Youth Advocacy
Youth Advocacy
Year 5, Week 02 (304 total reports)
06.03.2026-14.04.2026
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel
Let us focus on the defeat of the illiberal hero, Viktor Orbán, by Peter Magyar. This was a victory of the people and shows that they can be soundly defeated if people turn out to vote.
Visual Stories!
T.R.U.M.P. has gone off the rails, and the scarier fact is, he has given up caring what people think about him. He doesn’t care about the backlash from MAGA or the GOP. He’s out to build his monuments and attack his enemies wherever or whoever they are. As his own cabinet is beginning to learn, he has no loyalties; all of his relationships are transactional, and the only question he asks is, “What have you done for me lately?” This jazz tune examines the truth about his followers; they are, “Just Pawns to Him.” https://youtu.be/cXtMbXjRS2Q?si=iOUgiQb1kAVuACGR
Top Links of the Week
14.04.2026
Hegseth’s Unholy War
There’s a great line that Peter Wehner uses in this The Atlantic article that sums up the theology of Pete Hegseth and this White House. He says, “The defense secretary seems less interested in being on the side of God than in insisting that God is on his side.” This has been a full week of deceptions—even by this administration’s standards. Melania started by saying she had no involvement with Jeffrey Epstein, then the president took on Pope Leo, and posted a meme to his social media depicting himself as Jesus Christ, the healer. Shortly thereafter, he took it down and said he thought it was a picture of him as a doctor working for the Red Cross (by the way, the president is not a doctor nor Jesus Christ). Interestingly enough, of all the things that MAGA has witnessed—that their president is a pedophiliac rapist and has used his powers to grift copious amounts of money for his family and himself—this is the one thing they are most upset about. This is one of the worst parts about MAGA and social media, people start out with their own “truth,” and then look for whatever will affirm what they already believe. On the other hand, this administration went “all in” on Viktor Orban and lost “biggly” in Hungary. The key this week remains that illiberalism can be defeated. Voter turnout and maintaining resistance are the keys. We need to keep resisting. Orban had sixteen years to fortify his voting machine, but couldn’t deal with overwhelming voter turnout. The key is in our hands—and on our feet. Get your ballot in. We need to overwhelm the GOP, MAGA, and Project 2025, as this president would say, “We need to send them back to the dark ages.”
13.04.2026
Hungary Just Ousted the Unoustable
Viktor Orban served as an authoritarian road map for Project 2025’s design to overthrow U.S. democracy. Now, he can serve as a democratic road map for ousting illiberalism. Péter Magyar, who defeated Orban, celebrated what many believed only months ago could not be done. Magyar’s promises should empower candidates hoping for a similar uprooting of this administration and far-right agendas worldwide. Magyar promised he would “impose a wealth tax and imprison Fidesz officials (Fidesz is the name of Orban’s party) he accused of pilfering public coffers.” He also declared, “We will not be a country of no consequences.” Magyar’s win is a huge loss for Putin, T.R.U.M.P., Vance, and many other authoritarian players in Europe and worldwide. Vance flew to Orban’s aid at the last minute (but wound up causing a 3% drop in Orban’s ratings). While this is a clear win for global democracy, we need to take heed: it required a voter turnout of 79%. We cannot defeat this regime by staying home; in fact, that is how we lost last time. Make plans to vote and make plans to make sure your vote counts. Be redundant. It truly is the most important issue of this generation: will our children grow up in a democracy or an oligarchy? Your turnout will make the difference.
10.04.2026
There's growing disquiet in the military. The Iran war made it worse
If you’re wondering why this administration is shifting to automatic registration for the draft and increasing the age limit from 35 to 42, one needs look no further than the number of service members who are 1) not reenlisting, and 2) seeking discharge. Hegseth and T.R.U.M.P. are repeatedly asking the military to take illegal actions that conflict with the Constitution and international law. According to this NPR article by Kat Lonsdorf and Tom Bowman, retention is the number one means of maintaining a functioning military, and this administration is driving out existing service members from the rank and file, but also from the highest, longest-service ranks. Major issues being reported in career-counseling centers include the bombing of a school in Iran, the use of the National Guard in U.S. cities, and Hegseth’s major restructuring of the Pentagon, including firing Gen. Randy George, the Army Chief of Staff, in the midst of the Iran War. According to Lansdorf and Bowman, “The Army career counselor said that in 2025, they had the highest number of retirees come to see them for guidance on getting ready to leave than in any previous year in their experience, approximating nearly a doubling of such retirees from 2024.” Personally, I want to thank those of the military for serving the Constitution, not this administration. They are being asked to make extremely difficult, life-altering decisions, and many are deeply disappointed that it has reached this point, but they can’t work for an immoral and dysfunctional leadership. It is time we, as a country, also start making life-altering decisions to say we can’t support an immoral and dysfunctional leadership either. Neither this administration nor the GOP Congress that has sheltered it. What can you do today?
