I’m sitting in my apartment outside of Rome Italy. Thinking of heading down to the bar at the corner to grab an espresso. The bar is the kind where the espresso is strong, the voices are soft, and the conversations swirl around art, food, and life. A few days ago, I was in Iceland, breathing in cold volcanic air and watching the midnight sun hover just above the horizon. Now I’m here, taking a few days off after work before heading back to the United States. But my thoughts aren’t on the Renaissance paintings I saw today or the cobblestone streets beneath my feet. They’re on my home in the USA — and what it’s become.
While I’ve been gone, President Trump nationalized the California National Guard and sent U.S. Marines into Los Angeles to put down what’s being called a “riot.” That word — riot — is doing a lot of work right now. The same man who sat in silence as his supporters stormed the Capitol on January 6 is now unleashing military force on civilians protesting injustice.
Masked ICE agents are grabbing people off streets and college campuses. Not just undocumented immigrants — American citizens, too. Some are being targeted based on editorials they’ve written. Let that sink in: we’re now arresting people for writing. Meanwhile, Trump is planning a grotesque birthday party, complete with a military parade, while our cities simmer in pain.
Congress — led by a Republican majority — is trying to gut Medicare and Medicaid, lifelines for millions, all while handing tax cuts to billionaires and oligarchs. Our president has issued a wave of pardons for violent insurrectionists and corrupt elites — one of them conveniently following a $1 million contribution to his re-election fund.
The Department of Justice has become a weapon. A tool for revenge. A shield for allies. This isn’t just about policy differences anymore. This is about power without accountability. Justice is for sale, and morality has been thrown into the back of a black van.
Yes, we have immigration issues. But who isn’t being arrested? The CEOs, the managers, the business owners who hire and exploit undocumented workers with full knowledge and zero consequences. Because in this America, only the powerless are punished.
And the Democratic Party? They’re too busy tearing each other down over ideological purity to offer any real counterforce. They chase symbolism while the house burns.
It hurts to write this. It hurts more to feel ashamed of my own country. But I am. I’m not proud to go back home tomorrow. I wish I didn’t have to. I look around here — in countries with their own flaws, sure — and I envy their stability, their sanity, their belief in facts and decency.
I don’t know exactly when the United States lost its way. Maybe it was a slow drift. Maybe this darkness was always there, and now it’s simply taken off its mask. What I do know is this: we are not okay. We are not the country we pretend to be. We are adrift — and those in power are more than happy to let the ship sink as long as they get a lifeboat.
But here’s what I also know: silence is complicity. Comfort is complicity.
I do not want to be arrested. But I’m not afraid of it either. I will not be silent while my country descends into authoritarianism under the guise of law and order. I will not stand by while neighbors are taken, while dissent is crushed, while the vulnerable are sacrificed for profit and power.
If you’re reading this and you feel the same — speak up. Get involved. Protest. Write. Organize. Call your representatives. Support independent journalism. Refuse to look away. Refuse to normalize this.
History is watching us. And one day, maybe our children will ask what we did when democracy was on the edge.
Leadership is, at its core, a moral endeavor. A good leader doesn’t just pass laws or cut deals—they set a tone, a standard. They challenge us to rise to the moment, to be better citizens, neighbors, and people. The best leaders inspire confidence, compassion, and cooperation. They elevate the national character.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, brings out the worst in America.
His political brand is not built on unity or progress, but on grievance and division. Instead of drawing upon America’s strength, generosity, and resilience, Trump taps into resentment, paranoia, and selfishness. His rhetoric isn’t about what we can build together—it’s about who to blame.
Economic Gaslighting
Despite inheriting one of the strongest post-COVID economic recoveries in the world, Trump continues to insist the U.S. economy is a burning wreck in need of saving. It’s not just dishonest; it’s deeply cynical. And his proposed “solution”? The same failed, chaotic economic nationalism that marked his first term.
Trump’s obsession with trade imbalances reveals either a profound ignorance of basic economics—or something worse. According to him, any country that sells more to us than it buys is “taking advantage.” That logic, applied globally, would demand that every country run a trade surplus simultaneously—an economic impossibility. It’s nonsense. But it’s dangerous nonsense, dressed up in patriotic bluster.
His proposed tariffs—broad, punitive, and economically suicidal—aren’t just bad policy; they’re theatrical madness. So much so that it becomes tempting to hope it’s all a con. Maybe the rumors are true: maybe these tariffs were a hustle, designed to enrich allies and donors through insider schemes. That would be criminal, yes—but at least it would be rational. Because the alternative—that Trump truly believes this—is far more terrifying.
Even House Speaker Mike Johnson, in a moment of accidental honesty, defended Trump’s shady cryptocurrency promotion by essentially saying, “At least he does his corruption in the open.” That isn’t a defense—it’s an indictment. When open corruption becomes a selling point, we’ve crossed a dangerous line. We’re no longer arguing over policy; we’re debating whether accountability still matters at all.
And that’s the deeper damage Trump has done—not just to institutions, but to our expectations. He’s lowered the bar so far that basic decency, transparency, and truthfulness feel like exceptional qualities instead of minimum requirements. His administration didn’t just tolerate racism, sexism, and religious bigotry—it amplified them. What once disqualified someone from public service now earns a standing ovation at political rallies.
This has real consequences.
The Cost of Chaos
Everyday Americans are paying the price for this dysfunction. Trump’s tariff wars and isolationist rhetoric have driven up the cost of goods. Inflation, while a global issue, has been worsened by policies that disrupt supply chains and alienate our trading partners. Meanwhile, allies abroad are increasingly distancing themselves from the U.S.—not out of opposition to our values, but because they no longer trust our leadership to uphold them.
