Democracy declining, Autocracy rising - alarming trend

The Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute, based at the University of Gothenburg, has just issued its 2025 report titled "25 Years of Autocratization – Democracy Trumped?", which offers in-depth insights into the state of democracy worldwide. Compiled just as Trump was elected in November 2024. See below for a special section on USA after the first six weeks of his presidency.

Full V-Dem report here

Four main types of country with + or - for trend towards or away from democracy

(Full lists of all countries at the end)

Liberal Democracies (29)

Requirements of Electoral Democracy are met; judicial and legislative constraints on the executive along with the protection of civil liberties and equality before the law.

e.g  Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Italy-

Electoral Democracies (58)

Multiparty elections for the executive are free and fair; satisfactory degrees of suffrage, freedom of expression, freedom of association.

e.g UK+, Slovenia+, Canada+,  Bulgaria,  Croatia, Ghana, Israel, Alabania-. Nigeria-

Electoral Autocracies (56)

Multiparty elections for the executive exist; insufficient levels of fundamental requisites such as freedom of expression and association, and free and fair elections.

e.g. Indonesia+, Mauritius+,  Mongolia+, Hungary, India,  Iran, Iraq, Russia, Rwanda, 

Closed Autocracies (35)

No multi party elections for the executive; absence of fundamental democratic components such as freedom of expression, freedom of association, and free and fair elections.

e.g. Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Cuba, North Korea, Palestine/Gaza, Saudi Arabia

Key Findings from the 2025 V-Dem Democracy Report

Autocracy on The Rise
For the first time in over two decades, autocracies outnumber democracies globally, with 91 countries classified as autocratic compared to 88 as democratic.
Notably, only 29 countries are identified as liberal democracies, marking a significant decline in democratic governance .

Democratic Backsliding

Since 2005, 27 countries have transitioned from democracies to autocracies. The report highlights that once a country begins to autocratize, the likelihood of reversing this trend is low, with a "fatality rate" of 67% for democratic regimes that start to decline .

Freedom of Expression: 

There has been a noticeable decline in freedom of expression worldwide. High levels of disinformation and polarization are contributing factors to democratic backsliding, emphasizing the importance of safeguarding media freedoms.

How Does V-Dem measure Democracy?

Electoral Democracy Index (EDI): Measures the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, with freedoms of association and expression guaranteed.
Liberal Democracy Index (LDI): Evaluates the protection of individual and minority rights against the tyranny of the state and the majority.
Participatory Democracy Index: Assesses the level of active participation by citizens in political processes.
Deliberative Democracy Index: Measures the process by which decisions are made through public reasoning focused on the common good.
Egalitarian Democracy Index: Examines the extent to which all social groups enjoy equal capabilities to participate in the political process.

For instance, in 2024, countries like Norway and Sweden scored highly across these indices, reflecting robust democratic institutions. Conversely, nations experiencing democratic erosion showed significant declines in these scores .

Democracy in the World 2024

• Level of democracy for the average world citizen is back to 1985; by country averages, it is back to 1996.
• Democracy is losing out the most in terms of economic power. It is at its lowest level in over 50 years.
• It is a truly global wave of autocratization. Eastern Europe and South and Central Asia are in particularly steep decline

Autocracies and Democracies

• The world has fewer democracies (88) than autocracies (91) for the first time in over 20 years.
• Liberal democracies have become the least common regime type in the world, a total of 29 in 2024.
• Nearly 3 out of 4 persons in the world – 72% – now live in autocracies. This is the highest since 1978.

Alarming Loss of Freedom of Expression

• Losses in freedom of expression are alarming: Worsening in 44 countries by 2024, up from 35 in last year’s report.
• Clean elections declining in 25, freedom of association in 22, and rule of law in 18 countries.

Trends of Regime Transformation

• The “third wave” of autocratization is still rising after at least 25 years.
• Almost 40% of the world population live in autocratizing countries, 3.1 billion people.
• Countries with less than 6% of the world population–or 452 million – are democratizing. Two-thirds live in three countries: Brazil, Poland, and Thailand

Autocratizing Countries

• An increasing number of countries–now 45 – are autocratizing.
• 27 of the 45 autocratizers were democracies at the start of their episode. Of these, only 9 remain democracies in 2024. The fatality rate is 67%.
• The favourite weapon of autocratizers is media censorship, followed by undermining elections and civil society.

The USA

A DEMOCRATIC BREAKDOWN IN THE MAKING?

The scale of what is happening in the US is unprecedented and prompts a closer look at what seems to be the fastest evolving episode of autocratization the USA has been through in modern history. Unfortunately, the just released V-Dem data only cover events until 31 December 2024, so we must rely on other sources.

Processes of autocratization during the last 25 years have typically evolved gradually with democratically elected leaders dismantling constraints on executive power by “executive aggrandizement,” and each step becoming the “new normal”. President Trump operates openly and acts rapidly to the extent that even cautious analysts like Professor Steven Levitsky say the regime is now some type of authoritarianism. How close is it to a regime breakdown in the making?

USA DEMOCRACY AND TRUMP 1.0

Democracy took a beating during President Trump’s first time in office. The LDI (Liberal democracy index) fell from 0.85 to 0.73 in those four years, bringing the country back to its 1976 level – far below the regional average (Figure 1). After losing the 2020 election, Trump tried to strongarm election officials to “find” him extra votes, coerce Vice President Pence to alter the results, and watched quietly as insurgents raided Congress. President Biden was installed and American democracy survived, but did not recover fully.  It is now weaker than when Trump took office in 2017 and is being attacked a lot more than before.

TRUMP 2.0: A (QUASI) TOTAL ATTACK ON THE INSTITUTIONS

Trump’s second administration is proving to be different than his first. Trump ran an openly authoritarian campaign in 2024, pledging to prosecute his rivals, punish critical media, and deploy the army to repress protests. As of the time of writing, Trump has been in office for six weeks. The speed with which American democracy is coming under strain has taken many observers by surprise. The expansion of executive power, undermining of Congress’ power of the purse, offensives on independent and counter-veiling institutions and the media, as well as purging and dismantling of state institutions – classic strategies of autocratizers – seem to be in action. The enabling silence among critics fearful of retributions, is already prevalent.

Attacks on the rule of law

The judiciary is a key institution that autocratizers attack during autocratization,5 especially in the early phase. A regime transition necessarily requires that rule of law is bent in favor of an aspiring autocrat.