09.04.2026
Trump Is Wishcasting Victory in Iran
Wishcasting is when a person makes up a wish for what they want to happen, then hope it comes true. This panel of experts from The Atlantic, hosted by Adam Harris and including Nancy Youssef and Tom Nichols, tells us that this is the primary strategy of Donald T.R.U.M.P. in Iran. And the president wants us all to call upon Tinkerbell and wish for the same thing. T.R.U.M.P. also wishes the Epstein files would go away and that the Strait of Hormuz would go back to the way it was before he attacked Iran. To date, the GOP MAGA cult seems content to join him in searching for falling stars and calling out empty fantasies. Unfortunately, no one besides his cabinet sycophants and the GOP seem to join the president in his wishcasting strategy. They are more prone to the reality of the situation. The 3-4 billion dollars the president is spending daily on this “incursion,” the 1.5 trillion he is asking Congress to approve for continued funding in a budget that abandons health care for children and seniors at home. If you voted for him or stayed home in the last election, this is your guy, and you are just pawns to his wishcasting.
06.04.2026
Trump's Defeat in Iran
Robert Reich’s commentary this morning gives us an insider’s handbook into defeating T.R.U.M.P. He analyzes the behavior of those who have turned the conman’s threats against him and won. He doesn’t just provide insight into how this administration caved into Iran, but also diverse groups such as China, Russia, Canada, Minneapolis, Harvard, law firms, and individuals like Jimmy Kimmel and E. Jean Carroll. Reich also covers those who caved into T.R.U.M.P. and wound up losing “Biggly.” The bottom line is, “give in to T.R.U.M.P. and you lose your dignity, plus whatever else he wants to steal from you.” Those who caved into this president, according to Reich, include Europe, ABC, Columbia University, The National Museum of American History, and a number of law firms. The fact remains, we have a lunatic in the White House who is like the proverbial “loose cannon” flailing about on the deck of a wooden ship. Congress, who has become this president’s pawn, needs to step up to its responsibility and administer the 25th Amendment against both his cabinet and him.
05.04.2026
Congress Can End Trump’s Unconstitutional War in Iran
I’m pulling an article this morning from a conservative source because I want to show how widespread the alarm over the President’s sanity has become. This article examines the constitutional reasons that James Madison and the other writers of the Constitution decided to separate the powers of the congressional purse from the powers of a wartime president. Congress can—and must—stop this president from carrying out his illegal actions in Iran. Even threatening to bomb civilian targets can be considered a “war crime,” and that is exactly what this president and his “Secretary of War” are doing. There can only be a few reasons why so many respected military leaders are being fired or deciding to quit; they are being asked to make their troops do something illegal. Whether this is bombing civilian targets with tactical nuclear weapons or starting a ground war without congressional approval, the reasons are dire, and this president must be stopped. More than stopped, his powers must be taken away from him, and his cabinet dissolved. His propensity for violence and retribution will not go away just because his actions are curtailed in Iran. He has already shown that he is willing to continue his wars against other targets—both internally and externally. Replacing Pam Bondi with Todd Blanche is merely painting over the deeper issues at the Department of Justice (will they rename that to the “Department of Presidential Retribution”?) Blanche will simply continue doing the bidding of the Madman-in-the-White-House. Bondi was let go because she wasn’t corrupt enough—and she will be remembered as a model of corruption. Stopping the war in Iran isn’t enough. It’s just the immediate issue. It needs to be done, but it’s only treating a symptom, not the cause. The cause is T.R.U.M.P. He must be removed, and his sycophants with him. Unless Congress acts, they are complicit. They are as much responsible for this president’s actions as the madman himself.
