going to get truth from this administration. The press is comparing its conferences with White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, to press conferences in North Korea. What Hegseth reveals is that this administration is peddling a tale that will only fit with the Trump talking points.
25.06.2025
Trump Will Be Left Cursing His ‘Mission Accomplished’ Moment
This president is like a spoiled teen that took a stick and whacked a hornet’s nest in the middle of a village, all while everyone else was telling him not to. He did not destroy that nest (though he says he did), and now the village must bring in responsible adults to fix the mess he caused. Of course, the administration is denying the leaked reports of Iran’s continued capability to create nuclear weapons. Of course, 47’s administration is going to swear at (and flip off) anyone who contradicts them. But despite their feverish denials, it appears Iran moved most of its nuclear bomb-making material to other locations prior to the strike last week. It also appears the facility was not “obliterated,” but instead, damaged and may face a three-month setback. What happens once that setback is overcome? Obama had a nuclear treaty with this country, and this same spoiled teen (President 45) broke that agreement because… well, because Obama created it. Is this president most upset because his mission largely failed or because it is a definite setback to his plans of getting a Nobel Peace Prize? He’s never been good at making things, excellent at breaking things; what next, Donnie?
Youth Advocacy
As Republicans in the Senate scramble to shaft the US with the OBBB, we can rest assured they are staying up all night to take your money away and give it to their billionaire handlers.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 21 (271 total reports)
25.06.2025-01.07.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
As Republicans in the Senate scramble to shaft the US with the OBBB, we can rest assured they are staying up all night to take your money away and give it to their billionaire handlers.
Visual Stories!
The OBBB (One, Big, Beautiful, Bill) is the largest redistribution of wealth since Reaganomics, this time brought to you by Donny and The Grifters.
Top Links of the Week
01.07.2025
With the Big, Beautiful Bill, You Can Now Sponsor a Billionaire of Your Choosing
The Atlantic is not prone to sarcasm, so it was with interest (and some delight) that I read this commentary. According to the writer, Alexandra Petri, the OBBB (One Big Beautiful Bill) gives us each a chance to live vicariously through a billionaire of our choice. We get to watch them spend tens of millions to rent Venice for a three-day wedding, buy a larger yacht, or three more helicopters. We get to watch our tax dollars be taken out of medical care, infrastructure, and schools and put into research on living forever, living on Mars, or living with cosmetic transplants. Why wouldn’t Republicans vote for this? Why wouldn’t they continue to line their own pockets with ways to make their lobbyists richer? This is not the OBBB, it is the OOBB; One Obscene Big Bill that the Republican Senate is scrambling to pass so 47 can have it on his desk for (ironically) Independence Day.
30.06.2025
The Republicans Are About to Get Away With the Most Outrageous Lies
What’s the first lie of being a Republican? “We represent you…” The truth is, they represent those with wealth and, increasingly, they represent President 47 and Project 2025. That translates into rights for white males, conservative evangelism, and the richest of the rich. The hypocritical pronouncements of Josh Hawley and Lisa Murkowski face the light of day this week. The gross grifting of Elon Musk, Stephen Miller, Ron DeSantis, and Kristi Noem is all on display for your viewing disgust. Along with their President, they have taken grift to a new level, and this OBBB will lock in their graft for generations to come. Disgusting…
27.06.2025
Yes, the Iran Mission Was Successful. No, We Are Not Taking Questions.
This parody of the “press shouting match” by Trump sycophant, Pete Hegseth, is worth the tongue-in-cheek read. Hegseth’s own mother, Penelope, said in an e-mail, “He mistreated women and displayed a lack of character.” Hegseth says it is too early to tell what the results of the bombing had on Iran’s nuclear facility, but that Trump’s claim that they were “obliterated” is correct. Can you really have it both ways? If it’s too early to tell, isn’t it also too early to conclusively say they were completely destroyed? No wonder few people trust this administration.
26.06.2025
MAGA Dope Pete Hegseth Accidentally Exposes Trump’s Vile Scam on Iran
Trump sycophant, Pete Hegseth, proved a number of things yesterday. When you know you’re caught in a lie, get louder and more aggressive. Lately, we have seen the President drop not only bunker-busting bombs on Iran, but also F-Bombs at the media. The Vice-President flipped the crowd off in a profanity-laced speech at a Republican fund-raising dinner. Judicial nominee, Emil Bove III, told aides to tell federal judges to “F-Off,” and Hegseth yelled in his most screechy fingernails-on-a-blackboard voice at the media during a press conference at NATO. All of this to say, we are not going to get truth from this administration. The press is comparing its conferences with White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, to press conferences in North Korea. What Hegseth reveals is that this administration is peddling a tale that will only fit with the Trump talking points.
25.06.2025
Trump Will Be Left Cursing His ‘Mission Accomplished’ Moment
This president is like a spoiled teen that took a stick and whacked a hornet’s nest in the middle of a village, all while everyone else was telling him not to. He did not destroy that nest (though he says he did), and now the village must bring in responsible adults to fix the mess he caused. Of course, the administration is denying the leaked reports of Iran’s continued capability to create nuclear weapons. Of course, 47’s administration is going to swear at (and flip off) anyone who contradicts them. But despite their feverish denials, it appears Iran moved most of its nuclear bomb-making material to other locations prior to the strike last week. It also appears the facility was not “obliterated,” but instead, damaged and may face a three-month setback. What happens once that setback is overcome? Obama had a nuclear treaty with this country, and this same spoiled teen (President 45) broke that agreement because… well, because Obama created it. Is this president most upset because his mission largely failed or because it is a definite setback to his plans of getting a Nobel Peace Prize? He’s never been good at making things, excellent at breaking things; what next, Donnie?
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
President 47 needed to distract the American public from his policy failures and solidify support for his OBBB. He autonomously decided that initiating a war would be his best bet at doing that.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 20 (270 total reports)
18.06.2025-24.06.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
President 47 needed to distract the American public from his policy failures and solidify support for his OBBB. He autonomously decided that initiating a war would be his best bet at doing that.
Visual Stories!
When controlling men with adolescent maturity have access to the world’s most powerful weapons, you can bet the question most asked is, “Does This Make Me Look Strong?”
Top Links of the Week
24.06.2025
The True Impact of Trump’s Strike on Iran
As “Senator Hiram Johnson once stated, “The first casualty when war comes is truth.” Truth has never been a strong point for this Administration. In fact, you can just about guarantee that this President will lie daily. The Washington Post says that he lies, on average, fifty times per day. This is part of the reason it is so hard to ascertain exactly what the situation in the Middle East looks like. It certainly doesn’t help that the other major players—Netanyahu and Khomeini—also have propensities to seek out “alternative facts” (so named by Kellyanne Conway). All of these power players decide upon their own truth and then seek out information that will support their opinions. The relative “death of information” (as this article calls it) is directly related to the solo initiation of this action. President 47 wanted a “Black and White” war. Something that would tickle his fancy for power and distract people from his domestic failures (especially his breakup with Elon, his pitiful parade, his invasion of California, and his plummeting poll numbers). What 47 wanted was a distraction, not a war. At this point, we have no ability through the U.S. government to determine whether that is the case or not. If we seek truth, we will have to seek it elsewhere.
23.06.2025
Attacking Iran Without Congress’s Blessing Leaves Citizens With No Recourse
A radical religious fanatic has taken over this country, and no… I’m not talking about Speaker Mike Johnson, I’m speaking about Ali Khamenei, the religious leader trying to take Iran back to the 15th century (what he perceives as the time when Iran was great). Some say that Iran’s nuclear threat needed to be dismantled. Obama had a treaty to do just that, before President 45 broke it. The nuclear consequences we face anew with Iran in that region now, are directly attributable to largely solo actions he took then. This “The Atlantic” article points out that 47’s action is unconstitutional and unethical. No single person has the right to commit the U.S. to a potential long-term war without some involvement by its citizens. Yet, that is exactly what this President did; in his continuing attempts to undermine the U.S. Constitution and create a dictatorship. This article analyzes the trip that a former Republican president, George W. Bush, took us on when Iraq was accused of having nuclear warheads. The difference being, Bush sought congressional approval and the result was that many politicians paid a political price for the quagmire that resulted from the Middle Eastern war with Iraq and Iran. Now, with no input, this writer argues, citizens have no recourse. This is all Trump’s war, plain and simple. If it escalates, it’s all on him. If the global economy plummets because oil is prevented from flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, it is all on him. It is all on him, because… the decision was all by him.
20.06.2025
The story behind the arrest of 87-year-old veteran John Spitzberg at the Capitol
This is a true sign of how weak this administration is, arresting an 87-year-old veteran and throwing away his walker while zip-tying him in the process. Every US citizen should watch this incident and then try to justify the direction that Project 2025 is going. There is no excuse for this unconscionable behavior.
19.06.2025
June 18, 2025 (Wednesday)
This is another stellar commentary from Heather Cox Richardson, this time, a brief history of Juneteenth. Juneteenth has been an important holiday—and now all the more important as Project 2025 tries to wipe out the role of minorities in U.S. history. Minorities, and their vital role in the world (and in this case, particularly in the U.S.), frighten conservatives. Their existence and contributions threaten their goal of a substratum of labor in a mudsill economy. In particular, they feel White males have been undervalued and want a pity parade (much like President TACO’s catastrophe in front of the White House last week). Resist their efforts, have a fantastic Juneteenth, and… tell the story.
18.06.2025
June 17, 2025
Heather Cox Richardson, in her commentary yesterday, reviewed the events of the G7 and essentially wants us to know that organized crime has a new face in the U.S., and it is the current president. She examines both his language and his actions, preceding and during the event, and her takeaway is frighteningly valid. As with the first Trump administration, the Grifter-in-Charge has been released in this term. He has no guardrails, the Republican Congress is complicit in his behavior, and the White House simply ignores the Judicial—even the Supreme Court. This is mob boss behavior, pure and simple, just with all the tools of the United States Government to support it.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
After a humiliating birthday parade, President TACO flew to the G7 gathering in Canada, where he continued to embarrass the United States. Our best strategy for this administration continues to be to “Laugh at Them.” They hate that….