During his first day in office, President Trump pardoned 1,500 criminals convicted for the January 6 Capitol Hill assault. This was one of the first steps in efforts to undermine legitimacy of courts and the rule of law. By excusing and even celebrating past illegal attacks, President Trump has also given a tacit but clear endorsement of future violence,8 according to experts.

On 6 March, President Trump issued the first executive order 9 directly targeting the law firm representing former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in a move that can be interpreted as weaponizing the state.

President Trump has refused to follow court orders, and claimed that “He who saves his country does not violate any law.” This statement seems to reflect in the actions of the administration. There are already over 70 lawsuits filed against President Trump and his administration for breaking the law and the Constitution.

These efforts by the Trump administration to undermine the judicial constraints on executive power recently prompted the American Bar Association to issue a statement on the need to protect the rule of law. The ABA identifies the administration’s actions as being especially problematic because they “knowingly undermine the division of powers between the executive and congressional branches set out within the US Constitution.”

Abolition of accountability institutions

Horizontal accountability – checks and balances – is at the core of republican thinking and liberal democracy. Institutions providing effective checks and balances are therefore typically among the first targets during autocratization. Serious weakening of accountability is one of the early indications of regime transition. Replacing civil servants with personal loyalists and allies is one known tactic to achieve this.

That line runs through actions taken so far by the Trump administration purging the highest levels of the Department of Defence, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, USAID, and the FBI of those not personally loyal to him. Purges also have signalling effects, discouraging civil servants from questioning actions of the president in the future.

Trump also fired independent Inspector Generals across 17 agencies and is seeking to replace them with loyalists. Similarly, he fired the head of the Office of Special Counsel, who is responsible for protecting whistleblowers. In the following court case, the Justice Department filed an appeal arguing that the court must not encroach on the President’s executive authority – one of many actions seeking to expand executive power.

The perhaps most serious challenge comes from violations of Congress’ power of the purse enshrined in the Constitution, and the 1974 Impoundment Control Act. These are now discussed as a constitutional crisis in the making. The list of legal cases involving claims to unconstrained power made by the administration is long and revealing of efforts to do away with liberal democracy’s foundation of principles of checks and balances.

Purges in the military

During executive-led autocratization, securing passive bystanding by the military is often instrumental. Purging the top-ranks in the military and replacing based on allegiances is a tactic often used.

Trump has started purging the military by removing the nation’s highest-ranking military officer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the Chief of Naval Operations, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Replacements have pledged personal loyalty to Trump.

Firing the military’s top judge advocates general – who have the independent legal authority to tell that an order from the president or the secretary of defence is unlawful and should not be obeyed, provides another worrying sign of seeking to make the military a subservient bystander.

 Attacks on freedom of the media

Suppression of media freedom is the most common weapon of choice among autocratizing leaders over the past 25 years (see Section 3), using tactics from threats and lawsuits, to worse.

Trump started intimidating the media already during his campaign when he repeatedly threatened to strip broadcasting licenses from stations. In the same vein, Trump is threatening to sue publishers and media who use anonymous sources, which would be a big blow to freedom of expression and the media. The effect already materialized with Washington Post (WP) owner Jeff Bezos stopping the WP from endorsing Kamala Harris,32 and then announcing a “refocusing” WP’s editorial stance in a deferral to Trump.

The White House is now claiming it has the right to pick which media and reporters are allowed to cover the President, ripping it away from the White House Correspondents’ Association. It so far denied access to HuffPost and the Associated Press reminiscent of the autocratization tactic to stir the rhetoric in favour of the President and retaliate against media who diverge from his views. Such moves towards autocratization also suggests a possible regime transition.

DOGE

A special case of eschewing accountability and dismantling state institutions is the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by billionaire Elon Musk. Notwithstanding its name, it is not a government department and appears to be accountable only to Trump.

Despite his conflicts of interest, Musk has access to sensitive, private, and classified information. In at least 11 lawsuits, plaintiffs argue that DOGE has flouted laws and rules around data and privacy. Due to its opacity, it is not possible to know how far DOGE has gone, but it has already fired tens of thousands of government employees. Among them are United States Agency for International Development (USAID) officers, effectively closing an agency instituted by a Congressional act. That will have grave and enduring consequences not only for the US, but also for democracy globally since USAID was by far the largest actor in the international democracy support community.

Upending the USAID may be the plainest affront on republican-liberal principles of horizontal accountability and the powers of Congress yet. It may also become the first area where the Trump administration’s willingness to abide by court rulings and be bound by rule of law, will be put to the ultimate test. With a razor thin majority, the Supreme Court on 5 March ruled against the administration and in favour of Congress’ right to have its appropriations carried out. This may be the litmus test for American democracy.

Given the ongoing assaults, is the USA heading towards democratic breakdown, or not?

List of Democracies: Liberal, Liberal-, Electoral+, Electoral, Electoral-

List of Autocracies: Elect. Auto+ , Elect.Auto, Elect.-, Closed Auto+,  Closed Auto

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Reform Leaflet for DCC Election - lies and mis-information

The Reform propaganda sheet for the DCC elections arrived yesterday - dog-whistle headlines. I decided to do some research and find out the truth.

471 MILLION IN DEBT

The real position (see below for more detail)

Devon County Council (DCC) maintains a moderate debt level compared to some of the most indebted UK councils. However, it faces significant financial pressures, particularly related to its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services.

Your Council Tax has gone up by 25% in just five years:

YES of course it has for a very good reason Between 2010 and 2020, central government funding for local authorities in England and Wales decreased by nearly 60%. This substantial reduction led to cuts in various services, including public libraries, refuse collection, road maintenance, and early childhood programs. ​

Increased Reliance on Local Revenue

Shift Towards Local Taxation: Councils have become more dependent on locally raised funds. In 2024–25, council tax is expected to contribute 53% of core funding, up from 36% in 2010–11. ​

Council Tax Flexibilities: To address funding shortfalls, councils have been granted greater flexibility to increase council tax rates, especially those responsible for social care services. ​

Rising Service Demands and Costs

Social Care Pressures: Spending on adult and children's social care has increased, now accounting for 65% of council budgets in 2023–24, up from 50% in 2010–11. This rise reflects growing demand and higher service costs. ​

Service Reductions: Conversely, spending on other services has declined significantly since 2010–11: housing by one-third, highways and transport, culture and leisure, and planning by over 40%, and youth services by 70%

“No more of this Woke nonsense”

“Woke” actually means Human Rights which is why Reform wants to take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights which the UK was instrumental in founding after WWII.  Human rights have been fought for over centuries - things like getting rid of slavery, women getting the vote, women no longer being the property of their husbands, gay men no longer being imprisoned, the list is very long. Every reform took years and was strongly opposed. Each one would have been “Woke” at the time.

