What We Don’t Know About The Presidents We Elect

Notes on the occasion of an inauguration

Like most Americans, I applaud the recent ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that was approved today by the Israeli security cabinet, and I was glad to learn that the incoming Trump administration was directly involved in support of the Biden team in the most positive way: by telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a deal had to be made.

I did not like much of the Biden administration’s foreign policy, and I worried a lot, as a journalist and a citizen, about what Donald Trump’s new team would do. But I learned long ago that you cannot tell a presidency by its cover.

In late 1967 I was a freelance journalist in Washington and totally hostile to the ongoing American war in South Vietnam. I was persuaded to join the then nascent staff of the only Democratic member of the Senate, Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota, who was willing to take on President Lyndon B. Johnson, a fellow Democrat, then running for second term, who had escalated the war he inherited with mass bombing campaigns. I would be the press secretary and, while traveling with the candidate, draft daily policy statements and work on speeches.

McCarthy, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, was far from a shining star. But, as a devout Catholic, he saw the Vietnam War in moral terms and was troubled by the Pentagon’s decision to lower the minimal acceptable scores on the Army’s standard intelligence tests in an effort to enlist more young men from the ghettos and barrios of America, where educational opportunities were fewer, as they still are today. McCarthy publicly called such action “changing the color of the corpses.” He quickly became my man.

A few weeks into the job, I was traveling with McCarthy on a fundraising tour in California and found myself outside a Hollywood mansion where McCarthy was making a money pitch to the rich and famous. Such events were always boring, and I found myself hanging around outside the mansion with a few of the local and national reporters tagging along. One of those outside was Peter Lisagor, then the brilliant Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Daily News. He had joined our antiwar campaign out of curiosity, I suspected, since the chances of forcing Johnson to change his aggressive Vietnam policy seemed to be nil amid relentless US bombings. As I later learned, Lisagor had been one of the few journalists invited to fly in 1966 on Air Force One with the president on one of his early trips to Vietnam. The flight was kept secret until Johnson arrived in Saigon.

Lisagor told me a story—most likely he meant to cheer me up, since we were polling at 5 percent at the time—about time he had spent in 1961 at Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I do not recall whether he was on a reporting project there—he had been a Nieman fellow at Harvard in 1948—but there he was on inauguration day of 1961, while in Washington the glamorous John F. Kennedy was being sworn in as president by Chief Justice Earl Warren.

As Lisagor told it, he was watching the swearing in with a bunch of MIT students and faculty members at a cafeteria that had a TV, and just as Warren pronounced JFK president a young faculty member named Noam Chomsky stunned the small crowd by saying, of Kennedy and his Harvard ties: “And now the terror begins.”

Chomsky’s point, as would become clear in his later writings, was that Kennedy’s notion of American exceptionalism was not going to work in Vietnam. As it did not. And Lisagor’s point to me, as I came to understand it over the years, was that one cannot always tell which president will become a peacemaker and which will become a destroyer. Lisagor died, far too young at age 61, in 1976.

Joe Biden talked peace—and withdrew US forces from Afghanistan—but helped put Europe, and America, into a war against Russia in Ukraine and supported Benjamin Netanyahu’s war against Hamas and, ultimately, against the Palestinian people in Gaza.

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Donald Trump is always talking tough but one of his first major foreign moves after winning the presidency was to order his senior aides to work with Biden’s foreign policy people to perhaps end a war in Gaza and save untold thousands of lives. And I hear serious talks are underway to bring an end to the Ukraine War.

One never knows.

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UK finally admits clear evidence linking Pakistanis and child grooming gangs

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Crime

UK finally admits clear evidence linking Pakistanis and child grooming gangs

Published on June 17, 2025

Todayville

MxM News

Quick Hit:

After years of denial and political cover-ups, the UK government has formally acknowledged a disturbing link between Pakistani-heritage men and child grooming gangs. A scathing new review has prompted Prime Minister Keir Starmer to reverse course and launch a full national inquiry into the widespread abuse.

Key Details:

The Casey Review found “clear evidence” of Pakistani men’s overrepresentation in grooming gangs and accused authorities of ignoring the abuse to avoid accusations of racism.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper confirmed over 800 historic child sex abuse cases will be reopened and prosecuted where possible.
The Labour Party and Prime Minister Starmer were previously opposed to a national inquiry, with critics calling this reversal a politically motivated “smokescreen.”

Diving Deeper:

The British government has finally acknowledged a link between Pakistani-heritage men and the grooming gang epidemic that has plagued communities across England for decades. The admission comes following the release of a damning public review led by Baroness Louise Casey, which uncovered years of institutional failure, racial sensitivity, and political cowardice.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper presented the findings in Parliament, confirming that the Casey Review had “identified clear evidence of over-representation among suspects of Asian and Pakistani-heritage men.” She condemned the systematic rape of vulnerable girls—some as young as 10—and the authorities’ “unforgivable” failure to act.

“The sexual exploitation of children by grooming gangs is one of the most horrific crimes,” Cooper said, noting that too many warnings had been ignored over the last 15 years. She announced that the government would adopt all of Baroness Casey’s recommendations and reopen more than 800 historic cases.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who previously dismissed calls for a national inquiry as “far-right misinformation,” abruptly changed course over the weekend and agreed to a full inquiry with legal authority to compel testimony. This reversal followed mounting pressure from campaigners like Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, Elon Musk, and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage.

Labour MP Sarah Champion, once ousted for raising alarms about Pakistani grooming gangs in her Rotherham constituency, welcomed the inquiry. “There’s a real sense justice has not been handed out fairly,” she said, accusing officials of failing victims for fear of “causing offense.”

