 Even before Donald Trump’s newly created “Board of Peace” has spent a single dollar to stabilize and rebuild war-torn Gaza, Trump is drumming up future work for his fledgling organization by starting a new war in the Middle East. On February 28 the United States and Israel initiated a bombing campaign across Iran to destroy the country’s military infrastructure and nuclear program, and to force regime change. Iran has fired scores of retaliatory missiles targeting numerous sites in Israel and U.S. military bases in the region. Iranian missiles have struck sites in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the U.A.E. If this is what peace in the Middle East looks like, Trump’s Board of Peace is destined to fail before it gets out of the starting gate. It is too early to determine all the ramifications of the military strikes on Iran. The Middle East is a very complicated region of the world and there is no telling if the latest military actions by the United States will be concluded in days or erupt into a full-fledged war. Worldwide oil markets will be impacted, the future is uncertain for the people of Iran, and the entire Middle East, indeed the world, is on edge. Rather than focus on the unfolding story in Iran, I would like to dig into Trump’s latest vanity project, the Board of Peace.  Comprehensive Plan to End the Gaza Conflict (Comprehensive Plan): In September the Trump administration outlined a 20-point plan to end the war in Gaza and rebuild the war-torn Palestinian territory. The plan calls for the establishment of the “Board of Peace”, a new international transitional body to be headed and chaired by Donald Trump. The board will set the framework and handle the funding for the redevelopment of Gaza and supervise the Palestinian committee responsible for the day-to-day running of public services and municipalities for the people of Gaza. In early October Israel and Hamas signed off on the first phase of the comprehensive plan and a tentative ceasefire commenced.  Resolution 2803: The United Nations adopted the framework of the 20-point plan with passage of UN Security Council Resolution 2803 on November 17, 2025. The resolution encouraged the “establishment of the Board of Peace as a transitional administration with international legal personality that will set the framework, and coordinate funding for, the redevelopment of Gaza pursuant to the Comprehensive Plan”. Resolution 2803 authorizations for the Board of Peace will remain in effect through December 31, 2027, unless it is further authorized by the UN Security Council.  Invitations to Join Board of Peace: Starting in mid-January Trump sent out formal invitations to the leaders of approximately 60 countries to join the Board of Peace. So far 27 countries have accepted Trump’s invitation to join the board. Many countries are leery about Trump’s true motives and see the board as a means to supersede the United Nations. It is notable that among the countries that have refused Trump’s invitation are China, Canada, Germany, France, India, Japan, the United Kingdom and the Vatican City. Trump’s invitation to Vladimir Putin to join the board infuriated many European leaders, as did his exclusion of a representative from the Palestinian Authority.  Charter of Board of Peace: The Charter of the Board of Peace was formally ratified on January 22, 2026, in Davos, Switzerland. Here is a list of key provisions:
 Inaugural Meeting of Board of Peace: The first meeting of the Board of Peace was hosted by Donald Trump at the U.S. Institute of Peace (recently renamed the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace) in Washington D.C. on February 19, 2026. The primary focus of the meeting was to formalize a reconstruction plan for Gaza. Representatives from approximately 50 countries attended the meeting: 27 as full members and the others as observers. During the meeting Trump announced that nine member countries had pledged a total of $7 billion to rebuild Gaza, five committed to deploy troops for an international stabilization force, and Egypt and Jordan pledged to train police. Trump announced that the United States will contribute $10 billion to the effort, but it is unclear where the money will come from without congressional approval. The United Nations estimates that it will cost at least $70 billion to rebuild Gaza.  Concerns About Trump’s Board of Peace: The Board of Peace provides the strategic vision for implementing the Comprehensive Plan, controls the purse strings, and oversees the governance and rebuilding of Gaza. Donald Trump has veto power over it all. Here are some of my specific concerns about the Board of Peace:
 Is Trump’s newly created Board of Peace just his latest vanity project or will it be a force for good in the world? I have my doubts, but I sincerely hope that it can bring peace, security and hope to the people of Gaza. With U.S. military strikes ongoing in Iran and casualties beginning to mount, you would be forgiven for thinking that Trump is “bored” of peace and not a serious peace commissioner with authority over the Board of Peace. Trump needs to be reminded that initiating a “war of choice” does not ingratiate him to the Norwegian Noble Committee responsible for selecting the recipients of the Noble Peace Prize.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com.
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 Donald Trump retook the White House on the strength of his “America First” agenda. Most of the electorate understood that the agenda would focus on border security, deporting criminal illegal aliens, lowering costs for ordinary Americans, and keeping the United States out of “forever wars” and other foreign entanglements. Trump has succeeded in securing the southern border and has unleashed one of the largest mass deportation campaigns in history. But to the dismay of most Americans prices on essentials such as food, housing, energy, and health insurance have remained stubbornly high. The uncertain job market, attacks on the Federal Reserve, and the use of tariffs as blunt instruments against friends and foes, leave most Americans skeptical of Trump’s economic policies. Rather than address issues that matter most to American families, domestic priorities have taken a back seat to Trump’s aggressive ambitions on the world stage. Trump has ordered military strikes around the world, entangled the United States in regional conflicts, made military threats against friends and allies, shredded strategic alliances and redefined America’s role in the world. Trump’s aggressive use of the military and threats of territorial expansion has hurt America at home and upended America’s standing in the world.  How We Got Here: It’s impossible to say what is motivating Trump’s irrational and often dangerous actions in the foreign affairs arena. He certainly has an eye towards his legacy, but many of his actions seem impulsive and possibly meant to distract the American people from pressing domestic issues. Trump started his second term by renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America and changing the name of Mount Denali to Mount McKinley. Most other countries ignored these name changes, but Trump seems intent on changing the map of the world. He then turned his focus to taking back the Panama Canal and making Canada the 51st state. Trump has even floated the idea of redrawing the U.S./Canadian border and annexing the Canadian Provence of Alberta.  Is Trump’s rhetoric about taking over Canada simply bluster or “Trump being Trump”; or is there something more to it? The Canadians take Trump’s bombast seriously and have taken concrete actions to push back. Many American products have been removed from the shelves of Canadian retailors and the Canadian government is striking new commercial partnerships in Europe and in Asia. Canada is our closest ally and until recently our most important trading partner. The Trump administration has seriously damaged relations between our two countries. Let’s hope that it isn’t permanent.  Tariffs: Early in his second term Trump bypassed Congress and issued sweeping new tariff policies on nearly every nation in the world. He claimed this authority by utilizing the “International Emergency Economic Powers Act”. The net effect of the new tariff policies, which are subject to change without notice, is that most countries now pay higher tariffs to export their goods to the United States. Trump has used the threat of increased tariffs as a blunt instrument to get other countries to bend to his whim. It's unclear if the tariffs will benefit the economy, but it is clear that the post-World War II rules-based liberal trade policy is over. Tariffs can be an effective tool to level the playing field in international trade. But Trump has used threats of tariffs against allies and adversaries to achieve foreign policy objectives. Any economic gains from tariffs will be overshadowed by the further straining of relations with strategic partners abroad.  Aggressive Use of Military Force: To the surprise of most of his supporters Trump has adopted a much more aggressive use of the military than in his first term. He has authorized military strikes in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen. Trump has ordered bombing raids against Iran’s nuclear facilities and is currently positioning military assets for potential future strikes. The Trump administration has also involved itself in regional wars in Southeast Asia, Central Africa and the Middle East, most notably Gaza. What most of us didn’t see coming was Trump’s use of the military to enter Venezuela and capture its president, Nicolas Maduro, early last month. This aggressive use of military force against a sovereign nation and its president was condemned by the United Nations Security Council as a violation of international law. The capture of Maduro was the culmination of a huge military buildup in the region and the targeting of suspected drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean. As of this writing 40 boats have been targeted and approximately 133 people have been killed in military strikes. It is unclear whether Trump plans to run Venezuela, turn it into a democracy, or simply exploit its vast oil reserves. Whichever the case, Americans did not elect Trump to become the de facto leader of Venezuela.  Donroe Doctrine: President James Monroe first articulated his vision for the Western Hemisphere in 1823, which would later become known as the Monroe Doctrine. The doctrine declared that the Western Hemisphere was the United States’ sphere of interest and warned European nations that further colonization or backing of puppet regimes would not be tolerated. In return the United States would not interfere in the internal affairs of European nations or their existing colonies in the Americas. After the successful Maduro operation in Venezuela Trump is asserting his authority over the entire Western Hemisphere. In what he has dubbed the “Donroe Doctrine”, Trump said “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again". The State Department backed up Trump’s remarks by posting, “This is OUR Hemisphere and President Trump will not allow our security to be threatened”. The Trump administration released its national security strategy in November. In part the strategy states that the United States will reassert and enforce the Monroe Doctrine to restore American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere. The strategy also states, “We will deny non-Hemispheric competitors the ability to position forces or other threatening capabilities, or to own or control strategically vital assets in our Hemisphere”. In addition to protecting the homeland, the strategy acknowledges the need for access by the United States to “key geographies” throughout the region. Trump has identified Greenland as one of those key geographies in the region.  Threats to Take Greenland: The success of the operation to capture Maduro has emboldened Trump and heightened his aggressive stance towards Greenland, a self-governing territory of Denmark. He has threatened to annex Greenland, by the use of military force if necessary. For months Trump has insisted that the United States needs to control Greenland to ensure the security of the NATO territory against rising threats from Russia and China in the Arctic Region. Greenland and Denmark refute that any such threats from Russia or China exist. Greenland is an important NATO member and has been strategically important to the United States since World War II. American military personnel have been stationed on the island since the war and a 1951 treaty gave the United States a significant role in Greenland’s defense, allowing for the establishment of new bases or “defense areas” if deemed necessary by NATO. Trump’s claim that the only way to secure Greenland was through annexation by the United States is simply wrong. The leaders of both Greenland and Denmark readily acknowledge that the 1951 defense agreement, updated in 2004, gives the U.S. wide access to Greenland and provides a mechanism for the United States to increase its military presence. If Trump’s real reason for acquiring Greenland is for mineral extraction, the Danes make no secret of the fact that Greenland is open for business with the United States, making a takeover unnecessary.  Trump was met with an icy reception by European leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland last month. In the days leading up to the meeting Trump threatened to impose an additional 10% tariff on eight European countries if they opposed his efforts to take control of Greenland. The leaders of these countries and other NATO members were steadfast in their resolve to preserve the territorial integrity of Greenland and back Denmark’s sovereignty over the territory. There was also agreement among the NATO member states that an attack on Greenland, a NATO member, would create a disastrous rupture in the decades-old military alliance. Whether it was the negative reaction by the financial markets from threatened tariffs or reassurances from NATO leaders, Trump soon backed down. He dropped his tariff threats and took the use of military force against Greenland off the table. Trump declared victory and left Switzerland with a “framework” of a deal on Greenland, which has yet to be fully articulated. In the end the United States did not get ownership of Greenland and its security concerns could have been alleviated without any of Trump’s bluster. The real victors are the people of Greenland and the European leaders who stood up to Trump and persevered.  Allies Rethink U.S. Relationship: Trump left the meeting in Switzerland in a conciliatory manner after backing down from his threats. But the damage had been done. The threat of using military force against another NATO member was a bridge too far for the other nations in the alliance. The United States could no longer be trusted as a reliable strategic partner or be counted on to come to Europe’s defense in time of need. The Europeans were catching up to what the Canadians already knew; that the American-dominated rules-based world order, in place since the end of World War II, was over. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney was blunt in his assessment, essentially calling the old world order dead in a speech he delivered in Switzerland. In the speech Carney said, “We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition”. Without naming the United States, he called out the great powers for, “۰۰۰using economic integration as weapons. Tariffs as leverage. Financial infrastructure as coercion. Supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited". Carney’s speech was a call to action, calling for the middle powers like Canada and European nations to, “۰۰۰act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu". He warned that “When the rules no longer protect you, you must protect yourself." European leaders didn’t need much convincing and took Carney’s words to heart. President Macron of France warned the European Union (EU) to brace for more hostility from the Trump administration. In what he saw as the” Greenland moment”, Macron called on the EU to be more resilient, to be more competitive and to stand together against economic threats from the United States. Macron believes that if the Europeans stand firm and have common leadership on the continent, they can assert their position as a global superpower. The Prime Minister of Belgium put to words what many others were thinking; “Being a happy vasal is one thing. Being a miserable slave is something else.” According to the president of the European Commission, the “Greenland moment” offered a tactical lesson in dealing with the United States: “Firmness, outreach, preparedness and unity.”  The World is Less Safe: Threats against Greenland cemented the view in Europe that Trump, and by extension the United States, is no longer a reliable NATO ally. With the Russians still waging a murderous war in Ukraine, the Europeans can no longer rely on the United States’ support for Ukraine. The friction between NATO members is playing right into the hands of Russian’s President Putin whose territorial ambitions are a threat to Europe. In this new reality most European nations are increasing military spending and stockpiling military equipment to levels not seen since World War II. With the protection of the United States’ “nuclear umbrella” in question, a leading newspaper in Sweden called for a Nordic nuclear arsenal, and the Prime Minister of Poland is exploring the idea of putting French nuclear weapons in Poland as a deterrent to Russian aggression. With Trump’s new focus on the Western Hemisphere, Asian allies are now concerned about U.S. commitments to countering China’s ambitions in the Indo-Pacific region. South Korea and Japan are now contemplating developing nuclear weapons of their own, a once unthinkable prospect. The “Doomsday Clock” has moved closer to midnight than ever before.
The dismantling of the United States’ strategic and military alliances may become Trump’s lasting legacy. The fact that the world is becoming a less stable place because of Trump’s bombast and irrational military moves are secondary to his ambitions. Asked in a recent interview if there are any limits to his global powers, Trump responded, “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.” God help us all!
