In journalism school, we were taught about the history of the press and how truly patriotic it was to be a part of the historic institution of the press.
They made sure we knew how sacred sources were and that the media, more than any other industry, would hold thebkeys to informing the public of what is happening in government.
In the beginning, people saw the press as the watch dog, which would guard the public interest and expose wrongdoing through great investigative journalism.
James and Ben Franklin championed this idea in colonial America and even went to jail over their writing content. According to google: “the Franklin brothers’ actions and writings set the stage for a greater understanding and appreciation of the importance of freedom of the press. Benjamin Franklin’s contributions to the printing and publishing industry, as well as his writings and political activities, helped shape the development of a free and informed citizenry.”
Ben Franklin said, “Freedom of speech is a principal pillar of a free government.” He would also argue that without freedom of speech and press, the constitution dissolves.
Fast forward to 2025, and with the second term of Donald Trump, we see the deterioration of the free press. Covering the White House without being able to question anything is a problem. The days of journalists going to jail for their beliefs are over. The Republicans are just as afraid of Trump and won’t say anything about it, and the Democrats only get involved if it causes mass protests.
For example, there should be mass protests for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who is the Maryland man deported to El Salvador without due process. No mass protests, so no objections from Democrats.
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis, and the world protested, and the Dems jumped right on the bandwagon. As of today, most of the reform gains we saw in the aftermath of Floyd’s murder have been squashed by the Trump administration. Again, no protest equals silence from the Dems.
With the influence of the press being gutted, the Trump Administration can do whatever they want while we watch. We can now lay to rest our press.
Today typically marks the start of summer and barbecue season. Here, in the Midwest the weather is normally very nice, with fresh air and plants doing their thing.
People are graduating, schools are preparing to dismiss for the summer break, and the majority of the time, our minds are far from war – let alone anyone who died in one.
After WWII, America tried to prove to the world that we were the leaders of the free world and that democracy was this really great thing. We boasted about our constitution, our rule of law, our desire to be the world’s big brother, and tried to pass ourselves as the greatest ally.
Meanwhile, back at the range, America was lying through her teeth. The wealth gap, income inequality, racism everywhere, and a lack of equal opportunity have minorities and women being treated like second-class citizens, and there needed to be several movements for change.
We saw the Cuban missile crisis, the War in Vietnam, Operation Desert Storm, a ridiculous 10-year attack on Iraq, battles in Afghanistan, and foolishness in Gaza. All of these events helped change the view of America to nothing more than a self-absorbed bully. What’s worse is that men and women died for these causes under the impression that they were doing some great things when they weren’t.
Then, when many service men and women came home, many failed to receive the benefits promised by the military. Now, this was no surprise to minorities because after WWII and Vietnam, many Blacks were denied the GI Bill and the stipend to assist in buying a home. And if you did get your stipend, you were “redlined” to keep you out of prospering white neighborhoods and good schools. Today, people of all colors are denied benefits, and neither political party has tried to fix it.
So that brings us to today. How do you celebrate such a dishonest holiday? Why attempt to remember folks that you broke promises to? Until we fix this atrocity, we should not celebrate what we have done, we should be ashamed.
It is hard to think of greed as a disease. The reason is that people have a choice to be greedy or not. There are some definite psychological effects of greed that explain much about what our country is going through.
Scientists have discovered that greed is linked to the part of your brain’s reward center, leading to a pleasurable experience or sensation when a greedy person acquires something. That pleasurable sensation reinforces the greedy behavior.
So imagine buying an extra house. You are living in your dream home, and you add another home, fix it up, and sell it. You make a 60 percent profit on the house so you buy another one. Then you do the same thing. How many more times can you do this without wanting more? When you absolutely love the benefits, it’s hard to say no.
There is a part of greed that leads to social isolation. Most multimillionaire and billionaires experience this because they are so laser focused on making more money.
A greedy person will do almost anything to satisfy that urge. In most cases of greed, we see where manipulation and deceit have been repeatedly used to fulfill their desires.
Probably the worst thing about greed is that it lacks empathy and causes stress and anxiety. There are problems when you have a lot of money that many of us will never experience. When you are greedy, there is constant pressure to get more stuff. What’s worse is that you stop caring about the well-being of others as you pursue your prize.
A greedy person is never satisfied, and that is why it always ends in a crash and burn scenario. Typical of Republicans is that they always want to give tax breaks to the rich, believing that the benefits will trickle down to the other classes. This has never happened in the history of America, but it is still their talking point.
We saw ridiculous downsizing since President Trump has been in office, and already, he has reneged on his campaign promise not to touch Medicaid.
The problem is greed, and as long as Congress allows, Trump will be greedy. I just hope that the checks and balances kick in before the masses in America reach their breaking point.
President Donald Trump has a playbook. If we understood history better, we would have seen this coming. Trump has quoted Adolph Hitler and shown us that he is quite the fan of the dictator. At the end of his first term in office, he began to follow Hitlers actions to rise to power through the very system designed and created to keep people like Trump out.
Never in the history of US presidents have we had one like Trump. In the modern era, no other republican president in the last 50 years would have even voted for him. There is no other time in America after the Civil Rights Movement that the country would have elected such a man.
Hitler was quite radical in Germany, and his clear hatred of people labeled communists and Jews was apparent. Hitler was a part of the country that believed they lost World War I because of this group. There were three major events that led to the rise of Hitler, and there are also three major events that led to the rise of Trump.
