Youth Advocacy
Youth Advocacy
Year 5, Week 05 (307 total reports)
29.04.2026-05.05.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
SCOTUS (The Supreme Court of TRUMP—US) undermined voting rights for minorities, making racism the political law of the land. To fix the country, we have to overwhelmingly vote for a new Congress that will stand up to billionaires, the GOP, and MAGA.
Visual Stories!
This week, SCOTUS (The Supreme Court of TRUMP—U.S.) institutionalized racism by destroying the VRA (Voting Rights Act). All hail Mitch McConnell and John Roberts; this is on you. This 50’s Doo Wop style song focuses on the result of the Supreme Court’s racist decision, Gerrymander: https://youtu.be/hGLcLzZSIBo?si=iJ5LauwuOwdEtAqj
Top Links of the Week
05.05.2026
Pentagon Firings Have Nothing to Do With ‘Culture’
Today, I’m focusing on this article from The Bulwark, written by Mark Hertling, because it is not only timely but also telling. It reveals how deeply the cult of this president is affecting global relationships but also the damage being done by appointing incompetent sycophants to positions like the Department of Defense, Homeland Security, the FBI, Justice, and well… just about every department around this decaying madman and mockery of a Commander in Chief (or Predator in Chief to be more accurate). Retired Lieutenant General Hertling is obviously uniquely well-positioned and trained to write this examination of Hegseth’s terrible betrayal of this country and the military. He is a traitor-by-incompetence, but also by intemperance. Hertling examines the word “culture” and how a culture is formed—both in the military, but also the private sector—and this article would be an important read for anyone who sees the importance and criticality of building a culture of trust, diversity, and competence; all of which Hegseth is undermining.
04.05.2026
The Venture-Capital Populist
Once again, The Atlantic nails a difficult issue directly on its head. With this insightful (and inciting) article by George Packer. This article chronicles the takeover of Washington, DC., by tech giants during this administration. It identifies and names the “PayPal Mafia,” run primarily by Peter Thiel and a small cadre of others (including David Sacks, Elon Musk, Chamath Palihapitiya, and Marc Andreessen) who consider themselves the demigods of this generation or, in their own words, “the aristocrats of a new gilded age.” If you want to understand the fortification of the Tech-Billionaire class and how it has solidified its hold on the government of the United States, this article is a watershed opportunity. The article examines the graft of this administration, the role of cryptocurrency, and how AI is becoming a factor in who will control the outcome of “who rules the world.” Packer tracks the mindset and growth of these elite-school wunderboys through private schools, into private colleges, then on to private parties and organizations that only billionaires have access to. Of course, the most elite of which is the cadre of T.R.U.M.P. sycophants and the GOP now controlling Congress and our courts. Freedom for our nation must not just focus on changing our government but on changing our tax structure and lobbying institutions (the kind of work that Senator Elizabeth Warren consistently pursues). Who gets to buy which politicians or justices is at the heart of this change; the dark money and dark dealings that lie behind the power of semi-elected (semi-appointed) officials. This article is essential for understanding the role of this administration’s emoluments and the current issue of appointing real estate developers (friends/relatives) to act as U.S. diplomats abroad. Only a fool would think that Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are acting in the best interests of the United States and the world. I’m thankful for people like Mr. Packer who are faithfully tracking the detestable graft of this administration, its lackeys, and… its owners.
01.05.2026
The Best Way to Fix the Supreme Court’s Attack on Voting Rights
Matt Ford of The New Republic quotes Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor, who described Wednesday’s court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais as “one of the most pernicious and damaging Supreme Court decisions of the last century.” Ford goes on to tell us what the next Congress (should we survive the midterms) must do when newly elected to both limit the destruction of rights by this court, but also to address right-wing gerrymandering. I admit to having a difficult time understanding the intentionally convoluted legalities behind this archaic practice of having representatives pick their voters rather than having voters pick their representatives. But Ford has an intimate knowledge which he shares in this article. The key is winning the midterms, and the key to winning the midterms is voter turnout akin to Hungary’s in their last election. We need everyone at the polls; no one can afford to give up and not show up. This is an election for our children’s children, and that’s not hyperbole.
