July 20, 2025

Elissa Slotkin, the junior Senator from Michigan, says Democrats should not be scared. Franklin Delano Roosevelt says “All we have to fear is fear itself.” I am going to beg to differ with those Democrats. I think we have a lot to be scared of.

The Defense Department is being run by a part-time, Fox TV host, Pete Hegseth, who has been credibly accused of sexual harassment and drunkenness. He has absolutely no experience in running a huge bureaucracy. Hegseth had an insecure internet line in his office so he could use the Signal app, where he posted sensitive details about a military airstrike in two chats that each had more than a dozen people. He suspended arms sales to Ukraine without Presidential approval. He fired many of the top-ranking generals at the Pentagon. Imagine if we ever got into a real war with this clown at the head of the Defense Department.

FEMA is being dismantled at the same time that climate change is getting worse. There may not be a straight line between FEMA and the Texas flooding catastrophe, but it is only a matter of time when we have a national emergency, and all fingers will point directly back to the White House. FEMA itself is being run by an individual with absolutely no experience in disaster relief and recovery. And he reports to the head of Homeland Security, puppy killer Kristi Noem, the former Governor of South Dakota with a population of 924,000, who also has no experience in handling disasters. At the same time, the government is disavowing climate change, rescinding tax credits for renewable energies, and promoting coal, oil, and gas.

The Justice Department, which is run by blonde Trump sycophant, Pam Bondi, now says that there is no Epstein client list after she said there was a list. The Epstein client list conspiracy theory was promoted by none other than the head of the FBI, Kash Patel, and his underling, Dan Bongino. This doesn’t give me a lot of confidence in either organization, which are the two most important departments of government for dealing with domestic crime. Apparently, the only crimes they are truly interested in pursuing are those committed by the Biden Crime Family, which, in their minds, rivals the Genovese, Gambino, Lucchesi, Bonanno and Colombo families.

Patel called the FBI “an existential threat to our republican form of government.” He described FBI employees as “political jackals” who tried to “suffocate the truth” in order to rig the 2020 election for Biden. Bongino, not to be outdone, said the FBI used confidential informants to stir up the January 6th riot at the Capitol. It goes without saying that there is absolute no evidence to support any of this hogwash. Patel and Bongino have forced out many career FBI agents with the expertise and experience to prevent real crime, political corruption, and foreign espionage.

Tulsi Gabbard is the Director of National Intelligence. Her experience in intelligence prior to her being nominated for the position by Trump was zero. In addition to her lack of experience in intelligence, Gabbard had made flattering statements about autocratic leaders, such as Syria’s ousted President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin. She defended Edward Snowden, who leaked NSA secrets in 2013. Gabbard, rather than being laser focused on present day threats to our country, said she was releasing a series of reports that showed a “treasonous conspiracy in 2016” by top Obama administration officials designed to harm Mr. Trump.

You probably know the story of Department of Health and Human Services, which is being run by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. The HHS is responsible for the CDC, the FDA, the NIH, and Medicare and Medicaid among other agencies. As of July 15, 2025, a total of 1,309 confirmed measles cases had been reported as compared to almost none in 2020.

The FAA faces several challenges, including an air traffic controller shortage, aging technology, and a decline in public confidence in aviation safety. These issues have been compounded by recent incidents and near misses, raising concerns about the agency’s ability to maintain safe and efficient air travel. The head of the FAA reports to theSecretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, who has no obvious qualifications for the job other than being married to a Fox & Friends weekend host.

Trump wants to fire the head of the Federal Reserve so the next guy will lower interest rates. Anyone who knows anything about economics, which Trump obviously doesn’t even though he spent two years at Wharton, knows that you don’t create huge deficits and lower interest rates when the economy is “the greatest economy of all time.” We will be throwing gasoline on a fire. I usually don’t make predictions, but I predict a major market reversal if and when Trump dumps Powell.

There is a lot more to be scared about. I haven’t even mentioned Bitcoin, but you get the idea. If you are okay with all of this dangerous nonsense, sleep well. If not, give me a call. I am up.

July 3, 2025

Call me crazy (I beat you to it), but I don’t believe that black people from the inner cities or white hillbillies from Appalachia wake up in the morning and say to themselves, “This is going to be a great day to be poor.” The lifestyles of the rich and famous have nothing over the lifestyles, if you can call it that, of the poor and ignored. What a life. You start your day trying to figure out how you can cheat the federal government and the American taxpayers. Talk about waste, fraud and abuse. You grab your food stamps, and rush down to the liquor store to pick up a six pack of malt liquor. You send your six to eight children off to school for a free lunch. SNAP. If they or you get assaulted or worse, Medicaid will pay for trips to the emergency room. Sweet. Who needs the internet when you can just yell out the window of your stifling hot or freezing cold, rat and cockroach-infested apartment to your neighbors. That’s the Life of Riley.