Stop 200K salaries for incompetent bosses.

The DCC Chief Exec is actually paid the going rate for the job, and less than the CC Chief Exec. of Essex CC where Farage has his Clacton seat. Farage himself is not content with the going rate for his job, as we all know.

We will reduce rates for struggling businesses

Ha! Ha! What a joke! This is the party that has cut businesses off from the 450 million strong EU market just across the channel which added hugely to business costs and made everyone in the country poorer.

Fight against government rules (on social housing). Too often local people go the back of the queue.

NOT TRUE. The rules actually say, authorities have discretion to prioritise applicants with strong ties to the area, such as long-term residency or employment.

Council staff claimed over £3.5 million in just 3 years.

What are they getting at here?​Devon County Council is the largest employer in Devon, with over 20,000 employees. This workforce supports a wide range of services, including education, social care, highways, waste and recycling, economic regeneration, library services, registration services, transport, and various support services such as finance, ICT, legal support, and personnel. If they all claimed for 3 years that would be £58 each but probably this is about travel expenses and other expenses involved with their job. Does Reform expect the employees to pay these expenses out of their wages?

£159,000 spent on language translation services.

So what! Deaf people need a BSL interpreter – my wife is a BSL interpreter who works alongside a deaf person so that person can have a full-time job. Part of this money will go on that. But of course, this looks like thinly disguised ultra-nationalism – if they can’t speak our language they’ve no business living in our country. Like the English speakers living in Spain for example.

£533,000 on their equality and inclusion team.

Straight out of the Trump-Musk playbook! What is wrong with this? It’s about fairness and treating all human beings with respect. DCC have to comply with central government legislation. The primary purpose of this team is to ensure that the council meets its legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 and the Public Sector Equality. Website: Home - Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Over £1.7 million spent on Council Staff electric car scheme.

WRONG! Like to hear the truth?

Devon County Council (DCC) offers an electric vehicle (EV) salary sacrifice scheme to its employees, enabling them to lease electric cars through pre-tax salary deductions. This arrangement reduces both income tax and National Insurance contributions for participating staff.​

Cost to the Taxpayer. The EV salary sacrifice scheme is designed to be cost-neutral—or even financially beneficial—for the council and, by extension, local taxpayers.

Employees benefit from reduced personal costs for electric vehicles, while the council potentially saves on employer National Insurance contributions. Any risks are generally managed through agreements with third-party providers. 

DCC Debt - details

Devon County Council Debt & Pressures on Spending

Devon County Council (DCC) maintains a moderate debt level compared to some of the most indebted UK councils. However, it faces significant financial pressures, particularly related to its Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) services.

Debt Levels and Financial Position

While specific figures for DCC's total debt or Capital Financing Requirement (CFR) are not publicly disclosed, the council has not been identified among the UK's most indebted local authorities For context, some councils have accumulated debts exceeding £1 billion, often due to ambitious commercial investments DCC's financial challenges are more prominently associated with service delivery pressures rather than excessive borrowing

SEND Funding Pressures

A significant financial strain for DCC arises from its SEND services As of September 2024, the council reported a SEND budget deficit exceeding £160 million To address this, DCC entered into a "safety valve" agreement with the Department for Education, securing a £95 million bailout In return, the council committed to using £29 million from its reserves and implementing measures to reduce overspendingDespite these efforts, the council anticipated an overspend of £38 million on its annual SEND budget, surpassing the £31 million limit set by the agreement, necessitating further savings of £7.4 million citeturn0search0

Budgetary Adjustments and Service Impacts

In response to financial pressures, DCC approved a 4.99% increase in council tax for the 2024/25 financial year, the maximum permissible without a public referendum. This increase includes a 2% rise specifically allocated for adult social car. The council's revenue spending was set to increase by £43 million, reaching £743 million for the year. Looking ahead to 2025/26, the council plans to increase its service delivery budget by 5.9% to £784 million. However, £66 million of this increase is earmarked for addressing cost pressures, including inflation and national wage increase. To balance the budget, DCC aims to implement £22 million in spending cuts, which may impact various service.

 Comparative Overview

While DCC's debt levels are moderate, its financial challenges are significant, primarily due to service demand pressures and funding constrains. In contrast, some councils with higher debt levels have faced financial difficulties stemming from substantial borrowing for commercial ventures

DCC's approach focuses on managing service delivery costs and seeking government support to address deficits, particularly in SEND services

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US Lawyer Refuses to be Intimidated by US DOJ

 Elizabeth G. Oyer, the former U.S. Pardon Attorney, was dismissed from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in March 2025. She asserts that her termination was due to her refusal to recommend restoring firearm rights to actor Mel Gibson, who had lost them following a 2011 misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. Oyer contends that senior DOJ officials pressured her to include Gibson in a clemency memo, citing his personal relationship with President Donald Trump and his recent appointment as a "special ambassador" to Hollywood.

Part of her testimony before Congress - transcript

On Friday night around 9:15. I learned that the Deputy Attorney General's Office had directed the Department Security and Emergency Planning Service to send two armed Special Deputy US Marshals to my home to serve me with a letter. The letter was to be served at my home between 9:00 and 10:00 on Friday night. I was in the car with my husband and my parents when I got the news that the officers were on their way to my house where my teenage child was home alone. Fortunately, due to the grace of a very decent person who understood how upsetting this would be to my family, I was able to confirm receipt of the letter to an e-mail address. And the deputies were called off.

The letter had been emailed to me just before 8:00 that night. The letter was a warning to me about the risks of testifying here today. But I am here because I will not be bullied into concealing the ongoing corruption and abuse of power at the Department of Justice. 

Full testimony here

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Trump Unleashes Full Scale Corruption

 

Six Weeks In, This White House Is On Its Way To Being The Most Corrupt In U.S. History

March 06, 2025

 WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday spoke on the U.S. Senate floor to expose the unprecedented corruption of the Trump administration’s first six weeks in office. Murphy condemned Trump’s normalization of pay-to-play politics, where billionaire donors dictate policy and taxpayer money is funneled into the pockets of the president, Elon Musk, and the corporate elite.

