Realism from an American Conservative

The Election Is Over. Our Work Isn’t.

Ellen Leyrer — Mon, 09 Nov 2026 22:37:09 GMT

Hi friends,

Take a deep breath, panicans! Just as in 2020, this setback may ultimately work to the advantage of patriots and conservatives. Trump has been able to accomplish so much more because of what happened during those four years. Voters also learned just how far left many Democratic politicians have moved, often in spite of what their own constituents want.

The election results are in. Fighting the election results will be taken care of by the organizations whose whole goal is election integrity, those qualified to investigate them. Individuals would be ineffective in that fight.

And any Democratic impeachment efforts may prove no more effective than they were during Trump’s first term.

Our responsibility is to keep our perspective, learn from what happened, and be more engaged than ever. Time is short, and there’s important work to be done. That means taking actual, productive action.

The Election Is Over. Our Work Isn’t.

Some thoughts on November 3, lessons learned, and moving forward.

Well, the sun came up Wednesday morning.

It wasn’t the election outcome many of us had hoped and prayed for. Republicans suffered significant losses, including statewide races here in Texas. There’s no point pretending otherwise.

But America is still here. Our Constitution is still here. And so are we.

In politics, there are no permanent victories—and no permanent defeats.

History reminds us that the president’s party almost always loses ground in midterm elections. The political pendulum swings, sometimes farther than expected. That’s not an excuse for what happened, but it does provide some much-needed perspective.

We have been here before. We learn, we adjust, and we move forward.

We Could Have Done Better

Let’s acknowledge something important: Republicans could have done better. In some cases, much better.

Winning elections isn’t the same as governing effectively. Voters don’t elect Republicans simply to keep Republicans in office. They expect promises to become policies and policies to produce results.

And after years of Republican leadership in Texas and nearly two years of Republican control in Washington, voters had every right to evaluate those results.

We should do the same.

What worked? What didn’t? Why did some voters stay home? What were voters trying to tell us?

Americans care about the cost of living, property taxes, jobs, housing, health care, safety, and opportunities for their children and grandchildren. Political talking points don’t pay the grocery bill or help a family purchase its first home.

Good government isn’t measured by how many Republicans hold office, but by what they accomplish while they’re there.

We need honest answers, not endless finger-pointing. And we need to remember those lessons while planning for 2028.

Unity Matters

Republicans are famously independent-minded. We debate, disagree, and sometimes seem determined to prove that nobody can tell us what to think.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Independent thinking is part of what makes us conservatives.

But we can also become our own worst enemies.

The Texas election results raise serious questions about Republican turnout, undervoting, and support for individual candidates. We cannot assume that simply replacing one candidate with another would have changed the outcome.

We cannot afford to confuse independent thinking with unnecessary division. Winning again will require both greater unity among Republicans and broader support from voters who don’t automatically identify with either party.

Unity doesn’t mean abandoning our principles or agreeing on everything. It means recognizing that we share more goals than disagreements—and finding ways to work together to accomplish them.

Candidates must earn our support, but voters must also consider the consequences of withholding it.

Common Sense, Please!

Let’s put our energy and focus where it will do the most good.

Let’s concentrate on what we can accomplish.

Democrats will control Congress beginning in January, but that doesn’t mean progress must stop. President Trump retains important constitutional powers, states can continue advancing their priorities, and opportunities for bipartisan legislation may arise. We will need different strategies, not less determination.

Progress remains possible, with or without a Republican majority in Congress.

Good Ideas Don’t Advance Themselves

Michael Quinn Sullivan recently reminded readers that good ideas don’t succeed simply because they’re good ideas. They require people willing to explain, defend, and advance them.

That’s particularly important now.

We cannot assume everyone understands why constitutional government, individual liberty, private property rights, or limited government matter.

We have to make the case. And sometimes that means listening as much as talking.

Posting on social media isn’t the same as participating. There’s important work happening in our school boards, city councils, county governments, state legislatures, and communities.

And there’s every reason to get involved now. Don’t wait!

To everyone who knocked on doors, made phone calls, worked the polls, donated, volunteered, or encouraged someone to vote: Thank you. Your efforts mattered, and they will continue to matter.

Freedom Is Our Responsibility

Ronald Reagan famously warned:

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream.”

His message was that freedom must be defended and passed along by every generation.

That’s as true today as it was when Reagan said it.

An election defeat doesn’t erase the progress already made, just as an election victory doesn’t guarantee future success.

We still have our faith, our families, our communities, our constitutional freedoms, and countless opportunities to make a difference.

Let’s appreciate what we’ve accomplished, learn from what didn’t work, and put that knowledge to good use.

Stay informed. Stay engaged. Stay optimistic. And remember to enjoy the people and blessings we’re working to protect.

We have work to do. We always will. That’s the privilege—and the responsibility—of living in America.

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind. This Substack is provided for informational and commentary purposes only. All claims or statements are based on publicly available sources and are presented as analysis and opinion, not legal conclusions.

No assertion is made of unlawful conduct by any individual, company, or government entity unless such claims are supported by formal public records or verified legal documents. The views expressed here reflect my personal perspective on property rights and land use issues.

While I strive for accuracy and transparency, readers are encouraged to verify all details using the official sources and references provided. Any references to third-party material are included solely for your consideration and do not necessarily reflect my views or imply endorsement.

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Please share your thoughts in the comments. Or email me, and let’s have a problem-solving conversation. I welcome ‘letters to the editor’ type emails and may publish yours. I hope we can create a caucus with positive, back-to-the-founders’-dream-for-America results. Have a topic you want to know more about?

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Rights don’t defend themselves.

Ellen Leyrer — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 16:58:33 GMT

Hi friends,

Yes, we’ve all heard this is the most important election ever. And we hear it almost every election.

The difference this time: The November 3 election is about much more than Donald Trump or which political party controls Congress.

It is about the direction of our country, the future of our freedoms, and who gets to make the decisions that affect our everyday lives. For generations, Republicans and Democrats disagreed about how best to govern, but generally shared a commitment to America’s founding principles.

Today, the growing influence of socialism and expanding government control raises a much more fundamental question: Will Americans continue to govern themselves, or will government increasingly make those decisions for us?

Consider what is at stake: border security, taxes, healthcare, parental rights, property rights, election integrity, and the authority of states and local communities. These aren’t abstract political issues. They affect our families, our finances, our freedoms, and the opportunities we leave our children and grandchildren. Presidents come and go, but the policies they put in place can shape America for generations.

This election isn’t just about the people on the ballot. It’s about the kind of country we want to live in—and the kind of country we intend to leave behind.

From American Constitutional Rights Union (theacru.org):

“Here is a number I want you to carry with you between now and November 3rd: 7,309. In 2024, some 147.7 million Americans cast a ballot for the United States House of Representatives. And yet the majority in that chamber, the body the Founders designed to be closest to the people, came down to three districts in Iowa, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, decided by a combined 7,309 votes. That is five thousandths of one percent of the ballots cast.

And the single closest race in the Nation? California’s 13th District, decided by 187 votes. One hundred eighty-seven! You have more people than that at a good church potluck. The House of Representatives writes the budget, holds the purse strings, and has the power to impeach. Its majority was decided by a crowd you could seat in a minor league ballpark.”

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Where Are the Arrests, You Ask?

Ellen Leyrer — Mon, 26 Oct 2026 02:43:01 GMT

Hi friends,

Coffee & Covid is one of the best Substacks out there. I highly recommend it. Jeff Childers provides actual news with great insight and wonderful wit.

Below are some excerpts from two of his posts this week. I do recommend you read the complete stories - and subscribe. (I have no connection to him.)

Links to the full articles are included.

Excerpts from Oct 23:

The whirlwind of arrests continues spinning and climbing the Democrat ladder. You know about Ilhan Omar (or whatever her real name is). Yesterday, Democrats took another big hit. The Washington Post reported, “Virginia state Sen. L. Louise Lucas indicted in connection with marijuana business.” Louise isn’t just any old state senator. The subheadline explained, “Lucas, the 82-year-old president pro tempore of the Virginia Senate, is one of the state’s most powerful Democrats.” At least a dozen current or former Democrat officials have been charged, indicted, or arrested so far this month.

Louise Lucas is practically an institution unto herself. After a career in local politics, she was first elected to the state Senate in 1991, has been its president since 2020, and is currently the Chairman of the powerful Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee, which handles the state budget, tax policy, and state expenditures— the money. She personally led Virginia’s mad-dash redistricting legislation earlier this year (which Virginia’s Supreme Court later struck down, thankfully).

In other words, she’s one of Virginia’s most politically connected Democrats, as WaPo repeatedly pointed out. The state’s top Democrat, a high-school dropout, is a “longtime community activist” who is “known for her stylish dress and sharp tongue,” the WaPo enthused.

She stylishly thought she was untouchable. On a wiretapped March 11, 2026 conference call with another Virginia legislator and her daughter Lisa Lucas-Burke, Louise said, “The whole police department protected us.” She had good reason to say that. In June, 2020, Portsmouth’s chief of police charged Louise with drug-related crimes during a Summer of Love monument-tearing-down protest. She was fired the next day. The charges were dropped. Message received.

The Post described her as a “sharp-tongued, brash-talking grandmother,” which is a nice way of saying Louise has a potty mouth and is known neither for her wit nor her command of basic English grammar. The paper called her arrest “a staggering turn” for Democrats, among whom she “has amassed considerable influence.”

When it noted that Louise “frequently uses social media to taunt and lambaste Republicans,” I suspect WaPo was hinting that Louise’s drug trafficking and money laundering prosecution is somehow political payback; an ugly insinuation that she would have gotten away with it if only she’d been a little less critical of President Trump on X.

If that was WaPo’s implication, it backfired. It came across as irony bordering on hilarity.

The 45-page indictment includes plenty of salty color. One of Louise’s shell companies involved in the scheme was named Mama’s Chicken, LLC. She once sold a state pot-growing license to an FBI informant for $100,000. “Yes, we can make a lot of money,” she told him, “but how about we begin with you sending at least a good faith payment of the money you owe me.”

The state’s most powerful Democrat and her family made illegal pot deals out of her legislative offices on County Street in Portsmouth.

Publicly, Democrats are mostly whining that the DOJ broke its “norms and customs” of not prosecuting public officials within 60 days of an election. A DOJ spokesperson drily reminded reporters that Louise is not currently running for anything and is not on the November ballot. Narrative fail.

And —just saying— back in March, 2023, after the former president’s arrest, Louise triumphantly tweeted, “Donald Trump just learned no one is above the law!” I think a honky grandma just learned no one is above the law, too.

“During her time as Virginia state senator, she was actually using her position of power and public trust to deflect and defend against her own criminal enterprise,” Patel said. Brash! “Truly the epitome of hypocrisy for a public official.”

🔥 A few more Democrat officials who appeared in this month’s true crime roundup include:

Jackie Espinosa (D), the mayor of Kissimmee, FL (pop. 86,500). She was arrested for grand theft and an organized scheme to defraud— over covid-era emergency grants. On Wednesday, Florida law enforcement arrested Mayor Espinosa and she appeared in court for first appearance. Orange is the new black!

Nick Mimms (D), the former Fort Pierce, FL city manager. On October 8th, Mimms was convicted by a Florida jury of a felony count of official misconduct in office related to a $500,000 grant that went to a nonprofit for a community center that was never built.
Ari Espinal (D), former NY Assembly member (Queens). Grand larceny, for charging $33,245 in personal purchases to her union employer’s American Express card. She was arraigned on October 7th.
Elijah Manley (D), a congressional candidate from Broward, Florida. He surrendered to authorities on October 16 for threatening to “cut the heads off” anyone who didn’t vote Democrat. Referring to Democrat DSA Senate candidate Angie Nixon, Manley posted, “I swear to god, take me to war over this black woman, and I promise y’all I will burn y’all (expletive) castle to the ground and anyone else in my way.”
LaMar Cook (D), 46, is the former Governor Healey-appointed Western Massachusetts deputy director. Clearly, a Democrat. He was arrested on October 14 for SNAP and wire fraud, even while under a separate prosecution for crack cocaine trafficking —18 pounds of it, delivered to his Springfield offices— and firearm violations. His state salary: $137,000 a year, not including SNAP benefits.

