Anthem of the 60's Still Appropriate

I was driving in my car recently and the anthem from the 1960’s came on over the airwaves.  I grew up in the 60’s and I recognized it immediately.  It was a song by the Buffalo Springfield, a group that consisted of Neil Young, Bruce Palmer, Dewey Martin, Stephen Stills and Richie Furay.  If I am not mistaken the group recorded only four albums, and one of those was a compilation of the group’s hits.  The name of that song is For What It’s Worth.

As I was listening and singing, I realized that song was very appropriate for this era of national politics.  So, as I have decided to write, with all due respect to Stephen Stills, the author of the song, and choose lyrics from the song, and then try to apply those lyrics to today’s atmosphere in the United States.

So here goes…

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear...

One must ask themselves, what are our national political figures doing…or for that matter thinking?
  
Not too long ago, and I have written about this before, Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, issued a statement regarding Iran’s nuclear capabilities and was thrown under the bus by the President who proclaimed the director to be wrong.  Later, Gabbard issued a statement indicating that her agency was “aligned” with the White House agenda.  Take a guess who nominated Gabbard to that post…

It wasn’t too long after that, the President said the Chair of the Federal Reserve Board, Jerome Powell, should resign.  Why?  The president's gripes with his handpicked Fed chair — whom Trump has called a "numbskull," a "Trump Hater" and a "stubborn mule" — have largely focused on the central bank's decision to keep interest rates relatively high so far this year, part of an inflation-fighting campaign. 
 
The problem at the current moment is the Fed Chair is concerned about how the recently introduced tariffs will affect the American economy.  If inflation does go up, then the high interest rates are the method to ease inflation.  If inflation does in fact go down, the Fed will lower interest rates, hopefully sometime soon.  Nonetheless, Powell was Trump’s nominee and confirmed to the Fed Board during Trump’s first term in office.  He was later renewed by President Biden to the same position, and when Trump took office, Powell remained in his position.  So, what is happening here?

From the Associated Press…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired a general whose agency’s initial intelligence assessment of damage to Iranian nuclear sites from US strikes angered President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the decision and a White House official.  The report came after Trump said the Iranian nuclear sites were “obliterated”.  Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will no longer serve as head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.  
Hegseth also fired Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, who is chief of the Navy Reserve, as well as Rear Adm. Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer who oversees Naval Special Warfare Command, another US official said.  The reasons for their firings, the latest in a series targeting military leaders, ain’t exactly clear.

Yet Hegseth remains as Secretary of Defense even though he was caught sending sensitive information over an unsecured social media application…

There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware...

Unless one has been under a rock or in stupor of some sort, the President ordered the National Guard into Los Angeles to help quell protests over immigration raids in and around Los Angeles.  The President also sent about 200 Marines to Los Angeles as well.  This action marks the first time a President has mobilized the National Guard WITHOUT a request from a governor since 1960. 
 
Recently, the President has ordered the National Guard to Washington D.C. to stop an intolerable wave of crime.  Secretary Hegseth has authorized the National Guard to carry weapons and to act as a local law enforcement agency carrying out law enforcement.  However,

From FactCheck.org, here is what we know about the allegations.

“The Metropolitan Police Department of D.C. released crime statistics on Aug. 11 that showed the number of homicides in the city had decreased by 32% from 2023 to 2024 and by 12% so far from 2024 to 2025, as we’ve written.  Violent crime overall for 2024 was down 35% from the previous year and was “the lowest it has been in over 30 years,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia reported in January.

“In addition to the overall violent crime reduction, homicides are down 32%; robberies are down 39%; armed carjackings are down 53%; assaults with a dangerous weapon are down 27% when compared with 2023 levels, with the District reporting the fewest assaults with dangerous weapons and burglaries in over 30 years,” according to the press release from then-U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves.”

Obviously, the Metro Police Department was doing something right, but, President Donald Trump, however, declared a “crime emergency” in Washington on Aug. 11 to justify a federal takeover of the city’s law enforcement. He wrongly claimed at a press conference that day, “Murders in 2023 reached the highest rate probably ever” in Washington. (The peak murder rate was in 1991.)  Crime statistics would indicate violent crime is receding in Washington D.C., but is still higher than larger cities in the nation.  And let me add, the President has said he may send the National Guard to New York City, Chicago, and San Francisco to “clean up those cities.”

But, wait, there may be one small problem.

The Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C. § 1385) is a U.S. federal law from 1878 that generally prohibits the use of the Army and Air Force for domestic law enforcement purposes. 
 
Key facts about the act include:

• Purpose: The law was designed to prevent the federal military from being used as a civilian police force in the United States.
• Restrictions: It makes it a crime to willfully use "any part of the Army or the Air Force as a posse comitatus or otherwise to execute the laws".
• Exceptions: The act has exceptions, including specific circumstances authorized by the Constitution or an Act of Congress. The military can also be used in emergencies, such as for disaster relief or to quell a major civil disturbance, in support of civilian authorities. 