If you enjoy reading this type of commentary please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American  For the past month thousands of ICE and other agents from the Department of Homeland Security have surged into cities across Minnesota to conduct the largest federal immigration enforcement operation ever carried out in America. The operation, called “Operation Metro Surge” headed by Border Control Commander Gregory Bovino, is mostly focused on the major population areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The targeting of immigrants in Minnesota has been justified by the Trump Administration to investigative allegations of massive fraud by members of the Somali community involving federal nutrition and pandemic aid programs. Commander Bovino states that his agents are targeting “violent, criminal offenders”, those who threaten community safety like child predators and traffickers. ICE agents have the legal right to conduct lawful immigration operations anywhere in the United States. But they do not have the right to brutalize the civilian population with threats and physical intimidation and disregard for civil rights.  The citizens of Minnesota have rightly taken to the streets to protest the presence of heavily armed masked federal agents who are operating without state or local authority. Tensions intensified on both sides after an ICE agent shot and killed Renee Good as she attempted to drive away from a confrontation with some agents. What has unfolded on the streets of Minnesota is shocking and should be a wakeup call to all Americans. If the Trump Administration is willing to use armed federal agents, accountable only to the executive, to execute its policies, then none of us living in America is truly safe.
Rush to Judgement: Within minutes of the shooting of Renee Good, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the incident an, “act of domestic terrorism. What happened was our ICE officers were out on an enforcement action. They got stuck in the snow, …were attempting to push their vehicle, and a woman attacked them, …attempting to run them over and ram them with her vehicle. An officer of ours acted quickly and offensively shot to protect himself and the people around him.” Without evidence and before an investigation could even begin, the narrative had been established. Renee Good was a domestic terrorist and the ICE agent killed her in self-defense. President Trump backed up Secretary Noem’s account by going on social media to post that Renee Good had, “violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE officer, who seems to have shot her in self-defense.” Several videos from bystanders paint a different picture of events. Justice for Renee Good, a mother and U.S. citizen, will not be forthcoming from the Trump Administration.
Scenes from the Front: In the aftermath of Renee Good’s killing, more federal officers have been sent to Minnesota and clashes with protesters have intensified. Residents are reporting that they feel like they are living under military occupation. The Trump Administration stands by the aggressive tactics used by ICE agents, which seem designed to escalate tensions rather than lessen them. Here are a few examples: 
 Minnesota Officials Speak Out:
 Trump Administration’s Response:
 Has the Trump Administration’s use of force against a civilian population in Minnesota crossed a line? Are the tactics used by ICE agents justified by the goal of removing criminal immigrants from our streets? Do federal priorities take precedence over the civil liberties of U.S. citizens? These are questions that all Americans need to grapple with. Edmond Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Others have said, “Apathy and inaction by those who possess the moral high ground will allow injustice and oppression to flourish.” These seem like apt words for today’s America. Minnesotans are living in an Orwellian nightmare, and we can’t allow that to become the norm in our great country. The death of a young mother of three is a tragedy. Her killing at the hands of a federal agent who clearly used excessive force is an outrage. Condoning such acts with a shield of federal immunity should be a wakeup call to all Americans.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  Five years ago America experienced the most serious assault on its constitutional order since the Civil War. On that day thousands of Donald Trump’s supporters had answered his call to come to Washington D.C. to protest the results of the presidential election which he claimed had been stolen from him. Fired up by Trump’s rhetoric, the protestors marched to the Capitol where the election was being certified. The protest soon turned violent, the Capitol police were overwhelmed, and the Capitol building was broken into sending members of Congress running for their lives. More than 150 police officers were injured that day and, in the days to follow several died from physical or mental trauma. Millions of dollars in damage was done to our Capitol building and America’s sense of democratic values and the rule of law were shaken to the core.  Here is what I wrote just days after the Capitol riot: The U.S. Capitol building was attacked by a mob of Donald Trump supporters to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden as the next President of the United States. The assault on the heart of our democracy was an insurrection, a violent uprising against an established government. These events did not erupt spontaneously. They have been brewing since the November 3rd election, fed by the lies and vitriol of a man who would not accept defeat. In an act of sedition, President Donald Trump implored his supporters not to accept the results of the election and incited them by perpetrating the lie that the election was stolen from him. Just a short time before a joint session of Congress assembled to certify the election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, Donald Trump addressed his supporters near the White House at the “Save America” rally. Here are some of the president’s own words: “All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical left Democrats, which is what they’ve done and what they are doing. We will never give up. We will never concede, it doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. Our country has had enough. We will not take it anymore and that’s what this is all about.” In his hour and thirteen-minute speech to his followers, Trump laid out his grievances and a litany of lies about how the election was stolen. He implored Vice President Pence not to certify the election and told his followers to walk to the Capitol once his speech was over, with these words: “We’re going to walk down to the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. We’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong. We have come to demand that Congress do the right thing and count the electors who have been lawfully slated”. Within two hours, Trump’s supporters had broken into the Capitol building, sending members of both chambers fleeing for safety, and desecrating the seat of America’s democracy. When the mayhem was over, at least two people were dead and dozens were injured. This was not a protest, it was an unprecedented assault on our democracy, and a glimpse at how a constitutionally formed government can fall.
Aftermath of January 6th: Donald Trump was widely condemned for his actions and inactions on January 6th even by leaders of his own party. Trump was impeached by the Democratic led House but was acquitted by the Republican majority in the Senate. The House convened a select committee to investigate the Capitol riot. The committee’s final report was shelved and little action was taken. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, the two Republicans on the committee, were censured by the Republican National Committee for participating in what Republicans viewed as a politically motivated persecution of ordinary citizens engaged in “legitimate political discourse”. What occurred at the Capitol on January 6th was anything but “legitimate political discourse”. Republican Senator Mitch McConnel said it best by calling what happened, “a violent insurrection for the purpose of trying to prevent a peaceful transfer of power after a legitimately certified election from one administration to the next”. The Justice Department appointed special counsel Jack Smith to investigate Trump’s attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In recent congressional testimony Jack Smith stated that his team had found “proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that President Trump had criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Trump’s role in the events of January 6th should have put the final nail in the coffin of his political career. But Trump never backed down from his “Big Lie” about the stolen election and won back the presidency in 2024. Along with his victory he regained presidential immunity and his federal indictments and the criminal investigations disappeared.  Whitewashing the History of January 6th: In one of his first official acts of his second term President Trump issued a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to over 1500 individuals convicted of crimes related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. With the stroke of a pen (sharpie) Trump ended the largest and most complex investigation ever undertaken by the Justice Department. The proclamation announcing the pardons states “This proclamation ends a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people over the last four years and begins a process of national reconciliation”. The Justice Department was quick to remove from its website the database detailing the criminal cases and convictions of the January 6th defendants. It has been said that “history is written by the victors”, and Trump is doing his damnedest to do just that. If those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, are innocent, so is Trump for sending them there. This feeds into the narrative that what happened at the Capitol that day was a legitimate protest against an election that was stolen from Donald Trump. Soon after the pardons Speaker Mike Johnson announced that House Republicans would establish a new select subcommittee to counter the “false narratives” surrounding the Capitol riot. The committee was impaneled in September and is chaired by Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.). Loudermilk dismissed the work of the original Jan. 6th committee, calling it “more politics than truth”. According to Loudermilk the goal of the new committee is to create a report that more accurately reflects the events surrounding January 6, 2021. In other words, the new report will reflect Donald Trump’s views of what happened and will be entered into the Congressional Record as such.  Trump’s pardons of the January 6th criminals gave the green light to the Justice Department to begin purging its ranks of prosecutors and staffers who took part in the investigations and prosecutions of January 6th defendants. Over the summer Attorney General Pam Bondi fired several more career prosecutors and staffers who took part in Jack Smith’s investigation into Donald Trump for election interference. Today the White House unveiled its own take on January 6th with a new webpage titled “January 6: A Date Which Will Live in Infamy-The White House”. If you have any doubt about Trump’s efforts to rewrite the events of January 6th, here’s the evidence. Don’t take my word for it, click on the link.  Our Job is to Never Forget the Truth: There are millions of people in our country that side with the RNC’s position and feel that the Democrats have blown the events of January 6th all out of proportion for political gain. To those who want to get a better perspective on the actual events, please watch the following documentary film put together by the New York Times: “Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol”. The film makers synchronized and mapped out thousands of videos and police radio communications from the January 6th Capitol riot, providing the most complete picture to date of what happened and why. I found the documentary to be powerful, disturbing, and at times difficult to watch. It certainly didn’t leave me ambivalent. I challenge anyone who watches this film to characterize the events depicted as “legitimate political discourse”. The rewriting of the events of January 6, 2021 started almost immediately and continue to this day. That is why it’s important to never forget the events leading up to the Capitol riot, the events of that day, and the whitewashing that has taken place ever since.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  The end of the year is always a busy time with holiday preparations, family commitments and year-end deadlines. It is also the time of year that I like to sit back and reflect upon the past 12 months and consider what the new year holds in store. So much has happened at home and around the world this year that it’s good for the spirit just to lounge around the house, catch up on some reading and watch classic Christmas movies. For most of the year I pay close attention to current events in my community, across the country and to a lesser extent around the world. In recent years much of what I read and write about is political in nature. It isn’t because I have a particular interest in politics, but because the politics of the day have invaded the culture in ways not seen for a long time. This holiday season has not escaped the cultural and political influences that have impacted us all, in both good ways and bad. Three scenes come to mind this holiday season which exemplify the collision of culture, religion and politics. These scenes have had a profound impact on many of us. They will become part of the fabric of Christmas 2025 and will follow us into the new year.    Tentative Peace in the Middle East: For the past two years I have written that there will be no peace in the Holy Land this Christmas. Thankfully in October Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a multi-step peace deal which put a stop to most of the violence. The horrendous two-year Israel-Hamas war destroyed most of Gaza, displaced nearly two million inhabitants and killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome to ensure lasting peace. These include the disarming of Hamas, the deployment of an international security force, the establishment of a new government, the withdrawal of Israeli troops, addressing the humanitarian crisis and coordinating the massive rebuilding effort.  In the Middle East peace is never guaranteed, but at least for this December, holiday festivals are coming back to the Holy Land. The atmosphere in Jerusalem and Bethlehem is more festive this year. Public holiday bazaars, concerts and events are underway to celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas. Hanukkah lights decorate the streets of Jerusalem, Christmas markets have returned, and Christmas trees illuminate Manger Square and other public places. Joseph Hazboun, conductor of a Catholic choir in Bethlehem put it best when he said, “We continue to pray for peace. This is the land of peace, it’s the land where the Prince of Peace was born, and we continue to pray and hope that one day we all will enjoy peace”. We can all hope that the tentative ceasefire turns into lasting peace in this troubled region.  Churches Protest ICE Immigration Raids: Nativity scenes have been part of Christian celebrations of Christmas for centuries. They depict the birth of Jesus in a manger and include figures of Mary and Joseph, farm animals, shepherds and sometimes the three wise men. I have two Nativity scenes displayed in my house, and others may be seen inside and outside of churches. This year several Nativity scenes outside of churches have taken on a new look and have become part of the nationwide protests against the mistreatment of immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Outside a church in Evanston, Illinois a Nativity scene includes figures of Mary and Joseph in gas masks, and the hands of the baby Jesus are bound with zip ties. The display also includes three Roman soldiers wearing ICE vests. Church groups across the country have modified Nativity scenes to protest against what is seen as unchristian treatment of our fellow human beings. The Nativity scene is a powerful reminder that Jesus was born into poverty, was persecuted and often had to live in the shadows. He was born during a Roman imperial occupation, fled to Egypt with his family to escape political violence, and lived the life of a refugee. In November the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a rare Special Message addressing its concerns over the policies impacting immigrants in the United States. The message was a rebuke of the Trump Administration’s inhumane targeting, detention and deportation of immigrants. The message states that the bishops recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants, and that the treatment of immigrants under the Trump Administration is contrary to the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ.  Gunmen Kill Jews at Hanukkah Celebration in Australia: On December 14, 2025, two gunmen killed fifteen people and injured several more during a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Authorities have revealed that the killings were a targeted attack on Jews and are designating it as a terrorist attack inspired by Islamic State. Antisemitism in Australia and in other parts of the world has intensified since the Israeli military campaign started in the Gaza strip in response to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The fighting has mostly stopped in Gaza, but the hatred between the Israelis and Palestinians will not be so easily quelled. Mass shootings in Australia are rare due to strict gun regulations. Unlike in the United States, the Australian government has acted in the aftermath of gun violence to prevent its recurrence. Assault rifles, semiautomatic weapons, and shot guns have been banned to mitigate the likelihood of mass shootings. In the aftermath of the Bondi Beach killings, the Australian government plans to further restrict access to guns by limiting the number of guns an individual can own. It will soon launch a major buyback program to reduce the number of guns in circulation. New gun restrictions won’t reduce antisemitism or the hate someone carries in their heart. But it can lessen the damage done when someone acts upon their hatred. Expressions of hate towards others should not be tolerated, and we should all be willing to call it out when witnessed. Expressions of hate are on the rise in this country. I attribute this in part to the divisive nature of our politics and the lack of moral authority in our elected leaders. We need to rise above our differences and hold our leaders to a higher standard of acceptance and tolerance of others than currently exists.  I recently attended a production of “All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” at a local theater. Through songs and spoken words the stage production brought to life the accounts of British, French and Germany soldiers along the Western Front during World War I. Enemy soldiers put down their guns, climbed out of their trenches, and gathered in No Man’s Land during an unofficial truce to celebrate Christmas 1914. Food and drinks were shared, gifts exchanged and songs were sung. Christmas services were jointly celebrated, and the fallen were removed from the battlefield. Even during the horrors of trench warfare, the soldiers who participated in the Christmas Truce of 1914 never lost their humanity or their empathy for those they opposed. It demonstrates that even during the darkest of times people are capable of finding an inner light to rekindle their humanity. Thankfully we are not experiencing the horrors of war, but for some people these are dark and uncertain times. At such times it will be our shared humanity and compassion for others that will see us through.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  In my first blog post of 2025 I wrote that the start of Trump’s second term was a blitzkrieg of executive orders, policy pronouncements and personnel purges. With a neutered Congress and compliant Supreme Court, Trump’s campaign of “shock and awe” continued unabated. For the average American it has been difficult to keep up with, much less understand all the implications of Trump’s actions this year. That’s where Santa comes in. Santa has been keeping an extensive list of the president’s words and deeds to determine if he makes his “naughty’ or “nice” list this year. I put together a partial list of Trump’s actions so that you would have an opportunity to determine which list you would put the president on. We will leave it up to Santa to compile the complete list and render a final judgement. There are still a few weeks left in the year, so there’s no telling what mischief our commander in chief will get up to.  