In these days of fake news, misinformation, disinformation and just plain lies we can get overwhelmed by the cacophony. This article explores a few topics and commentary from interesting and reliable sources. It is a potpourri of things to ponder about our current situation.

I begin with some uplifting philosophy for these dark and troubled times.

“We are made of particles too small for our minds to imagine, spinning through an expanse of blackness too vast for our minds to comprehend...for a few short years we get to be on this astonishingly beautiful planet together...If you can let the beauty and wonder in while doing what you can to improve the world, there is no reason despair should ever touch you...” Caitlin Johnstone is an Australian writer (collaborating with her American husband) who “somehow wound up doing crowd-funded commentary as a full-time gig.” This is from their article “The Cure for Despair is Awe, Wonder and Humility” (July 8, 2026).

Angela Stroud, my state Assembly representative, had encouraging words in her recent newsletter,  “...does protesting really do anything? Yes! It shows others, including elected officials, that we do not accept what Trump and the entire GOP are trying so desperately to normalize. And by refusing to normalize this behavior, by clearly, publicly and persistently choosing a side – the side of legal rights for all [we defend democracy]...Is protesting enough? Of course not. But it’s one tool in a moment when we are being asked to accept brutality as normal, violence as the price of peace, and imperial lunacy as acceptable foreign policy.”

Today the Trump administration is actively working to establish a fascist dictatorship while branding progressives and his opponents as “socialists,” “communists” and “domestic terrorists.”

It is not true that both sides – conservatives and liberals – are at fault or that finding compromise in the middle is the answer. Compromise on democracy, and the rule of law, is complicity and not good politics.
How did we get so politically divided?

Writing in 2022, Robert Reich’s answer to this question was, “Well, it’s NOT because both sides have gotten more extreme...Today, the spectrum from left to right is the longest it’s been in my 50 years in and around politics. The left hasn’t moved much at all. We’re still against the war machine, still pushing for civil and voting rights, still fighting the power of big corporations. But the right has moved far, far rightward...So don’t believe the fear-mongering that today’s left is ‘radical.’ What’s really radical is the right’s move toward fascism” (“Let’s Be Clear: Only the Right Has Become More Extreme Over the Last 50 Years,” in Common Dreams).

Progressive commentator Jim Hightower said it more succinctly, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.”

Economist John Kenneth Galbraith said in 1963, “The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.”

Today we see selfishness (and massive corruption) in the current administration’s cruel, senseless, destructive economic and social policies.

Nick Hanauer is a wealthy venture capitalist, who unlike many in the 1%, understands that selfishness is short sighted. He has an unselfish plan to fix Social Security’s financial problems. His plan would permanently fix Social Security funding while increasing workers’ take home pay, helping businesses of all sizes and stimulating the economy.

He explains his proposal in a YouTube video entitled “Why Social Security Is Under Threat.”

Going into the details is not the purpose of this article, but everyone of all ages needs to watch this short video.

“Economics is ultimately about people, and the purpose of policy is to make lives better...the good lives enjoyed by many [since the New Deal] didn’t evolve by accident but were, instead, made possible by bold, effective policies....Now the opportunity to live a good life is under threat.”

These are the words of economist Paul Mr. Krugman writing the introduction to a Roosevelt Institute report titled “The Good Life Agenda” (June 2, 2026). The report discusses “what our economy and democracy could look like if all of us had access to the building blocks of economic security and prosperity” And asks, “How we can change the structures that prevent us from living the lives we want...” There is much to ponder about democracy and inequality in this report.

American foreign policy rarely makes anyone’s live better. Cuba is the most egregious, current example.
Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel recently said, “Cuba is not a failed state; Cuba is a besieged state.”
He was pointing out that Cuba’s severe blackouts, fuel shortages, food shortages and medical crises are the result of the Trump administration’s energy blockade and economic warfare, rather than Cuba’s economic system or form of government.

I agree and recently wrote, “The U.S. is clearly the aggressor with six decades of acting illegally and inhumanely toward Cuba. The current administration has no shame, no decency and no concern for the people of Cuba” (“Cruelty is not an American value”, Reader, June 4,2026).

The United National Anti-War Coalition (UNAC) says, “After over 60 years of failed U.S. sanctions against Cuba, the current administration is literally starving the Cuban people to force ‘regime change.’ We should be ashamed!”

They are asking people sign a petition to stop our government’s illegal actions. You can join the effort at their website.

Here is another foreign policy factoid to ponder. Currently there are 115 out of 195 total U.S. ambassador posts that are vacant. Think how this impacts our national security, commercial relationships or respect in the world. This unprecedented neglect of basic responsibilities should outrage everyone of every political persuasion.

Clearly the mismanagement by Donald Trump must be ended by electing senators and representatives in November who will stop his destructive abuse of power. This will require many people to get politically active.

But, you say, “I don’t do politics.”

To this Caitlin Johnstone replies, “Saying ‘I’m not into politics’ is just saying ‘I support status quo politics.’ It’s saying you endorse all the violence, exploitation, ecocide and abuse of the current order...Every part of your life is dramatically affected by the political actions of others. Your political inaction is an action, and it’s an action in favor of the political status quo” (“I’m Not Political” Just Means “I Support The Status Quo” by Caitlin Johnstone).