Category: Progressive Commentary

UH…….ER…….UMM……….

Here’s something. Recent reports have revealed the administration was planning to send migrants to Libya. Three officials said Tuesday that the U.S. could start deporting people to Libya as early as next week.

Yet when asked yesterday whether his administration would be sending migrants to Libya, T****’ reply was, “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Homeland Security, please.”      

This is just wrong. T**** has repeatedly accused former President Biden of being unaware of his own policies while in office. He goes on endlessly about believing Biden is in cognitive decline and not aware of what was going on during his term.

But T****? Well, he’s got plenty of time to watch late night movies and play golf, but here he is flat out telling us that he doesn’t know what is happening on his watch. And somehow that’s OK? I don’t think so. 

You have to ask, just who the hell is running this country? Because it’s clearly not Donald  

THE BERNHARD PERSPECTIVE

Martin Niemöller was a prominent Protestant pastor in Germany who was an early Nazi supporter but emerged as an outspoken public foe of Adolf Hitler. Niemöller’s poem, also known as “First They Came,” was written after the end of World War II and the defeat of Nazi Germany. It serves as a reflection on the failure of German society to resist the Nazi regime and its incremental persecution of targeted groups. Today, I suggest as different take.

“First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. 

Then they came for…..……”  — Marton Neimöller, 1946.

The infamous words of Neimöller’s poem illustrate the essence of Edward Burke’s warning that the only thing needed for evil to rise is for good people to do nothing. History suggests to me a contemporary take on Neimòller’s warning. I submit: 

“First he came for the undocumented immigrants and I spoke out even though I am not an undocumented immigrant.

Then he came for the Muslims and I spoke out even though I am not Muslim.

Then he came for LBGTQ+ people and I spoke  out even though I am not lesbian, bisexual, gay or trans. 

Then he came for those who had spoken or worked against him and I spoke out because I have done both. 

Then he came for me, and I will never stop speaking out against him even if there is no-one left so speak for me. — Andrew J Bernhard, 2025. 

And one more famous quote: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – George Santayana. 

With the rise of Donald T****, we must believe Burke’s wisdom, take heed of Santayana’s warning and rise above Neimöller’s weakness. There is only one way to synthesize  these three quotations. Only one way to protect and preserve the freedoms our Founding Fathers so hopefully bequeathed to us. Only One Path Forward.

  SPEAK OUT     RESIST

THE BERNHARD PERSPECTIVE

In his first 100 days, Donald T**** has attacked at least five pillars of American democracy. With just a few examples, they are:

Separation of Powers: by showing a complete distain for the judiciary, violating orders and threatening to impeach judges.

Equal Justice: using federal prosecutors and agents as an extension of his political operation and using federal prosecutors and agents as an extension of his political agenda.

Due Process: from the firing federal workers without the 30-day notice that the law requires to the deportation of 238 immigrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador. 

Government for the People: from taking secret donations to his inaugural fund to using government resources to benefit his companies and his manipulation of the crypto markets, he and his circle enrich themselves at the nation’s expense.

Freedom of Speech and Freedom of the Press: buy suing ABC, CBS and the Des Moines Register over coverage he does not like, and issuing executive orders to punish people for things they’ve said. 

Whether or not one supports  T****’s policies is not at issue here. Good people can disagree. But these things that he has and is doing are outside presidential authority, the law, and any Constitutional mandate. In these 100 days he has overstepped his bounds; we are a democracy, not an oligarchy. 

These past 100 days have wounded this country, and there is no guarantee that we will either fully recover or that the knife won’t be driven in deeper. But giving the nation over is not an option

For these reasons it is the patriotic duty of all Americans to oppose Donald T****.

The best way is to build the largest possible coalition in defense of our Constitutional principles. It is to build a coalition of Americans who may disagree about our country’s way forward yet believe that these differences must be decided through debate and constitutional processes, not the dictates of a single man.

The United States Constitution has been under attack from within before. The post-Reconstruction era, the scourge of Jim Crow and the Red Scare are among those times. It recovered because Americans of good faith fought for this country’s ideals, for its very soul. That is our duty today.

The survival of our American democracy was not inevitable then, nor is it now. We do have one way to  struggle. One way to preserve what we cherish so dearly. We have One Path Forward.

STAND UP   SPEAK OUT    RESIST

THAT OLD TIME RELIGION

The Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade was passed in 1973. Once women had access to both birth control and abortions, they were able to stop living as first and foremost reproductive units, and were able to participate more fully in society than as primarily wives and mothers. 

I don’t think the conservative power structure, at that time for the most part older white men, could ever accept this new reality which shattered the old, so-called “double standard.” Back in those days men were, with a wink and a nod and a little macho bluster, allowed to have as much sex as they could get; it was a male privilege. At the same time, society imposed severe cultural and moral sanctions on women who did the same.