Words and Deeds of Donald Trump Granted pardons or clemency to everyone charged in Naughty □ Nice □ connection with the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Terminated diversity, equity and inclusion programs Naughty □ Nice □ across the federal government. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to “Gulf of America”. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Antagonized Canada by calling for it to become the 51st Naughty □ Nice □ state of U.S. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Halted approvals for new wind farms. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ordered the expansion of the mining and burning of coal. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ended the subsidies for electric vehicles. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ordered the E.P.A. to unwind more than two dozen Naughty □ Nice □ protections against air and water pollution. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pressured law firms he opposed to provide a total of Naughty □ Nice □ $600 million in free legal services to causes he supports. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pressured major news outlets to pay multi-million-dollar Naughty □ Nice □ fines for broadcasting segments he disapproved of. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Threatened major colleges and universities with funding Naughty □ Nice □ cuts if they didn’t implement his policy changes and accept monetary fines. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Declared a national emergency at the border with Mexico. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sent 1,500 additional troops to secure U.S. border with Naughty □ Nice □ Mexico. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Triggered a trade war by imposing import tariffs on nearly Naughty □ Nice □ every country in the world. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Ordered the treasury to stop producing pennies. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Accepted a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Gave federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe of Naughty □ Nice □ North Carolina. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Instituted changes to support the growth of the Naughty □ Nice □ cryptocurrency industry. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Called for the annexation of Greenland. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Offered a private dinner and White House tour to the top Naughty □ Nice □ buyers of his Trump meme coin. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eliminated most foreign aid spending. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development Naughty □ Nice □ (USAID). ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eliminated most funding for the broadcaster Voice of America. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Eliminated funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Naughty □ Nice □ which finances NPR and PBS. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pushed to ban petroleum-based food coloring. Naughty □ Nice □ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fired nearly 10,000 employees from the Department of Health Naughty □ Nice □ and Human Services. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Cancelled funding for dozens of studies on new vaccines and Naughty □ Nice □ treatments for Covid-19 and other infectious diseases. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Canceled flights for refugees already approved to travel to Naughty □ Nice □ the U.S. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Imposed a moratorium on immigration from Africa and other Naughty □ Nice □ 3rd world countries except for white Afrikaners from South Africa. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport immigrants to Naughty □ Nice □ El Salvador. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Sent thousands of I.C.E. agents to American cities to roundup, Naughty □ Nice □ detain and deport suspected illegal immigrants, denying them due process of law. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Deployed the National Guard to Democratic led cities to Naughty □ Nice □ support I.C.E.’s immigration enforcement. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Denigrated Somali immigrants living legally in this country by Naughty □ Nice □ calling them “garbage”. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Fired most staff of the Department of Education and called Naughty □ Nice □ for its elimination. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Extended tax cuts to the wealthy while cutting federal food and Naughty □ Nice □ medical assistance programs for the poor. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Authorized the military to target and kill suspected drug Naughty □ Nice □ traffickers on boats in the Caribbean. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Demeaned female reporters by calling some “stupid”, “ugly”, Naughty □ Nice □ “piggy” and “terrible reporters”. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Demolished the East Wing of the White House to build a Naughty □ Nice □ $300 million ballroom. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________  By now you are probably rolling your eyes and would rather be thinking about the upcoming holidays. Just know that Santa is on the job and will continue to monitor our dear leader and keep his “naughty” or “nice” list up to date.
I am looking forward to 2026 for the many opportunities it will provide to get things “right”, as individuals and as a country. No one man, faction or party define who we are as Americans. I still believe in the basic decency of the American people and the notion that we can rise above the politics that divide us. The new year will provide us the opportunity to celebrate our 250th anniversary as a country and remind us of the foundational principles which we can all agree on. The mid-term elections will provide Americans a real chance to participate in our democracy, let our voices be heard and help to forge a more perfect union.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American  Donald Trump has repeatedly called the investigation into convicted sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein a “hoax”, perpetrated by his political enemies. In cooperation with his congressional allies, Trump has successfully delayed the release of all the Epstein files in the possession of the Department of Justice. In a stunning reversal, last Wednesday Trump signed into law the “Epstein Files Transparency Act”. The act compels the Attorney General to release all the Epstein files in the government’s possession within 30 days. The real hoax is that the recently signed act is just another smoke screen and a complete and unredacted set of the files will never be made public by the Trump Administration. I wish that the country could move on from the Epstein files and focus on more important matters. The files have dominated the headlines and diverted too much time, energy and resources from Washington D.C. at a time when real issues are being ignored. Average America’s are suffering from an affordability crisis; tariffs, inflation and healthcare costs are causing economic uncertainty, and critical issues such as the ballooning national debt, long term viability of Social Security and Medicare, and a looming war with Venezuela are being ignored.
But it is not yet time to turn the page on the Epstein files. The issue remains as important as ever, and here’s why:
Timeline of Events:
 Epstein Files Transparency Act: The act compels the Attorney General to make publicly available within 30 days all unclassified records, documents and communications in the possession of the Department of Justice related to the investigations and prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The act permits the Department of Justice to withhold or redact portions of the records that pertain to personal information about the victims and materials that would jeopardize an active federal investigation or ongoing prosecution.  The Cover-up Continues: Trump is once again shielded against what the Epstein files might reveal about his sordid past. He directed the Attorney General to reopen the investigation into the Epstein files once it became clear that the “Epstein Files Transparency Act” would pass. Trump was keenly aware that an active investigation into the contents of the files would prevent them from being released. As long as Trump is in the White House his loyalists will circle the wagons and prevent any damaging information about him from being released.  The country’s obsession with the Epstein files is not good for the Trump Administration, but more importantly it isn’t good for the country. Millions of taxpayer dollars have been wasted, and valuable Department of Justice resources have been tied up investigating the files, ostensibly to protect their president. Investigations surrounding the Epstein files have tied the Congress in knots and the victims of Epstein’s crimes are no closer to receiving justice.
For the sake of the victims, I hope that the truth hidden in all the Epstein files is eventually released. In the meantime, I hope that they follow through with their threat to compile and release their own “client list” of people who participated in Epstein’s abuse of young girls and women. It would be sweet justice to have the names on the list read out loud on the floor of the House of Representatives and recorded into the congressional record. If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American  On September 2, 2025, President Trump ordered the U.S. military to start targeting boats in the Caribbean Sea suspected of smuggling drugs. To date fourteen boats off the coasts of Venezuela and Columbia have been destroyed and at least 57 people have been killed. These boats were suspected of carrying illegal drugs headed for the United States, but there is no proof of this. The United States is not at war with Columbia or Venezuela, and the boats presented no imminent threat to any military or civilian personnel. Many lawmakers and legal experts have condemned Trump’s actions, calling the killings of suspected drug smugglers illegal, and labeling them “extrajudicial killings”. The Trump Administration has justified the killings by declaring that the United States is engaged in a formal “armed conflict” with drug cartels which it considers to be terrorist organizations. According to Geoffrey S. Corn, a retired judge advocate general lawyer and the Army’s former senior advisor for law-of-war issues, the drug cartels would have to be engaged in “hostilities” against the United States to meet the legal definition of “armed conflict”. Smuggling and trafficking illegal drugs is not armed conflict, making it illegal to kill people engaged in such activities as if they were combatants on a battlefield.  The administration has also called the targeting and killing of suspected drug smugglers acts of self-defense. But these boats presented no imminent danger to the United States or to the military personnel conducting the strikes. If the strikes on drug smugglers were justified as self-defense or part of an armed conflict, then why hasn’t the administration targeted Mexico and China which are involved in fentanyl trafficking? Fentanyl is the deadliest illegal drug on America’s streets, and it is manufactured in Mexico from precursor chemicals purchased from China. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is the lead law enforcement agency to counter illegal drug trafficking in the United States. The Coast Guard plays a critical role in preventing maritime drug smuggling and is sometimes assisted by the U.S. Navy. If boats headed to the United States are found to be carrying illegal drugs the crews are arrested and turned over to civilian law enforcement for prosecution. They are not taken out and executed without trial.  Where is the moral outrage?Trump is demonstrating a callous disregard for human life. In speaking to reporters recently he said, “I think we are going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country, OK? We are going to kill them, you know? They are going to be, like dead.” There is no legal justification for these actions and are tantamount to murder. Our commander in chief has taken on the roles of judge, jury and executioner. We are a nation of laws and are supposed to abide by international norms of conduct. Even suspected drug runners, terrorists and murderers deserve their day in court. The United States was founded on Judeo-Christian values and many within the Trump Administration profess to be Christians. What part of the commandment “Thou Shalt Not Kill” don’t they understand? Has the slaughter of innocents in Gaza and Ukraine numbed their sensibilities to the value of human life? If the Trump Administration can justify the use of lethal force against any threat, real or perceived, is anyone of us really safe?  Trump Ratchets up Pressure on Venezuela:The military has directed the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and its carrier group go to the waters off South America to “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States”. In conjunction with this move Trump has acknowledged that he has authorized the C.I.A. to conduct covert actions in Venezuela, stepping up pressure against the country’s authoritarian leader, Nicolas Maduro. Are Trump’s actions in the Caribbean region just about stopping illegal drug trafficking or is there something more at play here? The killing of suspected drug smugglers is just a smoke screen for the real intention of the Trump Administration. I believe that Trump is intent on forcing regime change in Venezuela, using force if necessary. For a president who campaigned on keeping the United States out of foreign conflicts, he is doing his darndest to get us into one.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  Last Saturday between 7 and 8 million people participated in “No Kings” protests, taking to the streets in all 50 states, Washington D.C. and the territories of the United States. These “No Kings” events represented the largest day of protests ever against a sitting U.S. president. The protests were peaceful, boisterous and mostly joyous gatherings of Americans of all ages, races and socioeconomic backgrounds eager to express their constitutional rights of free assembly and free speech to voice their unhappiness with President Trump and his policies. The protests came amidst a government shutdown, gridlock in congress, and a president yielding unchecked power to reward his friends and punish his enemies.  The protests were derided by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson as “hate America” rallies with protesters aligned with Hamas and antifa. Trump called the protests “a joke”, the protesters “whacked out”, and “not representative of this country”. He also falsely claimed that the protests were paid for by George Soros and other “radical left lunatics”. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed in the runup to the protests that Democrats had aligned themselves with terrorists, criminals, and those in the country illegally. This type of unhelpful rhetoric only added fuel to the fire and motivated more citizens to join the protests in defiance of the Trump Administration’s divisiveness.  I attended the “No Kings” protest in my city and was overwhelmed by the turnout of nearly 10,000 of my fellow citizens coming together in a celebration of America’s historic values and righteous place in the world. There was no hate speech to be heard, no one claiming to be “antifa” and no Hamas sympathizers. There were people dressed as frogs, sharks and penguins strolling along parents pushing baby strollers, adolescents and teenagers marching with their friends, fired up grandmas and grandpas, and ordinary people protesting for the first time in their lives over concern for the future of the country that they love. The “No Kings” protest that I experienced was like a 4th of July parade, with people cheering all along the streets where people marched.  In recent days I have read commentary casting doubt on the useful of the “No Kings” protests. I have also spoken to friends who have expressed similar doubts. I don’t agree with this point of view, and here are a few of my reasons why: Civic Engagement: The majority of Americans are unhappy with the direction of the country, the inaction in congress and the policies of the Trump Administration. There is a common view that the Democratic Party is not an effective counterweight to the power of the president, leading to skepticism of government. Many people have simply tuned out politics, while others have grown frustrated over the lack of leadership and are looking for tangible ways to become involved. The “No Kings” protests provided people an outlet to express their frustrations and anger in a tangible way and to engage with other community members to make their voices heard. The protest march in my city ended in a public park where several political and civic groups staffed tables and booths to inform the public about their organizations. People could register to vote, learn about different political parties, and sign up to become involved in various political and civic activities. Information sharing is a major component of protests like “No Kings” and it is an avenue for people to become more engaged civically and politically. The high-profile nature of “No Kings” day should help to drive voter registration and encourage those who typically sit on the sidelines to become more engaged.  Changed the Narrative: For several weeks leading up to “No Kings” day on October 18, news and social media outlets began running stories about the protests. The protests became a major point of conversation in Washington D.C. Even for those not tuned in to politics, it would have been difficult not to hear about the protests. On October 18 many of the largest protests were covered live by news outlets from around the world, and videos of protests from various cities flooded social media. The analysis and commentary of the protests continued for several days, and for the better part of October changed the narrative in the country.  Politicians Put on Notice: Donald Trump and his inner circle may dismiss the “No Kings” protests, but House Republicans in vulnerable districts can’t afford to. There were many Republican voters among the protesters on Saturday who are unhappy that Trump hasn’t delivered on his promise to lower costs for American families. The inflation rate has increased due to tariffs, and the cost of groceries, housing, utilities and health insurance continues to rise. Trump’s policies are crippling family farms by increasing the cost of inputs and closing foreign markets, while tax cuts which mostly benefit the wealthy have reduced funding for much needed social programs.  Critical Mass: Non-violent protests and civil resistance by ordinary citizens have been effective in the past at changing government policy or removing unpopular regimes when a critical mass of people participates. Harvard researcher Erica Chenoweth studied civil resistance and social movements from 1900 to 2006. Her research has shown that it takes about 3.5% of the population actively participating in the protests to ensure that serious political change takes place. There were roughly 5 million people participating in the June “No Kings” day protests. The second “No Kings” day protests last week saw 7 million participants. It would take approximately 12 million participants to reach the 3.5% threshold for political change to take place. This is achievable if the people who participated on “No Kings” day remain committed, and momentum continues to grow. Spread the word and let’s get to 12 million citizen protesters and begin to right the ship of state.  Protests alone won’t win the day, but they are a tangible way for ordinary citizens to have their voices heard and to participate in democracy. Continue to write and call your elected leaders, vote on November 4 and in all elections, support independent journalism, and avoid doing business with companies and institutions that bend the knee to the Trump regime. Above all, don’t suffer in silence.