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 19 (269 total reports)
11.06.2025-17.06.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
After a humiliating birthday parade, President TACO flew to the G7 gathering in Canada, where he continued to embarrass the United States. Our best strategy for this administration continues to be to “Laugh at Them.” They hate that….
Visual Stories!
When is the best time to stand up to hatred and authoritarianism? Anytime is the right time. This Southern Gospel song is designed to inspire you to continue your efforts (or start them) to say, “Hands Off,” to this President and his puppet-masters.
Top Links of the Week
17.06.2025
‘You’re talking about a war criminal’: Trump slammed for calling Russian G7 expulsion a ‘mistake’
After his humiliating no-show of a birthday parade, President TACO flew to Canada to attend the G7, where he continued to embarrass the United States even more by begging for the reinstatement of Putin into the G7 (restoring it to the G8). Simultaneously, Putin was carrying out a heavy bombing campaign in Ukraine that included killing an American. Meanwhile, President TACO left the G7 early, to (supposedly) deal with the other authoritarian buddy he can’t control, Netanyahu, who is busy trying to start a world war with Iran. As The New Republic points out in a commentary this morning, let us hope that no “unexpected crisis” hits the US while Trump is president as he has so dismantled national and global assurances of safety.
16.06.2025
Military parade and No Kings protests: a split-screen of a divided America
Frank Langfitt of NPR covered two parades that were barely an eleven-minute drive apart. One was the military birthday parade the authoritarian president threw for himself at the cost of tens of millions of taxpayer dollars. The other was one of hundreds of “No Kings” parades that took place across the county this week, this one in Annapolis. Langfitt says the twin events captured the feelings of the US at this time. Trump, the despot, barely able to garner a crowd—even while paying for it—and millions of US citizens across the country tired of his authoritarian actions. In between nodding off and looking petulant, President TACO could not hide his frustration that his parade didn’t turn out to be the shiny new toy he desired. He wanted something that would put him in the top tier of world autocrats, like leaders from Russia, China, and North Korea. Instead, he got a fizzling, sputtering, circus cementing his position as global laughingstock. As he flies into Canada for the G7 meetings this week, he goes in as a joke. A sad, pathetic joke who will work the crowd for grifting opportunities to cement his personal fortune and power.
13.06.2025
Trump’s Un-American Parade
The writer of this article, T.H. Breen, is the author of several prize-winning books on the American Revolution. So it is no surprise that he compares President TACO’s demand for a military parade with Washington’s attempt to refuse one. None of us should be surprised—at this point—of President 47’s attempts to stroke his own pride, get others to bow down before him, or use the White House to grift his way to the billionaires’ club while bankrupting America (morally and financially), all while destroying the streets of Washington D.C. While dismantling support for veterans, this Chicken-in-Chief, who used all his connections to prevent serving the country, is spending tens of millions of dollars to honor… well, himself. It doesn’t get any more narcissistic than this… though I’m sure, as long as he’s around, we’ll see more idiocy.
12.06.2025
Stephen Miller Triggers Los Angeles
As Nick Miroff, a staff writer at The Atlantic who covers immigration, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S.-Mexico border, points out, Los Angeles, specifically the liberal, upper-middle-class enclave of Santa Monica, is Stephen Miller’s hometown. Miroff points out that Miller is “described as the ‘architect’ of Trump’s immigration policy.” There is little doubt that Miller is willing to sacrifice anyone (including pregnant women and children with cancer) and anything (including Habeas Corpus and the Constitution) to make America hate immigrants as much as he does. What Albert Speer was to Hitler (chief architect of Hitler’s policies against the Jewish people), Miller is to Trump’s policies against immigrants. Perhaps when all this lunacy is over (and it will end), he will be tried for war crimes and/or treason. Hopefully, President TACO won’t be around that long, but we will have the founders of Project 2025 and Stephen Miller to hold accountable at some point. In the meantime, don’t give into their monologue of hatred and violence. Continue to be creative and nonviolent. Above all, practice the habit of humor; laugh at these people. Laugh, laugh, laugh at them; they hate that the most.
11.06.2025
Stephen Miller can't make America white. LA is paying for his impotent rage
This Salon article by Amanda Marcotte reminds us of the vile work going on behind the scenes in the form of one, dark, unstable, deputy chief of staff, named Stephen Miller. It was Miller who set the unrealizable goal for ICE of 3,000 deportations a day. Miller is the racist behind many of the racist policies of this racist administration (did I say racist enough?) And yes, if you voted for 47 or stayed home and showed your support in that irresponsible manner, that makes you racist too. The authoritarian takeover we are seeing in LA is a precursor to the authoritarianism that Miller wants to see; that he is encouraging this administration to enact. If they get their OBBB, this takeover will be attempted in every major city with a Democratic mayor and every state with a Democratic Governor. What can we do? Resist peacefully, resist with creativity, resist with laughter. People like Miller and Trump do not get humor. Nothing drives a narcissist more crazy than being laughed at. So laugh, even when it hurts; especially when it hurts.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
In addition to Project 2025’s attempt to spawn violence throughout the US so they can initiate martial law, we examine the Bromance Breakup of President TACO and the man who bought his presidency. Enjoy our doo-wop version of Bromance Breakup
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 18 (268 total reports)
28.05.2025-09.06.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
In addition to Project 2025’s attempt to spawn violence throughout the US so they can initiate martial law, we examine the Bromance Breakup of President TACO and the man who bought his presidency. Enjoy our doo-wop version of Bromance Breakup.
Visual Stories!
When is the best time to stand up to hatred and authoritarianism? Anytime is the right time. This Southern Gospel song is designed to inspire you to continue your efforts (or start them) to say, “Hands Off,” to this President and his puppet-masters.
Top Links of the Week
10.06.2025
I Was Once Undocumented. Now I’m a Superintendent Speaking Out Against Trump’s Immigration Raids
Alberto M. Carvalho has an insider’s view of how damaging and evil the tactics that this administration is using are. He is a four-time national Superintendent of the Year award recipient and has served as the Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District since February 2022. He previously served as the Superintendent of Miami-Dade County Public Schools for nearly 14 years, where his transformational leadership was recognized at the state, national, and international levels. Carvalho sees the effects of this administration’s attacks on the fabric of our country, affecting our country’s most valuable resource, not our manufacturing, not our technology, not our military, but our children. He stands firmly in support of creating schools (and school zones) where children can live free, free of fear from their own government. This administration has intentionally pushed us into a time of national chaos and fear. They have done so purposely; this is a choice they are making. It is in the very blood of the GOP. When you’re unsure about the vote, use fear, and especially use immigrants. Demonize them, make them the enemy, attack them, attack their beliefs, attack their families, and… even, attack their children. Welcome to Trump’s USA.
09.06.2025
What Trump's national emergencies could mean for American democracy
This is what Project 2025 told us would happen—and yet, people voted for their President. President 47 has to force violence to erupt if he is going to reach his ultimate prize: Martial Law. As this article points out, this administration has declared emergencies on multiple fronts across the US and throughout the world. Most of the emergencies are of their making. The GOP always uses immigration as its “Boogey Man” to raise fear across the US and ramp up votes. They use it because it works. It has worked in a number of their election wins. It is their modus operandi. They can’t get votes by reasoning with people; cult followers don’t reason; they do what their cult leader tells them. In this case, the cult leader (President 47) follows another cult (Project 2025), that wrote out a Mein Kampf of directions long before they decided to use this Game Show Host/Carney to carry out their desires. They want the violence, they want to threaten, they want to do all of this so they can take ultimate control. Martial Law is their aim, nothing less. They will create violence to get it. Lives lost, people illegally deported, all of that is collateral, incidental, in their quest for absolute control.
07.06.2025
It Would Be So Funny If Trump Nationalized Elon Musk’s Companies
Kate Aranoff of The New Republic has an idea I think is marvelous in light of the Breaking Boy Band Bromance between President TACO and his purchaser, Elon Musk. What if instead of canceling Musk’s contracts, Trump nationalized them? In Aranoff’s own words, “As The Washington Post reported in February, Musk’s businesses have over the years received $38 billion in government contracts, loans, subsidies, and tax credits. In many ways, Musk owes his fortune to the U.S. government. A truce between Trump and Musk may be imminent, but if he wishes to use it, Trump has a powerful wild card for sticking it to Musk: nationalize his companies.” None other than Steve Bannon floated a variant of this idea on Thursday, suggesting the President TACO use the “Defense Production Act” to seize SpaceX. We reviewed yesterday the potential cost to this Administration’s OBBB if Musk made good on his threats to undermine Congress members who support the bill. What comes next for the dueling dinos in the White House?
06.06.2025
What Musk and Trump Risk Losing in Their High-Stakes Breakup
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/musk-trump-fallout-stakes-51bf1b5c?st=KMnqAV&mod=flipboard
We all knew that eventually, there would not be enough air in the universe for the two of them to share the oxygen. Inevitably, there would be a spat, but like two elephants fighting in your living room, there’s going to be collateral damage—and the citizens of the world stand to be the victims. Brian Schwartz and Micah Maidenber, at the Wall Street Journal, diagnose this “Bromance Breakup.” The damage won’t all be on the US Economy to bear; Musk stands to lose significant business advantages if he doesn’t have President TACO grifting for him in the Republican corner. SpaceX, Tesla, all of these enterprises have come to rely on government subsidies to keep their snorkel above the water line. 47 also stands to lose. His budget made it through the House 215-214. It returns to the House for an additional vote following the Senate vote. As the authors point out, “Musk said the bill would add $2.5 trillion to the federal deficit, calling it a ‘disgusting abomination’ and threatening to fire politicians ‘who betrayed the American people.’” Musk only needs to pull away a handful of Representatives for the bill to fail, and he has threatened to use his personal war chest to attack those members supporting it. The mid-term is fast approaching, and Republicans need lots and lots of money; Musk has it. On his own platform, X, Musk played with the idea of starting his own political party, and 81% of respondents supported the idea. He can’t be President, but owning one was the closest thing; who will he seek to own next?
