What Would Nellis Say?
Watch What You Can't See!
watch what you can't see!
By Rick Stiller
Trump’s deflection and misdirection, the shady magician’s oldest tricks, focus on his pet self-aggrandizing projects like the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make way for his gaudy gilded ballroom, what appear to be tacky golden plastic filigrees he glued to the walls of the Oval Office, paving over Jackie Kennedy’s Rose Garden, the ghastly algae-green mess in the Reflecting Pool, giant banners featuring Trump’s scowling face billowing from government buildings across Washington, and his weaponized “Triumphal Arch” which is to be filled with drones, armor, and snipers (to shoot who? Oh, demonstrators).
We the People are distracted by his endless infantile tirades barging to the top of the news cycle every day, while his lackeys are busy enacting the most devastating dictates of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which prescribe the goals and methods for transforming our government, economy, and society to serve the richest white titans while disenfranchising American workers.
Iran proved him the incompetent fool in his lost war of choice, when they closed the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting the flow of oil to nations across the planet, more than doubling the cost of gas, diesel, and fertilizer that affects all forms of truck, air, or ship transportation, destroys farm businesses, will cause mass starvation in the poorest nations, and drives inflation in every country that is not energy self-sufficient.
Nearly a dozen soldiers have died, with hundreds wounded in drone and missile attacks on defenseless U.S. military bases throughout the Gulf, while inept and unqualified Secretary of “War” little Petey Hegseth depleted more than half our stock of advanced munitions in the first few weeks of the conflict and is pretending the war is a religious crusade. Trump has abandoned our military presence in the Pacific theater as well as the defense of democracy in Ukraine against the Russian invasion, while supporting Netanyahu’s genocide of the Palestinian people and the complete demolition of every structure in Gaza with yet another $2.8 billion sale of 40,000 one-ton bombs and another 40,000 two-ton munitions. “The blast from a 2,000-pound bomb can be lethal at more than 1,000 feet and leave a crater as deep as 50 feet. Israel provoked a fierce outcry after it dropped hundreds of the heavy bombs on Gaza.”
While screaming about “communist” and “socialist” Democrats “desecrating and destroying the country”, he invited Russia’s communist dictator and warmonger Vladimir Putin to the next G6 conference (which expelled him when he invaded Ukraine), and hosted Communist Chinese premier Xi Jinping in Washington with red carpets, extravagant military salutes, and grand galas without reaching any substantive agreements to resolve our trade war, Ai competition, reduce tensions threatening political stability in Asia and Taiwan’s independence, or stop China’s substantial purchases of Iranian oil.
Like his cage fighting extravaganza on the White House lawn and his military parade that no one attended, Xi’s visit was filled with glittering photo ops (even though the press pool refused to broadcast the festivities after Trump banished Politico, MS NBC, and CNN from the White House) but few diplomatic accomplishments or reductions in the strain on our relationship.
American farmers producing soybeans, wheat, beef, and dairy products are devasted by Trump’s tariffs and trade wars with friend and foe alike, and dealing with drastically increased costs for diesel fuel, fertilizer, and farm equipment, with critical exports dashed by discarded trade agreements. American agriculture lost $15 billion in sales to China in 2025, just one former customer of many that turned to other markets.
His current tariff war with our closest ally, neighbor, and largest trading partner, has forced Canada to forsake our interdependent economies, institute equivalent tariffs on American goods, and expand trade with Europe, China, and Asia.
In 2024 tariffs on manufacturing, auto industry, technology and computer chips, retail and consumer goods, and small businesses averaged 2.48%. Those taxes increased to 7.7% in 2025 and cost average U.S. household at least $1958.
Republicans boast of being “financially conservative” but interest rates on real estate have increased from 6.6% to 7.4% in 2025 under this administration putting home ownership out of reach for most young people. The average age for a first-time home buyer is 40. As a result of Trump’s economic policies, trade wars, and armed conflicts, inflation for food, gas, and consumer goods was 2.7% when he took office and is now 3.4%. The average price of gas was $3.02, today the average is $4.48/gallon and diesel (which powers all forms of shipping) is $6.69. The nation’s debt rose to $40 trillion, and the government will pay $1 trillion in interest this year.
