Month: June 2026

It’s quite possible that the greatest legacy of the Trump presidency will be a lesson in how important it is to vote. Good people who ignore or even hate politics learned that politics actively shapes the quality of their lives. I believe the majority of Americans are decent and reasonable people who want the best for themselves and their loved ones. I also believe that most Americans knew that Trump wasn’t fit for the White House. And yet, a full third of eligible citizens sat out the 2024 presidential election. And today we are collectively experiencing the consequences of their failure to vote. I pray that by the 2026 midterms this November and the 2028 presidential election those people will make voting a priority. What we have right now is nothing short of a fiasco comprised of decisions being made by Trump’s poor judgement, oversized ego, and ignorance.

Trump followed the Project 2025 playbook and surrounded himself with loyalist who would follow his every command no matter how ill-conceived. He handed over the federal government to Elon Musk and three inexperienced 20-year-olds who decimated federal agencies and the federal work force without regard for their crucial knowledge base and it’s efficient functioning moving forward. In the end, DOGE didn’t save much money and we lost services. In fact, federal spending in 2025 actually increased 6% (co-pilot) and tax revenues dropped because of less IRS enforcement. By most accounts, DOGE was a shortsighted failure that cost innocent government workers their jobs, is responsible for the death of millions who relied on U.S. aide for food and medicine and caused the loss of government competency and accountability.

The fiasco continued with the imposition of “illegal” tariffs on most of the world as Trump tried to convince the American people that tariffs were paid by foreign governments and not by the companies who import goods and passed on the cost to consumers. Of course, all he did was destroy our trade relationships, disrupt commerce, put farmers in peril, close small businesses that depend on imports, and cause prices to rise. Then the Supreme Court finally stepped in and confirmed that his tariffs were illegal without congress as the Constitution clearly states. But the damage was already done.

Then there are his mass deportation efforts. He claimed he was going to rid the country of violent criminal illegally in the country when in fact the vast majority of people detained are not criminals at all and a good number are not even here illegally. In an outlandish move, untrained ICE agents of questionable backgrounds were given the right to violate the due process rights of anyone they came into contact with in order to fill “for profit” concentration camps before deporting people to other parts of the world. The disregard for basic human rights and even the constitutional rights of citizens through brutality led to the unlawful death of protesters Renee Good and Alex Paredy. Those two murdering ICE agents still have not been prosecuted. The cruel and unlawful actions of ICE rightfully led to protests across the nation and the eventual replacement of that weird puppy-killing Cos-playing ICE director, Kristi Noem.

That brings us to the Epstein Files. Trump promised folks that he would release the files, but instead has been ordering his FBI and Justice Department to hide the fact of his extensive involvement and deep friendship with Epstein. Trump is implicated as not only knowing what Epstein was up to, but of being an active participant. Most people believe that we have an unprosecuted pedophile in the White House. And now we are seeing evidence that the first lady is a former prostitute. The whole Epstein fiasco along with the failed attempts to prosecute Trump’s political rivals, critics, and criminal prosecutors led to the firing of Pam Bondi. Now we have Todd Blanche as acting Attorney General who was his former defense attorney. He is under investigation for defrauding the court by agreeing to a $1.8 billion dollar “weaponization fund” designed to give people money who were prosecuted for crimes related to supporting Trump and a tax immunity deal for Trump, his family members, and his businesses. It’s plain crazy that this whole nonsense is to settle Trump’s lawsuit bogus $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS (under his own Administration) for leaking his tax returns. Thankfully more than 30 judges saw through the ruse and filed briefs with the court to stop it.

We have to contend with the illegal war in Iran that he started that has cost the life of 160 innocent middle school girls, about 4,000 Iranian soldiers, and 13 American soldiers for nothing in addition to billions of our tax dollars. In addition, this war has turned the world upside down as oil and fertilizer are held up in the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices have soared and food shortages are expected to further raise the price of food. The MOU Trump signed has politicians, historians, and analysts disgusted by the actual concessions to Iran and the weakening of the U.S. position regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons. Nothing was gained by attacking Iran. The fact that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, mocked Trump by having him publicly sign the MOU at Versailles where the Germans surrendered is not lost on anyone but the feckless Trump Administration.

The list of messes we are enduring with the Trump Administration is long and includes the appointment of ridiculously unqualified cabinet members, the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, the silly and wasteful military parade no one wanted, plastering his name on the Kennedy Center and taking over the chairmanship only to have entertainers withdraw and the court rule that his name has to be taken off the building. Then there was that vulgar UFC fight at the White House. Hegseth removed the flu shot mandate and of course, soldiers are getting sick in numbers so high, that he has to restore the mandate. JFK, Jr. ushered in the return of measles, and we are unprepared for a new pandemic. There are the attempts to erase or rewrite history and eliminate the contributions of people of color from the public record. Trump’s insider trading to enrich himself and his family is by far the most corrupt thing we have ever seen. The fact that independent agencies like the FCC, FBI, Homeland Security, and the DOJ are doing his bidding counter to the welfare of the American citizens is difficult to stomach.