I believe that is why so many conservatives have been working hard to take away those rights ever since. They just liked it the old way. It’s nice, and easy, to feel all powerful and dominant over half of humanity when culture and law are your side. Especially if you yourself are just one more powerless nobody. And now, after the present Supreme Court overturned Roe, they have contraception clearly in their sights.

In truth, it has never been about “saving babies.”

And yes, it is true. Today, many Christian Evangelicals, 89% of whom are white, are known to subscribe to another outdated concept called” complementarianism”. This belief system alleges that men and women have different but complementary roles, and is supported by their interpretation of the Bible. It says that men are the providers and protectors, and women the nurturers and child-rearers who must submit to male domination. 

Today, in fact, support for this cave-man theology comes straight from the highest level of  government. Throwing the First Amendment to the wind, Donald T****’s new White House Faith Leader Paula White-Cain is an advocate of this theory. 

I maintain, however, that if this submission was natural, there wouldn’t be thousands of sermons every week reminding women they must submit. Nature doesn’t need constant reminders in order to run its course. Indoctrination, however, depends on constant reinforcement.

So if someone insists that I have to respect their religion and their beliefs regardless, I reply: If your religious convictions call for indoctrination which supports the oppression or submission of other human beings, I have only response:

  “The hell I do.” 

#1PathForward

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

You are meant to feel powerless. That is what a strongman wants: make you feel as if nothing can stop his taking over of your country. This is Donald T****’s strategy, it is what he is counting on. Our country and our way of life hangs in precarious balance. 

Our democratic institutions rely on the compliance of its citizens and leaders with and within the law. They are not capable of dealing with the existential threat of tyrannical defiance. Our Founding Fathers presumed and relied on the intentions of good men to hold the reigns of power and authority. But Donald T*** is not good man.

The 1st Amendment guarantees our right to free speech and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. It is time to exercise them, to continue to fill the streets across the country and make our petitions with loud, strong language. It is not necessary to be nice; Donald T**** not a nice man.

This is our one, our strongest weapon in defense of our country, our liberty and our freedom: ourselves, our voices and our righteous anger. T**** wants us to feel powerless to stop him. 

He must see that we are not. 

We must forcefully demonstrate that it is the people and only the people who are sovereign in this country. He does not make laws for us nor is he above them. And if he endeavors to become so, we can and will bring him down.

And we have the way to do that. We have the way to fight against his lust for power. We have the ballot box. And we have the One Path Forward.

STAND UP       SHOUT OUT        RESIST  

#1PathForward

#progressive-commentary

thebernhardperspective.com

PRESIDENTIAL PREDATOR

On the campaign trail, T**** promised women, “You will no longer be in danger. I will protect women at a level never seen before, whether they like it or not.”  Given his history, it’s understandable if some women don’t. But T**** is not really being original with this pledge. 

“Protector” is a common theme among white evangelicals, who promote the idea that men and women have different but complementary roles. This cave man mentality says that big, strong men are the providers and protectors, and weak, frail women the nurturers and supporters, who must submit to male domination. 

That is certainly true of Donald, who has a long history with dominating and uncontrolled sexual behavior. Having famously cheated with his first and second wives with his second and third wives and on his third wife with an adult movie actress,  he infamously boasted on “Access Hollywood” about being entitled to forcefully grope and kiss unwilling women. 

He has bragged about strolling into Miss Teen America dressing rooms so he could ogle half-naked underage girls.

Donald has made many inappropriate comments about young girls as well. In 1992, T****, then 46, said about a 10-year-old girl: “I am going to be dating her in 10 years.” 

That same year, after asking two 14-year-old girls in a youth choir their age, T**** said: “Wow! Just think, in a couple of years, I’ll be dating you.” 

He has publicly sexualized his own daughter., Ivanka. During the 1997 Miss Teen USA pageant, T***** asked Miss Universe to comment his 16-year-old daughter’s  physical attributes. He once even said that if she weren’t his daughter, he’d be dating her. 

These comments and actions demonstrate a pattern of sexualizing and objectifying underage teenagers, which behavioral experts consider dangerous and enabling to predators.

Then, of course, New York juries found him liable of the sexual abuse (rape) of E. J. Carroll, and believed Stormy Daniels details how he had sex with with her before covering up their affair with a $130,000 hush money payment.

So the word that comes to my mind in connection to Donald T**** and women is not “protector.”

It’s Predator 

#1PathForward

#Progressive-commentary

AMERICAN GULAG

Abrego Garcia was swept up in an ICS raid and flown to El Salvador without a warrant, a court appearance or any semblance of due process. The feds claimed he was a gangster but he wasn’t. He was in the US legally and had committed no crime.

So why hasn’t the T**** administration acted to secure Mr. Abrego Garcia’s release? After all, he is there because of a government screw-up.

Horrifying enough, there can be only one answer. The T**** administration is using this case to establish that no one can stop him from imprisoning anyone he wants anywhere in the world.

