My 2 Cents: The National Security Strategy of the USA, Nov 2025

President Trump just released a new National Security Strategy (NSS), November 2025, making a significant shift from all previous NSSes. Like Trump’s negotiations for peace in Ukraine, his new NSS focuses more on economics and business deals than it does with supporting American values of freedom and democracy abroad. And it shamefully casts dispersion on … Continue reading My 2 Cents: The National Security Strategy of the USA, Nov 2025

Steve Wiktoff – Trump’s Trusted Scam-Artist Negotiator

I asked ChatGPT: Examine the roll of Steve Witkoff as Trump's principal envoy to Russia in support of negotiating a Ukraine-Russia peace deal. Is he an honest broker? Is he even-handed between Russia and Ukraine? Here's the response: Short answer: based on the published leaks and reporting, Steve Witkoff does not look like an even-handed, … Continue reading Steve Wiktoff – Trump’s Trusted Scam-Artist Negotiator

Authoritarian Trump and the Decline of American Democracy

I asked ChatGPT: What aspects of the current Trump administration are similar to authoritarian regimes around the world and in history? Here's the answer (welcome to the decline of freedom and democracy in America): Here are several key authoritarian-oriented traits and behaviors exhibited by the current Trump administration—and how they echo patterns seen in authoritarian … Continue reading Authoritarian Trump and the Decline of American Democracy

Russia’s Kidnapping of Ukrainian Children—and America’s Alarming Disinterest

Since Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has forcibly removed tens of thousands of Ukrainian children from occupied regions—actions widely condemned as war crimes. These children, removed from orphanages, foster care systems, and even their own families in areas like Mariupol, Kherson, Donbas, and other occupied territories, have been transported to locations … Continue reading Russia’s Kidnapping of Ukrainian Children—and America’s Alarming Disinterest

Birds of a Fascist Feather:  Evangelical Movements and Authoritarian Backlash in the US and Brazil

Supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who refused to accept his election defeat, stormed Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace in the capital a week after the inauguration of his leftist rival, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in January 2023. Thousands of demonstrators bypassed security barricades, climbed on roofs, smashed windows … Continue reading Birds of a Fascist Feather:  Evangelical Movements and Authoritarian Backlash in the US and Brazil