Reuben Taylor (D), the Boston Municipal Protective Services director (obviously a Democrat). He was charged with pandemic loan wire fraud —the gift that keeps on giving— and agreed to plead guilty on October 8th. ✅ IRS-CI
Dennis Bradley (D), 42, former CT state senator. This was the guy who was videotaped by a woman’s kitchen cam going around browbeating people into changing their mail-in ballots. He was charged on October 6th.
Michael Rivers (D), 67, a South Carolina state representative. He was charged with pointing and presenting a firearm at his political opponent on October 9th.
Brian DePeña (D), Lawrence, Massachusetts mayor (D). He faces up to 150 years for various federal covid loan fraud charges, wiretapping, and witness intimidation under an August indictment. DePeña needed a translator at his arraignment this month, since he does not speak English.
Francisco Paulino (D), Massachusetts state representative. His district included Lawrence, Mass., where Mayor DePeña is also being prosecuted. He was indicted in August for pandemic-era covid relief fraud and money laundering— he got over $700K in small-business loans for fake companies.

Sylvia Luke (D), Hawaii’s Lt. Governor, and the highest-ranking official in the DOJ’s fall lineup. It’s part of a large and complicated bribery conspiracy tied to millions in covid-testing money that I’ve reported on before, and that prosecution involves even more current and former Hawaii state officials. All dems.

It is tempting to conclude that this Fall 2026 crackdown evidences a dramatic new crime wave. But the data demonstrates an uglier truth. Many of these crimes go back years. Some were even under slow-motion investigation during the Autopen era. But it is only now that they are being aggressively prosecuted.

So the truth is that the Fall 2026 crackdown evidences a dramatic new willingness to prosecute political officials.

In other words, this country has suffered badly, for a long time, from a permissive blue culture that allowed a cesspool of political corruption to flourish due to lack of enforcement, in the same way bacteria flourish due to lack of cleaning. Think of the most horrible gas-station bathroom you’ve ever seen, one where a bright yellow hazmat suit is mandatory equipment for entry. Now multiply that by 1,000.

The above list does not omit Republicans due to favoritism. I honestly couldn’t find one dated this month. That is not to say criminals never sneak into the Republican fold. But it’s Democrats who have a permissive culture that demands strict compliance with ideological rules— but is much more flexible when it comes to following actual laws.

It travels far beyond irony. It borders on the miraculous. The real fruit of President Trump’s long-suffering sacrifices has become evident only now, in hindsight.

For the last eighteen months, black-pillers have polluted social media with their memes demanding to know where are the arrests? Well? Where are the black pillers?

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

America Needs Its Farmland and It Needs AI

Ellen Leyrer — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 17:05:42 GMT

Hi friends,

America needs artificial intelligence. It also needs the farms and ranches that feed our people. When data centers replace productive agricultural land, the country is making a decision about its future food-producing capacity—not simply finding room for a needed business.

Food security depends partly on having dependable land available to grow crops and feed livestock. Losing that land weakens this foundation, even if higher yields elsewhere can offset some lost production. The concern is long-term capacity and resilience.

Data centers are entering a landscape already reshaped by housing, roads, industry and energy development. USDA found that about 70 percent of large-scale solar projects and more than 90 percent of wind turbines installed in rural areas during 2012–2020 were on agricultural land.

Those uses affect farmland differently. Crops and grazing commonly continue around wind turbines. Some solar projects allow grazing or crop production, while others displace it. Buildings, paved areas and access roads remove their footprints from agricultural production. We should count the land actually displaced.

Large data-center campuses add another demand for substantial, connected tracts. In Red Oak, Texas, for example, roughly 800 acres received zoning approval for a data-center development on land with documented agricultural classifications and crop-cover evidence. That shows why agricultural use belongs near the beginning of the decision though it doesn’t mean 800 acres have already been converted.

The consequences extend beyond the acreage under buildings. Dividing farms can interrupt access, separate fields from water and leave smaller pieces harder to operate or undesirable. As working farmland disappears, the surrounding network of suppliers, equipment services and agricultural businesses are adversely affected. A remaining field needs a functioning farm economy around it.

Productive soil also deserves more respect than the label “vacant land” suggests. Grading, removing topsoil and paving can make a return to agriculture difficult and expensive. A promise to restore land may not be viable when the time comes.

The first safeguard is better siting. Compare existing industrial sites and other suitable locations before converting productive farms. Identify prime soils, irrigation investments and working ranch acreage. Consider layouts that preserve connected agricultural areas and farm access. Include land needed for supporting power infrastructure in the assessment. Data centers require a lot of supporting infrastructure as well as setbacks for noise and light.

Owners’ choices matter. Protecting farmland should respect private property rights and favor workable, voluntary approaches. But public incentives and planning decisions must recognize agricultural capacity as an asset, rather than valuing land only by what the next development might pay.

Americans must track the cumulative conversion of farm and ranch land across projects and regions. Otherwise, decisions made one parcel at a time can add up to disaster.

We can pursue leadership in AI while insisting that farmland receive serious consideration before conversion.

Our ability to produce food is part of national strength. It deserves the same forward-looking attention we give the technologies we hope will shape our future.

Sources:

USDA—Agricultural land near solar and wind projects:
https://www.ers.usda.gov/amber-waves/2024/september/agricultural-land-near-solar-and-wind-projects-usually-remained-in-agriculture-after-development
Department of Energy—Combining solar with farming and grazing:
https://www.energy.gov/cmei/systems/agrivoltaics-solar-and-agriculture-co-location
USDA NRCS—Farmland protection and conversion:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/conservation-basics/land/cropland/farmland-protection-policy-act
American Planning Association—Farmland protection and fragmentation:
https://www.planning.org/knowledgebase/farmlandprotection/
USDA NRCS—Example of preserving connected, productive farmland:
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/state-offices/montana/news/kamps-seed-farm-conserved-494-acres-of-prime
Red Oak—Official zoning ordinance for the approximately 800-acre development:
https://ecode360.com/RE6455/laws/LF2738431.pdf

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

America Is Thinking Big Again

Ellen Leyrer — Sun, 18 Oct 2026 14:28:40 GMT

Hi friends,

On October 8, President Donald Trump hosted the Science: A New Golden Age Summit in Washington, announcing more than $6 billion in new science and technology initiatives involving government, private industry, universities, and philanthropy.

The event followed the release of the July 2026 OSTP report Science: A New Golden Age by Director Michael Kratsios, which proposes a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. research enterprise.

The initiatives cover medical research, artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, quantum computing, space exploration, and opportunities for young Americans.

It’s an exciting and ambitious effort to discover what America can accomplish next.

(Though I’m not a scientist and can’t fully understand the enormity of these possibilities, it’s a thrilling vision for Americans.)

Key announcements include:

Genesis Mission Expansion: A whole-of-nation AI-for-science initiative involving 15+ federal agencies and $5 billion in funding, with industry partners committing $2.4 billion in compute resources.
New Institutions & Funding: Launch of the X-Labs Consortium ($310M private contributions), NSF’s NextGen Workforce 6-year B.S.-to-Ph.D. program, and DOE’s $100 million Genesis Mission Fellowships.

The summit also highlighted the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science, an international framework endorsed by 17 nations to advance metascience and AI-driven discovery.

President Trump’s new science initiatives offer exciting possibilities for American medicine, energy, technology, and future generations.

Media too often doesn’t focus on good news. (Depending on who the president is.)

President Trump’s administration is doing amazing things!

Putting American Ingenuity to Work

One of the most promising efforts is the Genesis Mission, launched by President Trump in November 2025 to use artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery.

Imagine scientists using powerful computers to analyze complicated research, explore thousands of possibilities, and identify promising solutions much faster than traditional methods allow.

That could mean better medicines, stronger materials, more efficient energy production, and technologies we haven’t yet imagined.

At the summit, eleven major technology companies pledged $2.4 billion in computing resources and tools to support the mission. NVIDIA committed $1 billion, AMD $500 million, and OpenAI $200 million, with Google, Anthropic, and others participating.

These commitments are, in part, access to computing capacity and technology, and such powerful tools can make an enormous difference for American researchers.

The Department of Energy announced $159 million in awards for twelve Genesis Mission research projects, bringing together national laboratories, universities, and private partners.

The projects include research involving fusion energy, geothermal resources, advanced microchips, biotechnology, and critical minerals.

These efforts can help America produce more of the energy, materials, and technology we need and advance and secure America’s future.

New Possibilities for Medical Breakthroughs

Perhaps the most exciting possibilities concern human health.

The National Institutes of Health, Department of Energy, and Biohub announced a $1.8 billion virtual biology initiative to develop sophisticated computer models of cells and biological systems.

Imagine researchers studying how diseases develop and testing promising ideas through computer simulations, improving research and development, and reducing the costs of expensive laboratory experiments.

Such advances can speed medical research, reduce wasted effort, and improve treatment of difficult diseases.

These improvements in the speed and effectiveness of medical discovery can unbelievably improve human lives.

Imagine.

More American Energy and Greater Independence

Energy and technological independence are essential to America’s future.

The new initiatives include research into fusion, geothermal energy, advanced nuclear technology, and quantum computing.

The Department of Energy is pursuing a competition involving up to $215 million to advance fault-tolerant quantum computers.

These machines can help scientists solve certain extraordinarily complicated problems involving chemistry, materials, and other fields. It may be next year or in 10 years, who knows…

Meanwhile, research into critical minerals and advanced manufacturing can increase the reduction of America’s dependence on foreign suppliers. America is already increasing the development of critical minerals. This will speed up the availability.

We’ve learned how vulnerable our country can become when essential materials, equipment, and technologies are controlled by foreign nations.

Strengthening our scientific and industrial capabilities means more opportunities for American workers and businesses, along with greater national security.

Reaching for the Moon—and Beyond

The space program: one of America’s proudest achievements.

NASA and the Department of Energy are pursuing nuclear technologies for future space missions, including plans for a nuclear-powered Mars spacecraft and a reactor to support operations on the Moon.

These are ambitious goals, with substantial engineering challenges ahead.

Just imagine what reliable nuclear power will mean for sustained lunar exploration, scientific research, and eventually missions farther into space.

The Apollo program demonstrated what Americans could accomplish when extraordinary talent and determination were directed toward a common goal.

Why would we stop thinking big?

Investing in the Next Generation

Some of the most encouraging announcements concern young Americans.

The administration announced a $100 million graduate fellowship initiative, additional research opportunities, and programs to encourage mathematical and scientific talent.

The National Science Foundation is also reviving efforts to identify and encourage talented younger students.

Our future depends not only on today’s scientists, but also on the children who will become tomorrow’s engineers, inventors, researchers, and entrepreneurs.

A student inspired by mathematics today might develop a medical treatment, improve an energy system, or create an entirely new industry twenty years from now.

That’s an investment in our future and America’s children.

America’s Best Days Are Still Ahead

President Trump’s leadership in these great initiatives deserves credit for making American scientific advancement a priority and bringing government, private enterprise, universities, and researchers together around ambitious goals.

The administration is also improving how scientific research is funded and evaluated, emphasizing scientific merit, reliable results, and less bureaucracy.

Those changes will help researchers spend more time discovering and less time navigating paperwork.

Some projects are already receiving awards; others remain commitments or long-term goals. Scientific progress requires time, testing and perseverance.

That’s how discovery works.

America didn’t become a world leader by waiting for guarantees. We explored, experimented, invented, built, and sometimes failed before succeeding.

Those efforts help transform medicine, transportation, communication, manufacturing, and everyday life.

America’s greatest achievements are ahead.
America’s future isn’t something we simply wait for.
It’s something we are building.

Sources:

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Show Up. Don’t Forfeit.

Ellen Leyrer — Sat, 17 Oct 2026 16:24:41 GMT

Hi friends,

Though few, if any, agree 100% with any Republican or Democrat candidate, it’s critical to vote.

You can support a candidate and still have questions or be disappointed about an issue you disagree on. You may dislike a personality, but policy is key. Voting does not require you to approve of every position or every decision. Remember President Ronald Reagan said if you agree 80%, you’re on the same team.

That matters especially now. If we want Republicans to retain Congress, and continue upholding the Constitution, we cannot leave the outcome to someone else.

The other side will show up, not just Democrats, but the socialists and the Sharia law supporters. We must show up, too.

Discouraging headlines are an attempt to keep you from voting. Polls are worse, and they have missed the mark more often than not since 2016. The only result that counts is the one voters decide. Your vote is important!

For those of us who care about faith, family, and freedom, this is a chance to act on our convictions. We can want more from our leaders and still recognize that our vote matters. We can deal with our emotions - like frustration - but must still take part.

