Sunday Issues-May 4, 2025
The New York Times said it better.
Good morning.
I sometimes wrestle with why I write Dean’s Issues & Insights. It’s not for the money—I don’t charge for subscriptions. And it’s not to see my name in “print” or to somehow “build a following.” It is to contribute to the conversation on national policy. And that conversation has been, for far too long, about Donald Trump and the harm he and his movement are doing to the United States and the world.
The amateur writers and journalists here on Substack often produce material worth reading. I like to think that some of my stuff falls into that category. But I started my day this morning by reading the New York Times, specifically the Sunday Opinion section. That convinced me not to write much today.
The Opinion section of the Times today consists of two sections, both well worth reading. I will save both and reread them in a couple of days. They are a treasure trove of wisdom and information about the Trump movement and about the team he has assembled to help him tear down government as we know it.
The first section features an opinion piece from the Times editorial board titled “How to Sabotage Democracy: Repress dissent. Shatter precedents. Dismantle oversight. Bully the opposition. Crush elite institutions. Seize executive power.” The column includes a subsection, thankfully, titled “How to respond to the threat that is President Trump.”
The second opinion is titled “No Ordinary Cabinet; No Ordinary Times: 22 people charged with dismantling the government from the inside.” The section includes brief profiles of President Trump’s illustrious cabinet and some of their notable achievements.
I recommend this morning’s Times. It is more worth reading than anything I could write today—even another comment on Trump’s picture of himself dressed as the Pope, yet another report on a weekend of golf, more news on Trump’s cryptocurrency empire, or even a comment on the state of Trump’s marriage.
Thank you.
I will be back later this week. If you subscribe to Dean’s Issues & Insights, thank you. We are closing the gap in circulation with the Times, but we are not there yet.