Advice for potential U.S. allies

Don’t do it.  After one Afghan refugee attacked two members of the U.S. national guard in Washington, the Administration then criticized all Afghan refugees, ending support for various aid programs for Afghans who had helped American troops in that country.

Today I read that the U.S. is no longer supporting the Kurds who have been allied with the U.S. in Syria.

We are not loyal to our friends.  I was in CA working for a State Senator when the Vietnamese “boat people” were arriving in CA.  You should have read some of the nasty letters that came in, full of vitriol against the refugees.  These were people who had supported the U.S.  Now many Americans were angry that they being allowed into the U.S. 

If I were a Venezuelan today, I’d think twice about giving support to the U.S.  If we behave as usual, we will abandon you at the first sign of trouble.

Trump's Davos speech

I watched a portion of it this morning.  What an embarrassment.  I wish there was some way to apologize to the rest of the world.  He cannot believe the stuff he says.  Can he?  Is he that delusional?  It makes one long for Buchanan.  Or Harding.  Not great presidents, but normal people.  Sane people.  

The damage that man has done to this country and the rest of the world may be patched up a bit, but in many respects it is too late.  Our former allies can never trust us again.  They realize that this guy was elected once, and then a majority of the voters, knowing what he was, elected him again.  

We did this to ourselves, and we will never be great again.  I will not be celebrating our 250th anniversary.  I don’t have anything to celebrate.

Christian nationalist is an oxymoron

As an atheist, I’m always hesitant to criticize Christians.  Who am I to set them straight when they don’t follow the teachings of Jesus?  Nonetheless, I have read the Gospels.  I know about the Sermon on the Mount.  I get that when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, he was making fun of the powerful rulers on their powerful steeds.  

And I also know that his skin was brown.  If he were in Minneapolis today, ICE would pick him up in a flash.

Pope Leo, originally from Chicago, has it right when he defends immigrants and Ukraine and foreign aid.  And I respect the three Roman Catholic leaders–Cardinal Tobin of Newark, Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington, and Cardinal Blasé Cupich of Chicago who noted yesterday that this country’s “moral role in confronting evil around the world” is now slipping away.

I’d probably say that in the past we often gave “moral role” more lip service than having an actual moral policy, but at least we did that.  Now we no longer bother.  We have become the evil we once opposed.

College football

I didn’t watch the so-called college championship game tonight.  Two nights ago I wrote about American universities losing ground to Chinese universities, with only one American university in the top ten for scientific research and scholarly papers.  That one American university was Harvard.  

I wonder where Indiana and Miami are ranked.  

More awards for Trump

I have friends in Santa Cruz who have two adult sons.  They are boxing up all of the athletic trophies their boys received along with any other awards and recognitions and are mailing them to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. with a note that says “Thanks, your majesty.”

I think this is a wonderful idea.  Your kids won’t care.  And, as you know, it will make Trump so happy.  

Bad News for U.S. Universities–and the U.S.

According to a ranking by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands, Chinese colleges take eight out of the top ten spots in the number of scientific and research papers published.  This is a globally-respected ranking.  

In the decade of the 2000s American universities in the top ten included Harvard, the U. of Michigan, UCLA, Johns Hopkins, the U. of Washington, Penn, and Stanford.  While these universities are churning out more studies than in the past, Chinese universities have surged ahead.

Now the top two are Zhejiang U. and Shanghai Jiao Tong U.  Then comes Harvard.  Then six more Chinese universities, with the University of Toronto coming in at number 10.

What has happened?  One word:  Trump.  Fewer foreign students; fewer distinguished foreign professors, financial cutbacks, grant cutbacks, and constant criticism and  political interference.  MADA.

Some info for this post was taken from Mark Arsenault, “If Harvard Is Slipping, It’s Because China Is Soaring,” New York Times, (Jan. 17, 2026), p. A11.

In reference to the post yesterday: The two movies from 1942 that I showed students in my Political Films class were Casablanca and Sullivan’s Travels.  Everybody knows Casablanca.  In Sullivan’s Travels, the character Sullivan wants the studio to make movies with a social conscience.  He thinks it is what America needs.  He goes out to a hobo camp with no money and no I.D. and, through a series of bad adventures, is arrested for murder.  His claims of being a movie star are laughed at, and he is sentenced to a chain gang.  The prisoners are both black and white, and they aid each other under terrible and brutal conditions.  One night a warden allows them a movie, and it is a Disney cartoon.  The prisoners love it and laugh at it, and Sullivan realizes that Americans go to the movies for a good time, not a lecture.  The irony of the film is that the movie also exposes racial prejudice, the poverty of the hobo village, and the cruelty of the prison system.  What a wonderful movie.  (Spoiler alert:  Sullivan does get back to Hollywood at the end.)

