Youth Advocacy
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 45 (295 total reports)
04.02.2025-10.02.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
The gaslighting we are all experiencing from this administration forces us to be more alert and vigilant. They commit unthinkable atrocities, pretend to apologize, and then attempt to normalize their abhorrent behavior.
Visual Stories!
Do not believe a word from this administration; it is built upon lies, determined to deceive and distract. What we are now learning about the Epstein files is that they spread wider and are even more despicable than ever assumed. This song reminds us, “We Must Remain Vigilant!” https://youtu.be/EoyftGC2kxM?si=xvBJNxCLqFATa9xB
Top Links of the Week
10.02.2026
Carl Sagan’s 9 timeless lessons for detecting baloney
I admit to being a Carl Sagan geek. I loved both his books and his television series, but that’s not why I’m suggesting you read this column. Sagan’s timeless advice on detecting baloney is perhaps more important than when it was first written, and it clearly stands the test of time. This is a fairly short article and well worth the read. It is also well worth passing on to those you know who all-too-easily consume the baloney in today’s social media environment.
09.02.2026
Hard hats and dummy plates: Reports of ICE ruses add to fears in Minnesota
No shame, no shame, no shame. That is the defining quality of this administration. A people—just like their leading representative, without morals, without conscience, without scruples. No shame, no shame, no shame. This article by Jake Offenhartz of the Associated Press examines how ICE has been using cars without plates, disguising themselves (in Kristi Noem’s Barbie-like fashion) and showing up at Mexican restaurants, Home Depot parking lots, and churches in the attempt to round up the quote of arrests set by Stephen Miller and this White House. They have used children to bait teachers and parents, they have broken into private property, houses, and cars, warrantless. This is a gestapo, this is a military force led by those without shame. No shame, no shame, no shame. But let their names be remembered. Let’s not forget those who recruited these people, who sent them out in masks to terrorize neighborhoods, to arrest children, to murder citizens. No shame, no shame, no shame.
06.02.2026
How Autocrats Meddle With Elections
This illuminating article by Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic is part of a series from The Atlantic called “Autocracy in America.” In this final episode, Ms. Applebaum interviews voting expert par-non, Stacey Abrams, of Georgia. The author begins by giving us insight into the history of gerrymandering and what is different about the current administration’s attempts to undermine the voting system. Abrams states, “We have never had a president of the United States explicitly state that the line should be redrawn, not based on population, but based on voter outcome. And when you do that, when you decide that the districts are not designed to allow voters to elect their leaders, it is designed to allow leaders to elect their voters—that is a shift of power, and it is exactly what redistricting is designed to preclude.” Abrams also analyzes the Republicans’ anti-democratic proposed new law, the Orwellian-named “Save Act.” “The SAVE Act has a disproportionate effect on very targeted communities: the 69 million women who may have changed their names after marriage, and transgender people who may have had name changes. They’re going to say that you don’t have proof of your right to vote because your name does not match your birth certificate and your Social Security card. That means that millions of people would be disenfranchised and would have to go through multiple hurdles to get back on the rolls. You knock out a group who also are more likely to vote Democratic than Republican.” There is much more to this article—and the series is unmatched in analyzing this topic; it is well worth your time to review.
05.02.0226
Trump vs. Canada
David Frum of The Atlantic interviews Jason Kenney, former Premier of Alberta, former Canadian minister of immigration, and former Canadian minister of defense, to look at the damage this administration has done to the U.S. relationship with their northern neighbor. But initially, Frum poses the question many of us are asking in light of the unparalleled corruption of this administration: “What can we do?” Here’s now Frum poses the query: “The New York Times has estimated that the Trump family has made over $1 billion in this first year-plus of the Trump administration. The New Yorker has an update in which they estimate the Trump family’s stake at $4 billion. Whatever the actual number is, again, it is an astonishing sum never before seen in the history not just of the United States, but of any pure democracy, and such things are unimaginable, or have never happened before. And we’re left feeling, What can we do?” All of this lends itself to explain why T.R.U.M.P. and his fanatical supporters are working so hard to block the mid-term elections. Here’s how Frum puts it: “…one of the reasons why Donald Trump is so panicky to ensure that, by any means necessary, he retains control of Congress, both houses, in 2026 and why he so covets a third term: because only by overthrowing the electoral system of the United States can he feel that he has security from some of the legal risks to which he might be exposed if the implications of these latest reports turn out to be valid and true.” Vigilance, I cannot stress that word enough. We’ve seen how far these people will go to protect their power and wealth. We’ve also seen how morally bankrupt they are and the apparent lack of concern shown by those surrounding T.R.U.M.P. So far, there is no law they will not break—including murder in broad daylight—and that there are no apparent consequences for these actions.
04.02.2026
U.S. Has Seen ‘Decided Shift Toward Authoritarianism’, Rights Group Claims
Rebecca Schneid of Time reveals a new report from the Human Rights Watch (HRW), that states, “the United States has taken a ‘decided shift toward authoritarianism’ in the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term.” This is how the report defines that shift: "The administration’s racial and ethnic scapegoating, domestic deployment of National Guard forces in pretextual power grabs, repeated acts of retaliation against perceived political enemies and former officials now critical of him, as well as attempts to expand the coercive powers of the executive and neuter democratic checks and balances, underpin a decided shift toward authoritarianism in the U.S." The report goes on to say, “Under relentless pressure from US President Donald Trump, and persistently undermined by China and Russia, the rules-based international order is being crushed, threatening to take with it the architecture human rights defenders have come to rely on to advance norms and protect freedoms.” The article defines five areas where this administration has undermined human rights: 1) Immigration, 2) Structural Racism, 3) Foreign Policy, 4) Democracy and the right to vote: Silence Critics, and 5) Gender, Sexuality, Reproductive rights. The U.S., which, at times, has been a symbol of freedom, is not becoming a leading example (and cause) of global authoritarianism, spreading disinformation and undermining human rights across the world. A question to the MAGA faithful: “Is this what you wanted?”