But the wacky, wadical White wing of the Wepublican Party wants to change all that because they can’t stand seeing people prospering with the help of government. How can we run a country effectively when everyone has their hand out? These people don’t want to be Queens for a Day (that’s the second old TV show reference,) they say. They want to be welfare queens forever, and we can’t have that.

Apparently it’s okay for Elon Musk to get subsidies for his EV’s that White-Wingers say they are being forced to buy. I have actually heard that a couple of times, which leads me to believe that it is a Fox talking point. Oil companies get depletion allowances. Trump hands out special deals to special interests like its Christmas everyday. Thank god we can say Christmas again. The government subsidizes your home ownership by letting you deduct your home mortgage interest. Ghettos don’t get to deduct nothing. Companies pay for your medical insurance allowing you to ignore paying taxes on income. The rulers of the universe don’t have to pay ordinary income taxes on the income they generate from their ordinary businesses because of the carried interest loophole. I am sure that the new, big, beautiful, budget-busting bill that is making its way through Congress is chock full of gewgaw for all sorts of entities that pledged allegiance to Donald Trump, or at least took out a tax-deductible, $1,000,000 membership to Mar-a-Lago.

As the White wing proceeds to throw millions of people off of Medicaid, and strip down SNAP (food stamps,) I think it is fair to ask what does the White Wing have against poor people? Do poor people make them feel uncomfortable? Maybe you can’t feel quite as comfortable with your own success if even some small part of that came at the expense of others. Poor people certainly don’t provide good optics, like handicapped veterans, which is very important to our reality TV President. Is it because many of them are black or brown, which doesn’t quite fit into their color wheels? White is appropriate for summer. Black is not. Maybe they just don’t know any poor people. These people don’t show up at town hall meetings, or volunteer to stuff envelopes. They are too busy grifting off the government. Maybe some White Wingers actually grew up poor, and don’t want to revisit what was a horrible experience? The 800 pound gorilla in the room is that maybe, just maybe, some of these White Wingers just don’t like people of color? I am not saying that. I am just asking the question.

It’s uncomfortably laughable that the White Wing is dead set on protecting us from the abuses and shenanigans that we suffer at the hands of poor people while Trump continues to use his position to enhance his wealth. It has been reported that he has increased his personal net worth, which was in dire straits, handsomely while in office the second time. He just rolled out a new line of perfumes and toiletries, which really stinks. This comes after he announced his new telecommunications venture, which requires FCC approval. I hope he gets it.

For the White Wing, it’s okay for the haves to have more, and it’s also okay for the have-nots to have nothing.

June 14, 2025

In honor of the President’s birthday, the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army, and Flag Day, I thought I would discuss the creeping, and often creepy, authoritarianism that is affecting our politics and our nation. After the killings in Minnesota of two Democratic politicians, some would say that authoritarianism is no longer creeping, but galloping. Democrats have been accused of lacking a coherent message that people can easily understand and digest. One of the reasons cited is that they use big words like authoritarianism, autocracy, oligarchy, and kleptocracy that only they understand. In fairness, Republicans use words like Communism and Socialism that they do not understand. I actually put the blame for not knowing these concepts on the educational system that has obviously let us down, but what do you expect when you put the Department of Education in the hands of Linda McMahon, who previously was a professional wrestling promoter? Professional wrestling is fake, like The Apprentice, and is where monosyllabic words go to die. She is currently using Elon Musk’s chainsaw to destroy the department before students learn what words like authoritarianism, autocracy, oligarchy, and kleptocracy mean, not to mention democracy. Here is a step-by-step process for creating an authoritarian regime.

Step One: Undermine Democratic Institutions. Trump frequently criticizes judges, who rule against him, calling them “so-called judges” and questioning their legitimacy. He discredits election results when they don’t suit him. He repeatedly makes false claims of widespread voter fraud, especially after losing the 2020 election, and he attempted to overturn the results with armed resistance. He challenges the rule of law. He often criticizes or attempts to influence the Department of Justice for personal or political gain, including pressuring DOJ officials to investigate his political opponents. He appointed a loyal sycophant, Pam Biondi, to run the DOJ after alleged pedophile, Matt Gaetz, couldn’t get approved.

Step Two: Undermine the press. He labels the press the “enemy of the people, calling unfavorable coverage “fake news,” and labeling journalists as enemies, a phrase often associated with authoritarian regimes. He restricts access and revokes credentials to news outlets, who refuse to obey him, the most obvious example being the punishment of the AP for refusing to call the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.