We are watching the erosion of our nation and its reputation in real time. Finding a new channel that isn’t afraid to report the news is difficult. Trusting that our government will act in our collective best interest is no longer a given.

The fiasco at the reflecting pool clearly demonstrates where we are. Trump gave his pool guy a $14 million no bid contract to beautify the reflecting pool, because clearly aesthetics, not the welfare of the American people, are his priority. The pool was drained, sealed, painted blue and then filled with water. Of course, algae quickly set in and the blue became green. So, they poured in jugs of hydrogen peroxide. The algae around the edges dissipated but the blue paint began to peel. So now, for $14-million dollars, we have a reflecting pool full of algae and peeling blue paint.

The fact of the matter is that Trump destroys everything he touches. And right now, he is destroying our country. I hope those who didn’t vote in 2024, realize that voting truly does matter and that they will move heaven and earth to vote from now on.

I’m happy that most of the people I encounter in my everyday life are decent people. Beyond my family, friends and neighbors, I watch and interact with people at the senior center, in restaurants, in stores, at salons, at theatres, and during my daily walks. I find the people I encounter to be courteous, considerate, friendly, and even generous towards others. So, how is that the majority of us have allowed ourselves to be ruled by wicked people in high places?

As kids we all encountered that playground bully who embodied shameless selfishness, violent aggression, the lack of empathy, and little fear of consequences. We all hated and avoided that monster. That bully was the reason we had adult supervision. Fortunately, most families and teachers concentrated their efforts towards curbing the behavior of such children, realizing that without intervention that bully would eventually become a danger to society. Most who continued along that path either ended up dead or in prison.

However, the trajectory is different for the bully who grows up with money and neglectful parents. We’re experiencing the consequences of how the Trump family allowed Donald to grow up to be a lawless and cruel person who sexually molested children and women, dodged the draft, defrauds vendors, insults others, threatens, cheats, steals, lies, insights violence, starts wars, and murders others with impunity. Most of us were shocked to find anyone who took him seriously as a presidential candidate in 2016.

People reprimanded Hillary Clinton for correctly labeling his supporters as “deplorables” because she recognized the depravity of folks who openly admired such wicked behavior. Trump supporters saw him as “authentic” because he unapologetically defied the confines of common decency. They viewed him as “strong” because he violated others without consequence. And they made him their hero because he promised to defend and restore the unearned privilege of white people. His unashamed wickedness, empty promises, coupled with xenophobia, racism and sexism were enough to get him elected twice because too many decent folks were either too busy or too apathetic to vote.

The problem is that wicked people, like Donald Trump, only become more audacious in their wickedness. Absent the guardrails of his first term, his corruption and evil ways have grown increasingly grotesque to most of us. He ignores the Constitution and our laws, enriches himself with our tax dollars, seeks revenge through the DOJ, and plasters his name and image everywhere. His vulgarity never ends. It’s disgusting to most of us and now our expressions of disapproval and outright disgust are everywhere.

Only 16% of Americans approve of his UFC fight happening today at the White House. Thank you, Mother Nature, for the forecasted heat, humidity, thunderstorms and tornado along with swarms of gnats and mosquitos that will make the event miserable. In addition, Algae has already infested the newly painted reflecting pool. Celebrities pulled out of his 250 Festival when they realized it was all about him, not the nation. Folks stood outside the Kennedy Center in the middle of the night cheering as his name was removed from building following a lawsuit. And of course, he was loudly booed by Knicks fans when his face appeared on the big screen during the national anthem at the Knicks and Spurs NBA finals game. Saturday night folks stood outside Trump Tower in New York to make sure he understood he was unwelcome at any future games.

Most Americans have heard and seen enough. They recognize the mistake of electing a truly wicked individual to the highest leadership position. The question is what will we do about it because this Republican lead Congress is full of cowards. We have many options. I’ve seen a lot of trolls, creatives, artists, comedians and podcasters matching his negative energy with their own. The protest songs, skits, and Lego videos just keep coming. The lawsuits are never ending and he keeps losing. The street protests are growing. The elections are happening and many are hopeful. However, if these don’t solve the problem, I dread seeing what comes next because it won’t be pretty. But whatever comes next, will be well deserved and hopefully effective in removing him and his entire administration.

There have always been people of poor moral character whose charisma and empty promises get them elected to public office. When in office they use their position to enrich themselves by taking bribes in exchange for their votes for favors or by purchasing stocks based on non-public information. This is called corruption. And when independent journalists reported on it, we shamed and prosecuted these individuals because we had a Congress and judges that generally stood for the rule of law and our Constitution. That stopped.