YouTube Video of the speech

A full transcript of his remarks 

 MURPHY:  

1st paragraph refences US baseball player as an example of the normalisation of corruption. Murphy continued:

Today, the world is littered with corrupt governments, governments where the leaders and the really rich men who surround the leaders – the oligarchs – steal from people. That's what they do, the leaders and the leaders' friends just keep a hand constantly in the government treasury and they steal taxpayer dollars. They rig the rules of the economy in order to make themselves fabulously rich. They hurt the citizens of those countries.

 “Vladimir Putin, for instance, has never had a job outside of government, but he's reportedly worth $200 billion. One of his many houses cost $1.4 billion to build, supposedly the landscaping costs on an annual basis for that house are $2 million alone. That $1.4 billion house was paid for by money he stole from the Russian treasury. In other words, he stole it from the Russian people. Putin and his friends have been doing it for so long and doing it so openly and brazenly – Putin, for instance, wears a watch that retails for half a million dollars, even though his official salary is only $140,000. They've been doing this so openly and brazenly, they're so public in their corruption in Russia, that it's just accepted. It's just mainstream, the fact that Putin and his cronies steal from the Russian people.

 “That's what's happening in America today. And it's heartbreaking for me to say this, but in the first six weeks of the Trump presidency, Trump and Elon Musk and their billionaire friends have engaged in a stunning rampage of open public corruption. It's not fundamentally different than what happened in Russia. These are efforts to steal from the American people to enrich themselves. And their strategy is to do it all out in the open, to do it at such a dizzying pace that the country just gets overwhelmed or anesthetized or dulled into a sense that we just all have to accept the corruption – or, maybe more charitably, that this is just how government works, that government is just corrupt, and so the fact that it's happening out in the open instead of happening secretly, well, it's really nothing new.

 “But this is not how government works. The things that have happened over the last six weeks are unprecedented. The president and his billionaire friends are not supposed to steal from us. They are not supposed to use their power and their access to power – their access to government levers – to rig the rules to enrich themselves. That has always been wrong. It is still wrong. And we do not have to accept this.

 “And so in the next few minutes, I want to try out an exercise. I want to try to lay out for you as quickly as I can just some of the most significant instances of blatantly corrupt activity that's happened in just the first six weeks of Trump's presidency. When you see it all together, there is no way to avoid a simple conclusion. This White House is on its way to being the most corrupt in the history of the country. And just because they are doing it out in the open for everybody to see doesn't mean that it's not corrupt.

 “My hope is that if you see it all in one place, the gravity of this moment may hit you. My hope is that my colleagues and the public choose not to normalize a president or his advisors using the Oval Office as a blunt mechanism to make themselves even wealthier. It is our decision – our decision – to have zero tolerance for corruption. It's also our decision to just decide to become a place like Russia where our leaders are allowed to routinely steal from us.

 “This is a heartbreakingly long list. This is just 20 or so examples of corrupt behavior in the first six weeks of the Trump presidency. So here it goes. We're going to start on January 17.

 “On January 17, Trump launches the meme coin. This is maybe the most corrupt of all of the acts, because what is the meme coin? The meme coin is essentially a mechanism by which Russian oligarchs or corporate CEO's can literally send money privately directly to Donald Trump. Nobody knows who buys the meme coin, but Trump makes money when people buy it. And so, it is just an open sewer valve that allows for anybody who is trying to influence the Trump administration to be able to secretly funnel money to Donald Trump. He reserves 80% of the coin. He waits to release that coin until the price jumps back up again, which essentially means he's waiting for people who want favors from him to buy a bunch of the coin to inflate the value so that he releases more and makes more money. It’s a disgusting kind of corruption because this is essentially Trump just posting his Venmo for anybody secretly to wire him as much money as they want. We've never seen something like this before where anybody who has anything to gain from the Trump administration, through a manipulation of the value of Trump's meme coin, can funnel money directly to the president, whisper in his ear, ‘That was me. That was me that purchased all that coin, that jumped up the value that allowed you to release new coin. Hey, take care of me on the back end.’

 “On January 20, when he's sworn in, he institutes his new energy agenda. Now, open reporting suggested that during the campaign he met with the oil and gas industry and they cut a deal in which the oil and gas industry would give him a billion dollars of campaign contributions in order to receive favourable treatment when Trump was sworn in. And guess what happens on January 20? Trump unveils his energy strategy, and what does it do? It preferences oil and gas and it punishes oil and gas’ competitors. It, for instance, freezes all permits on wind projects, both for the land and the sea. It undercuts permitting processes, not for oil and gas but for oil and gas' competitors. Oil and gas got exactly what they asked for. They gave a campaign contribution and they got the favorable treatment. Five days later, Trump fires 17 inspectors general. What do inspectors general do? They look for corruption inside of these agencies. What do you do if you are trying to engage in corruption, if you are trying to steal from the American people? You fire the inspectors general.

 “Two days later, on January 27, Trump fires Gwynne Wilcox from the NLRB, the National Labor Relations Board. When she's fired, the National Labor Relations Board cannot function any longer? Why does this matter? Because the person that's been put in charge of reviewing the hirings and firings of these agencies is Elon Musk, who, by the way, has lots of cases before the NLRB. So do the people that are standing behind Trump during the inauguration. Almost all of them have active cases before the NLRB. The billionaires supporting Donald Trump now don't have to worry about the NLRB because on January 27, the NLRB is rendered powerless.

 “Three days later, on January 30, Trump awards more than $800,000 worth of stock to several of the board members of the Trump Media and Technology Group. This is the publicly traded company behind his social media platform. So now his Cabinet members – people like Kash Patel and Linda Mcmahon – are owning equity in Trump's media platform; equity that can be cashed out, sold to people who want to buy them out of their interest at any time. Those people who might want to buy them out, Cabinet members, could be individuals with issues before the Department of Education, before the FBI. Yet another avenue in which people who have influence, who want to gain influence inside the Trump administration, have a conduit to be able to move cash from their pocketbooks, from their treasury, from their bank accounts, into the bank accounts of Trump cabinet members.

“Shortly thereafter, we start to see the weaponization of the DOJ.

• On February 23, a civil complaint from DOJ that had been pending against SpaceX– Elon Musk's signature company – is dropped.
• Eight days later, the DOJ drops a case against a Republican Congressman.
• On February 19, two or three weeks later, the DOJ opens up something called Operation Whirlwind, which threatens anyone who dares to criticize the work of Elon Musk and DOGE.