Step Three: Use government for personal gain. Trump was impeached (first time) for soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son. He abuses the presidential pardon power to benefit political allies and loyalists, undermining the appearance of impartial justice, and demands political contributions and personal gifts in return. He grifts off of the public with an endless number of financial schemes.

Step Four: Use violence and intimidation. On January 6, 2011, Trump encouraged his supporters to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell” to overturn the election results, leading to a violent insurrection. He tolerates and encourages extremist groups. He refuses to explicitly condemn far-right or white supremacist groups, at times offering ambiguous or even supportive comments e.g., “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by,” and inviting White Nationalists to dine with him in the White House.

Step Five: Disregard democratic norms. Trump refuses to concede the 2020 election and falsely claims it was stolen, breaking with the peaceful transfer of power norm. He regularly prioritizes personal loyalty over institutional expertise in appointments, leading to purges of officials who contradicted him. He fired nearly 20 Inspectors General.

Step Six: Censor and Retaliate. He attempts to punish dissenting companies. He uses regulatory power and authority to punish companies that criticize or fact-check him e.g. Amazon. He retaliates against whistleblowers. He removed or publicly attacked whistleblowers and inspectors general who reported misconduct. He goes after educational institutions like Harvard, who refused his demands. He brought several law firms to their knees.

Step Seven: Militarize the Response to Civil Unrest. In June 2020, federal forces used tear gas to clear peaceful protesters from Lafayette Square for a Trump photo op at a church. Trump has sent unidentified federal agents into U.S. cities to suppress protests, raising alarm about accountability and overreach. Most recently, he sent in the National Guard and the Marines to quell a protest that was totally controllable by local law enforcement.

Step Eight: Detain Democratic Officials. There have been several disturbing incidents recently where Democratic officials have been detained for exercising their responsibilities as elected officials. Senator Padilla of California was detained for questioning Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The Democratic Mayor of Newark was arrested for “trespassing” at an ICE facility. Trump threatened to arrest Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. He has refused to call Democratic Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, to express his regrets over the recent shootings. He made fun of Nancy Pelosi’s husband, who was almost bludgeoned to death.

I could go on. The question is, “Can the country go on?”

June 9, 2025

Everyone, whoever they are, say that this President is purely transactional. It’s probably the same people that Trump evokes every time he uses the word “everyone,” which always means he is exaggerating, per The Washington Post. Anyway, everyone knows Trump has no moral compass or scruples. He has no ethics. He just wants to know what is in it for him politically or financially or both. He is always ready to do a deal as long as he gets his beak wet. The Trump family has been reported to have multiple projects underway in the Middle East, including a possible Trump golf resort in Qatar. And Trump gets a $400,000,000 jet from Qatar. Trump is hawking personal access just as he hawked Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Bibles, Trump sneakers, Trump watches, Trump cards, and Trump bitcoins. He sells pardons to anyone for the right price. Marriage is not a commitment. It’s a transaction.

Thus, it’s worth taking a look at what psychotherapists call Transactional Analysis, TA for short. TA is a form of psychotherapy developed by Eric Berne that focuses on understanding personality and social interactions. TA suggests that we have three ego states: Parent (reflecting external authority figures), Adult (rational and objective), and Child (representing childhood thoughts and feelings). TA identifies repetitive social patterns (games) that can lead to negative outcomes.

To put it simply, we need to ask if Trump is operating as a Parent, Adult, or Child, and what games is he playing, either consciously or subconsciously. A perfect and current example is Trump’s response to the civil unrest in Los Angeles. A “rational and objective” Adult would analyze the situation, discuss various reasonable responses, and develop a plan of action that would not escalate the situation, which is what Governor Gavin Newsom has tried to do. Newsom is focused on dealing with the protestors as fellow Adults, who are trying to express a point of view. On the other hand, you have the President of the United States, who is not focused on solving the problem. He is approaching the situation as a Parent would with an unruly child. The goal is not to solve the problem, but rather to exert control of the Child. In the words of The Atlantic, “Under Donald Trump, the federal government is like a bad parent: never there when you need him but eager to stick his nose in your business when you don’t want him to.”

On the other hand, when it comes Trump’s dealings with world leaders, especially the authoritarian ones like Putin, Orban, Xi, and the Arab sheiks, Trump is all too happy to play the role of a Child, which models his interactions with his own, domineering father. Rather than oppose the Adults, Trump reverts to being the obedient Child. Helsinki is the perfect example. When it came time for Trump to choose between Putin (Parent) and his own intelligence agencies (Adults), Trump did not have the courage to stand up to the Parent, and question his authority. The Child-Parent dynamic explains why Trump fawns over Putin and other autocrats, which he calls strongmen. Going up against them would be the same as going up against his own Parent. Trump is never happier when world leaders, especially from the Middle East, are fawning all over him like a Child. He enjoys making his Parents happy. Unfortunately, the world has figured out that it only takes a little Child psychology to get what you want from Trump.