We are watching the slow erosion of America’s global standing, and it won’t be easy to rebuild. Trust lost is not easily regained. Partnerships neglected don’t quickly recover. When the world begins to see America as erratic and self-absorbed, the long-term effects are economic, diplomatic, and moral.
We Deserve Better
America can’t afford more elected officials like Donald Trump. It would mean more decline disguised as greatness, more failure rebranded as strength, and more selfishness masquerading as patriotism. We need leaders who actually believe in America—and in Americans. Leaders who build instead of blame. Leaders who lift us up instead of dragging us down.
We’ve seen what Trump brings out in people. We know the cost. It’s time we demand better from our leaders—and from ourselves. New Hampshire deserves better. Dover deserves better. America deserves better.
And the good news? A better future is possible. Across this country, new leaders are stepping up—people grounded in principle, driven by service, and committed to healing, not dividing. The path forward won’t be easy, but it is ours to choose. Hope isn’t naive. It’s necessary. And it starts with choosing leadership that brings out the best in us all.
The other day my wife and I and our friend Rob got into a discussion on what are plans were on our death. I have had a great life and I have tried to make the world a better place so although I do not want to rush into it- I am not afraid of death. What shocked my wife and my friend is that I had given it so much thought. I even have a song picked out!
Take a moment today and realize that sometimes we take life too seriously. Let’s not do the same in death.
Future Dead Me Is Throwing the Party of a Lifetime (Literally)
You ever sit around and think about your posthumous party plans? No? Just me? Well, buckle up buttercup, because I’m not going out with a whimper—I’m going out with Kevin Bacon, Charlie Sheen, and maybe a little emotional sabotage courtesy of Olivia Munn.
Let’s start at the beginning. Like many dreamers, I occasionally fantasize about winning the lottery. Not just a few bucks—no, I mean the full, glittering, ruin-your-humble-relationships Powerball fantasy. But unlike most people, I plan to use some of my winnings not on a yacht or a private island, but on my Celebration of Life party. That’s right. A party after I die. And it’s gonna be legendary.
The Guest List Is… Unusual
See, while some people want tearful speeches from close friends or maybe a slideshow of slightly embarrassing childhood photos, I’m taking it up a notch. I’m hiring professional actors—famous ones—to show up at my memorial and pretend they knew me intimately.
Picture this: Everyone’s gathered, reminiscing about the time I spilled barbecue on the carpet or whatever, and then boom—Charlie Sheen walks in, visibly shaken. “I just… I just can’t believe they’re gone,” he whispers, clutching a program like it’s the last cocaine napkin he ever touched. People will gasp. “Wait, did Tony know Charlie Sheen?” someone will ask. “I thought they hated ‘Two and a Half Men!’”
Then, five minutes later: Kevin Bacon strolls in. Somber. Dignified. He approaches my urn (yes, we’ll get to that), places a hand on it like we just finished our final conga line last month in Cabo, and mutters, “We were closer than anyone knew. I’ll miss you, buddy.” Boom. Six degrees of confusion. My family may never recover.
A Little Mystery, A Lot of Munn
But that’s not all. I’m injecting a slow-burn emotional twist into this Oscar-worthy event. Enter Olivia Munn. She arrives quietly, like a whispered rumor in an overpriced perfume ad. She doesn’t mingle. She doesn’t speak. She approaches the urn, drops a single note onto the table, dabs her eye, and walks away. People read the note: “I always had feelings for you. Wish I had the opportunity to have expressed them.”
Will anyone know if it’s true? Absolutely not. But will it haunt them forever? Oh yes. Especially those who dumped on me in high school. You’re welcome.
Pop Goes the Urn
Now, I did mention cremation. I’m going into an urn. But this isn’t just any urn—it’s part of the entertainment. Halfway through the party, right after people have just calmed down from the Olivia Munn emotional hit, “Pop Goes the Weasel”starts playing. Slowly. Creepily. Everyone turns toward the urn.
Is it going to pop? Is this a prank? Is this my soul saying hello? No one will know. And that, my friends, is the spice of life. Or death. Whatever.
Closing Remarks (Also Possibly by Morgan Freeman, TBD)
Look, we don’t get to control much after we’re gone. But with a little financial planning and a lot of questionable priorities, I plan to leave my loved ones with one final gift: confusion, laughter, and deeply misplaced envy.
So wish me luck on the lottery. And remember, if you see Kevin Bacon crying over a mahogany urn one day, just smile knowingly. We were very close.
Eulogy Delivered by His Holiness, the Pope
(Probably very confused, but committed to the bit)
“My dear brothers and sisters,
We gather today not in a cathedral or a chapel, but in what I am told is a moderately priced event space near a Dave & Buster’s. It is here, surrounded by friends, family, and… is that Charlie Sheen? Yes? Okay… that we celebrate the life of a remarkable soul of Tony Retrosi.
Now, I must admit, when I received the invitation to speak at this memorial, I was surprised. Not because I am unfamiliar with Tony—we exchanged exactly zero letters, prayers, or sacraments in recent decades—but because of his unique relationship with the Church. Yes, he was what we might call a lapsed Catholic, a term which here means: raised Catholic, guilt intact, but hasn’t been to Mass since at least the Obama administration.
And yet, in his own chaotic, beautifully unorthodox way, he embodied the spirit of community, joy, and endless curiosity. He questioned, he doubted, he sometimes yelled at priests during weddings, but Tony also loved. Tony celebrated life with a passion that makes this entire party—complete with musical urns and Olivia Munn—feel like the Gospel according to Guy Ritchie.
In the Catholic faith, we believe in redemption, grace, and the power of a good party. And I have been assured, by my team and at least three baffled cardinals, that this is exactly what they would have wanted.