However, this plays out, “there’s a man with a gun over there…” and I just don’t think that will resonate with the public.

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong…

On the order of the President, the state of Texas has redrawn congressional districts to provide the President with 5 more Republican seats in the House of Representatives.  In response to the Texas redistricting, the state of California will vote on a referendum in November to determine if the congressional districts in California should be redrawn.  Illinois and New York have indicated they may do the same.  In essence the House of Representatives is deepening the normal battle lines of politics which will not be beneficial to the nation as a whole.  The MAGA Republicans and the Democrats will say it is the other party’s fault the abyss between the two parties has deepened.  And this may just be the tip of the iceberg as Trump tries to grab more power as the President.
​  
The public has heard numerous times the country was in dire shape due to the policies of the Biden administration.  Just as we have heard numerous times how great the country is prospering under the Trump administration. 
 
A couple questions to ponder:

• If the MAGA Republicans are so sure their agenda is widely accepted by the voters of the nation, why then ask Texas to redrawn their congressional districts to provide 5 more Republican seats in the House?
• Is the Chair of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell being a true conservative by waiting to see the results of the tariffs imposed by Trump before lowering interest rates as the President wants?
• Who is right and who is wrong?

 
Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid…

How many times have we heard the word “hoax”, or “witch hunt”, or “I didn’t do anything wrong!” come from the mouth of the President.  Truly, if the President has done nothing wrong, then all of those catchy words and phrase do apply.  And the citizens who doubt the President would owe him a big apology.  But, using a phrase from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, "The lady doth protest too much, methinks". 
 
These examples allow me to believe; the President puts on a good face in public; but in private he may doubt himself and fears he will be found out.

I say this because of my thoughts about:

1. I’ll end the Ukraine/Russian war.  This was a cornerstone of President Trump’s campaign for office.  It appears more and more the Summit meeting with Putin in Alaska was a failure.  At the moment, Putin has said there will be no ceasefire and no face to face with Zelensky.  Russia has bombed an American factory in the Ukraine, even though their Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denied this on Meet the Press,  August 24, 2025.  The President has found criticism for his handling of the Summit.
2. Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, remarked this week, at the request of the President, we are going to paint the “wall” on the border black.  The reason?  Black retains heat and will make it difficult for illegal immigrants to climb the wall.  In doing this, the Trump administration is admitting the wall may not be doing what it is supposed to do…keep people out, otherwise, why paint the wall black?  And while the paint job may cost millions to complete, a five-dollar pair of gloves with silicone dots just might allow those illegal immigrants Trump wishes to keep out, the opportunity to climb the fence.  This is another of Trump’s campaign promises.  Once the illegal immigrants find out about the use of gloves…the money for the black paint will be a waste and the judgment of the President will be questioned in the press.
3. RFK, jr… Secretary of Health and Human Services is in the process of confusing people in the nation to vaccinate their children, to trust the CDC, and to trust the WHO.  Why?  Because according to RFK, jr., vaccines cause autism.  The CDC has given out bad information regarding disease and vaccines and the WHO is only in it for the money.  So far, this year, the nation has endured a measles outbreak.  Because of the MMR vaccine, measles was virtually wiped out.  Polio has been virtually wiped out in the United States because of the polio vaccine of Jonas Salk.  It saved lives.  RFK, jr’s education does not include science or medicine.  He has a BA in American History and Literature from Harvard; a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law; a Master of Laws from Pace University.  RFK, jr. is not a man of science or medicine. The main charge of our government is to protect man’s right to life.  Does RFK, jr. fit that mold?  The President’s judgment comes into question regarding the nomination of RFK, jr.
4. I have mentioned Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Hegseth earlier in this article.  I’m not sure Gabbard misrepresented the facts regarding Iran; just because the President said so, doesn’t make Gabbard wrong.  Why?  Because of the report published by Lt. Gen. Kruse that didn’t align with Trump’s “obliterated” remarks concerning the Iranian nuclear program.  I am confident Pete Hegseth fired Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse on the order of the President because the intelligence report Lt. Gen. Kruse issued regarding the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facilities made the President look bad.

To correct the error of his judgement, it would seemingly damage his image.  In my mind, the President doesn’t want that to happen…therefore…witch hunt, hoax, I didn’t do that, all come into play.  Yet we know of his legal troubles, his business failures, his failed University.  We know of his marital failures.  We know of his misogynist attitude of women by listening to the infamous Billy Bush tape.

We better stop
Hey, what's that sound?
Everybody look, what's going down?
 
I have my opinion, you can conclude what you want.