Politics

“While there is broad support across the political spectrum for removing criminal aliens . . .”

Screech! My connection to the words I’m reading grinds to a sudden halt, an inner alarm goes off, I look away from my computer screen and briefly clutch my soul. Oh God . . .

The words are from a Forbes article highly critical of Stephen Miller, Trump’s deporter-in-chief. I was mostly in sync with it as I read. Indeed, the above sentence continues, pointing out that “the vast majority of individuals in the country without legal status have not committed serious crimes.”

The 2024 Presidential Election was determined by a shocking shift in Generation Z (those of us born between 1997–2012) — a demographic which polling data revealed skewed toward Trump after years of staunch opposition. Gen Z’s shift was created in large part by the influence of social media and emergent technology, more than in any previous election. Podcasts opened a new domain of political conversation and mobilized a generally disengaged voting demographic. This frontier’s inhabitants — my generation (Z) — shifted to a huge six-point plurality for Trump.

California Governor Gavin Newsom has made headlines this winter by vowing to defeat a proposal for a one-time 5 percent tax on billionaires in the state. Many national polls now rank him as the frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, but aligning with the ultra-wealthy is not auspicious for wooing the party’s voters.

Judging from opinion polls, the American public has increasingly become largely disenchanted with the bizarre behavior of President Donald J Trump and the clownish entourage that surrounds and encourages him. Last week featured a meeting between Trump and the foreign minister of Denmark as well as his counterpart from Greenland’s legislative assembly. The meeting did not resolve the issue of Trump’s “unacceptable” demand that the United States must have ownership of Greenland, “buying it” if necessary, to maintain its national security against possible invasion coming from Russian and Chinese ships that, per Trump incorrectly, are already infesting Arctic waters to the north. To support his position, Trump has now announced that he is considering punishing with tariffs all countries that do not agree with his position on Greenland, which would be something akin to Washington committing international suicide.

There are a million Iranians in the streets facing bullets and torture who don’t agree that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is a poor victim of US and “Zionist” imperialism.

We should take their cue. Don’t let Trump pick our heroes for us. Trump ain’t gonna do a damn thing for the Iranian people. He’s letting them sell oil illegally because he wants the world price to come down. The Iranian people, in his view, despite his saber rattling, don’t mean a damn thing to him.

But they mean a lot to me.

The right to choose our own leaders is not an American right. Freedom is one of the “unalienable Rights” of Americans “endowed by their Creator” — and neither Trump nor Khamenei, as Destroyers, qualify.

Those who cannot choose their own leaders, who are forced by violence to bend to authority, are slaves. In America, we still have, for a moment, a choice: We can be Kings or we will be Slaves. Choose today.

For MLK Day, I will pray that Iran, Ukraine and Minnesota will be Free at Last.

And for Yolanda Renee King, MLK’s granddaughter, playing the piano for me. She is our future. If we dare to dream it.

Almost two years ago, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik made a fool of herself while questioning the presidents of three Ivy League universities, MIT, Harvard University and University of Pennsylvania. She demanded a yes or no answer, in an immature and juvenile way, while trying to paint these institutions and their presidents as supporters of antisemitism for “allowing” the constitutionally protected speech by students supporting the Palestinian plight and condemning the genocide happening in realtime in Gaza.

Stefanik, a Trump loyalist, a MAGA warrior, a supporter of overturning 2020 presidential elections, a promoter of “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, and whose top contributor is AIPAC, all of the above was not enough. Still, President Trump dumped her.

Across the political spectrum – with alarm on the right and delight on the left – the display of warmth from President Trump toward Zohran Mamdani on Friday set off shock waves. Trump’s lavish praise of New York’s mayor-elect in the Oval Office was a 180-degree turn from his condemnation of the democratic socialist as “a pure true communist” and “a total nut job.” The stunning about-face made for a great political drama.

I stand with Sen. Mark Kelly against President Trump and his War Minister, Pete Hegseth. No one is buying Pete Hegseth and Trump's lies about Sen. Mark Kelly (D - AZ). We know what Sen. Kelly said. He reminded service members they are obligated to not to follow "illegal orders."

First of all, Kelly didn't tell anybody to violate lawful orders. He was educating many, especially those in the military. Evidently, Trump and the Pentagon need to be educated that Article 92 of the UCMJ informs military personnel only about the "failure to obey lawful orders or regulations."