THE AMERICAN POSEIDON ADVENTURE

Watching the Secretary of Defense’s recent testimony before Congress raises a fundamental question: what are the priorities of this administration and Republicans and who benefits from them?

Priorities are choices. Nations, like individuals, choose what to value: to feed or to starve, to fight or to negotiate, to build or to destroy, to heal or to ignore. As Robert Frost suggested, the choices we make ultimately define who we are.

Many Americans supported Donald Trump and Republicans  based on promises that, in large part, have not materialized. More troubling, when choices have been made, they have often diverged sharply from those promises. Even where action has been taken, such as on immigration, the methods employed have struck many as inhumane, excessive, and inconsistent with American values.

Nowhere is this more evident than in foreign policy. The decision to engage militarily with Iran was ill advised, precipitous and presented under shifting justifications: eliminating nuclear capabilities, pursuing regime change, or weakening military power. Yet the rationale remains unclear, and the results even less convincing. Despite extraordinary military capability and staggering expense, now exceeding a $ billion daily, with requests for hundreds of billions more, none of the stated objectives appear to have been achieved. By several measures, regional instability and economic uncertainty have only worsened.

So, who benefits?

Based on publicly available information, those positioned closest to Trump: family, investors in defense and energy markets, and individuals with privileged access, appear to be among the few winners. Meanwhile, many Americans are confronting a very different reality and diminishing quality of life:

• Rising healthcare costs and reduced coverage tied to funding cuts
• Higher prices for goods due to tariffs and trade disruptions
• Increased fuel and heating costs linked to Middle East instability in global energy markets
• Growing concern over the erosion of legal norms and the abuse use of governmental power for personal retribution over justice

At the same time, individual tragedies, such as the deaths of Rene Good and Alex Pretti, raise serious questions about accountability and transparency. Families seeking answers deserve credible, independent investigation, not obstruction.

These outcomes are not abstract. Policy choices carry real human consequences: financial strain for families, instability for farmers and small businesses, and diminished support for humanitarian programs at home and abroad. The cumulative effect is measured not only in dollars, but in well-being, opportunity, and, people’s lives.

All of this flows from choices, deliberate decisions about priorities, resources, and values.

The question, then, is not only whether we approve or disapprove of those choices. It is whether they are making the country stronger, fairer, and more secure. Are we better off since January 20^th, 2025? 

Ultimately, the next set of choices belongs to the American people on November 3, 2026, and the November 7, 2028. 

VOTE!!!

RESIST!!! & EDUCATE!!!