One of the core objectives of Project 2025 was the elimination of government supported healthcare in this country by instituting work requirements and complicated enrollment procedures for Medicaid recipients (primarily the elderly, children, and working poor), cutting $536 billion from Medicare over the next decade, discontinuing coverage for 750,000 Affordable Care Act patients who have been accused of “fraud” for not filing any claims (being penalized for staying healthy?), reducing the ACA tax credits which will make health insurance unaffordable for many, and result in 10 million patients losing coverage.
Healthcare costs will increase dramatically and emergency rooms will be overloaded with sick patients who have no other medical options, many rural hospitals and medical services have already been closed, and the nation will suffer a massive increase in unnecessary deaths.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. is dismantling the Center for Disease Control, the world’s premier health authority, starting by replacing all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with a new group of mostly unqualified appointees, many with predetermined hostility toward vaccines. His campaign against tradition vaccination regimens has resulted in 3659 cases of measles and at least six deaths in the United States in 2026 (the average measles cases for decades before Kennedy was appointed was zero), and his chosen CDC Director Susan Monarez, along with four CDC leaders quit “citing pressure from Kennedy to depart from recommendations based on sound scientific evidence.”
Trump and his Congress passed the Big Ugly Bill in the first months of this administration, slashing support for children including $290 billion over ten years from (SNAP) the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for basic food purchases. 18.3 million will be denied free school lunches, after school care, and special needs care, and Medicaid coverage will be reduced or restricted for 37 million children.
On March 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to abolish the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and his Education Secretary Linda McMahon pledged to dismantle the Department by taking a wrecking ball to public schools. “McMahon fired nearly half the department’s staff, moved the management of major programs to other federal agencies, cut grant programs that serve as the lifeline for minority-serving institutions, shifted funding away from basic needs for students and their schools—afterschool programs, meals, building modernization updates, literacy programs, and more—and made school privatization the administration’s top education priority.”
The President also created a new “voucher” program that will drain funds from public school districts already struggling with chronic budgetary crises and apply those funds primarily for white students attending private “Christian” schools.
Meanwhile, Moms for Liberty, a political organization funded by wealthy “conservative” donors and the Heritage Foundation is dedicated to banning and removing “objectionable” books and curricula from school and public libraries focused on race, gender, and objective history that reflects the truth about our accomplishments and the atrocities our forefathers precipitated. References to slavery, minority contributions to our society, and anything that does not glorify white “Christian” supremacy are being purged from the Smithsonian, National Parks, and history books.
Wonder why test scores are dropping, dedicated and qualified teachers are quitting, and junior can’t read, write, or master simple arithmetic?
With the proposed merger of Paramount and Warner Bros./Discovery, Trump aligned bazillionaire Oracle owner Larry Ellison and his son David are creating a radically “conservative” media conglomerate that will control the programming and political loyalties of dozens of entertainment, news, and media companies including CBS, ABC, CNN and a major stake in internet giant TikTok.
David Ellison appointed Barri Weiss editor-in-chief to overhaul CBS news programming and 60 Minutes, who said, “I wanna blow this up!” before embarking on the complete destruction of one of the most respected news organizations in the world. Numerous news executives and esteemed anchors including Scott Pelley, Anderson Cooper, and Sharyn Alfonsi were fired or quit over editorial interference in reporting verifiable and factual information and a realignment behind the promotion of the administration’s fanatical priorities. Ellison claims the new firm will produce at least 30 major cinematic films per year. Can you imagine the extremist storylines they will promote?
Trump granted briefing room access to 32 right-wing, ultra-conservative media companies and banished MS Now, CNN, and Politico from the White House. The five largest media companies responded by refusing to cover his activities, including Chinese President Xi’s resent visit, or provide “pool” audio and video to all the other networks.