Over the course of the next three weeks, the DOJ is turned into an entity that drops cases against those who are loyal to Donald Trump and pursues aggressively investigations against those who are trying to criticize Donald Trump.

 

“On February 1, Trump fires the director of the CFPB and announces plans to shut down – to shutter – the Consumer Financial Protection Board. Again, very much like the NLRB, this is an agency that was, at the moment that it was rendered powerless, investigating Elon Musk and many of the biggest financial backers of Donald Trump. So once again, those that have access to Donald Trump, the billionaires that are close to him, now don't have to worry about labour violations being investigated by the NLRB, now they don't have to worry about consumer protection actions being taken against them by the CFPB.

 

“On February 4, there is the first of two extraordinary meetings in the White House in which Donald Trump convenes his business partners – his business partners – the Saudi Golf League and the PGA to try to negotiate a solution to the dispute between those two golf leagues. Why? Because Trump has a business interest in that dispute being resolved. The Saudi Golf League plays tournaments at Trump’s courses in the United States, so if the White House, using its official power, can try to negotiate a settlement between those two groups, Trump stands to make money.

 

“On February 6, something absolutely stunning happens. Pam Bondi, the AG, issues a memorandum in which she proposes to dull the criminal enforcement of the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

If you are representing a foreign government before the United States, you have to register so that we know if you are acting on behalf of American interests or you are acting on behalf of foreign interests. In the prior Trump administration, Trump officials got in big trouble for secretly working for, and getting paid by, foreign governments without registering. Well, what does Trump announce? That they are going to limit the applicability of the enforcement of that statute, making it much easier for Trump's friends – for his MAGA crowd, for the people who show up to Mar-a-Lago – to get paid quietly by foreign governments in order to influence Donald Trump.

“On February 10, maybe aside from the meme coin, the most stunning act of corruption: the Eric Adams quid pro quo, in which Eric Adams, indicted for corruption, is let off the hook. His charges are dismissed in exchange for the mayor's pledge of political loyalty to Donald Trump. They literally went on TV and announced the deal that we're getting rid of the charges against Eric Adams, as long as the mayor pledges political loyalty to the President. That was so corrupt that six or seven DOJ officials resigned, because they refused to withdraw those charges, but the deal went through because the seventh, or the eighth, or the ninth official finally filed the withdrawal.

“And now in America, it is 100% clear that if you want to get away with corruption, if you want to steal from your constituents and you're an elected official in this country, all you have to do is just sign up for political loyalty with Donald Trump, and he will instruct the Department of Justice to let you get away with it.

“On February 10, Donald Trump directs the DOJ to pause enforcement of U.S. laws that prohibit companies from paying bribes overseas. Come on! Like, come on! He instructs the DOJ to pause enforcement of U.S. laws that prohibit companies to pay bribes overseas. Here’s an example: Goldman Sachs was engaged in outright bribery–they were paying bribes to Malaysian officials, so that they could get a contract to manage the resources of the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.

“American companies should not be overseas bribing foreign governments. That compromises America's reputation and America's national security. But now, we are going to pause enforcement of the laws that stop American companies from bribing foreign governments, because corruption is now being normalized. This is what you do if you want to normalize corruption, is that you make it legal for American companies to engage in corruption overseas. That makes it easier for Trump to get away with corruption here.

“Two days later, on February 12, the announcement comes out that the State Department is going to buy $400 million of armored Teslas. Okay, so now it’s getting even more blatant. It’s getting even more brazen. The State Department is just going to buy a whole bunch of product from Elon Musk, product they were not previously scheduled to buy. It is true that the Biden administration had a blueprint that was going to buy some electric vehicles, but it was around $483,000-worth of vehicles. Trump revises that blueprint of spending so that now the federal government is going to spend $400 million on armoured Teslas from Elon Musk.

“Let’s see: that's February 12. That same day, Elon Musk's people infiltrate the Department of Labour. And reporting suggests that during that infiltration, Elon Musk's personal representatives get access to enforcement information at OSHA, not only against Elon Musk's companies–and by the way, SpaceX has an employee injury rate that is nine times higher than the industry average–but also workplace safety violations against Elon Musk's competitors. Here’s the message: if you are close to Donald Trump personally, if you support him politically, you can get secret access to enforcement data against your companies and your companies' competitors. That's what happens on February 12.

 

“Three days later, there's some suspicious firings at the FDA. Again, related to Elon Musk's personal financial interests. Elon Musk owns a medical device company called Neuralink. It is currently being reviewed by the FDA. And guess what? On February 15 and 16, all over a weekend, there are 20 people fired from the FDA's Office of Neurological and Physical Medicine Devices. Fired by DOGE, run by Elon Musk. Clear message: you're going to get fired if you aren't on the right side of Elon Musk's application. Now, whether that was explicit or not, if the guy who is firing you has a pending application before your department, aren't you going to think twice? Aren't you going to think twice about ruling against his interests? This is why this is all unprecedented. Again, this feels normal because it’s been happening every day. But never before in American history have we allowed someone who has a pending application for approval of a medicine or a medical device to be able to personally decide who gets hired and who gets fired at the regulatory agency making the decision over that medical device.

“But now, this stuff is happening every day. Because on February 15 as well, that same weekend, there's an announcement that the FDA cuts are going to be even deeper, perhaps as big as 50%. That means that hundreds of drugs and devices won't get approved at the FDA. And you know who benefits from that? The folks that are selling the snake oil products. And guess who’s selling the snake oil products? The people who work for Donald Trump, selling vita-gummy scams. The Director of the FBI is selling vaccine reversal pills. When the FDA gets gutted, it’s the people who sell those unregulated products who stand to gain.

“On February 19, four days later, we find out that the IRS is going to be cut by 7,000 people. And the biggest chunk of the folks who are going to be laid off are the people who do the audits of the billionaires, and the millionaires, and the corporations. And so once again, Elon Musk and the people standing behind Donald Trump on Inauguration Day are going to get off, because the IRS just had its enforcement powers–its audit powers–absolutely gutted.”

“That same day, on February 19, you start to receive word that advertising on Elon Musk’s platform is starting to grow again. And the reporting on February 19 indicates that American companies have come to the collective decision that they need to keep advertising on Elon Musk’s platform, because Elon Musk has so much regulatory power inside the federal government. That they need to make sure they're paying Musk through Twitter and through X, so that if they ultimately need something from the federal government, they can get it. This, again, is why we have never, ever in the history of this country, allowed for the richest man in the world, somebody who controls major companies, to also have an official position inside the government. Because, of course, of course, it opens up these clear avenues where people are going to do business with him privately to try to curry favour with him publicly.

