Youth Advocacy
Youth Advocacy
Year 4, Week 03 (245 total reports)
19.02.20245-25.12.2025
REVIEW and ANNOUNCEMENTS
Dr. Jerry Goebel, MBA, D.Min.
Continue resisting the patrimonial government of Project 2025, President 47, and his evil Rasputin henchman, Elon Musk. Signs show it’s working.
NEW FEATURE: Visual Stories!
Visual Stories is my YouTube account which shares presentations based on original music and designed to inspire parents, foster parents, educators, and youth workers. You can find it by going to YouTube and searching for “Jerry Goebel.” Please subscribe while you’re there. These presentation/slide shows are perfect for continuing education but also for assisting individuals dealing with online bullying, grief, or striving to be more resilient.
Top Links of the Week
25.02.2025
Uncle Sam Goes Rogue
The US, under President 47 and his authoritarian advisors, has just voted to side with authoritarian countries around the world or, as the Council on Foreign Relations states, they just “went rogue.” Under this administration, the US no longer stands for democracy or supports democratic efforts around the world. This is sickening to watch, but not unexpected. Project 2025, President 47, and his very own “Rasputin,” Elon Musk, are not believers in democracy. Their plan is to undermine it in the US and apparently, globally, as well. The sacrifices of Ukraine—even the truth of the narrative—mean nothing to them. It was embarrassing, but also enjoyable, to watch 47 be fact-checked live yesterday in a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, when 47 attempted to say that Ukraine initiated the war with Russia and that the US is footing the bill while France and other countries only supply loans. Good job, Macron. We can all stand up for truth by supporting economic blackouts like the one this Friday: no purchases on Friday across the US. The resistance is taking hold, and 47’s administration is starting to crack. Keep it up.
24.02.205
One Word Describes Trump
This article by Jonathon Rausch, senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings Institution, was well worth the time it took to read it. In it, he reminds us of the concept introduced by Max Weber (1864-1920), German sociologist, of patrimonialism. Patrimonialists claim to be the symbolic father and protector of the people. This was exemplified in 47’s statement of Feb. 15th declaration on Truth Social, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” Of course, the too-lazy president (who apparently can’t be bothered by legality) has broken many laws, some of which are already backfiring on him. But patrimonialists see those who follow the law or support the bureaucracy as enemies because they are loyal to the law (the constitution) which might conflict with their loyalty to him. This is behind the purge undertaken by—what another publication/podcast, “Who, What, Why,” refers to as 47’s “very own Rasputin,” Elon Musk. Musk, like classic patrimonialists, wraps himself in democratic rhetoric by declaring himself and the purpose of his extralegal actions as, the “unelected fourth unconstitutional branch of government” so as to be “responsive to the people.” Rausch goes on to challenge Democrats to confront this administration’s actions by borrowing from the playbook of Newt Gingrich and pursuing a “relentless, strategic, and thematic campaign branding Trump as America’s most corrupt president.” Gingrich is, of course, a despicable character, responsible for much of what is wrong with today’s GOP, the rise of Project 2025, and their puppet, President 47. But there can be no doubt that his relentless attacks on Democratic House Speaker, Jim Wright, were sadly effective. Rausch points out that Democrats are too punch-drunk in response mode to congeal themselves around a central plan, but they will need to do it—and soon—if they are going to prevent this administration from solidifying their patrimony.
23.02.2025
How to teach hope when democracy is retreating
Astra Taylor, who wrote, “The People’s Platform,” winning the American Book Award, says we are living in a time of the “deliberate manufacturing of insecurity.” In this article, democracy and education professor, Joel Westheimer of the University of Ottawa, reminds us what we need to teach to young people in order for them to remain committed to democracy. Manufacturing fear is done primarily by organizations (like Project 2025) and authoritarians, like Putin and Trump, for the purpose of sowing chaos to frighten people into wanting autocratic rule. It has worked in many countries—including the United States—and if we have an interest in seeing the demise of dictatorships, then teaching civics, history, and democracy is critical for our children. As education in the US becomes less about facts and more about ideology, this role will fall less to schools and more to small communities of parents who believe it is important for their young people to learn. Home-based learning may have to become home-based resilience, even, home-based resistance.
