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Midterms a moment of truth

Donald Trump has called 2025 “the greatest first year” of any president, but a majority of Americans strongly disagree: In the latest CNN poll, 58% describe that year as a “failure.” The single biggest reason Trump won a second term was economic discontent with the Biden administration, and it’s the single biggest reason so many voters are now disillusioned. In the CNN survey, 55% say Trump’s policies have actually made things worse and almost two-thirds say he has not done enough to reduce their cost of living. Even among Republicans, reports the AP, only 16% say Trump has ...

America has fallen from its founding

Last Tuesday, the full, 17-judge U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit heard consolidated oral arguments in a crucial case that is all but guaranteed to make it to the U.S. Supreme Court. The predictable controversy surrounding the litigation, which involves similar but distinct mandatory Ten Commandments display laws arising out of Texas and Louisiana, is revealing as to just how far America has fallen from its Founders’ vision. In 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed into law a bill requiring that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom — from ...

Trump policies help lower-income families

During President Donald Trump’s first term (Trump 1.0), his economic policies set the stage for higher wages and more job opportunities for working people, especially low- and middle-income families. Here is a quick review. First, the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 cut the Federal Income Taxes of low- and middle-income families by about $2,000. (Data source: public statement from former Congressman Bill Shuster). Second, the legislation reduced the Corporate Income Tax rate from 34% to 21%. The lost tax revenue was small but had a large silver lining – it provided a strong ...

The danger of Fuentes’ ideology

Nick Fuentes is often described as dangerous not because he is merely provocative but because his rhetoric and worldview actively undermine the moral foundations of a pluralistic democracy and the credibility of any political movement that tolerates him. His record of racist, antisemitic and misogynistic statements — particularly when aimed at the families or identities of public figures — reveals a pattern that goes beyond shock value into ideological extremism. When Fuentes says that he does not want to live around Black people because “it would be irresponsible if (he) had ...

Lessons from Minnesota fraud case

I recall a saying from my youth that went, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” This comes to mind reading reports of the mind-boggling welfare fraud megascandal that has been exposed in Minnesota. For perspective on the scope of the scandal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson estimates fraud losses in Minnesota since 2018 could top $9 billion. We’re talking about fraud in Medicaid, nutrition programs, government-funded housing programs, government programs to assist autistic children, etc. Beyond tracking down and indicting criminals, there are ...

Together we can do better

Let’s be honest: 2025 sucked. Of course, there were some highlights, including “KPop Demon Hunters,” Taylor Swift announcing her engagement to Travis Kelce (which will hopefully mean the national annoyance that is the Kelce brand will finally go away) and — of course — President Donald Trump bombing the Iranian nuclear program into oblivion. But, all in all, 2025 was a terrible year. Not because of the usual fraud, corruption and run-of-the-mill stories, such as Somali scams, political scandals or even street crime. No, it was a terrible year not just because of what ...