Take a break from all this

Trump is using the authoritarian dictator playbook, going after minorities and using the court system to try and discredit opponents.  Perhaps that’s why he had Maduro brought here from Venezuela–he needed some pointers.

But I thought you and I both needed a break from all this, so I decided to give you the New York Times list of the top ten movies of the year I was born.  Most of them I’ve never seen, but I was born near the end of 1942, so I have an excuse.  Two of them I showed in my political films class.  See if you can guess which two.  Here’s the list:

In Which We Serve

Journey for Margaret

Casablanca

One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

Wake Island

Mrs. Miniver

Yankee Doodle Dandy

The Gold Rush

Woman of the Year

Sullivan’s Travels

Advice for Secretary Hegseth

Everything I’ve ever read about military strategy concludes that it is best not to fight a two-front war.  You split your forces to your disadvantage.  In World War II the U.S. did fight a two-front war, but we didn’t have much choice, and the decision was made early to concentrate on the European front.  First Germany, than Japan.

Now I worry that the U.S. is about to embark on a two-front war, and it is one which we have not sufficiently thought through.  By dividing our forces between Minneapolis and Greenland, we might easily be headed for a big disaster.  Even worse, there have been rumblings about attacking Iran for shooting demonstrators, although I am not sure who in the current Administration would even think that’s a problem.

Finally there is the issue of Venezuela.  And didn’t we recently bomb Nigeria?  Who is in charge here?  I hope, dear Secretary, that you aren’t drinking again. 

Pedophile protector

I think that every time Trump appears in public, some brave soul should yell out “pedophile protector” or something equally appropriate.  It would be nice if that pedophile was called out every time he is in front of the public.  

Dispatch from Minneapolis, Part 2

Here is the continuation of last night’s post:

Food, water, and bathroom breaks were extremely difficult to acquire. I would ask over the intercom provided in the cell for a bathroom break, be told someone was on their way, then ask again 20 minutes later, be told someone was on their way, wait another 20 minutes, etc. Eventually they either turned off the intercom or it stopped working, because no one would respond. I could get water and bathroom breaks by pounding on the glass when someone happened to walk by and beg them directly. Hours would go by without anyone checking on us. I am vegan and the only food they offered were turkey sandwiches, fruit snacks with gelatin, and granola bars with honey. I eventually ate a granola bar out of hunger.

I was in the cell alone for between 1 and 2 hours, then another man was put into my cell, whose shirt was ripped open from his arrest, and an injured toe, who was carried aggressively into an unmarked car during his arrest. After about 4-5 hours, another man was brought in who had a cut on his head from his arrest. He told me he was tackled by 4 or 5 agents during his arrest. At no point was he offered medical assistance.

Later I was told that a lawyer was here to see me, and I was able to speak with him in a visitation room. The special agent told me that the door could not be closed all the way, so it was cracked during my interaction with my lawyer. I got the impression that they were not used to having lawyers present, and were trying to follow procedure as best they could. I asked an agent if the other detainees were allowed lawyers and was not answered.

At one point, 3 men from the department of Homeland Security Investigations brought me into a cell. They insinuated that they could help me out. After inquiring several times what exactly they meant they finally told me that they could offer undocumented family members of mine legal protection if I have any (I don’t), or money, in exchange for giving them the names of protest organizers, or undocumented persons. I was shocked, and told them no.

Finally, after hours of detention, I was told to follow an agent. At no point was I told whether or not I was being charged, or where I was going, but I was led out of the building. I asked if I could use a phone to call my wife to pick me up, and was told I could not. After pleading for several minutes eventually Special Agent William let me use his phone to call my wife. As I was escorted off the property by government agents, I was told to turn right. I was escorted to the protest area, where 5 minutes later, tear gas was deployed and I was struck by a paint ball gun. I was not protesting, I was simply being released without charges after an 8 hour detention. I was on the other side of the street, as instructed by the agents that released me and the agents shouting orders over a bullhorn. A passerby who was tear gassed was panicking and having an asthma attack, so I helped her find a medic to get her an inhaler. I used a stranger's phone to co-ordinate pickup, and was picked up by my wife.

During my detention I knew that I was being released. I knew that as a citizen of the United States I have legal protection. The hundred or so other people being detained had no such protection. At this time I don’t need your help, it is the families that are being separated, abused, terrorized, harassed and killed that need your help. If this is happening to me, an American citizen born in the United States, then what is happening to the people in here that have no one calling lawyers on their behalf? That have no constitutional rights to due process? What is happening to the people that they will never be released to see their families, go to their jobs, or walk through their city ever again? 