31.04.2026
Voters Can Be Disenfranchised Now
John Roberts’ Supreme Court has just revealed their white nationalist, racist agenda for all to see. They are undermining the VRA (Voting Rights Act), established by the 1964 Civil Rights Act. This article, by Adam Serwer of The Atlantic, traces the history of voting rights and the intentional dismantling of those rights by Roberts’ court. As said by Trump’s former campaign manager, Brad Parscale, “If states are aggressive, we could see a healthy majority in the House perpetually.” It would be hard for me to be alarmist about how deeply this ruling undermines the rights of minority voters in the United States. It is court-sanctioned Jim Crowism dressed up and looking like a petulant Clarence Thomas touring white voting districts in a $267,000 RV purchased by his benefactor, Anthony Welters. There’s only one possible solution to all this: a new administration and new rules for the Supreme Court that overwhelm these openly bigoted justices. Hungary has broken its authoritarian hold with a 79.5% voter turnout. We simply can’t do less in the midterms and the elections to come. Roberts’nationalist,Act),Roberts’manager,this:overwhelmmidtermsVoter indifference is unforgivable. It elected this administration twice! Meanwhile, we need to let Democratic representatives know that they must be bold in reform, bold in impeachment, and bold in restructuring the court. They can’t dally and hope to appease the Republicans who have proven themselves traitors to this nation and our democracy.
30.04.2026
The YOLO Presidency
The president doesn’t care anymore. He doesn’t care about mid-term elections. He doesn’t care about re-election. He doesn’t care what the media says about him. He doesn’t even seem to care what MAGA says about him. He’s left them all behind for something grander. In this insightful The Atlantic article, Ashley Parker and Michael Scherer explain to us the demented workings of the president’s narcissistic collapse. Someone in Trump’s inner circle put Hegel on his mind, the German philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, that is. As the journalists point out, in his early 1800s treatise, “Lectures on the Philosophy of World History,” Hegel wrote about “world-historical individuals,” primarily Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon Bonaparte. Acknowledging that the president is not an adept reader, many insiders believe the president heard a speaker at one of his golf club gatherings who compared Donald to these three. Well, T.R.U.M.P. being T.R.U.M.P., he took a liking to it. He wants to be among (as Parker and Scherer say) the “heroes of an Epoch.” He wants a legacy, not as the greatest president, but as a world disruptor, the greatest world disruptor of all time… The journalists quote a White House source as saying, “He’s been talking recently about how he is the most powerful person to ever live,” the confidant told us. “He wants to be remembered as the one who did things that other people couldn’t do, because of his sheer power and force of will.” At the same time that we reflect on the horror that this realization presents, my son reminds me that we need to encourage each other to “communitize.” Our hope lies in encouraging each other. Remember Hungary, remember Minneapolis, grassroots and resilience. Let’s keep on standing firm.
29.04.2026
The American Pope vs. the American President
This excellent article by Peter Wehner of The Atlantic poses the national emergency in the United States in proportionate terms, not just a political crisis, but a moral one. The feud that this president has decided to start against Pope Leo XIV. Wehner’s point is summed up in this sentence, “But what has made the confrontation most electrifying is the way in which the pontiff is not just standing up to the president but transcending him.” Laughably, T.R.U.M.P. has called Leo, “…weak on crime.” (what next? “Weak on the economy?”). Wehner also points out the complicity of the Nationalist Christian Right, saying, “That so many people of the Christian faith, especially white evangelicals and prominent figures within that movement, have weaponized their faith to win the favor of an American president is among the most grievous things to have occurred during the Trump era. And they have sought the favor of not just any American president but one who is mendacious, lawless, cruel, and thoroughly corrupt. These courtiers have defamed Jesus while pretending they are acting in his name. The damage they have inflicted on the Christian faith is incalculable.” A moral battle for the U.S.’s future is being fought before our eyes, what will we tell our children about our involvement in this internal war of the utmost consequence?