05.06.2025
PRRI's Robert P. Jones: "Donald Trump sees himself as the king of kings"
Chauncey DeVega is a senior politics writer for Salon. In this article, he warns us that President 47 can do no wrong in the eyes of his followers. In other words, it doesn’t matter what laws he breaks or who he locks up, his cult followers are going to support him. I hope that you are finding alternative strategies to trying to change the opinions of those who have given their souls (and brains) to this lunatic. They are in so deep, they won’t be able to pull themselves out. Our strategy must be to support the resistance, be present to those who stand against this insanity, and, while making your voice heard now, keep an eye on the long run. The midterms are coming, and the economy under this administration is floundering. Don’t look for more Republicans to change sides. Instead, support people to turn out and vote this time—if they want to stop the chaos.
04.06.2025
6 Nobel prize-winning economists wrote a letter opposing Trump's budget bill: 'We have grave concerns'
This letter by six Nobel Prize-Winning economists warns the US of the crippling long-term debt and poverty the OBBB is adding to the US economy. In short, it will cripple the economy for generations to come. It is not that unusual for Republicans to spend the US into massive debt (in fact, that is their modus operandi), what is unusual is the blatant greed, spending, and cuts to middle income and the poor to which this bill has condemned the US. It is obvious that Republicans have no shame, no conscience, and will do whatever President TACO requests of them. This bill is destined to hurt the MAGA followers most of all. Another sign of their blind stupidity to a grifting con artist.
03.06.2025
The No. 1 Rule for Understanding Trump
In this “The Atlantic” article, Derek Thompson reminds us that almost as much is “undone” in this Administration as “is done.” In other words, Thompson deepens our understanding of the current term for President 47 as, “President TACO,” (Trump Always Chickens Out). It’s not just that this President chickens out on his tariff threats; it is also the courts turning back his illegal actions. Deportations, lawsuits, actions against Universities, DOGE cuts; this President has always acted helter-skelter, setting as many brush fires as possible before the courts and common sense catch up with him. This is not new behavior by this disordered man; it’s how he ran his real estate business and his personal life has always been: a craven rush to gain attention and satisfy his immediate urges. However, this time, the chaos was predetermined and directed by both Putin and Project 2025 (is there really any difference in their end game)? Global Dominance… add to that the drug-induced behavior of the megalomaniac, Elon Musk, and you have the recipe for disaster we now call the TACO Administration.
02.06.2025
June 1, 2025
This morning’s Substack commentary by Heather Cox Richardson chronicles the attack on the US population by this administration. It takes a quantifiable look into the Federal Protective Service, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Elon Musk, and Health and Human Services. After invading a leading US Senator’s home office in New York and handcuffing a top aide, it is hard to imagine the extent to which this government is running amok—and how far it will go to fill its arrest quotas. Who’s next to be arrested? That’s hard to say, but it could be anyone of us.
01.06.2025
Elon Musk’s Reign of Terror Is Only Just Beginning
This is a very important message for those duped into believing the smokescreen put out by this Administration, that the Joseph Mengele of President 47 (Elon Musk), is done destroying lives. He’s not, as this article points out, he just has to leave before he has to actually apply for his position (which requires the same discloser that any Federal Employee—except Trump—must submit to). If you wonder why I am referring to him as the Joseph Mengele of this administration, consider these numbers revealed in this article: “Brown University professor Brooke Nichols has estimated that Musk’s destruction of USAID has already led to 300,000 deaths, the majority of which are children. As The American Prospect’s Ryan Cooper noted in his excellent piece on Musk’s legacy, ‘Roughly 1,500 babies have been born HIV-positive every day since January 21, because Musk cut off their mothers’ medication.’” This is why Elon Musk will forever be remembered throughout the world as the contemporary, “Dr. Death.” Dr. Death and President TACO, what a pair of lunatics we have in the loony stew that has become this administration.
31.05.2025
May 30, 2025
Heather Cox Richardson’s sub-stacks are always worth the read, and in this one, she examines the damaging (and potentially illegal) foray of Elon Musk into the US Government’s innermost workings. No one elected Musk; he bought President 47 and made him his puppet. Now, we learn, between drug-laced tirades and ego-based decision-making, the claims of Musk and DOGE leave no paper trail as to what he actually did (or undid) while 47 gave him access to our most private information. It is apparent that Musk used government contracts to make himself significantly more wealthy, while undermining the poorest in the world—especially through his dismantling of USAID. How much damage he has done, we might not know for years. How much access to information and power he has, we might also not know that for years. If we were to quote Yoda, we might say, “The graft is strong with this one.”
30.05.2025
Karl Rove Says This ‘Muddled Mess’ Trump Policy Will Cost The GOP Next Year’s Midterms
When Rove speaks, even Republicans should listen. Perhaps no one is more responsible for the eventual success of the Republican party, the GOP, and MAGA, than Karl Rove. He was the brains behind Reagan’s election. His marketing techniques have been the lusted-after standard of authoritarians wherever they sought to undermine democracy. So when Rove says that the mid-terms will flounder because of the “muddled mess” of this administration’s economic policy, it is time for even this cultic group of President TACO’s (Trump Always Chickens Out) peeps to take an ear. This is great news for those of us who believe in democracy, but it reminds us how important it will be actually to SHOW UP at the polls in 2026. In both of this President’s terms, he has been elected by those who stayed home even more than by those who voted. It’s not too early to make a plan and make sure your vote will actually count.
29.05.2025
Where is Trump Taking America?
This article by Thomas Carothers, the director of the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, takes an in-depth look into the deceptive chaos of the Project 2025/President 47 regime. We must always remember that the President is merely the front man, the carney, the reality show circus barker that represents the ghoulish face of this organization that would like to remain camouflaged to the public. Carothers points out the four pillars of this organization’s clandestine efforts: there are “four major interrelated endeavors: a sociocultural project, an economic project, a political project, and a foreign-policy project.” Each one overlaps and each one is nefarious, seeking to undermine the so-called “liberal gains” in the government during the last half-century. This is nothing new for conservatives; they keep trying to “Make America Great Again,” by making white people feel less vulnerable, evangelical Christians feel more powerful, and rich people richer. They keep trying to create a “Mudsill economy” with a permanent underclass of released prisoners, uneducated and impoverished employees that will serve as the underpaid servants of these predominantly white, Christian, overlords. The OBBB is the economic framework for their handiwork, featuring not only ways to undermine the lower and middle class, but also to prevent future GOP presidents from checks and balances. This is not the brainchild of President Taco (as he is now often referred to); he doesn’t have the capacity. Donny needs his grifters, and he has a full cabinet behind him.
28.05.2025
American soft power is evaporating in the Age of Trump
Alfred W. McCoy is the Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this article, he points to the importance of “Soft Power” in world politics, but lacking in this Administration’s wheelhouse, saying, “In President Donald Trump’s transactional diplomacy, only the hard power of mineral deals, gifted airplanes, or military might matters. And yet, as we learned in the Cold War years, it’s much easier to exercise world leadership with willing followers won over by the form of diplomacy scholars have dubbed ‘soft power.’ As the progenitor of the concept, Harvard Professor Joseph Nye put it: ‘Seduction is always more effective than coercion. And many of our values, such as democracy, human rights, and individual opportunity, are deeply seductive.’ He first coined the term in 1990, just as the Cold War was ending, writing that ‘when one country gets other countries to want what it wants.’” Of course, all of this requires two things which this President deeply lacks: intelligence and the will/ability to negotiate. The symbols that would best exemplify this administration’s negotiating abilities would (oddly enough) be a hammer and a sickle. He is trying to beat his way to the world that he sees, but is willing to change that version of reality for the highest bidder. We can and must resist. When? Anytime is the right time.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Let’s spend time this week examining President 47’s new nickname, President TACO, and the permanent global damage done by his drug-infused master, Elon Musk.RESI
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 17 (267 total reports)
28.05.20245-03.06.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Let’s spend time this week examining President 47’s new nickname, President TACO, and the permanent global damage done by his drug-infused master, Elon Musk.
Visual Stories!
When is the best time to stand up to hatred and authoritarianism? Anytime is the right time. This Southern Gospel song is designed to inspire you to continue your efforts (or start them) to say, “Hands Off,” to this President and his puppet-masters.
Top Links of the Week
03.06.2025
The No. 1 Rule for Understanding Trump
In this “The Atlantic” article, Derek Thompson reminds us that almost as much is “undone” in this Administration as “is done.” In other words, Thompson deepens our understanding of the current term for President 47 as, “President TACO,” (Trump Always Chickens Out). It’s not just that this President chickens out on his tariff threats; it is also the courts turning back his illegal actions. Deportations, lawsuits, actions against Universities, DOGE cuts; this President has always acted helter-skelter, setting as many brush fires as possible before the courts and common sense catch up with him. This is not new behavior by this disordered man; it’s how he ran his real estate business and his personal life has always been: a craven rush to gain attention and satisfy his immediate urges. However, this time, the chaos was predetermined and directed by both Putin and Project 2025 (is there really any difference in their end game)? Global Dominance… add to that the drug-induced behavior of the megalomaniac, Elon Musk, and you have the recipe for disaster we now call the TACO Administration.
02.06.2025
June 1, 2025
This morning’s Substack commentary by Heather Cox Richardson chronicles the attack on the US population by this administration. It takes a quantifiable look into the Federal Protective Service, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Elon Musk, and Health and Human Services. After invading a leading US Senator’s home office in New York and handcuffing a top aide, it is hard to imagine the extent to which this government is running amok—and how far it will go to fill its arrest quotas. Who’s next to be arrested? That’s hard to say, but it could be anyone of us.