So to Tony my departed sibling in Christ, I say: You may not have been present for the Eucharist, but you were absolutely present for the hors d’oeuvres. And perhaps that is its own kind of communion.
May eternal light shine upon you—preferably with a soft filter and ambient lighting—and may you rest forever in peace, joy, and just enough mystery to make the haters uncomfortable.
Amen.”
Posthumous Letter to His Holiness the Pope
(Sent from beyond, but with perfect comedic timing)
To: His Holiness Pope [Insert Current Pope’s Name Here] I am hoping for Pope Hilarious II From: Tony Retrosi, Lapsed (but not rude) Catholic Re: My Funeral and the Accidental RSVP Mix-up
Your Holiness,
First off, let me say thank you. I know you’re a busy man—world peace, doctrine, exorcisms, Italian lunch—and I really appreciate you taking the time to speak at my Celebration of Life. I realize this probably wasn’t high on your papal planner, especially sandwiched between canonizing saints and mediating international conflict. But I’m glad you came, even if under slightly misleading pretenses.
You see, Your Holiness, there may have been… let’s call it a clerical error. A Vatican intern (or possibly a guy named Kyle on Fiverr) sent you the invite along with a forged RSVP from “Bishop Francis of Totally Real Diocese.” Honestly, I didn’t think it would work. I just wanted to make my cousins do a spit take when the Pope showed up at my memorial flanked by Swiss Guards and confusion.
Also—I should clarify: while I may have missed a few (okay, all) Sunday masses after age 16, I always kept a rosary tangled in my junk drawer at our house in Italy and felt vaguely guilty about everything. So spiritually, I was still on-brand.
I do hope you enjoyed the hummus spread. Sorry about the urn thing. I know “Pop Goes the Weasel” isn’t liturgically approved, but you’ve gotta admit—it’s got a hook.
And finally, thank you for the kind words. I never got around to confession, but having the Pope deliver my eulogy kind of feels like skipping straight to the Vatican FastPass, doesn’t it?
May God bless you. And may you never again be tricked into attending a funeral that ends with Charlie Sheen doing karaoke.
Sincerely, Tony Culturally Catholic, Spiritually Confused, Eternally Grateful
Vatican Press Office Statement
For Immediate Release Subject: Papal Attendance at the Memorial Service of [Your Name]
In response to widespread media coverage and viral social media posts featuring His Holiness Pope Hilarious II seated uncomfortably between Kevin Bacon and a crying Olivia Munn, the Vatican would like to issue the following clarification:
The Holy Father’s presence at the memorial service of Tony Retrosi was, of course, entirely intentional and deeply meaningful.
Though some have characterized Tony Retrosi as a “lapsed Catholic,” we prefer to recognize them as a freelance theologian with boundary issues. Their unconventional approach to faith—marked by humor, occasional sacrilege, and an unwavering commitment to confusing their relatives—reflects the kind of messy, authentic humanity that God probably finds amusing.
While the initial invitation appeared to have been delivered via pizza receipt and may have involved a forged diocesan seal drawn in crayon, the Holy See embraces the opportunity to meet people where they are, even if “where they are” includes a party DJ and a confetti cannon that went off during the Hail Mary.
His Holiness was deeply moved by the service, especially the note left by actress Olivia Munn and the unexpected musical interlude involving “Pop Goes the Weasel” and a spring-loaded urn.
Let it be known: Tony Retrosi is officially remembered as a beloved child of God, a master of posthumous mischief, and now—unavoidably—a footnote in Vatican protocol training.
We extend our blessings to all who attended, and assure the public that the Pope was, indeed, aware of most of what was happening. Probably.
In Christ (and mild confusion), The Vatican Press Office Pontifical Department of Damage Control and Holy Surprises
The Secret After-Party: Vatican VIP Edition
While most guests shuffled out of the Celebration of Life processing the emotional rollercoaster of Pope tears, celebrity eulogies, and the traumatic memory of your ashes threatening to spring forth mid-chorus of “Pop Goes the Weasel,” a smaller, more exclusive crowd received mysterious golden wristbands with the words: “One Last Blessing.”
They were quietly ushered to a nearby Dave & Buster’s.
The Pope entered first. Still in full white robes, he politely declined the airbrushed “R.I.P. TONY” T-shirt being handed out, but did accept a mozzarella stick with quiet grace.
Then in strutted Charlie Sheen, holding a tray of jello shots and shouting, “Let’s consecrate the night, Your Holiness!” To which the Pope—only slightly weary—replied, “Let us pray you don’t remember this tomorrow.”
Kevin Bacon challenged two cardinals to a Dance Dance Revolution battle. They lost, but with dignity. Olivia Munn, still mysterious, spent the evening silently feeding tickets into the prize counter. She left with a lava lamp and what may or may not have been emotional closure.
And then… it happened.
Air Hockey Showdown: Sheen vs. The Pope.
It was a best-of-three. No one blinked. The Pope adjusted his zucchetto (that’s the little hat—he doesn’t play around), and with a whispered “Deus vult,” he sent the puck screaming across the table. Charlie returned fire with a wild shot that knocked a passing nacho into someone’s memorial slideshow.
The final score: Pope – 2 Charlie Sheen – 1 The Afterlife – speechless
As the party wrapped up, the Pope raised his root beer in your honor. “They may have lapsed,” he said solemnly, “but they never missed a chance to make heaven laugh.”
Then he pressed a single button on a nearby claw machine, and every toy inside released at once. No one knows how. No one asked.
Olivia Munn’s Whisper to the Urn
As the after-party wound down and the Vatican’s security detail gently escorted the Pope away from a Skee-Ball tournament gone theological, the room dimmed. The air was soft with neon glow, mozzarella fumes, and just a hint of divine confusion.
That’s when she returned.