04.04.2026
The War in Iran Is a Failure of Intelligence
It is reported that many of the MAGA far right are increasingly open to using the 25th Amendment after this week’s Easter tirade by the president. Nothing else is working in Iran, so T.R.U.M.P. decided an expletive-laced post on his Truth Social was the best method for getting the Iranian leaders to surrender and open the Strait of Hormuz. The result is that it undermines the credence of articles like this that look at the lack of rational intelligence within the walls of the White House at this time. This article compares the intelligence provided to George Bush in the Iraq War compared to the intelligence provided to this administration. The point of the author, Shane Harris, is that Bush 43 had horrible intelligence leading him to war, while this president had excellent intelligence that he ignored. I see that as less a failure of intelligence, than an example of stupidity, perhaps (given Sunday’s post) an example of insanity.
03.04.2026
Trump Is the Most Dangerous Man in the World | Common Dreams
Reading foreign journalism is very important. It gives us a broader perspective of how the world views the United States and often without the bias of the increasingly small panoply of billionaires that own the media in the U.S. This article, written by two foreign experts, C. J. Polychroniou (a political economist/political scientist), is interviewed by Alexandra Boutri, reminds us of how dimly others see—not only this president—but those who elected him. In one paragraph, discussing Trump’s free-ranging, emperor-like tendencies, Polychroniou reminds us, “What else can one expect from people who believe that explosive conflict in the Middle East will trigger Christ’s return and see Trump as the man God has chosen to defeat the satanic forces in the United States and Christianize it?” The world outside the U.S. sees it as a country that swings on a whim, and that—if elections are allowed—the country might vote liberally again in 2028 for a president whose viewpoints and intellect are similar to Barack Obama, only to be followed by a newer version of T.R.U.M.P. and a renewed, angrier Project 2025. After what this administration—and those who supported it—have done to the global reputation of the U.S., it may never again be able to gain the trust of the foreign nations it needs to thrive.
02.04.2026
Five takeaways from President Trump’s address on Iran
If it was the president’s goal to reassure the U.S. public and stock markets that the war in Iran was going well, then this journalist and others think he should’ve not said anything. The top takeaways that most are pulling from this speech are that this administration has nothing new to say and no new insights to offer as to why Iran was invaded and what the end goals are. If anything, the president looked tired and old (probably because he is both). This commentator, Neall Stanage, from “The Hill,” said that the speech was notable for its lack of relevance. T.R.U.M.P. let us know that the precipitous rise in gas prices is “Iran’s fault.” That if Iran doesn’t do what he wants (whatever that is), he is going to “hit them very hard,” and, “Bring them back to the stone ages, where they belong.” Once again, if this speech was meant to answer questions or ease concerns about this invasion, it backfired. Stock market prices dropped sharply after the speech, declining—according to Stanage—by 1 percent and Brent Crude oil jumped another $6 per barrel.
01.04.2026
Lions Led by Donkeys
This evening, Donald T.R.U.M.P. is holding a press conference at which he will likely announce that 1) he will tell us he is going to decimate Iran for not doing what he wants or 2) the U.S. has accomplished its objectives and declare victory in Operation Midnight Hammer (for those of you unfamiliar with this administration’s Orwellian double-speak, this is the non-war, war that was declared arbitrarily on the country of Iran by Netanyahu and T.R.U.M.P.). We won’t know which objectives were accomplished (or need to be accomplished) because they change on almost an hourly basis and depending upon whom is standing in front of the mic at any given time. The truth is, this president is getting bored of this adventure and has been watching his ratings take a shellacking at the polls. This The Atlantic article, by Eliot A. Cohen, examines how no leadership in U.S. history has been more poorly prepared to lead the military forces of the country. It has been a complete waste of lives and other resources. MAGA cult followers and Republicans, this is on you, this is your guy, and your guy is bored with Iran because he has too many battles back on U.S. soil to fight and he still wants to invade Cuba. T.R.U.M.P. is at war, not just with foreign governments, but domestic powers as well. He is at war within his own cabinet, with MAGA, with the Supreme Court, with voters, with the media, with higher education, with lines at airports, a crashing economy and stock market, and with the price of well, almost everything in the U.S. economy… he also has to make sure the Epstein files aren’t closer to being revealed and continue with his retribution campaign (now expanded to judges that don’t rule in his favor) to make matters worse, all of this is cutting into his golf time, his new ballroom, his Nobel Peace Prize, and parties at Mar-a-Lago.