01.06.2025
Elon Musk’s Reign of Terror Is Only Just Beginning
This is a very important message for those duped into believing the smokescreen put out by this Administration, that the Joseph Mengele of President 47 (Elon Musk), is done destroying lives. He’s not, as this article points out, he just has to leave before he has to actually apply for his position (which requires the same discloser that any Federal Employee—except Trump—must submit to). If you wonder why I am referring to him as the Joseph Mengele of this administration, consider these numbers revealed in this article: “Brown University professor Brooke Nichols has estimated that Musk’s destruction of USAID has already led to 300,000 deaths, the majority of which are children. As The American Prospect’s Ryan Cooper noted in his excellent piece on Musk’s legacy, ‘Roughly 1,500 babies have been born HIV-positive every day since January 21, because Musk cut off their mothers’ medication.’” This is why Elon Musk will forever be remembered throughout the world as the contemporary, “Dr. Death.” Dr. Death and President TACO, what a pair of lunatics we have in the loony stew that has become this administration.
31.05.2025
May 30, 2025
Heather Cox Richardson’s sub-stacks are always worth the read, and in this one, she examines the damaging (and potentially illegal) foray of Elon Musk into the US Government’s innermost workings. No one elected Musk; he bought President 47 and made him his puppet. Now, we learn, between drug-laced tirades and ego-based decision-making, the claims of Musk and DOGE leave no paper trail as to what he actually did (or undid) while 47 gave him access to our most private information. It is apparent that Musk used government contracts to make himself significantly more wealthy, while undermining the poorest in the world—especially through his dismantling of USAID. How much damage he has done, we might not know for years. How much access to information and power he has, we might also not know that for years. If we were to quote Yoda, we might say, “The graft is strong with this one.”
30.05.2025
Karl Rove Says This ‘Muddled Mess’ Trump Policy Will Cost The GOP Next Year’s Midterms
When Rove speaks, even Republicans should listen. Perhaps no one is more responsible for the eventual success of the Republican party, the GOP, and MAGA, than Karl Rove. He was the brains behind Reagan’s election. His marketing techniques have been the lusted-after standard of authoritarians wherever they sought to undermine democracy. So when Rove says that the mid-terms will flounder because of the “muddled mess” of this administration’s economic policy, it is time for even this cultic group of President TACO’s (Trump Always Chickens Out) peeps to take an ear. This is great news for those of us who believe in democracy, but it reminds us how important it will be actually to SHOW UP at the polls in 2026. In both of this President’s terms, he has been elected by those who stayed home even more than by those who voted. It’s not too early to make a plan and make sure your vote will actually count.
29.05.2025
Where is Trump Taking America?
This article by Thomas Carothers, the director of the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, takes an in-depth look into the deceptive chaos of the Project 2025/President 47 regime. We must always remember that the President is merely the front man, the carney, the reality show circus barker that represents the ghoulish face of this organization that would like to remain camouflaged to the public. Carothers points out the four pillars of this organization’s clandestine efforts: there are “four major interrelated endeavors: a sociocultural project, an economic project, a political project, and a foreign-policy project.” Each one overlaps and each one is nefarious, seeking to undermine the so-called “liberal gains” in the government during the last half-century. This is nothing new for conservatives; they keep trying to “Make America Great Again,” by making white people feel less vulnerable, evangelical Christians feel more powerful, and rich people richer. They keep trying to create a “Mudsill economy” with a permanent underclass of released prisoners, uneducated and impoverished employees that will serve as the underpaid servants of these predominantly white, Christian, overlords. The OBBB is the economic framework for their handiwork, featuring not only ways to undermine the lower and middle class, but also to prevent future GOP presidents from checks and balances. This is not the brainchild of President Taco (as he is now often referred to); he doesn’t have the capacity. Donny needs his grifters, and he has a full cabinet behind him.
28.05.2025
American soft power is evaporating in the Age of Trump
Alfred W. McCoy is the Harrington Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In this article, he points to the importance of “Soft Power” in world politics, but lacking in this Administration’s wheelhouse, saying, “In President Donald Trump’s transactional diplomacy, only the hard power of mineral deals, gifted airplanes, or military might matters. And yet, as we learned in the Cold War years, it’s much easier to exercise world leadership with willing followers won over by the form of diplomacy scholars have dubbed ‘soft power.’ As the progenitor of the concept, Harvard Professor Joseph Nye put it: ‘Seduction is always more effective than coercion. And many of our values, such as democracy, human rights, and individual opportunity, are deeply seductive.’ He first coined the term in 1990, just as the Cold War was ending, writing that ‘when one country gets other countries to want what it wants.’” Of course, all of this requires two things which this President deeply lacks: intelligence and the will/ability to negotiate. The symbols that would best exemplify this administration’s negotiating abilities would (oddly enough) be a hammer and a sickle. He is trying to beat his way to the world that he sees, but is willing to change that version of reality for the highest bidder. We can and must resist. When? Anytime is the right time.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
We look this week at how the President’s words have become increasingly unattached to reality and embedded in conspiracy theories.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 16 (266 total reports)
21.05.20245-27.05.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
We look this week at how the President’s words have become increasingly unattached to reality and embedded in conspiracy theories.
Visual Stories!
When is the best time to stand up to hatred and authoritarianism? Anytime is the right time. This Southern Gospel song is designed to inspire you to continue your efforts (or start them) to say, “Hands Off,” to this President and his puppet-masters.
Top Links of the Week
27.05.2025
May 26, 2025
This sub-stack by Heather Cox Richardson is well worth the read, in fact, I try to read all of her columns when they are released. Clicking on the article, you can find a place to subscribe, or just do an Internet search for her name. I forced myself to read the texts of speeches he gave over the weekend, simply because I think it’s important to know how unbalanced and incompetent President 47 really is. I knew this before, of course, but every time he opens his mouth is a new, revelatory moment into how far the GOP has gone to reduce themselves to become his henchmen and women. This President is a shame to the US, he would be a laughingstock—if he wasn’t so dangerous. And, we must remember, it isn’t just 47, but the sycophants that surround him. We need to rid the US, not just of this President, but all those lackeys that support him, excuse him, and assist in his predefined actions.
26.05.2025
Is Trump the America We Want Young People Across the World to See?
This sub-stack by Jim Acosta takes us inside the fiasco that was supposed to be a congratulation speech to West Point graduates. Instead, the demented one (as Acosta reviews) “paid homage, as only Trump can, to a late real estate developer friend, William Levitt whose personal life apparently included a yacht and “trophy wife.” How might this inspire this nation’s next generation of military leaders? You be the judge.” Indeed, let’s be the judge. A whole generation that is the age of this graduate has no personal experience of life before the Trump Era. What a sad commentary on history!
24.05.2025
Can Trump suspend habeas corpus?
This review, posted on NPR by Conner Donevan, Courtney Dorning, and Alisa Chang, begins with a sound bite from Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, when she was “schooled” at a Senate hearing this week. The question came from Democratic Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, that query (which should be simple for anyone having passed an elementary school civics class to answer), was, “What is habeas corpus?” Noem declared it was the “constitutional right that the president has to be able to remove people from this country.” UC Berkeley law professor Amanda Tyler explains the true definition, “Well, literally, habeas corpus is to undergo and receive the body. And what does that mean? It means that in Anglo-American legal tradition, courts have the right and, indeed, the obligation when asked to look into the legal justification for someone being arrested and detained by the government. And so for centuries, that is the role that courts have played. They have worked to ensure that the executive, whether it's the King of England or the president of the United States, is not detaining somebody illegally.” Chang asks, “whether the president of the United States can unilaterally suspend habeas corpus?” To which Tyler responds, “The president does not have the power to suspend habeas ahead of Congress.” Like so many of President 47’s actions, they are blatantly illegal, but it is his M.O. is to break the law—because there’s been no consequence for doing so—then wait for the courts (and Congress) to remain inactive by not repealing or punishing his behavior. Will this be just another example of the American people rolling over and forgetting the illegalities (and immorality) of this President—who already faces a host of inconsequential legal actions? Only by taking to the streets, demanding a response from your Congress people and voting the GOP out in 2026, can this madman be stopped. What will you do this week, month, or year, to prevent the US from becoming even more of an autocracy beholden to Vladimir Putin and Elon Musk?
23.05.2025
Department Of Government Chaos, Revenge, And Patronage – OpEd
John Feffer is an author and columnist and the director of Foreign Policy In Focus. In this article, he points out how painful it is returning to the United States after trips to Europe and Asia. “The United States ranks pretty low in quality of life compared to its European and Asian competitors. In the U.S. News and World Report’s Quality of Life index, the United States is a middling 22 out of 89 countries, below Belgium, Japan, and Ireland. It’s tied for seventeenth place in the latest UN Human Development Report, below Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada. That’s pretty lousy marks for the largest economy in the world.” Feffer goes on to say, “The recently rechristened (by me) Department of Government Chaos, Revenge, and Patronage (DOGCRAP) is making sure that the United States falls even further in the global rankings of quality of life.” It is important to read and understand Feffer’s “The Four Rs of National Self-Destruction,” if we are going to understand the pending damage of this Administration and the “think-tank” (wow, that’s an oxymoron), that backs it (Project 2025). This author’s insights are well worth the read, and I can’t sum them up well enough in a short column. Do yourself a favor and dig into this article. Definitely worth your time.
22.05.2025
Yes, Trump’s Budget Bill Is Really That Bad, That Cruel, and That Billionaire Friendly
It doesn’t take a deep dive into the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) to understand why these Republican hooligans wanted to pass the bill and save the arguments for the middle of the night. Cuts to Medicare, sales of public lands, and yes… the Big, Stupid Wall. Perhaps you’ve seen some of the arguments in Congress about tax breaks for tanning beds, while cutting the funds for hospital beds (who do we know that needs a little midnight tanning)? Charles P. Pierce of Esquire does a great job with this summary, revealing just how irresponsible and greedy this bill is.