If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American  By now all California registered voters should have received a vote by mail ballot sent out by their county registrar of voters. There is only one measure on the ballot to be voted on, Proposition 50. I urge all California voters to vote for this important proposition without delay. It could mean the difference between fair elections in 2026 or an unprecedented power grab by the Republicans through a rigged election.  Proposition 50: Authorizes temporary changes to congressional district maps in response to Texas’ partisan redistricting. A YES vote on this measure means that the state would use new, legislatively drawn congressional district maps starting in 2026. California’s new maps would be used until the California Citizens Redistricting Commission draws new maps following the 2030 U.S. Census. A NO vote on this measure means that the current congressional district maps drawn by the California Citizens Redistricting Commission would continue to be used in California until the Commission draws new maps following the 2030 U.S. Census. Proposition 50 is in Direct Response to Texas Gerrymandering: In a democracy voters are supposed to choose politicians, the politicians are not supposed to choose the voters. Gerrymandering is the partisan effort to draw districts to favor one party and is a fact of life in America. Congress can end the practice, but there doesn’t seem to be the political will to do so. Trump ignited the latest fire storm with a call to Texas Governor Abbott demanding that he find five more Republican congressional districts. The compliant governor and Texas legislature forced through newly drawn districts. Left unchallenged the Republicans would have the upper hand in the 2026 mid-term elections. Governor Newsom spearheaded a redistricting effort in California to neutralize the Republican advantage in Texas. A new congressional map was drawn with the potential of giving the Democrats five more congressional seats. But the power to redraw congressional maps in California lies with an independent commission, not with the governor or state legislature. To get around this hurdle Governor Newsom declared a special election for November 4 to ask the voters to approve the newly drawn congressional districts. Naturally Republicans have cried foul on California’s move to go around the independent commission to gerrymander its congressional districts. But Republicans had the opportunity to support a Democratic piece of legislation during the last session of Congress which would have eliminated gerrymandering nationwide. But it wasn’t supported by a single Republican and failed.
Mail in Your Ballot Today: Once you complete and sign your ballot you can simply mail it in the postpaid envelope. You also have the option to place your completed ballot in an official ballot drop box by 8 pm on November 4, 2025, or you can drop it off at any voting center in your county by the time the polls close. If you don’t have a vote by mail ballot or prefer to vote in person, voting centers open starting October 25, and election day is November 4. For more information on Proposition 50, follow this link to the analysis by The California Legislature’s Nonpartisan Fiscal and Policy Advisor.  Gerrymandering is undemocratic and partisan politics at its worst. But in this case, I agree with Governor Newsom that “fighting fire with fire” is the only way to negate Texas’ blatant attempt to rig congressional elections. This is no time to take the high road and watch the Trump Party further erode our democracy. I will vote yes on Proposition 50.
If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American  During congressional testimony earlier this year Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. stated that “My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant”, and “I don’t think people should be taking medical advice from me.” I am in full agreement that no one should take medical advice from RFK Jr., but unfortunately President Trump does. As the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), RFK Jr. is the principal advisor to the president on health policy and programs. He oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and several other public health organizations. RFK Jr. has no medical or scientific background, has promulgated unproven theories on the causes of autism, condemned the use of fluoride in drinking water, promoted alternative medicines and health products, and spent decades spreading falsehoods about the dangers of vaccines. Yet Trump has put this man in charge of setting and implementing health policies which have an impact on every American. With the appointment of RFK Jr. Trump has succeeded in politicizing health care and science and found a new way to further divide an already polarized country.  Who is RFK Jr.: RFK Jr.’s most notable credentials are that he is the son of the late senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He has spent most of his career as an environment lawyer, working with such organizations as “Riverkeeper”, “Natural Resources Defense Fund”, “Pace’s Environmental Litigation Clinic”, and the “Waterkeeper Alliance”. RFK Jr. is perhaps best known for his anti-vaccine work, and through most of the 2000s has been a prominent voice in the anti-vaccine movement. From 2015-2023 he was the chairman of the nonprofit “Children’s Health Defense”, which mainly focuses on anti-vaccine advocacy and is a major source of misinformation on vaccines to this day. In recent years RFK Jr. was also working with personal-injury law firms, collecting millions of dollars in fees from cases brought against chemical and pharmaceutical companies. During his senate confirmation hearings earlier this year it was disclosed that RFK Jr. was still receiving huge fees from the law firm Wisner Braum for work on lawsuits brought against Merck and its HPV vaccine.  RFK Jr.’s Controversial Views:
 Actions Speak Louder Than Words: During his Senate confirmation hearings in January, RFK Jr. made several promises to senators to assuage their fears about his controversial views. He pledged to “do nothing as HHS Secretary that makes it difficult or discourages people from taking vaccines”. He also made the promise not to interfere with vaccine policy and would maintain the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) without any changes. Since actions speak louder than words, here are some of the actions taken by RFK Jr. since being sworn in as HHS Secretary: Response to Measles Outbreak in Texas: Earlier this year a measles outbreak in Texas resulted in the deaths of two children and a total of 762 confirmed cases. RFK Jr. largely downplayed the severity of the outbreak and promoted several unproven treatments. Even though vaccination has proven effective against measles for decades he framed it as a personal choice. RFK Jr. endorsed the use of vitamin A as a treatment that could “dramatically reduce measles mortality”, and promoted the use of aerosolized budesonide, clarithromycin, and cod liver oil as alternative treatments. Massive Layoffs: In March RFK Jr. announced massive layoffs as part of a major departmental overhaul of HHS. These layoffs were finalized in July and included approximately 10,000 workers across most federal health agencies including the NIH, FDA and CDC. The CDC and FDA lost approximately 20% of their workers.  CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP): In June RFK Jr. fired all 17 members of ACIP, claiming that they were plagued by conflicts of interest. ACIP is the advisory panel that makes recommendations on the safety, efficacy and clinical need of vaccines. RFK Jr. quickly appointed eight hand-selected members, several of whom are reported to be critical of vaccines, particularly COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technology, and have been linked to groups spreading vaccine misinformation. RFK Jr. will appoint several additional members to ACIP later this month.  mRNA Contracts Cancelled: Last month HHS announced the cancellation of $500 million in grants and contracts for developing mRNA vaccines. This comes on top of the cancellation of a $600 million contract with Moderna to develop an mRNA vaccine against the bird flu. RFK Jr. is intent on eliminating the use of mRNA vaccines which saved millions of lives around the world during the COVID-19 pandemic. His claims that these vaccines are ineffective and unsafe are not backed by science and will limit future vaccine development with this proven technology. In addition to being used to quickly bring new vaccines to market, mRNA technology shows promise in the development of hard-to-treat cancers such as pancreatic and glioblastoma. RFK Jr.’s decision to pull the plug on mRNA research will leave the country vulnerable during the next pandemic and will cede the production of life saving vaccines and therapeutics to other countries.  FDA Restrictions on COVID Vaccines: On August 27 the FDA approved updated versions of the COVID-19 vaccines with new restrictions on who can get the shot. The vaccines are limited to use in adults 65 and older, and younger people with at least one medical condition that puts them at risk for severe outcomes from COVID-19. The FDA did not specify which medical conditions qualify. COVID-19 vaccines were previously approved for use in everyone 6 months and older, creating confusion for parents, physicians and pharmacists. Physicians can legally prescribe medications and vaccines for uses other than those approved by the FDA. This “off label” prescribing is common, but some physicians are reluctant to use it due to liability concerns and uncertainty over insurance coverage. Further confusion arises at the pharmacy counter where most Americans receive their vaccines. Pharmacists cannot legally administer vaccines for off label uses and therefore would require a prescription from a physician to so. This would necessitate a trip to the doctor for anyone under 65 who desires a COVID-19 vaccine. Even then it is unclear if insurance companies will cover the shot. Major pharmacy chains such as CVS and Walgreens are simply not providing COVID-19 vaccines in several states, restricting its availability for a large segment of the population. If creating confusion and restricting access to the updated COVID-19 vaccines were RFK Jr.’s intent, he succeeded.  Many states such as New York, Massachusetts and New Mexico are taking matters into their own hands to assure access to vaccines. These states are rewriting state laws to give pharmacists new prescribing authority and mandating vaccine coverage by insurance companies. California, Washington, Oregon and Hawaii have formed the West Coast Health Alliance to coordinate their vaccine recommendations. This further fragments the quality of care received across the 50 states, and I fear that those states aligned with Trump will end up with the short end of the stick.  Turmoil at the CDC: Just a month after being sworn in as director of the CDC, Susan Monarez was forced out by RFK Jr. The firing of Monarez came a few days after she refused to comply with RFK Jr.’s order to fire career CDC officials and commit to backing his advisers if they recommended restricting access to proven vaccines. Lawyers for Monarez stated that she had chosen “protecting the public over serving a political agenda.” After the firing of Monarez, four other senior career officials at CDC resigned in protest. They were the Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science, Director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, and the Director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance, and Technology. RFK Jr. picked his longtime ally James O’Neill to be the acting director of the CDC. O’Neill has no medical or scientific training and is a former business associate of tech billionaire Peter Thiel.  I’m not opposed to all of RFK Jr.’s views and proposals. I agree with his initiative to make food healthier by removing synthetic food dyes, limiting ultra-processed foods, particularly in schools, and promoting whole foods. I also agree that our health care system needs to tackle chronic disease by focusing on prevention rather than waiting to treat the symptoms once they emerge. But does this make RFK Jr. an effective HHS Secretary? No! I stand by my convictions that his anti-vax views, attacks on the scientific community, opposition to medical experts, and adherence to unproven theories are a clear and present danger to the people of this country. Americans can no longer rely on the advice coming from the CDC and the other departments within the HHS. These institutions have become politized and can no longer be trusted. For the health of this country and to restore faith in our public health institutions, RFK Jr. should resign or be fired by Donald Trump immediately. In the meantime, listen to your family doctor or other trusted health care professionals for medical advice.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  August is quickly coming to an end, kids are heading back to school, and family vacations are becoming a distant memory. Congress still hasn’t returned from an extended recess, but the Trump Administration has been busy, and the news pouring out of Washington D.C. and beyond has been hard to ignore, despite my best efforts. Here are some of my quick takes on some of the newsworthy events that have taken place over the past several weeks which have caught my attention. This is not an exhaustive list, and it is not in any particular order.  One Big Beautiful Bill Act: The bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump on July 4, 2025. This 870-page monstrosity of a bill should have been named “Give Trump Everything He Wants; Consequences Be Damned Bill”. The impacts of this bill are wide-ranging, so I will devote much more attention to it in a later blog. This will be Trump’s signature piece of legislation and delivers on most of his campaign promises including making his beloved 2017 tax cuts permanent. These tax cuts mostly benefit high income earners at the expense of those who rely on Medicaid, food stamps (SNAP) and other government programs. The bill will add between $3-$4 trillion to the federal debt and has the potential to add much more if the bill’s new tax cuts get extended beyond their expiration date in 2028.  The Epstein Files: Trump came into office promising the MAGA faithful that he would root out the “Deep State” and bring transparency to government, including the release of all the Epstein files. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump had been close friends for many years before they had a falling out in the mid 2000’s. Epstein was arrested in 2019 on sex-trafficking charges involving under-age girls. He committed suicide in jail while awaiting trial in New York. Many people in MAGA world, including Trump’s FBI Director Kash Patel, believe that Epstein was murdered to coverup incriminating evidence against prominent people like Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew and other “Deep State” insiders. The FBI is in possession of a vast trove of documents accumulated during the criminal investigations into Epstein. Some of these documents were released to the public in January and February after Trump took office. But most of the information had been heavily redacted and much of it was already in the public domain. According to the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee the FBI was pressured by Attorney General Pam Bondi to put over 1,000 personnel, including many field agents, on 24-hour shifts to review over 100,000 Epstein related files to flag any references to Donald Trump. Was Bondi trying to get to the truth or to protect the boss? We may never know. In July the Department of Justice and FBI released a statement concluding there was no evidence that Epstein had blackmailed any powerful people, kept a client list, or was murdered. The Trump Administration had hoped that this would put an end to it, but many fringe elements within MAGA world were not satisfied, and the Democrats want to keep the issue alive. Why should we even care about the Epstein files? This may be the first chink in Trump’s seemingly impenetrable armor. I’m not so naive as to believe that Congress or the Department of Justice will use the Epstein files against Trump, but it could be the beginning of a break between Trump and the extreme elements within MAGA.  