As recorded in the Holocaust Encyclopedia, these are the events that led to the rise of Hitler:
June 28, 1919 The Treaty of Versailles is signed Germany loses World War I in November 1918. Germans are shocked and horrified. Many people, including Adolf Hitler, refuse to believe that the loss is real. They falsely blame Jews and Communists for Germany’s defeat.
This shock is intensified in June 1919, when Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The Treaty makes Germany accept responsibility for the war. Many Germans feel that the Treaty’s terms are too harsh. Germany has to make huge payments for damage caused by the war (known as war reparations). Also, according to the Treaty, the German army is limited to 100,000 troops. Finally, Germany is forced to transfer territory to its neighbors. The Nazi Party makes overturning the Treaty of Versailles a key part of its political platform. Many Germans welcome this Nazi promise.
November 8–9, 1923 The Beer Hall Putsch In the early 1920s, the Nazi Party is a small extremist group. They hope to seize power in Germany by force. On November 8–9, 1923, Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party attempt to overthrow the government of the state of Bavaria. They begin at a beer hall in the city of Munich. The plotters hope to march on Berlin. But they fail miserably. The Munich police kill more than a dozen of Hitler’s supporters. Hitler and others are arrested, tried, and convicted of treason. This attempted coup d’état is called the Beer Hall Putsch.
The failure of the Beer Hall Putsch encourages Nazi leaders to change their strategy. Instead of using force, the Nazis focus on winning elections.
October 24 and 29, 1929 The stock market crash in New York In October 1929, the stock market crashes in New York and sparks a worldwide economic crisis. This crisis is called the Great Depression. The stock market crash impacts Germany almost overnight because the American and German economies have become closely intertwined. This economic connection is a direct result of financial negotiations relating to World War I reparations payments. Unemployment becomes a major problem in German society. Joblessness, homelessness, and begging are commonplace. These economic conditions make Nazi promises more attractive to voters.
In America, Trump was elected the first time for three major reasons: Many poor marginalized white Americans felt that they were forgotten by the establishment, and many benefits were going to blacks, Hispanics, and the LGBTQ communities; America was not ready for a female president; Hilary Clinton could not overcome her past and the perception the American people had of the Clinton’s overall.
Despite Trump proving that he was not fit to be president of the free world, parts of America wanted him to “shake things up” in Washington, and that’s what he did. There are people who can point out some good that he did, but it is hard to overlook the tens of thousands who died monthly during the pandemic. Under Trumps leadership, America was not prepared to deal with the pandemic, and what’s worse is that a couple of months before Covid-19 hit America, Trump thought it was something the democrats made up.
When Trump lost to Joe Biden, he attempted an insurrection just like Hitler in Nov. 1923, and it failed. The White Fear button was pressed during his second campaign as he began to prey on America’s prejudices. White people believed illegal immigrants were bringing drugs, particularly fentanyl, into our country as well as sending us all their worst prisoners. The democrats mishandled legislation regarding transgenders and some of their decisions were a bit ridiculous, particularly in how our tax dollars were being spent on transgender operations. Finally, the idea that DEI initiatives were unfair to white people. Add that to a very weak candidate in Kamala Harris and inflation, and Trump, the felon, returns to office.
Trump now spends his days writing executive orders to dismantel America, alienate our allies and side with world dictators with the hope that he can become like them. It is a harsh history lesson for American citizens, but spoiler alert: Hitler ultimately is defeated — fyi.
I have posted on the problems we face because we don’t read. Critical thinking skills go right out the windows when we don’t challenge our minds to think.
To leave yourself vulnerable to manipulation is a hurtful and disrespectful truth, but what is worse is that you suffer the manipulation, and you have no idea where it came from.
Drops of water from the sky on a cloudy day are not a problem until the drops smell like urine. At that point, you have a few choices: Check the weather forcast; assume that someone obviously doesn’t like you much; or grab your umbrella and endure.
I have not listed my favorite option because when you have been tricked or manipulated, the option isn’t there, and that is to hold someone accountable for the urine!
I bring this up because the Democrats and Republicans have been playing a game with us. They flood us with information (knowing we won’t read or research anything), and they are never held accountable for lies.
Why would President Biden allow so many illegal immigrants in our country? The Democrats never gave a reason for this. Clearly, this would not be their agenda as President Obama never did this. He publicly stated that if you were here illegally, you would be deported.
We know Obama did this because it was the law. Republicans are always for less immigration at our southern borders, mainly because it does not benefit them in any way. It does, however, give an advantage to Democrats.
You see, these immigrants end up in these so-called sanctuary cities, which are normally in blue states. This is a benefit to them because it raises their census. Biden signed an executive order as soon as he became president to halt a previous executive order from President Trump to not count illegal immigrants in the census. Why does this matter? Because the number of seats you get in the House of Representatives is based on a percentage of the US population. So then, if your numbers get padded by immigrants, you could potentially get more seats and control the House.
Biden, in his fear of a Trump election win, would have tried this and any other method to gain an advantage.
For the Republicans to tell the truth about this would not have been enough for the American people to get behind securing the border. So, instead, he made up lies about immigrants taking jobs, sending their criminals over to us to rape our women, steal, and sell drugs.
See how we are so easily manipulated? Accountability is what is needed in our government, and it should be a consequence for knowingly telling the American citizens a bunch of lies!
ClydeStyle 