“I’m not done. It just keeps going. The next day, on February 20, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices’ monthly meeting is cancelled and not rescheduled. And so we were very worried that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who makes money off of his attacks on vaccines, would continue those attacks when he took over HHS. Because if faith in vaccines continues to plummet, it is very likely that RFK Jr. will make money. Why? Because the not-for-profit that he will likely return to, the company that he will return to after he leaves, makes money as vaccine misinformation spreads, and he also continues to collect fees for referring cases to a company that handles claims of personal injury due to vaccines. And so when the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is canceled, it is a clear indication that yes, this campaign of assault on vaccines is going to continue, which, not surprisingly, is likely to make RFK Jr. even more money.

“On February 26, we see Trump's MAGA hats, that are for sale on his website, displayed in the Oval Office. And it's just a reminder that so many people inside Trump's universe continue to sell merchandise on the side in order to make money. Donald Trump has always done this, and we've just accepted it, even though it is a kind of corruption in and of itself. But Kash Patel, the Director of the FBI, is still selling Kash-branded merchandise even while he's going to run the FBI. Elon Musk and others are selling DOGE merchandise. So as they trumpet their brand inside the government, they’re making money off their brand outside of the government.

“On February 26, maybe the third-most significant [instance] of brazen corruption happens. News breaks that Elon Musk is just going to have the FAA cancel a contract with Verizon that has been in the works for years, and instead just substitute in Starlink for Verizon. Just extraordinary that this is happening in plain view of everybody. Elon Musk takes his private company, uses his access to government to just shove out of the way his competitors, and instead insert himself and his company. Again, we've never seen this ever before in American history, and now it’s happening on a daily basis.

“And now we get to this week. This week, Wired reports that guests are paying millions of dollars to dine with Donald Trump at Mar-A-Lago, and business leaders are being targeted with advertisements that sell access to a one-on-one meeting with the President of the United States for $5 million. Come on! Like, seriously! There's advertisements that say if you're a business CEO and you pay $5 million to Donald Trump, you can get a meeting with him. This isn't okay! And yet, because it happens every single day, every single day they're asking for us to pretend that this is normal. This is just six weeks. It's just six weeks. And the last thing on the list is an offer to meet with the president for $1 million or $5 million. If any previous president had sent out an advertisement suggesting that you can meet with them for a payment to them of $1 million to $5 million, in and of itself we would deem that to be unacceptable. But Donald Trump and Elon Musk believe that because they have arranged this dizzying pace of corruption, in which not a day goes by in which something doesn't happen inside our government in which Elon Musk or Donald Trump use their power in order to rig the rules to enrich themselves, that we are all going to feel that it's normal.

“This is how democracies die. Democracies die when the very powerful people steal from us so regularly, so openly, so unapologetically, that we come to believe that it's normal. And listen, I understand that many Americans may think that all of this stuff just used to happen quietly, and the only difference is that Trump and Musk are just putting it all out in the open. And I'm not saying that there haven't been instances of corruption. Democrats and Republicans in this body have been accused of, and convicted of, acts of corruption. It has been a fact of life in American politics for a long time. But never before has the corruption happened this openly or this frequently. And so I lay it all out for you this afternoon in the hopes that it is not too late for us to decide to stand up, as a body and as a nation, to say that this isn’t okay.

 “The Trump meme coin is not okay. It's not okay for people who have interest before the federal government to be able to anonymously funnel money to the president of the United States. It's not okay for Elon Musk to have access to Department of Labor enforcement data, against him or his competitors, that nobody else gets access to. It's not okay to just cancel contracts that were going to Musk's competitors and substitute in his own business, just because he has the ability to do it as a friend of Donald Trump. The rule of law matters. Doing things by the rules matter. This level of corruption was not occurring behind the scenes prior. It is not just that the cover got pulled off of it all. And it's our decision, as a body and as a country, to decide not to normalize this scale of corruption. I yield the floor.”

Chris Murphy is a United States Senator from Connecticut. He has been serving as the junior senator since January 3, 20131. Murphy is a member of the Democratic Party and has a long history in politics. Before his tenure in the Senate, he represented Connecticut's 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 20131. Prior to that, he served in both chambers of the Connecticut General Assembly, including the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1999 to 2003 and the Connecticut Senate from 2003 to 20071.

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Gravest Crisis since 1945 - Max Hastings

 Stay firm in face of Donald Trump’s divide and rule

US President’s treatment of Zelensky leaves the western alliance in its gravest crisis since 1945 — but we must pull through

Max Hastings Monday March 03 2025, 12.01am, The Times

Max Hastings  has written several books on WWII see MaxHastings.com

Full article if you have a Times subscription

(All emphases are mine)

We have been here before?

Hastings reminds us Britain went to war after Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. At the end of the war Poland was occupied by the USSR, Churchill hated the thought we had lost Poland and had a plan drawn up called Operation Unthinkable in which British and American troops would drive the Russians out of Poland. One top Field Marshall wrote in his dairy “The whole idea is of course fantastic and the chances of success quite impossible”.

When the Unthinkable proposal was submitted to Washington, the new Truman administration unhesitatingly dismissed it. Poland was served on toast to the Kremlin.

Ukraine’s plight is different, but there seem four relevant points:

• the Russians have achieved military ascendancy there;
• justice plays scant part in international relations;
• Putin is playing Stalin’s old Polish game;
• yet we cannot launch an Operation Unthinkable.

The likeliest consequence of the Trump administration’s withdrawal, if persisted with, is that President Zelensky’s country will become, sooner or later, a Russian vassal state like Belarus, and probably also Georgia, just as did Poland in 1945. 

With the Americans offering shameless support to Vladimir Putin, and shameless animosity to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Europeans lack the military power, and .. probably also the will, themselves to protect Ukraine.

Hastings says, the only viable strategy (for Ukraine) is to keep the Americans in the game by urging a peace plan on Washington.

We should ship all such arms as we can muster for as long as the Ukrainians continue to fight, …..But we cannot rearm ourselves remotely fast enough to undo the consequences of Trump’s treachery — and his actions, if persisted with, indeed represent treachery to America’s historic allies.