Olivia Munn, radiant and reserved, stepped quietly back into the now-empty party hall. The air stilled. Even the popcorn machine paused, respectfully.
She approached the urn—my urn—still slightly tilted from the earlier “Pop Goes the Weasel” incident. She knelt down, smoothing her dress, and leaned in close. Her lips were inches away, her voice barely audible. But if you had been there (which, let’s face it, spiritually you were), you would’ve heard her whisper:
“You were the one I never got to understand… and the one I never stopped thinking about.”
She placed a single silver coin next to the urn. No one knows what it meant. A symbol of regret? An inside joke? A down payment for eternity?
Then, without another word, she turned and walked away, the hem of her dress sweeping over the fallen Bingo card from earlier. A soft door click. Gone.
Back at the Vatican, a Swiss Guard who was live streaming the event swore he saw the urn shimmer.
I’ve just spent a few weeks in Italy for work, and conversations with European friends and colleagues left me both humbled and a little haunted. The most common, almost automatic question they asked was: “How could America do this again?” (Meaning, elect Trump.)
Having to answer that—over and over—really made me reflect. Why could this happen again? And what’s our part in preventing it?
I had time to think (and research, thanks to fast and free WiFi on high-speed trains—Italy gets that part right!). What hit me hardest was this: We, as Democrats, are trying to be everything to everyone, and in doing so, we risk becoming nothing to anyone. From education and healthcare to the environment and housing, we fight for it all—but from the outside, we look scattered, unfocused, and reactive.
In places like Dover, we might feel “safe,” but that complacency is dangerous. “Vote for us—we’re not them” only worked once. It’s not a winning message anymore.
I run my businesses. If I don’t focus, I fail. In politics, it’s no different.
To win the statehouse, the NH House and Senate, as well as local races, we need simple, bold, results-driven messages that answer two clear questions:
Why does the current leadership need to go?
Why is our candidate the better hire?
Here are three core issues that cut through the noise: EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, and the ECONOMY.
🎓 EDUCATION
The NH GOP has systematically weakened our schools. Underfunded, inefficient, and inequitable. Public dollars are helping millionaires send their kids to private schools while our classrooms lack supplies and teachers live on the edge.
Our Message: We’ll target education funds to families and schools that need it most. No gimmicks—just real investment in our public schools.
🏥 HEALTHCARE
In rural NH, access to maternal care is evaporating. Policies that limit access and increase cost hurt real families. Governor Ayotte has kept those in place.
Our Message: We’ll work with local hospitals and clinics to restore essential healthcare access across the state. Starting a family should not require a two-hour drive to the nearest birthing center.
💼 THE ECONOMY
While the GOP fearmongers about “illegals” on the northern border, let’s talk about our real borders—with Massachusetts and the seacoast. We have opportunity right in front of us.
Our Message: Let’s make NH a destination for business and talent. Invest in infrastructure—rail, roads, ports—to connect us better to the region. Build partnerships like the Dover Riverfront Project that boost jobs, tourism, and sustainability. Protect the industries that matter—like fishing and clean water.
The great thing about infrastructure is that it is literally a 2 way street. Better roads allow us to get NH made products to market and people to work but also ease the difficulties getting products and people into NH
We ALL pay taxes. Let’s show people what they actually get for it.
We must stop being afraid to stand for something. Stop whispering in corners and start speaking up—in public, in the press, and yes, at protests. Before every time we are holding signs on a downtown corner or when we are at a gathering before we head out to pick up garbage at a Don’t Trash Dover event- someone needs to speak. It shouldn’t be a huge speech. Just a statement with a quotable sound bite
Where are our voices? Where’s our boldness?
Trump fills arenas. Bernie and AOC speak to packed halls. Why? Because they speak to real kitchen-table issues. Populists and reformers win. The “status quo” candidates don’t. Look at history: Carter, Bush Sr., Biden/ Harris. We need passion. We need presence.
We should be flooding YouTube and social media with clear, 15-second spots on our core issues. That’s how you get a message out in 2025. We don’t have time to wait for someone else to do it.
Let’s be the party that offers people something to believe in—not just something to fear.
Yes, I’m just a guy with time to think on a train in Italy. But I’m also a citizen who because of my work knows what leadership, focus, and action looks like.
We need to tie every member of the NH GOP with Trump and MAGA policies. These policies that are hugely unpopular. Cynically, there is no downside. They want to prove they are NOT a MAGA loyalist and come up with some policies that actually help NH citizens- great! That is good for all of us. I just don’t think they have the backbone to do it
Let’s show NH—and the country—what it looks like when we actually deliver.
No one likes to pay taxes. Let’s get that out of the way.
But here’s the thing: taxes are not just an annoyance—they’re a responsibility. A duty. The price we pay to live in a functioning society. And after living part-time in Italy, spending a year in Switzerland, and traveling throughout Europe, one thing has become abundantly clear to me: there’s a better way to think about taxes—and a better way to collect them.
In Italy, for example, taxes are handled with remarkable simplicity. Many people receive a pre-filled tax form from the government. If it looks right, they just approve it and they’re done. No stress. No maze of deductions. No paid software. No guessing game. It’s not perfect, but it’s miles ahead of the American system, where doing your taxes often feels like taking a second job—or hiring someone else to do that job for you.
And here’s the frustrating part: the U.S. government already knows your income, your interest payments, your medical expenses, and your deductions. All that data has already been reported to them by your employer, your bank, your mortgage provider, and your healthcare institutions. To make citizens collect and re-enter information the government already has isn’t just inefficient—it’s a waste of time, energy, and money. It’s bureaucracy for bureaucracy’s sake, and it serves no one but the companies that profit from the confusion.
The U.S. tax system is bloated, overcomplicated, and, frankly, weaponized against average citizens. It’s been made that way by special interests that profit from the confusion, and by political actors who paint taxes as theft instead of what they actually are: the fuel that keeps society running.
