I have been a political nerd as long as I can remember. One year in college my roommates moved into our apartment about a month before I did. When I walked into the living room, they had two TVs set up in the living room so they could watch multiple sports at once. I immediately countered that we could keep one TV on CSPAN at all times!
Despite my life-long interest in politics, I have not always felt the need to follow politics every single day. In a normal cycle of politics – even during the first Trump administration – the news from one month to the next did not change that often. Now, things are changing by the hour. Here are some of the thoughts I have had so far just this week:
- Donald Trump knows damn well the Constitution bars him from a third run for President.
Nevertheless, he has floated the idea repeatedly and has now released a new red hat on his online store for TRUMP 2028. Moreover, everyone in Congress knows damn well he is barred from running for a third term. Is he trying to normalize running for a third term? Or is this a distraction from something else happening in this administration?
- Health and Human Services is a very mixed bag.
This week, HHS announced it would phase out synthetic food dyes, announced that sugar is poison, said they would do significant research into the causes of the “autism epidemic”, including starting a registry of autism cases, and we have seen measles cases continue to rise. I think a more detailed look at processed foods and our diets, including dyes and sugars, is a fantastic decision for the health of our population, but continuing to downplay vaccines and the idea of tracking people with autism this way are scary propositions.
- Pete Hegseth’s Signal Scandal is absurd.
We discovered many in the Department of Defense were using Signal to discuss military operations. The way this was discovered was someone inadvertently adding a journalist to the group chat. Then, from a leak, we learned the war plans had also been disclosed to another Signal group including the Secretary of Defense’s family. We have now learned that Secretary Hegseth is going to great lengths to use Signal instead of approved communications systems.
- Donald Trump has publicly asked Vladimir Putin to stop attacking Ukraine.
That sounds fantastic! I wish he would have asked him to stop attacking Ukraine sooner. The flip side of this request is that the Trump administration continues to push Ukraine to accept a peace deal that almost entirely aligns with Russia’s demands. If the United States is ready to walk away from the table, won’t continue to help Ukraine militarily, and is considering lifting sanctions on Russia, why would Russia stop?
- Donald Trump is considering an Executive Order to investigate Act Blue.
Act Blue is a non-profit organization which acts as the biggest fundraising effort for Democrats. The Department of Justice attacking the primary fundraising wing of an opposing party certainly sounds like weaponization of the Justice Department to me.
CSPAN NOTE: While I like watching live from the floor of Congress, and I love hearing comments from viewers on Washington Journal, my favorite CSPAN segment was always the Prime Minister’s Questions.
Sources:
Trump Organization is selling 2028 hats – POLITICO
RFK Jr.’s autism study to amass medical records of many Americans – CBS News
RFK Jr. plans to remove artificial dyes from food and beverages
RFK Jr. eliminating synthetic dyes from food supply, says ‘sugar is poison’
Measles vaccination rates may be lower than thought, risking U.S.’ ‘elimination status’
Pete Hegseth set up Signal app on Pentagon computer
Donald Trump Pleads With Putin to Stop Attacking Ukraine: ‘Vladimir, STOP!’ – Newsweek
Trump takes action targeting ActBlue, the main Democratic fundraising platform
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