Hastings speaks of "an ugly new world in which might is to be deemed right."

We must think beyond the immediate threat to an epochal future requirement to protect ourselves without much America.

Trump respects only strength. Compassion is not in his lexicon.

He seeks to divide and rule America’s allies; to break the economic power of the EU by promoting the political power of the extreme right and fracturing European unity.

Britain is a liberal democracy. He is in the business of destroying such polities (political systems). - a lot of Americans do not like us, and such Americans are now in charge. A mere state visit will not change that.

It is problematic whether we can continue full intelligence-sharing with Washington,

Despite yesterday’s emotional protestations of the Europeans’ goodwill, their real strength of purpose seems doubtful about rearming on a scale to compensate for American retreat.

We are being called upon to hold our nerve, to sustain a sense of order, calm and commitment to reason, when none of these things is on offer from Washington.

Hal Brands, of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, writes in the latest issue of US Foreign Affairs: “The democratic recession of recent years could become a rout if Washington quits the fight for the world’s ideological future — or, worse still, joins the other side … Trump’s world could become a very dark place”.

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Is the UK a Christian Country?

"This is a Christian Country and always has been" - Alex Phillips TalkTV

I'd never heard of Alex Phillips and only vaguely heard of TalkTV. I don't watch much TV, and certainly not News or Politics programs. I prefer to read my news and politics, and from different sources. Anyway I came across this impassioned rant on YouTube, although its a bit out of date, in which she was blowing a fuse over a signboard at Kings Cross which was recognising the Muslim season of Ramadan - you can watch for yourself in the link below. Here is a transcript of part of the rant.

It disgusts me, I'm fed up of this bullying and having, you know, Islam forced down my throat when this is a Christian country and always has been, you want to be Muslim, go ahead. You wanna be Hindu, go ahead…..Do what you like, practise your religion privately. That's freedom. We're liberal society. You can believe in whatever you want to believe in.
But this is a Christian country. It's been a Christian country for 2000 years and we're staying a Christian country. Put that in your pipe and smoke it. That's our heritage, that's our legacy. That's what underpins our culture. And I'm fed up of that being constantly kicked around, diluted and eroded when it's given so much, so much to the Western world and told, oh, no, sorry, you play second fiddle. See YouTube (11 months old)

Christian Country?

Alex Phillips is Wrong in what she said and the way she said it

Dog-whistle language - certainly not Christian

"It disgusts me" - "bullying and having Islam forced down my throat" 

"sorry you play second fiddle"

No one is forcing Islam down her throat and she's not being bullied. This is just dog-whistle language to rouse the anger of her listeners. Is she objecting to Muslims being in the UK or that they practice their own religion? Apparently not; she says we're a liberal society - you believe what you like. Her problem seems to be, she doesn't want to see too much evidence of Islam because she sees it as a sign the UK is being taken over and we may cease to be a "Christian" country. 

No Christian would rant in this way so I assume she is not a believer, why then is she so keen to defend Christianity?

Christian Country - what's that? 

Strictly speaking only individuals can be Christians since it is a matter of personal belief, not group allegiance. After all, Jesus said we should "turn the other cheek" when attacked; "love our neighbour as ourselves" and so on. No country could possibly base its policies on statements like these. So in this sense countries are not Christian. But when Alex Phillips uses the term "Christian Country" she means the major religion of the country. Even if she is not a Christian herself she does not want to see Christianity replaced by another religion. 

"It's been a Christian country for 2000 years and we're staying a Christian country", 

Alex says, but not quite correct.

Christianity in the UK - a very short overview of a very troubled history

The first Christian missionary, sent by the Pope, arrived in Anglo-Saxon England in 697. In 1534 Henry VIII split from Rome and became Supreme Head of the Church of England. Following his death a vicious persecution took place with 280 people burned at the stake, like Thomas Benet and Agnes Prest in Exeter. This is their memorial.

The nearest the country came to being a "Christian Country" was between 1649 and 1660 when Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans were in charge - entertainment, theatres, Christmas, celebrations and sports were all banned. Yet, despite his fervant Christianity, Cromwell committed great atrocities against the people of Ireland.

Up to the end of the Victorian era the majority of the people believed in God, but according to the 1851 Religious Census, only 40% of the population were estimated to attended church. The 20th Century with two world wars, the rise of science and increasing secularisation saw a decline in christian belief. 

We are no Longer a Christian Country

Today only about 5% of the population attend church services, half what it was in 1980. 2000 churches have been closed in the last ten years. Nevertheless 46.7 % of the population identified themsleves as Christian in the 2021 census. But for the first time this figure dropped below 50%. Alex please note:  Islam has along way to go before becoming the majority faith

2021 Census Data	Percentage
Christianity:	46.20%
No religion:	37.20%
Islam:	6.50%
Hinduism:	1.70%
Sikhism:	0.90%
Buddhism:	0.50%
Judaism:	0.50%
Other religions:	0.60%

There is much less decline in mainland  Europe. As of 2021, Christianity is the largest religion in the European Union, accounting for approximately 72.8% of the population. This includes various denominations such as Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. (See details below)

However, the UK is unique in having a monarch who is Head of the Church of England and in having 26 Bishops in the House of Lords. But for how much longer?

If less than half the population identify as Christian, claiming we are a "Christian Country" does not make sense. If Alex Phillips is worried that Christianity is losing in the religioous race, she'd better set an example and start going to church.

Is British Culture Under Threat?

We may be slowly losing our Christian identity but are we in danger of losing British culture. Alex Phillips seems to think it's threatened. Here's a list of headings for British Culture:

• History & Heritage - long history from pre-Roman times which has left a legaacy of historical sites, country houses & estates, cathedrals, industrial museums etc
• Language & Literature - English is the main language of the world and we have produced world renowned authors, playwrights and poets - Shakespeare is revered the world over.
• Traditions, Customs, Humour, Character - too many to list, but we have a unique sense of humour as a nation, and our national character is  to be polite but to stand firm when pushed too far.
• Food & Drink - traditional foods but we have adopted cuisine from around the world
• Music & Entertainment - festivals, bands, theatre, film and TV are up there with the best in the world.
• Sport - football , rugby, cricket, tennis – all founded in GB. We are a sporting nation, usually rooting for the underdog.
• Multicultural Influence - through early invasions from Scandanavia and Europe, our maritime trade and through the British Empire our society has always had a mix of cultures.
• Politics & Society – we helped shaped modern democracy, we respect the rule of law, honesty, integrity and fair play

See below for an expanded list.