One of the TA “games” that Trump is expert in is a game called “kick me.” In his first administration, Trump was bedeviled by the Adults in the room, who told him he couldn’t do certain things. He was told by the Secretary of Defense that he could not use the U.S. military against his own citizens. He eventually got rid of all of the Adults because they opposed his game of “kick me.” In his second term, he has staffed the entire government with Children aka loyalists, who are wearing signs that say “Please Don’t Kick Me,” and are surprised when they keep getting kicked. Trumps loves to kick these people when they get out of line. Similarly, when Columbia University acted like a Child in settling with Trump, and asked Trump to please stop kicking them, Trump took the opportunity to keep on kicking. He has no respect for any individuals or institutions that act like Children because he enjoys kicking them.

The media keeps reporting on Trump’s activities as if he were an Adult. In order for them to truly grasp what is going on, they need to think about Trump as the angry Parent, or Trump as the compliant Child. Pretending that he is an Adult is just setting themselves up for a game of “kick me.”

May 28, 2025

Last night, over 4,000 Harvard alumnae came together on a “Call to Arms” Zoom call to discuss what the Trump administration is trying to do to Harvard and higher education, and what you can do about it. The guiding philosophy of the Trump administration is “ yes, we know, but what are you going to do about it?” Harvard has taken a stand on behalf of itself, it’s alumnae, it’s faculty, it’s researchers, it’s international students, and it’s employees. As President Alan Garber said in his second Commencement Address, “The best way to acknowledge Harvard — and what this time has meant to you — is to advocate for education. Everything we might achieve — morally, scientifically, technologically, and even economically — is grounded in knowledge. Where else are you more likely to find a path to knowledge and all that it unlocks for humanity than in education?”

Harvard has had to endure an endless and mindless barrage of attacks from the federal government. Research grants have been rescinded, international students have been threatened, federal contracts have been terminated all under the guise of fighting anti-semitism. The potential harm to Harvard is in the billions of dollars. As many speakers pointed out, this has absolutely nothing to do with dealing with anti-semitism on campus. Harvard, like many educational institutions, started taking steps over a year ago to correct flaws in the system. Rather, this has everything to do with trying to destroy an institution that would not kowtow to Trump’s baseless claims and demands. If Trump were truly interested in fighting anti-semitism, this is not how one would go about it. Anti-semitism is a Trojan horse for controlling free speech and intellectual curiosity to make way for a radically conservative, Project 2025 agenda, whose aim it is to control thought and speech.

The call was moderated by noted syndicated columnist, a son of Fall River, and Harvard alumnus, E.J. Dionne. He made the point that Harvard should be flattered and honored that Trump has decided to make Harvard an example. Autocrats attempt to take down the lead dog in an industry, whether it be in education, the media, the law and so on as they wage their fake wars, believing that, if they can get the top entity to acquiesce, it would only be a matter of time before every other entity took a knee. Harvard is literally taking one for the higher education team. Legal experts on the call believed that the attacks on Harvard are baseless, frivolous, and without legal merit and will be turned aside by the courts, but damage will have been done, and that is the point. Endless lawsuits are a drain on time and financial resources.

However, if you feel that you don’t have a dog in this fight, or worse, you are quietly happy that those snarky, snot-nosed people at Harvard had it coming, think again. Maura Healy, Governor of Massachusetts and Harvard alumna, discussed the impact that the Trump attacks will have on the state of Massachusetts. For starters, Harvard is the fourth largest employer in the state. As Harvard goes, so goes the state. Federal cuts could set off a wave of unemployment that goes well beyond Harvard. Cuts could blow a hole in the Massachusetts economy that would have to be made up in other ways, be it higher taxes, reduced services, and less funding to local communities. The state would see its unemployment expenses rise. Unemployment affects housing. If demand is reduced, prices go down, and houses remain empty. Restaurants go out of business. Fenway Park is half full.

Harvard is the greatest intellectual engine in the world. People come here from all over the world to study, do research, and start companies. Companies hire people, and pay taxes. There are already signs that many of these students are making plans to study overseas, and take their creative and entrepreneurial talents with them because they no longer feel comfortable here. Who could blame them as ICE agents scoop up international students? Without this engine of intellectual growth, Massachusetts becomes, I dare say, Florida.

Harvard alumnae have been asked to open their wallets. Many alumnae, who felt Harvard already had too much money and/or didn’t agree with some of its policies, are giving for the first time in years. I have spoken to non-alumnae who have made contributions because they believe this battle for the soul of higher education is that important. Alumnae and other others need to make themselves heard either through peaceful protest, contacting their elected representatives, writing letters to the editor, voting, and writing opinion pieces for local newspapers. Trump may have poked the bear.