So make your plan today. Put voting on your calendar. Check your location and hours. Then reach out to someone you know: “Have you made a plan to vote? Would you like to go early with me?”

One conversation may be all it takes to help someone who was tired, busy, or ready to sit this one out.

Don’t forfeit. Show up and vote.

Find your official voting information.

Start at Vote.gov and choose your state or territory.
Use your state’s voter lookup to check registration, get a sample ballot, find your polling place, or track a mail ballot.
Many offices also post sample ballots and ballot-status tools on their websites. Vote.gov’s voting guide explains how to find that information.

Find your elections office.

Start here: USA.gov — State and local election offices. Choose your state or territory; the page links to the state elections office and, in most states, county or local contacts.
Military or overseas voters: Search by location on FVAP.gov Local Election Office Search.
Spanish: Directorio de oficinas de elecciones estatales y locales.

Find more information at Ballotpedia.org.

In Texas, early voting runs October 19–30. Election Day is November 3. Find your official voting information at VoteTexas.gov.

Check it yourself

Registration-record resource:
https://scancheckprotect.org/

Official Texas voting information:
https://www.votetexas.gov/

Texas election dates:
https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/voter/important-election-dates.shtml

If you find a question or discrepancy in your registration, contact your county voter registrar.

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Don’t Let Frustration Steal Your Vote

Ellen Leyrer — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 12:08:33 GMT

Hi friends,

The election headlines can give you whiplash. One says everything is fine. Another raises serious questions. Yet another makes it sound as though the outcome has already been decided.

It can be tiring and frustrating.

But frustration does not solve a problem. Staying home leaves the decisions to the people who show up.

Your concerns matter. So does your vote.

Make a plan. Take part. Vote.

In our first article, we looked at elections decided by very small margins—including a state House race decided by one vote. In the second, we considered faith, family, and freedom. In the third, we explained why polls, at best, are unreliable.

Put that information to use.

Put voting on your calendar

It is easy to intend to vote. Then an appointment runs late, a family member needs help, or something unexpected fills the day.

A plan makes that less likely.

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3. (For Texas readers, early voting begins Monday, October 19, and ends Friday, October 30.)

Choose a day and a backup day. Check the voting location and its hours. Put the information on your calendar where you will see it.

If you need transportation or help finding election information, ask now.

Know what is on your ballot

Get your sample ballot. Check with your county or local election office. Or the library can always help with questions.

The candidates at the top of the ballot get most of the attention. Other races and proposals affect your taxes, schools, public safety, and community.

Vote all the way down the ballot. Those ‘smaller’ races determine whose name gets known, who has influence, who moves up to a higher office.

You do not have to know everything. Start with your ballot, your priorities, and reliable information. You probably know someone who can tell you about candidates.

Turn concern into action

Questions about election security deserve clear answers. If something goes wrong when you vote, tell an election worker promptly and ask for help.

Never think your ballot is useless.

No headline casts your ballot for you. No forecast guarantees the result.

You can also help someone else find official voting information, understand the dates, or locate a sample ballot. Sometimes the useful thing is small: answering a question or helping someone work out when they can go.

Keep frustration at bay

The frustration and fatigue are understandable. Politics can be brutal.

Voting is a concrete step we can control.

We can care about fair elections and participate in them. We can ask questions without giving up. We can recognize uncertainty without treating the outcome as settled.

For now, check your information, make your plan, and cast your ballot.

You Can Do It!

Check it yourself

Registration-record resource:
https://scancheckprotect.org/

Official Texas voting information:
https://www.votetexas.gov/

Texas election dates:
https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/voter/important-election-dates.shtml

Collin County sample ballots:
https://www.collincountytx.gov/elections/sample-ballots

If you find a question or discrepancy in your registration, contact your county voter registrar.

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

America Must Lead the AI Future

Ellen Leyrer — Sun, 11 Oct 2026 18:02:35 GMT

Hi friends,

Imagine that the United States agrees to stop developing its most advanced artificial intelligence (super intelligence).

American companies obey. Researchers close projects. New systems must pass through layers of government approval. Smaller companies cannot afford the lawyers, fees, and delays. Some give up. Others sell to the few giant corporations that can afford to comply.

Now ask the most important question: Would China stop too?

Would Russia? Iran? North Korea? Criminal organizations? Secret military programs?

Of course not.

That is the central weakness in proposals for a worldwide pause or ban on advanced AI. Rules are most effective against people and nations willing to follow them. The countries and groups we fear most may be the least likely to obey.

AI Is Already Part of National Security

Artificial intelligence is not simply a clever way to write an email or create a picture. It is becoming part of cybersecurity, military planning, intelligence analysis, manufacturing, medicine, scientific research, transportation, agriculture, and energy.

It can help find computer attacks faster, study large amounts of intelligence, identify equipment problems, improve weapons defenses, discover new medicines, and strengthen factories and supply chains.

That does not make every use wise or safe. It does mean that America cannot treat AI leadership as optional.

The 2026 Annual Threat Assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence calls China the most capable U.S. competitor in artificial intelligence. It says China aims to replace the United States as the global AI leader by 2030. AI is also being used to assist weapons design, targeting, and battlefield decisions.

If America steps back, the technology will not disappear. Leadership will move somewhere else.

And whoever leads will have great influence over the technology, the standards, and the values built into the systems used around the world.

A Worldwide Ban Would Not Create a Worldwide Reality

History gives us every reason not to believe that every government would honor a promise simply because an international body - or anyone else - approved it.

Nations have signed treaties and still pursued nuclear weapons, missiles, biological programs, cyberattacks, and other prohibited activities. Agreements can sometimes reduce danger, but only when they are narrow, verifiable, reciprocal, and backed by consequences.

AI makes verification especially difficult. A nuclear program requires specialized materials and large facilities. Advanced software can be copied, hidden, moved, and improved behind closed doors. Computing equipment can be spread among companies, universities, government agencies, and military sites.

Who would inspect every computer system in China? Who would make a hostile government reveal a secret model? What would happen after cheating was discovered? Would law-abiding countries remain restricted while the violator gained ground?

Calling a policy “global” does not make compliance global. Yes, we’ve seen that before.

Cooperation Is Not the Same as Surrender

The United States should communicate with allies—and even with rivals—about military misunderstandings, cyber threats, dangerous accidents, and other serious risks. Secure systems, testing standards, emergency contacts, and clear rules for the use of AI in nuclear command decisions are all reasonable subjects for discussion.

But cooperation does not extend to giving an international organization authority over American research, businesses, speech, national defense, or anything else.

China is openly promoting a larger international system for AI governance. It is fair to ask what values would guide such a system. Would a government that uses censorship and surveillance help decide what American AI may say? Would unelected international officials gain influence over American technology? Could “safety” rules be used to pressure models to accept approved political views?

American sovereignty is not a bargaining chip. Neither are the First Amendment, free inquiry, private enterprise, or the right of citizens to hold their government accountable.

Leadership Does Not Mean No Rules

Rejecting a sweeping ban does not mean being foolish about risks.

AI can be used/abused by bad actors. An AI agent with network access and ineffective guardrails could cause harm. High-risk uses require diligence and human oversight.

Fraud is still fraud when AI is involved. Theft is still theft. Companies must be responsible for defective products and unlawful conduct.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology already offers a voluntary framework for managing AI risks. It emphasizes systems that are reliable, secure, transparent, privacy-conscious, and accountable. That is a far more practical starting point. And much smarter that giving away authority to some unelected authority.

We should also ask who benefits from any proposed rule. Does it protect the public—or protect the largest companies from competition? Could a small American developer afford the required testing, licenses, lawyers, and insurance? Are the companies requesting regulation also helping write rules that their smaller competitors cannot meet?

Those questions are not anti-safety. They are part of responsible oversight.

What Kind of Future Do We Want?

America has never advanced by promising that every new tool would be risk-free. We advanced by inventing, testing, correcting mistakes, enforcing responsibility, and refusing to let fear stop progress.

The better path is develop AI, protect its critical technology, secure its supply chains, train American workers, preserve competition, and work with trusted allies. Safeguard where failures could cause serious harm. Keep humans responsible for consequential decisions. And refuse to hand control of America’s future to hostile nations, international authorities, or a small circle of government and corporate gatekeepers.

AI will serve people. It already does. It will also help strengthen and further America for Americans.

The technology will continue to develop. America must lead, its values must shape it.

Above all, humans remain responsible.

Sources:

1. White House, “America’s AI Action Plan”
https://www.whitehouse.gov/releases/2025/07/white-house-unveils-americas-ai-action-plan/

2. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “2026 Annual Threat Assessment”
https://www.odni.gov/12660/pr-03-26/

3. DNI testimony on China, AI, weapons design, targeting, and battlefield decision-making
https://www.odni.gov/12670/dni-gabbard-opening-statement-as-delivered-to-ssci-on-2026-annual-threat-assessment-of-the-u-s-intelligence-community/

4. NIST, Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Framework
https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework

5. NIST, AI Risk Management Framework FAQ
https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework/ai-risk-management-framework-faqs

6. CISA, AI Cybersecurity Collaboration Playbook
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2025/01/14/cisa-releases-jcdc-ai-cybersecurity-collaboration-playbook-and-fact-sheet

7. 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference statement on global AI governance
https://jm.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zgxw/202607/t20260717_11984715.htm

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Polls!

Ellen Leyrer — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 22:28:00 GMT

Hi friends,

Polls are like the joke about the accountant. What’s the answer to how much is 2 and 2? The punch line is ‘How much do you want it to be’. Another analogy might be that polls are comparable to watching the odds of a horse race before you place your bet.

That’s how reliable polls are.

A Poll Is Not a Result

One headline says a candidate is pulling ahead. Another says the race is tightening. By evening, someone on social media declares that the election is practically over.

It can feel like watching the score of a game that hasn’t been played.

Polls may provide useful information about people’s preferences - based on a predetermined set of questions that are already skewed. In general, especially since 2014, they have been all over the place and seemingly wrong more often than right.

Understanding that helps us read election coverage without swinging between certainty and despair.

The polling record deserves an honest look.

Many polls underestimated Republican support, including support for Donald Trump, in 2016 and 2020. The American Association for Public Opinion Research found that pre-election polls again underestimated Republican support in 2024.

Past errors also do not tell us precisely how future polls will miss. Underestimated Trump? Well, we cannot simply add a few points to someone’s opinion and assume - well, anything really.

What should we look for?

Start with five questions:

When was the survey conducted? An old poll may predate an important development.
Who was surveyed? All adults, registered voters, and likely voters are different groups.
What race does it measure? A national presidential poll does not measure the Electoral College. A national congressional poll does not settle an individual district.
Who conducted and paid for it? Look for the original release and an explanation of its methods.
What did the question actually ask? Read beyond the headline when the wording is available.

A poll’s margin of error matters, too. If two candidates are only a couple of points apart, a small reported lead may not establish who is truly ahead.

And the familiar “plus or minus” figure does not capture every possible problem. Pollsters must account for people who do not answer surveys and estimate who will actually vote. Those judgments increase uncertainty.

Polls and forecasts are also different.

A poll estimates preferences. A forecast combines polls and other information to estimate possible outcomes. A candidate’s 70% chance of winning does not mean that candidate has 70% of the vote. It means the model still allows a meaningful chance of defeat.

That is why a prediction should be read as a possibility, not a promise. Hm, pretty much about as dependable as the weather forecast.

The useful response is neither to dismiss every unfavorable number nor to treat every favorable one as confirmation. Consider several credible sources, examine trends, and keep uncertainty visible. And be aware of your confirmation bias. It’s all to easy to like or believe the polls that indicate our preferred result.

In the coming November 3rd election, most of what I’m seeing says that turnout will decide. So get out there and vote to support your values!

For Texas voters, early voting runs October 19–30, and Election Day is November 3. Official state and county election offices provide the practical information about locations, hours, and voting requirements.

Sources:

https://aapor.org/polling-accuracy/

https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/08/28/key-things-to-know-about-us-election-polling-in-2024/

https://scancheckprotect.org/

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

The Data Center Debate Is Changing

Ellen Leyrer — Sat, 10 Oct 2026 01:24:59 GMT

Hi friends,

The debate about data centers started with a big connection to Artificial Intelligence (AI, or as it’s transitioning to, Super Intelligence/SI).

That’s not so much the case as we move forward.