Dispatch from Minneapolis

The sister of a very good friend of mine lives in Minneapolis  The sister is part of a group of parents trying to guard bus stops to protect parents (and kids) from being harassed by thugs from ICE.  She sent testimony from another volunteer who was recently arrested.

I have redacted the person’s name.  [That’s a word I learned from the attempt to block the president’s name in the Epstein files.]   Here is a portion of what he wrote.  I know it is long, but as you read it, remember this is occurring in the U.S., now:

I am a US citizen from Minneapolis. Yesterday, while doing legal observation, ICE stopped their cars to harass my friend and me. They sprayed pepper spray into the vent of our vehicle. We held our hands in the air and told them we were not obstructing, that the car was in park and they were free to drive forward and away. There was no active immigration raid. They returned to their cars, and drove forward a bit, then decided to stop again. They surrounded us, smashed the windows of our car, opened the doors (they were unlocked), ripped my friend and I out of the car and arrested us on charges of obstruction.

I was put in an unmarked SUV, separated from my friend. As I was put in the back seat an ICE agent tore the whistle off my neck and said “I’ll be taking this, I might need it later.” My phone was knocked out of my hand while being arrested. As we drove away I asked the driver and the passenger if they wouldn’t mind buckling my seatbelt, as they were driving erratically. I was ignored. I asked them if I could have the handcuffs loosened, as I was losing circulation, and was told no. At one point the passenger realized his own driver's license was in the backseat next to mine, and tried to surreptitiously grab it without me seeing it.

We were taken to the Whipple federal building, where I saw dozens of brown people being processed in an unheated garage. I was frisked, told of my charges, and saw buses and vans being prepped. I later learned that these were being filled with detainees and driven to the airport for deportation. As we were led in, I noticed that the building was very busy. I got the impression that one of the 2 agents bringing me around was being trained. At multiple points throughout my stay, government agents were unable to open doors, not sure where they were meant to be going, and overall confused and overwhelmed. They couldn’t figure out how to use the building phones, or complained about a lack of cell service preventing them from checking the internet or making calls.

The people in the cells were extremely scared. We heard people screaming "let me out!", crying, wailing and terrified screams. There were cells with as many as 8 people. I have no way of knowing how long they have been there, if they were allowed any contact with the outside world, or if they were being brought food or water. Most people were staring at the ground with almost no energy. I was not allowed to talk to anyone imprisoned. I distinctly remember seeing a desperate woman. She was staring at the ground with her head in her hands crying, hopeless, while her friend or family member sat on a bathroom seat observed by 3 men.

My friend and I were put in an area for "USCs," which we eventually learned meant US citizens, separated by gender. We were imprisoned for 8 hours, during which my friend was never allowed a phone call. I was allowed to call my wife and tell her where I was. During my interview with Special Agent William and Special Agent Garcia, they asked me to empty my pockets. When I pulled out gloves, Agent William said those were meant to be taken when I was processed, and complained about having to fill out the form again. He frisked me once more, where he found glass in my pocket from when our car window was shattered. He filled out the form listing my personal items again, but put the wrong date. I was read my rights, I pleaded the fifth and was led back to my cell.

Part II Tomorrow

Anticipating Trump

A number of my friends have said the Founding Fathers never anticipated someone like Trump.  I agree that they never thought of someone precisely like Trump (no morals, stupid, a grifter, a pedophile, etc., etc.) in the Presidency, but they did anticipate that someone would abuse power and try to rule like a king.  

That is precisely why we have three branches of government with its checks and balances.  Power was diffused.  Ambition would counter ambition.  Terms differed.  Powers differed.  There were always limits.

What they did not anticipate was a single ideologue capturing all three branches.  They did not anticipate a craven Congress.  And they certainly did not anticipate a Judicial branch of spineless and weak jurists.  

In an analysis of appeals court justices appointed in his first term, researchers found that those Trump-appointed justices backed him 133 to 12 in cases brought in 2025.  92% of the judgements by Trump judicial appointees in the 13 appellate courts were to allow Trump’s policies to take effect.

Judicial appointees often tilt to the party of the President who appointed them.  75% of the judicial appointees of George H.W. Bush backed Trump, 69% of decisions by Reagan’s appointees favored Trump, but only those judges appointed by Trump backed him over nine out of ten times.

So there you have it–Trump has control of a spineless Senate and House and the lifetime appointees in the Courts.  Madison and Hamilton and Adams and the rest of them could not have predicted that.  American voters could not have predicted that so many people in this country would be willing to serve someone this evil.