May 22, 2025

The phrase “Let them eat cake” is a well-known quote attributed to Marie Antoinette. It’s said to have been her response when informed that the starving French peasantry had no bread. The phrase is often used to illustrate a privileged individual’s indifference to the struggles of ordinary people. The phrase emerged during a period of significant famine and social unrest in France leading up to the French Revolution. According to the story, Marie Antoinette was told that the poor were starving and could not afford bread. Her response, according to the legend, was to suggest they eat cake. The phrase became a symbol of Marie Antoinette’s perceived callous disregard for the suffering of her subjects, and contributed to the growing resentment against the monarchy. 

I thought the most callous thing I would ever see from an American politician was Donald Trump’s throwing of rolls of paper towels at Puerto Ricans, who had just suffered the immensely destructive force of Hurricane Maria in 2017. Hurricane Maria created a huge humanitarian crisis on the island, and caused $90B in damage. And Puerto Rico is a U.S. commonwealth. Puerto Ricans are not the enemy. Now we have Trump’s instantly, infamous quote about letting them eat dolls. To be exact, at a cabinet meeting, Trump said, “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.” Trump effectively shot 28 dolls on Fifth Avenue, and no one made a peep as he suggested. These are the same people who were ready to impeach Joe Biden over a dozen eggs. This was just before the announcement that Trump had agreed to accept a $400,000,000 airplane as a gift from the country of Qatar. Trump’s supporters have been twisting themselves in verbal knots to justify what is happening. The excuses being made to justify the plane are embarrassing. I would like to believe that even people who don’t follow politics will easily understand graft and corruption, which sounds a whole lot worse to me than the holy trinity of waste, fraud and abuse.

Trump justified his actions by quoting the famous golfer Sam Snead, which I objected to not as a patriotic American, but as a golf rules official. According to Trump, Sam Snead’s motto was, “When they give you a putt, you pick up your ball, say ‘thank you very much’ and walk to the next hole. A lot of people are stupid. They say ‘no, no, I insist on putting it.’ Then they putt it, they miss it.” I don’t know if Sam Snead ever said that, but I do know, according to the rules of golf, that a putt once conceded cannot be refused. You don’t have the option of being stupid. If you are going to use an inane and insane analogy, Mr. Trump, at least know the rules. However, what else would you expect from the person some have dubbed the “Commander in Cheat?”

Many people have said that cruelty is the point. Why else would you separate families at the border, and deport alleged criminals to foreign prisons without any evidence and due process? The right makes the argument that these episodes are just collateral damage in the war against illegal immigration. I don’t recall Congress authorizing us to go to war. Illegal migration has dropped, but is this how we want to be remembered? Are the benefits we gain enough to compensate us for the loss of our dignity and our souls? As it is with many things in Trump world these days, the Trumpists know that what they are doing is illegal and unconstitutional. But, in the vernacular of the playground, they say “what are you going to do about it.” Given the current imbalance of power, there is not much anyone can do about it. However, what goes around comes around. Hopefully, Madame Defarge is keeping up with her knitting.

May 15, 2025

In 2010, liberal political commentator Mark Shields and conservative political commentator David Brooks squared off in the Springfield Public Forum’s 70th season. However, if you were looking for a WWE, Texas-style cage death match where two people enter and only one leaves, you would have been sorely disappointed. This was 2010, after all, which seems like light years away. As it turned out, they had a civil exchange of ideas, and agreed on many of the subjects they covered. How quaint? This was not the “60 Minutes” Point-Counterpoint, bare knuckles segment featuring news commentators Shana Alexander and James J. Kilpatrick, who were themselves parodied on SNL by Jane Curtain and Dan Aykroyd.

They agreed that the United States will not begin to solve its political problems until “the me generation becomes the we generation.” Shields said that the old JFK line “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country “ was not in vogue. Brooks said Democrats lost the mid-terms because Barack Obama prioritized a national healthcare bill over jobs creation. In all, they debated the issues of the day from their respective points of view. They agreed on some, and disagreed on the others, but they didn’t attempt to villify or debase each other.

Recently, I enjoyed a cocktail with an old and dear friend. He had his Old-Fashioned and I had my whiskey. He would probably describe himself as a center right Republican, I would describe myself as a center left Democrat. Whether these are accurate descriptions or not is a discussion for another time. We agreed that there were still a lot of things we could agree on, and that Donald Trump was not the answer to any of our concerns.

We agreed that no one is for abortion. Because you are not “pro-life” doesn’t mean you are anti-life or pro death. Abortion is the unfortunate resolution to a very difficult situation. We both supported a woman’s right to make her own healthcare decisions with information provided by her family, her doctor, and her faith.