21.05.2025
The Unlearning of America
https://www.theindex.media/the-unlearning-of-america/?utm_source=flipboard&utm_content=other
Nothing says “Brainwashed Barbie,” like a panel hearing with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. As the writer, Joan Westenberg, points out, Noem was asked by Senator Maggie Hassan, Democrat of New Hampshire, to define habeas corpus. Her answer: “It is a constitutional power the president has to deport people.” In short, the Secretary of Homeland Security for the United States of America has no concept of what habeas corpus means and is either reciting her own made-up answer or one given to her by the current administration. One doesn’t need more than a plastic spork to dig down and find that this cabinet is nothing but a hand-picked crop of fraudulent sycophants. This is the result of electing 47 to the White House. They are as morally bankrupt and intellectually hollow as their cultic leader. His cabinet was picked, not for their knowledge or capability, but for their propensity for revenge-politics. If we want that to change, we need to show up in every city possible to join with Hands Off Rallies and make our voices heard in any manner you are able. Question those who supported this abomination and let them work their way into a corner of their own making.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Our lead stories this week are about President 47’s grifting and the Republican Congress’ malfeasance.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 15 (265 total reports)
14.05.20245-20.05.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Our lead stories this week are about President 47’s grifting and the Republican Congress’ malfeasance.
Visual Stories!
Who profits from poverty? From scarcity? From guns and wars? From chaos? If we “Follow the Money,” it will lead us to who is pulling this President’s strings.
Top Links of the Week
20.05.2025
Credit rating downgrade triggers warning signs for U.S. economy
This President and the Republican Congress have done what Republican Administrations typically do: create a budget that gives tax breaks to big companies and billionaires, while stripping people of Medicaid, Medicare, and attacking Social Security. In short, robbing the poor and middle income to feed the greedy. The Income Divide avalanche that Reaganomics started is but an inkling of what this administration and this irresponsible Republican Congress call, One Big, Beautiful Bill. Why? Because those are the simple words this President can grasp. And, of course, it is One Big Beautiful Bill if you are among the Nation’s 0.001% or higher. This would be an incredible coup for the President. The people who purchased this presidency will benefit “Biggly.”
19.05.2025
Trump, lawmakers wish Biden well after cancer diagnoses
Joe Biden has lived a life of public service, culminating in the presidency. Along the way, he has known deep sorrow and multiple personal setbacks. Those setbacks and that grief had a lot to do with molding him into the man of service he became. On Friday, his representatives announced he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. People around the world are wishing him well. This morning, that is all I want to do in this column. To the president and his family, we send our best wishes. You will be remembered forever for your service.
18.05.2025
Trump the Grifter
This article looks at the history of the Constitutional Provisions limiting corruption and how important those limits were to the founders of this fundamental US document. The author states, “The drafters made anti-corruption provisions a cornerstone of the new Constitution. Indeed, if the frequency of their attention to a particular issue is a measure of how significant their concern was, then few issues were as alarming to them as corruption, which the original Constitution explicitly addresses in four separate instances—plus a fifth that was later added.” The author, Paul Rosenzweig, is not new to government investigations. He is a principal at Red Branch Consulting. From 2005 to 2009, he was the deputy assistant secretary for policy of the Department of Homeland Security. He teaches cybersecurity at the George Washington University Law School. He previously served as a senior counsel in the investigation of President Bill Clinton. While the US Economy is floundering (see the Moody article from 15.05), this President is accepting gifts from foreign governments and granting favors in return that Congress has both turned a blind eye to or affirmed in the most outlandish of excuses (the $400 million dollar plane from Qatar is no different than Grover Cleveland accepting the Statue of Liberty from France—see the article from 16.05).
17.05.2025
Moody's cuts U.S. credit rating on growing debt burden
If you want to know exactly how negligent this administration and Congress have been in representing the United States, look at this rating from Moody. Between President 47, the Senate, and the House, this administration has acted like a parent refusing to pay court-ordered child support. The primary purpose of the House is to craft a budget that will assure the growth and security of the United States; rather than do this, they have chosen to continue their role as minions of this President and the various interests that own him. The budget they put forward, according to Moody, lowers the creditworthiness of the United States and makes it a greater risk for financial insolvency. When you think of all the businesses this President has bankrupted, why wouldn’t this country be next? We need to get rid of this Congress in November 2026 and this President—whenever they allow us to vote again.
16.05.2025
The Darker Design Behind Trump’s $400 Million Plane
$400 million, $400,000,000, that’s the cost of President 47’s new toy and “gift” from Qatar. Anne Coulter (on X) compared it to Grover Cleveland receiving the gift of “The Statue of Liberty” from France, and 47 reposted that comparison on his own social media network, Truth Social. What they both fail to mention (as this article’s author, Yair Rosenberg), points out: “The receipt of the Statue of Liberty was approved by Congress, and Cleveland did not subsequently ride around the world in it along with the country’s leadership.” Qatar has made huge financial investments in this administration, giving millions to members of the President’s cabinet like Pam Bondi and Kash Patel (Bondi approved the gift from Qatar to 47—how convenient…). What is most apparent is that this Administration under this president has taken graft and greed to a whole new echelon. We can stop this… first we must identify and confront it. Thankfully, there are articles like this one today that look at the history of Qatar’s presence in global affairs (such as buying the FIFA World Soccer championships) and US politics (both Democrats and Republicans). Qatar is flush with money and using it as a weapon in its war against democracy. But this President is one of their paramount players; bought and sold. The list of those who own this president is revealed in more depth daily.
15.05.2025
Produce the Body: Why Habeas Corpus Is the Mother of All Our Rights
Claire Belinski, of Who, What, Why—a non-profit, reader-supported news organization—does an outstanding job in this article of reminding us why Habeas Corpus came into being in 1626 against King Charles I, and why the intentionally offensive little minion, Stephen Miller, is so disgusting in even hinting that it is a “privilege” which President 47 and this administration may decide to discontinue. Belinski goes on to say, “I doubt they’ll really try to suspend habeas corpus — formally, anyway. They’ll just keep ignoring the Constitution and the courts while insisting they’re obeying both.” If you’re tired of the constant attempt to shock us, find a way to resist. Make your voice heard. Democracy is under global threat from this administration, and we must not diminish the threat it is facing.
14.05.2025
The End of Rule of Law in America
This in-depth article by J. Michael Luttig, a former federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, is a primer on the laws broken by this President. It is important to remember that Luttig, a conservative judge, was appointed by President George H.W. Bush. The modus operandi of this President is obvious: break the law and wait for the courts to catch up. He deviously knows this will take years and that—with the support of a spineless GOP Congress—he can get away with a number of indecencies during that period of time. Luttig reminds us of how “contra-constitutional” this President is by pointing to a recent interview where a television journalist asked Trump the simple question, “Don’t you need to uphold the Constitution of the United States as President?” Astonishingly, the President answered, “I don’t know.” The interviewer then asked, “Don’t you agree that every person in the United States is entitled to due process?” The President again replied, “I don’t know.” This is the President who said, within his first 100 days, that, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” Luttig’s point is that the US Democracy cannot be restored until President 47 is no longer on the political scene. Only you and I can make that happen by resisting at every bend and using all of our talents to defend the Constitution of the United States of America against this President and the GOP Congress that supports him.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
If you’re not yet convinced that this president wants to be King of the United States, then you haven’t been reading the news. This week, his aide, Stephen Miller, suggested repealing the “privilege” of Habeas Corpus. 47 tells Americans to expect less for Christmas while he prepares to accept a new luxury jet from the UAE. Can it be more evident? This man is a tyrant.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 14 (264 total reports)
07.05.20245-13.05.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
If you’re not yet convinced that this president wants to be King of the United States, then you haven’t been reading the news. This week, his aide, Stephen Miller, suggested repealing the “privilege” of Habeas Corpus. 47 tells Americans to expect less for Christmas while he prepares to accept a new luxury jet from the UAE. Can it be more evident? This man is a tyrant.
Visual Stories!
In order for authoritarians to rule, they first need to cause panic and fear among voters. This song, Rule Them, Scare Them, focuses on how this administration is using fear to force martial law and take powers that do not belong to them.
Top Links of the Week
13.05.2025
The White House Just Casually Floated a Move That Would Be Traitorous to the Very Idea of America
Stephen Miller, White House aide and harbinger of all these unconstitutional acts in the President 45 and 47 Administrations, has declared that “Habeas Corpus”—a right granted to every human being as far back as the Magna Carta, in 1215—is now a privilege instead of a right. A privilege, according to Wright, that this administration has the right to ignore based on their own whims. What he is proposing will make the US a prison state where officials have the right to jail anyone they deem against them. This, folks, is what Project 2025 wants and what this administration longs for. Miller simply is the lightning rod to distract any flak before President 47 criminally acts upon this illegal, immoral, and unethical action. As Charles P. Pierce (author of this Esquire article) puts it: “In 1789, speaking in Congress as part of his Great Flip-flop on the Bill of Rights, James Madison said, ‘In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, to be informed of the cause and nature of the accusation, to be confronted with his accusers and the witnesses against him; to have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.’” This is the country that many US citizens voted for, but it is also the country we can take to the streets and defend. Find your nearest protest today and join in. What can you do to make sure your children and grandchildren don’t grow up in a kingdom without rights?
12.05.2025
US popularity collapses worldwide in wake of Trump’s return
This president has done many things during his short, but damaging stint. He has added the US to an international watch list for human rights abuses, he has increased the popularity of China, and he is destroying the US economy. While he is telling Americans to expect less for Christmas, he is receiving a gift luxury jet from the United Arab Emirates. If you voted for this fraudster (or stayed home while others kept their responsibilities), this is what you wanted. For the rest of us, resistance must become a deeply embedded value. As Senator John Lewis would tell us, it’s time to “Get in Good Trouble.”