Congress Recesses Early: House Speaker Mike Johnson put the House in recess earlier in July than usual amid pressure from Democrats and some Republicans to vote on motions related to the Epstein files. Democrats added amendments to many House bills requiring the federal government to release all the Epstein files in its possession. Rather than face votes that could anger the MAGA base and pressure the White House, Johnson put the House in recess with hopes that the issue would go away by September. Despite the White House’s best efforts to change the narrative, Democrats and conspiracy minded Republicans won’t let the issue die.  Ghislaine Maxwell: In 2022 Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Jeffrey Epstein to sexually abuse minors. In an unusual move Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche interviewed Maxwell in July from the prison in Florida where she was being held. Was this a diversionary tactic by the Trump Administration against the backlash of its handling of the Epstein files? If so, it backfired. What we do know is that Maxwell is seeking a pardon from Trump, and from the recently released transcripts of the interview it is obvious that she will say anything to paint Trump in a favorable light. Just days after the interview with Blanche, Maxwell was moved from Florida to a new minimum-security prison in Bryan, Texas. The new prison has been described as one of the cushiest federal detention facilities in the country. This is a highly suspicious move and an outrage to the many victims of Maxwell and Epstein.  Red Carpet for Putin in Anchorage: Earlier this month Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin met in Anchorage, Alaska to discuss ending the war in Ukraine. Putin is a murderer and war criminal, but Trump literally rolled out the red carpet for him. Trump and Putin greeted each other like old pals with warm smiles and handshakes. From the tarmac they traveled to the meeting in the back of Trump’s presidential limousine. Before the meeting Trump said that he would demand a ceasefire in Ukraine and promised harsh new economic sanctions on Russia if they refused. Trump left the meeting with his tail between his legs, without a ceasefire deal, and more hardline demands from Russia for Ukraine to capitulate. Putin returned to Moscow as a conquering hero having played Trump for a fool. I agree with Senator Chuck Shumer’s assessment, “it appears Trump handed Putin legitimacy, a global stage, zero accountability, and got nothing in return”. A newly emboldened Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine, including civilian targets, with drones and missiles.  Trump’s Private Police Force: Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act provides $170 billion through fiscal year 2029 for border and immigration enforcement. This is a massive increase in current spending levels and will allow the administration to meet its pledge of hiring 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. When fully staffed ICE will become the country’s highest funded federal law enforcement agency. ICE’s funding will be greater than that of the FBI and DEA with little oversight outside of Trump’s Department of Homeland Security. ICE has ramped up its recruitment efforts with a lucrative package of incentives, including signing bonuses of up to $50,000, student loan forgiveness and enhanced retirement benefits. More ICE raids are coming to a city near you.  ICE Detention Centers: If ICE is meet its mass deportation goals it needs to quickly bring online new immigrant detention centers. With billions of dollars now available for that purpose Republican governors are scrambling to accommodate the Trump Administration. Alligator Alcatraz, deep in the marshy wetlands of the Florida Everglades, was the first detention center to be built. Alligator Alcatraz and other camps are coming under fire for hasty construction practices that lack typical environmental reviews, building standards or humanitarian considerations. These camps are merely holding cells with little regard for the due process rights or well-being of those being held. This is a betrayal of the basic human rights and dignity of these people, not to mention their civil liberties, that heretofore were the bedrock of this country. The treatment of the people being held is cruel and the antithesis of the Christian values that many in MAGA world espouse. But I think cruelty is the point. If the conditions in the United Sates become bad enough for immigrants, they will self-deport and lessen the burden on ICE. This will be looked back upon as a low point in American history. New detention camps are being constructed in Florida, Texas, Indiana, Nebraska and other red states. To add to the indignity of this whole enterprise, names such as “Deportation Depot”, “Lonestar Lockup”, “Speedway Slammer”, and “Cornhusker Clink” have been adopted for some of these camps. France should demand the return of the Statue of Liberty.  National Guard in D.C.: Earlier this month Trump deployed National Guard troops to the streets of Washington D.C. after declaring a “crime emergency” in the nation’s capital. The federal government also took control of the city’s Metropolitan Police Department and hundreds of officers from the FBI, DEA and other agencies were reassigned to patrol duty in the capital. Even though Trump has the legal authority to make these moves, they came over the objections of the city’s mayor, police chief and other city leaders. There are currently over 2,200 National Guard troops from several states in Washington D.C. and the Defense Secretary has given permission for them to carry weapons. If the Trump Administration was so concerned with crime and homelessness in D.C., why was the mayor’s previous request for 500 additional police officers declined, and why was the city’s budget cut by over $1 billion earlier this year by Congress? This could be another tactic by Trump to divert the country’s attention away from the Epstein files controversy, or it could be a blatant power grab. Whatever the reason Trump is further militarizing the streets of the nation’s capital and threatening to do the same in other cities. In recent days Trump has threatened to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago, Baltimore, New York and several California cities. What do all these cities have in common? They are Democratic strongholds in states whose governors are critics of the president. Every American should be outraged if Trump follows through on his authoritarian threats.  Gerrymandering of Congressional Districts: Redistricting and redrawing congressional maps in Texas and California have dominated the news cycle in August. It all began with a phone call from Trump to Texas Governor Abbott demanding that he find at least five more Republican leaning congressional districts in Texas. Governor Abbott was previously reluctant to redraw Texas’ congressional maps through a rare mid-decade redistricting plan. But after the phone call with Trump the governor placed the redistricting plan on the agenda of a special session of the legislature that he called. Texas Republicans redrew the congressional maps which boosted its party’s chances of flipping five congressional seats from Democratic to Republican and holding on to the House majority in the 2026mid-term elections. After several weeks of protests by Democratic lawmakers, including a time when several left the state to holdup a vote on the new maps, the Republican-controlled Texas state Senate passed the party’s new congressional districts. Trump’s response was that Republicans were “entitled to five more seats” in Texas.  California Responds to Texas Redistricting: Democratic led states were not about to let Republicans “cheat” their way to victory in the 2026 mid-term elections and took action to neutralize the Republican advantage in Texas. California Governor Gavin Newsom took the lead by spearheading a redistricting effort in California more favorable to Democrats. A new congressional map was drawn with the potential of giving the Democrats five more congressional seats. But the power to redraw congressional maps in California lies with an independent commission, not with the governor or state legislature. To get around this hurdle Governor Newsom declared a special election for November 4 to ask the voters to approve the newly drawn congressional districts. If approved by the voters the new congressional districts will be in effect for 2026 - 2030, after which the independent redistricting commission will regain authority to redraw the maps. Naturally Republicans have cried foul on California’s move to go around the independent commission to gerrymander its congressional districts. But Republicans had the opportunity to support a Democratic piece of legislation during the last session of Congress which would have eliminated gerrymandering nationwide. But it wasn’t supported by a single Republican and failed. I feel that gerrymandering congressional districts is undemocratic and partisan politics at its worse. But in this case, I agree with Governor Newsom that “fighting fire with fire” is the only way to negate Texas’ blatant attempt to rig the 2026 mid-term elections. I will vote in favor of the redistricting ballot measure in November.  So much for the “dog days of summer” when not much happens! I could have written about a dozen other important events that have occurred over the past several weeks of the summer. Trump is ramping up his revenge campaign on his critics, the government is taking equity stakes in U.S. companies, and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine are intensifying. But I am ever the optimist, and as long as we all stay vigilant and stay true to American ideals, we will live to see better days ahead.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776@gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  President Trump is proud of the fact that he has a copy of the Declaration of Independence displayed in the Oval Office. He would do well to take the time to read it. Trump seems to lack a basic understanding of the founding principles of America and the circumstances which compelled the people of this land to sever ties with the British Crown, placing their lives, fortunes and sacred honor at risk. A principle held sacred by the Founding Fathers, and one that the current president fails to understand is that governments are instituted among men and derive their powers from the consent of the governed. When a government fails to uphold fundamental rights, namely life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.  Rebellion Against Tyranny: The historical literature is full of the events leading up to and causing the separation of America’s thirteen colonies from Great Britain. The National Park Services has a website that does a good job outlining the timeline of the American Revolution, and the National Archives has an informative website devoted to the Declaration of Independence.  Many of the “injuries and usurpations” inflicted on the colonies by the British Crown are spelled out in the Declaration of Independence. It is instructive to review some of the grievances against the King and reflect upon the actions of our current chief executive, President Trump. “He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.” This refers to the many laws passed by colonial legislatures which the British government refused to ratify, impeding the ability of the colonies to self-govern. The Trump Administration has repeatedly refused to comply with or has simply overlooked existing laws, making a mockery of established legislative standards and the rule of law. Here are a few examples:
 “He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither۰۰۰" King George wanted to minimize immigration of non-British citizens to America to prevent further divisions between the colonies and his authority. Trump recently put into effect complete travel bans on people coming from twelve countries, mostly from Africa and the Middle East. He has also placed new restrictions on seven other countries which he doesn’t feel share our American values. This is occurring during mass deportations of immigrants from Mexico, Central America and South America. The Trump Administration is also trying to change who qualifies to be counted as an American citizen by issuing an executive order to end “birthright citizenship”. This is a clear violation of the 14th Amendment and is being challenged in court.  "He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.” The British Crown appointed all the judges in some of the American colonies and deprived the colonists the benefit of trial by jury. Trump has obstructed the administration of justice by purging the Department of Justice of all personnel not loyal to him. He has also fired inspectors general, punished law firms who represented clients he disapproved of, and disregarded or slow-walked court orders.  “He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.” Last month, over the objections of the mayor, chief of police and governor, Trump sent 4,100 members of the California National Guard and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles. The pretext used to mobilize these troops was to quell the violence resulting from protests against Trump’s deportation policies. In reality Trump wanted the troops in Los Angeles to assist with the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. It is likely that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act which restricts the use of the military for domestic law enforcement purposes. Long after the violence subsided in Los Angeles the troops remain. “For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences.” Trump’s Department of Homeland Security has rounded up thousands of people suspected of being in the country illegally. Hundreds of these people have already been deported without being afforded their due process rights, often to third-countries which they have no affiliation with. “For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.” Trump has not suspended the Legislature, but he doesn’t have to. Through threats and intimidation, he can make the U.S. Congress bend to his will. Trump has effectively negated the role of Congress as a co-equal branch of government and neutered it’s check on executive power.  “He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us۰۰۰” The most obvious example of this is Trump’s role in the Capitol Riot of January 6, 2021.  These may not be the “times that try men’s souls” as articulated by Thomas Paine in 1776 when a group of ragtag volunteers from the thirteen American colonies were in armed rebellion against the most formidable military in the world, but they are troubling times. The Founders believed that all men are created equal and that no man is above the law. Here we are nearly 250 years later and the checks and balances to maintain the founding principles of liberty are beginning to erode. The Declaration of Independence formalized the separation of the American colonies from the tyranny of the King of Great Britain, and after years of struggle and a bloody war they achieved independence. Let’s hope that the United States can hold on to its founding principles and never again accept the tyrannical rule of one man.