For the full analysis of the judicial decisions, see Mattathias Schwartz and Emma Schwartz,  “Trump’s ‘Superstar’ Judges Backed Him 133-12 in ’25,” New York Times, (Jan. 11, 2026), pp. 1, 26.

Giving Up Is Unforgivable

That is the title of a book by Joyce Vance (no relation).  The subtitle is A Manual for Keeping a Democracy.  All kinds of good advice.   Published by Dutton.  2025.  Ask your local library to get a copy or buy one yourself.

Who were those masked men?

The Times ran a photo of secret police on motorcycles in Caracas.  There has been a crackdown on people who celebrated when President Nicolas Maduro was kidnapped.  The police were wearing masks.  When I saw the photo, my first thought was “Look at that.  Just like ICE agents.” 

No More Doctors Without Borders in Gaza

Israel has told Doctors Without Borders it can no longer operate in Gaza.  The humanitarian organization has roughly 1000 Palestinian workers.  A number of its employees also called Israeli government policy in Gaza “genocide.”  So, Israel, in an evident attempt to prove they were correct, threw them out.  

This is not the first group Israel kicked out of Gaza.  The Times News ran an Associated Press article on January 5 by Sam Mednick and Julia Frankel entitled “Israel bans 37 aid groups from work in Gaza.”  As bad as things are in Gaza, they will now get worse.  Israel has become a pariah nation, and what it is doing in Gaza is, in a word, “genocide.”

Info in the first paragraph is from today's New York Times, "Israeli Officials Tell Doctors Without Borders to End Its Aid Walk in Gaza, p. A10.

Kristi Noem channels Hitler

If you saw or heard the statement by Kristi Noem about the murder of the woman in Minneapolis, you heard a speech that could have been delivered by Hitler.  Whenever she talks about illegal immigrants and defines them as evil and criminals and terrorists, you are hearing the echo of Hitler.  Only the target of the hatred differs. 

Supply and demand and cocaine

Suppose no one in the U.S. used cocaine.  Suppose the market wasn’t there.  Would anyone be shipping cocaine from Venezuela to the U.S.  Of course not.  

Are we perhaps punishing the wrong people?  I’m certainly not an expert on this, but  I have never heard of someone holding a gun to the head of a person and demanding that he sniff cocaine up his nose.  This whole thing needs to be reevaluated.

And please please don’t give me that song about it being a sickness.  Is there anyone left in this country that doesn’t know that cocaine is a habit-forming drug?  Really? 

Speaking of Denmark

Last Tuesday Denmark stopped delivering letters.  Denmark has had a postal service for 400 years, but, like here, almost no one sends letters any more.  They phone.  They email.  They text.  

You can still get a letter in Denmark, but a private company will now deliver it.  

Some Danes, however , have noticed that younger people are writing more letters because it is vintage, and because when you do get a letter, it is really special, as opposed to a text.

It gets worse

The theory of Mutually Assured Destruction has worked well in preventing nuclear war, but there were always issues with it.  For example, a flock of geese on the radar could be mistaken for incoming missiles.  Other issues, sometimes mentioned, were that a country with nuclear weapons might be ruled by a madman who didn’t care about the future of the globe, or a stupid ruler who didn’t understand the consequences of nuclear war.

Never did I think the madman or the stupid ruler would be the President of the U.S.  I couldn’t even comprehend that a President would somehow manage to be a stupid madman.  Yet here we are.

A lesson for today from 1974

In the weeks before President Nixon resigned from the Presidency, Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger called in the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Chiefs.  He told them he wanted to know about any orders that came from the President outside the normal chain of command.  He and the Joint Chief were prepared to countermand such orders. 

What was he worried about?  He was concerned that President Nixon might fake a foreign crisis.  Nixon could then go on TV with a speech something like this:

“My fellow Americans.  We are facing what may be the greatest crisis in our country’s history.  We have information that –––––– is ready to launch an attack on American cities, and I have ordered a preemptive strike.  In this hour of peril we have no time to be distracted by Watergate and its partisan intentions.  As a result I have dismissed the Congress and declared a state of emergency and martial law for the next three months.”

This is what Schlesinger and the Generals were prepared to prevent.  

Today we don’t have a Department of Defense.  We have a Department of War.  We don’t have a Secretary who obeys the Constitution.  We have a Secretary who violates both the Constitution and the rules of warfare.  We don’t have Generals who disobey illegal orders.  They’ve been dismissed.  We don’t have independent sources of news.  We have “Truth Social” and Fox News and X.  

And we have China and Russia taking notes.