Think about it. We expect clean water, safe roads, good schools, first responders, national defense, public health infrastructure, courts, parks, transit, and now, broadband internet. Where do we think these things come from? The money doesn’t fall from the sky. Taxes fund the systems that bind us together and allow modern life to function.
Citizens need to stop saying, “My taxes are too high,” and start asking, “What are we getting for our taxes—and am I getting what I paid for?” That’s the real question. Are we funding a government that works? Or one that wastes? Are we investing in a future we believe in—or just throwing money into a system designed to fail?
In Switzerland, where I also lived, people may grumble about taxes too—but they also understand they’re paying for efficiency, stability, and services that work. There’s a visible return on investment.
That’s what’s missing in the U.S.—not just a streamlined process, but trust. Trust that your tax dollars are being used wisely. Trust that the social contract is still intact. Unfortunately, we’ve allowed politics to twist taxes into a tool of outrage rather than an instrument of investment.
There’s also a cultural difference worth noting. In many European countries, there’s a stronger sense of shared obligation. People recognize that taxes aren’t just about what you get personally—they’re about the world we build together.
We pay for schools even when we no longer have children in them because someone once paid for our education.That’s how a functioning society sustains itself—generation after generation. Education is a public good, not a private transaction. And if you choose to send your child to a private school, that is your personal decision. But public funds should not be diverted to subsidize that choice. Public dollars belong in public schools, where they serve everyone, not just the few who can afford alternatives.
And we need to talk honestly about immigration. There are people who demonize our immigrant neighbors, claiming they take from the system without giving back. But the opposite is overwhelmingly true. Immigrants—documented and undocumented—pay into the system through income, payroll, sales, and property taxes. They contribute billions to programs like Social Security and Medicare, often without ever being eligible to receive those benefits. They work jobs that keep our economy moving, care for our children and elderly, build our homes, and grow our food. Yet they are frequently excluded from the very safety nets they help fund. That’s not freeloading—that’s unfairness.
Taxes, at their best, are not just a bill—they’re an expression of citizenship. They say: I live here. I benefit from this society. I am part of this community, and I’m willing to contribute to its well-being.
That’s not something we should be ashamed of. That’s something we should expect from one another—and from the leaders who manage our money.
So yes, no one likes to pay taxes. But we need to grow past the performative outrage and start demanding something better. A simpler system. A fairer code. A government that can say, proudly and transparently, “Here’s what your dollars are doing.”
Take this quote from billionaire Leona Helmsley, who once famously said:
“We don’t pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes.”
That attitude isn’t just offensive—it’s corrosive. It undermines the entire idea of shared responsibility and national investment.
A fairer code—one where the wealthy and super-rich also pay their fair share. They shouldn’t be allowed to skip out on taxes just because they can afford to lobby for loopholes or hire teams of accountants to exploit the system. While everyday Americans are stuck navigating forms and paying penalties, billionaires stash wealth offshore, write off private jets, and walk away untouched. That’s not a tax system—it’s a rigged game.
Even Warren Buffett, one of the wealthiest individuals alive, has criticized this broken system, saying:
“I pay a lower tax rate than my secretary.”
That’s not a glitch—it’s a feature of a system designed by and for those at the very top.
Now contrast that with the words of Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.:
“Taxes are what we pay for civilized society.”
That’s the kind of thinking we need more of. A government we believe in is one that applies the rules equally, honors the contributions of all, and doesn’t leave working people to carry the weight while the wealthiest walk free.
Because taxes are not the enemy. Waste is. Corruption is. Mismanagement is. But the act of contributing to the common good? That’s not something to demonize. That’s something to protect.
We don’t need less responsibility—we need more clarity, more honesty, and more vision.
Show us the work. Show us the value. And make it easier for people to do the right thing.
There’s a truth as old as time: it’s easier to tear something down than it is to build it up. Breaking things—systems, relationships, institutions—takes far less effort, thought, and vision than creating or repairing them. This isn’t just true in life. It’s painfully evident in our politics, too.
We see this dynamic play out every day, but perhaps nowhere more clearly than in the current state of the MAGA wing of the Republican party. The energy there isn’t one of constructive leadership or creative problem-solving. It’s not about building a future or fixing what’s broken. It seems as if It’s about destruction for the sake of spectacle. It’s about tearing down norms, dismantling institutions, and breaking the very systems that hold democracy together—all while insisting those systems never worked in the first place.
It’s a clever trick, in a cynical kind of way: run on the idea that “government is broken,” get elected, then prove your point by ensuring it really does break—through dysfunction, obstruction, and sabotage. The damage becomes the message.
Now, let’s be clear—sometimes norms should be broken. At one time, segregation was a norm. At one time, women were expected to stay out of the workplace. At one time, education was a luxury for the wealthy. History demands that we question and often dismantle the systems that uphold inequality and injustice. But when norms are destroyed, it must be in the service of something better—not simply for power, chaos, or revenge.
As Marianne Williamson put it:
“Building a better world is not a matter of tearing down the old, but of laying the groundwork for something new.”
That’s the difference. Destructive movements that liberate people from oppression are fundamentally different from those that erode democratic institutions out of spite or self-interest. Destruction can be creative, but only when it’s followed by the hard, hopeful work of building something more just, inclusive, and functional in its place.
And if you’re going to destroy something, you need to show your work. Before you eliminate a social safety net that millions rely on, what’s your plan to replace it? Before you gut the Department of Education or wipe out agencies responsible for environmental protection, how exactly do you envision those critical functions continuing? What happens to students, to workers, to families, to the air and water we all share?