The Founding Fathers had the courage to say no to a King, do we? If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  On June 19th the nation celebrated “Juneteenth National Independence Day”, which has been a federal holiday since 2021. It commemorates the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger ordered the enforcement of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in Texas, effectively ending slavery in the United States. How did President Trump celebrate this momentous day in our history? He ignored it! Some people may view this as another example of Trump’s racist and white nationalist tendencies. I view it as consistent with Trump’s “anti-woke” and “anti-DEI” agenda. On the surface, Trump’s efforts to scrub the government and society at large of woke policies (diversity, inclusion, and progressive social and political ideas), is a backlash against Biden’s policies which pushed the government too far left. It was one of the reasons that Trump won a second term and he is leaning into it. But I think that there is something more insidious at play. Through dozens of executive orders, speeches, interviews and budget priorities, the worst of Trump is being revealed. He is revising history to portray himself and “his” America in a sanitized version that never existed. But more importantly, his policies favor those that he considers “good” Americans at the expense of the poor, marginalized and minority groups.  Trump Reveals Himself in First Term: Early in his first term Trump instituted a series of travel bans on several Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East and Africa, as well as Haiti. In closed door meetings at the White House, Trump was reported to have said, “Why do we want all these people from shithole countries coming here?” He went on to comment that the U.S. should get more people from countries like Norway. I guess he meant that he would prefer people of White European heritage like himself. Trump’s travel bans were eliminated by the Biden administration. A few months into his first term Trump came under fire for not condemning the protests by white nationalists at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville. The rally erupted in violence resulting in the death of a young woman. In response to a reporter’s question about the rally Trump said that there were “some very fine people on both sides”. The rally was attended by white supremacists, white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and far-right militias who opposed the removal of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from a public park.  Ending DEI Programs: Two executive orders signed in the opening days of Trump’s new administration set in motion the end to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs, labelling them “illegal and immoral discrimination”. These orders apply to all departments within the federal government, federal contractors, and institutions receiving federal grants. The Department of Justice has been tasked with eliminating illegal DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs and activities in the private sector and in education institutions that receive federal funds. Trump’s actions to end DEI programs rescind President Johnson’s 1965 executive order which established the prohibition on employment discrimination by federal contractors based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Trump’s orders also eliminated affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunities for all. Ending affirmative action programs in hiring and higher education will have the greatest impact on Black people and other minorities. Enrollment of Black students at top universities has already declined, and protections against discrimination in the workplace will now take a backseat to policing “illegal” DEI programs. Who benefits most from the elimination of DEI programs? Those who feel they are the victims of reverse discrimination, mainly White people.  Budget Priorities: A federal budget reflects the priorities and values of the government. The U.S. Senate is currently debating the Reconciliation package (Trump’s Big, Beautiful Bill) which will cut hundreds of billions of dollars in safety net programs to make permanent tax cuts that disproportionately benefit high-income earners. Low-income families and minorities will be harmed the most if the bill passes in its current form. Millions of people will lose healthcare coverage due to Medicaid cuts and new eligibility requirements. Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will make it more difficult for millions of low-income families to afford healthy food. The Reconciliation package includes changes to the student loan and Pell Grant programs, putting higher education out of reach for more low-income students.  Whitewashing American History: The Trump administration has been busy removing or modifying thousands of web pages across the federal government. Websites and databases have been scrubbed of words such as “black”, “women”, “injustice”, oppression”, “discrimination”, and others. The Department of Defense removed web pages dedicated to Black veterans like the Tuskegee Airmen, the Navajo Code Talkers, and other minorities. Many of these pages were restored after public outcry, but the intent to minimize the accomplishments of minority veterans was made clear. By minimizing the accomplishments of Black people and other minorities it amplifies the accomplishments of White service members. Trump is selectively altering the public record to reconstruct his preferred vision of America and is instructing all government agencies to do the same. Whitewashing in the context of history is also known as “historical negationism” or “historical revisionism”. It refers to the practice of minimizing or negating aspects of history to present a more favorable version of events. The danger is that it promotes a particular political ideology and distorts the understanding of our past, thus hindering our ability to learn from our past mistakes and holding those responsible accountable. Here are a few more examples: Pardons for January 6 Defendants: In one of his first official acts of his second term President Trump issued a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” to over 1500 individuals convicted of crimes related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump also commuted the sentences of fourteen others, including Steward Rhodes and Enrique Tarrio, leaders of right-wing extremist groups convicted of seditious conspiracy. Trump has called the attacks on the police officers defending the Capitol on January 6, “very minor incidents”. He referred to those convicted and jailed as “political prisoners” and claimed that they were “absolutely innocent”. This feeds the narrative that those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, are innocent, and therefore Trump is innocent for having sent them there. Afterall, the narrative goes, what happened at the Capitol on that day of infamy was a legitimate protest against an election that was stolen from Donald Trump.  Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History: This executive ordered signed by Trump in March attempts to “correct the widespread effort to rewrite our nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth”. Wow, this executive order seems to do the exact opposite by censoring the Smithsonian Institution and National Park Service. Here’s the impact of the order:  Smithsonian: The executive order claims that the Smithsonian (a Washington D.C. based complex of 17 museums, galleries and zoo) has “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray America and Western Values as inherently harmful and oppressive”. The order goes on to state that “museums in our Nation’s Capital should be places where individuals go to learn-not be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history”. Mr. President, by showing the history our country from a White perspective and omitting the perspectives of Native Americans, enslaved Americans, and other marginalized groups, doesn’t that distort our shared history? The executive order prohibits the funding of any exhibit or program that degrades shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promotes programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal laws and policy. In other words, only those programs and exhibits that don’t offend White sensibilities will be funded.  National Parks, Monuments and Memorials: The executive order mandates that the National Park Service, which oversees 433 national parks, monuments and historical sites, coverup or remove all “descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times) and instead focus on the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people”.Signs have already been posted at all National Park Service sites asking visitors to report anything they consider inappropriate. QR codes on the signs make it easy for citizens to report any “offensive” material. All plaques, signs, exhibits, films, ranger programs and written literature will now be scrutinized by Big Brother and his newly deputized informants. Any inappropriate material must be scrubbed by September 17th, Constitution Day. You better hurry before the following parks and monuments become sanitized: Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, Minidoka Japanese Internment Camp, Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, MLK Jr. National Historical Park, Stonewall National Monument, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail, and Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park, just to name a few.
Immigration and Travel Ban Polices: The travel bans that the Trump administration has recently put into place mirror those from his first administration; targeting Muslim-majority and African countries. A complete travel ban is in effect for Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Heightened travel restrictions have been placed on the people of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Toga, Sierra Leone, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. There are some legitimate security concerns involving some of these countries, but to portray entire populations as security risks is inherently racist. As Trump’s well publicized mass deportation of illegal immigrants ramped up, his suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has garnered much less attention. By executive order Trump stopped funding of services for refugees already in our country and left over 120,000 refugees who had previously been vetted and approved stranded in their home countries. Most of these refugees are from Africa and Afghanistan but now have nowhere to go after selling everything they had to resettle in the U.S. The blatant racism of this policy became crystal clear when Trump revised his executive order to allow 59 White South Africans (Afrikaners) to immigrate to the U.S. under the refugee program. Trump justified his decision by claiming that the Afrikaners were victims of genocide even though there is no shred of evidence to the claim. It’s hard to dispute that if you want to jump to the head of the line of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program it helps to be White.  Other Troubling Policies and Actions:
 Is Trump a Racist: Far be it from me to label Trump a racist. But intentionally or not his policies and directives are doing real harm to minority groups within our country. Trump’s preference for White immigrants over Black and Muslim immigrants speaks volumes, as does his blatant whitewashing of American history to sanitize the image of White culture. Trump’s budget priorities will strip minority communities of needed health care, create more food insecurity and financial instability. Federal protections for many marginalized groups have been stripped away during his all-out assault on DEI programs. Call Trump what you will, but his agenda of hate is taking a toll of the lives of real Americans, and whatever his motivations they are certainly not making America great again.
If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American  Last Friday people took to the streets of Los Angeles to protest immigration enforcement actions by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at Home Depot stores, a garment factory and a warehouse. The protests grew throughout the weekend but were mostly confined to a five-block area surrounding the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles where immigrants were being held. The protests were mostly peaceful except for a few dozen agitators who set fire to Waymo self-driving cars and looted several area businesses. Los Angeles is a city of approximately 4 million people encompassing an area of over 500 square miles. The city of Paramount where the protests began is within Los Angeles County, which covers over 4,000 square miles and includes 88 incorporated cities with a population that exceeds 10 million. Most Angelenos were unaware of the protests unfolding in their county until images on cable and network news portrayed a city in flames and under siege. These images played right into the hands of Donald Trump who promptly federalized thousands of California National Guard troops and deployed 700 Marines to Los Angeles, even though the mayor and governor said they were not needed.  Leadup to L.A. Protests: After winning back the White House the Trump Administration began reorganizing federal law enforcement agencies to prioritize the mass deportation of illegal immigrants, Trump’s top campaign promise. The ICE-led plan called “Operation At Large” calls for the use of 3,000 ICE agents, 500 employees from Customs and Border Control, 250 IRS agents, and 2,000 Justice Department employees from the FBI, U.S. Marshalls Service, and Drug Enforcement Agency. The plan also calls for the use of 21,000 National Guard Troops to provide support to the ICE operations. According to U.S. Senator Jack Reed, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, this would be the first time the National Guard has been asked to enforce an immigration crackdown within the United States. On May 9, 2025, the Department of Homeland Security requested 20,000 National Guard Troops “to help carry out the President’s mandate from the American people to arrest and deport criminal aliens”. On May 21, 2025, Trump’s top aide on immigration Stephen Miller met with ICE’s regional directors to give them a new mandate; increase the daily arrest quotas from 1,000 to 3,000. Miller told those at the meeting that targeting only criminal illegal immigrants was not enough to reach the quotas. He instructed them to target stores where immigrant workers congregate, like Home Depot and 7-Eleven.  Trump Sees an Opening: The use of the National Guard to assist with mass deportations is critical for the Trump Administration to hit its quotas. However, each state’s National Guard is under the command of its governor who may not be supportive of Trump’s plans. To utilize the California National Guard without the permission of the governor, the president would have to federalize the Guard, and that’s what he did last Saturday. Governor Newsom has filed a lawsuit to stop the deployment of the National Guard, calling it unlawful. Approximately 4,000 National Guard troops have been deployed to Los Angeles and will remain for up to 60 days unless the courts rule in California’s favor.  Trump Ramps up the Rhetoric: Trump and other members of his administration have been busy portraying Los Angeles as a city under siege, and he promised to “take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the migrant invasion and put an end to these migrant riots”. As the week progressed Trump ramped up his rhetoric, calling Los Angeles a “trash heap” with “entire neighborhoods under the control of criminals”. He pledged to liberate Los Angeles from the “animals” (protesters) and not to allow “an American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy.” Trump’s rhetoric would be laughable if it wasn’t so dangerous and a portent of things to come. Rather than bringing peace and calm to the streets of Los Angeles Trump has inflamed tensions and fueled the protests to justify activating the National Guard and mobilizing 700 Marines. The National Guard’s original mission in Los Angeles was to protect federal buildings and personnel, but that has been stepped up to provide support for immigration operations. In Congressional testimony on Tuesday Defense Secretary Hegseth stated, “I think we’re entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland”. Under the Trump Administration the number one threat to the homeland is an invasion by hordes of illegal immigrants.  The End Game: The country is watching in real time as the Trump Administration manufacturers a crisis out of a local protest to justify federalizing the National Guard and deploying the Marines to an American city. This power grab from a state to the Executive Branch is ominous. According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, “We are staying here to liberate this city from the socialists and the burdensome leadership that the governor and this mayor have placed on this country.” This is a shot across the bow of all those “burdensome” leaders out there, particularly in blue states. The Trump Administration will not tolerate any impediment to its agenda. The real check on federal power within our country lies with the sovereignty of our states, and Trump knows this. He has shown his willingness to usurp the power of California or any other state that does not get behind him and his agenda. If Trump is successful, what’s to stop him from declaring a state of emergency to deploy federal troops to take control of any local jurisdiction? What happens if some manufactured crisis occurs at voting time? It’s a slippery slop as more and more power accrues to the Executive Branch. Trump is turning our country into a police state. We the people can’t let him get away with it.  Updated June 19, 2025: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Nineth Circuit ruled in favor of the Trump Administration, finding that Trump was within his rights as president to nationalize the California National Guard and send them to L.A. The court stated that a president can deploy the Guard to prevent interference with the execution of federal law.
The court rejected the notion that L.A.'s protest amounted to a "rebellion" against federal authority. The ruling does not address the legality of the Marines in L.A. or who should control the Guard over the short term. More hearings have been scheduled to address these issues. If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American  The tenure of special government employee Elon Musk as head of DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) ended on May 30, 2025. This comes as a relief to many, including Musk himself. Musk was brought to Washington, D.C. by President Trump to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal bureaucracy. No one will dispute that this is a good and needed task, but DOGE’s work to date has created chaos without any meaningful cuts to the federal budget.  Musk was in a hurry to make significant cuts to federal spending, something that many politicians and Washinton insiders have been trying to do for years. But rather than taking a methodical approach using seasoned professionals, he brought in mostly young men from the tech world who had little knowledge of how government works or the intricacies of the federal bureaucracy. Musk’s team quickly got to work destabilizing the federal workforce, gutting entire agencies, rifling through sensitive government databases, cancelling foreign aid and research grants, and laying off thousands of workers without any knowledge of who they were or the work they did. All of this was done with the full blessing of President Trump who allowed Musk’s team to run roughshod through agency after agency with little regard for who was hurt or the impact that would result.  DOGE’s Goal: At the outset the stated goal of DOGE was to cut $2 trillion from the $7 trillion federal budget. This was soon scaled back to $1 trillion and now stands at $150 billion. DOGE’s Accomplishments: According to DOGE’s website, it has generated $175 billion in savings for the federal government. Most credible sources dispute this number, and it is impossible to verify the accuracy of DOGE’s claims. The Reality: It is very possible that DOGE’s efforts will end up costing the federal government billions of dollars more than the savings it has found. There are estimates that DOGE’s cuts to the federal workforce could result in new costs of over $100 billion to rehire and retrain for key positions that had been previously eliminated. But the real damage will result from the slashing of the IRS’s budget and the lack of investigations and enforcement that will follow. This will embolden tax evasion and reduce collections by billions of dollars per year. There are some estimates that hundreds of billions in lost revenue will result from defunding the IRS.  Legacy of DOGE: Even without Elon Musk the work of DOGE will continue with team members embedded in various departments throughout the federal bureaucracy. Even though DOGE has been in existence for only four months, the damage it has caused will have lasting impacts. Here are some of the most consequential: 
 The establishment of DOGE and appointing Elon Musk to head it will be another legacy of the Trump Administration. If Trump’s intention with unleashing DOGE on the federal government was to create chaos and to make the federal government a less appealing place to work, he certainly succeeded. If he truly wanted to rid the federal bureaucracy of waste, fraud and abuse he went about it the wrong way. In the first week of his second term Trump fired the inspectors general (IGs) of 17 federal agencies. Inspectors general act as independent watchdogs within government agencies and primarily focus on detecting and preventing waste, fraud and abuse. Unlike members of DOGE, the IGs are seasoned professionals who have the experience and knowledge of the workings of government. They are the ones who could have made recommendations to the president and to Congress about the appropriate cuts to make. With both chambers of Congress in the hands of the Republicans, the president could have allowed Congress to fulfill its Constitutional duty of conducting oversight of the executive branch to seek out waste, fraud and abuse. But that was not to be. In the end, Donald Trump will never cede power to Congress or to independent watchdog groups who might interfere with his agenda. He created DOGE and its legacy will be entwined with his, for better or for worse.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  While the press and most Americans have been distracted by President Trump’s assaults on the federal workforce, freedom of the press, free speech, universities, private law firms, and the rights of citizens and non-citizens in this country legally, Trump and his family have been busy enriching themselves. The recent news that Trump plans to accept a Boeing 747-8 jet valued at $400 million as a gift from the government of Qatar is a reminder that Trump is not constrained by the norms and ethics of past presidents. It is no surprise that Trump is using the vast apparatus of the executive branch to reward his friends and punish his enemies. What is surprising is the extent to which he is abusing his position to generate billions of dollars for himself and his family and using the office of the presidency to legitimize it. If you care to look into the facts, it’s hard not to come to the conclusion that Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in U.S. history. The checks and balances built into the Constitution to prevent the abuse of power by a president are not working to restrain the corruption of Trump. His handpicked loyalists in the Department of Justice are more than willing to carry out his every wish and the Republican controlled House and Senate are loath to cross him. With a seemingly compliant Supreme Court and not having to face the voters again in a general election, Trump is falling prey to his worse instincts. Just a few months into his second term Trump has resorted to extortion to force compliance with his agenda, accepted bribes from entities wishing to curry favor, and softened regulations to enhance his business interests. Below is a list of some of Trump’s most blatant corrupt acts. But I encourage you to dig deeper into this aspect of the Trump presidency and spread the word. Corruption will define the second Trump term!  Shakedown of Law Firms: Since taking office in January Trump has issued a series of executive orders targeting specific law firms that support his political opponents or have taken part in any legal actions against him. The executive orders threaten to revoke security clearances held by the firms' lawyers, barring the firms from government contracts, and preventing the firms' employees from entering government buildings. Several of these law firms have struck deals with the Trump Administration and have collectively pledged nearly a billion dollars in legal work to Trump approved causes. executive orders. This is extortion, plain and simple.  Accepting Bribes:
 Paying for Access to the President: A new exclusive club will soon open in the Georgetown section of Washington D.C. headed by lead investor Donald Trump Jr. The club is aptly called “Executive Branch” because its members will have access to West Wing officials, cabinet officials, and Trump family members. Membership fees start at $500,000 and will require members to pass a loyalty test before being accepted. Expect to see Washington insiders, tech industry tycoons, Fox News celebrities and foreign dignitaries on the member’s list. I have to hand it to the Trump’s, they make the “Biden Crime Family” look like a bunch of amateurs.  Real Estate Deals with Foreign Countries: Working on behalf of the Trump Organization, Trump’s sons have been busy leveraging the Trump name across the Middle East by striking lucrative real estate deals. The Trump family gets hundreds of millions of dollars in upfront licensing fees and future revenue streams worth much more. In return these countries curry favor with the Trump family, particularly the man who owns the Trump Organization, President Trump. Let’s look at some of the deals that we know about.