11.05.2025
Inside MAGA's fight for "Western civilization"
The MAGA fight symbolized in the current presidency can only be truly understood in light of Project 2025 and Conservative Christians’ larger struggle to “save Western Civilization.” This article does an excellent job of examining this larger conspiracy and how it is determining their right-wing policies attacking other cultures, DEI, and women. Alarm bells should go off when you read this article, but it should give you deeper insights into the insidious forces that created this administration and do NOT want to let go of power—ever!
10.05.2025
Trump’s Orwellian Erasure of Women
Sunday, the 11th of May, is Mother’s Day, that is unless you’re living in Donald Trump’s US, then it’s Happy Domesticated Woman’s Day. This article makes it evident that this administration is doing all it can to erase the historic contributions of women. It only wants to feature women in their role as domesticated wives and mothers. This is part of the Orwellian plot to pressure women back to the original roles in the 50s. Happy Mother’s Day, but only if you’re barefoot and pregnant…
09.05.2025
The Republicans’ Budget Makes No Sense
Could anything be more traditional for the GOP than tax cuts for the rich, cutting programs for the poor and middle class, while increasing spending for the military? Once again, the Republican mantra is near-deafening: Medicare and Social Security are “entitlements,” while wealthy tax cuts will “trickle down.” Has this worked before? Never… This is why Democratic administrations continually have to bail out the economy after Republicans have done their economic damage. Post-Reagan, Post-Both Bushes, Post-Trump 45, and it will evidently be the same if there is a Post-Trump 47 (there will not be, according to him and Project 2025). The cronyism and self-enrichment of this administration is unsurpassed in its blatant greed. This budget is the embodiment of that avarice (as are all budgets). If you want to see what the Republicans value, look at their budgets.
08.05.2025
No One Has Ever Defeated Autocracy From the Sidelines
The time for being an observer has passed. This warning from authors, political scientists, and professors— Steven Levitsky, Lucan Way, and Daniel Ziblatt— should alarm all of us—it is a call to immediate action. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt are professors of government at Harvard and the authors of “Tyranny of the Minority” and “How Democracies Die.” Lucan Way is a professor of political science at the University of Toronto and an author, with Mr. Levitsky, of “Revolution and Dictatorship: The Violent Origins of Durable Authoritarianism” and “Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes After the Cold War.” The authors expound on the concept of “Competitive Authoritarianism” and the measurements they would use to evaluate whether or not we live in one. By their metrics, we certainly are. They point out, “The Trump administration’s weaponization of government agencies and flurry of punitive actions against critics has raised the cost of opposition for a wide range of Americans.” Like other autocratic regimes, this administration has attacked the media, universities, private citizens, law firms, and a plethora of entities that it perceives as threats. It has shown disdain for judges that it disagrees with, even trampling on the rights of due process. All of these point to the extent this administration is willing to go to take control and spread fear. In a bold paragraph, these authors call out for civil leaders not to back down and acquiesce as many have been doing… they state; “acts of individual self-preservation have serious collective costs. For one, acquiescence will probably embolden the administration, encouraging it to intensify and broaden its attacks. Autocrats rarely entrench themselves in power through force alone; they are enabled by the accommodation and inaction of those who might have resisted. Appeasement, as Churchill warned, is like feeding a crocodile and hoping to be the last one eaten.” There is much we can still do, but our time is running out. Project 2025 and its mouthpieces (like Stephen Banning) have made great strides to undermine democracy. We can still speak up, speak out, and—as John Lewis would say—“Get in good trouble.” Show up at demonstrations. Don’t be afraid to dig deeper into the opinions of others who have supported or still support this regime. Learn as much as you can and share it wherever you can. This is the beginning of the end for the US Democracy and a continuation of the attack on Global Democracy that has been led by Vladimir Putin.
07.05.2025
‘It’s All Cronyism Going Forward’
Katherine J. Wu does an excellent job of laying bare the amount of cronyism (the appointment of friends and associates to positions of authority, without proper regard to their qualifications) occurring in this administration. The account in question involves Matthew J. Memoli, who before his recent appointment as the acting director of the $48 billion federal agency, was a relatively little-known flu researcher running a small lab at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). What are his qualifications? He hates DEI and idolizes RFK, Jr. In essence, he’s a boot-licker of this administration. Now, as the NIH’s principal deputy director, Memoli will soon see his own research thrive as it never has before. As with Defense, Education, and Homeland Security, your background and experience are meaningless—perhaps even detrimental. All that matters is that you honor the Orange God in Mar-a-Lago. As Signalgate and the closing of the Department of Education (DOE) indicate, all that matters is that you blindly do whatever Project 2025 and their President tell you to do.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
When a president says he doesn’t have to follow the law and is too busy to offer due process to Americans, that’s called authoritarianism. This week, we examine the steps this administration (aided by a defunct Congress and Project 2025) has taken to undermine the US Constitution
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 13 (263 total reports)
03.05.20245-06.05.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
When a president says he doesn’t have to follow the law and is too busy to offer due process to Americans, that’s called authoritarianism. This week, we examine the steps this administration (aided by a defunct Congress and Project 2025) has taken to undermine the US Constitution.
Visual Stories!
In order for authoritarians to rule, they first need to cause panic and fear among voters. This song, Rule Them, Scare Them, focuses on how this administration is using fear to force martial law and take powers that do not belong to them.
Top Links of the Week
05.05.2025
The Missing Branch
Is this a lazy Congress or a jellyfish Congress? Is it some semblance of both? As this article points out, the workings of Congress for decades now have largely been shaped by the ultra-conservative, Newt Gingrich. As this article points out, since Gingrich, this body of legislators has become compulsively focused on performative partisanship and party loyalty. It has brought us such classless abominations as Marjorie Taylor Greene and the finally disgraced and resigned, Matt Gaetz, accused of regularly paying for sex and using illegal drugs. Perhaps no contemporary conformist has done more to create the inept body that we now call “Congress” than the spineless, MAGA-sotted, leadership of House Speaker, Mike Johnson. Johnson sees himself in biblical proportions, calling himself a modern-day Moses. The truth is he is a non-entity, political hack, from the backwater constituency of Shreveport, Louisiana. Johnson is inebriated with President 47—who is closer to Johnson’s true god than the YHWH of the Old Testament that led Moses.
04.05.2025
Trump is acting like it’s his choice whether he obeys the Constitution
When hasn’t this president been above the law? Surrounded by sycophants who defend all of his most base ideas (like becoming pope), 47 is now saying that a president has the “option” to follow the Constitution. This is the man who considered granting himself clemency for anything that he might do illegally—and the Supreme Court and GOP backed him up! Why not break laws if there are no consequences for doing so?
03.05.2025
Trump Shares WTF Image Of Himself As The Pope: 'Every Day Is More Absurd Than The Last'
Does President 47’s lunacy know any boundaries? Why should it? He’s never experienced consequences for any of the illicit actions he has taken. If he hasn’t bought his way out of problems, he’s used Congress and his cultic supporters to avoid them, or he just ignores them. This image that was shared by the White House (and promoted by ultra-white, ultra-right whacko, Lindsey Graham) is the latest in this man’s roller coaster ride to insanity (and taking the nation—perhaps the world—with him). To make matters more ludicrous (if possible), J.D. Vance jumped on the bandwagon to support 47’s wild imaginings of himself as the new Holy See.
02.06.2025
5 times the Trump team told Americans to accept being poorer
How interesting, the man with the most insatiable appetites—for sex, greed, power, and real estate—is telling the rest of the US that they are too consumption-oriented and that they should prepare to tighten their belts as America goes through a “Biden Overhang.” Yes, he is admitting that the cost of his tariffs will land primarily on consumers and blaming it on the previous administration. Of course, his GOP lackeys—rather than reining him in—are backing him 110%. This week, Lindsey Graham (always eager to please his master) suggested that President 47 should be pope, and in customary style, the White House released a photo of Pope Donny on its own news feeds.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The focus this week is on the gaps being revealed in the current administration and the excuses President 47 (and his sycophants) are using to explain their growing failures.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 12 (262 total reports)
23.04.20245-02.05.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The focus this week is on the gaps being revealed in the current administration and the excuses President 47 (and his sycophants) are using to explain their growing failures.
Visual Stories!
In order for authoritarians to rule, they first need to cause panic and fear among voters. This song, Rule Them, Scare Them, focuses on how this administration is using fear to force martial law and take powers that do not belong to them.
Top Links of the Week
02.05.2025
A Gutted Education Department’s New Agenda: Roll Back Civil Rights Cases, Target Transgender Students
It is not the goal of this administration to educate young people; it is their goal to indoctrinate them. Draconian cuts are being made to undermine the future of our children’s ability to thrive in a global economy (but, of course, this administration is also trying to undermine that economic order as well). Among those cuts are teaching substantive history or sex education classes, mental health support, anything that doesn’t support the radical right’s conservative so-called “Christian” agenda. Nothing would please Project 2025 more than a generation that doesn’t question its authoritarian dictums or explore the racism in the country’s past—which is now more likely to crop up in this administration’s future. Education Secretary Linda McMahon—who has no experience in education—and has publicly called AI, A1—is President 47’s choice to dismantle the education department. Like other cabinet members, she is doing his bidding, and the bidding of the greater source behind 47’s doctrines, Project 2025. Are you prepared to graduate the dumbest, meanest, most amenable generation since the Hitler Youth Corp? That’s the goal here.