I surmise that public scrutiny slowed as our attention was strategically drawn elsewhere when unscrumptious wealthy men purchased news organizations. Once journalists’ loss their independence, politicians and judges were able to continue low levels of corruption while motivating media outlets to convince us that our elected representatives and Supreme Court judges were needed to resolve manufactured culture wars that fuel the insecurities of a few while destroying the lives of undesirables. Issues that we once agreed were making us a more perfect union and a more prosperous nation became convenient distractions so that corruption along with lower taxes for the rich could grow unabated, leaving the average American out in the cold. The wealthy gained cover by calling themselves “job creators” instead of “policy manipulators” to silence opposition from the middle classes and poor who weren’t getting what they actually needed. Issues like affirmative action, abortion up to 24 weeks on demand, gay marriage, prayer in schools, gun rights, immigration, police brutality, multiculturalism, Zionism, transgender issues, and vaccine conspiracies became cultural hot points that fueled the votes of fearful closeted white suprematists and evangelicals instead of life-affirming issues like accountability, healthcare, a living wage, social justice, reasonable gun control, clean air and water, a social safety net, immigration reform, education, and human rights.

It didn’t help that these unscrupulous wealthy men bought and packed the Supreme Court. The newly conservative Supreme Court essentially opened the flood gates for greater corruption by first declaring that corporations were people and could flood our elections with money to influence the outcome of elections. Elon Musk took his contributions to Trump’s election even further and bought himself an unconfirmed position in an unauthorized agency (DOGE) that destroyed public service and international aide diplomacy that cost the country more tax dollars than it saved and killed aide-dependent children in poor countries. The Supreme Court rolled back gun control laws at the behest of the gun industry; they eliminated affirmative action; took away a woman’s right to choose, creating chaos and loss of life; they granted presidential immunity; and now they have rolled back voting rights to help white suprematists maintain power.

At the core of all these decaying decisions is the corruption caused by greed and power and unabashed bullying, not patriotism. A few individuals with money and a selfish vision for the future successfully infiltrated our democracy and drew power away from the people and unto themselves, making most politicians and Supreme Court justices their puppets by using their fear, egos and their own greed against them. Apparently, they realized that just about everyone has a price and can be bought in this government.

It is no surprise to anyone paying attention that President Trump is the most corrupt president in U.S. history. His objective is money, power, adoration, and the humiliation of others. He is truly a sick and despicable human being. Because of his carrot and stick approach to maintaining control over others, Congress has effectively ignored the emoluments cause in our Constitution which is supposed to prevent his many business transactions in office. We are watching him sell pardons to all manner of convicted felons for a price. We are watching him enrich himself and his family with bribes from other countries and wealthy individuals in exchange for favors like no bid contracts, influence, and investments in his family businesses. We are watching him roll back regulations and agencies designed to protect the environment, enhance international relations, protect public health, and even monitor weather events, all in favor of businesses who pay him compliments or money. We are watching him round up people paying under-trained cruel ICE agents to send them to profit-making concentration camps that treat them terribly. We are watching him prevent the regulation of AI so he can and a few tech bros make more money. We are watching him threaten, bully, and waste our tax dollars on projects that feed his ego.

The corruption extends to an insider trading frenzy that is unmatched by any sitting public officer in history. He has gone so far as to extract profit from executive orders and by starting a war. Even his ego-driven “Trump” accounts for babies created by a $6 billion dollar donation from Michael Dell was in exchange for a $8 billion dollar no bid contract to Dell and a presidential endorsement of his Dell computer products. Of course, Trump then purchased shares in Dell. And this whole $1.8 billion dollar slush fund for criminals he likes and this IRS immunity deal for him, his family members and his businesses is the ultimate in corruption that may prove to be American’s breaking point. Brave judges are stepping in to stop it, however, the Republican Senate proved too cowardly to codify closing down the deal.

As Americans watch the rich get richer through an increasingly corrupt system of government while their gas prices rise because of Trump’s illegal war in Iran, and as they see women and children in their communities suffer from increasing food insecurity, and as they witness the death of women and babies without adequate prenatal care and see others die from preventable diseases or go bankrupt from the lack of affordable health insurance, as data centers suck the water and electricity away from unsuspecting communities, as random gun violence continues to plague our communities, and as young people can’t afford to live on their own, as education and research declines, and as everyone watches AI threaten to surveil us and replace jobs leaving many folks without jobs, I predict a revolution in our future.

Personally, I don’t think the democrats are saying enough. It’s frustrating to watch their silence in the middle of all this corruption. They talk about affordability as our nation is literally burning down beneath the weight of corruption. I suspect some of them continue to benefit from the corruption. Our job is to weed out every complicit representative and to replace to use our vote to remove every coward and corrupt politician. We need brave souls who will hold Trump and his administration, corrupt judges, corrupt media, and corrupt politicians fully accountable. This next election in November is our one chance to turn the tide on the corruption that has gripped our nation. Without the commitment to accountability and a commitment to reverse laws and policies that harm rather than help, we are doomed for revolution in the streets. And I’m certain it will not be pretty.