22.02.2025
The DOGE Project Will Backfire
As with everything else he does, 47’s quest to gut federal agencies is not based upon research or facts. In fact, if you read this important article (please do), it will illustrate the truths that President Musk and self-claimed King 47 are ignoring, like: the federal workforce has actually been decreasing in recent years, and putting USAID workers on leave does not decrease expenditures; it just means the government is still paying them while they do not work. There are many more important notes in this examination. For example, an organization that focuses on using terror for motivation never thrives, and any government actually needs a viable workforce to function. These would seem obvious truths to anyone who has run a successful business, but isn’t that the point? King 47 certainly has never run a functional business, and the owner of X certainly doesn’t have high marks either. The sad part for all of us is how long do we have before the government finally comes to a grinding and complete halt? This administration is doing irreparable damage to the workings and reputation of the US government. People like Putin couldn’t be more gleeful than to watch this administration do to undermine the US what he would be unable to do from the outside. Our role is to keep resisting; there are signs that the plan we read about from Senator Elizabeth Warren yesterday is working. What can you do this week to increase your resilience?
21.02.2025
Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Here’s the Plan to Fight Back
Senator Warren has been a consistent and clear voice opposing government by billionaires for years. Her own campaigns reflect her commitment to public funding, rather than the dark money funding that has cursed the US since the passing of the so-called “Citizens United” (certainly an Orwellian name given the power it gives to behind-the-scenes billionaires like Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos). In this article, Warren lays out a multi-tiered, multi-year plan to stall 47 and his cronies while Democrats rebuild trust with the American people. The plan begins—as it should—with what went wrong in the last election and how the Democrats lost the trust of the working class. This is an important article for those who want to retain a democracy in the United States of America and not just hand over the country to authoritarians like 47 or oligarchs like Musk.
20.02.2025
Trump’s Latest Executive Order Is a Big Step Toward Authoritarian Control
We must not lose focus with all the distractions. The primary aim of Project 2025 and their puppet President 47 is to prevent future elections so they can retain their power and solidify it. Tariffs, border protection, all of it is in support of one aim: remaining in power. The hardest part for the press (and those of us not enraptured by his constant stream of lies) is keeping up with whom 47 owes his allegiance. Putin? Musk? Project 2025? The list goes on. President 47 is their front man. They needed him to win the election, but they would just as soon ditch him if he got in the way of what they wanted. Don’t take your eye off the ball. It’s power they want, and they want it permanently.
19.02.2025
It’s Going to Take Years to Train Another Generation of Federal Workers
I watched with bated breath this morning to see if my Social Security check would arrive. I put money into that account every month for decades; it does not belong to the government—and certainly not to Elon Musk. However, the GOP has been trying to tell Americans for years that the account they paid into is really a government handout and could be used for other purposes. The truth is that they have been seeking ways to take those funds and destroy the solvency of Social Security for years. They want to spend it just as they’ve spent so many other taxpayer dollars, on tax cuts for themselves and rich supporters, as well as defense contracts—now going to people like Elon Musk. Many of us, including federal workers who are being illegally fired, feel we must find ways to protect ourselves against our own government. How did that come to pass? Quite simply, the US voted for an oligarchy. Musk and other oligarchs bought and paid for 47’s election, and now they want a return on investment. They want to turn off the spigot to those who have diligently poured their lives into the jobs and into their savings. They want to abuse allies that have built a relationship with the US over decades since WWII. They are passionate about turning that spigot into their own pockets so they will have unrequited power and money. Federal workers and others are rising up all around the United States, and a lot of their protests are focused on Tesla plants. Yesterday’s President’s Day protests were just a start. As those who voted for this administration begin to see how 47 crassly lied about what he would deliver, they will see their funding cutoffs, their favorite programs overseen by Musk’s incompetent technicians (like those who absentmindedly fired the staff overseeing the country’s nuclear codes), they will see their Medicare cut off, and the price of drugs skyrocket. Eggs won’t be the only item whose price becomes unaffordable. The US won’t be Great Again; it will be the Depression again, leading to eventual national confrontation. My advice to you: keep resisting, show up at posted events, and participate in the blackouts that are being scheduled. I will post them on here regularly. Someday your children will ask what you did to stop fascism in the US; have something positive to share with them.
