While I have a high regard for teachers, we must regret that our educational system failed to teach several generations of students the basics of civics. Many of those students are now voters and, of that cohort, many have become members of the MAGA cult. A few have even been elected to Congress.

It's been said that armies don't go to war, nations go to war. But Trump, the ultimate malignant narcissist, thought his path to military glory was to start a war with Iran, a war that couldn't be--and won't be--won. The result is more than a dozen dead, missile stocks depleted, and billions spent.

Wondering if military officers whose rank insignia consists of stars take a different oath than me and millions of others took to protect and defend the Constitution. Nothing--nothing at all--from stars. Given a choice between principle and career, they apparently chose career.

Trump's plans for new fences at the White House to keep protesters away show his complete disregard for We The People to assemble and protest, a right guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The fence plans also show the extent of Trump's increasing paranoia.

The nomination of Blanche as Attorney General must be defeated.

Impeach Trump now! The firing of the members of the ELection Assistance Commission is unacceptable! Time for the Congress to get off their collective ass.

"The appetite for power grows with the eating: almost nobody gives up power voluntarily even as it transforms them into a monster." - Adrian Woolridge, "The Revolutionary Center"

This is so true.

Democracies can only survive by devising rules that ensure power remains with the people. This is enshrined in our Constitution. Nothing is more dangerous to a democracy than a concentration of power that excludes the people, but Trump, Vance, and others believe only they should have the power.

I agree with those who argue capitalism is the best economic program for a country. But I would also argue that what we have in the U.S.A today is not capitalism, but capitalism run amok. The disparities in income and the growing concentration of wealth show that. This situation can be corrected

If the accusations against Platner can be reasonably verified, then he must withdraw or the DNC must do whatever they need to do to ensure he doesn't appear on the ballot as a Democrat. Our mantra must be: character matters.

Trump's fight with Italy's Giorgia Meloni is showing, for anyone interested, Trump's descent into la la land. Nothing is more clear than his inability to act rationally. If you don't think that's important, just remember he has immediate and unrestricted access to the nuclear launch codes.

The greatest threat to our Constitution, our freedom, our defense, and our elections is the cabal led by Donald Trump. He must not be allowed to lead us into an autocracy the way Hitler led Germany in the 1930s. If you don't think that is a problem, consider Germany in 1945.

Gen. Charles Brown, the JCS chairman fired by Trump and Hegseth has written an article in Foreign Affairs deploring the politicization of the U.S. military. This is extremely dangerous not only for defense against our Foreign enemies, but also for the safety of our Constitution and for our freedom.

9-11 was found, in part, to be a failure of the intel community. The sabotage of the intel community by Bill Pulte, Trump's hit-man, will make America more vulnerable to another 9-11. Where is Congress while the enemy within dismantles our defenses?

Bill Pulte, the acting Dir. of Natalie Intel. is executing mass firings within the intel community. This is another effort by Trump to deliberately sabotage our natl security. Pulte is doing what Hegseth is doing at DOD, Blanche, Bondi, and Patel at DOJ, etc. Loyalty to Trump is most important.

@bsky.app The unitary executive theory, espoused by John Roberts and his conservative Republican colleagues on the court, must be defeated. Contrary to adherents of this heresy, the founders made it clear that the legislature, not the president and not SCOTUS, was to be the predominant branch.

It is an unfortunate fact that the skills needed to get elected are very different from the skills needed to govern.

What we desperately need is a bipartisan impeachment of Trump.

The Dept. of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, was created in 2002, following the attacks of 9-11. Creating this new agency was a very serious mistake as many of us thought at the time. The absence of a DHS did not cause 9-11 and the presence of a DHS will not prevent another 9-11.

Trump’s appointment of Bill Pulte as Director of Nat'l Intelligence is an effort to sabotage our nation's intelligence community. This will make our country more vulnerable.

Is there, somewhere in the U.S.A., someone like Barrack Obama, who can govern with wisdom, integrity, truthfulness, and honesty? Someone who knows the Constitution and respects the rule of law? Someone who will shun our enemies and embrace our allies? Someone we can be proud to have as president?

Barrack and Michelle Obama gave noteworthy speeches at the opening of the Obama Presidential Crnter. Michelle is a gifted speaker and her speech this morning was one of her best. Barrack's speech focused on hope for our future. We need to hear more from these two until Trump & his friends are gone.