We agreed that transgender athletes pose some very difficult issues for high school, college and professional athletics. Neither one of us was comfortable with the current situation. However, we also agreed that it did not rise to the level of a national emergency where the President of the United States has to weigh in for what can only be described as nefarious purposes. These athletes do not deserve to be demonized. The Governor of Maine does not need to be threatened. The U.S. military does not need to be dragged in. There are more humane ways of dealing with people struggling with sexual identity.

We agreed that one of the biggest dangers facing Christianity is Christian Nationalism. Christian Nationalism is a form of religious nationalism that focuses on promoting Christian views in order to achieve prominence or dominance in political, cultural, and social life. Christian Nationalism prioritizes the welfare of its adherents over the welfare of all. JD Vance recently claimed that the teachings of the Catholic Church allow you to ignore the plights of people the farther away they are from your sphere of influence. Fortunately, Pope Leo XIV disagrees.

We also agreed that no one is for illegal immigration. This is a canard promoted by MAGA Republicans to claim that Democrats are soft on immigration. What differentiates the parties is how to solve the problem. People can agree that illegal immigration is an important issue that needs to be dealt with, but can have honest disagreements as to how to solve the problem.

Similarly, we agreed that serious people cannot dispute the fact that climate change is a scientifically-proven fact. However, we also agreed that serious people can have serious and genuine disagreements about what to do about it. Some people may favor mitigation, some people may favor reparations, some people may favor renewable alternatives, and some people may favor “drill, baby, drill.”

Lastly, we would both most-likely characterize ourselves as fiscal conservatives. I think we would agree that the fiscal path that the United States is on is at some point unsustainable. The Republican budget promises another $4T in debt over the next ten years. I for one am not opposed to looking at the social safety net and making changes where change is warranted, but I am certainly opposed to any changes if the other side is not willing to pay its fair share in taxes.

P.S. The Springfield Public Forum is the only remaining, free lecture series of its kind in the United States. In the spirit of full disclosure, we both served on the board of the Springfield Public Forum at one time or another, which is a terrific organization, unique to Springfield, and worthy of public support. Hopefully, that is something everyone can agree on.

May 1, 2025 (M’aidez, M’aidez)

When Trump authorized his masked thugs from ICE to pick up unsuspecting students on the streets of New York and Medford, I was outraged, but I knew that ICE was not looking for me. My papers are in order if I just knew where to find them. Like the vast majority of Americans, I am opposed to sending innocent people to foreign, one-way, torture prisons in El Salvador without due process. When Trump’s tariff policies blew a hole in my retirement account, I knew I was in good company because millions of Americans were impacted. I didn’t take it personally, but I do think about all the eggs I could have purchased at Big Y with the money that I had lost. However, now it is getting personal. Trump is going after my Alma Mater probably because his father couldn’t get him in like Jared Kushner’s father.

The Trump administration announced on April 11th that it would withhold from Harvard University $2.2 billion in grants already awarded and a $60 million contract unless Harvard permitted the federal government to control the university’s admissions and intellectual content. In response, Harvard is suing the government for violating the First Amendment and overstepping its legal authority under the guise of addressing antisemitism. The complaint notes the “arbitrary and capricious nature” of the government’s demands, and says, “The government has not—and cannot—identify any rational connection between antisemitism concerns and the medical, scientific, technological, and other research it has frozen that aims to save American lives, foster American success, preserve American security, and maintain America’s position as a global leader in innovation.”

University president Alan Garber explained that the freeze would jeopardize research on “how cancer spreads throughout the body, to predict the spread of infectious disease outbreaks, and to ease the pain of soldiers wounded on the battlefield.” He continued: “As opportunities to reduce the risk of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease are on the horizon, the government is slamming on the brakes. The victims will be future patients and their loved ones who will suffer the heartbreak of illnesses that might have been prevented or treated more effectively. Indiscriminately slashing medical, scientific, and technological research undermines the nation’s ability to save American lives, foster American success, and maintain America’s position as a global leader in innovation.”

Harvard is suing the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Education, Energy, and Defense, the General Services Administration (GSA), the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, NASA, and the leaders of those agencies.

Harvard did not sweep anti-semitism concerns under the table. Like many other universities who have not experienced significant student protests since the Viet Nam era, they were caught off guard. In response, Harvard commissioned two studies, one on anti-semitism on campus, and one on anti-Muslim behavior. The lengthy reports were just issued with a list of recommendations on what Harvard can do to address these issues to make Harvard a more inclusive and tolerant place for students and faculty of all persuasions. They also developed a “battle plan” for what is and is not acceptable behavior regarding student protests. Harvard is dealing with these difficult issues. What is Trump doing other than fanning the flames of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim behavior?