The Casey review also pointed to illegal immigration as a contributing factor and called for mandatory ethnicity data collection in child exploitation cases. Critics argue that authorities in Labour-run areas turned a blind eye to the abuse—some allegedly in exchange for votes—treating white working-class girls as expendable while shielding perpetrators.

Former detective and grooming whistleblower Maggie Oliver expressed skepticism, warning that unless the inquiry is led by Baroness Casey, it risks becoming another whitewash. “This is about gross criminal neglect at the top of policing, at the top of government, at the top of social services,” Oliver said.

While the inquiry marks a long-overdue step toward accountability, some warn it may be politically perilous for Starmer. As former head of the Crown Prosecution Service, he held a central role when many of these abuses first surfaced. And with many of the cover-ups tied to Labour councils, the fallout could deepen public distrust in the party.

Business

Carney’s Honeymoon Phase Enters a ‘Make-or-Break’ Week

Published on June 16, 2025

Todayville

From the National Citizens Coalition

The National Citizens Coalition (NCC) is sounding the alarm on a critical week for the Carney government, which, despite enjoying an unearned honeymoon in the polls, has delivered zero results for everyday Canadians. As the G7 summit looms large and the House of Commons prepares to adjourn, this is a make-or-break moment for Prime Minister Mark Carney to prove his government is more than empty promises. Canadians are watching, and the NCC is calling out the glaring failures that threaten a grim summer of economic decline, and continued crime, chaos, and rising unemployment.

Housing Minister Gregor Robertson Caught in $10.85 Million Scandal

Recent revelations from Blacklock’s Reporter expose Housing Minister Gregor Robertson’s attempt to conceal $10.85 million in personal property investments during Commons questioning. This shocking lack of transparency from the minister tasked with addressing Canada’s housing crisis raises serious questions about his integrity and ability to prioritize Canadians struggling with skyrocketing costs. While Robertson dodges accountability, and Carney apparently scoffs at providing housing relief to millions suffering under a Liberal-made crisis, young professionals and young families are wondering if they’ll ever have a chance to own a home bigger than Canada’s much-maligned supply of ‘dog-crate condos.’

The NCC demands a full ethics investigation, the resignation of Gregor Robertson — who, as one of the architects of the Vancouver housing crisis, should have never been handed this file to begin with — and immediate action to restore trust in this critical portfolio.

Pipeline Delays and Provincial Obstruction Threaten Economic Growth

The Carney government’s inaction on pipelines is stalling Canada’s economic potential. Despite promises of “nation-building projects,” British Columbia and Quebec continue to block and veto critical energy infrastructure, with Carney failing to assert federal leadership. His vague talk of “consensus” and “decarbonized” barrels has led to zero progress, leaving Alberta’s economy in limbo and Canadians facing higher energy costs. With no clear plan to advance projects, the government is squandering opportunities to create jobs and secure energy sovereignty. The NCC urges Carney to act decisively this week to break the provincial logjam and deliver results.

Immigration Chaos: Lena Diab’s Unchecked Honour System Fails Canadians

Immigration Minister Lena Diab’s reliance on an ‘honour system’ for millions of temporary visitors with expiring visas is a recipe for disaster. As Canada grapples with unsustainable immigration levels, Diab’s apparent plan for millions of temporary workers and failed ‘diploma mill’ attendees assumes compliance without enforcement, ignoring the high-propensity for fraud, and the ongoing and urgent strain on housing, healthcare, and public services. The Liberals’ Strong Borders Act promises reform, but its loaded with unnecessary overreach and vague measures.

A lack of urgency leaves Canadians vulnerable to further crime, chaos, closed emergency rooms, high rents, and failing infrastructure. With immigration continuing to spiral out of control, the NCC calls for concrete action to drastically lower immigration targets, expedite deportations, and prioritize Canadian citizens and the record amounts of unemployed before the House adjourns.

Canadians Deserve Results, Not More Hollow “Elbows up” or “Team Canada” Rhetoric

This week’s G7 summit in Alberta and the impending House adjournment are the Carney government’s last chance to show leadership, before an undeserved summer break for a government that will be overseeing deepening economic decline, rising crime under a refusal to tackle catch-and-release bail, and growing unemployment. Canadians cannot afford another season of unfulfilled promises and unchecked crises. The NCC demands Carney use the G7 platform to secure trade stability, meaningful energy deals with our allies, and table a federal budget to address the cost-of-living crisis made worse by inflationary Liberal spending. Failure to act now will cement an early legacy of inaction and leave Canadians to endure a prolonged period of hardship.

“The Carney government’s honeymoon has been built on hype, not results,” says NCC Director Alexander Brown. “From Gregor Robertson’s hidden millions, to stalled pipelines, to an immigration system in continued disarray, Canadians — and particularly young Canadians — are being let down. This week is Carney’s chance to prove he can deliver beyond the lies that were told to placate a portion of the electorate at the polls. If he fails to act, the economic decline, the crime and chaos, will only worsen, and everyday Canadians will pay the price.

“True Canadian leaders like Alberta Premier Danielle Smith are in attendance at the G7 along with Carney. If actual acts of ‘nation-building,’ and not more net-zero de-growth, do not come naturally to the PM, he should turn to those who have never wavered in their quest to make life more affordable for the hard-working citizens they are privileged to represent, and who know when to get out of the way to allow Canadians to prosper. More of the same internal, ideological sabotage from the Liberals cannot ruin this dire moment for Canada’s rebirth and recovery.”

The NCC calls on all Canadians to hold the Carney government accountable. Join us in demanding transparency, action, and results before the House adjourns and the G7 summit concludes. Together, we can fight for a stronger, more prosperous Canada.

About the National Citizens Coalition: Founded in 1967, the NCC is a non-profit organization dedicated to advocating for individual freedom, lower taxes, less government waste, and a stronger Canada. We hold governments accountable and fight for the interests of everyday Canadians.