America needs modern infrastructure to remain competitive. But that doesn’t mean every proposed data center, transmission line, tax exemption, or land-use decision is in the public interest.

Across the country, communities are asking harder questions about massive data-center developments. Their concerns aren’t necessarily about artificial intelligence. They’re about what these projects require, whose property is affected, and who ultimately pays.

And the public’s attitude is changing.

Growing Opposition

A 2026 survey by the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg Public Policy Center found that opposition to new data centers in respondents’ communities increased from 49% earlier in the year to 61% in August.

That’s a significant shift in a matter of months.

In Texas, rural communities are particularly concerned. Residents have raised questions about water supplies, electric infrastructure, noise, agricultural land, and whether local officials can impose meaningful conditions on large developments.

These concerns aren’t simply opposition to progress. A community may welcome economic investment while still questioning whether a particular project belongs in that location or whether its costs and consequences have been fully disclosed.

The Data Center Is Only Part of the Project

A proposed data center may occupy hundreds or even thousands of acres. But the physical footprint doesn’t necessarily end at the property line.

Supporting infrastructure can include substations, high-voltage transmission lines, natural-gas pipelines, water facilities, access roads, and sometimes separate power-generation facilities.

Those additions can affect neighboring farms, ranches, homes, and businesses—even when the owners have no interest in the data-center development.

A private developer doesn’t automatically have eminent-domain authority. However, utilities constructing supporting infrastructure may have legal authority to acquire easements or property through condemnation.

That makes it essential to examine the whole project, not simply the acreage purchased by the developer.

Texas provides examples of the scale involved. The Texas Tribune reported in August that three proposed major developments—Project Matador, Project Pacifico, and Project Meta—together involved at least 16,000 acres.

That doesn’t mean 16,000 acres of productive farmland have been lost. Proposed acreage, actual construction, and agricultural land conversion are different measurements. But it demonstrates why land use deserves serious attention before decisions.

Texas Officials Are Beginning to Respond

Texas is one of the most popular locations for these developers.

Governor Greg Abbott has directed state agencies to scrutinize large data-center development more closely.

His August directive called for an audit of data centers seeking connections to the ERCOT electric grid. Subsequent September directives addressed water-use reporting and regulatory approvals.

These actions reflect growing concern about whether proposed projects are realistic, whether the necessary infrastructure can support them, and whether developers are accounting for the demands they place on public resources.

But there are important jurisdictional questions. Parts of Texas lie outside ERCOT, and not every data center depends on the public grid in the same way.

State directives are an important beginning. Their effectiveness will depend on implementation, enforcement, and whether communities actually receive the information needed to evaluate proposed developments.

Who Pays—and Who Benefits?

Large data centers may bring investment, construction jobs, and additional tax revenue. Some may also create permanent technical jobs and support other businesses. Or they may not.

But the financial arrangement is only one consideration.

A project may require new generation, substations, transmission lines, or water infrastructure. Even when developers pay certain connection costs, other expenses may eventually be recovered through utility rates or public financing.

Existing residents and businesses should not unknowingly subsidize infrastructure built primarily to serve a private development.

Texas lawmakers are also examining the state’s generous data-center sales-tax exemptions. The Senate Finance Committee has questioned whether benefits awarded based on future investment and employment commitments are delivering what was promised.

The state’s projected cost for these exemptions has increased enormously since the original program was established in 2013.

The question isn’t simply whether tax incentives attract development. It’s whether taxpayers receive sufficient benefits, whether promises are verified, and whether the state recovers benefits when requirements aren’t met.

Farmland and Food Security Must Be Addressed

Texas has lost substantial agricultural acreage to development over the years. Data centers are only one possible source of land-use pressure, and we do not yet have reliable figures establishing how much productive farmland has actually been converted specifically for them.

Nevertheless, the location of new industrial development raises several questions.

A project built on productive agricultural land can permanently change its use. New utility corridors can also affect surrounding property, even when farming or grazing continues beneath transmission lines.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller has proposed encouraging major developments toward less agriculturally valuable sites through an Agriculture Freedom Zones approach.

Meanwhile, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham has announced a partnership with Texas A&M and Texas Farm Bureau to help beginning farmers and ranchers gain access to agricultural opportunities.

Both initiatives reflect an important principle: Food security is national security.

Preserving America’s ability to produce food must be part of the discussion when evaluating large industrial projects and their supporting infrastructure.

Growth and Property Rights Can Coexist

Not every data center needs to connect to the grid in the same way. Some developers are pursuing on-site natural-gas generation, including a proposed 400-megawatt project near Abilene.

Other alternatives may include existing industrial locations, different transmission routes, or infrastructure arrangements that reduce effects on neighboring landowners.

None of these approaches is automatically the best solution. Each has costs, benefits, and consequences that should be compared before major decisions are made.

Public officials should insist on realistic projections, transparent financial arrangements, meaningful public participation, and enforceable safeguards.

America does not have to choose between technological leadership and protecting its farms, ranches, private property, and communities.

But achieving both requires multiple considerations, oversight and transparency.

It requires making the right decisions about where projects are built, what infrastructure they need, who is affected, and who pays.

Sources:

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

When Fear Is a Means of Control

Ellen Leyrer — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:03:03 GMT

Hi friends,

Yes, artificial intelligence (super intelligence) presents risks. (So did the discovery of fire.) That does not mean Americans should surrender the obvious benefits—or control of their future—to corporations, bureaucrats, or international authorities.

When Fear Is a Means of Control

Last year, I wrote an article called “When AI Becomes the Watchman.” It grew out of reports about safety tests involving Claude 4, an advanced AI model.

In one fictional test, the AI was given information about supposed wrongdoing and tools it could use. It tried to report the conduct. In another test, it threatened to reveal private information to keep itself from being replaced.

That sounds like science fiction. But the tests did not indicate that AI had developed a conscience, a desire to survive, or a secret plan. They demonstrated something more practical: when people give a powerful AI system information, tools, freedom to act, poorly designed goals, and weak boundaries, it may do something no human specifically approved.

That deserves serious attention - due to human fallibility. It does not prove that AI is preparing to destroy humanity. We’ve all heard ‘garbage in, garbage out.’ And we’ve seen ‘bug’ fixes by the millions.

A Real (or Fabricated) Risk Can Be Used to Create Panic

AI can be misused - like any tool - for fraud, surveillance, censorship, cyberattacks, weapons, political manipulation, and careless automated decisions. An AI agent connected to email, bank accounts, computer networks, laboratories, or weapons could cause real damage.

But there is an enormous difference between addressing those risks and claiming that AI will soon become an all-powerful creature that wipes out the human race.

Extinction predictions are used as weapons. They often depend on assumptions about future systems or possibilities that do not exist. Meanwhile, practical dangers involving people, companies, governments, criminals, and foreign adversaries are facts in the here and now.

Fear can blur that distinction. If people can be scared into believing the end of the world is near, almost any proposed restriction or solution can sound reasonable.

Why Did the Alarm Become So Loud Now?

Concerns about AI have circulated for years. Yet shortly before the midterm election, legislation, corporate warnings, advocacy campaigns, international-governance proposals, and political messaging suddenly converged.

Victor Davis Hanson has raised a fair question: Why now?

Timing alone does not prove coordination. It could reflect new evidence or simply political expediency. But voters should examine the timing instead of ignoring it.

We must also ask who benefits.

Why would companies that invested billions of dollars to build advanced AI suddenly ask government to slow or regulate the industry? If they believe their systems could destroy humanity, why do they keep developing and selling them? If they truly cannot control their own work, why should those same companies help write the rules for everyone else?

Large companies can afford costly licenses, approved evaluators, lawyers, reporting requirements, and long government reviews. Smaller competitors and open-source developers may not. A rule advertised as “safety” can also become a wall protecting today’s market leaders. (Self-interest, anyone? Marketing strategy?)

The funding connections deserve sunlight too. The Tarbell Center for AI Journalism openly says that most of its 2025 funding came from Coefficient Giving. Coefficient’s main funders include Dustin Moskovitz, who participated in Anthropic’s first major investment round. Tarbell says its donors have no editorial control, and we should include that fact. The connection does not prove a conspiracy or dishonest reporting. It does show why funding disclosures and independent fact-checking matter.

Guardrails Without Gatekeepers

The answer is neither panic nor blind trust.

Identifiable harms and high-risk uses should be targeted, yes. Existing laws against fraud, theft, discrimination, hacking, threats, and illegal surveillance should be enforced. Companies should remain responsible when their products cause foreseeable harm. AI agents given access to powerful tools should face strong security requirements, testing, records, and human supervision.

Government must also prevent large companies from writing rules that lock out competitors and entrench their own power.

AI should neither govern humanity nor become an excuse for government to control innovation, speech, or political thought. We should regulate harmful conduct and consequential uses—not hand a few corporations or an international authority control over the entire technology.

Before accepting an AI “emergency,” ask five questions:

What happened—and what was only predicted?
Who is asking for new power?
Who wrote the proposed rules?
Who benefits, and who gets locked out?
Who remains responsible when something goes wrong?

Ask lawmakers and candidates those questions. Read beyond the headline. Follow the money, examine the remedy, and vote with American innovation, freedom, competition, and accountability in mind.

The answer to AI risk is responsible human control—not control of the public through fear.

Above all, humans—nothing else—must remain responsible.

Sources:

Ellen Leyrer, “When AI Becomes the Watchman”
https://www.rationalamerican.org/p/when-ai-becomes-the-watchman
Jeff Childers, “Black Boxes,” Coffee & COVID, May 23, 2025
Victor Davis Hanson, “AI and the Same Old Politicized Hysteria,” The Daily Signal, September 27, 2026
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/09/27/ai-same-old-politicized-hysteria/
Colin Redemer, “The AI Capitalists in Search of Cronies,” The American Mind, September 21, 2026
https://americanmind.org/salvo/the-ai-capitalists-in-search-of-cronies/
Tarbell Center for AI Journalism, Ethics and Standards
https://www.tarbellcenter.org/ethics-and-standards
Anthropic, 2021 Series A announcement
https://www.anthropic.com/news/anthropic-raises-124-million-to-build-more-reliable-general-ai-systems

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Believe Them

Ellen Leyrer — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:10:31 GMT

Hi friends,

I just read The Linder Letter, This Election Is Different by former Congressman John Linder from Georgia. Oh my.

It is long, so I will share excerpts of some critical points below, but I do encourage you to read the article.

You can read the platforms for the Democrats and for the Democrat Socialists of America. It’s not about believing what anyone else tells you.

When they tell you who they are, believe them.

THIS ELECTION IS DIFFERENT

This election is not about President Trump. This election is about you.

Let me begin by saying something that may surprise you. This election isn’t about Donald Trump. This election is about you. I know a lot of you have made up your minds about President Trump and nothing I say here is going to change that. That’s fine. I’m not here to talk about him.

I’m here to ask you to look past him, at what’s been happening to the party that used to compete with him. Because whatever you think of the past, the ballot in front of you this year is, more than anything, about you and the future.

Thirty years ago, we fought Bill Clinton over welfare, healthcare, crime, the environment, taxes and abortion among other things.

The Democrats sincerely wanted to improve the lives of Americans and were also sincere in believing that the way to do so was through more government programs. Republicans were more inclined to punish wrong doers. We believed different things. But we debated them honestly.

Republicans also want to improve the lives of Americans but by creating businesses and increasing the number of jobs and increasing the size of the economy. We believe, as President Kennedy believed, that a rising tide lifts all boats.

Whatever happened to the party of John Kennedy?

I didn’t agree with [many]. But the debate was always inside a framework of a shared America. They believed in a strong military and a dangerous world. They believed work was better than a welfare check. They believed that Communism was an enemy, not a misunderstood alternative. We could fight about taxes and spending the way families fight about money, but inside the same house. And all of them – and all of us – were for secure borders.

This election is different.

Democratic Socialists of America candidates won the New York City mayor’s race and then, months later, Darializa Avila Chevalier defeated incumbent Adriano Espaillat. No one saw it coming. Chevalier had founded a group whose stated aim was “the total eradication of western civilization.” Won’t it be interesting to see her take the oath to defend the Constitution.

In Colorado, 29-year-old Democratic Socialist Melat Kiros defeated thirty-year incumbent Diana DeGette. The Mayor of Seattle is a Democratic Socialist as well as the likely winners in November in Washington DC and Los Angeles. The mayor of New York City went on national television and said that a democratic socialist can win any office in America. He may be right.