Harvard has the resources to defend itself, and the ability to form a formidable coalition with other major universities to fight the attempted intellectual takeover by the Trump administration. This battle is not just about Harvard. It is a battle for the soul of liberal education, which has made America the preferred destination for the best and the brightest for generations. We are at risk of destroying the engine of innovation that drives American excellence.

But what about those who do not have a $53B endowment and generous alumni to help them out? It gets very personal when Trump, the schoolyard bully, comes after you, and you don’t have the ability to fight back. Recently, right here is Springfield, six AmeriCorps Fellows were terminated because of cuts from the Trump administration even though half of their cost was subsidized locally, which was a good deal for everyone. AmeriCorps serves underprivileged and under resourced youth in the Springfield area and throughout the country. AmeriCorps’ college access and success programs were shut down immediately with no warning. “There is no doubt in my mind that fewer students will go to college in the coming years if these programs terminate,” said one regional director. In addition, under current Republican proposals, student loans would cost more, and fewer people would be eligible for Pell Grants, which provide vital financial aid to lower-income households. This is Trump’s idea of affirmative action. For a whole lot of people, this is going to get very personal.

March 30, 2025

Someone once said, “We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.” Truer words have never been spoken. The strategy of this administration is to dominate the news cycle every day with a blizzard of mis- and disinformation to keep the media chasing the scandal du jour while Trump goes blithely about his business exacting revenge, deconstructing the government, destroying democracy, and personally enriching himself and his family. To date, Democrats attempts to counter such behavior have been anemic at best. Maybe the million or so people who showed up for the “Hands Off!” protests around the country is a start, but we need more.

Trump has done a very effective job of neutering many sectors of our society. The Associated Press was banned from the White House for not acknowledging the Gulf of America, and there was barely a peep from the rest of the press pool. Major law firms have had to agree to major settlements with the government under threat of losing their ability to try cases in Federal courts. Competing law firms have responded by trying to poach clients and lawyers. Columbia, Harvard and other universities have been under attack without much of a pushback from fellow administrators. Even the artful Dodger himself, Mookie Betts, couldn’t resist. He will be joining the rest of his team at the White House as they give legitimacy to a man, who would have no problem demanding that Major League Baseball expunge Jackie Robinson from its records because he was a D.E.I. hire. There are countless other examples, but the fact remains that people and institutions are afraid, and do not know how to appropriately respond without jeopardizing their organizations and their employees.

It is going to take collective, coordinated and unselfish actions by a lot of disparate groups to bring this government to its senses. John Lennon sang “Power to the People,” and that is what it will take. The government does not have unlimited resources. We can overwhelm the government’s efforts to fight battles on too many different fronts at the same time. Dictators and empires in history have lost wars and territory by over reaching, and outrunning their supply lines. The Roman Empire overextended its boundaries, and collapsed. Hitler tired to fight a war on two fronts.

Columbia University has been under siege for alleged anti-semitism. The Trump administration has threatened to withhold $400 million in funding. One of its students was picked up, and detained without due process. Other students have been targeted. The University President resigned. A Tufts PH.D. student from Turkey was snatched in broad daylight by masked ICE officers. Harvard is next in the crosshairs. Universities are being threatened with lack of funding for pursuing DEI initiatives, and not restraining free speech. Every university should feel threatened. There should be a concerted and coordinated effort by every college and university to deluge the Department of Justice with endless lawsuits. The DOJ needs to be brought to a screeching halt in the same way that Trump has abused the legal system his entire life. Students from all over the country need to protest. They need to create a national educational crisis because that is what we have right now.

Trump is effectively shutting down the Department of Education. The Department of Education oversees education policy, administers federal funding for education programs, and ensures equal access to education, including enforcing civil rights laws. There should be a national walkout by all teachers and administrators, supported by parents, until these actions are overturned.

Every law firm that has business with Federal government should support the few law firms that have been singled out. I think it is shameful that the biggest and most prestigious law firms in our country, with their thousands of the high-powered attorneys, are afraid of going up against Trump and his attorneys, who probably couldn’t get hired by those same firms. The firms should black list any attorney working in the Trump administration. They should file countless law suits until the administration cries “Uncle Sam.”

All members of the media should rally in support of the Associated Press. They should demand that the AP’s credentials be reinstated, or else stage a major boycott of White House events. All stockholders should demand that the CEO’s of the company’s they are invested in voice their displeasure with tariffs. Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan said Trump’s tariffs will boost inflation, and slow the U.S. economy. Michael Bloomberg has been a vocal critic. We need more CEO’s to step up. Other affected groups need to respond accordingly. And yes, Congress, the mid-terms are only 19 months away.