In an amazing Catch-22 presentation to the Supreme Court, the administration argued that the only remedy available to a person in custody is a writ of habeas corpus, But then the administration contended that federal courts have no authority to issue such a writ when the person is held in a foreign prison, even when they put him there in the first place.

There can be no doubt about what this means.

If SCOTUS upholds trhe administration’s argument, there would be nothing to stop T****from without notice arresting and jailing his critics in another country and then claiming that the courts have no jurisdiction to remedy the situation.

Armed with this power, any federal law enforcement agency could apprehend anyone and ship them to any country that would take them. T**** has already floated the idea of deporting American citizens. These individuals would have no legal recourse from any American court. They would just disappear.

What T**** wants is to create his own gulags with no more judicial review than existed when Stalin did the same thing in the Soviet Union.

That’s the power Donald T**** lusts for. He wants what Stalin had. He wants what Hitler had. What Tojo had, and what Jong Un has. He wants absolute, dictatorial and tyrannical power of life and death over anyone and everyone.

Donald T**** is a national Socialist. A Nazi, plain and simple. And he will get what he wants if we do not stop him. If we don’t, we lose everything.

STAND UP SHOUST OUT RESIST LIKE YOUR COUNTRY
DEPENDS ON IT.

#1PathForward
#progressive-commentary

KISSING THE RING

On Monday Trump boasted online that “Countries from all over the world are talking to us. Spoke to Japanese Prime Minister this morning. He is sending a top team to negotiate!”

And that’s what this is really all about. It’s not about tariffs or growing the American economy or even America First. It’s about the world’s leaders sending “top teams” or coming themselves to his castle and kissing his ring.

It’s about everyone except Russia acknowledging his power as America’s strongman who can destroy the world’s economy and more if they do not service his fragile ego. It’s about Donald playing King. 

This cannot stand. Donald T**** must be stopped because his lust for tyrannical power threatens more than just America. 

Only the people are sovereign in this country. We give and we can take away. We the people have the power to send him into the oblivion where all tyrants go. And we can when take the One Path Forward. 

STAND UP       SHOUT OUT       RESIST

#1PathForward

#progressive-commentary

thebernhardperspective.com

THE DEATH OF WHITE PRIVILEGE

The only people who support dismantling DEI are upfront racists and those, mostly whites lacking higher educations, who benefit from moving up without it. And contrary to MAGA doctrine, programs like DEI which address racial discrimination in the workplace are not in and of themselves discriminatory. 

Face it, if you are competent, you are not concerned about such things. Besides upfront racists with long excuses, mediocre whites are the only people attack DEI initiatives. They fear being beaten out by people who historically have had to fall in behind them for jobs and advancement. They fear the loss of White Privilege. 

Even as late as the 1980’s, white men in an industrialized-based economy dominated the workplace thanks to longstanding traditions like “last hired, first fired” and other discriminatory labor practices. Thus, the manufacturing economy provided a cushion for white men with only a basic education that guaranteed them success.

However, in the last 40 years, that has changed significantly. Today, with an economy based on services and knowledge, the coming (and going) of Affirmative Action and more recently the advent of DEI initiatives, mediocrity in the job marketplace is not an option for success. 

Previously marginalized groups now outpace whites without degrees in hiring and advancement. That’s because DEI allows for merit-based opportunity. Better education and work ethics are what count in today’s workplace.

The simple truth is that, despite MAGA and other racist arguments to the contrary, DEI programs do not exist to make it possible for lesser qualified Black and Brown job applicants to take precedence over more qualified white ones. Rather, they exist to make sure that better qualified Black and Brown candidates get those jobs over lesser qualified white ones. 

So what has happened? White men in the job marketplace with only a basic education have lost their place in line. They oppose DEI because they don’t want to have to be competent in order to get hired or promoted. Their problem is not with DEI, it is that they are no longer rewarded for simply being white and showing up.

#1PathForward

#progressive-commentary

CORRUPTRION DEFINED

Donald T****’s recent creation of a “US Strategic Crypto Reserve” has caused a deal of concern among many observers. That is because T**** has investment holdings in crypto currencies and, since his announcement, the value of those holdings has risen dramatically. 

For example: In the day following the announcement, Bitcoin and Ethereum, the two largest cryptocurrencies, posted 20% and 12% gains respectively. A lesser known crypto, Ripple, posted a 25% gain. It should come as no surprise that T****’s cryptocurrency investment portfolio includes all three of these. 

Corruption in human affairs is defined as a dishonest or fraudulent abuse of entrusted power or position for personal gain. 

Let’s look at this. Does a president have the power, authority or position to create a crypto currency reserve? Yes, he does. Was this action by T**** dishonest? Because he did not disclose his cryptocurrency holdings, yes, it was. And will his action incur for himself personal gain? Yes, it will. 

The Aristotelian nature of this logistic syllogism is precise; the conclusion is irrefutable. Is Donald T****’s creation of a US Crypto Reserve an act of corruption by a sitting president?

Yes, it is. 

#1PathForward

#progressive-commentary

thebernhardperspective.com