The Courts have ruled that his edict violates free speech but the objective of all of this is controlling the content and flow of information to a gullible and illiterate electorate to ensure the influence and power of the wealthiest few.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting - a public/private partnership which provides free access to trusted non-biased information to the American public was established in 1969 and defunded by Trump Administration on July 24th 2025, eliminating more than $1 billion in public media support. PBS and NPR (National Public Radio) provide award-winning programming, objective news reporting, and they are the only radio and television stations broadcasting to vast portions of rural America…farmers need accurate weather information.
Voice of America was established in 1942 with Radio Free Europe to provide “censor-free” information to the population living under Nazi rule and was armed with “the greatest weapon of all, truth!” Originally run by the CIA, VOA refuted totalitarian propaganda and promoted “liberty, freedom, and democracy”. Expanded globally since its inception to include an audience of 326 million until the Trump administration dismantled the parent organization, fired all the employees, and ended funding for independent media agencies in 2025.
NOAA – a science-based agency established to understand and predict climate, weather, and ocean dynamics, and share that knowledge and information with weather forecasters and the public. It is being transformed into a “private” agency as directed by Project 2025’s prescription, “The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration should be dismantled and many of its function eliminated, sent to other agencies, privatized, or placed under the control of states and territories.” The agency is decommissioning ocean buoys, satellites, international cooperation, and any references to “global warming” that might be blamed for the extreme conditions being suffered around the world. You’ll have to pay for future weather forecasts.
Since Elon Musk’s orgiastic of vital agencies and experienced employees, the administration has been focusing on reducing staff and resources protecting Civil Rights at Justice by 75%; making significant reductions in staff overseeing fair housing enforcement at Housing and Urban Development; reduced staff overseeing workplace discrimination at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to lowest in 40 years; abandoning the phone service program, closing many offices, limiting and delaying access in rural areas at the Social Security Administration; gutting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; granting leases for drilling, mining, and logging in national parks and monuments; and cutting 10,000 jobs and reducing the US Postal Service budget by billions, with plans to shut it down and privatize it.
DHS Secretary MarkyWayne Mullin and ICE Gestapo chief Tom Homan have dialed down the publicity but massively increased the number of unvetted, unqualified, and untrained thugs who are kidnapping nearly 50,000 brown people per month in all parts of the country. Stevie Miller’s quotas and expectations of bleaching America are driving the most inhumane assaults on innocent people in the history of the country.
DHS is purchasing, building, and expanding massive detention centers to house at least 150,000 prisoners in appalling conditions, where they are denied clean water, edible food, or contact with family or lawyers. Pregnant women who miscarry while in custody are being denied medical care. Our judicial system is totally corrupted when thousands of unaccompanied minors are being deported without legal representation or any assurance of care at the other end of their flight.
We were all taught about the horrors the German Reich committed by arresting, deporting, incarcerating, and murdering millions of Jews during World War II. Our government is committing the same crimes and we are condoning it by not condemning it. This is not who we are.
These are just a few examples of the slash and burn devastation being executed to vital resources and services that our population depends on by Trump’s radical minions…and there are hundreds more.
Despite a complete lack of evidence to back up Trump and MAGA claims of massive interference in our voting system, The Heritage Foundation’s study of non-citizen voting found less than 100 occurrences between 1982 and 2025 out 1.3 billion votes in presidential elections and concluded that most of those incidents were “mistakes not fraud”.
Trump and his administration are not hiding their intention to disrupt, corrupt, and obstruct next month’s elections. It is up to the real patriots in this country to show up and vote for candidates who will restore justice, empathy, and sanity to our government. It is up to us to bear witness to ensure that minority polling places are not invaded and citizens are not harassed or intimidated by ICE troopers or federal agents. It is up to us to make sure that liberty, justice and freedom, the foundations of everything we love and respect, are protected and maintained for the next generation.
Stand Up! Speak Out! Make A Difference!
PS – I’m working on my next article about the top ten things that Democrats should do on day one if they retake control of the House and the Senate and I would love to include your suggestions! Email them to rickstiller@cox.net.
For more of his essays and novels visit www.rickstiller.com and floral portraits from his garden at www.rickstillerart.com