01.05.2025
April 30, 2025
This commentary is filled with well-researched facts—unlike the President’s interviews. One of the things it reveals is how ludicrous (totally bonker bananas) this administration’s explanations for its obvious failures are: in economic policy, in immigration policy, in foreign policy, but also how crazy his minions have become in defending him. The GOP has even been redefining the meaning of the word “Day” to keep Congress from acting on its responsibility to set tariffs—a responsibility defined by the Constitution. President 47 is using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to strip Congress of its role as the body that sets tariffs. There is a time limit to the Presidential use of the IEEPA, which is why the GOP must redefine what the word “Day” means. According to President 47, the downturns we are seeing in the US economy, and even the downturns we are expected to see in the next quarter, are the sole fault of Joe Biden and what 47 calls “The Biden Overhang.” Washington Post legal and economic columnist Natasha Sarin called this administration’s justifications “totally bonker bananas.” The sad part is, this is going to get worse before it gets better. The economy will continue to tank as 47’s tariffs begin to take effect and goods stop flowing to the US market, the lies will continue to increase, and the GOP will expand its smokescreen. This President is preparing us for the “Christmas Slump” by saying, “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.” Leave it to this felon, this bankruptcy king, to tell us that we should lower children’s expectations for Christmas this year—as if only they will experience the effects of his utter economic absurdity. And leave it to the GOP Congress to defend his lunacy—and even more—as hypocrites like Lindsay Graham try to suggest that this President should be the next Pope!
30.04.2025
Russia Is in Demographic Free Fall. Putin Isn’t Helping.
Read in The Atlantic: https://apple.news/AxyQzeaZySq2icQDnS9F8vw
If you wonder about the validity of Margaret Atwood’s “The Handsmaid’s Tale,” you need to read this article. Russia is facing a birth rate crisis and the way that Putin is addressing it would be comical, if it weren’t so devious and deranged. And—as if that part is not frightening enough—we need to understand that authoritarians and conservatives among the lunatic right wing will use this (are using this) as a model for their policies. In the article’s summary, the author, Anna Nemtsova, points to the real reason, Russian women aren’t having children; Putin has, “created a society that Russians no longer want to bring children into.”
29.04.2025
Trump’s Poll Numbers Have Plummeted and He’s Not Taking It Well at All
Charles P. Pierce, whose musings on this presidency are never without a sardonic smile, tells us that President 47’s poll ratings, after 100 days, are the worst of any president (including himself—the previous low). Of course, he is not going to accept these ratings. In customary fashion, he says the pollsters are “out to get him, liars, and should be prosecuted for election fraud.” These ratings, along with the loss of his pick in Canada, are beginning to mark this imbecile as the true pariah that he is. We need to keep it up, folks. Keep showing up to stand against this monarchy and his authoritarian dictatorship. It’s our only hope to save democracy for our children.
28.04.2025
‘I Run the Country and the World’
This is an important article chronicling the process of getting a face-to-face interview with a madman, as well as looking at what he’s done in his first 100 days. For me, the article points out how incredibly stupid the US electorate has been in electing this egomaniacal narcissist to office a second time, despite dire warnings that what he wanted (and what he is doing) is “blowing it all up—gleefully.” Yes, 47 even says he is “having fun doing it.” Over and over again, 47 tells the reporters what he has done and then asks, “Were you shocked by that?” As if that is the primary answer he is seeking from people, “Are you shocked?” If we’re not, we should be. Tearing down Global Democracy and leaving chaos in its wake is the priority of this administration—and he’s having fun doing it. If we think it can’t get worse, we’re fooling ourselves. For some reason, this president thinks he is worshipped—no doubt he is by the people with whom he’s surrounded himself. It is up to us to take to the streets and show him we do not support this behavior. We are not just shocked, we are appalled. The next series of national rallies occurs on May 1st (May Day). Please find your nearest rally and make your voice heard. “Hands Off!”
27.04.2025
One Hundred Days of Ineptitude
This excellent article by David Remnick, editor at the New Yorker since 1998 and writer since 1992, takes a refresher look at the travesties of this administration’s first One Hundred Days. We are seeing the truths of Adam Serwer’s book, “Cruelty is the Point,” come to life, especially over the weekend where we witnessed three children (one as young as two and one with brain cancer) deported with no access to attorneys and no due process. This administration is beyond cruel, it is inhumane—and revels in its inhumanity as if that were a badge of honor. In a flash of brilliance, this article ends with a quote from one of my favorite American leaders, quoting Remnick, “‘The limits of tyrants,’ Frederick Douglass said, ‘are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.’ The President will persist in his assault until he feels the resistance of a people who will tolerate it no longer.”
26.04.2025
Judge charged with obstructing immigration agents, escalating Trump’s fight with judiciary
This administration wants to flaunt its authoritarian control and, like a two-year-old, push its boundaries until they are at the breaking point. Folks, only you and I can show these fascists that that point has been reached. Ignoring the Supreme Court, and now, using the FBI to arrest a judge in Wisconsin, are examples of how far this reactionary government-by-chaos is willing to go. Polls are showing that President 47 has the worst approval rating of any president (except for himself during his first term), but polls mean nothing to this administration. Only when those around him begin to see how politically costly it is to support this conservative regime will they begin to act differently. It’s time to take to the streets (if you have not) in order to literally save democracy. We need the overwhelming support of those who don’t want their children to be raised in a dictatorial nation.
25.04.2025
Keeping Score: Bill Disenfranchising Women Voters Passes U.S. House, Heads to Senate; Barbara Lee Becomes Mayor of Oakland; Republicans Threaten SNAP and Medicaid
If this administration confuses you, you’re not alone. It is evident that they are even confusing themselves. The Republicans call themselves “Pronatalists,” wanting families to have more babies. Meanwhile, their idol, Elon Musk, has 14. Between President 47 and Musk, they have 17 children by six women. Yet, while pushing this misogynist agenda, they also are making it increasingly difficult for women to vote, get medical care, receive support payments, and feed their children. The most evident semblance of a policy is that they want women to have more babies, but they don’t want to support them when they do. They also don’t want women to vote in elections. This is the new GOP feminism.
24.04.2025
Transcript: Trump Is a Weak and Failing President. Treat Him that Way.
President 47 is obsessed with adulation—and he’s not getting it. In fact, his poll numbers have tanked. President 47 has the worst 100-day approval rating of any president in history (the previous worst president was himself as President 45). So what does he do? What does he have his spokespeople do? Make up adulation, spin the facts like they’re a roulette wheel, and try to stay ahead of the news cycle, only—with multiple fronts collapsing (tariffs, defense, deportations, health)—it is getting increasingly hard to spin the wheel fast enough—even for this professional carny. The great negotiator is increasingly looking like a bumbling agitator, and this interview with Simon Rosenberg analyzes the broad array of failures this administration is encountering. But there’s no time to be smug or enjoy the implosion; 47 is still doing a lot of damage through executive actions and orders. Sure, they can be walked back judicially when this administration is finally gone; but there is substantial damage that can be done between then and now. Keep up the pressure, keep showing up, keep using your purchasing power. Keep informed. An advisor of 47’s administration stated today that opposing deportation is an act of terrorism. This, of course, is part of the branding this administration has to do in order to declare martial law. Keep it up, folks; let’s make sure that this brand of authoritarian conservatism can never find a foothold in the US again.
23.04.2025
The Trump Administration’s War on Children
Republicans love babies—before they’re born—after that, they make it very difficult for children to live sustainable lives. Children are a commodity to this administration, and like any bad parent, they can’t wait to wash their hands of their commitments to support them. This administration wants to diminish child support payments, undermine education, eradicate school lunch programs, indeed, any food programs that might support young children. This article documents the numerous ways this administration has literally attacked programs supporting the welfare of children—especially impoverished children. It is imperative, for the future of our young ones, that this conservative viewpoint be extinguished once and for all. No more attacks on children, no more escorting our future into ignorance and poverty. The duplicity of the GOP must be called out and canceled.
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The review this week focuses on this president’s attempts to create enough chaos to declare martial law. The only way this administration can do what it really wants to do (prevent future elections) is to sow enough chaos to take control of the US. Whether that be through chaos in the economy, on campuses, or at the border. Let’s not be distracted; he (they) wants to declare martial law.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 11 (261 total reports)
16.04.20245-22.04.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The review this week focuses on this president’s attempts to create enough chaos to declare martial law. The only way this administration can do what it really wants to do (prevent future elections) is to sow enough chaos to take control of the US. Whether that be through chaos in the economy, on campuses, or at the border. Let’s not be distracted; he (they) wants to declare martial law.
Visual Stories!
This administration is intent on bypassing the civil rights of US Citizens and ignoring the court. Their latest action is a step towards incarceration-at-will. Jailing anyone who disagrees with this president and making them “Disappear.”
Top Links of the Week
22.04.2025
Hundreds of scholars say U.S. is swiftly heading toward authoritarianism
Widespread opinion among political scientists finds that the US is heading towards authoritarianism—swiftly. Not in a measured, paced manner, but rapidly, chaotically, each day’s varied actions by this administration compile upon the previous day’s efforts like a snowball gaining momentum as it barrels downhill. President 47 is an arsonist; he is busy starting as many fires as possible to see which one will ignite the US so that he can finally declare martial law. Only by declaring this crisis scenario can his administration justify disregarding the courts and, eventually, the electorate. This is how an arsonist starts a house on fire. Not with one large flame, but many small blazes in multiple places until it all becomes an inferno. President 47 and his handlers want to see which flame will actually cause the whole house to explode; the economy, universities, immigration, civil rights, all of these embers are designed towards one purpose: to end the rule of law in the United States. These scholars say he (they) are getting closer daily to their ultimate goal.
21.04.2025
Why Democrats should keep talking about immigration
Keep in mind, in order to enact the full range of powers sought by this administration (Project 2025, Musk, and President 47), the current president has to create enough chaos to declare martial law. Whether that be via an economic crisis, a university crisis, or a crisis at the border. We must not become distracted. This current president serves one purpose for the clandestine agencies that truly own him: to be the face that draws the hate that will justify martial law. Once he has done that, they will be done with him and ready to move onto their next patsy: J.D. Vance. The current president is merely a front man; he is the “Apprentice” television carny who is their lightning rod, but not their long-term choice. He merely is serving a purpose to their true ends: that of undermining democracy at home and abroad. Democrats should not fall into his traps, distracted daily by the chaos and smokescreens of this administration. It’s the long run we should keep our eye on: their desire to use martial laws to create an emergency that will justify preventing the next election.
