Browsing: Opinions

      This metaphorical caption that Democracy is being “Gang-Raped provides a graphic description of how the principles and core values of Democracy perceptibly faces violation and abuse. The abusers in this metaphor are political Officials, supporters, and wealthy oligarchs. Who bears witness to this abomination? Who is the leader of this gang?

     Donald Trump doesn’t hate the media because it lies. He hates it because it tells the truth—and the truth frightens him. Despite nonstop lying, he’s managed to stay ahead of reality. But his grip is slipping. (See Epstein, Jeffrey.)

    In Miracles and Wonder – the Historical Mystery of Jesus, Princeton historian and professor of religion, Elaine Pagels explains how and why Christianity appealed to so many people. After 2,000 years, it still captivates some 28 percent of the world population–more than any other faith or declared secularists. Unlike religious leaders before him, Jesus’s message brought hope to the masses, hope that, through love and mercy, they too could find happiness, if not in this world, then certainly in an afterlife.

     It’s important to note that each country’s primary motivation is national security, not concern about climate change or protection of the environment. Trump wants US “energy dominance” to avoid dependence on foreign powers. Directly and indirectly subsidizing the fossil fuel industries has top priority. He’s willing to drill everywhere, most recently opening huge areas of the Tongass and other national forests while at the same time eliminating hundreds of environmental protection regulations.

     Dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, it’s nothing more than a collection of tents on an old airstrip in a swamp. It has already flooded. It cost $450 million. For reference, that’s what it costs to build a skyscraper in New York City. While the State of Florida paid out for it, they plan to get refunded from FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. In other words: you’re paying for it.

   Republican Congress members, with the backing of billionaire benefactors, have long deceived their own white constituents through a strategy that weaponizes racism. Echoing former President Lyndon B. Johnson’s insight, they push racist rhetoric to convince MAGA voters to accept the gutting of social programs—programs largely designed to help them.

       The recent Colombia County Board of Assessor’s 2025 property tax notice did little to convince the property owner they were not being gouged.