We now have a radical Islamist leading in the race for the United States Senate in Michigan. His principal advisor is a man who believes that the US deserved 9-11 and that the US is worse than al Qaida in the world.

Democrat Congressman Tom Suozzi from New York formed Promise to America to unite Democrats around four basic declarations.

We are capitalists not socialists. We want safety not lawlessness. We are mainstream not extreme. We are proud, not ashamed of America. Just 13 out of 212 members of the House signed on.

Ashik Siddique, co-chair of The Democratic Socialists of America appeared on The Will Cain Show. He said, “Our goal is Communism.” Over half of the Board of Directors of the Democratic Socialists of America self-identify as Communists.

I live by a simple rule – when someone tells you who they are – believe them.

[E]ight years ago Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated the Chairman of the Democratic Caucus for a seat in the US House of Representatives. She was the first recruit of the Democrat Socialists and was dismissed as a lightweight. Today she is in the top rank of Democrats for the presidential nomination in 2028. Other than bartending, this is her first job. She is 36 years old.

Ten years ago, abortion remained the central organizing principle of the Democrat Party. Today it has to get in line behind support for Gaza, hate against Jews, mutilating children, boys in girls’ bathrooms, men having babies and punishment of success – and, of course, Communism. Everyone in the Party must get on board or get left behind.

This election is different.

And this election will have a direct impact on your life. When Joe Biden was elected, his first actions were to stop the building of the Keystone Pipeline and end the sale of oil leases. Oil, being a futures market, quickly spiked because the future did not look good. Everything you buy is brought to you by oil and the cost of living spiked.

The trillion-dollar infrastructure bill that passed in 2021 was largely a bill to fund green energy projects. Increasing regulations to deal with the climate change myth increased the cost of everything you buy also, including the cost of housing.

The border was opened up completely, the UN and other NGOs situated themselves in Panama organizing foreigners to come to the US. [It cost] local and state governments billions of dollars and increasing the crimes against American citizens. A working paper from the Fed concluded that 30% of the increase in the cost of new housing was caused by those immigrants.

[TODAY] Our borders are no longer even a point of discussion. Contact with illegals at our borders is down about 97% and over 3 million have been removed.

Our tax bill is permanent and relief for middle class Americans regarding tips, overtime and Social Security is secure.

Iran, for all the debate over the war, is no longer the imminent threat it has been for 47 years. Their nuclear capability has been neutralized. Their offensive capabilities no longer exist and Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis are on their own. Seven presidents have watched while tens of thousands have been killed across the globe. That is over. They still, however, chant Death to America.

When someone tells you who they are – believe them.

And, most importantly, a world that has been moving inexorably toward a new world order for 70 years no longer is. The WTO is weak the WHO is neutered, the WEF is laughable, the UN is broke and the International Court has been told by Secretary Rubio that we just aren’t interested in playing, thank you very much. Nationhood is back.

[T]his didn’t take another Congressional law, it just took another president. We are once again respected – and a little bit feared – in the world.

This election is different.

If the Democrats win this election and re-take the Congress, expect every issue we have corrected – the world, the border, the economy, regulations, taxes, green energy scams as well as child mutilation, boys in girls’ sports and punishment of success and, who knows, perhaps even rampant corruption, to return – with a vengeance.

Expect to see congressional investigations into conservatives and every conservative idea. And, of course, another impeachment or two.

Expect their most desired change in 2021, HR1, to return. It is a total re-write of election laws across the country.

We have been engaged in a knock-down drag-out battle over whether one has to be a citizen to vote in our elections and to have a photo ID to prove you are who you claim to be.

We are told by the Democrats and their propaganda arm, the Legacy Media, that election law is a matter for state legislatures. However, their HR1 totally subsumes the states’ role and eliminates voter ID, even in states that have passed it. It expands mail-in voting and ballot harvesting. It also provides for federal funding of campaigns. Every dollar raised by a candidate in amounts below $200 will receive a 6 to 1 match by the taxpayer. Food stamps for politicians!

In the 2024 election AOC would have qualified for a gift from you of more than 120 million dollars. You can do a lot of damage with 120 million dollars. In 2016 Bernie Sanders would have qualified for just under an additional billion dollars.

That did not pass in 2021 because 2 Democrat Senators refused to vote to eliminate the filibuster. Those two Senators are no longer there. Today, if they win, the filibuster will be gone on opening day and HR 1 will pass. We will also have statehood for Washington DC, Puerto Rico and Guam giving the Democrats six more senators.

The Supreme Court will be expanded to at least 13 members giving the Left a 7 to 6 majority immediately. Let us welcome 4 more Ketanji Brown Jacksons to the Court.

I repeat: When someone tells you who they are and what they intend to do – believe them.

Which brings me back to why I didn’t want to make this about one man. Presidents come and go. Policies last forever.

EVERYONE is angry today about our healthcare system. It is too costly, too distant and too out of control. It is the direct result of a policy decision taken by the Democrat Party when they had a huge majority in the House and a filibuster-proof Senate. The government decides what you must insure and who will provide it. The government will decide. Not you.

And more is coming. For many years what starts in California ultimately finds its way to Washington DC. Fifty years ago, it was the tax revolt and proposition 13. Today it is a series of proposals that are just revolting.

California has given us five examples just this year.

A young independent journalist named Nick Shirley went to California and filmed taxpayer-funded hospice and daycare corruption — the same kind of corruption he found in Minnesota and New York. The response from Sacramento was to shut down investigations. The state will decide what is and is not corruption. Not you.

California now bars schools from requiring staff to tell a parent if their child asks to be treated as a different gender at school. The state will decide about your child’s needs. Not you.

California recently created the first state agency in America built to verify whether you descended from an enslaved person, as a qualifying test for state benefits in housing, education, and economic opportunity. The state will decide who was enslaved and who will benefit. Not you.

A new state law this year lets the state override local zoning and allow multi-story apartment buildings in neighborhoods zoned for single families. You may think that’s good housing policy. You may not. But the state will decide on your zoning. Not you.

The plan doesn’t just tax what you own — it presumes you own whatever you control. Google’s Sergey Brin owns about 5% of Alphabet stock, but his special shares give him voting control over a quarter of the company. Under the plan’s own language, that voting control — not his actual ownership — is what gets taxed. A quarter of a $4.2 trillion company, taxed at 5%, comes to $52.5 billion. To raise that in cash he’d have to sell over $80 billion in stock, about 60% of his holdings, pay tens of billions in federal and state capital gains tax on the sale itself, and crater the share price on the way out the door. Brin and his co-founder didn’t wait around to find out what might happen in the future. They left the state.

Today that line is drawn at a billion dollars. Nobody who has ever watched a tax threshold in this country believes it will stay there. And it’s coming. To a city near you.

Five examples. Five different subjects — journalism, your child, your history, your city, your money. One answer to all of them. They decide. Not you.

Having done so well with the American Indian we replicated the [government control] in every major city in America with the very same results. Teen age pregnancies, crime, violence, drugs. No fathers in those homes. Not because government did too little. Because government did too much.

In spite of the total collapse of communism and socialism around the world, the Democratic Socialists of America honestly believe that more government will fix the problems that government has created. They don’t trust your decisions. They trust theirs.

They do not know – as we know – that the human being dreams – not for one more government program – but for freedom. The Soviet Union learned that in just 69 years.

[T]his election is different.

If they win, the world will never be the same. And it won’t be just how or when you can get healthcare. This will be a new debate, not over how much or how little. This will be a debate over what. And they will decide what.

I began this by saying that this is not about Donald Trump. This is about you. The future will come down to you and your neighbors and your friends. Are you the little platoons in the cities, in the towns, in the neighborhoods, who dare to believe that the tokens of hope and truth are worth saving? I think that you are. I think you will look at the choices beyond the personalities. I think you will conclude that this election is different and rally to turn out the communists among us and choose instead freedom. And my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will say thank you. As will I. Thank you.

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

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The Record and the Receipts

Ellen Leyrer — Sun, 04 Oct 2026 03:19:10 GMT

Hi friends,

There has been so much activity during President Trump’s second term - so far - that even supporters can have trouble keeping track of it. Major actions are announced separately, receive limited coverage, or disappear from the news before Americans understand what happened.

Here is a look at the record, organized by subject and clearly labeled as a Delivered Action, Measurable Result, or Underway.

(I learned of even more today. Stay tuned.)

The Economy and American Families

Delivered Action — Permanent tax relief. The 2025 tax law made the core 2017 individual tax cuts permanent, expanded the child tax credit and standard deduction, and created new deductions for qualified tips, overtime income, and many seniors. As always, conditions apply.

Measurable Result — Record household income and lower poverty. Real median household income reached $87,460 in 2025, the highest recorded since the Census Bureau began this series in 1967. The official poverty rate fell to 10.2 percent, also the lowest recorded in that series.

Measurable Result — Economic growth was stronger than first reported. The Commerce Department revised real economic growth upward to an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2026 and 2.2 percent in the second quarter. Consumer spending, private investment, exports, manufacturing, information industries, and finance contributed to the second-quarter increase.

Measurable Result — Business investment and profits increased. Real final sales to private domestic purchasers—a useful measure of private-sector demand—rose at a 4.6 percent annual rate during the second quarter. Corporate profits from current production increased by $384 billion at an annual rate, and more deflation is underway.

Delivered Action — Trump Accounts for children. The law created tax-advantaged investment accounts for American children, including a $1,000 federal contribution for eligible U.S. citizen children born from 2025 through 2028. Treasury has now established accounts for more than 60 million eligible children, while parents, employers, companies, and philanthropists may make additional qualifying contributions.

And more companies want to contribute, not just cash, but stocks. That’s underway.

Delivered Action and Underway — Nationwide school choice. The new Education Freedom Tax Credit allows an individual to receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for qualified contributions to scholarship-granting organizations; a married couple may qualify for up to $3,400. At least 30 states have opted in, and Treasury released proposed implementation rules October 1 for the program’s January 2027 launch.

Don’t miss this opportunity! This is a direct reduction of your income tax: $1,700 ($3,400 for couples) to a scholarship instead of to the IRS. Talk about a win-win!

Scholarships may be used for private or religious school tuition, tutoring, special-education services, books, computers, and certain homeschooling or public-school educational expenses. The law has been delivered; the benefits will begin reaching students January 1, 2027.

Measurable Result — Less direct dependence on China. The annual U.S. goods-trade deficit with China fell by about $93 billion in 2025, a decline of roughly 32 percent. The China deficit continued to run substantially below the prior year through July 2026. More improvement of America’s total trade imbalance in underway.

By the Numbers
$87,460: Real median household income in 2025
10.2%: Official poverty rate—the lowest recorded in the series
2.5% and 2.2%: Revised first- and second-quarter real GDP growth
4.6%: Second-quarter growth in real private domestic sales
$384 billion: Annualized second-quarter increase in corporate profits
$93 billion: Reduction in the 2025 goods-trade deficit with China
60+ million: Children with Trump Accounts established by Treasury
$1,700: Maximum individual Education Freedom Tax Credit

Energy, Manufacturing, and American Jobs

Delivered Action — Corpus Christi LNG expansion. Cheniere completed the seven-train Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion in August, making it one of America’s largest LNG export projects. Two additional trains are under construction, further expanding the nation’s ability to sell American natural gas abroad.

Underway — A Texas manufacturing and technology corridor. Foxconn is expanding in northwest Houston, Tesla is building a large battery-storage factory in Brookshire, and the Stargate artificial-intelligence campus in Abilene is operating and expanding. These projects represent billions of dollars in investment and potentially thousands of construction, manufacturing, technology, and support jobs.

Measurable Result — Middle Eastern oil shipments have recovered sharply. After the Iran war disrupted Gulf shipping, regional crude exports rebounded toward prewar levels in September. Saudi Arabia restored important pipeline capacity, Gulf producers developed alternate routes, and protected shipping through the Strait of Hormuz increased.

This is significant progress, though diesel and other refined-fuel shipments remain constrained and fuel prices remain high. Another project underway is refining facilities so America can refine more of the different types of refined-fuel.

Underway — Alaska energy development. The administration has placed the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline and export project at the center of negotiations with South Korea and other potential investors. International interest is real, and financing and final investment commitments are being finalized.

Constitutional Government and Election Integrity

Delivered Action — Presidential accountability over executive agencies. In Trump v. Slaughter, the Supreme Court ruled that the president generally may remove officials exercising executive power at independent regulatory agencies. The ruling strengthened presidential accountability over the executive branch while preserving a special distinction for the Federal Reserve.

