OPINION: Hooray for Real Patriots

Donald Trump keeps claiming he and his Project 2025ers are leading our country into a golden age even as they keep shoving us further into darkness.

They’ve interfered with corporations, media outlets, universities, state and local governments, law and medical practices and supposedly independent agencies like the Federal Reserve.

They’ve ordered a red-state gerrymander-palooza before the midterm elections because they know that most Americans hate what they’re doing.

They sent immigrants, undocumented or otherwise, to corporate-owned concentration camps.

They’ve eroded the separation of powers, the safety net, the economy and basic human decency.   

And after giving a hero’s welcome to war criminal Vladimir Putin, Trump subjected leaders of allied European countries to a display of what The New Republic called his “dictator” merchandise and hinted at extending this nightmare past 2028. (The guests just wanted to stop the carnage in Ukraine).

Yet some glimmers of light remain.

As the White House wages war on truth and knowledge, some dedicated experts refuse to surrender.

After work stopped on a federal database of major weather disasters, the nonprofit Climate Central organization hired the climatologist who led the project and will resume updating it. 

Trump’s moves to censor and whitewash American history prompted Philadelphia activists to create a digital replica of the President’s House, which depicts the lives of George and Martha Washington’s slaves. And a group called Save Our Signs is assembling a photo archive of targeted content at national parks. 

Plenty of journalists keep cutting through the MAGA spin. Even reporters whose bosses have rolled over are still writing about touchy subjects and asking tough questions.

Kudos to them as well as unpaid documentarians. If not for Philip Ebersole, there’d be no video of our own GOP Congressman Dan Meuser’s disastrous encounter in Pottsville with protesters against the Trump regime. 

And if not for the demonstrators, the only story would have been the PR stunt by Meuser and the Americans for Progress (for Billionaires) for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill (for Billionaires).

And without the organizers, there may not have been the dozen or so Schuylkill County protests this year to let local people know they aren’t alone in wanting to strengthen safety nets, protect Ukraine and preserve our rights and freedoms.  

Many of these demonstrations were the work of county Democratic Committee Chair Todd Zimmerman and Claire Kempes, who chairs the Schuylkill Democratic Action Group’s rally subcommittee. Claire also helped Schuylkill Indivisible, which I co-chair, with our efforts, including an “empty chair” town hall in front of Meuser’s office.

Anna Strenkoski of Minersville has trouble getting to these events, but she organized one on her block in conjunction with the 50501 movement’s nationwide May 1 demonstration to support immigrants, workers and free speech.

We’re hardly unique, considering the millions of Americans taking to the streets, including in L.A. and D.C., where Trump has deployed the military.

Gerrymandering should be abolished, but California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom was right to retaliate after Texas did it to comply with Trump’s demand for five more GOP House seats. Unfortunately, you can’t defend yourself if you don’t have the same weapons your attacker is using.   

On a lighter note, entertainers keep pointing out how absurd this administration is. Ratings for “South Park” soared after a recent episode showed what many of us thought: Trump bedding down with Satan (although even Satan can’t stand him).

Taylor Swift brought excitement and glamour to the color associated with Trump’s unhealthy-looking skin tone. The megastar endorsed Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024 but didn’t mention Trump when she explained why she picked “Portofino Orange Glitter” for her new album’s vinyl record: It reflects how she’s felt – “exuberant and electric and vibrant.” 

 Another unintentional hero is Trump’s Truth Social AI chatbot. Touted as providing MAGA users with answers that conform with their leader’s propaganda, the bot actually responded … truthfully … to questions the Washington Post asked. 

It said Trump’s tariffs are a tax on Americans, his family’s cryptocurrency investments are a potential conflict of interest, and the Jan. 6 invasion of the Capitol was a violent “insurrection” linked to his “baseless claims of widespread election fraud.”

The bot obviously failed as a MAGA disinformation bubble, but it deserves high marks for giving users the facts – at least for now. 

Lisa Von Ahn is an experienced columnist previously published in the Pottsville Republican Herald newspaper.

Canary note: Opinions expressed in any Op-Ed column appearing on this site are the views of the writer and are not necessarily the opinions of Coal Region Canary.

Want to be a columnist with Coal Region Canary? Contact us at newscanary@gmail.com.

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