Trump throws around the word "billions" as if a billion dollars were pocket change, but that's a helluva lot of dollars and he often means it in the context of taxpayer dollars.

Our country is being governed by a mentally ill authoritarian and a cabal of incompetent, amoral sycophants. The nation cannot survive with these people in charge. The sooner we can restore a competent, law-abiding government, the sooner our chances of survival improve. Our children deserve it.

It's 25th Amendment time.

Barrack Obama is a far better American than Diaper Don will ever be. In addition, Michelle Obama is a beloved First Lady in a way that Melania Trump can only dream about.

It is vital to the survival of our democracy that the armed forces resist efforts to become Trump's armed forces. Doing so would not only endanger the Constitution, it would destroy the nonpartisan stance and loyalty to the Constitution for which so many have shed their blood for 250 years.

Todd Blanche is unfit to be Attorney General. Besides being a world-class liar, Blanche has proven that he is Trump's lackey. His only skill is bootlicking. I hope he is soon disbarred.

A politician or a political party who does not value truth as an important tenet of governance is unfit for governing.

Impeach Trump now!

ICE operates outside our Constitution and is a criminal organization. Recent news suggest that the FBI is heading the same way. Conservative Republicans in Congress are, by their silence, complicit in efforts by Trump, Blanche, Patel & others to establish a police state here.

Various press sources report that Trump is considering Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf. This would be a huge mistake because it would require boots on the ground. We've seen this movie and we're still dealing with the consequences. Let's not make a bad situation worse: terminate the Iran war now.

Tump has ordered new strikes on Iran. When trying to bring an end to a military conflict, it is irrational to conduct attacks while trying to get diplomatic talks started.

Question: Why do we tolerate Trump remaining in power when it is so obvious that he is unfit and incapable of carrying out the duties of the office?

Trump says that he "calls the shots" concerning Iran, Israel, and Netanyahu. I'm not sure Trump is in charge at the White House.

Nothing illustrates Trump's extraordinarily poor judgment than the mediocre people he chose for important posts. Consider: Vance, Hegseth, Bondi, Blanche, Patel, Pulte, Gabbard, Noem, Leavitt, etc.

Trump has hated the U.S. intelligence community since they reported on the contacts between Trump's campaign and Russia. I'm confident in the community's assessment. Trump now wants his new acting Dir. of Nat'l Intel. to "gut" the intel community. That would weaken our defense and should not occur.

Sad to say, but Trump and his conservative Republican sycophants will never accept the principle that We The People does not refer to the White House staff.

The Trump presidency is an existential threat to the United States. It should not be assumed that our Constitution, our judiciary, the Bill of Rights, or the rule of law will survive.

What is going on at CBS with regard to 60 minutes should be perceived by all Americans as a warning that the First Amendment is under attack. We need to re-acquaint ourselves with the First Amendment. It's not just freedom of the press. Trump and his friends are moving us toward a fascist state.

CBS reminds me of the Titanic. What is different is that the loss of the Titanic was mourned while the demise of CBS will not. While the band is playing, Weiss and Bilton are busy with the deck chairs.

Hegseth is the worst thing to happen at the Pentagon since jihadists flew a plane into the building on 9-11. It's debatable who did the most damage.

Trump's appointment of Bill Pulte as Dir. of National Intelligence is not surprising despite the assessment of some pundits. Pulte was not selected to enhance the intelligence community but to wreck it. Consider Hegseth at DOD, Patel at FBI, Bondi at DOJ, etc.

SecDef Hegseth's removal from service promotion lists prove, once again, his unfitness to serve. If he continues, women and minorities will conclude that for them a military career is not a good option. Moral and ethical issues aside, this must negatively affect recruiting and retention.

Our justice system is broken. The primary culprit is Trump, but he was assisted by many lawyers who should have known better. The failure of Congressional leaders was a major factor as was the ongoing corruption of the Roberts court. Repairing the damage will require wisdom, time, and legislation.

Bezos has been quoted as saying that in Trump’s second term he is "more mature." I would like to suggest that in Trump's second term Bezos has become less credible.

Justice died in this country when conservative Republican lawyers took over the Justice Department.

The GOP is becoming the party of crooks, con men, and fraudsters. The curious thing is that GOP supporters in the electorate don't mind the problem. In fact, they support it. Character, honesty, fidelity to spouse and country, and respect for the Constitution and the rule of law mean nothing.