Underway — Citizenship verification for voter rolls. A September 25 Supreme Court order permits the Department of Homeland Security to offer states expanded access to the SAVE citizenship-verification system while litigation continues. Participation is voluntary, so some states will use the additional information and some won’t.

Underway — Prosecution of election crimes. The Justice Department has recently brought charges or obtained guilty pleas in several election-related cases demonstrating increased enforcement of existing election laws.

Regulation and Public Lands

Delivered Action — Greater consumer choice in vehicles. The administration finalized less restrictive fuel-economy standards, replacing Biden-era requirements that pushed manufacturers more rapidly toward electric vehicles. Consumers and manufacturers now have more room to choose gasoline, hybrid, or electric vehicles according to cost and demand.

Delivered Action — Restoring Title IX’s original focus. The Department of Education formally withdrew Biden-era guidance that had expanded federal sex-discrimination policy to include gender identity. The action brought federal guidance in line with the court decision that had already vacated the earlier Title IX rule.

Delivered Action — Multiple use of public lands. The Bureau of Land Management rescinded the 2024 Conservation and Landscape Health Rule and restored greater emphasis on the recognized multiple uses of federal land, including recreation, grazing, energy production, and conservation. This is a step in the right direction - giving ‘public’ lands’ access back to the ‘public.”

National Security and American Sovereignty

Delivered Action — The Iraq coalition mission concluded. The remaining forces assigned to the U.S.-led coalition mission departed Iraqi Kurdistan as that mission formally ended September 30. Separate regional counter-ISIS cooperation and limited U.S. training assistance continue.

Underway — Fortress America. The Defense Department is developing plans for major military installations to generate independent power, strengthen cybersecurity, protect domestic supply chains, and continue operating if the civilian electrical grid is disrupted. Officials have also proposed the first entirely new domestic military base in decades, although its location, cost, and schedule have not been finalized.

Delivered Action — A stronger Arctic position. A new U.S.-Denmark-Greenland agreement provides for an expanded American defense presence and new operating areas in Greenland while recognizing Greenlanders’ right to determine their own future. The agreement improves America’s strategic position in an Arctic region increasingly contested by Russia and China.

A Government That Is Easier to Use

Delivered Action — One doorway to federal services. The new America.gov uses artificial intelligence to help Americans find services and information drawn from approximately 29,000 federal websites. It does not issue passports instantly, but it is a serious attempt to make the federal government easier to navigate.

Underway — Online first-time passport applications. The State Department plans to expand online passport services to certain first-time applicants by the end of 2027. If successfully implemented, the service could eliminate paperwork and unnecessary appointments for millions of Americans.

These are Amazing Accomplishments

What a list for ~20 months! I’m excited to see what the rest of President Trump’s term brings.

The verified record is substantial: lasting tax relief, rising household income, historically low official poverty, stronger-than-first-reported economic growth, investment accounts for children, the first nationwide school-choice tax credit, expanded American energy exports, major private investment, renewed election-law enforcement, and a defense strategy focused on American resilience and sovereignty.

While not every announcement is an accomplishment and a proposed project is not a completed project, Delivered, Result, and Underway keeps the facts and doesn’t overpromise.

It’s Up to Us

These policies will not continue automatically. Elections decide who writes the laws, controls spending, confirms judges, conducts oversight, and determines whether an administration has congressional support.

Conservatives must know the record, check the receipts, talk honestly about both the results and unfinished work, and help voters understand what is at stake.

Register, choose when you will vote, help friends and neighbors vote, and support conservative candidates from the top of the ballot to the bottom.

Sources:

Research through October 2, 2026, and I learned of even more today. Stay tuned.

Taxes, income, poverty, and economic growth

IRS — Working Families Tax Cuts for individuals and workers
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/working-families-tax-cuts-individuals-and-workers
IRS — New and enhanced deductions for individuals
This explains the actual limits on deductions for tips, overtime, and seniors.
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/new-and-enhanced-deductions-for-individuals
Census Bureau — 2025 income and poverty results
Confirms $87,460 real median household income, 10.2% official poverty, and 13.4% child poverty.
https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2026/income-poverty-health-insurance-coverage.html
Census Bureau — Full 2025 poverty report
https://www.census.gov/library/publications/2026/demo/p60-290.html
Bureau of Economic Analysis — Second-quarter GDP, profits, investment, and revisions
Confirms 2.2% second-quarter growth, revised 2.5% first-quarter growth, 4.6% growth in real private domestic sales, and the $384 billion annualized increase in corporate profits.
https://www.bea.gov/news/2026/gdp-third-estimate-industries-corporate-profits-state-gdp-and-state-personal-income-2nd
BEA — Economy at a Glance
https://www.bea.gov/news/glance

Trump Accounts and school choice

Treasury — Automatic enrollment completed for Trump Accounts
Confirms that accounts are available to more than 60 million additional children and explains that parents must claim the accounts.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0642/
Trump Accounts official website
https://trumpaccounts.gov/
Treasury — Education Freedom Tax Credit regulations
Confirms the $1,700 individual credit, $3,400 married-couple credit, 30 participating states, January 2027 launch, and qualifying educational expenses.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/trump-administration-advances-establishment-america-s-first-nationwide-school-choice-program
Education Department — Education Freedom Tax Credit explanation
https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-departments-of-education-and-treasury-release-joint-fact-sheet-historic-education-freedom-tax-credit

China trade

Census Bureau — U.S. trade in goods with China
The tables allow readers to compare 2024, 2025, and 2026 imports, exports, and deficits. The bilateral goods deficit with China declined sharply.
https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/balance/c5700.html

Energy, manufacturing, and Texas jobs

EIA — Corpus Christi LNG becomes America’s second-largest LNG facility
Confirms completion of Stage 3 and construction of two additional trains.
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=68144
Cheniere — Completion of Corpus Christi Stage 3
https://lngir.cheniere.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/345/cheniere-announces-substantial-completion-of-ccl-stage-3
Texas Governor — Port Alpha shipyard groundbreaking. Confirms more than $3 billion in planned investment and up to 10,000 projected jobs.
https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-breaks-ground-on-saronics-3-billion-port-alpha-shipyard
Port of Brownsville — Port Alpha details. Confirms the groundbreaking, 835-acre site, proposed expansion, and projected jobs.
https://www.portofbrownsville.com/saronic-breaks-ground-on-port-alpha-a-new-model-for-american-shipbuilding/
Saronic — Port Alpha project page
https://www.saronic.com/portalpha
U.S. Steel — Fairfield, Alabama, pipe facility. Confirms the $475 million investment, approximately 250 permanent jobs, and approximately 600 construction jobs.
https://www.ussteel.com/media/newsroom-details/-/categories/199873
Tesla — Brookshire Megapack manufacturing job listing. This directly verifies that Tesla is recruiting production management for its Brookshire factory.
https://www.tesla.com/careers/search/job/associate-production-manager-megafactory-271354
Tesla — Brookshire manufacturing-line development
https://www.tesla.com/en_SA/careers/search/job/manufacturing-controls-development-engineer-megapack-283963

Oil-shipping recovery and Alaska LNG

Reuters — Middle Eastern oil exports rebound. September exports were the highest since the war began but remained below February’s total.
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/mideast-oil-exports-rebound-september-saudi-arabia-boosts-shipments-2026-09-28/
Wall Street Journal — Crude exports nearing prewar levels. This uses a different time window and excludes Iran for some comparisons, explaining why its percentage is higher than Reuters’.
https://www.wsj.com/business/energy-oil/middle-east-crude-oil-exports-back-at-prewar-levels-analysts-say-b5582027
AP — Alaska LNG announcement and its unfolding status.
https://apnews.com/article/03d3b10599c166840db2d92b872a8f7e

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Faith. Family. Freedom.

Ellen Leyrer — Sat, 03 Oct 2026 03:20:19 GMT

Hi friends,

I want to encourage you to vote. While every election has importance - from school boards to the president, there’s a lot at stake in the upcoming November 3rd election.

Every pundit I’ve read or heard is predicting that participation will be the deciding factor.

If more conservatives vote, conservative candidates will come out ahead, and vice versa.

History shows that liberals are better at participation. Let that be your motivation to take a few minutes to vote. It’s worth it.

What our values mean in public life

Though politics can be tiring and frustrating, and the divisiveness can make us sad, the decisions government makes reach into every facet of our lives: our children’s education, our family finances, our safety, and our freedom to worship and speak.

Understanding those decisions is part of understanding the world our families live in.

Faith. Family. Freedom. These three words express important priorities for many conservatives. They also raise questions worth considering carefully. What do these values mean? How do they connect with public policy? And how do we apply them honestly, even when people who share our faith reach different conclusions?

Faith: responsibility beyond ourselves

Jewish and Christian traditions contain teachings about justice, truthfulness, responsibility, and the dignity of human life. These principles can inform public life without making every political disagreement a contest between believers and unbelievers.

In his essay, Christians Are Called to Political Engagement, Gary Meredith argues that faith and civic responsibility belong together. He points to biblical examples of believers serving in government and states that prayer should be accompanied by action.

That is a theological argument, rather than an explicit biblical instruction about modern elections. Scripture predates our constitutional republic. Nevertheless, its accounts of Joseph, Daniel, and Esther show people confronting public responsibilities in difficult circumstances.

Christians Engaged was founded as a voter mobilization ministry encouraging Christians to pray, vote, and participate in civic life, grounded in biblical teaching. Its Faith & Civic Engagement Resources offer materials for individuals, pastors, and churches exploring the relationship between faith and civic responsibility.

Faith can guide the questions we ask without supplying an automatic answer to every policy question.

Family: where policy becomes personal

A government budget can sound abstract until a family receives its tax bill. Education policy becomes concrete when parents review what their children are learning. Public safety becomes personal when someone worries about a loved one getting home safely.

Many conservatives emphasize parental responsibility, stable families, and the importance of communities and religious institutions. Examining policy through that perspective means asking practical questions: What authority does this proposal give government? What responsibilities remain with parents? What will it cost? Does its promised benefit match the evidence?

Those questions deserve more than slogans. An announced policy, a law on the books, and a demonstrated result are different things. Families benefit from understanding the difference.

Freedom: protections that apply broadly

Religious liberty protects the ability to practice faith. Freedom of speech protects the ability to discuss, disagree, and challenge officials. These protections matter most when someone’s beliefs are unpopular.

For many conservatives, limited government means public officials should exercise powers grounded in law and remain accountable for their decisions. Applying that principle consistently requires examining government action even when the officials involved are people we support.

Freedom also leaves room for disagreement. Christian and Jewish Americans do not all hold the same political views. Explaining a conservative understanding of Judeo-Christian values does not require claiming that everyone within those traditions shares it.

Faith, family, and freedom give us a framework for asking serious questions. Reliable information helps us judge the answers. Together, they can make public discussion more thoughtful—and more connected to the people and responsibilities closest to us.

Check it yourself

Faith and civic discussion:
https://christiansengaged.org/faith-civic-resources

Gary Meredith’s essay:
https://www.dailysignal.com/2026/08/09/christian-political-engagement/

Registration-record resource:
https://scancheckprotect.org/

Official Texas registration information:
https://www.sos.texas.gov/elections/voter/reqvr.shtml

For questions about current registration status or a discrepancy in records, contact your county voter registrar or elections office.

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Progress: Be Encouraged

Ellen Leyrer — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 15:29:27 GMT

Hi friends,

If you follow the headlines, you may feel as though we are in an ‘endless’ Iran war, the Strait of Hormuz is all-important, and high oil and gasoline prices are here to stay.

Not so! Also, you need a different media source. :-)

The situation is improving.

A month ago, I wrote Strategy Is an Art about the pieces beginning to come together. Today, we can see more progress.

More oil is getting out

The Strait of Hormuz is still disrupted.

But Iran has not succeeded in choking off Middle Eastern oil.

Crude moving through Hormuz itself has increased, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE are using pipelines, alternative ports and other routes to move more oil around the Strait.

September crude exports from major Middle Eastern producers have risen to roughly 12.8 million barrels a day — the highest since February.

The world is already less dependent on it — and therefore Iran has less power and control.

The economic pressure on Iran is increasing

The United States is also moving beyond simply putting sanctions on Iran.

Treasury is targeting the network that allows Iran to make money: oil buyers, shippers, intermediaries, banks and other foreign companies.

And it is using the financial leverage I mentioned last month.