Thinking through all these aspects of our culture I don't see any of these as being under threat.

Change is the Real Issue 

I think the real issue for Alex Phillips, and for most of us, is change. 

Before the industrial revolution change in society was slow, the life of a grandchild was very similar to the life of their grandfather. But then things began to speed up, railways, steam ships, motor vehicles, aircraft, telegraph, telephone, radio, TV, computing, until today we can hardly keep up with the pace of change. The world of my childhood seems centuries away from the world my granchildren are growing into. We think back to "the good old days" with a nostalgic longing for the past but we cannot stop the clocks or make time go backwards. We have to find ways to manage change that keeps communities and nations stable. The past tells us this is not possible, yet we must try.

Perhaps we should listen to Alex Phillips and embrace Christianity again. 

So let's finish with a prayer.

Both the following lists are AI generated and slightly edited

Christianity in Europe

As of recent surveys (such as those by Pew Research Center and Eurobarometer), approximately 70-75% of Europeans (excluding the UK) identify as Christian. However, the level of religious practice varies widely across different countries.

Breakdown by Region:

• Western Europe: Countries like France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands have a Christian-identifying population of around 60-70%, but many are secular or non-practicing.
• Southern Europe: Countries like Italy, Portugal, and Greece have a higher percentage of 80-90% identifying as Christian, with Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity being dominant.
• Eastern Europe: Countries such as Poland, Romania, and Ukraine generally have a high Christian population (80-90%), with strong religious traditions.
• Scandinavia: Countries like Sweden, Denmark, and Norway still have 60-70% identifying as Christian, but regular church attendance is low.

British Culture

 1. History & Heritage

Britain has a rich history, from ancient Celtic and Roman times, through the medieval period, the British Empire, and gradual founding of modern democracy.
The monarchy, with figures like Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III, plays a symbolic role in British identity.
Historical landmarks like Buckingham Palace, Stonehenge, the Tower of London, the Roman baths, Big Ben, and Windsor Castle are key parts of British heritage.

2. Language & Literature
English, the primary language, originated in Britain and is one of the lingua franca of the world
British literature is world-famous, with authors like William Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, J.R.R. Tolkien, and many, many more.

3. Traditions & Customs Humour Character
Pubs – The local pub (public house) is a social hub where people gather to chat, eat, and drink.
Queuing – British people are known for their orderly queues.
Sarcasm & understatement – British people often communicate with subtle humor and indirect language.
Festivals and Holidays: Events like Guy Fawkes Night, Trooping the Colour, and the Notting Hill Carnival celebrate various aspects of British culture.
Politeness and Manners: British people are known for their politeness and the importance they place on manners and etiquette.
A “stiff upper lip” (remaining calm in tough situations) is a stereotype of British resilience.

4. Food & Drink
Traditional British foods include fish and chips, roast dinners, full English breakfast, and shepherd’s pie.
Sunday roast (roast meat with vegetables and Yorkshire pudding) is a classic family meal.
British desserts include scones, sticky toffee pudding, and trifle.
Diverse Food Scene: British cuisine has been influenced by various cultures, resulting in a vibrant and diverse food landscape.

5. Music & Entertainment
Britain has produced some of the world’s most influential musicians, such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Queen, Adele, and Ed Sheeran.
The UK has a strong film and television industry, with globally popular shows like Doctor Who, Sherlock, Downton Abbey, and The Crown.
The West End (London’s theatre district) is famous for world-class plays and musicals.
Film and Television: British cinema and TV have a global audience, with shows like "Doctor Who" and "Sherlock" gaining international fame.

6. Sports
Britain is the birthplace of many sports, including football (soccer), rugby, cricket, and tennis.
Wimbledon, the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament, is held in London.
The Premier League is one of the world’s most-watched football leagues.

7. Multicultural Influence
Modern British culture is shaped by diverse communities from former British colonies and beyond, including influences from India, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia.
This is reflected in food (like curry being a national favourite), music, fashion, and everyday life.

8. Politics & Society
The UK has a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy.
British values often emphasize fairness, tolerance, free speech, and a strong sense of humour.
The NHS (National Health Service) is a source of national pride, providing free healthcare to UK residents.

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A World based on cooperation and compassion, or greed?

 
Can Trumpism be defeated? Absolutely. Here’s how

(Edited from article by Bernie Sanders)

Full article here

Trumpism

•  has an unlimited amount of money to throw into its efforts. 
• has significant control over large parts of the media ... Their basic function is not to cover the “news” but to spread rightwing extremist ideology.
• is utilizing the concept of the “big lie” in a way that has never, in this country, been seen. Day after day, blatantly dishonest statements and conspiracy theories are propagated 
• does not believe in democracy or the rule of law. Trump recently posted:
  “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” In other words, Trump believes that he can do anything he wants for any reason. He can ignore Congress or the courts. He is above the law.

The Reality in The USA

• Today, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck; 
• millions are earning starvation wages; 
• 85 million are uninsured or under-insured; 
• young people are unable to afford the cost of college; 
• 25% of seniors live on $15,000 a year or less; 
• we have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth,
• we have a major shortage in low-income and affordable housing.

What about the Rich?

Today, the three major oligarchs, Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, are worth $905bn - more wealth than the bottom half of American society – 170 million people. And, incredibly, since Trump’s election their wealth has grown by $217bn. (the minimum wage has been $7.25/hr for 15 yrs)

It is absurd, unjust and inhumane that virtually all of that new wealth being created goes to the people who need it the least.

My vision

A nation and world based on human cooperation and compassion, not greed and a “survival of the fittest” mentality. 

In the richest country in the history of the world we must establish that:

• Healthcare is a human right and must be available to all regardless of income.
• Every worker in America is entitled to earn a decent income. We must raise the minimum wage to a living wage and make it easier for workers to join unions.
• We must have the best public educational system in the world, from childcare to vocational training, to graduate school – available to all.
• We must address the housing crisis and build the millions of units of low-income and affordable housing that we desperately need.
• We must create millions of good paying jobs as we lead the world in combating the existential threat of climate change.
• We must abolish all forms of bigotry.

New Legislation

In the coming weeks the Republicans in Congress will be bringing forward a major piece of legislation, (which) will:

• provide trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the richest people in our country.
• will make savage cuts to Medicaid, housing, nutrition, education and other basic needs

 

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