Let’s see if I have this straight.
Donald Trump set a deadline of 8pm April 7 for Iran to stop attacking ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Over the Easter weekend, Trump posted an obscene threat to Iran promising Iranians will be “living in hell” if they do not comply by the deadline. On the morning of April 7, Trump posted another threat, promising, “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again.”
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What were you doing in the evening of December 31, 2025? Were you sitting around waiting for major news to drop in Washington? I didn’t think so. I was noting the passing of 2025 and the arrival of 2026, as I suspect most of the people in the country were doing that New Year’s Eve. As least, that’s what Donald Trump and the Republicans were hoping.
That’s when the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee released former Special Counsel Jack Smith‘s deposition as part of their oversight investigation into the alleged “weaponization” of the Department of Justice. The committee, chaired by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), was looking into the January 6 denier‘s belief federal law enforcement resources were misused for partisan purposes. Republicans claimed the investigations were politically motivated and intended to interfere with the 2024 election.
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We already know how 2025 has ended. Donald Trump has made it a wall-to-wall disaster with his illegal exercise of power with the goal of trashing the government and sweeping aside the norms of law and reason by which we have governed for 250 years. Even on New Year’s Eve he has vetoed a bipartisan law aimed at providing drinking water to tens of thousands. He has also reposted social media attacks on the memory of Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy, who tragically died of cancer at the age of 35.
These acts of retribution, jealously, and sheer cruelty are standard procedure for Trump, who seems to draw perverse pleasure from these vile acts.
But there is hope that 2026 can be different. the new year is also an election year. That means we the people get a chance to reverse the mistake made in 2024 and strengthen the roadblocks that keep Trump from putting a crown on his head. in 2025 the Republican majority in Congress abdicated its traditional role as legislative partner and overseer of the executive. But every member of the House of Representatives faces reelection in 2026. So does one-third of the members of the Senate. Voters can make their disapproval heard loud and clear.
Buckle up. 2026 will be a rough ride. But we can make a difference. Some assembly will be required.
Happy New Year!
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Anywhere from five to eight million people turned out for the second “No Kings” protests across the nation. The rallies took place in over 2,600 locations across the United States.
I have first or secondhand knowledge of protests in New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. They were peaceful. Crowds were almost jubilant at having an opportunity to voice their opposition to the actions of the Trump administration. The only place I heard Trump supporters showed up to counter the protest was Palo Alto, California. No Kings protesters refused to engage with the Trumpies, who they feared were trying to provoke them.
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Free speech is a pain in the rear. Always has been. Always will be.
It is a nice idea. If you have freedom of speech, you have the right to say whatever is on your mind without fear of repercussions. But there is a rub. It also means the guy standing next to you has freedom of speech. That means he can say whatever is on his mind, even if you find it to be abhorrent, disgusting, threatening and maybe even dangerous.
The men who designed our government met in secret and wrote a historic document detailing the structure of the national state and enumerating the powers and responsibilities of its parts. When the document was made public, the people were not pleased. They demanded a guarantee of their rights be written into the document.
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As the nation celebrates Labor Day, Donald Trump is escalating his attack on the federal workforce by trying to strip union rights from more federal employees.
Trump signed an executive order targeting workers at key federal agencies like the National Weather Service and NASA, arguing for a “national security” exemption to circumvent collective bargaining rights. This is part of Trump’s broader strategy to diminish the power of labor unions, which have long been essential advocates for workers’ rights and protections.
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Every damn day. That’s what it seems like. Every damn day the man seventy-seven million Americans voted back into office does something more outrageous than the day before. It is exhausting.
Trump eviscerates environmental protections. He accuses former President Barack Obama of treason. He rips up labor agreements. He plans to privatize Social Security. He forces the Smithsonian to take down an exhibit that includes his two impeachments. The European Union, Japan, Columbia University, and CBS are all surrendering to him.
And now he fires the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because he doesn’t like the jobs numbers.
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