Patrick Henry 48

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Um... you guys? I think I know what the "October Surprise" might be. Also, a teaser of my conversation with @franifio.bsky.social - full interview drops tomorrow. France has a debt problem, Lebanon has an Israel problem, and Hegseth is just a problem.

My daughter passed away in 2024 and left a hole in my life that can never be filled. My daughter was a lot of things, a gentle soul, English scholar, poet, nurse, and dog lover. She loved many dogs, but Mr. Rudy Sherman was the love of her life. Rudy was beautiful, intelligent, an mischievous.

the president of the united states wants to use the american military to kill american citizens on american soil. that's the whole story!

My daughter passed away in 2024 and left a hole in my life that can never be filled. My daughter was a lot of things, a gentle soul, English scholar, poet, nurse, and dog lover. She loved many dogs, but Mr. Rudy Sherman was the love of her life. Rudy was beautiful, intelligent, an mischievous.

Tomorrow will be the second Father’s Day since my daughter died. I still have a son that I love, but I just can’t think about Father’s Day without being sad.

Imagine how much better the world would be if more people lived according to the spirit of the Keb Mo-Taj Mahal song “Room on the the Porch.” For example: “All of our friends are now your friends. That’s how we do it here.” youtube.com/watch?v=jMov...

My daughter was a nurse who risked her life to save COVID patients and survived. In 2024 she caught a different virus from one of her patients. This virus put my wife in the hospital and killed my daughter. If a vaccine is developed for this virus, it probably won't be done in the U.S.

My daughter passed away in May 2024. In June a neighborhood cat that she called “Kitty” came to our house and looked in one of the small glass windows that line each side of our front door. She was looking for my daughter. The first thought that ran through my mind was, “Kitty, she is not here.”

In case you were wondering if I am a college graduate, yes I am, but I have watched a lot of TV since then, so I am pretty much back to normal now. In fact, I may have overshot normal on the way down.

Our dog Gracie decided she wants to learn more about Leonardo da Vinci.

My daughter passed away last year. I created this drawing of her basenji for her birthday card several years ago. The caption on the card is a quote from Fred A. Clark that reads: “Everyone is trying to accomplish something big not realizing that life is made up of small things.”

Trump’s tariffs and other policies are already causing prices to increase and GDP to decline. The FED cannot reduce interest rates to boost GDP without driving prices up. If Trump gets his way and forces the FED to reduce rates, we will see a return of the stagflation.

Federal Reserve data shows that the amount of U.S. wealth owned by the top 1% of the population has increased from 22.8% in 1989 to 30.8% in 2024. The Supreme Court has made it easier for people with money to influence political outcomes. It’s not surprising that our republic is endangered.

We are cutting NIH, CDC, USAID, and other organizations that work to keep us alive. We also have a vaccination and science denier in charge of HHS. Remember when Trump malfeasance caused tens of thousands of Americans to needlessly die from COVID. What could go wrong?

Currently the U.S., Russia, China, the U.K. France, Pakistan, India, Isreal, and North Korea have nuclear weapons. The U.S. and our former allies have worked to limit the proliferation of these weapons. Now that we have abandoned our allies, more countries with develop nukes. Do you feel safe?

The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 was passed to ensure that the President spends the money Congress appropriates in the way intended. Civil service employees have legal protections designed to prevent arbitrary terminations. These are just a couple examples of laws being ignored by Trump and Musk.

Trump is placing loyalists in charge of our military and justice organizations. He and Musk are shredding the Constitution. It is only a matter of time before Congress realizes that they are not needed anymore. Don’t expect the cavalry to come. We must all resist in any way we can.

The Secretary of Defense has ordered U.S. Cyber Command to stop all operational planning against Russia. Musk’s hackers have control of our government’s most critical computer systems. The FBI is downsizing. The Director of National Intelligence is a Russian sympathizer. Do you feel safe?

Now that Trump has aligned the U.S. with Russia and has had the classified documents he stole from us returned to Mar-a-Lago, how long will it take for the most sensitive documents to end up in Putin’s hands.

George W. Bush popularized the phrase “axis of evil.” Now that the U.S. voted against a U.N. resolution to condemn Russia for the war it started in Ukraine, we must be part of a new axis of evil.

FDR said “The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerated the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than the democratic state itself. That in its essence is fascism: ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power.”

OLL (oll.libertyfund.org) states that James Madison, the father of our Constitution, believed in the separation of powers in our government because “men are not angels.” Had he foreseen the difficulty we are now in, he might not have given all enforcement authority to the executive branch.

Many people have sacrificed to preserve our liberties and defend our government. I am reminded by words from Union soldier Sullivan Ballou’s last letter to his wife: “I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter.”

Whatever shred of democracy we have left depends on informed, trusted, and courageous information sources. The billionaires now control the print, cable, and online media that many people use. Many journalists are cowed by Trump and Musk. Seek out and support good sources of information.

My mother used to tell me, “you didn’t listen, so now you have to feel.” What came next was painful. Leading up to the 2024 election, we were all warned about Project 2025, but some people didn’t listen. Now we all have to feel.

OLL (oll.libertyfund.org) quotes Thomas Jefferson’s warning that “it would only be a matter of time before the American system of government degenerated into a form of ‘elective despotism,’” and that we must act to keep “the wolf out of the fold.” The wolf is in the fold now.

Trump’s Supreme Court has ruled that he cannot be prosecuted for his “official” acts as President. Recently, the White House posted a fake Time magazine cover showing Trump wearing a crown and the caption “Long Live the King.”

Inequality.org says that the U.S. now has 813 billionaires with a combined wealth of $6.72 trillion. In 2021 ProPublica stated that the top 25 wealthiest people had an effective tax rate of 3.4% and some paid no income taxes. Trump wants to cut social programs, but extend tax cuts for the rich.

Musk has given access to some of our nation’s most critical and sensitive computer systems to young hackers with allegiance only to him. Musk likes to tell his workers “run fast and break things.” What could possibly go wrong? Did you vote for this?

WordWeb defines oligarchy as “a political system governed by a few people” and kleptocracy as “rule by thieves.” A Venn diagram for these two systems would show that both circles mostly overlap. Did you vote for this?

The NATO alliance was formed shortly after World War II. Prior to that time, conflicts in Europe, which often had global consequences, were frequent. Trump has already weakened that alliance and shown a willingness to align the U.S. with Putin’s Russia. Did you vote for this?

GDP = Private Consumption + Investment + Government Spending + Exports – Imports. Mass firing of government employes, rapid cuts in government spending, trade wars, deportations, etc. reduce GDP. Lower GDP means people lose housing, healthcare, and other essentials. Did you vote for this?

We have only been pretending to be a democracy. Initially mostly only white, male, property owners could vote, senators were elected by state legislatures, and, the electoral college chose the president. Voting rights have grown since then. Will the Trump-Musk administration take away those rights?

Trump is using his opposition to DEI as a distraction. The real reason he is culling the ranks of our military leadership is to ensure complete loyalty to him. Don’t be surprised if he invokes the Insurrection Act of 1807 sometime in the next two years to keep himself in power.