We’re all for reducing waste, rooting out inefficiency, and trimming bloated budgets. That’s good governance. But if your only solution is destruction, if your answer is just “burn it down,” that’s not leadership. That’s laziness—or worse, sabotage. Real leadership requires solutions, not just slogans. If you want to dismantle something, come to the table with a creative, functioning replacement.
Governing isn’t marketing. In business, there’s such a thing as creative disruption. Sometimes you have to shake things up to get people to notice your product, your message, your brand. But you can’t run a country like you’re launching a startup or chasing clicks. Public service isn’t about gaining attention—it’s about stewardship, responsibility, and vision. It’s about the quiet, often thankless work of building, maintaining, and improving what’s been entrusted to you.
We don’t need more disruptors in politics who think breaking things is an end in itself. We need builders. Visionaries. Creators. People with the courage to fix what’s not working and the imagination to build what comes next.
Because anyone can light a match. Anyone can walk into the room and shout “this is all garbage.” It takes no real talent, no moral clarity, no leadership. But to build something—especially in a democracy, where compromise and care are required—that takes creativity. That takes commitment. That takes a leader who understands that governing is about people, not power.
We should demand more from those who ask for our votes. Not just slogans, not just grievances, and not just wrecking balls. We should demand ideas, solutions, and integrity.
As Jane Goodall once said:
“What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Destruction is easy. Creation is hard. But only one of those paths moves us forward.
1. I believe a country should take care of its weakest members. A country cannot call itself civilized when its children, disabled, sick, and elderly are neglected. PERIOD.
2. I believe healthcare is a right, not a privilege. Somehow that’s interpreted as “I believe Obamacare is the end-all, be-all.” This is not the case. I’m fully aware that the ACA has problems, that a national healthcare system would require everyone to chip in, and that it’s impossible to create one that is devoid of flaws, but I have yet to hear an argument against it that makes “let people die because they can’t afford healthcare” a better alternative. I believe healthcare should be far cheaper than it is, and that everyone should have access to it. No, I’m not opposed to paying higher taxes in the name of making that happen.
3. I believe higher education should be affordable. It doesn’t necessarily have to be free (though it works in other countries so I’m mystified as to why it can’t work in the US), but at the end of the day, there is no excuse for students graduating college saddled with five- or six-figure debt. Graduating with crippling debt is NOT good for the economy.
4. I DO NOT believe our money should be taken from us and given to people who don’t want to work. I have never encountered anyone who believes this. Ever. I have a massive moral problem with a society where a handful of people can possess the majority of the wealth while there are people literally starving to death, freezing to death, or dying because they can’t afford to go to the doctor. Fair wages, lower housing costs, universal healthcare, affordable education, and the wealthy actually paying their share would go a long way toward alleviating this. Somehow believing that makes me a communist.
5. I don’t throw around “I’m willing to pay higher taxes” lightly. If I’m suggesting something that involves paying more, well, it’s because I’m fine with paying my share as long as it’s actually going to something besides lining corporate pockets or bombing other countries while Americans die without healthcare. Ezra Klein said the other day, “When people complain about their taxes they say, “My taxes are too high.” When they should say, “MY TAXES ARE TOO HIGH AND I GET NOTHING FOR IT.” “
6. I believe companies should be required to pay their employees a decent, livable wage. Somehow this is always interpreted as me wanting burger flippers to be able to afford a penthouse apartment and a Mercedes. What it actually means is that no one should have to work three full-time jobs just to keep their head above water. Restaurant servers should not have to rely on tips, multibillion-dollar companies should not have employees on food stamps, workers shouldn’t have to work themselves into the ground just to barely make ends meet, and minimum wage should be enough for someone to work 40 hours and live.
7. I am not anti-Christian. I have no desire to stop Christians from being Christians, to close churches, to ban the Bible, to forbid prayer in school, etc. (BTW, prayer in school is NOT illegal; *compulsory* prayer in school is – and should be – illegal). All I ask is that Christians recognize *my* right to live according to *my* beliefs. When I get pissed off that a politician is trying to legislate Scripture into law, I’m not “offended by Christianity” — I’m offended that you’re trying to force me to live by your religion’s rules. You know how you get really upset at the thought of Muslims imposing Sharia law on you? That’s how I feel about Christians trying to impose biblical law on me. Be a Christian. Do your thing. Just don’t force it on me or mine.
8. I don’t believe LGBT people should have more rights than you. I just believe they should have the *same* rights as you.
9. I don’t believe illegal immigrants should come to America and have the world at their feet, especially since THIS ISN’T WHAT THEY DO (spoiler: undocumented immigrants are ineligible for all those programs they’re supposed to be abusing, and if they’re “stealing” your job it’s because your employer is hiring illegally). I believe there are far more humane ways to handle undocumented immigration than our current practices (i.e., detaining children, splitting up families, ending DACA, etc).
10. I don’t believe the government should regulate everything, but since greed is such a driving force in our country, we NEED regulations to prevent cut corners, environmental destruction, tainted food/water, unsafe materials in consumable goods or medical equipment, etc. It’s not that I want the government’s hands in everything — I just don’t trust people trying to make money to ensure that their products/practices/etc. are actually SAFE. Is the government devoid of shadiness? Of course not. But with those regulations in place, consumers have recourse if they’re harmed and companies are liable for medical bills, environmental cleanup, etc. Just kind of seems like common sense when the alternative to government regulation is letting companies bring their bottom line into the equation.
11. I believe our current administration has some serious fascist tendencies. Not because I dislike them or because I can’t get over an election, but because I’ve spent too many years reading and learning about the Third Reich to miss the similarities. From masked agents kidnapping college students because of their beliefs to rounding up Venezuelans because of their tattoos and sending them to El Salvador. Not because any administration I dislike must be Nazis, but because things are actually mirroring authoritarian and fascist regimes of the past.