Foreign institutions are being forced to make a choice: Is doing business with Iran worth jeopardizing access to America’s much larger financial system?

Importantly, Washington has not immediately gone after China’s biggest banks. The pressure is being increased in stages, leaving room for increasing the pressure.

And negotiations are happening

Iran and the United States are again communicating through mediators.

Iran has proposed conditions for reopening Hormuz; the Trump administration has rejected terms it considers unacceptable.

We are not stuck.

Pressure → choices → negotiation was always part of the strategy.

Gas prices are still high

No, the problem isn’t solved - yet.

Oil is not yet as plentiful as before. Gasoline and diesel remain high, which affects transportation of goods pricing.

The war continues.

But there is an important difference between saying “we aren’t there yet” and saying “nothing is working.”

Look at the direction

More Gulf oil is finding its way to market.
Alternative routes around Hormuz are being used and expanded.
Iran’s financial networks are under increasing pressure.
Countries helping Iran are being forced to reconsider the cost.
The United States is rebuilding strategic energy, mineral and industrial capacity.
And negotiations are taking place while the pressure continues.
These are signs the strategy moving in the right direction.

There may be setbacks - negotiations are a back-and-forth process. And, as I recently had pointed out to me, “In war, the enemy has a say.”

Strategic infrastructure takes time to build, and economic pressure must be handled carefully so that it hurts the adversary enough to put pressure, but not too much.

We must not focus on the current position.

And there is another reason to feel positive. Despite a months-long war and severe disruption at the Strait of Hormuz, the national average for regular gasoline is about $4.48 a gallon — painful, certainly, but still below the record $5.02 reached in June 2022 (under Biden). (Diesel is, however, is near record highs.)

Yes, Strategy is an Art. It requires vision, patience, leverage, restraint and knowing when to apply pressure.

Today, we can see more of that sculpture taking shape.

We aren’t finished. But we are making progress.

Sources:

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

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You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

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What Can One Vote Change?

Ellen Leyrer — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 13:36:42 GMT

Hi friends,

In recent midterms, turnout has ranged from about 42% to 53% so your vote can have double the impact. And get 10 friends and family to vote and look at the impact!

“It’s only one vote.”

That thought is understandable. We’ve all voted in elections decided by thousands, or tens of thousands, of ballots. It can be hard to feel that MY vote is important.

Then consider Maine’s 2024 election for state House District 141. The official results recorded 2,478 votes for Lucas Lanigan and 2,477 for Patricia Kidder. The difference was one vote.

Of course not every election will come down to one ballot. It does show why “my vote matters.”

Races that close are not common, but they are real. Ballotpedia identified 64 state legislative races decided by fewer than 100 votes in 2024. In 2022, it counted 103.

Individual participation contributes to the total, and sometimes the final totals are extraordinarily close.

The Maine example also offers a reminder about assumptions. A big national lead, an encouraging headline, or a discouraging poll cannot tell us the outcome of every district. Each race has its own candidates and voters. Until ballots are cast and counted, a forecast remains a forecast.

For Texans: Monday, October 5, is the last day to register to vote in the November 3 election. In-person early voting begins Monday, October 19. If you have moved or are unsure what your registration record says, this is a sensible time to check your registration.

Check it yourself

The close race: Maine’s official legislative record lists the District 141 vote totals: Maine House election record.
The broader numbers: Ballotpedia’s 2024 close-race analysis.
Your registration: Scan. Check. Protect. offers a registration-record check. For an official Texas status check, use the Texas Secretary of State’s voter information page. If the records disagree, contact your county voter registrar.
Texas dates: Secretary of State’s 2026 election calendar.

One vote does matter. The Maine result is a good reason to take that one seriously.

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

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AI Is a Tool—Not a Monster

Ellen Leyrer — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 06:20:50 GMT

Hi friends,

(This post does not address data centers.)

President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping just finished three days of meetings in Washington. Artificial intelligence was one of the subjects they discussed.

The result was fairly simple. The United States and China agreed to keep talking about AI and to create a direct communication channel for serious AI incidents.

They did not agree to stop or slow AI development. They did not agree to ban advanced AI or place it under control of the United Nations or any international organization.

Thank goodness!

A direct line between two powerful countries could help prevent a cyberattack, computer failure, or false warning from turning into a larger issue. Talking about real emergencies is sensible. Giving other countries control over American technology (or anything) would be foolish.

AI is necessary and beneficial. Its practical risks deserve safeguards, and proposed controls must be carefully considered for their effects on competition, freedom, national security, and American sovereignty.

AI Is Not a Living Creature

AI is not a person. It has no conscience, morals, political beliefs, or secret desire to rule the world.

It is technology built and directed by people.

AI can help doctors find disease, help scientists develop treatments, strengthen cybersecurity, improve factories, assist small businesses, and make information readily available and easier to understand. It can help our military and intelligence agencies find threats more quickly.

I use AI regularly for research, fact-checking, writing, organization, and finding information that would otherwise take hours or days to locate - or be completely impossible to locate.

This technology is too important to national security - and too useful - for America to abandon it. China, Russia, Iran, and other countries will not stop developing AI just because we do. A ‘world-wide’ agreement would be a joke.

The Real Dangers Are Human Dangers

As with any tool, or technology, AI can certainly be used badly. It can be used for fraud, surveillance, censorship, cyberattacks, weapons, political manipulation, and careless decisions that affect people’s lives.

Some powerful AI agents have also done unexpected things when given access to the internet and other tools. That is a warning, like the low tire light in your car, not the tornado siren. As with other industries, auto factories for example, developers and others must provide safeguards, testing, and human supervision.

But that is very different from saying AI is becoming an evil creature that will decide to wipe out humanity.

We should deal with real risks, not treat every science fiction scenario seriously.

Fear Is Also a Tool

During the past few weeks, we have heard a sudden wave of warnings that AI could take over the world or destroy the human race.

Some of the people making those warnings may sincerely believe them.

But there is also an organized campaign involving advocacy groups, corporations, proposed laws, media appearances, and meetings with lawmakers in several countries.

Why would companies that spent billions of dollars building AI suddenly ask government to place more limits on it?

Who would expensive and strict regulations help, and who would it harm? Businesses who are early in the game, or newer and more innovative smaller companies?

Would the biggest companies help write the rules that govern their competitors?

Who would decide which companies and experts are approved? Don’t we see enough of this type of thing?

Fear can be used to rush people into accepting things they would normally question. If people believe AI could kill everyone, almost any law can be called necessary and anyone who objects can be called irresponsible.

But “everyone could die” should not become a blank check for government power.

A Worldwide Ban Would Not Stop the World

Some groups want countries to ban the development of extremely advanced AI.

That may sound good when someone spouts it, but there is an obvious problem - countries that break other rules and agreements would also break AI rules.

Governments that steal technology, hide military programs, avoid sanctions, and mislead inspectors will not give up one of the world’s most valuable technologies because they signed an agreement.

America could follow the rules in public while any other country continued working in secret.

Nuclear programs require special materials, large buildings, reactors, centrifuges, and missiles—and international agreements still have not stopped every country determined to develop nuclear weapons.

AI could be even harder to monitor. Research can be spread among universities, companies, military laboratories, computer networks, and hidden facilities.

A worldwide ban would end up holding back the countries that obey rules while rewarding the countries that do not.

Common Sense Instead of Panic

We do not have to choose between ignoring every danger and allowing government to control the entire technology.

AI must not become an excuse for government or agencies to control innovation, speech, or political thought. We should regulate harmful conduct and high-risk uses, not hand a few corporations or an international authority control over the entire technology.

If a company breaks copyright law, enables fraud, carelessly releases a dangerous product, or causes measurable harm, the responsible people and the company should answer for it.

“The computer did it” cannot become an excuse.

America needs AI for medical research, scientific progress, economic growth, cybersecurity, and national defense.

We should move forward confidently and with common sense. We should deal with real dangers without frightening ourselves into giving away America’s future.

We need common sense, human responsibility, and American leadership—not fear.

Sources:

Trump–Xi summit
Official Chinese readout confirming an AI dialogue and a direct communication channel for serious AI incidents:
https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xw/zyxw/202609/t20260926_12031663.html
America’s AI Action Plan
The strongest source for AI’s economic, scientific, national-security, and strategic importance:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf
NIST AI Risk Management Framework
Supports managing actual risks while allowing beneficial AI development:
https://www.nist.gov/itl/ai-risk-management-framework
Anthropic’s investigation of AI-agent incidents
Primary evidence that capable agents can cause serious problems when given tools, network access, and inadequate safeguards:
https://www.anthropic.com/news/investigating-incidents-cybersecurity-evals
ControlAI’s congressional and political work
The organization’s own description of its campaign and outreach—not an opponent’s characterization:
https://controlai.org/our-work-in-us
Proposed ban on artificial superintelligence
Official Sanders–Casar announcement showing that broad restrictions and a development pause are being seriously proposed:
https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-sanders-casar-introduce-legislation-to-ban-artificial-superintelligence-and-temporarily-pause-advanced-ai-development/
Dario Amodei’s proposal to slow frontier AI
The Anthropic CEO’s own argument for slowing development, outside evaluation, international coordination, and shared governance:
https://darioamodei.com/post/we-must-pace-the-frontier

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

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What Does DSA Actually Say?

Ellen Leyrer — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 20:06:12 GMT

Hi friends,

I bet you realize that the Democratic party is moving left at an alarming pace.

To know what to think about “democratic socialism” we must read what the Democratic Socialists of America says it wants.

And we can’t just believe it’s not real. The Democratic party is moving farther left along with many of DSA’s goals and policies.

DSA’s new 2026 national program does not merely call for higher taxes, more social programs, or a larger welfare state. It describes a future “without capitalism” and says complete victory will require “building a new society from the ground up.” Its stated objectives include drafting a new constitution and changing our Constitutional Republic to what it calls a “democratic socialist republic.”

Change the Government Itself

Some of DSA’s most consequential proposals concern the structure of the United States government.

DSA proposes to:

Abolish the Senate.
Abolish the Electoral College.
Replace the President with an executive chosen by and subordinate to the remaining legislature.
Replace the current Supreme Court structure with a judiciary chosen by and subordinate to that legislature.
Expand the House, institute proportional representation and ranked-choice voting, and replace the two-party system with a multiparty system.

Consider what that means structurally.

The Senate would not simply lose power—it would cease to exist. With it would go the current institution that gives every state equal representation and performs constitutional duties involving treaties, presidential appointments, judicial confirmations and impeachment trials.

Meanwhile, the executive and judiciary would no longer possess their present institutional independence from the legislature.

That raises a basic question:

If there is no Senate, and both the executive and judiciary are subordinate to the remaining national legislature (previously the House of Representatives), what independent federal institution checks that legislature?

DSA’s program does not provide a complete proposed constitution explaining how all of those powers and checks would be redistributed. It does, however, explicitly say America needs “a new political system.”

It Goes Beyond Government Structure

DSA also proposes:

Public ownership of the largest corporations and essential industries.
Universal healthcare at no cost to individuals.
Free public education through college and cancellation of all student debt.
Publicly owned social housing and universal rent control.
A federal jobs guarantee and publicly owned energy and transit infrastructure.
Abolition of ICE, an end to immigration detention and deportations, legalization of migration, amnesty regardless of immigration status, and elimination of visa caps and quotas.
Voting rights for permanent U.S. residents and incarcerated people.
And DSA describes redirecting police funding and other changes as steps toward “fully abolishing the police and prison system.”

These are not descriptions supplied by DSA’s opponents.

They come directly from DSA.

Read DSA’s 2026 program yourself.

“But Isn’t This Is Just Fringe Politics?”

That is a reasonable question—and this is where the history becomes important.

Not every DSA proposal has migrated into mainstream Democratic politics.

But some ideas once associated primarily with the socialist or progressive left have become acceptable and even desirable to many Democratic officeholders.

Consider Medicare for All. The 2025 House bill was introduced with 102 additional House cosponsors, while the Senate version had 15 additional cosponsors. Who will pay for it?

A federal jobs guarantee is another example. In September 2026, Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley renewed her proposal to create an enforceable legal right to a federally funded public job for every adult seeking employment. So, every adult would/could be a government employee? Who will pay for it?

Abolishing the Electoral College has also moved well beyond DSA. Democratic Sens. Brian Schatz, Dick Durbin and Peter Welch introduced a constitutional amendment in 2024 to replace it with election of the president by popular vote.