 Trump Crypto Businesses: Trump and his family have gone all in on crypto because this is where the real money is. Estimates of the current value of the Trump family crypto holdings are in the billions of dollars. Holding crypto currencies and starting crypto currency businesses is not illegal. But the use of the presidency to promote and benefit your personal business ventures is corruption. In addition to creating his own meme coins, Trump and related family entities have established several businesses in the crypto space, many of which have foreign investors. For his part the president has softened regulations on cryptocurrency and oversight has weakened sharply.  It is daunting to keep up with everything crypto related in Trump world, but here are a few recent developments.
 What’s to be Done? The president is on a tear to lock up as many lucrative deals for himself and his family while he still controls the reins of power. There are red flags everywhere with many of these deals, but can he be stopped? As Trump consolidates more power in the executive branch his abuse of power and corruption will only become more brazen. The main checks on the president’s actions lie within the Congress of the United States. The threat of impeachment was put into the Constitution to prevent a president from abusing his power and profiting from the position. But the Republican controlled House and Senate have turned a blind eye to Trump’s illegal and unethical actions. This makes them complicate in Trump’s corruption. Trump is free to continue to act without any constraints, and the American people and the reputation of the country will suffer as a result. We must live with the current Congress for another year and a half, so Trump’s corruption will continue to go unchecked unless the American people say enough is enough. Most ordinary Americans yawn when you point out Trump’s unconstitutional executive orders, his illegal deportations, his attacks on colleges and universities or his vulgar behavior. But the issue of corruption is the thing that will bring Trump down if enough people know about it. This is the issue that the pro-democracy people and all American’s who are queasy about Trump’s actions should hang their collective hats on. It should be the rallying cry. All elected officials should be made aware of it, and of the consequences if they stand blindly by. Tell anyone you know about the corruption; the word needs to get out.  Donald Trump is schooling the American political class on the “Art of the Con”. He has gone where no U.S. president has ever gone and is enriching himself and his family at the expense of the American people and the reputation of this country. Trump is playing the American people for suckers, many of whom voted for him for very legitimate reasons. But they didn’t vote for him so they could be conned. They didn’t vote for him to become uber wealthy while they struggle with everyday expenses. It's time for Americans to open their eyes to what is actually happening in Trump world and to spread the word. This can’t continue or the credibility and goodwill that America has built up over the decades will be destroyed and the country that we love will become another victim of Trump’s avarice.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  We have received your email. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with President Donald J. Trump. The willingness of the American people to stay informed is essential to our enduring democracy. Please know that President Trump will never stop fighting for the citizens of our great Nation! For additional information about President Trump’s policy initiatives or current events at the White House, please visit www.WhiteHouse.gov.  On most days I write a letter to either the White House or to my Congressman and Senators. I usually receive some sort of reply. It's important to let them know my opinions in real time before the next outrage of the day takes over the news cycle and my attention. March 11, 2025 Dear Mr. President, Seriously President Trump, were you actually hocking Tesla automobiles in front of the White House? This is a new low, even for you. Just one billionaire helping a fellow billionaire, I guess. Too bad most Americans can’t afford the price of a new Tesla. Knowing your disdain for electric vehicle mandates it seems very disingenuous to purchase one. But of course, this was a favor for a friend. But it won’t play well in middle America where fair play and an even playing field still mean something. Your vulgar display of favoritism shown to Elon Musk and his Tesla Corporation shows that you are not above using the White House and the office of the Presidency to personally benefit yourself and your friends. My only conclusion is that your administration will pick winners and losers, and that the economy will be driven by favoritism. This is ethically and morally wrong, but that hasn’t stopped you in the past from acting. By the way, I won’t shut up about the price of eggs. March 12, 2025 Dear Mr. President, Congratulations, your trade war has begun. Now it is time to wield your presidential superpowers and decide who receives one of your golden “Get Out of Tariffs Free” cards. As demonstrated by your endorsement of Tesla, you are more than willing to pick winners and losers. The retaliatory tariffs imposed by Canada, Mexico, China, and the European Union will hurt a variety of private businesses and entire industries across the country. Now the process of exempting favored businesses will begin in earnest. The main issue that I have with the exemption process is that it is opaque, often arbitrarily applied, and could easily be influenced by political favoritism. I wonder if one of the main drivers of your love affair with tariffs is the influence it gives you over friends and foes. Once the exemption process begins the line of supplicants willing to grovel at your feet will stretch out from the Oval Office. These reeks of crony capitalism and is why many Americans don’t trust the federal government and view it with distain. March 13, 2025 Dear Mr. President, Congratulations Mr. President, the new administrator of The Environmental Protection Agency, Lee Zeldin, has just identified another government agency that your administration can eliminate, his own. Yesterday Mr. Zeldin announced that the E.P.A. would unwind dozens of protections against air and water pollution. He wants his agency to ease restrictions on carbon dioxide and mercy emissions from power plants, diminish tailpipe emission standards, overturn regulations that protect wetlands and other waterways, and take away the E.P.A.’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Mr. Zeldin has said that the E.P.A.’s mission is to “lower the cost of buying a car, heating a home and running a business”. That mission can easily be handled by an existing agency such as Commerce, Energy, or the Small Business Administration. But Mr. Zeldin won’t have to fret about being out of a job. He will be able to quickly get a lucrative job lobbying for the oil and gas industry. Mr. President, I know that you are a lame duck, but you certainly care about your legacy and the country that you will leave to your children and grandchildren. If you have any doubt about the impacts from weak or unenforced environmental regulations, I suggest that you visit Delhi, India or the industrial regions of China. Being a native of New York I know that you don’t have to be reminded of the tragedy of Love Canal. In order to “Make America Great Again” you must first keep America beautiful. March 16, 2025 Dear Mr. President, You campaigned on the pledge to keep the United States out of foreign wars. But from the start of your 2nd term, you have gotten us into two. The first is the ongoing international trade war and the 2nd, which is news to most people, is the war with Venezuela. On Friday you issued an executive order invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 which allows for the deportation of people from countries at war with the U.S. In the executive order you declared that you were targeting Venezuelan gang members for arrest and deportation. Therefore, the U.S. must be at war with Venezuela. I was happy to learn that cooler heads prevailed over the weekend when a federal judge ordered your administration to cease using the wartime law to deport Venezuelans without a hearing. March 17, 2025 Dear Mr. President, The executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) instructs all federal government agency heads to ensure that DOGE has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems. This means that Elon Musk and his DOGE bros have access to citizens’ Social Security records, tax returns, medical records from Medicare and Medicaid, student loan documents, military records, and records from many other federal programs. I for one don’t trust DOGE or Elon Musk to safeguard this data or to prevent it from being used to benefit themselves or the Trump Administration. This is potentially the greatest breech of Americans’ personal data in history. What assurances can you provide me and other Americans that our personal data will be safeguarded? March 18, 2025 Dear Mr. President, I was deeply disturbed to learn that DOGE and the F.B.I. entered the headquarters of the U.S. Institute of Peace and evicted its officials. Need I remind you that this agency is a congressionally chartered nonprofit that is not part of the executive branch? This action by DOGE and your administration is an illegal takeover of a private nonprofit corporation. This is un-American and throws cold water over our democracy. Has DOGE become the equivalent of the brown shirt thugs used by Hitler to do his bidding? I don’t know where this ends Mr. President, but if you continue along this path the U.S.A. will never see its 250th anniversary. March 19, 2025 Dear Mr. President, I am writing to comment on your recent social media post in which you proclaimed that the pardons from President Biden to the congressional committee investigating the Capitol riot are void because they were signed with an autopen instead of by his own hand. To quote you, “In other words, Joe Biden did not sign them, but more importantly, he did not know anything about them”. First of all, there is no law governing a presidential use of an autopen. Your lawyers know this and so should you. But more importantly, you showed contempt for common decency and spread a vicious lie which will be taken as truth by your supporters. This will further erode faith in our government and chip away at the foundation of our democracy. But that’s been your plan all along. Say hello to your fellow traveler Putin for me! April 1, 2025 Dear Mr. President, On the eve of your historic “liberation day” for the implementation of tariffs, it is important to remember the speech given by President Reagan before he imposed tariffs on certain Japanese imports back in the 1980s. My fellow Americans: As perhaps you've heard, last week I placed new duties on some Japanese products in response to Japan's inability to enforce their trade agreement with us on electronic devices called semiconductors. Now, imposing such tariffs or trade barriers and restrictions of any kind are steps that I am loath to take. And in a moment I'll mention the sound economic reasons for this: that over the long run such trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer. But the Japanese semiconductors were a special case. We had clear evidence that Japanese companies were engaging in unfair trade practices that violated an agreement between Japan and the United States. We expect our trading partners to live up to their agreements. As I've often said: Our commitment to free trade is also a commitment to fair trade. But you know, in imposing these tariffs we were just trying to deal with a particular problem, not begin a trade war. We want to do this, because we feel both Japan and the United States have an obligation to promote the prosperity and economic development that only free trade can bring. For those of us who lived through the Great Depression, the memory of the suffering it caused is deep and searing. And today many economic analysts and historians argue that high tariff legislation passed back in that period called the Smoot-Hawley tariff greatly deepened the depression and prevented economic recovery. You see, at first, when someone says, ``Let's impose tariffs on foreign imports,'' it looks like they're doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works -- but only for a short time. What eventually occurs is: First, homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and stop making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. And then, while all this is going on, something even worse occurs. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers, and less and less competition. So, soon, because of the prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs. The memory of all this occurring back in the thirties made me determined when I came to Washington to spare the American people the protectionist legislation that destroys prosperity. Now, it hasn't always been easy. There are those in this Congress, just as there were back in the thirties, who want to go for the quick political advantage, who will risk America's prosperity for the sake of a short-term appeal to some special interest group, who forget that more than 5 million American jobs are directly tied to the foreign export business and additional millions are tied to imports. Well, I've never forgotten those jobs. And on trade issues, by and large, we've done well. In certain select cases, like the Japanese semiconductors, we've taken steps to stop unfair practices against American products, but we've still maintained our basic, long-term commitment to free trade and economic growth. Note: The President spoke at 12:06 p.m. from Camp David, MD. 04/25/1987 April 2, 2025 Dear Mr. President, Congratulations, your “Liberation Day” for America was a big flop. Stock markets are crashing around the world and stock futures in this country are predicting a bloodbath in the markets on Thursday. The world is in a full-fledge trade war, and you are responsible. You have apparently forgotten the lessons of the Great Depression when restrictive tariffs were implemented by our government. The result was a deeper and more prolonged economic depression. You want the American people to be patient, promising that manufacturers will come back to the U.S. and flood the economy with cash. That is a pipe dream. It takes years for companies to overhaul business plans, build factories, and develop new supply chains. In the meantime, investment portfolios of ordinary Americans have taken a big hit, upending the retirement plans of millions of Americans. Consumer confidence has plunged, resulting in declining spending and slowing economic activity. Your economic advisors should all be fired. April 5, 2025 Dear Mr. President, It is curious that you recently fired several White House National Security Council members shortly after meeting with Laura Loomer. Apparently, these individuals were fired for not being loyal enough to you or your agenda. It is your right to fire these people, but your timing couldn’t be worse. These firings come on the heals of the massive security breach by the NSA using the messaging app “Signal”. Your defense secretary texted sensitive plans on upcoming military strikes in Yemen to a Signal chat group that included a journalist. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz inadvertently included the journalist to the chat, exposing military secrets which put military personnel at risk and threatened the success of the mission. This episode exposed the incompetence of your administration’s national security leadership. The lies and blame shifting by Secretary Pete Hegseth and other members of your administration only made the matter worse. Please explain to the American people what steps your administration is taking to address this national security breach. Firing some NSA officials for being “disloyal” is not the answer. The correct course of action is to fire Pete Hegseth and/or Mike Waltz. April 7, 2025 Dear Mr. President, I am writing in opposition to your tariff policies. I believe that in the end they will harm the U.S. consumer and the overall economy of our country. I know that you don’t agree with this, but tariffs are a tax on the U.S. consumer. The producer and foreign country from which the product is shipped doesn’t pay the tariff. It is the importer or buyer within our country that pays the tariff, and to recoup the cost of the tariff they must increase prices to the end user. In this case the U.S. consumer. The whole point of tariffs is to make the price of U.S. produced goods more competitive with foreign made goods. Without the foreign competition, prices on U.S. products will tend to increase. Coupled with higher priced foreign goods this leads to inflation, the very thing you promised to decrease. You consider all trade deficits with foreign countries to be bad, but in many cases they are beneficial. It doesn’t benefit our country to produce low value items that require high labor inputs. Should the U.S. be producing all our clothing and every widget and gadget sold in Walmart and on Amazon? This would be a very inefficient use of our capital and labor. We don’t need low wage factory jobs in this country, not to mention the fact that we don’t have the labor required. Let Vietnam, China and other countries with cheap labor produce the low tech, low margin products so that we can focus on high end manufacturing, design and engineering, 21st century technologies such as advance computer chips, AI, robotics, advanced health care, biotechnologies, aerospace and other industries vital to our safety and security. We can’t and shouldn’t produce everything that our consumer-driven economy demands. You falsely equate all trade deficits as economic disadvantages. But consider this; If I pay a landscaper $500 to do some yard work for me, I have a $500 trade deficit in relation to him. I have given the landscaper $500 to render a service, but that does not put me at an economic disadvantage, I have gained a valuable service. The same goes for a foreign purchase that I make on vacation for an item only produced in that country. I am at a trade deficit with that foreign merchant because he hasn’t purchased an equivalent amount of goods or services from me. That doesn’t mean that the merchant took advantage of me, I entered freely into the transaction. The uncertainty of your messaging on tariffs has rattled financial markets around the world, frayed relations with all our trading partners, and has been a gut punch to consumer confidence. We all need clarity on whether the tariffs are simply a negotiating tactic like in 2017 or are a permanent economic policy that the world will need to adjust to. Please reconsider your tariff policies before they do lasting damage to our economy and that of the world. April 12, 2025 Dear Mr. President, Thank you for exempting smartphones, computers and other electronics from your reciprocal tariffs. This move, in addition to your recently announced 90 day pause on most tariffs, is a step in the right direction. I don’t agree with your tariff policy, and I am convinced that it will end up costing U.S. consumers more than the revenue generated. I don’t agree with Elon Musk very often, but I do agree with his stance that tariffs are bad for business. I also think that your trade advisor Peter Navarro has led you astray and should be fired. To bring sanity to your current tariff gambit you must bring certainty. Businesses will not invest in such uncertain times. Negotiating trade deals with hundreds of countries will take years, and the economies of the world cannot wait. Fire Navarro, admit that your tariff policies were misguided, allow trade negotiations to continue, but stop all tariffs now. You will be seen as a reasonable and bold leader. Otherwise, you will go down in history as the president who wrecked the world’s economy! April 14, 2025 Dear Mr. President, Your executive orders to expand the mining and use of coal are not a step forward for the country, they are a giant step backwards. Coal is the most polluting of all fossil fuels and is more expensive than other available energy sources. The use of coal has dropped significantly in the U.S. as utilities have switched to cheaper and cleaner energy sources to produce electricity. You are out of touch with the rest of the world when it comes to coal. It is the past, not the future. It is highly unlikely that utility companies will build new cold fired plants, and existing ones are getting older and more expensive to run. Even if you are unconcerned with the environmental impact of burning coal, using coal as an energy source doesn’t make economic sense. For once please look beyond the politics of an issue like coal and do the right thing for the country and future generations. April 15, 2025 Dear Mr. President, My wife and I don’t have cable TV and get a lot of our news and entertainment programing through public broadcasting. PBS and NPR are beloved institutions within our household. They provide unbiased professional journalism, and world class programs on art, history, music and science. The educational programing provided on PBS is unsurpassed, and the programing on travel, food and culture brings us closer to communities around the world. I live near a major metropolitan area so federal cuts may not be the death nail to the public television and radio stations that enrich my life. Not so for many rural communities across our country. Many stations which service rural areas will close because of federal funding cuts, diminishing the news and entertainment options for millions of Americans. Cutting funding to public broadcasting is not making America great again. It is a partisan attack on excellent broadcasting which has been caught up in the cross hairs of the GOP’s anti-woke, and anti-American campaign. Ask your children and grandchildren what they think of the programming on PBS, not a bunch of out of touch congress members. April 16, 2025 Dear Mr. President, I am writing to urge you to bring Abrego Garcia back to the U.S. from El Salvador immediately. Several years ago, he received an immigration protection called withholding of removal after the Department of Homeland Security decided that he was not a danger to the security of the U.S., allowing him to stay. There is no proof that Abrego Garcia is a terrorist or member of the MS-13 gang as you have declared. He has never even been convicted of a crime in this country. Your Justice Department called Abrego Garcia’s deportation an “oversight” and “administrative error” in a court filing. On April 10, the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. government had to “facilitate Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador”. You are now defying court orders and playing games with the law by saying you have no authority to have Abrego Garcia released and brought back to this country. The president of El Salvador is your friend and would jump at your command. You claim to be the most powerful man in the world, so exercise some strength and courage. Abrego Garcia could be back in this country within hours if you snapped your fingers and everyone knows it. Americans and the world are watching this blatant abuse of power. April 17, 2025 Dear Mr. President, With all the pressing issues facing your administration why are you wasting valuable time and government resources going afford Harvard and other institutions of higher learning? This makes very little sense to the average American and does nothing to solve inflation and the high cost of living, things that you campaigned on. Let’s face it. Going after Harvard University is a vanity project, not to mention an abuse of power. You claim that Harvard is defying your orders to eliminate DEI from admissions, curriculum and hiring. Even if this dubious claim was true, you have no Constitutional authority to tell a private institution such as Harvard how to conduct their day-to-day business. Just because you may disagree with some of their practices doesn’t give you the right to threaten them with financial retaliation if they don’t bend to your whims. This is America, not an autocracy! You also claim that legal protests on Harvard’s campus protesting the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the Israel military is somehow antisemitic. Even if this was true, college students, like all Americans have the right to free speech even if that speech opposes your agenda or point of view. You equate all pro-Palestinian speech as terrorist speech, which couldn’t be further from the truth. It is hard to imagine any human being who isn’t sympathetic to the suffering of the innocent civilians in Gaza whose lives have been ruined and whose territory destroyed at the hands of the Israelis. I feel for the Palestinian people and want the wanton destruction of Gaza to stop immediately. That doesn’t make me a supporter of Hamas or any other terrorist group. Do not trample on the free speech rights of students and use it as a pretext to punish their universities. This is a blatant abuse of power and one that you will not win. If you continue down this path of infringing on the civil rights of American citizens, it will destroy your presidency, and your legacy will be tarnished for all time. April 19, 2024 Dear Mr. President, For the sake of financial market stability and the continued independence of the Federal Reserve, please don’t fire Federal Reserve Chairman Powell. He has done a great job keeping unemployment low and preventing inflation from getting out of control. If politics is allowed to influence the policies of the Fed. the confidence in the U.S. dollar will be shaken, triggering the beginning of the end to the dollar as a reserve currency. I understand that you want Chairman Powell to lower interest rates in order to boost the economy, but that will only lead to higher inflation. Don’t forget that the people voted for you to lower inflation. It is in the best interest of the economy and your legacy to keep Chairman Powell in place and to maintain an independent Federal Reserve.  Keep Writing Your Elected Officials. Your Voice Matters!If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American  There is an old Turkish Proverb, “When a clown moves into a palace he doesn’t become a king, it only makes the palace a circus”. If you want to join the circus, here’s an opportunity of a lifetime. But you have to be quick, the application process is only open for a few more days. I will be busy this summer so won't be able to apply, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't. You could be in the class of 2025. The White House Internship Program is a public service leadership program that provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. Focused on cultivating future leaders, the program deepens interns' understanding of the Executive Office and prepares them for careers in public service. Interns take on tasks such as conducting research, managing inquiries, attending meetings, writing memos, and staffing events, gaining hands-on experience that is both impactful and enriching. In addition to daily responsibilities, interns participate in weekly activities like a speaker series, professional development workshops, and volunteer projects. These events foster a sense of community and shared purpose among participants. The Summer 2025 program emphasizes leadership development and community impact while honoring the White House’s legacy as a training ground for emerging leaders. Summer 2025 Internship Timeline: Application Posted – April 7, 2025 Application Deadline – April 23, 2025 Acceptance Notifications Complete – May 9, 2025 Internship Start Date – June 4, 2025 Internship End Date – August 8, 2025 If you get the internship job, drop me a line. I'd love to hear all about it.
If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com. Thanks, Armchair American  Today is the 250th anniversary of the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. It was a war fought over eight years to free American colonists from their overlord King George III, who threatened their civil liberties and freedoms through repressive policies. In recognition of this historic anniversary I am reposting a blog that I wrote after a visit to Concord and Lexington Massachusetts two years ago. The title of the blog was The Shot Heard Round The World. The “Concord Hymn” by Ralph Waldo Emerson was written for the dedication of the Battle Monument on July 4, 1837 in Concord, Massachusetts. It commemorated the Battle of Concord which took place at the North Bridge at the outbreak of the American Revolution. By the rude bridge that arched the flood, Their flag to April’s breeze unfurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood And fired the shot heard round the world. The foe long since in silence slept; Alike the conqueror silent sleeps; And Time the ruined bridge has swept Down the dark stream which seaward creeps. On this green bank, by this soft stream, We set today a votive stone; That memory may their deed redeem, When, like our sires, our sons are gone. Spirit, that made those heroes dare To die, and leave their children free, Bid Time and Nature gently spare The shaft we raise to them and thee.  While visiting relatives in New England last month I had the opportunity to spend time in the towns of Concord and Lexington in Massachusetts. These towns witnessed the opening salvos of the Revolutionary War nearly 250 years ago.  On the morning of April 19, 1775 hundreds of British soldiers left Boston and marched toward Concord to capture and destroy stockpiles of gunpowder and military supplies stored by the local militia. Along the way the British soldiers confronted seventy-seven militia men waiting for them on Lexington Green. No one is sure who fired the first shot, but within minutes eight colonial militia men were killed and several more were wounded. The British suffered only one minor casualty and soon resumed their march to Concord. Once in Concord, British soldiers searched homes and barns for military supplies, and burned all that they found. Thinking that the soldiers had set their town on fire, the local militia confronted the British soldiers at the North Bridge. The soldiers fired upon the militia, killing two men and injuring several more. A militia officer ordered his men to return fire and two British soldiers were killed. This was an act of treason against the British government and the spark that ignited the American Revolutionary War.  At the Minute Man National Historical Park I joined a guided walk along the Battle Road Trail, part of the colonial Bay Road where several battles and skirmishes took place on that fateful day in 1775. As we walked along the woodland path lined with maple, oak and beech trees alight in their colorful autumn splendor, it has hard to imagine the enormity of the events that had taken place here.  Walking along Battle Road that day, I couldn’t stop thinking about the bravery of the local men who confronted the world's mightiest army. Pushed to the extreme, these citizen soldiers knew no other way to preserve the liberties and freedoms that they cherished. The local militias in Concord, Lexington, and surrounding communities had effectively repelled professional soldiers of an overseas king. There was no going back.  Colonial Militias: In colonial times a militia represented a military force raised from the civilian population, for the common defense of the community. Militias were distinct from professional soldiers, and were generally organized around towns, regions, or colonies. Members of Massachusetts militias were required to possess and be skilled in the use of a musket, powder, and shot. Local militia units from all of the thirteen original colonies were the backbone of George Washington’s army during the Revolutionary War. The “Militia Act of 1792” stipulated that the militia would consist of each and every able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, who is at least 18 years of age and under the age of 45. At the start of our new republic, the founding fathers feared that a standing army could be used to suppress the liberties of the citizens, and therefore opposed the formation of one. But they needed to provide for the common defense, and saw the state and local militias as a necessary compromise. It should therefore be no surprise that armed militias were enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.  Nearly 250 years after Americans freed themselves from a tyrannical king, the citizens of our country are once again rising up in opposition to the regime in power. People across the country are joining protests to oppose a president who is trampling on civil liberties enshrined in our Constitution. We are witnessing the erosion of the rule of law and the right to due process under the law. Freedom of the press, free speech, and the rights of private institutions are being suppressed. The checks and balances built into the Constitution are not stopping the power grab by the Trump regime whose stated goal is to build the presidency into an all powerful executive. This smells of tyranny, and is what the brave patriots fought against 250 years ago. It is up to the people to prevent autocracy from once again talking hold of our great country. We threw out a king to build the freedoms we enjoy today. There are no king's in America and we all have a responsibility to see to it that we never do.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary, please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776 American @gmail.com.
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AuthorThe Armchair American. 
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