12. I believe the systemic racism and misogyny in our society is much worse than many people think, and desperately needs to be addressed. Which means those with privilege, like me, white, straight, male, economic, etc. — need to start listening, even if you don’t like what we’re hearing, so we can start dismantling everything that’s causing people to be marginalized.
13. I am not interested in coming after your blessed guns, nor is anyone serving in government. What I am interested in is the enforcement of present laws and enacting new, common sense gun regulations. Got another opinion? Put it on your page, not mine.
14. I believe in so-called political correctness. I prefer to think it’s social politeness. My name is Anthony. I prefer to be called Tony. If I call you Chuck and you say you prefer to be called Charles I’ll call you Charles. It’s the polite thing to do. Not because everyone is a delicate snowflake, but because as Maya Angelou put it, when we know better, we do better. When someone tells you that a term or phrase is more accurate/less hurtful than the one you’re using, you now know better. So why not do better? How does it hurt you to NOT hurt another person?
15. I believe in funding sustainable energy, including offering education to people currently working in coal or oil so they can change jobs. There are too many sustainable options available for us to continue with coal and oil. Sorry, billionaires. Maybe try investing in something else.
16. I believe that women should not be treated as a separate class of human. They should be paid the same as men who do the same work, should have the same rights as men and should be free from abuse. Why on earth shouldn’t they be?
So let’s clear a few things up.
I don’t fit into some one-size-fits-all stereotype, and neither do most people who share my views. What I believe in is fairness, compassion, and the idea that a civilized society should look out for its people. If that sounds radical, maybe the problem isn’t me.
Somewhere along the way, these beliefs have been twisted into something extreme, impractical, or even un-American. I’ve been told what I stand for, what I believe, and what my values are by people who’ve never once asked. And quite frankly, I’m tired of it.
So, for the record—this is what I believe. This is why I stand where I stand. If that makes me a liberal, then so be it.
Liberal.
lib·er·al
/ˈlib(ə)rəl/
adjective
relating to or denoting a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise
willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas.
noun
a supporter of policies that are socially progressive and promote social welfare.”she dissented from the decision, joined by the court’s liberals”
a supporter of a political and social philosophy that promotes individual rights, civil liberties, democracy, and free enterprise.
Ayokel’s bulbous nose erupts grotesquely into a cow-shaped boil. Another woman, eyes popping with the effort, vomits up a miniature bull. An obese matron, her face a bloated mask of misery, sprouts little yellow horns. More cows burst surreally from arms, ears and britches.
James Gillray’s print The Cow-Pock, or the Wonderful Effects of the New Inoculation! is a savage jeer at the superstition and hysteria that greeted Edward Jenner’s pioneering application of small doses of harmless cowpox as a prophylactic against smallpox. If art really had the political power that is sometimes optimistically attributed to it then Gillray, the most vicious of the Regency satirists, would have strangled the anti-vaccination movement in its cradle.
I cannot read about modern antivaxers without recalling Gillray’s picture. The pre-modern, anti-scientific absurdity of their position was apparent in an age of stage coaches and rotten boroughs. And yet in 2025, after more than two centuries of what seemed like progress, Texas is gripped by its worst measles outbreak this century. Inevitably, the state contains some of the least vaccinated areas of America.
Ironically, it is precisely the safety and rationality of modern society that has allowed anti-vaccination beliefs to flourish. Gillray’s contemporaries feared the deaths of their children and were haunted in their drawing rooms and city streets by faces deformed by pockmarks. Modern antivaxers are exposed to no such monitory horrors. They indulge their stupidity in ignorance of real suffering; their good health guaranteed by the “herd immunity” provided by the mass of sensible citizens who do get vaccinated.
Some antivaxers owe their children’s lives to those they loathe as sheeplike conformists. But they and other 21st-century fools may not be able to rely on the protection of a sane society for much longer.
One of the less frequently noticed luxuries of the postwar liberal order was the licence to be a fool. For the better part of a century, prosperous, scientifically minded countries have tolerantly sustained an underbelly of madmen and extremists — medical sceptics, conspiracy types and anti-democratic fantasists who would quickly have come to grief in less congenial surroundings.
Try rejecting modern medicine in the Horn of Africa. Or dabbling with lunatic ideas in the Soviet Union, whose secret police were almost as unforgiving of political cranks as they were of real enemies of the state. The point is almost never appreciated by the fanatics but they owe their health and freedom to the sanity of the society they affect to despise.
Indeed, those who imagine themselves the most fearless critics of modern civilisation are often its most coddled children. America’s new antivaxer health secretary Robert F Kennedy — the amateurish, purposeless scion of a modern American aristocracy — is a perfect symbol of the decadence of the attitude. Kennedy’s carelessness is a function of his pampered insulation from anything resembling real life.
Similarly, my fashionable corner of east London (I am something of a local anomaly) bristles with casual anti-science faddists. Glow-faced trust-fund babies fritter their unearned cash on crystals, alternative remedies and “non-western” medicines, scorning the medical system that has made them among the healthiest people in the history of the world.
The roots of modern conspiracy theories and anti-scientific cults are conventionally (and correctly) attributed to those much-chronicled woes of western democracies: economic stagnation, financial inequality and political sclerosis. But an underrated factor in modern irrationality and zealotry is the West’s stability. Our society has been peaceful and healthy for so long that for many people serious disaster has become inconceivable. You can rattle the bars of the cage as fiercely as you like but you will never actually escape the comfort of the zoo.
Those ruddy, bull-necked Americans who parade around in amateur militia groups and brandish Nazi symbols do so partly because they are unable to conceive of what life would actually be like in a fascist state. Dabblers in homeopathy cannot really comprehend a society without modern medicine. The supporters of autocracy who fawn at the feet of the anti-democratic “thinker” Curtis Yarvin and cheer when Donald Trump suggests that “He who saves his country does not violate any law” have no serious understanding of what it means to live under an autocratic government.
