This is the second part of a two-part series on trust-busting and the news media. In part one, we examined the nature of the trust-busting from a variety of perspectives. In this blog, we examine the causes of the trust-busting and what to do to address them. Many critics of the traditional news media would cite it as the sole source of the trust-busting. That is definitely not the case. The Trust-Busting Factors As we pointed out near the end of our first blog, there are a number … [Read more...]
Silencing the Voices of America
Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear. — Harry S. Truman President Truman’s somber warning issued in 1950 is prescient and chilling in 2025. (For information on the context for Truman’s comment, click here). That’s due to the fact that … [Read more...]
Trump’s War on DEI
Immediately upon his return to the White House Donald J. Trump went to war against DEI. On January 20 and January 21, President Trump signed three executive orders related to DEI. Two addressed DEI initiatives in the federal government. The third was directed at DEI initiatives in the private sector. In this blog, we examine the nature and impact of those executive orders and look at DEI in a broader context. DEI Elimination in the Government The governmentally focused executive … [Read more...]
The Polarized Gulf of America
On his inauguration day of January 20, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. He followed that up by signing a second executive order on February 9th, recognizing that day as Gulf of America Day. Truth be told, there was already a Gulf of America. It is the chasm between Americans with vastly different beliefs and belief systems. As we discussed in an earlier blog, this gulf was borne out of what academics have … [Read more...]
America’s “Golden Daze”
In a democracy, every citizen, regardless of his interest in politics, ‘holds office’; every one of us is in a position of responsibility; and, in the final analysis, the kind of government we get depends upon how we fulfill those responsibilities. We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve. — John F. Kennedy The American people have spoken. The political leader they chose for the nation in this past … [Read more...]
Jimmy Carter: A Good Citizen
In January, in our nation’s capital, there was a state funeral for Jimmy Carter, the 39th president, and Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States. Trump is very well known. Carter not so much. This raises the question: Who was Jimmy Carter? There was a flood of commentary answering this question after Carter died on December 29, 2024, through his state funeral and burial on January 9. Among other things, he was remembered as an … [Read more...]
The Federal Government’s Need for Reform in Perspective
The federal government is under attack. That attack is not coming from a foreign government or enemy troops, but from those in this country who consider the federal government the deep state, or want it to do only their bidding. The attack is supported or approved of by some citizens who, for a variety of reasons, have issues with the federal government. There is no question that the federal government is not perfect and never will be. It is, however, not a deep state, nor should it be … [Read more...]
2025: Year of the Trump-et and the Musk-et?
On January 20, 2025 Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States. Eight years earlier on January 20, 2017, Trump was sworn in as the 45th president. In the period from that date until he left office on January 20, 2021, President Trump blew his trumpet improvisationally and idiosyncratically. He did that because he had no specific musical score to play and was not prepared for the job. That will not be the case this time around. Trump has a definite … [Read more...]
A Holiday Prayer For Peace On Earth
Peace on earth has been a common request since the beginning of time. Luke, the apostle, said in Bible verse 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased!” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the poet, in 1863 wrote: I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men! U-2, the rock band, in 2001 sang: Heaven on Earth We need it … [Read more...]
Rediscovering America’s Working Class
Working class voters sent a wake-up call in this presidential election. Their call was that they were angry and tired of being taken for granted. As a result, the majority of them voted for Donald Trump instead of Kamala Harris. That call raises the conventional “W” questions of who, what, when, where, why: Who is in the working class? What are the conditions of the working class? When did those conditions start to change? Where does the working class live? Why did … [Read more...]