20.04.2025
A conservative judge makes the case: Time is running out on American democracy
The opinion from this judge is all the more important because it comes from J. Harvie Wilkinson, a well-respected and deeply conservative judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. This judge was appointed by Ronald Reagan in 1983. If this opinion doesn’t make conservatives wake up to the constitutional crisis, nothing will, and sadly… probably nothing will. Ignoring the Supreme Court and refusing to return Kilmar Garcia from an El Salvador prison camp is in defiance of the most fundamental laws of the U.S. democracy. Yesterday was the 250th anniversary of the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” and Paul Revere’s Midnight ride. All around the world, people gathered for 50501 (50 States, 50 protests, 1 day). Mass demonstrations against this administration declared, “Hands Off” to Project 2025, Elon Musk, and their patsy, President 47. Last night, in Merida, Mexico, my wife and I attended a rally organized by Democrats Abroad, Yucatan. I learned of ways that we—people who have immigrated to other countries but still want our voices heard—can participate in furthering the cause of ending this despicable oligarchy. One way to make your voice heard, no matter where you live, is to join the site, Five Calls. This app allows you to find your legislators, pick a cause important to you (a total of 55 contemporary issues, updating constantly), and send five recorded phone messages to people you want to encourage to learn more about these causes. They provide a script and guidance on making your calls. Over 8 million calls have been made. Will you be part of the next 8 million?
19.04.2025
NPR obtained documents showing major upcoming changes that could limit human rights
It would be foolish to think that the State Department under this administration wouldn’t try to dummy down Human Rights reports around the world. Especially in countries where they want to partner for prison camps, like El Salvador. The report in this document provides clarity into a practice this Administration would rather you didn’t know. Along with many other of President 47’s policy changes, it is despicable and another way to whitewash the abuses he is committing at home and abroad. Thank you, NPR, for bringing this to the public. Fine reporting at its best. Not opinion news, like many other sources, but uncovering truth and revealing it.
18.04.2025
Don't believe fake Trump post saying 'most ladies' don't want to vote
President 47, in his vast understanding of women, wants us to know why it’s okay to take the vote away from them (i.e. the SAVE Act recently passed by Congress). In his “genius” reasoning, it’s because women don’t really want to vote. I’m sure, from his perspective, it’s an imposition on their feminine duties and what they were really put on Earth to do (serve him). The horror is that it is not just 47 who supports this thinking, but the GOP MAGA cult he has established around him. Congress passed this act! They should not be able to scurry away like rats hiding in a pantry on the Titanic. Seek out your Congressperson and place the blame squarely where it belongs. Across the nation, GOP Representatives are being harassed at town hall meetings. Marjorie Taylor Greene responded by having voters in her district knocked down by stun guns. We should all be offended by this bill—not just women—but men as well.
17.04.2025
The Emergency Is Here
This article is a dire warning about the constitutional crisis the US is NOW facing. Not someday, but TOday! This administration is “disappearing” people without due process and sending them to a prison camp in a country that has stated, “the only way out is death…” This is what the Trump Administration wants, and they are coming for you next. Do not pass this off as hyperbole; President 47 has stated publicly that he wants to begin sending US Citizens to this prison camp if they offend him. He wants to prevent people from entering the US if they have disagreed with him. He is acting… in all practical ways as a dictator, supported by his administration and uncontested by Congress. Saturday, April 19, are the next “Hands Off” rallies across the US. Please find one near you and show up. This tells those in power that a significant percentage of the US is against these actions and the direction of this administration. Show up! There’s still time.
16.04.2025
"Disappear without recourse": Trump's defiance of a court order means "any American" could be next
He told people that his administration would do this… yet millions, tens of millions, voted him in. He told people he would be a dictator, yet millions, tens of millions stayed at home and let him have his way with the country. This administration is ignoring the Supreme Court—when it suits them—and running to it for protection—when it suits them. They not only want it both ways, but Chief Justice Roberts is only too eager to attend to his whims. All in the name of taking permanent control of US democracy. April 19 is a huge day! An opportunity to show this administration—and its lackeys—that there is strong opposition to what this administration is doing. Remember, it only takes three point five percent to make a difference!
Youth Advocacy
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This week’s news review focuses on the “extraordinary danger” President 47 and his cabinet pose to the United States and looks at those forming opposition to him.
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 10 (260 total reports)
09.04.20245-15.04.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
This week’s news review focuses on the “extraordinary danger” President 47 and his cabinet pose to the United States and looks at those forming opposition to him. Will you be among the resistors? Remember, all it takes is three point five percent to cause significant change, and this week’s “Hands Off” rally is your chance to participate.
Visual Stories!
In support of those resisting the oligarchy this week, please check out the new visual story, Three Point Five, we don’t need everyone, we just need YOU!
And, if you want to pass on information about the man who brought tariffs to military bases and islands of penguins, enjoy this song, “Trump the Biggly Tariff Maker.” Please take a moment to like, subscribe, and/or share.
Top Links of the Week
15.04.2025
Over 24 hours, Trump makes his authoritarian-style vision plain
I still find it hard to fathom that so many people did not take Project 2025 and the now-President 47 at his word when they revealed their agenda for undermining democracy in the United States. Now, we are living the nightmare; this continues to be evident in the actions of the president and his cabinet, but the 24 hours between April 13 and 14 was a real doozy. Is this what the US voters wanted—or didn’t want badly enough to prevent? He’s not done; if anything, he is spurred on by a Congress that won’t confront him and seems impotent in his presence. All the more reason for people to prepare to show up at the nearest “Hands Off” rally this weekend. Remember, all we need is 3.5% of the population, and the movement will solidify. The last Hands Off rally was close to that percentage, and this one can go over the top. Three Point FIVE! How can you be a part?
14.04.2025
Bernie Sanders warns of 'extraordinary danger' facing U.S. under Trump at LA rally
The octogenarian, who has served his country with clarity for decades, is now speaking loudly about the extraordinary danger we currently face under this authoritarian regime. In Sanders’ own words, he says, "We are living in a moment of extraordinary danger," he said, "and how we respond to this moment will not only impact our lives but will impact the lives of our kids and future generations." There are times when I review what I am writing and how far I’ve strayed from focusing on purely adolescent issues, but speeches like this remind me, “This is the battle we must fight for future generations.”
13.04.2025
The Economist
This behind-the-scenes article tells us that the major decider behind the tariff chaos is President 47 himself. There does not seem to be an overall picture, although the videos of 47 with his billionaire cronies talking about how much they made in the last market collapse are pretty telling. Like everything related to this president, it’s all about the money and how manipulating others enriches him and the puppet-masters who put him on his throne.
12.04.2025
A Perfect Case for Congressional Action
There’s a whacko at the wheel. Folks, it’s time to tell Congress to do its job. They could be checking this administration on the constant whims and wackiness of their madman President. As this article points out… no one person (especially a mentally unstable one) should be allowed to control the global economy. It IS within the power of Congress to prevent this. But apparently, they don’t think it’s pressing enough to respond even though scores of people are seeing their retirement income and life savings threatened. Call your Congressperson—especially if you have a spineless Republican lackey of Mike Johnson and President 47. Tell them to do their job and hem in this whacko at the wheel.
11.04.2025
Ketanji Brown Jackson is not holding back against Trump or her fellow justices
The majority of the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Roberts may be tidily in President 47’s back pocket (or him in theirs—it’s hard to tell who owns whom these days), but Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is boldly speaking truth to power and giving other justices like Sotomayor, Kagan, and even Coney-Barrett the courage to stand behind her. She might eventually replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the leading liberal justice voice. Her last dissent about sending people from the US to prison camps abroad compares the actions of the Conservative court to those who voted to intern Japanese Americans during World War II. Only she says, this Supreme Court is far more nefarious in its desire to hide their opinions behind legalese. Apparently, they do not want their opinions to see the light of day in the future if the US does return to some form of normality. Shame on them. Shame on the GOP, and shame on those people who voted for this termination of people’s civil rights and those who stayed home or declared they were Independents at a time when Project 2025 and President 47 (then 45) declared their intention to be a dictatorship! No excuses, none!
10.04.2025
America, the Isolated
https://www.theindex.media/america-the-isolated/?utm_source=flipbJoaoard&utm_content=other
This writer, Joan Westenberg, should be noted not only for her insight but also for her lilting style. She unmasks this administration’s chaos with eloquence. Not only does the emperor have no clothes, but he is appalling indeed to behold. He’s the exhibitionist everyone wishes they had not seen. This administration (and its global cohorts) are intent on dismantling cooperative trade globally and moving the world back to a medieval age of feudalism; revenge economics or… (as she points out, cultural revanchism). They will only be satisfied with the destruction of global cooperation and current alliances all over the democratic world, all bowing down to one authoritarian regime (assumably Russia). We must keep our eye on the long game and the deviousness behind the apparent chaos. Prepare for the next “Hands Off” rallies and support DEI stores. Use your voice and your pocketbook to undermine this far-right radical regime.
09.04.2025
Robert Reich: The Real Reason We’re In A National Emergency – OpEd
This administration has declared an national emergency and is using those powers to undermine democracy. Reich looks at the varied ways that President 47 and his puppet-masters (we must remind ourselves that 47 isn’t smart enough to act alone, he is a front man for multiple nefarious agencies like Project 2025, Elon Musk, John Roberts, Mike Johnson, and Vladimir Putin). They have to continually concoct new emergencies to continue undermining global democracy. Remember, their primary goal is to use chaos and smokescreens to overwhelm you. Don’t give in to it. The next “Hands Off” rally is April 19, find a way to attend and show that citizens of the US hate this president and his regime.