March 10, 2025

Now that Trump and Vance have thoroughly disgraced the office of the Presidency by denigrating a loyal ally, who puts his life and the lives of his fellow countrymen on the line every day in their battle for freedom and democracy, it is a good time to postulate how Trump would have handled other seminal moments in our history, and how his actions or inactions might have impacted who were are today as a country. Academics call this contrafactual history. For this exercise, I have asked Professor of Politic Science Emeritus from Mt. Holyoke College, Vincent Ferraro, to add his expertise, and keep this discussion and me from going off the rails.

Everyone loves a good, time machine story. The most famous one is “The Time Machine,” a novella by H. G. Wells, set in 1895, about a Victorian scientist, who travels to the year 802,701. Many episodes of Rod Serling’s TV series, “Twilight Zone,” dealt with the perils of time travel. Killing Hitler and stopping the Lincoln assassination are two, time-tested, time travel tropes. What-if’s beg the imagination. We are going to place Donald Trump in seminal moments in our nation’s history, and speculate, based on his words and deeds, as to how he would have handled these situations. This “What-if” analysis asks how history might have changed if Trump was making these key decisions, and offers plausible alternatives.

What-if Trump had been President in 1861 instead of Abraham Lincoln?  Trump once said “The Civil War was so fascinating, so horrible. So many mistakes were made. See, there was something I think could have been negotiated, to be honest with you. I think you could have negotiated that. All the

people died, so many people died. You know, that was the disaster.”   The Civil War was unquestionably a great tragedy, but slavery was an abomination. Moreover, slavery had been debated and negotiated since the founding of the Republic—it was enshrined in the Constitution.  What kind of deal would Trump have favored that others failed to see?  Would we all want to live in a society that considered some human beings to be nothing more than personal property?

But Trump is not necessarily a decisive alternative to some of American history. What-if Trump had been President instead of Andrew Jackson?  Native Americans would still have been forced to move from Georgia to Oklahoma via the Trail of Tears.  What-if Trump had been President instead of Herbert Hoover?  The Great Depression would have still occurred, but it would have been much deeper as Trump relied on “trickle down economics.”

What-if Trump had been President instead of Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939? Demonstrating her profound ignorance, Representative Marjorie Taylor Green described Trump as the “founding father” of the America First movement at the Republican National Convention in July 2024.  America First was the cry of the Know-Nothing Party in the 1840s–a movement to prevent the immigration of Catholics in the US.  It was further used by the Ku Klux Klan in the 1920s and was the basis for the Immigration Act of 1924 which restricted immigration. Trump was not even alive when the movement resurfaced in 1940 to oppose American participation in World War II and was populated by many antisemites who approved of Hitler’s racial policies.  If Trump had been President at the time, Hitler likely would have defeated Great Britain and all of Europe would have been ruled by ruthless white supremacists.  And perhaps Trump would have considered them all to be “very fine people”. 

In a debate with Republican Vice Presidential candidate Dan Quayle, Lloyd Bentsen famously said, “Senator, I served with Jack Kennedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you are no Jack Kennedy.” The same could be said of Donald Trump. What-if Donald Trump was faced with the Cuban Missile Crisis? Given his inexplicable embrace of a Russian adversary and the comments he has made about Gaza, a case could be made that Trump would have ceded Cuba to the Russians and allowed nuclear missiles to be deployed in exchange for minimal concessions, perhaps beach rights, a golf course, and a few casinos in Havana.

Kennedy and his Vice President, Lyndon Johnson, ushered in the Great Society. The goals of The Great Society set of programs were to end poverty, reduce infant mortality, improve education, expand voting rights, end discrimination, protect the environment, and rejuvenate cities. Key programs were Medicare, Medicaid, and The Voting Rights Act among others. What-if Trump had been JFK’s Vice President. The entire Great Society platform would have been bottled up in Committee. Trump favors tax cuts for the rich, endorses non-immunization for children, supports the destruction of the Department of Education, refuses to support unfavorable election results, is expunging anti-discrimination efforts from all departments and websites, and wants to eliminate Obamacare and Medicaid, and reduce Medicare. And, I think it would be safe to say that there would be no Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Lastly, it would be interesting to speculate What-if Trump had been President when Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy came to the White House in stead of Joe Biden or Kamala Harris. Rather than being welcomed with open arms as a hero, Trump would probably have used the opportunity to extort Ukraine for its mineral rights in exchange for dubious security guarantees. Some might call this a quid pro quo. Trump would have berated the Ukrainian President for not being dressed properly, castigated him for being disrespectful, accused him for not being grateful, slammed him for not saying thank you, accused him of being the aggressor, accused him of being a dictator, and then have him thrown out of the White House.

Arguably, the United States and the world would be a far different place today if Trump and his Project 2025 political philosophy had been in place at critical moments in our nation’s history. Unfortunately, we are seeing this being played out in real time. Hopefully, we won’t have to speculate What-if many years from now.