In the prophetic and too-little-read final chapters of The End of History, the political theorist Francis Fukuyama suggests that the safety and success of modern liberal societies provides not only a licence for misbehaviour but a provocation to it. Men without any oppression to struggle against may struggle anyway “out of a certain boredom”. Fukuyama writes that “if the greater part of the world in which they live is characterized by peaceful and prosperous liberal democracy, then they will struggle against that peace and prosperity, and against democracy”.
A version of that struggle has beguiled many pointless lives since the end of the Second World War. But as the fate of those Texan antivaxers shows, the luxury of consequence-free foolishness may be coming to an end. As the economy flounders, political crises loom, vaccination rates fall and science deniers enter government, the West is becoming a more dangerous place and its fools are less insulated from the repercussions of their own beliefs. The Texan antivaxers may only be the first to find out. The paradise of fools is coming to an end. I do not hope for an apology or recantation. I just hope they do not take the rest of us down with them.
The other day, in my home state of New Hampshire, Nikki Haley fumbled a softball question on causes of the Civil War. She looked like a deer in the headlights for a few seconds as she tried to find the words.
What is most embarrassing about her answer is that she is the former governor of South Carolina — the first state to secede from the Union in 1860 . She should know her history. Instead she said at the event in Berlin, New Hampshire, that the catalysts were “basically how the government was going to run” and “freedoms and what people could and couldn’t do.”
In the VERY first paragraph of South Carolina‘s decoration of secession it states:
The people of the State of South Carolina, in Convention assembled, on the 26th day of April, A.D., 1852, declared that the frequent violations of the Constitution of the United States, by the Federal Government, and its encroachments upon the reserved rights of the States, fully justified this State in then withdrawing from the Federal Union; but in deference to the opinions and wishes of the other slaveholding States, she forbore at that time to exercise this right. Since that time, these encroachments have continued to increase, and further forbearance ceases to be a virtue.
In goes on to say:
The Constitution of the United States, in its fourth Article, provides as follows: “No person held to service or labor in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation therein, be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.”
What the 4th article of the constitution says is that: All states will honor the laws of all other states. Section 2 A. Citizens of one state are treated equally and fairly like all citizens of another. B. If a person accused of a crime in one state flees to another, he/she will be returned to the state that person fled from. What had slaveholding states upset is that slaves who escaped to free States were not being returned and they viewed this as a theft of property.
Other States which seceded
Georgia
The people of Georgia having dissolved their political connection with the Government of the United States of America, present to their confederates and the world the causes which have led to the separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our non-slave-holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery. They have endeavored to weaken our security, to disturb our domestic peace and tranquility, and persistently refused to comply with their express constitutional obligations to us in reference to that property, and by the use of their power in the Federal Government have striven to deprive us of an equal enjoyment of the common Territories of the Republic.
Mississippi
A Declaration of the Immediate Causes which Induce and Justify the Secession of the State of Mississippi from the Federal Union.
In the momentous step which our State has taken of dissolving its connection with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course.
Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery– the greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product which constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of the earth.
Texas
Texas abandoned her separate national existence and consented to become one of the Confederated Union to promote her welfare, insure domestic tranquility and secure more substantially the blessings of peace and liberty to her people. She was received into the confederacy with her own constitution, under the guarantee of the federal constitution and the compact of annexation, that she should enjoy these blessings. She was received as a commonwealth holding, maintaining and protecting the institution known as negro slavery– the servitude of the African to the white race within her limits– a relation that had existed from the first settlement of her wilderness by the white race, and which her people intended should exist in all future time. Her institutions and geographical position established the strongest ties between her and other slave-holding States of the confederacy. Those ties have been strengthened by association. But what has been the course of the government of the United States, and of the people and authorities of the non-slave-holding States, since our connection with them?
Virginia
The people of Virginia, in their ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America, adopted by them in Convention on the twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, having declared that the powers granted under the said Constitution were derived from the people of the United States, and might be resumed whensoever the same should be perverted to their injury and oppression; and the Federal Government, having perverted said powers, not only to the injury of the people of Virginia, but to the oppression of the Southern Slaveholding States.
The other confederate states Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina did not make declarations but instead Ordinance of secession which were short paragraphs saying they were leaving the union.
So please, do not disrespect my intelligence and the memory of all those who died in that war.
Let’s have a logical argument. Not one driven simply by emotion.
As children we were all curious asking our parents “Why” and “How come” all the time. The answer “because I said so” satisfied no one. It was an answer based on frustration.
I look at things going on in the world today and I want to know WHY? WHY NOT? And HOW COME? I think it is time for answers.
For example- If someone asked me WHY is there no affordable housing in downtown Portsmouth? I would say, it is an old town with the downtown area in the historic district. The cost on upkeep, preservation is a factor. The fact that it is a small area with a limited amount of space for buildings will also keep the price high.
With building being built in the west end and potentially in the old federal building this could see the market price come down as the availability goes up.
Here are my questions that I would like honest and logical answers to.
Why can’t we have better writing for TV shows?
Why can’t we all have good healthcare?
Why can’t we free ourselves from our dependence on foreign fossil fuels? Wouldn’t stimulating the electric and hybrid car industry help with this?
Why can’t we put solar panels on all viable government buildings?
Why can’t all the US Mail trucks be electric?
Why can’t we have better gun laws?
Why can’t we make each public school a PALACE of EDUCATION?
Why can’t we have FREE community colleges? And maybe 4 year public Universities?
Why can’t we solve the problem of childhood hunger and homelessness?
