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Episodes from Letters from an American
NATO
April 3, 2026April 4 is the anniversary of the creation of NATO - the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, After WWII, the US and its allies recognized the importance of peacetime alliances, The pact enlisted the US to stand behind the security of Western Europe, All 12 member states agreed to defend one another against an attack by a third party, Since 1949, the alliance has expanded to include 32 countries, Originally concerned mainly with resisting Soviet aggression, recently NATO has resisted the aggression of Putin’s Russia, NATO countries stand together without being identical, creating a diverse organization dedicated to the cause of freedom an...
Administration is Feeling Pressure
April 2, 2026Trump invokes the right-wing vision of the Goldwater era, Trump's 2027 budget plan about to be released and will shape the Republican argument for the mid term elections, Administration is under pressure to fund domestic programs, Reporting shows that DHS has used special agents in immigration sweeps, resulting in use of force and deaths, Trump addresses nation, but does not make any significant announcement about the Iran war, Tension in Defense Department results in firings, Trump fires Attorney General Pam Bondi, angry about her handling of the Epstein files and that she has not adequately punished his...
The Legacy of Birthright Citizenship
April 1, 2026Trump attended the Supreme Court hearing of the case under which he hopes to end birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, The Fourteenth Amendment overturned the Dred Scott decision and established that Black men were citizens, While discriminatory laws persisted until after WWI, the Supreme Court always upheld the citizenship of children born in the US, In the 1898 Wong Kim Ark decision, the court upheld birthright citizenship, Trump appeared at the Supreme Court presumably to intimidate the justices during the hearing, The ACLU’s Cecilia Wang, herself a Fourteenth Amendment citizen, argued the ca...
Unbelievably Irresponsible
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The Whims of a Single Man
March 30, 2026Trump shares images of new White House ballroom, Trump again suggests discussions to end war in Iran are underway but Iran insists it is not engaged in talks with the US, Trump threatens to commit war crimes in Iran, Price of oil rises to $116/barrel, Current crisis shows what a government imagined by Movement Conservatives and beholden to the whims of one man looks like, Congress is out of session until April 13 and Trump is moving to escalate the Iran war, Republicans are considering cuts to health care spending, Insiders are leaking information about administration insiders...
Turning Out For History
March 28,2026Trump is attempting to rewrite our nation’s history, Administration calls for putting Trump's ideology in place in federal historic sites, national parks, and museums, The Smithsonian Institution has been charged with aligning the work of all of its museums with Trump’s effort to rewrite the past, On the anniversary of January 6, the White House released a website blaming the Democrats for the attack on the Capitol, When the National Park Service took down displays about the enslavement of black Americans at the Philadelphia home of George Washington, the city sued, American people are pushing back a...
Republican Governance in This Era
March 27, 2026The battle over funding TSA continues, Trump and MAGA Republican extremism is so unpopular that Republicans cannot govern, Americans have turned against Trump’s handling of immigration, Senate Democrats refuse to give a blank check to ICE and Border Patrol, Republicans vote down Democrats’ attempts to fund the rest of DHS including TSA, Trump demands SAVE America Act be attached to funding DHS, Trump calls for getting rid of the filibuster, Mike Johnson refuses to bring Senate’s measure to fund all of DHS except ICE and CBP to a vote, White House official suggests Trump is bore...
The Change in the World Order
March 26, 2026In bald language, Singapore’s Prime Minister makes clear how Trump has instigated a profound change in the world order, In place of the foundation supported by the US, Trump aligns himself with international oligarchs, Trump initially launched strikes on Iran at the urging of Saudi Arabia’s MBS and Israel’s Netanyahu, US actions in Iran war and otherwise are benefitting Russia’s Vladimir Putin just as US considers diverting arms and funding for Ukraine, Trump acknowledges violating the Constitution, Republicans may be having misgivings, Spending on Iran War, which continues without Congressional support, alienates allies a...
Taking It to the States
March 25, 2026Trump allies express concern that he is not aware of what is actually happening in the Iran War, Story of administration corruption widens, DOJ has evidence that Trump misused classified documents, Rep Raskin asks DOJ to answer questions about classified documents and who had access to them, Stephen Miller urges Republicans to pass extremist legislation at the state level, Democrats are working at the state level to protect interests of ordinary Americans, Current actions at the state level recall New York State’s response after the tragic Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911. Watch today's rec...
Deception, Distortion, and Destruction
March 24, 2026People close to Trump may be committing treason by trading on national secrets - putting personal gain over the safety of Americans, Trump’s plans for Washington DC are smashing the design of the national capital, Administration is declaring war on renewable energy, Airport lines grow as shutdown continues, Trump sends ICE agents to airports signaling how he may involve them in the 2026 midterm election, Republicans block Democratic attempts to fund everything in DHS other than ICE and CBP, Trump pushes so-called SAVE America Act, Florida Democrat flips house seat in Mar-a-Lago's district, Pentagon has ordered mi...
What News Do We Trust?
March 23, 2026Trump tries to calm market fears about the continuing war in Iran, Trump threatens Middle East oil infrastructure, Trump then rescinds threat citing progress in negotiations with Iran, Iran denies Trump’s claims and social media suggests Trump's actions are meant to manipulate the market, Trump continues to claim that talks are underway with Iran though there is no apparent incentive for Iran to join such talks, Asked about the Strait of Hormuz, Trump claims it will be opened soon, but is unclear about how it will be controlled.Watch today's recording here: https://ww...
President Under Pressure
March 22, 2026Trump defends failure to inform allies and partners about US attack on Iran, Closure of Strait of Hormuz puts enormous pressure on the president, Administration lifts sanctions on Iranian oil giving Iran huge relief without any concessions, Pressure builds over DHS corruption involving Kristi Noem and Corey Lewandowski, Trump threatens to use ICE to hurt Democrats, Trump maligns Robert Mueller on the announcement of his death, Reporting on the Epstein scandal reveals that a vast amount of paperwork was shredded after Epstein was found dead in prison.Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube...