A Reason To Smile

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Happy 70th birthday to a favorite of mine, Dwight Yoakam. He and his unique brand of country music are this week’s reason to smile.

The singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker was born and raised in Appalachia. He told me in an interview a few years back that where he came from was a “profound” influence on who he became as an artist.

“There must be something in Kentucky, Appalachia, that area I was born into, something that had an indelible kind of impact on my life… Because it was about mountain music and bluegrass, Appalachian music, because of those car rides and AM car radio in the ‘60s, I was influenced to make this kind of hybrid.”

“This kind of hybrid” is a mix of traditional country, alt-country, and honky-tonk. But it meant that Yoakam’s success and eventual fame were a long time coming.

Turns out Trump can’t fill a room like he used to

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

It’s not uncommon for presidents to campaign for their party during the midterm elections, up to a point. Historically, a president will step out to support a candidate, not smother them. They show up for big events and wave the flag for the party. What they don’t do is steal a candidate’s thunder or make it all about them. In other words, act “presidential,” as it used to be known.

That is not how Donald Trump operates.

This president has decided to barnstorm the country, whether Republican candidates like it or not. Trump has held 17 rallies of late, and five more are on the calendar before Election Day. He is running what amounts to a kind of traveling circus. In it, he is a combination carnival barker and ringmaster. He is not just a star, he is the only star.

The president’s popularity has fallen off a cliff. In reaction, he is now demonstrating that he believes only political rallies can save the Republican Party, and himself.

“There’s never been any president [who] has campaigned like this for the midterms,” Trump told a rally crowd in Kentucky. Perhaps that is because there has never been a president who has been less popular and who still needs a pliant Republican majority. He showed little interest in the midterms until recently. Now he is acting like a desperate man.

Can this election get any stranger?

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

For two-thirds of the country, early voting has begun — and not a moment too soon.

It has been 637 long days since the president took office. If you have a point of view about his job performance, now is an excellent time to express your feelings at the ballot box. Donald Trump is nowhere on that ballot, but he wants you to think he is. He has tried to make this midterm election more about him than about any Republican member of Congress. We will soon find out if that is a winning strategy.

Around the country, Americans are coming out in record numbers. We’ve heard from several people who have already voted. The throughline reaction is one of relief, as in, “thank goodness I was finally able to do more than just shake my head about what is happening to our country.”

A Reason To Smile

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Dame Julie Andrews, creator of iconic roles from Eliza Doolittle, to Mary Poppins, and Maria von Trapp to Clarisse Renaldi, Queen regnant of Genovia, continues to dazzle and entertain generations, eight decades into her prolific career. She is this week’s reason to smile.

With Andrews celebrating her 91st birthday earlier this month, we thought it was a great reason to take a look back at her life on stage and screen.

She began her career as a child, performing with her parents, and made her West End debut in 1948 at the age of 13 and her Broadway debut six years later. Her career-defining role came two years after that, when she originated the part of Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady” on the Great White Way.

But it was her portrayal as the titular star of “Mary Poppins” that made her a household name, made Walt Disney a lot of money, and earned Andrews the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1965.

You can’t go wrong choosing any song from what has been described as the perfect movie musical, but I am partial to the whimsy of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

The 34-letter nonsense song title was not invented by Richard and Robert Sherman, the writing team behind the movie’s songs and score. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first record of the word dates back to 1931, when a columnist for Syracuse University’s Daily Orange wrote that the word “implies all that is grand, great, glorious, splendid, superb, wonderful.” Mary Poppins amended the definition to “something to say when you don’t know what to say.” We can all use a word like that these days.

The master plan for Republican domination is in danger of being Trumped

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

When Donald Trump was inaugurated in January 2025, he didn’t take the oath of office with his hand on a Bible. No matter. The Republican Party was rejoicing. They controlled the White House and Congress. While this confluence has occurred a few times in recent history, 2025 was different.

Along with control of the House and Senate, a Trump-stacked majority was sitting on the Supreme Court. In addition — though they would all have you believe otherwise — President Joe Biden had given them a surging economy, having successfully navigated the recovery from the Covid pandemic.

Trump has not only squandered this political bounty, but he has severely damaged much of American democracy and the Republican Party in the process.

This reporter vividly remembers when the Republican game plan for dominating American government was first hatched 60-odd years ago. It touched on power, money, and race. Trump’s ascension was the unanticipated culmination of decades of work by a party that, during his terms, has reached new lows, including embracing a corrupt insurrection.

Trump’s most heartless betrayal of Ukraine starts with Putin

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Donald Trump’s most recent, highly suspect efforts to suddenly and unabashedly, assist Russian President Vladimir Putin haven’t received the attention they deserve. Over the weekend, the President of the United States plunged a dagger into the back of Ukraine and that country’s latest effort to finally beat back the Russian invasion.

Late Friday, and out of the blue, Donald Trump announced a “massive” (his word) deal to buy diesel fuel from Russia, a deal that would put American cash in the pocket of a dictator who is expected to use it to bolster his war machine and continue slaughtering Ukrainian civilians.

As The Atlantic noted, “For war-ravaged Ukraine, it is the most outrageous and heartless Trump betrayal to date. For Trump’s entourage, the deal promises corruption opportunities on a multibillion-dollar scale.”

Trump doesn’t want us to believe Russia is a U.S. adversary, an enemy of our allies, Ukraine and the members of NATO. It has been widely reported that Russia has interfered in more than one U.S. election to help Trump. There is no indication this can’t or won’t happen again. Russia is also supporting Iran in our war with that country. And while not an official ally of China, Russia is considered a strategic partner.

Trump targets the most vulnerable

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

We all know the odds of a pre-midterm apology from Donald Trump acknowledging the disastrous state of the nation are closer to none than slim. A validation for what we are paying everyday at the gas pump and at the grocery store would be appreciated. It’s tough out there and these prices hurt those who don’t have a billion in the bank.

Instead, the president recently gave himself an A+ on the economy, saying, “There’s never been a job done like we’ve done... There’s no economy like this economy.” All while Americans struggle with more than $4 gas, climbing interest rates, and rising inflation.

It should be noted that the president brags about his economy as he travels along the campaign trail from Kansas to Texas to Alabama and Nebraska — all once-reliably red states he won by double digits. His stump speeches are now an effort to salvage his party from a major repudiation in the midterms.

Because Trump is incapable of taking responsibility for anything ever, he has deputized JD Vance as the administration’s contrition politician. He has been dispatched to ask (beg?) voters for more time. His message is the polar opposite of Trump’s. While Vance claims the administration has been doing “amazing things,” he adds the caveat that they just need more time. “Give us another couple of years. Give us another chance,” he pleaded.

Corruption is a Trump family affair

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Back in January, Donald Trump made a stunning admission, one that threatens to haunt him come November 3.

During a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, the reporters asked him about his business dealings during his second term versus his first. “And so why now are you doing the deals?” asked Tyler Pager. Rather than deny that he is doing business deals while also running the country, he answered, “Because I found out that nobody cared.”

Ten months later, it appears people do care. A lot.

According to a recent Gallup Poll, 89% of respondents believe government corruption is widespread. No surprise that it is a record high. Couple it with the Economist/YouGov survey that asked what words best describe Trump. The top answer was “corrupt,” followed by “dangerous,” and “out-of-touch.”

A Reason To Smile

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

One of the all-time great albums dropped 50 years ago this week: Stevie Wonder’s “Songs In The Key of Life.” It is our reason to smile.

The groundbreaking, double album immediately went to No. 1, where it stayed for 13 weeks. It won the Grammy for Album of the Year. The Library of Congress deemed it “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” when it was inducted into the National Recording Registry. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Wonder, a musical prodigy, signed with Motown Records when he was just 11 years old and had his first hit at 13. The genre-spanning singer-songwriter soon abandoned the Motown sound in favor of one driven by keyboards and synthesizers to produce his own brand of soul, R&B, pop, funk, and gospel. All of which can be heard on “Songs In The Key of Life.”

The album is stuffed with so many big hits and hidden gems, it was hard to pick just one. We decided on “Isn’t She Lovely.” You may think it is a love song, and it is, of sorts. Wonder wrote it to celebrate the birth of his daughter, Aisha. On the album, the song begins with her newborn cries.

Republican candidates may be stuck with the wrong partner

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Over the course of American history, we have come to expect a certain level of decorum and civility from the upper chamber of Congress. This week those expectations were dashed after witnessing the behavior of some Senate Republicans.

Republicans have controlled both houses of Congress for the last 20 months. For their closing argument ahead of the midterm election, congressional Republicans held no rallies, no press conferences to crow about their accomplishments, no patting themselves on the back. Because there wasn’t much to crow about.

Instead, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to scold, berate, and insult former special counsel Jack Smith, the independent prosecutor who brought charges against Donald Trump. This sideshow was not designed to win over undecideds with plans for improving the economy, or lowering gas prices, or mortgage rates, or inflation.

Because he fears he can’t prevail any other way

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

At his ill-conceived midterm convention in Dallas, Trump told the assembled sycophants to “cheat like hell” in the coming election.

With that in mind, we remind ourselves that we are now five weeks out from what is arguably this country’s most important midterm election since 1866 at the end of the Civil War. The level of engagement and enthusiasm being shown by American voters for this current election is heartening. But with engagement comes a tidal wave of information and propaganda — so much so that it’s increasingly difficult to tell the difference between the two.

A lot of what is sold as news regarding this election is disinformation with a capital D. And this “news” is reaching the president, who then amplifies the lies and legitimizes nonsense.

Donald Trump has made no secret of his distrust of American elections. To clarify, he distrusts American elections when he or his party lose. He is fine with the ones they win.

The president has discovered that sowing concern about election integrity is a great way to scare the electorate. The best and only way to combat his deceptions is to vote.

A Reason To Smile

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

The theme song for the hit sitcom “Friends” is a famous earworm for a reason. It is an infectious, upbeat anthem to friendship. We were reminded of “I’ll Be There For You” because the show, which ran for ten seasons on NBC, premiered 32 years ago this week. The song and its famous hand claps are this week’s reason to smile.

It is hard to believe that it’s been more than three decades since Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel, and Ross over-caffeinated at Central Perk, and three decades since we first heard The Rembrandts’ theme song, which was an accidental hit for the duo.

“Friends” creators David Crane and Marta Kauffman originally asked the band R.E.M. to use their ode to happiness, “Shiny Happy People,” for the theme song. When the creators got turned down, they decided to write their own song with the help of professional songwriter Alee Willis. Crane and Kauffman said they listened to the Beatles to channel that mid-60s pop sound.

Once the song was written, they had to find someone to sing it. The Rembrandts were an obvious choice as they were under contract with Warner Bros. Records while the show was being produced by Warner Bros. Television. The band, however, had to be convinced. Little did they know what a hit the show and the song would be.

Trump spent his day kowtowing

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

It was a scene that must have made Chinese leader Xi Jinping feel right at home. There he was in the Oval Office on Thursday for a photo op with the President of the United States. But it was only a photo op, no reporters allowed, no questions asked, according to The New York Times. Chinese state television was in the room but stood by in silence. Photographers reported that Donald Trump told Xi that the Chinese “had the friendliest press corps.”

While the Chinese were allowed to cover the Oval Office event, CNN wasn’t even allowed on the White House grounds, despite an overnight ruling from a federal judge.

As the media unites against him

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Journalism has survived dictators, despots, and others who have tried to control the Fourth Estate. It will survive Donald Trump too.

He can expel reporters from the White House, but the reporting won’t stop. By this point, we all know facts are not this president’s friend. He can lash out, but by every indication a majority of the American people have long since caught on to his act, mostly because of rigorous journalism.

The press isn’t looking for a red carpet, but it has a legal right to report from inside the People’s House, whether this president likes it or not. Lately, he’s been hearing about stories from sources he can’t control (i.e., not Fox). When the truth stings, this president tries to slap it away.

A Reason To Smile

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

It is hard to believe it’s been almost 70 years since Dick Clark stepped onto the set of “American Bandstand” for the first time. The music and dance showcase ran for more than three decades. On the show, Clark, who was both host and producer, played the biggest hits of the day. For the premiere, in August 1957, there was none bigger than Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be The Day.”

One woman shows the way

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

The country needs more elected representatives to meet every Donald Trump order, action, or whim with a direct question: “What does this have to do with the real and urgent issues facing the American people, the punishing costs of food, fuel, and housing; the Iran war; and the absence of accountability for high-level pedophiles in the Epstein files?”

Ideally, more people should also ask, “What do distractions like the East Wing ballroom construction, the Reflecting Pool renovation, renaming of the Kennedy Center, removing displays at the Smithsonian, proposing statehood for Greenland or Canada, or changes to the Cuban government and economy have to do with the cost of living, Epstein, or the war?”

The war is widening. The general impression is the United States is losing it or at the very least clinging to a costly stalemate.

No easy answers

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

In the divided States of America, you can count on one hand the number of issues on which Republicans and Democrats agree. Almost everything is viewed as red or blue, conservative or liberal. You can’t go to the grocery store or the public library without being confronted by a divisive issue.

Then along comes artificial intelligence (AI). The new technology has stormed into our lives whether we like it or not, and suddenly it doesn’t matter for whom you voted.

It turns out a majority of Americans, Democrats and Republicans, are worried, anxious, even angry about AI. What sounded so positive a few years ago now threatens jobs, costs far more than was advertised, and has become a very real threat to much that we hold dear — including, potentially, human life itself.

You may not keep up with all the latest on AI, as things change fast. But every American should know what’s going on and why the country needs strong political leadership that isn’t bought and paid for by Silicon Valley.

A Reason To Smile

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Bruce Springsteen is our country’s conscience – an artist who can tap into the feelings of a nation and express them poignantly and pointedly in song. He did so after the September 11 attacks with his album “The Rising.” He was accompanied, fittingly, by the E Street Band, for the first time in more than two decades.

Springsteen said he was encouraged to create the album by a stranger. Soon after the attacks, a fan in an adjacent car rolled down his window and told the singer-songwriter, “We need you now.” So Springsteen got to work. The album was released ten months later.

The collected songs, some new, some old, were meant to heal. The album is not maudlin but contemplative and inspiring. The title track is an ode to the firefighters who were heading up the World Trade Center as survivors were coming down.

One of the most hopeful songs on the album is “Waitin’ On A Sunny Day.” It was written in the 1990s but never released. The combination of a simple, upbeat melody with lyrics about optimism made it an obvious choice. I love the opening line, “It’s raining, but there ain’t a cloud in the sky.”

How to beat Trump’s schemes for suppressing the vote

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Call it what you want, a dividend, payola, or a straight-out bribe. It would be sad if it wasn’t so alarming. There he was, the president of the United States, promising to pay every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and Senate.

Imagine any president in American history making such an offer without being impeached the next day. Donald Trump’s announcement came at his midterm “Trump-a-palooza” convention, which might be better called “Desperation in Dallas.”

So much to unpack here, but let’s begin with this: The odds of anyone getting $5,000 are about the same as seeing water run uphill. That 5 grand will arrive in the same envelope as your DOGE dividend and your tariff rebate, on the 12th of never.

Then there’s the math. Two hundred and seventy million adults times $5,000 equals $1.35 trillion, which would almost double the deficit.

But many Republicans are opting out

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

It doesn’t get much more awkward than this. With gas and food prices soaring, a self-started war showing no sign of ending, and polling numbers plummeting, Republicans and their president are gathering in Dallas to celebrate — their word, not ours. Donald Trump is rallying the faithful for a midterm convention to “celebrate our achievements and bright future.”

The convention covers two days, which seems way more time than is needed to tout the accomplishments of this administration.

And a Donald Trump speech is the main event — on both nights. What could go wrong?

A Reason To Smile

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

We are going to take a trip to Cuba via Miami for this week’s reason to smile. That’s because we are celebrating Cuban-American superstar Gloria Estefan’s 69th birthday. September 1 is not only the day of her birth, it is also the day she married Emilio, her partner in life and in music.

Gloria and Emilio, both Cuban exiles, put Latin music on the map and on your radio in the 1980s. Their “Miami sound,” Latin rhythm infused with pop and R&B, became a worldwide sensation.

The couple met at a wedding where Gloria was a guest, and Emilio was a member of the wedding band in need of a singer. After she sang a few songs, he asked her to join permanently. But they had to change the name of the band from the Miami Latin Boys to the Miami Sound Machine because it was no longer an all-boy band.

Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine, with Emilio producing, had dozens of hits. Their biggest was “Conga.” I challenge anyone to sit still while listening to this song. It makes you want to get up and form a conga line around the living room.

What we don’t know can hurt us

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

We live in an age of amazing advancements in communication. Technology has given journalists the ability to report from anywhere in the world with a phone and cell signal.

That is why it is so ironic that a war being fought in 2026, a war that is costing American lives, untold billions of dollars, and large chunks of the country’s reputation, is happening in such secrecy. And that’s just the way Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth want it.

That dynamic duo of disinformation doesn’t want you to know what’s going on with the thousands of U.S. military members stationed in the Iran theater. Nor do they want you to know the damage inflicted by Iran’s retaliatory attacks.

Their madness is succeeding. Six months in, and we know little about what’s really going on. We hear secondhand accounts from parents of sailors and Marines on an aircraft carrier lacking food and basic necessities. Months after the fact, we are getting bare-bones reports of the destruction of American bases in the Middle East.

A REASON TO SMILE

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

Folks often ask me who my favorite interview was over the more than 75 years I have been asking people questions. Without hesitation, my answer is, was, and will remain Dolly Parton.

I have lost count, but I believe I had the privilege of sitting down with her eight times, more than any other public person. She was always engaging and intelligent. She had a wicked sense of humor and made you feel like you were the only person in the world who mattered. But that didn’t mean she made it easy. You had to work to get her to open up.

The last time I sat down with her was in 2014 for a career-spanning interview. She was classic Dolly: all smiles and light, peppered with wisdom and insight.

Dolly was so gifted at lifting people up; she and her music were featured as a Reason to Smile six times. I think that’s a record. It is heartbreaking that we are honoring her a seventh time. Since we previously chose my favorite Dolly song, “I Will Always Love You” (her version), for today’s Reason to Smile, we decided on a song with a theme many of us are feeling, “Just When I Needed You Most.”

You left us, Dolly, just when we needed you most.

Rest in peace my friend. We will always love you.

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NYA Thanks Dan Rather and Team Steady!

It is happening with more frequency and success

BY DAN RATHER AND TEAM STEADY

To remain steady during Trump’s second reign requires an iron will.

There are days when the actions of this president are heartbreaking. Others when he’s an embarrassment. On this day, it is both.

Just when you think you’ve been hardened against Trump’s petulant histrionics, he strikes again, now threatening to do to another monument of our democracy what he did to the East Wing of the White House. If he doesn’t get his way.

We are long past the head-scratching, morally questionable, often illegal decisions by the president. He is now far off the deep end. On Wednesday, Trump and his Justice Department lawyers one-upped themselves on the are-you-kidding-me meter.

The lawyers are arguing that blocking the renovations of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, including removing Trump’s name, would thwart fundraising efforts and could potentially lead to the degradation of the building and grounds. Court filings state, “The center will deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure that will be required to be taken down…”

submitted by Neil Young

by Antoine Sanfuentes

President Donald Trump has changed the relationship between the White House and the journalists assigned to cover him, and I am not sure the American public yet understands the consequences. What is happening can seem like one more running fight between Trump and the media, but it is much more than that. In an effort to control the narrative, the Trump administration is steadily shrinking access to the president and the spaces where experienced journalists can ask difficult questions. If this continues, the American public risks losing one of its most important means of holding the president accountable, as the People's House increasingly becomes the president's house.
That pressure is visible in the president's own conduct. This week, ABC News White House correspondent Karen Travers questioned Trump about his decision to ease sanctions on Russia, and he responded by asking, "Are you a stupid person? Who do you work for?" When Travers said, "ABC News," he called her "a stupid person" and added that her network was "the worst of all." CNN's Kaitlan Collins, pressing him on the same issue, was called a "dummy" and a "low-IQ person." Trump previously told Bloomberg's Catherine Lucey, "Quiet, quiet, piggy," when she questioned him about Jeffrey Epstein.

White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, asked by journalist Chris Whipple about Trump's treatment of women reporters, offered this explanation: "He's a counterpuncher. And, increasingly these days, women are doing the punching." But asking a president a question is not throwing a punch. It is the job.

Trump has often relied on women to defend him, including former White House press secretaries Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who went on to become governor of Arkansas, and Kayleigh McEnany, who moved to Fox News. Both were expected to advocate for the president, often performing for him before television cameras. His short-lived press secretary, Katie Zacharia, lasted just five days, conducting a single 14-minute briefing during which she took questions from Breitbart, Fox News and the Daily Mail. The women journalists questioning Trump, however, have an entirely different responsibility: to seek answers on behalf of the American public.

The president's personal attacks against women journalists reflect a pattern condemned by the International Women's Media Foundation, and reporters should call out that behavior immediately, every single time it happens. Allowing such attacks to go unchallenged risks normalizing the president's treatment of journalists who are simply doing their jobs. By portraying legitimate scrutiny as hostility, the White House creates a justification for excluding reporters who refuse to play along. That concern is no longer hypothetical when established news organizations are already fighting in court to retain access to the presidency.

By NYA Editorial Staff

Elon Musk is spending an extraordinary amount of money to influence America's midterm elections. According to Reuters, the billionaire entrepreneur has contributed $366 million during the 2026 election cycle, including $276 million since July, to help Republicans retain control of Congress.

The spending makes Musk the largest individual political donor in this upcoming election. Musk's contributions are widely distributed. Reuters reports that $158 million went to the Senate Leadership Fund, which supports Republican Senate candidates, while $20 million went to the Congressional Leadership Fund, supporting House Republicans. Another $76 million went to Musk's America PAC, which is working in seven battleground states and nearly three dozen congressional races.

Additional contributions went to Republican governors, attorneys general, and a Texas Senate campaign. Musk spent approximately $290 million during the previous election cycle, making his combined political expenditures across two cycles more than $650 million.

Musk heads SpaceX, a major federal contractor, and previously headed the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. His companies depend heavily on federal decisions, and this spending helps elect the officials responsible for making those decisions. While it creates the potential for corruption, his donations are perfectly legal due to the Citizens United legal ruling allowing essentially unlimited funding of political campaigns by businesses and companies doing business with the government.

The USA under President Donald Trump.

In a civil case, a jury found president Trump liable for sexually abusing E. Jean Carroll and defaming her, and awarded her $5 million. However, A civil liability finding is not a criminal conviction. The former president of the USA was found liable for sexual abuse. He was elected again by American voters a few years later.

The saying, “a fish rots from the head” is apropos here, there are no consequences nor any justice when 98% of rapists never spend a day in jail as hundreds of thousands of sexual assault kits (a package of items used by medical, police or other personnel for gathering and preserving physical evidence following an instance or allegation of sexual assault. The evidence collected from the victim can aid the criminal rape investigation and the prosecution of a suspected assailant.) still sit unexamined on evidence room shelves.

Many women, while trying to get justice for sex offenses committed against them, might prefer to hide their identity publicly while trying to attain their justice, using names like Jane Doe. In the USA, these women are often doxxed, a term used to describe doxxing - cyber threats exposing personal info, possibly leading to harassment, emotional distress, financial loss, and physical danger. Countless ‘Jane Does’, including the one in the news now at Cornell University, are being doxxed in the USA today as this is being written.

An “I am Spartacus” movement has sprung up online with countless people saying ‘I AM JANE DOE’, to help obscure and protect the women who do not want their identity known.
This the USA today.

neil young
nya editorial

Trump by any standards has been the most corrupt president in the history of the United States. What’s remarkable is that it’s done with little effort to hide it. It’s this corruption that appears to finally be motivating his supporters to turn against him. Regardless of party affiliation, most everyone understands corruption when they see it. Based on a recent poll, 76% said the description of corruption applies to Trump.

1. Crypto profits: Trump's cryptocurrency ventures generated roughly $1.4 billion, most reportedly from anonymous sources, raising questions about who is funneling money to the president.

2. $TRUMP memecoin dinners: Trump hosted paid access events for memecoin holders, including a 2026 Mar-a-Lago gathering where attendees could buy additional access through Trump-branded merchandise.

3. Truth Social "market-moving" data feed: Trump Media announced plans to sell Wall Street firms early access to Trump's market-moving Truth Social posts for $100,000/month.

4. Binance stake talks: The Trump family reportedly discussed acquiring a stake in crypto exchange Binance while its founder lobbied Trump for a pardon.

5. Kazakhstan tungsten mining deal: The U.S. reportedly backed $1.6 billion in federal financing for a Kazakhstan mining operation in which Trump's two eldest sons held a 20% stake.

6. Defense contracts to Trump-linked companies: The Air Force signed a contract with Powerus, a drone company backed by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, for military interceptor drones.

7. G20 at Doral: Trump selected his own Doral resort in Miami to host the 2026 G20 summit, directing foreign government spending to his private property.

8. Scotland golf course trip: Trump opened a new Trump-branded golf course in Scotland during a taxpayer-subsidized five-day European trip built around promoting his properties.

9. Melania Trump documentary deal: Amazon reportedly paid $40 million for rights to a documentary about the First Lady, with her set to personally receive 70% of that fee.

10. TikTok deal fees: The administration was reportedly positioned to receive up to $10 billion in fees from investors as part of a deal restructuring TikTok's U.S. operations.

11. Diamond ring gift amid tariff exemption: Trump received an 18-karat gold, diamond-encrusted ring from a diamond industry group shortly before the administration announced tariff exemptions on European diamonds.

12. Venezuela oil statement: After U.S. intervention in Venezuela, Trump posted that oil revenue "money will be controlled by me," raising concerns about personal control over state resources.

13. Suing his own IRS: Trump and his sons sued the IRS and Treasury Department while Trump simultaneously controlled the agencies being sued; the DOJ settled out of court in a move critics called a conflict of interest.

14. $23B arms sales bypassing Congress: The administration pushed through weapons sales to the UAE, Kuwait, and Jordan by declaring an emergency tied to the Iran war, sidestepping normal oversight.

15. Inaugural committee donations: Large corporate donations to Trump's inaugural committee (including Capital One) preceded favorable regulatory outcomes for some donors.

16. Capital One CFPB case dropped: After Capital One donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund, the administration ended a consumer-protection case against the company.

17. 467 potential conflicts across the cabinet, per a Campaign Legal Center review — Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick alone accounted for 106.

18. Hegseth's broker sought defense-fund investment: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's broker reportedly sought a multimillion-dollar personal investment in a fund tied to Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman shortly before a U.S.-Israel strike on Iran.

19. Jared Kushner's dual role: Kushner represented the administration as a private citizen while simultaneously seeking foreign investment for his own firm, Affinity Partners.

20. Steve Witkoff's UAE tech deal: Senators alleged the Middle East envoy may have personally benefited financially from a tech-transfer deal he helped broker with the UAE.

21. Elon Musk's conflicts (during DOGE tenure): As a special government employee, Musk was accused of promoting his own companies (Tesla, Starlink) while holding federal access and influence.

22. Pentagon recruiting of Wall Street bankers: Bankers were reportedly offered "unmatched access" to officials and foreign investors while helping manage up to $200 billion in government-linked investments.

23. Trump's individual stock trades: Senators Warren and Garcia flagged roughly 30 examples of suspiciously timed stock trades by Trump, citing insider-trading and market-manipulation concerns.