Noncitizen voting provides another measurable example—but one that requires precision. In 2025, 148 House Democrats voted to allow noncitizens voting in Washington, D.C.’s local elections, while 56 Democrats voted for the prohibition.

Though the national Democratic Party has not completely adopted DSA’s entire program, there are several matching goals. Its most recent national platform, for example, calls for funding police officers, while DSA goals include police reforms as steps to abolish police and prison.

2008 → 2016 → 2026

Twenty years of political change does not reveal one simple march from one ideology to another.

In 2008, Democrats called for securing the border, additional border personnel and technology, enforcement against employers hiring undocumented workers—and simultaneously a legal path for undocumented immigrants meeting specified requirements. They also advocated restoring police funding.

By 2016, Democrats were calling for major criminal-justice reform and a broader path to citizenship, while still supporting law enforcement and immigration enforcement.

By 2026, DSA is advocating abolition of ICE and eventual abolition of the police and prison system.

Other issues followed different trajectories. Medicare for All gained substantial congressional support. Electoral College abolition gained congressional sponsors. “Defund the police” entered national politics, but the national Democratic platform subsequently moved in the other direction and called for more police funding.

So far, not every DSA proposal has become Democratic Party policy.

It shows ideas can move. Some move a long way in a relatively short time.
That is why today’s DSA goals and proposed policies must be understood, and we must consider their consequences.

Start With the Source

There is no need to rely on labels, political advertising, or somebody else’s description of democratic socialism.

DSA has told the public what it wants.

Read its program. Look at what would change. Compare those proposals with the governmental and economic system America has today. Then also notice which ideas are appearing in legislation, campaigns and party politics.

Now you know what the DSA actually plans - in writing - and how the Democratic party is going along with some of the goals that will completely do away with the Constitution.

Sources:

Democratic Socialists of America — 2026 Program
This is the key source for the new constitution, “democratic socialist republic,” abolishing the Senate, subordinate executive/judiciary, public ownership, ICE, police/prisons, housing, healthcare, etc.
DSA 2026 Program
2008 Democratic Party Platform — American Presidency Project
Useful for our historical comparison: immigration enforcement, police funding, private enterprise, healthcare, and the particularly useful statement that “our Constitution, our courts, our institutions, and our traditions work.”
2008 Democratic Party Platform
2016 Democratic Party Platform — American Presidency Project
Our middle benchmark for criminal-justice reform, immigration, voting, healthcare, college, climate and other policy changes.
2016 Democratic Party Platform
2024 Democratic Party Platform — Democratic National Committee
Important for distinguishing official Democratic policy from DSA policy, including the national party’s “fund the police, not defund the police” position.
2024 Democratic Party Platform PDF
Medicare for All Act of 2025 — Rep. Pramila Jayapal
Primary congressional source for the Medicare-for-All legislation and its congressional sponsors/cosponsors.
Jayapal — Medicare for All Act of 2025
Federal Jobs Guarantee — Rep. Ayanna Pressley, September 17, 2026
Primary source for the current federal job-guarantee proposal.
Pressley — Federal Job Guarantee
Electoral College constitutional amendment — Sens. Schatz, Durbin and Welch
Official Senate source. The December 2024 proposal would abolish the Electoral College and establish direct popular election of the president and vice president.
Schatz — Constitutional Amendment to Abolish Electoral College
H.R. 884 noncitizen-voting roll call — U.S. House Clerk
This is especially good because it’s the actual official vote record: 56 Democrats Yea, 148 Nay, 1 Present on legislation prohibiting noncitizens from voting in D.C. elections and repealing D.C.’s Local Resident Voting Rights law.
House Clerk — H.R. 884 Roll Call 163
Congress.gov — Constitution Annotated - That gives us the authoritative comparison for what the Senate, presidency, judiciary, separation of powers and Article V actually do today.

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

A Challenge to Conservatives

Ellen Leyrer — Wed, 23 Sep 2026 19:40:13 GMT

Hi friends,

Conservatives should not assume that their political opponents are so powerful that nothing can be done. We should not assume those opponents are already defeated, either.

Both beliefs lead to the same result: people stop organizing and participating.

The left has a defined agenda and its unified sheep, while the right is sometimes too divided.

The November election is a test of whether conservatives will stand up for the policy changes the Trump administration is fighting for. Those policies must have continued support in Congress. The stakes are concrete: the midterms will determine which party holds a majority in the House and Senate for the next two years. (www.usa.gov)

Panicans are wrong. As Peggy Tierney said: “For those weak and whiny panicans and RINOs who can’t wait to wake up every morning and “scold” [Trump] for not being “appropriate” enough or moral enough or for not doing things the way they want him to - why don’t you first be honest with yourself and admit that you wouldn’t even have the courage to get out of bed if you had to face what that man has been through.”

And overconfidence is just as damaging. We can’t rest on our laurels. If literally saving America isn’t worth taking the time to vote, we are lost.

The direction of the country is at stake. Vote!

This article is the result of much input, but special credit goes to Tom DeWeese for his inspiration.

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

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While You Were Watching the Headlines…

Ellen Leyrer — Sat, 19 Sep 2026 17:00:41 GMT

Hi friends,

So much is happening so fast that major developments can disappear beneath the next day’s headlines. In just the past few weeks we’ve seen new economic numbers, manufacturing investments, prescription-drug changes, help for veterans, action involving American ranchers — and, just hours ago, a major new agreement involving Greenland.

The Trump administration continues working to strengthen America for Americans.

Yes, I know gas prices are still high. Why do you think Zelensky targeted a diesel plant in Russia? Gotta keep those prices up until the midterm election.

What the Trump administration is working to fix has been building for decades. Great strides have been made in 19 months. We must not stop the momentum but keep moving forward, and that means voting to keep the conservative majority.

The below are what I believe are important topics, but I’m working on my next post to share even more good news.

Just In: A New U.S.-Greenland Security Agreement

President Trump announced Friday that the United States, Denmark and Greenland have reached a far-reaching security agreement giving the U.S. permanent access, basing and overflight rights in Greenland and allowing an expanded American military presence.

The agreement also prohibits non-NATO countries from establishing military bases there and restricts sensitive investments by U.S. adversaries.

Greenland, however, remains within the Kingdom of Denmark. Denmark and Greenland say the agreement recognizes their sovereignty and Greenland’s right to self-determination. Details are still emerging, and parliamentary action is still required.

Greenland’s Arctic location is strategically important for national security - missile warning, space surveillance, Arctic shipping and North American defense.

Jobs, Income and American Manufacturing

JOBS: The August jobs report showed 162,000 jobs added, with unemployment unchanged at 4.1%. Manufacturing added 16,000 jobs and has gained 58,000 since its December 2025 low.

INCOME: Then came remarkable Census numbers: real median household income reached $87,460 in 2025 — the highest on record dating to 1967. The official poverty rate fell to 10.2%, its lowest on record, while child poverty reached a record-low 13.4%.

AMERICAN MANUFACTURING: Meanwhile, Hitachi Energy announced a $528 million Mississippi transformer factory, expected to create more than 700 jobs and more than double the company’s transformer-production capacity there. It is part of roughly $1.5 billion in Hitachi Energy U.S. manufacturing expansion.

Prescription Drugs

Prescription-drug changes continue to expand. The administration now has Most-Favored-Nation agreements with 26 pharmaceutical manufacturers covering 89% of the branded-drug market.

And there’s a new development: all 50 states’ Medicaid programs will participate in the MFN pricing initiative covering hundreds of drugs. The administration says Medicaid programs have already received one million free prescriptions of Eliquis and projects $64.3 billion in federal and state Medicaid savings over ten years.

Separately, the White House reports patients have saved more than $700 million through TrumpRx since its February launch.

A Little-Known $1,700 Tax Credit

Another change begins January 1, 2027: taxpayers can receive up to a $1,700 federal income-tax credit for qualifying cash contributions to Scholarship Granting Organizations providing K–12 scholarships. Texas is participating. This is a tax credit, not merely a charitable deduction. That’s $1,700 off your total taxes due. You get to donate a scholarship instead of that $1,700 going to Uncle Sam. That’s great for education too.

What You May Have Missed…

Veterans: A new executive order requires improved military/VA medical and personnel-record sharing, streamlined digital access to benefits and better connections to jobs, training and apprenticeships for departing service members.
American beef: USDA has 90 days to examine restoring mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef and determine what can be accomplished administratively and what may require Congress.
Trump Accounts: Progress continuing on implementation, including investment rules and employer contributions.
Immigration: An analysis of Census survey data estimates America’s foreign-born population declined approximately 2.8 million with an estimate of a 2.3-million decline in the illegal-immigrant population.
Immigration: RIGHT NOW we have the opportunity to tell the government who should be counted in the 2030 Census. Change representation to citizens only by commenting to not count illegal immigrants. See Your Input on the U.S. Census Rules.
Antifa-linked infrastructure: Treasury sanctioned Italy-based Autistici/Inventati, alleging it supplied digital services to violent Antifa cells and other extremist groups.

Don’t Believe the Lies

There is plenty happening. We are being plagued by the Globalists and Democrats, even the DSA (Democrat Socialist of America) to try to stop Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda.

Sources:

Greenland security agreement
Reuters — U.S., Denmark reach Greenland deal
August employment
BLS — Employment Situation, August 2026
U.S. Census Bureau
Census Bureau — Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage: 2025
$1,700 Scholarship Tax Credit
IRS — Federal Scholarship Tax Credit
Beef country-of-origin labeling/ranchers — White House Executive Order 14425
White House — Supporting America’s Ranchers

As always, do your own research and make up your own mind.

White paper on land and water rights: Property Rights and Freedom: A White Paper on America’s Disappearing Land (8/13/2025)

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

VoteTexas.gov, https://www.votetexas.gov/get-involved/index.html

Disclaimer:

If you share this content, please include this disclaimer to preserve context and clarity for all readers.

Until next time…

Some housekeeping…

Going forward, you may need to check your spam folder. And please mark this address as ‘not spam.’ If the newsletter isn’t in your spam folder either, you should look in the Promotions tab.

You can always see everything on the website, RationalAmerican.org.

Thanks again for reading! I’m glad you’re here!

Realism from an American Conservative

The Election Is Over. Our Work Isn’t.

The Election Is Over. Our Work Isn’t.

We Could Have Done Better

Unity Matters

Common Sense, Please!

Good Ideas Don’t Advance Themselves

Freedom Is Our Responsibility

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

Rights don’t defend themselves.

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

Where Are the Arrests, You Ask?

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

America Needs Its Farmland and It Needs AI

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

America Is Thinking Big Again

Putting American Ingenuity to Work

New Possibilities for Medical Breakthroughs

More American Energy and Greater Independence

Reaching for the Moon—and Beyond

Investing in the Next Generation

America’s Best Days Are Still Ahead

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

Show Up. Don’t Forfeit.

Don’t forfeit. Show up and vote.

Check it yourself

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

Don’t Let Frustration Steal Your Vote

Make a plan. Take part. Vote.

Put voting on your calendar

Know what is on your ballot

Turn concern into action

Keep frustration at bay

You Can Do It!

Check it yourself

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

America Must Lead the AI Future

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

Polls!

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

The Data Center Debate Is Changing

Growing Opposition

The Data Center Is Only Part of the Project

Texas Officials Are Beginning to Respond

Who Pays—and Who Benefits?

Farmland and Food Security Must Be Addressed

Growth and Property Rights Can Coexist

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

When Fear Is a Means of Control

When Fear Is a Means of Control

A Real (or Fabricated) Risk Can Be Used to Create Panic

Why Did the Alarm Become So Loud Now?

Guardrails Without Gatekeepers

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

Believe Them

THIS ELECTION IS DIFFERENT

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

The Record and the Receipts

The Economy and American Families

By the Numbers

Energy, Manufacturing, and American Jobs

Constitutional Government and Election Integrity

Regulation and Public Lands

National Security and American Sovereignty

A Government That Is Easier to Use

These are Amazing Accomplishments

It’s Up to Us

Taxes, income, poverty, and economic growth

Trump Accounts and school choice

China trade

Energy, manufacturing, and Texas jobs

Oil-shipping recovery and Alaska LNG

Supreme Court and election integrity

Regulation and public lands

Iraq and Greenland

America.gov and passports

United we stand. Divided we fall. We must not let America fall.

Faith. Family. Freedom.

What our values mean in public life

Faith: responsibility beyond ourselves