24. Greek Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle: Guilfoyle, Trump Jr.'s former fiancée and now U.S. ambassador to Greece, faces Wall Street Journal reporting alleging she repeatedly promoted a specific Greek firm, Aktor, for U.S. LNG contracts, while a close associate who accompanied her to official meetings was revealed to be an undisclosed paid lobbyist for that same company — later expanding his lobbying client list and reporting over $440,000 in related income. Separately, she's alleged to have told Greek officials the U.S. engineered Romania's government collapse and could do the same in Greece — a claim her lawyer disputes and Greek officials deny.

by NYA Editorial Staff

Something remarkable happened on the internet last week. Ukraine bombed three Russian data centers and automated internet traffic from the Russian tech company Yandex collapsed. Social media erupted with claims that Russian propaganda accounts had suddenly gone silent. There were also reports that some right-wing online sites in the United States and Europe had experienced a noticeable decline in activity. One of those sites was Truth Social.

Was this a coincidence or had Ukraine exposed the infrastructure supporting Russia's online influence operations? The evidence is not conclusive, and some researchers have challenged the coincidence. But the possibility deserves consideration, given Russia's history of election interference.

According to internet infrastructure company Cloudflare, automated requests from one Yandex network fell by more than 99% compared with earlier activity.

Social media users reported that accounts associated with MAGA politics, Germany's Alternative for Germany party, and Britain's Reform UK appeared unusually quiet. Some posts went further, suggesting that online engagement surrounding conservative commentators, including Tucker Carlson, had declined because Russian-operated accounts were no longer available to amplify their messages.

The Washington Post published a secret list of the major donors to President Donald Trump’s White House ballroom project. Top contributors include Nvidia and Apple, each donating $25 million, the largest amounts.

Missing from the list is Trump who has on numerous occasions said, “It’s being paid for a hundred percent by me and some friends of mine.”

Digger is the best film I have ever seen. None of the reviews I have read describe this film adequately, in my opinion. They seem to miss the overall effect and most of them are negative. This film lives in a world of art. It is its own best review. Don’t read any other reviews and forget this one before you see Digger.

Digger cannot be seen as a Tom Cruise film - that would be misleading. I would describe it as a film of our times. Tom Cruise is the actor playing the main character. I do not view this film as a commercial venture. Rather it is an artful film of our times. The things that are said in Digger are a direct reflection of today’s political and social world. The film is so full of artful expression and radical change ups, that it may be too much to take in for those expecting a commercial film like we are used to today.

Artfully created and directed, this story is so familiar that it may be missed. It is today’s world of politics and commercial overload. A must see for those frustrated by the lack of genuine engagement present in much, if not all, of today’s offerings. Digger is not to be missed.

You must see it with an open mind. Stick with it when you are sure it is no good. Stay. Don’t be confused by its approach. This is the greatest film - work of art I have seen, and that’s just my opinion. You must stay open and see it. Forget everything I said.

Theatrical release poster

Digger premiered in Leicester Square, London on September 22, 2026, and Warner Bros. Pictures released it theatrically in the United States on October 2, 2026. This made it the final film release by Warner Bros. before the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance on October 6, 2026. As such it is a great example of our times.

The scenes on the highway in Utah are breathtaking. i only wish we had one thing. An electric bus to take us from town to town through nature forever. This electric powered bus would have new batteries and technology to take advantage of all the natural forces caused by movement, and be biofuel powered if needed to charge the batteries. Fossil fuels could be used as a last resort……
Wait. Continuity is needed….
The low end torque of electric motors completely defeats fossil power, while being infinitely cleaner.

The beauty of the sky, just full of smoke from the big fires days ago, begins to clear as a light rain begins. Pray for rain!….but in Ohio at a place called Kelly a giant flood was caused by water flow that exceeded all known history.. just last week, but this was written a while go……

….a key difference between Democrat and Social Democrats is simply the backing of Citizens United. Many Democrat politicians want the funding that they can get through Citizens United. Corporations are people under Citizens United, Now Corporations have a person’s rights. So they can contribute political money to campaigns. It’s the money. Social Dems don’t want Citizens United because people are people and corporations are not. They are business. People can contribute what they want to any political entity. Corporations cannot. That was the way it was BEFORE Citizens United was voted in. Corporations are NOT people. They are businesses. Get rid of Citizens United.

neil young
nya